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Chapter 4: No One Else in the World

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Adrien never gave much thought about being the crown prince outside of his royal duties, but it was moments like this when he really disliked it. Father had warned him this would happen, and he had been prepared for it, but it still was a nuisance. He was having to listen to each of the young maidens introduce themselves and try to make small talk. Of course, he couldn't be rude and say he didn't want to speak with them. For now, he just had to make it look like he was busy meeting each guest and move on to the next one. The only lifeline he had was that it was customary for the prince to ask someone to dance, not the other way around. And he was saving that for his dear princess. He hadn't seen her yet, but he would have someone pull him aside so he could 'meet with her.'

The next young woman to come up to him was Delila de Rossi. Nino had warned him about her, and how he was pretty sure she had upset Marinette. Adrien had no desire to speak with her, and lucky for him he had the perfect excuse not to.

His personal guard, Maurice, stepped in to take care of it. "Sorry, ma'am, but I can't let you come closer."

"What? Why? Did I do something wrong?" Lila asked discouraged.

"Your dress." Maurice answered simply.

Adrien could see the girl's eye twitch. "And what is wrong with my dress!? I'll have you know it was made by the finest tailors in my hometown."

"Is that so?" King Gabriel, still sitting beside his son, chose to speak up.

"Yes, your majesty." Lila bowed and tried to step closer, but the guard still wouldn't let her pass.

"What a coincidence. I seem to recall a similar dress made for our late queen by Vincent. You remember him, Adrien?" he turned to his son.

"Yeah, he took Marinette on as an apprentice before retiring. I remember the dress had been a birthday gift for mother." Adrien answered, then turned to the king's advisor resting near the thrones. "Isn't that right, Nathalie?"

"Indeed, your highness." Nathalie answered as she rose from her seat to better address everyone. "Unfortunately, Vincent had not been made aware of the inconvenience the dress design created, and he stored it away only for display."

"Inconvenience, sire?" Lila asked the king, still wasn't sure what the problem was.

"Nathalie." Gabriel flicked his wrist to give the woman permission to explain.

She straightened herself up in attention before answering. "His royal highness, Prince Adrien, has a terrible allergy to feathers."

Adrien had to bite his cheek so he wouldn't laugh at the god smacked look on Lila's face. Then the laughter flew away and left a scowl with her next words.

"I'm so terribly sorry, your majesty. The seamstress Marinette told me that this dress would be something the prince would love. Obviously, she thought to play some sort of cruel joke to humiliate me."

Adrien wanted to yell at her for saying such nonsense, but Gabriel spoke up in a calm and clear voice first. "I'm sure it was a misunderstanding, Lady Rossi. Marinette is nothing if not a master to her craft, even at a young age. At any rate, I am a bit confused as to why you would seek her skills when the dress was from your hometown, as you said."

"I-It was." her voice wavered for a second. "It just needed some mending, which is why I sought the services of a tailor. The feathers actually weren't on before, but Marinette insisted it would be a nice touch, and I paid her extra for it. But surely, she would have known about his highness' allergy. I can't imagine why she would do this on purpose."

"She did know, and she wouldn't do that, ever." Adrien stated proudly. He really wished this woman would go somewhere else already. The dungeons seem fitting, he thought in the back of his mind.

"Be that as it may, I'm afraid you will have to enjoy the evening at a distance from my son, Mademoiselle Rossi." Gabriel flicked his wrist again to have Maurice escort her back to the other guests.

"Your majesties." Lila gave one final bow and left.

Adrien could swear that he saw her smile drop right when she was turned away from them, and judging my her walk she wanted to stomp off like a child throwing a tantrum. It made him all the more agitated. "How pathetic."

"Don't let it get to you, Adrien." Gabriel spoke softly. "You know how the people of the court can be. She was just trying to save face for her blunder."

"Yes, and discredit Marinette in the process." he practically growled at that thought. No one talks ill about his beloved princess. "Nathalie, do we know anything about the Rossi estate?"

