It didn't take long for Marinette to grow accustomed to her new palace. Her new home seemed to provide the most carefree and amazing lifestyle any person could ever desire. No matter what it is she wanted, all Marinette had to do was ask and it was brought to her. She was allowed to do anything she pleased, wander anywhere she wished, and enjoy whatever she found in the palace that intrigued her.
There were only two rules that Chat Noir had given her: She could never leave and expect to come back, and she could never look upon his face while he was sleeping.
To Marinette, this was simple. She had lived her life with many more pointless rules to adhere to. She had lived a virtual shut in all her life, with absolutely no one to ever really speak too. In her new life, her servants would listen to her if she needed them to, and Chat Noir was always up for conversation.
Besides, he rarely stayed the night at the palace. For the first few weeks of her stay he would always leave well before dawn's soft light broke into the day. As time went on he seemed to be more comfortable staying in the bedroom across the hall from hers, but as he was always gone by the time Marinette awoke.
Chat was truly the perfect gentleman. He asked her questions, but respected when she didn't want to give answers. He always put her needs before his own, even when Marinette could tell he really wanted to do otherwise. He had never forced himself upon her, despite the longing Marinette could always see in his eyes.
Marinette wanted to give Chat the same chance he had given her. She wanted to fall in love with who he was, and so she spoke to him often, and spent her time with him whenever he came to call. Although at first he always seemed somewhat nervous to be around her, as time went on the cat seemed to open up and reveal his true nature.
"How is it that you came to fall in love with me?" Marinette asked her suitor the question that had long plagued her one day, as they strolled beneath the laurel trees.
The black cat smiled. "I heard tales of your beauty, and was sent to see if they were true. Of course they were…" He smiled at the girl, "but no one ever told me that you hated all the attention your appearance brought you."
"But how did you know I hated it?"
"Because no matter how widely you smiled, your eyes were always detached. Your gaze always fell far away, and only once the suitors had left did the light return."
Marinette once again looked at her suitors face. Although his face was hidden, she did see the sincerity in his eyes, and was once again impressed by his keen eye. "So how is it that you could see what no one else ever could?"
The blonde looked at her, a mischievous spark glinting in his eyes. "Well my lady, when it comes to matters of the heart, you'll find I'm very purr-ceptive."
Although a slight smile escaped Marinette's lips, she rolled her eyes. "Oh Chaton, must you always use such terrible puns?"
A proud smile worked its way onto Chat's face at the sight. "Of course, my purr-incess."
Marinette just rolled her eyes and quickened her pace, trying to suppress the smile on her face.
Another day, Marinette was sitting by the fountain, reading one of the many interesting books she had found in the library. However, she was soon interrupted from her leisure by a sudden strong gust of wind. The leaves flew off the trees and encircled her suddenly, hurling the pages of her book forward.
She decided to retreat back indoors in order to seek refuge from the harsh winds, but before she could even exit the garden the wind suddenly halted. Marinette looked around, puzzled, only to see a dark-skinned man in blue sitting on one of the sparkling marble benches nearby.
"Hey. You must be the princess Marinette." He offered a casual wave in greeting.
Marinette looked confused upon seeing the visitor. "And hello to you, sir." She bowed her head slightly in greeting, which made the man give a slight chuckle. Marinette ignored the man's odd behavior however. "If you don't mind my asking, who are you?" She inquired, trying to keep in mind the manners she had been taught.
The man smiled. "The name's Nino. I'm a friend of your husband's." He got up and walked over to Marinette and offered a hand. "I'm sorry to just suddenly turn up like this. I just had to meet you. I had to know what kind of woman he was so hung up over."
Marinette was stunned. She had heard of Nino, god of the west wind. She had never expected him to show up to visit her. She took the man's hand and shook it politely, but she couldn't think of a thing to say.
The man gave another slight chuckle. "Well you're definitely pretty enough to attract his attention. But from the way he goes on about you, that's not why he chose you."
Marinette stuttered out a quick "thank you," but still found that she was unable to think of anything to say to the god in front of her.
The god hardly seemed to notice the girl's odd behavior. He just smiled at her, a kind light in his chocolate brown eyes. "So how often does he come here?"
