Maria moved unseeingly down the mysterious tunnel. One hand clasped tightly around Robin's comforting one and the other one feeling along the wall. They had found this mysterious dark tunnel the day before, when Maria, slipped off the ladder between the Paradise Hill door and Robin's room. They had been anxiously waiting to explore it ever since. Robin had always said that Paradise Hill was full of secret tunnels that the monks had dug in days of old, but they hadn't found any...until now.

Even though the tunnel was so dark and scary, Maria was full of curiosity to see where the tunnel would lead. After a while a few precious rays of golden sunlight found their way in and lit the tunnel dimly. Maria gasped; ancient parchments littered the floor as though they had been thrown haphazardly from the cavities she could now see in the opposite wall.

"Robin! Robin, look! The floor! There are papers on the floor!", she said excitedly. Robin looked smilingly back, his eyes were bright with excitement to.

"Yes, the monks must have left them here when Sir Wrolf forced them to leave."

Robin and Maria rounded a bend where the tunnel ended abruptly at a door, just as small and beautiful as any other in Paradise Hill. Robin gave it a good push, but it didn't open.

"Stiff from no use", he told Maria as he lent against the door and applied his full weight to it, but it still would not budge. Maria lent against the door as well to try and help Robin. They gave it a great push with their backs. The little door burst open so unexpectedly that Maria and Robin were thrown backwards landing on soft, green turf. Robin scrambled to his feet quickly, took Maria's hand and helped her up. They looked around in delight, to see a place that could only be seen in your dreams. Was it possible that they could still be in Moonacre Valley? The wonderful woodland glade that they now found themselves in, awoke their imaginations. The glade all of a sudden seemed enchanted. Slender white trunks held up a luscious canopy of leaves, through which streamed warm golden light. Covering the forest floor was a leafy, wandering vine with delicate white flowers growing from it. Through the trees wound a silvery stream that filled the air with its merry sound. A sprinkling of glittery raindrops rested upon everything, they caught the golden light and shone like a thousand shinny stars. Delicate butterflies with soft white wings fluttered about close to the forest floor and five white swans with gracefully arched necks glided on the stream. High in the trees slender branches cover by beautifully woven spiders webs that had caught the glittering raindrops and looked like sparkling fairies' dresses. And the good, earthy smell of dry leaves along with the soft sweet smell from the little white flowers hung strongly in the fresh air.

For a few moments neither Robin nor Maria said anything. Maria was so convinced she'd seen a woodland nymph peer out at her from behind a white trunk and she broke the silence, and said, "We must chase after it."
"Are you sure it was a nymph you saw, Maria?" Robin asked as they ran merrily after Maria's fancies.
"No, now that I think of it, it does seem much more likely that she was a fairy because this does seem an awful lot like fairyland don't you think, Robin?"
"I don't know; I've never been there." He grinned at her.
"Oh, but you do believe in it don't you, Robin?" She asked anxiously. Maria knew deep down that there was truth to almost every legend and she knew that there was fairyland.
"Yes, of course! If there was no fairyland there would be no fairies, and if there were no fairies where would shining raindrops, sparkling frost, or blue forget-me-nots come from?"

Maria smiled, thankful that he knew she was not making stories up. She had never told lies and it had hurt her deeply when her dear Miss Heliotrope had not believed that Robin or her little white horse were real, when both were most definitely real!
"Will we stop here for lunch?" Robin asked. Marmaduke Scarlet had filled a large knapsack full of things so good that only he could have made them. Maria agreed eagerly, her stomach was aching with hunger.

They ate their lunch talking merrily about the beautiful glade and the mysterious fairy. Soon, they were on their way once again searching for what Maria was sure she had seen. They stopped here and there to look at something or discuss whether they should really go back, but always they pressed on after the illusive character.
They lost track of all time in their search and did not realise quite how long they had been gone until the silvery light of the moon shone through the leaves in place of the golden sunlight. They saw just how foolish they had been in coming so far when they did not know the way back. But still, they were not afraid of the darkness, not since the Men of the Black Woods had become their friends, they were only afraid of not finding their way home again until morning. They did not want to worry Loveday, Sir Benjamin, Miss Heliotrope or anyone! So they pressed on into the night hoping that the silvery moonlight would lead them home.

A single tear rolled down Maria's cheek, she hoped that Robin had not noticed, but he had. He took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. A moonbeam shone down into a clearing just up ahead and they made their way towards it. When they reached the clearing they were surrounded by a milky glow. It was then they saw it, there, in a ring of toadstools, a fairy ring!

Maria saw a dazzling white light coming towards her through the dark trees as it entered the fairy ring. Maria didn't see the light but rather a youthful maiden fairer than any Maria had ever seen before. The maiden was walking side by side with a little white horse.
"Do you see her now Robin?" she breathed, "She's not a fairy, she is the first Moon Princess!" Robin saw her and his eyes were fixed wonderingly on the glowing pair.

When the maiden reached Maria she lifted her onto the back of the little white horse gently, as a mother would have. Then she caressed Maria's face and gave her a sweet smile, as if to say she was proud of Maria for the peace she had brought to her valley. Then the maiden then turned to Robin, she smiled upon him and spoke in a voice as soft and silvery as the moon,
"Keep her in safety and in love."
Robin bowed his head and mounted behind Maria.
"Ride safely, dear ones", said the Moon Princess as she raised her hand in farewell the little white horse cantered off carrying Maria and Robin through woodland glade then through the tunnel and the valley, safely to their soft beds and dreams of sweetness.

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