Chapter Text
All significant moments in Maria Merryweather's young life seemed to begin with a bumpy carriage ride to somewhere she had no desire to go.
That was how she had arrived in Moonacre a few short months ago and that was what was happening now, as she sat stiffly in a rickety carriage heading for Castle Black. While she had grown to love Moonacre Manor, her uncle Benjamin and all it's other inhabitants, she highly doubted the same could be said of her current situation.
Beside her, Ms Heliotrope clucked and tugged at Maria's skirts, smoothing out invisible creases. "Maria dear, do try to sit still or your dress will be ruined." Ms Heliotrope fussed.
The dress in question had a fitted corset and a flared out, full skirt. It was pitch black, save for a bloodred trim at the hem and neckline. Maria's hair was braided and piled on top of her head, red and black ribbons threaded throughout. It would not have been Maria's choice of attire, but the colours were thought to be a gesture of good will and courtesy to their hosts.
Black, to symbolise the de Noir clan, and red to symbolise the fact that Maria would soon be a bride.
De Noir brides traditionally wore red instead of white you see.
The thought of her impending nuptials and fiancé made Maria's entire body feel hot and itchy, as if she was allergic to the very idea of it. She had fought it from the beginning, as had her uncle to be fair. But as time passed, the curse worsened, and there continued to be no sign whatsoever of the missing moon pearls, it became clear that joining the two warring houses through marriage was the only option to save the valley. And if there was one thing Maria valued above all else, it was her duty as Moon Princess to protect and serve Moonacre valley and it's residents.
If the price of the safety of the valley was her own happiness, she would gladly pay it.
Tonight they would formally announce the happy engagement at a feast the whole valley had been invited to at Castle Black. From then on, Maria would live at Castle Black until the ceremony in a few weeks time, and after the wedding she would become Lady de Noir and remain there, ruling over the de Noir clan and locked into her marriage for the rest of her life.
She avoided plunging into a pit of despair at that thought by virtue of the fact that the carriage had now come to a halt outside the castle gates. Maria had only been there once before (an unfortunate situation where she had broken into the castle in an attempt to reconcile the curse, been thrown in a dungeon and ended up fleeing in only her undergarments) and she found the castle even more imposing at night, flickering torches casting wild shadows.
She could hear the sounds of the feast already in full flow, chatter, cheers and music bouncing off the stone walls. Her uncle was already inside, seated at the high table. The plan was that Ms Heliotrope would go first and alert Sir Benjamin and the Coeur that they had arrived. They would then give a short speech and explanation, announce her entrance and then she would join them all for the final portion of the night.
She stuck close to Ms Heliotrope as they walked through the entrance hall, their shoes clicking on the stone flagstones. When they reached the oak doors which marked the entrance to the grand staircase, Maria came to a halt. This was where she would enter. Ms Heliotrope gave her hand a final, supportive squeeze.
"We will get through this my dear. One step at a time."
Maria gave her old governess a shaky smile, and with that the older women hurried off, guards escorting her to a side entrance. Left alone in the empty hall, Maria glanced around, attempting to distract herself from the reality of her situation.
"Hello again, Moon Princess."
Maria startled, her hand drifting to the small knife concealed in her bodice as her eyes zeroed in on the source of the words. Across the hall, a figure melted from the shadows. As he crossed the space towards her, he flickered in and out of focus in the flames from the torches. He was tall, at least a head taller than Maria, and had dark eyes and a mop of brown curls. He was dressed entirely in black formal wear, fitted trousers and a jacket studded with tiny red rubies, except for the red scarf tied around his neck. He moved as silent and smooth as a shadow and his eyes remained fixed on Maria, lips curled into a smirk.
Robin de Noir.
Maria drew herself to her full height. "Shouldn't you be inside? What on earth are you doing lurking out here in the shadows like some ghoul?"
He stopped a few feet away from her, head cocked to the side. "I thought it only proper that I was the first to greet you and welcome you to your new home. Newcomers can find the castle intimidating, particularly at night."
Maria folded her arms. "I've already been here, and managed to outwit you and your goons and escape, remember?" she sneered.
Robin's smirk widened. "I'm not likely to forget, seeing as last time you were entirely indecent. Shame you didn't wear similar attire - or rather lack of - tonight."
