Chapter Text
The morning of the festival dawned bright and early. The morning dew coated the grass, and Ladybug almost got a face of the wet plant when she rolled over, scooting her head off of her belt sidebag that she’d been using as a pillow.
The air was warm, but not sticky and humid, and Ladybug kept her eyes closed as she basked in the light for just a few more minutes. There was no noise around her, and she assumed Adrien was still asleep as well.
A drop of dew dripped onto her cheek, and she wrinkled her nose up at the weird feeling. A second drop fell a moment later, and she groaned, bringing up a hand to wipe it off and bat away whatever tree branch was hovering over her.
Her hand smacked into something much larger and harder than a tree branch, and her eyes flew open. Panting harshly, nostrils flaring, Tikki stood over her.
Ladybug shrieked, and the horse jumped into action, teeth clamping down tightly on the untied straps on her sandal and tugging. Ladybug felt her body fly forward as the horse began running backwards, and she was helpless to do anything but be dragged around. She tried to grab hold of something, a tree root, a branch, a log, anything, but her fingers couldn’t maintain purchase long enough before she was torn away once again.
“Put me down!” she shouted at the large animal, as if it could understand human speech. Although maybe it did. This horse was oddly perceptive and had been trained at the palace. “Stop!” She tried kicking at the horse’s face with her freed foot, but because she was flipped around on her stomach, she couldn’t see where the nose was and she kept missing.
She looked up to see Adrien staring at them, wide-eyed, for a long moment, before he seemed to snap out of his shock and ran after them. He grabbed a hold of the arm Ladybug had extended to him and wrapped strong fingers around her forearms, pulling her in the other direction.
But Tikki wasn’t giving up that easily, and Ladybug became the rope in a game of tug-of-war. Adrien was surprisingly strong for having lived all of his life locked up in a tower.
Adrien’s face was scrunched up in concentration, and Ladybug squeezed her eyes closed and tried to ignore the fact that some very strong horse teeth were very close to some important body parts that she would need to continue to be able to, oh, stand.
“Give… me… her,” Adrien gritted out, voice strained as he continued to pull. Ladybug curled her fingers around Adrien’s arms to give them more leverage. His skin was sun-warm and slightly damp. He’d rolled his sleeves up, she realized, because they were now cuffed around his elbows. His shirt was still unbuttoned, the sides of it flapping open and revealing the pale expanse of his chest. A bead of sweat rolled down his collarbone.
Ladybug forced herself to focus on the situation at hand. Her sandal was slipping, sliding away from the arch of her foot. It had been loosely tied around her ankle, but the bindings were coming apart the more both sides tugged, and it suddenly came loose. As she was still being pulled by Adrien, when the shoe came apart, she fell into him, topping them both to the ground.
Ladybug rolled off of him quickly, trying to shake off the disorientation. Adrien looked rather stunned as well.
An angry whinny gained her attention, and she recoiled as Tikki began to charge at the two of them. Her back hit a tree when she tried to escape—she was cornered.
Adrien jumped up from his sprawled position on the ground and ran at the horse. Ladybug’s cry of warning was cut off.
Adrien held his hands out in front of him and mumbled gently, “Whoa, whoa there,” to Tikki as he approached her slowly. Tikki halted her run at them, stepping closely, warily. Ladybug watched in awe as Adrien was able to convince the horse that he was no threat by talking to her quietly. “Easy, girl, easy,” he breathed, trying to redirect Tikki’s attention to him and away from Ladybug.
It worked, somehow. Tikki stared at Adrien, leveled her feet to the ground from where she’d been bucking a moment before. It took Ladybug a moment to realize why Tikki had stopped so suddenly. It wasn’t because of Adrien’s soothing voice, it was Plagg.
The cat had been such a staple that Ladybug hadn’t even registered that he was sitting on Adrien’s shoulder again, it just looked so natural. But from the way the cat’s fur was standing on edge, head facing the horse like they were having a staring competition, it was obvious who had Tikki’s attention.
“That’s it, good,” Adrien cooed, oblivious to the actual situation. Plagg’s tail flicked out towards the horse, and Adrien batted it out of his face with a hand. “Now I’m going to need you to drop the shoe,” he requested.
Tikki’s eyes flickered over to Ladybug, and she sucked in a breath. But then the horse’s gaze drifted away, back to Plagg, who Ladybug could see nod his head once. The sandal immediately fell from the horse’s mouth. Ladybug’s jaw dropped open in shock.
Adrien was delighted, however. He cupped his hands over his heart and raised his shoulders as he fawned over the mare. “Oh, you’re just a sweetheart, aren’t you?” he asked her, reaching out a hand to pet along Tikki’s nose. And she let him, much to Ladybug’s horror. “You tired of chasing this bad lady all over the place?”
Ladybug shouted, offended. “Hey!” She pushed herself to stand up straight, no longer intimidated by this horse who acted much more like a pet dog than anything. Her arms crossed over her chest in an act of defiance.
Adrien ignored her, continuing to coo at Tikki. “Those guards at the palace don’t treat you nicely do they? Aww.” He scratched behind Tikki’s ears, and she nickered happily, tail swishing back and forth behind her.
“Oh come on!” Ladybug shouted, throwing her arms up into the air. “She’s an insane horse!”
Adrien snapped his head over to look at her, green eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. “No she’s not. She’s smart. Aren’t you—” Adrien glanced down at the nameplate across the horse’s chest and finished, “Tikki. Tikki is a very smart horse.”
Tikki looked like she was preening under his attention, by the gods.
“This is insane,” Ladybug mumbled to herself, running a hand over her face. What a way to wake up.