It took a moment for Marinette to comprehend the question, and a moment more to think of an answer, but eventually she was able to muster enough composure to answer the question. "He comes almost everyday. Usually at night."
He nodded. "Seems about right." He smiled. "So what exactly is it that the two of you do?"
Marinette shrugged. "It all depends on the day. Sometimes we eat dinner together. Other times we stroll through the garden. We do talk quite a lot." Marinette smiled, remembering all the discussions she had had with her mysterious suitor. "But he always insists on using these terrible puns…"
Nino laughed. "Oh he's always been a fan of those. If you talk to him often enough, you'll have to learn to tolerate puns. And just bad jokes in general."
Marinette smiled. "I've started to learn that." Suddenly, Marinette's mind wandered back to the one question she had never had the courage to ask Chat. "Nino, may I ask you a question?"
Nino nodded. "Sure."
"There's something I've been wondering… It's been bothering me for a while, but I…"
"You can ask me anything. If it's about him, I'm the most likely to know the answer."
Marinette took a deep breath. "Well, before I first came here, my father heard a prophecy that I should go to the top of a mountain to meet my husband, but the prophecy also said... " Marinette took a deep breath, afraid to say the actual words. "It said my new husband would be a monster."
A moment of awkward silence passed between them, and Marinette immediately began to regret her words. She was about to attempt retracting her statement when suddenly she heard a laugh start to grow from beside her.
She looked over to Nino, who seemed to be caught in a fit of laughter. Marinette raised her eyebrow, confused as to what the god had found so amusing.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't believe my question was that funny." Marinette stated, thirsting for answers. How could someone find accusing their best friend of being a monster funny?
Nino took a deep breath, forcing himself to stop laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry if I startled you." Although the roars laughter had died down, Nino's smile had only grown. "It's just that I wasn't expecting that." Marinette tilted her head slightly in confusion. Nino cleared his throat. "Let me explain. You see, a long time ago, your husband had a slight… run in with Nathaneal, the god of the sun and art. I don't know all the details, but I know it involves Nathanael's old girlfriend turning into a tree." Marinette's eyes widened. "But ever since then Nathanael has hated him with a passion. And since your dad went to see the oracle, who is a priestess of Nathanael…" Nino laughed. "I just didn't expect his hate to sneak his way into a prophecy. That's all."
Marinette wasn't too comforted by this new information. "My husband turned someone into a tree?"
Nino shook his head. "Oh no. He just did something that lead to someone getting turned into a tree. I know that wasn't his intention, but Nathanael still blames him for it. Sorry, I don't know all the details."
Marinette breathed a slight sigh of relief, but she still wasn't entirely sure what to think of this revelation. Her husband had both a godly friend and a godly enemy. What exactly was she to think?
Eventually, after another moment of silent thought, Nino again spoke up. "Hey, don't tell him I told you any of this, alright? In fact, don't even mention that I came."
Marinette gave the god a strange look. "Why?"
Nino started to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, I know who he is and why he keeps this place a secret from most people and everything…" he sighed. "He told me that coming here could compromise everything so I promised I wouldn't, but…" He smirked mischievously. "I just couldn't resist."
Marinette nodded, forcing a slight smile. "Well, I'll promise not to tell him…"
Nino smiled. "Thank's I really appreciate-"
"But only if you can tell me one more thing."
Nino looked taken aback by the meek girl's sudden interruption, but he nodded. "Yeah. What is it?"
Marinette smiled. "I don't feel like I know my husband well enough. What's he like normally?"
"Oh, that's all." Nino sighed in relief. "That's easy. He's a good guy."
"Really?" Marinette said, still thinking about the tree incident. "How so?"
Nino looked up at the sky, as though looking for the right words. "Well, he's always kind to people, although few actually talk to him."
"And why is that?"
"Well, he's sort of… misunderstood, in a way. Due to certain...factors," Nino gritted his teeth. "people tend to be afraid of him. So he spends most of his time alone, although I know he hates it." Nino paused for a moment, as a hint of sadness flashed in his deep brown eyes. Marinette looked down at the ground. "His temper doesn't help either. Sometimes he makes some stupid decisions out of anger, which seem to justify people's fears. But he really isn't a bad guy. He tries to do the right thing, but one or two slip ups and suddenly everyone's your enemy." Nino sighed.
