Adrien had originally thought that Alya's video and Tikki's ensuing rage would be the biggest problem yet. He had forgotten that he was a Cat Sidhe and that things therefore could always get worse.

It turned out that from all the people he should have kept an eye out on, Chloé turned out to be the most dangerous one yet. Whatever she had experienced at the revel, it seemed to have the exact opposite effect on her than it had had on Félix. Instead of teaching her some humility, it made her even nastier.

At first, he thought that his bad luck was just making a name for itself by landing him in close-call situations, but after he caught her hiding a four-leaved clover in Marinette's school bag, he knew that coincidence and bad luck had nothing to do with it.

"Have you lost your mind?!" he hissed, making Chloé freeze mid-motion and look at him. He was glad that the two of them were alone in the classroom for the moment, the others already gone while the Akuma alarm blared in the background. Adrien knew he had to go, but this was important as well!

"I'm doing you a favour. Not the indebting kind," she said with a roll of her eyes and let the shamrock fall into Marinette's bag. Adrien growled and was at her side in two large steps to immediately fish the dooming weed out of it again.

"Is that what you're calling it now?" He sneered.

Chloé shrugged. "It's not my fault that you don't appreciate my help."

"You're calling this helping?!" Adrien growled and held the shamrock up close to Chloé's face. She wasn't fazed at all.

"Believe it or not, but I'm not as oblivious as you think. Neither is your—girlfriend, pet, bride, or whatever you want to call her. She'll figure you out eventually, so better let it happen sooner rather than later."

Adrien was struck silent for a moment. The only noise was the still ongoing Akuma alarm. He had no time for this, he had to help his lady!

"She's not figuring it out at all and that's final. Stop trying to help," Adrien hissed.

"Fine, be that way. Then don't tell her until it's too late."

Adrien couldn't dwell on what she meant by that as there was a loud crash from outside. He walked out of the classroom with a glare in the Court princess' direction and then started running once he was in the hallway.

Chloé's warning didn't want to leave his mind, though, for the rest of the week.

Ever since the morning of Samhain where Alya had burst into Marinette's room and scared him half to death, he had feared Tikki's reaction. She would demand his Miraculous back at least and might even send him to Tír na nÓg if worse came to worst. Therefore, Adrien had done his utmost best to avoid the goddess by staying close to Marinette. After all, Tikki couldn't show herself and tear him a new one as long as her chosen was around.

It took two weeks for his luck to run out. There had been a late-night Akuma and in contrary to Marinette, he hadn't been able to use the following Saturday morning to sleep in and get his energy back. An early morning photoshoot had thoroughly ruined those plans, so he had taken up Marinette's offer to take a nap in her room—he probably looked like a vampire with the bags under his eyes—while she helped her parents in the bakery. Adrien had been too tired to argue.

He regretted it ten minutes later when he was woken up by insistent poking. Though when he had been about to open his eyes or to tell whoever it was to leave him alone, a surge of magic threw him out of bed.

Now he was awake, alright.

"What—" he started, but was cut off by the sight of Tikki hovering in front of him. Her face held a similar disapproving frown like the one his father wore as his default expression. There was also silent anger in the goddess' eyes, which was the real fright of the display. Plagg also hovered into his field of vision, his expression sheepish.

"Sorry kid, I tried to wake you but you slept like a rock."

Ah, so the poking had been Plagg. Then the magic that had thrown him out of bed must have been Tikki. Adrien didn't reply and just swallowed nervously.

"You willingly doomed a person," Tikki said, her voice carefully controlled and cold as ice. Adrien crawled backwards towards the wall. The room between the floor and the banister to his right wasn't much and he had half a mind to shift and crawl under Marinette's bed, but he didn't dare to do so while Tikki had her sole focus on him. He threw a look at Plagg, but his kwami just shrugged.

Right, he had said that if Tikki ever found out, he was on his own. Seeing how no one would come to his rescue, his only way to survive was to try and defend himself.

"M-may I explain?" He stammered meekly and Tikki's gaze hardened in return.

"Yes," she said coldly.

"I was on a run in the park and then Lila stopped me. She instantly started telling a few new lies and I would have let her get away with a warning again, but a dozen fae suddenly started crowding around us. When she started telling lies about Ladybug and me—well, Adrien-me—there really wasn't much I could do without falling out of character. I had the choice between making the Court suspicious or gaining their trust."

Tikki didn't react at all. "You acted pretty convincingly," she said and Adrien flinched.

"I gotta admit that I might have let out some frustration I had with Lila to make it seem more convincing, but that's really all it was!"

