The Moon Beyond the Mist

8. Apples and curls

Maria awoke to the sweet sensation of morning. The leaves outside were shaking in a soft breeze and the sun dappled the room in golden light. She was lying in Loveday's bed, pressed into the corner and wrapped in layer upon layer of woven blanket. She tried to detangle her limbs, her eyelids still fluttering from deep slumber. However, at the sound of a heavy sigh from below her bed, she froze.

Suddenly wary of making any noise at all, she sat up against the pillows, looking past the piles of bed sheets. Sprawled out on the rug by the fireplace was Robin, his bowler hat and jacket stacked neatly to his side and his body turned towards the glowing embers, almost extinguished after burning through the night.

Maria slowly lowered her toes the wooden floor, taking care to move softly enough so that she would not even wake the mice sleeping in the skirting boards. Wrapping a sheet around her shoulders, she tiptoed across the five feet separating her and the snoozing bird boy. At his side she could make out his unguarded features. His long eyelashes and slightly parted lips. His tousled hair that curled around his ears and tickled the base of his neck. She felt her cheeks warm as her eyes moved down, taking in the sight of his torso.

She could see his bare chest moving steadily in time with his breathing. Up and down, as if setting a pace for the beating of her own heart. In a rush of memories, she recalled the previous night. The images flickered past her mind's eye; Robin kneeling before her, Robin gazing up and into her eyes with a fierce intensity, Robin sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. Just hours ago she had been pressed against that chest, hearing his heartbeat within her own ears and feeling his breath muss her hair.

"Enjoying the view, Princess?"

Maria gasped and jumped backwards as if a bolt of lightening had run from her toes and scorched every one of her nerve endings. Robin's eyes were wide open now, a sparkle dancing in each one as a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Robin! I thought... You were supposed to be asleep!" Maria cried, scrambling away now as she retreated to the far side of the room.

"It's a funny thing, Princess, but each night after I fall asleep, I seem to wake up again in the morning," Robin teased, leaning up on his elbows as he watched Maria hurry away from him.

The Princess scowled, trying to calm her breathing as she reached for composure. It couldn't have been eight in the morning and already the bird boy was set on teasing her into an early grave. It was at times like these that Maria could understand Miss Heliotrope's efforts to avoid, as she liked to call it, the vexing company of men.

Determined not to give him the satisfaction of any more quips aimed in her direction, Maria announced that she would instead leave to gather some breakfast, ignoring his remarks as she hastily left through the front entrance rather than the kitchen door.

She considered turning around and darting back into the kitchen, but from the sounds of shuffling feet inside the cottage, she knew that Robin must be putting his shirt back on. She would never be free of his teasing if she chose to enter as he was getting dressed.

The morning air was crisp and cool. In her urgency, Maria had forgotten to put on her boots, and she wriggled toes in the dewy grass, looking around Loveday's small plot of land in the early sunshine. Despite the seemingly endless number of rabbit warrens that speckled the soil around the forest, Loveday's vegetable lots appeared to be untouched, each one rich with bushy leaves and white petals. Impressive as it was, Maria didn't find the idea of carrots and potatoes for breakfast particularly appealing and instead turned her attention to the small apple tree growing slightly apart from the cottage.

The emerald leaves fluttered in the air, caressing an abundance of rosy apples that hung temptingly from thin branches. The sunlight seemed to shine lazily through the gaps, creating pools of shifting light that swam across the grass like faerie dust. Making her way towards it, Maria could smell the sweet scent of the fresh apples and feel the golden sun kissing her bare arms.

On the tips of her toes, her fingers could brush the soft skin of the apples, each one clinging to the tree just out of her grasp. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up into the air, her palms closing around the fruits as a gasp escaped her lips. For a moment it felt as though she were flying, almost as if the fairies had come out of hiding and chosen to play.

But she knew these arms well, and the gentle hands which traced her hips as her toes touched back to the earth.

"I thought your feet may be getting cold, Princess," Robin chuckled as he gestured down to the boots he'd placed by the tree.

Maria nodded, realising that her toes had taken on a bluish tinge in the brisk morning air. Holding one of the fruits out to Robin she smiled up at him, trying to convey her gratitude to his thoughtfulness as their eyes met.

To her surprise, Robin's cheeks turned a bright red, as rosy as the apples hanging above their heads. He cleared his throat gruffly, taking the apple and brusquely turning towards the woods, jerking his head in the direction of the trees.

"The Luminescence Glades, they're this way. If we start walking now we'll be there within the hour."

Maria tried to stifle a giggle as she watched Robin pace around the cottage, running his fingers through his dishevelled curls before firmly pulling the bowler hat down upon his head. Perhaps she wasn't the only one affected by the previous night's events after all.