Chapter 3

[Notes] There are going to be things you would see in the 21st Century or things you wouldn't normally see a royal or maid wearing or using in this book because that's just they way I want to do this. Also, I'm using google translate for any french I don't know so I apologise if anything is wrong.

[Warning] A quick warning for those hardcore Daminette shippers. There is going to be Adrinette fluff in this chapter! I am not going to apologise because they are due to be married and so have to find a way to get along either way. The daminette will come slowly but surely.

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"Suck it in Princess! Suck it in!"

Marinette held her breath letting out a sigh of relief when she heard the zip reach the top. The maids wiped their foreheads in relief. When they'd chosen her dress, they never expected it to be 2 sizes too small! That damn dressmaker! She turned around and stood as they dabbed her face with makeup; a little bb cream, a dab of blush, some eyeliner to make the blue of her eyes pop, some red lipstick and finally a 1-2 sprays of setting spray to add the finishing touches. Her hair sat in a cute bun that was held together with a single silver hair stick.

She giggled and looked down at the white cat walking around her feet before it made its way out the room and into the hallway. A maid lifted her head back up allowing her to watch in the mirror as two other maids placed a simple silver earring on either ear and another placed a silver necklace around her neck. The tiara on her head was the final touch and they all marvelled at their masterpiece. She refused the gloves saying that they would make her hands sweaty and feel trapped and if not for Kiwi, she would've gotten away with placing a chopstick in her hair in the place of the hair pin. All she wanted was a little taste of home! What was wrong with that? In fact, she'd been lucky to even be allowed a hair pin in the first place; they would've made her use those bobby pins that pinched at the delicate places on your head and gave you the biggest headache of the century! She shuddered at the thought. She was safe for now, but sooner or later, she would be forced to wear them.

She glanced at the clock and screeched a rather unladylike screech. "I'm going to be late!" All that trouble over one zip had taken so much time away from the little she already had due to her little detour to the Kitchen. 

"No one panic!" Alya came bursting through the door huffing and puffing as though she'd just run a marathon. "All we need to do is get you down 3 hallways, 4 sets of stairs and across a courtyard in-" she glanced at her watch, "10 minutes. No biggie."

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"You would like to have you and your band perform here?"

The man nodded. "Yes, it would be great for our publicity."

Adrien sighed. "Mr Couffaine, I sincerely apologise, however you should know by now that even if I did approve, my Father would have to as well. Until my coronation, he is still the King."

The man with black hair and blue dyed tips sighed. "Of co--"

Adrien's brow furrowed as he stopped talking and instead focused his attention on something behind him. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. Now that he thought of it, the whole room was silent. He turned around wandering what on Earth could possibly--Oh. His eyes grew wide as he stared at the woman coming down the steps. Her hair shone in the light and her dress...the dress sparkled with every move she made. It looked as though the stars had abandoned their place in the sky and instead chose to make a new spot on her dress. Her tiara was simple and yet so much more; the silver was elegant and refined but the blue gem contrasted it as it stole attention from the rest of the jewellery and yet they still made the perfect team as they along with the rest of her outfit accomplished their mission - to make her look absolutely stunning. It was breath-taking really. No, literally. He couldn't breath because if he did, he knew the moment would be over. She was a goddess and everyone acknowledged that; further proof being in the way they stared at her. The women jealous but at the same time enchanted and the men falling in love with a women they'd only just laid eyes on for the first time. (Sry, I got a bit too -- excited XD) It was when their eyes met that the spell broke. He quickly looked away turning back to the musician behind him and slowly but surely, the ballroom went back to how it was before.

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The ceiling was so high. She'd never been to a ball like this before. Plates of food surrounded the room and her eyes narrowed as even more were being brought in. She would never understand why royals got to have more food just because they were a higher authority. The amount of food here could feed dozens of families in China. Marinette pondered whether or not to smuggle some food and have it sent to her parent's castle. They could distribute it to the families who would occasionally set up stalls outside in hopes of a rich person entering or leaving the castle taking interest in their goods and buying a few things.

She shook her head. Even if she did do that, the journey from her to China would take days even with a car and the food would have gone bad by then. Maybe she could give them some of the jewels she'd found in her bedroom drawer. They were technically hers now so she could do whatever she wanted with them. "Whatever you are thinking, you cannot do it Princess." She turned to the voice next to her and smiled at the maid. Her smile practically invisible behind the fan. "You know me too well Kiwi." Kiwi saw the creases in her eyes and smiled back.

The growl from her stomach reminded her of the list she'd made on the way to the ballroom.

1. Food

2. More food

3. Socialize

4. Dance

5. Grab a late night snack and leave - She didn't care whether is was proper for the host to leave last because technically, she wasn't the host. The King was. Your party, your responsibility. Speaking of the King, he was literally everywhere! Yes people! The king was actually doing stuff! He wasn't just making an indent in his throne!

First thing's first; food. She looked longingly at the plate of dumplings practically calling her name and made a beeline towards the table before she was stopped by a familiar voice calling her name. 

She spun around and smiled when in actuality she was pissed off that someone had dared to mess with her and the plate of dumpling sitting a few feet away. "Monsieur Grayson! How lovely to meet with you again."

