Chapter Forty ~ I Love You

The voice pierced through me and the words echoed loudly in my ears. I knew exactly who that voice belonged to. Though I didn't look up. What if I had just imagined it? It seemed quite coincidental that I would be thinking of the bird boy and then he would just turn up in front of me.

It had to be my imagination, but I couldn't find the strength to look up and check. I would raise my head, see that no one was there and probably burst into tears. My emotions had been building up ever since that night and I would surely break when I realise I'm going mad.

I unclenched my fists slowly, allowing the blood to flow normally again and slowly raised my head, keeping my eyes firmly closed. I then counted to 10 and opened my eyes.

He stood over me, eyes watching me, half anxious, half amused. An arm lay across his lower torso, where the bulk of his injuries were. Though he stood, apparently in no pain, his skin was still the sickly colour of white and I saw him shake slightly. He wasn't wearing his usual leathers, instead he wore a white shirt, that was far too big for him, and trousers that seemed a lot like nightwear. A long black robe hung off him, wrapped carefully around his injured body and an attempt to keep him warm. His usual black hat was missing from the top of his curly hair. His hair itself was stuck up in a lot of different directions and it was an odd sight to see him without the usually company of his trusty bowler hat.

"Robin." My voice came out barely a murmur and seemed to get carried away in the slight breeze. Robin heard me though, as a smile immerged on his slightly battered face.

"The one and only." He said, slightly strained though still cheerfully, waving his unoccupied arm about in a odd fashion. I blinked rapidly, waiting for him to disappear before me, just an image of my imagination. Though he stayed firmly where he was, his smile turning mocking as he watched me blink and rub my eyes.

I groaned in frustration and held my head in my hands again. I counted to 10 once more and peeked up through my fingers. Still Robin stood there, his face now completely amused by what I was doing. Using the tree to help me, I got to my feet. Robin's eyes watched me still, waiting to see what odd movement I would do next.

I stayed leaning against the tree and stared intently at him, urging him to vanish. He still didn't. I flinched as Robin held out his free hand towards me. He held it palm up but it didn't seem to be an invitation for me to hold his hand. I then realised he was allowing me to touch him, to see if he was real. He must have caught on due to all my acts of trying to banish him from my mind.

Slowly, I reached towards his outstretched hand with my own. I glanced up at Robin's face to see him still watching me, though all traces of amusement were gone. I finally touched the tips of his fingers with my own and flinched back when I felt the warmness of his skin. I moved back again and composed myself not to pull away when I touched him again.

I ran a finger lightly across his own fingers, one by one. None of them disappeared on my touch. Though when I reached Robin's palm, he closed his hand quickly around mine, causing me to yelp slightly and pull away quickly. A chuckle came from Robin as he had amused himself with his trick. I sent a scowl his way. I was too jumpy, that was my problem.

"That wasn't funny." I muttered, taking his outstretched hand in both of mine. Robin chuckled.

"I thought it was." He objected.

I turned and twisted his hand in all sorts of direction, running my fingers along his skin, flicking it and pinching it to see if he would vanish if I did. I was so caught up with my investigations I was unaware I had moved away from the safety of my tree and stood much closer to Robin.

Slowly I held his hand up to my face, glancing at Robin to give him a look to tell him not to pull another trick on me as he had done before. His smile grew and I took it as a yes. I examined his hand closely with my eyes, scanning his finger nails, the markings against his skin. All of which seemed too real to have been thought up by me.

Without warning, Robin slowly twisted his hand in my grip and ran the back of his hand carefully across my cheek. The movement sent a shiver down my spine as his touch felt so real and warm against my skin. I carefully closed his hand in a fist and held it together with both of mine. I moved it away from my face and held it against my chest.

"Have you made up your mind whether I'm real or not yet?" Robin asked in a teasing tone. I shook my head once, staring up at him.

"You can't be real." I whispered. Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" He asked, no teasing this time. I shook my head again.

"I just… you can't…" I couldn't quite get the words out and Robin smiled at my struggle to find my voice. "You're supposed to be in bed, healing." I finished lamely. It wasn't quite the correct answer I was wondering, but it was all I could manage to say. Slowly, Robin uncurled his hand from a fist and rested his hand against my neck, tracing shapes lightly into my cheek, an action it seemed so long ago that he had done. My hands dropped to my sides, unsure of what to do with them anymore.

