The early morning sun found three De Noir boys mounted on their horses. They were waiting for Henry by the castle gates. Richard was towards the end so that he could continue to glower at the back of Robin's head. He still wasn't happy with Robin's irritability earlier.

Henry came running out of the castle. He was adjusting his clothes, tucking in his shirt, and fastening his suspenders.

"Where were you?" Richard asked. "Did you sleep in dreaming of Lizzy?" At least he could still joke with Henry without drawing any wrath.

"Dungeons." Henry snorted as he ran past Richard. Robin's ears perked, hoping to catch more, but Henry had long run past them towards the stables.
After a short wait, he came back out with his black stallion all saddled up.

"Why were you in the Dungeons?" Robin asked.

Henry looked at the other boys before shrugging his shoulders. "Just having a word with Charles. Don't worry about it."

"Besides, not like you'd believe us anyways," Richard muttered under his breath, but Robin heard him. He glared at Richard and kicked his horse forwards, getting ahead of his friends.

David shook his head and smacked Richard's arm. "Why'd you do that for?" He whispered out of earshot.
Richard waived him off. He was growing tired of Robin. They all were. He was just the only one willing to challenge his attitude.

"Drop it, the lot of you," Henry warned. Despite their growing frustration with Robin, Henry wanted to keep the peace for as long as possible. There were too many problems already, he didn't need his friends fighting as well.
They were all worried Robin would be weak to another attack from Althea. To prevent this from happening, they decided, along with Mr. De Noir and Mr. Havisham, to keep Robin away from the dungeons at all costs. It wasn't like they were keeping Robin in the dark. They did tell him the full story and would tell Robin of any new information; they just didn't tell Robin that Althea was in the dungeons.... or that every few nights the boys would go down to interrogate her without him. They didn't want to tempt him to go down there alone. Henry, in particular, was worried Althea would gain control of his mind as she did with the guards.

It was a silent ride from the castle. Henry, Richard, and David were tired from their late night, and Robin was once again lost in his thoughts. As they neared the border of Moonacre valley, the sound of a galloping horse coming up from behind interrupted their silence. It was Loveday riding on Primrose.

"Good morning!" She called out. "I thought I might catch you all here. My father told me you were all heading off to London today."
The De Noir gang stalled their horses and waited for Loveday to catch up. She was flushed red and her golden curls flew wildly about her. Robin noticed a few grey strands that weren't there before. She looked tired and he was sure she had just woken up.

"I have a small request...." She continued, "As you all know, Maria's back at school, and we're worried for her. When you're around, could you stop by and see her, make sure she's alright?"

The boys nodded their heads, but Robin vehemently shook his. "Why should we have to look after her? She's the one with magic after all!"

"Robin, please. She could be the key to your memories! You spending time with her could help recover them!"

Robin shook his head. "What's to say I want them back?" He retorted. This was clearly a lie, and he knew it, but he didn't want to be around the Merryweather girl. He didn't trust her. "No. I already don't want to make this trip, I will definitely not be seeing her!" He grabbed his horse's reins and continued down the path, not bothering to say goodbye to his sister.

"Don't worry," Henry said. "We'll keep an eye out for her."

"Thank you. Though I'm afraid it's going to be hard with Robin. He's bound to put up a fight."

"'Bout time we gave him the same treatment he first gave us when he befriended Maria," David smirked. "I seem to remember he never gave us much of a choice."

"He's just being a fool," Richard added. "Besides, reckon the girls have missed us. Be good to give them a visit."

"Thank you all, how long will you be in London?"

"About four days."

"Perfect, that'll be enough time for the letter to arrive. If you can, could you wait until your last day? Just to make sure her headmistress has received my letter."

The gang agreed and said their goodbyes, heading off in the direction Robin had gone to. As they were nearing the brooding heir, it struck Henry he didn't actually know where Maria went to school.

"You lot go ahead; I need to ask Loveday a few questions." Without waiting for a response, Henry turned his horse and galloped back to Loveday.

"Loveday, hang on!" He yelled out. "We don't know how to find Maria. What's her school?"

"Ah yes, that would be important, Porter's Finishing School for Girls."