"Not much, I'm afraid, sir." she answered taking her seat once more. Despite making it through the worst of her illness, she still didn't have as much strength as she would like. She would have to retire before too long. "I've only heard small successes from the family, but they're always spoken with positivity in conversation."

"I just don't want to give her the chance to ruin things for Marinette. She always works so hard."

"Anyone that has a business connection with Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng knows the truth, and so do we." Gabriel placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

Adrien took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. "You haven't seen her yet, have you father?" he asked looking among the cluster of fancy clothes.

"Not yet. Perhaps she is in the gardens with the other townsfolk. Would you like me to send for her?"

"No, if she's having fun right now, I don't want to take her away from that." the prince sighed. He missed her so much.

Gabriel couldn't help but smile at his son's lovesick expression. Ah, to be young and in love, how he remembered those days. "Tell you what, Adrien. Why don't you go and mingle for a while, and I'll send someone to look for Marinette. If and when she's ready to join you, the two of you can begin the dancing."

Adrien thought it through for a moment. "Alright, I see Nino there, so I'll go converse with him. When they find Marinette, would you tell them..." he whispered the rest into his father's ear.

Gabriel had to hold back a chuckle. "A little devious, don't you think?"

"Yes, and maybe a little selfish, but I want to enjoy the night too." Adrien had an equally mischievous grin on his face.

"Hmm, very well son."

"Father." he gave him a bow and went to his friend who was enjoying the hors d'oeuvres table. "Hey there, Nino."

Nino almost choked on a bite when he heard the prince. "Adri- I - I mean, your royal highness." he always forgot to do that first when he saw his friend in public.

Adrien wanted to say he didn't have to do that, but his father wouldn't be pleased with anything less. Protocol and all that. "Enjoying yourself, my friend?" he asked instead.

"Sure am, everything is great. And look, I swiped some of your favorites." he showed him a small plate of macarons.

"Passionfruit?" the prince could already feel his mouth watering.

"What else?"

"Thank you, Nino. Is Alya around somewhere?" he asked before taking a bite.

"Yeah, she's hanging out with Marinette outside. She started getting swamped with compliments about all the dresses she made."

"Hmm, that's good, she deserves it." he finished his treat, then they both started walking around the ballroom. "Hopefully Marinette will come inside soon, I can't wait to get everything started."

"Nervous?" Nino nudged him on the arm.

"Yes, and excited. Hopeful and panicking. I mean, what if she says no?" he whispered that last part to not get any attention.

"Not a chance." Nino shrugged his worry off. "You two are made for each other, and no one can say otherwise."

"Prince Adrien?" A voice called behind them, and they turned to find Lila giving Adrien a bow.

He thought his father's warning would've been good enough to keep her away. Maybe if he started sneezing it would be good enough to send her off. However, when he got a better look at her, he saw that she was wearing a completely different dress. The peacock dress was replaced with a deep purple ballgown that had more cleavage, and the whole front was decorated with a gold ivy pattern. Even her hair was different. She couldn't have been gone more than ten minutes. How was she able to change so fast?

"Hello again, Lila." he greeted politely, deciding that he didn't care about her sudden change. It was best that he gives her a short conversation, then state that he has other guests to greet.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for my poor choice in garments. I would never do something that would cause you discomfort, sir." she gave him sad, pleading eyes that begged for forgiveness.

"It's alright. You don't have to worry about me. You should just enjoy the party." he gestured to the people surrounding them. Nino had kept on walking to look for his intended, so he didn't see that he left the prince behind.

"This was a better selection for me anyway." Lila responded as if she didn't hear what he said. "Goes much better with my locket, don't you think?"

Adrien let her wave the little bobble in front of him again. He didn't understand why she wanted his attention to be on it since it was a simple little trinket. The gem was beautiful, he would admit. It glimmered and shined in a way that he had never seen on any other precious stone. Maybe he should look for a similar gem to give to... give to... Give to who? Not Lila, she already has one. She doesn't really need it, she's beautiful enough without jewelry. So what was he thinking about?... There was the gem... then... what?... Maybe he should... should...

