Of the Forest and Sea

Chapter 16

The sneer he gave me sent chills down my spine, but Maria was my only priority. Her face was void of emotion, but I could feel her body shaking underneath the blankets.

"How did you get past the guards?"

"Easy enough when they're all unconscious." Oh no... Maria stood and tried to run to the door, but quickly fell back to the ground. I caught her before she could hit my stone floor, and my back hit first.

"Oh, would you look at that. You'd still do anything to make sure she's okay."

"When I wished that we could find him, I never meant for it to be like this," I whispered, before letting her go. I stood up and ran to the door, grabbing the guard who stood watch. "Go get my father, it's Dulac. Get every man you can find; we are getting him down to the dungeon one way or another."

The guard ran off quickly, and I turned back to Dulac. Maria had gotten herself against my wall, and Dulac was only focused on her. I grabbed my knife and lunged at him, digging it deep into his side. He cried out in pain, and I took my knife out, watching his layers turn red.

The stab wasn't fatal, but it rendered him weak enough to turn my back to him. He held his side and still yelled, his breathing becoming more and more labored.

"Maria, are you alright?"

"He didn't touch me, but I'm worried. Did you kill him?"

"No. But he's definitely hurt. Come on, we need to get you out of here." I picked her up and carried her out of my room, out to the tower. As soon as we got there, the guards cleared out, and all went looking for Dulac.

"It can't be that easy, Robin."

"I know, Maria. It can't be that easy but maybe it was. Maybe we got lucky."

"We can't have. There's no way." I lit the fire in the pit and walked back to where I had set her. She looked so fragile...

"What else do you think there is?"

"I don't know, but this feels like an entire curse. Nothing has gone right for us. And the pearls... Where are the pearls?"

"They're back in my room, I'll get them." I ran back across the bridge back to my room, and found the bag where Maria sat against the wall. The crown was inside, and thankfully seemed untouched. Blood stained my floor, and I could see the drops and splatters trailing out into the hallway. Hopefully he's locked away in the dungeon for good. When I got back to the tower, Maria had fallen asleep again.

"Princess, I have the crown."

"Please don't lose it. I don't know what's going on, but there's a reason we have them again."

"Do you think it really could be another curse?"

"Who could have set it? No one but the Moon Princess could have such control, and no one but us knows they exist again." She mumbled, her voice getting softer.

"If it was a curse, what do you think it is?"

"I don't want to know. I just want to be rid of it. How am I supposed to live a normal life if my life is filled with curses?"

"What if this isn't a curse?"

"What else could it be Robin? Being the Moon Princess is a curse, not a blessing, it seems."

"You just haven't found what you're good at yet. You know, besides saving the valley. Loveday is good at helping animals, maybe you've got some hidden talent too."

"Then why would the Moon give me the pearls again? We're in danger, I know it."

"You can't be certain of that, Maria. Look at me for a second." I pulled her chin until her eyes met mine and I felt like melting. "You saved the valley. Don't forget that. You did what no other Moon Princess could do, and you nearly sacrificed yourself to do it. You're the only one who could have stopped the curse and you did it. It's no longer a string of pearls, maybe because it's not meant for that."