Tikki seemed to dislike her comment and huffed angrily in her direction. Ladybug stuck her tongue out at the horse, not caring how childish she looked.
Tikki did not like this act of defiance.
Adrien was able to hold off on another fight, however, by quickly drawing Tikki’s attention with his words. “Look, Tikki. This is kind of a really big day for me, alright? Maybe even the biggest.” Adrien looked back at Ladybug and held out a hand, gesturing her forward.
Ladybug hesitated for a quick second, but then took his hand and allowed him to pull her forward. His hand slid up to her wrist and stayed there, holding her lightly in place. Ladybug didn’t even think about shaking him off; his touch was comforting.
“And because of that,” Adrien continued speaking to the horse (was she the only one who thought this was weird?), “I need you not to get her,” Adrien shook her wrist a little, “arrested.”
Tikki continued to glare daggers at Ladybug. She glared right back.
“Just for the day. Twenty-four hours,” Adrien assured Tikki. “Then you can go back to chasing her around. Okay?”
Ladybug felt her right eye twitch. Adrien’s hand spasmed and she felt the brush of his fingers. “Sure,” Ladybug found herself agreeing.
Tikki continued to be difficult, silently.
“Also it’s kind of my birthday,” Adrien whispered, leaning in close to Tikki. “Eighteenth to be exact.”
Ladybug dropped the staring contest for a moment to look at Adrien in surprise. She hadn’t realized it was his birthday. No wonder he wanted to attend the festival so bad, it was one giant birthday/search party that all of Paris took part in.
Tikki seemed to melt at those words and lowered her eyes to the ground in submission. Plagg mewed happily and jumped from Adrien’s shoulder onto the horse’s back. Even when his tail smacked the mare in the side of the face, she didn’t flinch, perfectly happy with cat claws on her back as Plagg scrambled over to settle on the saddle.
Adrien clapped his hands. “Great! I’m going to go get the clothes,” Adrien told Ladybug before practically skipping into the trees to retrieve their dried items. Ladybug watched him go fondly and rubbed her wrist where he had gripped it, chasing away the tingling feeling left behind.
Tikki decided to ruin the moment by nosing her in the chest, effectively knocking her back onto the ground roughly. The horse laughed at her, and from her back Plagg just stared, unblinking. Ladybug growled in annoyance, but instead of giving the foul animal the benefit of the doubt, she reached for her sandal and tied it securely on her foot, then moved to the other to tighten the straps of that one as well.
“Alright! I’ve got your, uh—” Adrien’s flushed face came back into view, and she squinted to look up at him as his head only blocked half the sun overhead. He must have been running to get a blush that deep. He held out her corset to her, and Ladybug accepted it easily after pushing herself to her feet.
“Thank you,” she replied, carefully circling Tikki and reaching for one of the saddle bags that was attached to the rider-less (unless you counted Plagg, which Ladybug… probably should have) saddle across her back, packing away the top and adding the yo-yo in the bag as well. She didn’t plan on wearing the spotted corset today, per Alya’s insistence that she disguise herself. She also snatched her side belt-bag and clipped it onto her waist. Hopefully one spotted item wouldn’t out her. She couldn’t turn the belt inside out like she could the skirt.
When she looked back up, Ladybug watched Adrien finish buttoning his shirt before he tugged his leather vest back on overtop of it. Plagg smacked her in the face with his tail this time, and Ladybug glared back at him after picking a cat hair off of her tongue. Were all animals against her now?
Adrien suddenly froze, and Ladybug was instantly on high alert. But Adrien didn’t look scared. He looked excited. Ecstatic, even.
“Do you hear that?” he spoke on a breath.
Ladybug concentrated on filtering out the noise of the forest and caught the notes of a tune on the wind. The festival, it seemed, had started.
Adrien drifted towards the music, as if it were a siren song.
Ladybug shared a look with Tikki, and though no possible conversation could have been had, they seemed to come to an equal understanding. They would behave for Adrien.
They both started forward, walking side by side, following Adrien as the boy—a man now, Ladybug supposed, appeared to navigate his way out of the woods and on the path to Paris’ kingdom center just by listening.
Adrien’s steps were fluid, as if he were dancing to the song already.
It didn’t take much longer than a half an hour walk, the silence broken by the sounds of nature around them that slowly began to filter out and be replaced by the hustle and bustle of the busy kingdom. They ran into several people once they hit the path into the kingdom, and none of them spared the odd group a glance. Ladybug stayed wary, though. She wasn’t about to let the guards get a jump on here before the day was up. Or ever, if she could get away with it.
The music became very easy to hear once they passed over the bridge that stretched over the rushing river that surrounded the kingdom of Paris. Someone nearby was playing a flute and someone else was playing a guitar to two different songs that still sounded good when played together. The sounds of children laughing echoed, bouncing off of the tall buildings that blanketed the outside of the kingdom in shadow. On every street corner, tents had been set up. Every shop owner was out selling their wares to all who attended the festival. Ladybug knew from past festivals that people from neighboring kingdoms came to visit, paying their condolences to the queen, placing a rose over the memorial for the lost prince, and spending the evening dancing away before adding their light to the night sky.
When Ladybug was young, when her parents were still alive, she would watch the festival from the tiny stall her parents set up outside of the bakery. She would sit on Papa’s stool and bounce happily to the beat of the violinist who played across the street.
Ladybug shook away the memories, not wanting to get too swept up in the past. She ran her thumb and middle three fingers over the earring on her right ear, letting the familiar rounded edges of the stone comfort her.
Adrien was obviously enthralled by everything that was happening around him. Ladybug watched with a fond smile on her face as he dodged out of the way of a rushing cart, spewing apologies as he tripped over his feet, backing into a woman, who he then apologized profusely to.
