Disclaimer: I own none of the characters except for Lucy and Adam who appear in later chapters.

A big thank you to Alice Alee for her reviews – I have made an effort to lengthen the chapters for you!

I had so many ideas but was too impatient to finish the story! I have got as far as re-writing the first 8 chapters, but it's obvious that I rushed the ending and now I am sorting that out! Thank you for the comment re the marigolds, I would have done so too – I hope you like what Maria chose to do instead!

Thanks again for the reviews.

Liz

We stood for the longest time watching the moon over the waves. I'm not sure when I first noticed the unicorn and Wrolf were starting to fade. I moved way from everyone else, stepping up to them, scared to let them leave. I put my arms first around the beautiful unicorn, kissing her neck, and then around my demon dog, the majestic black lion that was Wrolf.

He roared softly as my hand first touched him then he turned to look straight at me. His eyes were kind and wise and I wondered how I could ever have been afraid of him. I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me; I buried my head in his mane and sobbed his name,

"Wrolf. Wrolf. Wrolf." Over and over again I repeated his name, softly at first and then with increasing hysteria. I clung to his now insubstantial body, and then all too quickly he was gone. I fell to my knees, alone.

Then I felt someone put their arms around me from behind, lifting me to my feet and I allowed Loveday to gently bear me away.

"It was time for him to leave, Maria. His work here is done. He has been protecting successive Moon Princesses, waiting for your arrival. He was as bound by the curse as the rest of the valley, but now it is lifted, he is free to carry on his journey." As usual, Loveday was very wise about matters that weren't directly related to her. I didn't reply and she continued, "He has protected you and guided you since you came to the valley, as did the unicorn, but you don't need them anymore and so they have to go."

"I need Wrolf. How can I manage without him showing me where to go?" I asked, plaintively.

Loveday smiled a mysterious smile,

"I am sure you will find someone else to roam the woods with you."

I was too upset to ask her what she meant by that and I was too tired to decipher it for myself.

Uncle Benjamin said quietly,

"Well, there we are then, nothing to be done" and we all took this as the signal that it was time to leave.

We left together, but soon people had started to pair up to walk the woodland paths. Loveday and Uncle Benjamin were at the front, talking quietly to one another, catching up on so many wasted years and completely unaware that they had company. They walked so closely it was almost as if they were Siamese twins, bound together and unable to separate.

Digweed and Miss Heliotrope were walking together holding hands and blissfully silent. I was glad of that, much as I loved Miss Helitrope, and I had really appreciated her actions when she had appeared and attacked Duloc with her umbrella, I didn't think I could cope with her well-meaning platitudes just then. I was pleased that Digweed had proposed to her, she was a dear thing really and it was evident that she would now be well looked after.

Marmaduke was disappearing and appearing behind tree roots and rocks, clearly enjoying playing with his magic. I wasn't entirely sure that he knew what he was doing and this suspicion was confirmed when he suddenly appeared half way up a large oak tree, apparently stuck. He managed to extricate himself, however, and continued his performance.

That left me, Robin and his father. The two of them seemed to be happy together, their disagreement evidently forgotten, as they talked about alterations they would like to make to the castle. Robin was relieved to have been forgiven and I only just began to realise how much he had given up when he stood between his father and me. Coeur de Noir seemed to have been softened by the events of the preceding few hours and now had regained both of his children, which was a worthy reward.

That left me to drift along slowly at the back of the line, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. My memories of the last couple of weeks had a dream-like quality to them. Father's death, arriving at Moonacre, being in the dungeon, trapping Robin, finding the pearls in the tree roots and then finally jumping into the sea. I'd never even seen the sea before. I had no idea how I had managed to survive other than nature had seen fit to grant me my life in return for my sacrifice. The water had been so cold and there was such a strong pull, dragging me down, I could still feel the effects of it upon my body as my legs became heavy and my shoulders started to droop.

No one seemed to notice that I was now quite a way adrift of them and suddenly I felt so very tired. Not just physically now, my mind was also becoming drowsy. I could barely lift my feet to walk and my eyes no longer focused on the path ahead. I was too exhausted to walk any further. I was just about to sit right there in the middle of the path when I heard my name spoken softly,

"Maria,"

I looked up and realised that Robin had noticed my absence and was retracing his steps to me,

"What are you doing, Princess?" he asked with a touch of amusement in his voice. I was so relieved not to be alone, but I didn't have the energy to respond with anything other than a mumbled,

"So tired."

He took one look at me and hoisted me into his arms as I collapsed.

When I awoke, it was dawn and I was sitting in Robin's lap as he leant against a large oak tree. He had both arms wrapped around me and was fast asleep. I was a little bit cold so I snuggled closer to him, managing to wrap his jacket around me a little bit more and wishing I could move his stupid feathers off the top of my head. I wondered why he wore the feathers and made a mental note to ask him sometime. I then felt a momentary concern as to whether Robin was uncomfortable with me on his lap, but I was far too tired still to move voluntarily, so I decided not to worry about that. Surely he would wake if he was too uncomfortable?

I took me a while to consider why we were both sleeping out like this. I couldn't think of any reason for it, but since nothing from the last few days made much sense, I decided not to worry about it further and just rested, breathing in the smell of Robin. It was a musky smell, mingled with that of leather, and I found it comforting. I rubbed my face gently against him and froze when he stirred. His grip on me tightened slightly and then relaxed as he sighed in his sleep.