"Thanks, and erm, what are her friends' last names?"

Loveday raised an eyebrow and her smile grew. "Hmm...such an interesting question, why would you need that for?"

Henry stuttered before finally muttering "It will make finding Maria easier."

"Well alright, it's Jane Williams, and Lisabetta and Catalina Thomas."

"Lisabetta?"

"Oh yes, didn't you know? That's Lizzy's real name!"

...oOo...

"At the start of tomorrow's class, please turn in your essays regarding the distinguishing traits of the Renaissance period. I expect at least 4 pages of well-written prose."

Maria internally groaned. She had completely forgotten about that essay.

"Psst!"

Maria felt a nudge on her shoulder and turned. It was Cat.

"Want to go work in the library together?"

Maria eagerly agreed. At least working with her friends would make the assignment bearable.

"Miss Thomas!" Their teacher snapped. "Would you care to share with us what's more important than Leonardo da Vinci?"

Cat sat back in her seat and flashed an innocent smile. "I'm flattered Miss Johnson, but I was simply asking Maria if she wanted to join me in the library to finish our papers."

Ms. Johnson narrowed her eyes. "Well, I hope you didn't postpone your writing for tonight."

"No, never!" Cat said aghast. There was no mistaking the lie in her eyes.

Maria and Lizzy quieted their laughter as their teacher turned back to the chalkboard and continued their lesson on the Renaissance man.

At the end of class, Cat wrapped an arm around Maria's and another around Lizzy's.

"Onwards to the library, my ladies!" Cat declared with a skip in her step.

"Actually, I finished my essay already..." Lizzy said.

"What a surprise," Cat responded playfully.

"Yes, well I'm going to head back to our room instead."

"Really? Lizzy avoiding an unnecessary trip to the library?" Maria asked. "What could possibly be drawing Lizzy away from the true love of her life?"

Cat snorted and Lizzy's eyes widened, darting around as she sought an excuse. Her hands fiddled together and toyed with her bag's clip.
"You see, I will be working on astronomy homework and I wouldn't want to distract you girls. And I think I will be more productive if I study by myself, and I'm sure you girls can get along well without me—"

"But you always help us with our assignments," Cat whined.

Lizzy frowned. "I'm sorry Cat, not today. I'll see you both later!" Lizzy untwined her arm from her sister's and hurried down the main hall that led to their dormitories.

Cat looked crestfallen and twisted her lips. She leaned her head against Maria's and sighed, wondering how she would finish her homework without Lizzy's help.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic. You have me after all," Maria urged nudging her shoulder.

Cat laughed and nudged her back. Together the girls hurried to the library, racing to see who got there first. Of course, they did so in the most ladylike fashion, especially when passing their teachers. The girls would tactfully slow down just in time and walk by with casual grace. Once they were out of eyesight though, they would erupt into giggles and continue racing to the library. Yes, these girls were young ladies, but that didn't stop them from making the most fun at school.

Back in her room, Lizzy locked the door behind her. She sat on her desk and pulled from her bag a brown envelope with trembling hands. At the center was a black wax seal, decorated with a lion's emblem. On the other side, was her name misspelled, "Lisabeta Thomas", and her school's address. Lizzy's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open when she saw who the letter was from.

She couldn't help the squeal that escaped her.

...oOo...

Their morning quickly passed into the afternoon, and Maria and Cat were on their third draft. Well, Maria was. Cat was on her fifth. She kept misspelling the Italian words and having to start over.

"Cat, really? You speak a Latin language, I would think you more than anyone would have no problem spelling these words out."

Cat puckered her lips. "My dear intelligent, beautiful Maria, it is for that very reason I misspell the words. My inclination is to spell it as my Latin language, Spanish, would, not in the Italian way. They're very similar yet different enough to confuse even the smartest of scholars," she responded haughtily and with a wink.

"Oh please, do continue to enlighten me," Maria responded sarcastically.

"Ahem." Their taunting was interrupted by someone loudly clearing their throat behind them.

"Ugh, Charlotte what do you want?" Cat asked. "Don't you have other girls to pester?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "As much as I would love to seek better company, I'm currently acting as an assistant to Mrs. Watson—"

"Oh great, what are you going to rat on us this time?"

