(Author's Note)
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or Beauty and the Beast.
Delphigirl689: Hold on to your hats, everybody! There's a doosy of a storm coming and its name is Hawkmoth:
Deep within the sorcerer's lair, Hawkmoth fumed with rage, "NOOOO! At this rate, the girl will fall in love with him by New Year's eve for sure!"
A little purple butterfly creature trembled in fear, "M-Master? Perhaps you should let them be. After all, the prince has suffered enough. Surely your thirst for revenge has been quenched by now."
"NO! My revenge will never be complete until I sit on the throne as king!" Hawkmoth raged, "And that won't happen unless that brat is out of the way!"
He paused to gather his thoughts and said, "I need to take matters into my own hands. Nooroo, find me a solution connected to that girl!"
The butterfly kwami reluctantly obeyed, "Yes, master…look into your crystal ball and I shall show you what I see."
The warlock smiled and gazed into the object mentioned. "I see…the girl's father and mother…arguing about the man leaving to find their daughter. The man has been recovering from a serious illness…and his wife is worried that if he leaves…he will get worse. In the same village, I see a young man who longs to make the girl his own…but she does not accept his feelings for her."
Hawkmoth grinned wickedly, "So, there is a rival in this love story? How wonderful. I shall have to aid this gentleman in his pursuit. Where is he now, Nooroo?"
"He is on his way to see the mayor, master." the kwami sadly replied.
The warlock chuckled, "Then I'd best be off. That boy will be in need of my services one way or another."
And with a clang of his cane on the floor, he disappeared into the night.
Back in the town, Felix Ducent and Romier met Mayor Bourgeois at the tavern after hours to discuss an "urgent matter" (aka get Marinette to marry him).
"Monsieur Ducent, what is so urgent that you can't wait until morning?" Mayor Bourgeois asked, rather upset about his holiday being interrupted.
Felix said, "You see, the baker, Tom Dupain-Cheng may have gone off the deep end. Several weeks ago, he burst into the tavern raving about a cat-like monster holding Marinette in a castle against her will."
"It was probably just a delusion caused by fever, monsieur." the mayor replied, "His wife, Sabine said that he took ill just after he returned."
"But what if it's not just a delusion? What if it's the start of a downward spiral for his mind?" the hunter insisted.
"The Dupain-Chengs have been a wonderful family and superb bakers. Are you sure you're not just upset with their daughter refusing your proposal?" Andre Bourgeois bluntly stated.
Felix sighed, "Yes, I have my heart set on marrying Marinette, but she needs a little…persuasion."
"I'll say!" a drunken Romier interjected, "She turned him down flat!"
Felix dumped a keg of ale on the pigeon man's head and continued, "The point being, Marinette would do anything to keep her father locked up."
"Oui, even marry him!" Romier added, but once he saw the look on his boss's face, he shut up and covered his head with the keg.
"So, you want me to throw Marinette's father into the asylum unless she agrees to marry you?!" Mayor Bourgeois cried, "That is despicable! I won't do it! And I can't believe such an upstanding citizen would even ask me to do such a horrible thing! Away from my sight at once!" Felix frowned and dragged Romier out of the empty tavern.
"How dare he refuse my request!" The hunter shouted.
Romier nervously answered, "Well, Monsieur Felix, you did ask the mayor to throw an innocent man into the asylum just to get Mademoiselle Marinette to marry you."
"It's not like he would really go there!" Felix replied, "Marinette would say yes to my proposal and Tom Dupain-Cheng would be let off unscathed!"
A different, sinister voice spoke, "Yes, that is quite a shame."
Felix and Romier turned around and saw a man in purple and silver garments with a mysterious glowing cane come out of the shadows.
"Who are you?" Felix asked, somewhat wary of the stranger.
The man replied, "I am Hawkmoth, a humble wizard who wishes to help you win the heart of your true love."
Romier didn't care much for the devious look in the warlock's eyes and anxiously said, "Monsieur Felix, this man doesn't seem very trustworthy. It might be best if we just move along."
But the hunter didn't listen to his lackey's advice. He was too enticed by the offer and told the man, "I'm listening."
The sorcerer held out his hand and a black butterfly with a purple glow appeared.
"This is an akuma." he explained, "It allows me to control anything, or anyone it touches. Observe…"
He sent out the akuma to the pigeon man, who tried to run away, only to be stopped once the evil butterfly landed on his head.
"Monsieur Romier, you are now my devoted servant." the warlock stated, "Now, I command you to…act like a pigeon."
Xavier Romier immediately started cooing and flapping like his favorite bird, making Felix quite interested in the wizard's deal, "So, what is your offer, Monsieur Hawkmoth?"
Hawkmoth smiled and said, "I will send out enough akumas to control the entire village. Everyone will do what you want…even your plan for getting Marinette to be your wife."
His words sealed the deal with the hunter, who eagerly said, "I accept, Hawkmoth! But, first, release Romier from your control. He's already loyal to me and…his pigeon impression is annoying."
