Hours flew by, Marinette simply sketching away in her notebook. Eventually, as the sun was beginning to set, the invisible servants came to Marinette's room, calling her to dinner.
After another amazing meal, Marinette returned to her room to find an outfit had been laid out for her: A silver tiara decorated with three large rubies, a necklace of diamonds, and a red dress tied with a black silk sash. The servants dressed her, and afterwards they brushed her beautiful black hair, styling it in a simplistic updo that perfectly framed her face. They then told her to wait, for the master of the house would soon return home to meet her.
Marinette's nerves grew with every second she waited. Would the master the servants spoke of be a cruel and brutal monster, just as the prophecy had foretold? Or would he be as kind and generous as the palace hinted he would be?
However, just as she was about to believe he wouldn't come at all, she heard the door to her room slowly creak open.
Marinette immediately stood, her heart starting to beat out of her chest, as she watched the door with intense curiosity. She saw first that the hand grasping the door was gloved all in black, and that there did appear to be claws where the fingernails should be. However, as the being revealed more of himself, he seemed more and more human.
He was clad entirely in black, his clothes covering every inch of his body. His hair was golden like the sun, and his eyes as green as the leaves of a laurel. However, these were the only features Marinette could make out about the man, as the rest of his face was obscured by a mask. There were also strange looking ears shooting out of his golden hair, as though the man was part cat.
Marinette took a deep breath and spoke. "Are you the master of this house?" She stuttered out, fear in her voice.
The man looked her dead in the eye, his gaze much more nervous and compassionate than Marinette had ever expected. He gave a slight nod and gulped. "Yes." He reached out for her hand, and when she reluctantly gave it to him, he leaned and gave it a small kiss.
Marinette was taken aback by how nervous the man in front of her seemed to be. How could a beast that was even feared by the gods be so scared to talk to a simple mortal? Marinette looked at him again, and suddenly her nerves started to fade away. "Can I ask for your name then? I mean, if you are to be my husband, I have a right to know, do I not?"
The man again gulped. "You can just call me Chat Noir, princess. And I'm only to be your husband if you so wish it."
Marinette was surprised. He was offering her the choice? She had always been told that all girls are eventually married off to the best suitor, but now the man in front of her seemed completely disregard this tradition.
Suddenly, all thoughts of beasts and monsters feared by the gods began to melt from Marinette's mind. She looked at her new suitor, noticing the kind light shimmering in his emerald eyes. She noted that, while his appearance was strange, he still seemed to be rather handsome. He also seemed a little nervous, which made her smile a bit to herself.
Despite the doubt that had begun to sprout up in her mind, Marinette knew she still could not trust the man entirely. "So you're actually letting me decide if I want to marry you?"
Chat Noir nodded. "Of course. I would never want to force you to do something you didn't want to do."
Marinette smiled slightly. She had never been treated like her opinion mattered before. The only time people would ask for her opinion, it was mearly to ensure that their offerings were deemed acceptable by their 'goddess.'
"I'm sure that there are a million questions you want to ask, my princess. This is a strange situation I've dragged you into, and I'm sorry for not explaining myself until now. Feel free to ask me whatever it is you want."
Marinette thought for a moment. "Can I ask where exactly I am?"
Chat Noir smiled. "You are in a palace I had specially built for you."
"This was all built for me?" Marinette asked, stunned. Why would someone go to such trouble for her?
"Of course. I wanted to make you feel comfortable, and you deserve only the best." The blonde smiled at Marinette's shocked expression, clearly proud of what he had created. "I hope that everything suits you."
Marinette nodded. Now that she thought about it, it did seem like everything there was a perfect fit for her. The servants had prepared her foods perfectly tailored to her tastes. The dresses and jewelry were all in warm, happy colors, and were all in styles she liked. Then there was the desk with all the sewing materials, and the bookshelf was filled with books that she had an interest in.
"Everything is…" Marinette said, starting to get a little freaked out again. "Perfect. How did you know what I would like?"
The man in front of her started to scratch his cheek uncomfortably. "Well, please don't take this the wrong way but I've…" He gulped. "I've kind of been following you around for the past few weeks. I just…" He sighed. "I wanted to talk to you, but I haven't been able to get near you. So I had you brought to this palace I made. It was the only way that I could..." He trailed off, his cheeks beginning to redden.
Marinette leaned a little closer, cocking an eyebrow. "The only way you could what?"
Chat Noir gulped, then stood up straight, took a deep breath, and looked Marinette in the eye. "This was the only way I could tell you how I feel about you." He said, practically shaking as he confessed.
Marinette took a slight step back, her eyes widening. "And how do you feel about me?"
He took another deep breath. "Marinette, I…" He stepped forward and took her hand in his. "I love you. I've been in love with you since the day I first saw you. I didn't know how to approach you, what with your adoring fans surrounding you constantly and my own family issues, but I knew I had to show you somehow. So I had this palace made. I got the best servants I could to treat you night and day. I made sure everything would be to your liking. And then when I saw you on top of that cliff today, I immediately got my friend Nino, the god of the west wind, to carry you here. It was earlier than I expected, but I couldn't let you get sick and die up there on that mountain, not at least without letting you know what I feel." There was a fire dancing in his warm green eyes as he said this, and as soon as he began his face did not waver.
Marinette knew he was telling the truth. The man in front of her did seem to be in love, and he had done so much for her…
However, there was still one burning question Marinette had. "But why me?"
Chat Noir gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean, princess?" He asked, his passion turning to slight concern upon hearing the tone in her voice.
"Why did you choose me? Why did you bring me here?" The girl stared him in the eye, being afraid of the answer he might give.
Her whole life she had been treated as nothing more than a pretty face. Even her two sisters, who tried to act kindly towards her, only seemed to care about the way she looked. Her parents had practically worshiped her, and the rest of her subjects actually did worship her. She knew that people only valued her because of her beauty, but somewhere in her heart she thought that maybe, just maybe, this person might be different.
"Why, out of all the girls in the world, did you choose me? Was it just because I'm the most beautiful, like everyone else? Did you choose me because I 'have the face of a goddess?'" The mere thought of this started to bring tears to Marinette's eyes. Of course he chose her because of her looks. Why would she ever think otherwise? That's all she was good for. She was just a pretty face. Why else would anyone ever love her?
The tears were threatening to spill out over her eyelids, when suddenly she felt two strong and gentle arms wrap themselves around her.
"Don't you ever think that." He ordered, also sounding like he was on the brink of tears. "I love you, Marinette, because even though everyone else tells you how beautiful you are and how perfect you are constantly, you've never once cared about the way you look. You never let it go to your head. Despite the way others treat you, you try to act kindly to others, and you never take advantage of them. I didn't fall in love with you when I saw your face, I fell in love with you when I saw your beauty."
Cool streams fell down Marinette's face as she listened to Chat Noir's heartfelt confession. No one had ever cared about Marinette before, not really. They cared about her looks, something that Marinette had little control over. Yet suddenly, there was someone in her life who actually took a minute to look beyond her appearance. Someone she had never even spoken to had seen who she really was, and had fallen in love with her.
After a minute of stunned silence she lifted up her arms and returned the embrace her new suitor had wrapped her in.
"Thank you, Chaton."
