Second instalment of Kings to You (a title that doesn't make much sense)! Enjoy!

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At first, when I woke up, I thought I was in our house in London. But then my eyes took in the forest scenes and the glass ceiling as well the comfort of the bed, and lastly, the cookies and orange juice there was on a gold platter on my bedside table.

"Marmaduke," I said, smiling to myself as I reached over for the goblet of orange juice. My guess was that Marmaduke still remembered that I didn't like milk. From looking out the window, I was guessing it to be a little after dawn; unfortunately, I was a very early riser, something I apparently got from Uncle Benjamin.

Eating a ginger cookie, I slipped on a dress of varying shades of green before brushing out my curly brown hair. I usually wore it down, to savour the few last months until I reached sixteen and will have to always have my hair in a respectable bun. Although, now that I thought about it, we were in Moonacre and I doubted Uncle Benjamin would mind terribly if I kept my hair down.

Grabbing a book and my 'diary', I went downstairs to the dining room.

"My lady," Uncle Benjamin said as I descended from the tower. "We will be eating breakfast in there, as you will no doubt remember."

"Good morning, Uncle," I responded cheerfully and I could of sworn I saw the corners of his lips quirk upwards.

Entering the dining room, it was to my surprise to see Miss Heliotrope already there and practically devouring an omelette. I sat down and Digweed placed a plate of porridge in front of me. But then I heard a commotion outside the dining room.

"Where did you get this book?" said Uncle Benjamin, shock and anger in his tone. I got up from my seat and went to the door of the dining room, looking out in the hall where Maria and Uncle Benjamin stood face to face, Maria clutching the book father gave us.

"Oh, papa left it to me and Alice," Maria said. Uncle Benjamin took the book from Maria and examined the cover. "Well he had no right to it. This belongs here."

"B-but that's Alice and mine!" she cried after him but he ignored her and went inside the library. Maria stormed past me and right to Miss Heliotrope.

As Maria started ranting about Uncle Benjamin taking our father's book and Miss Heliotrope started lecturing her, I went back to my porridge. This argument didn't involve me and I would avoid it as much as possible. Uncle Benjamin strode in and took his seat at the head of the table. I was sitting on his immediate right side.

Although it was rather hard to keep my snickers in when Miss Heliotrope gushed about her breakfast, to which Uncle Benjamin responded, "A meal best enjoyed in silence, I hear."

"You ought to return to Alice and me our father's book," Maria said, but Uncle Benjamin ignored her. I tried to tell Maria to just let it drop, because an angry Uncle Benjamin was not a good thing, but she didn't even look at me. Maria had been distant to me ever since father's death. I couldn't help but think that she blamed me for his death.

"Well, you certainly have a very good cook Sir Benjamin," broke in Miss Heliotrope, in an effort to break the awkward silence. "Have you had her long?"

"Madame," Uncle Benjamin responded tiredly. "No woman except for Alice has stepped in this house for years. Believe me, the silence has been blissful."

At that, I snorted rather unladylike into my tea cup.

As Miss Heliotrope and Uncle Benjamin bickered, Maria broke in.

"Tell us Uncle," she said. "Why did you invite such noisy females as Miss Heliotrope and me into your nice quiet house? Since it's obvious that you don't mind Alice, tell us. I'd really like to know."

Maria then threw a jealous look at me before resuming her staring of Uncle Benjamin, leaving me shocked. Was that why she was so distant? Because she thought Uncle Benjamin preferred me? Uncle Benjamin didn't prefer me, he just knew me better than Maria.

"My useless brother dies in debt, and it falls on me to take you in," Uncle Benjamin sighed. "The man was a cowardly good-for-nothing."

"How dare you say that?" Maria shouted, standing up all of the sudden. "My father was a Colonel."

I stood up as quickly as I could go, knocking my chair over. Blushing, I bent down and picked it up before leaving the room. I didn't want to hear this. I hadn't gone far enough to avoid hearing my Uncle shout, "And got himself killed in a back-alley gambling-den!"