Adrien didn't know what he should be more afraid of: the neutral mask Tikki wore while she took in his explanation, or the contemplations that were no doubt going through her head.

"While your actions were not reckless, they still are unacceptable. A Miraculous wearer is supposed to prevent these types of things from happening. Not cause them!"

Adrien shrunk back even more. "I know. Trust me, I know! It's just...I—"

Tikki held up a paw to stop him. "It was an exceptional situation, I get that. While it could have been handled better, there is no reason to dwell on the what-ifs. Now you know to be more careful in the future."

Adrien stared at her in disbelief, his jaw probably hitting the floor. "Y-you're gonna drop it just like that?"

The goddess fixed him with a glare. "Don't misunderstand this: I won't ever forget what you have done." Adrien flinched. "But the situation has changed. You are Marinette's biggest support and protector. There really is no way for me to punish you in a way I see fit without taking you away from her. For now, just remember that you're on very thin ice. And while there won't be any punishment from me, you'll still have to atone for your actions. You can start by keeping Marinette away from the glamour-breakers Chloé keeps sneaking into her pockets."

Adrien slowly started to stand up, guessing that the worst was over. "I'm doing my best there already. Unfortunately making Chloé stop is a task all on its own. And if I make a scene it'll catch the attention of others and that would be even more dangerous."

Tikki nodded.

"Remember your goal. Then you'll be able to properly concentrate on it."

Adrien couldn't help but roll his eyes. He was practically doing nothing else!

"No worries, I'm on it," he said. "But for now I just wanna sleep a bit. An exhausted Cat Sidhe is no use to anyone."

Tikki tilted her head. "You're exhausted? Fae usually don't get tired easily."

"Fae usually don't wield a Miraculous either. Especially not at two in the morning when they have a photoshoot four hours later at six." Just thinking about it drew a yawn out of him.

"I see," she said thoughtfully, but Adrien was too exhausted to care about what she could be thoughtful about.

"If you don't mind, then I'm gonna resume my nap now."

Tikki nodded and then probably flew off to find Plagg and talk to him in their odd language of chirps. Adrien must have fallen asleep immediately because there was no way that the gentle pat on his head from a tiny paw wasn't a dream.

"Despite everything, you're a good kitten."

Yeah, as if the goddess would ever say something like that. Dreaming was nice.

"Ugh, this maths test is gonna be a nightmare!" Marinette whined, her head on her desk while Adrien couldn't help but chuckle at her antics from where he sat beside her. "Don't laugh at my misery," she added and turned her head to pout at him.

"You're cute," he said with what was no doubt a lovesick grin. It was amazing that after over four months of dating, he still managed to make her blush. He loved his blushy Princess.

"Stop changing the subject," she mumbled and sat back up. The way she stared at the ceiling, it looked like she was hoping for it to offer her a solution to the equation. It didn't.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist reminding you since you seem to forget sometimes."

A quick kiss on her cheek made her smile and look at him.

"And you're so cheesy sometimes," Marinette said, but judging by her wide smile and soft eyes she didn't mind in the slightest. He grinned.

"What can I say? I'm in love."

"Stoooop it, Adrien," she said with a wide grin and yet another blush as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. "We're never gonna get anything done at this rate."

"Speak for yourself. I already solved this equation."

Marinette groaned, frustrated, but didn't move her head. "Then help me, you jerk."

"Fine," Adrien said and took her notes. With how neatly she wrote down equation formulas with added explanations, it was a wonder she had any trouble with them to begin with. But he knew from experience that it usually was just one tiny detail she would overlook and then fall into despair. Once that detail was found, things started to become easy for her again.

"We solved a similar equation in class on Monday. Did you note that down?" he asked while still flipping through the pages, looking at the scribbled dates in the top right corners.

"Yeah, I think I did," Marinette said and lifted her head again.

When Adrien flipped another page, something green fell out of it. If he hadn't been on high alert already, he wouldn't have managed to snatch up the weed before Marinette could.

"Is that a four-leaved clover?" She asked but Adrien stubbornly held it out of reach.

"Yeah," was all he could say while frantically looking for a way to dispose of it.

"Aren't those supposed to bring good luck?"

He chuckled humourlessly. "And other things," he muttered and then let the clover disappear in his own bag. If Plagg was in there, then destroying it would be an easy feat for him.

"How did that even get in there?"

That was a very good question. He might not know how, but at least he knew who.

During the rest of their study session he tensed up in fear every time Marinette flipped a page of her notes, her books or just her notebook.

