Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

            This is the story of how I died.

            Well, I should actually probably step back a few paces. Because this story isn’t even about me. It’s about a boy named Adrien, also known as Chat Noir.

            But I’m getting ahead of myself again. I should probably start at the beginning.

*

            The kingdom of Paris had been ruled by the Agreste family for centuries. Those who married into the family took its name, which is precisely what the king did when he married the queen. The queen had not wanted to get married, however. Her advisor, Bourgeois, had insisted upon her marrying so that she could produce an heir, as she was the last living Agreste, so if she died without a child, then the Agrestes would no longer have control over Paris. The queen had agreed that the marriage made political sense and accepted the best offer she felt she had. She had no qualms about royal blood and ended up choosing someone she had become somewhat acquainted with over the years: the royal tailor, Gabriel. They were married at once as soon as the queen proposed.

            But not long after, the queen realized that she made a grave mistake. The man she married was not who she thought him to be at all. He became controlling, trying to force himself into her role as the ruler of the kingdom and force her out of it. But the queen had to stay strong. Once she knew for sure that she’d conceived a child, she had the royal guard arrest Gabriel and had him thrown out of the kingdom for his misconduct. And the queen, with the aid of her court, went through the pregnancy alone, content with the knowledge that Paris was safe within the Agreste family hands.

            But Gabriel would not let things end that smoothly. See, Gabriel was an excellent tailor for a reason. Sure, the creativity was all of his own, but his ability to create impeccable garments in a short amount of time (hence why he was granted the status to work for the royal family) came from elsewhere. There was magic in Gabriel’s blood. But once the man gained a bit of power from the marriage, it consumed him. His magic turned cold as his morals became corrupt, and it stayed that way, only worsening when he was expelled from the kingdom.

            He hatched a revenge plan against the queen, intending to kill her and the child growing inside of her, so that her entire plan would be for naught, and Paris would be left without an Agreste to rule. The court may even be desperate enough to reach back out to him, for he still bore the Agreste name even after being cast out.

            It took many months, but Gabriel concentrated all of his ability and forced it out of his body in a painful process and into a special stone that he wore as a broach, right over his heart. By detaching himself from the magic, it became a singular power that he could use to wield in any way, including evil, for magic in its purest, blood form could only be used for good.

            Using his powers, Gabriel donned the name Papillon, and set out to enact his revenge. He began by poisoning the minds of a few commoners of Paris (one man and one woman), taking them under his wing when they were emotionally vulnerable and convincing them to help him sneak into the palace. Once there, he touched the hearts of two guards, sweeping them under his spell, and gained access to the queen’s quarters. While she slept, Papillon took control of her mind in its vulnerable state, and used his ability to convince the brain that it was dying of an incurable illness, and neither she nor the baby would survive any longer than a week more.

            It took an entire day for the queen to wake, and a second for a medical practitioner to alert the court of the dreadful news of the queen’s imminent death. The queen sensed foul play, but she was too weak to say anything, using all of her strength to continue eating and drinking, providing her body with the nutrients it needed to keep her baby alive. On the fourth day, she was finally able to utter the word, “Magic.”

            The court immediately brought forth the most well-known magic user in the kingdom, Master Fu. He saw to the queen on the fifth day, spent all of the sixth alone in a room with her and her unborn child. On the seventh, the queen awoke, no longer ill, a blue gemstone with exotic feathers donning her neck, suspended by a silver chain. Master Fu told her that she was never to remove it, for if she did, the magic he enacted would be undone. He did not know what the outcome of it would be, so it was best not to challenge fate. And when the time came, her child would need to follow the same rule.

            Papillon was furious that his plan did not work, and decided instead to just kill the child in cold blood—the old fashioned way.

            On a bight summer morning, Prince Agreste was born with a full head of blond hair and striking green eyes, both that mirrored his mère’s. A tiny silver band was wrapped around his fourth finger on his right hand, and though it twisted, it never slid off. The queen simply kissed her son’s hand and made no move to remove the jewelry, keeping in mind Master Fu’s warning.

            The entire kingdom celebrated the momentous occasion with an all-day feast. And though the new mère was tired, the queen attended to her balcony for a moment, to introduce her son to the crowd outside of the palace later that evening. They lit floating lanterns in celebration, the Agreste crest adorned around it—a single yellow cat paw print.

            As the lanterns lit up the sky, baby Agreste watched them in wonder until his eyelids fell too heavy, and he settled into rest after a full first day on Earth.

            But Papillion was waiting. He’d been one of the last in the crowd to disperse, the controlled commoners and guards he still had under his power protecting him from being recognized. As soon as the lanterns’ light extinguished, driving Paris into the shadow of night, Papillon made his way into the palace and into the queen’s quarters. In a bassinet next to the bed, Papillon spotted the sleeping child, but something else caught his eye first. The ring.

            The man could feel the power that emanated from that ring. If he could possess it, he might be able to have enough power to take over the kingdom without the death of the queen and her heir. Their heir.

            But when he tried to pull, the ring did not come loose. It was as if it was attached to the skin. The boy began to stir and make waking noises. Papillon was running out of time. A split-second decision came to him, and he grinned evilly as he realized the heir going missing was just as damaging as the heir no longer living.

            A cry pierced the night, but a moment later when the queen gasped awake, her hand came up empty when she reached for her son. The child was gone. She immediately had the guards scour the kingdom for her lost son, but to no avail.

            Papillon took his son to where he’d been hiding himself away for the past half a year—a tower on the outskirts of the kingdom, shrouded and hidden by a large wall of deceiving vines that looked as though they were an impenetrable shrub. But Papillon brushed them aside, crying child swaddled in his other arm. The vines swung back behind them, and the perfect façade fell back into place.

            This was where Papillon raised his child, whom he named Adrien. It took several years for his boy to even begin to speak, but when he finally did, he was often caught as he ran up and down the stairwell from his room to the main living and dining quarters, humming an unfamiliar tune.

            “What is it you are singing there, mon fils?” Papillon asked of his son one evening.

            The five-year-old blinked up at him innocently. “I don’t know, Papa. It’s just been in my head for as long as I can remember. There are words to it too, but I know you don’t like singing…”

            “Sing it for me,” Papillon demanded. At his son’s flinch, he softened his tone. “It’s alright. I’d like to hear it today.”

            Adrien’s eyes lit up, hands clenching excitedly around his empty dinner plate. “Oh, yes of course Papa!” He cleared his throat and began to sing softly a song Papillon had never heard before. “C'est moi Chat Noir, toujours present. J'ai des pouvoirs superpuissants. Pour la victoire, j'en fais serment, je me bagarre, éperdument. Cataclysme.”

            As he sang, black sparks began to bubble up from Adrien’s ringed hand, against his knowledge. Papillon watched in awe as the song seemed to unlock this power in his son. The magic consumed the plate in his son’s hands, and as the song finished, Adrien gasped as the plate turned to dust in his hands, falling over his bare feet as he opened his hands in shock.

            “Papa?” Adrien asked, fearful of his own body, hands extended out away from him.

            Papillon gathered his son into his arms, hushing his sobs and rocking him gently back and forth. “There, there, mon fils. Everything is alright. You have come into your power. I always knew you would. I’m so proud of you.” Papillon’s mind swam with all of the thoughts of what this power of destruction could mean for his eventual take-over.

            “Really?” Adrien whispered, looking up at his père with shining green eyes.

            Papillon caressed his son’s right hand and kissed his fourth finger. “Yes. I love you very much, mon chaton noir.”

            Adrien sniffled, wiping a hand underneath his nose. “I love you more, Papa.”

            Papillon smiled and hugged his son again. “I love you most.”

*

            As a muffled countdown mumbled on behind him, a skinny cat with dark fur and striking green eyes scampered from his hiding spot, diving for a better one just as a boy’s voice shouted, “Un!”

            From the shadows created by the curtains hanging limply on either side of the small balcony, the cat perked his ears, listening to light footsteps as they padded towards him, closer and closer, until he could see pale toes peeking out from the sliver of curtain that did not touch the ground.

            “Well, I guess Plagg isn’t hiding over here…” the boy muttered, feet turning around, as if to leave. The cat sagged against the wall, huffing lightly through his nose.

            The curtain suddenly flew back, chased by a triumphant, “A-ha!”

            Plagg jumped and screeched in shock, tail standing up on end as he looked up at Adrien with wide eyes. Adrien was sporting a bright grin, white teeth fully on display, front two poking down a little farther than the rest, making him a complement to a bunny rabbit. His long, shaggy blond hair fell into his face, and he pushed it back behind his ear, the silver ring on his fourth finger brushing cold metal over the curve of his face.

            “So, what? That makes twenty-two for me… want to go for best twenty-three out of forty-five?” Adrien suggested, cocking his hip, looking smug.

            Plagg seemed to give him an unimpressed look, eyes narrowing slightly like no, I do not approve.

            Adrien sighed and pulled himself up to sit on the balcony’s edge, careful not to scoot too far into the outside world. “Fine,” he conceded with a dramatic exhale. Plagg jumped up and settled onto his lap, and Adrien scratched fingers under the black cat’s chin. “Then what do you suppose we do instead?” he asked rhetorically.

            Plagg blinked slowly at him before jumping off of his lap onto the balcony’s edge beside him, eyes out towards the expanse of forest surrounding the tower where they lived. Adrien caught the not-so-subtle hint and sighed again, heavily. “You know we can’t go out there. Besides, there’s plenty to do here! It’s not so bad!”

            Plagg once again looked unimpressed by the false bravado in Adrien’s voice.

            Adrien huffed, affronted. “What? It’s not! I have books.” He gestured to his small bookshelf that housed less than a dozen books, most of them having to do with the arts like painting and clothes making, a few with fairy tales of worlds very different from the one he lived in (according to Papa), and even one of his own creation where he’d begun to jot down everything that he knew of himself and his ability, plus a list of all of the things he’d destroyed at his père’s command.

            “I can paint, and knit, and cook!” Adrien continued his list. “I can cook and bake delicious food for Papa and me—“ Plagg made a noise. “And you too, of course,” Adrien assured his cat. “Then I’ve got my daily chores to do,” which Adrien didn’t enjoy doing, but they killed time! Only a little bit of time, but it still was something to pass a bit of the day away! “There’s puzzles and games. Darts, too! And you know how much fun it is to sew new garments for you!”

            Plagg hissed at the pile of fabric in the corner, the claw-shredded remnants of what used to be a tiny jacket for the feline.

            Adrien paid him no mind, though, gaze far off and eyes glazed over as he was lost in thought. “There’s chess, exercise, dancing… re-reading is always fun. And there’s always room on my walls for more painting… It’s just a matter of time before Papa says I can—!”

            Plagg made a chuffing noise, and Adrien blinked, head snapping away from where he’d been staring at the floor, over to his cat who was pawing at his bare foot. Adrien hadn’t even felt the rasp of claws, too lost in thought. His gaze traveled up and out, looking at the only landscape view he’d ever experienced. The sky was cloudless today, but he could imagine his favorite sky as if he were staring at it right then and there.

            “And the lights will appear tomorrow, on my birthday.” Adrien ignored Plagg’s mew for attention. “Maybe now that I’ll be eighteen… Papa might just—” Adrien cut himself off, shaking his head. It would do no good to psych himself up for failure. He needed to stay positive.

            Ignoring the itch in his hand from having avoided using his ability for a while, Adrien hopped off the balcony, humming his tune, and padded downstairs into the kitchen to prepare lunch for himself. He hoped his père had replenished the camembert supply. Someone (looking at Plagg for this one) stole an entire wheel of it two days ago and it had yet to reappear.

*

            A sudden loud thump rattled the roof of the Césaire household, and Alya sucked in a breath and held it for a moment, eyes locked on the open window atop of the second-floor landing. Suddenly, a red figure flew through the opening and landed at the top of the stairs.

            “Ladybug,” Alya whispered as she breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that her sisters were occupied in the kitchen so that they would not see the surprise visitor.

            “Hello, Alya,” Ladybug spoke softly, reaching for her hip. Astride her waist was a thick belt that supported a knapsack. The bag matched the rest of the woman’s ensemble as it had been crafted from the same red with black dots patterned material as the woman’s flowing skirt was made of. The belt clinched the waist, the loose-shouldered white top secured with the same patterned corset, and the bottom had a long slit up the side for mobility purposes. Alya supposed it helped, since the girl was often arriving via rooftop. She was not very well liked in the streets.

            From her side bag, she produced a small cloth sack that jingled heavily with golden coins. Ladybug stepped down the stairs and up to Alya, drooping the surprisingly heavy sack into her hand. “It was a good day at the market,” was all Ladybug said.

            Alya stuttered as she pulled the ribbon to open the bag and looked in shock at the gold in her hands. “Ladybug, I cannot accept this, it’s too much, I—”

            “Nonsense,” Ladybug cut her off. “I understand how much harder things have been for you and your sisters since your mère had to take longer days to make ends meet. This is what you deserve for all of the trouble your family goes through.”

            Alya huffed but didn’t argue any further. Ladybug had been helping out her family for months, maybe even year now, and she knew they were not the only family using the lady’s work.

            “Who did you steal from today?” Alya teased.

            Ladybug smirked and examined her nails. “Oh, just a few vendors. Snagged some loose change here, something fell of a table there and I made double what it was worth. It doesn’t matter anyway.” The woman waved it off. “The money is rightfully yours. The rich shopping in that market steal it from you with taxes anyway.”

            “Well, we are extremely grateful to you, Ladybug. Is there anything you need me to say tonight? Any messages you need me to pass along?” Alya had been the first person Ladybug had helped, so she returned the favor by bringing the notices of Ladybug’s appearances to the other families that were given aid. She was the in-between messenger, basically.

            Ladybug shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m probably going to stay low for a few days. I noticed some guard heading though the kingdom earlier, and I fear they may be on my trail.”

            Alya pursed her lips. “Alright. If you need somewhere to hide, you know—”

            “I would not inconvenience you like that,” Ladybug told her, words final. “But thank you for the offer. I must go now before it gets to mid-day. You know that is when the light is best.”

            “Stay safe,” Alya wished her well.

            Ladybug nodded before taking the steps two at a time and flinging herself back up onto the roof and making a run for it. She thought of which safe house she should reside in for the evening. It would probably be best to stay there, like she told Alya, for at least a few days. The royal guards had had her on their wanted list since she began her Robin Hood act just under a year ago. They had yet to catch her, for she had a little magic luck up her sleeve, but she didn’t want to test the extent of which she could get away with.

            The fates conspired against her, however, for as soon as she touched down in an alley many streets down from the Césaire residence, there was a shout from the street, and a guard on horseback was pointing at her and calling for reinforcements.

            Biting back a curse, Ladybug leaped for footholds and scaled the building she was next to and moved back up onto the rooftops, trying to escape the hoard of guards hot on her trail.

            She felt like she ran for hours, from roof to roof, ducking into alleyways, hoping to have lost them. But every time she thought she’d succeeded, another guard was there as if they had a tracking device.

            Ladybug decided the best course of action was to leave the kingdom altogether. It may not stop them, but surrounding Paris were lush woods that she could more easily hide in. Horses could not climb trees, off course, but she could.

            Into the lush forest she plunged, hoping the densely packed leaves would conceal her bright red costume well enough. Perhaps she should have gone with a less obvious color, but with her type of magic ability, ‘ladybug’ just seemed to fit so well. Ah, the trials she endured to appear modern.

*

            “I’m gonna do it,” Adrien told his reflection.

            Plagg had settled himself onto Adrien’s shoulders, curling his tail around the boy’s neck like a scarf.

