The Troubles from Monsters and Men (The Secret of Moonacre Fanfiction)

A Clue Within A Book

Maria groaned. Her body was numb and she had no energy to move her limbs. They felt heavy with the weight of many days of work and sleepless nights. Maria yawned but a feather tickled her throat and she was hit with a coughing fit. She sputtered it out and whined. It seemed she would not be getting any more sleep that day. She eyed the culprit, a bowler hat, and unless the heavens above granted her a miracle, she knew whose bowler hat that was. She brushed the hat aside and came face to face with a head full of shaggy curls. He was sitting on the floor with his head on her mattress, fast asleep. Her morning was just getting better and better.

She wanted to flick his head, but he looked so peaceful, Maria would be lying if she didn't admit she was enjoying the sight. The thought that he had spent all night by her side almost warmed her heart. She almost forgot how angry she was with him, almost. Robin was the last person she wanted to see that beautiful morning.

Maria groaned once more, this time louder hoping to disturb his sleep. She sat up and brushed out her hair with her fingers, all the while looking around the room. She gapped at how clean the dwelling was. The sheets of her mattress, freshly laundered, smelled like cinnamon and nutmeg, much like the De Noir bedrooms. Maria finished her hair and walked to the crevice filled with her books. These too were dusted off, and there were a few books she didn't recognize.

"Strange..." She murmured, tracing the book's spine with her fingers.

"I put a few of my favorite books there as well, I hope you don't mind."

His husky voice startled Maria, but she quickly composed herself to shoot him an angry look over her shoulder. He was still sitting on the floor simply staring at her. Maria had no words to say to him. She huffed indignantly and turned to meet his stare with a glower.

"You look better," he said. "I hope you were able to sleep."

"Why are you here?"

"It's not safe for a lady to be out here alone. Many know of this place now. I didn't want you to be in danger."

Maria opened and closed her mouth in disbelief. "You—you think one night watching over me can make up for all these months? How could you? All of you! You could've gotten Richard killed! You needed me. Me and my magic."

"I know. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, believe me, I wanted to. I didn't think you knew how to control your magic, you would be defenseless—oh," he cut off as Maria angrily conjured a ball of light. She tossed it to Robin's hat and set it afloat. Then with a gesture of her hand, she brought the hat back to her. Taking it out of the air, she tossed it on top of the books and crossed her arms.
"I've been practicing and getting better while you all were risking your lives unnecessarily. You would have known if you didn't stop responding to my letters."

Robin winced. "I received your letter after Richard's injury. I didn't want to lie to you—I reckoned it would be better to bring you here as soon as possible and tell you everything."

Deciding he had given the floor enough company, he stood and cracked his neck. Maria cringed at the sound. He stretched high into the air, lifting his tunic to reveal the deep V-line of his abdomen cut in half by a trail of curly hair. Maria's eyes widened, and she went into another coughing fit. She fixed herself and steadied her eyes on his face with a deadly glare. She hoped he would mistake her redness for anger.
When he was done cracking his body, Robin turned to her and sighed. "Maria please, try to understand, we were worried and feeling guilty for letting them escape. You've done so much already. We wanted to catch them without making things worst."

"Oh, I'm the one who has to understand? How do you think I'd feel if Richard doesn't recover? How do you think I'd feel if it was you who got hurt? Or Albert, or Loveday? How do you think it feels knowing this is all my responsibility for not stopping her from the very beginning?"