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1.
It was only after the Coeur De Noir had returned to his home and called the clan together to announce that their centuries old feud with the Merryweather was over, that he himself had chance to reflect on the nights momentous events.
Chief of course was his reconciliation with Sir Benjamin. Close behind that was the return of his daughter. And then there was his son and the Merryweather girl...
The boy had held a knife to his throat.
True, he doubted very much that Robin would have done any more than that, and he himself let them both go, preventing any test of this. But Robin's intent had been clear. I will not let you take her father. The tone he had spoken the words in rang across the Coeur’s mind, loud and clear.
Loveday's motives at least had always been clear to the Coeur. Hell, he'd been able to understand them to an extent; she'd never made much of a secret of how little regard she had for the centuries old feud that dominated their lives. With the soft heart of a women it should have come as no surprise that she'd fallen in love with Benjamin Merryweather instead of seducing him like she'd been meant to.
But his son's motives? Even now the Coeur De Noir couldn't fathom them. Robin had hardly known the girl, and that was all she was, a girl. And a foolish girl at that, given the extraordinarily stupid way she had turned up at his keep to look for the Moon Pearls. She had walked right in! No disguise, no plan, no nothing. She had been foolishly obstinate, stubborn and mouthy, altogether too young and too naive to understand the danger she had put herself in.
But it had also been foolishly selfless to jump from the cliff the way she had. Foolishly brave too. These were two things he struggled to understand, wrapped up in his bitterness and hatred all these years...
Perhaps he'd never really know the truth of the matter. And perhaps it didn't matter much now anyway, for despite the closer connection that was coming through his daughter's marriage to Sir Benjamin, Robin and Maria, and the lives they had led, couldn't be any more different from one another. Whatever their alliance had been, it had been a one off and they were unlikely to cross paths or interact much in the future.
That, the Coeur De Noir was sure, would be the end of the matter.
2.
The Coeur De Noir didn't see the Moon Princess again until several months later, at his daughter and Sir Benjamin's wedding.
The ceremony went without a hitch, and the Coeur had to admit, as he stood in the grounds of Moonacre Manor, watching everyone, drink in hand, he felt a contentment he hadn't felt for a long time. Peace had brought with it several new advantages and was fast becoming something he never wanted broken...
But broken it was.
"For god's sake, how much have you had to drink?" The hissed voice of his son made the Coeur glance around towards the edge of the lawn just behind him.
"I don't know, my glass keeps getting refilled..." Maria Merryweather impatiently hissed back, his son now opposite her.
"And it hasn't occurred to you to say no?"
"Of course not, that would be rude, and unlike you, I have some manners,"
"And yet out of the two of us, I'm not the one struggling to stand upright because I've been drinking champagne since noon!"
"I am not struggling to stand, and actually, I've been drinking champagne since breakfast-"
"For Christ's sake Maria- then that is very definitely your last!"
"Says who?"
"Says me!"
"Why is it that you're always telling me what do?"
"Because you're always doing stupid things!"
"Oh for the love of- I jumped off a cliff once and you've never let me forget it, have you?"
"No, I haven't. Because once is all it takes,"
"Well it wasn't particularly fun and I'm hardly going to do it again-"
"I wouldn't put it past you, you can't keep yourself out of trouble for- No! She does not want a refill!"
"I can speak for myself Robin!"
"Don't I bloody know it-"
"Don't you swear at me. Perhaps you ought to have some champagne, it might relax you. This is a wedding after all, you're supposed to celebrate and share in the day's joy-"
"I'm not a fourteen year old girl so I think I'll need something a bit stronger than champagne if I going to catch up with you,"
"Well go and find a barrel of ale then, perhaps sticking your head into it might do the trick-"
It was at this point that Coeur De Noir last track of conversation, having choked on his own drink. Loveday, noticing her father so violently coughing and spluttering from nearby, rushed over to him.
"Father?" She asked in concern, but he only waved his hand dismissively in response. Through watering eyes, he watched as his son stormed away towards the gazebo the De Noirs were congregated in, and Maria Merryweather downed yet another glass of champagne.
It seemed he'd have to revise his assertion that the pair would never spend much time together. It appeared that they already had.
3.
The first time the Coeur De Noir had encountered Maria Merryweather in his castle, his surprise had been outweighed by his triumph. The second time, his surprise outweighed everything else.
