A Moonacre Fanfiction Peace on Earth

Robin fumed for a moment. Here he had thought he meant something to her, but apparently he was no different than the rest of the young men to be caught up in her fancies. She had consented to court him, for goodness' sake! You'd think she'd show a bit more propriety with other men.

But then, what did this scruffy hunter know about propriety?

Well, he knew one thing. He was bound and determined to enjoy this evening. One prim, proper young lady might not prefer him, but he knew for a fact that there were other girls who admired from afar. Until now, he'd never given them a second thought.

Now, however, they weren't looking so bad. He would do well to surround himself with people that liked him. A confidence boost sounded good right about now.

This in mind, he skipped lightly up the steps and turned sharply to head back into the ballroom. His boots left a scuff mark on the pristine floor. Well, someone else would clean it. Robin entered the whirling, musical gaiety once more, but the merry mood struck him as ironic, mocking.

He ignored the fact that Maria was dancing quickly, almost determinedly, with Ambrose, whose hand rested so easily on her waist. Robin hardly noticed the way her curls bounced up and down as she moved. What did he care that her cheeks were all the rosier from the exertion? No, he really didn't notice these things at all.

Training his eyes away from the dance floor, Robin skirted the outside of the ballroom and made his way to a more secluded corner. It was here he found his countrymen, more people from the De Noir village. It was easy to distinguish these people, for they were dressed solely in black. Robin was about to draw up a chair when he heard,

"Hello there, stranger." It was a kittenish voice. A girl batted her eyes up at him. Perfect. Except…she was a stranger. Wasn't she? Did he know her? He racked his brain.

"Hello…"

"Jackie."

"Sorry?"

"My name. It's Jackie. Have a seat, do." He did. "Why, don't you remember me?" He didn't. "I'm a servant. I serve almost your every meal."

"Oh." He frowned. Maybe he did remember her. She never wore such a dress when she was serving. Or maybe she did; he wouldn't have noticed before.

"And…are you enjoying the evening?" she asked innocently.

"Let's just say I plan to enjoy it."

"I see." Jackie's eyes glittered as they flitted to the dance floor. She certainly did see. She slid an ivory hand onto his. "I'd be happy to help." He chuckled. He knew she would. He wasn't daft. He let his eyes wander past the dance floor. He saw Coeur De Noir leaving. Good. And had Miss Heliotrope and Digweed retired for the evening? Excellent. Now there was only Sir Benjamin, Loveday, and Lillian to worry about. Well, he needn't worry about them. This was Maria's doing, after all. If she could dance with anyone, so could he.

"Do you want to dance?"

"I'd love to."

They stood. Jackie's eyes gleamed victoriously, and she smiled proudly past Robin at a horde of girls who practically radiated jealousy. Well, Robin could dance with them all in turn. He took Jackie out onto the dance floor. It was a jolly reel; many of the adults had retired by now, and the musicians were hearing requests from the younger dancers for livelier dances.

Out stepped Robin and Jackie. Soon they were flying. Robin had had slight concerns about the speed of the dance and the effect it would have upon length of her skirt (or lack thereof), but they moved so fast that any indiscretions were blurred. Jackie was not a good dancer, but she moved with energy and bore an enthralled expression, which was really all Robin needed at this point. Let Maria see him dancing with a girl who adored him. Let Maria imagine all sorts of things. Robin pasted a smug expression on his face and danced on.

When that dance was finished, Robin escorted Jackie back to the table. He was easily able to handsomely coerce another girl into bringing him a drink, preferably a strong one. Soon he was dancing again, this time with some older lady named Dora, whose scarlet red lips were the only definite thing in the room that was now beginning to blur. After Dora, he danced with Jackie again, and then sat out for a while to enjoy the drinks. Oddly enough, he hadn't noticed alcoholic beverages at the punch table. Perhaps the De Noir villagers had brought their own. Robin was able to focus his eyes long enough to note that Loveday and Benjamin weren't present anymore. Was it just him, or was the place getting dimmer?

Robin continued to dance. The supply of eager young ladies didn't seem to run short; though perhaps he was dancing with repetitions now. It wasn't as though he could be expected to tell them all apart. It was becoming increasingly harder to ignore the pain in his feet. When he sat down again, he could see well enough that the candles were beginning to burn low.

"What late it is now?" he asked the young woman beside him.

"What?"

"I said, how time is it?"

"Late."

"Oh." He'd probably better go home. There didn't seem to be as many people here as before. It was definitely getting dimmer. The one corner of Robin's brain that was still functioning, albeit groggily, insisted on putting up his feet and going to bed.

He stood, waited a moment for the room to stop spinning, and made his way out of the manor. Outside the ballroom, everything was quiet. He stumbled to the door and opened it, a cold blast of wind hitting him full on. Slamming his hat down securely on his head, Robin staggered off into the woods.

A/N: Dear reader,

Don't you just hate Robin right now? I do. At least, I hate what he's doing. At any rate, I hope he redeems himself. Poor Maria.

Thank you for reading this story so far! Your reviews are GREATLY appreciated. Love you all!

Your

Ponygirl7