“My goodness you are a klutz,” she teased him, as she jogged over before he could get himself into even more trouble. She slapped a hand down on his shoulder and squeezed, staking him to the ground in that one spot.
“Not usually,” Adrien admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, possibly feeling embarrassed. “It’s just that,” he threw an arm out, gesturing to the space around him, “There’s just so much to see, I don’t want to take my eyes off of a single spot, and yet I want to be looking everywhere else at the same time. There’s so much color…”
Ladybug thought back to the tower. She hadn’t explored much of it, for obvious reasons, but what she had seen of it did made her a little sad. There was paint on the walls, but it looked as though Adrien was the one who painted them himself. If not for his creativity, he would have been living in gray-stoned walls all his life. Plain boring wooden bedposts and furniture were only brightened by the presence of Adrien’s things.
Outside of Adrien’s room, Ladybug wondered how dull the rest of the tower looked.
“Yeah,” she finally responded, a beat too late.
Adrien smiled at her anyway, not missing the skip in social cues. “Come on, Marinette. You can get me some food.”
Ladybug arched an eyebrow. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest. It had been… many, many years since anyone had called her Marinette with such ease, and Adrien did it without fault. It was really nice to hear it come from someone so genuine.
“Me, get you food?” she asked, the idea ludicrous.
“Well, yes,” Adrien responded, a small smirk on his face. “With money or,” he wiggled his fingers, “other means.”
Ladybug snickered into her hand. “I’d rather much like to not get locked up today, thank you. But…” she trailed off, hand resting on the bag at her hip. The empty bag. “I don’t have any money.”
Adrien’s face fell. “Oh,” he said simply, eyes downcast.
Ladybug sucked in a breath and thought. “I… might be able to get some, though. I don’t have any, personally. But I do know someone who recently came into a nice handful of coins.” She grinned. “Guess we get to visit Alya after all.”
Adrien’s entire face lit up. “Alya? From Le Grande Paris?”
She nodded. “Her house is a bit away, but if we hurry over now, I’m sure she would allow us to borrow some money, and we can make it back to the heart of the festival before the mid-day rush and all of the food is gone.”
“Then go we shall,” Adrien readily agreed.
Tikki whinnied behind them, and nudged Adrien with her nose, pushing him forward into Ladybug. He caught himself, hands gripping either side of her biceps, and he smiled shyly at her. Ladybug blinked at him, dazed by staring into his dazzling eyes for too long, and then took a step back, almost smacking right into another seller’s cart. She apologized to the poor man before backing up right back into Adrien. Who was laughing at her.
“Now who’s the klutz?” he joked.
Ladybug felt her face heat up. “I never said I wasn’t,” she huffed, smoothing her hands down her skirt as if to wipe imaginary dust off of it. “I was in fact the biggest klutz as a child. Tripped over everything in my path. I just grew out of it.” Adrien arched an eyebrow and she amended, “Most of it.”
Adrien chuckled, eyes squinting adorably as he ducked his head slightly. Tikki made another annoyed noise from behind them. And Ladybug looked up to see that they were kind of blocking a large section of the road, and many people were grumbling as they pushed past the large horse. Plagg, on Tikki’s back, swatted at their heads every so often, seemingly just because he had the height advantage to.
“Alright,” Ladybug said with finality. “Let’s go see Alya.”
Ladybug had navigated the streets of Paris many times, had taken every path known to man. But she normally traveled above, on rooftops, to avoid being seen. But today, if she was the only person jumping on rooftops with a man, a horse, and a cat, that would certainly attract much more attention than on any normal day on her own.
She only had a bit of trouble finding their way, having to convert the map in her head from birds-eye view down to the ground, but she managed well enough. Tikki would laugh at her every time she would turn them around, having ducked down an alleyway that was boarded up on the other end. Adrien just rolled his eyes at the mare and smiled at Ladybug encouragingly.
Finally, what felt like eons later, Ladybug spotted Alya’s house off in the distance, the building smushed between two larger homes. She ordered Tikki to stay hidden in the alley two houses down. The horse was of course agitated by her request, but Plagg bit at her ear and Adrien stared her down, so the mare relented and snuck into the shadows.
Ladybug took Adrien by the hand and walked down to the Césaire residence. She knocked on the door, three resounding sounds, and the pair waited for a long, silent moment.
The door creaked open tentatively, and Alya’s red hair popped into view, eyes scanning the surprise guests. “Who are y—” She cut herself off abruptly and her eyes widened when her gaze landed on Adrien. Then her eyes snapped back to Ladybug and she squeaked. She threw an arm out and grabbed onto Ladybug’s, pulling them both into her home and latching the door closed behind them.
“I didn’t even recognize you without your spots!” Alya whispered, eyes alight with joy. Then they narrowed in suspicion. “Wait, are you guys hiding out in here? I can’t have the guard showing up at my door and demanding answers.”
“Alya!” a high-pitched voice shrieked from another room. “Come back!”
“Just a moment!” Alya called back, jaw tightening.
Ladybug cleared her throat, capturing Alya’s attention once again. “I really hate to ask, Alya, but I’m a little light-pocketed. I don’t want to take what you deserve, but if you could allow me to borrow some money—”
Alya cut her off, not surprising. “Don’t even, girl,” she said, laughter ringing in her voice. “You’re the one who brought me the money in the first place, so don’t—” Her eyes flicked over to Adrien and she ended that line of thought. “Of course. Let me just run up to our room and get it.”
“Our room?” Adrien asked, eyebrows crinkled in confusion.
