A week. He had a week.
One week get the jewels and get out of there. He needed to get his plans into succession if he was going to succeed with this, because at the moment she was taking every single moment of his thoughts. Both awake and asleep.
"Sir Chat Noir," Sir Luka called, motioning with his head for Adrien to come and join him.
Maybe the knight had come to his senses and was going to go back on the release of last night, or worse — he'd heard about the frollicking in the river and Adrien was about to meet his doom. They had made enough noise that someone must have overheard what was going on and it definitely wouldn't be in his favour to be seen swimming with the - naked - Princess.
Adrien had yet to see Princess Marinette on her usual morning walk with Lady Kagami, part of him wondering if she had freed herself the previous night, or was purposefully attempting to avoid him. His heart was unable to deal with the latter thought.
He bounded forward, lowered down onto one knee and bowed his head in respect to his senior. "Sir Luka."
"Come. Take a walk with me."
Looking up, Adrien watched as Luka turned and headed down the cherry tree pathway, Adrien quite sure he was about to be taken to the river and drowned.
He followed a couple of steps behind, before Sir Luka slowed for him to walk alongside. They stopped just under the cherry blossom, Sir Luka reaching up and plucking a couple of petals from the perfect pink flowers. Maybe his luck was kicking in and Sir Luka was going to proposition him for a late night skinny dip, instead of a severe drawn out death.
The knight twisted the petal over the metal fingers of his gauntlet.
"The Princess has requested you to walk beside her today. You will be expected to follow her orders and protect her at all costs. Do I make myself clear?" Sir Luka threw the delicate petal down before continuing towards the river edge, away from the castle and the safety of the rest of the guard. Adrien followed swiftly behind.
He stumbled a couple more steps until finally they were at the water's edge. Sir Luka moved closer and settled himself on one of the larger rocks indicating for Adrien to come and join.
"Come," he requested, Adrien, not brave enough to go against his superior, followed his request.
He moved down to the rocks, seating himself on a slightly lower one, and looked over to where he'd been the previous night. A smirk played on his lips as he remembered the situation himself and the Princess had ended up in.
They sat in silence for a while. The steady gush of the river, relaxing and consistent, something Adrien didn't know he needed until right now.
"I'm only going to ask you this once, and I expect the truth."
Adrien felt himself freeze. Had Sir Luka brought him here to murder him and deposit the body. It would be easy enough; just to stab him then throw him out into the river.
"I have no reason to lie."
"And there's the first one."
Unsure what was happening, Adrien turned to look at the knight sitting beside him. Sir Luka was looking out over the river, his face serene and unreadable. As a knight he was incredible, he was calm, authoritative and, Adrien hoped, fair — the anticipation of what was to come next caused the blood to speed through his veins.
"There's a story about this castle, and about the Lord who lives here. I'm guessing you don't come from far. Have you heard it before?"
"I don't believe I have, I didn't know there was a story of the Lord."
Sir Luka let out a chuckle, picking up a stick and throwing it into the river, hesitating momentarily as he watched it flow downstream. "And there's lie number two." Sir Luka turned to look at him, his face surprisingly soft considering he'd caught Adrien out on two lies.
Adrien sighed and looked out over the river. "You know, don't you?"
He leaned forward on his cuisses; Sir Luka mirrored his action, keeping his face turned to the river.
"I know more than what I probably should."
"Does anyone else?" Adrien asked, praying the answer came back as a firm 'no', yet, he knew now, he was praying on an impossibility.
"What matters is we keep you away from the others."
Adrien stood abruptly. Luka couldn't be sending him away, not now! Not when he was so close to getting what he came for. "I'm not leaving! I don't care what you think, or what you say, I refuse to leave."
Luka stood too, crossing his arms over his chest and studying Adrien's face. "That's not the thought. You have proven yourself worthy to be here."
Adrien considered his options, only falling on one. "What do you want from me?"
"It's not just the Princess who's requested your guard, it was a joint decision from the two of us. I felt it would be beneficial to move you closer to her. The wedding has been moved forward, but not as a move to end the war, or join the Kingdoms. I believe there is more out there happening, and you will work under my authority to try and find out information. I trust you, I know Princess Marinette and Lady Kagami do too, so I expect your cooperation."
The concern in Sir Luka's eyes was evident and genuine, Adrien settling in the fact that he might actually be alright.
"You keep my identity a secret?"
"Of course."
For some strange reason, Adrien felt as though he could trust Luka, and if he wanted to be out the castle by the time the wedding had been initiated, then he needed some help inside the castle walls, and who would be greater.
"When do I start?"
Adrien braced himself outside the Princess' door. This was going to be undoubtedly awkward. When he'd seen her last, she had been practically naked and tied to a rock. When he'd last seen her, he'd compared her to the stars and almost kissed her on her lips removing her innocence, and corrupting her for her betrothed. When he'd last seen her, everything was a lot less complicated.
He wiggled his fingers in his gauntlet, the index of his right hand feeling the thin metal of her necklace wrap and coil about his finger, the pendant sitting effortlessly against his palm and his grasp on it keeping it safe inside the glove. Maybe this could bring him the good luck he so desired.
Finally feeling a little more ready Adrien lifted his hand and knocked against the solid door. He'd already seen her in enough compromising positions, he didn't really want to add more to that by just charging in.
He looked up and down the corridor. The entrance to the room he desired must be around here somewhere, if he could just remember which room was the Lords? With the chance to be in this wing of the castle more often, he couldn't help but hope to explore unseen.
