The Moon Beyond the Mist

21. Blossoms in the wind

The world extended before her fingertips as Maria sat up, her hands reaching to brush against the warm flush of her cheeks. She felt the heat of the sun across her bare arms, the soft flutter of birds above her head; it was as if she had been born anew.

The clearing containing the grand oak was overflowing with a fantastical glow and the earth was bustling with life. Leaves rustled together in joyous applause and butterflies were swept up in the air, spinning around one another as if dancing to a waltz whose tune was carried by an eager breeze. The world had never seemed quite so wondrous in Maria's eyes as it did between those moments.

The great tree stood, firmly rooted, at the very heart of the emerald glade. Its twisted branches, which had once appeared so malicious and contrary, were now frail and decrepit. The vast, gnarled trunk was flaking despite its width, large cracks appearing within the wood like weeping gashes through rotted flesh. It no longer possessed a power that Maria felt anchored to, as if it were a black hole now collapsed in on itself, disappearing forever. Despite her relief, the Moon Princess could not help but pity its worn body. Moonacre was the home of new life, and such a tree did not suit the verdure of the resplendent woodland.

The influences that had been briefly bestowed upon her falling spirit were fading fast. She had awoken the valley and breathed life back into its inhabitants, but now she must return her powers to the land. Rising to her feet, thrills of energy swayed her body as though it were a receding tide. It washed across her skin in shivers and tremors, but then flowed from her feet and into the ground like a wave being drawn back into a vast ocean.

She did not stumble as she clambered up the grassy dais, nor did she falter as she reached out and pressed her palms to the grey bark before her. Maria's fingers were warm against the cold touch of the tree's wood, but she kept her hands against it as a gentle heat blossomed from her skin and thawed the ice of the trunk. From beneath her palms, a vivid swell of auburn spread out further and further, travelling up the oak and across its many limbs. Branches straightened and leaves burst forth, whispering together in the breeze as a perfect symphony.

The sun beat down in pale pillars of light, silhouetting the foliage as it jostled for attention. With a final flash of energy, Maria felt her power leave her completely as it entered the oak and balanced the natural world. It was carried as a shiver of spirit and vivacity, spiralling towards the heavens and calling back life to the ancient tree. The force erupted from the oak in a shower of white petals, thousands blooming from between the vibrant leaves. They were incandescent in the bright rays of sunlight, illuminating the tree in an otherworldly magic.

Just as soon as they had sprouted, they began to fall. Freed from their branches, they clustered in the air, swooping and circling in mellow gusts of wind. Despite their vast number, none seemed to touch the ground, instead staying afloat and forming enchanting clouds of pearly petals. They flocked closer together still, creating the silvery mass of an ethereal nebulous. As Maria watched, they adjusted and changed, aligning themselves into a shape she began to recognise. Sticking through the uppermost branches of the great oak pointed a long and twisting horn, and protruding away from the truck was a softly rounded muzzle. Before Maria was an immense unicorn, formed entirely of fluttering white blossoms. They were stirring in the steady breeze, which gave the impression that the grand creature was almost alive, tossing its mane and whinnying to the sky.

Maria gasped as it shifted above her, petals descending and shifting as they formed powerful legs and curved hooves. As the wind picked up once more, the unicorn seemed to rear its head and raise its mighty legs, before swirling together and charging towards the forest lining the clearing. Above the breeze, Maria could have sworn she heard the faint thundering of cloven hooves across the mossy earth, before the form of the unicorn met with the trees and exploded into a thousand individual blossoms, each drifting languidly through the air.

The petals soon began to clear and the glade once again opened up before Maria's gaze. However, as they settled to the ground and scattered through the branches, a figure emerged from the tree line.

Maria's breath caught in her throat. The wind died down, the birds ceased to chatter and even the leaves broke off from their rustling. For one final moment, Moonacre was silent as Robin de Noir appeared from the forest.

She took him in, staring at his body which looked as freshly healed as the woodland. No trace of blood lingered upon him, nor was his skin tarnished by violet bruises and crimson wounds. Best of all, however, was the wide smile that parted his lips, and the sound of her name as he called for her from across the clearing, breaking into a run as their eyes finally met.

And then she was in his arms, finally and infinitely. Her feet were lifted off of the ground and suddenly they were spinning together, around and around. They were two young lovers, orbiting the sun and basking in its eternal glow. The world around Maria became a kaleidoscope of colour, a whirlwind, a tornado. But at the very centre of it was Robin, with his russet curls and shining eyes. Maria knew that her life as the Moon Princess would be filled with trials and underlined with fear, injury and loss. Yet here was her salvation, her beloved who captured the bloom of a full moon in his eyes and the surge of the Milky Way in his voice; her starry eyed knight.

"You did it, Maria," he breathed against her ear. "You saved Moonacre."

"I was so worried that I would never see you again," Maria replied, pressing her face into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'll always find you," Robin said, tightening his grip around her waist. "Whether it be deep within the forest or lost beneath the earth, I'll come for you, forever."

She drew her head back, meeting his eyes which were alight with an inextinguishable passion. Soft curls and coarse feathers tickled her cheeks as Robin freckled her face with butterfly kisses, moving across her nose and over each eyelid. He was so gentle, so intensely loving that she felt her eyes become glazed with unshed teardrops. Within his arms she came undone, allowing him to share the weight of the world that she had carried for so long.

She didn't need to fear her fate when she was in Moonacre. The family she had built for herself had created a new world, an entirety for which the sun rose each morning and the moon illuminated every night. So soft and delicate and vast and free. Her heart burst open in her chest and her love climbed higher, grew greater and reached past the brink of the insurmountable.

With her hand in Robin's, Maria walked towards home.

❖

A/N And so Maria's final trial comes to a close! With only one chapter left, next weekend sees the end of Moon & Mist - I'm already heartbroken, oh my goodness. I've received a couple of frequent questions in comments and messages, which I shall endeavour to answer at the end of the story. If you happen to have any of your own questions (about this story, Moonacre, fanfiction or anything else) then leave them in a comment here and I'll do my best to answer it!

Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you next week!