A Moonacre Fanfiction Peace on Earth

Maria and Robin skipped nimbly up the staircase and ducked through the dwarf-sized door into her room.

"Where shall I put the paper?" Robin asked, bouncing around the rolls of it in his arms.

"On the bed is fine," Maria tossed the ribbons she was carrying on her pillow. "Now," she knelt and reached under her bed, surfacing again with a large box, "here are the gifts. Mostly cranberry bread, but I've also got Loveday's baby blanket and the money for Digweed and Miss Heliotrope's honeymoon." She opened the box. Robin sniffed the air, eyes gleaming with interest. Before he could reach out, Maria shut the box quickly, an amused warning in her smile. "And since you didn't help with baking the bread, you don't get any of it." He rolled his eyes, but sat back nonetheless. She opened the box again.

"Now then, if you want to cut the wrapping paper—oh, I didn't bring shears! Would you want to run down and grab some?" Robin rummaged around in his boot, emerging with a dagger. Maria gasped.

"Is that—"

"I kept it," Robin held it up to the light. "I didn't think Ambrose would need it much for whatever he's doing. Anyway, he sort of gave it to me." Maria sighed.

"I guess it's better in your hands than in his." There was a meditative silence. Then she brightened. "In any case, you can use that to cut the wrapping paper. Then I'll wrap these, string them up with ribbon, and write who it's for."

They worked out an efficient system, and soon the gifts were all packaged up prettily. Maria and Robin gathered them up to take downstairs and place under the tree in the music room. As they descended the stairs, Maria began to feel a little guilty for not having a gift for Robin. She cast a sidelong glance in his direction, but he didn't seem troubled. Good.

Music floated out from the piano room, no doubt Lillian. Maria's guess was confirmed, although she hadn't expected to see Coeur De Noir standing beside her. Maria checked Robin's expression, but he betrayed nothing. Neither Lillian nor her one-man-audience noticed the new arrivals. So Maria and Robin set their gifts under the tree, looked once more at the peaceful scene, and tip-toed back out.

Once they were safely out of earshot, Maria turned to Robin and let loose a little squeal. He crinkled his nose.

"What was that for?" Maria bounced on her toes.

"Your father and Lillian. They seem serious."

"My father's always serious."

"Yes, but not like this. I really think—I predict they'll get married." Robin shrugged.

"I won't bet against it."

"Oh, how can you be so calm and indifferent?"

"Years of practice."

"Robinnn," she grumbled, continuing to walk down the hallway, "you're being no fun."

"I'll tell you what will be fun," he bumped his shoulder into hers in casual camaraderie, "is a snowball fight. We've done the presents. The house looks ready for whatever feast you're having tonight. Don't you think it's time we got outside?" Maria grinned fondly up at him.

"Can't bear to be inside, can you?"

"It's what comes of living outside your whole life."

"You have a lovely little village."

"Yes, but if your father is an angry, controlling tyrant bent on destroying an entire family, you're less likely to want to spend time around him." Robin uttered this all in an impossibly light-hearted tone, but Maria knew his life had not been easy. Nevertheless, she would not let negative thoughts depress her on Christmas Eve. So she said,

"It's good to see him change. I imagine Lillian will do him no harm."

"No, indeed," Robin chuckled, "she'll make him soft. I'm more worried about him becoming a teddy bear unfit for leading his clan."

"I wouldn't worry about that. Lillian is a dreamy lady, but she has good sense. She is Miss Heliotrope's cousin, after all, and Miss Heliotrope is as sensible as they come, don't you think?"

"Mm, no comment."

"Robin!"

"Only joking. Now, you go find your coat and I'll meet you outside in approximately forty-five seconds."

In approximately forty-five seconds, give or take a minute, Maria stepped out the front door and was nearly blinded by the brilliant sunlight glaring off the snow.

She would later claim that it was this state of near-blindness which rendered her incapable of seeing the snowball that hit her squarely in the face.

Her muffled cry of "ROBIN!" was reduced to a wet, angry-sounding squawk. She wiped the snow off her face and ducked down. She would find him and pelt him with snowballs when he least expected it. The only problem was…how?