            “I’m gonna ask him. I will,” Adrien commanded, pointing at himself in the mirror. “Tomorrow is my birthday and I am not going to—!”

            “Adrien!”

            Adrien spooked so bad that Plagg fell from his shoulders with a sudden hiss, landing on his feet before glaring up at Adrien. He winced. “Sorry Plagg,” he apologized.

            “Adrien! Let me up!” his père demanded from the base of the tower.

            “Coming, Papa!” Adrien shouted down, reaching for his journal and adding a tally mark to his growing list of times he’d used his ability to upset the integrity of the stone wall to allow his père passage up the tower.

            “I’m not getting any younger down here!” Papa yelled.

            Adrien abandoned the journal on his bed and raced for the balcony. “I’m here!” he assured his père, waving down at the tiny man several meters below.

            Humming his tune, choosing only to sing the single word, “Cataclysme.” The boy slapped his hand down into the stone of the tower beneath the edge of the balcony in a specific spot. As it had hundreds of times before, the tower shook as his magic took hold, and the rocks that built up the tower began to vibrate out of their places, creating hand and footholds for his père to climb. Adrien gritted his teeth as he clutched a well-worn stone in his hand, forcing his power to only destroy the structural integrity just some, enough for his père to climb all the way up. Once his père reached his level, Adrien fell back with a sigh, collapsing onto the ground, exhausted, as his père stepped over him and into the room.

            It took a lot of energy to use his ability and fight it all at the same time.

            “Welcome home, Papa,” Adrien gasped out as he propped himself up onto the balcony ledge to sit. He spotted Plagg hiding out of sight behind the curtains, and was proud that his only companion knew to hide when his père was around. His père had never liked animals, said they were dangerous, but Plagg had been nothing but sweet to Adrien, if with a bit of attitude, that is.

            “Adrien,” his père greeted with a small, tight smile. “It will always amaze me how you manage to do that every day without fail.”

            “Oh,” Adrien waved it off, pushing himself to his feet. “It’s not that bad.” He could already feel some of the feeling in his legs coming back.

            “Then I don’t know why it takes so long!” his père said, a teasing lit to his voice. Adrien swallowed back the sing of hurt and smiled back at his père who chuckled and said, “On, mon chaton, don’t take everything so seriously. You know I love you.”

            Adrien relaxed minutely at that. “Yes, Papa. I know.”

            His père carried bags on his back, and as he slid them down from his shoulder, heading out of his son’s room and down into the main quarters, he began sorting the items into food and things for himself.

            Adrien watched without really paying attention, taking deep breaths and steeling himself for what he was about to ask. “Alright. So. Papa, as you may know, it’s my birthday tomorrow.”

            His père stilled, hand hovering over his bag. It dropped down to his side as he turned to face his son, a look of confusion on his face. “No, Adrien, I believe you are mistaken. Your birthday was twelve months ago.”

            “That’s how birthdays work, Papa,” Adrien said, a bit of bite in his voice. “They come every twelve months. It’s an annual thing.”

            His père looked unimpressed, but not angry, so Adrien thought it was safe enough to press on. “Papa… I’m turning eighteen this year. And I thought—what I really want for my birthday is to do something I haven’t before, but I mean, I really wanted to for quite a few years now—”

            “Adrien, you’re rambling again.” His père turned his back on him. “You know how I feel about rambling, it’s very annoying and unnecessary. You should probably save your words for your journal, rather than aloud. That is what a journal is for, after all.”

            Adrien gritted his teeth. A cold nose butted his hand, and Adrien looked to see Plagg had followed him. He shushed the cat, but his wide eyes seemed to be speaking to him, and because of that confident gaze Adrien found it in himself to blurt out, “I want to see the floating lights!”

            His père paused once again, stiff shoulders relaxing minutely as he spoke, “Oh, you mean the night stars.”

            Adrien shook his head. “No, not the stars. I’ve watched the stars; those are nightly constants. But the lights—they show up on my birthday and only on my birthday…” His gaze drifted away for a moment when he said, “I can’t help but feel like they are meant for me.”

            Adrien sighed as his père turned away from him completely, moving to put food into the correct cabinets. Adrien made no move to help like he normally would. He had a point to make.

            “I want to see them, Papa,” he said resolutely, “And not just from my bedroom. I want to go to them. You could take me to see them. I just have to know what they are.”

            “You want to go outside?” his père asked, incredulous. “Oh, Adrien. You are not ready to face the outside world.” He slammed a cabinet door closed, and Adrien couldn’t suppress his flinch at the loud noise. “It is a cruel, cruel place. There are monsters, ruffians,” Papa ticked the list off on his fingers, “thugs, and animals that will attack as soon as they sense an innocent person has touched the earth. You are too young and not ready to face them on your own, not like I am.”

            “But—!”

            “You know why I keep you in this tower, Adrien.”

            “Yes, but—!”

            “To keep you safe.” His père’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. “You are not ready. You’re young, immature, clumsy; you’d never make it out alive. You will be allowed to leave. Soon, but not yet. You have to trust that Papa knows what’s best for you.”

            “I do,” Adrien argued, reaching for his père, but the man avoided the touch of his son by skirting around him.

            “Then you must promise never to leave this tower without my say.”

            Adrien’s fists clenched at his sides.

            “Understand?” his père asked, no room for argment.

            Adrien dropped his head against his chest. “I understand,” he responded dejectedly.

            Papa sighed, and Adrien felt arms winding around him, and he fell easily into the embrace. “You know I love you, mon chaton,” was spoken against his temple.

            “I love you more,” Adrien mumbled into his père’s chest.

            “I love you most.”

            His père broke the embrace a moment later and kissed the right hand of his son. “Time for me to go.”

            Adrien resigned himself to adding another tally on his journal so soon as he led his père to the balcony where he summoned his ability and allowed his père safe passage back to the ground below.

            “I’ll see you soon, mon chaton!” Papa shouted up at him as soon as his feet touched the grass, and Adrien waved at him weakly, watching as his père disappeared into the trees surrounding the tower.

            Plagg mewed for attention, and Adrien scratched behind his ears as the feline butted against his chin, resting with him until the boy regained his energy back.

*

            So, perhaps Ladybug hadn’t been entirely truthful when she told Alya that she hadn’t taken anything serious at the market, which was the reason the guard was very adamant about catching her now more than ever.

            She may have accidentally stumbled upon a private selling booth where the crown jewels were being refurbished, and she’d maybe fallen a little in love with the circlet she knew to be the long lost prince’s. But the prince wasn’t there, so he wouldn’t miss it would he?

            Apparently the queen would.

            The golden and single green-gem infused circular crown was tucked safely inside of her hip bag as it bounced against her side as she swung from one branch of a tree to the ground below. It was wrapped safely in a wanted poster for herself that she had torn down in the kingdom earlier that day, when she’d scoffed at the attempt to imitate her likeness on the page. Her eyes were not that large, okay?

            The sounds of guards had become more muffled by the minute, especially after she had kicked the one rider off of their horse. Though then it had appeared that the horse now had its own personal vendetta against her.

            A rustle from the bushes next to her caught Ladybug’s attention, and out flew the large mare with a rich brown spotted flank and a flowing dark mane that looked oddly similar to her own midnight blue hair that was tied back into a bun safely out of her face, sans a few wispy strands here and there.

            The horse flailed her nostrils and whinnied loudly, as if alerting of her location. Ladybug tried to shush the large animal, but her placating hands were only nearly horse-food when the mare snapped her large teeth at the criminal.

            “Easy there. Tikki, was it?” Ladybug asked of the horse. There was a nameplate on the horse’s chest, and the mare seemed to pause at the name, so it seemed like Ladybug had guessed correctly.

            “Now how’s about I just—” Ladybug reached for the saddle, attempting to mount the horse and gain a speed advantage, but the hose seemed resistant, jolting away from her touch and attempting to bite her once more. The horse’s eyes seemed to be locked on her side pouch, as if she knew that was the source of the problem.

            Tikki ran at her, but Ladybug dodged and began running again, jumping into trees taking advantage of the height. Tikki whinnied angrily after her, but Ladybug was able to lose her eventually, side pouch still attached though she may find horse teeth marks in the material at some point.

            Landing back on the ground, Ladybug looked for cover, as Tikki’s whinnies carried on the wind. She rested a hand back onto the shrub behind her and almost fell over. For it wasn’t a shrub at all, but a group of vines that clumped together well enough that it was disguised.

            Hearing an even closer whinny, Ladybug took her chances and ducked into the vines and hid along a rock wall. He chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, but she didn’t want to tip Tikki off on her location, so she kept herself as quiet as humanly possible.

            A minute passed, then two, then a third before Ladybug sighed in relief and almost slumped to the ground. The only sounds she could hear were far off, and they only seemed to be growing more distant as she listened. Soon, she could hear nothing at all besides the wind in the trees and her own heart pounding in her ears.

            After she caught her breath, Ladybug pushed herself off of her rock support and rather than potentially run straight into a trap, decided to delve even deeper into the forest. She may just end up staying out here until things blow over a little.

            Stepping out of the little alcove the vines and rocks created, Ladybug came face to face with a breathtaking sight. Off in the distance, but not that far away, was a tall stone tower. As she trekked closer, most of the land around it seemed inhabited by other animals, but she couldn’t spot any footprints or any sign of human life. The tower must have been abandoned, she reasoned.

            Tikki whinnied somewhere close by, and Ladybug wasn’t going to be taking any other chances. She ran for the tower and searched for a way in. There was no obvious door entrance or a set of stairs, so she thanked her luck and started scaling the stone by digging her nails into the natural grooves of the stones. It was truly only her luck that allowed her the ability to climb up towards an open balcony and heave herself up over the edge and into the tower.

            Ladybug took deep breaths as soon as she was on solid ground again, clutching the bag at her side. She flipped the clasp open and checked to make sure the circlet was still inside, and that it had not been damaged. She smiled when she saw it was in perfect condition.

            “Alone at last,” she crooned jokingly to the crown.

            Something sharp hit the back of her head, and her eyes rolled back into their sockets and she collapsed, falling unconscious at the sudden blow.

*

            Adrien clutched the string of his old yo-yo that he’d grabbed instinctively with shaking hands, chest heaving in terror as he stared at the unconscious figure beneath his balcony. Plagg nosed at his feet, urging him to move forward, but Adrien was petrified.

            Papa had warned him about this, about people who would come after him to take advantage of his ability, to use him. His père said he used to fight people off all the time when he was a baby until he finally got them somewhere safe, to this tower. But now someone had finally found him, and his père wasn’t home.

            Now Adrien had to fight his own battles. Boy was Papa going to be impressed when he saw this!

            Inching forward after a moment of labored breathing to steel his resolve, Adrien poked at the person with his foot, and when nothing happened, creeped even closer to get a better look at their face.

            Adrien’s eyes widened in shock, and he breathed a surprised, “Oh…” at the very non-threatening looking being. He fell to his knees and scooted closer to the creature, Plagg at his side, the cat flicking its tail along the intruder’s bare arm. The person had dark hair that looked almost blue in the sunlight tied tightly in a clump at the top of their head. Their delicate small fingers were curled around a bag that seemed to be attached to their hip by some sort of belt clasp.

            The person’s eyelid flickered, and sudden bright blue eyes flew open with a sharp intake of breath. Adrien smacked them with the yo-yo once more, a reflex at this point. He winced at the way the person’s head thumped back against the cold floor.

            Adrien shared a look with Plagg, and the cat raised its hackles and then let them drop, an imitation of a shrug. Adrien sighed. Yeah, he felt about the same.

            After a moment of indecision, Adrien decided to prop the person up against the wall, for starters. He found that they were rather lightweight, and instead was able to lift them into his arms and move them to a spare chair he had set up by his sewing table. The person slumped over in the chair, but still didn’t wake. Adrien found some ribbon in his drawers and figured it would be good enough to tie the person down, for now.

            As soon as the knots were tied as deftly as Adrien could handle, he stepped back and surveyed the situation.

            “There is a person in my room,” he stated the obvious. A grin stretched across his face. “I caught a person in my room!” He punched a victorious fist in the air. “Shows what you know, Papa. I can handle myself.” He swung the yo-yo around in his hand and accidentally smacked it against his temple. He flinched back at the pain and rubbed the sore area.

            He looked back at the person and noticed something peeking out of their side bag. Creeping forward hesitantly, Adrien snatched the paper-wrapped object from the bag and stepped away.

            He slowly pealed back the paper and cast it aside the moment he spotted what it had been protecting: A golden band adorned with gold plated leaves wound around it. Front and center sat a thumb-sized green gem. He trailed his fingers over the indents the leaves made and watched in amazement as the sun glinted off of the stone, casting a green shadow of light on the ceiling and floor. Plagg chased after the light that moved as Adrien spun the large band around his wrist, and he laughed at his silly cat. It was too large to adorn any finger or wrist. Perhaps it could be a necklace, if it had a clasp mechanism, but it did not.

            Glancing up at his mirror, Adrien raised the band up to his head and settled it into his hair. It barely peeked out from between his messy golden strands anywhere except for where it settled on his forehead, the glint of green making his eyes pop.

            He took the band off of his head, not wanting to play around with it too much and accidentally break it, and wrapped it back up in the paper. This seemed to be important to this person, and he was probably going to need some leverage in this situation if he was going to come out on top.

            Looking over to the stairwell, his eyes widened when he remembered the wonky step that popped open a few years ago and he and his père had never fixed. The inside of the step was hollow, a perfect place for a secret to be stored.

            “Adrien!”

            His père!

            Adrien stared at the tied-up person as he shouted, “One moment, Papa!” He panicked for just a second before deciding the best course of action would be to drag the chair into his closet. He wrapped a second ribbon around the person’s mouth, just in case they woke up before he wanted them to.

            “I have a surprise for dinner!” his père called back.

            Adrien laughed to himself as he pushed the chair into his closet and slammed the doors shut. “I have a surprise too!”

            “Oh, I bet mine is bigger!”

            “I seriously doubt it,” Adrien spoke between gritted teeth before singing his song and creating the handholds necessary for his père to enter the tower.

            As soon as his père got to the edge of the balcony, Adrien released his power and slumped against the wall, not letting his lowered energy get this best of him this time.

            “I brought back parsnips,” his père indulged to him as he stepped into the room, a small smile on his face. “I’m going to make hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite!”

            “Papa,” Adrien interrupted him, clasping his hands together. “There’s something I want to tell you. I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier—”

            His père’s jaw clenched. “I hope you’re not still talking about the stars,” he said, voice light, though his body language protested that.

            “Floating lights,” Adrien corrected him. “And yes I’m leading up to that.”

            “Because I thought we had dropped the issue, chaton,” his père cut him off.

            But Adrien wasn’t going to be steamrolled over once again. He had proof to back up his courage, something to show his père and have him see how capable his son really was. “No, Papa, I’m just saying that you think I wouldn’t be able to protect myself—”

            “Oh, I know you wouldn’t able to protect yourself,” Papa interrupted once again, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

            Adrien reached for the handle on his closet doors. “But if you’d—”

            “Adrien,” his père snapped. “We are done talking about this.”

            “Trust me!”

            “Adrien.”

            “I know what I’m doing,” Adrien protested, fingers curling around the handle.

            “Adrien.”

            Adrien resisted the urge to stomp his foot like a child. “Oh, come on!”

            “Enough with the lights, Adrien!” His père shouted, voice raising high above all other noises of nature going on outside the open balcony. “You are not going to leave this tower ever!”