Hawkmoth snapped his fingers and the akuma returned to his hand, leaving a very confused Romier. The hunter and the warlock smiled wickedly at their plot and they set off for the bakery with Romier tailing behind.
At the tailor's shop, Tom was adamant about his decision, "Sabine, I must go back and rescue Marinette from that awful beast!"
"But, mon cher,* the doctor only just declared you fit for work in the bakery, not for traveling!" Sabine cried, "Marinette wouldn't want you to push yourself so hard for her sake!"
"Jamais de la vie!* I'm going and that's final!" Tom bellowed, "Stay here with Caline, ma cherie. I'll be back with our little girl before you know it."
Sabine sighed, "Very well…a bientot mon cher Tom.*"
The two kissed one last time before the baker headed back home to grab a few things. Once he had what he needed, Tom marched off into the forest in search of the dreadful castle.
Right after he departed, Felix, Romier, and Hawkmoth barged into the bakery and the hunter shouted, "Marinette! Sabine! Tom!"
When no one replied, Romier shrugged, "Tant pis!* It seems that the plan won't work after all!"
As the pigeon man stumbled away, Felix grabbed him by the collar and darkly said, "They'll have to come back sometime. And when they do, we'll be ready for them!"
Felix threw his lackey into a pile of snow in front of the bakery and ordered, "Don't move from that spot until Marinette and her parents come home!" Romier stammered excuses as Felix and Hawkmoth stormed away.
The devious duo played out their plans in their heads and they both loved how perfect the ends would be:
Marinette would leave Chat Noir for her father and marry Felix, making the beast lose all desire to live.
Hawkmoth would then put the prince out of his misery and claim the throne for himself.
But the warlock needed to ensure that the girl would leave of her own free will.
So, he conjured up a blizzard that affected only the forest, making the poor baker hopelessly lost.
The next day, completely unaware of the plot against them, the castle servants gathered in the great hall awaiting Max's instructions.
"Now, then, you all know why we're here! We have only five days to create the most romantic evening ever known to man…or beast, in this case!" The clock chuckled at his little joke, but no one else did.
In fact, the only response he got was from crickets chirping.
He frowned as he continued, "May I remind you," he paused as the table carrying the enchanted rose waddled over, and he went on, banging his baton on the bell jar for emphasis, unaware that he was close to knocking it over, "That when the last petal falls from this rose, and the girl hasn't fallen in love with the master, the spell will never be broken!"
Fortunately, the table left before the rose could be pushed off, and the clock fell to the floor in an undignified manner.
The servants giggled at his accident as Max got to his feet saying, "Ahem! You all have your instructions. Half of you to the East Wing. Half of you to the West Wing. The rest of you, come with me!"
The servants dashed away to their work and trampled on the majordomo in the process.
Max simply shook it off and Nino helped him up. "Calm down, Max, and let nature take its course!" the candelabra stated.
Natalie added, "Oui, there's nothing to worry about! There's definitely a spark between them!"
"I know, you two, but there's nothing wrong with fanning the flames a little bit." Max said, "Besides, those two have to fall in love by New Year's eve if we ever hope to be human again!"
"Oh, to be human again…not worrying about setting things on fire accidentally." Nino sighed.
"To sleep in a bed instead of the cupboard." Natalie added.
"To have arms and legs again!" Alya giggled at the thought.
Everyone was looking forward to being human again. So, they worked diligently every day in preparation for the big night.
As the servants worked on their well laid plans, Marinette and Adrien spent their days together. They would go for walks, play in the snow, and read their favorite stories to each other. Anyone could see how close they were. It was as though they had known each other their whole lives.
Two days before New Years eve, during their walk around the castle, Adrien turned to Marinette and nervously asked, "Marinette, d-d-did you…have any…suitors…in your village?"
The girl sighed, "Well, there were lots of nice boys who asked me if they could court me, but I politely refused their advances."
This confused the prince greatly, "Really? Pourquoi?*"
"Because, they only wanted me for my appearance, not my interests or dreams." Marinette explained, "But the worst one of all is this pretentious hunter named Felix Ducent!"
Chat Noir was shocked at her animosity, "So…you really don't like this guy, do you?"
"Not one bit!" she replied, "He's so arrogant and conceited! He's a chauvinist pig! Did you know that he planned a whole wedding without proposing to me first?! He was so sure I would say 'yes' to the thought of marrying him! Je n'ai pas tres envie!*"
The beast chuckled, "I agree, my lady! A guy like that sounds just clawful!"
Marinette tried not to laugh at the ridiculous pun her feline friend made.
But he noticed her stifling the laughter and went on, "Trust me, purrincess, you are pawsitively right in feline that he's not much of a catch!"
This time, the girl couldn't contain it and she laughed the most beautiful laughter his ears ever heard. It was like hearing an angel sing to heal a troubled soul. At that moment, Adrien knew for sure that he was in love.
Delphigirl689: There you have it, folks! I hope you all enjoy!
More French Vocabulary:
*1 – my dear
*2 – "No chance!"
*3 – "See you later, my dear Tom."
*4 – "Too bad!"
*5 – "Why?"
*6 –"I'd rather not!"