Love and secrets

Chapter 4

The next morning dawned bright and early. I leaped out of bed and got dressed as quickly as I could. I knew with my swollen ankle I would have a lot longer walk than I usually would. Though It was feeling better it was still not perfect. So I decided to hurry, I quickly pulled my hair back into a ponytail and packed my leather bag with my map, vile, compass, and my new clue with the writing on it. I quickly drew the map of the valley I had found in the back of the book on a piece of paper. I checked the coordinates from the Merryweather mansion to the De Noir's fortress. I grabbed my cane and started down the stairs. Marmaduke was waiting for me to my great surprise and handed me a breakfast hamper he had made for me. "I thought you wouldn't wait for breakfast so I took the liberties of making you a picknick for you!" He told me. "Thanks' Marmaduke!" I told him with a laugh.

It was a long way to the De Noir's. Uphill almost all the way too, I struggled quite a bit, but I finally reached the gate. To my great surprise it was unguarded! "No that's odd." I thought to myself. I looked up at the high walls. It truly was a fortress, weapons set up everywhere, spikes on all the roofs, and skeletons decorated the walls. In fact the entire thing looked like a dungeon. I shuddered but squared my shoulders and walked calmly through the gate. I slipped unseen through the throngs of people up to the main living space, where I guessed that the Coeur De Noir and his family would be.....

Story continued from Robin's perspective.

I could not contain the smirk that appeared on my face as I walked into the main dining hall. I took my usual seat next to my father, he fixed me with a cold glare.

"Father," I began, but he silenced me. "You have failed me once again. I give you the simplest instructions and you still could not fulfill them. It's like I'm talking to a corpse! Do you ever use your head boy?" "Father please! I have good news! If all goes as planned I will not only have the map but the girl too!" I told him. "I don't believe you, how could you possibly do that, you don't even know where she is." He answered. "I do now father! She is staying at Moonacre." I explained. "I told you never to go near Moonacre! He snapped." "I'm not." I answered, "I fixed it so she will come to us." At that moment we heard a squabble going on in the hall. The guards brought down the stairs a young girl about my age. She was mumbling something inaudible as they brought her before my father. He stood up from his seat blocking my view of her face, He motioned to his guards to bring her to the front of the room they began to follow him to the foot of Sir William's coffin. I got up from my seat intending to follow my father up to the platform but as I passed the guards I caught a glimpse of her face and stopped dead in my tracks. Her dirty blonde hair was cascading down over her shoulders like a golden waterfall, (her hair tie had been lost in the struggle.) Her lashes were black as ink and the longest I had ever seen. Her beauty took my breath away. I quickly changed my course and walked up to one of the guards and told him, "I'll take her." "Right Sir! But let me warn you, she's a feisty one!" he told me. "Don't worry, I got her." I told him. I reached out and took her wrist. It was so soft and silky I couldn't bear to grip it, but one yank from her was enough for me to tighten my hold. I started to drag her to the front of the room when she looked right at me. For the first time I saw her eyes. They were a deep blue. They seemed to shoot fire at me, but I saw that they could be so gentle. She was close enough for me to see every speck of gold in them, I wanted to be lost in that sea of blue forever. Then she spoke breaking the spell, "I can walk by myself. I'm not 2 years old!" she snapped. I immediately thought of Maria. "You fool!" I thought to myself, "You have a girlfriend!" but that only made me look at her more. "She's the enemy! I hate her!" But I couldn't. My heart had run away from me and I couldn't get it back.