When a Young Heart Loves (The Secret of Moonacre Fanfiction)

A Rude Introduction

"How could they!" Maria cried, "I haven't been here more than a month and they already want to send me away." Maria ran deep into the woods. She didn't know where, and she didn't care. She leaned against a large tree and sunk to the grown, cradling her knees and crying.

"Maria!" Robin yelled from off in the distance.

Maria didn't want to speak to him. He had ignored her all throughout breakfast, why should she pay him any attention now? She thought of London and for a brief moment, hope filled her heart. She did miss London after all, and the countryside was... well it's the countryside. In London, Maria would be able to see her old home, and her old friends—but then she remembered the crowd, the smell, the buildings, and her heart sank just as quickly. She gazed around her surroundings and knew she would miss Moonacre, the trees, the freedom.

Her eyes caught sight of a moving figure, Robin. He had found her and was making his way towards her. Maria sat herself up and wiped away her tears. Despite Robin's tense demeanor, there was sympathy in his eyes. He sat down beside her.

"Maria, you can't be running off like that. Do you even know where you are? What if you got lost and I—I mean we couldn't find you?"

"Not like you or anyone else would care, I'm sure you're just as happy to be rid of me as everyone else is," Maria sniffed as a tear fell down her cheek. Robin gently wiped it away, causing her stomach to flutter at his soft touch.

"No, who else will I torment with embarrassment? I was just beginning to like being your nuisance." Robin teased her, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Besides, we have three months left. I give you my word that I will show you every inch of this forest I so know and love. You will have so many memories of it, you will grow tire and look forwards to the city."

Maria scoffed at the idea, she didn't believe she could ever grow tire of the forest. She knew she would come to love it as Robin does.

"Come with me. I want to begin your tour as soon as possible," he offered her his hand. A smile now appeared on Maria's face and she quickly swiped off his hat and placed it on her head.

"Don't you think that is getting a bit old?" Robin rolled his eyes.

"Impossible, now that I only have a few months left here in Moonacre, I must make sure to take advantage of being your nuisance every bit that I can as well." Maria proudly smiled, her cheeks still glistening from her tears, "besides it looks much better on me."

Maria took his hand and gestured for Robin to lead the way. He shrugged and let her wear the hat, she did look charming in it after all. Despite her young age, Maria carried herself as well as any other fine lady. If it weren't for her petite size many would be fooled by her real age.

Throughout their walk, they spoke of many things. Maria was surprised to discover how easy it was to talk to him. As he promised the day he joined her side, Robin did seem to listen well. He asked her about her childhood and Maria began to detail her life. Her mother died when she was an infant and left her in the care of Ms. Heliotrope who promised Maria's mother to raise her to be a proper and noble young woman. Their relationship had at first been strained. Maria demonstrated a stubborn and overzealous spirit Ms. Heliotrope was unused to, and Maria found Ms. Heliotrope to be overbearing and annoying with all her complaints about her indigestion. Eventually, their love for one another grew, and Maria came to love Ms. Heliotrope as her own mother.

Robin too spoke to Maria about his own mother who had died when he was four. He was left to be cared for by his nanny, loved by Loveday, and taught by his tutor Mr. Havisham. Both did not have an active father figure. Maria's father, Colonel Merryweather, spent his days in London gambling instead of doting over his child. He was killed by an unknown murderer sent by one of his debt collectors. The rumors she heard from the maids told her it was a brutal death and that the debt collector wasn't leaving the Merryweathers easily. Like Maria's father, Coeur was also absent most of the time. He was not involved in Robin's upbringing which Robin had not minded due to his father's history of violence.