I'm having too much fun with this, I swear
Utterly humiliated but too boneheaded to give up Sebastian was in the process of pulling his wings out of the door when his lackeys slammed it open on him. They were laughing and ribbing their boss about how good the crown princess had gotten him.
"So much for being king," one of them remarked. And that was the part that stung.
Sebastian slammed the door shut and got their attention, "Are you saying I can't be king?" his look was dangerous and for their own self-preservation the trio saluted to "King Sebastian!"
It placed him, until one of the lackeys remembered the logistics of becoming king, "But wouldn't he have to marry Nathalie?" they questioned.
"He will," another hushed him, "All we need to do is get some of that love potion,"
Sebastian slammed his fist against the closed door, "Are you saying I need a love potion?"
They'd been about to argue that every attempt to win Nathalie over since she'd broken it off had failed and that his self-touted skills with women were failing to rise to the occasion. So yes, if he really wanted this he would need to resort to underhanded tactics like that. But the glare being aimed at them told them it was in their best interest to play it off as a joke and then quickly disappear. Which they did.
Sebastian calmed himself and tried to focus. He went so far as to instruct out loud what would help him think. Visualize, visualize. The crown, with its precious metals and glimmering jewels. Visualize it sitting right on top of his-
The thought was interrupted as someone else exited out the door, smacking it into him and sending him to the ground. Sebastian looked to see Adrien peering through a crack in the door. His gaze was riveted to Marinette as she danced with everyone she could get her hands on. Adrien, a mere oddball Elf, had a crush on Marinette. And Marinette didn't seem to reciprocate or even know about those feelings. Interesting, and useful. Sebastian tapped on Adrien's shoulder asking if the latter was okay.
Instantly Adrien slammed the door and became incredibly awkward trying to play it cool, "Yes! I am!" Sebastian merely stared at him until he cracked, "No… No. I'm not."
"Hey there," Sebastian realized he didn't actually know the Elf's name even though he could always be seen at Marinette's side, " Elf, I know exactly how you feel,"
"Yeah, Nath slammed you pretty good didn't she?" Adrien asked, noting how not upset Sebastian appeared to be.
Sebastian was angered by that, but there was an opening he was looking for. He knew that the one thing out of his abilities was convincingly fake crying. But faking masculine attempts not to cry? That was right up her alley.
"Yeah," he said, tone choked as he slumped into a sitting position on the stairs, running a finger through his hair and disheveling it even as it pained him to do so, "She really did, didn't she?" he quickened his breathing to match that of someone who cried, sniffling and snivelling, "I mean, she's just incredible isn't she?"
Adrien awkwardly patted Sebastian's back. Even during his betrothal to Nathalie they had never really interacted, as a matter of fact Adrien had often wondered if Sebastian had even noticed his existence. Adrien sighed, "You got it bad, don't you?"
"I just wish," Sebastian paused as though there was a knot in his throat, "that there was… a, a way to make her fall in love with me."
Adrien thought of Marinette and said, "Me too…"
"I've tried everything!" Sebastian lamented, "Flowers, chocolates, perfumes, a big romantic gesture nothing works. Maybe you can help me think of something. What else could I do?"
"I uh-" Adrien didn't know what to say. He was still caught up in thinking of a way to confess to Marinette, and being terrified of her rejection and the end of their friendship. Because it would get weird. It always got weird.
"I don't know, maybe something like a love potion…" Sebastian slipped the idea in while he knew Adrien was vulnerable enough to latch onto it.
"Like a love potion," Adrien murmured, "Yeah, like a love potion!"
"Great idea!" Sebastian thumped Adrien on the back hard enough to send him scooting down a few steps.
"It is," Adrien allowed, "There's just one problem; only the Rosa Peace Fairy can make the love potion, she's locked away in the Dark Forest, and no one ever goes into the Dark Forest!"
"But I know you can," Sebastian encouraged.
"And why can't you?" Adrien pressed.
