𝐒𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮

Chapter 10

      I walked back to where I left Maria grabbed her hand and said, "Just a few more steps then you can take your blindfold off." She hummed as to reply.

      I led her to the small clearing, let go of her hand, took a few steps so I was slightly to the side of her, and said, "You can take off your blindfold now."

     She slowly took off her blindfold and gasped.

     "Robin, what is this?" She looked around mesmerized for a second. It is quite beautiful, the clearing has some unique Moonacre flowers that you do not typically see in the forest.

      "It is your birthday surprise from me! I know you said you did not want to do or get anything for your birthday, but I really wanted to do something like this for you. And, if you do not like it, you can just think of it as two friends having a picnic together."

     She looked back at me with a soft smile and said, "Oh Robin, you truly did not have to do this for me, but I do appreciate it. Thank you!"

     "Anything for my Princess. Come on let's eat!" And that's what we did. We ate, talked, and played with Wiggins.

      I love how everything feels so natural when I am around Maria. I have also noticed that she has this thing where whenever she walks into a room the whole atmosphere seems to brighten. I wondered what that's about. Maybe it is just her carefree nature, or her bright smile, or the joyful shine in her eyes.

     Not that I have specifically noticed this about her. I do not really notice that much about her, like when she is angry, her eyes seem to have turned to flames, and a vein on the side of her forehead pops out. When she is sad, her lips have a slight pout in them and her eyes look like glass, even if there are no tears present.

     When she is happy like she is now, her eyes, appear to be shining, and her smile is carefree, as opposed to when she is stressed, there are no worry lines creased on her forehead. Her eyes tend to give away a lot, they are like a clear window as to what she is feeling. These are all things that I have not noticed about her. Well, things I try not to notice about her.

     Time with Maria seemed to fly by and I did not want it to ever end. I looked up at the sun. I would say we have a couple more minutes before it's time to start heading back. I looked over at Maria, she was playing with Wiggins. She was too distracted to notice her surroundings.

     Should I give her, her present now or should I wait? If I wait then she might get too busy or distracted, but am I ready to see how she will react when I give it to her? What if she won't like it, or what if she hates it?

Maria's POV:

     This clearing Robin brought me too is simply exquisite! While I'm not used to celebrating my birthday, I am happy to spend it with Robin and Wiggins. It is so relaxing here. I was playing with Wiggins as Robin just sat back, he seemed to be lost in thought about something.

      I moved so I was sitting beside Robin, with Wiggins in my lap. Robin, still lost in thought, did not notice me. I started rubbing Wiggin's stomach when he turned to lay on his back.

     I looked up at Robin and asked, "What are you thinking about?" That seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

      He looked down at me and spoke slowly and thoughtfully, "Oh, um, nothing." He took in a deep breath and paused for a moment then smiled, "How are you enjoying your birthday so far?"

     I looked around in content and spoke softly, "I think it is safe to say that this has been the best birthday I have ever had before." I looked down and saw Wiggins asleep in my lap, let out a quiet laugh, then I laid my head on Robin's shoulder and continued to speak softly, "Thank you, Robin."

     His arm wrapped around me and I felt him lay his head on top of mine then muttered, "Of course, Princess." We stayed like that for a while and I have never felt more content.

     This is one of the reasons why I like the countryside. You can do things like this and won't have to worry about your reputation because there is no one around you to see. Just you and the trees.

Robin's POV:

      I looked around and noticed that we should start heading back now if we wanted to get back on time. I mentally sighed. Oh, how I don't ever want this to end. You got to do, what you got to do.

     I lifted my head, and Maria's head followed. She looked up at me slightly confused. I brought my arm back to my side and stood up. Maria was still sitting down, looking at me confused. She looks so cute.

     I cleared my throat and said, "I promised Sir Benjamin that I would bring you back to the manor exactly one hour after twelve, and by the looks of it, we should start heading back now. I rather not bring you back late, I feel as though your uncle still doesn't completely like me yet, and I would not want to give him another reason to like me any less." I held out my hand and helped Maria up after she gently moved Wiggins off of her lap.

     She quickly dusted herself off and said, "Oh, us Merryweathers can be a little stubborn and hard-headed sometimes-"

     "Sometimes?" I muttered with a laugh which got me a glare and I quickly stopped talking.

     We both walled around putting things up as she continued, "As I was saying, Uncle just needs a little more time. And you're wrong I can tell that Uncle has started warming up to you whether you've noticed it or not. I mean he let me come out here with you so I doubt he gave you too much of a problem when you asked."

     'It's not like he had much of a choice.' Oh, how I wished I could say this but that would just have left her confused and curious as to what I meant. Instead, I just hummed as a reply.

     Once we finished packing everything up, I grabbed Maria's hand and started leading her back to the manor. I couldn't help but think about how her soft, petite hand fit perfectly with mine. I quickly shook my head. I try to remind myself why I do this, not for me but because I have to ensure she won't trip or get too far behind. Definitely not because I love how her hand feels with mine.