A/N: Please, never feed your cats cheese, it's literal poison for them.

Also, no real cats were harmed in writing of this chapter, well, apart from Plagg.

Chapter 4

Ten days left

He knew it was bound to be official, but he didn't know how much he would hate it.

The castle was brimming with activities. That morning the news finally reached town that the Prince was to marry and that he and his bride were getting ready for a royal wedding. For once he was allowed outside without full supervision of his bodyguard, but instead everyone in the castle seemed to want his opinion on the most microscopic detail. Everything from the fabric of the curtains to the seating arrangement of some odd long distant cousins had to be decided by him and his wife. Normally, the new queen took care of the arrangement, but Lila had left earlier in the morning after threatening to kill the cook for food poisoning. Adrien doubted the cook had tried to poison her, it had been an honest mistake where a small piece of eggshell could be found in a delicate tarte, but she had been furious and stormed out the room. Now Adrien was alone to fend for his life.

That morning he had sent an enquire to ask for more information regarding the mines Mari had told him about the evening before. He had also gone to see Mr Ramier to see if the general had given him any answers, but there had been no return pigeons with his name. Adrien had been forced to settle with yet another letter. A day wasn't long for any correspondence, but with the urgency he hoped that the general had received his letter and was working on an answer and even more hopefully, a way to end the war.

It was not a well-known fact that King Agreste was once a mere nobleman of the land, who had captured the heart by then Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Emelie of Champetre. They had been quite young when they met and engaged when she was merely 16 years old. At first his grandparents, King Louis and Queen Marie, had completely opposed the marriage but Princess Emelie was their only child and it was either going by her wishes or give the throne to her greedy cousin Pierre. In the end they were engaged and married two years later.

It was only after she had fallen ill that her husband could reign through her name, but Adrien knew, once married, that he would be crowned king as crowns rarely remained long among women when male heirs were born. However, in Champetre there was an idea that a ruler had to be married before he claimed the right to rule. Adrien had not been allowed to, as it was seen as bad luck for men to rule without a woman by their side.

This is why he went behind his father to make his own decisions. He hoped that one day he could look back and think he made good choices and that he could be a ruler whom the people would come to accept. For this, he would need to end the sadness of his people. They didn't need these wars, they didn't need to starve and they didn't need to pay more than they had.

His father wouldn't like it, but he was determined and hopefully there would be a day when his father would also come to understand his choices.

But as of right now he had his own battles with the servants and their pleas for attention. It wasn't until the head butler whisked them all away, promising to let him deal with the minor details. At this point Adrien was exhausted and it obviously showed as he was escorted back to his room to rest before dinner.

-oOo-

Later that very day, after a quiet meal in his room, he watched as Plagg munched on some cheese he had asked one of the chambermaids to fetch. He was pretty sure that cheese and cats would not go well, but Plagg had immediately dived into the gooey texture and was now in a euphoric state of finally finding the right type of snack for himself.

After a few minutes Plagg's plate was empty and he sat down beside Adrien on the bed, licking his paws as her usual.

"So, where are we off today? I tell you, if you put me in that stable again, I will stomp on that boy."

Adrien shook his head. "I'm sorry Plagg. I wouldn't mind if you stayed home, but you are transformed every time I transform. I don't know how to transform without it. I was planning to go through the town anyway, I could easily scale the roofs for that. It's not that hard."

Plagg blinked.

"Are you telling me" he started in a dead panned voice "that you've been ordering me around as a large and dirty animal and you have no intentions of heading outside these walls."

He hissed.

"So, it's not you?"

"Of course not, I'm just there to make sure you don't do anything stupid but sometimes I wonder if you bother to do anything at all. Fine, I'll stay and take a nap. Head out whenever you want and this time, I want progress. By the way, where were you yesterday?"

"You know very well." Adrien started, but Plagg stared him right in the eyes.

"I cannot read minds kid, nor do I know where you went. There was a rat in my booth, he tried to get to my feet. I was busy."

Adrien shrugged, he didn't believe him for a second. Sometimes Plagg's explanation seemed as bad as his own when he tried to come up with explanations.

"I met a girl."

"Oh, congratulations." Plagg said with sarcasm.

"She is a tailor, she lives on the other side of the street of the pub. We talked. I figured she might know a bit about my Lady, but then I guess I got a little too involved with what we said."

Plagg sneezed. "You really do have social problems." He muttered. "I keep telling you to find a bride and well, I guess talking to girls is a big plus, but you need to do more than talk to woo her enough for marriage."

Adrien sighed.

"Ten days, isn't it? You're right. Plagg, claws out."

-oOo-

Adrien jumped across the rooftops this time to get to the Square. After hearing how Plagg hated to be part of the transformation he had transformed only to learn that he had done it incorrectly as Plagg had once more turned into a horse. It took them a couple of tries to get it right. Finally, at the twelfth try the black cat had fallen exhausted upon his bed, moaning for cheese and an aching stomach. Adrien was glad to know he could somehow control a little of the magic that seemed to come with the ring. He headed out, with the promise to order Plagg a whole wheel of cheese before leaving.

