CHAPTER TWELVE:

I'M WITH YOU ALWAYS

Excerpt from Nottingham love ballad:

Love...

It seems like only yesterday

You were just a child at play

Now you're all grown up inside of me

Oh, how fast those moments flee

Once we watched a lazy world go by

Now the days seem to fly

Life is brief, but when it's gone

Love goes on and on

Night in Sherwood Forest was always magical.

The shadows danced freely in the cool breeze, brought to life by the glistening moon floating just above the leafy canopy. The leaves themselves were the darkest shade of green imaginable; almost completely black unless you looked close enough. The rest of the forest gleamed dark-blue, with streaks of moonlight swept along the trunks and roots like silver paint.

Amidst the darkness, the trees appeared monstrous and terrible, reaching their gnarled fingers to anyone who dared to set foot in their otherworldly domain. But such a vision was only the trick of the shadows. Sherwood was a haven for all of good will who entered... and a nightmare for any who meant to do harm or mischief.

Fireflies buzzed through the bushes, winking in and out like little flickering candlelights. An array of crickets sang together in perfect harmony, filling the air with a soft and pleasant music that lulled the woodland inhabitants into a peaceful sleep.

Well... except, of course, for a couple of young lovers who decided to go out for a stroll through the whispering wood.

Marinette couldn't remember the forest ever being more beautiful and magnificent than it was tonight. It was as though the moon and stars had brightened, and the blunette could see the finer details in the bark and leaves that her human eyes didn't see before.

Perhaps it was because of the young man who walked beside her, whose hand she now clasped lovingly in her own as she guided him through the midnight maze.

Perhaps it was because, for the first time in four years; for the first time since her father died shivering... Marinette was really and truly happy.

And every time she looked up into Adrien's face and smiled into his evergreen eyes, she kept reminding herself that this happiness was real. That this love was worth it all.

She and Adrien had found each other, despite all odds; despite all the dangers and threats that now lingered outside the sanctuary of the forest.

Now, Marinette was going to marry Adrien – her childhood friend, her partner, her "silly Kitty", her shining knight.

Once again, the red-hooded archer had to check to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Four years ago, Marinette was so convinced that her life with Adrien was over. She had pushed him away and begged him to move on, knowing she could not be responsible for the trouble and misery Lord Gabriel would have surely brought upon them if he learned that his son was in love with a humdrum baker's daughter.

Life was not a fairytale. Marinette had accepted that when Adrien had given her that rain-kissed rose and bid her a heartfelt goodbye.

But here, now... walking beside the love of her life in this enchanted forest under a starlit sky...

Who knew a fairytale could become a reality?

As she had promised, Marinette told Adrien everything that happened in his absence: the good, the bad, and the hilarious. Her lordling listened intently, only speaking when she was finished with each tale. His brow scrunched with unease whenever Marinette brought up the life-threatening parts, but knowing that she always made it out of them in one piece put his troubles to rest.

All the while, they walked together through the woods until they reached the edge of a small lagoon under an open section of the forest canopy. As they sat down by the water, Marinette noticed how the sparkling moonlight upon the surface shone upon Adrien's face, revealing every crease of his smile and every streak of gold in his hair. It made her head swim and her chest rattle.

The light must have shone on her face as well, because Adrien couldn't take his eyes off her at that moment. He reached over and stroked her chin with gentle, calloused fingers.

"You're so beautiful," Adrien whispered, as though those words took his very breath away.

Blood creeped up into Marinette's face, but she didn't turn away to hide it. She would hide nothing from him.

"Did you know that was the first thing I thought about you," Adrien went on, "the night you fell from that tree in my courtyard?" He smiled and lay down on his back, putting his hands behind his head with that youthful confidence of his. "That was the moment I fell in love with you."

Marinette tilted her head at him, her eyebrow lifting. "You fell in love with me because I fell from a tree?" she teased with feigned annoyance.

Adrien snorted with grin. "No, silly. Because you were so full of spirit and unafraid to go where your heart took you. And when I saw how upset you were when you got spots on your cloak, the one your mother made you, I realized that you cherish the simple things in life – the things that really matter. That's why I fell in love with you."

Marinette could've sworn her heart went fluttering off somewhere, but she didn't bother to reel it back in.

She just hummed with a soft sigh and snuggled up beside him upon the grass, resting her head on his chest. His arm came around her and his fingers caressed her shoulder.

Marinette sighed again and traced the black stitches along Adrien's sleeve, lost in thought. "I think... I think I fell in love with you before that, when you taught me how to hit that target at the festival. You were the only one besides Alya who didn't laugh when I made a mistake. I don't think I'd be who I am now if you hadn't encouraged me then to not give up."

