BONUS CHAPTER! As my Holiday present to all of my viewers I am giving this chapter out early so that you all can go ahead and read on :) I hope you all will have wonderful holidays coming up soon and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Remember to favorite/follow and R and R! See you at the bottom of the page! :)

Robin and I had wandered through the forest for what seemed like hours, even though I am pretty sure it was not quite that long. I looked at all the different trees as we walked, and to me...it all just looked the same. I looked over to Robin periodically, who seemed to know exactly where he was going. You have to admire how well he knows the forest, compared to me who saw everything as the same.

"Robin, do you know where we are going?" I asked him.

"Yes, and don't you dare start nagging, because I want it to be a surprise. It is one of my favorite spots that I discovered when I was a child, and I go there as often as possible." He replied. I dared not ask anything more, knowing that I was not going to get any more information out of the bird-boy. So, I decided I would change the subject until we got there.

"Are you excited about the wedding?" I asked.

"I suppose so. It still is a good ways away. Doesn't it take up to six months or something to plan that big of an event?" He replied as he helped me step over a log.

"Back in London it did, but here I did not know. Loveday and Uncle have tons of help planning. It could be two weeks from now, or two months, or maybe even two years before they decide to get married." I said in a laugh. Robin smiled. I could not quite see what his real thoughts were on the event. Did he not like my uncle? Did he not want his sister to be taken away after he hadn't seen her in so long? Or was he totally happy about it and not revealing it? It made me utterly frustrated that I could not see how he felt on some things. After a few more minutes Robin stopped, and told me to close my eyes, so I did as he said. He led me forward and I felt vines cross over my cheeks, and then I felt the moisture that was the air.

ROBIN'S POV

Maria seemed frustrated that I did not give a direct answer on the wedding subject. To be honest, I liked Maria's uncle, but it had been so many years since I had seen my sister, and only ten minutes later did she get engaged. I tried not to think about it. I told myself that I could still go visit her whenever I felt like, but it was such an ordeal to travel through the forest every single time I needed to ask her a simple question or if I needed something. I dropped the thought out of my mind and focused on where we were going. I knew Maria would love where I was taking her. As a child it was where I would escape to when my father was in a bad mood, or if I just wanted to get away from being a De Noir for a while.

"Okay, princess. Close your eyes." I said. She hesitated for a minute, judging whether to trust me or not. Sure enough she closed her eyes. Before she would open her eyes again I wanted to get my hat back, so I did. My head was becoming awful lonely without it. I led her through the vines of the weeping willow tree above us.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now." I said. She slowly opened them and she was filled with wonder. The place we were at was surrounded by rock walls and trees and was nothing but a pit looking lake at the bottom. It was almost like our own little hideaway. If you looked towards the sky you could see a waterfall that dumped into the lake, and rocks that made a ledge behind it. I grabbed her hand and we ran to climb up the rocks and get on the ledge behind the waterfall.

"Robin, this is truly glorious! However did you find this place?" She asked, trying to speak loud enough so I could hear her over the sounds of the falling water.

"Out strolling one day I heard the rushing water, and I followed it! I ended up at the top of the waterfall looking down, and then I figured out how to get in from the bottom." I replied. She got a devious smile on her face, and turned to face me. She backed up closer to the ledge and I got scared she would fall. I grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling.

"You know bird boy, your hat really does suit your head, but I also thinks it suits me better." She said. She reached up between my arms and grabbed my hat, and before I knew it she fell backwards off the cliff and did a dive into the water. I could not believe that she would scare me like that.

"If you want it, then I dare you to come get it!" She said as she rose up out of the water. Her firey red hair was now a dimmed auburn, and her skin was now silky looking in the sun.

"Oh, princess. Leather is such a hassle to get dry." I said as I looked down at my layers of clothing.

"Well then I shall just have to keep it forever!" She said laughing. She dove back down under water, my hat in hand. I sighed, knowing she would keep it as long as possible if I did not try to retrieve it. I quickly took off my leather jacket and my feathers and layed them gently beside me. I guess my leather pants would be the one to suffer. I looked down and found Maria at the very far end of the lake.

"Here goes nothing!" I yelled. I got a running start and ran off the edge, feeling the wind in my hair. I hit the water so hard that the water looked like large ocean waves when I came up.

"Now, princess. You got me in the lake, now give me the hat." I said as I swam over to her.

"I do not have it." She said smiling. I heard a roar, and looked over to see that Wralph had caught up with us. There he was, dry as could be, with my bowler hat hanging out of his mouth. My jaw dropped to the bottom of the lake. I am now soaking wet, and a lion has my hat.

"You think you are so clever..." I said to Maria. She couldn't help but laugh as she watched me climb out of the lake, with my leather pants making a squeaking sound as I walked. I was still somewhat afraid of the menacing beast, more so now that he was a fierce lion and not a fluffy dog.

"Alright, Wralph. Hand it over." I said to the furry beast. If he was human, I had no doubt that he would be laughing at this moment. He dropped the hat at my feet, and when I bent down to get it, I was knocked flat on my back and showered with wet lion slobber. When Wralph was satisfied he trotted over to Maria and let her grab on to him as she got out of the lake.

"Okay, okay. I believe I have given you a rough enough day as pay back for trying to capture me." She said as she tried to squeeze the water out from her dress.

"Simply following orders madam." I replied. She smiled and walked over to me.

"Why don't we head back so we can get ready for dinner." She said.

"It's still pretty early." I replied.

"I know, but I am sure to get a scolding from Ms. Heliotrope about my wet appearance, and that could take hours." She said with a laugh. I climbed back up the ledge and grabbed my jacket and feathers. I hadn't been this happy in a long time. Truly, I really hadn't.

So there you have the next chapter! I shall update again sometime next week! I hope you all enjoyed it! Happy Holidays everyone! Remember to favorite/follow and R and R! :)

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lillideathflower: Thank you for following the story and I hope you are enjoying it so far! :) Thanks for the support!

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Well that is all for tonight! Until next time my dears!