A Moonacre Fanfiction Peace on Earth

I will not exhaust my time relating every minute detail of the adults' efforts to find the children. They checked De Noir Village and searched what they could of the forest. But the snow was piled high, making it extremely difficult to traverse the terrain, let alone search it. Loveday's cave did not cross their minds; Loveday herself hadn't used it for a while, and they weren't all that familiar with it anyway.

Finally, when the overcast sky began to darken, Coeur De Noir announced that they had better head back to the manor. It was not an easy thing to say. Robin and Maria could be dead, for all they knew, and indeed, it seemed likely. But Coeur De Noir knew that if they stayed outside any longer, they were liable to become sick, or even worse. And so it was with heavy hearts that Coeur De Noir, Miss Heliotrope, Cousin Lillian, and Digweed (for he had insisted on helping) trudged back to the manor. Perhaps things would be looking up in the morning.

In the meantime, Robin was still out cold, as it were. Maria had no idea what time it was, but she reasoned it to be nearly supper time. She ate what remained of the beans and honey, drinking a little water from the snow. Every time she looked at Robin, passed out on the floor, a wave of nausea overtook her. Not only did she feel sick; she felt angry. Angry at Robin for not heeding her warning. Angry at Robin for passing out. Angry at Robin for leaving her to deal with this absolute mess.

Her anger festered as she sat in the darkness. A little light was let through by the white snow, but it was dim. She knew it would be dark soon, and she would not be able to see. Why did Robin have to go and get drunk? Fat lot of help he was. It was unfair, completely inconsiderate of him to drink that liquor, knowing he would lose his senses and succumb to sleep. Then again, she scoffed, did he really have any senses to begin with? The foolish boy had run off after throwing a snowball at her. She had been absolutely lost because of him. It was because of him that they were in this mess. And now he had the nerve to leave her with it, resigning himself from all responsibility!

A groan echoed through the cave. Maria's eyes shot up heatedly. Robin groaned again and sat up shakily, rubbing his eyes.

"Ugh, where—" Maria slapped him across the face. Had there been enough light, his stinging scarlet cheek would have been visible. "Hey, what was that for?"

"That was for getting drunk," Maria spat. She slapped him again. "And that was for leaving me alone."

"Leaving you alone? When did I leave you alone?" he asked, groggily rising to his feet.

"You drank that infernal liquor! You got drunk, and then you passed out for hours. You left me to sit in this wretched cave with nothing to do but wait and hope in vain that perhaps someone would come to rescue us but no one came, as you can easily see, and it will be dark out soon and I'll have to spend the whole night here in the dark with nothing but some hungover bird brain who can't seem to get it into his head why it is completely improper for me stay the night here, and—" she was crying now, and her words were hardly comprehendible. "And Miss Heliotrope will be worried—and it's almost Christmas—" she shook from emotion, "and I miss home—and what if we never get out of here—and—"

"Easy." Robin's voice was low, as though he was calming a frightened horse. "Come here." He reached out to hug her, but she backed away.

"No," she sniffed. "What if you're still drunk?" She shrank back to a corner of the room and sat down in shuddering heap of tears. Robin was beginning to realize just how badly he had failed. This was not going to be easy. His head was still fuzzy, but he understood the gravity of this situation. Maria was right. He should not have drunk that liquor. He should not have left Maria alone. But now it seemed she would rather be alone than with the likes of Robin. He sighed. It was a big old mess, but he had gotten himself into it. What could he do to regain her favor?

"Princess, please listen to me," he said earnestly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. Will you forgive me?" He waited. No answer. Quiet, muffled sobs racked her trembling body. He took a deep breath. If he drew closer, would she push him away? But if he stayed put, he would gain nothing. Oh, why did he have to be such a fool? Robin summoned his courage and walked over to Maria. He dropped down beside her and sat there, waiting. After a few minutes, her sobs died down to little sniffles. Robin gingerly slid an arm around her shoulders. She made no resistance. Presently she leaned into him.

"Oh, Robin, I'm sorry," she said with a quavering breath. "I just—I'm so worried and afraid and—"

"Shhhh," he said. "We're going to be all right. It's just a little snow. One night won't hurt." As soon as he spoke the last words, he regretted them. How stupid he was! It wasn't really the night that Maria was afraid of; it was spending it with him. She had said as much earlier. He had forgotten. "If you want, I can sleep over there." He gestured to the other side of the cave. Maria made no reply. He began to stand—but she laid a hand on his arm.

"No, don't go," she whispered. "I—please don't. We…we've got to stay warm, right?" Robin wasn't sure what to think, but he was glad she wasn't angry with him anymore.

"Right," he sat back down. Maria leaned into him, letting out a shaky breath.

"I'm glad you're here." She said quietly. "I can't imagine what it would be like, being stranded here all alone." Robin smiled a little.

"That wouldn't happen."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you wouldn't be stuck here for long. I'd find you before you could blink, don't worry." Maria found his words oddly comforting. She felt the rise and fall of his breathing, steady and constant. She felt his warmth and was reassured. His neck feathers brushed against her forehead. Robin was here, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. She trusted that. She trusted him.

A/N: Darling reader,

There, was that better? We ended a bit more peacefully than previous chapters, thank goodness. Robin and Maria are warming up, so to speak. I'm so glad; bickering is so exhausting, and the respite of a little sweetness must arrive at some point. I do not think Maria and Robin will be at odds any more during their time in the cave; things seem to be pretty well patched up at the moment. At any rate, I thank you for reading this chapter and reviewing so kindly. I truly appreciate your feedback. Happy reading!

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Ponygirl7