Across Oceans - Chapter Seven
"Marinette, dear, it's time to wake up."
The little princess grumbled as she shuffled under her covers, purposely hiding away from the voice. Her mother sighed and watched the little girl with a soft expression on her face. She giggled and started to tickle the child over her covers, causing the little girl to jolt out of her hiding spot in surprise.
"Mama, no fair!" She complained as she gasped for air between her giggles.
"It's not my fault," Sabine argued, pulling the princess to her chest, "You wouldn't get up." The young girl pouted, making her mother smile softly and plant a butterfly kiss on her forehead.
"Come on. We have to get ready. It's a very important day today," The queen hummed, picking the girl up from her bed.
"Ooh! I know what day it is!" Marinette exclaimed excitedly, "It's the Festival Désolè!"
"It's 'du Soleil', Marinette," Sabine laughed.
"Yes, yes. Dulesil," The little girl waved off. She climbed out of her mother's arms and raced to her large wardrobe.
"I wanna be a fairy this year!" She demanded excitedly, crawling up the cabinet that was several inches too tall for her to see over. Her mother simply peeled her off the wooden frame and tucked her under her arm.
"Calm down, Marinette," The queen sighed, wondering how her daughter's energy level could spike so quickly, "We have hours before we have to get dressed. Right now, we're meeting your father and his guests at the dining hall."
"Oh," Marinette pouted, crossing her arms disappointedly, "who are Papa's guests?"
"Well," Her mother thought, "there's the Marquis de Fleur and his wife; the Duke of Camembert and his daughter; and the princess of Normandy, Chloe. We have some more guests arriving tonight. Do you remember Princess Chloe?"
Marinette scrunched up her nose in distaste. "I don't like Chloe. She always takes my dolls away and pushes me when we play in the garden."
"Oh, my darling," Sabine hummed, "I'll talk to her father."
"I don't think that's - Oh, Mama, look! There's a big carpet outside," Marinette ran towards the large French windows of her room, distracted completely from their conversation, "What kind of place has a carpet that big?"
"That's a tapestry, Marinette," The queen corrected, following the hyper five-year-old to the glass, "and that's for the festival tonight at the square."
"Why?" The blue-haired princess asked.
"It's to honor the sun and celebrate the fact that it's been good to us this year."
"Why?"
"Because you've been a very nice princess," Sabine answered, hugging her daughter.
"Why?" Marinette furthered amusedly.
"Because Mama and Papa raised you well," The queen responded, preparing for the next question.
"Why?"
The queen didn't answer and picked up the young princess, nuzzling her cheek and tickling her belly. "Such a curious little girl, my Marinette is."
"Wh-"
"-agh, enough. We have to get dressed now." The queen picked out a suitable dress for Marinette and allowed the lady-in-waiting to dress her daughter. This time, she picked a yellow dress with a red ribbon around the waist. She also took out a pair of embroidered socks and a pair of red leather shoes. After dressing, Sabine brushed her daughter's long hair and tied it into an intricate braid.
"Alright, we're done."
The mother and daughter made their way down to the dining hall hand-in-hand as their ladies-in-waiting followed dutifully. Marinette was happily humming and skipping as her feet clacked against the marble floors of the palace. She liked to jump over the crevices in between each tile as if it were a game of hopscotch she would often see the common children play at the square.
They reached the dining hall and, immediately, the boisterous laughter of King Thomas and his guests echoed throughout the room. Marinette dropped her mother's hand and ran to her father, giving him a warm embrace.
"Papa!"
"Oh, my little ladybug! How are you this morning?" King Tom greeted the child.
"Papa, I'm excited for the festival!" Marinette enthused.
"Oh, yes. Everyone is excited," The big man answered, gesturing to the rest of the guests sitting on the table.
"Yes, Princess. I've been looking forward to the festival all year," The Marquis de Fleur's wife piped, "My son Nathanaël is also very much looking forward to it." A small boy with red hair and a small, button nose emerged from under the table at the sound of his name.
