The Moon Beyond the Mist

20. Root of the root

The universe appeared to be a hushed audience, silent and in awe of the Moon Princess. As Maria gazed down at the cracking tree trunk disappearing into the dried out earth beneath her, she cupped her palms to her chest in a distant entreaty to the dark matter of the cosmos. She could feel her heartbeat, strong and steady and filling her with an unbreakable determination. Fingers shaking, she lowered her hands to the ground and began to dig.

It did not take long to hollow out a snug spot for the faintly glowing Heliosoleil to sit. Leaving only its luminous head above the earth, she covered the rest of the hole back up with crumbling soil. It was as if she were moving by instinct, with Moonacre sympathetically guiding her towards her end as she opened up Robin's waterskin and allowed the effervescent liquid within to ooze around the flower.

She thought of Loveday working enthusiastically within her gardens, the latticed gates abundant with roses, bluebells and honeysuckle. Benjamin was there too, his horse cantering through the meadows with cowslip brushing past his boot heels. Miss Heliotrope would be sat within the Manor, pretending to be absorbed in French literature while secretly watching Marmaduke with rapt fascination as he popped and whistled through the kitchen in a whirlwind of icing and butterscotch.

And then, of course, there was Robin. Maria's heart ached at the thought of him, perched high above the rest of the world as he rested amongst the treetops. She could feel the warmth of his arms, the touch of his lips, the wide curve of his shoulders as he pulled her to his chest and refused to release her from his fierce embrace.

There were so many things to love in this world. Maria's mind seemed to be overflowing with memories, hopes and dreams; the sweet scent of lilac on a warm summer's night, the crisp turn of ivory paper in a newly bound book, the steady crackle of a fully stoked fire as you sip upon a large cup of tea that warms the very edges of your soul. Each was a world apart and a hair's breadth away. A tender caress from a mother, a passionate kiss from a lover, a drowsy smile from your child as you sing them to sleep with a lullaby. These were things that Maria would never get to experience, things that she would have to cast aside if she were to save Moonacre. But they would not be lost; every single one would remain in the lives of her family and friends and all of the inhabitants of Moonacre. Each morning the sun would rise and they would caress and kiss and smile until the day burnt old and the moon shone bright. To give her life so that they could experience the earnest spirit of the universe, what a wonderful thought that was.

The mist wrapped her body in a cloak of tragedy undone, cushioning her head as she fell back upon the earth. The world was still, the dark contortions of the twisted branches above her were woven into the black fabric of the sky above. At last, she let her eyelids slip shut, lashes fluttering softly against her pale cheeks as a single tear rolled down her skin. Her mind was shadows and valour, an innate fortitude that clung onto the dusk as her breath slowed, quivered and then ceased.

The forest stood in quiet reverence, a gathering of mourners bowing their heads to the loved and lost. A deathly chill swept through the trees and the static storm of seething fog seemed to petrify the world. Nothing moved, aside from a teardrop as clear as glass and cool as morning dew, which hit the ground with a patter that was deafening within the silence. The soil was coarse and the tear ran deep, smoothing rocks and shining clay until its final traces disappeared into the earth and the last essence of the Moon Princess was surrendered completely.

A soft chiming filled the air, like the clamour of church bells many valleys over, and then suddenly, the clearing was ablaze. A light as bright as an exploding star radiated into the sky. It may once have originated from the glowing petals of a single floret of Heliosoleil, however, it now encompassed the entire form of Maria. The light created a soaring beacon, rising from the girl's body and up through the very centre of the tornado. As it shone, the fog seemed to wisp away, expelled into puffs of white smoke that frantically spiralled through the air before being cast aside by a growing breeze. The forest rustled in the building wind, which shook the trees and awakened the undergrowth. It pushed and pulled until their trunks stood upright once again and then, in a ripple of life, leaves and petals and berries burst from their branches. It was as if sweeping strokes of a paintbrush had flushed the valley in watercolour hues, with each second making the shades grow brighter and brighter until they too radiated with some incandescent light.

The earth seemed to rumble, the roots of the great oak churning in vicious rage as the lasts of the mist swirled up and off of the ground before disappearing into the atmosphere. A mere handful of tendrils managed to rise above the treetops before a tremendous whirl of wind swept them across the sky and the heavens broke open. The dazzling blaze of the sun poured across the world in warm cascades of light. For many moments, it was almost impossible to tell that the sky had not taken on a lustrous white, however as hundreds of birds lifted themselves up into the air upon vibrant wings, they found that they were framed upon a cerulean expanse.

The sun shone softly upon the body of Maria, still laid to rest at the foot of the gnarled oak. The Moon Princess felt a pleasant glow bathe her soul in a light that had seemed so foreign only moments ago. The sensation was unlike any that she had experienced before, as it did not quite fit into the guise of the corporeal realm. Instead, it felt as though she were everywhere and nowhere; suddenly the rays that illuminated the earth from high up above, and then the crests and folds of the currents that ran for miles through the streams and into the vast ocean beyond.

She burrowed deeper, delving into the depths of Moonacre as she pushed to find the very root of the root of her valley and home. The darkness seemed to press against every corner of her mind, but this time, she fought back, not willing to lose what still remained. She found herself as the smallest of entities, nestled into the soil many decades before the period she knew as her own. Time had seemed to lose its pacing, and years raced past her vision without heed of calculation or degree. There were small twigs, poking hesitantly from the earth, and then fragile leaves fluttering in an autumn's breeze. A trunk thickened and its roots grew longer, expanding and exploring as tiny creatures made their home within the hardened bark. Seasons turned over and over, greens to reds to browns and all the while the tree grew higher and larger as it strained to touch the sky and feel the beams of light flash across every inch of its aching being.

Sunshine filtered through the ashen branches, with shifting flickers of light dancing upon the form of a young girl that the Moon Princess recognised from a time long past. She felt herself grow peaceful and free, a world's worth of energy pulsating from within her as she turned the force of nature over in her mind. With a surge of instinctual power, air was returned to the girl's lungs and her heart beat, once again, in rhythm to Moonacre's steady pulse.

Maria's eyes burst open and she was met with the wondrous glow of new life and boundless potential.

❖

A/N Good morning readers! I hope that you all enjoyed this (rather melancholy but ultimately happy?) chapter and that you weren't too worried about Maria's fate over the past week (yes, she is alive, well and soon to be reunited with Robin - yay :D)

As a quick note, this is not the final chapter! There are at least two more to come, so I hope you'll stick around until the end and see what lies in store for Moonacre! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!