Complying with Papillon's wishes, she strung her hair on a hook and opened the window, shoving her hair massive amount of hair into her proverbial back yard. She waited- granted she was hopping from foot to foot- but waited patiently for a tug before she began to pull her father up to the large window. There were two ways to get out of the tower, but the first option was stoned up. The only other choice was the window. She had never been outside because of this reason. If she were to leave, she could never come back without help of some kind. She had seen the outdoors from the window plenty of times, but never grass beneath her feet, gusts of wind that blew her hair back, nor the ice-cold water of the waterfall...

Mari shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. She needed to focus if she was to ask permission to leave. Papillon's silver mask was covering his face, per usual, but she could still make out the features underneath. Long nose, strong jaw, prominent chin and slicked back hair underneath. She assumed it was blonde by the stories he told her. What color blonde, she didn't know. A smile was brought to his face as he spotted the slender teen. Carefully, as to not damage her hair, Papillon stepped out from a small foothold he made with her hair and entered her room. He looked tired as he greeted her.

"Good Morning, Ladybug." Marinette smiled back. He rarely called her by her real name. It was like a code they had. She didn't know his name and he called her by her nickname so she wouldn't feel belittled. Mari collected her hair behind her and closed the large shutters to the window. As she did so, another thought pricked at her mind. A thought that overtook her previous drive to asked for freedom. Marinette replied very cheerfully and inquired about Papillon's actual spawn.

"Good Morning Papillon. How was town?" He groaned in frustration.

"Chat Noir strikes again, this time stealing from the smaller vault of the Bourgeois family and actually getting away with it." Marinette's hands clenched at the name. If there was one thing she didn't like it was that pesky theif. Chat Noir was known around the Kingdom for his sticky fingers. Claiming he was doing it to teach the nobles a lesson, he stole from them over and over. No one knew who he might be or what he did with the money. Some suspected that he was living in a different kingdom, amongst the pile of cash he had accrued. Others figured he was poor and saving every coin he had just so that others didn't get the money they earned. Marinette lay unbiased. If she was to ever meet him, she would turn him in right away, but all the news brought to her was skewed with Papillon's vision. She knew he left out important details to make her want to stay in her safe tower

"That's Terrible!" Marinette exclaimed as she went about doing other things. She let him rant on about politics and how a store of his wasn't getting the revenue it deserved. Patiently, she listened. As he began to calm, she shyly spoke up "How was Adrien?"

Now, as Mari knew, she wasn't the daughter of Papillon. She wasn't dumb. She didn't even know his first name. His last name she found out when he told her about Adrien. Adrien Agreste was his biological son that lived in the kingdom. Papillion didn't talk about Adrien's mother, so she didn't bring it up out of courtesy. Mari had never met the boy, but from what she had heard from Papillon, he was a very sweet and selfless boy (even if Papillon hated to admit it and always called him an embarrassment). Marinette had wanted to meet him since the first time she had heard about him. She wouldn't go as far to say she had a crush on the boy, but it was close. Close enough that she would postpone her asking to leave if she had the chance to meet him.

"He is in perfect health, but not perfect in mind." His long sigh and they way he rubbed his temples in agitation gave Mari a small warning sign. The thing with Marinette was, she hardly paid attention to signs anymore. She knew him well enough to know his body language. But this was about Adrien, and signs regarding him were almost next to none, so she was surely interested.

"Why do you say that?" The question elicited another heavy sigh from the man.

"He is one of the most eligible bachelors within three kingdoms length and yet he wants no bride! He could marry into royalty if there was a princess on the throne, or marry into money, but he just won't comply nor even look into that matter. It's almost impossible to persuade the boy to do anything he's already set his mind on." He sat upon Marinette's mattress as he ranted. "Perhaps I should just arrange a marriage." His face covered in his hands, arms set on his knees. Marinette sighed. If there was one thing Papillon hated, it was Adrien's stubbornness, the one thing she was secretly attracted to in the boy. He would always comply with everything else his father set for him, except choices that affected his later life. Least, from what she heard about the teen, anyways. Mari sat beside him, her hands in her lap as she spoke to him.

"Well, at least you know he is doing alright and hasn't changed a bit." She smiled sweetly at her Foster Father. Papillon lifted his head, a small smile making its way across his lips.

"I suppose you are right," He paused for a moment, his eyes moving from Mari's face to something behind her. Mari made to ask about the lights and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted. "Ladybug, could you please sing for me?" Mari's smile grew. Not because she liked to sing, which she did, but because she was excited to ask her very overdue question. Quickly she sped through her song, twittering and chirping. No one except auctioneers would have been able to understand the long string of words that flew out of her mouth as she stood there, eyes closed, reciting the song she had been taught. Nothing happened when she sang, but it was beautiful to hear. Even now, her melodious notes saved her from horrible repercussions. Papillon didn't even try to keep up with her tempo, and simply stared till she was done. Marinette looked back after she had completed all the verses and after a long breath, began to speak.

"Papillon... As you know, my birthday is coming up. And I wanted to ask if maybe... this year I could go see the lights. In town. Maybe even meet Adr..." Marinette trailed off as Papillon sat up. A dark expression crossed his features. He opened his mouth...

A/N: I know it's not as long, but this chapter was a tad rushed. Yes, I stopped before a villain number and the only song I plan to add in is the regeneration song "Miraculously Themed" Thank you for the reviews from Miraculous Panda and Demi Clayton. Yes, Marinette has red hair, Like Rapunzel has blonde hair unnaturally. Hence the black strand of hair in the first chapter, similar to Rapunzel's brown lock. I will try to make a more suitable chapter soon.

So Stay Tuned and Thanks for Reading!

~Pheonix