"What?" The young noble asked roughly. His mother turned red and shushed him quietly.
"Marinette, why don't you and Nate go and play with Princess Chloe outside?" Sabine suggested, offering the Marquis' wife some grace.
"Okay!" Marinette replied, jumping from her seat and taking the smaller girl with her out into the garden. A redheaded lady-in-waiting trailed behind them closely.
"Are you a princess?" Marinette asked.
"No, I'm a boy. Only girls get to be princesses," Nathanaël replied softly. He wasn't used to being in close contact with a girl his age.
"Oh, 'cause I'm a princess."
"I know." His ears turned pink.
Marinette grumbled at Nathanaël's dismissiveness. "You don't talk much, do you?"
"I don't know," He muttered, blushing at the intensity of the inquisitive princess' stare at him.
"That's okay," Marinette beamed, "You can be the librarian when we play townsfolk with Chloe."
Nathanaël was dumbfounded, but he was happy. The princess was bubbly and nice to him. He decided that he liked her very much. He suddenly felt energized and he marched enthusiastically next to her out into the garden. There, they saw Princess Chloe terrorizing her nanny with different kinds of thorny flowers.
"And you say?" Chloe asked the grown woman who was on all fours.
"Moo, Your Highness," The nanny sighed, blinking as the blonde princess cackled happily at her humiliation, trying her best not to pinch herself with the chain of thorny flowers Chloe placed on her head.
"Chloe," Marinette huffed, not really wanting to deal with Chloe.
"Marinette," The blonde groaned, sticking her tongue out.
"This is Nate." Nathanaël glowed at the new nickname the princess gave him. "He's going to be the librarian in townsfolk."
"Yucky! I don't wanna play townsfolk. Why would I wanna be like a yucky commoner?" Chloe whined.
"What are you talking about? We play townsfolk every time we see each other," Marinette rolled her eyes.
"Well, this time, I wanna play princess!"
"We're already princesses!"
The two princesses went on bickering about what game to play while Nathanaël and Chloe's nanny sat back and watched the five-year-olds yell at each other. It was a comical sight. Marinette looked like she was about to pull Chloe's hair, and Chloe looked like she wanted to eat Marinette alive. All of this happening to people under four feet tall.
"How about we play a new game?" Nathanaël suggested meekly.
"Like what?" Marinette asked.
"We can play festival," He shrugged, turning red as Chloe's glaring turned more intense.
"Yeah! Let's play Festival Delisol," Marinette said confidently. The lady-in-waiting and the nanny decided not to correct the mini royal. "I'll be the fairy of the festival."
"No fair! I wanna be the fairy," Chloe argued.
"Well, I called it first."
"No, I'll be fairy."
Nathanaël, along with the two other women, sighed. This was going to take up a lot of their day.
Marinette twirled happily as she admired her reflection in the mirror. She was holding a pink frilly stick with a star-shaped head, a toy wand. She had on a white tutu and beautifully embroidered white wings. Her hair was in a neatly tight bun on top of her head, a crown resting symmetrically at the center. She was wearing white, lacey tights and a fancy, pearl-encrusted mask. She was dressed as a fairy.
"Your Highness, it's time to go to the square now," Her lady-in-waiting, Bridgette, announced.
Marinette turned to the older girl with a bright smile. "Do I look like a real fairy?"
"Yes, Princess," The servant replied softly, happy to see her little mistress so satisfied with herself, "you look like a very pretty fairy princess."
"Great! Okay, let's go."
Marinette skipped through the halls, waving her wand as if real magic was spouting out of it. She would occasionally stop when a servant passed by and pretended to cast a spell on him, causing him to get dramatic and pretend that he truly was afflicted with magic from the princess' wand. Marinette would giggle and let them continue on their way.
