Three days. Three long days of trying to entertain someone who didn't show any emotion, knowing that if he didn't do something, she would be announced as his fiance in less than a week. Adrien was sick and tired of trying to keep the conversation going with Princess Kagami, not to mention the little matter of discussing their "mutually beneficial alliance", as his father had put it. Not that either of them were in any doubt of what that meant.

And apparently, she didn't care.

"Ahem."

Adrien cleared his throat - again. Kagami looked up at him from the book she was holding - Improving Essays, apparently.

"Would you like to walk in the gardens?" Adrien said quickly, trying to keep his voice from showing his desperation. The gardens at this time of day would be frequented by many of the castle inhabitants, and though he didn't want to encourage the gossip about a possible alliance, it was better than trying to entertain her in an empty room.

Again.

"That sounds lovely." said the visiting princess flatly, rising to her feet, her burgundy skirt falling gracefully around her feet. Adrien offered his arm out of a feeling of obligation rather than kindness, and they walked silently together out of the room and through the halls to the main doors. When they had finally come out into a beautiful spring day, Adrien's mood began to lift - and at the same time to fall even further. While he loved these days, they always reminded him of his mother. Her favorite days had been just like this - the sun shining in the sky, a few clouds rolling across it occasionally, the breeze bringing with it a hint of summer along with the scents of flowers from the garden.

Not only that, but her death had come on a day just like this, too.

Adrien wondered if he could possibly find an excuse at some point to slip away and visit the little gazebo his mother had commissioned for herself. Ever since Plagg's outburst in the library a few days before, he hadn't had a moment to himself. If he wasn't entertaining the princess, Plagg was there with him - watching him from afar, even. If he didn't know better, Adrien would have thought that Plagg was keeping an eye on him at all times. Did his tutor really think he was completely idiotic? Of course there was a part of him that wanted desperately to get out and lose his responsibilities, but the sensible part of him - which wasn't as insignificant as Plagg seemed to think - wouldn't let him. It just wasn't safe to risk it without careful planning - because if the king ever found out about his son's vigilante activity, the consequences would be unimaginable for everyone concerned.

As they entered the garden, Adrien began to gently steer his companion toward a spot where he knew there would be a crowd. If he could introduce the princess to other people and get her into a conversation, she might not notice if he slipped away. He'd come up with an excuse some other time - maybe even admit a little bit of the truth if he had to. She deserved that much, right?

"Where are we going?" asked the girl on his arm, looking interestedly at the flowers around them. He was surprised by this as he looked down at her - she was much shorter than he - and answered

"The center of the garden isn't far, and I personally think it's one of the best spots."

She didn't answer, merely nodding and continuing to study the flowers. Adrien felt bad for her - really, this wasn't fair to either of them. True, he had shown a little bit of interest in her years ago, but now they were both being thrust into this awkward situation. He knew it wasn't Kagami's fault in the slightest, that she was just as powerless as he was to do anything about it, but it did irritate him that she didn't seem to even be concerned about the problem at all.

"Maybe she's just too shy to talk about it with me." the kindhearted side of his mind said reasonably.

"Or maybe this is just who she is, and I'll have to live with it for the rest of my life, because I was too much of a coward to do anything about it." said the nasty voice in the back of his head - which had come much more front and center in the past few days.

They reached the center of the garden and saw a large open space where all of the paths converged from different directions, and in the center, a large marble pavilion. Adrien saw with relief that there was a group not far from them with people he knew. Nino looked up and waved with a grin as Adrien steered Kagami toward them. Rose smiled kindly as they approached and reached out to take the princess by the hand, pulling them into the group.

"How are you, your highness? I hope everything is going well? What do you think of the gardens?"

Something in Kagami had seemed to tense up as Rose grabbed her, but she responded with practiced calm

"The gardens are lovely. I especially like the splashes of color. Our gardens back home aren't nearly so colorful - it's mostly trees and shrubs instead of flowers."

Rose's cheerful attitude was as infectious as always, and her smile lit up her face even brighter as she said

"Aren't they beautiful? I just love them, too. Especially the crocuses - but they're not out anymore. They've gone back into hiding until next year. But that's alright - the way the garden is arranged, we'll have flowers all year until the first snow!"

Kagami looked slightly surprised - or rather, she cocked her head slightly, her face staying perfectly composed.

