I wrote this for the server zine for a Discord server zine a while back, and totally forgot to actually post it. Well here it is! It's inspired by the Cinderella fairy tale.

Word Count: 2,518


Marinette took a glass of wine from a passing waiter and looked around. Even though she had picked out the decorations herself, the bluenette couldn't help but be impressed with them. The palace staff had taken her drawings and brought them to life. Pale pink and white drapery and curling hangings adorned the castle's entrance hall, turning it into something out of a fairytale dream.

For the first time in her life, the bluenette was excited for a ball. Normally, the 18-year-old found these events boring and unnecessary. Most of the courtesans who wanted to talk with her either wanted a chance at her hand or were looking for one for their son. Tonight, however, that wouldn't happen. Because tonight, she wasn't Marinette, Crown Princess of Tanem, daughter of Tom and Sabine. Thanks to her red and black dress with a matching mask, she was Ladybug, just one of many who were attending the Crown Princess's Choice.

The Choice Ball was a tradition going back centuries. On their eighteenth birthday, the heir would choose their betrothed. Many things about the Ball had changed over the generations, but two things remained the same.

The first was that all were invited. No matter what your social status was, you were allowed in the door. As a result, some of the kinder courtesans had their clothes made of more common cloth so those of lower birth would not stand out as much. Marinette was one such person, and her dress was made of fine cotton rather than silk. Her parents had taught her to care for everyone equally, and she wanted to help her less fortunate guests feel more comfortable.

The second consistency was that the Ball was anonymous. Everyone, including the heir, concealed their identities. This was to prevent the heir's choice from being influenced by those of the court. Usually a theme was attached to the ball, and this time it was animals. Marinette had always had a soft spot for them, ever since she was a young girl. This night would determine the rest of her life, and she wanted it to be an homage to things that she loved.

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Adrien accepted the drink offered to him and tried not to gape at the ballroom. Even the single-use decorations were made of finer cloth than his best clothes. As the son of the town's tailor, Adrien knew that he was one of the more lower class attendees at the ball. He hadn't even wanted to come, but Father insisted, jumping at the chance to raise their family's status. Adrien knew he had next to no chance of even meeting the princess, but he was determined to have a nice time anyway.

Sipping on his drink, Adrien listened to the string quartet playing quietly in the corner. Everything was even more extravagant than he had imagined. The royal family had brought out their finest crystal and served the richest foods. It made Adrien feel respected that they did so for an event that was not only anonymous, but was also attended by the general public.

Suddenly, the music stopped, and Adrien looked over to see King Tom and Queen Sabine watching the crowd. They were the only ones whose identities were to be known before the end of the night. Both were dressed in fine clothes, although Adrien suspected they weren't their finest. Both were known for their humility, and he knew that they wouldn't want to make anyone of the lower classes feel nervous or inferior.

Adrien had planned to just spend the night in a corner avoiding the other attendees. However, now that he was here, a small part of him actually wanted to enjoy himself. It was the first, and probably the last, time he would set foot in The Grand Palace. He might as well make the most of it.

But there was one problem with this decision. Adrien didn't know what to do. Sure, the room was just full of food to eat, decorations to admire, and people to talk to. But those were things that he could do in the village, if on a much more modest scale. Father had explicitly stated that Adrien was to try and find the princess as soon as possible, then try and win her hand. But Adrien had no idea what she looked like.

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Marinette stood in the corner of the ballroom and looked around, not knowing who to approach next. If she wanted to, Marinette knew she could pick out some of the people in the court. Even so, she wanted to take the rare opportunity to connect with the people she will be ruling over. So she had spent the night talking to as many people as possible. However, she never quite connected with any of them. Now it was only an hour before the ball was to end, and she still had no clue who she would choose.

Then she saw him. A young man around her age was in the corner by the door. He looked around the ballroom, and Marinette saw bright green eyes wide behind a black mask. His clothes, while not the finest cloth, were cut well and clearly made with care. A pair of cat ears sat on his head, making his animal of choice obvious.

Intrigued, Marinette started to cross the ballroom towards him. He must have seen her out of the corner of his eye, because his head turned to her and his eyes widened even further. He met her half way and bowed low as she curtsied.

"You looked a little lost over there," she said with a grin. "I thought I might come by and speak with you. I'm guessing it's your first time here at the palace."

The young man looked sheepish as he answered. "Was it that obvious? I just couldn't help myself. This is by far the fanciest place I've ever been in and probably the fanciest I'll ever be in." He paused for a moment, tilting his head. "But you don't seem to be in nearly as much awe. You've been here before, haven't you?" Marinette couldn't help but giggle. Oh if only he knew.

"Yes, I've been here before. Really, you should consider yourself lucky. These events are usually dreadfully boring. This is the first one in a long time that I actually looked forward to." She paused then smiled, a sudden idea coming to her. "If you'd like, I can show you the best places to sneak away to. Unless you were dead set on meeting the princess. I can't help you there. Only the king and queen know who she is tonight." Then she turned and walked away, not looking back to see if the man was following her.

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Adrien stared at the young woman before following her. This certainly wasn't what he was expected out of tonight. Rather than awkwardly staying off to the side the entire time, he was leaving the ballroom altogether. He half expected to be stopped by the guards, but they let the pair pass. As they walked side by side, Adrien realized he didn't know what to call this woman and that she didn't have a name for him either.

"By the way, you can call me Chat Noir. Who do I have the honor of speaking with tonight?"

His companion was silent for a moment, clearly thinking of a name. "Ladybug. You can call me Ladybug tonight." The way that she had specified to only use that name for the night intrigued Adrien.

