Chapter 21: Murderers in Moonacre

ROBIN'S POV

We sneak down the hall, the echo of drink glasses clashing together. Maria tiptoes next to me, making every move quick and quite graceful, I might add. "I've seen people go down this tunnel here." She says to me and points to a dark passageway that leads to somewhere. Maria's hand slips around mine as we enter. "Are you scared?" I ask her when her grip on my hand tightens. "Aren't you?"

I shake my head. "Not really. I'm your protector, after all." She shivers. "But you're not invincible." Maria points out. It's cold in this stony nightmare, and I can only imagine what Maria must feel like—wearing nothing but a red and black feathery brassiere and a skirt that was terribly short for the nineteenth century liking.

"Do you want my jacket?" I ask her. "No, I'm fine." She says unsteadily, trying her best to sound braver than me. The darkness begins to consume us as we travel deeper into the tunnel. "Where does this thing lead?" I ask her. "I haven't a single clue." Maria replies. "You don't know—" She tackles me to the wall and pushes her finger against my lips.

I'm surprised at first, not knowing what she's planning to do. "Someone's coming!" She whispers, her big hazel eyes wide with sheer terror. I wrap my arms around her and back into a shaded corner. "The damn De Noir boy's escaped!" I hear exclaim. "The Merryweather girl head butted me and made me blackout, so she's probably with him down this tunnel."

I squash Maria harder against me as I hear her name. "Don't…move a… muscle…" I instruct her. Her breathing quickens and she presses her face into my chest. Once they run past us, we both heave a sigh or relief. "This is too risky," I say to her. She shakes her head and urges me on. "It's the only possible way." We follow their footsteps until we see them exit. "There's our way out."

MARIA'S POV

"There's our way out." Robin says and points to the exit. We run towards it cautiously. "Mission accomplished." I say with a small giggle. As we go to enter, a massive man steps in front of us. "And where do you think you're going, princess?" We turn around quickly to run away, but more men step out from the shadows. "Mission failed, love." Another says. The circle in on us, and grab us tightly.

"Master Wilkerson shall be so pleased to see you again." I thrash in their arms as they tug us out to a smirking Emmett. "Did you really believe that you could escape?" They haul us out into another room with a blazing hearth and lounge chairs. The room is painted black, and the chairs are all red with black-checkered pillows. The end tables look like chess boards without the pieces. Benny tends to the fire, throwing another log into it.

"The consequence for your doing is death by execution." Emmett snickers. "But I'll be nice and let you take some hemlock instead."

I watch with wide eyes as Benny fetches a glass bottle of red liquid, which I guessed was the poison. "Why do you want so much to kill us?" I hiss at him. "Us? Oh no, princess. I don't want to kill you—then I'd be killing my most useful resource. I was talking to your halfwit of a friend—or should I say birdbrain?" I watch with wide eyes as they bring over the bottle. What was I being used for?

"No, you mustn't!" I cry. Robin swallows hard as he looks at me with agony. "Don't kill him!" I scream, breaking free from the massive man's grasp. I knock Emmett out of the way and snatch the bottle from Benny's hand. "I'll drink it!" I scream. "Then you'll have nobody to get what you want." When Emmett takes a step further, I put the bottle to my lips threateningly. "Don't do it."

They look around at me, inspecting me with glares. I look away for a single moment, when all of the guards rush in on Robin for a reason I don't know. "No!" I cry and tip the bottle back. "She's drinking it!" One of the guards screams and removes themselves from Robin's crushed body. Emmett snatches the bottle and slaps me. "What were you thinking?"

From then on, it's all just a blur. The men circle around me, eliminating my personal space bubble. Suddenly I hear multiple gunshots and three men in a row collapse to the ground dead. More gunshots, more blood, more screams. I've had enough of this. My legs fail me and I fall to my knees before the bloody men. "I surrender…" I say to them. "Just kill me, for God's sake!"

Robin stands before me, gun in hand. "Put it down, De Noir." Emmett hisses while he backs up against the great stone wall. "You've done enough, Wilkerson." Robin growls back, and snaps the hammer back. His thumb lightly slides over the trigger. I crawl over the dead bodies to Robin. "Don't." Emmett says nervously. I wrap my arms around Robin's ankle like a little child clinging to her father.

"I have been waiting for this moment for what it seems like years." Robin sneers. "And there is no stopping me now." He pulls the trigger on him and the bullet flies in his direction. I close my eyes as I hear the sickening connection his skin made with the bullet. When I open them, Emmett has collapsed at Robin's feet, his eyes gazing at me with agony. I know that he is dead when his lips start to take the color of black.

I look down to my feet with shame. Robin pulls me up to him, panting hard. "I'm so sorry you had to see that." He says. His face is pale and twisted with unhappy emotions. "It had to be done." I simply reply and pull him to me. I reach to his cheek and wipe away droplets of blood from a wound. We stand in silence for a few seconds. Suddenly, all of the tears that I held in flooded out upon us both with no warning.

It surprises Robin, who tries his best to calm me. "It's all my fault! It always is…I can't do anything without causing trouble!" He strokes the auburn curls cascading down my bare back. "Shh," He says nervously. "It's not your fault."

"But it is!" I sob into his muscular chest. "The whole entire valley almost died because of me." He upturns my tear-streaked face to kiss my lips. "The whole valley would've died anyway without you. You saved us all."

"But I still end up having hurt or even worse yet, murdered!" Robin strokes my cheek caressingly, which is something he usually doesn't do. Robin doesn't caress… or at least I don't think. "And you always come up with a solution to the problem. It always turns out happy in the end." I sniff back another choked up sob. "But this is not happy—"

"Because it is not yet the end." I wrap my arms around his slim waist and hug tightly. "I love you, Robin." I murmur into his leather jacket. "As do I." He replies.

I can feel my lips quivering uncontrollably. "We might want to head back to Moonacre before they start to worry." Robin says to me. "And what might we make of…this?" I say, gliding my hand over the room of dead bodies. "Don't…don't worry about it. I'll take care of it all." With that, Robin leads me out of the room.

A/N: Sooooo, all of my Emmett-haters this is for you! Emmett is probably in Hell now, so rejoice! Lol, sorry there wasn't like any passion or romance in this chappie. More to come, though. :)

Love Ya! –Courtney:D