Chapter 7: Building Trust and Sand Castles

Maria and Robin walked in silence. Maria was still filled with indignation at having been frightened by him. Although Robin attempted multiple times to start a conversation, she refused to reply anything more than a simple "yes" or "no".

"You know, I have come to the conclusion you Merryweathers are awfully good at glaring," Robin remarked.

The two reached the Moon Princess' dwelling. Without another word Maria crawled straight into the tree.
When Robin followed her in, he found her already vanishing through the secret door into the dark tunnel.

"Maria hold on! We should stick together, we might get lost!" Robin called after Maria.

"And give you another opportunity to frighten me? No thank you!" Maria retorted.

With a frustrated groan Robin took a torch from the wall, used his flint to light it up, and quickly went in after her. He did not want Maria navigating through the tunnels alone. Not only for her safety, but for his own as well. The last time they had walked through the passageway, they had the Moon Pearls' light and were led by the apparition of a white horse that only Maria could see. Without Mother Nature's guidance, they would both get lost.

Maria walked through the passageway. She blinked and rubbed her eyes to adjust to the dimming light. She took a few steps to the side, using her hands as a barrier and shuddered as she touched the cold surface of the wall. She used her hands to guide her along the rocky tunnel. Soon the only sound came from the gentle tapping of her footsteps against the ground.
With every step the tunnel darkened and after a few more steps, Maria came to a reluctant conclusion: this was not a good idea.

Maria had hoped Moonacre's white horse would appear to her again, but perhaps because the curse was broken, or because she was not in any grave danger, there was no unicorn in sight.

Maria's ears picked up fast approaching foots steps from behind her. There was a distinct tapping between each step. She caught sight of a light headed her way, it was Robin with a burning torch.

"We're lost, aren't we?" He asked her as he finally managed to catch up.

Maria was beginning to feel disappointed. Just this morning she had been looking forwards to spending time with the bird boy. Yet now that they were together, most of it had been spent in angry silence.

At not receiving a response, Robin frowned and sat down. He leaned his head against the wall where he closed his eyes.

"Robin, how are you? Does your head still hurt," she asked him, finally breaking her silence.

"Only a little. Hold on, I'm trying to listen," Robin replied, putting his finger on his lip.

Maria huffed at being told to quite. "What are you trying to listen to?" She whispered.

"Close your eyes, and tell me what you hear."

Scowling, Maria closed her eyes and listened. "I don't hear anything."

"Give it a moment. There, did you hear it?"

Maria furrowed her brow and closed her eyes again. She listened. Then she heard it, a low rhythmic crash off in the distance. The ocean's waves. She opened her eyes and met Robin's gaze. He was smiling at her.

Robin jumped to his feet. The sudden rise left him feeling wobbly. Quickly steadying himself, he walked over to Maria and helped her up.

"It's the ocean, we're not that far off, let's go!" Robin took the lead.

Every so often, he paused to listen for the ocean. Maria admired how quiet he was. She tried to be silent too, but her heeled boots and skirts made it difficult. After walking for a bit Robin stopped abruptly and shook his head, a quiet chuckle escaped him.

"I'm really sorry princess, but could you stay here and wait for me?" Robin asked her. "With my headache and the sound of your skirts, it's difficult to make out the sea's direction."

"But what if we get separated?"

"Ah don't worry about that, I've left a trail for us to follow back." He took a small pouch out of one of his belt pockets and produced a few brightly colored stones of red and blue.
"See these stones, I have been dropping them since we entered the tunnel. Besides, weren't you trying to leave me behind earlier?"

So that was the tapping Maria had heard when he approached. Maria was impressed. Robin was quite resourceful, but she wouldn't admit this to him.

"I'm glad to hear that bird brain of yours is capable."

Robin raised his hands in defeat and sighed. "Well Princess, I will walk on ahead to find the path. Please don't go anywhere". And with that, he turned around and continued down the tunnel, leaving Maria in the dark.