"Only for tonight? Why, my lady, are you saying that I will have the honor of finding out who you are behind that gorgeous mask?"

Adrien didn't expect Ladybug to stop. When he turned to look at her, he thought he saw surprise in her eyes. "Um, well. I guess so. If you want to. But we literally just met." She gave him a shy smile. "Let's get to know one another before we make any decisions."

Ladybug led him outside of the castle and down a path. She stopped to push aside a wooden door. This building was much smaller than the palace yet still several times larger than Adrien's home. Upon entering the building he realized that he was standing in a large stable. Each of the stalls was large, and the closest held a blood bay mare who leaned over the half-door as they approached. Ladybug reached up and gave the mare a pat before opening the stall door and stepping in. Adrien was surprised to see that she didn't seem to care about the possibility of her dress getting dirty.

"It's ok, you can pet them." She continued as Adrien approached. "This is my mare, Tikki. The black stallion next to her is Plagg. They both belong to me. I come here a lot, it's peaceful."

Adrien could see what she meant. The only sounds were the occasional shifting of one of the horses, the night time animals outside, and the barn cats. He smiled at Ladybug, and she smiled back.

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Marinette watched Chat as he studied the barn. While he was clearly unused to such extravagance as the palace, he was taking it in stride. That was good. If she was even going to consider him as her betrothed, he would have to be able to acclimate to life as a royal. He absentmindedly petted Tikki, but Plagg was the one she wanted him to interact with. After all, Plagg was the one destined to be her betrothed's mount.

The stallion in question, tired of being ignored, leaned over his own half door. His neck was just long enough to allow him to hit Chat with his nose, making the young man jump. Marinette couldn't help but laugh.

"He does that a lot. If you don't pay enough attention to him he makes you. He's also quite a glutton." She added with a sigh. "No matter how many treats I give him he's always asking for more." Reaching into a bag on Tikki's door, she handed Chat a peppermint for Plagg and got one for Tikki.

Chat spoke as the horses chewed. "So, how often do you come here if your horses live here? As kind as the king and queen are, I don't see them allowing just anyone to keep a horse here." Marinette couldn't help but blush a little in embarrassment as she floundered for an answer. She hadn't thought of that.

"Well, my father works here," – this was technically not a lie – "and my mother and I live here with him. We spend as much time as we can together. They got me these horses as a present a few years ago. They're actually twins. So what about you? Tell me about yourself."

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Adrien wouldn't quite meet Ladybug's eyes as he answered her question.. "I'm almost the opposite. My mother died last year, and since then Father has been pretty distant. He's a tailor, and the most I've seen him all month was for the fittings for my clothes tonight. He was never the warmest man in the world, but everything was better when Mother was still alive."

Ladybug looked at Adrien with wide eyes. Great, now she was going to pity him. That was the last thing he wanted from her. Even if her father was nothing but a worker in the palace, her life was much better than his. Then her expression changed. Adrien couldn't quite read it. It wasn't unlike curiosity, but there was something more to it.

"If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?" Of all the things she could have said in that moment, this was the last one Adrien expected. It was something he had contemplated many times before, but he thought carefully before answering.

"I'm not quite sure, but I think there's one thing that, if changed, would also solve many problems in the world. I wish people would just be kinder to one another and not let prejudices get in the way. Maybe then there would be less war, less violence, less hatred. I'm not so naive as to think that would solve everything, but it would at the very least help." Ladybug hadn't spoken at all during Adrien's speech, and he gathered the courage to look up at her. She was giving him a soft smile.

"I hadn't thought about it that way. But you're right. It certainly wouldn't solve all the problems in the world, but many problems are rooted in hatred and unacceptance. At the very least, it wouldn't cause another problem." She smiled at him. "That's a very wise thing to say." Then she giggled. "I know we're not really supposed to say, but would you give me the honor of knowing what your name is?"

Adrien opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sound of the barn door opening. They turned towards it, and Adrien was slightly surprised to see one of the palace guards enter.

"Princess Marinette?" Adrien couldn't keep the shocked look off of his face. Of all the things the guard could have said, that was NOT what he was expecting. It took him a moment to realize he'd missed what the guard had said next, and La — Marinette was replying.

"Tell him I'll be right over. I have something I need to take care of first. Thank you, Nino." The guard left, and Adrien found itself alone with the Crown Princess. While he'd been so for almost an hour, it felt different now that he was aware of that fact. Princess Marinette turned to him.

"I'm sure that you've figured out why I asked your name. You don't have to give it to me. But if you would, I feel that we could do a lot of good for this kingdom. If not, I have some friends in court that would be more than willing to serve as my consort. It's completely up to you."

Adrien considered the princess's offer. When he came tonight, he hadn't even expected to meet the princess, let alone become her Choice. Yet now that he was presented with the option, he honestly considered it. Princess Marintette was a kind person, someone who clearly cared about her people, and he would be honored to be at her side. But was he really the right person to choose? He knew next to nothing about the court or politics.

He must've taken too long to consider, because Marinette began to turn away. Before she did, however, Adrien could clearly see the look of disappointment on her face. He called after her, his decision suddenly made.

"My lady, wait!" She turned, and he saw hope in her eyes. "Adrien. My name is Adrien Agreste." He bowed low to her, something he should've done when he realized who she was. "It was an honor to meet you, Princess." Marinette giggled, and they both smiled. To his great surprise, she gave him a shallow curtsy.

"It was a pleasure to meet you too, Adrien."


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