"Mrs Harper thinks I'm fit enough to leave my room now." Robin told me finally. "I was walking through the castle to find everyone," He paused. "Mainly you." He added, smiling warmly at me. This made me blush scarlet. "And I saw you running from the great hall, apparently distressed. I called your name but you didn't seem to hear me. So I came after you." His smile widened. "And here I am."

"Here you are." I repeated, nodding slowly. My eyes wandered from his face and down to where his arm lay across his lower torso, protectively. Memories flushed back to me. Memories of Robin running towards Cassandra and Mr Gomez, unaware of Cassandra's deathly claws that were about to take a swipe at him. Memories of him falling to the ground and Cassandra standing over him, about to devour him. Memories of his pale, lifeless body unconscious as Mr Gomez prepared to carry him back to the castle. And yet here he was, standing before me, like the night's events had never occurred.

Sure enough, when I met Robin's eyes again, he was watching me with a curious and still slightly amused expression.

"It seems that you have lied to me, Mr Gomez." She said. Her voice had resumed it luring, elegant tone. I saw Mr Gomez's face scrunch up with confusion.

"I told you, I would show you where the pearls were." He said. "And this is where they are." A small smile appeared on Cassandra's lips. She walked a few steps towards us and stood next to Robin and her son. Her eyes wandered up and down the De Noir boy, her face unreadable. I could tell Robin knew what she was doing, though he remained looking forward. His eyes found mine again and his face turned up slightly in an expression I couldn't understand.

"I'm so very sorry, Maria." Cassandra's voice purred. I looked to her, to see her holding the rope that was tied around Robin's neck with her hand. With the other she grabbed hold of his torn and ripped shirt. Before I could react, she pulled the De Noir back towards the edge of the cliff and let go of her hold on him.

He tripped over his feet and fell over the edge and towards the thrashing waters below.

"I thought you were dead." I said finally. I watched as Robin's eyes softened with understanding. He looked away for the first time and down towards his feet. He let out a short breathless chuckle.

"I thought so too." He admitted. His hand dropped from my face and he ran it briskly through his messy hair. "Mr Gomez had to convince me I hadn't gone mad and that we were still alive." He stared off at something over the top of my head. A small smile appeared on his face and his eyes flicked back to mine. "Do you know how utterly terrifying it is to fly on the back of a hippogriff, who is apparently your completely insane European tutor?" I couldn't help but giggle. There was silence between the pair of us. I continued to stare at him, wondering if he would disappear, though I had pretty much come to the conclusion that he was real.

"I've missed you." I whispered finally. Robin's smile twitched slightly and I carefully flung my arms around his neck, hugging him. There was a short pause from Robin and he put one of his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I felt his arm still held across his stomach and I was careful not to lean too close to him to pain him anymore than he probably was.

A slight moan from Robin, made me jump away from his quickly, terrified I had hurt him.

"I'm so sorry." I cried, my hands running carefully over him, to sooth him. Robin seemed perfectly fine, though he was bent over slightly and his face strained a grin. "I didn't mean to hurt you." I rushed, my hands cupping his face, urging him to look up at me.

"You worry far too much, princess." Robin said, weakly. "It's unhealthy."

"Where does it hurt?" I asked, trying to remember any medical tips Mrs Harper may have said.

"I'll give you three guesses." Robin muttered. He straightened out slowly and rubbed his stomach slowly.

"Maybe we should head back up to the castle?" I offered. "Mrs Harper may have something for you." Robin chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm fine, Maria." He told me. I stared at him, eyes pleading with him. Why must he be so stubborn. "I promise." He reached out and ran his hand across my cheek again. It was an attempt to sooth me, though his shaking hands pained me even more. I composed myself so I wouldn't cry in front of him. I couldn't let him see me cry.

"Robin, please." I begged, quietly. Robin laughed again.

"I need to talk to you, Maria." He said slowly, straightening himself up to his full height. I breathed a chuckle myself.

"That's funny, because I have something I want to talk to you about." I told him. He smiled.

"I have a feeling that both our things are related." He said carefully. "Or the same." I didn't say anything. Something over Robin's shoulder had caught my eye. Dark figures moved in the snow and stood in a group, seemingly watching us. Robin noticed my staring and glanced over his shoulder. The figures seemed very familiar and I groaned when I realised who it was. Robin turned back to me, questionably.