A few moments ago, when she was upset, the dark hadn't bothered her. Now though, she realized she would not want to be lost in these tunnels. As Robin walked away, his light illuminated a few entrances to other passages. Anyone, or anything, could be lurking down those passageways. Maria began to feel nervous as her thoughts lingered on the various creatures that could be hiding.

"Robin!" Maria nervously called out, she heard the feint echo of her voice ringing out. Maria began to panic. She had never been afraid of the dark, but she was afraid of what could be hiding in it. It was the fear of the unknown, of the possibility that her life could be in danger yet she would have no knowledge of it. Maria's breathing got heavier, she felt her head begin to spin.

"Robin!" She cried out once more, a hint of desperation escaped her voice. She leaned against the tunnels wall.
What if Robin doesn't come back? What if this was his plan all along? He would never leave me here… or would he?... Maria stop this!
Despite her attempts, thoughts of betrayal swirled in her head. She wondered how she could be so naïve to trust a boy who had tried so many times to hurt her before. Maria was trembling, the tunnels were cold, and soon the only warmth she felt was the heat from the hot tears that slowly fell from her eyes onto her face.
To Maria, the few minutes she was alone in the tunnel felt like hours, until suddenly the silence was broken by a few taps. Maria heard footsteps off in the distance coming her way. She braced herself. No matter what it was, she would fight it!

As she braced herself to run at the intruder, a red glow broke the darkness. The familiar shadow of a bowler hat and feathered scarf stretched through the tunnel, vanishing the darkness.

"Moon Princess! I found the way!" Robin came bounding through the tunnel, but his excitement quickly died at seeing Maria's pale and teary face. "Maria, what's wrong?"

At his sight, a relieved smile broke through her face. She did her best to straighten herself up.
"Oh. No. Nothing, nothing," Maria quickly wiped away her tears.

Robin watched her carefully, trying to pick any thoughts out of her, but her beautiful eyes, though teary, smiled right back at him.

Robin was suspicious, clearly something was wrong.

She observed how he carefully eyed the small red and blue stones. Had she not known about them, Maria would have completely missed them. Occasionally Robin would sneak apprehensive glances to Maria. He desperately wanted her to confide in him, but he knew that finding their way was more important to her at the moment.

"Almost there Princess, can you hear it?" Robin asked.

Maria nodded. The sound of crashing waves now reached her ears. They took one last turn and suddenly came out into the open. Maria gasped. The large blue ocean surrounded her. She was so mesmerized by it she felt she could jump right into it again.

"It gets better, come follow me."
Robin led the way out of the tunnel and to the side of the amphitheater. There, Maria saw a makeshift trail that winded down to the shore. The trail turned and hid between large stone boulders and ended right on the sandy beach.

"Now be careful, the sand makes the trail slippery. I'll go first that way I'll catch you if you fall." Robin reassured Maria and began walking down the trail.
Maria, feeling confident soon followed along.

The walk down went smoothly. Occasionally, they had to slide on their bottoms when the trail got to steep or slippery. As Robin stood up, Maria noticed his leather pants were brown from the sand and giggled.

"What's so funny princess?" Robin asked over his shoulder. They had arrived at a downwards sloping crevice between two large stones. Robin was using both his hands to scale down the foot path.

"Your bottoms, they're all covered in dirt!" Maria laughed.

Robin turned over his shoulder with a smirk on his lips and a gleam in his eyes.
"Princess, have you been admiring my arse this entire time?" He cocked his eyebrow.

Maria's eyes widened and she blushed a deep red. "No! Robin how dare you say that! I was simply making an observation." Maria defended herself.

"Don't worry princess, you'll have the rest of the trek down to admire it, I don't mind."

Maria gasped. "I would never!"
She grabbed a fistful of dirt and tossed it to the laughing bird boy. The dirt landed square in the back of his head and covered his back entirely with brown sand.

"There, now your entire backside is dirty!" Maria responded.

Robin hopped from the crevice down to the ground, he landed nimbly on his feet and removed his hat to brush off the sand.
"That's not very nice princess," Robin leaned against a boulder and brushed off his hat as he raised his eyes and watched Maria through his hair.

"Well neither are you so we're even!"