No, no, no, no. I did not want to know this. I started to run, out of the sitting room, down the hall, up the stairs and to the tower. There, I collapsed on my bed for a couple of seconds. Then, gathering my will power, I stood up again and went downstairs, where it seemed that the fighting had settled down and Uncle Benjamin was about to give a tour.

"My library is private," Uncle Benjamin said as he gestured to the large, double oak doors. "Well, I suppose Alice can go in, seeing as she would sneak in anyways. I didn't succeed in keeping her out when she was ten years old and I won't succeed now."

"My personal study, prohibited. The east wing, closed. The west wing, out of bounds."

I frowned, noticing that a lot more seemed to be forbidden then it used to be. When I had been here, I was aloud to enter the east and west wings as I pleased. Uncle Benjamin opened another door and signalled inside.

"Ladies, this should fit your personal needs."

"And this will be your classroom," Digweed supplied helpfully. We entered the room to see two desks, one with two chairs.

The two men left us, and I sat down at one desk while Maria and Miss Heliotrope sat down at another. But as Miss Heliotrope started reading French verbs, the desk was looking like a mighty comfy pillow. I was never able to speak French, which had always sounded a bit like gargling to me. After nearly five years of being tutored in French, the only verb conjugations I knew were ĂȘtre and avoir.

It started to get even harder to concentrate when Wrolf went in and out of the room at regular intervals.

The next morning, I was woken by the sound of a piano playing. Grinning, I threw on a blue and silver dress before grabbing my own instrument and walking towards the piano playing. Sitting at the piano was Maria, her fingers dancing over the keys. I sat next to her and began to strum my lyre to the melody she was playing.

Although I was a poor piano player, I could play a lyre very well. We were interrupted by the voice of Uncle Benjamin.

"Digweed," he called looking at us. "Get me my whip."

I was relieved when he meant horse riding, and not punishing us with a whip.

Uncle Benjamin was saddling his brown horse while I was saddling my own horse, a black stallion that I had named Independent when I had been here five years ago. Uncle Benjamin had taught me how to ride, though I suppose I would be a bit rusty after not being on a horse for the last five years.

Miss Heliotrope and Maria were trying to convince Uncle Benjamin that Maria didn't need to know how to ride and how it was 'unladylike'.

I hoisted myself up onto Independent, just as Digweed came, leading a small white and gray mare. After stepping in some horse manure, Miss Heliotrope had retired back inside the house.

"This is Periwinkle," said Uncle Benjamin, gesturing at the mare. "She's a little feisty but a loyal steed."

At first, Maria was a bit apprehensive but I could tell that after just a few moments of stroking Periwinkle's nose, she had fallen in love with the horse. And besides, it was like Uncle Benjamin had said. Every Merryweather knows how to ride, it's in the blood.

The three of us rode thought Moonacre Valley and I enjoyed the wind running through my long hair. Uncle Benjamin eyed me.

"Your hair is much too long Alice," he said, to which I shrugged. True, it was bothersome sometimes to have hair that was thigh length, but I would never cut it.

"Miss Heliotrope and Maria say the same thing," I told him. After awhile, Uncle Benjamin said, "We should be getting back. It's getting late."

"Uncle, I'm really enjoying this," Maria said. "Could I stay out a little longer?"

Uncle Benjamin threw me a look, and I sighed and shook my head. Its no that I didn't love Maria, but my legs were starting to cramp and I didn't feel like riding much longer. My uncle's eyes started to beg with me. I sighed.

"I'll stay with you Maria," I piped up and saw the relief in my Uncle's eyes.

"As long as you promise to stay in the Moonacre Valley boundaries," he said. "Stay out of the forest."

As he started to ride away, he yelled over his shoulder, "I mean it Alice! Stay out of the forest!"

"Damn," I cursed under my breath, to which Maria looked at me shocked. Ladies aren't suppose to curse. As we rode in silence, Maria asked me why I had been sent here when I had been ten years old.

"Oh well the doctor said I was having trouble breathing," I told her. "He said that the country air would be better for my lungs so father sent me to live with Uncle Benjamin for half a year."

