Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or it's characters. Also, the book "The Ugly Princess and The Wise Fool" is a real book, and I don't own that story, but you should totally read it.
Chapter 36,
Back at Hawk Moth's hidden hideout, the villain was stewing at his latest failure.
"Winning one battle doesn't win the war, Ladybug and Cat Noir. And I guarantee you this war is far from-"
"GABRIEL RACHAT AGRESTE!!!"
A female shouted and Hawk Moth jumped out of his skin. He turned and he saw Nathalie marching over to him, but he seemed to overlook the raging fire in her eyes.
"Oh, Nathalie, it's you. You scared-"
Nathalie slapped Hawk Moth so hard he fell down on the floor.
"SHUT UP!" She screeched. Hawk Moth hissed in pain and he was going to yell back at Nathalie, but then he noticed that her fact was drenched in tears.
"Do You Have Any IdeaWhat Destruction You've Caused? Do You Know What You Put Me Through!?! And Armand; And Adrien; And All Of Paris!" Nathalie said and Hawk Moth couldn't help but Hawk at this display. He's never seen Nathalie like this.
"Nathalie, you know that I-"
"Don't Speak!" Nathalie ordered, and Hawk Moth was intimidates enough to obey.
"I was kidnapped by Freddy Kruger, who've I've been terrified by since I was a child, a-and he... he..." she couldn't finish her statement. She wrapped her arms around herself and fell to her knees; more tears flowing from her eyes and into her expensive outfit.
"Dark wings fall." Hawk Moth whispered and he turned back into Gabriel.
He stared in bewilderment. Nathalie was always so good at hiding her emotions, it almost felt foreign for her to break down like this: he inched over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"He did what he did to me... not only did you do that... but you send Armand to the hospital... he almost died... and Gabriel..." she paused to look up at him.
"You endangered Adrien... again." She said bitterly and he blinked at this statement.
"Listen, Gabriel. I think I've been rather flexible and forgiving throughout this whole ordeal... because I really care about you and I've been really sensitive to you missing your wife and all, and I'll still be your assistant and do my job..." she paused, rose to her feet and took a deep breath.
"But I can no longer help you on your quest to capture Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous'... my days of being Mayura are officially over." Nathalie said. Gabriel was beside himself; he simply couldn't imagine being Hawk Moth without Nathalie by his side.
"But Nathalie." Gabriel said standing up.
"Will that be all, sir?" Nathalie asked professionally, placing her hands behind her back to hide how badly they were trembling.
"Nathalie, you can't really be serious-"
"WILL That be all, sir?" Nathalie asked trying to keep her temper. Gabriel suddenly felt more defeated then he's ever felt losing a battle against Ladybug and Cat Noir.
"That will be all." He consented and Nathalie turn and left Gabriel alone with his loneliness.
At the park, Nino and his friends returned to decorate and celebrate Nino's birthday. And when it started to get dark, Nino looked over and he saw Chris laying on a park bench falling asleep. So Nino decided to call I an early night; he thanked his friends for the gifts and the party, and he took his brother home. Nino carefully tucked Chris into bed and the young boy stirred.
"Nino? Where's the party?" Chris asked and Nino smiled gently.
"The party's over, kiddo. Don't worry about it." Nino said and Chris rubbed his eyes.
"Did you like your birthday party?" Chris asked and Nino nodded.
"It was nice. I got a bunch of cool presents, given to me by my cool friends, while we listened to cool music... but you want to know what my favorite part of today was?" Nino asked and Chris paused to think.
"Getting that cool bracelet Marinette gave you and Alya?" Chris asked and Nino chuckled lightly.
"Well, yeah, dude; this bracelet is pretty boss. And I love the fact that I get to share this with Alya. But no, my favorite part of today was hanging out with you, my favorite dude." Nino said and Chris smiled.
"Really?" Chris asked and Nino nodded.
"Of course little dude. You're my cool little brother." Nino said and Chris paused to bite his lower lip.
"Nino, I really am sorry about today." Chris said sincerely and Nino went ahead and sat on Chris' bed.
"Listen, I know how easy it is to fall under the spell Hawk Moth weaves with his akumas. I mean... you made a mistake today, it happens." Nino said reassuringly and Chris didn't feel much better.
