A puff of frosty air escaped from Maria as she shivered and curled into a ball. Her hand sleepily reached around her, looking to pull her blankets over her head, but she couldn't feel them. Maria groaned and forced herself up, groggily rubbing her eyes. She brushed away her curls from her face and scowled. Her blankets were on the floor, a few feet away from her bed. Maria cocked her head. 'Strange....' She muttered to herself. On occasion, her restless dreams did cause her to push her blankets off her, but she had never before thrown them. Across from her, Lizzy and Cat were snuggled together on Lizzy's bed. Maria smiled. Cat must've been cold too.
Maria braced herself, taking a large breath of courage, and she stepped down from her bed. She gasped and curled her toes, trying to reduce her foot's contact with the cold wooden floor. Maria then skipped across and snatched her blankets. She turned to retrace her steps but froze.
Staring at her from her window was a pair of red-slitted eyes, embodied by a black smoky shadow. The eyes sneered, and she felt the warmth of her pearls sucked right out of them. They became cold to the touch and burnt her skin.
Maria backed away and hit against a soft feathered body. Althea was right behind her. She yelped and jumped back. Her talons dripped with fresh blood and she clicked her beak, bringing it down to Maria's level. Althea readied her hand to lash through Maria, but before she could strike, she woke up.
Maria sat up on her bed panting. She was back in her cold dark dormitory. Althea was nowhere in sight, but her blankets were on the floor, as they had been in her dream. The window by her bed was wide open too, letting in the icy November air.
Maria jumped out of bed and hurried to the sisters. "Lizzy! Cat! Wake up!"
The girls stirred. Cat sat up and stared at Maria with tired eyes. "What's wrong?" She croaked.
"I dreamt Althea was right here! When I woke up, the window was wide open. Look!"
Lizzy yawned and propped herself on an arm, warily eyeing the open window. "Perhaps we didn't close it last night?"
"Impossible! I know I closed it. It's been too cold to leave it open!"
"Maybe it was a nightmare?" Cat suggested.
Maria shook her head, "I don't know. But I have a horrible feeling, as though we're being watched." She finished recounting the rest of her dream to the girls, all the while shivering from the cold.
Lizzy frowned. She slipped out of bed to retrieve Maria's blankets and tossed them over to the bed. Then she shut the window. She made sure to bolt it and threw the curtains over it. Lizzy walked back to her bed, crawled in, scooted closer to Cat, and raised her blankets, beckoning Maria join them.
Maria jumped in without a second thought.
"Let's go back to sleep, there's no point in worrying now. Get some rest and we'll talk about it in the morning, you have a busy day ahead," Lizzy urged with a tired yawn.
The following morning, Lizzy woke up wrapped tightly in the arms of both Cat and Maria on either side. She smiled. It had been a very cold night indeed. She slid out of her friends' warmth and shivered as she got out of bed. She quickly put on her robe and stretched into the air. She turned on the iron furnace at the center of the room and frowned. The window by Maria's bed was open and the curtains were shoved to the side.
Chills crawled down her spine as she remembered last night's events. Maria's blankets were still on her bed, but she was certain she had closed the window as well.
Lizzy peered out the window, hoping to spot signs of an intruder, but the windowsill and its surroundings were undisturbed. All she saw were the school grounds and foggy city streets below. She scowled and shut the window a little too roughly before making her way to her desk. There she pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and ink, working quickly to write down all that she remembered. Then she took out another sheet to write Henry a letter. So focused was she on her writing, that she failed to notice Cat waking up.
"What are you doing?" Cat asked peeking over Lizzy's shoulder. Lizzy jumped and quickly hid her letter.
"N-nothing! Just jotting down last night's events."
Cat frowned, "What happened last night?"
"Don't you remember? Maria dreamt Althea broke into our room. When she woke up, she found her blankets on the floor and window thrown wide open."
Cat slowly nodded her head.
Lizzy lowered her voice to a whisper, hoping she was out of Maria's earshot. "Well, this morning I found the window open, again. I know for a fact I closed it last night!"
Cat's eyes grew wide. "But we're safe here, aren't we? Althea can't find us here, right?"