The town was quiet this evening. The main festivities had died down and he noticed how more and more people preferred to lock themselves indoor as night came upon them. The lamps seemed dimmer than before and around him the shadows loomed even darker than before. The few whom he could see braved the pub had wrapped themselves in all the fabric they could find, careful of the blackish particles around them.

He too found himself affected, but not as much as people around him. Possibly, the magic around him came with some protection from the horrors that came with the darkness itself.

After scaling the roofs he came to the tailor. There he scaled down the wall and down to the door. To his surprise the door was open, and he walked in.

Inside he saw the familiar bluenette by the table, with a beautiful bodice that was half finished with the embroidery of a hummingbird surrounded by flowers. Mari herself was resting, possibly asleep. Her hands were folded below her head and strands of her hair had started to loosen from a simple bun at the back of her head. He felt bad for walking in on her and wondered if he should return in an hour but the soft creak of his feet on the floor seemed enough to rouse her from sleep.

"Morning, my lady." He said jokingly. She rose. Clearly, she had been asleep for a while. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes with the rim of her sleeve.

"What time is it?" she asked drowsily.

"Just before sunset. Sorry to wake you, my lady, but you said I could come back today."

She yawned. "Oh, she said. I'm sorry, I fell asleep earlier. You kept me up so late yesterday and Master Fu wants me to be down before morning to stoke the fire. It's been quite busy this morning." She carefully placed the bodice in front of her and sorted out her needles and a few strands of threads. "We got a commission from Lady Chastain to make her a dress for her sister's masquerade and it is due in three days."

He smiled. "I am sure you will finish. That embroidery looks beautiful." He said. His curiosity had made him walk closer to have a proper look at it. She didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you. Tikki did most of it, she is really good, and she has more patience than me for this. She asked me to finish, but I don't know. I have never been as good as her."

Adrien thought back at all the pieces of fabrics his servants had shoved in his face. He admired the delicacy of the style the two women had used. The stitches were minimal and yet the image seemed to come alive of a hummingbird, surrounded by orchids, lilies and other rare flowers. There were a few flowers that were outlined near the brim, but the general picture seemed finished.

"I think it looks excellent. You have some real craftmanship in this shop."

"Thank you Chat." She said and gave him a warm smile. They held eyes for a few seconds, content to be back in each other's presence, but he wasn't sure why she had this calming impact on him. Maybe it was the darkness that made each warm moment feel so precious.

"Oh, I almost forgot." She said and the magic of the moment was lost. Adrien blinked as she dug under the table and took out a small woven basket, filled with delicate but lovely macarons. There was a lining of pink, most likely a strawberry filling in them.

"I bought these earlier today, but I had to hide them. Tikki loves sweets and she would easily eat all of them if she knew."

She handed the small basket to him first. The macaron was sweet, with a tart taste of strawberries in the middle.

"So, I guess I owe you an explanation."

He stopped chewing, curious what she had to say.

"I am sorry I was so silent yesterday. I… I actually know the dress you spoke of. I… I created it, but it wasn't really my best work. You see, most women like to wear blue, purple or pink. It's been the main fashion for years now. Some are a little more eccentric like Chloé, she likes yellow colours because she says she thinks her dress will bring the light back. No one, no one really wears red. I made that dress as an experiment, but it never sold and a couple of days ago, someone stole it."

"So, you don't know who has it?" he asked.

"I have no clue. I wasn't at the feast, I was busy working on some of the orders. We used to have more tailors here at Fu's, but with the darkness and bad economy it's just me, Fu and Tikki left. Fu doesn't do much sowing anymore. His eyesight is not as good as it used to be and it's mainly me and Tikki who work on the dresses. But with so many businesses closing, we're sometimes shorthanded on certain fabrics so Fu goes to the other end of town to buy more and Tikki goes with him to check the quality. We're luck Master Fu had such a good reputation because we still have customers, fewer but they come back to us."

Adrien thought for a moment. Perhaps he could get his father to allow him to buy some of their fabrics from this store? He would need fabric for the wedding and maybe this way, he could get someone else's opinion. He would have to think of a good excuse on how he discovered it, but he liked the work Mari had done on the dress.

He would have liked for her to sow him his uniform for the wedding, then maybe he would be able to get to know her outside his costume.

"Oh shoot." She said suddenly and her hand hit the table. "I completely forgot. I was supposed to meet Alya today?"

"Who?"

"Alya, she is my friend. But, I cannot ask you to come with me. I haven't had time to mention that you even exist and she is inquisitive."

He chuckled. "Then maybe this is a good time." He said and gave her a wink.

"But, I've told you, I don't know anything about this Lady you seek." Her cheeks grew steadily redder.

"I know, but if she is not here that means I have to check elsewhere. Besides, it's safer if I escort you than for you to walk on your own. I am a man after all, I shouldn't leave such pretty girls like you to whatever the darkness hides."

She sighed. "Chat, I appreciate it, but you are one stubborn alleycat."

"I know, my lady. I know."

