In which Robin De Noir mistakes Olive Heliotrope for the Moon Princess, and the two star-crossed enemies must work together to break a curse.
❝ Oh, I can't
Stop you putting roots in my dreamland
My house of stone, your ivy...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
OLIVE WANDERED ABOUT the manor once again, this time in search of Maria. Her heeled shoes clacked hurriedly over the floor, and she kept glancing at the pie in her hands, careful not to drop it.
As she turned a corner, she gasped, nearly walking the dishes right into the waistcoat of Sir Benjamin.
"Watch yourself," the man spat, shooting daggers at the girl with a bloodshot gaze, before quickly averting his eyes.
It looked as though he'd been crying.
"My apologies, Sir," Olive stuttered, her face flushing as she tried to steady the wavering dishes in her hands.
Without response, Benjamin stormed off, vanishing into one of the forbidden wings.
A bit shaken, Olive recomposed herself, and continued her search for Maria, whom she'd finally found pacing in the entry-hall.
"Olive!" Maria exclaimed, rushing over to the older girl. "Oh, Olive, you were right. Uncle is.. I.." Maria frowned at the floor. "I upset him terribly."
"I saw," Olive said. "It looked as if he were.. crying." Olive whispered the last word, afraid Sir Benjamin would hear, and condemn her for disparaging his heartless reputation.
Maria's eyes widened in awe, and then fear. "Oh dear," she murmured. "I hope he isn't too upset with me. He's already so unpleasant."
"I'm sure it will be alright," Olive lied, trying to convince herself that sneaking into the forbidden library might not be the worst idea.
"Oh well," Maria sighed. "I suppose we shall find out later. Were you able to find any answers from Digweed?"
Olive shook her head, and offered Maria a slice of pie, instead.
"I didn't find Digweed," she admitted. "But I did find the kitchen."
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ
Neither Maria, nor Olive were particularly fond of the idea of sneaking into Sir Benjamin's private library. However, both were desperate for answers, and curiosity had gotten the better of them.
They'd discovered Maria's uncle had left Moonacre for an afternoon ride, and prayed he'd be gone long enough for them to find the book, and finally finish reading the story.
"Secret Doors and Private Lockers" Olive said. "That was the name of the book disguising the secret lever." She'd been repeating the title under her breath ever since leaving Marmaduke's kitchen, in order to remember it.
"Secret Doors and Private Lockers?" Maria repeated, grinning. "How funny."
"Isn't it?" Olive chuckled. Both girls spent a few minutes tracing their gaze over the titles of each book. Sir Benjamin had an awfully large collection, fit into a relatively small room. Every inch of the four walls was covered with shelves from floor to ceiling, and even more standing shelves sat in the center of the room.
