I have had the idea for this chapter pretty much since I started writing stories for this pairing, but Oh. My. God. I just couldn't get it out of my head and into words! So it's been a work in progress on and off for a loooong time, which has been frustrating because its not a particularly complicated or original plot- basically inspired by the idea of protective!Robin. But here we are, and I hope you like it.
WARNING: this chapter contains references to aggression, assault, and injuries.It had been a tough morning but looking at the group of now bloodied and battered men before him, Robin felt satisfied with its outcome. The Coeur De Noir had received word in the early hours that group of outlaws had been spotted, making a beeline straight across the De Noir's territory. It was always the same; despite their reputation, there were always a few who thought they would be the exception, who could take a shortcut through the thick De Noir forests…
Well, they were always wrong and folding his arms, Robin regarded the bound prisoners; two were unconscious and one was hunched over, groaning. They had only been supposed to scout for them, track them down to report back and then leave them to Robin's father and his men to deal with. But this group had been so pitiful that Robin and his friends had been able to do it themselves.
Grimly, he turned his attention back to where Richard was stood, towering over the fourth man of the band.
"I'll ask you again," Richard growled, unclenching his fist and jerking the half-collapsed man on the ground before him back to his knees, "Are there any more of you?"
The man spat out a mouthful of blood, looking wearily up at Richard through a rapidly swelling black eye. "I dunno," He said thickly around his split lip, "I dunno how many of us there were- some didn't wanna come in and I weren't waiting around for 'em!"
"Clearly, they had more sense than you lot put together then, didn't they?" Richard remarked sarcastically, "But, brainless as you are, I'd advise you to think as hard as you can this time. How many of you came into the forest?"
"I dunno alrigh'! I dunno how many we lost before we-"
The man broke off abruptly, his eyes darting distractedly away as a faint scream issued from somewhere east of them. A high pitched, feminine scream that made Robin's blood run cold.
There was only one person that it could belong to.
He reacted without a second thought, tearing off in the direction it had come from. The forest blurred around him as he ran, only the sound of his boots hitting the ground, the snapping of the undergrowth as he tore through it and the thudding of his own heart filling his senses. How long it took him he couldn't say, but eventually he burst through the trees and into another clearing.
Stumbling to an abrupt half, he was met by the sight of a ragged man lying writhing on the ground, hand clenched around his neck as blood poured through his fingers. Robin barely paid any heed to him though and looking around further, his eyes found what they were so desperately searching for.
"Princess!"
She was collapsed on the opposite side of the clearing looking dishevelled and dazed, cradling her left arm, and gazing in horror at the man on the ground.
"Maria-" Rushing over, Robin dropped urgently to his knees in front of her. Unaware of him though, she continued staring, transfixed, at the man on the ground, until, putting a hand to her face, Robin directed it towards himself. " Maria,"
"Robin!" She gasped, finally tearing her gaze away, "Is- is he-?"
"I don't care," Robin growled, brushing this thumb beneath a graze to her cheek bone and shifting to block her fallen attacker from her view, "What happened?"
"I don't know," Maria whispered, shaking her head, "He just appeared from nowhere and grabbed me. I tried to get away, I almost did, but he had my arm behind my back, and I heard it- felt it-" Her eyes were wide, a tremor filling her voice as she broke off, unable to go on.
Lowering his hand from her face, Robin transferred his attentions to the arm she was cradling. Glancing back up at her momentarily, he pulled a knife from his boot and carefully cut open the sleeve of her dress. As it fell open, he was confronted with a set of angry bruising.
"Oh Robin, it hurts," Maria whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut.
"I know princess," He murmured reassuringly, tucking a curl of her hair that had come loose behind her ear, "But I need to see how bad the break is, and that's going to hurt even more. Will you trust me?"
Maria opened her eyes. "Of course. Always,"
Robin's gaze snapped back up to her at this; her eyes, while still wide, were gazing at him with complete sincerity. However taken aback Robin was though, he was unable to dwell on it for long and he quickly pushed his surprise aside, forcing himself to refocus his attentions on the unpleasant task he had to perform.
It did hurt. Maria managed to choke back her cries of pain as Robin carefully probed the broken bone, but she couldn't stop the tears that stung her eyes. So, clenching them shut, she tried to picture the sea in her mind, visualise the waves crashing against the coast, to drift away with them, away from the pain as they drew back from the shore...