Alya smiled sadly and nodded. “Yes. My sisters and I share one.”
Adrien looked as though he wanted to say to say something else, but though his mouth opened nothing came out. Alya patted him on the shoulder before racing up the stairs, and out of sight.
Ladybug tried to catch Adrien’s eye, but he seemed lost in thought. She didn’t want to ruin that, so she kept her mouth shut.
Alya returned seconds later anyway, so any real conversation would have been interrupted. Ladybug tried to convince herself this, at least.
Alya sauntered up to her and plopped a small bag heavy with coin into Ladybug’s hand. Ladybug opened her mouth to object, but Alya threw a hand up, stopping her before she could even take a breath.
“No. Take the whole amount. Enjoy the day. Someone ought to,” she grumbled to herself, but smiled happily at the two of them. “And stay safe,” she ordered, finger flicking out to point in Ladybug’s face. She then moved the order to Adrien, who nodded vigorously in agreement to her commands.
“We’ll do our best,” Ladybug promised her. It was as good as she could do.
Alya nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Good. Now run along. It’s almost mid-day, and the festival is already loud enough to shake the house from here.”
Ladybug chuckled. Adrien’s fingers twitched against her, and with a jolt she realized that not once had she stopped holding his hand.
One by one, she uncurled her fingers from his, and she immediately missed the warmth of his palm when they finally separated. Adrien brushed his thumb over his now empty palm, fingers curling in slightly. Ladybug tried not to think about him chasing the feel of her hand in his. That’s what she was doing, after all, and false hope would do no one good.
“Adrien.” Ladybug cleared her throat, the words having sounded gravely. “Go ahead and check on Tikki and Plagg. I’ll be right with you.”
The man stared at her, silent for a second, before nodding and grinning. “Of course,” he responded, before nodding at Alya in goodbye, and then slipping back out the door.
“That boy is something,” Alya said on a breath.
“Man,” Ladybug corrected before she could stop herself. She felt her cheeks heat up intensely under Alya’s scrutiny. “It’s his eighteenth birthday,” Ladybug explained.
“Mhmm,” Alya hummed. “Well, is there anything else you need from me?”
Ladybug shook her head. “Not really, no. You’ve done more than enough. Just—” Ladybug hesitated, biting her tongue. “If something happens tonight, if I get found out, Adrien can’t be left to fend for himself. He needs to get back home. And I think he can handle himself, but—”
“You’re still worried,” Alya finished for her. Ladybug nodded numbly. “I get it. I’ll keep my ear out. I’m sure the guard will be shouting from the rooftops if they ever get you in their clutches. If they do, I’ll look after him for you. It’s the least I could do.”
Ladybug sighed, feeling a weight slip off of her shoulders. “Thanks.”
“Now what are you waiting for?” Alya shoved Ladybug towards the door. “You’ve got a handsome man waiting for you and a birthday to celebrate!”
Ladybug laughed at her excitement and held her hands up in surrender. “Alright! I’m going!”
“Enjoy!” Alya sang, slamming the door closed in her face.
Ladybug chuckled at the closed door and shook her head. She slipped the bag of coin into her sidebag and clasped it closed securely.
“Ready to go?”
Adrien stood behind her, one hand on Tikki’s flank as he pet her absentmindedly. Ladybug hoped that her heartbeat wasn’t as loud as it sounded in her head when she looked at the man.
“I think the question is, are you ready?” Ladybug countered, starting on the path back to the center of the kingdom.
Adrien laughed, and it sounded like tinkling bells. “I was born ready.”
*
This entire day had been amazing. Adrien had never had so much fun in all his life. He had no idea what Papa meant about the outside world being scary and dangerous. All he saw was beauty in different forms around every corner.
Ladybug was also next to him the entire time, which certainly didn’t hurt.
Overhead, green triangular banners were strung from rooftop to rooftop, a yellow paw print with four pads adorning each. Ladybug told him that was the Agreste family crest, their symbol, which was why it was also on Tikki’s nameplate. Crowds of people flooded the streets. Children swung from their parents’ arms as they walked from booth to booth, stall to stall.
The sun shined bright overhead and there was barely a cloud in the sky, no chance of rain ruining this festival. Every so often, Ladybug would tug Adrien in a new direction, ducking around alleyways or behind walls. Guards would pass by, swords sheathed at their sides, and they would both hold their breath until they passed. More often than not, they ended up pressed together in skinny alcoves. Adrien didn’t complain at all.
Adrien got pulled into a dance by a group of kids whose parents supervised from a couple meters away. Ladybug had chosen to sit back and watch, but whenever he caught her eyes, she was smiling happily at him. Adrien bowed to the kids as the dance concluded, and they all clapped happily, waving goodbye as their parents dragged them away.
The closer to the center of the kingdom they got, the closer to the palace. The palace was surrounded by tall walls that were heavily guarded, for obvious reasons. People streamed inside and out of the walls, but the doors to the palace were sealed shut.
The palace itself was a grand and tall structure, several towers raised high into the air. Atop each tower was an architecturally decorative spike that twisted and pierced the blue sky. The entrance, from what Adrien could see, was accessible only when you walked underneath a large metal monument, four legs on the ground that started as a square but then all met up at the top, shaped similarly to the cone spikes that adorned the tops of the towers, but much larger. He had to arch his neck to see it all. It even appeared to have levels, beams stretching across one another in Xs and crosses all the way up to the top. The structure was a dulled metal, probably just from old age, but it attracted many eyes. It wasn’t, however, the main draw.
A certain section of the palace walls seemed to be the most attractive, as there was a fairly large crowd streamlining around it. When Ladybug was in line for some bread, Adrien slipped away with a promise that he’d be right back, and went over to see what all of the fuss was about.