Adrien hummed with intrigue. "Well, I did say you would become the greatest archer in Nottingham, didn't I?" he asked. "Glad to know I helped that premonition come true."

Marinette rolled her eyes with a giggle. Then, after a pause, she said, "The night I first came to you, in the courtyard... Papa was so furious when he found out I snuck out my window. He made me scrub rusty pots for a week."

Adrien's chest shook as he chuckled. "He must not have punished you hard enough, because you kept coming to see me every time after that." He ran his fingers delicately along her arm and whispered, "Such a naughty lady."

Marinette blinked and let out something between an incredulous laugh and a cough. "Oh, I'm naughty?" She nudged him in his side with her fist, making him wince. "How many times have you defied your father's orders and broken curfew? Didn't Lord Gabriel ever lock you up in that tower of yours?"

Adrien shrugged, as though it were a casual thought. "He tried to. But he failed to remember that there was a moat outside my window. And I happen to be an exceptional swimmer."

Marinette smirked and rested against him again. "Such a clever Kitty," she mused.

Her young lordling chuckled again. Then, he took a deep, long breath that made his chest rise and fall slowly. "Father never really understood the real reason for my escapades." His voice softened with pity, and his next words carried a small bite to them. "No doubt my deranged cousin will send word to him of what happened today, if she hasn't already."

Marinette's insides turned to stone, and she swallowed hard. Of all the consequences she had considered when she agreed to marry Adrien, she forgot the one that frightened her more than Chloe's jealous wrath: her future father-in-law.

"Do you... Are you worried?" Marinette asked nervously.

"About my old man? Never," Adrien said, his bold vibrato returning. "In fact, I can't wait to confront him face-to-face and prove to him that I was never going to be what he tried to mold me into: a glorified, golden king."

Marinette bit her lip and forced herself to sit up and look into her beloved's eyes. "But you do know what our engagement means now, don't you?" Her fingers latched onto his to steady herself. "You'll lose everything, Adrien. Your stature, your inheritance... your family..."

She stopped, her lip quivering. It was an effort not to speak the same words she had told him that day in the rain:

You can't throw all that away for me. Especially not for me.

Just then, Adrien rose up and shuffled closer to his lady, cupping her cheek with his free hand. Marinette shivered just to feel his touch.

Adrien's face was calm like the still waters on the lagoon, but his green eyes were like leaves tasting their first rays of sun after a withering storm. "You said you had no regrets about loving me. The feeling's mutual. The only thing I can't bear to lose is you, Marinette." He smiled warmly. "You are everything to me. You are my family. Tom was more of a father to me than Lord Gabriel of Agreste ever was."

Marinette was so surprised by his words that she let out a shaky breath, only to inhale sharply with a small smile. Her bluebell eyes brimmed with tears.

But then Adrien's expression faltered, and his eyes became glossy as he stared down at the dark grass. "I should have been there that day, when your father died..."

Marinette's hands immediately went to his face, and she rested her forehead against his. "You're here now, my love," she said. "Papa knows that." Her lip curled. "In fact, he's probably up there right now, hollering at you to stop moping about the past and start getting him some grandkids."

Adrien's cackle came so suddenly, Marinette almost fell backwards. Her jitters turned into giggles, and they both filled the cool night air with their warm, combined laughter.

When they stopped, Adrien shook his head and wrapped both his arms around Marinette, their foreheads still connected. His eyes bore deeply into hers, and their breath mingled in the narrow space between them.

"I've really missed you, Milady," Adrien spoke with a soft purr. "Not just your face, but your kindness and courage. The way you make me laugh. The way you laugh. The way you look up at the sky and hope. The way you treat your people, as if they were your own blood. The way... The way you look at me and see more than just a prestigious lordling, but as a true friend. The way..." He stumbled in his speech, breathing unsteadily as though he had just been sprinting.

Marinette gave him an enticing grin. "Don't stop."

Adrien let out a breathless sigh, almost like a whimper. "I can't help it. I can't stop feeling this way for you. I can't bear the thought of not being with you; of not holding you. It chills me to the bone. Four years was too long a time." He lifted his head away. This time, when he looked at his lady, his eyes were sharp and unbending as steel. "Let's not wait anymore, Marinette. Let's get married now. Tonight." He clasped her hands with gentle fierceness. "Friar Fu can perform the ceremony, and Alya and Nino can be witnesses. That's all we need."

Marinette stared at him in surprise. Déjà vu tingled up along her spine, and her eyes darted to the vacant spot on his black tunic where the red rose had been only hours ago.

She had known this would come up during their talk, and she had to tell him what she needed to do now before he convinced her otherwise.