            Adrien hesitated. His fingers spasmed over the handle, curling over tin air. His eyes widened and he felt them sting. His père mumbled something to himself at seeing his son’s reaction, but Adrien couldn’t hear it over the sound of his blood rushing in his ears. His brain was moving a kilometer a minute.

            It was obvious to him now. His père was never going to let him go. Adrien would never leave, unless he left by himself.

            Adrien swallowed thickly. His throat felt dry. “All I was going to say, Papa, is that I know what I want for my birthday now.”

            His père rubbed at his forehead, as if staving off a headache. “What is it, Adrien?”

            Adrien licked his lips. “New material. For clothes. I was hoping for some of that silk material you found a few years back.”

            His père eyed him, gaze sweeping up and down his form. “Well, that is a very long trip. At least three days, Adrien.”

            Adrien shuffled his foot against the floor and mumbled, “I just thought it was a better idea than the,” his breath hitched, chest constricting, “… stars,” he whispered.

            Papa sighed but nodded, reaching out and placing a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own?” he asked, acting now like he was concerned.

            Adrien bit back the response he wanted to give and instead responded, “I know I’m safe as long as I’m here.” He pulled his père into a hug to hide the way his eyes stung with fresh tears of anger and disappointment.

            He helped his père pack up for the trip, as he was to leave immediately. He filled a basket up with bread, cheese, and fruits and wrapped it up safe in a cloth. His père took it and thanked him with a kiss to his hand. “I love you most, chaton noir,” his père whispered to him, but for the first time Adrien did not believe him.

            As soon as his père disappeared into the trees below the tower, Adrien turned his sights back on the closet with a vengeance. Time to hatch his birthday plan.

*

            Ladybug awoke suddenly when something furry slapped her across the face. She jolted, trying to make herself move, but she found herself tied down to a wooden chair. Her head pounded and she winced at the sudden bright sunlight when she dared to open her eyes. Doing a quick inventory, she found that it was only her head that hurt. Her clothing was still intact, thank the gods.

            She tested out the restraints on her arms, but they only budged a little. Her sandaled feet had been tied to the chair legs as well, so she couldn’t even stand. The bindings around her waist only tightened her tight corset top, and she found it a little hard to breath because of it.

            “Struggling—”

            Ladybug’s gaze snapped to the shadowed corner of the room where the voice came from.

            “Struggling is pointless,” the figure spoke, though they stuttered over their words.

            Ladybug narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better view of the figure, but the shadows were too dark. Blond hair was the only defining and bright enough feature that stood out. “I can tell,” she responded a moment too late.

            “I know why you’re here and… and I’m not afraid of you.”

            Ladybug blinked rapidly. “What?” she asked for lack of any better a response.

            But the answer was good enough, for it must have intrigued the figure enough to step out of the darkness and into the light. And what a figure it was. Tall, donned in dark clothes, stood a young man probably close to her age, with pale skin, shaggy hair, and striking green eyes that had Ladybug catching her breath. This man was beautiful, she realized. But she couldn’t let that distract her for long.

            “Who are you? And how did you find me?” the man asked, raising his fist slightly with the words where he clutched the yellowed string of a pale red yo-yo.

            Ladybug was still too shocked for words, it seemed, as she stuttered out an, “Ahh-ah.”

            The yo-yo was raised further, poised it seemed to strike. The man repeated his words, more confidence in his voice. “Who are you, and how did you find me?!”

            Ladybug swallowed thickly and spoke softly, “I don’t know who you are and I didn’t mean to find you. My name is Ladybug.”

            “Who else knows my location, Ladybug?” the man spat out her moniker like it was poison.

            Ladybug huffed. “Alright blondie—”

            “Adrien,” the man interrupted.

            “Adrien,” Ladybug repeated, conceding. “Look, I didn’t plan to come here. I was in a bit of a situation when I came across your tower. I thought it was empty, needed a place to hide out for a bit, so I climbed it. End of story,” she regaled, the pulsing at the back of her head letting her know how the story really ended.

            She twitched in her seat as Adrien’s calculating eyes scanned her, seemingly looking for lies. Her hipbag brushed against the arm of the chair, and she felt it flatten which it couldn’t do if there was something in it.

            Her head snapped up. “Where is my crown?” she hissed, eyes narrowing.

            Adrien smirked, arms crossing over his chest. “I’ve hidden it where you’ll never find it.”

            Ladybug gritted her teeth, gearing up to argue. But she was cut off before she even could by another assault of questions.

            “So,” Adrien began, “What is it that you want to do with my ring? Cut it off?”

            Ladybug’s eyes widened, gaze snapping over to the silver ring glinting on the man’s right hand. “What?” she blurted.

            “Sell it?” Adrien continued, stepping closer, eyes narrowed in threat.

            “No! Look, I don’t want anything to do with your ring, okay?” she practically shouted, wiggling her wrists in their constraints. If she could just get them a little looser—

            “Wait.” Adrian stopped short of her, and he seemed to hesitate. “You don’t want my ring?”

            Ladybug rolled her eyes. “Why on Earth would I want your ring? Like I said, I didn’t even know anyone was in here. I saw the tower and climbed it. End. Of. Story.” She huffed at the end, as if to prove her point.

            “You’re… telling the truth?” Adrien seemed very hesitant now, all of the steam he’d built up assuming she’d wanted whatever special ring he had dissipating.

            “Yes!” Ladybug responded, irritated.

            A hiss sounded at her feet, and then a weight settled onto her lap. Ladybug looked down to see a black cat with gleaming green eyes staring at her as if they were assessing her every thought. Ladybug felt oddly threatened by this small animal.

            Adrien swept the cat up into his arms as if it were nothing, turned his back on Ladybug, and began whispering to the animal, like they could understand him! And what kind of a name is Plagg anyway?

            “I know, Plagg, but I need someone to take me… I think she’s telling the truth too… She doesn’t look like a monster… What other choice do I have?”

            Ladybug was so close to slipping her wrist out of one of the ribbon bindings, her thumb almost having passed the tightest part—

            “Alright, Ladybug.” Escape plan once again foiled, Ladybug sighed and looked back up at Adrien as he dropped the cat down to the floor, facing her once again. “I’m going to offer you a deal, of sorts.”

            Ladybug arched an eyebrow, a little intrigued.

            The boy reached for a book on the shelf and leafed through a few pages. When he finally came to the one he was looking for, he tossed the book down onto Ladybug’s lap. She glanced down to see a pretty good sketch of the night sky littered with square-shaped bright lights. In the corner, a shadowed figure sat, admiring them as they floated high above.

            “Do you know what these are?” Adrien inquired, eyebrow arched.

            “You mean the lantern thing they do for the prince?” Ladybug asked, for the yearly ceremony was most like what the sketch resembled.

            Adrien’s eyes widened, just a pinch. “Lanterns,” he breathed. “I knew they weren’t stars!”

            Ladybug arched her eyebrow then. Did this boy seriously not know what the lanterns were? They’d done them for almost eighteen years now. There wasn’t a single soul in or out of Paris who didn’t know what they meant. Well, Ladybug thought, there was a single soul.

            Adrien shook his head a little, as if snapping out of a daydream, and said, “Well, tomorrow evening these… lanterns,” he said slowly, as if testing the word out on his tongue, “will light up the night sky.” He pointed the yo-yo threateningly in her direction. “You will act as my guide and take me to see these lanterns and then return me back home safely. Then and only then will you get your… crown back.”

            Ladybug winced. “Yeah,” she released on a sigh. “That’s not exactly going to work. Paris and I aren’t exactly sympathique at the moment, so I cannot agree.”

            Adrien glanced over at the cat and they seemed to come to an agreement. The cat hissed, scratched at the air with his paw, and then glared at Ladybug. Adrien snapped his gaze back over to her.

            Adrien snatched the journal from her lap and tossed it carelessly onto what Ladybug assumed was his bed and began twirling the yo-yo around in a circle next to him. “Something brought you here, Ladybug. Call it what you will: fate, destiny—”

            “—Luck,” Ladybug deadpanned.

            “—So I have made the decision to trust you—”

            “—A horrible decision, really.”

            “—So trust me when I tell you this: You can tear this tower apart brick by brick,” Adrien spoke slow and sure. He released the yo-yo from its spinning rotation and it wrapped around the chair, securing her even further to the furniture. He pulled the string towards himself, tipping the chair. Ladybug feared her face was going to smash into the tile, but Adrien’s hand halted the chair’s momentum. His face was inches from hers when he concluded, “but without my help, you will never find your precious crown.” His green eyes stared her down, locking with her blues. They burned with passion.

            Ladybug had never been more turned on in all her life.

            “Fine!” she declared, voice high-pitched. “Fine, I’ll take you to see the lanterns!”

            Adrien righted the chair, almost like he didn’t even realized he’d done it. He seemed surprised with her reaction. “Really?”

            “Yes. As long as once I get you back here, I get my crown back,” she assured.

            “I promise,” Adrien said. “And when I make a promise, I never break it. Ever.”

            Adrien once again stared her down, and she had to suppress the shudder that threatened to roll down her spine. She was really going to regret this, wasn’t she?

            Ladybug swallowed and cleared her throat. “Okay,” she breathed.

            The happy grin that broke across Adrien’s face made her own face feel warm.

Chapter Text

            “You comin’ blondie?” Ladybug shouted up at Adrien as she somehow descended from the tower all on her own.

            Adrien gazed down at her as she dug her fingers into tiny crevices he hadn’t noticed were there. He wondered if his père knew they existed but had forced him to use his ability anyway? Adrien shook his head dispelling the thought. As angry at his père as he was, he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions he had no proof of.

            Plagg brushed up against his leg as he shuffled his feet, toes bumping up against the balcony. Was he really ready to do this? Could he really leave? He’d secured the yo-yo around his waist with the string and prayed that it wouldn’t break in the fall.

            Plagg made a deep purring noise, nudging his nose against Adrien’s foot, as if urging him to get a move on. Adrien jumped up onto the balcony in a crouch. He looked down at Plagg and reached out an arm to grab him and set him up on his shoulders. “I’m gonna do it,” he told his pet, and Plagg smacked him in the face with his tail.

            “Any day now!”

            Ladybug seemed to be struggling to keep her grip on the tower and had spoken the words through gritted teeth. She seemed irritated still about the whole “tied to a chair” bit, and Adrien didn’t really feel like pushing her limits.

            Adrien steadied his body, curling in on himself. He took a deep breath. Plagg’s claws dug into his shirt, but the thick leather of the vest stopped the points form biting into Adrien’s skin. The cat was bracing for the landing, and Adrien was glad for his cat’s smarts.

            Humming his tune to himself, Adrien felt his body thrum, and a tingling built up underneath his skin. The feeling was odd, but a familiar one, and one that he embraced as he pushed himself off of the ledge and pounced towards the ground, spinning midair, and landing on his toes, arms outstretched to balance his weight.

            He fell forward slightly from the sudden momentum of the jump, and his fingers hit ground. Dirt. Grass. Adrien’s eyes widened as he trailed his fingers over the blades of grass, unaware of Ladybug right behind him whose jaw was open slightly, eyes wide, impressed.

            Plagg tumbled off of Adrien’s shoulders and hit the ground, rolling in the grass and purring happily. Adrien felt laughter bubble up out of him as his fingernails dug into the dirt. He flexed his toes, and squishy mud squelched underneath them, and he giggled at the cold feel of it.

            Adrien pulled himself down to the ground, and much like Plagg had, rolled himself over in the grass so that he was staring up at the pale blue sky, dotted with few thin clouds. The world looked so much bigger from this view. He watched a bird fly overhead, felt a spider crawl over his foot, and listened to the sound of nearby rushing water. He forced himself up from the ground and ran for the noise, and once he found the small ravine a few meters to the left, he jumped into it, letting his feet sink into the tiny river. The bottoms of his pant legs became slightly soaked, but Adrien didn’t care one bit.

            He took a deep breath in, breathing in the fresh summer air. He felt his whole body come alive as the air filled his lungs, as if he’d never breathed before that moment.

            Plagg was off to his left, chasing a pale white butterfly, batting at it with his paws.

            His toes began to freeze in the chilly water, so he jumped out of the stream and into a patch of sunlight where the droplets of water shined and he watched them trickle down his ankles, over the arch of his foot, and into the grass below where the ground greedily sucked it up.

            “I’m free,” Adrien breathed.

            He laughed, loud and happy, and Plagg tromped over to him. Adrien rubbed his hands over his sun-pinked cheeks, trying to convince himself that this wasn’t a dream, that he’d left his tower.

            “Oh, Papa would be so furious,” Adrien thought aloud, giggling.

            Plagg blinked up at him. Adrien felt his legs fall from underneath him and he sat down, staring right back at his cat. “But that’s to be expected, right? He won’t know, and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

            Adrien felt a breeze brush past, and he froze at the sudden chill in his bones. “If he knew… oh gods, this would kill him.” His fingers dug into the ground, blades of grass uprooting from the force of his grip. “I can’t do this. I have to go back, I—” Adrien found himself cut off by a chorus of birds in a nearby tree, singing a happy tune, and he couldn’t help but smile as them as they took wing, a tiny family of three, and flew off towards the sun.

            “Oh who am I kidding?” Adrien continued, looking back over at Plagg who was still stating at him, unconcerned. “This is… the greatest day of my life. I’m never—” Adrien felt his heart seize in his chest. “No, no I have to go back, I can’t just—”

            He cut himself off again, feeling his breath caught in his throat. His left hand immediately grasped his right, and he rubbed his ring, an involuntary reach for support.

            A throat cleared behind him, and Adrien’s gaze fell on Ladybug. He’d forgotten about her for a minute, there.

            She walked up to him and crouched down next to him in the grass. “I can’t help but notice that you are feeling… a little undecided here, over this whole situation.”

            Adrien snorted, humorlessly. “You think?”

            Ladybug gave him a small smile. “Look, I understand your anxiety about this. I’m sensing some issues with your père, like he doesn’t let you leave, like ever?”

            Adrien nodded.

            Ladybug cleared her throat. “Right. Well, this is simply a case of teenage rebellion. That’s good, healthy even. We all need something to rebel against.”

            The green-eyed boy blinked up at her. “Really?” he asked, unsure.

            She chuckled softly. “Yeah, really. Now I’m all for this little adventure. But if you really don’t feel comfortable with it, if you really think it would make your père that angry, then maybe we should stop now before we go too far.”

            Adrien’s fingers curled around the yo-yo at his hip. He glanced around him, noting the trees and the beautiful nature of a nice summer day. He looked at Ladybug, a free woman, nothing at all like the scary people his père told him were all that was left of humanity.

            “No,” Adrien decided, finality in his voice. “I’m going to do this. I’m going to see the floating lights, and then—” Adrien halted his speech and snapped his mouth closed. He’d figure out that ‘then’ later. Right now, he had some lanterns to see.

*

            The trip was going to be a long and tiring one, but if it was the only way to keep his son’s curiosity at bay, then he would take it.

            Gabriel had not gotten very far from the tower, only half an hour’s walk, when there was a sudden rustle from the bushes and a tall mare burst out of the trees, startling Gabriel into tripping over a boulder and almost falling on his back. He was able to balance himself against a tree trunk and catch his breath as the horse seemed to decide he wasn’t a threat.

            Gabriel’s eyes flickered over the plate that was strapped to the horse’s chest, and noticed the familiar Agreste family crest adorning it, the name ‘Tikki' curved around it in gold-embossed letters. He relaxed minutely. “Just a palace horse,” he mumbled to himself. Then he froze.

            Gabriel’s head snapped up to look at the single horse. “Where’s your rider?” he asked, eyes wide. The he ran, back into the trees, forcing his legs to carry him faster back to the tower. 

