#Oh my god I realized I didn’t draw the inside of Lila’s ear

[iguessihaveanaccountnowguys]

If I see a dead dog on the street, I'll make a face like this.

(pls click for higher quality T^T)

Reference!

(Credit: Danielcalmdown and Chiivee_) (go follow Chiivee_! He has rlly awesome art!)

[alexiessan]

Never alone - Chapter Six - Soulmate AU

AO3

Previous - Here - Next

Master List

I’ve been playing Animal Crossing New Horizons non stop ever since its release. I’m completely addicted to this game.

If you want to share your Switch code or Island code (is that how it’s called in english?) with me, PM me, I would be very happy to visit your islands! I still can’t modify my island though, and I plan to destroy everything to start from zero haha.

Anyway, with this game, I have to remind myself that I have a story to write, and here is chapter 6!

They didn’t stay as late this time, and Marinette was grateful for it. As much as she wanted to spend time with Robin, she wanted to catch a little bit of sleep, but also have a talk with Tikki.

The kwami would not be pleased that her secret was out.

The designer let out a sigh after she bid goodbye to Robin. She wasn’t in the mood for one of Tikki’s lecture about her secret identity, she had enough of those for a lifetime if she were to be honest.

But she would feel guilty if she didn’t tell the tiny god about this new development, so there was no delaying it.

Taking the purse where the kwami of luck was sleeping in, she locked herself inside the bathroom, careful to not make any noise that could wake Alya up.

“Tikki, wake up!” she yell-whispered.

Tikki stirred for a little bit, blinking at her holder.

“Marinette? You’re back from your outing with Robin?” she whispered in return.

“Yeah, but something happened.”

This woke the little god at once.

“Wha-”

“Ssssh! Not so loud, you’re going to wake Alya up!”

They both looked at the bathroom’s door, as if the reporter was going to appear before them.

“Tikki, you’re not going to be happy, but Robin, along with his teammates know my identity. And Chat’s too.”

Tikki froze.

“How the hell is that possible?”

The bluenette explained what Robin had told her earlier.

“Of course, technology…” Tikki sighed. “I hate technology. Magic has not mixed well with it ever since it was invented. But for it to work, they must have one hell of a software. It’s normally easy to fool facial recognition by hiding a little bit of your face, so they must have a really powerful software.”

The god of creation looked at Marinette directly in the eyes, smiling softly.

“I’m not mad at you. I know that I’ve always been lecturing you about your identity and your duty as Ladybug, but this is not your fault. It’s not ideal, but at least it’s your soulmate and not some random people… And maybe they could help with the situation with Hawkmoth!” she concluded, excited.

“About that, they did call the JLE but were rejected…”

“So it’s only down to the two of you then…”

Speaking of Chat Noir…

“Oh no… Tikki, how is Chat Noir going to take it? That someone knows my identity and that it’s not him!”

Tikki’s face became grim.

“Are you going to tell him? I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“He’s my partner, of course I have to tell him!”

Tikki sighed.

“Look, Marinette. Chat Noir has been doing better ever since you had this serious conversation with him. He takes his job seriously, he stopped flirting and joking… But he still loves you. I’m afraid that if you tell him, he will take it hard and go back to the way he was before…”

“I get what you’re saying, but I trust Chat. I don’t think it will happen. Anyway, I won’t see him for another two weeks, it will give me time to find a way to bring it up to him.”

Marinette fell silent.

“I will also have to tell him that I found my soulmate…”

Tikki smiled sadly.

“And he’s still convinced that the two of you are soulmates.”

The Eurasian girl sighed.

“We’ll cross that bridge later. We should go to bed for now, Tikki.”

The little god flew to her holder’s cheek, placing a small kiss there.

“I’m very proud of you, Marinette. I know you were scared about talking to me, but don’t forget that I am, and always will be, proud of you.”

The teenage girl smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Tikki. That means a lot.”

The rest of the week was incredible. Gotham, while not as bright as Paris was, was a beautiful city with a lot of History. They had a lot to visit and each location gave Marinette so much inspiration.

The class has been worried about going to the city with the highest crime rate in the world, but they have been lucky so far. One of the locations they have been visiting has been attacked, but they had left twenty minutes before that.

The class caught sight of several of the vigilantes, to everyone’s delight.

“I wish I could get an interview with them…” complained Alya one day.

Adrien laughed.

“I don’t think they are as accessible as Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“I’m still optimistic that I can get one by the end of the trip!”