-oOo-

They met with a brown-haired girl close to the Square. She was dressed in a brown simple dress and wore a patterned orange shawl over her shoulder and over her mouth to keep some of the dark particles away from her. Mari had done a similar thing and she scolded him for not doing the same. He soon realised why, as there were a couple of people who laid by the streets, ashen-grey from the effects of the dark magic.

"There you are, I was worried." The brown-haired girl said. "Hold up, who is this weird fellow."

"Chat Noir, at your service madam." He said and made a theatrical bow. She chuckled and he could hear Mari snort.

"Well, Mr Noir, I am Alya Cesaire, resident truth-discoverer of the town. I guess you must know Mari based on that you came together. Who is he, Mari, your boyfriend?"

Mari shook her head viciously. "No… no, no, no, he's not. He's just, just someone that hangs around the shop lately."

Her sudden panic was quite adorable. Even in the darkness he could see traces of the blush that spread beneath her shawl.

"Uh huh, like I'll ever believe that." Alya said. "Well, if Mari trust you I guess you cannot be that bad. Anyway, to the more important part, I didn't ask you to get out in this godforsaken weather for nothing. I have a favour to ask."

"Okay… what is it?" Mari asked, she sounded sceptical.

"Not here, mind coming with me?" she asked. Mari looked at him and he nodded. He wanted to know what was happening and why Alya's tone had gone from happy to quite serious in a heartbeat. Alya took the lead and headed into one of the many dark paths. Mari followed but Adrien noticed how her hand sought his, as if to steady herself for what was to come. There was an eerie silence over the party as Alya headed to another smaller open square. Or was it even a square. Large chunks of black stone lay in the centre and surrounding it were elements that seemed like something had been burning. There was smoke coming from it, and even more particles that soared into the air. Maybe this was the source to the particles that seemed to poison everyone. He wasn't sure, but he had to know more.

"The chapel?" Mari whispered. "Oh, this is terrible, Alya, do you know what happened.

"I know, I saw it. It was the King's guard that did it, but no one but you will believe me. No one ever does. The King ordered his guards to come here and slay them all and burn the chapel to the ground. Rose, you know sweet Rose, she got out, but most of the children and nuns burned and died. It is awful, but I hear that the king has been doing things like this for a year now. He's gone completely mad, but no one seems to realise."

The brunette turned to Mari. He saw that she looked frightened but determined.

"Did you know that no one has seem my boyfriend for over a year now. He went to the castle to find out why the king is ordering us all around and he's gone and yet it is as if no one knows he existed. I can't take it anymore. I have to know what happened to him. Tomorrow I'm meeting Rose here and we're gonna dig through the rubble and hopefully find something that can tie the guards to this horror. Mari, I want you to know because there is a good chance I may not make it back."

Mari staggered. Her eyes grew wider. "Alya, no… what? No, you can't. You're my friend, I cannot have you go through this alone."

"I's sorry. If it wasn't for this bloody curse I could probably come up with something better. Just promise me, if I don't make it, please don't go after me. In fact, I would have wished for you to leave the country altogether. It's not safe for us anymore."

Adrien looked at Mari, who seemed close to tears and then to Alya, who seemed to be trying to hold up. He had to do something. He admired Alya for her strength and as the story of his father's misdeeds had unravelled he felt a boiling hatred, like he had never felt before, crash over him.

"Alya, I want to help you." He said and Mari turned from Alya to him.

"Thanks, but to be honest you don't have to."

"No, I want to. I need to. I cannot tell you why, but I have my reasons. If this is by the order of the king, everyone must find out so that people can find someplace safe to go. If the king is this mad no one in this country is safe and they will need to know. But, we would need proof."

Mari suddenly burst out crying. Perhaps the sheer notice that two people around her were soon to put themselves in danger, she could not know he was the prince.

"Don't worry." He tried to tell her, but Alya got ahead of him. She quickly hugged her and received the forefront of her tears.

"You are the best friend anyone could ask for. I know you will find your prince charming one day and live ridiculously happy. Mine has already left and if there are answers to where he is, those answers are in the castle. That's where I need to go. So, stop crying! Sometimes you just need to do things no matter how you hate them, but they still need to be done."

She looked over Mari's head straight at him.

"Mind taking her back? I'm sorry I had to say this now, but after tomorrow I may never get the chance to say it again."

He nodded. "Of course." He said. "I'll come back tomorrow and help you, see Mari, we will make this right." He gently took the crying girl in his arms. He had never been this close to her and he noticed at that moment how small and fragile she seemed. Yet, there was a pleasant smell that came from her. There was an essence of lilies and something that made him warm inside. It was like a déjà vu, that took him back to that moment beneath the street lanterns. He knew he had been chasing ghosts for a few days now, but she was real. At that moment he swore he would do whatever he could for her.

She would be worth it.

"Thanks" Alya said and he wasn't sure if she was thanking him for his help or for calming her best friend.

-oOo-

Several streets away, by the open window, black sat eyes staring toward the looming darkness.

"About fucking time. Idiots." He said.

If cats could smile, his smile would have reached his ears.

A/N: Do I have to beg on my very knees? Please, tell me what you think, I am literally wandering in the dark. It's hard to make a story good when there are no reviews.