"Excuse me, your royal highness." a voice broke him away from his hazing thoughts.

Adrien had to shake his head out of this strange fog he felt all of the sudden and turned to the footman. "Yes, Jacque, what is it?"

"I am to inform you that the princess has arrived, sir." Jacque replied, following the instructions given to him by the king.

"Princess!? What Princess!?" Lila said stunned.

"Of course. If you will excuse me, Lila, I must give this princess my full attention." Adrien strolled away, taking a dark pleasure in seeing the jealous scowl on the woman's face.

.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette was, in fact, having a great time in the gardens. She and her parents wanted to spend some time with the townsfolk now that the king had relieved them of the catering duty. Already she had received thanks for her work and praise for her own dress. Of course, Marinette didn't take credit for it, saying the dress once belonged to the queen. After a while, she left her parents to go and talk with some of her friends.

"And I heard that Chloe Bourgeois got smitten with a certain musician we all know and wants to run away with him." Alya was loudly whispering to everyone in the group.

Marinette could only sigh. She loved her friend dearly, but sometimes her gossip streak could really get the better of her.

"Come on Alya." their friend Alix said. "Do you really think Luka would go for a spoiled brat like Chloe."

"He's much more smitten with his music." Rose half joked, and the other girls giggled.

"I think he likes Zoe." Juleka muttered about her brother quietly.

"Really? I didn't know that." Marinette gasped. "Does Zoe know?"

"He wants to write a song for her and tell her." she answered.

"Oh, that's so romantic." Rose practically swooned.

The other girls were going to agree when Alya broke them out of the conversation. "Oh, no. Who let that guy in here!?"

"Who?" they all asked looking around.

"Sheriff Jackass over there." Alya pointed to the food tables, and they all turned to find Sheriff Adolphe carefully sniffing the desserts on his little plate. Everyone's mood went gray as if a dark cloud went over them at the sight of the man.

"Everyone was invited to the ball, Alya." Marinette said reluctantly, but also trying to stay neutral.

"Maybe they should've been more selective about that." Alix grumbled displeasingly.

"Just let it go, girls. Let's not spoil the night, okay?" Marinette said trying to take her own advice. She was wishing the sheriff wasn't here more than the rest of her friends.

"You're right. We should just ignore him and have fun at the ball." Alya agreed. "On that note, shouldn't you be inside dancing with his royal highness?"

Marinette's heart took a leap to her throat at the question. "I- I didn't want to distract him while he greeted the important guests." she answered quickly, trying not to make it sound like an excuse.

"Knowing Prince Sunshine, he's probably waiting desperately for you to come and save him from the fancy stiff shirts." Alya laughed.

Then, as if hearing her, one of the doormen came up to the young women and addressed Marinette. "Pardonne-moi, mademoiselle, but the prince has requested your presence in the ballroom when you are available."

"See, told you."

Marinette's heart dropped to her gut at his words. "O-okay. I'll head over there right now. Can you take me to the prince, please?"

"Certainly, ma'am, right this way please." He made a low bow, and turned in the direction of the palace with the two young women following behind him.

"See, I knew he couldn't last one more hour without you being near him." Alya smirked, and Marinette could only nod unenthusiastically, which did not go unnoticed by her friend. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm really excited. We get to see the best part of the ball, and I get to be with Adrien." she forced a smile.

"You're not still worried about the other girls around here, are you? Your mother said it was bothering you." Alya held her shoulder firmly in support.

"Maybe a little." she admitted. It felt good to have her friends and family there for her, no matter how sad or anxious she felt.

"Don't think about it anymore, and just focus on having fun with your prince for the rest of the night."

Her prince. No matter how much time had past, or how long her and Adrien had been together, it still felt so foreign to think those words. Still, the truth of it made her feel so warm. "Okay."

They made it to the entrance of the ballroom when the doorman stopped and turned to face them. "Please wait here, ma'am, and I shall fetch the prince to meet you." And off he went.

