Chapter Sixteen ~ Afraid Of The Dark

The days I spent at De Noir castle seemed to pass by quickly. I wasn't sure how long Loveday and I had planned to stay there, but we didn't seem to be making any longing to leave just yet.

Every day I spent there, Robin was out on patrol for his father, so I rarely saw him. And even when I did see him, conversation would be short and, oddly, awkward. Ever since the night I asked Robin why he had kissed me, we didn't seem to see each other very often.

It was like he was avoiding me.

I thought about confronting him about it, but I decided it was just best to leave him as he would come to me when he had sorted out whatever was going on in that arrogant brain of his.

Now Robin was occupied, I was left without a friend to spend all my time with. Though soon after Robin became too busy with his duties, it seemed that Henry was more than happy to fill his shoes very quickly. The Cunningham boy would find me somehow whenever I was wandering the castle and offer to join me, so I wasn't lonely. At first, Henry was more of a distraction from Robin's absence, now though he was a pleasant company to have during the day.

My first impressions of him seemed to be wrong.

Loveday didn't like my new friendship in her cousin. She would constantly warn me about him, telling me Henry was a bad influence and I should stay away from him. I would have to tell her not to worry about me, I could look after myself. I couldn't see what the big hype about the Cunningham's was anyway. Other than the rudeness of Henry's father, they weren't that bad.

"Miss Maria?" Jude's voice knocked me back to reality. At the present moment I was sat in the grounds of De Noir castle with Jude and Mrs Harper.

Now winter was here, the days were cold and bitter but today we were having a rare sunny day and Mrs Harper said it was stupid to waste it. She and Jude had brought out some blankets and clothing to be stitched so they could work as they sat outside in the lovely weather. I had convinced Mrs Harper to let me help as I didn't like just sitting there looking useless. She needed a lot of convincing though. Mrs Harper said I was not to bother with servant work. I dismissed this immediately and she gave in to me, handing over on old shirt of Robin's that needed stitching.

"I was just dreaming." I had a habit of day dreaming recently. Thankfully the people I was around, had grown used to it and would nudge me whenever I looked 'distant' so I wouldn't day dream for too long.

"It's a wonder how you have stuff left to dream about when you sleep." Mrs Harper chuckled. Mrs Harper was like Mrs Heliotrope, but probably more stern. I suppose you would have to be living in a house with the De Noir's. She was one of the two servants I had seen in the castle that was allowed to scold Robin. The other being Mr Gomez, who would occasionally use a hand or a book to slap Robin over the head with whenever he was in need of a telling off.

"Do you know whether they're any nearer to catching the creature?" I asked. Whenever I asked Loveday about the 'creature' she would tell me not to worry and ignore the question. So I had to rely on Mrs Harper to fill me in with what was going on.

Now that I never saw Robin either.

"I believe Master Robin has found more carcasses." Mrs Harper sighed. She stared over towards the forest. "Promise me you won't go running in there on your own." She said firmly. "The both of you." She turned back to Jude and I with a hard look on her face. We both promised her we wouldn't.

"Have they found any human bodies yet?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Thankfully not." There was a short silence. "Mr De Noir is getting more agitated. Everyone is dependant that they'll catch it, though it doesn't seem that Mr De Noir and Master Robin are any closer catching it than they were before."

"Has there been any more sightings?" I pressed.

"Master Robin has reported that he's seen it now." Mrs Harper put down her stitching and ran a hand over her face. She shook her head. "If Mr De Noir carries on like this he's going to get his son killed."

"What do you mean?"

"Sending him out on patrol every day! I don't think I've seen that boy out of the forest since they found the first dead animal." She stared down at her daughter, who was busy stitching, not listening to our exchange. "If that was my child, I wouldn't let them within spitting distance of that forest." I nodded in agreement. I hated that Robin was in danger daily and I couldn't do anything about it. Whenever I told Mr De Noir about my worries he would just wave my comment away and insist his son was fine.

"Do you see Master Robin anymore, Miss Maria?" Jude asked suddenly. I paused before replying.

"Robin has a lot of work to do at the moment, Jude." I sighed. I could see Mrs Harper watching me.

"He does not have time for you?" Jude pressed.

"It seems not."

"I ought to give that boy a good thrashing." Mrs Harper muttered. "You've been so good to that boy and now he just ignores you like you're nothing." I shrugged indifferently, trying to hide any form of emoticon.

"Robin has work to do." I began. "He's busy most of the time and when he's not he's too tired. Which is understandable." Mrs Harper shook her head slowly.

