All Marinette wanted was to enjoy the Marquis De Vanily's eighteenth birthday celebration with her friends and receive one of the prized gems offered to eligible girls on the occasion. There was no danger of acquiring the marriage gem, it always went to a noble. Yet here she was, racing through the night on a dappled horse with shimmering rubies in her ears.
Chapter 1
"Eee! It's finally time!" Marinette squealed, squeezing the blood out of her best friend's arm.
"Girl, calm down," the brunette laughed as she attempted to still the other girl's bouncing, "you won't even make it to the line like this."
"I still can't believe you two are actually going to take one." Mylene said with a shudder. "Aren't you worried you may get the marriage gem?"
"Pfft, they'd never let a commoner marry the heir to the Agreste Duchy, it's totally rigged." Alya replied as the girls approached the stage where guards were handing out small, hexagonal boxes.
"Well, I'm not going to risk it. No jewel is worth potentially losing my Ivan." Mylene said, stopping well back from the line to watch her companions receive their boxes.
"I don't blame you for that, Mylene." Marinette said, tearing her eyes away from the guards for a moment. "I probably wouldn't either if I had someone like Ivan."
"You mean like Luka." Alya said, poking her friend in the ribs.
Marinette snorted, "Luka is great, Alya, but I'm not the one being very subtly spied on."
Alya blushed lightly as she spotted a red-capped boy leaning against a nearby tree, trying to look casual while obviously watching them. "He's just looking out for both of us, Mari, because we've been friends forever."
"Right, he's so worried about me getting the marriage gem." Marinette drawled before her attention was completely arrested by reaching the front of the line. A slight bounce returned to her feet as stared in awe at the brown box offered by a bored looking guard. "Thank you!" She managed to squeak out as she took the box and clutched it to her chest. Alya grabbed her arm and they ran back to Mylene, squealing in excitement.
"Well, open them!" Mylene exclaimed.
"Okay, on three," Alya said, preparing to open the box. "One, two, three!"
"Oh! They're so beautiful!" Mylene said, oozing enthusiasm as she peeked at the gems. Alya pulled out a delicate golden chain bearing two lines of small gems, one of diamonds and one of a deep orange stone the girls didn't know the name of. Mylene quickly helped her put it on while Marinette stared in awe at a pair of stunning ruby earrings set in a fine, black metal.
"Come on, girl, put them on!" Alya exclaimed after thanking Mylene and smoothing the necklace against her chest.
"Here, give me those ones." Mylene said as Marinette removed the only other earrings she owned, little more than brass tacks. Alya smirked fondly at Mylene as she carefully put the old earrings in the box and tucked it into Marinette's bag. She was going to be a fantastic mother as soon as Ivan worked up the courage to marry her.
"They look amazing, Marinette! The rubies really stand out from your dark hair and blue eyes." Alya said.
"Thanks, Alya! Look at yours, though; what are the chances you got your favourite colour of stone? I didn't even know there were orange gem stones!"
"I know! Neither did I, I bet they're-" Alya broke off as Nino appeared beside her. "So, you decided to stop spying?"
"I wasn't spying! Just... watching from a distance." Nino defended himself.
Alya stifled a laugh. "That's pretty much the definition of spying."
Marinette smiled at her friends as they began to debate the meaning of spying, pausing only to say goodbye to Mylene when she left to find Ivan. It was good to see everyone happy and carefree again. The villages had prospered under the Duchess's tax reprieves, but after her death a few years ago, Duc Agreste became increasingly demanding in both goods and servants.
Marinette still missed Juleka, who was forced to become a castle maid when her family couldn't pay their taxes, and Rose, who volunteered in order to stay with her friend. And although everyone pretended Ivan was simply too shy to propose to Mylene, they all knew it was actually because of the cost of establishing their own home.
Tonight, though, Marinette was in a beautiful, pale pink dress she'd remade from one of mother's, there were tables full of food provided by both the village and the Duc, and the whole village, or at least everyone of an age to dance into the night, had smiles on their faces, worries left at home until morning. Nothing could spoil this one, carefree night.
"Excusez-moi, Madame La Coccinelle." A refined voice cut into Marinette's musings. "Je suis Le Comte D'Argencourt. I am here to escort you to the castle on the direct order of Monseigneur Le Marquis De Vanily."
"Um, I'm sorry, I don't who you're looking for, but I'm just Marinette." She replied.
"Oui, oui, of course you are, but you are also wearing the earrings of La Coccinelle, this makes you Madame La Coccinelle, wife of Monsieur Le Chat Noir, who is currently Monseigneur Le Marquis De Vanily." The count paused as he took in the blank, pale face of the girl before him. "You are familiar with the purpose of handing out gems to all the eligible maidens of the dukedom on the heir's eighteenth birthday, no?"
"Yes, I am, but..." Marinette began slowly. "These are the marriage gem?" She asked touching an ear.
"Oui, if you must call them that." D'Argencourt sniffed.
"ALYA!"