Moonacre

Part 4

Coward.
Robin lost count of how often that word crossed his mind ever since he agreed to stay at Moonacre manor.
He couldn't quite understand why he even agreed to it in the first place.
Right now he was running away, to hide in the same house; with the same family that he had despised for so many years; and to hide from his father out of all people.
It made him feel sick, especially since he knew exactly what his father would say to him at this very moment.
"Are you alright back there?"
Robin hadn't even noticed that he had tightened his grip around her waist while he was deep in thought.
"You've been awfully quiet the entire way", she turned her head a little in his direction.
"I'm good.", he mumbled, just barely loud enough for her to hear over the steady sound of her horse's steps on the gravely road.
"I've heard that before.", she sighed before letting the topic slide.

It was already dark when they met in the forest close to the de Noir castle, since it was easier for Robin to sneak out without drawing too much attention.
He had been quiet the entire journey.
She knew he was worried about how his father would react once he found out that his son was missing, both of them were sure that he could burn down the entire manor if he wanted to.
Jane was adamant to not let anything like that; not even something close to it, happen.
She had promised Robin that she wouldn't let his father hurt him anymore and she intended to keep her promise.

It had crossed her mind that he was rather reluctant to accept her offer. The fact that there was no other real option to get out of his current predicament was probably the reason that still persuaded him in the end, yet she knew that he was agitated and was fighting an inner turmoil and it pained her to watch him struggle so much.
She let go of the reins with one hand and grabbed one of his that were still placed around her waist before giving it a soft squeeze.
There was no way she could just make everything that troubled him disappear but she wanted him to know that he could always count on her.

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it fit for a king, but it sure does the job.", she pulled the white sheet that had protected it from dust off of the bed.
"And you have a much nicer view than I do so I am, in fact, quite jealous."
"Why did Sir Benjamin even agree to let me stay in the first place.", Robin asked while looking around the candle lit room that would be his new home for the time being.
"You'd be surprised at how persuasive I am.", she grinned at him cheekily.
"Well... with me, I mean Loveday... but in my defense, I only had to mention her name and Benjamin agreed immediately."
Robin chuckled.
"You're unbelievable."
"Hey!", she grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at him, hitting him in the chest.
"Is that your way of saying thank you? Wow, I'm really impressed."
He looked at the pillow that now lay on the floor before looking back up at Jane with a grin.
Her face fell.
"Oh-oh..", she immediately dashed to the other side of the bed to hide before he had picked up the pillow and was aiming it in her direction.
He wouldn't be able to actually hit her from his current position, so he made his way on the other side only to realize that she had disappeared.
Robin dropped to his knees to look under the bed, puzzled as to how she was able to get away so quickly.
To his surprise he wasn't met with her hiding under the bed per se but rather with the sight of her already standing on the other side again.
He had been tricked.
As he sat upright again he was met with another pillow straight to his face.
It fell to the floor with a soft thud before Jane burst out laughing.
He blinked a few times, still astounded that he fell for such a cheap gimmick.
"Impressive.", he finally said while getting back to his feet.
She raised her arms in defense.
"You know, I do accept your surrender, so let's just not get carried away.", she slowly backed away towards the door.
"Oh, will you look at that.", she pretended to look at an imaginary pocket watch that she pulled out of her pocket.
"It's quite late, we should really go to bed, alright."
She darted out of his room but came back just a few seconds later with a wide smile on her face.
"Goodnight Robin, I see you in the morning,"
He smiled back at her,
"Goodnight."

He didn't know how long he lay awake, staring at the ceiling of his room.
Robin was exhausted but yet he couldn't get any sleep.
He felt completely out of place and everything around him felt strange and alien.
There wasn't a moment in his life where he had ever felt as lost as he did right now.
Shouldn't he be happy? Glad? Pretty much anything other than what he was feeling right now?
But he thought about his father's wrath and what he would do if he found him here, hiding behind the Merryweathers like a wuss.

Robin was tossing and turning, his mind racing, everything was just so overwhelming.
He sat up and ran his hands over his face brushing his curls away from his eyes.
There was no way he would get any sleep, or even anything that resembled rest.
His body acted on his own accord as he swung his legs off the bed and got up.
What was he supposed to do?
Maybe Jane would be able to help.
As he finished that thought he was already standing in front of his door.
His hand hovered over the door handle.
He really shouldn't bother her, especially in the middle of the night. She was probably sleeping already, maybe she would get mad if he woke her up.
Robin shook his head.
No, he should probably just suck it up and go back to bed, that would be the best, yet he didn't move away from the door.
He took a deep breath, cursed at himself, pushed the door handle down and was standing in the hallway before he could ponder on it any longer.

The entire house was dark and eerie. A shiver ran down his back.
He thought about going back but his attention was drawn to the ray of light that shone through the small slit under Jane's bedroom door.
Was she still awake?
Robin made his way over to her door, his bare feet making no noise on the cold stone floor.
He raised his hand slightly to knock but let it hover in the air.
No, this was wrong. He's not a child, why should he bother her just because he couldn't sleep? It was ridiculous.
He turned on his heels and walked back to his room before stopping in the doorway.

His room was already dark, all the candles had died a while ago.
He really didn't want to go back there.
For a second he stared at the floor.
He felt out of place, and lost, and lonely and he was sick of drowning in self-pity.

In the heat of the moment, he closed the door to his room, turned around again and knocked on Jane's door all within a few seconds.
His heart skipped a few beats and only the soft "come in" from her room made him release the breath he was holding the entire time.