"Has she fainted?"
At the sound of the new voice, Maria's eyes instantly flew back open and recognised two of Robin's friends, now standing at his shoulder.
"Of course I haven't," She snapped, trying to ignore the waver in her voice as the pain of her broken arm swept over her again, hitting her with full force, "Fainting never solves anything,"
"Well, she's less of a wimp than you then," David snorted, turning to Henry beside him, " You fainted when we set your broken arm,"
"Only because it was broken in two places!" Henry shot back indignantly.
" And she still managed to immobilise her assailant, with a bloody hair pin from the looks of it, which again, that was more than you managed to do with two knives up your sleeves-"
Robin couldn't help himself from glancing up at the mention of the hair pin. But Maria, despite her bravado, was unable to fully focus on the distracting banter. Her arm hurt so damned much. More tears slipped involuntarily from her eyes, and noticing, Robin turned to his friends.
"David, go deal with him," he ordered, nodding over to the man on the far side of the clearing, "And Henry, find me something for a splint," They they moved away to obey his instruction and Robin turned back to Maria. "It's a clean break, okay Princess?" He said, his gaze steady and reassuring, "It will heal up just fine,"
Maria nodded, but didn't trust herself to speak. Henry promptly returned to hand Robin a couple of sturdy branches and using the same knife he'd cut open her sleeve with, Robin started efficiently stripping them of their bark.
"Who taught you to use your hairpin like that, Princess?" Henry asked, not without some admiration in his tone as he looked down at her.
"No one," She admitted, watching Robin shape the branches in a detached sort-of way, "I just panicked, and it was all I had to hand. He'd grabbed my hair and dislodged it…"
"Well, you've always been good with pins," Henry grinned, "Robin whined for days about his hand when you slashed him, and you did even better this time; that was damned good aim, he's lost a lot of blood and I'm not sure if he'll-"
Henry quicky broke off however at the warning look Robin suddenly flashed him. With the makeshift splints now finished, Robin tucked his knife away and pulled a couple of ribbons from his pocket to tie them into place. Maria's lack of teasing for this, everything else aside, was cause enough for concern and glancing at her, Robin saw that her eyes were glassy and unfocussed and she was beginning to shiver.
Hurriedly yanking off his scarf, Robin looped it carefully under Maria's broken arm to tie around her neck and into a sling. Shrugging off his jacket next, he draped it around her, taking care not to jolt her broken arm before scooping her abruptly up into his arms.
"I'm taking her back to the castle," He announced.
"No no-" Maria faintly protested, "-don't take me back there-"
"Don't worry Princess," Henry said, unable to supress a grin, "He won't put you in the dungeon this time,"
Robin ignored them both. "You and David get back to Richard to guard the others," He instructed to Henry, "I'll ask my father to send reinforcements to move them,"
With a nod, Henry turned and jogged away.
"What about him?" Maria asked in a small voice, catching a glimpse of her assailant, who was slumped against a tree and very pale now, over Robin's shoulder as he turned to head in the opposite direction.
"He can bleed out for all I care," Robin replied without the smallest smidgen of consideration or concern. Striding away from the scene and his mind now no longer occupied with the task of binding her broken arm, he was beginning to process just exactly what had happened.
"What the hell were you doing out here Maria?" He demanded, anger creeping into his voice, "I've told you before not to come into the forest without me and yet here you are, miles from Moonacre Manor!"
"I'm not miles from the Manor," Maria refuted weakly, "And I was just gathering some herbs for Loveday, I knew exactly where to go from where I started in her old cave and-"
"You were out here for Loveday?" Robin interrupted, "What does she think she's playing at, sending you out here on your own? I swear I'm going to give her a piece of my mind-"
"No- well, yes, they were for Loveday, but she didn't send me to get them," Maria explained, shaking her head as her voice suddenly grew stronger, "And you can't tell her about this Robin. Promise me you won't!"
"Like hell I will," He growled.
"Tell my uncle if you must, but I mean it Robin, you mustn't drop a hint of this to Loveday, this absolutely can't get back to her. Thank heavens it was me out here and not her!"
"Are you serious?" Unable to believe his ears, Robin drew to an abrupt halt. "Maria, do you have any idea what just happened? What might have happened?"
