Moonacre

Part 5

Robin hesitated to open the door. He felt so foolish but he had come this far so he might as well go through with it.
He slowly pushed the door handle down, wincing at the sudden noise as he pushed the door open as slowly as possible.
Her room was softly lit with multiple candles placed all round. It looked similar to his, just a little more lively.
"Robin.", she sat up a little from her position in the middle of her bed, the book she was reading moments ago placed in her lap with one of her fingers marking the page.
"What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
He stood awkwardly in the doorway, nodding his head.
"Oh poor thing. Come here.", she scooted over and patted the now empty spot with her hand.
She laughed lightly when he hesitated.
"I swear, I won't bite."
His face felt hot as he quietly closed her door behind him and made his way over to her.
"Here.", she pushed the blanket aside so he could slip in beside her.
He knew that this would be considered inappropriate but he couldn't bring himself to care at all, especially if it meant that he wouldn't have to be alone.
"Why are you still awake?", he asked her after he was finally settled in beside her.
"I picked up this book earlier today and I can't bring myself to go to sleep without knowing how it ends.", she smiled a little.
"Why can't you sleep?", she asked and turned to look at him.
He was nervously fiddling with his hands in his lap.
"Hey.", Jane grabbed both of his hands with hers, the book in her lap forgotten for the moment.
"I know it's not easy to admit that there's something wrong but you know I'm here for you if you want to talk, okay."
Robin looked at her with sad eyes.
Why was she so nice to him? No one ever bothered to even ask how he was doing and now there was this strange young woman that was willing to drop anything else just to make sure that he was alright.
He barely noticed the single tear running down his cheek until she softly brushed it away with her thumb.
She looked at him for a while longer before pulling him into a hug.
One of her hands went up to run through his hair, detangling his messy curls in the process.
Robin wrapped both of his arms around her and held her tight while burying his head in the crook of her neck.

"What is it that's been bothering you so much lately.", she murmured while still stroking his hair softly.
They laid down a while ago to be in a more comfortable position.
"I just don't know what to do, I suppose.", he admitted, his breath fanning over her collarbone as he spoke.
"You never thought you'd get away from the castle?"
"No."
"Well,", she started, twirling a strand of his hair around her finger.
"You can do whatever you want to do. Nothing is off the table.", she paused.
"Though I wouldn't recommend manslaughter that usually gets you to jail, or more likely hanged. But other than that?"
He laughed slightly.
"You make it sound easy.", he mumbled.
"Oh, because it is. But let me get you in on a secret. You really don't have to figure it out straight away, so it's alright if you don't know today, even tomorrow, hell, even three months from now."
He let those words sink in but didn't say anything otherwise.
Jane used the hand that wasn't currently tangled in Robin's hair to fish for the book that had been abandoned earlier.
She struggled to find the page where she left off and decided to just pick a part that she knew she already read.
The candlelight was just enough to make out the words on the slightly yellow pages and she started to softly read out loud.
Robin could feel his eyes becoming heavier by the second. He couldn't even concentrate on the story since he was so focused on not falling asleep in order to enjoy her soft ministration on his head a while longer.
His efforts were still in vain as he slowly drifted off to sleep a few minutes later.
Jane could feel his breath evening out which confirmed that he had indeed fallen asleep.
Her gaze drifted to her bedside table where the shiny golden bracelet lay undisturbed.
She knew that she was slowly running out of time but she couldn't just leave Robin behind like that, it wouldn't be fair.
Jane stared at the ceiling, thinking about leaving him caused her heart to ache more than she allowed herself to admit.
A string of curses threatened to leave her mouth but she kept it in, in courtesy of the peacefully sleeping boy in her arms.
She never intended to develop any feelings for anyone while she was here and apparently she failed miserably and now this curly haired, brown eyed, dagger wielding idiot was slowly evolving to become the centre of her universe and it delighted and frightened her at the same time.
She still continued to brush through his hair as she mentally cursed herself for letting her get attached to him like that until she too felt herself drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Jane was the first one to wake up.
It took her a moment to regain her bearings, the events from last night flooding back as she sat up.
She turned to look at the other side of the bed, to find Robin still sleeping peacefully and she smiled at the image and tried to ingrain it into her mind.
A strand of curly hair hung in his face and she slowly brushed it away carefully so as to not wake him up.
Jane laid back down and propped her head up on her arm as she watched him sleep a little while longer.
He looked so at ease and had he always been this... pretty?
She shook her head, no, she should definitely not think like that.
But he scrunched his nose in his sleep and Jane had to roll back onto her back and stare at the ceiling with her hand covering her mouth to stop her from squealing. It should not be allowed to be this adorable.
Her head was still a little foggy as she ran a hand over her face and decided that the best course of action would be to let him sleep and to get breakfast.
The idea of a hot cup of fresh coffee was enough to tempt her to get out of bed, even though she flinched as her bare feet hit the cold floor.

When Benjamin and Loveday entered the dining room, Jane was already sitting at the table with a single cup of coffee in front of her while she stared at the wall.
"Are you... alright?", Benjamin asked, followed by Lovedays cheerful: "Good Morning"
The brunette shook her head like she just came out of a trance like state, which was not too unlikely.
"Oh, good morning. I'm fine, I just stayed up way past my bedtime and now I'm waiting for that sweet caffein to work it's magic.", she smiled weakly.
Loveday chuckled.
"So, how did it go?"
"Pretty well actually.", she took a sip from her cup.
"Robin is still asleep though. I reckoned he needed some rest so I let him sleep."
The other woman hummed in response.
"Huh, speak of the devil.", Benjamin said before Robin appeared in the doorway seconds later.
He was already clad in his usual attire, minus his hat and with his hair still slightly dishevelled.
"G'morning.", he murmured, grinning at Jane who nodded to the empty spot beside her.
"How was your first night?", his sister asked sweetly as he sat down.
"Very good.", he answered truthfully and the brunette next to him had to suppress a smile.
Digweed started serving them breakfast and the conversation turned into casual chatter, mainly between the two de Noir siblings and the younger Merryweather.

"Digweed, could you go and get Maria? She is late for breakfast, again.", Benjamin requested after even Miss Heliotrope had joined them as well.
Digweed scurried away but Maria's steps already echoed through the halls while she eagerly dashed down the stairs. She apologised quickly after she nearly bumped into the servant on her hasty way to the dining room.
The young girl skittered to a stop right in front of the open door.
"When did you arrive yesterday?", she asked with excitement and leaned onto the table with her hands.
Jane chuckled.
"Yes, good morning to you too."
"Maria, where are your manners?", Miss Heliotrope chided.
Benjamin rolled his eyes, still not used to the house being so lively, especially not this early in the morning.
The two young adults in question looked at each other as Maria slid into her seat sheepishly.
"But tell me, I wanted to wait for you but it got way too late. What took you so long?"
Robin leaned slightly forward.
"Has no one taught you to not be so nosy all the time?"
Jane jabbed him with her elbow slightly as Maria stuck her tongue out at him.
"Come on kids, play nice or you both get grounded.", she told both of them, making Robin stick his tongue out at her instead.
She looked at him with a blank face.
"I did not know they've been handing out such audacity for free again.", she mumbled and shoved a piece of bacon into her mouth.