Her eyes adjusted to the light, and suddenly she was glad she'd worn her white fur coat. She could more easily camouflage with the snow than Robin could with his heavy black coat. She would have to pretend that she'd planned this. But now she had to determine his whereabouts. She'd been caught off guard by the first snowball that she hadn't had time to tell from whence it had come. So now she would have to get hit again.

Maria knelt like a sprinter, fixed her eyes on a large tree, and bolted toward it. Another snowball came from nowhere and splashed against her face. And this time, though she'd been prepared, she still couldn't tell where its thrower was. She stood pressed against the tree, skimming the terrain for a dark figure. He had to be here somewhere. She reached down and readied a snowball of her own. Yet as she did so, she felt a series of small, cold assaults pitter-pattering on her head. She grimaced. Wait, on her head? Was Robin…? She smiled to herself. She should've known.

Slowly, she lifted her eyes upward until her gaze caught on a black form standing above her in the limbs of the tree. And she was greeted with another slosh of snow in her face.

"Why, you little—"

"We never specified any rules about not climbing trees," he shrugged. "But I tell you what: I'll stay in this tree. Catch me if you can."

"What do you mean, if I can?"

"Have you ever climbed a tree before, Princess?"

"I don't suppose it can be very hard." Robin chuckled.

"Your first time climbing a tree. I'm so proud."

"Proud's not the only thing you'll be feeling when I get through with you," she muttered menacingly. He would feel the wrath of the Moon Princess. He would feel the crush of a thousand snowballs against his face. He—oh, why couldn't she reach that branch? Hopping was undignified, but Maria had no choice. She was a petite girl. After several failed attempts, she managed to grab hold of the branch and dedicated whatever upper body strength she had to her efforts.

When at last she straddled the lowest limb of the tree, she looked up victoriously at him. She was greeted with another snowball to the face. Undeterred, she began to climb. She realized halfway up the tree that a dress was not best suited for such rigorous activities. But there was no turning back now.

Robin was perched in the topmost branch. In a way, this was good; he could not climb down without encountering her. However, this also meant that she had to climb to the topmost branch. But Maria was nothing if not determined. She hoisted herself up, branch by branch, hair snagging on various twigs.

At last, she was only one branch below him. She squinted up at him. He grinned smugly back at her. She reached behind her and ran a hand along the top of her branch, gathering snow. He did not see. After packing it firmly in her hands, she lifted her gaze from his taunting eyes, tensed, and threw her snowball.

It knocked the bowler hat clean off Robin's head. Maria watched it fall to the ground, then looked up at him in triumph.

"Checkmate." She smirked. He exhaled in aggravation, issuing a puff of air from his mouth.

"All right. That was good, I'll grant you. And look, you're up in a tree!"

"I just hope Miss Heliotrope doesn't see me. She'd probably faint." Maria looked down at the ground below. She was awfully high up. Then a rattling sound reached her ears.

"Speak of the devil and she shall appear," Robin whistled in wonder. "There's your tutor now." Maria saw the coach approaching.

"Robin! Don't move. Be quiet. Maybe they won't see us." They froze in place until at last Miss Heliotrope and Digweed were safely inside. Maria let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, and just so you know, I'm choosing to forget that you called her a devil. Especially since her wedding is tomorrow." Robin spread his hands: an impressive if not idiotic feat when one is very high up in a tree.

"It's a figure of speech. And are you sure she doesn't have horns?"

"Robin…"

"All right, all right." He climbed down to Maria's branch. "I won't say anything cross." Maria smiled sweetly.

"Very good."

"And, in reward for your success in climbing this tree…" Robin leaned forward to kiss Maria. He was greeted by a large, wet mush of snow.

"That's for being a smug little fiend," she said. She wiped the snow off his face and, as he sputtered, pressed her lips against his, tasting the cold sweetness of winter. "And that was because I wanted to."

A/N: My dear reader,

Thank you for reading this chapter! It was quite fun to write. I'd like to personally thank guest reader Lilianna, who read this entire story recently and reviewed every single chapter. My dear, you made my day! And to my other readers, thank you so much for your continued support! As this story winds down, do you all have any ideas for future Moonacre stories? If so, do please let me know.

Love,

Ponygirl7