Not going to lie, I got very distracted with the Olympics.

Marinette didn't know what bug bit her that morning but she was definitely having lots of regrets by the time she changed into her usual outfit and got to work.

What was she thinking? Going off to the woods just like that? And she had encountered a total stranger! In the middle of the night! And interacted with him?

"What happened to me?" she asked to no one in particular as she kneaded the dough, the jar of blueberries the only witness to her antics. It could have been a thief! A murderer!

She shook her head. Yes, she had done something reckless and stupid but on the other hand no one saw her, not even whoever the guy from the forest was, it was too dark for any of them to see. And even if she happened to see him in the village, she was no fool to reveal that detail.

Also, Chat Noir? What kind of name was that?

Marinette huffed, her hair now tied in pigtails again, but with a strand falling right in between her eyes as she worked on the pie. She should have stayed home, worked something out, but she sighed as she continued on her pastry, no point in crying over spilled milk.

And yet, a part of her felt a thrill, a dash of adventure in her sort of mundane life. Oh, it had been fun, despite the danger! To sneak out? To go beyond the limits of the village? It was an entirely new experience and what would she give to have it repeated.

"No," Marinette shook her head "once was more than enough," she looked at the clock and proceeded to clean up her small workplace while the pie was in the oven.

By the time the pie was ready, Marinette had finally resigned herself that her adventure had been a one-time-only event. She would go to the village, find Luka and catch up like the friends they were and maybe, maybe, come up with the… ugh, courtship situation.

If anything, she could wed him as a friend, but it wasn't going to be fair for Luka if he had found someone else.

With that in mind, Marinette set with extreme care the pie in a basket and covered it with a white cloth, checking herself on the mirror one last time before announcing that she was leaving for the day. There were other pastries in the basket, little things she managed to make with the extra pastry and batter, but the pie was the masterpiece of her morning.

"Oh, Marinette," her mother called at her "before you go can you please help the customer with some directions? He wants to see the Archives and since you're on your way to the village..."

Marinette blinked. While it could be a feeble attempt of meeting yet another prospector, for him to ask for directions meant they weren't from this place. Could it be the stranger from the woods? She walked to the front of the shop, where she spotted a young man enjoying one of the fresh-made croissants with a face that looked like he had never tried a pastry in his life.

His hair was a golden tone and his eyes were a deep green that Marinette was, without a doubt, surprised. He definitely was a foreigner if she had to judge his outfit, and one of a high class as well, so there was no way it could be the Chat Noir from the woods, no person of high class would dare to sleep out in the open like that.

"Hi, uhm,"

"Oh, sorry," the guy turned to see Marinette "I apologize, your uhm, mom said you knew this place like the back of your hand and- "

Of course, she did, Marinette tried to not let out a sound of frustration at the attempt.

"You want to see the Archives?" keep it formal, keep it civil, a foreigner shouldn't know about the rule.

"Yes! I heard there is one here and there's something I need to find…" he stopped on his tracks, as if he had forgotten something "my name is Adrien, I should have started with that."

"Marinette," she replied, a small polite smile on her face "and I can show you where it is, I was on my way to the village anyway."

Adrien smiled and Marinette ignored the small leap her heart did because that was the cutest smile she had ever seen.

She led the way to the main plaza, where she could easily point the building for Adrien to go and then be on her way to her tasks of the day. A small part of her, however, was on edge with each step she took. She could feel a few glares in her direction, and she was about to second guess if someone had seen her sneak out, when she heard an old lady mutter.

"No wonder she chased that Theo away."

Marinette held back a groan. Of course, the courtship of yesterday. She had already forgotten about it and now it was in everyone's mouths. And to see her now with a new guy? Great, she was not looking forward to the rumor mill.

No matter, she squared up to her shoulders, she could handle it. She was used to them by now, what with not one nor two but four rejections over the past two years. If anything, Marinette was a champ in ignoring the gossip.