“Keep dreaming, Alya.” winked Kim who has been hovering behind them.

Marinette smiled, watching her friends bickering. She didn’t feel Rose coming at her side.

“You’ve been oddly happy these days, Mari.”

The blonde looked at her, a knowing look and a slight smirk on her face.

The dark-haired girl smiled, holding her sketchbook up.

“Of course! Gotham has so many Victorian and Gothic buildings, it’s beautiful! It gave me many ideas for future designs!”

The knowing look and smirk disappeared to give way to a beaming smile.

“Really?! Can I see?”

Marinette handed her her sketchbook, relieved. She swore that Rose had a radar of some sort and could feel love from miles away.

Not that she was in love with Robin yet, but she had to admit that she did like him a bit and enjoyed spending time with him.

She couldn’t wait to see him tonight.

After days of telling him things about her and vice versa, they began talking about everything and nothing.

She didn’t remember how they got to talk about seemingly bad people changing for the better.

“I don’t think it’s possible.” said Robin.

“You think a bad person will always stay bad? That they won’t ever realize that what they’ve been doing was wrong?”

The vigilante nodded.

“Well, I don’t agree with you. I think people can change, it’s just that some of them need a push.”

He looked at her, waiting for her to develop her thought.

“For example, my classmate, Lila. When she was first transferred into our class, she was always lying. Telling people what they wanted to hear to make friends. Eventually, my class realized she was lying and she stopped. See? She was really mean, and she’s still a bit mean, but she changed!”

Robin scoffed.

“You’re really naive if you think that.”

The girl frowned.

“How so?” she asked, not offended by his rudeness.

“That girl didn’t stop lying because she realized that it was wrong. She stopped lying because it wasn’t interesting for her to do so anymore. She lost her public, your classmates knew to take everything she said with a grain of salt, so why keep lying? The day she will switch class or meet new people, she will start lying again.”

Alright, she could see his point, but it was a bit pessimistic in her opinion.

“You’re right. Maybe that’s the case. But maybe not. Even if I don’t like Lila, I want to the best in her, and I really hope that she changed.”

She nudged his arm with her shoulder, smiling at him.

“I’ll let you be the pessimistic one, but be prepared for my optimism!”

She took the sketchbook that laid beside her.

“Anyway! We got our last day of touring today before we all begin our internships tomorrow, and I got really inspired for an outfit. I would like your opinion.”

She handed him the sketchbook.

“You’re doing an internship at Wayne Enterprises, right? In what sector?” he asked as he took the sketchbook from her.

“Yeah… I’m doing it in business management. I want to have my own line one day, and for that, I have to start a business, and thus, know how to run one. I’ll be shadowing the co-CEO, Timothy Drake.” she smiled.

Robin choked. Tim didn’t say anything about that.

“The co-CEO, really?”

“Yeah, I know. I was really surprised too. It seems very unusual too.”

And it was. But Robin suspected that Bruce and Tim arranged it that way because Marinette was Ladybug and they wanted to keep an eye on her, make sure that she wasn’t overwhelmed with her duty as Ladybug and her life as a civilian.

Maybe the Agreste boy was shadowing Tim too, as he was Chat Noir. Then again, maybe not. Ladybug was the obvious leader, as much as they claimed they were a team of equals.

He would have to ask Tim about that and have a serious talk with him about not being weird with Marinette.

He got along very well with her as Robin and he didn’t want his brother to ruin it for Damian.

He opened the sketchbook, stunned by the designs.

“You’re very talented.” he said as he turned the pages.

“Oh, thank you.”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. She was blushing, looking at anything but him.

She was very modest or not used to compliments, he observed.

He arrived at the last page of drawings, where a very detailed sketch of a man outfit laid.

“I really like this outfit.” he pointed to her.

The fashion designer smiled.

“Actually, I was thinking of you for this outfit.”

Robin looked at her, surprised.

“If you don’t mind, before I go back to Paris, I would like to get your measurements. I would like to make it for you.”

A small smile appeared on his face. That would be nice.

“I will give you a safe address to send it, then. I’ll give you my measurements tomorrow. Thank you, Marinette.”

His soulmate beamed and he fought the blush that was making its way on his face. He hoped she wouldn’t see how red his ears were.

“You’re welcome!”

The smile quickly disappeared though, and she now looked nervous.

“Is something wrong?”

He decided that he didn’t like seeing her like this.

“There is also something that I wanted to ask you.”

He raised an eyebrow and she looked even more nervous. Damn, wrong move.

