Chapter Thirty Eight ~ Road To Recovery

It seemed that as soon as Cassandra's body hit the ground, the spell over the guards vanished and I saw them all looking around, dazed and confused.

Mr De Noir went straight into an authoritive mode and plans were made. He demanded that the guards dispose of Cassandra's and her son's bodies quickly. Mr Gomez transformed into a flying horse, a Pegasus I think was it's official name, and carried an unconscious Robin back to the castle straight away, so Mrs Harper could tend to him. The rest of us headed back through the forest, no need to fear for the creature lurking inside anymore.

I can't quite remember but somehow from setting off from the waterfall back to De Noir castle, everything was blank. One minute I was huddled next to Loveday, watching Mr Gomez fly away with Robin, the next I was opening my eyes and lying in my room at De Noir castle.

At first I thought it all to be a dream, but when I sat up and glanced around the room I saw my blood stained robes hanging on the back of the chair. My eyes shot down to my hand to see it bandaged up. I removed it carefully to find a newly cut scar. Memories of Cassandra's ritual was firm in my mind and I realised that this was all not just a dream.

I fell back against my pillow. I didn't realise how exhausted I actually was. Though it was hardly surprising after the evening I had just had. My head ached with all the new knowledge I had found out over such a sort period of time. My heart ached with all the confusion with feelings and what was going on around me. I wasn't quite sure what I had witnessed today. Some of them seemed to bizarre and impossible to even be true.

Number One: Henry Cunningham was the 'Little Birdie' who's fault this all was. The boy was no good and I had no intentions of continuing any sort of relationship with him, friendship or more.

Number Two: Witches do exist and not just fictional characters from stories.

Number Three: I was the key to some sort of ritual that involved the exchange of powers. Though I was unaware of any sort of power that I had.

Number Four: Mr Gomez, Cassandra and her two sons possessed some sort of power to transform into mystical creatures. Which all seemed coincidental with the apparent creatures lurking within the forest.

Number Five: Mr Gomez had saved Robin De Noir's life, more times than once, risking his own in the progress. He was truly a great man and it seemed that Robin owed him a great deal.

Number Six: Robin was a magnet to danger and seemed to be constantly beaten, scarred and killed. Though, due to 'Number Five', he never was actually killed.

There was a quiet noise and I saw the door knob turn slightly. There was a streak of light as the door opened and Mrs Harper crept inside. She smiled when she saw me awake.

"I thought you were sleeping, my dear." She said softly, walking over to the side of my bed. I smiled weakly at her.

"I was." I nodded. Her eyes wandered to the bandage that I had taken off my hand and picked it up. She shook her head disapprovingly.

"You need to keep this on, Maria." She told me, carefully wrapping up my hand again with the bandage. "It'll be no good if you got dirt inside your scars."

"Where's everyone else?" I asked once she had finished.

"Resting." Mrs Harper replied, sighing. "Some of them took some persuading though. Mr De Noir refused to go to his own room, until I had finished with Master Robin. I have just and so convinced him that his son will last without him for the evening." There was a long pause.

"How is Robin?" I asked. Mrs Harper sighed again.

"The new scars had caused problems with his old scars, so he's done a great deal of bleeding. Though I have sorted him out and I believe he will be fine. He'll just need to rest for a few days and relax." I felt my body relax in relief. Though I saw Mrs Harper shift awkwardly. "That's why, Miss Maria I ask that Master Robin has no visitors until he is well, stress will just strain him and will cause more problems. What he needs right now is to focus on getting better."

I could see what she was meaning. She didn't want me to go and stress him out by giving him other things to worry about. But the only thing I wanted to do right now was to see him. I had had to come to turns with him dying then he reappeared, apparently fine. It all had just over-whelmed me and I had a hundred and one questions to ask him. Though if it benefited Robin, then I would just have to deal with it. Right now, my queries could wait.

"Alright, Mrs Harper." I nodded. A smile graced her face and she gave my hand a squeeze. "How is Wrolfe and Mr Gomez doing?"

"Well, I though Master Robin was stubborn." Mrs Harper laughed. "It seems the boy picked up those traits from Mr Gomez. It took me a while to convince him to let me look over him, he was more concerned for Master Robin's sake. Though I believe he will be fine." I let out a sigh of relief.

"And Wrolfe?"

"I'm not much of an expert on animal health, but I've looked over him and I think he'll be alright aswell." A full house. All three of them were going to be fine. I could rest contently now, no fears of how they were all doing.