"Is something wrong?"

Marinette turned to Adrien, whose expression was of concern. Ok, she shouldn't be so harsh on the guy, after all, he was a foreigner to this place.

"No, just people making gossip" Marinette waved a hand "don't mind them…" she bit her lip, it wouldn't hurt to make conversation, would it? "So, may I ask what is what you look for in the Archives?"

"Oh, yes! Adrien smiled "I'm looking for information about magic curses and how to break them."

At that Marinette couldn't help but to blink. For a person of his status to be into that sort of topic was definitely a surprise. She didn't think they would be interested in it. Then again, she had heard of people doing tricks and deals in order to get wealth or power.

"Oh, well I don't know if we have something of that…"

"I don't lose anything with trying" Adrien said "I have friends counting on me."

That changed a lot of things in Marinette's head. A part of her said that maybe she could help him out, but another was against the idea, as the guy was a stranger and messing with magic was never a good thing.

Then again… she remembered the legends her mama used to read to her when she was younger and her childish ideas of what magic was like. She had never set foot in the Archives before because at first, she was too small and then she just couldn't find the time.

"I could help you out a little," Marinette finally said just as they reached the plaza "I mean, I know some of the legends and folklore of this place, maybe something can help?"

Damn her curiosity if she was honest with herself but the itch to know what type of magic this guy wanted to find was really getting to her brain.

"That'd be great but," Adrien looked at her basket "I don't want to take much of your time, I just imposed and- "

"Oh, right," she had completely forgot about the basket "well… how about this? I have to deliver this and if I come back and you're still here, I can help."

"Are you sure? I really don't want to burden your routine."

"It's ok" Marinette actually smiled "magic is a serious thing and if you are doing this to help people then with more reason I want to assist."

The way Adrien's eyes seemed to shine made her cough and turn, promising to come a little later. It was just her imagination that her steps were faster as if she really wanted to go back. No, she had to pull herself together, Adrien was a stranger, well, an acquaintance by now an he was looking for information about magic, which Marinette was well aware was not something to mess with.

'But he's doing it to help someone' a treacherous part of her brain added 'he's doing it for a good cause.'

Marinette bit her lip. Magic, as far as she remembered, had no real definition of what was good and bad. So, it still was complicated. No matter, she would just go towards Luka's and give him the pastries and maybe, just maybe, she'd go back to the Archives.

"Marinette?"

Or maybe something above her comprehension was playing cards with her faith.

"Luka?"

She really didn't think she'd run into him, in the middle of the square. Here he was, with his lute on his back and a few inches taller than the last time she saw him. He smiled at her and walked towards her, and Marinette noticed that his hair was also longer. Had it been that long?

"Oh, oh hi," she shifted the basket on her arm "I was just about to go visit you,"

"Really? Oh, did Juleka tell you I was coming?"

"Well, word got around," Marinette drifted off because she hadn't had the chance to speak to Juleka "ah, I made this for you, as a welcome gift."

She almost shoved the basket against Luka's chest, the young man having no trouble with grabbing it before it fell. He smiled and Marinette's heart fluttered, but not in the way she hoped it would. Luka was still a good friend, a cherished one that she trusted, she couldn't force feelings to grow out of nowhere, and less when she valued his friendship over everything else.

"Thank you Marinette," Luka smiled as he took a peek at the pie "I sure missed your baking."

"Oh shucks, I bet the big cities have amazing things," Marinette waved a hand but Luka had none of it.

"Maybe, but nothing beats the warmth from your creations,"

"Aw, thank you," she smiled at him "I was actually going to go deliver it at your home and-"

There it was again, the faint scent of vanilla in the air. Marinette frowned, she hadn't used vanilla, at least not that much, in her work so it was indeed weird. She looked around but there was nothing unusual in the square.

"That's very nice of you," Luka kept talking, had he noticed something "but I'm actually on my way to the Church, will see if I can play some days for extra gold."

