start notes—
In which Marinette becomes a princess and Adrien a mere palace servant, if only for a night. (And a night, really, is all they need.)
my tellonym: milkisande
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royalty
i was a girl in a village doing alright,
then i became a princess overnight!
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"PRINCESS Kagami, are you feeling well? You're looking quite pale, and I fear that you might have caught a cold."
"Oh no… I'm fine! I promise, you see?" She brings her hand up to her forehead. "Not hot at all! I'm right as rain, yes sir! I mean, ma'am! No problems over here!"
Sir D'Argencourt spares her a confused glance, but nods all the same. "Right, then…," he frowns lightly. "Are you confident? You're not quite acting like yourself, maybe I should send for your mother…"
"No, don't!" She almost shrieks, shrinking back as the other guests look at them in curiosity. "My, uh, mother need not hear about this. This is only a small matter, and I don't think that we should bother her with this? You know how Quee— mother gets when her time is wasted…"
"Ah," he begins, nervously adjusting his collar. "Quite right. Queen Tomoe must have her hands full already… and you do seem to be looking much better."
"Exactly!" She replies, an evidently awkward smile on her face. "Now, I must excuse myself, Sir D'Argan… D'Arjen…," she pauses, somewhat horrified, before immediately correcting herself. "That is to say, I'll just go ahead and mingle now! See you!"
She basically books it outside, before he can ask her any follow-up questions.
As soon as she's alone and a good distance away from any company, Marinette sighs, visibly exhausted, as she leans over the balcony railings.
This was, indeed, a terrible idea.
She looks down at the vivid red and gold ballgown draped over her frame, and itches to take it off. Her hair is carefully styled atop her head, and Marinette only wishes it away. The mask over her eyes is perched upon her nose, and the only thing she really wants to do is throw and be rid of it completely.
This… royal life was never meant for her.
If Kagami hadn't looked so desperate when she had asked, then Marinette would never have agreed to this in the first place. Working in the palace, she knew all too well the difficulties and challenges that the princess faced as heir apparent to the throne. Kagami was longing for some time alone, and a ball without her mother's supervision seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do so.
"Besides," Marinette recalls her royal friend saying. "It's his party."
Even without directly calling him by name, they both clearly know who he is— only because there really is only one he that Marinette was interested in.
The crown prince of the neighboring kingdom, Adrien.
And consequently, the young man she— and very likely the entire continent, has fallen in love with.
Having the opportunity to meet, much less talk to Adrien was already a far-off dream. If not for their completely different statuses in life, the fact of the matter was that almost nobody was granted an audience with the prince. His father, the mysterious king, had shut in his son from the outside world; sheltering him, as he put it, from harm's way. (Though, in all honesty, Marinette wondered if that practice worked more in his favor rather than his son's).
In any case, Marinette couldn't help but feel pity for him. Kagami, at the very least, was still permitted some leverage of leniency and friendship that allowed her to enjoy life more freely. Adrien, however, wasn't allowed even the barest minimum of freedom at all.
This ball was a once-in-a-blue-moon event. King Gabriel was celebrating his fifteenth year as ruler, and therefore invited all royalty from neighboring kingdoms as a sign of good faith. If Kagami hadn't made her come as her impostor, Marinette was confident that she never would've been invited to such a high-scale and exclusive ball in her lifetime.
Not that she could enjoy it.
She was working a little too hard in order to avoid all conversation and interaction with others, after all. Marinette was by no means a princess, and there was simply no way for her to effectively masquerade as one. At heart, Marinette was simply the baker's daughter— the life of royalty and fancy words and itchy dresses was a life worlds away from what she was truly living.
She sighs, louder again, hoping for the party to be over. Then, she looks upward and throws her hands to the sky.
"Can't this just be over with already?!"
Then, a sudden intrusion:
"I share the exact same sentiments."
Marinette coughs, quickly turning as she discovers a little too late that she's no longer the only person on the balcony. Standing near the entrance to the ballroom, a young man dressed fully in black— from his shoes to the dark mask adorning his face, smiles at her.
She flounders.
"Ah, sorry! I didn't know anyone else was here, oh, I should go…"
As Marinette tries to leave, the mysterious stranger grabs her by the arm. She comes face-to-face with eyes of vivid green, and it causes her to still. "Do stay. You were here first, I should leave instead."
"No, please!" Marinette finds herself stopping him. Why was she stopping him? "I wouldn't mind the company."
The stranger looks at her with an indecipherable expression, then nods. "Then, I'd love to take you up on that offer," he bows down, tilting his head up slightly, "Miss…"
"Ma— I mean, do call me Madame Kagami."
Marinette cringes. Nice save.
He stares at her and smiles. It's a wonderful look on him. "Then… it's a pleasure. If I'm correct, you're the Princess of the Tsurugi Kingdom?"
Somehow, she feels uncomfortable lying to him. She doesn't want to.
But more than anything, she doesn't want to get her friend in trouble. (Besides, Marinette doesn't make it a business to trust men she's barely met; even if they did happen to make her stomach flutter and her heart beat and all that other nonsense).
So she nods. "Yes, that's me, indeed! Princess Kagami, at your service." Marinette finally says. "And you are…?"
The stranger pauses, (too long for a simple question about a name, really), then smiles again. "Of no importance," he instead states. "I work here at the palace, so do consider me a mere shadow of tonight. But it's an absolute honor to be speaking to someone of your caliber."
"Don't speak too much with royals, then?"
"Unfortunately, I've spoken with hardly anyone at all."