Marinette suddenly felt like a little mouse cornered by a hungry cat and started to fidget with herself for anything that felt out of place. A hair out of place, a piece of her skirt bunched up. Was her rouge still neat? Did she put on enough perfume? Did she remember to use the mint leaves for her teeth and breath?! What if she tumbled in front of the prince and everyone started laughing at her, and then he'll never want to speak to her again...

"Marinette!" Alya whisper yelled.

"What!?" she snapped herself up and looked at her friend.

"Stop thinking."

It was a silly command, but for some reason it seemed to help her. Marinette took a deep breath and tried to relax. She looked around the room and noticed people stepping aside to clear a path for the prince. There he was, and he looked just as handsome as ever. She'd offered to make his suit for him, but he would have none of it saying he didn't want to give her any extra work. But what he wore now worked very well for him. His golden hair had been oiled and brushed back slightly. His outer coat was ivory with a golden rope trim, and he had dark green trousers with black high boots. His posture was high and proud, proving to everyone present that he was every bit the crown prince she always saw in him. His lovely green eyes were searching for her as she stepped forward to greet him.

Adrien had imagined Marinette in his mother's dress for the past few days, but nothing could've prepared him for the vision of loveliness that stood before him. It fit her perfectly and matched the soft paleness of her skin. Her long midnight hair was down with the front braided and tied to the back, and there was a wave in her locks meaning she must have ironed it a bit. She was wearing a rouge that really brought out her smile. Her brightness was a flower that sprouted in a bed full of weeds. Surely, he was unworthy of this angel among mortals. It took all of his strength to not simply fall at her feet and worship the princess before him.

Instead, he walked towards her and met her in the center of the dance floor. After making a low bow, he greeted her. "Beautiful princess, I bid you welcome."

Naturally, there were sounds of shock and disbelief around them, no one expecting there to be a princess at the ball as well. Marinette wanted to flick Adrien on the nose to wipe off that smug look from his face.

He's doing this on purpose, she thought in slight annoyance. She knew she couldn't publicly correct him, so instead she gave a deep curtsy in return. "Thank you for inviting me, your royal highness."

Adrien rose again, then held out his hand. "Fair maiden, would you do me the honor of the first dance for the evening?"

"It would be my pleasure, sire." she answered as she took his hand.

Adrien pulled her closer into the waltz position, then gave a signal to the orchestra to start playing. They began with a gentle melody, allowing the pair to sway and turn in each other's arms. Then the pair started to move faster as the music picked up tempo. Everyone around the ballroom stepped back to give the prince and his partner more space. Marinette could see it on some of their faces that they were questioning if she was in fact a princess.

"I don't think you should have done that, Adrien." she whispered as they danced.

"Done what, princess?" he played ignorance. Curse him.

"That! It's one thing if you're calling me princess when it's just between us, but to address me as one in front of all these people..."

"Alright, I admit, I did have a motive behind it this time." he gave her a twirl.

"And what is that?" she asked as she leaned back against him.

"Now no one can cut in between us. They wouldn't dare interrupt two royals dancing."

"Adrien, that's deceptive!" she whispered scoldingly.

"Maybe, but if it means I get you all to myself, then I would do it again." he heard the music start to pick up further and had an idea. "In fact, brace yourself for what I'm about to do."

Marinette knew what he was planning. "No."

"Let's give them a show."

"No!" she tried not to raise her voice.

"I'm gonna do it."

"Don't you dare!"

"In three..."

"Adrien!"

"Two..."

"I'm gonna - Oh!" she cried involuntarily as he picked her up by the waist and twirled her around the dance floor.

It was a silly little routine between them whenever they were dancing in during his lessons. Adrien would hold her up and spin her around like a graceful ballet par de deux. The trick was that he wouldn't stop spinning until he got a laugh out of Marinette. She had half a mind to slap him to make him stop, but she didn't have it in her to be mad. Plus, she was getting really dizzy.