“You can ask me anything, you know.”

He hoped that it would calm her a little. He wanted her to be at ease with him, to not be scared of asking him anything.

“Ah, two things, actually. The first one is, I would like to introduce you to Tikki.”

He began to protest.

“Ah, no! Don’t worry. She’s not a classmate or anything. She’s not even human. She’s a being that gives me my powers as Ladybug, and since you know my identity, she would like to meet you. She’s been giving us time alone until now, but she still would like to meet one of the only people knowing about my identity. And probably give you a little lecture too, knowing her.”

Robin sighed, relieved. For a second he was scared that she told one of her friends about him. He should have known better.

“Alright then, I’ll meet her. What’s the other thing?”

Marinette’s nervousness came back as she wrung her fingers.

“It’s a bit more delicate… You see, I’ve been thinking about how I will go back to Paris at the end of next week and I don’t know when we’ll see each other again… So I was wondering if… If you had a secure phone number or mail address so we can keep contact…”

The vigilante smiled fondly. In a bold move, he ruffled her hair.

“There’s no need to be so nervous. I’ve been thinking about it and my phone is one of the most secure you can find, so I don’t worry about giving you my number. I’ve been meaning to give it to you by the end of your trip.”

He, Tim and Barbara had made sure that no one would ever be able to hack their phones.

The blue-eyed girl pouted, trying to style her hair back to the way before he messed it up.

She was cute, he thought fondly.

She smiled at him after processing what she said.

“Great, then! We’ll be able to call each other then! Will video calls be ok as well?”

He nodded. “As long as you send a text beforehand to make sure I’m in costume.”

“Oh, yes, of course!”

He watched as she looked at the horizon.

“I’ll be sad though. I’ll be back in Paris and you won’t be there.”

He could feel his cheeks warming.

“We’re not there yet. And we still have a good week in each other’s company.”

After seeing Marinette every day for two weeks, Robin knew it would be difficult to readjust to life without her.

It was as if she’s been in his life for far longer.

“Come on, it’s getting late. You’ve got your first day of internship tomorrow, you want to make a good impression, right? Looking like a zombie tomorrow will have the opposite effect.”

And he wanted to catch Tim tonight to have a talk about his behavior for tomorrow.

The French girl playfully hit his arm at his zombie comment, but still smiled at him.

He swore that one day he would go blind because of her smiles.

Tag list: 

@bigpicklebananatree​ @animegirlweeb​ @crazylittlemunchkin​ @northernbluetongue​ @cutechip​ @justafanwarrior​ @iloontjeboontje​ @resignedcatservant @maribat-is-lifeblood @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @toodaloo-kangaroo @mikantsume @dast218 @amayakans @zestyzealot

[kittysuicoffee]

make a wish

Adrien sat in his room eyes wide in horror, he didn't want to believe it or want to, but the truth was in his face a couple of minutes ago his father was hawkmoth... Hawkmoth the man who been terrorizing Paris, the man who been so hell bent on getting his and his lady miraculous this full him up with rage and sorrows. What could he do? He could tell ladybug but... That would put him in a position where his whole life would be ruined, and the Gabriel Agreste branded as he couldn’t risk that not for his ladybug. There must be another way out of this to save him and his father's reputation he was deep in thought when idea hit him "plagg." Adrien called out plagg flew to him concern written on his "yeah kid?"

"Is it true that with both the black cat and the ladybug miraculous can grant any wish?"

"Yes, and I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no!"

Adrien shot up and turn to his kwami looking desperate "please plagg! You have to help me I can't let my father reputation be ruined!"

"Well, who cares! Her father is a terrorist and he need to be stopped!"

"I care he's the only family I have left! I can't lose him who care if a terrorist he still my father!"

"What about the people he been akumatized by him! Your friends!" Plagg yelled back looking at Adrien he was upset with him. Why would he think of something like that? They're jobs was to save and protect the people of Paris and the make sure ladybug is safe. Not to protect the man that put fear into the people. Both plagg and Adrien looked at each other plagg was becoming increasingly worried about Adrien lack of response.

"They don't mean nothing to right now plagg. I need ladybug miraculous. So, I could stop my father from becoming this." Adrien said softly plagg jaw just drop when he heard that.

"Well, I could help!"

Adrien smiled at plagg.

"You will thank plagg you’re the best!"

"I-I didn't say that!"

Adrien let looked confused.

"Then who?"

"I did!"