"It makes mom sad to talk about your dad, doesn't it?" Chris asked and Nino hesitated.
"A little. She misses him, you know." Nino said and Chris looked away.
"Was it hard for her to name me after him?" Chris asked and Nino hesitated.
"I don't know. Maybe a little. I think that's understandable though... but at the same time, it's kinda cool that you're named after my dad. 'Cause now he gets to be a part of you too." Nino said and Chris smiled.
"What do you remember most about your dad?" Chris asked and Nino thought carefully.
"I remember... the way he smelled after grilling for the family. And I remembered just when I really liked the way my dad's hair looked; he would look cool, and then he'd get a haircut because the hair touches his ear- which is against regulation. Heh. And so kinda remember the way he would read to me when he could anyways..." Nino said and Chris stared at him.
"Like bedtime stories?" Chris asked and Nino nodded.
"Yeah. When dad wasn't deployed or too tired, he would read to me. The sound of his voice was rather calming to me." Nino said and then he smiled at Chris.
"It's getting pretty late though. Maybe it's time you get some rest. We can talk more tomorrow." Nino said and Chris looked away, then looked back at Nino.
"Maybe you could read me a story... like one your dad use to read for you." Chris said and Nino hesitated.
"Oh, um... I remember he would read this book called 'the ugly princess and the wise fool', but I loaned that to Alya so she could read it to her sisters." Nino said.
"That's ok. We don't need the book." Chris said with a smile and Nino gave him a loving smirk.
"Alright, alright, it won't be 100% accurate; alright dude?" Nino said. Chris curled up comfortably under his covers and beamed at Nino, who nodded gently.
"Ok, let's see. Once upon a time, there was this dude who was the king of this kingdom. Thing is, he wasn't very bright, and he felt stupid; and because he felt stupid, he banned knowledge from the kingdom, so no one could be smarter then him." Nino started and Chris snickered.
"That's stupid. If you don't have knowledge, then how can you walk? If you don't know how to walk, then he told everyone they can't walk, because they can't learn how to walk." Chris said and Nino nodded.
"Sometimes people get mad when they aren't very bright. Actually, whenever you meet someone who makes you feel stupid, or inadequate, or useless, a lot of people will lash out because they feel insecure. They can't really distinguish the difference between a physical threat and an emotional threat. So, instinctively, their fight-or-flight comes into play and they fight." Nino said and Chris blinks.
"Sounds complicated." Chris said and Nino couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, moving on. Because the king had banned knowledge, that meant that the wisest dudes in the land, the monks, were no longer welcomed. Now the monks were the dudes who prayed a lot for the world, lived together at the church, and they spent their time meditating and learning about stuff. So they suddenly became homeless, jobless, outcasts. One of the younger monks stayed in the kingdom and he got a job being the king's royal jester." Nino said.
"So he's the wise fool?" Chris said, his eyes feeling rather heavy.
"Yes. But he was very good at his job. Not only did he make the king wail with laughter, but the monk secretly made the king smarter and wiser without the dude realizing that he was learning." Nino said.
"But wha-(yawn)-at about the ugly princess." Chris asked and Nino smiled.
"Now the king who banned knowledge actually had three daughters. The older daughters were the most beautiful girls in the whole kingdom; they had the sweetest smiles, the silkiest hair, and wore the fanciest dresses for miles around. The youngest, however, was not beautiful. Dude wasn't pretty, she has buck teeth, stringy hair, and she didn't care to wear outrageous attire, as her sisters did; but she was happy. She loved to style her sisters hair, taking hours to help one of them, but she would make them laugh so hard it would mess up their hair and they would have to start all over again. Every dude in the kingdom treated her with kindness and love because of how amazing she was as a person." Nino said. For a second Nino thought Chris was asleep.
"She... sounds... nice." Chris muttered softly. He was seconds away from sleeping.
"She was, and she loved to explore. She thought she was the only person who would travel outside the kingdom's walls; but much to her surprise, she sees the king's royal jester sitting under a tree, reading a book. A book which should not exist since her father banned books from the kingdom for containing wisdom." Nino said. He paused and he waited for Chris to say something, but the child was silent. Nino carefully eased off the bed, and out of Chris' room.