"I took an oath as a knight," Sebastian sighed mournfully, "To always be at the ready and to be completely honest no Fairy is made for the Dark Forest. Not to mention, I'm sure that even they have heard about my little… falling out with Nathalie. If only I was unimportant, like you,"
"Uhuh," Adrien cast his gaze to the ground, Sebastian's words cutting to the quick of his insecurities in a way no one else's had before. Adrien had spent his days at the palace from his fifth birthday on, because Marinette had found him and declared him her new best friend. His grandparents -who had always resented the fact that he had lived and his mother had not- were more than happy to see him go. He still visited from time to time, to no progress whatsoever.
"And I could blend in, like you," Sebastian added.
"I-" Adrien thought of how true that was. His grandparents had been happy to forget he existed, his only friend was now looking at every boy except him with stars in her eyes, the Fairy King tolerated him but clearly didn't like spending time with him, and Nathalie- Nathalie had her own problems to sort through. She rarely noticed anyone anymore, "I do blend in." Adrien said sadly as he sat back down on the steps.
"Well wouldn't it have been perfect?" Sebastian proclaimed with extreme melodrama as he sat down beside the blonde Elf boy, "Then we both, I mean you and me, both use the love potion."
Adrien made a decision then and there, "I'll do it!" he exclaimed.
"You will?" Sebastian clarified as if he couldn't believe his luck.
"So long as you promise to split it with me."
"You have my word," Sebastian agreed.
MLB
The next day Adrien slipped through the fields with practiced ease. He was so excited. The plan was perfect. Get into the Dark Forest, find the Rosa Peace Fairy, and get her to make the love potion with all the primrose petals he would bring, then return in time for the Elf Spring Dance where he would perform a song for Marinette and then use it on her. His conscious niggled a bit at that last part, but Adrien was too done with being eaten up by the jealousy of watching Marinette flirt with other men to care. Of course, a wrench was thrown into the plan when he got to the border to discover the empty, decapitated stalks of the primrose flowers. Those Goblins really worked fast.
Adrien began to panic. The whole plan was contingent on taking at least one primrose petal to the Rosa Peace Fairy. No petal, no potion, no love. It was that simple. And then Adrien remembered. In the middle of his freakout from yesterday he'd stashed a petal under a root. Hopefully it would still be there. He sighed with relief when he saw it was. To avoid suspicion he stashed it in his pack and then ducked into the thicket of the neighboring kingdom.
Something odd happened. Once he got over his initial fear that something was going to eat him right up he felt, at peace. And the further he went into the forest the easier it became for him to navigate. His stature and physique had meant leant well to acrobatics, something he had made his trade from that day on. And yet this seemed less an act of muscle memory acrobatics and more… primal instinct. The further in he drew the more the instinct took over, until it felt like Adrien belonged here. There was this feral side to him that insisted upon the challenge, to the point where Adrien was convinced he was going the wrong way, purposefully on a subconscious level to relish in the harshness of the terrain. He grinned, his abnormally sharp canines glinting in the sparse sunlight. A large spider crossed his path and Adrien was off, prowling, tracking, determined to hunt it down and enjoy the spoils of freshly killed prey. And then he stopped.
What was he doing? Adrien wasn't some savage of the Dark Forest's domain. He was an Elf. A taller than average Elf, but an Elf nonetheless. He had a job to do. Except, in the midst of instincts taking over Adrien now had no idea where he was going. Dejected he sat down and huffed.
"Great, just great."
And as if things were only just getting started a threatening shadow loomed over him. Startled but curious Adrien looked to see that it was some white fuzzy thing. Wait, wait, he recognized the creature. It was an Imp. One belonging to neither the Fairy Fields nor the Dark Forest, it came and went as it pleased. They were known to be mischievous, which explained the shadow scare.
"Very funny," Adrien muttered to it. Instantly the Imp tackled him and pulled the petal out of his pack waving it around as a sign of victory and taunting.
"Give that back!" Adrien shouted, "I'm on a very serious mission!" he added as he finally reclaimed the petal while the Imp disappeared, "I need to find the Rosa Peace Fairy so she can made the all-powerful love potion and I need to do it before someone figures out I'm here."
At once an acorn was lobbed at him. Adrien looked to the Imp, who beckoned him to join it up on the tree branch it had scampered to. Adrien was hopeful but wary, "You know where she is?"
The Imp nodded and motioned to follow. Adrien free-scaled to the branch and followed close behind.
