The Other Curse ~ Robin De Noir [2]

Chapter Three

Rose had set off as soon as she was packed. She didn't bring much, just the necessities. She had left a note for her family, explaining that she had to do this, they may not like it, but it was her life, her responsibility to look after the forest.
In the forest she can breathe in every way that is possible to expand: in lungs, brain and soul. There is a sense of kingship with the flora, of an ancient spirit that stretches into everything that lives. How could she not love it so?

Rose had made camp at Loveday's former hollow in the ground, and as soon as first light was shown, she set off. The forest filled with life all around her, and Rose twirled around, gazing up at the canopy above her, searching for the birds that sang sweetly. The sun broke through the cracks, lighting up her path, decorated with outgrown roots, wildflowers and fallen leaves, that crunched beneath her feet. She knew what she must do, she couldn't bare to lose this paradise.

The De Noir castle stood majestically ahead, it shouldn't be much more then a 5 minute walk from here. Her heart started to pound a little louder, her body just wanted to run for the safety of Moonacre, but instead she remained where she was. Rose knew that the feud had ended, but the tension was still high, and last time she was here, things didn't quite work out in her favour. "Come on Rose, at some point you'll have to move, so just do it now", she thought as she felt a bead of sweat trickling down her brow. Eventually, her foot moved forward, and soon she was cautiously making her way towards the entrance.

Rose senses suddenly perked up as she heard a twig snap behind her, and she spun round to great her company. It wasn't though a big, menacing guard that Rose had envisioned to charge at her with their sword. No, it was worse.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, a hint of a devilish grin in his eyes. "No", she replied, stopping her real feelings from creeping up her throat and satisfying his cruel curiosity.

They stood there a moment, eyes locked, till they broke out into laughter and ran into a hug. Robin De Noir looked down at Rose Merryweather, his hair was still a mess in the bright morning sun light and surprisingly looked happier than she'd ever seen him. The awkwardness that Rose thought should have been there was lost within their embrace.

"Rose", he mumbled, "Robin" she sighed back. As they parted, Robin hopped back with one of Rose's pink ribbons in the air, and laughed, dancing around her as if they were children.

"Give it back you oaf!" Rose called, as she tried jumping up to reach his level. He eventually took pity on her, and lowered himself enough so that she could grab it. She snatched back the ribbon with an annoyed grin, "thank you", she muttered, not forgetting her manors, she was of course still a lady.

There was a moment of peaceful silence, till Robin asked, "so may I ask, what exactly are you doing here Princess?", his curiosity seeping through his lips. The dark truth dawned on Rose again, the few minuets of peace now gone. "I need your help", she pleaded, "oh I see, you've finally realised how.." Robin teased, but was cut off. "Robin, no", Rose stated with all seriousness in her eyes.

His grin vanished as Rose began to tell him of the forest and the Moon Princess's spell, though she failed to mention her headaches and how it was all connected to her. She didn't need another person worrying about her and she couldn't risk Robin forcing her to go home.

"So you see why I need your help now", Rose finished as Robin looked solemnly at the ground. "Robin?" Rose asked, trying to get his attention. He finally looked up, "so let me get this straight, you need my help to navigate your way through the forest for something that could potentially save the first forest Princess, but you have no idea what or where it is?" His confusion clear upon his face. "I know it sounds crazy, but I am under no obligation to make sense to you and we've got to try!" Rose proclaimed, her nose curling up as she spoke.

They both sat there a moment, Robin clearly in deep thought. "Alright. I'll help you. But just so you know my father isn't going to like this nor are we leaving before you receive a basic training in combat. These woods are full of creatures you don't even want to think about and from what I've seen, you have absolutely no combat skill whatsoever", Robin finished and took a quick breath in to mark the ending of his sentence.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you", Rose squealed, but stopped, "hang on, I don't think I'm that bad at combat", Rose added, but the grin on Robin's face clearly indicated otherwise. Rose sheepishly laughed and the two teenagers began the journey again towards the castle. Rose's cheeks became quickly kissed pink, like a flower petal, the blooming colour so cute upon her fair skin as Robin in his arrogant triumph smirked - just a small pout and narrowing of the eyes. It was so subtle, it was even more infuriating to Rose who caught a glimpse of it as her eyes turned to quickly meet his.