He was striding along a corridor with Richard De Noir in tow, his mind whirling with plans as he delegated instructions to him.
"We need more timber for the old solar, it's about time it was repaired now the west tower is finished. You and Henry are to report to Florian. It's time to see what those boys you've been training can do, there's only so much you can teach before they've just got to get out there and learn to track for themselves,"
"They'll end up scaring the deer off for miles," Richard snickered.
"Then they can stay out for as long as is takes. A few nights spent with tree roots digging into their backs should do the trick. Meanwhile, Robin and David can keep going out at night so at least we'll have some meat to keep us fed until the others have managed to catch couple of rabbits and come back proclaiming themselves hunters-"
Pushing open the doors to the Great Hall, the Coeur strode through them. It was empty, he was pleased to see, his clan busy with their duties. It had been for several months now that he'd set them all to work restoring the castle to its former glory. It would take several more, but the Coeur was determined to see it done.
Continuing his way up through the hall, it proved not to be as empty as he first thought however. As he passed the great fireplace in the wall, he started as a voice called out to him.
"Good morning Coeur De Noir,"
Maria Merryweather was seated in one of the high backed chairs before him.
So surprised and taken aback at finding her sitting so calmly before him in the middle of his hall, the Coeur was rendered momentarily speechless.
"He's in bed Princess," Richard spoke up, apparently several steps ahead of the Coeur in understanding her presence there, "He was out late hunting last night. They'll be no getting him up until midday I should think,"
Maria frowned at this. "I see. Come Wrolf,"
And then to the Coeur’s further astonishment and incredulity, the giant black lion he somehow hadn't noticed spread out across the flagstones, rose to his feet and followed after the girl as she left the hall. With absolutely no explanation at all of her presence to him.
"What the devil-" He was so stunned, so indignant, he couldn't speak.
Richard only shrugged. "Robin probably said he'd meet her in the forest this morning,"
"But what was she doing here? In my castle?"
"Well, where she comes from a gentleman should always keep his word..."
"Robin isn't a gentleman!"
"No, definitely not, but I don't think that matters much to Maria,"
The Coeur only stared at him because how well did Richard apparently know the girl? Why was he speaking so indifferently, as if there was nothing surprising or at all bold about Maria Merryweather turning up at his castle to apparently wait for his son because he had failed to meet her?
But then, from somewhere above them, there came a crash and an almighty roar.
Richard winced. "I suppose that's one way to wake someone up," He muttered.
The Coeur was forced to agree, when, ten minutes later, a dishevelled, bleary eyed and grumpy looking Robin appeared, shrugging on his jacket and heading for the front gates, where, no doubt, Maria Merryweather was waiting.
He was forced also to concede to a small amount of admiration at the effectiveness of such a method, however reluctantly this was on his part.
4.
It was proving to be a very cold winter, the coldest the Coeur De Noir could remember. Winter game was scarce and their stocks were beginning to get low. Three years ago, his clan would have been in trouble. But three years ago, Sir Benjamin of Moonacre Estate was not his son in law and his pride had outweighed all else.
"I'm grateful you could come Merryweather," He told Sir Benjamin, and truly meaning it too. He wasn't a young man anymore; the cold was seeping into his bones in a way it never used to and where he could avoid it, he had little inclination to leave the fireside within his castle.
Sir Benjamin sat down in the chair beside him and accepted the brandy the Coeur offered him. "We had a good harvest," He said, not being a man to mince his words and cutting directly to the point, "There's plenty of surplus grain. What I don't have is enough wood to keep my tenants and their families from freezing,"
"I can give you the wood," The Coeur answered, appreciative of Sir Benjamin's directness as he wasn't a man who wanted his time wasted with meaningless pleasantries, "What I need is the grain,"
"We have a deal then?"
"Yes," the Coeur said, feeling pleased. "Robin's been in charge of the winter stockpiling so I'll need to liaise with him about what we can give you," He suddenly frowned, "I've not seen him all morning though, I've no idea where the blasted boy has got to..."
Sir Benjamin snorted. "He was at the Manor when I left, eating me out of house and home, as usual,"
"As usual?"
"Yes, yes," Sir Benjamin affirmed in tone of voice that clearly indicated his feelings on the matter, "He's always there. Not that I recall ever actually inviting him..."