"I promise you I haven't received any more fairytales," Maria added. This was true, her mysterious benefactor had stopped sending her books. She had a feeling it was her uncle and probably got too busy with business at home.

Charlotte stuck up her nose in the air and continued unfazed, "I'm not here to investigate how you girls are wasting your time. I'm here because Mrs. Watson asked to speak with you two. Lisabetta is already in her office."

Maria and Cat looked at one another and quickly rushed from their seats. They gathered their belongings and headed out the door leaving Charlotte behind.

"What could she want?" Maria asked.

Cat shrugged her shoulders, "Dunno, maybe she wants to pry more formation from us?"

Maria shuddered and thought of her first day back at school when she found Mrs. Watson and her friends waiting for her. Mrs. Watson had immediately ushered them all into her office where Maria and her family, along with her friends, had to squeeze in and deal with an angry headmistress.
She first proceeded to scold the girls for dressing as men and running off to be 'heroes'. She made sure to emphasize that Maria must have been the leader and it was Sir Benjamin's fault for allowing her to read those novels and fairytales. Mrs. Watson strongly believed those books put false notions into the reader's mind and should be forbidden from any sensible library.
Then she chastised Sir Benjamin and Mrs. Heliotrope. Reprimanding them for failing to properly guard the family, and in Mrs. Heliotrope's case, her student. She went on to declare she expected better from such proper members of society. She also told them of what she learned from Bast (who thankfully avoided any mention of the Moon Pearls or Althea). Though she agreed to do her best and keep Maria safe, it was only on the condition that Maria behave exceptionally well. Any false step or rule-breaking would result in her immediate expulsion.

After that, like dogs with tails between their legs, the girls were shepherded to their rooms, Bast back to his school, and her family back to Moonacre. It was a rather quick and humiliating goodbye.

Arriving at Mrs. Watson's office they found Lizzy waiting for them, and to their surprise, Bast.

Mrs. Watson peered at the friends from above her gold-rimmed glasses. "Sit," she commanded, her French accent stringing her 't' along. "Maria, did you know of this?"
Mrs. Watson slid a letter towards her. It had her uncle's stamp.

Maria picked it up and her heart warmed. It was from Loveday, she wanted permission for the De Noir gang to visit her.
"No, Mrs. Watson. I wasn't warned," Maria said, handing back the letter.

Mrs. Watson scowled and pushed up her glasses. "Well please inform your aunt that I am already doing more than enough for you. Next time, I require a week's notice at the very least! You may go, along with your friends, but take Sebastian as your escort. I won't have my girls running around London unaccompanied."

The girls squealed with an excitement that was cut short. "And be warned," Mrs. Watson interjected, "This does not excuse you from your assignments! I expect you all to have them done on time. And should I hear a complaint from your teachers, you can rest assured I will never allow this again."

The girls nodded as they excused themselves. They rushed to their rooms to grab their coats, purses, and parasols, leaving Bast to wait for them by the entrance hall. Neither of the girls bothered changing, they had permission from Mrs. Watson after all to venture outside. Coming back downstairs, Bast held open the door 'like a true gentleman' as Cat gushed.

"Bast," Maria said. "We didn't get a chance to talk much after last time, but why didn't you tell your mother about the pearls or Althea?"

Bast quickly eyed the necklace around Maria's neck before returning a freckled smile, "last I heard, she punished you for reading a fairytale. I didn't want to risk another punishment."

"Thank you. You are a great friend," Maria said.

"It was nothing. Come on gals, let's take a quick detour. I'm sure the De Noir boys won't mind the wait."

Bast offered his arm to Cat and they walked down a few blocks. They reached the end of the street, where Bast stopped to look around. He looked confused.

Suddenly, Maria felt a pair of hands come over her eyes.

"Guess who?" He teased.

"William, you rascal!" Maria scolded. She pulled his hands away from her face and turned to hug him. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"Much better to see you. I was worried Robin would do something while I was gone." William gently took Maria's face and inspected it. "Looking as beautiful as ever!" He added with a wink.