By now, we were riding by the forest and I threw anxious looks at it; I always felt like there were a hundred eyes hidden in the trees, watching.

"What's so special about the forest?" Maria murmured, though I didn't know if it was to herself or to me. "Why did Uncle yell for you to stay out of the forest, Alice?"

"Oh well, I was always sneaking into the places I wasn't allowed in," I laughed but stopped short when Maria suddenly dismounted and walked into the forest.

"Maria!" I hissed before dismounting Independence and running after her.

"Are you crazy?" I snarled, my brown hair flying after me. "We shouldn't be in the forest."

"Scared?" she taunted.

"Yes," I said bluntly, leaving her shocked. I didn't usually admit to being scared; my pride wouldn't allow it. "You don't know what lives in this forest Maria." Unwillingly, I thought of Robin and the De Noir clan.

"Oh and I suppose you do?" she said mockingly.

"Yes," I looked at her evenly. "I do. When I was ten years old I explored every inch of this forest and I knew it like the back of my hand. There was only one person who knew it better than me."

"Who?" Maria asked curiously.

"Never you mind," I swallowed. Suddenly, we saw a cage made of twigs. In the cage, was a rabbit.

"Poor little thing," Maria cooed, bending down. I recognized the craftsmanship of the cage.

"Maria, we have to get out of here," I said franticly. "Now!"

"We have to help her," Maria said, trying to undo the latch. All of the sudden a teenage boy dressed in black with a red scarf and a black bowler hat. Robin.

"One trapped, three captures," he said mockingly.

"What do you want?" Maria asked confusingly and I pulled her back behind me, facing the laughing Robin. Suddenly, three more boys appeared from behind the trees. I heard Maria shriek and turned around to see her in the arms of a boy.

"I know who you are," she said, freeing herself from the boy. "You're bandits and plunderers!" They all laughed.

"They're not bandits at all," I said calmly feeling everybody's eyes on me. "They're De Noirs. Right, Robin?"

He grabbed my upper arm, lightning fast. I saw with some satisfaction a cut on his hand from my ring.

"You two are coming with us," Robin said. "My father is just dying to make your acquaintance."

"Grow up Robin," I snarled trying to shake off his arm.

"Oh but I have Alice," he said. "Don't you see?"

"All I see is a boy with no backbone," I said bitingly and saw his eyes darken with anger while his friends hooted. Maria was looking at me confusedly.

Then, all of the sudden, Wrolf leapt out of the trees and tackled Robin to the ground.

"It's the demon dog!" they all cried and started to franticly run back. I smirked superiorly at Robin, who was holding his ground but still looking scared of the big dog.

"Robin, let's get out of here!"

Robin started to back away.

"Run along to your father Robin," I told him.

"Merryweather through and through then, right Alice?" he said spitefully.

"I know where my loyalties lie," I said with my head held high. "But do you, Robin?"

Robin didn't answer, for at that moment Wrolf launched himself at Robin, making Robin run after his friends.

"How do you know him Alice?" Maria asked but I ignored her, crouching down expertly unlocking the cage and taking out the hare, handing it silently to Maria.

"Alice?"

I turned to see Maria still staring at me.

"Not now," I said harshly before striding at a quick pace out of the forest, Wrolf at my heels. As soon as we got out, I mounted Independence and spurred her into a gallop towards Moonacre Manor, not waiting for Maria.

But I was being careless and Independence tripped over a rock, sending me flying to the ground. I got up angrily but buckled under my leg, which now had a bleeding gash on it. I felt tears prickling at my eyes from the pain but only two fell from my eyes.

I mounted Independence again and went to Moonacre Manor, wincing as my cut was jostled.

After putting Independence into her stall, I went to the kitchen where Marmaduke was flitting around.

"Anything I can do for you Mistress Alice?" he asked while stirring two pots quickly at the same time before disappearing and appearing again in the garden, picking tomatoes.

"Just a boiled rag, Marmaduke," I winced and sat down. I picked up the rag Marmaduke had given me and cleaned my cut before wrapping it up.

"What happened to you Alice?" Marmaduke asked.

"What happened indeed," I murmured to myself.

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