It surprised Robin when he saw the sun peaking over the trees. He hadn't fallen asleep – not even for a moment. Wrolf had kept him warm, but the pair had stayed awake the entire night and were now soggy with the morning's dew.
"I suppose good morning, Wrolf." Robin muttered to the lion. Snorting in response, Wrolf got to his paws and stretched away the night. Robin copied him, finding an ache in his neck.
The Moonacre Manor was slowly waking up. Curtains were being drawn back so Robin decided it was time to make himself disappear. Imagine Maria's companion's horror if she saw him sitting outside their house!
Robin patted Wrolf's head nervously and stepped into the shade of the forest, looking back over his shoulder every few steps. The lion couldn't quite decide where to go when a voice from the manor made them both jump.
"Robin?" It was Maria. Embarrassed, Robin hesitated for a moment. In that time Wrolf had bounded to him and was nuzzling him with his heavy head, trying to make him turn back towards the house. Giving the lion an unforgiving glare, Robin turned and left the forest again.
"Good morning, princess." He called up, squinting at the figure behind the open window. Shading his eyes from the climbing sun, he could see the confused expression on Maria's face.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm – I'm just on my way home from a long night out. I thought I'd pass by here to see if any of you were awake but it didn't look like it so I kept going." Yes, Robin thought. That sounded okay.
"Why is Wrolf with you?"
"We ran into each other a few minutes ago, didn't we?" Robin grinned, putting his hand in the black lion's mane. Out of all his new allies, Wrolf seemed to be the least judgemental and put the least fear into Robin.
There was a disbelieving noise from up above them as Maria disappeared from the window. Robin shrugged and turned back to the forest, half expecting Maria to come running after him. Wrolf stayed where he was, leaving Robin on his own, and after fifteen minutes of slow walking it was clear the princess wasn't going to show her face.
Feeling a bit perturbed, Robin returned to the De Noir castle in a grim mood.
People were already in the main hall having breakfast – that, or they were still there from the night before. To begin with, no one noticed the tired-looking young man return.
He sat down and started on a piece of toast, staring down at the table. Now the sun had left his skin, he felt cold and tired. People bumped into him as they walked past and muttered small apologies which held little meaning to him.
One of them actually started a conversation with him.
"Hey, Robin! Have you heard?" Robin pulled his eyes up from the patterns in the wooden table and found the speaker. They'd sat in front of him and were holding onto a mug which was steaming.
"Heard what?"
"The Merryweathers are coming here, tonight. Officially. Your dad's organised a party or something." Wren, one of the few De Noir females who actually chose to stay with the rest of the clan, said excitedly. She was a year younger than Robin and had a very low topped dress on. He stared at her face for as long as he could without dropping his eyes back to the table in boredom.
"How exciting. Maybe you should think about getting changed before they get here." A few people around him heard this monotonous remark and he instantly regretted it so he cleared his throat and added hastily, "They're very regal and probably will expect brighter colours."
He looked down, avoiding Wren's gaze and trying to block out the whispers around him. He hadn't meant to sound rude.
"Really? Princess doesn't seem to mind you wearing those clothes." Wren said quietly. He couldn't fall out with another person, so Robin grinned it away through tight teeth.
"Well I don't like those ridiculous dresses she wears, but I've had to cope with it so far."
"So why should I change my clothes for her if you won't?" She leant across the table.
"Sorry. I wasn't thinking." Robin smiled softly and stood up, gently pushing between two people who were listening to their conversation. Wren called something after him but he didn't hear. As he left the bubble of people within earshot, someone shouted,
"Is it because you don't want her to be jealous?"
Robin closed his eyes for a moment and turned back around to find the speaker. Suddenly, everyone there was very quiet.
"And why would she be? She's just some silly girl who chases horses and gets treated like a princess by her stupid family." It hurt him to speak like this, but he decided it was better than getting into more fights. He caught Wren's eye. "Sorry, again. I'm just tired. Wake me up before they get here – I need to prepare myself."
The teasing stares had stopped!
As far as Robin could see, bad-mouthing Maria had resulted in a success. He was once more at peace with his family and that was all that mattered, really. Wren said something and Robin turned back towards his room, planning on locking himself away and catching up on a few hours' sleep.
He shut the door and sat on his bed, staring at the floor. There was a lot wrong with how he'd behaved over the last few days but he really couldn't think about that right then. He lay down and closed his eyes, flinging his hat onto the floor when he realised that was what was making him feel uncomfortable.
It wasn't like Maria cared about his behaviour, anyway. If she had she'd have made the effort to see him at some point.