The Moon Beyond the Mist

10. Tomfoolery of the fae

Maria was torn from her trance at the sound of Robin's cries, the gentle clamour of bells replaced with her companion's yelps of pain. Jumping across the stream, a ribbon unravelled from her hair and fluttered into the current, only to be met with a fizz and a hiss as it deteriorated within the gleaming waters. Careful not to further disrupt the faerie ring of mushrooms, she stepped through Robin's path and crouched at his side. He was clutching his hand to his chest, his face contorted in pain as he allowed Maria to carefully tug him to his feet, urging him to follow her as she pulled him from the ring and back the way they had come.

The magic of the fae folk was unpredictable and never to be trusted, it invariably ended in disaster and tragedy. Maria knew this well from her readings of Loveday's research into the mystical and arcane, yet experiencing it in person was a completely different matter. Who could have foreseen the cruel tricks to be played out when entering such a realm of complete and utter beauty? It was as if they had entered heaven, only to be met with the Devil's delusions. The glade had bewitched their senses and drawn them into the fairies' callous designs.

Desperately trying to distance themselves from the clearing, Maria led Robin deeper into the forest, for once taking comfort in the dismal darkness that seemed to seep from within the undergrowth. Crouching down to tear a shred of fabric from the bottom of her dress, she wound the makeshift bandage around Robin's bloody palm. He flinched as the material touched his inflamed skin, but colour was returning to his face now that they had departed from the glowing glade.

"I'm sorry, Princess," he groaned as Maria tied a final knot to keep the wrapping in place, "I was not thinking... I don't know what came over me."

"It's not your fault, Robin," Maria replied, looking up into his eyes to see them churning with anguish, "we should have been prepared for the tomfoolery of the fae."

"I never meant to place you in any danger," Robin said after a pause, and she could see in his gaze that he meant it. It was not his hand that was troubling him, but rather his distress at potentially harming Maria. She couldn't help but smile and gently take his arm in hers.

"Well then, perhaps this at least means that I can take a turn in leading you."

She set off into the trees, trusting her senses and whatever power was left within the forest to guide her to where she wanted to go. Sure enough, a soft babbling of rushing water could soon be heard in the distance and before long she was instructing Robin to sit down on a nearby rock so that she could properly tend to his wounds.

She tried not to hurt him as she unwound the bandage, taking care to remove the last layer with caution. Below his skin was stained a dark red, lines of dried blood running across his palm. He grimaced, taking it in, as Maria turned to run the fabric through the water.

She flinched at the sound of tinkling bells, ringing softly like the chimes above a baby's crib, lulling it into a peaceful slumber. In his free hand, Robin cradled a single floret of Heliosoleil. In her panic, Maria had completely forgotten the reason for their visiting the glade at all. For all the harm it had caused them, Maria beamed up at Robin, grateful for actions, rash and disorderly as they were. He grinned back, his cheeks growing rosy as Maria took the flower carefully and placed it into her travelling pouch.

Turning her attention back to Robin's palm, she gently supported his hand within her own, allowing him to weave his fingertips behind hers. Cautiously dabbing the washed material across his hand she cleaned away the blood, pausing whenever Robin sucked in his breath or cringed away. Rivulets of red were washed away by the current as Maria finished her work, ripping off another strip of fabric to use as a bandage against infection. Maria couldn't help but gaze forlornly down at the angry scars that now ran patterns across Robin's palms. If she hadn't taken on Robin's offer of help, surely such a thing would never have happened to him.

"Try not to look so dismal, Princess," Robin laughed, as if reading her mind. "Now your knight has a badge of honour for protecting his princess in loyal service."

As Maria tied a bow to secure his bandage he turned his hand and caught her own within his fingers. Pulling them up to his lips, he pressed a sweet kiss against her knuckles. He heard her gasp but she did not pull away, and his lips curled into a smile against her skin as he raised his eyes to find hers.

"And it would seem that you take excellent care in looking after your subjects. It is almost as if you are experienced in the matter," he teased.

After the morning's events, Maria could not muster the energy to scowl. Instead, she let herself laugh, matching her smile to Robin's as he rose to his feet.

"Then, if we are quite ready, perhaps we should set off to our next destination, Princess. I for one would gladly put that godforsaken glade as far behind us as possible."

Clambering up the rocky river bank and onto the grassy earth of the familiar forest paths, the pair continued through the trees. For once, the forest didn't seem quite so miserable and the flora was not so melancholy. Maybe it was the sun reaching its highest peak before making its ominously early decent. Or possibly it was due to the interlocking fingers of Maria and Robin, each, perhaps unknowingly, holding tightly onto the other's hand as if it was their anchor to the ground beneath their feet.