Adrien and plagg cover their eyes when a blinding orange light come though Adrien's opened window after a moment, they uncovered them Adrien looked in shock while plagg looked in fear a bright orange creature was flowing in his room it was bigger than plagg it had on a lime green bowtie it has a long tail and at the end it had a small ball. It's has a big yellow star on the side of its head that was attached a big (intend) and its eyes on the right it was a star and the other one had that look like the infinity symbol, but the biggest thing was the its smile it was no originally smile it looked mischief.

"The name is star the wishing kwami." It said holding out his paw Adrien also noticed the small star on its upper arm.

"Umm well it's nice to meet you star." Adrien said holding out this finger so he could shake the kwami paw.

"Ad- Adrien." Plagg said fearfully Adrien turned to his kwami.

"what is it plagg?"

"Can I talk to you in private. Like in the bathroom."

Adrien was confused by plagg change in attitude but nodded both him and plagg want to the bathroom while star waited.

"What is it plagg?" Adrien asked as he closed the bathroom door. Plagg stay quiet for a while than spoke.

"Adrien you cannot make a wish to that thing."

"What. Why not?" Adrien asked confused.

"It's better for you not to know."

This make him even more confused.

"Plagg explain to me what going on. Why can't I ask star for help? What is he going to do if I do make the wish? Do you even know?"

"Wow that a lot of questions Adrien! But not to worry! Because I can answer them all!"

Star exclaimed who came out of nowhere pushing plagg away.

"Do you know what privately mean!?" Plagg yelled star (glares) at him but turn back to Adrien.

"Really?"

"Yes. Now for your first question and the last question. You can ask me for help, but it come with a price! And plagg doesn't really know."

"I do know!"

"Then tell him." Star said turning them to face his fellow kwami the look it gave plagg was unsetting plagg hesitated but spoke anyway.

"Adrien the thing about star is-" plagg words was cut off by a sharp pain he looked up at star who smile grew even wider plagg looked down at star's tail to see it was glowing. Then fear and realization hit him star was making sure he will never speak about them or what they do.

"Plagg?"

Plagg looked at Adrien who looked worried and confused than back at star who put his paw up to their face to tell him to be quiet plagg looked down.

"N-nothing." He said quietly.

"Nothing I don't know nothing about star."

Adrien looked at plagg upset.

" If you don't know anything about them. Why say anything plagg, you need to apologize to star."

Plagg signed he looked up at star.

"I-I’m sorry."

"Hmmm apologize accepted!"

Star exclaimed happily "now for your second question I said there is going to be a price for your wish. But I like you, so I give this one for free! But if you make another wish it's going to cost ya. Do you understand?"

Adrien nodded "what's the price if I make another wish?"

"Hmm I have to take something that is most dear to you." Star replied Adrien eyes widened at that, he didn't want to lose a loved one of the make another wish, so he better makes this one count.

"Okay star I'm ready. So how are we going to do this?"

Star smile grew even wider "here."

Adrien covered his eyes as a bright light came from star after the light had dim, he looked at them star had a bracelet it had a big yellow Star on it and under it have a green band "wear this." Star stated, " by wearing this you be able to make any wish well not any because this one is free."

Adrien nodded taking the star bracelet and putting it on "okay now what?"

Star's smile grew big "now say star bright and your wish."

"Okay. Star bright! I wish that my mother was with us again and that my father stop being hawkmoth!” star eyes grew wide their smile even wider they tug on there green tie “your wish is my command!” Adrien felt lightheaded his world started to spin than he pass out hitting the ground with a thud.

Star chuckled “now than.”

Plagg railed in horror as star head did a couple 180 "plagg my dear friend now that your dear holder made a wish you know own me…” “I don’t own you shit!” “oh, on the contrary my friend I own you and your holder life force now so you own me…” plagg coward away in fear “well my friend how are we going to do this?” plagg had to think of something quick with his life force in star’s hand he have no way of fighting back he would be star’s puppet forever his powers would be useless without him than a thought came to his head.

“wait Let’s make a trade!” plagg said quickly.

“a trade?” star asked in confusion plagg nodded “yes a trade! I am well to trade someone else life force for me and my holder in return of ours!” star’s eyes narrowed his smile never fainting “who…”

Lila sat in her room and was enrage her plan of getting rid of Marinette had almost work no thanks to Adrien just because their friends yeah right, the only reason she deal with him because he was her key to everything that she wanted.