Robin smiled. Maria's mood had improved. Placing his hat back on his head he turned to continue their trek to the beach.

Maria stifled a giggle, his entire backside was covered in brown.

They climbed over a large stone boulder. At the top, she saw the sandy beach and shimmering rolling waves. The boulder slopped downwards to the sand.

"Ok princess, take a seat and give me your hand," Robin instructed patting the stone at his side.
Maria gave Robin a skeptical look but daintily placed her hand on his and sat beside him.
"Down we go!" Robin shouted as he pushed himself down the boulder pulling Maria with him. The two slid down the rock and landed on the soft sand laughing.

"That was so much fun!"

"Good, now come on, we're almost there," Robin continued to lead her along, walking closer to the shore. Robin didn't let go of her hand.

Maria was glad she was still holding on to Robin. Walking in the sand was much harder than she imagined. It seeped into her boots making them increasingly heavy. As the two reached the shores edge, Maria and Robin kicked off their boots and ran to the water.

Maria squealed as the cold water splashed over her toes. She watched the rolling waves and became hypnotized by their rhythm. She started to feel light headed and grabbed on to Robin with both her hands. She was in awe of the sight and didn't notice the soft look Robin gave her. She was amazed at how blue the ocean and sky was, the sea and horizon seemed to blend together. Seagulls and sparrows flapped happily in the air. She sighed with content and relief. They made it, and she was still next to Robin.

Robin who was carefully watching Maria, noticed a small frown momentarily cross her lips.

"Maria, back in the tunnels, what happened?" Robin asked her.

Recalling the sense of panic, Maria struggled to respond. She didn't want to tell him she had thought the worst of him, but he had seen her silent tears.

Maria sighed. "Robin, I…You left me so suddenly, and well we hardly know each other. Just a few days ago you hated me. When I was alone, I thought the worst, I thought—"

"You thought I had abandoned you." Robin finished, his voice was strained.

Maria looked away. She stared into the ocean. She heard the pain in Robin's voice, she did not want to see it in his eyes.

An awkward silence fell upon them. Robin was contemplating what Maria had said, what she had felt. It stung him more than he could have ever thought possible. She was just a Merryweather.
Yet despite how much he wanted to deny it, Robin understood why Maria felt the way she did. She had every reason to mistrust him. After all, his family had behaved villainously towards her. And he was a De Noir, a ruffian considered by many noble people.

Why would Maria ever want to deal with the likes of me, much less trust me? He scoffed at his thoughts. Why do I even care, Robin shook his head. As much as he desperately tried to come up with any reason to persuade himself that Maria's thoughts meant nothing, that she should mean nothing, he couldn't.
Robin sighed, and walked away from Maria into the shore. The waves rolled on to his ankles. He bent down and grabbed a fistful of sand then tossed it into the ocean.

"Maria, when you jumped off the cliff, I felt as if all life had been sucked out of me. I—I made a promise to myself…"
Robin took a deep breath as he struggled to find the words, "I was so upset, I thought that I had failed you. I promised that if you were to come back, I would always listen… and protect you at all costs."

Maria was left stunned at his words. She remembered that day when Robin had agreed to help her. When he had placed a knife on his own father's neck to defend her. She couldn't understand now why she doubted him. Maria ran up to Robin and wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight hug, almost knocking them down again.
"I'm sorry Robin, I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

Surprised, Robin slowly placed his arms around Maria's shoulders.

"No Princess, there's no need to apologize," he rested his chin on her head and squeezed her in a tight hug.
"After all, we did lock you in a dungeon," he mused. "We haven't been the most friendliest of neighbors."
Robin then pulled back and gave her a mischievous smile, "but I have a few months to prove my loyalty—beginning tomorrow!"
He brought his arms under Maria's shoulders and lifted her up into the air, spinning her around in circles.

Maria shrieked with laughter, "Robin put me down! You will drop me!"

"Never!" He tucked her under his arm and ran into the waves, kicking up water.

"Robin! My dress! Miss Heliotrope will be furious! She may take my dresses away!"

