Hello everyone! So sorry about the long wait! My fanfic account had an error. Anyway, here I am back with chapter 9! Remember to R and R and follow/favorite as well. I hope you all enjoy it and I shall see you at the bottom of the page!


Loveday's room was more beautiful than I had expected. The wall color reminded me much of my room back home, and all of a sudden I became homesick. I had only been at the De Noir castle for an hour or so, and I was going to be here much longer than just an hour, so I had to try to find some way to get through it.

"So, do you need any help unpacking?" Robin asked as he sat down on the bed.

"I think I am alright." I said as I grabbed one of my cases and put it on the bed.

"I'm just curious about this. What do you think is the surprise Loveday was saying was in the closet?" He asked. I looked over at the wooden door in the corner of the room and smiled.

"I don't know, but I am going to find out, so go stand outside." I said. He didn't seem like he wanted to move, so I took his hat and tossed it out the door for him to go get. I laughed at the boy as he actually got up to go get his hat. When he stepped outside and picked it up I shut the door in his face.

"You know, I believe I will just stand right here." He said. I laughed at his comment and went over to the closet. I slowly opened the door and looked inside. There in front of my eyes was a beautiful dress dress hung up, and along with it was a note.

Dear Maria,
You are such a wonderful niece, and I love you as if you were my own daughter. The dress that you see before you was mine when I was your age. It was one of my favorite dresses, and I hardly ever took it off. I know this isn't probably the surprise you were thinking it would be, but I hope you like it all the same. We will be thinking about you every day while you are away. We will come see you as soon as we can.
All of my love, Loveday.

I smiled as I read the note. When I looked at the dress, I could see Loveday wearing it. It was a bright red color, much like the style of my Moon Princess dress. The dress had a small train connected to the back of it, but yet it was long enough that it was stylish. The dress, also, had navy blue and and silver details along the skirt. I threw off the dress I was wearing and changed into the new one.

"Are you going to let me in any time soon." Robin said as I tied the ribbon of the dress. I opened the door to let Robin see the results.

"Woah..." Was his response. I smiled and waved the skirt around with my hands.

"Do you like it?" I asked him as I let him come back into the room. He sat down, once again, on the bed and looked me over.

"Yeah, definitely. I remember when Loveday wore that dress. She would wear it all the time right before she was exiled by my father." He said. I finished unpacking all of my suitcases and we headed outside to take a tour of the grounds. We stayed in the town area most of the day, and we had made it to our last stop by the time the sun had gone down.

"Last, but not least, this is the main garden." He said as he opened the iron gate and lit his lantern for light. The flowers were all in boom and seemed to sparkle in the moonlight.

"It's beautiful, Robin." I replied as I smelled one of the flowers. He smiled to me and handed me a bright red rose.

"The garden used to be full of dead flowers and bushes, but once the curse was broken, father insisted the gardener have it renovated." He explained. We walked through the maze of plants, and Robin, having his knowledge of the forest, pointed out all the different varieties. All of a sudden, the silence of the night was broken by a hissing sound.

"Maria? Did you hear that sound?" Robin asked as he stopped his footsteps. I listened closer to the sound and it started to become louder.

"I do hear that." I replied. I took the lantern from Robin, and I walked out of the garden and towards the sound of the noise. It was coming from the edge of the forest. I looked back into the tall trees and could see nothing but darkness. I stopped when I realized there was something wrapped around my foot. When I looked down I spotted a green vine that was wrapping itself around my leg at a rapid pace. I gasped as the vine pulled me down to the ground and started to drag me towards the forest.

"Robin! Help me!" I screamed. I heard his footsteps running towards me, and he had picked up the lantern just in time to see me being dragged away.

"This vine has got me wrapped up too tightly! I can't pull my leg away!" I said as I dug my fingernails into the ground and tried to stop myself. Robin ran behind me as fast as he could and stepped on the vine with his foot. He pulled out his pocket knife and tried to cut me free. When the vine was cut, the other half retreated, without my leg attached to it. I was breathing rapidly, and felt like I was going to pass out.

