Marinette was sitting by her vanity, in her nightdress, brushing her hair before bed when suddenly she heard a loud, howling, piercing sound echo all through the castle. It sounded like some animal suffering in great pain and it was waiting for someone to just put it out of it's misery. Curious, she slipped on a shawl and went outside of her room. The corridor was awfully dark so she lit a candle and walked down the hall, following the noise. Then she heard footsteps, she hid behind a nearby tapestry. The source of the footsteps was Adrien who looked beaten and bruised. She wondered how he got like that?

She followed him quietly, without being seen, and watched as he approached her room. He knocked on the door twice. When she did not answer he opened the door and entered her room. When he saw that she wasn't there extreme fear and worry crossed his face. He picked up a mirror off her table and looked into it.

"Where is she?" He asked the mirror. "Tell me where she is?!"

His reflection in the mirror was replaced by an image of Marinette in the corridor. He let out a sigh of relief and dismissed the image of her then turned around to see her standing in the door way of the room.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" She asked him.

"I...I...I brought you a gift. To apologize for my behavior earlier." In his clawed hand was a small box.

"Leave. Please." She said.

He placed the box on her night stand and left whispering apologetically "Good night Marinette."

She picked up the box off of her nightstand and opened it. Inside was a necklace of pink pearls and a pair of red ruby earrings. Though flattered by his gifts, it would take more than dresses and jewelry to win her favor. The next morning after her bath she found a lavender and lilac colored gown waiting for her along with a sliver necklace and an opal butterfly barrette. She put them on, ate her breakfast, and went for a stroll in the garden

Marinette sat down by the water fountain and began to much on a roll she had taken from the table. She looked up to see some birds perched on a tree singing for her delight. To thank them she pulled off bits of her roll and feed the crumbs to the birds. Adrien watched her from his tower with Wayzz. He watched her giggle and smile at the birds has they ate the crumbs she threw to them.

"She is beautiful no?" Wayzz asked.

"Yes and I am hideous." Adrien sighed.

"I wasn't talking about her face." Wayzz said. "I was talking about her kindness, her gentleness, her honesty, and her courage. She is the very embodiment of true beauty."

"Yes I agree but even so she'll only see me as a monster."

"Not if you don't act like a monster. Act like be kind, gentle, polite, and charming and she will learn to look past your appearance."

"If my own father couldn't even look past my appearance then how could she? How could anyone?"

Wayzz could only pat him on the back comfortingly. Adrien started to leave the room when he heard Marinette let out a scream of fright followed by a loud screech. He looked out the window to see a large hawk flying toward her. She quickly ducked causing the hawk to miss it's target but it kept coming back. She grabbed a nearby stick and tried to use it to defend herself but it knocked it away however just before the hawk could do her any harm Adrien jumped down and lunged after the hawk. Marinette watched as they fought and it ended in a victory for Adrien once the hawk flew away but it left him with a bleeding wound on his hand.

"You're hurt." She gasped.

"It's nothing!" Adrien snapped. "Just leave me alone!"

"Please let me see your hand."

"No! Never!" He said hiding his wounded appendage in his cloak. "My hand is ugly! It's not even a hand! It's a claw! The claws of a monster!"

"I don't care, please let me help you."

Adrien sighed but he reluctantly pulled his bloody, black fur covered, clawed hand out from his cloak. Marinette gently took it in her gentle, soft, fair hands and lead him over to the fountain. She slowly lowered his hand into the fountain's water to rinse away the blood. She then pulled out a handkerchief from her dress and with great care she wiped his hand clean.

"We better get this bandaged." She said.

"Thank you."

She took him inside and bandaged his hand. Once she had dressed his wound he left, she wanted to follow him but he insisted that he be left alone. She didn't see him again until at dinner time. As expected dinner was delicious, Adrien arrived but he did not eat.

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked.

"Yes but I don't want you to see me when I eat."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to."

"You're so mysterious, you ask me to meet you for dinner every night and yet you do not dine with me. You only watch me."

"It is the way I am."

"Tell me are you a man or an animal?"

"I am neither my lady."

She wondered what he meant by that. He said that he was neither man nor animal so what did that make him? But her thoughts were stopped by the sound of fluttering wings. She looked up to see a nightingale flying around the room. As quick as any cat, Adrien snatched the nightingale with his claw like hand. The nightingale cried out in his grasp.

"Oh please!" Marinette cried. "Let it go."

He opened his claw and the nightingale flew out the window. Marinette watched as it flew toward the moon, free as the wind itself.

"Adrien." Marinette sighed. "When will you set me free?"

He just looked at her, there was something strange about his eyes. They were not the eyes of a lion, a wolf, a bear, or any other predatory animal. They were the eyes of a human. She never thought that any animal could have human eyes. She saw a great sadness in those eyes. She saw bitterness, loneliness, self loathing, and misery in them. She had never seen a pair of eyes so sad before.

"Adrien."

"Yes?"

"Why are you so sad?"

He looked very reluctant to answer.

"Because I am so alone. No human has ever wanted to live in this castle with me."

"Why?"

He didn't say anything.

"Please tell me."

His eyes now looked even sadder and were filled with a great shame. Then as if he had been holding in all that sadness for his entire life, he collapsed at Marinette's feet and began to weep.

"Because I am ugly. No one can look upon my face without having fear or disgust in their eyes. My own father was so repulsed by me that he couldn't even bring himself to look at me. He was so ashamed that he locked me away in the dudgeon so no one would ever know that he had such a beastly son. He told me that every night he prayed to God that I would die because he'd rather have me dead then live through the shame of being my father. When he finally died I was abandoned here to live alone in the darkness."

Marinette felt tears form in her eyes. She had never heard anything so sad in all her life and her pity for him only grew as she watched him weep at her feet. She bent down and began to gently stroke his head. Though her touch felt nice and it comforted him he couldn't help but feel like she did this because she thought of him like he was some miserable animal.

"I am so sorry." She said. She wondered how any man could be so cruel to his own son? It was horrible and barbaric. No wonder he seemed so sad.

"Do you pity me Marinette?" He asked.

"Yes."

"You are kind but I do not want you to pity me as one does for an animal."

"Adrien what is it you want of me?"

"It is not your pity I want. Right now all I desire from you is your friendship."

"Then as of now you shall be my dear friend and constant companion."

"Are you sure that is what you wish?"

"Yes I wish for you to not just be with me during the evenings but during every hour of the day."

"If that is what you wish then so be it."

"Then I shall see you tomorrow at breakfast, for now I wish to sleep."

"Good night Marinette."

"Good night Adrien."