"That's not the point, Miss Maria." She said smiled at me sadly.

We headed inside when we had finished all the stitching and Mrs Harper and Jude left, telling me they were going to the servant's quarters to rest a little. We parted ways and I headed into the Great hall, for no particular reason.

Inside the grand room was a small gathering of people by the table. What confused me was seeing Robin stood with them. Shouldn't he be out in the forest? Then I saw Mr De Noir and realised that this must have been a meeting to discuss everything.

The gathering was made up of the usual crowd; Mr De Noir, Robin, Robin's friends, Mr Gomez, Mr Cunningham, Henry and surprisingly Loveday. She smiled at me when she saw me enter and gestured for me to come stand with her. There was no secrecy from me anymore and I didn't have to leave whenever they were talking about plans and things to do with the events in the present.

"…so we need to widen our area." Mr De Noir said, pacing back and forth. "What if it's slipped out of our boundaries and you've just missed it?" He sent an accusing look at his son and then continued pacing.

"We're doing the best we can, Father." Robin said firmly, scowling at Mr De Noir.

"Well, your best isn't good enough." Mr De Noir snarled.

"Father!" Loveday cried.

"I don't see you going out there and tracking it!" Robin shouted, seemingly ignoring the looks he got from his father.

"You are the one that's supposed to know the forest best." Mr De Noir retorted. "I thought you knew what you were doing."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you." Robin said, his voice angry. "But like I said, we're doing the best we can, father."

"And like I said, son, you're just going to have to work harder!"

"We've not had one days rest. We're out in that God forsaken place day by day doing your bidding and we get nothing! You have the nerve to criticize us when all you do is sit on your backside in here, lounging around and getting fat!" Mr De Noir made an advance towards his son that may have been to hit him, though Loveday grabbed her father's arm to stop him and Mr Gomez pulled Robin back a few steps, as if to protect him.

"You're out there to stop it." Mr De Noir began, his voice steady. "That thing is killing and soon enough it will kill a human. I will not let that happen."

"Then go out there and hunt it yourself!"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, boy!"

"Father, please, calm down." Loveday begged. Both the De Noir men glared at each other in silence until finally Mr De Noir turned away from his son towards his daughter.

"I apologise greatly, dear Daughter." He said calmly, giving Loveday a small smile. His whole demeanour seemed to have changed as he looked upon his daughter. Mr De Noir's face relaxed from the glare he had been sending his son and his hands unclenched from the hard fists they were in before. His eyes then flickered to me. "I apologise to you aswell, Maria. Loveday is used to this whereas you are not. I apologise that you had to witness me at my worst." He almost bowed towards me. I couldn't answer so I just settled for a smile.

"Can't you men talk without breaking out into argument?" Loveday muttered. Mr De Noir regarded his daughter then turned back to the men.

"Tomorrow patrolling will continue as usual." He said. I saw Robin's face drop and go hard. That wasn't the answer he wanted.

"I'm sorry, William," Mr Gomez began, stepping into the small circle. It was weird to hear Mr De Noir being addressed as William. But I then remembered Mr Cunningham would call him that all the time. It must have been Mr Gomez calling him it that was odd to me. "But Robin hasn't had a day of tutoring for a long time now. I think maybe a few days off from patrolling may be needed for him." Mr De Noir watched Mr Gomez for a few moments then his eyes turning to Robin.

"You will continue patrolling until the end of the week." He said. "Then you may have a few days off for lessons. While you're away, Henry can fill in for you." Robin's face turned up into a smirk as he glanced at his cousin.

"I'm sorry, what was that, Uncle?" Henry asked, disbelieved.

"Whilst you stay in my house, you will help with our duties. So that means you will fill in for Robin's absence on patrols." Mr De Noir said. His tone was final and so Henry did not argue.

"He doesn't know what to do, William." Mr Cunningham said, speaking for his son.

"Then he will go with Robin tomorrow to learn what needs to be done." Mr De Noir shrugged. "So that is final then." Everyone nodded, though it wasn't a question, and Mr De Noir said everyone was free to leave. Loveday and I left together.

"We will be leaving soon, Maria." She said suddenly, as we were walking out the main doors and outside.

"When?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Tomorrow evening." She sighed. "Digweed will be coming to pick us up." She looked down at me. "So tonight will be our last night." I nodded. I knew leaving was inevitable. "I cannot wait to see Benjamin again." I watched as her face brightened at the mention of Uncle's name. I smiled to myself. Loveday's and Uncle's love was a refreshing sight to see. I, myself, couldn't wait to see Uncle again. Aswell as Mrs Heliotrope, Marmaduke, Wrolfe and even Digweed. Though I liked staying at De Noir castle, I missed home immensely.