“why the long face?” said a voice Lila jumped she looked around her room for the voice until she notices star bracelet on her desk, she walked up to it confused she don’t remember having this. Where did it come from? And where did that voice come from? She picks it up looking at it more closely it was just a bracelet with a big star on it there was nothing special about it, but it felt off like it had a heart beat to it… “like it I made all myself.” It said Lila screamed bloody murder as she dropped the bracelet, she turns to face to face with a small orange creature she screamed again falling on the floor.

“w-what are you!?” Lila yelled in fear the thing crosses it long arms and looked down on her “well first and foremost the name is star and I’m a kwami.” Lila blinked than looked confused “what’s a kwami?”

“we kwamis are god like creature that be around a million of years we live inside of wearable object like that bracelet you dropped!” star explained Lila looked down at the bracelet that was on the floor to her she pick it up and looked at it “so why are you here?”

“I’m here to granted you one wish!” Lila eyes went wide, and she shot up “I wish that all my lies are true!!” she exclaimed star’s smile fell “ha! you can’t be serious!” star laughed they wiped the tear from their eyes “I am worth more than making some lies true dear!” enrage Lila took a step toward star “why can’t you make them true!” star rolled their eyes “look Lila I have better thing to do than make a lie come true. Don’t you want to ruin your enemy lives?” Lila ear peck at this “you mean you can help me take down my biggest enemy with only one wish?”

Star nodded Lila smiled darkly.

Marinette was sitting in her room working on a sketch for a commission she got while Tikki was happily eating a cookie she heard Marinette stop drawing she turned to look at her holder with confusion something was wrong Marinette was staring out of space than she got up and drop her sketch book “Marinette are you okay?” Tikki asked looking at her with worry but Marinette didn’t answer instead she walked to her desk and went looking though it like she was trying to find something “Marinette?” she still didn’t answer Tikki was getting ever more worried about her. Until Marinette found what she’s looking her miraculous box Tikki eyes went wide at it than looked at Marinette “Mar-Marinette?” not looking at her kwami she started to take her earrings off with a cry of fear Tikki tried to stop her “Marinette stop what are you doing?!” she exclaimed she tried to pull her hand away from her ear, but she wasn’t successful than everything dark.

Marinette was in a panic she had lost her earrings she doesn’t remember taking them off what if hawkmoth decided to attack! “Marinette sweetie you’re going to be late for school!” Marinette cures she have to look for your miraculous later…

She ran out the house trying to hurry to school and ran by a small billboard and stop she took a step to look at it instead of ladybug there was a someone different they had the ladybug theme but instead of red it was an orange gold color with the standard black point of pots her hair was pulled up into a neat bun. At the down of the small billboard was golden bug the hero we needed a question pop into Marinette’s head “who is golden bug?”

this shit had been in the works since 2020 and it is now finish! proofread made some changes let me know what dont make sense and i'll try and fix it hope ya like it! also here what star looks like. if anyone is wondering...

[mellieartcorner]

The Princess and The Prince Thief: Chapter Six- A Miraculous Fanfiction

Summary: Princess Marinette of the Kingdom of Creaturae was very happy. Her reasons?-The notorious thief Chat Noir was locked up, her 21st birthday was soon, and she was going to become Queen. That is, until it was decided that she had to marry the mysterious Prince Adrien of the Kingdom of Mortem in order to become Queen. To make matters worse, Chat Noir escaped from jail and is visiting her almost every night. Having to run a kingdom is bad enough, but falling in love with a thief and a prince is the hardest part of all.

Genre: Fiction-Fantasy/Romance AU

Rated: T for Teen- Ages 15+

Patreon Supporters get Chapters a whole day early! For only $5 a month, you can too! Patreon.com/mellie711

Fanfiction.net

Ao3

Chapter Six

   -The Council of the Seven Kingdoms-

The amphitheater where the delegates met was within the town of Creaturae, in the same area where the Senators of Creaturae came together to formulate laws and agreements to take to the royal family. Marinette sat, uncomfortable in her formal attire, in between her parents while they waited for the bell chimes that indicating the beginning of the Council.. They were positioned at the front center of the large stage, facing out onto the massive crowd of delegates, kings, queens, lords and ladies. Marinette’s own Lady-in-Waiting sat with her family at the stage right side of the row of seats. Alya gave her friend a bright smile when Marinette gazed over at them.

This was the first time Marinette was going to lead the such a immense group of people, and she felt the weight of a thousand bricks on her shoulders. A hand graced her own, and Marinette turned to see her mother’s soft and encouraging eyes.

“You are going to do great,” the older Queen whispered, giving Marinette’s hand a squeeze.