So, in a feeling of full elation, Marinette let herself go and threw her head back with her arms out, laughing away. Adrien joined her in laughter as the music came back down to a softer melody. Marinette then wrapped her arms tightly around the prince's neck, and they just held each other like there was no one else in the room. They didn't even notice when others started to dance around them.

They continued to dance for about another hour before Marinette finally obliged to her protesting feet. "My prince, could we rest for a moment?"

"Of course, Marinette." He led her off the dancefloor and toward the refreshments. He offered her a glass of champagne and they had a few of the treats so there was something in their stomachs.

"Are you enjoying the evening so far, Princess?" Adrien asked.

"It's wonderful, and I'm so glad everyone liked the gowns I made. Maybe by tomorrow I'll have a few new clients wanting their own clothes." she smiled.

"I saw several of them, it's good to know all your hard work paid off." Adrien loved how her creativity made so many others happy because that's what she cared about the most.

Nino and Alya joined them a moment later, giving them time to talk about everything and nothing. Adrien looked around and saw his father talking with a few delegates and what he assumed were their daughters. Three guesses what their conversations were, he thought dully. It's probably best he pushes things forward now while he can.

He turned his attention back to his friends and interrupted the jokes and laughter by asking, "Marinette, would you like to join me outside for a bit? Get some fresh air?"

"Yes, that sounds nice. Alya, Nino, do you want to join us?" she asked the pair.

"Actually, I think I had a little too much wine. I should probably go eat something to balance myself out." Alya answered.

"And I'll stay with her to make sure she's alright." Nino placed an arm around her shoulder in support.

Adrien gave a silent thanks to his friends, then escorted Marinette back out to the garden area. They kept near the fountains as they watched several guests talk among themselves.

"This has been a huge success." Marinette complemented. Then she saw a few young ladies staring intently at them and giving her the evil eye.

Adrien saw it too. "There's going to be a lot of disappointed young ladies here tonight, though."

"But you invited everyone in the kingdom neutrally. Wouldn't they have understood it's a good political move instead of these lords and dukes throwing their daughters at you?"

"Whether I said I wanted a candidate or not doesn't matter. All they had to do was introduce the eligible young women to me, and if I liked them, I would call on them to continue courtship." he grinned, "Too bad they don't know that I'm not eligible myself."

"I hope they won't be too disappointed, or maybe they'll find their own true loves here tonight." she said honestly. She had noticed a few couples that looked like they were enjoying each other's company.

"Let's hope so." he shrugged it off, finished with the topic. He saw there were more people gathering around the garden, and Adrien still wanted things to be more private with his princess. They'll have to go somewhere quieter, and he knew the perfect place.

"Why don't we go see my mother for a bit?" he asked suddenly.

"Are you sure you want to step away from the ball right now?" Marinette asks surprised.

"Come on." he took her hand and led her through a hedge maze that led to a stone wall with a wooden door.

It was a small sanctuary the king had built after his wife passed. Not many were allowed back here save for a couple trusted gardeners. The area was closed off with stone walls that were covered with vines and wisteria. Most of the ground was grass with a decent sized manmade pond filled with lily pads and frogs chirping away on them. Surrounding the pair as they walked through the garden were several rose bushes all in different colors. And on the far wall from the door was a statue in likeness of the late queen. The statue held itself modestly in a sitting position with one hand on her lap, and the other up and over her chest, but not touching it. Her face was turned and seemed to be looking at the hand.

Marinette stepped away from Adrien to pluck a perfect white rose from the bush and handed it to him. He took the rose gratefully and then placed it in the outward hand of the statue. Now it had the appearance of Emilie admiring the rose given to her. It had been Marinette's idea to start this tradition. The king had planned to place something else in the statue's hand, like her scepter to match the crown. But when the young girl placed a flower, Adrien liked it so much that he pleaded his father to leave the statue as is. This way it felt like he was always giving his mother flowers in a more meaningful way than just leaving ones on her grave.

The couple admired the statue for a moment, then went over to the west wall with the stone bench that was arched by pink roses. Marinette leaned her head on his shoulder just enjoying the peace of resting her feet and being with the man she loved.