The door in front of him creaked open, Adrien positioning himself with a smug smile and confident pose ready to once again come face to face with the Princess. What he didn't expect was for a hand to collide hard across his cheek. He stumbled to the side as he tried to regain is barings.
"I warned you!" Lady Kagami's hiss gave him a second slap as she grabbed him and pulled him into the room. He looked around, trying to locate the Princess, only to be sorely disappointed when he couldn't find her. Had Sir Luka lied to him and sent him to Kagami's wrath instead?
"What do you think you are doing, Chat Noir?"
The way Lady Kagami spoke his name had him rolling his eyes. "I'm doing what I came here to do."
"You did not come here to seduce the Princess!"
"Seduce the Princess? I think you have that wrong, Lady Kagami. She's the one seducing me."
Lady Kagami glared at him, her nose flaring with anger. It'd be fair to say, she was not happy.
"There are only five days until the Princess is to be married, and you really need to take care, or you'll end up losing your head."
They stood for a while, staring.
"She's taken with you, you know. It won't end well for either of you."
Adrien couldn't believe she was throwing that in his face when her own situation wasn't much different. "And how is it going to end for you?"
The sound of a door opening somewhere in the room, ended their conversation, prematurely. Lady Kagami wiped under her eyes before positioning her hands in front of her. Was she crying?
"Oh, hello."
A new face joined the room as Princess Marinette entered, her eyes searched between them inquisitively. This could completely give the wrong impression.
"Princess Marinette, I didn't realise you were back."
"Are you okay, Lady Kagami? Do I need to —"
"No! I'm fine, just dust. I must go and see to my duties. Good day Princess Marinette, Sir Chat Noir."
It took everything Adrien possessed not to roll his eyes at his friend and shout back a stock worthy retort.
He watched Lady Kagami leave before placing on a smile and turning back to the Princess. This was more awkward than expected.
"My Princess." He dropped to one knee, his head bowed as he held his helmet under his arm. He probably could have started this conversation in a better way.
"Stand up, Sir Chat Noir."
An incline of his head brought him face to face with a rather unimpressed Princess. She obviously wasn't playing anymore, and he couldn't help the drop of his heart from her sudden cold front.
"Yes, your highness." Trying to keep his positioning in the ranks, he played his part and avoided any type of personal awareness of the Princess… and her body. He was nothing more than a mere guard – her personal one by the looks of it.
"You don't need to do that with me, that's one of the reasons I requested you from Luka."
"Luka?"
Princess Marinette raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "Of course, I don't call my friends by their titles, they're more than that. Sir Chat Noir."
Sir Chat Noir?
She had to be kidding. After everything they'd been through over the past week she didn't class them as friends? She turned away from him, walking to sit on her wooden stool as she took her brush and began to comb the thick bone through her hair.
"Sir Chat Noir? Are we not friends, no more?"
He tried to catch her reaction in the window to see if she was smiling or not, the muck on the window making it almost impossible to see.
"Were we friends before?" She turned around, looking over her shoulder with a smirk turning up her lips. "I didn't know that."
She turned back, continuing to brush her hair; yet the small giggles living her lips didn't hide the amusement.
"I feel like my Princess is playing games with me," Adrien said, smiling as he moved forwards.
"Your Princess? How sweet?"
Adrien was perplexed. What was with the sudden change of moods?
"Do you abandon all your friends in little clothing and near rivers? Anything could have happened to me Sir Chat Noir, and it would have been your fault. Leaving a Princess in little clothing to fend for herself with only the moonlight and stars to keep her company. You, Sir, need lessons in how to be a gentleman, and I have taken on the role of teaching you. You can start by escorting me into the marketplace."
"The marketplace?"
"There is something I need, and after our first rendezvous there together, I believe you know the marketplace well. You will take me there and then be my look out."
He didn't know how he felt about this. Yes, he wouldn't mind going back to the marketplace himself, maybe he could have a check in with Nino, or sneak off to see his mother, but being out of the castle with only five days to spare didn't seem convenient to his plan. But then… Why did she want to go? And what was she doing there in the first instance?
"If I'm looking out for you, I need to know what, exactly, the item is you're after?"
"I'm after a woman who can help me with something. There is an item I need to get reacquainted with and I believe she holds the information to find it, but firstly I need to find her." The Princess stood up, turning to face him. She moved forwards, her face not giving anything away.
"A woman? Do you have a name?"
She nodded, stopping her strut in front of Adrien and messing with the stray strands of hair which had fallen over his face. "I have a name, and some information regarding her son."
The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on edge. Her? Son? "And her name is?"
Princess Marinette continued to move her hands through his hair, pulling gently and causing his head to fall back.
"She goes by the name of Paonne, I don't know anything more than that."
Paonne?
He'd never heard of anyone around the town going by the name of Paonne. "And her son?"
She shrugged, concentration on his hair growing stronger, her fingers moving down to play with the flicks around the nape of his neck.
"I don't know much about him, but when I see him, I feel I'll know. It's very important."
Adrien closed his eyes, falling victim to her ministrations on his scalp. This was his weakness. A technique his mother used to use to settle him to sleep on days where nightmares took over every time he closed his eyes.
"And the item?"
She pulled back. Her eyes were more serious than he'd ever seen, darkening from their soft blue into a deep, murky grey.
"A silver signet ring."