“She is right,” King Tom butted in, smiling and placing one of his broad hands on Marinette’s shoulder, “You have been preparing for this moment. Show them you are meant to be Queen.”

A small tear formed at the corner of Marinette’s eye, and she grabbed both of her parents in a loving embrace. “Thank you both, for being the best parents ever,” she lovingly whispered. As they parted, Marinette quickly saw blonde hair at the corner of her eye. Prince Adrien, his father, and Lord Lahiffe were taking their seats closest to the stage. A swell of nerves exploded in Marinette’s stomach. Prince Adrien smiled at her, raising a fist and mouthed, ‘Good Luck’.

The bells began to chime at the tune of Marinette’s heart beat.

With an soft push onto her lower back from her mother, Marinette rose up to greet the shushing crowd. She spotted the House of Bourgeois, House of Rossi, House of Kurtzberg, and the  Draconus Lords. Their faces were different shades of mistrust, worry, fear, happiness, and solemness. Senators of Creaturae were intermingled in the crowd, their emotions hanging on Marinette’s every breath.

Inhaling deeply, Marinette began, “ Most of you know me, though I have never met some of you. I am Princess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I will become Queen of Creaturae on my 21st birthday which is within the month.” Marinette stole a glance over at Alya, who simply nodded for her to continue. The many nights they practiced this speech helped, but with this additional new information Marinette had to include brought a set of nervousness. “I have many plans for Creaturae, and I hope you will help me as the Council of The Seven Kingdoms. Though, it has been decided by the Senators of Creaturae that in order to calm the people’s minds, I am too also marry Prince Adrien Agreste of Mortem before I can become Queen.”

Whispers raced through the delegates who did not know; the words “war” “Agreste” and “marriage” rippled through the crowd.

Rising her voice above them, Marinette continued, “ I wanted to assure each and every one of you, that despite my marriage, I will still be Queen of Creaturae and now of Mortem. I will lead Creaturae and Mortem into a new age, with taxes lessened, trade agreements renewed, and an equal rights law that I intend to see through. I will also review all previous treadies.”

The young King Nathaniel Kurtzberg of Ovium rose, his red hair causing him to stand out considerably. Marinette smiled, glad she had a good friend among the strangers. Nathaniel was an amazing artist and helped Marinette with designs as well as he gave her great advice on becoming queen,since he had to become king so young due to the death of his father.

“I have heard Chat Noir has been sighted here. What do you plan on doing about him?”  

Her feet turned to stone; her blood ice. The one question she wanted to avoid came right out, from her friend, no less. But she had thought long and hard about this, spilling out her answer, “Chat Noir will be left alone until after my coronation. We have heightened security and have issued a curfew.”

Adrien hung on every word and grinned brightly at her words. But others around him began to cry out in rejection.

Princess Lila Rossi, whom Adrien had a courtship with years ago, stood up; her sly coy eyes revealing more than her words, “How are we supposed to trust you when you won’t do something about this thief? He stole precious heirlooms from Vulpus. He needs to be stopped.”

Adrien rolled his eyes secretly and gave a sideways glance at Nino, who also had a disgusted look. Lila lied; Chat Noir never stole ‘precious heirlooms.’ The only thing he stole was a cat statue that was rumored to point to the ring’s location. Adrien was glad when they broke off their courtship years ago, due to Lila’s rumored affairs.

Straightening out her back, Marinette stood her ground with determination pouring from her, “Chat Noir is not a threat. He will be left alone until I become Queen. This I command.”

The crowd roared; Kings and Queens stood in yells of anger or of agreement. The arena grew in temperature as many began to verbally fight amongst themselves.

“How dare you command us!”

“You are not Queen yet!”

“Bring the thief to justice!”

Marinette took a step back in fear, froze from the eruption of negativity. Alya stood quickly in defence, crying out, “Let Princess Marinette speak!” She couldn’t move from her family, but she tried with what she could do.

   Marinette gulped, trying to swallow the rock of foreboding that threatened her. Her courage was fading, but she had to do this. For Creaturae. For her parents. For Alya. For Chat. For herself.

“Please! Please calm yourselves!” Marinette shouted, stretching out her hands and drawing out her magick unknowingly. A bright red wave escaped her fingers, pulsating through everyone. A warm breeze passed through them all, like spring-time. Ladybugs began to flutter inside through open windows, a mysterious wind carrying them. Everyone stared at Marinette with mouths agape, their anger and uneasiness forgotten. Never has a member of the House of Cheng done that at a Council meeting before. Powers were forbidden to be used during the meetings.

