CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

NOTTINGHAM FALLS

A storm was coming.

Princess Chloe could see the behemoth of dark clouds gathering on the horizon. It stood out like a giant bruise against the pale-blue, sunny sky. A small wind was blowing towards Nottingham, slowly dragging it over. Faint traces of thunder rumbled in the distance.

The golden-haired princess was glad for the foul weather. It complimented her bitter, dreary mood.

In the few weeks since Ladybug and her band of riffraff left Stonefield in a big mess, Chloe had done nothing but brood and stew within the confines of Nottingham Castle. She ate little, but she drank a lot of red wine to calm her nerves. She also didn't sleep well anymore. More often than not, the princess was plagued by nightmares. The worst ones showed Ladybug standing beside King Felix on his throne while he condemned Chloe for stealing his throne. It always made the princess jerk awake, covered in sweat.

In addition, Chloe stopped wearing her fancy dresses and jewels. Today, she wore a plain gown of creamy, silvery silk tied in the middle by black ribbon that trailed down to the floor. Overtop of that was her long-sleeve, white shawl that also fell at her feet, upon which were a pair of soft matching slippers.

The servants had noticed Chloe's change in routine, and her dark moods, but they wisely kept their opinions to themselves. The stone walls of the castle had eyes and ears that reported directly to the princess. It was how she learned about Sir Adrien's relationship with Ladybug. One of her royal spies had overheard him speak of it to a group of peasant children that had snuck through the courtyard gate.

Chloe swirled the wine in her glass before taking a healthy sip. She sighed from the warm shiver as the liquor went down her throat.

Adrien. Just thinking his name in her head made the princess want to hurl something at a wall.

On the day her cousin arrived in London with his father four years ago, Chloe couldn't take her eyes off him. He was so handsome, so knightly, so perfect. And he hailed from one of the riches houses in all of England. Chloe had decided then to make Adrien her future husband. It was easy to make a subtle suggestion to Lord Gabriel, and he had promised to take care of the rest.

Well, apparently, Daddio didn't take care of it well enough, Chloe thought, swallowing a hard gulp of wine that burned her tongue. Now Adrikins is marrying that... that... Ladybrat!

The news of her cousin's engagement to the Red Archer had reached Chloe five days after Stonefield. The princess's scream of outrage had sent both the messenger and Sabrina fleeing her chambers in such a terror. When the handmaiden came back, Chloe was curled up into a ball on her bed. The overhang curtains had been torn off, the large mirror was shattered, and pages from books lay about the floor like autumn leaves.

Now, the servants who delivered the princess her meals had to draw straws to decide who would go into her chambers.

Chloe would never forgive Adrien for rejecting her, nor would she forgive the girl who had stolen him away from her. Ladybug had robbed from Princess Chloe for the last time!

This is my kingdom, the royal blonde thought, sneering sadistically at the incoming storm, and I will stop anyone who gets in my way. Ladybug. Felix. Adrien. All of them!

And with that, she turned away from the window and strode out of her room.

Now that her mood was clearing up a bit, Chloe figured she should go to the royal treasury and see how Sabrina was handling the tax counting.

Normally, Chloe would do it. She loved the feel of gold coins jingling in her hands like little twinkling bells. But lately, her moods had kept her confined to her chambers, so the princess had no choice but to order Sabrina to manage the incoming taxes for the time being.

I think I'll change that today, Chloe thought, keeping her wine glass steady as she walked. After all, as long as I have my gold, what else could I possibly need?

She didn't have to go far. The treasury was right next to the throne room, on the bottom floor beside Chloe's tower.

Her soft slippers patted the floor lightly, so no one heard her coming.

So when Chloe neared the wooden doorway, she heard a deep, male voice crowing off-key from inside. It sounded like Sheriff Roger.

"And she throws an angry tantrum

If she cannot have her way!

She calls for Mum while suckin' her thumb

Cause she doesn't want to play!"

Chloe paused, her hand hovering over the doorknob. Her blue eyes hardened with paranoia and suspicion.

Wait a second... Is he singing about me?

Very carefully, Chloe used her free hand to turn the knob, inch the door open, and peer inside.

Sitting at the great wooden desk, scribbling numbers on a parchment with a feather quill, was Sabrina. But she was smiling and giggling up at Sheriff Roger, who leaned against the desk as he sang on:

"Too late to be known as Chlo the First,

She's sure to be known as Chlo the Worrrrrst...!"