Women and children, mostly, stood around, each holding a single rose of various colors in their hands. Adrien watched as they all stepped up and placed the rose at the foot of the wall. Adrien glanced up, and his breath caught in his chest at the stunning view. A large mosaic painting covered the wall. It depicted a woman with golden hair and bright green eyes, a small smile on her face. She wore a light green dress. A necklace hung around her neck, a bright blue stone that was surrounded by similarly colored feathers. Adrien did not know of the bird that those feathers originated from, but it must be majestic.
The woman was also holding a child against her chest. A baby with the same eyes and hair. The baby was staring up at their mère, and his mouth was open, supposedly mid coo. The baby’s hands clutched at the pale yellow blanket they were wrapped in. And oddly enough, on their right hand, there was a glint of silver, like the baby was wearing a ring.
Adrien shook his head. He was just imagining things. It was probably just a tile that had gone missing or the color had faded, leaving behind a metallic imprint. It was nothing.
Inching forward, Adrien watched as two girls, one younger and one older, approached the foot of the wall. They both held pale pink roses. The older girl set hers down, and instructed her assumed sister to do the same. “They’re for the lost prince,” the girl explained, pointing up at the baby in the woman’s hands.
Oh. The baby was a portrait of the prince. So the woman must be the queen.
“Adrien,” Marinette spoke suddenly from behind him, and Adrien jumped at the sudden voice. Marinette held out to him a broken-off piece of baguette, and he took it with trembling fingers.
Marinette looked at him with slight concern. “You alright?” The rest of the baguette was slung under her arm, and in her hand she held a small wheel of cheese.
Adrien took a chunk out of the bread with his teeth and smiled at her from around the bite. “Perfect,” he choked out, and Marinette pretended to gag at the sight.
“Come on,” she coaxed, pulling him over to the other side of the street where Tikki and Plagg were waiting next to an open bench. Come to think of it, the bench may have only been open because of Tikki’s striking stare. “Let’s take a break to eat. And maybe have some cheese as well,” she offered, waving the wheel at him.
Marinette expertly dodged out of the way of Plagg as the cat jumped from Tikki’s back onto the bench, trying to steal the cheese from her grasp. Marinette smirked triumphantly down at the pouting cat. Adrien may have fallen a little deeper watching that.
Adrien did his best not to think of his père, but every tall man he passed on the street that wore a dark robe, he froze and feared that it was his père coming back to steal him away to the tower. Adrien had hidden the crown in one of Tikki’s saddle bags when Marinette was not paying attention this morning, and he tried not to stare at it too much.
The rest of the day was a blur of dancing and laughter. Marinette purchased Adrien a small flag baring the Agreste crest, yellow felt paw on green, and he clutched it close, tucking it inside of his vest for safekeeping, right next to his heart.
At one point, they got cupcakes. Adrien had never eaten such a fine baked good. Marinette began cooing over how expertly it was made, complimenting the flavor combinations and how cleanly the icing was piped over them. Adrien ended up just staring at her for so long that Marinette was just about finished with hers when he realized he hadn’t even taken a single bite of his yet.
As the sun began to lower in the sky, turning the light blue dusty, Adrien dragged Marinette into a building that was full of books. She told him it was a bibliothèque, and they spent at least an hour on the floor, books open and scattered all around them as Adrien tried to soak up as much information on the kingdom as possible. He looked at maps of the world and flipped through a book on animals, all while Marinette whispered facts not present in the books. They had to be quiet, Marinette told him. Adrien tried his best to contain his excitement to inside-voice level.
When they left, the sky had darkened considerably. Marinette grabbed hold of Adrien’s hand and tugged him down the street. “W-where are we going?” Adrien asked, fumbling over his words at the surprise contact.
Marinette looked back at him and smiled softly. “To the boats, of course. It’s almost time to light the lanterns.”
Adrien felt his heart skip a beat and his stomach jolted. “Okay,” he breathed, and let Marinette guide him towards the docks.
When they arrived, it was obvious that they were one of the last ones. There were less than ten boats left strung up at the docks, and Marinette ran ahead to secure one for them. Tikki walked at Adrien’s side, bumping into him every so often.
“I don’t quite think you’ll fit in the boat with us, Tikki,” Adrien told her as he watched another boat row out over the water. He slipped his hand into the saddle bag and ran a hand over the crown, curling his fingers around it.
Tikki whinnied unhappily, but halted her walk at the end of the dock. Plagg jumped onto Adrien’s shoulders. He wondered if the cat was thinking forward at all. Plagg detested water. If the boat flipped over, he would throw a fit. Adrien hoped that it wouldn’t come to that.
The sky was almost completely dark now, the lights of the palace the only illumination over the water. It made for good coverage.
Marinette stepped into the boat with ease and then held out a hand for Adrien to do the same. He wobbled slightly when he had one foot in, unused to the odd feeling of wood over water (or anything other than tile flooring to be honest). When he finally got settled, he sat down on shaky legs on the bench furthest away from the dock. Marinette sat easily on the other bench, right next to the oar.
Plagg settled onto the floor of the boat, happy to curl up at Adrien’s feet.
“Hey Tikki!” Marinette called back as she released the rope from the dock, allowing them to begin to float out. She tossed something up onto the dock, and Adrien watched as Tikki stared down at the bag of chocolate-chip cookies. Were horses okay to eat chocolate?
Tikki sniffed at them for a moment before biting tentatively into one. She seemed happy enough by the taste to take another bite, at least.
“Don’t eat too many!” Marinette called as she curled her hands around the oar and began to row them further into the water. “You’ll get sick and maybe die.”