"I don't know. So long she remains locked away, we should be safe."
Cat crawled over to Maria and gently shook her awake. "Maria, do you remember what happened last night?"
Maria yawned and mumbled something about needing more sleep. She sat up and the girls stifled their laughter with their hands. Maria's curls stuck out at odd ends around her face, a wild mane that almost rivaled Wrolf's. Maria rubbed her eyes and slowly shook her head in answer to Cat's question. She was still struggling to remember her dreams after waking.
Lizzy looked to Cat who nodded encouragingly. "I found the window open again this morning."
Maria's memories jolted through her, forcing her to recall her dream. Her eyes darted to her bed and the now-closed window. She sighed with relief and fell back down to her pillow. "Yes, I remember now," she mumbled, "but I have no idea what it means. What time is it?"
"Nearly seven."
Maria sat right back up. She had a meeting with Mrs. Watson at eight! "I have to get ready," she cried crawling out of bed and rushing to her wardrobe.
She wasted no more time on her nightmares as she rushed to get ready and hurried down to her headmistress' office.
"You may enter!" Maria heard from the other side after knocking on the door,
Maria opened the door and stepped inside. Mrs. Watson was reading some papers and absentmindedly ushered Maria to take a seat in front of her desk.
"Thank you for being early. Today you will begin your training so that at the start of next year after the holidays you may take your place by Ms. Charlotte as my assistant."
Maria nodded her head and began to write down her many tasks and obligations. She still wasn't sure why she was offered this position. Perhaps her headmistress was simply trying to find more ways to keep a close eye on her.
As the days grew shorter, their nights grew colder and Maria found herself busier than ever. She was in charge of collecting and grading the assignments for the second-year French students as well as providing tutoring services after their class. She also had to assist Mrs. Watson with lesson planning for the first year's classes. At times, she even had to teach the lesson for the day if Mrs. Watson was too busy. She found herself spending less and less time with her friends, barely managing to see them except for the early morning or late night.
Lizzy too appeared to be busier than usual. She and Cat had been assigned some first years to watch over as Jane had done with them. Though it was supposed to be a shared task, Cat found herself taking up more of the responsibilities. Lizzy lately seemed distracted and forgetful. A few nights, Cat even woke up to find her sister missing from bed, probably studying in the library she guessed. Cat was sure that if it weren't for the first year's company, she would be especially lonely. She was always the first to return to their room and had to wait hours before Maria or Lizzy came back. Even then, by the time her sister and friend returned, they were often too tired to talk. Cat was left no choice but to find other forms of entertainment. With their upcoming winter holiday trip to visit Jane, Cat decided to write to her. Soon they were off planning activities for their trip and Cat couldn't wait to tell Maria and Lizzy all about them.
...oOo...
Robin was pacing in his room. He was dressed in his city clothes, waiting for his friends to come get him. They had been secretive the night before. Robin caught whispers from them, they seemed to be making plans to meet someone. They were probably trying to plot another way to get him to see Maria. Weeks had passed since their fight at the park, Robin's eyes glanced at the pile of books. The cursed book was at the very top. Robin glowered. When his friends found him on top of the tree after his fight, Richard fell to the floor laughing. He couldn't believe the great Robin De Noir was afraid of Maria.
Though Robin had been humiliated then, he would be ready this time. Should he run into her again, he would not run away. He would show them he was still Robin De Noir, heir to the De Noir castle and leader of the De Noir Gang. Besides, from the looks of it, it seemed Maria wasn't up to casting her magic on him... or perhaps, she had no control over it. Robin smirked, he had no reason to be afraid of her.
"You ready?" David asked through the door, startling him.
"Coming!" Robin walked past the stack of dusty books. At the top was the Merryweather book. He was about to grab it, but he shook his head and instead grabbed the wrapped book with the blotted address. He was determined to get some information on this trip.
...oOo...
"How late will you lot be up for?" Robin asked his friends. It was their first night back in London. The boys were picking up new merchandise to take back to Moonacre.
"I'll be knocking out pretty soon. Why, heading out for the night? Saw the new tavern girl's downstairs, quite the catch if you ask me," Richard commented with a glint in his eyes.