"We're the same," Marinette sighs, belatedly realizing her mistake. "That is to say, I'm so busy with my kingdom! Writing contracts, giving speeches, ruling, and all that…"
"Sounds like a dull existence."
"I can't argue," she laughs. "Royalty is a bit too stifling for my taste. I'd much prefer to live a normal life… as it were." Marinette turns to smile at him. "If you were in my shoes, you'd feel the same."
"Believe me, I do," the stranger says under his breath, but it's so low that Marinette wasn't sure if she heard him correctly at all.
For both his sake (and her own), she decides to gloss over his statement. "Then, shall we get to know each other better?" She asks. "If you should so indulge me."
"If I should be so lucky to learn more about you, then I'd be a fool not to jump at the opportunity," the stranger smiles. Marinette finds herself mirroring the gesture. Strange, that she's never felt this way before.
At that, they speak about everything, from Marinette's love for baking (— a peasant's hobby, as others would call it) to the stranger's personal obsession with the stray cats around the palace. They share a conversation for what seems to only be minutes, but has surely lasted for much longer. After some time, he mumbles something to himself, and it's something that she can't quite decipher.
"What was that?"
"Oh," he finally says, after a brief pause. "I… I was just admiring how beautiful you look framed with the moonlight."
What?
Marinette's cheeks burn, and she immediately turns away. "Sorry, I fear that I may have heard you incorrectly."
"You're beautiful," he repeats.
At that, she's flushed completely crimson. Were all the people in this kingdom so brazen? "Please, you flatter me."
"As I hoped to do so," the stranger instead remarks, bowing down to press a kiss to her hand. Marinette feels herself floating as he leans closer to her. "You, Madame Kagami, are quite a vision. The Tsurugi Kingdom is fortunate to have you as their ruler."
And she's sent crashing back to reality.
Of course. He thinks she's a princess— that's the only reason why he's attracted to her. In no way would he think she was beautiful in a regular circumstance, and especially not had he realized she was a liar.
Marinette takes a sudden step backward. "Hah, I'm honoured you think so highly of me. I'm not quite sure I'm worthy of the praise, however.
The stranger attempts to respond, when someone barges through the balcony doors. A tanned young man suddenly walks to them, grabbing her friend— was he? —by the arm. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere, everyone's been searching for you…" The intruder continues to berate him, as Marinette only stares on in confusion. "You shouldn't suddenly just leave without telling anyone, even me, you know how important tonight is, I didn't think that you'd—"
"Excuse me?" Marinette finally speaks up, taking both their attention. "Please don't be mad at him, I was the one who took up his time with conversation. I'm sorry for distracting him from work…"
"Work?" The man only asks, his amber eyes staring down at her with sudden curiosity. "What do you mean work, this man has never worked a day in his life—"
"He's joking!" The stranger is quick to respond, wrapping his arm around his friend and covering the latter's mouth with his hand. "Likes to mess around with me, haha, he's a funny guy!" The two share a meaningful glance as the stranger jabs his friend at the ribs— with the latter nodding in apparent understanding. Marinette however, does not understand anything at all.
"I, uh, okay?" She vaguely realizes that maybe she's not the only one keeping secrets. "Then, I'll keep you no longer."
The stranger smiles. She wishes so dearly she could put a name to that face. But he speaks up before she can ask: "It's been a pleasure speaking with you, Madame Kagami."
"Likewise." Marinette responds kindly, before turning back towards the railings.
As the two figures retreat into the ballroom, the stranger's friend suddenly runs back to her and speaks. "Actually, Miss, I'd recommend that you return soon as well. I hear that the King's making an announcement regarding his son, tonight."
He winks at that, and though Marinette has no idea what it means, a strong part of her tells her that she shouldn't miss the announcement at all.
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"Now introducing King Gabriel's son, and heir apparent of the Agreste Kingdom… Prince Adrien!"
Marinette looks on expectantly (though a little part of her admits that it's largely excitement; the mysterious stranger may have been handsome, but the Prince has had her heart for quite a long time).
As he walks through the ballroom entrance, Marinette stops in her tracks.
It's him.
With all her luck, of course it's him.
Mysterious Stranger, who was now very clearly not a staff member as he so claimed, appears, mask in hand, with a bright smile on his face.
They make eye contact, and he smiles.
Oh, this was bad.
"Good evening, and thank you for attending this humble event celebrating my father's fifteenth year as King," he begins. His eyes never leave her. "I am grateful, but I haven't been honest. While this party is meant as celebration, my father and I hid our true intentions for holding this ball.."
He begins to walk towards her.
This was really bad.
"My true intentions… were to find my bride," Prince Adrien continues, before standing right in front of her. "To link two kingdoms, and most of all, two hearts."
He takes her hands in his.
This was really, really, bad.
"For one woman has taken mine, right here, at this very ball.." He goes down on one knee. "Princess Kagami, of the Tsurugi Kingdom…
Will you marry me?"
Oh, she's done it this time.
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end notes—
this ended up a lot longer than expected ,,, i'll probably write more on this in the future ! (x3 bc ive said this so many times already o ops)
— but i actually might do this again (& this time in adrien's pov!) bc i want to better flesh out his side n to emphasize that he isnt rlly cool with the whole ~choose ur bride at a party~ thing ,, it's just that meeting marinette made him realize maybe it could work to his advantage !
also yes ,, if you noticed the lyrics i placed at the beginning are from sofia the first . :^) and i fully stand by this decision :^)) even if im definitely too old to even be talking about this show :^))) but anyway, my disney habits aside, as always:
thank you for reading! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～