"Oh, I don't think that would be a problem," Marinette turned again, was it her imagination then?

"But we could see each other later?"

"Yes, that'd be nice," Marinette smiled at him "I have to congratulate Juleka too."

Luka smiled at her and walked away, in the direction of the church, but Marinette was starting to question herself. She was not making things up with the strange scent, she lived above a bakery, the smell of vanilla had a good explanation, right?

She looked back at the Archives. Maybe, just to clarify a doubt, she could check it out? And ok, if Adrien was still there then what was wrong with a little assistance?

Meanwhile, Adrien was beyond floored with the building. He had no idea what he had to look for, other than a clue Plagg said would be in this village. He had tried not to look suspicious, but he couldn't help to have sneaked looks around while he walked with Marinette.

Marinette, the girl that had offered to show him the Archives. She seemed to be a nice girl, if anything she hadn't turned a stink eye for the mere mention of magic. And Adrien was so grateful for that because he didn't think through if he should have mentioned it or not. He hadn't been around people in years he was very rusty in social cues and interactions.

And yet, there he was, surrounded by lots of books and records that his library didn't have, perhaps there was one that could help? He knew it has been a long time, Plagg at least gave him that breakdown a few years ago. A part of him felt odd at that, as if he had skipped dozens of years without realizing.

No, he had to focus. Find out about his father's curse and a way to break it. That was his mission. Besides, he didn't know how many hours of daylight he could count with, the least he wanted was to transform in the village and cause panic.

"Alright Adrien," he slapped both his cheeks to focus "you can do this."

"Do you have a habit of talking alone?"

Adrien jumped, startled to see Marinette looking at him with mild amusement.

"W-no, I, that was…fast."

"Oh, yeah, I had some luck" Marinette turned to a shelf "I thought you'd be deep in books by now."

"I… may have got distracted with how many they are" he smiled "and I wouldn't really know where to start."

Which wasn't a lie, he just knew he had to find something about magic and curses, right? It was then that Marinette approached one of the desks with a set of tomes.

"Well, a history of magic could be one."

Adrien was beyond grateful of her presence, even after hours had passed and he had reached a moot point. He did learn lots of things on the other hand, about the village, their traditions and the clearing that was near his home.

"Why is it called Crystal Blossoms?" he asked after a while "I don't think it's because of real crystal flowers, right?"

"No," Marinette hummed "come to think of it, I don't really know why, my mom should, she used to tell me lots of legends about that forest."

"Really?"

"Yes," she smiled "she used to tell me one about this castle and how it is cursed in time."

Adrien's heart skipped a beat, could it be? Could that be his clue?

"But I don't remember much about it, I think I could get you the book, we probably have it at home."

"That would be great," Adrien said, trying to control his voice.

They left the Archives, Adrien's mind reeling in excitement. Could that be it? Could that be the answer? The curse? It could fit with his predicament after all.

"Marinette!" he heard someone call the girl, turning out of curiosity to see someone running towards them "there you are, where have you been?"

"Oh, sorry Alya" Marinette turned to Adrien "ah, this is Adrien, he is doing some…research and my mom asked me to show him the Archives."

"Oh, pleasure to meet you" Adrien turned to her "I am new to this village and I was a little lost."

"Don't worry, I'm Alya" the girl smiled but then frowned "wait, new? So, you had to come from the forest? Or the moorland?"

Adrien blinked, was it safe to say the forest? He hadn't caught much about the people in this place but he had seen two main roads that led to the village and Marinette's home had been near the moorland.

"Uhm…"

"Alya, why the interrogation?" Marinette huffed.

"Oh, it's nothing bad against him, but my father mentioned this morning that some people saw something big lurking in the woods during the night- "

Adrien almost stumbled back. Big? At night? In the woods? That had to be him. Oh, he was in trouble, if people found out about it so soon, he was going to be in huge problems.

I was going to do a Beauty and the Beast here...somehow

I'll get to it soon.