            He arrived back within half the time it took him to get to his starting location. The grounds seemed undisturbed, but there was an odd silence to the air, one Gabriel did not appreciate.

            “Adrien!” he shouted up at the open balcony. He listened for some movement, a voice calling back at him, but nothing. “Adrien?” he shouted again. Perhaps his son was sleeping.

            But something in him told him otherwise. He searched the wall frantically for the finger holds he’d crafted all those years ago, before Adrien had discovered his ability, and began pulling himself up the stone walls, breath puffing out from all of the energy he was using. He finally reached the lip of the balcony, and he threw himself over the edge and rolled into the room. Getting to his feet quickly, he surveyed the dark room. There were no lit candles, and all of the windows were shut.

            He quickly threw them all open to let in light, shouting, “Adrien?!” as he did, hoping with the last shred of hope that he had that somewhere in that tower, his son was still there.

            But as soon as the last centimeter of the room was illuminated, it was clear as day. Adrien was gone.

            Gabriel’s chest heaved, and he tugged at his hair, eyes darting about the room in a crazed frenzy, looking for some explanation, something that would help him find—

            A glint of light from the stairs caught his eye, and Gabriel winced at its sudden brightness. He blinked the spots away from his vision as he slowly crept over to the steps. Underneath the wonky broken step, something reflective was hiding.

            Gabriel dug his nails under the wooden plank and pulled, splintering the step as he tugged it away from its holdings. Sitting innocently inside of the hollow step was some sort of large metal circle wrapped in a piece of parchment. Gabriel reached for it to bring it into the light, but when he realized what he was holding, he cast it away in horror. It was his son’s circlet, the one he’d watched become crafted the day after the queen’s pregnancy was announced. The day before he was cast out of Paris.

            The parchment was still in his hands, and Gabriel smoothed out the creased edges and flipped it around. It was a wanted ad for some woman who called herself Ladybug. The artistic rendering of the woman wasn’t all that detailed, but it showcased the spots on her outfit and it even seemed as though there was a spark of something in her eye—something Gabriel found familiar.

            His lips twisted up into a smirk when he realized what that something was. Magic luck, it seemed, had once again returned to Paris.

            Well, Gabriel thought as he chuckled darkly to himself. He reached for the circlet and thumbed the green gem. This was going to be very fun indeed.

*

            “How much farther is this place?” Adrien asked for the second time.

            Ladybug sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Not too far. Be patient.”

            “But I’m hungry, and so is Plagg.” The cat in the boy’s arms meowed in agreement. Ladybug did her best not to find that cute.

            So she sighed again and rolled her eyes. “Well then, perhaps you should have eaten a snack before you decided to run away from home,” she teased as she navigated around a fallen tree limb on the foot-made path.

            A thump sounded behind her a moment later, and at an angry cat hiss she turned to find Adrien on the forest floor, having not seen the limb and tripped over it. Ladybug swallowed her laughter and helped him up. He latched onto her outstretched arm and pushed himself back up onto his feet.

            He cleared his throat; his cheeks were pink from embarrassment. “Sorry,” he murmured. “You just… I was thinking, is all.”

            Ladybug was tempted to ask for further elaboration on his thoughts, but in the distance he caught sight of a familiar rooftop, and she quickened her pace.

            “We’re almost there,” she promised him, dropping his hand from hers. The feeling left a tingling in its wake, but she wiped it away on her skirt-clad lag. This was not the time to be feeling tingling, body.

            A sign proclaiming Le Grande Paris was just down the road creaked in the breeze, and Ladybug caught Adrien’s eyes scanning the worn-down sign.

            “Yeah, it’s not… the nicest place in the kingdom,” Ladybug admitted as they crossed over a small bridge. She spotted a few colorful fish swimming in the stream below, and she smiled slightly at the image. “It’s a hotel and eatery, though both parts of it are small.”

            “Then why call it ‘great’?” Adrien inquired, head tilted to the side in curiosity. His bright green eyes reminded her of the cat’s. In fact, lots of aspects of him reminded her of a black cat.

            “Because, Chat Noir,” she rolled the name across her tongue, liking the way it sounded. She didn’t notice how Adrien faltered in his steps behind her. “why not? There isn’t much of anything grand for us commoners of the kingdom. This,” she swept her arm out, showcasing the run-down tall but skinny building in front of them, “is our great.”

            The was a strange look on Adrien’s face, but it passed after a short moment, and Ladybug didn’t dwell on it for long. He masked it with a smile, one that convinced her he was fine enough with the place to continue on.

            From outside, the pair and cat could hear idle chatter and merriment tricking through the eatery’s doors. As soon as Ladybug pushed open the doors and declared, “Garçon, your finest table, please!” the room went silent.

            Adrien seemed to be paralyzed with fear in the entrance, yo-yo clutched tightly in his fist like he was going to use it as a weapon.

            Ladybug blinked. Actually, had he used it as a weapon?

            There was no time to think over the finer details. Suddenly the place erupted with noise once again. Ladybug recognized a few people scattered about from around Paris. Alix and Kim were sitting with Max near the far corner. And lounging on the steps that lead up to the hotel part of Le Grande Paris was Ivan and Mylène as they chatted to Rose and Juleka.

            Sitting underneath the dim light of an oil lamp, sketching in a journal was Nathanaël, Ladybug realized with a start; a friend of hers from when she was very young. From when she was someone else. His hair looked even more orange now as an adult.

            A blur of red came towards her suddenly, blocking her view of the man, and Ladybug found herself cradling Alya in her arms.

            The girl was chattering happily in her ear. “Oh, Ladybug! I had thought the guard had gotten to you!”

            A light brown-skinned boy Ladybug hadn’t met before, but had seen around, came up behind Alya and cupped her shoulder gently pulling her away, allowing Ladybug to escape her embrace. “Alya, give the woman space to breathe,” he chastised lightly. He stuck out a hand towards her. “I’m Nino, this crazy girl’s fia—”

            “Friend!” Alya shouted, cheeks stained red. Nino arched an eyebrow at her, and she repeated quieter, “Friend. Nino.”

            Ladybug cleared her throat, biting back a laugh. “Right, Nino. Lovely to meet you.”

            “Um,” squeaked a voice form behind, and Ladybug turned back to Adrien who looked only a tiny bit more relaxed than before. “Ladybug, who are these people?”

            Ladybug felt her face heat up slightly, embarrassed that she’d ignored his presence. “Sorry,” she apologized. “This is Alya and Nino. Alya, Nino, this is Adrien. I’m taking him to see the festival tomorrow.”

            Alya’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, in the heart of Paris? Like the actual festival?” Ladybug nodded. “Why on earth would you do such a stupid thing?” Alya hissed, smacking her gently up the back of her head. “You will obviously be spotted and dragged to jail!”

            “What?” Adrien asked, voice slightly squeaky.

            Ladybug shot Alya a glare, and then turned a sweet smile on Adrien. “Nothing to worry about,” she assured him. She turned back to Alya. “I got it covered. I’ll just lose the corset and invert the skirt.”

            Alya still looked dubious but seemed content to drop the subject. For now, at least. Ladybug was grateful.

            “Excuse me,” someone said as they pushed past Ladybug and Adrien and out the door. They were moving so quickly that she couldn’t even tell if she recognized them or not.

            Adrien still seemed slightly dazed. Ladybug reached for his wrist and pulled him further into the eatery and pushed him down to sit at a table.

            “So,” Alya cooed as she and Nino straddled the bench across the table from them. She pushed a basket of potato skins towards Adrien who had been staring at them and licking his lips, and he began to greedily devour them. “Adrien.” Adrien’s head snapped up, and a skin fell from between his lips. Plagg jumped up into his lap and ate it. Ladybug crinkled her nose. She did not think that was going to bode well for the poor animal’s digestive system. “I’ve never seen you around before. Are you new?”

            Adrien swallowed his mouthful. “In Paris?” he asked.

            Alya nodded. Nino snaked an arm around her waist, and though the gesture was mostly hidden by the table, Ladybug didn’t miss it and smirked.

            “Sort of?” Adrien answered. “I’m from outside here. Paris. I’ve always been here.”

            Alya’s eyebrows became one with her hairline. “You mean you’ve lived right outside the kingdom for your entire life?”

            Adrien nodded, though the young man seemed to radiate shame.

            Ladybug jumped in, saying, “It’s a long story. But he’s out now, ready to start a new adventure.”

            Adrien gave her a smile in relief, and Ladybug maybe stared at his lips for a beat too long. She turned away abruptly, and blinked twice to erase her previous thoughts.

            “Ooh, an adventure,” Nino said. “Do tell, what are you hoping to happen, Adrien?”

            Adrien opened his mouth and then shut it. He stared off across the eatery, as if deep in thought for a moment, before stating with confidence, “I want to see the floating lanterns tomorrow night. It’s been my dream to see them ever since I was tall enough to look out my balcony. And now that I’ve left that tower, I finally can.”

            Plagg butted his face up against Adrien’s cheek and purred. Adrien smiled down at his pet.

            “Nice,” Nino responded simply. Adrien grinned up at him happily.

            “I wish I could attend the festival. But Maman is working all day, so I have to watch my sisters,” Alya grumbled. “So there goes that dream.”

            Adrien tsked, and the sincere look on his face took Ladybug by surprise. He actually looked like he cared about Alya. He’d met her five minutes ago! “Don’t give up on a dream like that. Maybe it won’t be possible to do everything this year, but I’m sure there’s something you can do with your sisters that will be fun for all of you!” Adrien encouraged. “And maybe next year your Maman,” he said the name like it was unfamiliar to him, “will be able to stay at home and you can go out and enjoy it.”

            Alya cooed at Adrien and reached across the table to ruffle his hair, splaying the blond locks all over the place. Ladybug chuckled at the bewildered look on Adrien’s face coupled with his new hairstyle. “Aren’t you a sweetie.”

            “I dream that someday I’ll be married to a beautiful woman,” Nino said on a sigh, one that got cut off halfway through when Alya elbowed him in the stomach. Ladybug winced sympathetically, but gave him a smile anyway.

            “And what about you, Ladybug?” Ladybug snapped her gaze back over to Alya who was smirking at her. “What’s your dream?”

            Ladybug huffed and shook her head, holding her hands out in front of her in a placating gesture. “Now, now Alya. You know me better than that.”

            Alya and Nino raised a single eyebrow, eerily in sync. It was obvious they weren’t giving up without a response.

            Ladybug sighed and slumped her shoulders slightly. “Alright. I guess my dream is to have enough money that I don’t have to rely on anything else but myself to get through life.”

            Alya seemed surprised, as did Adrien if going by his silence was any indication. Alya opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off when the front doors swung open, banging harshly against the wall, and Chloé Bourgeois stood in the threshold.

            Chloé stared directly at Ladybug with a smirk on her face. She pointed one sharp fingernail in her direction and shouted, “There she is! Ladybug is right there!”

            Ladybug cursed, snatched Adrien’s wrist, and snuck into the crowd of people who were all standing about, confused as to the interruption.

            Chloé stepped to the side and allowed three guards to enter, and Ladybug swallowed thickly at the sight of the royal crest on their chest badges.

            Adrien stared at Ladybug, terror obvious in his eyes. He was clutching Plagg tightly against his chest, and the cat was squirming and softly hissing in protest.

            “Psst!”

            Someone snagged Ladybug’s wrist, and she looked up to see Alya on the floor next to her, head nudging in the direction of the bar. Ladybug maneuvered herself and Adrien to duck behind the wooden structure just as heavy boots stomped over the ground where they had just been.

            “Find her! Turn this place upside-down if you have to!” someone shouted.

            “Ladybug,” Alya whispered. “You’ve always helped me. Now it’s time to return the favor.” She reached for a hidden latch on the floor that revealed a trap door that lead into some sort of an underground tunnel. “Go,” she breathed.

            Ladybug thanked her with a nod and shoved Adrien down the hatch first before jumping down and joining him.

            The door closed above them a second after Ladybug ignited the single lantern hung on a hook right at the entrance, plunging the tunnel into almost darkness. Ladybug could see that Adrien was trembling slightly, though he appeared to be masking his anxiety with checking on Plagg and making sure the feline was doing okay.

            “That was really nice, what you said in there,” Ladybug said, voice quiet, to relieve some of the tension in the air. At Adrien’s confused look, she elaborated as she led them down the empty corridor, listening to the way her voice echoed off of the dirt walls, “To Alya. About her dream.”

            “Oh,” Adrien responded, smiling slightly. “It was nothing, really. Just the truth.”

            Ladybug hummed and said nothing else.

            A moment of quiet passed with Ladybug watching the way the light bounced off of the walls, listening to the patter of Plagg’s claws in contrast to Adrien’s light steps. Her own were punctuated with light fwaps of her sandals as they slapped back against her heel with each step.

            “So,” Adrien began, surprising her. “Ladybug. Where are you from?”

            Ladybug almost tripped over her own foot. “Oh, no,” she shut him down quickly. “This isn’t going to be one of those ‘life story’ moments. I don’t do those. However, your story,” she emphasized, “is very interesting.”

            Adrien ducked his head, almost bashfully, but his grin stayed full force.

            “Now, I know I’m not supposed to mention the ring—” she sang.

            Adrien smirked. “Nope.”

            “Or the Papa issues—”

            “Uh-uh.” Adrien was full-on grinning now, seemingly enjoying this line of conversation.

            “And I’m honestly not even sure I want to know about the cat—”

            “His name is Plagg,” Adrien cut in, a meow from the ground solidifying his statement.

            Ladybug exhaled heavily, amused. “Right. Plagg. So here’s a question: If you’ve wanted to see the lanterns now for years, as you said earlier, how come you never ventured out before?”

            Adrien halted his tracks, coming up short. Ladybug stopped as well, and turned back to look at him, curious.

            Adrien huffed out a laugh. “Uh, well. You see, it’s—”

            The ground began to shake. Plagg hissed at a rock that jumped up and hit him in the face, leaping into Adrien’s arms for protection. Adrien cradled the cat against his chest as he stared up at the ceiling where more rocks were beginning to drop. A rumbling noise was building from the passage where they’d just come from.

            “Uh, my lady?” Adrien asked, voice desperate.

            Ladybug’s eyes widened as she recognized the sounds of heavy footfalls. Light began to ignite the tunnel behind them, and she bit back a swear. She snatched a hand out, grabbing a hold of Adrien’s arm, and pulled him along as she bolted further down the tunnel. She hoped that at some point there would be an alcove they could hide in, or an obvious end that they could escape out of. But the stampede of guards was gaining on them, and her hopes were dwindling with every second that passed.

            “Ladybug!” an angry shout came from behind, and she picked up the pace.

            “Quickly, quickly,” she hissed at Adrien whose arm she had to drop so that he could better carry Plagg who was thankfully no longer fighting Adrien’s embrace.

            The man listened and was matching her stride a second later, and she had to compliment him for doing so in bare feet. Even with her sandals she could feel the ground pounding through them harshly.

            The tunnel widened slightly, and a light appeared in front of them as they turned a corner. They closer they got, the brighter the light shone, and Ladybug began to recognize her surroundings. The sound of rushing and trickling water reached her ears. They were at the dam, she figured out just as they reached the mouth of the tunnel. They must have been running through an old tunnel that was built for the workers so that they could get to and from the dam easily.

            The pair skidded to a stop suddenly as soon as they burst back out into the open, for just a few meters ahead of them was a large drop down a cliff side. Ladybug looked down at it, searching for any ladder or rope so that they could climb down, but there was nothing.

            They were out of time.

            The guards from the eatery spilled out a moment after they did, halting at the sight of the trapped pair. Ladybug recognized the horse the guy in the middle was riding; Tikki.