MLB
Unbeknownst to Adrien, the news that an Elf was in the forest was already spreading. King Hawkmoth and his predecessors employed sentient mushrooms all over the forest floor to keep track of things and report back. The news would travel down the line and end right by the castle. Trixx was on news duty and received the word. Instantly she scampered in and repeated it to Plagg.
"What does it mean?" he asked as Trixx shrugged.
"I'm listening," Hawkmoth said as he waited for the news.
Trixx cleared her throat, "News from the Mushrooms sire," to Plagg she added, "You can tell him."
"What?" Plagg replied.
"He likes you better!" Trixx hissed.
"Now I'm waiting!" Hawkmoth snarled. Plagg looked helplessly at Trixx who nodded in their monarch's direction.
Plagg cleared his throat, "A small shelf is into clock storage!" he declared.
Hawkmoth tilted his head, "What?"
Instantly Plagg scrambled for an explanation, "I mean, you know how we sometimes have a clock but no place to store it? Apparently there's a tiny shelf with that very same problem…" Plagg trailed off as it sounded absurd even to his own ears, "That doesn't make any sense!"
Hawkmoth growled with irritation. Picking up his staff and taking off he yelled, "I'll deal with it!"
Instantly Trixx stepped out of harm's way, nudging Plagg to do the same, "Ahem," she said.
"What?" Plagg asked before looking up and immediately ducking, only barely missing the smack that was sure to come with their king's trajectory.
Trixx sighed, "That was close."
"You're telling me," Plagg grumbled.
Outside Hawkmoth took out his annoyance on the mushrooms closest to the castle; whacking them with his staff and uprooting them. He did this to several before finally uprooting one and getting the truth of the matter.
"A tall Elf is in the Dark Forest!" he shouted at his subordinates. He dropped the mushroom and then tipped it into the empty moat that surrounded the castle, "Well, if he's looking for trouble, then he's come to the right place."
His whole bring cracked and rattled with authority as his voice raised. Goblins didn't use singing to express their emotions, they used them to rally and spread a message. A song was a war cry, and those who heard were called to respond. Their monarch's orders were clear, find the Elf and destroy him by any means necessary.
MLB
Meanwhile Nathalie was practicing with her sword, trying to see if she could fight blind. It was going better than she had expected, and being able to hit them with the flat of her sword while relying on nothing more than her hearing was a good skill to have. Of course if this had been a real battle it wouldn't be the flat of her sword she was swinging with, but regardless it was fine for now. Of course, it wasn't so fine when her father was calling to her.
"Nathalie!" he called from his position off a ledge.
"Kind of busy," she rebutted, blocking another sprite with her flat.
"Nathalie," he huffed as he struggled to both get into the air and stay airborne. Hearing the audible flapping Nathalie felt with her sword and heard as it clanked against the armor her father always work.
Nathalie sighed, "What is it?" she asked as she removed the blindfold.
"The Elf Spring Dance is going to start soon, I need you to-"
"No," Nathalie replied firmly, "Not after what happened the last time."
"But Nathalie," the King dropped to the ground, unable to hold his position and the conversation at the same time, "Nathalie, you- you're a," he was clearly uncomfortable having this conversation, "You're a unique girl-" which was code for you don't fit in the societal norms but I still love you and don't want to insult you. Nathalie rolled her eyes as she returned to training, though she left the blindfold off, "And Sebastian may have a few-"
"Mistresses? Kids?" Nathalie supplied.
"Flaws," her father corrected.
"Understatement," Nathalie muttered with a scoff.
"But he still loves you!"
Really, her own father was on his side. It didn't matter that Nathalie hadn't told her father the details of what had caused her to drop her ex-fiance, but that shouldn't have mattered. And it stung more than a little that her father still supported Sebastian's pursuit of her even after she had made it clear on more than one occasion that she was no longer interested.
"Father," Nathalie sighed, "I hate to break it to you," biggest lie of this century, "but Sebastian loves the crown, and women, and not necessarily in that order."
"But-" the king protested, "If not Sebastian, then surely there's someone. There has to be someone!"
"No there isn't and no there doesn't," Nathalie replied, rolling her sword over her back and switching hands.
"Maybe if you went out more often, met more people-" he suggested.
"I suggest you let it go dad," Nathalie brushed it off.
