Chapter 14: You Git

MARIA'S POV

I lay awake in my bed, tossing and turning. My mind kept racing with thoughts of Robin. Why did he kiss me? Why had he run? Why hadn't I kissed him back? Finally giving up on sleep, I kicked the blankets away and stood up. I slipped my arms into my robe and left my room. I walked down the Castle halls, simply wandering aimlessly. The stone floor was like ice against my bare feet, though the summer night air was warm and comfortable. I came to the familiar white door of Robin's mother's library. I turned the knob quietly and slipped in. I roamed around for a bit, taking in the silence of the night, until I came to a corner of the library I hadn't noticed before. In this corner sat a large white piano, dusty and alone. I slowly walked to it and ran my fingers over the keys lightly, stirring up the dust.

I smiled and sat down on the bench. I began to play the piano, just a simple tune, simple yet beautiful. After a while, the tune became entirely my own as I absentmindedly began to make up my own song.

"You're quite good at that," a male voice came from behind me.

I immediately stopped playing and whipped my head around to see who it was. There, leaning against the doorframe, stood Marcus. He was no longer clad in his black leather or bowler hat. He now wore his red button-up shirt, which was thankfully buttoned, and boxers. His black hair was messy and hung over his eyes. He smiled at me and joined me on the bench.

"You startled me," I said calmly, returning to my song. No matter how hard I tried to keep my thoughts away from Robin, I couldn't put him out of my mind. I slammed my fingers down on the keys in frustration, and stood, pacing behind the bench and Marcus. He turned around and studied me curiously.

"What's weighing so heavily on that mind of yours?" he asked. I turned to him and bit my lip. "Come on, Maria. You can tell me."

"Robin…" I said quietly.

"Go on," he coaxed. I sat down beside him once more, and looked down at my hands.

"He kissed me," I whispered. Marcus erupted into laughter. I felt a twinge of anger at the sight of him laughing at me. "What, may I ask, are you laughing at?"

"You, of course, silly girl," he said in between fits. "You're upset due to the fact of Robin De Noir simply kissing you?" he laughed even louder. I smacked him in the arm. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"For laughing, you git," I said.

"I apologize for finding your love life amusing," he said playfully. He gave me a pouty expression. "Please forgive me." I couldn't help but smile.

"Just this once," I said, attempting to act serious. I elbowed him playfully in the side.

"But in all seriousness, why are you so… baffled by Robin kissing you?" I shrugged.

"It's just the way he acted afterwards…" I trailed off, remembering his retreat. Marcus nodded and urged me to continue. "He ran off." I whispered. "He kissed me and just… left." He thought for a moment, ran his fingers through his jet black hair and took my chin in his hand, forcing me to look in his eyes.

"He didn't mean to run off, I assure you," he said. "Robin never shows his affection unless he truly means it." He released my chin. "He cares for you, Maria. Never question that."

"Alright," I said, yawning. Marcus chuckled and stood up. He turned directly in front of me, making me face his back.

"Come on then. Time to get the Princess to bed," he said with a playful tone. I smiled wide and stood up on the bench. I then proceeded to jumping on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

"To my chamber, slave," I said with a snicker, pointing my finger toward the door.

"As you wish, Princess," he chuckled and walked out of the library with me on his back. We were silent as he took me back to my bedroom, leaving me to my thoughts. My mind was at ease now. Talking with Marcus had always had a calming, reassuring effect on me. That was his greatest trait: he was a good listener and always knew what to say.

"This will be you chamber then, miss." He said as we approached my door, doing his best Digweed impression. He had always found Digweed's voice terribly entertaining. He entered my dark bedroom, the only light coming from the full moon outside my bedroom, and set me down on the bed. Then looked at me sternly, pointing his finger at me. "Go to sleep. A lady needs her rest." He gave me a smile and turned to leave.

"Ahem," I said exaggeratedly. He turned back to me with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes?" I crawled to my spot in the bed, threw the blankets out of my way, and lay down, blankets still at the bottom of the bed.

"Be a dear and tuck me in?" I asked sweetly, yet playfully. He rolled his eyes and moved to the bed again. He pulled the blankets over me and kissed my cheek the way Father used to whenever he was home from the war.

"Goodnight, Maria," he said quietly.

"Goodnight, Marcus," I said sleepily. He turned and made his way to the door. "Thank you." I said before he disappeared.

"Any time."

The door closed and everything was quiet again. This time, however, I wasn't bothered by the silence. I welcomed it. I closed my eyes and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

ROBIN'S POV

I was awoken by a loud banging on my door. It had taken me hours to fall asleep, haunted by the thoughts of my kissing Maria. What if I just ruined what we had? What if she didn't want to kiss me? Why was I such an idiot?

"Go away," I grumbled loud enough for the person at my door to hear. Instead of obeying orders, the person barged into my room like they owned it.

"Get up," Marc hissed. He made the bed bounce as he sat down on it. "We need to talk."

"It's the middle of the night," I said irritated. "Whatever it is can wait."

"It's about Maria," he said. I paused at the sound of her name, but instead of listening, I closed my eyes and ignored him, determined to get back to sleep. "Robin, if you don't sit up this instant, so help me… I'll go get Miss Finnegan and drag her into this."

"Okay, okay," I mumbled, sitting up slowly. I did not want a lecture from Finnegan. She was sweet, but spoke her mind. "What is this about?"

"You kissed Maria," Marc said, as a statement, not a question. My eyebrows furrowed.

"How do you know that?" I asked sheepishly, shifting my body uncomfortably. He rolled his eyes.

"I just spoke to a rather distraught Maria," he explained. "How could you leave her like that? She was thinking the worst of it." His tone was now rather accusatory.

"She was upset?" I asked. "I didn't mean to upset her… I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't help myself." He raised his hand and smacked my in the back of the head. "Ow!" I complained, rubbing the spot he had just hit. "What was that for?"

"For being such a git! You never run off after kissing a girl," he lectured. I frowned.

"What do I do?"

"Apologize, of course," he said as if I were stupid. "Or…"

"Or what?" I asked suspiciously, scared of what he might say. I reached for my glass of water off my bedside table and took a gulp.

"Kiss her again," he said casually. I choked on my water and ended up spitting it all over the floor.

"Pardon me?" I said, still coughing.

"You heard me, Rob," Marc said as he stood up. "You know you want to." With a wink, he left my room, leaving me to my thoughts.

Sleeping was not an option anymore…

(A/N)

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~ICanHearThemToo~