Of the Forest and Sea

Chapter 32

It smelled wet, and I couldn't see much around me. I heard a pop behind me, and Marmaduke appeared with a torch in his hand, lighting up the cave around us. It hadn't taken me too long to climb down, but once Marmaduke moved the fountain back in place, I felt miles away from the manor.

"Follow me. But keep quiet, and do not be alarmed."

I did as he told me, following him through the cave. My footsteps were quiet compared to his shuffling, but whatever was down here must have known it was him. Then I saw it.

A large stone door, one with similar markings to the fireplaces in Maria's bedroom and the hideout, carved into the rocks. It was massive, and no one would have known this was even here without enlisting Marmaduke's help.

"So, what is this place?"

"It's a secret, another hideout. Once a key spot for the Moon Princess's power, now locked up. Or at least it was until about a year ago."

"How do you know about this place?"

"I've been in this house for many years, I've popped into many rooms by accident, if my magic isn't behaving."

"What's behind the door, Marmaduke?"

"Your answers." As he got closer to the door, it began unlocking, and it slowly groaned open. I couldn't hear any movement, not even a breath that differed from mine and Marmaduke's. I couldn't see anything but darkness, and the air felt too heavy.

"She's waiting."

"She?" Before I could get another answer, Marmaduke was gone. It was just me, and a heavy darkness around me. I stepped forward through the door, trying to find my way through the black. "Hello?"

My voice didn't carry far, and there was no echo. The air was so thick, it was hard to walk through it. I didn't have my dagger, the pearl one or my normal one. I was defenseless and had no idea where I was going.

"You will need no weapons in here." I looked around but could see no one, no physical body to create such a honeyed voice.

"Let me see you."

"None can see what is not there."

"I have no time for riddles."

"Then why did you come? You've come for information, have you not?"

"How do you know what I am here for?" Her voice echoed through the darkness, but mine did not.

"Why else would one be here in the vaults?" The vaults...?

"This would be a lot easier if I could see you."

"And what is it you would like to see?" The darkness evaporated into a garden, then a field, and finally a single tree. "You see many places as a comfort, but this one is of a sad comfort, is it not?"

"If you can see all of that, then why don't you tell me what I need to know?"

"You said you needed to see me. I'd assume a familiar form would be more comforting to you. This is the most comforting place to you." I stared at the tree, not wanting to remember any of it. "Would a human form be easier to speak to?"

"Yes." Before I could prevent specific people from appearing, a bright light appeared, and my mother stood in front of me - in front of her own grave.

"This is where the sadness comes from, yes?"

"It doesn't matter. I just need the information that Marmaduke said you have."

"Are you prepared to accept the cost of such knowledge?"

"And what would that cost be?"

"Would you be willing to lose those closest to you?"

"Who specifically?"

"Does it matter? Either way, lives will be lost."

"Is there another option?" Her silence was answer enough. But there was always another way. Maria couldn't throw the pearls into the ocean, she had to sacrifice herself. "Is there any way to trade, instead?"

"And what would a mere mortal have to trade with me?"

"I don't even know who you are."

"Ah, yes. Introductions. I am the Moon, and you are Robin, Prince of the Forest."

"You're the moon? The actual moon?"

"A spirit of it. How else would the moon pearls seem to exist if there was no presence here on Earth?"

"So Maria isn't the Moon Queen then...that's you?"

"I care not for titles. In human terms, I would simply be a goddess. The young moon child would, in theory, be queen by your standards."

"If you're the goddess of the moon, why are you here on Earth? Why not go back to the moon?"

"I am not needed there."

"This is getting ridiculous. Is there, or is there not another chronicle of the valley? What is it that we're missing?"

"There is much missing from that chronicle you have in your possession. A stolen chronicle, I might add. If you can bring it back to me, then, and only after the book is in my possession, will I show you the other chronicles."

"This feels too much like a trap. For me to get all of the knowledge, I have to just hand over our only understanding of the magic in the valley, still at the risk of losing those closest to me?"

"You're observant, young prince. But you forget, you asked for a trade. I require my book, and you require information."

"Why do you need the book?" She fell silent again. I knew it wasn't my mother, it couldn't be. I never even knew her. She died when I was a baby

"If you tell me why you need the book, I'll consider bringing it. But without a reason, I can only assume that we'll never see the book again. We'll lose our only understanding of the magic and the valley."

"Oh dear, I've upset you. The book was never meant for the humans, but one stole it from me. I'm asking for it back. When the moon rises full and bright, I expect you to bring my book home to me."

"Promise that nothing bad will come if I bring you the book," I waited, but the figure never spoke. My mother had become nothing more than a shell, a vessel.

The closer I got to her, the more I could see how transparent she was, how ghostly she looked. Then, in a blink she was gone. I had returned to the empty vault. I started to walk towards the open door, at least the way I thought.

If I didn't bring the book, what would I risk? Could I even take the book without someone noticing its absence?

There was a sliver of light shining down at the top of the ladder that Marmaduke had sent me down, and I let out a relieved breath. At least he gave me something.

"Did you get the information you were looking for?" Marmaduke whispered from the top of the ladder, pushing away the fountain.

"In a way. A warning would have been nice about what I was walking into."

"What did she show you?"

"My mother."