"You'll be a stronger ruler with a king at your side!" her father argued.
"No father," Nathalie rebutted, "I was weak before. And marrying Sebastian would have made me a weak ruler. You said it yourself, I'm unique. Too unique. Which means I'm stronger alone."
The king let out a sigh, "But I don't want you to be alone."
Nathalie knew the desire was to see her married and happy not because he thought she was weak, but because he thought it was what she deserved. She was his daughter, didn't she deserve that dream?
Nathalie sighed, "Dad, I promise you that if ever I meet someone who takes me by the hand and looks me deep in the eyes, and my instinctive reaction is not to hit them, then I'll consider it. The problem is that there is no one like that. Everyone has an agenda, and no one can fool me long enough to get it."
"Then can I ask you to come to keep an eye on that boy-crazy sister of yours?" he asked, "I just don't think I can reign her in all by myself."
Nathalie wanted to object, but she couldn't. The Fairy King hugged her and patted her on the back. It felt good, even though Nathalie couldn't escape the feeling her presence would only end up backfiring spectacularly.
MLB
Adrien followed the Imp across the forest and to the steep edge of the moat surrounding the castle. He secured a rope to aid his descent, but slipped and couldn't help the cry of alarm that escaped him. Some of the Goblins heard it and wondered what it was. And then Adrien heard the voice of the Dark Forest's King.
"Did you find him?"
"Not yet, but I thought I heard something," someone responded.
"If you see him, kill him!" Hawkmoth ordered. Adrien clapped a hand over his mouth as he hung from a branch. He felt stupid a few seconds later when he realized his feet were dangling only a scant distance away from the ground.
The Imp was waiting beside a hole in the foundation of the castle, miming for Adrien to come over. Even with his lean physique it looked like a tight fit.
"It's too small, I won't fit," Adrien argued.
The Imp mimed sucking in to fit, which Adrien did. When he was fit into the hole he crooked a finger and said, "Come on," the Imp shook its head, "Why not?" Adrien asked it. The Imp bared its teeth and hissed, "Is she really that scary?" Adrien asked. With a happy nod the Imp shoved at his head and sent him spiraling down through the tunnel until he landed in the dungeon.
Groaning softly as he got up Adrien noticed the spiked cages hanging from the vaulted ceiling. But where would the Rosa Peace Fairy be held? It was then he noticed a pinkish yellow light emanating from the floor in one specific area. He found an a buried cell with a grate over it and in it what looked to be an egg sac for a spider. But egg sacs didn't glow. Adrien dropped into the tiny room and crept closer. There inside, he saw the Rosa Peace Fairy simply floating there in an almost zen-like state. To be honest though, Adrien had been expecting something a little bigger.
"Are you the Rosa Peace Fairy?" Adrien asked. No response. Adrien took out the petal and waved it in front of her, that seemed to get her attention. She screamed and Adrien winced.
"Is that a primrose?" she asked.
"Yes?" Adrien answered with more a question, "Look, now that I've got your attention I-"
"Uhuh," the creature shook her head.
"Wait, I just want to know-"
"I can't hear you!" she exclaimed putting her hands over her ears.
"Are you the Rosa Peace Fairy?" Adrien asked.
Instantly her demeanor changed, "You've heard of me?"
"You're the reason why I'm here," Adrien replied.
"Oh a visitor!" she squealed with delight, "How wonderful! Yes, I'm Rose."
"You mean the-"
"Yes, yes, the Rosa Peace Fairy, but everyone calls me Rose. It's so much cuter, don't you think?"
"I guess…" Adrien agreed, "Look, I- My name's Adrien, and I-"
"Wait!" Rose stopped him, "Adrien you said?"
"Yes,"
"Come closer," she beckoned, "I get the distinct impression I've seen you somewhere before. This isn't the first time you've come to visit me is it?"
"Yes, actually it is."
"Have you ever been to the Dark Forest before?"
"No," Adrien shook his head, "As a matter of fact, the stories claim you've been locked up since before I was even born."
"Oh," Rose shrugged, "My mistake then, you just look so familiar to me. Then again, I'm sure after being imprisoned for so long any face is a familiar face."
"We're getting off track," Adrien tried to re-rail the conversation, "Look, I'm here because I need you to make me the love potion."