"Since I was the one who was attacked and might have killed a man, yes, actually, I do," She answered, a trace of her usual haughty defiance colouring her tone, "But it's nothing to do with that and it's still imperative that Loveday doesn't find out a thing about it!"
"Why?" Robin demanded, starting forwards again and struggling very hard now to keep his temper in check, "What in God's name could possibly be more important than Loveday realising that sending you out into the middle of the forest on your own might have gotten you killed?"
"I told you, she didn't send me," Maria answered impatiently, "And can't you guess? Isn't it obvious?"
"Maria," Robin growled through gritted teeth, "I'm really not it the mood for guessing right now so unless you're purposefully trying to-"
"She's pregnant," Maria broke in, "Everyone in the Manor knows, apart from her that is, and I was out here looking for herbs to help with her nausea,"
"She's-" At any other time, news such as this would perhaps have taken Robin more aback. But still wired up and angry, he just shook his head, unable to fully absorb it. "How can she not have realised it if you all know?"
"Well, I think she does know," Maria admitted, "She just doesn't want to get her hopes up so early on, which is exactly why you can't tell her about any of this. The slightest stress or anxiety could harm her and the baby and-"
" Fine," Robin cut in, finally conceding because only Maria would be worried about the effect it would have on someone else after being attacked herself, "But only if you swear not to come out here again, not without me,"
"I won't, I promise," Maria quickly assured him, and although she sounded sincere, Robin suspected that this promise was made more out of her concern for Loveday than herself. Since he couldn't stand to dwell on the subject any longer without pounding on something, he only gritted his teeth and marched on.
Maria had perhaps finally picked up on some of his turbulent feelings and wisely fell silent as they travelled on through the forest, letting him brood without provoking him any further. She'd begun to regain some of her colour, and it wasn't long before she started to recognise the path and the pattern of trees that indicated that they were getting close to Castle Black. As they approached the outer gates, she made a half-hearted request to Robin to put her down which he completely ignored, only setting her down when he reached the domain of Mistress Mathilde, a woman, who, as the De Noir housekeeper, had probably dealt with more broken bones than everyone else put together in Moonacre Valley.
Leaving Maria in her capable hands, Robin quickly went to find his father. Word of their arrival had of course already reached him, for coming in through the main gate bloodied and bruised with the girl who had once marched into the heart of the keep in the middle of a banquet, shouted insults at them all, escaped in her underwear and set what turned out to have been a giant lion on them multiple occasions, in his arms, had very naturally attracted the attention of the sentries posted there.
"She stabbed him with a hair pin?" The Coeur echoed after Robin had explained what had happened in short, terse sentences.
"Yes," Robin resisted the urge to grind his teeth together at the incredulous and slightly impressed expression on his father's face, "I told David and Henry to go back and help Richard guard the others until you got there,"
"And the other…?"
"He's not likely to be going anywhere on his own anytime soon," Robin answered shortly.
His father could only stare at him. "That girl is far tougher than she looks," He eventually muttered.
Before Robin could respond to this though, the Coeur De Noir had abruptly turned on his heel and strode away, bellowing out orders and summoning his men as he went.
With responsibility of the outlaws no longer on his shoulders and passed onto his father, Robin fully intended to return to Mistress Mathilde to see how Maria was. Perhaps seeing the agitated glint in his eye, the formidable housekeeper refused him entry however, instructing him instead to go and do something useful with himself rather of disturbing her charge. By the time Robin had finished arguing with her, with absolutely no success whatsoever on his part, the Coeur De Noir had already departed with his riders and Robin was left with few options that would allow him to satisfactorily channel his increasingly bad mood. Hacking at something with an axe felt as if it would suit his fancy though, so retracing his father's steps out of the main door, he turned in the direction of the timber yard.
It was tiring, if not satisfying, work. The burn as he repetitively swung the axe, again and again through the resilient wood, consumed Robin's mind enough to stop him from thinking. Two hours and enough split wood to last the castle half the winter later, he'd worked off enough of his pent-up anger to master it and he finally brought the axe to a halt, wiping the back of his hand across his soaked forehead.
Knowing he'd be poorly received by Mistress Mathilde, and even worse by Maria covered in sweat and dirt in addition to the blood and bruises of the morning, Robin wisely decided to return to the keep to wash up first. Shrugging on a fresh shirt, he left his room not long afterwards and was resolved to batter his way through Mistress Mathilde's door this time if he had to. This proved to be entirely unnecessary, however, as passing the open doors of the Great Hall, an explosion of raucous laughter from within drew his attention.