    Adrien felt the warmth rush through his body, like an aura of tranquility. He stood, wanting to get closer to the source. In his eyes, Marinette was illuminating a steady pinkish hue. Her power was incredible and beautiful, like she. The urge to stand beside her was too much to bare, causing Adrien to take a step forward. But before he could, King Gabriel abruptly stopped him with a strong grip on his arm. Adrien saw his father grow a sinister smirk, as Gabriel walked forward instead. He had a dark maroon cane with a clear crystal orb on the top of it in his hands. King Tom and Queen Sabine took positions next to their daughter, defensively as Gabriel approached.

  “It seems clear to me that you will be an amazing Queen,” King Gabriel began, all eyes turning to him as he stood in front of Marinette, looking up at her, her parents, and then towards the people, “But it seems your powers are a bit uncontrollable.” Gabriel completely faced the crowd, raising up his arms and thus, lifting his cane, “Do you want a manipulative Queen? She obviously used her powers to calm all of you. Who is to say she won’t do that again? What other powers is she hiding? And defending a thief! Preposterous!”

Echos of “Gods No” “Keep her from the throne”, and “All hail King Gabriel,” reverberated through the amphitheater, causing Marinette to draw in a shaky breath. She didn’t mean to use her powers. Had this man planned this? The delegates turned against her so quickly, Marinette’s magick fading from them in almost an instant.

Adrien felt his own anger rising, but he quickly noticed a swift purple mist pouring from his father’s fingers that were wrapped around the cane’s crystal top. It was suttle and unnoticeable unless you looked directly at his hands. ‘He is feeding the crowd negative emotions,’ Adrien concluded, realizing his father has been doing this the whole time. No wonder everyone was on edge.

Adrien was about to speak up to call out his father, when King Gabriel continued, “Oh, I know, my fellow Council. But, we should still let Princess Marinette become Queen.” He turned towards Marinette again, giving a fake smile.

“That is, if she would place The Earrings of Tikki on before the coronation.”

Marinette and Adrien both inhaled sharply, the mentioning of the earrings flashing the same memory between both of them. Alya and Nino stiffened in their seats as well, realizing the turning of the situation.

Princess Chole stood up, causing some to look over at her. She spoke, as if scripted, “She wouldn’t be so powerful then.”

King Gabriel nodded, twirling his cane in the air as he began to pace in front of the crowd, the purple mist subsiding.

“That’s right, Princess Chloe. As most of you are aware, The Earrings of Tikki block or lessen the powers of the reigning Queen. ‘To insure equality without power’ as it is said in Creaturae’s constitution. It seems we should demand that Princess Marinette place the earrings on as soon as possible.”

Prince Adrien’s heart began to thunder in his ears, his fists digging into his palms and drawing blood. How dare him. Marinette will not be treated this way. The destruction threatened to call, but he strode in front of his father to address the Council himself and calm the animal within him. All eyes drew to him.

“As future King of Creaturae and Mortem, I take full responsibility for Princess Marinette,” Adrien stated, loudly, “She does not typically have access to the vault until closer to her birthday. I will personally make sure Marinette does not use her powers for personal gain, if the Council would consider to let Marinette keep her family traditions and get the earrings on her coronation day.”

Adrien turned to Marinette, trying to convey without words. Tears were falling from her eyes, but she held her head high and avoided his gaze. Adrien cringed, realizing he might have embarrassed her.  

The people whispered in consideration. King Gabriel’s face was unreadable as he stood behind his son, the mist gone from his hands. Marinette gripped her mother’s and father’s hands strongly, her eyes carrying the racing thoughts in her mind. The air grew to a still as the Council deliberated.

 King Andre rose next to his daughter, as Chole sat back down, “All those in favor of letting Princess Marinette wait until her coronation, say aye.”

About three fourths of the room erupted in “ayes”.

“All those opposed, say nay,” he continued.

Only a few of the Draconous Lords, the House of Rossi, and both King Andre and Princess Chole said “nay”.

“Then it is settled,” Adrien commanded. He looked at his father, eyes narrowed, then walked away towards Nino, who held a locked worried look. Marinette sat down at her seat, keeping her scream inside for now as her father continued the meeting.

