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

Little Talks

Prior to rescuing Maria, Bast had the foresight to leave a quick letter for his mother to find in her office. There he explained that Maria had almost been kidnapped and that he, along with Will—ever the proper gentlemen raised by good and righteous mothers—had offered to escort her and her friends back to Moonacre. With a promise to write to her as soon as they'd arrived, he kindly asked her to pass the message along to Will's parents and ended the letter with a quick 'Love you, mum! – Sebastian'. He conveniently failed to mention when they'd be back.

Now in Moonacre, the location where Will would reside while awaiting their next confrontation with his uncle, caused a tense discussion among the two factions. Robin believed taking him to the castle would be the safest for Maria, and everyone else of course. In the castle, they had the manpower to watch Will and stop him immediately. They could even lock him away in the dungeons if necessary.
Maria protested this option, worried they would ostracize him and believing she could be a bigger help to him should he be overcome by Harrison. Ultimately, Sir Benjamin sided with Robin, and being that he was the owner of Moonacre Manor, his decision was final.

That is how Bast and Will found themselves eating breakfast amongst the De Noirs the very next morning. It was a hearty meal as expected, filled with plenty of venison, eggs, porridge, biscuits, coffee, and tea. Though his current stay wasn't as friendly as his previous one, it wasn't as bad as Maria worried it would be. He simply had to put up with a few mistrusting glares from the rest of the inhabitants and an occasional jest here and there.
James was somewhere in the castle too. He always preferred to stay with the De Noirs, finding their company welcoming and entertaining—of course, Cecille's presence had nothing to do with it. It's not as though he kept an eye out for her—conveniently matching their run-ins during her breaks or distracting her from her duties. This of course left her feeling flustered, not knowing what to do with the sudden attention and worried about being reprimanded for falling behind on her work. Unfortunately for her, this wasn't missed by many, and soon she was teased about it as well. David offered to help and tell James to back off, but despite the bright blush, Cecille asked him not to, though she did avoid the great hall that morning.

Maybelle had yet to join them, she was still mourning with her family. The matter of Charles's death also caused some contention within the family. His immediate family and those who supported him wanted to have a proper burial, while Robin and the rest felt Charles was undeserving of it. Ultimately Coeur decided on a compromise. All the mirrors were covered (after all, Robin did not want his cousin's spirit trapped with them for all eternity) and a black wreath was hung up on the main doors. However, Coeur drew the line at displaying his body in any of the public rooms and only gave them one day to mourn with his body. Charles was to be buried the very next day.

Will paused his eating to study his friends. Though weary and bruised, all looked to be in much better spirits and had changed back into the traditional De Noir style of clothing—charcoal liner and all. He and Bast had also changed, though they both opted to borrow their more 'sensible' clothes, neither of them finding the leather trousers appealing. His sight then fell on Robin.

Will's heart still stung from Maria's rejection, but if he was honest with himself, Robin was a better fit for her otherworldly life. Had Maria accepted his proposal, he would have asked her to stay in London, permanently. He never admitted it until now, but deep inside he knew that would have created a rift between them.
Robin and Will were simply from two different worlds and Maria was the bridge between them—or at least that's what he used to think, until learning that his uncle had also been involved since the beginning of Maria's misfortune. Perhaps he wasn't as normal as he thought he was.

Figuring there was nothing to be done about it, he shook his head and focused back on his meal. Before he could take his next bite, a dull ache developed from the back of his eyes. His body grew stiff and his muscles began to cramp.
Will grit his teeth as he fought to move his arm, "He's trying to take control!"