Marinette blanched.
She blinked hard once. Then again. And again.
The voices and noises became muffled and she felt her hands tremble at the shock of hearing her own name called out to the entire Great Hall by Prince Adrien.
He wanted to spend time with her. He wanted to get to know her.
That thought alone made her heart skip a beat.
She was pulled out of her stupor when Alya nudged her forwards, towards the end of the Great Hall where the thrones of the king and prince sat. She was then ushered by two guards who motioned for her to stand beside the other four ladies Adrien had called out to.
She suddenly felt her cheeks growing red as she tried to process what was going on. The prince. Adrien, the prince, wanted to get to know her. Thought she could make a good wife. After years of not speaking or even seeing each other, he was considering marrying her.
Panic coursed through her, staring down at her feet. The four other ladies beside her were all from higher social classes, from wealth. She stood out against them in her apron and cheap gown. She wasn't meant to be among this line up.
The king smiled down the ladies, who had since coming up, curtsied and stood quietly.
"Now my dears, my steward Mister Damocles will take you alll to your rooms. I'll give you some time to say goodbye to your loved ones. Congratulations on leaving your mark on my Adrien."
With that, Marinette turned around to find Alya and her parents at the servers table.
She was still flushed, hands still shaky. Her mind was buzzing as she spoke to them, not really listening as she hugged each one of them. At least if she was going to be staying in the castle she would be getting a room upgrade.
After kissing her parents cheeks and squeezing Alya's hand, she made her way back to the steward, Mister Damocles, and was ushered away from the hall to her own private chambers.
On the way there the steward informed the girls that they would have free reign of the castle, save the kings rooms. They could spend their free time as they pleased, and Adrien would call for them when he wanted to see them. He still had to attend to his studies and princely duties, so the girls were not allowed to come see him unless he called for them.
Marinette heard all of the guidelines they were given and soon found herself in a large bedroom. The walls were decorated with floral pink wallpaper, tall satin curtains cascading down from the ceiling. There was a vanity, a desk, a large standing mirror, several bookshelves and two armoires. Attached to the bedroom was a bathroom with a large claw foot tub. She blinked and took in the extravagant room before collapsing onto the large queen sized bed.
Face down in a pillow, Marinette took deep breaths. The past twenty minutes of her life had been unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her 17 years. It was like, like a…
like a fairy tale.
Adrien was handsome and her attraction to him made her so happy to have this kind of opportunity. She had always been drawn to him and longed to be best him, but to say this was unexpected was an understatement.
After having several moments to continue processing her new living situation and potential future husband, Marinette got up from the bed to begin undressing.
She untied the ribbons from her hair, untwisted the braids from her head. She looked in the mirror, looking at her waved hair and blue eyes.
Did he really think she was cute, or was Alya just saying that?
She went to the armoires, opening one then the other.
Inside each was a rack filled with beautiful and colorful gowns. She marveled at the colors, the cut of the collars, the length of each. She touched the soft, high quality fabrics. The wonder in her eyes was unmatched in that moment.
Before she were to begin drooling over the dresses, she found a nightgown in the door of the armoire. She discarded her apron and dress and slipped into the silk nightgown, collapsing back onto the bed with the first smile she'd shown since her name was called.
Not only did she get a room upgrade, but a wardrobe upgrade as well? And the opportunity to spend time with Adrien? Her heart skipped a beat.
Hours later when she had still not succumbed to sleep, she arose from her bed and padded over to the door. Leaving her chambers, she climbed down the stairs in the Grand Foyer and made her way to the Great Hall. As she approached the doors she could hear the soft sounds of a piano.
She quietly slipped in to the hall, looking towards where the orchestra had been earlier that night. In place of the pianist was Adrien.
He was facing away from her as he methodically touched each key, wrapped up entirely in the music. He was playing the same song he had been playing the last time she had seen him in here: it was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. The third movement.
She had glanced through the sheet music that he had left there before and was able to decipher the notes to what he had played, though she herself was not a musician.
His fingers moved so fast and so graciously, like he was bound together with the piano. As if he was connected to it. She was mesmerized.
When he finally stroked the last few keys and finished the song, he closed the piano and stood, walking towards the door where she stood.
She tried to slide behind a pillar to avoid him noticing her watching him, but he caught her movement and laughed.
"Marinette?"
She felt her face grow hot. She silently stepped out from behind the pillar, looking down at her feet.
"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to intrude."
Adrien walked closer to her, standing about three feet from her. He was dressed in pajamas, A long-sleeved white linen shirt and matching pants. His hair was cute and disheveled.
"No need to apologize, I don't mind an audience."
He was smiling at her when she looked up at him, which only made her blush harder. She scratched her arm.
"O-Okay."
He inspected her silently, taking note of the few freckles that dusted her cheeks and nose. He then looked into her blue eyes, the very ones that brought them to this point.
After bumping (literally) into her at the ball, he was reminded of how much he had cared for her as a child.
His favorite days had always been the ones when he had snuck away to run around with her and Alya. As a prince, he was never given much free time so he loved the freedom that being mischievous brought him. Being around both of them had let him show a different side of himself. He had to be proper and respectful and neat as Prince Adrien, but around the girls he was just another kid.
When he turned ten, his father no longer let him sneak away. He knew everyone in the castle was letting it slide up until that point, but his father wanted to him to take his studies more seriously. He wanted Adrien to take being a prince more seriously.
So after his tenth birthday, he wasn't allowed to visit the girls. The only children his age he ever saw were the prince and princesses of foreign kingdoms, and they were never given permission to play. They simply sat in on tea with their parents, or sat quietly when they had meetings together.
After his tenth birthday, he was forced to grow up and become a real prince.