"Doesn't look like we're going to get a moment's peace." I told him. He raised an eyebrow. I sighed and turned him back to face the group watching us. I rested my head against his shoulder and pointed towards the group. "The three in dresses, I'm guessing they're Loveday, Mrs Heliotrope and Mrs Harper. I think that's your father stood there next to Mr Gomez and your uncle, and if I'm not mistaken that's Marmaduke with Jude and Jesse." I dropped my hand. "They've come to watch." Robin glanced down at me and back at them.

"Should we wave?" He asked. I laughed as he waved at them all with his free hand. I saw them wave back, awkwardly. I grabbed his hand quickly and pulled him towards the forest.

"Come on." I told him. He allowed me to lead him and we entered the forest and away from the unwanted eyes of the others. It was odd to be back in the forest again, with nothing to fear. It seemed like old times with Robin and I running through the forest together, climbing trees and other childish things.

"Maria." Robin laughed, his hand twitching in mine. I glanced back at him and grinned. I didn't know how long we were running for but I came to a halt when we came to a small river. I looked up at Robin, questions in my eyes. He nodded up stream. "If we follow it up there we should come up to the waterfall." He told me. I stared up in the direction he meant and then back at him. I nodded once and he grinned. Together we made our way up stream, towards the river, still holding hands.

The river began to widen and I recognised a familiar sight ahead of us.

The waterfall stood tall and gushed out the water into the large, clear pool. The clearing around still had traces of the night's events. There was a small dark patch in the grass where the fire had burned, some lighter patches of dark where the bodies of the fallen creatures, where their blood had spilled. I dropped Robin's hand and walked slowly into the clearing, staring at everything, the events replaying in my head.

"What did they do with the bodies?" I asked. I heard Robin's footsteps stop behind me. I turned slowly and saw him shrug.

"I'm not quite sure." He told me. "I overheard Father talking about them burning the bodies but he didn't specify where." I nodded.

"At least they're gone."

"At least they're gone." Robin agreed. "No let's just forget about them. They're long and forgotten." I nodded once and smiled.

"Things can go back to normal." I said. I punched him lightly in the shoulder. He grinned.

"I doubt things will go back to normal, princess." He said. "Though things will only get better." I nodded yet again and shifted awkwardly. Just tell him, Maria. Get it over with and be done with it. It can't be too hard, you have done it once before. I stared up at him, pleading that he would say something. Something to start our conversation off as I had no idea what to say. Though he didn't. Robin just continued staring at me, daring me to say something. It seemed like it was me who had to start first.

Ladies first.

"Robin," I began. I saw him resist the urge to mock me then by saying my name in the same, serious tone I had spoken him. He bit his lip and raised an eyebrow in a bid for me to continue. "I…" Just then, a loud shriek rang out across the sky and Robin's head whipped around. He grabbed my hand quickly.

"Come on." He cried. Before I could speak, he was dragging me towards the waterfall. "Hold your breath and don't let go of my hand." Robin told me. Just then he dived straight into the pool, taking me with him.

The cold water engulfed me and I thrashed about slightly. I opened my eyes and at first I couldn't see anything. Dark shapes and bubbles. Then suddenly, Robin's face appeared in front of me and he put a finger to his lips. I nodded once and continued holding my breath. The strain of the water was in my lungs straight away, the lack of air was heavy. Though I continued holding onto Robin's hand to keep me under the water and kept my mouth firmly shut, not allowing any water into my system.

My grip on Robin's hand tightened, a signal that I was about to run out of air and he began to swim, pulling me with him. Just then, we resurfaced and I began to cough and splutter, lapping up the welcome air. I felt Robin's arm around my waist as he pulled me from the water and onto the rocks next to him. I shook violently from the cold and rubbed my arms, an attempt to make myself warm.

"You know what would have been easier?" Robin said suddenly. I glanced at him. He lay on his back against the rocks, panting heavily and pushing his soaking wet hair away from his face. "I should have just headed under here instead of diving into the pool." I glanced around and noticed we were underneath the waterfall. It was then I burst out laughing and was unable to stop. The action of laughing seemed to warm me up and I finished rubbing myself for warmth and brushed my hair away from my eyes.

"What was that noise anyway?" I asked. Robin glanced at me and back at the ceiling.

