A True Threat

Sabine tried to call after Adrien once the money for the food was in her hands, but the look of anger on his face at Princess Bourgeois's antics told her everything she needed to know, and stilled her voice. Watching as the offending party stormed off only a few minutes later, her fists clenched at her sides, and her heels clacking louder than before, caused the woman at least a modicum of relief as the aristocrat's guardsmen followed on her heels. Looking to Tom, she sighed. "Can you hold down the counter for a few minutes?" she asked, seeing the stunned and bewildered expression on his face.

"Of course." He set the cheesecloth bag aside, making sure to save the food for their patron on the off chance he would return. His wife disappeared into the back as he stood at the counter, ready to help anyone with their orders.

"Honey?" Sabine asked tentatively. At the sight of her daughter laying on her bed, wracking sobs causing the young woman to convulse, she felt her heart breaking. Tears fell to the straw below as she lay there, curled up on her side. Walking over, she smiled at Marinette and urged her to sit up ever so slightly so that she could sit down with her head in her lap. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about." Marinette's voice cracked as she spoke, her head on her mother's thighs. "Mama... I thought I had figured him out, that I finally knew who Adrien Agreste really was... that he was as kind, caring, and friendly as I had initially thought..." closing her eyes, she sighed, "and I... I realized that..."

"You were in love with him?" Sabine queried, a small smile spreading her lips.

Marinette sat up fast, looking at her mother. "Y-You knew?!"

Watching as Sabine's lips spread more, showing teeth, Marinette realized she could hide nothing from her mother. "Sometimes it only takes a second for two people to find each other, to feel that spark between them that could ignite and grow into a flame of love." A sigh at a memory escaped her lips. "It happened between me and your father the same way. My family had just opened a noodle shop here in Paris. That first day Tom and his family entered our eyes met... oh, my heart fluttered, my eyes widened, and I felt as if I was walking on a cloud." Reaching up, she caressed her hand over her burning cheek.

Watching as her mother held her reddening cheeks, Marinette blinked. "What did you do?"

"I went over, welcomed them to our noodle shop, and offered them menus." Sabine smiled at Marinette with her eyes shining. "Your father and I couldn't keep our eyes off of each other, and the more I stayed around him and his family, the more I wanted to touch him." Closing her eyes, she sighed. "His father, however, didn't care much for me, and thought that his son's affection was a stupid crush at best. It wasn't until Tom asked my parents for permission to court me several months later that he realized his son's feelings toward me were true. We courted, with meals and meetings between both families, and eventually he asked for my hand in marriage."

"D-Do you think Adrien looks at me the way I look at him?" Marinette asked, biting her lower lip.

Kissing her daughter's forehead, Sabine laughed. "Marinette, I think that any man who pays for his food, but doesn't take it, means to return... and I think it should be you to hand it over to him."

"What?! He never took his order? What if he doesn't return?"

Looking straight at her daughter, she shook her head. "No, he didn't, but something tells me he will return, especially when you consider how he left. It may take him quite a while, due to the rather unflattering way he spoke to Princess Bourgeois."

That caused Marinette to sit up fully, her eyes wide as she looked at her mother. "Wait! What did he say?"

Sabine looked away, playfully tapping her lower lip with her index finger. "I'm not sure if I remember the exact words, but it was something to the effect of stopping the betrothal, never marrying her, and returning alone to apologize..." she then looked at her daughter with a smile, "to you."

"M-Mama... d-does that mean what I think it means?!"

"If you think it means he wants to apologize for unknowingly upsetting you, then "yes" I think he wholly means to do that," Sabine hugged her daughter, "but if that means he's going to present himself to your father and I in order to court you... I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves."

"But... mama..."

"You both have known each other for less than a couple of minutes combined over two visits." Sabine smiled at her. "Give it time, and if his intentions toward you are romantic," she hugged her daughter, "we will listen, and offer you both a chance to be happy should both families agree to such a pairing."

While hugging her mother, Marinette bit her lower lip and nodded with a sigh. "I'll... give him the benefit of the doubt, mama, but... I really don't like Princess Bourgeois right now."

"Nobody would blame you at this point, Marinette." kissing the top of her head, Sabine stood up. "I have to get back to work, but come out when you're ready."

She nodded as her mother left the room. Tikki suddenly appeared beside her "Are you going to be alright, Marinette?"

"Yes..." taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, "I'm stronger than I look, but... the idea of Adrien marrying that..." she decided to self-censor that word. "She's all wrong for him, anyone with two eyes and half a brain between them could see that."

"I don't know about courtship rituals for you humans, but from what I could tell, he seemed rather taken with you." Tikki smiled at her. "Just the look on his face when your eyes met told me such, Marinette." Lightly patting her cheek, the little Kwami smiled. "I'm sure everything will work out."

