Of the Forest and Sea

Chapter 9

After she put bandaged me up, Maria kept me in her room, while she went to go get food for us. Once we ate and she cleaned up, she checked me over again, making sure she didn't miss any cuts. I tossed and turned all night, trying to find some comfortable way to sleep.

"Robin?"

"Maria, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I haven't slept yet. You've been in pain all night."

I groaned sitting up and started breathing hard. "You're upset with me. I know you are."

"You nearly got yourself killed to save me."

"Then I guess we're even, aren't we?" She walked over and sat next to me on the edge of her bed.

"No, we aren't. What I did was for the valley. What you did was reckless. Do you even realize how many people went searching for you? Your father made me come back here when he realized how dangerous the situation could get. They still haven't found Dulac. No one knows where he went."

"Maria, you're safe and alive, as am I. That's all that should matter now." She rested her head on my shoulder.

"But you don't care who you hurt along the way to save me. Your sister had left on her honeymoon, she wouldn't have known until she came home. Your father would have found you, no doubt... and what about me? We started to think...we had been looking for you all over the forest..." I picked her chin up and shook my head.

"I wouldn't have let him kill me. Not like that." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but the tears had already fallen. "Don't cry, Maria. I'm not worth your tears." I kissed her forehead and caught a glimpse of a smile.

"Get some sleep. You need it more than I do." She nodded, then slowly put herself back into bed. I will find Dulac and get my revenge.

***

I watched the sun come up through her windows and waited as long as possible to wake Maria up again. I looked in her mirror and saw how beat up I really was. Trying to stretch, I felt my joints popping and tried to go as far as possible.

A knock at the door startled me, and I started to panic. My clothes were in random places, and bandages riddled her floor, as well as bloodied rags. Maybe it's better they find me here. I walked over to her chair and sat down quickly, trying to seem asleep.

I could hear it creak open, and I tried my best to see who it was.

"Maria, it's time to-." Loveday... "Robin?"

I opened my eyes and saw both Benjamin and Loveday staring at me. "Welcome back."

"Out. Now," Benjamin growled.

"Wait, Ben. Look...Robin what happened?"

"Dulac. He had Maria...I told him if he let her go, he could do whatever he wanted to me."

"When was this?"

"4 days ago, now."

"Good morning Uncle." Maria sat up in bed, then her eyes widened in realization. "Uncle, I-I promise you it's not what it looks like. Robin was injured...he asked for my help."

Loveday went and sat beside Maria, giving her a small hug. "We know, it's okay. Robin was just telling us what was happening."

Benjamin still stared at me, and I tried to stand up to find my shirt. It always hurts more to stand than it does to sit. Maria jumped out of her bed and I pointed at my crumpled shirt on the ground.

"Can someone please explain why you are in Maria's room? Alone?"

"Uncle, nothing happened. I brought him up here."