He stopped and smiled at Sabrina. "How's that?"

She sighed to the ceiling. "Oh, that's PC to a tea," she mused.

Then both of them broke out laughing, and the sound of it echoed through the big chamber like a banging drum.

Chloe could barely hear it over the heavy drumming in her ears, and her cheeks burned.

They ARE singing about me! "Chlo the Worst"?! How DARE they!

The wine glass in her hand started to make tiny, cracking noises as the princess's fingers began to crush it.

"Why do you try it, Lady?" Roger asked Sabrina with a polite gesture.

The redhead straightened and cleared her throat. She did a couple of practice high notes before she began: "Too late to be known as Chlo the First..."

Chloe finally pushed the door open. The bright candlelight of the room illuminated her pale, white form... and her malicious scowl.

"She's sure to be known as Chlo the Wor–" Sabrina's teal eyes fell on the princess, and they shot wide open as though she was seeing a phantom rise up from the grave.

The Sheriff, utterly oblivious to Chloe's presence, cocked his head to the side. "Well? Go on," he encouraged.

Sabrina gulped, still looking at the princess.

The look Chloe gave her was cold but daring. Yes, Sabrina, it said. Do go on.

The maidservant's hands shook so hard that her quill fell to the ground, and her lip trembled. "M-M-Merciful!" Sabrina rasped. "G-G-Gracious! Benevolent! B-B-Belov–!"

"No, Sabrina, that's not it," Roger interrupted. "It's "Measly weaselly, Blubberin' jabberin' –"

"ENOUGH!" came a banshee-like shriek from the doorway.

Sabrina screamed and took cover under the desk.

Roger spun around just in time to see a quarter-full wine glass hurling towards his head. He ducked, and it soared straight over him and crashed against the wall.

Bits of glass burst everywhere. A splatter of red wine dripped down along the stones, staining them an ugly purple.

Roger snapped back up, his blue eyes shrunken, and he looked like he was going to wet himself.

Chloe stepped ever-so-slowly towards him – her hands on her hips, her chin pointed at Roger like a knife, her blue eyes as cold as the deepest, frozen lake.

The Sheriff raised his hands as though to protect himself, and he fumbled with his hasty speech. "B-B-But... But Your Merciful... Your Majesty! It's a hit... the song, I mean! Even the guards are... but it's the peasants! The whole town is singing it!"

Chloe's hateful glare didn't lessen. "Oh, they are, are they?" she said lowly.

Behind the desk, Sabrina poked her eyes over the edge, shivering.

They feared her. But five seconds ago, they were making a laughingstock out of her! They had mocked her openly like it was common knowledge!

And if the whole town...

Ladybug. Chloe clenched her fists and gnarled her teeth, breathing through them heavily. I should have known. First she robs my gold, then escapes my soldiers and snogs my cousin, and now that pastry-wretch has the gall to sing silly, little songs about me!

This was the last straw! No more Miss Nice Princess!

"Well..." Chloe slurred darkly as she came up to a terrified Roger. "We'll give them something else to sing about."

Roger blinked, looking somewhat relieved that his mistress wasn't putting the blame on him.

The blonde princess turned away and stepped out into the open room, staring off into space. The corners of her mouth rose up in a cruel, twisted fashion. "It's time to show Nottingham the consequences of treason." She snapped to Sabrina. "Double the taxes! Triple the taxes!"

Sabrina nodded fearfully.

But Chloe wasn't done. "Fill the dungeons! Make sure anyone who so much as thinks the name "Ladybug" is arrested on sight! Capture her subordinates and bring them directly to me! Squeeze every last drop of hope out of those insolent...!" The princess cleared her composure and said with cool sweetness, "... musical peasants."

Neither Sabrina nor Roger said a word, but they both nodded and bowed.

Chloe chuckled under her breath. "They won't be so loyal to their beloved hero when they all rot away in a cell while she roams free. HA!" She threw her head back before smoothing out her golden hair. "Then we'll see who will have the last laugh!"

And as Princess Chloe let out a maniacal cackle that cut through air and stone, she swept out of the room and left Sabrina and Roger quivering wordlessly in their spots.

Princess Chloe made good on her threat, to the letter.

Unfortunately for the poor people of Nottingham, they paid dearly for her humiliation.

Taxes, taxes, taxes...

