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

When Things Can't get Any Worst

The sun steadily rose to the sky as the men trudged out of the forest. By now, word had traveled throughout the valley about Albert's kidnapping. Those that could, joined the search. They looked underneath the shrubbery and into burrows, up on trees and through crevices, over the cliffs and onto the shore, but none could find a trail of the missing child. Despite this, hope was not lost; Moonacre's forest was vast, and there was still a large area left uncharted.
Since their acquisition of their forest so long ago, the De Noirs had worked hard to map the landscape. It was a task that was passed down from heir to heir. One of the few that Robin actually enjoyed. There was always something new to add-such as new detailed routes, hunting grounds, or markings to the ever-growing chart.

However, there was one area that remained uncharted: that of the Merryweathers.

The Merryweathers had never been as invested in their territory as the De Noirs, choosing instead to lease out whatever could be farmed and leave the rest to nature. They focused their efforts on civilization, specifically expanding Silverydew and investing in the farmers, herbalists, and doctors.

It wasn't until Robin trespassed into the Merryweather side, looking for the moon pearls and princess, that he began to finally map that region of the forest.

However, despite Robin's few years dedicated to trespassing and charting, it was not enough.

As Robin and Sir Benjamin led groups of men in their search, they came to the frustrating conclusion: the Merryweather land was much bigger than they had anticipated.

Even Coeur's hawk, soaring above with a vigilant eye, had yet to find any trace of Albert either.

To make matters worst, Dulac and his men had yet to come out from the tunnels. No one had received even a word from them.

Robin and his friends trailed behind. His fists held tight onto his saddle and his knuckles were pale. It was close to noon, and Albert was still missing. He couldn't understand how this happened. Just how could thieves hide a crying child so well?
Some had begun to think the worst, seeing only one possible way for the lack of a child's cries. Robin absolutely refused to think such thoughts. He was angry. His brows were deeply furrowed. His jaw was clenched tight, shooting waves of pain to his temple, but his ire ignored the pain.

At the manor, Robin found Mr. De Noir and Sir Benjamin arguing with the county sheriff. The head commander spotted David and pointed towards him, calling his men to action. Before anyone could react, two officers pulled David from his horse. They twisted his arms behind his back and chained them together.

"Bloody hell, what are you wankers playing at?" David shouted, struggling to pull away. The officers ignored him and stripped him of his weapons.

"You are arrested for the disappearances of James Johnson, Arthur Winston, Calvin Taylor, and now Albert Merryweather," responded the sheriff.

"Bollocks! I had nothing to do with 'em!"

"Martin you bastard this is ridiculous! You know very well this boy didn't do anything!" Mr. De Noir's face was contorted in anger. His temple pulsed with each pounding heartbeat. He did all he could to stop himself from shooting the sheriff. He always found them to be a spineless lot.

"This is preposterous! I'm telling you the perpetrators are out there! We need your men in the forest with us!" Sir Benjamin shouted pointing to the forest. "We didn't send for you to arrest David! We need a search party."

"From our experience, it's usually a family member or close friend who is found to be guilty. The townsfolk are growing worried and we need to make an arrest."