"Hmmm. You'd have liked that wouldn't you."
"Oh definitely." he said, leering at her.
Maria rolled her eyes. "You are every inch the pig-headed, disgusting oaf I remember!"
He chucked at that, walking backwards away from her and towards the feast.
"That's it princess, exercise that sharp tongue now so that you only have words of sweetness for me in front of our captive audience. I'll be seeing you."
And with that he seemed to disappear, melting back into the shadows as easily as he had arrived.
Maria huffed angrily, smoothing down her hair. She would not be flustered, she would not let him get the upper hand from the very beginning. She took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly. She would play her part to perfection and save the valley. She would remain entirely detached. The hope was that if they could get through the charade for the next few weeks and convince the valley their hearts were true, they could live the remainder of their lives almost entirely separately.
Maria was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of trumpets blaring. She could hear the Coeur's voice even through the thick oak doors.
"...decided to join our two fine houses, breaking the curse and bringing peace and prosperity to the valley, through joining our families by the marriage of my son and heir, Robin de Noir, to the Moon Princess!"
He paused as shouts and cheers filled the room, along with the stamping of boots and clinking of cutlery. The people of Moonacre and the de Noir clan appeared pleased by the news, which was some comfort at least. Maria tuned back in just in time to catch the end of the speech.
"...honoured to welcome the Moon Princess, Miss Maria Merryweather!"
Trumpets sounded again and the heavy doors swung inward. For a moment, Maria was blinded by a wave of light and sound. Then she plastered a smile on her face, raised her chin and stepped inside onto the top of the grand staircase.
The banquet hall was full to bursting. Maria spotted a few colourful figures representing ordinary residents of the valley, as well as several members of the Moonacre Manor household. The rest of the hall was filed with de Noir's, appearing to Maria like a noisy gaggle of crows. Her eyes drifted to the front of the hall, to the high table. At the centre was her Uncle, in a royal blue suit, and the Coeur de Noir in all black leather and fur. On either side where the mens' households; Ms Heliotrope, Digweed, Wrolf and Marmaduke on the Merryweather side and on the de Noir side, Robin de Noir, several young men around his age, a lieutenant seated beside the Coeur and a young women, whom Maria supposed was the Coeur's daughter, Loveday.
Everyone was on their feet, cheering and stamping. Maria slowly began to descend the staircase; as she did so, Robin walked over and began to climb it, much to the joy of the spectators. They met somewhere in the middle. Robin, his back to the crowd, raised his eyebrows tauntingly and Maria had to fight to school her expression into something she hoped resembled a blushing fiancé. Remembering Ms Heliotrope's lessons, she dropped into a low curtsey. When she rose, Robin inclined his head in a bow and then suddenly reached out, grasping her hand in his and brushing a kiss to her knuckles.
Maria bristled, but permitted him to tuck her arm into the crook of his elbow and they descended the stairs together.
They passed the Merryweather contingent first; Maria smiled at her friends and pressed a kiss to her uncle's cheek. Then they came before the Coeur. Maria curtsied before him. "A pleasure, Coeur de Noir. I am honoured to be welcomed to your home and your family."
His expression remained unreadable as he surveyed her. "Hmmm. Certainly a better first impression than the last time you visited my castle, Moon Princess."
She couldn't help herself. "For you, perhaps."
The Coeur's eyes flashed, but it appeared to be in approval rather than anger. Robin hurried her along regardless, completely ignoring the Coeur's second in command (Dulac, was it?) and tugging her to stand in front of the young women. She was taller than Maria, bright blue eyes surrounded by a cloud of white-blond curls. She stepped forward, clasping Maria's hands in her own and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"How wonderful to meet you, Maria!" she gushed. "My name is Loveday. I am so excited to have another woman in the family."
Maria's lips twitched in a genuine smile. Perhaps not all the de Noir's were odious. "Delighted to make your acquaintance, Loveday." she smiled.
Maria let go of Robin's arm, sliding into the empty seat beside Loveday. Suddenly she was jolted forward - Robin was pushing in her chair.
As she glanced over her shoulder, he leaned down, his breath hot against her neck. "Remember to play nice." he whispered.