            “Who are they?” Adrien whisper-shouted at her.

            “Let’s just say they don’t like me,” she hissed back at him, assuming a fighting stance.

            Adrien groaned. He fisted something in his hand and snapped, “Here,” before shoving whatever it was into her stomach.

            Ladybug caught it reflexively and stared down at a wooden red yo-yo. She glanced back up at Adrien like he was crazy, but Adrien was no longer looking at her. His eyes were set on the cliff side, darting around as if he was charting a path.

            Plagg jumped up onto Adrien’s shoulders like the cat knew what was happening, tail curling around his neck protectively.

            Without so much as a ‘by your leave’, Adrien pounced himself over the cliff, freefalling. He twisted mid-air, reached out with a hand and grasped onto a rock that was jutting out of the cliff, using it to slow his momentum. From there, he braced himself off of the cliff’s wall and jumped again, landing on the ground far below, kicking up a dust cloud that obscured him almost completely.

            Ladybug was so shocked by the display she almost didn’t see the sword coming right at her face. With nothing but the yo-yo to counteract the strike, she ducked just in time and threw the toy at the sword. Surprising everyone including her, instead of cutting the string, the yo-yo wrapped around the blade of the sword. Ladybug pulled, and the weapon flew from the guard’s hands, skittered across the ground, and fell over the edge of the cliff. Ladybug whipped the yo-yo out again, and it hit the guard across the face, knocking him to the ground. He was out cold instantly.

            The other guard on foot snapped into motion right at that point, sword at the ready. But Ladybug had confidence on her side now, and with a little luck running through her veins, she disarmed the guard and knocked him out in a fashion similar to the first. Without thinking, she knocked the man off of Tikki’s back, wrapped the yo-yo around his body tightly, and swung him around in a circle before releasing it and watching the man fly back into the mouth of the tunnel. She heard rather than saw him hit the ground with a crunch.

            Ladybug grinned at the yo-yo as it retracted back into her hand. “Oh, Maman, I have got to get me one of these!”

            An angry whinny captured Ladybug’s attention and she looked up to see Tikki charging straight at her. She dodged, rolling out of the way, but then she came close to getting a hoof to the face. I’m fighting a horse! her mind screamed.

            “Ladybug! The yo-yo!” Adrien shouted form somewhere below.

            Dodging a clack of teeth, Ladybug looked over the edge of the cliff to where Adrien was standing. He was pointing up at something across the way. It was the structure that carried water from one place to the next, connected to the dam. If she could just—

            Ladybug flicked her wrist out over the cliff, yo-yo spinning through the air. It latched onto something, and she tugged, feeling it was hooked securely. She blessed her luck and jumped, barely dodging Tikki’s hooves as they clacked down on the ground where she had been seconds before. She clung to the string tightly, whispering pleas that it would hold as she swung over the gap.

            The only problem with her plan was that there was nowhere for her to land once she got across. So she ended up smacking face-first into the structure and hanging limply from the string. She wasn’t too far from the ground, but she didn’t want to abandon the surprisingly amazing weapon. So she forced her arms to tug on the string. Wood splintered, shattered, and finally broke apart and the yo-yo and herself went crashing down to the ground below her.

            The breath was knocked out of her lungs as her back hit the hard ground. But Adrien was at her side a second later, saying, “We’ve got to go, we’ve got to go,” and pulling her up from the ground. She shoved the yo-yo into her hipbag and clasped it securely shut, not wanting to lose the thing.

            It took her a moment to realize why he was so insistent they move now. When she’d freed the yo-yo from the structure, the integrity of it failed, and it caused a ripple effect that spread all the way back to the wall of the dam, holding back all the water. The dam split right down the middle, and the valley was quickly flooding.

            As the two ran, Ladybug darted her gaze around, looking for a way out of the water. Off to the right she spotted a cave, and she shouted, “Over there!” and pointed at it.

            Adrien nodded at her, silent, and they both ran for it.

            The pressure of the water was tearing apart the rock structures in the valley. One aggressive flood shattered a tall rock pillar, and it came crashing down right in front of the cave, not a second after the pair had run into it.

            The cave wasn’t as deep as it had appeared to be, and now they were trapped inside. The water from the dam began to trickle in around the boulder in front of the entrance, and the small space began to rapidly fill with water.

            They scrambled to the tallest point of the cave, but by then the water was mid-calf. Ladybug could feel panic beginning to set in, and she feared that her luck would not hold out for this.

            “Try to displace some of the rocks,” she ordered Adrien who was half blind as Plagg scrambled atop his head, trying to get as far from the water as possible. But Adrien complied anyway.

            Ladybug looked down into the water, sucked in a breath and dove into the shallow pool, hoping that there was some weak spot that she could dig her nails into and displace some rocks, let the water escape. But to no avail. The water weighed all of the rocks down, and she just did more harm to herself by trying to lift them.

            When she could no longer hold her breath, she sprung out of the water, gasping for air. Adrien looked at her in concern, silently voicing hopes. But she shook her head.

            “It’s no use, it’s—Adrien!”

            Before she could do anything, Adrien had shoved Plagg into her arms and dove into the water that was now up to her chest. She reached down and snagged Adrien’s arm before he went too far and pulled him back up. The boy sputtered, choking up water.

            “It’s no use!” She shouted in his face, giving him back his stupid cat. “It’s pitch black down there, I can’t see a thing.”

            Adrien sucked in a breath, then another. The two stared at each other, chests heaving. The water level continued to rise, unrelenting.

            Adrien averted his eyes. “This is all my fault,” he whimpered. “Papa was right; I never should have done this.” He sniffled, wiping a wet hand across his wet face.

            Ladybug watched him as Plagg tried to gain his attention and failed, choosing to cuddle against his neck for support. Plagg looked over at her, like he expecting her to do something.

            Ladybug released a shaky breath. She was really going to die here, wasn’t she?

            “I’m so…” Adrien stuttered over his words, the fact that he was holding back tears evident in his voice. “I’m so sorry, Ladybug.”

            Ladybug looked up at him, surprised that he thought this was all on him. But she couldn’t find it in her to voice that, because she felt like all the blame lied with her. After all it was her the guard was chasing after. If she hadn’t been there—

            “Marinette.”

            A sniffle, then a soft, “What?”

            Ladybug gave him a wobbly smile. “My real name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She ran a hand over her face. The water was up to her shoulders now. “Someone may as well know.”

            Adrien laughed once, sharply, but there was a real smile underneath the harsh noise. Self-deprecating, almost. “I have a magic ring that allows me to destroy whatever I touch when I sing.”

            Ladybug blinked. “What?”

            Adrien’s eyes widened, as if he just registered what he’d said. “I have a magic ring…” he repeated slowly, “That allows me to destroy whatever I touch when I sing!”

            Something lit up in Adrien’s eyes, but Ladybug couldn’t pay attention to it as the water had risen up to her chin and was about to swallow them completely.

            Vaguely, she could hear Adrien begin to sing. “C'est moi Chat Noir, toujours present—Cataclysme—”

            The water rose over the heads, and Ladybug sucked in as large of a breath as she could handle before she was forced under.

            Nothing happened for a second. Then, a bright green light attracted her attention, and she realized that she could see Adrien’s eyes underwater. They were glowing an eerie green, sclera and all. He waved a hand in front of his face before he swept it and smacked it into the wall of stones next to them.

            A brilliant flash of green light exploded in the cave, and Ladybug released a few bubbles of air in shock. The structure around them started to fall apart, and then she was falling, water pulling and pushing her along. The green light had ceased, but she could feel Adrien’s presence near.

            She felt cool breeze whip at her cheeks and limbs, and she greedily sucked in air as she was thrown from the cave’s new opening into the river below.

            Ladybug reached out and grabbed hold of Adrien’s hand as he floated next to her. With her other hand she snagged onto a root that stuck out into the stream and pulled them ashore with all of the energy she had left in her body. She collapsed onto the ground as soon as they were both out of the river, choking up the water that had been forced into her lungs.

            Plagg, seeming fine after everything, trotted onto the riverbank, shaking water from his fur as he walked. The cat gave her an unimpressed look.

            “We’re alive,” Adrien panted from beside her.

            “His eyes glow,” Ladybug blurted to the cat who just blinked slowly at her.

            Adrien chuckled as he hoisted himself to his feet. “Marinette—”

            “I didn’t see that coming,” she stuttered, releasing the ribbons from her hair and letting the soaked strands fall over her shoulders and back.

            “Marinette.”

            “He can destroy stuff with his hand. It actually does that.”

            “Marinette.”

            Plagg said nothing as Ladybug interrogated him. “Why do his eyes glow?!”

            “Marinette!”

            Ladybug snapped her head up to look at Adrien at his shout. “What?!’

            He laughed, eyes crinkling at the edges with mirth, head thrown back slightly. “They don’t just glow,” he murmured.

            Ladybug shared a look with Plagg, and she swore that cat was smirking at her.

*

            Chloé Bourgeois grumbled to herself as she tromped away from Le Grande Paris. “Who does that Ladybug even think she is, coming back here, after what she’s done…”

            Le Grande Paris had erupted into a chaos as soon as the guards found the trap door. A horse, of all things, had sniffed around and found it behind the bar. The three guard and the horse (somehow that giant animal wedged itself through the door, Chloé still had no idea how) all went after Ladybug and her blond companion. The man’s hair was the only thing Chloé could see before he was whisked away.

            A low murmur grew as soon as the trap door was once again closed securely, everyone whispering amongst themselves about how they hoped Ladybug would get away. The thought! That woman was a criminal, one that Chloé would not stand to see anywhere but in a jail cell.

            Chloé scoffed and kicked a twig off of the path and watched it disappear into the tall grass off to the left. “I bet she already sold the circlet. How dare she!”

            “Or…”

            Chloé’s head snapped up. Standing in front of her on the path was a masked man, tall, grey robes swallowing any other distinctive features. She stared at him. There hadn’t been anyone else on the path a second before. Had there?

            “Or,” the man repeated, pulling out something from within his robes, “You could stop talking to yourself and look and see what is right in front of you.”

            Chloé opened her mouth to retort, but the snappish words were cut off before they ever escaped when she took in a sharp breath. Dangling from the man’s fingers was the prince’s circlet, golden leaves and green stone and all, as if had never been stolen.

            Chloé reached for it, but the man dodged, circling around her teasingly. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

            “I’ll have the guard here in seconds if you even try—”

            “Now there’s no need to be hasty,” the man cut her off, voice smooth. He twirled the crown around in his hands once and then carelessly tossed it at her. She had to fumble to catch it, but she was able to secure it in her hands before it hit the dusty ground.

            Chloé grinned triumphantly down at the gold in her hands before looking back up at the man suspiciously. “What’s the catch here?” He couldn’t just hand her the crown and allow her the recognition for returning it safely. There had to be some other motive.

            “No catch. If it’s that thing you want, you can have it. Of course, I could have offered you the chance of a lifetime, riches galore, royalty status…” The man looked off in the distance. A smirk tilted at his lips. “But if the crown is all you want, that’s fine.”

            Chloé hesitated. “What’s… What about those other things? How could you get me those?”

            The man grinned at her, smile wide and teeth bright. “Easy. You trust me with the crown, for now. And when I’m finished, you’ll have your own crown. Because I can get you the prince to offer you marriage.”

            Chloé’s eyes widened. This man knew where the prince was. She thought about it. Her, as queen. Her père had been on the royal court for years, advising the queen. It was only natural for her to be betrothed to the crown prince. That was her rightful place, was it not?

            Chloé looked back at the man, fingered the circlet in her hand, then tossed it back at him. He caught it with ease. “Deal,” she told him with a grin. “Just tell me what to do—” she hesitated, not having a name for this mysterious man.

            The man chuffed. “Call me Papillon.”

*

            The darkness of night settled in faster than Adrien was prepared for. The sun had begun to set, painting the sky in pinks and purple, as he and Ladybug moved further into the trees that ran along the side of the river. Adrien, obviously, had no idea where they were, but Lady-Marinette seemed to be glancing around as if she was familiar to the place. By the time they had a small fire going, the stars were shining bright overhead.

            Adrien ignored his rumbling stomach. Marinette had handed him a few berries she’d snagged, but those didn’t do much to quell his hunger. Still, he didn’t want to complain.

            Marinette poked at the fire with a twig, almost absentmindedly. She hadn’t said much of all since they moved away from the river. Every once and a while she would look over at him, an unreadable expression on her face, before snapping her gaze to the ground and turning away.

            Adrien wondered if maybe she was scared of him. Adrien cupped his hand around his ringed finger and rubbed at the skin, massaging gentle circles into the knuckle as if working out an ache that he couldn’t feel.

            Plagg was gnawing on… something that he’d captured after disappearing into the trees for two minutes. Adrien kept his eyes far away from that image.

            “So… am I allowed to ask?”

            Adrien snapped his eyes up and he stared at Marinette, mouth open slightly in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to be the one to bring up the large elephant in the forest. He cleared his throat and nodded, giving her permission.

            Marinette looked down at her lap from where she sat in the grass, legs crossed one over the other. The only thing she was currently wearing was a white blouse that was thankfully long enough to cover her to maintain her dignity, or so she had mumbled to herself a few minutes ago after hanging her corset and skirt up to dry on a tree branch nearby. Adrien felt similarly bare, having stripped off his vest and unbuttoned his shirt. He chose to keep on his pants, however uncomfortable the soaked material was against his legs. He didn’t have the same body-confidence Marinette appeared to have.

            Marinette toyed with the lace hem of the blouse, not looking Adrien in the eye when she asked, “So how do your powers work exactly?”

            Adrien pursed his lips. “I’m not sure exactly. I’ve had them ever since I can remember. I know that it’s—The magic is a part of me, but I can’t get to it—” Adrien shook his head. “It might just be easier if I show you.”

            Adrien looked around and spotted a rock not far off. He reached out to grab it and tossed it back and forth between his hands. He caught Marinette’s eye as she slowly raised her head to watch. Adrien fluttered his eyes closed as he took a deep breath in. He settled the rock onto the palm of his right hand, and sung. He kept his eyes locked forward, right at Marinette, even when green took over his vision, igniting the details of the night, he did not break the connection. He watched Marinette’s chest twitch, as if she caught her breath.

            “C'est moi Chat Noir, toujours present. J'ai des pouvoirs superpuissants. Pour la victoire, j'en fais serment, je me bagarre, éperdument. Cataclysme.”

            Adrien could feel the rock dissolve in his grasp, the remnants of it slipping through the cracks of his fingers and spilling onto the ground and his lap. He didn’t look. He’d never liked to watch. He blinked, and the green faded from his vision, and the shadows of the night crept back over everything.

            “Wow,” Marinette breathed, seemingly at a loss for words. She looked at him in awe.

            It was Adrien’s turn for his breath to catch. Was she really not horrified by his ability?

            “You said you’ve been able to do this since you were young?” Marinette asked for clarification.

            Adrien shrugged and nodded. “Yeah. Papa said I was born with it… The ring; it’s the source of my ability…” Adrien dropped his eyes down to his lap and brushed away a few clumps of ashes that remained form the rock. He used his thumb to twist the silver ring on his fourth finger and watched as it slowly turned. “Papa said when I was a baby, someone tried to take it,” he continued, waving his ringed hand around. “But they couldn’t get it off, like it’s permanent. He—he said they tried to cut off my finger—” his breath hitched and he cupped his hand to his chest. “And that’s why Papa had to keep me safe.”

            Marinette tilted her head slightly, blinking at him with bright blue eyes. She was a very attentive listener.