They reched the balcony hovering over the square, making Marinette squeal in delight. The atmosphere was lively down below. There were stalls of different types of food like fried rice cake and specialty pastries. There were games and prizes with families crowding over them. There was a band over at the stage. There were people of all kinds in costumes, dressed as different kinds of mythical creatures. There were golden lanterns hanging all around town like stars tied to string, and the giant tapestry of the sun she saw earlier was hanging proudly in between two buildings. This was Marinette's favorite festival of the year.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Marinette asked her lady-in-waiting, racing to the set of stairs on the side of the balcony.
Marinette excitedly entered the crowd, selectively ignoring the calls of her caretaker. She pushed through the throng of people and raced towards the cream-stuffed puff stand. That was her favorite festival snack. She knew the location by heart and didn't really need anyone following her that couldn't keep up. She was much too excited.
"Hello, Mister André!" She greeted the shopkeeper estatically.
"Oh, my, who is this beautiful little fairy?" The jolly man asked empatically, gasping dramatically.
"Mister, it's me, Princess Marinette!" She giggled.
"Really?" He gasped, "I almost didn't recognize you, Your Highness!"
"Can I have a puff, Mister?" She asked excitedly.
"But of course," He smiled, "I have a special one just for you." He turned around to grab the special pastry and came back with a plate of a pink ball of bread filled with white chocolate cream and dusted with powdered sugar.
"Wow! It's a fairy princess puff," She marveled, grabbing the pastry and stuffing it in her mouth.
"Just for fairy princesses like you," André laughed.
"Princess!" The two turned to see Marinette's lady-in-waiting looking frazzled and worried. "Please don't run off like that again."
"Oh, calm down," The little princess giggled, "I just wanted to eat puffs."
"Princess," The older girl panted, "Your parents will have my head if I lose you."
"Where are Mama and Papa?" She asked, taking a bite of the puff.
"They're preparing for the ritual tonight. They said that you can walk around with me before then," The servant explained.
"Cool. Let's go to the juice stand," The princess declared, "Bye, Mister André!"
"Goodbye, Princess!"
The little princess cheerfully munched on her pastry as she observed the different dynamics around her. There were families of all shapes and sizes enjoying the festival. Couples were lovingly holding each other as they played games and walked around. There was a man wearing a tree costume handing out apples, a baby dressed as a bee, a woman dressed as a mermaid, and many more different people wearing mythical costumes.
The reached the juice kiosk, and Marinette asked her servant to get her strawberry juice. She sat on the bench next to the stand patiently as she ate her cream puff. She was contentedly swinging her feet under the seat, when she saw a boy around her age, perhaps a year or so older than her, dressed as a white cat, fencing with an older boy dressed as a pirate at one of the game stalls.
She watched them curiously. They were grunting and looked angry, but at the same time, they were laughing as if they were only playing a very violent game of patty cake. They were clashing their sabres with great technique and skill that was amazing considering their age. Marinette didn't realize she had been swinging her wand to mimic the boys' movements.
"Here you are, Princess," Her caretaker said, handing the princess a cup filled with pink strawberry juice.
"Thank you," She replied, not taking her eyes away from the fighting boys.
The match ended when the boy dressed as a cat was able to successfully jab his opponent on the shoulder. The boys laughed and returned the sabres. The gamekeeper gave the cat boy a large teddy bear. The friends walked away joyfully chatting with each other and disappeared into the crowd.
"Aw," She muttered disappointedly.
"Hm? Is there something wrong, Princess?"
"Nothing," She turned to her companion with big eyes, cream and powder still all over her face, "Do you think Mama and Papa will let me start taking fencing lessons?"
"Fencing?" The caretaker thought, "I don't know. It might be deemed too unladylike for a princess of your caliber."
"Caliber?" Marinette asked curiously, not knowing what the word meant.
"Caliber means..." The lady-in-waiting trailed.
Marinette lost interest and jumped off the bench, leaving her distracted caretaker pondering on how to explain a word to a child. The little princess did her best to follow the two boys through the crowd, but she was much too short. However, she was so tiny that she was able to weave through people's legs easily until she found the silhouette of the two boys.