The Coeur furrowed his brow at this, because frankly, he could say the same of Sir Benjamin's niece. Well, she didn't eat him out of house and home, but she was always here, bossing his folk about in a manner far too casually than he was comfortable with. What was more, they all obeyed her because of the authoritative manner did it in, a military style she could only have learnt from her father, Colonel Merryweather.
And the Coeur couldn't even stop her because everything she instructed only seems to improve the running of his household and his quality of life. Not even his daughter had been half as assertive as she was. In fact, the last woman he remembered being quite so in charge had been his own wife-
He cleared his throat abruptly and Sir Benjamin hastily changed the subject, both of them suddenly eager to move on.
For neither of them were ready to admit to the realisation of a very likely possibility that had just struck them both about their respective children.
5.
Dulac had always been amongst the most troublesome of his clan, even after the return of the Moon Pearls to the sea. It was no surprise that his boy was just as irksome. This most definitely hadn't been the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last...
Still, the Coeur De Noir couldn't help the flare of fear and anxiety that shot through him when the news of Robin and David's brawl reached him. Four years ago, he wouldn't have cared much, his only concern with the matter his expectation of his son to have won and disgust if he had lost.
But the Coeur was getting older now; maybe he was going soft, but Robin was his only boy. While he intended to thoroughly berate the boy for the headache the fight was going to cause him, he needed to reassure himself his son was fine all the same.
But it seemed he'd been beaten to it.
"You know, you don't even deserve having anyone clean you up," Maria Merryweather's voice sounded angry as floated through a door ajar before him. Peering through the gap, the Coeur observed her standing over Robin, who was seated on a stool without his shirt and covered in cuts, scrapes and bruises, the latter of which were turning darker by the hour.
"No because I can do it do it myself-" came Robin's stubborn reply.
"Oh can you?" Maria asked loftily. His son attempted to draw himself up to retort- and winced.
Maria made an impatient noise. "Sit still," she ordered scathingly, "You've broken at least one rib, probably more," she turned away to wring out the cloth she been using to clean a nasty looking cut above his eye.
"I'm fine," Robin growled, "I don't need molly coddling-"
"Fine then, I won't-"
The cloth was re-applied with a good deal less care.
"Ow! Maria that hurt!"
"Good," She shot back vehemently.
"For god's sake, would you stop over reacting, all it was was just a-"
"No, I'm not interested. You're absolutely the last person I'd ask for their opinion about anything given that there's apparently no problem for you that isn't best solved by punching it!"
This, the Coeur thought, was rather unfair, as this was the De Noir approach to everything, not just Robin's. But, he then reminded himself, Maria wasn't a De Noir. No matter how much time she seemed to spend at his castle...
"Why can't you ever just use your head?" She demanded angrily, "But then you're a man and men are incapable of rational thinking so I suppose it's not entirely your fault-"
Robin didn't reply this time. This of course only served to infuriate Maria further, depriving her as it did of the excuse to berate his answer and when Robin continued to remain stubbornly silent, she changed approach, and, apparently, her mind, about not being interested in the matter.
"David De Noir is the most ignorant, idiotic, unimaginative brute on the face of this earth who is always looking for a fight. What could possibly have been so provoking that it was worth giving him exactly what he wanted?" Maria demanded, but again with no desire for an actual answer, "I'll tell you: nothing. So I hope you're pleased with yourself. I'm sure David is,"
On the whole, this was all rather true, but the reason from the brawl suddenly became crystal clear to the Coeur. It was the one thing Maria seemed to have overlooked about the matter, although, he doubted it would have helped Robin's case much even if she had realised what the provocation had been.
For, in the Coeur's experience, a man was only provoked so easy, only fought so irrationally as Maria put it, for one reason.
The Coeur decided to seek his son out later, when he wasn't quite so busy receiving a tongue lashing he'd intended to give him, from the very woman whose honour he'd been defending in the first place. And as he walked away, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride for his son. This had nothing to do with his winning his fight with David though. No, the true test of manhood wasn't about that or even throwing the first punch.
It was about keeping your mouth shut and being wise enough to take the beating from a far more formidable opponent. And regardless of the fact that she wasn't actually his son’s wife, Maria Merryweather still had to be the most formidable woman the Coeur had ever met.
1.
