Chapter 30
My body leaped forward into consciousness and I rapidly sat up in my bed desperately breathing and gasping for air. I wheezed and heaved for breath, for even though I knew I was no longer in Cauchemar Roi's nightmare realm, I still felt as if water filled my lungs. I grasped at my chest and coughed wildly as Robin jolted up from his seat and the rest of the boys scurried to the bed. "Maria! Maria, I'm here it's me it's Robin," Robin said as he sat on the bed in front of me trying to hold my face in his hands, "Maria, you're alright now, you're safe, just breathe," He comforted me and breathed in a relaxing manner, guiding me along with him.
While his aid helped slowed my breathing back to normal, it was incredibly hard to look at him after what I'd just witnessed. Him plunging to his death in that frozen lake will never leave my memory, even if it never really happened. "Robin…" I whispered as I began to draw regulated breaths once more. "Yes," He forced a smile, "Yes, Maria, I'm here. It's me, you're safe now." He hugged me, pulling me into his chest and lightly holding my head, and we sat there for a bit.
"Maria, what happened? Did you see anything that could help?" Zane asked as he knelt down to my level. Robin interrupted before I could speak, "Not now, Zane, can't you see she's shaken up?"
"N-no, I'm fine, Robin really," I said quietly, "Truthfully when you're there, you're not aware of what's real and what's not. I saw my uncle again, the same way I'd seen him in my dreams before he was kidnapped, beaten and bloodied. Then…well, I spoke with him."
"Spoke with who?" Zane asked, "You're uncle?"
I shook my head, "No…as much as I wish I had, he wasn't responsive to me, as if he couldn't hear me or had any notion that I was there at all. No, I spoke with him, Cauchemar Roi."
"What?" Robin asked, shocked, "What did he say? Did he threaten you?"
Once again, I shook my head no, "No, I didn't see him, and no he didn't threaten me, not really. He actually didn't say a whole lot. He told me that as a Merryweather, Uncle Benjamin and I would have to pay for the crimes of all Merryweather's."
"Definitely sounds like a De Noir," Robin muttered, then looked up at me, still forcing a supportive smile, "Keep going, Maria, take your time."
I nodded, "He told me that he'd had a family, but that they turned their backs on him. I taunted him a bit, to get more out of him, but all he said was that eventually, I'd learn more."
Zane stood to his feet, pacing as he listened. Ryder found a spot to sit next to the bed, his back propped up against the frame. The twins listened silently.
"Was that all Maria?" Robin asked kindly, "Did he torment you in any way?"
I locked eyes with him, my eyes brimming with tears I tried desperately not to let free. I shook my head softly, "No," I said and looked down.
"…Mara?" Robin asked fear and concern filled his voice, "What happened?"
I cleared my throat and looked around at the rest of the boys, who all stared at the ground in an attempt to give me some amount of privacy.
I stared deeply into Robin's eyes, picturing over and over how we looked upon that frozen lake; it sent shivers down my spine, "No, nothing…I-I just saw my uncle and spoke with him…that was all." I'd never lied to Robin before, it broke my heart to do so, but I couldn't bear telling him what had really happened after.
Robin gave me a sympathetic smile and nodded his head, "That's enough torment in itself anyway." I gave him a fake smile. The room was silent until Robin decided to clear his throat and say, "Maria, thank you for telling us. But, there's no use in giving him any more power tonight. You should put the ring back on to actually get some rest while we still have some moonlight left." He forced a smile and brushed the hair back behind my ear. He reached over and grabbed the ring, handing it over to me.
With shaky hands, I reached over and took the ring from him. I nodded, understanding that he wished to let me have my rest, but I couldn't shake the feeling that nightmare gave me. It felt so real. And when I had first encountered Cauchemar Roi's nightmare realm, I saw Uncle Benjamin trapped in the dungeon he's currently locked in. What if this too was another premonition rather than just a nightmare?
I didn't let myself dwell on that horrid idea for too long. I looked around to see the anxious, worried faces of the boys standing all around me. Hopelessness filled the air and all I could find myself doing was looking down at the ring, running my fingers along its surface. As I inspected the ring, a thought occurred to me. The elder of the De Noir clan, the woman who gave us this ring and map, how on earth could she have possibly known about all of this? How did she have this kind of magic all these years and no one know? I placed the ring on my finger and began to step out of the bed.
All of the boys perked up to watch as I stood up and began to pace the floors of the treehouse, wood squeaking underneath me. "What do you boys know about the elder in the De Noir clan, the woman who gave us this ring?" Styles and Pierce shrugged as if to say they knew little to none about her, "We've never even heard her speak until we heard her speak with you."
Ryder nodded, "Zane and I first encountered her as children, she's just always been known as the clan mad-woman. There's not much known about her because she typically keeps to herself and no one else in the clan tries to speak with her."
"No one?" I asked, "She doesn't have a single friend or family member?" Sympathy swept over me for her, she was very kind to me after all, and probably experiences harassment and judgment from her clansmen.
"Why do you ask?" Robin asked me, puzzled about what this was all leading to.
"Well, I just can't wrap my mind around how she came into possession of this ring, how she knew all of these things and traveled so far. Why? What for?" I asked posing my thoughts for the boys to understand.
"Or who for…" Zane answered with a melancholy tone, "Could it be that she's working with Cauchemar Roi to bring about his evil plans?"
The thought hadn't occurred to me, but truthfully it felt wrong "I don't know…part of me thinks she's trying to help us," I said, still pacing. I began fidgeting with my hands and began to feel anxious again. Robin took notice and stood from the bed, walking towards me. He placed a hand on my arm to calm me down, "I mean, why would she give me the one thing that could protect anyone from his nightmares?"
His touch reminded me to take a calming breath, and I looked up at him and gave him a meek smile. I continued to think about the woman, and how she'd basically started this whole journey for us. "The book…" I whispered and looked up at Robin, "The book!" I rushed over to our satchels, kneeling to search desperately for the leather-bound book we've been using as a map this entire journey. The boys all watched curiously as I finally found the book and started rushing through the pages, looking for anything familiar. I searched the pages until finally, a memorable landscape lay in front of me.
A chill went down my spine as I looked at a painting of the exact frozen lake I had been replaying over and over in my memory. The frozen lake that I watched Robin sink into and later myself drown in. I sat down in both shock and horror, but I knew what had to be done. Whether my nightmare was a premonition or not, I knew we'd have to go here, this was the next place that we'd learn more, I could just feel it.
Robin came to kneel next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder while looking over the other. "Is that a lake that's frozen over?" He asked and instantly a tear ran down my face. He looked at me with confusion and pain, "Maria, what's wrong?" He asked as more tears brimmed my eyes and fell down my cheeks uncontrollably. I began to cry quietly, and Robin simply looked back at the boys, motioning for them to give us some privacy. He looked back at me and without a word, he wrapped both arms around me and held me close.
"Shh, I'm here Maria, everything will be okay. I promise, as long as I'm here with you and you with me, everything will be okay." His words were soft and deep, his chest hummed with every word. It was calming and soothing, but the tears wouldn't stop. He began to rock me softly and my tears and breathing began to slow. "I'm here, Maria, I'll always be here," was the last thing I remember hearing before my mind drifted off to sleep.