"Hey, you two!" She exclaimed. The cat boy and the pseudo-pirate turned to Marinette's candy-sweet, but demanding, voice. A big, burly man accompanying them turned to watch her, too. The pirate cocked his eyebrow at her.
"Yeah?" He asked irately as if she were a mosquito hovering them.
"I wanna know how to fence," The princess declared.
"Well, you can't 'cause you're a girl," He replied, sticking his tongue out.
"Hey," She glared, itching to attach the boy, "I can kick your butt out of here if I wanted."
"Oh, yeah? How are you gonna do that, pipsqueak?" Nino mocked, puffing out his chest.
"I'm Princess Marinette, you dumb pirate," She retorted, crossing her arms, "I can do whatever I want."
"Please," The pirate waved, pushing the cat boy from behind him to the frontline, "and I'm the prince of the world. I can kick you out if I wanted."
"Nino," Cat Boy sighed, adjusting the stuffed bear under his arm.
"Well, you're in Paris right now," She argued, "I can get my papa to get you shipped all the way to the corner of the world. Watch and see. You'll fall off and drift into space."
"Yeah, well-"
"Nino, shh," Cat Boy said, shushing his friend and turning to the little girl pouting in front of him. "I'm sorry, Princess. He's just being... Nino."
"I don't like 'Nino'," Marinette emphasized by jerking her head in an attempt to make him scared. It only made him roll his eyes.
"But, hey," Cat Boy smiled sweetly, a dimple appearing on his cheek, and Marinette was amazed at how pretty a boy could be (could boys be pretty?), "if you want to learn how to fence, you just have to tell your dad that the king of Nice lets his kids fence. Maybe he'll let you then."
Marinette was flustered. For the first time in her five long years, she was rendered speechless as if she were struck by lightning. By a dumb boy dressed as a silly cat at that. Her mother would be ashamed. She had always been taught that she should always have something to say - especially against a man.
"Princess Marinette!"
Marinette groaned, turning to the voice. "Yes, Bridgette?"
"I told you to please stay with me," The lady-in-waiting panted, "I almost had a heart attack!"
"You're overreacting, Bridgette," Marinette said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, it seems that we should be going," Cat Boy said politely. Marinette looked back sadly at him. She wanted to stay with him.
"Do you really?" She asked, "I can get my dad to cancel whatever you're gonna do so we can hang out or something." She suddenly felt bashful and turned tomato red.
"It's okay," He replied, turning to a very irritated Nino. His burly company had also nodded to him in confirmation of their need to leave. "I need to go and meet up with my parents for the ritual."
"But..." Marinette's face started to turn red and puff up like a blowfish ready to attack. She looked like she was about to cry.
"Please, don't cry, Princess," He blurted in panic. He eyed the bear in his possession and handed it to her. "You can have this bear then."
"Really?" She asked, suddenly returning to her usual state of energy, "Thank you!"
"Yeah. I don't really need it," He responded, "I'll see you soon, Princess."
"Bye!" She waved her wand goodbye, happily embracing her bear and shooting a glare at Nino who had decided to turn around and blow her a raspberry.
"Oy, Princess..." Bridgette sighed, shaking her head amusedly at the young royal, "what am I to do with you?"
"You can carry Prince for me," She answered, holding out the teddy bear to her servant.
"Prince? Is that what you named him?" Bridgette asked, receiving the stuffed animal.
"Yes, because a handsome prince gave him to me," The princess nodded.
"Fittingly so, Your Highness," Bridgette chuckled, deciding to play along with what she thought was the princess' overactive imagination.
The sound of loud trumpets erupted from the palace balcony, and out emerged the king and queen of Paris. The crowd went silent. All activities stopped, and all eyes turned to the palace doors. Marinette excitedly watched her parents' announcement.
"People of Paris," King Tom boomed, "and guests from distant lands, I thank you for coming to celebrate our Festival du Soleil..."