The celebrations had gone on late into the night. Now, only a couple of hours until dawn, things had finally died down. As he prowled the castle and passed the various members of his clan collapsed across tables, in chairs and against walls, the Coeur De Noir was glad he had chosen to observe rather than partake this time, for he was all too wise of the punishment they would all suffer come the morning.
To his great amusement, his son-in-law was one of those who had appeared to have overlooked this fact as well. He had assisted Sir Benjamin himself to his own study and deposited him into chair there, feeling it was only fair to spare his daughter, who had tottered to her old room only a short hour before this, her husband’s misery when he woke. She alone appeared to have made it that far though, as not one of his own clan, except the older like him, appeared to have made it to their own beds.
But that was as it should have been. It had been a night for the young, not the old, and the Merryweathers were no exception now.
But as for Maria Merryweather, the Coeur hadn't seen her for several hours. The De Noirs never needed much of a reason for a night of feasting and drinking, but the celebration had been, unofficially, in her honour, it being five years to the day of the five thousandth moon. Everything good that had befallen them all since, was, after all, all owed to her.
It seemed the girl had had the good sense to call it a night and retire before falling too far into her cups though, as the rest had. And where ever the Moon Princess had chosen for her respite, it proved to be well hidden, for as the Coeur continued to survey his household, he didn't come across her.
It was only when he reached the Solar and saw the dim glow coming from within that he finally did find her. It was a room that even after its repair had remained mostly unused, unneeded as it was yet and awaiting its purpose to be fulfilled. And it was as these thoughts crossed his mind that the Coeur suddenly realised that that was of course where the Moon Princess would be.
It seemed someone else had guessed the same as well, since the door was open. Through it, the Coeur could clearly see Maria Merryweather, asleep as she was, on the low backed bench before the fire, furs drawn over herself. He had meant to keep an eye an her throughout the night, in case any of the younger boys got carried away in their revelry.
But he hadn't been the only one. His son's eye had been closer still on her, or rather on those around her, pacing his own intake of mead and ale. And there he was now, reviving the dying embers of the fire before Maria to ward off the chill in the hours before the dawn...
As the Coeur watched, something caught Robin's attention and his son turned where he stood. For a moment, the Coeur feared it was his own presence at the doorway, his son's keen hunting instincts too strong for him to avoid detection there. And had it been anyone other than the Moon Princess diverting the whole of Robin's attention, he was sure that he would not have done. She was facing away from the door, on her side, towards Robin and the fire. The Coeur guessed she had stirred, spoken perhaps. As Robin stepped closer to her, she caught his hand and he crouched down in front of her, looking concerned.
The Coeur was too far away to make out what words passed between them, and neither did he want to for it was not for him to know. But Robin smiled, murmured something softly back to her, and brushing her hair from her face, pressed a kiss to her forehead. He lingered a moment longer before her, waiting perhaps for her eyes to slide closed again...
And then he was on his feet and moving towards the door. Hidden by the shadows, it was only when Robin was almost upon the Coeur that he realised someone was there, and he immediately took another rapid step forwards into the doorway, barring access with his shoulders squared protectively-
But then he realised who it was.
"Father," he acknowledged, slightly surprised to see him there.
The Coeur looked at his son appraisingly and Robin stared back, looking weary perhaps for being caught by him, but nonetheless standing his ground.
He always did now, had done ever since the five thousandth Moon. Funnily enough, betraying his father had turned him into everything the Coeur had wanted of his son.
"Well, when you are going to marry her?" The Coeur abruptly asked.
Whatever he'd expected his father to say, it hadn't been that and Robin's face flickered in surprise. But he quickly recovered it.
"When I'm ready," He answered, just as resolutely.
"You've been ready for months," the Coeur informed him, "Just hurry up and get on with it boy. None of us are getting any younger,"
And with that, he turned and strode off without waiting for Robin's reply, feeling in equal measure amusement and triumph.
Yes, this time, the Coeur was satisfied that he'd surprised the boy regarding Maria Merryweather. But his satisfaction extended beyond this...
For much had changed over the last few years, and it cost the Coeur nothing now to admit that he had been wrong before, wrong in his pride, his bitterness, and his hatred. Perhaps he'd always been destined to lose one daughter to become a Merryweather. But he was now also certain that he had always been destined to gain one in return as a De Noir.
And more than that, he was proud of it.