"Really? I didn't know there were flowers that bloomed so late in the year that you could see them in the fall."

Adrien nodded with a fond look on his face.

"My mother loved flowers, so the gardeners found whatever kinds they could that would bloom year round."

"It's really nice to be able to walk around here and still see flowers." Alix added. "Even in the snow. The gardeners find a way to draw flower designs in the snow - it's really interesting how they do it, too!"

Nino caught Adrien's eye and the two of them moved a few steps away. Adrien leaned toward his friend and asked

"I'm really sorry to ask it, but do you think you can make sure the princess gets back okay? It seems like I've been around her pretty much nonstop for three and a half days, and I… I guess I'm a little overwhelmed by everything."

Nino's eyes were full of sympathy.

"You got it, my man. Go on. Do you need me to cover for you with Nathalie if she asks?"

Adrien was about to answer when he saw a familiar form on the other side of the garden. He sighed slightly to himself but answered Nino

"No, that's fine. I think Plagg's already taking care of it."

Nino grinned at him and punched him playfully on the shoulder before going back to the group. Adrien stepped down another path, looking over his shoulder as he did so. As he expected, Plagg was still within eyesight - along with another young man who also seemed to be staring at him. Adrien almost turned around again, but decided he couldn't handle any more smalltalk and began to make his way through the garden.

As always, he enjoying the feeling of being alone. It wasn't the same feeling he got as Chat Noir, of course, but it was something. He wandered the paths, enjoying the scents of the different flowers and admiring the blossoms, plucking the most beautiful and holding them gently, like his mother had taught him, until he finally reached his destination - a small wooden structure with a slatted roof, decorated with several chairs and a low table with an empty vase. They were slightly worse for wear from being outside, but they weren't covered in dust.

Adrien smiled sadly as he sat down on one of the chairs. He knew why gazebo was so spotless whenever he came - everyone knew that this was Queen Emilie's favorite spot, and the people had loved her dearly. This was someone's way of honoring her memory, he supposed, and he appreciated their efforts. He wished he knew who it was, but there was never anything left behind to tell him, so he merely said a silent thank you to the unknown person and let his thoughts wander.

He knew he shouldn't be so resentful of what his father was asking of him. He'd known from the time he was old enough to understand that he'd be marrying for the kingdom, but he'd hoped for at least a semblance of control over the decision. He hadn't thought he cared much for "love", but now he wasn't so sure. He might not be looking for a soulmate, but he was at least hoping for someone he enjoyed being around. Someone who could hold a conversation with him easily. And maybe, just maybe, someone he could trust and open up to. For so many years, he'd been deprived of affection - everyone in the palace, even Nino, saw him as the prince and very little else. Even Plagg's affection wasn't quite the same as what he'd had as a child.

And on that depressing note, he began to sort through the flowers in his hand. A small pink bloom, a yellow carnation, a purple iris, a white flower he didn't know the name of, and even a rose - not quite a bud, but not quite a full bloom either. His eyes stayed on the red petals as he allowed thoughts he'd pushed away from his conscious mind for the last three days to finally enter. He'd tried to ignore any musings about Marinette, but as he looked at the rose, he allowed himself to remember that night. He wondered if she was alright, what she thought of the upcoming festival - another thing he'd been trying to forget - and whether her stepmother had been angry with her for getting back in during the night.

He wondered what her life had been like before the death of her parents, whether she'd been back to their graves since then, who exactly it was she had been delivering the jewels to, whether she'd been able to go back to the shop during the day, and why she'd said she couldn't.

He remembered her dark hair, her blue eyes, and her smile. The smile that was open and confiding, determined and slightly saucy sometimes, even her sad smile that had pulled on his own heartstrings because he recognized it as the one he'd worn for months after his mother had passed. The smile that tried to show the world that all was well, that you weren't slowly being crushed by the weight of the world.

Suddenly, a crazy idea entered his head - or perhaps it had always been there, ever since he got back from seeing her the first time. He looked down at the rose in his hand, then smiled a little and stood up. He set the other flowers in the vase, knowing that the unknown tender of the gazebo would fill it with water soon enough, and he held the rose in his hand as he walked back to the palace.

