Author's Note: Hello! I'm on spring break so I was able to have time to write a chapter. I realized that I posted the previous chapter almost exactly a year after my very first chapter! It's hard to believe it's already been that long since I started, but I can't wait to keep going! The rest of my semester is very busy, so stay tuned for the next chapter coming this summer (or if time allows earlier)! Please continue to leave reviews and let me know what you think!
The silence was broken as Robin emitted a small groan as he tried, and failed, to stand. Maria rushed towards him and flung herself to a sitting position beside him. His leather jacket was punctured by fragments of wood and his face was cut up in several places. His breathing was heavy and his chest heaved mightily with each breath. Robin's glazed eyes searched the surrounding area before focusing on Maria.
"I'm…okay…Maria…" he said, forcing his words out with each breath.
"No you're not," Loveday said as she sat on the other side of Robin. She turned to one of the assembled and listed off items she needed and they rushed away. Maria only partially heard this as her body clouded out what was happening around her as she focused on Robin. The supplies arrived and Maria was jolted back to reality when Loveday said,
"Maria, please help me take Robin's jacket and shirt off." Maria stared at Loveday with wide eyes.
"Now's not the time to be bashful and moon princesses always make good healers," Loveday said briskly. Maria gulped and, with scarlet cheeks, placed one hand under Robin's head and the other on the top of Robin's jacket and, on Lovedays' cue, gently lifted his head and shoulders and slipped off the jacket and then the shirt. His bare chest revealed a dark bruise surrounding the entirety of his lower torso. Maria watched as Loveday covered it with various herbs then wrapped a clean linen around it.
"We need to get him to his bed to rest," Loveday announced. Richard and Henry immediately strode forward from the crowd followed by two other men. They placed their arms underneath Robin and gingerly lifted him and headed in the direction of his room. Maria watched them leave, her eyes staying on Robin's pale face. When he was finally out of sight she turned to Loveday and ran into her arms and squeezed tightly. Loveday held her and stroked her hair tenderly. Maria felt like crying, but no tears would fall. Instead she let go of Loveday and turned to head to her bedroom. What she wasn't expecting as she left the bailey was the murmuring of whispers that accompanied her departure.
Maria stared at the foreboding ceiling wishing she were back at Moonacre Manor with her ceiling of stars. The only embodiment that time had passed at all was the darkening sky outside the window. At least, Maria assumed it was getting darker. She couldn't trust her own eyes anymore. For that matter, she couldn't trust most of her senses anymore. Finally, Maria heard a knock on the door. She didn't answer but the door peeked open anyway.
"Maria?" Loveday called. Maria slowly sat up and said,
"Come in. This is your room after all." Loveday opened the door fully and carried in a bowl of soup. She glanced around at the surroundings and smiled softly.
"It really is just how I left it." She shook her head slightly and sat on the bed next to Maria. "I figured you'd be hungry, it was a pretty eventful day." Maria looked at the soup and, in spite of herself, her stomach growled. Loveday grinned and nudged the soup and a spoon into Maria's lap. She took it and began to eat. The warmth spread throughout her body, but she still felt numb inside. Loveday seemed to sense this and said, "Why don't you go visit him? It'll take a little time for him to recover, but his injuries could've been far worse." Maria nodded and finished her soup which Loveday promptly took back. Maria stood and walked to the door, expecting Loveday to follow. With the de Noir intuition, Loveday said, "You go on ahead, Maria. I think I'm going to stay here for a little while." Maria nodded once again and slipped out the door, closing it behind her. She walked the short distance to Robin's room and saw a lone robin feather hanging on the door. Maria knocked and said,
"It's me," to which she heard a soft reply. Maria opened the door and walked in. The furniture was all made of a dark wood and consisted of a wardrobe, desk, and bed. Hung on the walls were various weapons as well as an array of peculiar objects that Maria assumed Robin must have stumbled upon on his adventures in the forest. Hanging near his bedside was her blue ribbon. Robin, who was laying down on his bed, followed her gaze, and, in spite of his injuries, flashed a small smirk.
"I told you I kept it, princess," he said quietly.
"I didn't doubt you," Maria replied, smiling, "How do you feel?"
"Like I was pulled out through a wooden door by a chimera." Maria rolled her eyes. At least he hadn't lost his sense of humor.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"What for?"
"I feel like it was my fault you got hurt."
"Maria, stop. If anything, you saved me from getting a lot more hurt. You are the one who made the chimera release me."
"I know, but still."
"Well since we seem to keep trading off getting hurt or almost hurt and saving one another and feeling guilty, we'll just call us even. Deal?" Robin lifted his hand and Maria couldn't help but reach out and gently shake it.
"Fine, deal." Robin didn't let go of her hand and instead squeezed it tightly as he met her gaze. Maria leaned in and planted a tender kiss on his forehead. Robin lifted his chin, let go of her hand, and pulled her in for a kiss. They broke apart, and Robin once again grasped Maria's hand, as she sat on the edge of his bed. They sat in silence for a time. After a while, Robin said,
"I do have some bad news, though."
"What is it?"
"What happened today…with you stopping the chimera…it got people talking. I heard some things when people brought me food when they thought I was asleep. They think you really are a witch." Maria felt her temper flare.
"But I'm not!"
"Listen, we know that but they don't. Think of what they've had to try to wrap their heads around the past few days."
"That still doesn't make me a witch, especially after I just saved them."
"I know, Maria, but they need time to understand. There's so much that even we don't understand. Fear of the unknown is powerful."
"Then it's time to get answers."
"How do you propose we do that?"
"Well I want you to rest so you can recover as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, I'm going out to the forest."
"At this time of night? Alone? Maria, even I wouldn't do that if I didn't have to-not with everything that's been going on."
"Well it's better than me wasting any more time. I'll be careful."
"Maria, please at least wait until morning. And take Richard or Henry with you."
"Are you sure you trust Richard and me alone in the forest?"
"I trust you." Robin locked eyes with Maria. She looked at him and was about to agree to going in the morning when another vision flashed through her brain.
"I-I have to go now! I promise I'll explain when I get back!" Maria rushed out the door before a bewildered Robin had a chance to call her name. Maria rushed through the labyrinth of corridors and made her way out of the de Noir castle. She glanced quickly back at the dark structure lit only by a few isolated candles. This was the first time she genuinely hoped to see it again. She turned and went racing off into the forest.