Looking inside, Robin was, for the second time that day, met by a bloody scene involving Maria Merryweather. This time, she was stood with her good hand on her hip, the other in a new sling, with several of his friends surrounding her and howling with laughter.
All with the exception of Richard that was, who was doubled over, cradling his face and moaning.
"What the hell's going on?" Robin demanded, striding over to them all and staring from Richard to the others in disbelief.
"Oh, Robin you should have seen it, it was brilliant!" Henry guffawed, before doubling over with laughter again.
"We we thought the Moon Princess could probably do with some instruction," David explained, "You know, self-defence-wise-"
"-And we were pointing out weak spots to go for-" Henry continued.
"-and then Richard pretends to come at her, and she absolutely slugs him!"
"Well, you told me to!" Maria broke in indignantly, with a glare at David.
"Yes, but we didn't expect you to know how to hit someone like that!" David snorted.
"My father was a soldier, of course I know how to hit someone!" She replied, rolling her eyes.
"I dhink you broke my dose!" Richard moaned from where he had slumped backwards, onto a bench.
"Well, what did you expect, launching yourself at me like that," Maria asked impatiently, "Anyone would have reacted like that!"
"No they wouldn't," Henry sniggered, "Poor Richard thought you were a lady,"
Richard only moaned pitifully again. "Oh, stop being such a wimp, I barely touched you," Maria snapped at him, " Men…"
Robin however, had reached the end of his endurance. Repressing the urge to hit Richard himself for pretending to attack Maria after she'd already been seriously assaulted that day, he instead took her by her good arm and tugged her out of the hall.
"Robin! What are you- let go of me you oaf!"
He ignored her however, only dropping her arm when they were out of the hall and beyond the sounds of David and Henry's mirth and Richard's groaning.
" Well?" He demanded.
"Look, it's not my fault your friends are such idiots-" Maria started, looking affronted.
"Not them- Your arm!"
"Oh," She looked surprised, "Well it's much better now. Mistress Mathilde said it was only fractured but she still insisted on me resting before she'd let me-"
" Fractured?" Robin echoed, not hearing anything she'd said after that, "It was not only fractured, I felt it, it was broken! Very definitely broken-"
"I'm aware of that Robin," Maria replied impatiently, "Given it's my arm,"
"Then how...?"
Maria shrugged. "I'm not sure. The same reason the hair pin appeared I suppose, since I definitely wasn't wearing it when I came out this morning…"
Robin watched as her hand drifted absently to her hair which must have been neatly re-secured by Mistress Mathilde. His eyes widened though when they spotted not only the jewelled hair pin, which David must have cleaned and returned, but a subtle braid woven into the twist, it's presence unknown by Maria.
Not many De Noirs were given those, and it suited her all too well.
"Come on," He muttered, thinking it was a good thing she seemed not to have noticed it, "It's time to take you home, before you maim anyone else,"
"It wasn't my fault," Maria insisted, following after him before pausing and frowning slightly, "I don't go looking you trouble you know. I'm certainly never the one who starts it…
"No Princess," Robin paused, holding the door open for her with a trace of amusement finally in his voice, "But you always seem to finish it,"
I've always been curious about the braids The De Noirs have in their hair. Robin and the Coeur definitely have them which made think maybe they are for rank? But then I thought maybe they could be the De Noir version of badges/medals of honour, which I think is more interesting. Since it's not a particularly original idea (blatant Dothraki plagiarism lol) I thought I'd keep it quite vague and not go into too much detail.
Originality aside though, the idea did allow me to give this chapter an ending because like always, 80% of this chapter has been written for ages and it was the last part that I was struggling to finish! And once again, that's why the last third may be less consistant, since it didn't undergo the same level of editing over a long period like the rest of it did. But here we are! It's far more prose/text heavy than it was supposed to be (like the previous chapter!) and the next chapter (which needs some development and won't be posted for a while, just to forewarn) is likely to be shorter, and probably have a different (briefer) tone, which was always supposed to be the plan for this series! But oh well, writing often runs away with you :D
I hope you enjoyed reading, and I'd absolutely love to hear your thoughts so please do consider leaving a wee comment! Wishing health and happiness to all and thanks for reading.