"I'm surprised you're not downstairs bothering them," David remarked.
Richard shook his head and jumped onto his bed. "Too tired tonight."
"Can I take the key then? If no one will be using it?"
"Actually, I'm going out too," Henry said.
"Where too?"
Henry shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be around. May take a walk—don't feel like sleeping."
Though it was a rather vague answer, Robin figured he has his reasons and decided to give Henry the key.
After receiving directions from the innkeeper, Robin stepped out into the cold and dimly lit streets in search of his destination. A swift gust of wind tried to knock his hat, but Robin smacked it back down on his head and coiled his feathered scarf tighter around his neck. He was glad he had changed into his usual outfit, though he could use some leather gloves as well. The cold was numbing his fingers. Robin stuffed his hands into his pockets and trekked onwards. He didn't run into many people that night, the weather had long ago ushered everyone inside, seeking the warmth of their hearth. Once, he did come across a young man in a green coat that for a brief second seemed familiar. When they made eye contact, the young man rushed away, hiding into his collar. Robin just shrugged his shoulders, maybe it was someone from his past or a boy on the run. Either way, it wasn't his business to meddle with. He had somewhere else to be.
As he checked the directions one more time, Robin arrived at his destination. It was a towering school with an intimidating black fence. Centered, with a pathway leading to the main doors, was a large gate decorated with silver letters that read, "Porter's Finishing School for Girls."
Richard and David were talking when Robin barged in. "What's this?" He asked showing them the packaged book.
"A book I reckon?" David said with a shrug.
"No, I mean why is there a school's address on this? Not just any school, Maria's."
"Well I'll be damned, he used her name." Richard sarcastically clapped his hands and rolled his eyes as fell back onto his back. He didn't bother to respond much else to Robin, he wasn't in the mood for fighting.
David let out a sigh. He had to admit, he was shocked Richard wasn't taking the bait, David noticed he had been more sullen lately, probably missing Jane he figured. "Ignore him, Robin. On our travels, you'd pick out books and send them to her."
"Then why isn't my name on this, does she know they're from me?"
David shook his head. "No mate, you two were arguing. You wouldn't put your name on it. You would send them to her an—aninomo—annamolous—"
"—anonymously," Richard assisted.
"What, why?"
"Because you loved and missed her, but we're too much of a cowardly idiot to do anything about it," Richard retorted. "Now let us sleep, our daily tolerance for your broodiness has been exceeded."
Robin growled and tossed the book to his bed before leaving back out. He couldn't believe it. He wasn't one to coward out like that.... was he? Well, he had spent the past encounters avoiding Maria... but that was because of her magic!
At least that's what Robin argued with himself before finally shoving the thoughts away. He needed a walk to sort his thoughts. Robin marched out of the inn so quickly that he failed to notice Henry sitting in a private corner with the young man in the green coat he had passed earlier.
"Did you get my letters?" Lizzy asked Henry.
"Yes, do you think it could mean something?"
"Perhaps—I believe so. Her dreams have acted as a sort of warning before. I've been going back and dating them, or so what I remember, and well, remember the storms that hit England last year?"
"Yeah, the ones that caused the shipwreck—"
"Yes! Well, that was about the time Maria started having dreadful nightmares. She went days without sleep. I believe it was the same time the Harrison's ship came with Althea. They must be connected through magic. They must have been a warning."
Henry rubbed his chin. It made sense, but he was sure nothing had changed back home to warrant any warnings. In fact, before coming to London, he and David had gone down to see Charles while Richard kept Robin preoccupied. It hadn't gone too well, Charles refused to speak, only demanding to know about Robin. When they didn't answer his questions, he began taunting Henry and David instead.
Henry and Lizzy's meeting that night was brief. With London getting dark so early, Henry didn't want to put Lizzy in any danger. He was also growing concerned. At the docks, he heard some sailors and merchants muttering about magic and the likes, from some far-off land. There was still no mention of pearls or Moonacre, but with the girls out here on their own, it wasn't a risk he wanted to take. He told all this to Lizzy, he wanted to keep her informed.
