The Moon Beyond the Mist

15. Molten pearl adornments

Maria awoke from her hazy visions with a clouded mind. The soft burbling of the stream at her side seemed to rush like a river in her head, confusing her senses and distorting her thinking. Her eyes were open, yet they were obsolete against the unbroken darkness that had overcome the cavern. The rough lines of Equuleus that had glowed above her only hours before were nowhere to be seen. Maria only knew that the sharp stalactites that hung precipitously above her remained in place due to the steady drops of water that clung to their tips between brief moments before gravity took its course.

The air around her seemed dense and stale as if the black cloak swept about them in their sleep had blocked out all of the light and trapped in the heavy atmosphere. Every time Maria drew in a shallow breath, she felt as though a corset were being tightened around her ribs.

Unsettled and suddenly anxious to return to the fresh air of hills and valleys, she attempted to sit up. A weight across her legs and shoulders prevented her progress, and she turned to see Robin curled up at her side, his limbs capturing her own in a cocoon of leather and feathers. With wide eyes and trembling fingers, she could just about trace out the pale features of his face; strong brows and straight nose, the slight curve of his parted lips.

"Robin?" Maria whispered, pulling her fingers away quickly as a low groan rumbled from his chest.

His arms partially fell away from her, long fingers dropping to her waist as he moved onto his back, his chest rising and falling heavily even under the bulk of his jacket.

The familiar pinpricks of fear were biting into Maria's skin as she shifted to her knees, palms pressed to Robin's shoulders as she tried shaking him into consciousness. With each tug at his clothing, she could feel her lungs tighten and her throat constrict. She furrowed her brow and attempted to gather her strength, trying to place herself and Robin in a world apart from the one they were in now.

Blossoming softly from within the darkness, flames of light sparked into existence as a handful of jewels stuck deeply into the rock regained their glow. They were far less abundant than before, each shine isolated and more subdued. Yet, Maria was grateful for their presence, now able to make out the dark flush that bathed Robin's cheeks and crept down his neck.

"Robin, please," she said desperately, her hands now cradling his face as she lowered her lips to his feverish forehead. "Come back to me."

His eyes flashed open as she rose up, his fingers grasping at her waist with an intensity that was sure to leave a violet bloom of bruises. Beads of sweat lined the sides of his face, and Maria gently swept aside the curls stuck against his skin as her hands moved restlessly across his head and torso. His lips, she could now see, were white and flaking. They moved weakly as he gazed up into her eyes, trying to form a single word as his chest heaved at the pressure.

"What is it, Robin? Tell me what's wrong."

His eyelids flickered shut for a moment, before bursting open and burning with newfound passion. His pupils widened and his sight seemed to be glazed over with a profound wonderment.

"Water," he gasped, his muscles flexing as he dragged his weight from the floor, kneeling upon her cloak with his head bent, almost touching the cool stone beneath him.

Maria shifted backwards, giving him room to breathe. But Robin began to move, grabbing pieces of crumbling rock and flinging them out of the way as he crawled across the jagged ground towards the surge of the stream.

As he reached the side of the current, he bent his head and his force left him. A peace seemed to envelop his body as his eyelids drooped and his hands fell roughly to his sides. In the dusky light of the cave, he looked picturesque, as if carved from Michelangelo's marble. His heels were turned up to the ceiling with his legs folded beneath him in a kneeling position. His chin was dropped to his chest and his curls flew wildly around his head like a scattered halo. Then, one by one, his fingers dipped into the water, slowly submerging his entire hands before bringing the viscous liquid up within cupped palms.

"No!" Maria gasped, watching Robin lower his head towards the water.

She almost knocked him over as she stumbled towards him and slapped his hands apart, causing the water to rain in small droplets across the stream's surface. Robin let out a strangled cry, his voice parched and broken as if he were in the middle of the desert than a cave deep below the earth. His movements were slow and his energy drained; Maria easily thrust his arms out of the way as she hastened for his jacket pocket, pulling free his waterskin. She was careful to check it was not the one filled with the sinister lustre of the cave's water before she brought it up to his mouth.

Robin gulped desperately, quickly draining the container before pulling his head away violently. Despite his lips, still wet from the water, his throat remained dry and each breath burnt lines of fire down his neck and seared his lungs. Dropping his hands to the floor he once again struggled towards the stream, desperate for relief.

"You can't drink it, Robin!" Maria cried, pushing his shoulders to the ground as she pinned him in place. "I won't let you be trapped down here! I won't ever let us be parted!"

Her eyes welled and her vision blurred as tears of fear, anger and determination rolled down her cheeks. Blinking them back, she could not stop the few that dripped from her skin and down onto Robin's, adorning his face in molten pearls. A single teardrop fell onto his lip, mingling with the water as he shook his head, begging to be released.

His breathing slowed and his pulse calmed. As if stepping through the door closing dreams from reality, he found his senses returning to him. He watched Maria hazily as she struck his shoulders with small fists before bringing her head down to rest on his chest, shaking fearfully against him.

His body felt weakened, yet he strained to bring up his hands and cradled Maria closely against him. He heard her gasp his name as she brought her chin up to gaze at him, her eyes shining brighter than he had ever seen them within the dark shadows of the cavern. Two radiant stars to guide him back home.

They lay together for what seemed like an eternity, growing old with the stone and learning Moonacre's secrets lost to the earth. It was Robin who moved first, bringing his fingers up to gently wipe away the faded stains of tears marking Maria's cheeks. Fabled kings may have lost their lives within these buried tunnels, but they would not have his princess.

"Let's get out of here."