A Moonacre Fanfiction Peace on Earth

Maria's eyes fluttered open hazily. She saw nothing. Of course not; she was in a cave, and it was nighttime. It must be the middle of the night, she thought. At least she was warm. Very warm, indeed. She shifted her position and heard a grunt. Oh! That was Robin that she was lying on top of. No wonder she'd been so warm. Blushing furiously, she tried to roll off him. But his arms were locked around her back, closing her in.

Well, she hated to wake him. But perhaps if she could just slowly move his arms to his sides…

"Hm? Maria?" Great. Now he was awake. Maria took advantage of the situation and tumbled off him.

"Sorry, go back to sleep," she whispered.

"I'm awake now. Where are you? Where'd you go?"

"I'm right here. I just…I was warm."

"Well, I'm cold now."

"You'll warm up." She hoped she wasn't being too harsh with him. But their close proximity was incredibly aggravating to her. On one hand, she wanted to scoot to the other side of the room for propriety's sake. On the other hand, she really wanted to snuggle up to him and kiss him. But that would only make matters worse, because it was obvious he didn't have feelings for her beyond a solid friendship. If she complicated things, she could lose him entirely. And so she dared not move.

"Are you angry with me?" Robin asked. Maria could picture his furrowed brow, his hurt expression. How it cut her to the core!

"No," she replied.

"Then come back over here before I freeze to death. Otherwise I'll have to come get you."

"I doubt you could find me. It's dark, you know." She rolled further away.

"Ah, but I'm a hunter. You underestimate my capabilities." The smugness in his voice was thick. Maria made no reply. If she spoke, she'd give her location away. She scooted silently, making her way to the other side of the grotto. Robin's low chuckle echoed in the dark. "It would seem the game is on."

Maria felt the cold wall of the cave. She rose to her feet and walked, making no sound. She heard Robin make some noise; was he crawling on his hand and feet? And then there was no sound at all. It was as though Robin had disappeared from the face of the earth. Maria decided to stop moving. Perhaps she could stay undetected for a while. Her heart hammered within her so loud that she thought Robin must hear it. Was this how all the animals felt when they were being stalked? Of course, Robin wasn't going to kill her; she knew that. It was thrilling in a strange way, waiting, hardly daring to breathe.

Meanwhile, Robin stood still, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Ah, it was good to be a hunter! He was in charge. His prey feared him. At least…well, she probably didn't fear him. But she didn't want him to find her. Well, he would find her and prove that he was every bit the huntsman. He inhaled inaudibly. Maria had a distinct smell, something like warmth and vanilla. He turned in every direction, sniffing. The De Noirs prided themselves on their keen senses. Robin's did not fail him now. He caught her scent. Now he knew what direction to head in. He took a few steps and then listened. There it was; a faint breathing. Who was Maria to think she could evade him?

Robin moved swiftly and silently. He was aware that Maria was barely a foot away from him. Hm. If he tackled her, she may fall and hurt herself. He did want to startle her, of course. What to do, what to do?

Maria waited, ears straining for some sign. She heard nothing. Everything was still.

Then her feet swept out from underneath her. She gave a sharp cry. She expected to hit the ground—but she did not. She found herself supported by two arms.

"How's that for hunting?" Robin's voice murmured in her ear. She sighed in resignation. He was good, very good. But it wouldn't do to inflate his ego.

"All right, I suppose."

"All right? That was incredible, and you know it."

"It was a lucky guess. Put me down."

"Say the magic word."

"Please."

"Nope." Maria frowned.

"That's the magic word."

"Nope."

"Well, your arms are bound to get tired soon. I might as well wait."

"I wouldn't bet on that, Princess. I'm pretty strong. And you're not heavy."

"We'll see about that." She crossed her arms and waited stubbornly. But Robin didn't get tired. A minute passed.

"I hope you realize the futility of this," she said presently. "At some point in time, you are going to have to put me down." Robin shrugged. "And it's still night time. You probably want to sleep, right?" Robin shrugged again. "I can sleep here. You can't." She pointed out. A moment of silence passed.

"Princess, you know how things happen for a reason?" Robin asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, why did we get snowed in here?"

"I'm not following."

"What reason could God have for putting us here?"

"Maybe He wanted to give Miss Heliotrope a lesson in patience. I don't know. But aside from the frostbite which is doing better, I don't really mind it that much."

"Really?" he sounded surprised. "You don't mind being forced to spend time with me?

"I don't find you that detestable," she admitted carefully.

"Thank you?" he chuckled. Maria sighed, leaning in to him. She really didn't mind this at all, being in Robin's arms. Of course Miss Heliotrope was probably worried sick. But Maria didn't mind being stuck with Robin.

"I wonder what Miss Heliotrope is up to," she said, trying to ignore the fact that Robin's face was so near to hers.

"Sleeping fitfully, I imagine," Robin said.

"I don't see why she'd be worried," Maria said finally, a pleasant thought coming to her.

"What do you mean? It's Miss Heliotrope. She's bound to be worried."

"Yes, but I'm with you. Surely she knows you would keep me safe."

"I'm afraid that's exactly why Miss Heliotrope would be worried."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's what you said earlier. You and me, together in the same cave overnight? She's not worried about your life. She's worried about your reputation."

"Oh, not this again." Maria sighed. "I don't see why she should be worried. It's not like you're my beau or anything." Even though she wished he was.

"Right." Robin said, her words resounding in his ears. It's not like she was interested in him. Gently, he set her down on her feet. "We'd better get some sleep," he muttered, trying not to sound too dejected.

"Yes," Maria agreed, confused by his sudden change of demeanor. Robin walked back over to the corner of the cave. Maria heard his footsteps, steady and solid. She heard him slump to the ground.

Robin's bowler hat slid down over his eyes. He exhaled, inwardly scolding himself for being so stupid as to get his hopes up. He sat back, hands behind his head, wondering why in the world he had ever thought Maria was interested in him.

And then there was a warmth beside him, and Maria leaned into him, exhausted. Robin's arm dropped around her shoulders. She did care for him, if only in a friendly way. He would have to be satisfied with that.

A/N: Dear reader,

First of all, thank you for reading this chapter! I don't know about you, but Maria and Robin are driving me crazy. Oh well. As all Princess Bride lovers know, if you rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles. We'll have to be patient. Speaking of patience, I applaud you for yours. You have been infinitely gracious about my slow updates. I thank you for that. And in the event that this is the last chapter I write before Christmas, I wish you a merry Christmas! While this story is relatively Christmas themed, I'm afraid it will not be complete in time for Christmas (of this year, anyway). At any rate, excuse my blathering, and thank you for reading!

Yours merrily,

Ponygirl7