"Thank you, Mrs Harper." I smiled.

"It's my job, Miss Maria." She shrugged. Mrs Harper then stood up and fiddled about with my bed sheets. "Now, come along. You need your rest. You must be exhausted." I didn't object and Mrs Harper left the room for me to sleep, shutting the door quietly as she left.

When I awoke next, a dress lay where my bloodied robe lay the previous night and I assumed Loveday was the one responsible. I dressed in a hurry, wanting to know answers to all my unanswered questions.

I paused as I passed Robin's room. I knew he was in there, and temptation told me to go in. But I didn't, remembering what Mrs Harper had told me, and carried on down the corridor and down the stone steps, in which I had been dragged down the night previous.

The day started like any other day, though then Loveday demanded answers from her father, answers that were on everyone's minds. Robin was not at the table that day, unsurprisingly, as wasn't Mr Gomez. Both of which, I guessed were resting. They did deserve it as they were the ones who had been through the most.

"What do you want to know?" Mr De Noir asked, giving in to his daughter's persistence.

"Well, for starters, you care to explain the whole Mr Gomez changing into animals?" Loveday asked. Mr De Noir sighed and told us all.

He told us that he had found Mr Gomez within the forest just after Robin's birth. He saw Mr Gomez transform from an eagle and demanded to know what he was. Mr Gomez told him that he was a 'Skin-walker' and could change into any creature he wished. He told Mr De Noir that he had fled from his country and his family was killed. Mr Gomez begged for Mr De Noir to take pity on him and that he would do anything he pleased, as long as Mr De Noir protected him from the beings that had destroyed his country, his home and his family. Mr De Noir agreed and told Mr Gomez that he was to guard his newly born son and look after him. It was from that day that Mr Gomez became Robin's guardian.

"I loved you both the same." Mr De Noir told his daughter. "Though when I held your brother for the first time, I felt something so indescribable. He seemed so special to me."

"Then why did you treat him so awfully?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Mr De Noir's eyes turned on me, though he didn't look angry.

"After my wife died, I guess I completely fell apart." Mr De Noir sighed. "Then I disowned my only daughter and Robin was all I had. I took my bottled up anger out on him, even though I knew it was wrong." He ran a hand through his hair. "The way I treated my son was inexcusable, though at the time my excuse was that no matter how much I hurt him that I would never go too far and mean to kill him. Even if I flipped, I had Mr Gomez as my back up. He was there to protect Robin and if I came close to snapping on my son, he would be there to stand in my way."

Listening to Mr De Noir confess how he would hurt Robin made me feel sick. When I first met Robin, I thought he was a arrogant so and so. I was unaware what went on behind the castle doors.

"Please, Father, tell me that that is all in the past." Loveday's voice was quiet.

"I haven't raised a hand to my son since Maria saved Moonacre." Mr De Noir confessed. A year seemed such a little amount of time now. One year to Robin's nineteen.

"Alright." Loveday nodded slowly. "Is Mr Gomez the creature in the forest?" Mr De Noir's head shook slowly.

"No." He told us. "I think it's safe to say that Cassandra and her sons were the creatures in the forest."

"And Mr Gomez had nothing to do with them?" Loveday pressed.

"Absolutely not." There was a moment's silence. "Though I think, just to be on the safe side, visits inside the forest should be done with caution for a few weeks. Just incase Cassandra is not it." Everyone agreed to this. I glanced around the table at everyone. They all seemed to be just as exhausted as I felt. The night's events ad proved very stressful and information filled. It was still quite hard to get my head around.

My eyes stopped at Henry. He sat awkwardly, staring down at his food, his face filled with guilt. I wasn't surprised, it was his fault that last night happened. It was his fault that Robin and Mr Gomez had nearly died. At least he had the grace to feel bad about it.

Loveday then raised the question on how Cassandra and her sons knew about me which was then lead straight onto Henry's guilt.

He told us all that once I had rejected him at the party he left, drunk, and headed into the forest. He talked to himself in a drunken state, going on about me and somehow ended up saying stuff about 'Moon Princesses' and 'Moon pearls'. I remembered briefly telling Henry about what had happened on the cliff's edge a year or so ago. He seemed greatly fascinated by it. Henry continued to tell us that Cassandra and her sons must have overheard him as they then appeared and pushed him to tell them everything that he knew about me.

Thus leading to his betrayal.