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     Adrien searched and searched the whole palace for Marinette. He wanted to apologize and discuss the Council meeting with her, but her parents refused to tell him her location. Lady Alya wouldn’t even speak to him, and Nino was busy trying to figure out who all King Gabriel had under his wings. Too many people from around the Seven Kingdoms turned quick this morning, and Adrien wanted to figure out why. Right after he spoke to Marinette. Adrien had almost given up hope, when he heard soft sniffles from under a marble stairwell inside a large closet. He opened the wooden door slowly, seeing his fiance curled up with her head in between her knees and her arms covering her face. A tiny square window shone light into the closet, giving natural beauty to Marinette’s form. She hadn’t changed clothes, but her tiara was crooked and her hair was super stringy.

“Marinette?”

She jerked up, tears falling hard down her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, then hardened her complexion. “What do you want? Come to take responsibility for me?”

Adrien’s face softened, his heart tearing. “Marinette, I’m sorry for what happened. I had to do something or else we would have had an uprising in our hands.”  Adrien closed the door to the small space, sat down across from the Princess, and placed his hands in his lap to not seem threatening. Marinette stared into his eyes deeply, and Adrien knew it was embarrassment more than anything else that upset her. Using her powers, him having to take over for her; it was all too much.

“I believe my father was feeding the crowd negative emotions before you even started,” he stated, “This wasn’t your fault at all.” He reached for her hand, but she jerked it back.

“You and him are in on this together, aren’t you?!” she reacted, her voice rising, “You both planned this!”

Adrien narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, “No! I promise you on the soul of my mother that I do not work with my father. I know he has been trying to start a war, but I am limited by what I can do for now. I have been waiting for the moment when I can stop him from ripping the Seven Kingdoms apart!”

It grew quiet between them the words hung in the air. Marinette widening her eyes and knew in her heart that Adrien was serious.

Adrien sighed and leaned back against a wall of the closet, the space between them short so he had to draw his legs to his chest. He stared off into the distance, not wanting to say anything anymore.

Marinette crawled to sit next to him, bracing her shoulder on his. “I don’t know what to do, Adrien,” she whispered, placing her hands on her knees and staring at them, “I will place the earrings on if that pleases everyone.” She sighed heavy, “I don’t know what came over me back there.”  

Adrien grew a little stiff at Marinette’s closeness, slowly relaxed as she spoke, and shook his head.“Do what is right for you. Do what matters to you, okay?” He told her, turning to give her a small smile. She returned the smile, erupting a warm feeling in his stomach.

Suddenly, two pairs of hurried footsteps echoed, causing Marinette and Adrien to look over at the closed door. Voices were coming into focus,too. They both stood up, bumping into one another to lean against the doorway to listen.

“Natalie, make sure nothing happens to halt our progress.” The voice of King Gabriel echoed to the young couple. “And now that we know Chat Noir is after the ring, too, we shall provide a reasoning for its’ disappearance.” Marinette quickly gripped onto Adrien’s hand to tether her to reality, and Adrien thought nothing of it as he returned the gesture, trying to hear every word his father was saying.

“See to it that Princess Marinette and Adrien spend some time apart for now. They can not fall in love or it will ruin everything.”

“Yes, sir,” Natalie, King Gabriel’s assistant spoke, her voice monotone.

Their voices began to drift farther away, as their steps grew distant.

Adrien and Marinette parted from their secretive place into the corridor, looking over at each other trying to process what they just heard. They both looked down at their hands together, retreating from one another like fire. The warmth of her hand highlighted Adrien’s, and Marinette could feel a shadow pulse beat in her own.

“I have to go,” they both said at the same time in hurried tones. Realizing their repetition, they quickly added,

“I have to go see Alya,”

“I have to go talk to Nino.”

Harmonious laughter floated between the both of them..

“Go on, Princess,” Adrien comforted, his voice low. He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it softly and lovingly. “Till tomorrow.” He turned without another word and hurried off, not realizing his parting mistake.

Marinette stood there, stiff as stone. Her hand did not move from where Adrien left it.

 It couldn’t be. He can’t be. She shook the thoughts from her head hard. A coincidence. That’s all that was. He might look a bit like Chat Noir, but Chat Noir was a thief. Who smelled like the earth and who was honest, flirty, and cared about her. Marinette headed back to the closet she was crying in and grabbed the book she brought in with her. She was going to return the book after she felt better, but now, thanks to Adrien, and with this new information King Gabriel spoke about, Marinette knew what she had to do. She silently apologized to the head librarian and headed towards Alya’s chambers. It was time to make a plan of action. Of course, without Alya knowing Marinette was developing feelings for an infamous thief and her soon-to-be husband.