Tikki’s head snapped up, and Adrien almost laughed at the look on her face.
“Those won’t really kill her, will they?” he asked, just to be sure.
Marinette shook her head. “No, there were only a few in that bag. If she ingested a lot of chocolate, then yes, but for a horse her size the most she’ll have is a slight upset stomach.”
Easy silence fell over the boat as Marinette floated them further into the water. Lanterns that illuminated the other boats were set up a little away from the docks, closer to the palace. So Adrien was surprised when Marinette continued rowing until they were further out in the water, where there their boat slowed when she stopped, rocking forward only from the current.
“Why are we all the way out here?” Adrien asked, turning around to look at Marinette.
Marinette grinned at him. “This is the best view,” she promised, pointing over to the palace. “You can see everything from here.”
The view was already spectacular, but Adrien could feel energy buzzing under his skin, anticipation for the main event. An event he’d been waiting for years to truly experience. Adrien sighed, leaning over the edge of the wooden boat slightly.
“You okay?”
Marinette looked a little concerned as she settled in next to him, leaning against the side as well. Plagg hopped up onto her abandoned seat.
Adrien looked back out at the still night and admitted, “I’m terrified.” He clenched his fingers around the edge of the boat, holding on tightly. The knuckles on his hands turned white.
“Why?” came Marinette’s response, as easy as breathing.
Adrien shrugged, but then stopped halfway through. He didn’t have to just shrug this away. He could be truthful with Marinette.
“I’ve been staring out a balcony for eighteen years,” he finally said. “I’ve dreamt up so many different ways that I imagined myself seeing those lights. And none of them were like this, I—” Adrien cut himself off with a shake of the head.
Marinette was silent at his side, and Adrien was thankful for her giving him the time to figure out how to best word his thoughts.
“This may sound stupid,” he eventually continued, laughter hollow in his voice, “But what if it’s not anything like I dreamed it would be?”
Marinette’s hand settled over his, and he looked over at her. She was smiling. “It will be,” she said with a confidence he wished he had.
“And what if it is?” Adrien asked, voice breaking over the last word.
As if she could read his mind, Marinette said, “Then it is. And that’s scary, but it’s also fantastic, you know why?”
Adrien shook his head, gaze locked with Marinette’s. She reached out and tucked a strand of his hair away from his face, fingers lightly caressing his cheek.
“Because then you get to go out and find a new, better dream.”
*
Inside the palace, Queen Agreste stared at herself in the tall body-length mirror that leaned against a wall in her sleeping quarters. She smoothed a hand over her necklace, untwisting the silver chain from where it had settled incorrectly against her neck while she was wrestled into an evening gown by a bored servant girl.
Her fingers curled around the stone, or her miraculous, as Master Fu had liked to call it. Her miraculous cure. She envisioned her son, eighteen years old. Would he have continued to wear his miraculous? If he had taken it off, would he have died? Was he even still out there for her to get answers from?
The queen took a deep breath, eyelids fluttering closed. It would do no good for her to think negatively like that. Her son was still out there; she could feel it.
He was eighteen now. Maybe now that he was seen as an adult in the eyes of the law, he could leave wherever he’d been and come back to her.
The court was beginning to push. Eighteen years was a long time for the kingdom to have no heir, and soon the queen would no longer be able to birth one. If her son did not return within the year, the queen feared she would have to take another husband and act as though the first try never existed.
But she would not do to think of that now. Now, the people were waiting for her.
The queen walked down the hallways towards the balcony where all royal announcements were made. Two guards stood on either side of the doors, and they opened them in tandem as she stepped forward.
The crowd below came to life as she strolled alone onto the balcony, the emptiness obvious.
Waiting for her stood an already lit lantern on a pedestal. As soon as she walked up to it, the kingdom went silent, awaiting her cue. The lantern was identical to the one she had released on the day of her son’s birth. The flame flickered inside, its cast shadow igniting the paw print.
A phantom touch guided the queen as she picked up the paper lantern, releasing it from its ribbon bindings, and pushing it up gently, letting it drift on the air and rise high above her head.
The moment her fingers released the lantern, thousands of lights below her illuminated the palace walls. Thousands of people had set themselves up inside of the palace walls, outside of the front door, down the streets of the kingdom, just to aid in the beacon.
“Come home, son,” the queen whispered, a tear tricking down her cheek, as her lantern became swallowed up by a crowd of others, and she watched it drift up into the night sky until tears clouded her vision to the point where she could see no more.
*
Adrien leaned on the side of the boat and relaxed as he watched Marinette tease Plagg with a loose thread she’d ripped from her skirt. She swung it up and down, circled it, then dangled it teasingly in front of the cat’s face before snatching it out of the way. Plagg was very invested in capturing the red thread between his paws.
Adrien tilted his head and let out a soft, content sigh. He let his gaze drift to the water and watched it ripple as the boat rocked slowly back and forth. A small, green dot of something was reflected in the water, and Adrien glanced up and almost fell out of the boat in shock. The first lantern had been lit.
Plagg mewed happily as his paws finally snatched the thread from Marinette’s limp grasp as she and Adrien locked eyes, both thinking the same thing.
A moment later, more lights began to rise up from behind the walls surrounding the palace, and it seemed like a never-ending stream as they spilled into the sky. From all over the center of Paris, it seemed, and from the boats seated just off the docks near the palace, lanterns were lifted into the sky. Adrien could only watch in awe, jaw dropped, as the green lanterns were lit up with a yellow glow, and began to approach the water, floating on the air, as if called to him. The water shimmered with the reflections of a tiny thousand lights, multiplying them into a breathtaking image that Adrien would never be able to put into words.
