A Moonacre Fanfiction Peace on Earth

Robin's eyes fluttered open. Light was peeping into the cave; it was sunrise. He glanced down at Maria, who was sleeping soundly, curled up next to him. He couldn't help but smile at how blissful she looked, with no cares to trouble her, no hurt, no pain, nothing. Just her and sweet sleep. She could be fierce, yes; Robin had been on the wrong end of her fierceness many a time. But when her brown eyes weren't blazing, they were twinkling merrily. Twinkling with warmth and possibility. Several times, Robin had seen something else in those eyes…a spark of…of something. But he must have imagined it. No, he must have imagined it. Maria's words echoed in his ears:

"It's not like you're my beau or anything."

Robin swallowed hard. His heart hurt within him, a sharp hurt. He had been wounded many times; as a hunter, it goes with the territory. But he'd been able to justify those. The knife had cut him because he wasn't careful. The wolf had attacked him because he was attacking it. It made sense. And so he would recuperate and move on with his life.

But this…this was different. It wasn't like Maria was intending to hurt him. She was stating a fact. Since when had facts hurt him? He exhaled shakily. Since he had dared to dream. Since he had given way to wishing. He squared his jaw. How could mere words hurt so much?

Robin stood, removing his arm from around Maria's shoulders. He walked over to the cave's entrance. Already, the snow was beginning to melt. It was getting warmer outside, and the sun was rising. Soon they would return to their homes. Maria would return to the magnificent Merriweather Manor with its silken curtains, priceless paintings, and high back leather chairs. Robin would return to the torch-lit De Noir village where the rooms were adorned with nothing more than mounted animal heads. Robin would return to his hunting and Maria would return to her classical French needlepoint. She was a lady; that was obvious. He was no gentleman; that was also painfully obvious.

Oh, why did he dwell on it? Thinking about his relationship with Maria (or the lack thereof) would only drive the dagger further into his heart. He gritted his teeth. He was being melodramatic. This would not do. He must be a man. He must not complain. He must do what is right and what is necessary but nothing more. He must not be selfish. He must do what is good for Maria, no matter how difficult for him.

"Good morning," Maria's musical voice floated through his head.

"Good morning," he replied, not turning. "We'll be able to dig out quite easily today."

Maria frowned. Robin was being awfully cold today. What was wrong? Had she said something? He wasn't even turning around. Perhaps he was just in a bad mood. She arose and walked over to him.

"How did you sleep?" That was a normal enough conversation prompt, wasn't it? Yet Maria felt so out of place saying it. What was wrong with her today?

"Well. You?"

"Like an infant," she admitted. "Did you wake up long ago?"

"No, just a little bit ago."

"Ah." She nodded. They stood in silence. Why wasn't Robin joking? Why wasn't Robin grinning? Was this truly Robin De Noir, or his starched, polite, reserved evil twin? "Well, shall we start digging?"

"Yes, I suppose." Robin replied. And so they dug. They did so with spare conversation, saying only what needed to be said. But they worked quickly. Soon they were up in the open air again. And how beautiful it was! In the cool morning light, the blanket of snow shimmered, almost gossamer, like fairies' wings. The bare, slender trees curved upward, standing firm in the aftermath of the storm. And yet though the scene was breathtaking, it also posed a problem. The snowfall in total was almost three feet, but dense and thick. It would not be easy to walk home. Maria pointed this out.

"Never mind that," Robin said. "I'll go first; you can follow. It'll be much easier once I've worn a path."

"But that'll be difficult for you!"

"I can handle it." He grinned, but it held no humor. Maria nodded and turned away, hoping her face didn't betray how upset she was. Where was the Robin who would've made a snide comment, who would've boasted about his superiority and strength? What had she done? For surely she did this to him…but how? Her heart ached to think that she had injured him. Her eyes welled up, and despite her determination not to cry, a rebellious tear slipped down onto her flushed cheek.

"Are you coming?" She turned. Robin had leapt down into the snow and was carving a path. He marched back to her and held out a hand. She quickly wiped her eyes and took his hand, jumping down alongside him.

"Let's go," she said quickly. But his feet did not move. She turned to face him in question.

"You're crying," he said, his voice low, trembling.

"No, I'm not." She spun around and kept walking. But when she had reached the end of Robin's trailblazing, her steps grew increasingly difficult. Before she knew what was happening, Robin's hands were around her waist and pulling her back. He set her down sternly.

"You are not going another step until you tell me what's wrong." His dark eyes left no room for excuses. She looked down at her boots. She couldn't look at him. She couldn't tell him what was truly bothering her. How could she say that she was hurt by his sudden coolness towards her? How could she apologize for whatever she had done to trigger this formality? How could she explain that this was the opposite of what she wanted?

How could she explain that what she really wanted was to grow closer to Robin?

How could she say that she loved him?

She couldn't.

But she was afraid that, despite her most virtuous efforts, it would burst out anyway.

And so she trained her eyes on her boots. Her boots were safe. If she dared look at Robin's eyes…no. She couldn't.

She felt Robin's gentle finger under her chin, sweet but insistent. He lifted her head and, consequentially, her gaze. Her eyes met his.

Oh, no.

Before her mind could tell her no, she flew at Robin, her lips meeting his in a kiss unexpected by both parties. Her arms wrapped around his neck and slowly, his slid around her waist. The tears flowed freely from Maria's eyes now, but it did not matter.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. Maria stepped back, blinking as though coming out of a daydream. Robin looked as though he had just been reanimated after being turned to stone and not quite aware of all his senses yet. They stared at each other for a breathless moment.

Then, slowly, a smile scrawled itself across Robin's handsome face.

Maria's lips, still tingling in shock, turned upward. A twinkle lit her eyes.

"Princess?"

"Robin?"

"I was not expecting that."

"Neither was I, to be honest."

"But I can't say I disliked it."

"Thank you, I suppose?"

"Now, being the dashing lad I am, I am naturally kissed by many young ladies who fancy me, and I'd say this ranked at semi-adequate—" Maria's fist slammed into his face. He staggered back, a grin alighting.

"Dashing lad, my foot." She scoffed. She tried to suppress a smile, but it beamed through her eyes instead.

"And I suppose you've been kissed dozens of times, Princess?" He retorted. She looked at her boots.

"Never, actually," she admitted. Robin chuckled.

"That's a coincidence," he said, "Because in all truth, neither have I." Maria's gaze flew to meet his. He was being sincere. He shrugged.

"I know you may find it hard to believe, but—"

"Please. Your ego ensures you a five foot radius of space between ladies at all times. They'd never want to penetrate it."

"Apparently one did." His eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Oh, let's get back to the house," Maria said, unable to hide the merriment in her eyes.

"As you wish, Princess."

A/N: Beloved reader,

Alleluia! I'm so glad this chapter finally happened, for so many reasons. If you're a Princess Bride fan too, you would have caught the double meaning of Robin's last sentence. But this chapter was already longer than I intended; no use babbling on in this author's note. Oh well. You have my sincerest thanks for reading and my strongest encouragement to review. Thanks you so much for your incredible patience and support!

Love always,

Ponygirl7