Chapter Twenty Two ~ Fresh Fallen Tears
True to my word, I stayed by Robin's side whilst he slept. I watched him, it seemed to calm me down. He had stopped shaking now, though he still looked strained as he breathed in and out.
What worried me was the fact Loveday hadn't come back yet with a healer to sew up his wounds. I would have gone to look for her, but I didn't want to leave Robin. I didn't think it should take too long to go get a healer and bring them back to the room. I mean, the castle was big but not that big!
When Loveday did return, I knew something was instantly wrong.
She walked in, her cheeks soaked with tears. I could see they were fresh. I sat up immediately, but didn't let go of Robin's hand. Thankfully Robin remained asleep and I turned to face Loveday.
"What's happened?" I asked.
"Danny's dead." She said flatly, her eyes on her brother. I stared wordlessly at her. I didn't know Danny, and though I felt sad for his death, I wasn't feeling tears coming on. Loveday, however, was a De Noir and of course she must have known Danny reasonably well. What then hit me was Robin. I turned to him, he was sleeping peacefully like before. "He's going to be crushed." Loveday said, voicing what I was thinking. "Crushed being the wrong word." She walked over and sat on the other side of Robin's bed. "One of his best friends, dead because of Henry's stupid mistake." She grinded her teeth together. "He'll blame himself."
"It wasn't his fault." I said quietly, though I knew what she was saying was true. No matter what, Robin will blame himself when he finds out. "When are you going to tell him?" Loveday shook her head slowly.
"I don't know." She replied. "He doesn't need the stress when he's in this condition. But I can't not tell him. He'll hate me if I don't." She wiped her cheeks and sighed.
We sat in silence until Robin finally stirred and opened his eyes. He glanced around and smiled when he saw me still by his side.
"You didn't leave then." He said, groggily. I gave him a small smile.
"I told you I wouldn't." He turned his head and met eyes with Loveday. I saw a frown form on his face when he saw her tears.
"What's happened?" He asked. She stared at him for a long time before shaking her head slowly.
"Robin, I'm so sorry." She managed.
"Loveday, tell me what's happened." Robin demanded in a strained tone.
"It's Danny." Robin's face hardened slightly.
"What about him?" He asked, almost worried.
"Danny is…" She swallowed hard. "Danny is dead, Robin." He stared at her before turning to me. I nodded to confirm what she had said.
"You're lying."
"I'm so sorry, brother." He watched her for a few moments before the first tear fell.
"No… He can't be." Robin tried to sit up. Loveday and I both acted immediately, pushing him back down. "Get off me! I need to see him!" Loveday grabbed his shoulders with firm hands.
"Robin, please this is not good for your health." She cried.
"I don't care!" He shouted, he then groaned slightly and doubled over in pain. It was after a few seconds I saw he was crying fully now. Loveday wrapped her arms around him. "He can't be dead. Please tell me he's not dead." He sobbed.
"I'm so sorry, brother." She said again. Robin sobbed harder, his whole body shaking again.
"I'm going to kill him!" I guessed he meant Henry. Loveday didn't speak, she just held him, trying to calm him down. Though Robin continued to sob.
Danny's death hit Robin hard.
When Mrs Harper came to sew him up, at first he shouted at her, demanding why she didn't save him. Mrs Harper reacted calmly and told him she did all she could to help Danny. When Robin had calmed down, he apologised to her but then fell into a distant silence, not talking to anyone. Even whilst Mrs Harper sewed him up, he didn't make a sound. He would occasionally grimace slightly or pull a face that showed it hurt him, but otherwise not a sound was heard from the De Noir boy.
Loveday took me out the room soon after Mrs Harper had finished. She told me I needed rest and that Robin would be fine until morning. A messenger had been sent back to Merryweather manor to inform Uncle what had happened and why would not be returning for the night. So it was set for Loveday and I to spend another unintentional night at De Noir castle.
I lay in bed, unable to sleep. How could I? Not when Robin lay next door in pain or sobbing because of the death of one of his friends.
Whilst I lay there, I heard talking outside my door. I decided to go investigate and climbed out of bed and walked quietly to the door. Mrs Heliotrope always told me eavesdropping was bad, but in the present situation, I couldn't care less about wrong or right. I pressed my ear to the door and listened to the muffled chatter. It was Loveday and her father.
"Are you going to tell Danny's parents?" Loveday's voice asked. There was a low sigh.
"Danny's father died a few months back and no one knows where his mother has gone. Some say she's fled the country to deal with the grief of her husband's death. The boy has been living here ever since she left." Mr De Noir's voice was sad. I felt a sudden sadness come over me. I always thought Robin's friends were just a group of arrogant oafs, much like Robin had been when I first met him. I never thought of them in this kind of way. I felt sorry for them. I even felt sorry for Danny's mother, who had nothing to do with me at all. She had lost her husband and now her son.
The loss must be unbearable.
"Where are you going to bury him?" Loveday asked softly.
"I think that's up to Robin, Michael and Luke." Mr De Noir replied. "Though all three of them are too caught up about his death at the moment. I don't want to ask them until at least Robin's better. So not to overwhelm them." He sighed again. "They are still children after all."
"Young men, more like." Loveday pointed out.
"Children at heart." He corrected her. There was a brief silence.
"Have you spoken to them." Loveday asked, her voice full of resentment. I didn't need three guesses to work out who she was talking about.
"Oh yes." Mr De Noir replied. "Henry says he 'ever so sorry' and 'he blames himself for everything that's happened'."
"That's because everything is his fault." Loveday growled. "When are they leaving?"
"Well George says that he wants to stay until his nephew gets better." Another sigh.
"Which could be weeks." Loveday cried. "Just kick them out already!"
"I can't, dear daughter." A pause. "They can stay until Robin is well enough. Then I will sort out when they'll be leaving."
"Fine." There was the sound of a door opening and then a brief silence. "I forgot to mention, it's Maria's birthday in a few weeks. I'm organising a party for her, she wants me to invite you all."
"You all being?"
"Well, you and Robin obviously. I'll ask her about Michael and Luke, though I'm sure it would be fine for them to come. She'll probably like Mr Gomez and Mrs Harper to be there aswell. Also Mrs Harper's kids; she's quite close to Jude."
"So basically the entire castle?" Mr De Noir chuckled. "You're having a big party, I take it?"
"Well, Maria says she only wants it to be small, but she'll come around on the day." Another chuckle from Mr De Noir.
"What about your Uncle George and Henry?" Silence. "They'll probably still be here by then." Loveday groaned.
"I'll have to confide with Maria, but I'll try my damn hardest to make sure they do not come."
"You know what your Uncle George is like." Loveday made a noise that must have been an agreement. "Anyway, I will let you rest, my dear daughter. I will watch over Robin for the night."
"Call me if anything happens." Loveday said. There was the sound of a door shutting, which must have meant she had gone into her room. Heavy footsteps walked away and down the corridor and another door shut. Everything went silent again.
I headed back to bed, finished with eavesdropping, and curled up under the blanket. It was only a matter of time until I drifted off to sleep, completely exhausted with the day's events.
(A/N) Okay, I know this chapter is a little short, but I felt the need to do so. I will make it up to you all in the next update! :)
Your thoughts are appreciated, good or bad.
-jemlou-