AN: MiniMinou'sPrince Charmingis one of my favorite works, and I couldn't help but speculate as to what might happen in the character's lives after the Epilog. So here is a glimpse into the future I imagine for them.
MiniMinou, please accept this tribute in the spirit in which it was written.
There had been celebration across the breadth of the land when Prince Adrien had made Marinette Dupain-Cheng his Princess. There had been quiet rejoicing when he had been crowned King, though nobody had wished to mock the son's grief by being too open with their happiness. There had been rejoicing upon the news that the Queen was pregnant. But this celebration, the celebration of the birth and christening of their king and queen's twin children, put them all to shame.
Two children, the succession doubly secured. Emma Agreste, firstborn and Crown Princess, with brilliant green eyes and hair like spun gold (what little of it had yet come in). Half the kingdom was whispering that her birth proved the King blessed with the gift of prophecy, for how else could he possibly have known months in advance to change the laws and make the royal succession by order of birth regardless of gender? And then there was Louis, in whose black hair and blue eyes poets were already finding visions of a mighty champion, worthy of his renowned grandfather.
There were celebrations throughout the land (or would be as soon as the news reached the various towns and cities that their Queen had given birth to twins). But the capital was practically one vast party, and the royal palace was the eye of the storm.
We'll have to stop this soon. Adrien thought as he surveyed the seemingly endless line of well-wishers. He was probably good for another few hours, the cat's instincts blended well with his training on occasions such as this, but Marinette was starting to fidget. Nino and Alya had disappeared left just after the noon feast, before the show even started. They'd already given their congratulations well before the children were even christened, and their duties as godparents did not include dealing with an endless parade of celebrants. It was easy to forget just how many people lived in his capitol, until a moment like this when they all wanted to come into his palace and see his newly christened children.
And then yet another well-wisher turned aside, and Adrien jolted to full alertness as he saw the next figure in line. She looked to be a girl of about ten or twelve years, just beginning to blossom into womanhood, clad in a knee-length dress of pale pink. Thick red curls framed a round face dotted with freckles, and two sky-blue eyes shone above a small nose and a broad smile.
Adrien wasn't fooled for a second, and the overlarge black cat that wrapped around her ankles did only a little to reassure him. Lady Luck, he thought. Well, I suppose this could be a good thing.
Marinette saw her cat stiffen out of the corner of her eye, just as she too recognized Lady Luck.
"Your Ladyship," Marinette said with a mostly genuine smile. "A pleasure to see you on such an occasion. What brings you here?"
Lady Luck's laughter was as clear and beautiful and inhuman as the chime of bells or the babble of a brook. The whole audience chamber fell silent at that voice, background chatter ending as though cut off with a sword. "How could I stay away when the most remarkable human I've met in many a long year and my kismesis's newest pet have brought forth not one but two children? This is an occasion deserving my presence, and my blessing."
"Thank you for the thought, Your Ladyship," said Adrien, a little too quickly, "but you really don't need to feel obligated. I'm quite happy with what I have."
Lady Luck giggled again. "Very polite of you, little king," she said. "But you needn't fear repeating your father's mistake. Only one blessing is compelled of me today, and that by the mother's line."
She reached into the pocket of her dress, and produced a small locket on a chain, made of rose gold and decorated with a stylized ladybug. "Emma, descendant of ancient Mulan," Tikki said, bending over the cradle in which Emma slept obliviously "receive now that which she won for you." She fastened the chain around Emma's tiny neck, the locket coming to rest on her stomach. "Keep this charm sealed tight and close at hand, and my favour shall always be with you."
She straightened back up again. "And so that which I was bound to do I have done," she said. "But when all others are wishing these newborns well, how can I refrain? Another blessing I will give today, and this to them both alike. Now, what would serve these two well…"
Marinette tried to calm her nerves.
Surely this will be good for them, she thought. My cat's blessing was a very special case, and even then it worked out for the best.
Tikki looked down on the twin babies, the paths they might walk and the potential within them spreading out before her mind's eye.
Such potential! she thought. Healthy bodies, minds that could grow keen, and they're both mages. Strong ones at that, though of course not on the same scale as their father.
