The sneer he gave me sent chills down my spine, but Maria was my only priority. Her face was void of emotion, but I could feel her body shaking underneath the blankets.
"How did you get past the guards?"
"Easy enough when they're all unconscious." Oh no... Maria stood and tried to run to the door, but quickly fell back to the ground. I caught her before she could hit my stone floor, and my back hit first.
"Oh, would you look at that. You'd still do anything to make sure she's okay."
"When I wished that we could find him, I never meant for it to be like this," I whispered, before letting her go. I stood up and ran to the door, grabbing the guard who stood watch. "Go get my father, it's Dulac. Get every man you can find; we are getting him down to the dungeon one way or another."
The guard ran off quickly, and I turned back to Dulac. Maria had gotten herself against my wall, and Dulac was only focused on her. I grabbed my knife and lunged at him, digging it deep into his side. He cried out in pain, and I took my knife out, watching his layers turn red.
The stab wasn't fatal, but it rendered him weak enough to turn my back to him. He held his side and still yelled, his breathing becoming more and more labored.
"Maria, are you alright?"
"He didn't touch me, but I'm worried. Did you kill him?"
"No. But he's definitely hurt. Come on, we need to get you out of here." I picked her up and carried her out of my room, out to the tower. As soon as we got there, the guards cleared out, and all went looking for Dulac.
"It can't be that easy, Robin."
"I know, Maria. It can't be that easy but maybe it was. Maybe we got lucky."
"We can't have. There's no way." I lit the fire in the pit and walked back to where I had set her. She looked so fragile...
"What else do you think there is?"
"I don't know, but this feels like an entire curse. Nothing has gone right for us. And the pearls... Where are the pearls?"
"They're back in my room, I'll get them." I ran back across the bridge back to my room, and found the bag where Maria sat against the wall. The crown was inside, and thankfully seemed untouched. Blood stained my floor, and I could see the drops and splatters trailing out into the hallway. Hopefully he's locked away in the dungeon for good. When I got back to the tower, Maria had fallen asleep again.
"Princess, I have the crown."
"Please don't lose it. I don't know what's going on, but there's a reason we have them again."
"Do you think it really could be another curse?"
"Who could have set it? No one but the Moon Princess could have such control, and no one but us knows they exist again." She mumbled, her voice getting softer.
"If it was a curse, what do you think it is?"
"I don't want to know. I just want to be rid of it. How am I supposed to live a normal life if my life is filled with curses?"
"What if this isn't a curse?"
"What else could it be Robin? Being the Moon Princess is a curse, not a blessing, it seems."
"You just haven't found what you're good at yet. You know, besides saving the valley. Loveday is good at helping animals, maybe you've got some hidden talent too."
"Then why would the Moon give me the pearls again? We're in danger, I know it."
"You can't be certain of that, Maria. Look at me for a second." I pulled her chin until her eyes met mine and I felt like melting. "You saved the valley. Don't forget that. You did what no other Moon Princess could do, and you nearly sacrificed yourself to do it. You're the only one who could have stopped the curse and you did it. It's no longer a string of pearls, maybe because it's not meant for that."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe it's because you're not the Moon Princess anymore...but a queen."
"A Moon Queen?"
"Isn't that what I just said?" She rolled her eyes and scoffed, but she knew I was right.
"Robin, how would you explain the power? If they still have power, then why would the Moon give them back if there wasn't anything else?"
I shrugged and kissed her cheek. "Maybe it's time to check Private Doors and Secret Lockers again, don't you think?"
"Why didn't I think of that before?" She tried to get up, but I quickly sat her back down.
"Maria, when we get you back to the Manor then we can go look for it. You're still not well." She looked up at me with sad eyes, and I looked at her hand in my own. "As soon as we get back, I promise you we will look."
I brushed back her curly hair and kissed her forehead lightly. "Robin, what's going to come of Dulac? Do you think they caught him?"
"I hope so. They must have. He can't have gotten very far injured like he is."
***
Maria was asleep in my arms again, and I watched the door, listening for anything that may be a problem, but heard nothing. The castle seemed too quiet for the events that should be taking place.
"Robin? What is it?"
"Did I wake you? Was I too loud?"
"No, your heartbeat started to speed up." I felt her fingers touch my collarbones lightly, and I held my breath, why did it feel so good? "When can we go back to your room?"
"We won't be. As soon as everything is okay again, you're going back to the manor." She sat up and stared into my eyes.
"What?"
"You've been away from the manor for too long. You have to go home at some point or Benjamin will never forgive me."
"He would if you told him you were teaching me how to fight."
"I'm not lying to your uncle. Besides... he was one of the first people to know when you disappeared. I had my father send a letter with Naurice, since I knew she could fly faster than I could run."
"You told him?"
"Don't be like that, Maria. I had to. He's your uncle. Besides, you ran and told my father about what happened with Dulac. This is no different."
"Yes, it is. You were going to die if I didn't go get help and you almost died anyways."
I stared at her, totally dumbfounded. When they found you, you were near death, too. "You did, too, you know. I'm not the only one who was face to face with death. They found you in the snow, alone and not responding. They all thought you were dead, and they all blamed me. And are we just going to forget the cliff?"
"You were all there for the cliff. And Uncle could have gone without knowing about that because now he probably really doesn't like you."
"He hasn't liked me since the beginning, would this really make a difference? I mean...he would probably be more upset with me and hate me more if I hadn't told him and you just disappeared for days at a time. He'd send you back to London, for sure."
"No, he wouldn't. He's already made his decision and I'm not letting him go back on it. Loveday wouldn't let it happen."
"She's not the only one."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...there's Miss Heliotrope, and Digweed. Marmaduke would be upset about losing his favorite sous chef. And what about Periwinkle?"
"Miss Heliotrope would come with me, as would Periwinkle. But if I was there for the season..." She almost mumbled the last bit, like she didn't want me to hear her.
"What?"
"Well, say Uncle decided he wanted me to make my debut in London in a few years. We wouldn't be able to be with each other. Miss Heliotrope would watch over me and help me decide on a suitable match, take me around to all the parties and balls, and meet all of the eligible bachelors. I'd eat and drink and dance for the season." Should I not be jealous? My Maria...dancing with other men...
"I won't let it happen."
"Robin?"
"What?"
"Are you jealous?"
"No."
"You are! My Robin, prince of the forest, jealous." She giggled, but stopped when I pulled her chin up to look at me,
"Say it again."
"My Robin..."