"I'm sorry." Henry said once he had done confessing.

"You idiot." Mr Cunningham, his father, muttered, staring at his son with a face of dissatisfaction. Henry remained silent after that.

Throughout the day, most of my questions were answered thanks to the help of Mr De Noir. Everything seemed to become a lot clearer now, though it all was very confusing.

Plans were made for us Merryweather lot to remain within De Noir castle until things had gotten back to normal. We were to wait for Robin, Mr Gomez and Wrolfe to recover fully. Also Mr De Noir had to set about fixing up the castle again due to the damage Cassandra had caused. The great hall was where most of the damage was, though there was also an out building that the witch had set on fire, which I hadn't notice until I went for a walk around the grounds.

Other parts of the castle showed some damage due to the witch, though Mr De Noir set about quickly and gathered his men together to sort out their home. Mr De Noir said it would take at least a week for the castle to be back to normal again. Loveday then told her father that us Merryweathers would remain here until the repairs had all been made then we would see how the injuries of Robin, Mr Gomez and Wrolfe were. So it seemed De Noir castle would be my temporary home over the next week or so. Which, surprisingly, didn't faze me.

Evening fell over the castle. I was sat on the main steps, looking out across the grounds. My initial fears were that Cassandra and her boys would jump out and grab me, but the sky tonight had me so transfixed, I couldn't move even if I tried. The sky was a elegant shade of black with the stars glistening brightly. No clouds were there tonight and the moon overlooked the valley with a silver glaze.

I heard the sound of footsteps behind me, though I didn't turn to see who it was, my eyes still fixed on the sky.

"It's a beautiful evening, isn't it?" A familiar voice said. I looked up to see Mr Gomez, staring out across the grounds.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" I asked. "Mrs Harper won't be too please if she finds out you're out of your room." He grinned and sat down next to me.

"I won't tell if you won't." He said, winking. I grinned and we sat comfortably in silence for a few moments, admiring the evening sky.

"How are you feeling?" I asked finally, turning to him. I noticed the various scars, bruises and bite marks all over his skin on show. All of which were sustained during the fight with Cassandra.

"Truthfully? Awful." Mr Gomez sighed. "Though I think I'll go mad if I stay in that room any longer."

"Mrs Harper won't be too please if she finds out you're out of your room." I reminded him, grinning. He snorted.

"That woman will be more than 'not too pleased'." He muttered. "Though, like I said, I couldn't stay another minute in that room again."

"Have you seen Robin?" I asked. If he said yes, then I would probably go and demand to Mrs Harper why I couldn't see him.

"No." Mr Gomez sighed. It looked like I wasn't going to be demanding anything any time soon. "I tried to earlier, though I was shooed away before I could even see him briefly. Mrs Harper has him room locked securely." He sighed again. "The last time I saw him was when the healers carried him up to his room last night after I brought him back here." I remembered Mr Gomez flying away with Robin on his back, taking him to De Noir castle to be treated. The memories then brought up all the questions that had been running through my minds all day.

"Mr Gomez?" I asked, timidly. He raised his head a fraction and gave me a generous smile. "Can I ask you something?" His smile widened.

"Let me guess." He began. "Would have anything to do with my 'gift'." I nodded, almost embarrass like. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, Mr De Noir has already told us all how you come to work for him." I said slowly, he nodded in encouragement. "I was just wondering what animals you can turn into?" I had to start somewhere.

"Any."

"Any?" I asked in disbelief. Mr Gomez laughed and nodded. I didn't say anything for a few moments, processing this bit of information. "Does it hurt?"

"The transformation?" Mr Gomez sighed. "Sometimes, depending on the animal and what condition I'm in." He ran a hand through his short black hair. "Transforming in general isn't a very pleasant experience. If I was asked to describe the feeling, I couldn't. The way your body acts on command, twisting and splitting and turning into something that you're not. When I'm in animal form, the sensation is split between a feeling of amazement and a feeling of not belonging." I watched as Mr Gomez's face twisted up in repulse as he tried to get the words out. "It isn't my body. If I could, I would have it so I was without this gift I possess. But I've just got to deal with it. Though I've been changing my whole life, I can honestly tell you that transforming still feels the same."

"Why don't you just not change?" I asked. Mr Gomez shrugged.

"If you possessed something so magical and different, you wouldn't just leave it aside and never use it would you?" He asked. "It comes in handy, I must say."

