A/N: The first update of 2018! Did you see the new cover image? All credit goes to succulents-in-space-you-see on Tumblr! I think they did an amazing job.


Being Queen meant that Elise often had to act like the bigger person. She always held her head up high, wore everything with dignity, showed no signs of feeling down in public. So much so that she often hid her insecurities and problems from her husband and child. She did, however, always consult in her lady-in-waiting. Every problem Elise would have she would tell Antoinette right away.

Antoinette had listened to every story of why the Queen had trouble wanting to be a royal for the day. The Countess would give her advice and remind Elise that she was doing her absolute best. Queen Elise would thank her countless times for listening to her woes while Antoinette reminded her that it is her duty to her Queen to be there. That's how it went.

Except that one time.

How could Elise consult in Antoinette with something like that? She had to tell somebody else instead. That's where Nathalie came in. The royal secretary was left with Elise's biggest secret.

Nathalie had been called in by Elise one day. When she had entered the study she found Elise hunched over her desk staring at a piece of paper. She approached the Queen with caution and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. The Queen - who had been mulling over the paragraphs she spilled out on the paper - jumped at the gentle touch of her secretary and craned her neck up to look at Nathalie.

Nathalie had noticed the Queen was crying but she tried to deny the obvious blotches on her face as Nathalie asked her what the matter was.


Elise and Nathalie observed the strange behavior of the young lady-in-waiting the next morning after the dinner.

"Marinette is not being herself." Nathalie told the Queen when they were alone.

"I know." Elise paced back and forth across her room. She tried to hide her worry by holding herself up straight, her arms gently wrapped around her back. Her strides were as elegant as she could make them seem. "I need to know what had gotten into her." the Queen had worried that her prediction had come true.

"Your highness." Nathalie had walked up to the Queen and stopped her from her pacing. "Calm down. She's just a girl. It could be one of her teen moody days."

Queen Elise waggled a finger at the secretary. "No… I recognize that same daze the minute I knew about Antoinette."

Nathalie started leading Elise to the bed to sit her down. "Who do you think it is?" Nathalie asked. "That could leave the maiden in such a fluster?"

Elise broke free from Nathalie and slowly walked over to the window on the other side of her room. She stayed quiet as she pulled open the curtains, letting the midday light seep into the bedroom. Elise watched as a gardener pulled weeds out of the flowerbeds. Marinette had walked past, nearly bumping into the gardener but stopping herself. Her head looked like it was in the clouds as she stumbled through the gardens, basket in hand, collecting the fresh fruit Elise requested her to fetch.

Elise looked away from the sight and closed her eyes as she finally answered Nathalie's question. "My son."


Adrien had fucked up. God, did he fuck up so bad. Marinette had avoided him all day. Every time they ran into each other Adrien would try to greet the maiden, but she would quickly glance in the other direction and give him the cold shoulder.

Most of the time she was with his mother so Adrien had hoped that it was because she was focussed on her duties. He had known the entire time that it was in vain. The one time he had spotted her without the Queen that day she was heading towards the back exit. She wasn't smiling, she wasn't smiling, there wasn't a single glimmer in her eyes. He happened to be walking past when she came through the corridor. As soon as she spotted him she had quickly escaped to the gardens and ran as far as she could from the palace before stopping to pick some blackberries.

Adrien had gotten the hint. He had done something that would be practically impossible for the lady-in-waiting to forgive. Things would never be the same again as he had certainly messed up the bond between them because his stupid feelings had gotten the best of him.

He wondered what Marinette was doing watching him after he had kissed her and Chloe. Adrien can't believe had done that, and he'd never know because Marinette will no longer speak to him. He blew it! Everything he could have with the maiden was now taken out of his grasp and whatever he thought he could be with her had disappeared into thin air.

And stupid Chloe too! He no longer had his saving grace from times when the princess got too clingy.

Why did he have to be so stupid?

Before disappearing around a corner he briefly watched Marinette stagger around the garden, avoiding a gardener and going for the beautiful apple tree and reaching up for an apple. She wasn't quite tall enough to reach the juicy red fruit; Adrien wanted to go out and help her. He could reach the low hanging fruit without a problem. He didn't, because he was stupid.


"I can't keep this to myself anymore." Queen Elise murmured, looking away from Nathalie and looking down at the note she had spent a good hour crafting from her heart. She couldn't hold back her emotions from her secretary as the tears spilled out of her eyes and dripping on the page, narrowly missing the drying ink in a few places.

"Queen Elise?" Nathalie spoke slowly, reaching down to take the paper from her. Elise let her, dropping her head on her desk to completely hide her face.

Nathalie skimmed through the hand-written letter. Every last emotion the Queen ever felt was written here.

"My Dearest Antoinette,

...expressing how I feel everytime I see your beautiful face. I can't keep this feeling bottled up inside…

Ever yours,

Queen Elise"

Without saying a word, Nathalie put down the letter. She wrapped the Queen up in a hug. Elise accepted Nathalie's arms. She couldn't hide the the truth anymore.

"Don't send it out." Elise whispered her request.

"I wouldn't dare, your majesty." Nathalie stroked up and down Elise's back. "That is your duty."