"Oh, Maria. Your leg is bleeding!" Robin said with a scare. He quickly scooped me up and ran back to the castle to find his father.

"Father! Maria is hurt!" He said as he bursted through the doors of the dining room. All of the men stood up when we came in, and some went to go find wet cloth for my bleeding leg.

"What happened boy?!" The Coeur said as Robin layed me down on the floor.

"We were in the garden, and we heard a hissing sound, so Maria went to go see what it was. She screamed for help, and when I came over to her a vine had wrapped around her leg and was dragging her into the forest. I cut the vine with my knife, and the other half withdrew back into the forest." Robin explained. Several nurses ran over to me and wrapped my leg up.

"Are you alright, princess?" Robin asked as he dabbed my forehead with a wet cloth.

"I believe so, but I must say that I am quite shaken up." I replied. I tried to sit up off the floor, but my leg was burning with too much pain to allow me to do so.

"Miss, you musn't put too much pressure on that leg for a while. It is cut quite deeply and you lost a good bit of blood due to the size of the cut." A nurse said to me. I looked over at Robin, who was giving me a look of worry.

"Mr. De Noir, what do you think it was that got me?" I asked him, trying to get some answers on the situation. He shook his head and crossed him arms.

"I don't know my dear, but whatever it was was specifically trying to get you." He said. Robin scooped me up once again and took me to my room. I buried my head into his leather jacket and let a few tears slip down my cheek. When we got to my room, Robin gently put me down on the bed.

"Robin, am I in danger?" I asked him as he sat down beside me. He looked at me and sighed deeply, trying to decide what to tell me.

"Maybe, and maybe not, but try not to worry for tonight. Whatever that thing is can't get you when you are in here." He replied.

"Knock, knock." A voice said from outside my door. Robin and I looked at the door, expecting it be a nurse to help me get ready for bed, but it was not.

"Hello, Rob-. Cody?" I said as I saw the black haired boy standing in my doorway. My smiled faded immediately.

"Glad to see you too little princess." He said. I was in no mood to see this boy after what he had said to me today, especially after the whole episode that happened tonight. His attempt to act respectful to me in the piano room was just a cover up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him as he came into the room.

"I wanted to apologize for what I said this afternoon when you arrived. It was wrong of me, and I should have been more respectful to the beautiful girl who saved our lives." He said with a smile. Maybe he really was trying to make amends with me. Robin didn't seem convinced.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." I replied. He nodded and left my room, shutting the door behind him. That was a strange visit. If he wanted to say he was sorry, then why didn't he just tell me earlier instead of at almost midnight? I debated whether I should give him a second chance or not, because this whole situation seemed questionable. I was not going to worry myself over it, for now. Robin left me for a bit while he went to go find a nurse. Soon enough I had the mud stained dress off of me, and the comforting night gown was put on.

"Does that feel better?" Robin said as he came back into the room.

"Much thank you." I replied. He started to leave, but I quickly stopped him.

"Thank you for saving me today. Without your help I don't know what would have happened to me." I said. He kissed me forehead gently and whispered 'goodnight' into my ear. I tried not to worry myself over the events of the day. That would not help my leg get any better. Slowly my eyes started to close, and I fell asleep to the image of the bright red rose, sitting in a vase on my nightstand.


So, what do you think the vine thing was about? Do you think you know? I hope you enjoyed chapter 9 of this story! Remember to leave reviews and follow/favorite this story!

Shoutouts:

AmberWolf1049: Well, if you are reading this I am assuming you read chapter 8 and 9 :) Thank you for the compliments! I am so lucky to have such wonderful viewers such as yourself!

Hollywood35: Thank you for favoriting this story!

Guest: I was hoping someone would notice Cody's change, and I am glad to know that you are one of them! Cody is going to be in the later chapters quite a bit, so I hope that you keep reading!

Nelly2560: I am glad you like the story and my writing! Thank you, also, for following and favoriting the story, and me as well! I appreciate the support! :)

Well, chapter 10 will be out soon, so keep an eye out for that! I'd say that is all for today! Until next time my dears! :)