"Thank you, Tikki." After only a few minutes, she emerged from the back to help her mother and father with their orders, a pleasant smile on her face. Customers entered and left with her handing orders, giving each a beaming smile and a word of kindness. Across the street, a blond-haired male with blue eyes watched the young woman, his eyes narrowed slightly before he turned to leave, his cloak fluttering around his legs with each step.

oOo

Nathalie had just come in from inspecting the manor guards when the door was all but slammed open then shut again. 'The prodigal son returns.' her eyes narrowed at her own biting sarcasm while emerging from the hallway. When she saw the younger Agreste, she crossed her arms under her ample bosom. "I was led to believe that you were enjoying the company of Princess Bourgeois."

"Enjoying is not the word I would use." Adrien stopped and glared at her. "Where's my father?"

At his tone of voice, the woman glared at the younger Agreste. "He's in his office, preparing for a visit from the king and queen. I believe they are about to sign a contract... wait!" she called after him when Adrien took off for his father's office. She followed, gaining on the young man as he stormed his way into his father's office.

When the double doors burst open, Gabriel didn't even move from where he sat, only turned his head from one document in his right hand, to the one in his left. His teak wood desk was covered with paperwork, ink bottles, quills, and a long, red bit of wax. On the baron's right side a row of windows that showed the back of the manor, and the family's personal gardens, while on his left a small fireplace with a trio of logs already burning to ash resided. "When were you going to tell me, father?!" Adrien groused as Nathalie took one look at the baron raising his face to his son, eyes narrowing, and backed up.

Closing the doors, she left the room, only to stop half a dozen paces away, and lean against the wall. 'This is between them.' Closing her eyes, she lowered her chin, intent on listening just in case one of the pair called out for assistance.

"I presume by your uncharacteristic tone of voice that Princess Bourgeois has informed you of your impending nuptials?" Gabriel returned his gaze to his paperwork, and his tone of voice denoted boredom rather than any frustration or anger at his son's interruption.

"How can you sit there so calmly, while I'm utterly furious at you deciding every aspect of my life?!" Adrien's tone of voice became sharper, its volume rising.

At that question, however, his father set down both parchments. "Your wedding was scheduled when you were but a baby, and upon the birth of the queen's daughter," those cold eyes glared at him, "by your mother."

Those last three words seemed to take much of the bluster out of Adrien's sails. "M-Mother?"

Gabriel stood, walking to his left side so that he was going around the desk, he managed to pick up a box that was half-hidden under paperwork. The parchments that were propped up onto the two foot long by three inch wide and deep box fell until they were flat against the desktop. Once the box was opened, he pulled out a rolled parchment, and slid off the unbroken seal of King Bourgeois, in order to unroll the contract. "Your mother, Audrey, Andre, and I have signed this contract every year for the past fifteen years, making annotations and offerings for each of your dowries. This year was to be the final signing."

"Meaning what?" Adrien asked.

"Every year, we have come together, spoken and agreed to the wedding on the anniversary of Chloe's birth. Nothing has changed, and although Chloe wasn't supposed to know about the betrothal until her sixteenth birthday, apparently her mother or father let that particular secret slip." Gabriel unrolled the parchment, showing each date, and the four signatures going down until only three were visible on the last. "In two months, your marriage to Chloe will be finalized, and six months later, the wedding will take place. Unless you have a valid reason why such cannot happen."

"I don't love her, father."

"This is a political marriage. Your feelings against such isn't necessary." Gabriel countered. "Do you think I loved your mother initially when we were betrothed?"

Gabriel could've slapped Adrien, sending him to the floor and it wouldn't have made nearly as much of an impact as that last sentence. "You... and mom..." he shook his head, "but you love her with all of your heart."

"You're right, I do, but when we were first introduced, I didn't care for her one bit." Gabriel's eyes narrowed, "I felt she was too haughty, arrogant, and although physically appealing, she had this airiness about her that caused my skin to crawl. Our wedding was a political affair, my father was a minor lord, and she was the daughter of a count. For that first year, all I could think about was how much I hated her." Closing his eyes, he shook his head. "She wasn't the woman I loved, and I felt like I could never truly be happy... but then she came to me one night, tired of the unwanted tension, and we talked in our sitting room." A small smile spread his lips. "She had harbored the same feelings toward me, and we used that knowledge to learn about each other. It wasn't until I made her laugh that something inside both of us changed."

Adrien blinked at that. "You fell in love after a year of being married?"

"No." Gabriel sighed, "I found out I had been wrong about her, and we agreed to try making the marriage work... I didn't truly fall in love with her until the next year... when you were born. We were only physically together twice, but a few months after that second time... we discovered she was pregnant with you. Afterward, we both agreed that if a political marriage was to happen between our child and another noble family, then at the very least we wanted it to be between two people who knew and cared about each other." Turning to look at the portrait above the fireplace mantle, the baron sighed. "I love your mother with all my heart, but it didn't start out that way, Adrien."

"What if... I've already found someone?" Adrien postulated, his eyes closing. "Someone that has no land, no title, and can't improve my life with anything more than a loving heart and a touch that makes me weak in the knees?" Looking at his father, his eyes hardened. "What would you have me do with that person?"

