Moonacre ~ Modern Day

Chapter 1

A single tear rolled down Maria Merryweather's cheek, dropping onto her black dress below. The day of her father's funeral was dreary; the sky was gray and cloudy, but then again, it matched the mood. Her red curls cascaded down her back, the only brightness amidst a sea of darkness that was the crowd around her. She didn't even know most of these people, only the house staff and Miss Helliotrope, her governess, who was standing beside her. She let her eyes wander, and soon she was looking in the direction of the gazebo in the graveyard. But that's not what she was looking at.

There was a boy standing there who looked slightly older than her, maybe by a year or two. She couldn't see much of him from the distance, but he was wearing all black except for two items: a red scarf around his neck and a black chocker with four long copper coloured feathers sticking out the side. On top of his dark hair, he wore a black bowler hat, matching with his dark eyes and tanned skin. But the strangest thing was the thin piece of black cloth that he had running from one side of his face, covering his nose, to the other side. If he wanted to disguise himself, why put on such a strange outfit?

Maria was nudged out of her thoughts - literally - by Miss Helliotrope nudging her. Maria looked up and saw that everyone was looking at her expectantly. Oh, she knew what to do now. Slowly, she placed on of the two roses in her hands ontop of her father's grave, and the other rose on the grave beside it - her mothers.

Looking back onto the gazebo, she nearly startled herself. The mysterious boy was gone. How.... Peculiar. Maria frowned, wondering who he was, and why he was there.
~
"Wh- what? You mean, he- he lost everything? Even the house?" The high pitched stuttering voice of Miss Helliotrope cut through the air. They had gone to collect her father's last will and testament. The man at the desk nodded. "Yes, it seemed as though he had been losing money for quite a while now."

"But how?" Maria cut in, surprising everyone. In the past ten minutes, she had just been sitting there staring off into space. "How could he have lost everything? My father was a good man and a high officer in the military!" The man looked at her with sympathy.

"But, you see, he did, in fact, leave you this." He rummaged around the drawers for a moment before pulling out a book. It looked old. It was leather bound, and had a small layer of dust coating the cover. Maria took it, and gently blew on the front, getting rid of the dust. "The Ancient Chronicles Of Moonacre Valley." She read the cover aloud. "Why would father leave me a fairytale? I'm not six, for God's sake!"

"Maria! Language!" Miss Helliotrope scolded.

Maria shot her a look, before placing the book back on the desk. "There must be some mistake"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but this is what's left. There is a mention of an uncle who lives in the countryside, and he has offered to take her in due to these drastic measures."

Maria's eyes widened. "The countryside! But... But... There's like, barely any cell service there!"

Miss Helliotrope shook her head at Maria's childishness.
~
That night, Maria lay awake in bed staring up at the ceiling. Tomorrow she would be moving with her uncle - her father's brother who she didn't even know existed - and Miss Helliotrope would be coming too. Turning on her lamp, she walked over to where her phone was charging before unplugging it and powering it down since it was at one hundred percent.

She turned back to go to bed, but something caught her eye. Maria brushed her hair behind her shoulder, and grabbed the book her father left for her. Sitting back down, she looked at the cover. "Why would father leave me a fairytale?" She mutters to herself, her fingers tracing along the pearls that were sticking out from each corner of the cover. They reminded her of a gift her father gave her when she was younger. A pearl necklace. They were fake, of course, but she would wear them everywhere, and never took them off.

Smiling at the memory, she walked over to her suitcase and rummaged through the top. Pulling out the pearl necklace, she plopped down on her bed and put them on. A single tear ran down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away.

Maria opened the book and began to read. The story told of a land long long ago. A woman who was loved by nauture as if she were its own daughter. She was the moon Princess of the lands. Two families lived in peace with eachother. The Merryweather's, and the DeNoir's. Maria frowned. Merryweather? But that was her last name. Shaking her head, she continued to read. The eldest daughter of the leader of the DeNoir clan was to be married to a Merryweather. The DeNoir's gifted the soon to be husband a rare black lion, while the Merryweather's gifted the wife - the Moon Princess - a unicorn. The Moon Princess spoke of finally revealing a gift that Nature had bestowed upon her. The Moon Pearls. Pearls so magical, they could reveal even the darkest truth among men, and could grant whoever had them extreme power.

Maria could hear Miss Helliotrope coming, so she quickly shut the book before placing it on her bedside table. She shut off the lamp and dove under the covers, closing her eyes.

"Maria?" Came the soft whisper of Miss Helliotrope as she entered her room.

"Hmm?" Maria faked being tired, and added a yawn for extra effect.

"Just wanted to check if you were sleeping. Get a good nights rest, we have a long day tomorrow." The click of her door could be heard as she left.

Maria sighed, before actually going to sleep.
~
He crept through her room, watching her carefully as she slept. If she were to wake, she wouldn't recognize him with the black cloth along his nose. But he didn't plan on her waking. He didn't want stay in a Merryweather house any longer than necessary.

"Robin! Look for the pearls!" Whispered one of his companions, and he looked around. Seeing a necklace of pearls on her neck, he walked over and lifted them up, assessing them. Fake. He walked backwards, bumping into a desk in the dark. A potted plant fell off and smashed on the ground. The girl stirred in her sleep, beginning to wake up.

He and his companions looked around and hid behind the curtains, so close to the open window of their escape. But they needed to find the pearls first. So, instead they stood there, hiding behind the curtains, silent as ghosts.
~
A loud crash caused Maria to jolt awake, looking around, puzzled. What? One of the plants that she wasn't planning on packing had smashed to the ground. But it wasn't anywhere near the edge of the desk when she went to bed.... The desk! It was moved in one corner, almost as though someone had knocked into it.

She slowly creeped out of bed, tiptoeing her way across the room. "Maria?! What are you doing to make such a ruckus?!" Called Miss Helliotrope from down the hall.

"Uhhh... I was just going to the bathroom but I knocked into my desk!" She yelled back. Maria knew that this wasn't just any break in. She had a gut feeling that something bad would happen if she told Miss Helliotrope.

"Okay dear, but please go back to bed soon!"

Maria rolled her eyes, but a shifting in the curtains caught her vision. Smirking, she sat back down on her bed.

"I'm going to close my eyes, and give you twenty seconds to leave. Otherwise when I open them and I see you, I will scream as loud as I can." She whispers loud enough for her invaders to hear.

Closing her tired eyes, she lays back down and listens. She can hear the sounds of one...no, two... No, three pairs of feet scuffling out her window and whispering to eachother. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but caught a few words: Merryweather, Moonpearls, Moonacre, and DeNoir were the few that she could,

She got up and closed her window before looking out into the dark streets of London. All she could make out were three silhouettes, but the one she could see the clearest... Maria gasped, backing away from the window before pulling the curtains closed. It was the same boy from her father's funeral. The one on the gazebo. And he... He was staring at her, and smirking.

***
Thanks you guys so much for taking the time to read this! Please give me feedback on if I made any mistakes or how you felt about this. Even if it's mean, please tell me so that I can improve!

Xx- Annika Iszabella.