A cleared throat caught Adrien’s attention, and he slowly turned to face Marinette. She’d sat back on the bench, Plagg hovering at her side. In her hand was a floating lantern made of green parchment, just like all the rest, flame inside flickering. Adrien felt his heart stutter in his chest.
Marinette nodded her head over to the other bench seat, and Adrien sat down across from her eagerly. Marinette was smiling at him, looking relaxed and open, offering the lantern to him.
Adrien’s hand went to his chest, where he had hidden a few things for safe keeping underneath his vest. He rubbed his thumb over the ridges it made and unbuttoned his vest a little so that he could sip his hand inside. “I have something for you,” he admitted, curling his fingers around the metal band and pulling out the crown.
Marinette’s eyes widened slightly when she realized what he was holding, mouth parting a little in surprise. Her tongue flicked out to lip across her bottom lip, and Adrien watched it, transfixed for just a moment.
“I should have given it to you before,” Adrien added, rubbing his thumb over the gem on the front. “I was scared, I guess. I felt I needed something, leverage, to keep you helping me. But after meeting Alya and getting to know you, I—” Adrien ducked his head and smiled. “I don’t have to be scared anymore. You know what I mean?”
Marinette’s eyes moved from the crown and slowly raised her gaze up to Adrien’s face, and her blue eyes were shining, the lanterns reflecting in them as if her eyes were pools of water. Plagg jumped from her bench onto Adrien’s as Marinette set the lantern in her hands onto the bench next to her. Then she reached across the divide between them and settled her fingertips on the crown. Adrien’s eyes widened a touch when instead of grabbing the crown like he assumed she would, she pushed it down so that it sat on his lap, and then pulled her hand back.
“I’m starting to,” she breathed before reaching back for the lantern and offering it to him once again.
Adrien felt totally and completely happy as he settled his hands on the lantern next to Marinette’s and helped release it into the sky, pushing it towards the group of the others. Adrien followed it with his eyes until he couldn’t distinguish it from any of the others.
The large mass of lanterns that had traveled their way from the palace were beginning to drift low, flying right over their heads. One of them was even as low as the boat and was close to becoming extinguished in the water, but Adrien leaned over the edge of the boat to lift it back up into the air with his fingertips. They gently brushed over the green parchment adorned with a yellow paw print before it flew too far from his reach.
Glancing over at Marinette, he saw her following the lantern he’d just helped, her eyes trailing it as it weaved around a few other similarly colored. She looked breathtaking. Her blouse was sagging off of one shoulder, exposing creamy skin dotted with freckles and moles. A few dark blue strands of her hair had escaped the perfectly crafted bun on the crown of her head, and they fell over into her face. She blew them away, bottom lip pursing out as she exhaled. Her cheeks were flushed lightly from the night’s wind.
Adrien reached over and took her hand, holding it gently in his. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and caught her eye as she glanced up at him in surprise.
Adrien swallowed thickly and licked his lips. “I—I think I—”
Marinette cut him off with a wide grin and a head bob. “Me too,” she said breathily, taking his other hand and squeezing them both.
Something was happening. There was some social cue Adrien was supposed to take. Marinette was staring at him, like it was his turn. His turn to do what? Her cheeks pinked even darker and her eyes flickered down from his eyes. To his lips? Lips. Oh.
Adrien felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He leaned forward slightly, pulling their intertwined hands towards himself, causing Marinette to lean close to him as well. His gaze slipped to her lips. They were pink, slightly swollen from being bitten, and they were parted slightly, warm puffs of breath escaping them. The puffs of breath escaped more often the closer Adrien got to Marinette.
Centimeters apart, Marinette’s eyes drifted away from him and locked on something over his shoulder. She suddenly went stiff, hands freezing from where they were locked with his. Fear flashed across her face, sparking in her eyes, and her breath hitched.
Adrien leaned back, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “Everything okay?” he asked, resisting the urge to look behind him, see whatever it was that made Marinette scared. She did not seem to be one that scared easily.
Marinette blinked, as if snapping out of a deep thought. She broke their hands apart and leaned back, putting even more space between them than there had been at all this boat ride. “Huh?” she mumbled. “Uh, yeah, just—” Her eyes snapped down, to Adrien’s lap. Adrien looked down as well, but all he spotted was the crown.
When he looked back up, Marinette was staring at him sadly. “Just give me a minute, okay?”
She reached for the oar before Adrien had a chance to comment and began rowing them back to shore, rowing in the direction she was facing.
Adrien finally turned around to look, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just a large expanse of woods.
The lanterns were drifting away now, and he watched as one began to float towards the water. He tried to reach for it, to give it life again, but he couldn’t extend his arm far enough. The lantern hit the water, extinguishing the flame, and the paper shell collapsed, dissolving in the water. Adrien bit back a whimper at the sight.
He looked back at Marinette, but she was looking anywhere but at him. Whatever moment they had shared was gone, just like the poor waterlogged lantern.
The tense silence stretched until Marinette had rowed the boat back to land. Not the docks, however, like Adrien had originally assumed, but a small plot of land that was nearby the woods. As soon as the boat jolted against the ground, Marinette was jumping to her feet. She looked regretful when she reached out and took the crown from Adrien’s lap.
“I just have to do something. Everything is fine, I promise,” she swore as she climbed out of the boat, stepping out of the shallow water and back up onto the land. “I’m sorry, I’ll be right back.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, into the woods.