            “A gift like this had to be protected,” Adrien quoted as he stared back at the woman next to him. “That’s why Papa never let me—That’s why I never—” He sighed.

            “You never left that tower,” Marinette finished his thought when Adrien could not.

            Adrien nodded, teeth nibbling over his bottom lip.

            “And you’re still going to go back?” she asked him, sounding slightly incredulous.

            Adrien hesitated. At first, his instinct was to shout, “Of course!” but then he stopped to think. “No,” he responded after a moment. But then he regretted speaking. “No, yes. Yes.” But that didn’t feel right either. Adrien groaned and buried his face in his hands and then scrubbed his fingers through his still damp hair. “I don’t know,” he finally said, eyes squeezed tightly closed.

            Fur brushed up against his leg, and Adrien looked down at Plagg who looked to have finished his meal and was rubbing his back against Adrien’s knee. Adrien snorted in amusement at the antics of his cat. When he glanced up, he could see Marinette watching them, a small smile on her face.

            “You don’t seem all that surprised,” he commented, changing the subject. “I believe you when you said you didn’t plan to find me. But even my père said he was shocked to know I was born with magic.”

            Something twinkled in Marinette’s eye and the corner of her lip tilted upwards. “You’re not the only one with a little magic in their system,” she admitted. Adrien’s eyebrows flew up in surprise. Marinette chuckled at his reaction. “But just a little, just enough…” she trailed off, eyes downcast, voice drifting like her mind was somewhere else.

            “That sounds like quite a story, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng,” Adrien prodded, scooting closer slightly.

            Marinette scoffed and brushed the comment away with her hand. “Not really.”

            Adrien cocked his head to the side and donned an innocent expression, widening his eyes a little in a way that he knew used to get Papa to cave when he was a child.

            Marinette sighed, though not harshly, and smiled back at him. “When I was a little girl,” she started, “my parents used to tell me that I had been blessed with good luck from the moment of my conception. They called me their ‘Little Ladybug’. I’d never really thought much of it, the luck. But when I was no more than six, there was a fire. My family used to run a bakery and—” Marinette had to stop to clear her throat.

            Adrien didn’t dare interrupt, not wanting her to stop.

            “There was an accident. I was the lucky one,” she hissed the word, “who escaped. What was left of the bakery and my family’s small fortune were passed to Maman’s uncle. He accepted the gifts, but not the orphaned child. So I stayed in a home for children like me.

            “My luck was good to me for a while. I was educated by one of my caretakers, I slept on the nicest mattress,” she flicked a finger at the side of her face, at her ear where a simple black earring was pinched, “I was able to keep Maman’s earrings. I got away with things easily, found I was good at sneaking extra food from the kitchen. And when it came time for me to be out on my own… I don’t know. I adopted a new name, reminiscent of the one my parents gave me, and started a new life banking on my luck.” Marinette chuckled, Adrien assumed, at herself. “I think my luck may be running out a little.”

            “No,” Adrien spoke, surprising himself. “No, I think it’s working perfectly well.”

            Marinette’s mouth dropped open a little, and a rosy tint built up on her cheeks. Adrien’s eyes fell to her lips and he wondered if they were soft or were chapped like his own often were. Her mouth dropped open further and moved, and it took Adrien a few seconds to understand that she was speaking to him.

            “—ould probably go… see if my skirt is dry,” Marinette voiced. Her cheeks looked even darker. She pushed off of the ground, and Adrien averted his eyes incase in the ascent her shirt uncovered something he wasn’t supposed to see.

            “Right,” he spoke on an exhale, more breath than words.

            Marinette huffed lightly, and Adrien risked a glance up to see her retreating into the trees.

            “By the way.” Adrien rose his voice to catch her attention. Once he had her eyes, he continued. “For the record, I like Marinette Dupain-Cheng just as much, maybe even a little bit more, than Ladybug.”

            Marinette dropped her gaze. “Well, you’d be one of few,” she said before looking back up at him with a warm smile, fond. “But, thanks.”

            As soon as she was out of sight, Adrien sighed and collapsed against the log at his back. He looked down at Plagg as the tired cat crawled over his legs and made them his bed. “I don’t even know, Plagg, I—”

            “Well, well, well…”

            Adrien shot to his feet, kicking Plagg off of him as he stood and flailed around, only to come face to face with his père.

            His père had his arms raised and was lowering the hood of his robe to uncover his entire face. When he looked back up, he stared Adrien down with cold blue eyes.

            “Papa,” Adrien choked out, arms crossing over his chest to make up for the lack of latched buttons. He suddenly felt very exposed under his père’s gaze.

            “I was beginning to wonder if she would ever leave,” his père said as he stepped closer. “Hello, chaton.”

            Adrien stuttered, stepping back for each step forward his père took. But eventually he had to stop otherwise he would smack straight into a boulder. With nowhere to go, his père came in close and wrapped his arms around him and squeezed in a mock of a hug.

            Adrien locked his arms straight at his sides, not wanting to give his père the satisfaction. He was still angry at him. He finally found some words and asked, “How did you find me?”

            His père pulled back and took Adrien’s right hand in his and caressed his thumb over the ring. “It was simple. I just listened to the sound of a broken promise and followed that.”

            Adrien felt something in him shatter. He slipped his hand from his père’s and sighed, “Papa—”

            Papa cut him off. “We’re going home,” he commanded. “Adrien. Now.”

            Adrien stepped to the side, trying to put some more distance between them. The outward appearance of his père, the relaxation of his face, the gentle touches of his hands, said nothing to the emotions in the man’s eyes. He was furious.

            “No, Papa, you don’t understand,” Adrien rebutted, taking a second step back. “I’ve had an incredible day. I’ve seen so much, learned so much, and—” he hesitated, feeling something flutter in his chest as he spoke, “And I met someone.”

            His père’s face hardened. “Yes, a wanted criminal. I’m so proud,” he sneered sarcastically. “Come on,” he repeated his demand, reaching out to snag Adrien’s wrist.

            But Adrien dodged, circling around while saying, “No, Papa, wait! I think…” Adrien fumbled over his words in the midst of an expression of fury steadily growing on his père’s face. “I think she likes me.”

            His père’s nostrils flared. “Like you?” he asked, as if he needed clarification. “Oh come on Adrien, be serious.”

            Adrien clenched his hands into fists. “I am, Papa! I—”

            “This is the exact reason why you never should have left,” his père interrupted. He reached out an arm and cupped Adrien’s shoulder gently. “Chaton, you’ve just imagined this romance,” he said, as if breaking bad news. “Why would she like you?” he asked rhetorically. “There’s nothing you can give her. Be smart for once, Adrien.” Adrien felt his spine straighten, and his père’s hand fell from his shoulder. “Come back home with your Papa—”

            “No!” Adrien gritted his teeth. His fisted hands tightened and he could feel the way his nails bit into his palms. This… this was too far. Papa wasn’t right about this; he didn’t know…

            “No?” his père asked with a scoff. He glanced back up at his son and his eyes scanned his body. The stiff posture, the hard set of his jaw, the fire in his eyes. “Oh,” his père hummed, façade slipping away easily. “Oh, I see how it is. Adrien knows best. He’s so mature now after one day on the outside.”

            Adrien back away, turning his back on his père. He wasn’t about to play this game with him. This was not a discussion, this was Adrien’s life, and he had the right to make his own decisions.

            “If you think you’re so sure about your ladylove then give her this!”

            Something hard hit him in the back, and Adrien doubled over, losing his breath for a moment. He whirled around, a shout on his lips, but it died when he saw what was at his feet. The crown. Marinette’s crown. “How—?”

            “That,” his père hissed, pointing at it, “is why she’s stuck around for this long. Give it to her and see if she stays.”

            Adrien snatched it from the ground and held it close to his chest. “I will!” he said defiantly. “And she will!”

            Adrien had never seen such an evil, malicious look on his père’s face before. It was chilling to the bone.

            “When she leaves in an instant, I won’t be here to say, “I told you so.”” His père tilted his head back and laughed, short and sharp. “But Adrien knows best, don’t you?”

            Between one wet-eyed blink and the next, his père was gone.

            Adrien released a shaky breath. Plagg mewed at his feet, but he paid no attention to the cat. He clutched the crown tightly and felt the ridges indent his palms.

            He flinched and stumbled when Marinette’s voice rose above the sound of his beating broken heart. She was saying something about their clothes, but Adrien was much too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay much attention.

            He made a split second decision and hid the crown underneath a nearby pile of leaves. Plagg helped out by choosing that as his new nesting grounds and plopping down on top, concealing it completely.

            “Adrien?”

            Adrien jumped and spun around to face Marinette, plastering on a large smile. “Sorry,” he apologized and waved a hand in the air. “Lost in my head, I guess.”

            Marinette gave him a small smile. “Been there,” she said with understanding. Her skirt was tied back around her waist, but flipped inversely so that the red and black ladybug print was mostly hidden inside, and the front was a dark gray.

            “So, clothes? Are they drying okay?” Adrien asked, valiantly trying to think of anything to steer the conversation in a direction that would stop him from remembering anything of the last few minutes.

            Marinette jumped onto this new line of questioning, complaining about how the material in corsets always took forever to dry, but his vest would be more than dry by the next day.

            Plagg yawned, tail flicking at something, and Adrien caught a glimpse of a green gem before it was safely tucked underneath a black tail.

            Marinette followed his gaze and smiled at Plagg. “He’s a good cat,” she complimented, and Adrien could do nothing but nod in agreement.

*

            Papillon had a tight grip on Chloé’s wrist, stopping her from approaching the two young adults by the fire. Her eyes were locked on the blond boy, raking in the appearance of the lost prince as he chatted with the thief.

            “Patience, child,” Papillon whispered to her. “All good things to those who wait.”

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.”

Chapter Text

            Alya expected she would be visited by someone this morning, whether it be Nino or Ladybug. She was not expecting, however, a palace horse.

            When she opened the door, she stared at the horse, and the horse stared back. Neither of them moved for a second.

            “Uh, hi?” Alya murmured and rubbed at her eyes, wondering if maybe she was still dreaming. She blinked, read the nameplate on the horse’s chest. “Tikki.”

            The horse nickered, as if pleased. Alya pressed her hip up against the door jamb and looked around the horse. “You got a rider hidden on you somewhere?” she asked, gaze darting around. But the entire street was empty. Which was odd enough.

            Normally there was at least some people passing at this time of the morning. Could everyone really be sleeping in so late because of the festival last night?

            Tikki made a noise, and Alya looked back at her. The horse trotted backwards and twitched her head up the street. Alya raised an eyebrow. The horse made the move again, and it took Alya another long moment for her to realize that the mare was pointing.

            “You want me to… follow you?” she asked.

            She was talking to a horse. Had she actually gone insane?

            Well, she had nothing else better to do this morning. Her mère was actually home for once, allowed to take a day off because of all the good work she did yesterday, so Alya didn’t need to watch her sisters.

            “I’m going out, be back soon!” Alya shouted into the house before closing the door securely behind her.

            Tikki looked smug.

            Alya threw an arm out and gestured to the street. “Well? Lead,” she ordered.

            The mare snapped to attention, obviously used to getting ordered around. The horse turned to the right, heading up the street.

            Alya followed for several streets, and there was an odd air of silence hanging over the streets of the poorer parts of Paris. Having been following the mare blindly, Alya almost an into her when Tikki stopped abruptly.

            “Alya!”

            It was Nino. He was bolting down the street at her. Tikki seemed content with standing right where she was, as if Nino was their intended target. Perhaps he was.

            “Nino, what’s wrong?” Alya asked, seeing the horrified look across his face.

            “It’s Ladybug,” the man panted. He rested his hands on his knees, folding in on himself as he tried to catch his breath. “The guard. They got her, I—”

            Alya’s eyes widened. “She—no she couldn’t have been!”

            Nino clutched at her shoulders and shook her gently. “She was. I was at the palace early this morning when I ran into a few of the guards who were talking. They apparently caught her last night. Alya, she had the crown on her. They had all the evidence they needed to send her right to the jail cells.”

            Tikki whinnied, and it sounded sad. Alya reached out a hand and ran it down the mare’s flank, trying to calm the both of them.

            “She must have known something was going to happen,” Alya breathed.

            “I know,” Nino said, reaching out to hug her. He ran a hand down her back, and she melted into his touch. “You told me about the visit when I saw you yesterday, remember?” Alya nodded, rubbing her face against his shoulder. “That’s why I’ve been running around. I swear I’ve canvased every inch of this kingdom. I can’t find Adrien anywhere.”

            Alya reeled back in shock. “I completely forgot about him!”

            “Alya, I don’t know what to do about him,” Nino worried, biting at his bottom lip. He twitched with his tall collar that always encased his neck, a nervous tic of his.

            Alya took a deep breath and looked at Tikki. Tikki, though obviously rider-less, was still saddled. A leather bag hung from each side of the brown saddle, and Alya noticed something peeking out of the bag closest to her, and she flicked open the flap and reached her hand in. She first pulled out a worn wooden red yo-yo, and the second item was a rolled-up red corset. Her breath hitched when she flattened it out, and recognized a very familiar pattern of black dots.

            “I’m not sure what we can do about Adrien,” Alya said. She looked up at Nino, a fierce determination burning in her eyes, “But I’ll be damned if we do nothing to help Ladybug.”

            Nino pulled her forward, hands cupping her cheeks, and kissed her passionately. When he pulled back from the kiss, he breathed against her lips, “Then we should probably get going.”

            Tikki neighed, smacking her hooves against the street, and Alya took that as a confirmation.

*

            Adrien sat numbly on the edge of his bed. Plagg settled onto the blankets next to him, a warm presence against his thigh. Despite the fact that his père was in the room, Plagg still stayed. Papa had still said nothing about the presence of the animal, and probably wouldn’t quite yet. Adrien assumed that by the end of the next week, he would be getting an earful about keeping secret pets. But not now, not while he was so fragile.

                        By the end of next week, Adrien thought. He would probably still be in the tower next week. And the week after, and the month after, and the year after. His père was never going to let him go now.

            His père was fixing the broken step, where Adrien had hidden the crown, nailing a fresh plank of wood down in its place. “There,” his père rumbled, sweeping a broad hand over the new step and smacking it with the flat of his palm. “Just like it never happened.”

            Adrien snorted lightly, rubbing Plagg’s ear between two of his fingers. The cat didn’t even try to bite at him, proving that cats could sense heightened emotions.

            “I’m going to start dinner now,” his père spoke, ignoring Adrien’s noise of derision. “I’ll be making hazelnut soup. Go wash up.”

            Adrien continued to stare at the ground. He kicked his bare feet back and forth. There was a blade of grass stuck to his left big toe and he wiggled it until it fell off, hitting the floor in silence.

            Papa sighed, and Adrien winced, waiting for the tongue lashing.

            “I really did try to warn you what was out there, Adrien.” Another sigh. Adrien still didn’t look up. “The world is selfish, dark, and cruel,” his père spat the words. “It melts down even the smallest scrap of metal for gains and destroys it.”

            Once Adrien could no longer hear the footsteps of his père as they padded down the stairs into the kitchen, only then did he glance up at the empty doorway, velvet blue curtain snapped closed, still rocking back and forth slightly from the impact of human touch.

            Adrien raised his hand from Plagg and stripped off his leather vest, slowly undoing the buttons. As he shrugged it off his shoulders, something green stuck to the front of his shirt. He plucked off the felt square and held it up to his face. The yellow paw print stared mockingly back at him.

            Adrien tried to throw the offending item across the room, but his fingers just wouldn’t let go. He slowly brought the material up to his nose and took a deep breath in. It smelled a lot like Paris. It smelled a little like Marinette.