Maria couldn't help the blush on her cheeks and tried to push the thought away. She promised William that Robin was no threat to her, though William didn't believe her.

...oOo...

"Why are we here again?" Robin asked. He was leaning against a tree, picking at some loose strings from his shirt. They were in Hyde Park and his friends sat on the bench beside him.

"Waiting for some business," Henry shortly replied.

Richard yawned and stretched, dropping his arm to rest on the back of the bench. David rested his head on his hand, he was dozing off. The past three days had been spent arguing with merchants. Now that Althea was locked behind bars, trade began to flourish once more, and Mr. De Noir was fighting hard to gain new clients.

"But why at a park? Have we always met clients at the park? Seems a bit casual," Robin asked again.

"This is a different sort of business. You'll see."

"Alright, I'm going to take a short walk then."

"London's changed much since you last remember. Don't get lost!" Richard shouted at him.

Robin stared at him in a deadpan manner before leaving his friends. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was actually enjoying his trip to London. It was a break from the memory fiasco he had to deal with back home. In London, he could pretend everything was normal and simply a new experience.

As he was walking down the main path, he caught sight of a group of friends coming down a smaller deviant path. At the front of the group was a young lady in a long-sleeved blue gown and curly red hair that fell beneath her shoulders. A lacy parasol hid her face. Despite the plain and restrictive gown, she carried herself with a light and petite grace, almost like how a forest fairy would. Robin's heart began to feel light, but he frowned when he noticed her arm entwined with another young man's. She was laughing, probably at some joke from one of her friends. Along with the boy at her arm, she was accompanied by two other girls, also wearing similar dresses, and another young man. Now that he thought of it, they looked like a group of students. Her laugh chimed again, and Robin found himself leaning against a tree enjoying the sound of it. It was like the sound of Spring bells and warmed his heart. It was a feeling he normally got from being in the forest. A feeling he hadn't felt since losing his memories.
The girl and her friends walked out of the canopy's shade and a flash of pearlescent pink caught his eyes. Robin squinted and noticed a delicate string of perfectly round pearls around the girl's neck. She turned, and the parasol lifted, revealing her face. It was Maria. That's when he realized it was William at her arm. For an unknown reason, that infuriated him even more. Robin felt as though he had just been punched in the gut. She had yet to notice him and he slunk back into the shadows of the trees. He slammed a fist against a trunk and stormed back to confront his friends.

"You're meeting her here, aren't you?" He demanded to know. Robin was pacing in front of his gang. If it weren't for how angry he was, his friends would've found it funny. They were sure he had even muttered 'mutiny' under his breath.

"Yeah, so what of it?" Richard challenged.

"I said I didn't want to see her!"

"Tough luck mate, she's our friend too and we want to make sure she's doing alright," David added.

"Look, there's no need to get your knickers in a twist. It's just for a short while," Henry tried to appease him.

Robin growled and marched away. Just because his friends wanted to see her, didn't mean he had to.

"Well, would you look at that! The De Noir gang outside of their leathers!" Cat teasingly shouted her greeting.

David was the first to stand, immediately jolting awake at the sound of Cat's voice.

"Where's Jane?" Richard asked.

"She finished last year, didn't you know? She's gone back home."

Richard shook his head and sat back down, looking glum. He mockingly wondered if he should join Robin and have a brooding competition with him.

"How's Robin doing?" Maria asked.

"You should ask him," Henry responded.

"He's here?"

David nodded his head and pointed in the direction Robin had left to. Maria hitched up her skirts and ran off to find him. She dodged families and couples until she found herself walking towards a dense area of trees. It was darker and devoid of any visitors. Ahead of her, she spotted her target. He sat against a tree, and from the looks of it, was angrily muttering under his breath. His normal mess of curls was combed back. Though after running his hands through it multiple times, a few curls were beginning to fall loosely on his face. The lack of charcoal around in his eyes brought out the emptiness inside.

"Robin, why did you leave?"

At the sound of her voice, he jumped to his feet. His face tensed and he barred his teeth. Robin turned and walked away without an answer.

"Robin! Please wait! Why are you avoiding us?" By now they were in the thick of the trees.

Robin turned on her and lashed