Once they were finished, he walked her back to school like he always did after they met. This was the last time they were meeting before the Holidays.
"Thank you, Henry. I always feel like such an inconvenience... having you walk me home every time..."
"Never a bother," he said with a soft smile that caused a flutter in Lizzy's heart. "Besides, I'm already as far removed from a gentleman as there could be. Well possibly except for the other lads, they've got some growing to do. Anyways, it's the least I could do, to—you know—treat you properly," Henry mumbled that last bit.
Lizzy smiled brightly at him. A smile that seemed to melt the cold from his body.
A part of her wanted to stay there with him and continue talking. Preposterous, she knew, it was too cold. She turned to leave, but before she could go into the hole, she felt Henry gently tug at her arm.
Perplexed, Lizzy found a nervous-looking Henry. His black shaggy hair was once again masking his eyes and red cheeks. He fumbled inside his jacket and pulled out a hastily wrapped package. A blue bow sat at the top corner, with the black De Noir Emblem placed in its center.
"What's this?" She asked, a smile playing at the corner of her lips.
Henry shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "open it."
As Lizzy inspected the package, Henry did a bad job at feinting disinterest. He looked away and rocked on his heels, pretending to observe the officer patrolling the street, but Lizzy didn't miss the quick and worried side glances he tossed her. Lizzy tentatively began to unwrap it and found a small note beneath the bow:
"To: Lisabetta Thomas
From: Henry Dalton
Merry Christmas"
"Henry! You shouldn't have! It's not even December. Oh, I haven't gotten you anything!"
He shrugged his shoulders, "It'll be December in two days, and I think you could use it. Go on, open it." He watched her carefully, hoping her smile would only grow once she saw it.
She pulled off the last piece of wrapping and a shade of red blossomed on her cheeks. Her smile did grow. It was a leather-bound journal, dyed a deep green that matched the color of her coat. It was held shut by a golden clasp in the shape of a heart. Her stomach fluttered.
"Oh, this is beautiful! I—I don't know what to say," Lizzy stammered. She recalled their first night when she spilled her notes and immediately felt embarrassed. It was probably why he bought her a journal.
"It's nothing. I just figured it may help you out. I didn't want to take any liberties, but I also didn't want to rewrite your notes, so here," Henry handed her a sowed text block with all their notes written inside. "If you want, you can sew this into the cover, to join the rest of the empty pages. But if you'd rather rewrite it—"
"—No, this is perfect, thank you!" Lizzy threw her arms around Henry in a tight, yet short-lived, hug, leaving him bewildered and red in the face.
Lizzy looked up and met his eyes. Feeling a sudden sense of boldness, she rose on the tips of her toes and placed a chaste peck on his cheek. The police officer patrolling the streets, alarmed by the sudden display of affection between these two young "men" grunted and turned away. Lizzy giggled, and said goodbye, before disappearing through the gate and into the gardens. Henry was left frozen in place. He stood there for what seemed like hours.
"Sir, are you alright?" The police officer asked.
Henry curtly nodded his head and with a smile, walked back to the inn. For the first time, he wasn't looking forwards to returning to Moonacre.
It was late at night when the De Noir stallions arrived at the castle. Any excitement they felt at arriving home and getting to bed dissipated when they noticed groups of lanterns walking around the gates and the outskirts of the forest.
Maybelle was at the front gate. She looked livid. Her black curls were in disarray and she was still in her evening dress.
"What's going on?" Robin asked, showing concern for her for the first time in a while.
Her tear-stained eyes grew wide, fearful of Robin's reaction. Instead, she looked at the other boys, her eyes falling on David, and reached for his arm.
"Charles, he's escaped! He took Althea too!"
"Bollocks!" Richard cursed.
"When did this happen?" Henry asked.
"The morning after you left."
"6 days..." David muttered.
"Why didn't anyone tell us sooner?" Henry demanded to know. Robin remained quiet. Though he understood this was bad, he didn't know how to react. He felt numb.
"We—we, your father, Robin. He wanted us to search first. We didn't want to alarm anyone. Sir Benjamin doesn't yet know either. It's been a mess. I didn't know how this happened, none of us do!"
The boys
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