As though God had foreseen this, the days that followed were wrecked by a thunderstorm with no end. Pouring rains that flooded gutters. Lightning and thunder that were hard and sharp as the cracking of a whip.

There was barely any light or life left in Nottingham. Most of the townsfolk couldn't pay their taxes, so they were taken by the soldiers and thrown in jail.

I myself tried to flee into Sherwood Forest with a handful of villagers, but the Sheriff's men were waiting for us. We had no choice but to go with them.

And so I waited in the dungeon tower of Nottingham Castle, with nothing but the clothes on my back, a chain linked to my ankle, and my trusty lute...

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Alix groaned and wiped her face. She had rolled over in her sleep again, right underneath a tiny crack in the ceiling where rainwater inched through.

The pink-haired girl sighed heavily and sat up, careful not to wake her mother and sister.

Nadja and Manon lay curled up together on the flat mound of straw. The widow's ankle was bound by a chain that trailed along the ground towards a ring in the wall behind her. Even Manon – sweet, innocent Manon who had never done a single bad thing in her entire life – had a heavy manacle around her leg.

Alix swallowed hard and gazed around the massive dungeon cell she sat in.

More than twenty people littered the floor – most sleeping, a few crying, others eating what little food they were given. All of them were bound in chains.

Among them, Alix spotted Otis the Blacksmith, lying against a stone pillar while another prisoner fed him spoonfuls of soup. The old man had resisted when the guards came for him, and now he had a black eye and a sore back to go with his crippled leg.

Rose was crying in Juleka's lap while the latter stroked her hair affectionately. The young blonde had been separated from her parents, who were somewhere in another cell. Rose didn't even get to say goodbye to them.

Kim was eating a piece of hard bread while Max leaned against him, sleeping. Across from the tall boy, three small boys eyed the food with pained expressions. One had tear streaks along his greasy face. Kim looked over at the children, smiled, and offered them the rest of his bread. The biggest kid thanked him and divided it up amongst him and his friends. Then, the three boy devoured the bread ravenously.

Alix tried to smile too, but she couldn't find the strength to do so.

She and her family had only been here for two days, and already her willpower was starting to drip away... just like the rain in the cracked ceiling.

"I know how you feel," said a soft voice.

Alix looked up at the fellow who stood beside her, gazing blankly out the barred window. His fingers were strumming softly on his lute, but there was no soul to the music. Just empty notes filling a room of empty hearts.

"You're thinking it's all over," Nathaniel continued, still staring at the raging downpour outside. "You're thinking there's no hope left in you to fight back."

Alix felt angry tears squeezing out of her eyes. Her bow and arrow had been seized by the guards, along with the teal cloak Marinette had given her. They had made Alix feel brave and strong; like she could do anything. Now she felt vulnerable, helpless, and useless.

She wiped her nose on her sleeve roughly. "Chloe took everything from us," Alix said, sniffling. Her deep-blue eyes became just as stormy as the sky. "But I won't let her take away my hope too. It's all I have left." She glanced around the room. "It's all we have left."

Nathaniel sighed and nodded as he sat down beside Alix.

Then, he started to play again. The notes were sad, just like the minstrel, and his voice was sadder:

"Every town

Has its ups and downs...

Sometime ups

Outnumber the downs,

But not in Nottingham..."

A few heads turned to Nathaniel, some still crying. No one said anything – they simply listened and let the music fill them.

Alix saw Manon's eyelids flutter open, and she gave her baby sister a brave smile.

Nathaniel's song rose an octave:

"I'm inclined to believe

If we were so down,

We'd up and leave!

We'd up and fly if we had wings for flyin'!

Can't you see the tears we're cryin'?

Can't there be some happiness for me?

Not in Nottingham..."

Alix rested her head against Nathaniel's shoulder, fighting back more tears.

Then, her eyes narrowed with what little valour she had left. "Ladybug said there would be happiness again," Alix whispered, "and I believe her. She's still out there somewhere, fighting for us. She'll come and save us." She looked up at Nathaniel with a hopeful smile. "No storm can last forever, right?"

A small chuckle escaped Nathaniel as he smiled, and he pulled Alix into a sideways hug. "Can't argue with that, Skippy. Can't argue with that."

Alix held her smile as she drifted back to sleep in her friend's arms. She held onto that hope; that belief that her "big sister" and her band of outlaws would make things right again.

Nothing was going to take that away from her. Not when she needed it most.