"Good evening, my lady," Chat Noir said as he landed on the rooftop behind Ladybug. The previous few weeks had exhausted him. Not only was Chloé's quest of exposing him more than nerve-wracking, but also Alya was causing quite some trouble. She luckily hadn't published the video, but she was investigating. And that was risky for both her and him. Luckily, Félix had volunteered to keep an eye on her so Adrien could keep his concentration on protecting Marinette.

His exhaustion must have been blatantly obvious because instead of a 'good evening' Ladybug said "Are you alright? You look awful."

"Gee, thanks."

"Is it about the video again?"

Here we go again.

"Partly, yes," he replied and only barely suppressed a yawn. "I slip up one time and I already have an investigation on my tail. As if I wouldn't have to be careful enough already."

"You call a girl disappearing a slip up?"

"Uh-oh, kid. Better think fast."

"No, I meant..." Chat Noir started and then sighed. "Nevermind. We've been over this dozens of times now anyway, so can we please just start patrol and forget about it for the moment?"

Ladybug let out a frustrated noise. "Just what is it with you and Tikki?! You just want me to drop a crime my partner was involved in! Is this about the—"

"For god's sake, stop mentioning it!" Chat Noir said more loudly than anticipated. His own frustration had been more than evident in his voice so he closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. Yelling at his girlfriend was not the way to go about this...again. It was bad enough that he had done that already a month ago.

"Sorry," he said, "It's just a very sore topic."

"You mean 'dangerous'," she said, making finger quotes before crossing her arms with an unimpressed frown.

"I mean that if you value your safety and that of the people you love, then you better stop digging. So, yes, my lady, it is dangerous, and apparently the disappearance of a girl is not enough to convince you just how much."

"Smooth," Plagg commented dryly.

"I'm tired, okay?!" Chat Noir silently muttered back.

Ladybug, meanwhile, seemed speechless. She opened her mouth several times, like she was about to ask a question but then shook her head.

"You're right, let's just start patrol," she eventually said. "I'll take the east route, you the west and we'll meet back up here."

Then she swung away without giving him an opportunity to answer.

"She's mad," he winced.

"Tikki's chosen are natural problem-solvers, so they're easily frustrated when someone is withholding information from them. Don't take it too personally, kid."

"You went too far this time," Adrien growled at Chloé. It was lunch break, they were hidden in a secluded corner of the library and he was furious.

"I really didn't," Chloé said and raised both eyebrows.

"Well, then explain how you would rate a rowan wand that suddenly appeared in Marinette's bag?!"

He waved said object—a rowan twig with carved symbols on it—in front of her face. For just a moment, she seemed to be taken aback.

"While it is flattering that you think I would waste that much effort on your unfortunate situation, I'll have to disappoint you. Do you really think I'd go through the effort to find a rowan tree and carve a branch, especially with spell-runes? Don't be ridiculous. I did put another four-leafed clover in Marinette's bag though. It's bound to work one of these days."

Adrien wanted to strangle her when she gave a nonchalant shrug. He had, in fact, found the shamrock as well, but it almost wasn't noteworthy anymore. Those stupid things started to appear everywhere. Weren't they supposed to be rare?!

"I didn't say that you made it. Just that you put it in her bag!"

"That's quite an accusation."

"Oh, bite iron! Just admit that it was you before I lose my patience."

The rowan twig was an unusual choice and Adrien had almost not caught it—Plagg had actually been the one who noticed it first. Usually, rowan was a protection against magic, especially when bound in bundles. With magic runes carved on it and a spell soaking through the wood, it was just as potent as an enchanted gemstone was. What a cruel irony that an object that was intended for protection had been misused this way.

Chloé crossed her arms and threw him a look not unlike that one would use to talk to a small child that had trouble understanding the most simple of concepts.

"You're rather making me lose my patience with your idiocy, so listen here: I have been around humans for much longer than you have and I've also known Dupain-Cheng for more than twice as long as you. She's been fae-marked for a while now, as I'm sure you have noticed, so she already has the Court's potential attention. Add to that, that she has second sight and she is a ticking time bomb. That she's been blind for as long as she has is pretty much a miracle. So, again, I am doing you a favour."

As soon as she can see, she can never forget again.

"Even if that's true, all of this is my business, not yours."

"Oh, Adrikins," Chloé said with a pitying sigh and shook her head. "I'd only be your business if she'd be yours. And unless you plan to charm her to forget the instance, you will have to let her know. Until then all of this is fair game."

Fair game.

The word repeated in his mind several times, mocking him. Because, that was the horrible thing: Chloé was right. Being able to call Marinette his girlfriend was in no way equal to his property in neither his nor the Court's eyes. And it was only property that wasn't allowed to be touched, messed with or stolen.