Maria smiled as if he was murmuring sweet nothings in her ear, twisting slightly to face him. "I wouldn't take etiquette lessons from you if you were the last person on Earth." she breathed, quiet enough that only he could hear.
Robin cleared his throat, straightening before taking his seat on her other side. The rest of the hall followed suit, resuming their seats as servants brought out dessert and more mead. A large slice of chocolate cake was placed before Maria, but she ignored it in favour of taking a deep drink from her goblet.
"Did you have a pleasant journey Maria?" Loveday enquired. Maria felt herself relax slightly, grateful for a conversation partner other than Robin.
"Pleasant enough," she said, "I prefer horseback over carriage for travelling generally, we felt every bump and bounce of our journey."
Loveday nodded sympathetically, spooning cake into her mouth. "At least the journey from the Manor isn't far and you can avoid the worst roads."
Maria glanced at her in surprise at the familiarity of her tone. "Indeed. I didn't realise you were familiar with my home, Loveday. Had you travelled the route before?"
Loveday immediately stiffened, her face paling. She refused to meet Maria's eyes and when she spoke, her voice seemed void of all emotion. "I had. Many moons ago."
Her lip quivered and she abruptly stood up, her chair screeching against the flagstones. "If you'll excuse me." Without waiting for a response, Loveday was gone, hurrying out of the hall and leaving Maria feeling horribly confused. What could she possibly have said to upset her so?
"Oh well done. Only been here 5 minutes and already you have people fleeing from the room." Robin muttered beside her.
Maria rounded on him, but before she could speak, the three young men on Robin's other side leaned in to look at her.
"Ignore him, he's just being pouty. We're delighted to see you again." said the tallest of them, throwing a wink at her.
Maria struggled to catch up, her head spinning at the changes in pace. "Forgive me, have we met before?"
"The last time you were here-" began the young man in the middle.
"-we threw you in the dungeon." scowled the third man, at the far end. He left out 'where you belong' but it was implied. Heavily.
"Ignore David, he's hopeless at talking to women," the first speaker said smoothly, throwing his napkin at his surly friend. "I'm Richard and this is Henry."
Henry offered her a tentative wave.
Maria nodded at them all tightly. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance - or reacquaintance, I should say."
Richard beamed at her, but David was still scowling. "I hope we don't have to drag you back again after another escape attempt."
Maria raised her chin, eyeing him coolly. "Well, let us all hope that my stay is more hospitable on this occasion." She straightened in her seat, taking another sip from her goblet. "If not, you better hope your castle's security has improved tremendously since my last visit. I should hate to embarrass you again."
Henry snickered at that and it shut David up. Maria glanced at Robin, but he seemed preoccupied with his mead.
He made no effort whatsoever to engage her in conversation and Maria felt her mood grow as sour as the mead in her cup. As soon as she deemed it socially acceptable to do so, she stood up.
The Coeur looked at her. "Forgive me, Sir," she said, "but I think I shall retire early tonight. It has been a...long day."
He merely grunted before turning back to her uncle, which Maria took as his blessing. She didn't hesitate, gathering her skirts. Throwing a final glance at Robin, she followed a serving girl out of the hall and down long dark corridors.
"We've prepared a room in the west wing Miss," the girl explained, "I hope it's to your liking. You will sleep her until the wedding and then-" she trailed off, embarrassed. But Maria understood. Then she would share her husband's room.
The room was sparse, but well decorated. There was a wardrobe, a basin, a roaring fireplace and a plush four poster bed. Someone (Loveday Maria presumed) had left a vase of flowers on the dresser. Maria used the last of her energy to offer the serving girl a weak smile. "It is perfect, thank you. I shall prepare myself for bed tonight. Good night."
The girl nodded at the clear dismissal, backing out and closing the door behind her. As soon as the door shut Maria crumpled onto the bed. Her head was pounding and her throat scratchy with unshed tears.
Tears won't help you, she scolded herself. You are the Moon Princess, you have faced worse than this.
In a daze, she stepped out of her dress, pulled the pins and ribbons out of her hair and crawled beneath the sheets.
She would do this. Things would look better in the morning, after a good night's sleep. But as Maria closed her eyes, she couldn't ignore the sound of the lie in her thoughts, and her dreams were uneasy.