            Adrien resisted the urge to cry like a child. Heartbreak, Papa had called it. Perhaps it would kill him and end his misery.

            Adrien sighed heavily and flopped back onto his bed, and Plagg crawled onto his stomach. Adrien clutched the flag to his heart, nails scraping over the material. Plagg flicked his tongue out, bathing his ring finger in spit.

            Adrien scrunched his face up in disgust, wiping his hand off on his sheets, uncaring. The motion made the ring on his finger twist, and Adrien looked down at it. Of course he’d messed with the ring before, twisting it around when he was anxious, but it had been a staple of his life for so long that it had been many years since he’d actually examined the thing.

            He brought the ring up close to his face, dug his nail into a small indent in the ring, and forced it to spin. It didn’t move very far, but Adrien repeated the action until the ring made a complete turn. He noticed that every so often, there was a little notch in the ring, most of them just a single indented line in the metal. But one, a notch that was probably usually tucked between fingers because Adrien never noticed the difference before, looked to be more shaped like a circle.

            Adrien squinted as he examined the ring further, trying to smooth out the image he was seeing. He ran his thumb over the circle, trying to get a feel for it, and that was when he saw it. It wasn’t just a circle. There were five; four very small arcing over the largest. The image was so miniscule, but Adrien was shocked he’d never looked hard enough at it before to recognize its true shape.

            He rubbed his thumb over it again, and began humming his tune, his song. He whispered the words under his breath, felt the magic bubbling right under his skin but not breaking out just yet. His eyes brightened and he looked at the ring again. A small green glow outlined the mark, and he finally saw it for what it really was.

            Adrien gasped, reeled back, and almost fell of off the bed with the force of his shock. Plagg screeched, flying off of Adrien’s chest and hit the floor on all fours, hissing at the unseen threat in the room.

            Adrien stared down at the flag in his left hand and then at the ring on his right.

            “Adrien? You alright?”

            Papa.

            No. It couldn’t be.

            But it was exact. There was no mistaking the paw print embedded onto his silver ring. The same ring that had been immortalized on the wall of the palace having been worn by the crown prince.

            The missing prince.

            His père was in the doorway now, curtain pushed back as he leaned in. “Adrien?”

            “I’m the lost prince,” Adrien breathed, eyes wide, locked on the felt in his hands.

            “What? Adrien I cannot hear you, you need to speak up.”

            “I,” Adrien shouted, standing up, spine ramrod straight as he stared his père down, “am the lost prince.” His père’s (pale blue, nothing like his) eyes widened a pinch, and Adrien clenched his jaw. “Aren’t I?!”

            The man in the doorway said nothing, just blinked at Adrien silently.

            “Was that too many words for you to understand? Did I ramble too much, Papa?” Adrien sneered. “Or should I even call you that?” he questioned, head cocked to the side in a sharp move.

            “Of course you’re my son!” Papa shouted, his eyes narrowing in anger. “I would never lie to you about that.”

            “But that’s not all I am. I am also the queen’s son. Gods,” Adrien shoved past his père and began racing down the stairs as he spoke. “I have been so blind, to everything. How did I not see it?” He laughed, humorlessly.

            “Everything I did was to protect you,” his père said, as if that excused his actions.

            “Ha!” Adrien cackled, whirling around to face the man. “You lie! You were only protecting yourself! I have spent my entire life hidden away from everyone else because of my powers, but I should have been hiding from you!”

            Adrien rushed at his père and shoved him into the wall. He was seconds away for summoning his cataclysme, and he could feel the magic building with the rushing of his heart.

            The man went down hard, body smacking against stone and hitting the floor just as suddenly. “Do you expect,” his père spat as he smacked a hand to the wall to help himself back up to his feet, “for your precious Ladybug to be waiting for you? Well she won’t be,” he promised, voice thick with distaste.

            Adrien sucked in a breath. “What did you do?” he growled, low and deep. His hands clenched into fists at his side.

            “Oh, I did nothing. She had what was coming. That criminal,” he spat, “is to be hanged for her crimes.”

            Adrien gasped, “No…”

            “Now, Adrien—”

            “No!” Adrien shouted, this time with more confidence. “You were wrong about the world and about me. And I will never,” Adrien punctuated the word with a step forward. He could feel his eyes burning, “let you use my powers again!”

            Adrien thrust his hand forward, feeling the black sparks of magic shooting out, and his père jumped out of the way just in time for Adrien’s hand to slam down on the wall where he was seconds ago. The wall began to crumble under his touch, rocks splitting with the force of his anger.

            His père was panting hard, eyes wild, as Adrien whirled to face him. The man cracked his neck, straightened his back, narrowed his eyes, and raised a hand to touch the stone pin he always wore on his lapel. “Fine.” His père’s voice was light. “You want me to be the bad guy?” He stalked forward, and an unearthly purple glow illuminated his hand over his chest. “Now I’m the bad guy.”

*

            Marinette remembered it all like it was a bad dream.

            She’d stepped into the woods, having spotted Chloé waiting for her on the shore, a green lantern alerting her of her presence. As soon as she saw Chloé she knew she had to return the crown. Chloé could get it to the palace, she could reap all the rewards. Marinette didn’t care about the pay-off anymore. There was a man she cared much more for now.

            But it had been an ambush. As soon as she stepped into the woods, a hand had snapped out and dragged her to the ground, then something heavy had hit her head, knocking her unconscious.

            She’d woken up slowly, head throbbing, the taste of dirt on her tongue. She had jolted, the force of something pushing her forward. Shouting arose around her though she couldn’t yet make out any words, and when she finally remembered what had happened it was too late. The guard was upon her. She had been tied up to the hull of a ship, hands intertwined on the steering wheel. Clutched in her fingers was the crown, a little dusty, but still in perfect shape.

            She’d been dragged from the ship, kicking and screaming. She shouted for Adrien, hoping that he could hear her from across the water. She shouted until her throat could bear no more abuse, and the guards had dragged her into the palace so that the only place where her voice would travel was the hallways where it just echoed back and slapped her in the face.

            They tossed her in a cell and slammed the bars closed behind her. Marinette cared not for her tear-streaked face as she collapsed in on herself, closed her eyes, and tried to formulate a plan.

            She hadn’t realized she’d started to think of herself as Marinette again.

            Now, several hours later, the sunlight of the morning was streaming into her cell, but she still had no clue as to how she was going to escape this one.

            Heavy footsteps echoed down the dungeon’s hall, and Marinette turned towards the door. Standing right outside were three guards, the same three who had chased her and Adrien through the tunnels back at Le Grande Paris.

            The man in the middle, the one in charge it seemed, showed no emotion on his face when he said, “It’s time to go,” with a jerk of his head to the left.

            “Go?” Marinette croaked, voice still sore from last night. Her mouth was dry. They hadn’t provided her with any food or drink.

            The man raised his eyebrows, as if expecting the answer to be obvious. His eyes flicked to the outside window in her cell that showed out into the courtyard of the jail, where prisoners were taken to—

            “Oh,” she breathed. “Okay.”

            Marinette didn’t struggle as the two guards tied her hands behind her back and led her out of the cell. Her time was up. There was no plan. It seemed her luck had finally died out.

            The group was silent as they walked down the hall, jail cells to her their right and left, none empty, a few solely occupied, some filled with several people.

            Marinette walked slowly, but just fast enough that the guard wouldn’t kick her into speeding up. She wondered why, though. Why suspend the inevitable?

            As they rounded a corner, Marinette looked up to spot a man and a woman together in a cell, both of them leaning against the bars. The man was rolling something around in his mouth—a stick. Resting on the floor next to the woman was a pale yellow parasol. She was probably allowed to keep it because it did not seem to be something that could be used as a weapon or a means of escape. Something clicked in Marinette’s mind when she spotted them, some detail that she’d forgotten.

            The man who had grabbed her in the forest had been chewing on a stick, and the object that had knocked her out had been a blur of yellow.

            Marinette clenched her jaw. Chloé was not locked up with them, but that didn’t surprise Marinette. Her père was one of the queen’s royal advisors in her court, she could probably get away with anything.

            Timing it correctly, as soon as they were fully into the corridor, Marinette forced all of her bodyweight to the left, running straight into the guard at her side. Before the one on the right could react, she did the same to him, before jumping, looping her tied arms from her back around to her front. She ran straight for the cell then, and grabbed fistfuls of the man’s shirt, slamming his face against the cold bars. The man gasped in pain and surprise.

            “Where is he?!” Marinette screamed. She felt arms pulling her back and away, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Where’s Adrien?! Tell me now!”

            The man stuttered, spitting the stick from his mouth before he choked on it. “I—it was Papillon! He told us where you’d be! Said his son—”

            The man was cut off when Marinette’s head slammed into the bars, and she winced. The guards must have called for backup. 

            “His son? Who—” Marinette’s eyes widened in understanding and she let herself be pulled away by the guards.

            Papillon, whoever that was, must be Adrien’s père, the one who kept him locked up.

            “He’s in trouble!” Marinette shouted staring desperately at the guards. “Wait, you have to help him!” she cried desperately as they continued to drag her down the hall, her pleas falling on deaf ears.

            Still, she continued to fight and shout even though her voice cracked over every other word. She needed someone to hear, to help. To do what she no longer could and save Adrien from a man who was supposed to protect him.

            A door slammed closed in front of them, and Marinette snapped her head up to look. The guards look baffled as well, the one in charge reaching for the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge when he pulled and pushed.

            “Hey, what is this?” he shouted banging a fist on the door. “Open up!”

            A door slammed behind them as well, capturing the attention of the guards that tightly held Marinette. Marinette had no idea what was going on, but—

            Something caught her eye. Innocently sitting on the windowsill was a single, old wooden red yo-yo.

            Marinette found herself grinning.

            The guard banged on the door again, but this time the sliding-window slid open and revealed a man with orange hair who stared at them, looking bored. “What’s the password?” Nathanaël asked.

            The guard looked baffled and Marinette tried not to laugh at them. Boy, was that man a sight for sore eyes. Nathanaël looked over at her and winked. “Password?” he asked again, glancing back at the guard.

            “What?! There is no password, open up!”

            “Wrong password,” Nathanaël sighed as he examined his nails.

            “You insolent little—”

            “Not even close,” Nathanaël teased, grinning widely, before slamming the window back closed. A flipped latch as heard as well.

            A burst of wind tingled up Marinette’s spine, and suddenly the guard on her left fell to the floor silently, and the one on the right followed. Eyes wide, she kept her gaze forward, hoping that she wasn’t next on the train to knocked-out-ville.

            “You have three seconds!” The guard shouted. “One, two…” the guard trailed off as he turned to check on Marinette, and Marinette smiled at him innocently when his eyes fell on the two unconscious guards at her feet. “Three?” he murmured, shocked.

            A red blur flew past her head and smacked the guard in the face, knocking him aside and into the wall. Marinette turned to see Ivan standing behind her, the yo-yo retracting back into his large hand.

            “Ivan!” Marinette cheered, hearing the door now behind her latch back open. She gestured to the toy in his hand. “Yo-yos! Who knew, right?”

            “We should go,” a voice whispered in hear ear, an insistent hand tugging on her bicep. Marinette turned to face Nathanaël and felt the tension leak out of her body at the look in his familiar aqua blue eyes.

            Just then, the back door broke open, chunks of wood flying in every direction as guards spilled into the corridor. Ivan stayed behind to fend off the guards as Nathanaël grabbed onto Marinette’s wrist and pulled her out the door and down a second hallway. They raced past full jail cells, slamming through unlatched doors, before finally spilling out in the courtyard where a parapet was set up. A dirt brown rope tied in a noose hung from a wooden plank, and Marinette whimpered at the sight.

            “Ladybug!”

            Marinette looked over towards the voice to see Alya running straight towards her, Nino not far behind.

            “Or should I call you Marinette?” Alya asked teasingly as she slowed to a stop at her side.

            “We’ll take it from here, Nathanaël,” Nino assured the man, pulling a knife from his pocket and cutting away the rope that bound Marinette’s wrists.

            Nathanaël nodded at him, before turning to Marinette and nodding at her, a small smile on his face, before he turned tail and ran back into the hall they’d just exited from.

            Shouts echoed all around them, and more guards began spilling down the steps towards them. Marinette looked to Alya, and thankfully the woman looked confident in her plan.

            “Follow us,” Alya ordered, and Marinette listened as she was led back out of the courtyard down another hallway. “Nino just cleared this hall, so we should have safe and easy passage straight out onto the Paris streets. Tikki will meet you there.”

            “Tikki?” Marinette asked as she ran, slightly out of breath.

            “Yes, that horse dragged me to Nino, who was the one who found out you’d been arrested. She’s waiting to take you away.”

            “Adrien,” Marinette suddenly remembered. “I have to go save Adrien!”

            “Well then what are you waiting for, girl!” Alya shouted as they spilled out of the castle and passed the palace walls. Sure enough, Tikki was right where Alya promised she would be. “Go save your man!”

            “Thank you both. Tell Nathanaël and Ivan as well,” Marinette panted as she slowed her run and mounted Tikki with ease.

            “We will,” Nino promised her, looping an arm around Alya’s waist.

            “Come on, Tikki,” Marinette whispered in the horse’s ear, kicking at the mare’s side and spurring her into a canter. “You’ll get a dozen cookies for this,” she promised.

            The wind whipped at her hair, and she felt the ribbons holding her bun together unlatch and catch on the breeze. Dark hair fell into her face, but she just jerked her head flipping it out of her eyes. She had a mission to attend to.

            Marinette lead Tikki into the woods, following the same path she remembered taking just two days ago when she was running, looking for safety, from Tikki.

            Was it really only two days ago? It felt like a lifetime and a half.

            The familiar hedge of vines came into view not soon enough, and Marinette spurred Tikki on, heading straight though them. Tikki didn’t even flinch as she sailed through the grass. And suddenly the tower stretched high into the sky in front of them. Tikki sped up at the sight of the building.
            Near the base of the tower, Marinette through herself off of the horse and ran the rest of the way until she was staring up at the empty balcony above. Everything was silent.

            “Adrien!” she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to allow her voice to carry, shattering the quiet.

            Silence met her call.

            “Adrien, help me up!” she shouted again.

            When still no answer came, she panicked and started searching for the finger holds she had found the last time. She was a meter up the tower when she heard a creak and looked up. A pale familiar hand stretched over the balcony and smacked into the stone below it. Suddenly the structure of the tower shifted, and stone foot and handholds pushed out of the wall. Marinette sighed with relief as she reached for the one closest to her and easily pulled herself up.

            A meter away from the balcony, Adrien’s hand suddenly disappeared, and Marinette had to scramble to make it up the tower in time before the handles disappeared.

            But she made it. She internally cheered as she climbed into the darkened room. “Adrien, thank the gods,” she said on a breath. She raised her head to take a look around, and froze when the first thing she saw was Adrien, bound and gagged, a chain latched onto his right wrist.

            White-hot pain laced through her gut, and Marinette fell to her knees with a gasp. The dagger was pulled from between her ribs, twisted as it came loose, and she could feel the sudden surge of warm blood pumping out of her body at a rapid rate. She gasped, trying to take in air, but she couldn’t get a breath.

            In front of her, Adrien screamed through the material in his mouth, and it was the last thing she could properly see before blackspots clouded her vision.

*

            Adrien struggled, trying to spit out the towel-gag his—no, not his Papa, his captor, had tied around his neck. He almost had it loose. He kept shaking his head and working his jaw, trying to undo the knot by putting too much strain on it.