The worst part though was that this was his fault. Just because he had been selfish once upon a time and approached a human girl, like Icarus who flew too close to the sun. There was no way to leave now and even if he would find the strength to do so, he just couldn't. Not when the Court already had their eyes on her. All he could do now was to reap what he sowed all those years ago and to hope that for just once in his life, his infamous bad luck would lurk in small inconveniences rather than in enormous catastrophes.

Adrien hadn't been at Mélusine's shop for a long while. But with things going out of hand and Tikki and Plagg lacking the needed insight on the members of the Court, he had practically no choice but to pay their legendary halfling acquaintance a visit.

It was the middle of the night, cold and raining, so this endeavour really wasn't off to a good start.

The wind chimes above the door let out a melodious jingle like they always did when Adrien entered the antique shop and was glad when he found no other customers present. The blonde halfling behind the counter raised her head and threw him a joyful smile.

"Good night, Adrien! What brings you here?" she asked and walked up to hug him. "You know, kitten, if you want to visit me, then the time before dusk is the best."

"I'm here on business," Adrien said shortly. The irritation had by now taken a permanent residence in his voice. It wasn't the best of conditions when talking to a fae, as politeness was important, but it'd just have to do.

Mélusine raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Not even a greeting? You must be desperate. Come, come!"

She took his hand and tugged him to a tea table with two armchairs.

"So, what's the problem?" She asked with a knowing grin once both of them sat down. Instead of a reply, Adrien took the rowan wand out of his pocket and pretty much slammed it on the table. Mélusine regarded it curiously.

"That's not your spellcraft," she said thoughtfully as she picked it up and studied the carvings. "But doubtless that of someone well-practiced with enchantments and glamour-breakers. Who gave it to you?"

"Chloé. Well, she didn't give it to me. She hid it in Marinette's bag and I noticed before it could do any damage. I don't think Chloé is the one who made it though."

Mélusine nodded. "Yes, that's what I'd say too. The fae rarely use rowan, even though the wood is sacred to us. This could be a human craft that has been enchanted after the fact, or...no, it's unlikely that a changeling would risk angering a Cat Sidhe."

Adrien paled. "A changeling?!" Regardless of what Félix had said about the one he had met in the sídhe, a changeling out in the mortal realm was bad news.

"Well, it doesn't have to be one that is physically here right now. They could have given this trinket to Chloé at a revel. Or she just saw one there and got inspired to try a more exotic approach. Either way, this little piece of wood is very dangerous in the wrong hands. We better burn it," Mélusine said and without any hesitation threw it into the burning fireplace on the other side of the room.

The wand let out a wail, as if it was in pain and turned the flames ruby-red. Only a moment later, things returned to normal and the piece of rowan burned like all the other wood, ordinary orange flames licking around it.

"Is something like this easy to recreate?"

"For fae it's a little bit of a challenge since it requires handcraft and not just spellcraft. So, no, I'd say it's not. The possibility that Marinette will find another rowan wand in her bag is relatively low."

"She keeps finding shamrocks though," Adrien muttered. While it was still as dangerous as it had ever been, the four-leafed clovers had caused him more annoyance than real trouble in the past month.

"Yes, those are very efficient to see through glamour," Mélusine said with a pondering expression. "Have you considered a protective charm?"

"Marinette already has a lot of protective charms. She doesn't even know about most of them."

"Oh, I didn't mean from kidnapping or magic. I meant against four-leafed clovers, thyme and adder stones. In other words: natural glamour breakers."

"There's a protection against that?!" Adrien exclaimed in disbelief. "I thought they were blocking magic."

Mélusine shook her head. "They're simply a means to see through magic and only for a moment. When a human has a shamrock on them, they can take one single glance through a fae's glamour. After that, it's useless. The same thing applies for thyme sprigs. And looking through an adder stone only allows the visibility through a tiny hole. The goal is therefore simple: keep her senses blocked even when confronted with one of these three things."

"So, you mean I should enchant something with a spell that does the exact opposite of a glamour-breaker?"

Mélusine nodded. "It will be a very difficult spell though and Marinette has to carry the item with her at all times. Is there something she always wears that you can enchant or something you can convince her to wear?"

Adrien grinned. "There is! She has a bracelet with several charms and I always gift her a new one for her birthday and for Christmas. I can just enchant the charm I want to give her for Christmas. Do you think three weeks is enough time to manage an enchantment spell like that?"

"Splendid! And yes, that should be possible. If you need any help, you can always come to me," Mélusine said with a smile that was just a little too wide. Her help wouldn't come for free.

Adrien smiled back in the same manner. "We'll see."