Dinner was over quite quickly and night time fell over De Noir castle. One by one we resided to our beds, bidding the rest goodnight. I headed up with Loveday and we parted to go into our opposite bedrooms.

Once I was inside, I felt lonely.

I leant back against the door and stared around the room. I hadn't bothered to light the candles so it was dark. Though the small window was letting in some of the moonlight, which lit up the room slightly.

With a sigh, I got ready for bed.

I heard them behind me.

Slowly but surely they're catching up. I smelt their rank horrid breaths as they moved in, their snarls becoming more than just a distant noise now. I had no recollection of where I was, I had no time to stop or take it in. Otherwise, they'd be down on me and ripping my flesh from my bones. Thankfully I outran them easily.

I had speed on my side.

But I was getting tired now. My sides hurt and my legs ached. My head was spinning and throbbing uncontrollably, nearly making me lose my balance.

Then, I tripped.

Face first onto the hard ground. Everything seemed to stop. I prepared myself for the pain, for their claws and teeth to rip at me, but nothing came.

Just silence.

Then I heard breathing. But it isn't ragged and growling, just simple in and out breaths. I braved a look. I immediately recognised where I was. I was in the forest somewhere. It was night time, darkness overshadowing the trees. The moon high in the sky overlooking me. But there's no sign of anyone else.

Just me.

I stood up slowly, carefully, on guard for something to jump at me. Then a figure appeared from behind a tree. I couldn't see their face, as a shadow covered it from view. I stepped back warily.

"Who… who are you?" I asked huskily. My voice was on the verge of breaking. Silence. I glanced around, looking out for the tell tale monstrous shapes that could have jumped out at me any second.

Suddenly, a deep and croaky laugh broke the silence, causing me to flinch. I looked back to the figure, who has crossed their arms across their chest. They looked up out the shadows, revealing their face. It was a man, though their face is barely recognisable. It was mutated and deformed far behind reconfiguration. He gave me a slimy grin, revealing rotting and mangy teeth.

"Why, I'm your worst nightmare." He mocked. Before I could react, the monsters, I had feared, jumped out from behind him and towards me. They set their fangs and claws into me before I had chance to scream.

I sat up, gasping for air, my throat suddenly feeling strained and tight. It was just a nightmare, I told myself, nothing to worry about. An immense feeling of sickness washed over me and I felt as though I was going to throw up.

It was just a nightmare.

But it seemed so real. The man's face still stuck in my mind. The creatures as the jumped at me and chased me through the forest.

I didn't make the connection with the creatures in my dream with the creature in reality until after a few moments of sitting, thinking. It explained why I had dreamt of creatures chasing me with my fear of the creature in the forest at the moment.

Though I prayed that the monster in reality was nothing like the monsters in my dream.

I sat in the dark for a few moments before deciding I needed to get up. I climbed out of bed and headed for the door. Robin and Loveday were asleep in their rooms so I had to be quiet.

Before I knew it, I was heading upstairs to the music room. I gazed around it. The room had been cleaned.

No more dust or cobwebs inhabited the room anymore. The walls were visible and the floor seem to shine. All the instruments had been arranged around the edge of the room as if to show them off, though the piano remained in the same place. A couple of chairs were now in the room aswell as a table. Books were stacked on the table. I walked over to examine them.

I then remembered that this was Robin's tutoring room now. That explained the new additions to the room.

I had to agree with Loveday, the room looked beautiful. It reminded me a lot like the piano room back in Moonacre. I couldn't wait to get home and see the room again.

After a few more moments gazing, I headed over to the piano and sat down. I began to play, my fingers working on their own. It seemed that as soon as I touched the piano with my fingers they would work alone, having a mind of their own.

Playing the piano calmed me down. I was no longer shaking from the dream I had just had. The music was soothing to my ears.

I was so caught up with playing that I failed to hear the footsteps coming up the stairs.

(A/N) Apologises for the lame chapter ending. I thought the chapter was going on a little long so I cut it short a little.

As for the dark dream, I didn't know where that came from! Kind of just something random though I don't know if it was suitable for the story. Apologises if you don't like it, but there's not real going back now! Tell me what you think of it.

Thank you all SO much for the reviews so far. You are all truely amazing! I'm glad you are enjoying what I write.

Anyway, until next time my faithful readers!

-jemlou-