14. Were we, now?
Marinette thought that her grandmother's ideas about her grandfather's mobility were terribly wrong.
They walked down the streets arm on arm and she would've never guessed that he was around eighty years old.
"How have you been adjusting, sweetheart?"
Marinette smiled.
"I have met almost all youth, but Alya Cessaire has come over a couple of times and I maintain correspondence with her daily. She has been very nice to me and I think that we will be good friends."
Fu grinned.
"Your grandmother mentioned a blonde man with Agreste blood running through his veins."
Her cheeks went red with the memory of her mistake.
"Yes, I am ashamed of how I almost fell into his trap."
He chuckled.
"My dear, I assure you that my Marianne could blame a dog for stealing a sheep if one of its folks so much as looked like a wolf."
She knitted her eyebrows.
"Are you saying…?"
"I am saying that I have known Adrien since he was born. His only sin is his naivety, his innocence, his need to believe in the good in others. It took him the death of his mother to realize that his father was no saint."
"But I've heard that he loved her dearly."
"He did. The way the collector loves a butterfly, the way a woman presses a rose in a book to preserve it."
Marinette didn't understand, so Adrien was a good person she could trust and befriend?
As if reading her thoughts, mister Lenoir said:
"There is too much good in him. Someone is going to take advantage of that someday, someone who will hurt him and leave him to crush under the weight of his own epiphanies. But if somebody else, a little gentler and kinder, were to grab that advantage, wouldn't that be better?"
She frowned again
"Perhaps, but only in the way that a hunter breaks a beast's neck instead of bleeding it to death."
"A kinder end."
"But an end nonetheless."
"I believe you know what I mean."
She shook her head.
"I refuse to see it."
He tapped the floor with his cane and all the leaves of the trees began to fall behind them.
"It is a matter of time. Darkness and death are coming to this town, soon we will have to look after one another and if anything happens to Marianne, you have to be ready to do whatever it takes to protect the coven."
"Including what, grandfather?"
"Gabriel loves his son. He is what he has left of Emilie."
A shiver ran down her spine.
"I would never hurt someone who is good to me or my people. I am not going to gain his trust only to stab him in the back."
Fu snorted.
"I appreciate the boy too. But at war, morals have no place."
"They do! More than in any other situation. If we do not follow our principles, we…"
"If we do follow our principles and they don't, it is our people who die. He is interested in you, so all I ask of you is that you nurture his affections, nobody knows when they could come at hand."
"Why do you believe in such a thing?"
"Because you are beautiful and mysterious right now. Tempting. And that calls men in. I myself was like that a few centuries ago."
She managed to fight a laugh. This was serious.
"But I…"
"What do I see?" He suddenly yelled. "I believe that I have spotted Mister Adrien Agreste. Tell me, granddaughter, am I losing my marbles?"
Adrien was coming on his black horse. He smiled and hopped off to shake Fu's hand enthusiastically.
"It's been such a long time since I saw you outside your home, Mister Lenoir! How are you doing?"
Her grandfather laughed.
"Oh, I do miss my youth," he pointed at her with his cane, "but this young lady here seems to be able to share her spark with everyone around her. There is something of a witch in herself."
"Grandfather," she protested, extremely uncomfortable.
"I have noticed that myself," Adrien said, recalling their first meeting. "How are you doing, Marinette?"
"I am fine, thank you, Mister Agreste."
He made a face of disagreement.
"Please, I did believe that we were over mister and miss."
"Were we, now?"
Noticing where his granddaughter was taking the conversation, Fu intervened.
"There, there, younglings. I am too old to witness modern courting techniques."
"Grandfather!"
"You see, Adrien, I wish Marinette to be in Saint Emilie as happy as she was in the city, but you must agree that the rhythm of life there flies compared to the one in here."
"Of course," he answered politely, not quite seeing where the man was going.
"So I wanted her to attend Madame Rossi's charity event tonight, but my beloved Marianne is taking our butler for her own business in town, so, would you be a nice boy and take Marinette with you?"
His eyes gleamed with hope. That means no Lila and no Chloe!
"I would be delighted," he responded, a little too fast and a little too excited.
Marinette stared in disbelief at her grandfather.
"Excellent! We will expect you at noon. Have a good morning, Adrien."
"You too!"
Adrien got back on his horse, eager to announce to his father that he wouldn't be escorting his friends' daughters. Once he was far enough, Marinette unhanded Mister Lenoir's arm, angry.
"You totally knew he was going to be here!'
Fu walked smiling like an agreeable old man who just woke up.
"I did not, I swear."
She narrowed her eyes.
"A warlock always lies," she cited.
He smiled devilishly.
"A warlock always lies."