"Mr Gomez." He told me. "Looking for us. Spying on us." I chuckled again. "I think he was some sort of bird this time. I'll ask him when we get back." I laughed again and stared down at my now soaking wet dress.

"Mrs Heliotrope's going to kill me." I muttered. I heard Robin breath a chuckle.

"It's just a bit of water." Robin said, bringing back memories to the first time he took me here. "I'll she'll be more concerned about the fact you've suddenly gone missing." I glanced at him. He still lay on his back, his chest heaving as he panted. An arm lay causally over his stomach though he didn't seem in any pain. When he saw me turn to look at him, he met my eyes with his and I shot him a look which made him grin. "I'll take that as a no then?" I smiled at him. There was a few short moments of silence as we just watched each other.

I was surprised I didn't feel uncomfortable having Robin watching me with eyes that seemed to be filled with questions and burn into me. What was he thinking? I wasn't sure whether I wanted to know the answer to that question. The De Noir's mind seemed to complex and down right weird for me to even fathom trying to read into it.

"What was it like?" I asked suddenly. I startled myself as I spoke the words I didn't realise I was saying. Robin's face creased slightly.

"What?" He asked.

"Dying." I said instantly. He grinned.

"You do realise, I didn't actually die." He raised an eyebrow. I didn't say anything and continued staring at him, waiting for an answer. I saw him swallow hard. "Incredibly lonely." Robin sighed finally. "You don't realise how I felt when I thought I would have to spend the rest of eternity with Mr Gomez." I giggled. "It wasn't a pleasant feeling."

"But you're alive now." I said. He nodded.

"I didn't actually died." Robin repeated, smiling. "Though the whole thing opened my eyes."

"Don't tell me, you're going to be a 'better person' from now on?" I teased. I prodded him lightly in the arm and he chuckled.

"Actually," Robin sighed. "I would say that pretty much sums it up." I frowned at him as he stared up into the air with wonder. I shook my head once and twisted around so I sat facing him. I took a hand and put a lock of my soaking wet hair behind my ear then gently took his hand. Robin glanced down at my hand in his and smiled.

"You don't have to change, Robin." I said quietly. His eyes looked up to meet mine.

"I've hurt people, Maria." Robin told me slowly. "You included." He sighed and ran his other hand through his hair. "You especially."

"You haven't." I said quietly. Robin chuckled once though his smile faded instantly. I shook my head again. "Please don't change who you are. I couldn't stand to have you any less annoying and arrogant than you already are." His smile appeared again.

"You being nice to me only makes this harder."

"Then do as I say."

"You don't understand, Maria." Robin sighed. I rolled my eyes.

"Try me." I raised a challenging eyebrow at him. Robin stared at me in silence before pulling his hand from mine gently.

He raised himself up onto his elbows and I realised he was trying to sit up. I helped him, carefully, to a sitting position. He groaned, his hand shot to his lower torso and his face creased in pain. The act strained Robin greatly though he gave me the warmest of smiles and took my hand back in his.

"When I thought I had died, it made me realise all the things I had missed out." Robin began. "I've grown up as a bad person, Maria. Filled with hatred through my father's stories and ambitions. You're right about me bottling things up to often. I had to when it came to surviving as a De Noir." He glanced up and me and then back down at our hands. "I'm not going to make up some sob story about how hard my life has been, I don't want to waste your time, it's just I'm not used to how things are at the moment." Robin frowned and didn't continue. I took his as my turn to speak.

"What do you mean? 'How things are at the moment'?" I asked quietly. He exhaled deeply through his nose and then looked up and help my eyes.

"This past year has been the weirdest time of my life." Robin told me. "I've never been used to all this kindness and love I get from yourself and your family." I realised that this was the reason Robin had acted so odd when I told him I loved him. He hadn't been used to someone telling him that. For all I knew, that was the first time anyone had said that to him.

"I'm sorry." My voice was a whisper. Robin chuckled quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Robin said. "It's just how I've grown up." There was silence for a few moments.

"I don't think you're a bad person." I said finally. Robin didn't say anything. He just continued staring down at our hands. "You helped me save Moonacre though you knew it would go against your father's wishes." It seemed that I had said the wrong thing as Robin tensed up slightly.

"I betrayed my family." He hissed. I shook my head frantically.