"Why didn't you tell us all from the start?" I asked. "We wouldn't have judged you." Mr Gomez paused then sighed.

"Things are complicated." He told me. "It didn't help with what was going on around the time I met you. And if you all knew, I didn't know how it would change how you all act around me. I can change into magical beasts for Christ's sake!"

"I wouldn't have done any different." I said quietly. He gave me a warm smile.

"Thank you, Miss Maria." I rolled my eyes.

"Can you please just call me Maria?" I begged. He chuckled and nodded.

"It wasn't you that I was worried about anyway." Mr Gomez began, straightening up. "Imagine what Robin will be like when he recovers! He'll try use me as his mode of transportation. Demanding that I change into an animal that suited his need. He'll have me running around after him."

"Yes, but you have more authority over Robin." I pointed out. He nodded and grinned.

"Which is what I love about this job." We laughed. There was a long content silence between us as we stared out across the grounds again.

I watched as the trees rattled as the cold breeze brushed through them. Bits of debris from the burnt down out house lay scattered across the grounds in large dark clumps. The out house itself was nothing more than a large black square that marked where it once stood. This was only part of the destruction Cassandra and her boys had done.

"Do you love him?" Mr Gomez's voice said suddenly. My head whipped to him. His face was hard and not looking at me. I watched him waiting to explain. He didn't.

"What?" I asked quietly. Mr Gomez then turned to me, his eyes lost their humour.

"Do you love him?" He asked again, slowly. As if he was talking to a small infant.

"Who?" I pressed.

"Is it really that hard to guess who I'm talking about?" He asked, raising any eyebrow. I didn't say anything. "Do you love Robin?" His eyes burned into me, waiting for my answer. I nodded finally. The action hardening his face even more than it was.

"Yes I do." I whispered. I saw Mr Gomez's eyes narrow slightly.

"Are you sure about that?" He urged. I frowned.

"Of course I'm sure."

"You don't want time to think about it?"

"No!" I cried. My face scrunched up in confusion. "I know how I feel about him." Mr Gomez watched me in silence before exhaling deeply.

"I don't want Robin to get hurt." He told me. "He's been through a lot, especially recently. I don't want him to suffer anymore and that's why I want you to think carefully before you answer my question again." I knew exactly why Mr Gomez was being like this. He cared for Robin. He had watched him grow up and had become protective over the bird-boy. I didn't hold anything against Mr Gomez for making sure my feeling were genuine. His persistence was understandable.

"I do love him, Mr Gomez." I told Robin's tutor. "I don't want to hurt him." Mr Gomez sighed again.

"I don't mean to be hard on you, Maria." He said. I nodded. "Does he know how you feel?" I nodded again.

"I told him at my birthday party."

"And what did he do?"

"Well he didn't tell me he loved me back, if that's what you're asking." Mr Gomez shook his head and let out a humourless chuckle.

"The boy was never good when it came to girls." He told me. "He's never had a true female influence in his life so he doesn't know how to talk to you ladies properly." I laughed.

"He's been fine with me up to my birthday." I pointed out. Mr Gomez grinned and nodded.

"Yes but he's useless when it comes to telling his feelings." This was true. Whenever Robin was sad or angry, I wouldn't find out because he would tell me. He was very good at bottling things up and I would usually notice what was wrong with him through his eyes.

"He kissed me." I admitted. Mr Gomez turned to me again.

"So the boy kissed you and didn't tell you he loved you back?" Mr Gomez asked, astounded. I nodded slowly. Mr Gomez's eyes widened. "When that boy gets better I'm going to be having words and probably give him a good clout across that thick head of his." I giggled. "You can't just kiss a lady and leave her hanging like that!" He shook his head. "I swear there's something wrong with him." I laughed again.

"Maybe I just took him by surprise." I tried. Mr Gomez looked sideways at me and raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose we'll find out when we're allowed to see him." Mr Gomez grinned. There was a short moment's silence again before Mr Gomez sighed. "Would you do this man a favour and walk him back to his room? My body is aching slightly." I smiled and helped Mr Gomez up.

(A/N) Okay, this chapter isn't very exciting but it's necessary. And I know the whole thing may seem alittle rushed after the previous few chapters but, like I've said many times, I don't want to drag the story on any longer than necessary.

The chapter title hasn't really any meaning for this perticular chapter what so ever, but I really couldn't think of anything.

Thank you very much for your reviews.

-jemlou-