Of the Forest and Sea

Chapter 14

My body ached. The only thing on my mind was finding her. I knew she was good at getting away, she has been since day one. But she was gone, and no one could find her. I even went to the Manor to look for her, which only resulted in another argument between Benjamin and me.

It was long past sundown, and it was only getting colder out. I had checked every where she might be, and any new place she could have found. I couldn't even find her footprints in the snow.

I was losing my mind. How could I be so stupid?

"You are on your final chance. This is the third time she's been in danger because of you." Benjamin's words...they hurt more than I thought they did. But he's right... It is my fault.

"Robin! One of the guards found her! She's at the castle waiting for you." I heard Brayen's voice call out, and I ran hard back to the castle. I didn't care who heard me or how silent I wasn't being, I needed to get there.

Mills and Alain were at the gate waiting for me but stopped me before I could get any further.

"Let me through, I need to see her."

"Robin, it's you father. He's asked us to keep you here until he comes to get you."

"I don't care, let me in. He can do what he will to me, but I have to see her." I tried to get past them, but they both blocked my only way in. "Why?"

Mills looked at his feet, and Alain rubbed the back of his head. "Why am I not allowed to see Maria?"

"Because she's sick, Robin. It looked like she had fainted when they brought her inside." I turned around and saw Brayen, clearly out of breath from trying to catch up to me. So, she was out in the snow...

"Where did they find her Brayen?"

"Close to the amphitheater. I saw her when they carried her in... Robin, everyone is saying it's something you did."

I was speechless... I knew they were right but to hear it from someone other than Benjamin made it sound so much worse. Especially from Brayen...

I closed my eyes for a second, a ringing in my ears drowned out any other sounds. When I opened my eyes again, I was staring up at Brayen, who has always been much shorter than me. I looked around and saw Alain next to me.

"Robin, are you okay?" I nodded but still felt confused. Did I faint?

"Alright, this is the only time I'll do this. But we need to get Robin inside. He's been out here longer than anyone else and he'll get sick too if we leave him out here. You father is just going to have to try to understand." With Alain's help I stood up and brushed the dirt of myself. The four of us walked inside and Brayen led me up to Maria's room.

"Of course, there's a guard. Someone needs to distract him, and I'll get inside...somehow."

"Or you could just walk in? It's your room they put her in. And besides, your father is going to find out eventually, Robin." For the first time, Mills, you're right.

I walked up to the guard, and he cautiously opened the door for me, almost unsure if he should let me in at all. When he closed the door, I finally looked at her. She was asleep in my bed, curled up tight.

"Maria...?" Not a curl even shifted. "Maria." Still no response.

There's got to be a way to fix this. I sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand in mine. Hers was so much smaller...and so much softer too. I could feel her hands shaking lightly, and she was much colder than I'd felt before.

"Princess," I mumbled. Her fingers closed around mine and I caught myself smiling. I didn't even feel myself start to smile at all...

"Robin?"

"Well, you are in my room."

"How did I get back here?"

"You're joking, right? You ran off and no one could find you. We looked all over for you, Maria..."

"I was back at the manor, wasn't I?'

I shook my head and started to get even more worried. "They found you laying in the snow by the amphitheater." I looked over her face and could feel myself worry even more. Her skin was pale, her lips were blue, and the skin around her eyes was red. Her shivering was getting worse, too.

"Robin, I'm cold..." I let go of her hand and grabbed one of the blankets off of my bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. I got up and threw a few more pieces of wood into the fire, then got myself a bit more comfortable. Her eyes never left me, and I walked back to her quickly.

"Can I lay by the fire?" I nodded and picked up all of the blankets and pillows I had on my bed. When I got those settled, I picked up Maria gently and set her down by the fire.

"Now you can lay with me..." I heard her mumble. Her voice wasn't as cheerful and clear; she sounded like she was struggling to speak.

"Maria, you need to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." I sat down next to her and pulled off my boots and jacket. After removing my outer layers, I felt her curl up beside me. When I looked back down, she was asleep, but I didn't want to leave her alone. Besides, I had just gotten comfortable.

I kissed her forehead and laid next to her. The fire was warm, and the exhaustion finally caught up to me. If my father walks in and sees this... I sighed and turned towards her, keeping her head close to my chest. Might as well do what I want if I'm going to be in trouble for being here anyways.