"Oh, Adrien, I want more than anything to be your wife," Marinette said earnestly. "I want to march straight up to Nottinghill Church right now, bang on Friar Fu's door, and beg him to marry us."

Adrien caught the apprehension in her tone, and he lifted an eyebrow. "But...?"

She gave him a ghost of a smile... and then released his hands and stood up.

He stared after her, saying nothing. Waiting.

Marinette turned towards the dark expanse of water, trees, and starlight. Her red cloak fanned out at her feet, catching in the breeze. "Chloe will not take her defeat at Stonefield so easily," Marinette explained, her voice thick with seriousness. "Her revenge will be swift, and she will stop at nothing to have my head on a silver plater." She clenched her fists hard, her nails biting into her palms. "All of Nottingham will suffer as long as she rules. She will suck the life out of every man, woman, and child until either I surrender or she catches me again."

Anger thrummed through Marinette's veins; anger at the prospect of watching everything and everyone she loved crumble to ash before her eyes... and all because of a spoiled princess's vendetta towards her.

When Adrien still didn't say anything, Marinette willed the boiling rage to simmer, and she breathed in the cool air for comfort. "I promised my people there would be happiness again in Nottingham," she went on. "For everyone. Nadja. Alix. Manon. Otis. Friar Fu. Nathaniel. Alya. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to them. Chloe will see them all guilty simply because they love me."

At last, Marinette pivoted around slowly to face Adrien. A part of her dreaded his reaction to her sudden flash of emotion in what was supposed to be their long-awaited moment of romantic bliss.

But the look on Adrien's face was bold. Understanding. Caring. Unnerved.

So Marinette kept speaking, her voice cracking a bit before she composed herself. "Adrien... I love you with every fibre of my being, and I want to marry you. But I cannot step aside and enjoy one moment of happiness for myself while the people I love sink deeper into fear and despair. It wouldn't... It wouldn't be right. It's not the right time."

Adrien blinked, but he never diverted his gaze away from hers. His brow softened a little. Marinette had seen him do it many times, whenever he was sad. It made the tears she had been holding back finally come.

"I know what you're thinking," she croaked. "What if this is our only chance? What if something happens to one of us, or both of us? I know it's a risk, and I'm trembling at the thought of it, but I've spent the last four years taking risks. You know what I've been through; the things I've seen... and it has to end." She wiped her eyes and gave Adrien a determined look, like a queen rallying for war. "I have to stop Chloe. I have to be the one to end all this suffering, because I'm the only one she fears and hates above all else. If I don't win, nobody wins. Nobody will get their happy endings. Not even us."

Marinette breathed. Again. And again. And again. The tears had stopped, but her eyes still burned.

When it was clear to him that she was finished, Adrien got to his feet and stood tall and straight. The silhouettes of the trees snaked across his body, and one branch made a small black streak across his eyes. The forest had given Cat Noir a mask.

"This is what you want," her brave young knight said softly.

It took Marinette a moment to realize it wasn't a question, but a confirmation. "No," she groaned with a half-hearted laugh, "but it's what I have to do."

Adrien nodded, more to himself than to her.

Then, he walked over to Marinette, and the shadows slid away from him, revealing the handsome, chivalrous lordling underneath. His smile was small, but genuine.

And when he took Marinette's hand again, put his other hand to his heart, and sank down to one knee, the young archer felt her blood heat again. Not with hot, burning anger, but with radiant, soothing love.

"Then I'm with you, Milady," Sir Adrien of Agreste declared like a knight swearing a vow to his princess. "We'll wait for years if we have to, but we will get our happy ending, along with everyone else." He smiled up at her with that feline grin of his. "And when we get married, we'll throw a huge party and invite everyone in Nottingham, so they can share in our joy and never have to think about Chloe or taxes or the Sheriff ever again. Whatever you decide, Milady, I'm with you always."

Always...

Marinette's knees buckled, and before she could stop herself, she fell hard to her knees in front of Adrien.

He caught her a bit to steady her, and when their eyes met on the same level, time stood still once more.

Her blue eyes focused on him like a huntress aiming at her target.

His green eyes bore into her like a cat on the prowl. Her Cat Noir.

I'm with you always.

Marinette repeated his words again and again in her head as she leaned forward and kissed her fiancé deeply.

He returned the kiss with a passion, and his hands found her waist and he scooped her up into his arms as he stood, twirling her around and around and around.

Now Marinette threw her arms around his neck, and her cloak wrapped around them both every time Adrien stopped.

She was flying and laughing and spinning through darkness and moonlight, and Adrien laughed with her.

It became a sweeter song than the crickets' nightly choir.

Once we watched a lazy world go by

Now the days seem to fly

Life is brief, but when it's gone

Love goes on and on