            “Look what you’ve done, Adrien,” his captor said, watching as Marinette fell onto her side as she clutched at her steadily bleeding abdomen. He stepped over her without a care. “Don’t worry, chaton. Our secret will die with her.”

            He snatched the chain from the floor, forcing Adrien to his feet unless he wanted to have his arm pulled form its socket. He struggled on weak legs as he was pulled and prodded towards the balcony where he assumed he’d be forced to use his power again to get them safely out of there. He wasn’t even sure he would have enough energy to summon it. He cried even harder when he was forced to trip over Marinette’s legs and she curled in on herself and whined in pain.

            “We are going where no one will ever find you again,” the man promised, shoving Adrien to the floor underneath the balcony. He snatched his right wrist and pressed his palm hard against the stone outside, the same as he had done a moment before.

            Adrien didn’t give up, flailing his arms and trying to shove with his shoulders.

            “Really Adrien, you need to stop struggling,” his captor hissed, reaching for the gag around his mouth. As soon as he was released, Adrien snapped his teeth at his fingers.

            “No!” Adrien shouted. “I won’t stop. For every minute, ever second that you keep me captive, I will never stop fighting!” His breath came out in harsh pants. “But,” he offered, allowing his body to go limp, “If you let me try to save her, I will go willingly with you.”

            “No,” breathed a weak voice. “Adrien, don’t.”

            Adrien, for the first time, ignored Marinette’s wishes. “I promise, Papa,” Adrien whimpered, staring up at the man.

            The man stared him down, chest heaving. It felt like ages before he finally nodded, shortly, and released his grip on the chain holding Adrien’s right hand forward.

            Adrien took all the leeway he could get, launching himself over to Marinette and helping her to lay on her back.

            Blood, oh there was a lot of blood. Adrien felt sick, but he couldn’t allow himself to be weak. He had to stay strong for her. “Oh, Marinette,” he whimpered, cupping her face, brushing strands of hair away from her eyes. “I’m so sorry.” He reached for the towel gag and unwrapped it, using it to put pressure on the wound to try and stop the bleeding. “Everything is going to be alright now.”

            “No, Adrien,” Marinette mumbled. Her eyes were only half open, and her speech was slurred.

            “You have to trust me, okay?” Adrien pushed, pressing the cloth that was stained red against her abdomen. Her entire blouse would be ruined.

            That is, if she survived this.

            Adrien couldn’t afford to think negatively like that. “I—I think I can use my cataclysme to bind the wound. It will hurt, burning the skin, but I think I can—” Adrien hovered his right hand over the towel, chain clinking as he moved.

            “Wait, Adrien.” Marinette’s order stayed his hand, and he looked back up at her face.

            Marinette raised a hand slowly, wrapping it around Adrien’s wrist, and then trailed it down his hand.

            “I can’t let you do this,” she breathed harshly before coughing. Blood spilled over her lip, and Adrien brushed it away with his free hand.

            “And I can’t let you die,” he whimpered, trying to get her to understand, to realize how much she meant to him. “It’s going to be okay,” he repeated to her, forcing himself to believe his words. No matter the outcome, saving Marinette would never be the wrong choice.

            Adrien reached for the towel, raising it away and looking down at the wound. If he summoned his ability, he could do what he normally did on the tower: only half destroy. He could melt the skin around the wound, but also force it to bond together. It would look messy, and Marinette would be scarred forever, but she would live. He could—

            “Adrien.”

            Adrien met her eyes. Her fingers continued to twitch over his right hand, and they finally stilled after they curled around the ring on his fourth finger. “Adrien,” she repeated, eyes shining with tears. “No.”

            Somehow, Adrien had no idea how, Marinette slipped the ring off of his finger, and allowed it to tumble onto her own. Adrien felt the magic bubbling up inside of him disappear, and he recoiled in shock at the emptiness he felt inside.

            The ring settled on her middle finger, and she squeezed the hand in a fist so that it had full skin contact. Her chest heaved, and she gasped, eyes flying open and burning an intense green.

            “No!”

            Adrien watched his captor stumble from the shadows where he’d given them some “privacy”, tripping forward towards them. Adrien was in too much shock to do anything to stop him.

            But Plagg was not.

            The cat came bursting out from underneath the bed where he must have been hiding all this time and snapped at the man’s legs, scratching and clawing, forcing him to tumble back. The man reached a hand out behind him to settle on the wall as he kicked his leg out, to fight back, but there was no wall for him to find support. Only an open balcony.

            Like he was watching it in slow motion, Adrien’s eyes followed the man whom he once called Papa stumble over the edge of the balcony and fall, shouting as he went.

            Adrien stumbled over himself to look over the balcony, and looked down on the broken figure of a man. In the grass next to him sat a blue stone, shattered, a purple essence leaking out and getting sucked up by the wind.

            A wet cough brought Adrien back to himself, and he turned back to Marinette, all other thoughts escaping his mind with ease.

            The woman was still breathing, but the blood had not stopped flowing. In fact, it seemed to have sped up, leaking a pool around them, soaking into the grout between the tiles. Adrien cupped her face, and begged, “Marinette, please look at me, please!”

            A second cough, but then her eyes fluttered open, still burning that intense green. Adrien swiped a thumb underneath her eye and a sob ripped out of his chest.

            “Look at me,” he demanded, cradling her head in his lap. “I’m right here, stay with me!” He placed his right hand over her wound and brokenly began to sing, “C'est moi Chat Noir… t—toujours pre—sent… J'ai des pouv—voirs superpuis—sants...” His voice crack over a cry.

            “Adrien,” Marinette sobbed, hand circling around his wrist.

            Adrien clenched his eyes closed, not wanting to look into the stained green gaze of the woman he— “What?” he choked out.

            Marinette’s thumb brushed over his pulse point in a soothing motion, and he bit back another sob. “Please look at me,” she requested, voice faint.

            For her, he did. Her eyes were still green, but less violently so. The normal blue of her iris seemed to be breaking through the harsh poison that lingered over her sclera. He sucked in a breath, and she coughed.

            Marinette’s eyes fluttered closed, but she still found the strength to speak. “You were my new dream,” she breathed.

            Adrien sobbed, dropping his head so that it hovered over hers, foreheads almost pressed together. His fingers on his left hand tangled in the dark strands of her hair, holding on for dear life. “And you were mine,” he confessed, feeling his heart break for the thousandth time in a minute.

            Her chest heaved, blood tricked out of the corner of her mouth, and her breath in stuttered and didn’t finish.

            Adrien let his tears fall then as he clutched her broken body against his broken soul, cradling her like a child, rocking back and forth. Though the tune was stale and the magic dead, Adrien found himself singing the only song he knew, the only comfort in his life. “Pour la victoire, j'en fais serment, je me bagarre, éperdument. Cataclysme.”

            The air was still. Nature was silent. Marinette was both.

            Adrien’s tears soaked Marinette’s dry cheeks, and they rolled down, wetting her blood-stained, cracked lips. His right hand fell numb, fingers tingling in protest. They twitched but stuck to the fabric on her still abdomen, blood acting like glue as it dried. Separating it from the wound was a chore, but he eventually raised his hand and removed it from the area, and instead brought it around to cup Marinette’s neck, his thumb brushing against the pale skin there. He didn’t pay attention to the red that blanketed his skin.

            His heart must have been beating out a storm throughout his entire body, because it felt like he’d just felt a pulse underneath his finger.

            There it was again, this time stronger. A third one, and Adrien couldn’t deny the fact that the heart beat was not his.

            Glancing down at Marinette’s face, he sucked in a breath when he noticed a light green emanating from her cheeks where his tears had fallen, and under her eyelids. Her limp hand began to shake, fingers uncurling, and the too-large ring rattled off of her hand and onto the ground next to her. The hand went limp once again.

            The green glow under her eyes vanished in an instant. Adrien reached for her neck, looking for a pulse. He held his breath and waited, waited, until—

            There it was.

            “Chat Noir.” The name tumbled out of Marinette’s lips before a tongue peaked out as well, lapping at them. “Chat Noir,” she repeated, mouth barely parted.

            Adrien kept his entire body still, afraid he would stop the miracle happening by daring even to breathe.

            Suddenly, Marinette gasped, eyes flying open, and she sat up abruptly as she clutched at her side and let out an ungodly wail. But as Adrien listened, it didn’t sound to be one of pain, but of relief.

            The green magic essence had returned, this time leaking from her side. The tendrils of it raised up into the air, twisting in a dance. Soon, they were being intertwined with different magic, something red. The two colors, essences, both worked to close Marinette’s wound, stitching the skin back together in a way that Adrien nor any medical examiner never could.

            Marinette choked out a laugh as she stared down at her own body, the magic leaking out from between her fingers. Then her eyes met Adrien’s, and Adrien could have cried. They were back to their naturally beautiful deep blue.

            “Adrien,” she said, and her voice was like the most beautiful song he’d ever heard.

            “Marinette,” Adrien said back, for there was nothing else he could say. She was the only thing that mattered.

            Marinette dropped her eyes back down at her side. The magic seemed to have finished doing its job, and the light of it fizzled away, floating out of the open window on a breeze, red and green dancing together.

            “Did I ever tell you,” Marinette asked, looking away from the window and back at him, “that you are the most beautiful man I have ever seen?”

            Adrien felt a laugh burst out of him, and societies be damned, he threw himself at Marinette and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head against his neck. “Marinette,” he breathed, fingers settling on her neck and feeling out her pulse. “You too,” he responded.

            He felt Marinette shake with a laugh before she raised her head to look at him. She snagged a hand in his shirt collar and tugged him close, gently pressing her lips against his in a chaste kiss.

            Adrien melted, eyelids fluttering shut as he pressed himself against her, allowing himself to enjoy this moment with the woman he loved.

            “This feels like a dream,” he murmured against her lips.

            “It’s better than a dream,” Marinette said, like it was a promise. And Adrien believed her.

*

            The palace had been buzzing with gossip for the last day and a half, ever since the thief Ladybug had been caught and then promptly broken out of jail. She hadn’t been seen since, and neither had the ones who had helped her escape.

            But the queen was no longer interested. They had her son’s crown back, and that was what she felt was most important.

            The queen held the golden circlet in her hands now, thumb pressing down on the point of one of the leaves that seemed to burst out of the gem in the center.

            She was about to sit down in her chair when her door slammed open suddenly, causing her to almost loose her balance. She opened her mouth to berate whoever dared to enter her quarters without announcing themselves first, but the yell died on her lips when she saw the out of breath and shocked look on Bourgeois’ face.

            There could be only one thing that could surprise that man.

            The queen abandoned her quarters, racing past the man in shock, and running down the corridors. Guards immediately flanked her sides, pointing her in the right direction. Her steps slowed when she came to the two double doors that led out to the balcony, the same balcony she had stood on two nights ago to release a plea into the sky.

            It seemed her cry had finally been answered.

            The queen took a deep breath, crown still clutched in her hand. She held it between both hands, nodded at the guards, and watched as they opened the doors for her.

            A couple stood on the balcony, facing away from her. From the back, she could not see their faces, only long dark hair on a seemingly female figure, and shaggy blond hair on the taller of the two. They both turned to face her a second later, and her eyes fell on the man.

            He was, without question, her son.

            “Mon fils,” she said on a sigh, swiftly stepping close and cupping a hand around his cheek. The man gave her a tired smile, but his eyes were alight with happiness. She dropped the hand and reached for his right hand, and raised it to her eyes. Right where it had been eighteen years and two days ago, a silver band sat. His miraculous. Her eyes flickered back up to meet his.

            “Hi, Maman.” His voice was deeper than she expected, but it was still a welcome sound.

            The queen felt her smile widen and she embraced her boy, pulling him close. He towered over her, but he hunched in a way that made her feel like she was carrying him.

            She broke the hug a little only to reach up and settle the circlet onto his head. It fell naturally, sized as if the crafter knew.

            A tinkle of laughter drew her attention, and the queen looked over at the woman who had accompanied her son. The woman froze under her scrutiny and bowed quickly, clumsily.

            The queen chuckled and beckoned her forward, other hand settled on her son’s shoulder. “And who is this?” she inquired.

            It was obvious how much respect her son had for this woman, going by the way his face fell slack when he looked at her, and fondness crinkled at the corners of his eyes. “This is Marinette, Maman.”

            “Adrien and I, we—” Marinette cut herself off, and a blush rose up her cheeks.

            A similar blush fell over her son.

            “Adrien,” the queen said, testing the name out. “Adrien,” she repeated. “Prince Adrien Agreste.”

            “Yes, Maman.” Adrien nodded. “It’s the name my—” he ducked his head.

            The queen narrowed her eyes. “Papillon,” she said with malcontent. “That is what he called himself.”

            “He’s been taken care of, I assure you,” Marinette spoke, and the queen noted the confidence in her stance and the fierce protectiveness she seemed to exude.

            The queen nodded at her, and Marinette nodded back, a silent conversation passing between them. That was a topic for another time.

            “My son has returned, Paris’ Prince is once again safe. We should celebrate, no?” the queen suggested, looking back at Adrien.

            He looked surprised, eyes wide. “Uh, okay,” he agreed, seemingly a little taken aback.

            “But first,” she assured him, “I want to get to know my son and his…” she hesitated, looking back and forth between the two young adults that stood in front of her. “… his Marinette,” she decided upon. Neither of them seemed to object.

*

            So, as you can safely assume, Paris became a little bit crazy after that.

            To make a long story short, yes. I did survive. Turns out, after a lengthy conversation with a man named Master Fu, he came to the conclusion that when I removed Adrien’s ring by, erm, the bond created by certain feelings that are personal, and put it on myself, the last of Papillon’s curse transferred over to me, and the one day that had been left on it was what actually killed me. I did not inherit any of the Chat Noir powers.

            This is because of the luck magic I already possess. And Adrien also had magic in him, since his père was who he was, even without the ring. So the good luck magic in me combined with the bad luck magic in Adrien that he transferred to me somehow (he hadn’t said, he doesn’t like to talk about that day) balanced me. When Papillon’s magic was no more, and the curse was complete, there was nothing holding the magic back from restoring the proper balance in the world. Thus, my life was given back to me.

            Of course, this knowledge is only known by myself, Adrien, Master Fu, and the queen. Even she doesn’t trust the members of her own court to be privy to it.

            What she did tell the people of Paris was that their prince was back, and she would be grooming him to take the throne when he felt he was ready. This spurred a party that lasted at least a week throughout the entirety of the kingdom.

            Dreams came true all over the place.

            Turns out, Nino and Alya had been saving up for a big wedding, something they both wanted, and the full-scale party gave them all the amenities they needed to have what they wanted, at no cost to them. They married in the palace, at Adrien’s insistence, and it was witnessed by the queen herself.

            So both of their dreams came true. Nino married a beautiful woman, and Alya got to attend a party that was three times as exciting as the festival had been.

            Thanks to Tikki and Plagg, crime in the kingdom disappeared almost overnight. To no one’s surprise, the palace was also short some cookies and cheese the next morning as well.

            As for myself, well, ever since a certain someone who shall remain nameless was kicked out of the kingdom just under two decades ago, the palace had yet to settle on one specific family to continue being the royal tailor and seamstress, and well, I had recently become jobless. The stealing thing was never much of a job anyway. The queen was happy to have my expertise. I went back to ‘Marinette’ full time, though Adrien enjoys calling me ‘his ladybug’ from time to time. He usually quiets when I tease that Chat Noir back.

            At long last, Adrien found a place he could call home, with a real family. Beloved by all, he led his kingdom with wisdom and grace, like a good prince should. He was a prince worth waiting for, if I have any say.

            And I do.