"Forget them." Gabriel started to roll up the contract. "King and Queen Bourgeois will be here this afternoon, and we're planning on... Adrien!" His son snatched away the contract, and took one step, throwing the parchment into the fire, where the velum darkened, and finally burst into flames at the corners, before the center did the same.

Turning around, Adrien glared at his father. "No! I won't forget this woman, and I refuse to marry Chloe!" Gabriel started to say something before he continued. "Punish me if you wish, but know that I will not marry Princess Bourgeois, so any of your plans that involve such actions are forfeit. At the age of sixteen, regardless of whether you wish it or not, I plan to leave this manor, and any attempts at forcing my return will only result in the loss of your personal guard."

"You have just made the worst mistake of your life, Adrien." Gabriel warned.

"I don't see it that way."

After watching the contract burn to ash, Baron Agreste glared at the young man by the fire. "I'm afraid no other nobles will see it your way, Adrien." Gabriel intoned, using his son's words from two nights ago against him. "Do you have any idea what the consequences of your actions might be?" At the sight of his son glaring at him, she shook his head sighing out "Of course you don't."

"From what you've told me, the only consequence I can look forward to is not marrying Chloe." Adrien countered. "Anything else is immaterial."

He watched Gabriel reach up, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are you aware that we have been in a conflict with England for the past century?"

"Of course, it's part of my study in politics."Adrien answered.

Gabriel nodded, "Then you're well aware that the conflict was halted about... oh, nearly two decades ago with a political marriage? Right?"

Nodding slowly, Adrien blinked. "Yes, but I don't understand what that has to do with..."

"What was the ruling names on that marriage contract?" Gabriel asked.

"I don't know, father. Most of that information was left out. All that was necessary for my lessons was the basic outline that political marriages both ended wars and aligned potentially violent enemies." Shaking his head, Adrien gave a shrug. "What does it matter?"

"Considering that the names were Graham, and Agreste, I would say it matters quite a bit."

Looking at the portrait above the fireplace, then back at his father, Adrien blinked. "Wait. You and... mom?"

"Our marriage halted a century of bloody conflict between our two sides." Gabriel then rubbed at his temple. "Unfortunately, after your mother's death last year, there have been reports of an army amassing on the southern coast of England, with intentions of wiping out every ruling family on this side of the channel." He then glared at his son. "That contract would've allowed us to unify our position, permanently increasing our ability to gather a standing army, and allowing us to potentially win against an armed conflict." Staring straight at his son, his eyes grew cold. "As a baron, it is my job to ensure a standing army for the king is equipped for a coming conflict, as well as the soldiers are appropriately trained, and housed. Without that marriage contract," his voice suddenly rose, "our family will have to soak the cost of such without the aid of King Bourgeois!"

Turning slowly to look at the crackling fire, Adrien blinked at the flickering light that had so effortlessly destroyed the contract. "Oh." He didn't know what else to say as his father turned to his desk.

"Get out of my office, unless there is anything else you wish to do that will destroy any hope I have for the future!" Gabriel all but snarled, dismissing his son.

Upon exiting his father's office, he saw Nathalie leaning against the wall. "I'm an idiot..."

"No, you just follow your heart, Adrien. It's both your most attractive quality, and your greatest weakness." Pushing off, Nathalie walked over to the younger Agreste. "I would recommend gathering clothes and any items you truly wish to keep should your father be unable to smooth over your rash actions this day." she looked at him with a sad smile. "Do so quickly, for there's not much time before the Bourgeois family arrives."

"What is he going to do?" Adrien asked, walking with her toward his private chambers.

"Try to keep France safe, save this marriage, and protect his only son." she narrowed her eyes at him. "Your father would sacrifice everything he has to make sure you're safe, Adrien. Don't you ever believe anything else... even if that means his death and the destruction of everything he has done to ensure you have a fighting chance at life."

Making his way to his room, he looked at Nathalie. "Is that why he's kept me locked up in the manor?"

"You may not realize this, Adrien, but there are people that want your impending marriage to Chloe disrupted by either your, or her, death. Many a spy has been found trying to poison her and her family, and although we have searched for those responsible, we've only found a small group of men that had ties to other French families." Nathalie stopped at his door. "Do not leave your room until summoned."

Adrien looked at her. "I... I need to go to the bakery, to talk with the young woman there."

Nathalie shook her head. "That is quite impossible. Just stay here until your father has made a decision, but as I recommended, pack a few nondescript clothes for travel, just in case he can't solve this problem." Placing her hand on his shoulder, she looked at the young man. "For once just follow orders. When a decision has been made, I'm sure you will have more than enough time to speak with your young lady." Offering him a gentle smile, she held him in a hug. "I'll even take you there myself, Adrien." She never saw the tears in his eyes at her soothing words.

"I sure hope so..." With that said, he entered his chambers, doing as Nathalie had suggested, his mind spinning and his heart heavy.