"Did you know that my mother was the first one to call you princess?" he asked quietly.

Marinette shot her head up to face him, not sure she heard him right. "She did!? When?"

"After we first met." he answered smiling.

She still couldn't believe it. "Why would she call a simple little peasant girl that snuck away from her parents to wander around the palace, a princess?"

"Oh, probably because of the way I was going on and on about the cute little girl that played with me, and we didn't have to worry about manners, or politics, or any of the lessons they were forcing into my head." he grinned and let her have a moment to remember that day as well. "Then when I finished telling my mother about it, the first thing she said was, 'Well, darling, it seems you've found your princess.' "

She gasped, "She didn't say that!"

"I swear." she held his hand up as if taking an oath. "And she was right."

"Come on, your highness." she shrugged him off. "You know I'm not really a princess, and don't say I'm one in the ways that count."

He snapped his mouth shut to stop from saying just that, so she continued. "I'm not a princess in a way that would matter to anyone in court, including your father."

"I could change that easily, you know." he took hold of her hands, feeling ready to start with the right words.

Marinette, on the other hand, couldn't tell if he was being serious or comedic. Either way made the truth stab her in the heart. She didn't pull her hands away, but she couldn't look him in the eye right now.

"You shouldn't say such things, Adrien." she didn't want to cry, but the stinging behind her eyes made it very hard not to. Lila's words once again came back to haunt her, making her feel these few special moments wouldn't last forever.

Adrien didn't understand what made her upset all the sudden. Had he said something cruel? Had he insulted her? Maybe he took a wrong route on the conversation. He tried to backtrack and start things over. His mind went back to their first meeting, and he thought more about what he wanted to say.

"You know, when we first met, I don't think you realized how much you saved me then, Marinette." he reached over to brush a loose hair from her cheek.

She looked back at him, her troubles replaced with confusion. "In what way?"

"That was the first time I had real fun as a child. Everyone always thinks being born the crown prince is the luckiest thing on earth. There are some that recognize it as a lifelong occupation, like if one's father is a blacksmith, then the son is expected to be a blacksmith."

Marinette nodded in understanding. She could relate to that on a small degree. When she was younger, her parents did have the thought that one day she would take over the bakery. But then she gained such a passion for sewing and designing clothes that she couldn't imagine anything else. Rather than discourage the idea, her loving parents supported her and planned to pass on the bakery to whomever had a passion for baking bread.

"But it's much harsher than that." Adrien continued. "Even at such a young age, I was having to learn about politics, language, even warfare. And I had to behave just the right way all the time. Stand up straight, be polite, be perfectly cleaned and groomed, and always know the right thing to say."

"But then for that one short hour we had, you didn't have to do any of those things." she added.

"I begged and begged my parents to let me play with you again. My father probably never would have agreed back then if my mother hadn't compromised by saying as long as I kept up with my studies, we could have our playdate together."

"And that was it. Every Sunday afternoon, we would have a different adventure around the palace. What was your favorite?"

Adrien leaned back against the ivy covered wall to think for a moment. "Hmmm, probably that time I was a prince locked in a tower, and you were the brave knight that saved me."

"Really?" Marinette snorted at that memory. "I would think it was that time we played pirates looking for treasure, and we actually found it..."

"In the royal treasure room." they said together and laughed uncontrollably.

"We were in so much trouble for that one." Marinette said after catching her breath.

"It was worth it. Every day I got to spend with you was worth it. I even made sure to study extra hard throughout the week so as not to give my parents a reason to deny your visit. Then, as we got older..." he stopped.

"Yeah..." she didn't need to say anything. She let her head rest on his shoulder again, and he wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer.