Adrien glanced at the golden crown in her hands, and then back up at her face. Besides the short breaking-and-entering stint, Marinette had never given him any reasons not to trust her. She hadn’t run immediately when offered the crown. That had to mean she wasn’t—
Adrien gave her a smile and nodded. “Okay,” he said with confidence.
Marinette relaxed with his agreement, and nodded and repeated, “Okay,” before backing away slowly, shooting him another smile, and then turning and disappearing into the trees.
Plagg scratched at his foot, and Adrien moved slowly, lethargic. He looked down at the cat who stared up at him, bright green eyes shining through the darkness of the inside of the boat. “It’s alright, Plagg,” Adrien whispered, running a hand over the cat’s dark fur.
Adrien looked back up at the trees, but Marinette had well and truly disappeared.
Minutes of silence passed. The water lapped against the shore, and the world darkened as the lanterns all but stopped existing, flying up over the trees and out of sight.
Plagg purred happily as Adrien showered him with affection, feeding him the last square of cheese he’d stashed away in his pocket wrapped up in a thin sheet of parchment for a late snack. He scritched behind his ears, rubbed his thumb over the bridge of his nose, and kept his mind off of the woman in the forest.
Finally, a rustling came from the woods, and Adrien relaxed as he snapped his head up to see Marinette slowly approaching him. “There you are,” Adrien said through a laugh. “I was starting to think you ran off with the crown and left me,” he joked, hoping the woman wouldn’t take too much offense. “I knew I was right to trust you.”
Marinette’s form blurred, and between one blink and the next, Marinette became three people. The trio that stepped out of the trees and into the moonlight was not Marinette. Two women and one man; the man had short-cropped dark hair and was rolling a stick around in his smirking mouth, the woman in the middle had her blonde hair pulled back into two tails at the base of her head, a parasol thrown over her shoulder, and the third woman looked oddly familiar with her long blonde hair that flowed over her shoulders, an air about her that told Adrien she was the leader of this trio.
Adrien felt the fear that he’d seen flickering in Marinette’s eyes not an hour before.
“No, you really weren’t,” the second woman said, her voice light as if singing. “Ladybug’s gone. She did run off. We only thought it would be right to tell you.”
Adrien stumbled back and fell back on the seat in the boat. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, that can’t be true. She—she wouldn’t—!”
“Oh, but she would,” the man sneered. He grasped at the stick and picked it from between his teeth, then threw his arm out towards the water. He used the stick to point. “Just look. There she goes.”
Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed, not trusting anything these people were saying, but he stood, stepped out of the boat carefully, and turned to look back out across the water. He felt his heart shatter in his chest when his gaze landed on a larger boat probably fifty meters down the shore, that was floating back towards the kingdom’s docks. At the helm, manning the steering wheel, stood Marinette. Her hairstyle was very distinctive, and he had spent many hours tracing the contours of her body with his eyes, in case he lost her in a crowd.
“No,” he breathed, clutching at his heart. He bunched up the leather of his vest, and he could feel the crinkle of the felt flag that he had tucked right over his heart.
Someone giggled behind him and taunted him. “Yes!”
“Marinette!” he shouted, but though his voice carried the woman on the small ship didn’t even flinch. “Marinette!”
“It was a fair trade,” the man said, and Adrien whirled around to look at him, jaw clenched. The man approached him slowly and reached out a hand to grab Adrien’s right wrist in a tight grip. He smirked at Adrien from around the stick once again back in his mouth. “The crown for the boy with dark magic.”
“How much do you think someone would pay for that kind of power?” the first woman asked, head tilted to the side. She looked so innocent, Adrien screamed in his head, but there was a darkness in her eyes that spoke otherwise.
Adrien backed up quickly, ripping his wrist from the man. “No, no!” he shouted, and ran. He ran down the shore, listening to the slap of feet behind him. He stepped over rocks and sticks, but they didn’t stop him. He didn’t look back until he heard the distinctive thump of three heavy objects hitting the ground.
Adrien hesitated, slowing his run, and turned to look behind him. There was no one. His breaths came out in harsh pants.
“Adrien?!”
Adrien froze. “Papa?” he breathed, mind whirling. What was his père doing here?
Adrien was careful as he retraced his steps, but as he turned a corner he came face to face with his père, three familiar unconscious forms at his feet. Papa looked up at him once he came into view and cast aside the large branch in his hands. Adrien ignored the knocked-out forms as he ran into his père’s embrace, burying his face in his neck.
“Are you alright?” Papa asked him, running his hands over his son’s arms. “Oh mon chaton, I was so worried.”
“How did you—?”
“I was following you, just in case you needed me,” his père interrupted to say. “But when that woman left, I had to get closer to make sure—And then I saw them attack you…” Papa raised Adrien’s right hand to his mouth and kissed his ring finger. “I’m just so glad you’re alright,” he spoke, eyes on his hand.
“Me too,” Adrien whimpered, glancing down at the man and women at his feet.
His père tugged at his hand, coaxing him away and into the trees. “Come on, let’s go, before they wake.”
Adrien looked over to the abandoned boat, coaxing Plagg to follow them with a twitch of his finger. The terrified cat slowly jumped out of the boat, sprinting past the unconscious, and racing right into his feet. Adrien couldn’t help but allow his gaze to move from their his abandoned boat over to the small ship that was no more than a blur in the distance now. It was sailing straight for the heart of Paris, unashamedly.
“Adrien,” Papa called softly, and Adrien turned to face him.
He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he blinked them away, not allowing them to fall. “You were right, Papa,” he said, all of the energy zapped from his body and voice. “I should have listened.”
His père squeezed his wrist, a warm comfort on this cold summer night. He carried Adrien away, leading him through the trees, and whispered in his ear, “I know, chaton. I know.”