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

A Summer of Scheming and Progress

"Yes, yes uncle, I'll see right to it," Charles said stepping out of Mr. De Noir's office. He made his way to the great hall to meet with his friends. The only people he liked in this castle.

"Michael, John, round up some men. My uncle found us more chores to do."

John snorted as he stood up.

"Oy Charles, when are we going to get on with this? It's all been a bloody joke," Michael said.

"I know!" Charles snapped. "How do you think I feel? I should be the one out there negotiating deals, not Robin!"
After the wedding, it became clear to Charles and his family that obtaining power from marrying Maybelle to Robin was going to be a slim possibility, especially if the Moon Princess was to remain alive. Therefore, when word got out that Coeur was expanding the trade, Charles' father insisted that he move back into the castle. The plan was that with his intelligence, Charles would be the one to lead the expansion and force Robin to stay in the castle. Not the other way around.

At the amphitheater, Charles looked down at the hastily scrawled notes on his paper. Robin left directions for him to get to the shipwreck. He could hardly make out Robin's writing.

'Search for the trail below the bushes,' the note directed. Charles groaned. There were bushes everywhere.

"I found a path!" John called from the side.

They made their way down to the shore. Charles despised every minute of it. His dress shoes slipped on the rocks and sand. He lost his balance and fell, tearing his breeches at the knee and dirtying his new riding coat. Charles angrily muttered curses to Robin and his family down the path.

Arriving at the beach the group was hit with a gut-wrenching stench that caused everyone to stagger.

Charles coughed and gagged. He used his coat to cover his nose.

"Let's get on with this before we all faint!"

The men got to work. They stacked the wood, trash, and any surviving merchandise into separate piles. The wood was to be used as a pyre for any remaining bodies.
John and Michael went towards the hull while Charles waited out by the cliff. His sickly look of disgust was a clear indication he would not be helping with anything today.
With the low tide, they found an entrance to the hull. The boys wrinkled their faces, the rotting stench was strongest here. The darkness was broken by a few cracks in the hull that allowed sunlight to stream in.

"Ugh. That's bloody disgusting," Michael pointed to the pile of dead sailors out in the back.

"Well, they're dead. What do you expect?" John waded through the knee-deep water towards the bodies. Someone had to take them out.

Charles walked around the pyre, three bodies had so far been found. He almost felt bad for them. The corpses were all a ghastly blue-white with purple and green spots. They were bloated beyond recognition. Their eyeballs and tongues protruded from their faces, their state of decomposition emitted a disgusting smell. Charles could not wait to burn them and leave the blasted place. Very little identification had been found, only the tattered flag that hung from the mast gave a clue as to whose ship this was. Charles recognized it to be from a competing merchant company.

"AHHHH!"

Charles heard John's scream from the hull. He ran over as Michael came out.

"Charles quick! You won't believe what we've found!" Michael shouted.

Charles neared the entrance but recoiled from the smell.

"Stop being such a fop!" Michael said shoving him into the hull.