As they got older, naturally things started to change. Their bodies and minds made them see each other differently. Adrien was introduced to young girls to see if they would catch his interests while Marinette stood to the side and watched. Though he did as he was told and spent time with the ladies of the court, he never gave them more than polite conversation and always went back to his real princess. At thirteen when his mother started to become ill, he was declared second in command to the crown, and directly in line in the passing or stepdown of the king and queen. He took strongly to his responsibilities while Marinette gained the apprenticeship to a tailor that eventually retired and passed down the shop to her.

"You were my first of everything." Adrien broke the silence with his soft voice. "My first real friend, my first kiss, my first love... My first lover..." he whispered in her ear.

"And you were mine." she said back, and gasped when he placed a kiss on her neck.

"I even made more friends because of you, like Nino and Alya."

"Hmmmm, they love you for you, Adrien, just as I do." she spoke only the truth.

"When I was given the title of second in command, my mother and father said they would grant me a request as a reward, and I said there was only one thing I wanted from them."

Marinette looked up at him. "What did you ask for?" her voice felt weak.

Adrien gave her forehead a kiss before looking her in the eye. "I asked that they not arrange a betrothal for me. That I would be free to choose whomever I wanted as a bride, no matter their background."

The young woman gasped, her heart making such a leap that she held her hand to her chest to keep it in place.

The prince slipped away from her to drop down to one knee. "Marinette, you are the princess that holds my heart, you always have been. Would you grant me, a humble prince, the honor of becoming my wife?"

She wanted to scream yes more than anything in the world, but instead her words squeaked out of her like a mouse. "C- can I?"

"Of course you can, that is if you want to?" He gave her time to adjust, it was a big question after all. He didn't bother showing her the ring yet for fear of putting extra pressure on her.

"B-but y-your f-f-father... the king..." Surely King Gabriel had no intention of agreeing to this.

"My father has our full support, and no one will deny the king's approval." he smiled and rubbed her hands in comfort.

"A-are you sure? I'm just a simple seamstress, the daughter of a poor baker family." she tried to make sure he was open to all the facts.

The prince had expected this kind of reaction from her. Despite her confidence and courage, there was always a side of Marinette that doubted her self worth. But she would often rise above that doubt and continued forward anyway. And that's what made him love her all the more.

"You know my father started from pretty humble beginnings as well. It was my mother that had the royal bloodline." He pointed out. She did know that, the whole kingdom knew. It was a great love story of the king and queen that everyone shared.

She didn't say anything back, so Adrien continued. "They married for love and held each other strong on the throne. My mother saw the same thing with us. She wanted me to live my days with someone I could be happy with. So Marinette, my princess, would you stand beside a prince that will one day be king, with you as his queen?"

She looked deeply into his eyes, seeing the boy she had fallen in love with when they were little children, and shook her head. "I don't want to marry a prince..."

Adrien thought his heart would snap, feeling the panic that everything would be over after this. But then he let himself breathe again when she spoke the rest.

"I would marry the boy that was lonely in a grand palace. The boy that was laughing after getting his fancy clothes wet in the rain. The boy that spent his time in the market streets and saw the citizens that needed help rather than the expensive goods. The boy that became a loving, passionate man worthy of being his country's ruler. The man that I would marry is all those things and right before me, and I would be his wife if he would have me."

He shot to his feet, and pulled her up with him to hold her in a tight embrace. "I love you so much, Marinette. You are the only one in the world for me, and I don't think I could survive without your love."

"Then I will never deny you. I love you, too, Adrien."

They pulled together in for a strong kiss full of love. Adrien held her tighter than ever for fear she would disappear if he ever let go. Marinette felt like she couldn't get enough of him as they kissed each other harder with his hands around her waist and her fingers in his hair. This was a kiss beyond what they felt previously. In this kiss, their souls were touching, become one under the stars of their secret garden. The memory of the late queen being the witness to this blessed moment of two soulmates and their greatest love for each other.

.~*~*~*~*~*~

An: Another chapter done, and wasn't it just too sweet?! Part of me kind of wishes it could end on this happy note, but there is so much more to the story. I hope everyone enjoyed it and they will keep coming back for more. Please leave a review if you like, tell me what you think. It helps my motivation! Til next time! ;);)