"Ahh but she will not harm you, I will take my chances. Hold your breath!"

With those last words he jumped in and lifted her above the water, letting a wave overcome them. Then he released her.
Maria's eyes widened and she pinched her nose.

Robin laughed as he watched her be carried back to sand by the waves, they were so gentle with her, almost purposefully. To Marias amusement, a large wave suddenly rose behind Robin and tumbled him back to the shore. He rolled next to her, surrounded by white foaming water.

"Oouf today's been a rough day for my body," he sputtered as he spit out the salty water.

Maria was bursting with laughter. The two were drenched with water. A few loose strands of hair fell on to her face and her once forest green dress looked black and clung to her body. Robin's curly hair fell flat and covered his eyes, his jacket and shirt hung off his shoulder from the water's weight.

Maria noticed a black shape bobbing on the waves.

"Robin your hat!"

She sprang to her feet, and rushed into the water, struggling not to trip over her soaked skirt and petticoat that had entangled themselves around her legs. She heard Robin's laughter as she waded through the waves, just managing to catch the bowler hat before a large wave engulfed her and tumbled her back to the beach. She landed next to Robin, choking on laughter and seawater. His hat was clutched to her chest.

"Hmm I believe the ocean does not want us today," Robin concluded as he pulled some seaweed from her hair. "Moon Princess, you have saved my hat's life, how can I ever repay you?" Robin teased.

Maria giggled and tossed him his hat, "You can begin by admiring my bravery in battling the waves despite my lack of swimming skills."

"You don't know how to swim?" Robin asked incredulously.

"No I believe I don't." Maria laughed, "back in London, there was no need to go swimming!"

Robin gulped at the sudden realization, "Maria you should have warned me! You could have gotten hurt!"

"Oh never mind, I believe it just means you'll have to spare your knowledge and teach me." Maria stated as she stood up and wrung her hair.

Robin weakly nodded, he had gone pale at the revelation of Maria's swimming skills— or lack of.

Maria let her wet curls fall lose around her face. The sunlight danced brightly along Maria's copper curls, illuminating her bright eyes and delicate face. Robin caught himself staring, admiring her beautiful features. But as Maria was about to look at him he let out an awkward grunt and forced his attention on his now wet and sandy hat.

"Will your hat be ruined?" Maria asked.

"Uh, no. No, my hat's been through worst," Robin stuttered, doing his best to ignore the burning sensation in his ears.

Maria wandered around the beach. She found a log by the shore surrounded by a pile of wood. Robin slipped off his jacket and stretched under the sunlight. He peered off into the distance and noticed the dark clouds were looming closer and frowned.

Maria, too distracted with her curiosity did not see the clouds or took notice of the change in weather. It had become windy, and the birds were leaving, looking for shelter. Instead Maria was inspecting the wood, "Robin, where did this wood come from?"

"Most likely from a ship wreck. The seaport is not too far south from here. During bad weather ships often mistake their route and crash into cliffs."

"Do these men, survive?"

"Sometimes, though not often." Robin absentmindedly responded to Maria's shock. "Ah don't worry, it's rare for that to happen."

The two spent the rest of their day frolicking about the beach like a couple of young children. Robin taught her how to build sand castles and find the best shells. Robin even managed to lure Maria back into the ocean where he taught her how to ride the waves with her body and how to paddle.

Exhausted, the two dropped down onto the sand. Robin noticed it had gotten dark and colder. He pulled on the hem of his shirt to wring out the seawater. Maria snuck a glance and noticed a few scars along his torso.

"Princess, I think it's time I took you back. A storm seems to be coming in."

Nodding in agreement, the young moon princess and bandit made their way back to the amphitheater. The journey up was slower. Maria led, but she was tired from the swim and the weight of her garments made it hard to hike upwards. She slipped a few times but Robin was always there to steady her.

As they reached the top of the cliffs, Robin noticed the clouds had turned into a storm and were coming in from the sea. By the time the two exited the Moon princess' dwelling, all of Moonacre Valley was covered with a heavy downpour. Maria and Robin ran as fast as they could back to the manor.