It didn't take very long for Marinette to lose interest. She soon started to kick a pebble by her feet disinterestedly as she droned out her father's boring speech. Marinette liked her papa, there was no doubt about it, but she couldn't change the fact the he could be so bone-crushingly boring. She took Prince's paw in her hand and started pulling on the fake fur, thinking
maybe one day, when she's older, she'll see the pretty cat boy again and give him something in return for the bear.
The king eventually finished his speech, and the princess quickly guided Bridgette through the food stalls, making the caretaker buy her every single thing from each stand. The warmth of the festival made the young princess giddy. She skipped around until the loud toots of trumpets echoed through the square, signaling Marinette's cue to meet up with her parents. Bridgette led the little royal to her spot and sat her down on her plush, velvet seat next to her mother.
"Mama, who's doing the ritual this year?" Marinette asked excitedly through the loud music of the band, placing the plush toy between her legs.
"It's your cousin Androgena," The queen answered.
"I can't wait 'til it's my turn!" The princess squealed.
"Until you're sixteen, sweet," Her mother smiled.
The music cut off and the lights were shut off. The people's murmuring filled the silence until a single spotlight shone at the center of the square, revealing a young girl wearing a beautiful red and gold mesh dress with a crimson veil and gold bracelets covering her arm. She was holding a single candle, walking through the path people had created for her. Everyone turned silent as they watched her.
Marinette had a difficult time containing her excitement but she did her best to keep her mouth shut. Androgena carried the candle carefully and walked through the path in a graceful stride. She reached the altar at the end of the aisle and set the candle on top of it. She then started to move her hands and feet, beginning the dance as the sound of the traditional music started to play.
The young princess was captivated by the movements of her older relative and felt her mouth go agape. The teenager in red starting to move her hands up and down in a motion that was akin to the way branches moved on a windy day. She was standing on her toes, crossing them and twirling on them like a ballerina. Marinette was overcome with admiration for the beauty her cousin possessed.
"Marinette," Her mother mumbled.
"Yes, Mama?" Marinette whispered, turning to her mother.
"Nate would like to sit with you," Sabine said, motioning to the red-haired boy next to her, "Is that alright?"
Marinette smiled widely and nodded. She scooched over in her seat, placed Prince on her lap, and let Nathanaël sit next to her. He turned red as he approached her, even moreso when she grabbed his hand and flashed a huge grin at him. He tried to say something, but his nervousness kept him from doing so, so he was rendered speechless as he watched the princess marvel down at the square with her hand grasping his.
Androgena raised her right hand up into the sky and slowly, the kingdom priest approached the duchess as he carried a single marigold in his hands. The priest placed the marigold atop the teen's raised hand and bowed. Androgena lowered her hand and gripped the flower tightly and knelt to the ground before the altar. The music ceased, and Androgena began to pray.
Marinette pursed her lips and clenched her palm with Nathanaël's in it. She closed her eyes tightly and began to wish silently to herself.
"I wish," She thought, "I wish I could be the maiden soon. I want to perform the ritual.
"I wish to be with Nathanaël forever. I wish for Mama and Papa to be with me forever."
She shifted her feet more comfortably next to Nathanaël's. "I wish to meet Cat Boy again and marry him one day."
Soon enough, music started to play again, signaling the end of the ritual and the kingdom burst into boisterous celebration. Marinette's eyes shot open, and she enveloped Nathanaël into an excited embrace.
"Yay!" She exclaimed, oblivious to the boy's evident embarrassment.
"Marinette, it's time to go inside for the feast," King Tom announced.
"Okay, Papa," Marinette replied, hopping from her chair with the plush toy in her hands. Nathanaël tried his best not to look disappointed at the princess' absence from his side.
As she entered the palace doors, Marinette smiled. She was disappointed that she didn't get to see the nice boy from earlier, but she knew she would see him again. That was the point of the ritual. Make a wish as the maiden prayed, and it will come true. Because of that, she wasn't gonna worry too much about it. She'll see him again.
