Chapter 2 / Unanswered Questions

"Jay, you take the north sector while I cover the south," Robin barked, "We'll corner him into the east."

Jay curtly nodded before sprinting his commanded direction. Robin watched him go until taking off on his own. The adrenaline in him kept him in steady paces. Gripping the knife in his hands, he chopped off any unwanted branches in his path.

The sun was beginning to set as most animals began scurrying back home. He needed to find him before the moon would rise or else he could escape and never be seen again. Robin clenched his jaw. Those fools should have known better than to let a stranger into the warehouse. His guards would definitely be punished for their stupidity. The bandit stole a prized possession: his mother's necklace. It was the last items that kept the memory of Robin's mother alive. If it was lost forever, Robin and his father would no longer have any memory of her.

After she died, nothing was left of her. His father destroyed all memories of her other than the necklace Robin kept tucked away. Robin gave a small sad smile. Robin's mother was so kind. He remembered the little fairytales she would read to him before bed, and the secret smiles and glances her and his father would share. She melted his father's cold heart until it froze up again… But none of it mattered now. Maria saved Moonacre, both families were at peace, and his father and his relationship were changing for the better though it obviously would take time getting used to things.

Robin's steps thumped against the forest floor, twigs breaking with each step. His breaths soon became more labored but his tenacity would always win the better of him. After a couple of minutes, Robin rounded the corner of a large stump, a long black braid whipped through the air. So it seemed the bandit was no man; interesting. A black cloak flew behind her as well. She obviously was trying to keep her identity a secret. Women at that time were not trained with physical exertion other than dancing.

Robin knew he was cornering her into the east. In about a mile and if Jay was fast enough, both could trap her onto the cliff that Maria jumped off of. The bandit slightly tripped over a fallen branch. That slowed her down a bit so that Robin was a couple tail lengths behind her. It seemed as though the bandit didn't have an exact location she needed to be headed; she was just trying to lose Robin. Upon sighting the cliff, Robin saw Jay round the corner, knife in hand. The bandit saw him as well. She scowled, not knowing there were two of these simpletons. Her only chance was to head towards the cliff. Seemingly conflicted, she sprinted towards her only option. Robin and Jay were right behind her, slowly pushing her onto the edge. She had no choice but to surrender or jump. She, intellectually, didn't choose the latter.

What could she do but surrender and hopefully live? She could try to kill them even though two against one wasn't very smart. She could try to smooth talk her way through them. No, both knew she had the necklace. She suddenly smirked; blackmail was always the right way forward.

"My, my Robin. Well done catching up with me. Do you want to take me back to be a prisoner, correct? Well, I would like to roam free to my will so I will jump with this necklace. Please put in a good word for me." How did she know his name? Challenge was set in her eyes. The necklace was dangling on her pointer finger over the ocean. If she will, she could jump and they would never be seen again.

Robin's eyes hardened. Was the necklace worth the bandit's escape? He didn't know. The minute she said that Jay spoke up.

"We will let you go if you peacefully hand us the necklace." Robin glared at Jay. Now was not the time to do something rash. The bandit could be a well-known bandit that was highly dangerous.

The bandit smiled. "Here we have a wise one. How about you, De Noir?" She obviously wanted to knock down Robin's pride. It was not every day you have the heir to the De Noir throne let you go.

Robin scowled and looked at Jay. Jay nodded his head as if saying, 'do it if you want your father to let both of us live.' Robin sighed, a signal of an agreement, though he still didn't trust her. Acknowledging the compromise did, in fact, hurt his pride. 'He only time he compromised was with Maria,' he thought.

"Set your knives down as I set my weapons down," she said. It seemed both parties had trust issues. Robin and Jay both cautiously set their knives behind them as the bandit set hers in front of her. Her dirk was a small, little thing. A little bigger than the size of Robin's hand. What caught his attention was the initials 'I.S.'

Steadily walking towards Robin and Jay, she threw him the necklace to Robin. Robin briskly caught it with ease. (His quick reflexes always came in handy.) She then quickly picked and threw up her dirk, caught it back, put it back in her cloak pocket, and jogged out the cave, as if she were never there before.

Robin inspected the necklace, looking for any chips or damage. There seemed to be none; the bandit was surprisingly gentle when handling it.

"We didn't even ask for her name," Jay muttered. He seemed disappointed but Robin knew better. "We were not here to flirt, Jay. We were her to take back the necklace that was stolen from us," Robin replied while rolling his eyes.

Jay grumbled. "You were a ladies man back then. What happened?" It was true. Before the curse was broken, Robin did have his fair share with the ladies. He even courted a few of them but they didn't last long. He needed his freedom but also needed that had a free spirit as well. Plus, since he was indeed a dapper looking bloke, I guess you could say he wanted someone with the same heightened physical appearance.

"Nothing happened; I just lost interest," Robin answered with a shrug. Honestly, he didn't even know why he stopped flirting with girls. It seemed that his mind and heart finally settled down for a bit.

Before Jay would respond, Robin fell forward. A force suddenly attacked his neck and it shocked him. Robin growled, trying to minimize the sound of pain coming from his mouth. It felt like a hundred lightning bolts were piercing through him. The pain was unbearable but left shortly.

"Robin, are you alright," Jay queried, trying to help the fallen De Noir up. Robin fell back down, his legs still too weak to hold up his body.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Can you just check the back of my neck? I think something is stuck in there." Robin stood up slowly. His legs wobbly and still a little shaken up from the shock.

Jay pushed aside Robin's curls from the back of his head. His eyes widened. There was a black shard of a pearl attached to his neck.

Maria tried to keep her emotions settled. She attempted, though unsuccessfully, scratching the shard off. Looking around her room, she checked if anyone was in the room with her. Not a person was in sight.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll just ask Loveday about it tomorrow," she murmured, trying to keep her stress to a minimal. She didn't even feel anything until now so no one could have planted it in her. It must have somehow magically appeared in her skin.

Knowing she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, she silently tip-toed towards the manor library. Books have always had a comforting feeling to them. She gently pushed the door; a few creaks sounded the room. After closing the door, she skimmed the books, hoping to find a book about the moon pearls. She softly brushed her fingers across the indents of the many books spines on the shelves.

A book suddenly fell onto the ground, a cloud of dust scattering around it. Maria picked up the book and blew some dust off the top. 'This room should really be cleaned up,' she thought. On the cover of the book, the title read 'Before the Moon Rises.' Maria opened the book slowly, the old paper crinkled audibly loud. Inside was an encyclopedia of the moon pearls. It had all the history and facts about them.

Maria grinned. This book would definitely come in handy. Treading towards her favorite chair in the library, she settled down and began reading.

A/N Hope you enjoyed!

-Donutbird :3