"What? No!"
"But-"
"How do you think I got in here?" Rose lashed out at him, "King Hawkmoth won't listen to me about what happened on that fateful day… and I've been locked away ever since!"
"But I need it!"
"You don't need anything," Rose argued, "Normally I would love to help you, but love is part of the problem."
"Well, then what happened on that fateful day?"
"You were listening?" Rose seemed delighted, as though attention had been something revoked since her incarceration, "You were listening! Oh, alright then, I'll help you."
"You will?" Adrien couldn't believe his luck.
"If," Rose held up a finger, "You promise to set me free."
"I-"
"Come on, shake on it?" she held out a hand. At his odd look she added, "You can reach in, I can't reach out."
Tentatively Adrien stuck his hand inside. He immediately jerked it away in fright after seeing it shrink. Rose laughed, "You should see your face! Oh, wait! I can show you!" instantly she gathered her magic and when it cleared it was a pink and yellow version of Adrien with a frightened look on his face.
"Okay," Adrien decided to put a stop to it, "I agree, shall we?"
"Petal please," Rose sang out. When she was handed it she made even more miniatures of herself to take it as she warned him, "Believe you me, there can be… unforeseen consequences." and then she started to sing.
MLB
Hawkmoth flew around his castle, checking in with all the Goblins he'd sent to hunt down the Elf for a report. All negative and he couldn't understand why. It was just an Elf, and considering it was allegedly tall it should have been easy to spot. In the meantime perhaps he could brood ominously and glower at anyone who approached him. But such was not to be.
"Hi honey," Duusu greeted.
Hawkmoth landed and turned to stalk away, "Mom no!"
"Oh relax," she countered, he almost believed her. He was walking back to her when she brought out a woman with the phrase, "Have a look at-"
"No!" Hawkmoth walked away again.
"Mayline is into-"
"No!"
"Lavina's hobby is-"
"Mom!"
Duusu huffed at his ignorance of the girls she'd picked out for him, "Look, all you need is somebody to l-"
"Don't you dare say it!" he warned her.
"Typical man, they can never say the word. L-"
She was cut off again, this time because he grabbed hold of her lips and kept her from talking. She glared at him.
"This is what I get for over three decades of nursing and raising you like my own?"
She had him there. And despite how irritating she could be Hawkmoth did love his stepmother. That didn't mean he wanted to be involved in any of her matchmaking schemes, "Promise to stop talking?"
She nodded and he let go. And to her credit she didn't talk. She screamed instead, an off key song just because. Hawkmoth wanted to rip off his ears.
MLB
Down in the dungeon, Rose was putting the finishing touches on the love potion for Adrien. She held out the bottle and Adrien reached for it. But then she jerked it back with a look of near horror on her face.
"It's been so long I almost forgot the last step!" she exclaimed. Adrien prepared himself for the worst, but all she did was kiss the bottle, causing the substance inside to glow a hypnotic pink color. She turned back to Adrien and held out the bottle, "Here are your directions: dust the one you love, stand in front, and make sure you're the first she sees when she opens her eyes. Got it?"
"Got it," Adrien affirmed.
"Good, now pull!"
Adrien reached inside for the bottle and began to pull it out, taking Rose along for the ride. It was more difficult than he had expected, as the sac resisted having its prisoner taken. But he managed to do it. And Rose, in a much more normal size, sniffed happily.
"I know what set me free,"
"Me," Adrien replied.
"You, and love," Rose corrected. And then she began to sing a song of joy and freedom while Adrien stowed the potion in his pack, lest he be discovered. Little did either of them know that Rose's voice carried, and as Hawkmoth demanded silence in order to think, he heard it.
"Rosa Peace?" he wondered. Rose never sang that song unless, "No, she can't be…" but could she? Nothing was impossible. He would just have to check.
Adrien slowly crept out of Rose's cell. Rose was high on giddy excitement and not nearly as cautious. She flew around the room proclaiming her freedom, all the while Adrien tried to get her to calm down.
"You're not free yet!" he hissed, "We're still in the dungeon!"
"I'm free! I'm free!"
"Quiet!" Adrien hissed, finally managing to halt her.
"Wait!" Rose said, not quite a yell, but not quite a whisper either.