He missed the days when life wasn't so serious all the time. The nights when he was able to manage sneaking away to play piano or sit alone in the gardens were the nights he dreamt about during the day. Though he always thought about how much better these secret moments would be if he had a companion to share them with.
He looked back at Marinette, a grin creeping onto his lips.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked, crossing his arms in amusement. It was kind of adorable how nervous she was around him now. As children she seemed to always be teasing him.
Before she could object, Adrien grabbed her hand and began running through the castle. The guards on duty knew about his late night piano sessions and escapes, but since he was the prince and held some authority over their jobs, they never told him no. They simply didn't tell his father.
Marinette trailed behind him, struggling to keep up with her short legs. He guides her outside, into the cold night air. She followed him past the main courtyard, past the stable, past the gardens. He took her towards the forest behind the castle, stopping just short of the tree line.
He guided her a few steps forward towards a large tree before she noticed wooden planks nailed into the trunk.
Before Adrien began to climb, he offered her his hand to go before him.
Marinette soon found herself climbing into a treehouse with Prince Adrien Agreste.
Once inside, she took in her surroundings. Other than a few books and blankets, the tree house was empty. It was small but large enough to fit the two of them comfortably. She carefully sat down on the floor, crossing her legs. Before she could say a word, Adrien began.
"I had Ivan, one of my personal guards, build this when I was fifteen. It's one of my escapes, kind of like how the piano is as well. I know we haven't had time to catch up or discuss much, but I wanted to be able to talk to you without supervision or the stress of being in that castle, acting princely."
As she digested his words she blinked at him, eager to hear more.
"After seeing you at the ball, I felt an indescribable amount of content. It was like I was back in this very forest, running around with you and Alya, carefree. I've thought about you a lot since we were children, and I knew we would never be given an opportunity to truly be friends again because you work on staff for my father."
He swallowed, glancing at her.
"I picked you tonight to give us that opportunity. I'm sorry for disappearing as a kid. I'm sure that was hard for both you and Alya. I've never had any friends other than Nino, who you've probably seen at events and in town. He's all my father has ever allowed. You and Alya were very important to me, you really made my childhood much more enjoyable and I'm forever grateful. I'm sorry you're now caught up in my preposterous bridal competition, I just needed to get all of that off of my chest."
Marinette smiled at him, gingerly placing a hand on his arm. She wasn't sure how to act around him, not now that he was a soon to be king. A handsome soon to be king.
"Adrien, I-I mean Your Majesty—"
"Please, Marinette. I may be older but we've known each other forever. Adrien is fine."
She blushed.
"Adrien, thank you. I appreciate you opening up and explaining things. I've missed you, a lot. Alya and I both have. You've grown a lot."
"As have you," he commented.
"But, if all you wanted to do was have a conversation with me, why choose me as an option to marry for your father's competition? All of the other girls are of a higher status, and surely would go over better with the king. Why did you waste an opportunity to find a wife just to talk to me?"
Adrien was now the one with a slight blush across his cheeks.
"I would be lying if I said I didn't find you attractive, Marinette."
Marinette felt a pang in her chest.
The Prince Adrien? Had eyes for her? Even if it was in a casual, she's nice to look at kind of way...
She held in the gasp that threatened to escape her throat, and looked up at him. While he was looking back at her, she could sense there was more he wished to say, but after only reconnecting with him for the past hour or so, she decided not to press him.
"I-um," she smiled. "thank you."
"I know this was all very sudden for you, as for the other ladies, so please let me know if you need anything at all. I want to ensure you're comfortable for the duration of your stay."
Marinette couldn't help but giggle.
"My chambers within the castle are perfect, Adrien. You do know I lived in the servants quarters for the past ten or so years, right?"
Adrien face palmed.
"I'm such a dunce."
They both laughed.
The two spent another hour or so in the treehouse, catching up on things that have happened since the time they were ten years old. Marinette shared stories of times her and Alya would play pranks on fellow castle staff, or times they had gone into town in search for cute boys to look at. Adrien had chuckled pretty hard about those stories. She told him about her parents and how much they meant to her, but how badly she wanted to leave the castle, maybe even the kingdom, and see what was out there for her to explore.
Adrien didn't delve too deep into his princely duties or his personal relationships, but he talked about some of his funnier stories and memories with Nino or his personal guards, Ivan and Kim.
"My father has recently been making me study Chinese. I'm already fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish as well, but Chinese has been much more difficult to catch on to."
"Say something in...Spanish."
"Hoy fue agotador"
"Translation?"
"Today was exhausting." Adrien laughed at himself, running a hand through his hair.
"Italian?"
"Attendo con ansia i prossimi giorni."
"Meaning?"
"I look forward to the next few days." He smiled.
Marinette grinned. "Say something in French."
Adrien thought for a moment.
"Tes yeux brilles comme les étoiles."
"What does that mean?"
Adrien smiled back at her.
"Your eyes shine like the stars."
Marinette stared at him, that panging in her chest making a reappearance. She felt her heartbeat start to pick up, doing a little dance inside of her.
"Speaking of the stars, it looks like they're disappearing. The sun has nearly risen, we should probably head back. I'm sure we could both use some rest."
Adrien opened the trap door of the treehouse, motioning for her to head down first, and she did.
Back inside of the castle they stood in a long corridor, where the steward had taken her to her room earlier that day. Adrien's room seemed to be at the end of this long hallway, her room and the other girls at the other end.
"Sweet dreams, Marinette."
Adrien placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles before bowing and striding down the hallway, entering his room and leaving her alone for the night.
A/N: I have soooo many ideas for this story! Sorry if I butchered the spanish and italian, google translate had to help me out with that one. Let me know your thoughts! I appreciate your follows, favorites and reviews! :)