"You too, huh?" A quiet, gentle voice spoke to her.
She had left the stuffy confines of the tear stained ballroom and gone to wander the palace gardens she knew so well.
"Miss Bourgeois, is it?" The voice continued.
She turned to see a red headed man with a sad smile on his face.
"What are you talking about?" She said, hurriedly drying her eyes to cover any evidence of weakness.
As she had been told to do.
"You don't have to pretend. You saw the two of the, dancing. He's going to pick her and we both know it." He said mournfully.
"W-Why does it matter to you?"
"Same reason it matters to you. I loved Marinette. Not that it matters now..." He trailed off.
"I get it. Well, sucks to be you."
"Not as much as it sucks to be you." He joked. "I know you've loved him your whole life. You got closer to him than I ever did to her. Not like I would've been able to get past her cousin. That man is scary."
"Cousin?"
"You didn't know? The Prince's retainer is Marinette's cousin. It can be the only possible reason for him to pick her. They never speak. At least I don't think they do."
"Retainer... You mean that Marin guy?! Marin is Marinette's cousin?!" Chloe barked, enraged.
"This is an outrage... I'll have him fired before the night ends. I'll tell the king he's trying to undermine the country by placing his own upon the throne! What a sneaky little-"
"He's already been fired. Yesterday, actually. But yes, he is sneaky. Something felt very wrong when I fought him that day."
"What's your name?" Chloe enquired.
"Nathaniel. Nathaniel Kurtzburg."
"Kurtzburg, eh? I should've known from the hair. I guess it's too dark to see." Chloe chuckled.
"So, were you planning on marrying her? Marinette, I mean."
"Ideally, yes. My family thought she was a suitable match and I found her extremely charming.
They put in an offer, but her family refused, saying she was too young to marry. I was going to try again when we were older, but my parents didn't want to go anywhere near her after the incident, in fear of getting on your bad side. So I guess it's your fault we're both in this position. Like I said, sucks to be you more."
"Don't give me attitude. I'm still as powerful as I was then." She replied.
"No you're not."
"Huh?"
"Back then, you were lined up to be queen. But now, you're just another rich girl. How does it feel? Or maybe you hadn't even noticed that yet..." The man smiled up at the sky.
"H-Hey! I still a Bourgeois you know!"
"And I still love Marinette. It doesn't matter in this game. You're the top dog or you suck it up. And in this case I feel bad for 'it', because we've got a lot of sucking up to do..."
The light of the stars rested gently on his orange hair. His eyes carried such sadness.
"H-Hey... I don't normally ask people this, so feel privileged , but... Can I be your friend!" She shouted.
"Wha... Sorry, what?"
"It's just, up until now, Adrien has been my only friend, so I figured if I had to get over him then I should start making new friends, that's all... Sorry if it's a problem..." She was blushing furiously, staring at the ground.
He burst into good natured laughter.
"Hmmmm... I don't know if it's just the lighting, but I think, when your not being bossy and rude, you're actually kinda cute." He smiled, still laughing.
"What!? S-Shut up, idiot..." She paused. "Do you really think so?" Her cheeks were bright red.
He leaned towards her, looking at her face carefully.
"Well... Nah, I think it was just the lighting. My bad."
"I hate you!"
"Wow, I'm your first friend that isn't Adrien and your already saying you hate me two minutes into our friendship? Now I see why your forever alone..."
"I asked you to shut up, geez... I'm leaving. This is ridiculous."
She turned on her heel, pausing under the arch of roses.
"But thank you. Friend."