"What?" Adrien asked.
"How did you find me?"
"An Imp."
"The Imp!" Rose sounded aggravated, "She wants the potion again! Loves to spread it around like pollen! Hey!" she caught his attention as she morphed into the Imp who'd led him there, "Never let this Imp get her hands on that potion!"
"Alright," Adrien promised, "Now if we could-"
He silenced himself as he heard someone approaching. Quickly he and Rose hid themselves under the stairs, only narrowly avoiding being seen. Hawkmoth was there, followed by Plagg and Trixx. He looked around and saw that the grate to Rose's cell was broken, and the pinkish-yellow light that signified her capture was gone.
"No," if Rose was out the potion would be made again. He couldn't let that happen, "Plagg, sound the alarm."
Plagg let out a screeching yowl that surprisingly didn't make it that far. Hawkmoth dragged a hand down his face, "Trixx, sound the alarm,"
Trixx let out a series of yelps and yells that carried much further and alerted everyone as to a state of urgency. Adrien and Rose were making their way through the castle corridors, trying to get out without being spotted. But Rose got impatient and flew around gathering everyone's attention as they realized she was free. Adrien was weaving through the crowd without being paid much attention to. At least, he was until Rose singled him out by name and told him to hurry up. Then all eyes were on him. Adrien power-jumped out of the crowd and used his acrobatic prowess to evade capture. He had made it to the bridge with Trixx and Plagg in hot pursuit when a set of arms plucked him out of the sky and into the mist, where the Goblins couldn't see him.
Rose was dealing with the King of the Dark Forest who was trying to put her back in the sac. She dodged and weaved and aimed for the open sky in one of the chambers. But Hawkmoth was right on her tail, growling menacingly at her.
"What happened before will never happen!" he said as he swept the sac and recaptured her, "Not ever again," he hissed, descending into the castle keep once more. Rose cried out to Adrien, praying for him to remember what she had told him. Adrien watched sadly as she was taken back. The Imp, on the other hand, was jumping all over him, eager for its prize.
"Oh no," Adrien said as he pulled the Imp off and kept it at arm's length by the scruff of its neck, "Rose warned me about you and you're not getting anywhere near this potion. And just to make sure, I'm sorry, but I have to do this," he tossed the Imp into the abyss before turning away. But guilt made him stop and turned back, "Are you okay?" he called, he received a rather peeved but affirmative noise in response. Assured of the Imp's well-being Adrien hurried off.
MLB
Hawkmoth was angry at Rose's attempt at escape. He took it out on her by shaking the sac until she was near nauseous. He felt more rage than he had since that fateful day Rose kept trying to talk about. Never before had he hated a being more than he hated this Fairy who had unknowingly ruined lives while trying to spread her idea of love.
"What did you do?" he snarled at her. No way an Elf would risk life and limb to rescue her without some sort of reward.
"Well," Rose began, "The Elf asked me to make him a love potion."
"But you didn't have a primrose petal," Hawkmoth countered, internally sighing with relief.
"And he brought me a primrose petal," Rose continued.
"No, you made the potion?" he couldn't believe she would be so stupid as to do that.
"Yes, I made the potion. Just like I did for you on that fateful day you refuse to let me talk about."
"Where is the Elf, now?" Hawkmoth growled at her.
Rose giggled, "Probably halfway to the Elf Festival by now!" she didn't seem concerned. But of course she wouldn't be. As the creator she wasn't affected by the love potion, and she was so enamored with the idea of love she didn't realize just how dangerous that potion could be.
Hawkmoth growled in frustration, but had her taken back to the dungeons. He gathered his subjects and formulated a plan. They had to get that potion back at all costs before it fell into the wrong hands. Elves were gullible, and not known for being very bright. Hawkmoth wouldn't doubt there was a mastermind behind the Elf's trespass into his domain. Which spelled war on the horizon. But not so long as he could get back his potion.
With a distinctly villainous smile he appealed to his masses, "Who wants to go to a party tonight?"
They whooped with passion, ready to invade as their King commanded. One way or another, Hawkmoth was getting that potion back.
Reminder that this is an AU, but you don't have to know the other story to enjoy this. Speaking of, leave me comment and let me know your thoughts