Author's Note: Warnings of mentions of blood and description of death. Otherwise, please enjoy this story inspired by The Swan Princess(1994 movie). Thank you so much to my beta reader, and let me know what you all think~ 3 mellie
Prologue-
-The Start of a Fairy Tale-
Once Upon a Time…
There was a mighty and luscious kingdom that was was ruled over by the sweet Queen Emilie and the soft-hearted King Gabriel Agreste. But there was one thing these two were missing for most of their lives - an heir to the throne.
After trying many, many times, Queen Emilie finally grew swollen with child and eventually, a prince was born to this wonderful kingdom. King Gabriel was most joyous, realizing that his son could take over as King one day. They named him, Adrien, for this prince gave the King and Queen much wealth in their hearts.
From all over the surrounding lands, royals from the other kingdoms came to bring gifts and wish good fortune over the young prince. One such pair of royals was Duchess Sabine Cheng and Duke Tom Dupain, who were rulers of a small kingdom in the East. They too just celebrated the birth of their child, a daughter; Lady Marinette Regina Dupain-Cheng.
Upon giving their gift of a beautiful silver ring to the young boy, a miraculous thought spread between the four adults. Their children would be perfect for one another. Thus, every summer the families would come together in hopes that a marriage would form to unite the kingdoms and bring everlasting peace.
But, tragedy always has a way of ruining the best laid plans.
"Adrien, you flea-bitten tomcat! Stop leaving things in my seat!"
Lady Marinette stomped her foot as Prince Adrien and his best friend, Lady Chloe, laughed hysterically at her predicament. Her fluffy pink dress had a large slice of frosted pastry stuck to her rear, from where Adrien might have… probably… placed one in her seat.
Every summer since they turned five, Lady Marinette and Prince Adrien came together in hopes that they would fall in love. But for the pass nine years, Marinette has tried to convince her mother that there was no way she would marry him. Adrien constantly pranked, left out, and down right bullied Marinette, while she responded in kind. She was not going to put up with being the center of his craziness.
Grabbing a handful of frosting from her backside, Marinette flung the squished cake towards her tormentors, and let loose a hearty laugh at their faces when cake met skin.
And thus started a food fight in the middle of the great hall.
As food was flying between the three teens, King Gabriel sighed heavily, turning to Duke Tom who was taking a sorrowful bite of his meal. They had all grown used to these interactions, and it was wishful thinking to hope that it would stop.
"Are we really truly sure about this? It has been nine years now and nothing really has changed."
It was Duchess Sabine, who was smiling brightly with no care in the world, that responded, "Oh Your Majesty, you have to pay attention to the finer details." She turned to Queen Emile, who was trying to hold back laughter under her breath. "Wouldn't you agree with me, dear?"
Flashing her legendary warming smile, Queen Emile nodded at the Duchess. "Once they are a bit older, love will blossom. It is fate, after all!"
Placing a reassuring hand on her husband's, Emile squeezed it. "Trust us, love." Though, after she spoke, she began to cough a bit into her napkin. There was some slight blood spots on the fabric, but Queen Emile brushed it off as she folded the napkin back into her lap.
King Gabriel turned his attention at the now cake, salmon, and whatever else covered teenagers. "Alright you three, break it up. Head to the bathhouse to get that nasty mess off of you. I don't want to see hair nor high of any crumbs when you get back."
They all groaned loudly, rising up from their seats. Lady Chloe raced out first, but Adrien took this opportunity to push Marinette through the door, causing her to trip over her long dress. Not wanting to seem too cruel, he extended his hand, only for the Lady to swat it away.
"Don't touch me, you tomcat!" screamed Marinette, determined to stick with her nickname for the young Prince, as he never keeps his hair right and always smells like moldy cheese.
"You are just like a tiny little ladybug, My Lady," Prince Adrien commented, "easy to pick at!" Even though, Adrien was starting to feel… something... for his most hated summer companion. She has become somewhat of a flirt with the guards, her body was filling out, and she getting quite good at the fencing lessons they took together. All of these little things Adrien was noticing made him gag. He can not fall for her. Marinette was too much of a pain in his ass.
Every time she arrived, he had to kiss her on the hand. Every day from June until August, they had to spend time together somehow. It was a good thing Adrien made friends with Lady Chloe last year, who was now living in this kingdom with her family. Adding Chloe made torturing Marinette even more fun. They would secluded her from their treehouse, plan amazing pranks, and overall make the girl's summer as miserable as they could. Though, she always fought back, which Adrien secretly loved. Chloe was a little more mean to Marinette than Adrien enjoyed, but he couldn't help but laugh with his best friend.
It was the end of August now, and Adrien was pacing back and forth in front of Marinette's room.
This summer was a bit different then the others, Adrien thought. He didn't really want to do extreme pranks like he usually did, but instead just enjoyed talking to Marinette. They even stayed up discussing each other's favorite musicians one night, though the Prince never let Chloe know that.