They sat there in silence for a while, thinking. Marinette was a little surprised. Chat was lonely? Out of all the words she would use to describe her suitor, that was one that had never crossed her mind. She knew how it felt, after all. But to only have one friend? At least Marinette had parents and sisters, but from the way Nino spoke…
What would it be like to have no family?
The more she thought, the more sense it made. The way he was so awkward the first time he had met her. How he never spoke of his life outside. How he always seemed sad when she brought up the kindness of her parents… He was alone. Just as she had been.
The more Marinette thought about it, the more she realised that he was more like her than he seemed. He just wanted someone who understood what he was going through. He wanted someone to like him for who he was, and not judge him based on their preconceived notions.
A small smile worked its way onto Marinettes lips the more she though of her strange suitor. Before, she hadn't been ready to make any decisions. She didn't honestly believe she'd known Chat well enough, but Nino's words made her begin to realise...
"Well, I've probably already told you more than he'd want me to, so I should just leave before I slip up and say something stupid." He smiled, his sad, contemplative look all but disappearing.
He stood up, and Marinette put her hand out to him. "Well thank you for coming, Nino. It was good to meet you." She said, her politeness once again getting the best of her.
Nino smiled as he took her hand. "You too, princess." he gave her hand a firm before turning to leave. But after a moment's hesitation, he turned back to her. "Oh, just one more thing before I go."
"Yes?"
"Just… look after him. I think he needs someone like you." Before Marinette could ask him any more, there was a sudden gust of wind, and Nino was gone.
That night, when Chat showed up, he could tell Marinette was acting slightly different.
At first it was at dinner. When Chat made a bad pun about the salad, she didn't chide him. In fact, she seemed to even crack a small smile, without having to fight it.
Then, on their nightly walk through the garden, she didn't seem to care about his incessant flirting. She made one or two witty remarks back, but she never once rolled her eyes or shook her head. In fact, if Chat hadn't known better, he might have thought she was flirting back.
However, it wasn't until he was getting ready to leave for the night that something really out of the ordinary happened.
He was just preparing to offer his princess a kiss goodnight, something she had always rejected, but before he could he heard her sweet voice softly say something.
"Did you say something, princess?" He asked, turning towards the girl.
As he looked at her, he immediately knew something was off. Her cheeks seemed oddly pink, and her hands were tightly clenched in front of her.
He walked over to her. "Princess, are you feeling alright? You seem a bit red."
She nodded. "I'm fine, Chaton." She whispered, voice shaking a bit.
Chat gave her a concerned glance. "Are you sure?" He put his hand on her forehead. "You're feeling a little warm. I think you might want to lie down."
After a moment, Marinette shook her head. "I'm not sick, Chat."
"Are you sure? You feel alright? You don't have a sore throat or an upset stomach or…" He thought for a moment, trying hard to think of other symptoms.
She sighed. "I'm fine, Chat." She looked up at him, forcing herself to smile. "Remember the first day I came here?" She asked suddenly.
Chat looked confused, but he nodded anyway.
"Remember when you told me that I could choose if I wanted to marry you?"
Chat nodded again, not sure as to where his princess was going.
"Well, I think I've finally made a decision."
Chat's jaw dropped.
Marinette looked into his eyes, and Chat felt his cheeks go pink. "I've lived here for more than two months now, and you've been nothing but kind to me. You've given me whatever I asked for, never questioning anything. And for that I'm grateful." She smiled, and Chat's heart begin to melt. "But I was never really sure of who you were, and why you wanted me to be here." Chat could feel his nerves clench tighter with every word she said. "But I know you're a good person. And I know you want me to be happy." Her smile grew wider. "And I think I've finally realised…" She looked down to the ground for a second, her cheeks reddening. "I think I want you to be happy too."
Chat was speechless. He looked at the girl in front of him, his heart pounding louder and louder.
After a moment's silence, Marinette took a deep breath. "So that's when I realised…" She looked up at him, warmth and joy radiating from her expression. "I'd love to be your wife, Chaton."