And these two stand at the crossroads of history. Adrien and Marinette have already done so much, and will do far more before they die. Their reign could start a golden age throughout this whole part of the world that would last for centuries. But it'll be up to Emma and Louis, and the others who are yet to come, to finish what Marinette and Adrien will start and bring that age to its fruition. Just a little nudge, that's all I should need to make sure that all this potential isn't wasted.
She took a deep breath. That was mostly for show, but it also let her mentally review the wording of her blessing. While her intent would shade how the blessing manifested, the exact words could still be critically important. And of course, she needed to choose her words such that Adrien wouldn't panic too badly. She didn't want him losing his head and trying to make another bargain with Plagg or something equally idiotic.
"Emma, daughter of Marinette, daughter of Adrien," she said, and roseate sparkles began to fall from her splayed fingers, drifting like flower petals over the twin infants. "Louis, son of Adrien, son of Marinette. This is my blessing upon you, that you may be in all ways true heirs to the greatness of your parents. May all the potential of their blood be brought forth in you, and may you learn all that they shall seek to teach you. May you inherit your parents' keen minds and kindly hearts, your father's mighty spirit and your mother's valiant soul."
She clenched her fingers into a fist, and there was a momentary flash of pinkish-red light as she sealed the blessing.
"And now," a familiar voice drawled from around her ankles, "my turn."
Adrien started slightly as Plagg spoke.
What in the lamb's blood? he thought.
Plagg's form suddenly blurred, his size doubling and doubling again, his limbs elongating, his form changing, until a single deep breath later there stood next to Lady Luck a figure that bore a surprising resemblance to Cat Noir near the most bestial end of his transformations. The head was almost purely feline, with the slitted green eyes of the kwami's feline form, twin ears perched atop the head, and a feline mouth complete with whiskers. The mane-like ruff of Plagg's normal shape seemed to have been rendered into shaggy locks of black hair that tumbled just past Plagg's shoulders. Below the neck, Plagg's form was mostly human save for too-thick fingers from which curved claws emerged. Lean, wiry musculature like that of a runner or duelist was slightly obscured by close-cropped black fur, and absolutely nothing else. Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien saw a blush stain Marinette's face, and he stifled an absurd temptation to snicker. The silence that Tikki's presence had brought was suddenly broken by dozens of whispered exclamations, the gathered mass of Adrien's subjects expressing their bewilderment and surprise.
"Lord Misfortune," Adrien said. Plenty of practice with juggling names and titles made it easy to remember which of the dark fae's names could be used in public, and which were to be kept a secret. "Might I enquire what you intend to do? Should you lay a curse upon my children, I doubt very much you would like the consequences."
Plagg grinned, jaw dropping open and ears and whiskers quirking forward in what Adrien recognized as the feline equivalent of a belly laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not about to risk my cheese supply that way. This is the best deal I've had in ages. Actually, I'm hoping to keep it going into the next generation. If you'll wait just a second, you'll see what I mean."
Plagg raised one hand and flexed the muscles slightly, claws retracting into their hidden sheaths. He then stuck one leather-pawed thumb into his mouth and bit down hard. He removed the thumb, and Adrien saw a drop of blood, ink-black and thicker than human blood, ooze from the pad of the thumb.
Plagg quickly pressed his bloodied thumb to first Emma's forehead, then Louis's, leaving behind glistening black fingerprints on the pale skin.
"By this mark," Plagg said, voice echoing through the throneroom, "let it be known to all the powers of darkness and destruction that these two enjoy my favor. They are now and henceforth under my protection, and should any subject of mine do them harm, I shall know of it and my wrath shall fall upon the offender."
As Plagg spoke, the black blood sank into Emma and Louis's skin, until by the time he'd finished the matching black thumbprints could have been a pair of oddly detailed birthmarks. With a broad grin, Plagg tugged on one feline ear, and promptly vanished in a puff of black smoke. Only then did Adrien notice that Lady Luck had also vanished at some point.
The throne room exploded with conversation, and Adrien let out a long breath.
Well, he thought, that's that. Hopefully Plagg will be willing to explain exactly what he and Tikki did next time he shows up for cheese.
For now, though, I have a crowd to deal with.