"This is a bad idea and it's cold," Félix complained with a displeased hiss. The two of them were taking a walk over the Parisian rooftops, purposefully straying away from the familiar and shortest path to their destination.

"It's not a bad idea. Stop complaining already," Adrien said back as he stopped for a moment. His paws had started to slide on the frozen roof and he quickly adjusted his stance. Falling off a five-story building would be a bother now and might attract unwanted attention.

"I should've stayed home," Félix muttered and hissed silently when he slipped on a frozen roof tile.

"Hey, you're the one with the fluffy winter coat!" Adrien argued. If anyone was cold, then it was him with his shorter fur.

He abruptly made a turn on the next roof and dodged a couple of steaming chimneys. Trying an essential and difficult spell like the one Mélusine had suggested would just end in a disaster if they tried it themselves. Félix had been adamant about at least attempting to cast it, but Adrien was having none of it. The last thing they needed was for it to have the opposite effect and end up being a glamour-breaker. Apparently having Plagg side with Adrien was all that was needed to convince Félix though. Which was why they were on their way to Marinette's to ask Tikki for help. If anyone would be able to cast such a spell with no fail, it would be her.

"That is still no substitute for a real coat, as in a piece of clothing," Félix argued

"Since when have you become such a complainer, kitten?" Plagg asked from where he floated next to them.

"Ever since I had to start babysitting Alya so she doesn't run head-first into her demise."

While Adrien was thankful that the two of them were able to each tackle one disaster at a time, it still didn't mean that those tasks were easy. Adrien was busy keeping glamour-breakers away from Marinette and Félix was busy keeping a very curious Alya away from investigating on a fae kidnapping.

"What did she do this time?" Adrien asked and Félix rolled his eyes.

"I'll tell you later. Let's just say that a bell tower at noon was involved."

Adrien grimaced at the thought alone. "Yikes! You deserve several caramel latte macchiatos for that alone." He had once been close to Notre Dame with Marinette and the ringing bells at just one o'clock had been painful enough for him. Twelve o'clock though? Ouch! "At least that explains the migraine from yesterday."

He started running and then leapt over the street that separated one row of buildings from another. Meanwhile he prayed that no one happened to look up, since a regular cat would never be able to make that jump. Then again, he was a ball of black fur against a dark night sky. People would probably think it was a pigeon that was out late at night.

Félix landed beside him and shook himself. "I still think it's a bad idea. What if we're being watched? Or what if Marinette is awake?"

"We're not watched," Plagg said and waved a paw. "I'd know if that was the case."

"Her windows are dark. Let's just have a look and see if the coast is clear," Adrien added and jumped on the dividing wall, dodging the chimneys.

He silently landed on the balcony with Félix following only shortly behind. Their plan to see if Marinette was asleep proved to be unnecessary as only a moment later Tikki phased through the hatch and glowered at them both.

Before an apology for waking her up could slip from Adrien's lips, Plagg spoke up.

"Hey sugarcube! I'm taking my kittens for a walk right now and we thought to stop by your place on the way back."

"Excuse you?!" Félix said.

"Is it safe to talk?" Adrien meanwhile asked timidly and nervously looked around. Fae or not, the balcony could be seen from the street below and from several surrounding buildings.

Tikki nodded. "My magic keeps the fae and curious stares away from this place."

A sigh of relief left him. "Good," he said and sat down on the cold balcony floor, his tail curling around him. "We came here to ask for a favour."

"It's more of a service towards your chosen than a favour for us, honestly," Félix added.

"I'm listening," Tikki said, still hovering in front of them with a stoic expression.

"We need you to enchant the charm I want to gift Marinette for Christmas. It needs to be able to block glamour-blockers. As much as I hate to admit it, Chloé is right. One day I will overlook a shamrock by accident and then there'll be no way to fix it..."

His tail and ears drooped at the thought.

"If the kittens would try it, it could end up badly and you're the charm master of us two," Plagg said with a shrug. Tikki sighed.

"It's a good idea in theory, but it can backfire. The more magic she carries, the more the Court will notice her. And an anti-glamour-breaking enchantment doesn't protect her from them."

"That's what she has us for," Adrien said with pleading eyes. "Please, Tikki. It's just one additional protection. You can literally keep up a forcefield that keeps fae, apart from Félix and me, out. There shouldn't be any danger of her getting taken while you're with her."

The kwami bit her lip. "I don't want her to carry too much magic, but I have to agree that it'd be relatively safer like this. But this is the only time I am doing this favour for you. Everything else is your responsibility, Adrien."

"I know. It has been even before you chose her. I'll keep her safe even if it's the last thing I do."

"At this rate, it might well be," Tikki said quietly, though not quiet enough to let it escape his ears.