IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BITTER SWEET AND STRANGE READ THAT FIRST! SPOILERS AHEAD!

This is the long-awaited sequel! I didn't want to abandon Bitter, Sweet, and Strange because I love my children too much X3

so... enjoy.

Adrien was bored out of his skull. Gabriel had returned to the castle with him, taking back some of his power to firmly rule the kingdom, including the village that Adrien had grown up in. That village had become one of the busiest, bustling communities because the future king had lived there almost all his life.

His mother and all the subjects cursed within the castle returned to their former glory. Adrien had some difficulty reconnecting with his mother, but they turned out okay. Quite a few years had gone by since the whole fiasco with Adrien and Marinette arriving at the enchanted castle and curing Gabriel of his beastly curse. Now, Adrien was nineteen, and eligible to be married to some girl in the royal court. The kingdom was happier since the curse was lifted and Gabriel was kinder to his subjects, but he was still the king, and Adrien, the prince. He was hunted after by girls almost constantly.

Balls and parties alike were thrown almost every week it seemed. Adrien was egged on to find the girl that would rule by his side, and every time Adrien went by without a second glance at anyone. Tonight was one of these nights. All the young maidens in the surrounding villages and in the court would gather and try to impress Adrien with their frills and laces, and Adrien would look at them, and turn away to stalk the hors d'oeuvres table.

Sabine, Marinette's mother, would sometimes attend these affairs and happily occupy Adrien's time with stories from the bakery and offering new recipes for cakes and cookies and scones. She refrained talking about Marinette, which was a little strange since she adored her baby girl, but Adrien figured that she didn't want to rip off the bandaid and pick at the wound. She wasn't here tonight, though. Adrien felt a bit disappointed.

"You feeling alright, son?"

It was Diana, Adrien's mother. Adrien shrugged.

Gabriel was busy chatting up different lords and ladies from the neighboring area, laughing heartily at various jokes they told. He turned to look at Diana for just a moment and realized what was going on. Excusing himself, he wandered to his wife and son.

"Something up, hon?"

Diana bit her lip. "I-well… maybe you should talk to Adrien for a bit, dear…"

Adrien huffed. "I'm fine, mama…"

Gabriel took Adrien by the shoulders. "Something's bothering you, son. What's wrong?"

The blonde shrugged. "I've just been thinking… do you remember Marinette?"

Gabriel smiled. "The cute girl you liked? Yes, I remember."

Adrien sighed. "Lately, I just… can't get her out of my head. It's like she's… plaguing my mind."

Plagg, who was wearing a buttoned up vest and breeches, glanced over. "You said my name, my liege?"

Nathalie groaned. "He didn't say your name, you overgrown cat."

Gabriel rolled his eyes at his attendants and turned to his son. "I think that you miss her more than you let on. She didn't exactly leave you in a good position last time you saw her on your 16th birthday."

Adrien shrugged. "I thought that we were fine. But… I think 'see you later' meant 'goodbye'."

"Possibly. I think that there's a good chance that you will see her again, she's not far."

Diana nodded. "From what I hear about this girl, she wouldn't let you go so easily. But son," she added, "try to enjoy yourself."

A few ladies waved at Adrien from behind lacy fans, giggling. He groaned.

A few meters away was Chloe, tailed by Kim. She skirted past the ladies to chat with Adrien, the blonde grinning when he saw her.

"Chloe! Long time no see!"

Chloe grinned. "It's been a few months, huh? How are you?"

Adrien shrugged. "Slowly getting used to all," he gestured around the room, "this."

"I bet."

"Enough about me, though, how are you?"

Chloe began revisiting what had happened between the whole fiasco with Gabriel when he transformed, telling about her and Kim, their wedding, Lila and Nathanael, the many dinners she had with different dukes with Kim's job as head of the royal guard at a baroness's estate, and other such things. One thing that didn't come up was Marinette, who lived in the same village as Chloe did.

"Have you heard from Marinette lately?"

Chloe shook her head. "She's been gone lately. Last I heard of her, she was on the road to some town in Switzerland or something. I'm pretty sure I heard her talking about going to Germany though."

"Interesting…" Adrien put two fingers on his chin in contemplation. "Thanks, Chlo."

Kim came up to them, whispering in Chloe's ear. Chloe blushed. "Alright, hon, I'll be right there…" She sighed. "Duty calls… on the dance floor! See ya, Adrien!"

Adrien laughed, waving at Chloe as she was skirted towards the dancing couples.

Marinette's in Germany… makes sense as why nobody's seen her… maybe Sabine's visiting her?

Lost in thought, Adrien sat down, the guests skirting around him casually. Gabriel and Diana glanced at him at one point, and sighed in unison.

"He's not enjoying himself, is he?"

Gabriel nodded. "It's like he doesn't even care if he finds a wife…"

Diana giggled. "If I recall, you were like that until you met me, dearest…"

Gabriel took her hand twirling her into his embrace. "You recall correctly…still, I have a feeling that he won't let go of that girl…"

Diana nodded. "Well, look at all that happened to and between them… they've always been there for each other… and look at us. We had been stuck away from our precious baby for all those years…"

"Our precious baby… now he's all grown up…"

Kissing her husband's cheek, Diana smiled. "Want any hors d'oeuvres while I'm up?"

"No, thanks…"

"Better now that you're here, mademoiselle…"

"You're even brighter than the son, mon coeur…"

"Someday we're gonna be married, Mari, you and me! Promise!"

"Leave, Marinette. I'm not returning with you."

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY FAMILY!"

"If that's what you think is best, then we should do just that…"

"...Just know that I love you as you are. Friend, girlfriend, future wife, partner in crime… I want you to be happy."

Damn him. Damn him and his stupid smile and perfect hair and… gah!

Marinette sat up in her cot. She, Alya, and Nino were spending some time in Germany with some of Nino's family, preparing for Nino and Alya's engagement. Since they had stopped working at the castle, they'd grown closer and learned a lot about each other. Marinette still hadn't decided to move on with her life… especially since she couldn't get that dumb blonde out of her head.

I mean, why couldn't he have… I dunno… turned out to be really mean? Maybe he is really mean? He's been living a fairly posh life as a prince for a few years… maybe he's getting married to some princess from Asia or something…

Alya interrupted her thoughts. "Girl, have you seen my blue garter? I lost one yesterday and they're the only ones that aren't-" She paused, looking at Marinette, who was sprawled out on her bed, head resting in her crossed arms. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Marinette mumbled, rolling onto her back. "I'm just thinking about stuff, that's all."

Alya patted her arm. "Well… um… Nino and I were going to go out tonight, but… I can stay with you if you want, Nino won't mind-"

Marinette sat up. "No, no, I'll be okay. You go ahead and have your date night. Don't worry about little ol' me. You're getting married soon! Go have fun!"

Alya smiled. "Well, if you insist…" She knelt down, grabbing a pair of red garters. "I'll wear my lucky red ones. See ya later, girl!"

Marinette smiled. "See ya!"

Yeah... these chapters aren't going to always be this long... I'm thinking like two or three chapters unless I get sudden inspiration/suggestion for an alternate storyline.

If you have any ideas, shoot me a DM or review! :D