He didn't meet anyone on his way, but he was still cautious as he slipped in a side door and up a back flight of stairs. He knew that no one would stop him but Nathalie or Plagg, but he didn't want word to get back to them that he was sneaking around - and he hoped he could hide the flower away before anyone saw it and began to gossip.

Apparently, luck was on his side. Or at least it was until he entered his room and saw Plagg sitting on his chair. Adrien didn't even try to hide the flower, knowing that Plagg had probably seen the whole thing and not caring. He looked around for a container of some kind, waiting for his tutor to make the first comment.

He didn't have to wait long - and he wasn't surprised by the comment, either.

"You know, kid, this isn't a good idea."

Adrien set the rose in a small cup by his bedside and turned to the other man.

"And I suppose you know what my idea is?"

Plagg gave a grin, something that did surprise his pupil.

"Sure I do! You've been out of it for three days, right after that meeting with a pretty girl, and all of a sudden you're sneaking around with a flower that isn't going to the visiting princess in the garden? You're gonna go out tonight and find her to give her a flower, right?"

Adrien's face was getting hot, but he stared at his tutor belierantly.

"So what if I am? Is there anything wrong with wanting to make sure that everyone in my kingdom is safe and happy?"

Plagg leaned back in the chair and sighed.

"And you're probably expecting me to try to stop you, right?"

Adrien blinked in confusion.

"Excuse me?"

Plagg looked at him seriously, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands folded.

"I get it. I was too harsh the other day, and you're expecting that again. So I'm going to get this out in the open: I don't think you're wrong."

Adrien's jaw dropped and he sat down on the bed, staring at his tutor in astonishment. Plagg continued.

"You said that you don't want to settle down with someone you don't have feelings for. I get that. And I also have been able to see over the past three days that you're not happy with the princess. I still think you're making a mistake in getting too close to this girl right away, but you're not a child anymore, and I can't forbid you to go. So I think you have two choices. The first is that you can go out tonight and tell that girl that you're glad she's safe, and then leave her forever and come back here to marry the princess because it would give an added layer of security to the kingdom.

He noticed the look on Adrien's face and grinned wickedly.

"Or, you can talk to the princess and tell her that there's been a mistake and you'd like to break it off. No one officially knows about the plan for you two except the high-up muckety mucks, so it's not like you'll be destroying all kinds of state agreements, just making relations with her kingdom a little strained. And if all goes well and you figure this out, you can smooth things over and create that alliance without the marriage being necessary, leaving you open to go and talk to the pretty girl from the bridge, find out who she is and where you stand with her."

Adrien was still staring at his tutor, but he closed his mouth at that. Plagg kept going.

"However, I'd recommend that you first make sure she doesn't have a nice village boy walking her home every night you're not there."

Adrien's brain was reeling, but he regained control of it with an effort, grinning up at Plagg as he jumped up.

"I knew you'd see it my way. Thanks, Plagg!"

"Woah, there, kitten. I need you to listen to me for a second."

Adrien looked at his tutor, who had risen as well.

"Like I said, I can't stop you. And I'm not going to try, because you're a good kid and you're a smart kid. And I trust that you'll do the right thing in the end. But I'm warning you now about all of this. If you're going to go back to this girl, know that you'll be in for some tough decisions. You know she can't know anything about you, right?"

Adrien waved his tutor off before turning back and settling the rose more gently into the cup. His tutor snorted.

"Sheesh, you've got it bad, kid. And don't forget - you're going to have to talk to your father about this, too. Even if the princess agrees to call it off, you're still going to be the one to tell him about it. Are you prepared for that?"

Adrien froze where he was. He hadn't thought about that little detail. And he wasn't sure that there was any chance of making his father see it his way. He felt something in the pit of his stomach sinking, but decided that he'd have to wait and see exactly what the night brought before thinking about that obstacle. Because no matter what else might happen, Chat Noir would be making a visit that night.

Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating over the weekend - I don't really have an excuse, and I feel terrible. Also, this chapter is not my favorite, I don't really feel like it turned out as well as it could have no matter how much I edit, but the next chapter makes up for it.

Also, in case you didn't know, I have the whole story written at this point and I'm just posting it chapter by chapter, so once we get further into the story and we have a lot of chapters all taking place at the same time, I'll be posting them closer together. But we'll get there soon enough! In the meantime, I love hearing from all of you, it makes my day every time, and I'd love to discuss the story and what you think of it!