"You did what you thought was right." I insisted. Robin didn't say anything. I stared sadly at him. He was older than me and yet he looked like helpless child as he sat in front of me. I lifted up my free hand and took Robin's chin, turning his head to face me. I hadn't realised how close our faces were, though I pushed my butterflies aside so I could try make Robin feel better.

"This is the part where you're going to start trying to make me feel better, ain't it?" He knew me so well. I laughed and ducked my head in slight shame.

"I was, though I'm not quite sure where to start." I admitted. All my ideas had gone flying when I looked into Robin's eyes. I was truly pathetic. Robin chuckled and grinned. We stared at each other for a few long moments before I sighed. "I won't bore you with the whole speech again, but I think I should probably remind you that," A pause. "I love you." My heart pounded rapidly as I repeated the same words I had done weeks ago. I braced myself for the rejection though I felt my heart stop as Robin smiled at me. My favourite smile. He took my face with both his hands and kissed me on the forehead.

"My beautiful princess." I heard him whisper. "I love you too." He said softly. I closed my eyes tightly, processing what he had just said. Surely I was dreaming? He was too perfect to love someone like me. My ears must have made a mistake.

Soft lips trailed down my face, kissing my skin lightly, before reaching my awaiting lips. I answered Robin's kiss instantly, kissing him back passionately. It was unlike our other kisses. Unlike the first kiss, not so brief. Unlike the second, not so forceful. It was perfect and we moved together, fitting perfectly.

I wrapped my arms around Robin's neck, drawing him closer to me. Robin placed one hand on my waist, though other probably lay across his stomach. He may have been in pain, though he didn't show it.

We pulled apart and rested our foreheads together. Robin was panting quite heavily and I took his as a result of the strain on his stomach. Though I saw his lips curled up in a large grin.

"I would have told you sooner." Robin whispered. "But I was too afraid."

"Afraid of what?" I asked softly, running my finger lightly across his lips.

"Losing you." My heart skipped a beat and I could feel myself blushing at Robin's words. Why must he make me feel like this?

I didn't have chance to say anything else as Robin was kissing me again. I kissed him back without a second thought. Kissing him felt so natural now. Though I couldn't ignore my insides doing summersaults at his touch.

Our moment was ruined though when I heard a voice over the roar of the waterfall and the thumping in my head.

"Am I interrupting something?" The voice sounded annoyingly familiar and I pulled away from Robin. I whipped my head around to see Mr Gomez stood, arms folded across his chest, at the entrance to the waterfall. There was a slightly smug smile on his face. I turned back to Robin, my face probably glowing red. The embarrassment was burning me up. Robin, however, seemed unfazed and just grinned down at me. I held my head in my hands and I felt Robin put an arm around me to pull me against his chest.

"Everything alright, Mr Gomez?" Robin's cheerful voice asked. I heard a low chuckle from Mr Gomez.

"Sorry to ruin your moment," Mr Gomez began. "But I think you should return back to the castle. Mrs Harper's getting paranoid." Robin's chest heaved with a sigh.

"We're on our way, birdie." Robin said, I could sense a smile in his voice. There was a short pause.

"You're one to talk." There was the muffled sounds of rocks falling and then I felt Robin lift up my chin to look at him. His kissed me again.

"He's gone, don't worry." His said against my lips. I pulled away and put my hands against my cheeks. Sure enough they were warm and no doubt bright red. Robin chuckled. "Come on before they throw some sort of fit." I helped him to his feet, careful not to hurt him.

"Well that's one thing to ruin a romantic moment." I sighed. Robin grinned and gave my hand a squeeze.

"And I'm sure we'll have plenty more for them to ruin." He said. I liked the prospect of what he was suggesting and I had to bite my lip to contain myself from grinning like a fool.

(A/N) Gahh! Love at last! It didn't half take them long. :)

I hope I did Robin/Maria some justice with this chapter. This was one of the hardest ones to write! Please tell me how you all think it went because I'm not sure how I do at writing love fluff.

And again on the subject of ending this story, thank you to those who have suggested how I should end this story. I'll have to think long and hard about it! So not to ruin the rest of the story. If anyone else has any suggestions then please let me know. I would love to hear what everyone thinks.

Anyway, there will be another chapter after this one, whether it will be the last in the story, I do not know. Like I said, I will think about it and see what I come up with.

Thank you all.

-jemlou-