He was waiting on the Lady to finish getting dressed for their traditional end-of-summer celebration, which really was an excuse to play some more pranks on each other or cause some chaos for the palace staff. Chloe was waiting for him at the ballroom with a bucket of cold water to splash on Marinette.
But here he is… waiting for her.
Because his father demanded it; because his mother asked him nicely.
His mother.
Adrien stopped his back and forth to gather his thoughts on the declining health of the Queen. She told him not to bring it up anymore, but he did see her coughing up a large amount of blood the other night. She has been very sick lately too, keeping to her quarters and having the doctor come in every week or so. His father is brushing it off as the flu, but Adrien had a terrible feeling.
The sound of a door opening caused the young prince to turn around and see… her.
Marinette had her hair tucked in a braid, the raven color causing her pale face to glow. Her eyes… were they always that sparkling blue?
The red dress she picked out actually highlighted her wonderfully. Did her chest grow over the summer that quick? When did those hips come in?
Adrien flashed his eyes back up to the girl- no woman's face, noticing her reddish cheeks.
"Wh-what are you staring at, you-you tomcat," Lady Marinette stuttered out, turning her head away from his piercing gaze.
Adrien smiled and felt a slight flutter in his stomach.
"You… you look very beautiful, My Lady," he said, his bravery getting the better of him.
Marinette's posture snapped her back, and she stomped out into the hallway. She punched Adrien in the arm - hard - and took her place beside him. As Adrien rubbed his now sore arm, his stomach began to do backflips once more and the skin on his cheeks began to betray his thoughts with a rosy hue.
"Th-thank you, Prince Adrien," her voice was a whisper, but Adrien heard her nonetheless.
He couldn't let Chloe throw water on this person. It-it would ruin that dress.
"I'll meet you in the ballroom!" Adrien cried, running off in a sprint.
Standing there in the quiet corridor, Marinette began to rub her cheeks to cool the flames on them. What has gotten into that boy? But Marinette noticed how handsome he looked in his formal prince uniform, his golden shoulder tassels and black tunic caused her imagination to wander. She shook her head of her thoughts. Was something wrong with her?
That's when Marinette realized how eerily quiet the world around her was.
Sure many staff were helping with the celebration, but at least others are supposed to be tending to other matters of the palace.
Lady Marinette felt a chill up her spine, just as a blood-curdling scream reverberated throughout the hallways.
She ran the opposite direction of Adrien, towards the entrance of the palace. A crowd of maids, butlers, and ushers blocked her view. Marinette pushed through them to the front stairs. There, she came upon an image that would haunt her dreams for many years to come.
Queen Emile was dead, body laid out on the stone walkway. Blood was pouring from her mouth, her eyes were ghosted over, and King Gabriel was crying over her like a weeping babe.
Her own parents were huddled with one another at the side of the entryway, their own tears pouring down like rain. Frozen from terror, Marinette watched as King Gabriel cradled his wife's corpse in his arms, lifting her up. He walked forward, eyes straight, into the crowd. The people parted to let him pass, the air still and fragmented like a heavy storm cloud. Marinette raced into her parents arms, feeling their warm embrace around her. When she saw the crowd dispersing, she realized that Adrien was standing on the footsteps of the castle, looking right at her. He must have just gotten there, for Chloe was coming up behind him with a smile, only for it to be replaced with a whole mouth gasp.
The fated lovers locked eyes for what seemed like an entirety, unable to move towards one another, whether from fear or shock. From the inside of the castle, two brute guards prepared to close the large doors, cutting off Marinette's line of sight from the boy she loved to pick on.
It was from that moment on that Lady Marinette and Prince Adrien did not see one another for over 7 years…
But what was born that day, was King Gabriel's lust for answers. The nights following Queen Emile's death, Gabriel spoke to no one, hardly ate, and spent his time in the deepest part of the library pouring over pages and pages of the magical arts. One dark and stormy night, the King drank a potion in order to expand his magical knowledge even further.
What emerged from the King's mind that night became known as Hawkmoth. An apathetic, psychotic manic fueled only by the desire to bring Emile back. This part of Gabriel's personality instantly devised a plan, a spell that requires two fated souls in order to revive one perfect one. Since Hawkmoth was part of King Gabriel, this personality retreated back into the broken hearted king, biding his time until he found the two souls he needed.
But periodically, for unknown reasons, King Gabriel would leave for days or even weeks on end. Prince Adrien would be by himself, with only Chloe or his mentor, Natalie, to keep him company. It was obvious the king canceled the supposed arranged marriage between Adrien and Marinette, on account of the obvious state of affairs.
That was until Prince Adrien's 21st birthday, when King Gabriel forcibly told his son that they were going to hold a big masquerade ball and have many princesses and ladies from all over the lands for Adrien to find his future wife. For what better way to find the one you are fated for, then to meet her under a mask.