Dick beamed. "And you Princess. I just wanted to say that you look absolutely--" He was broken off by yet another growl from her stomach. He chuckled, "Are you ever not hungry? I wanted to tell you that you look absolutely dashing! I would've considered taking you to be my bride if I were not already married and if you weren't engaged to the Prince." 

"Oh? You're married?"

He nodded. "Yes. Her name is Barbara. Unfortunately she couldn't make it today, however, I can make some arrangements for her you to meet her."

"I would love to." She glanced at the table. "Now if you would excuse me, I have some well-needed business to attend to."

He smiled. "Of course, I know by now never to keep a hungry lady waiting."

She took off back towards the table and sighed when she reached it and placed a warm one in her mouth. So good! She reached for another one before she stopped when she realised Kiwi wasn't eating. "Are you not hungry?" The woman shook her head. "I ate a while ago." 

She turned her whole body to the woman. "You know, you don't have to stay by my side the whole time! Go have fun! Make some friends!"

Kiwi frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. "But Princess--"

Marinette held her hand up. "I'm not taking no for an answer! It's your life, not mine. So you get to choose what you want to do with it. And don't think I haven't noticed the way you've been eyeing those other maids over there. I can tell you're bugging to go and talk to them."

Kiwi sighed. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

Marinette smiled as she watched her friend walk away and disappear into the crowd. She took another dumpling before scanning the table for another delicacy. 

"I must recommend the Moules Marinières."

She jumped at the voice behind her and turned to the sight of the Prince beaming down at her. He pointed at a plate of what seemed to be black shells. "They-" he continued, "are a french delicacy." She watched as he picked one up and opened the shell to the sight of what looked like yellow meat. He picked it up and popped it in his mouth humming in delight as he chewed it. He picked up another one. "You can also use the shell of an empty one to pick out the meat in another one." She watched as he used the shell of the one he'd just eaten to pick out the yellow meat and popped it into his mouth."

She looked at the mussels and picked one doing what he'd shown her do and he watched as he eyes widened. "These are delicious!" 

He chuckled. "Hence why I recommended them. Or did you think I would give you something absolutely repulsive?" She laughed. 

"Um, where do we put the shells?" He indicated to a plate full of empty shells.

"Now that you've had a taste of our country," he held a hand out, "how would you feel about dancing?"

After food, she was meant to socialize. That just further proved that life had different things in store for her. She smiled. "Of course."

He lifted an eyebrow. "How will you dance with a fan in your hand?" She looked around. Now would be a great time for Kiwi to pop up but this wasn't a corny romance movie where everything went as planned. She whipped the fan away from her face allowing him to see her for the first time and closed it and then proceeded to pull on the hidden string at the bottom and tie it to the hair pin in her hair. He chuckled. "You are one strange Princess." When he saw her eyebrows furrow he corrected himself, "But not in a bad way."

She smirked, "I never said I was normal."

They made their way to the middle of the room where other dancers were - her fan flailing about in her hair and occasionally tapping the side of her head. The room silenced once again as they watched the prince and princess make their way right into the middle of the dance floor. 

"Oh, I forgot to mention something. I can only dance dance traditional Chinese dances. I've never--" she gasped as he pulled her in placing a hand on her waist and guiding her left hand to his shoulder then holding her right hand in his left as he held them up to the side.

"You can just follow my lead." 

Now, it was safe to say that this dance would most likely end with one of the duo having to soak their feet in cool water. Once again, this was not a corny romance movie where everything went as planned and the main protagonist happened to have exquisite dancing skills even when they'd never been taught!

The dance started off slow as he took a step backwards and she stumbled forwards almost losing her balance when they'd only just begun. He took a step to the side and then forward and it was then that she realised that they were swaying in a small circle. As he took another step back and she took another forward, he winced. And there it was, the first step on his toes.

She murmured a "désolée" and he replied with a "no problem Princess".

After a few more stumbles and toes stepped on, he let of her waist and spun her around. When she came back to rest with her hand on his shoulder and his on her waist, her head spun and she shook it away. He leaned in and whispered, "Place you left hand on mine Princess." They separated as she placed a hand on his lifted one.

"Now what?" 

He tilted his head to a nearby couple dancing and watched as they walked around with their left hands together and in the air.

As they begun to move, the music got quicker. "I don't know if I can dance at such a quick pace."

"That's alright, we can go at your own pace."

They went in a slow circle as the others sped up laughing as they almost crashed into them.

When the song finally ended (Marinette didn't know if she could take much more of this. It may have looked easy and romantic in the movies, but dancing with heels pinching at your toes was not a fun experience), they bowed and walked off the floor and back into the crowd. 

Marinette opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted by a blur of yellow that seemingly came out of nowhere and then morphed itself into the shape of a young woman. Her hair was a shiny blonde that was held up in a bun similar to Marinette's and she wore a yellow ballgown with black floral patterns around the stem of the dress. Her eyelids were tinted with blue and her ocean blue eyes glanced at Marinette before they made their way back to the man who's arm she was currently clinging onto.

"Adrikins! It's so good to see you again! I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner! Daddy told me about the party too late so I had to hurry and pick a dress! And then I had to wait for them to turn the car around! If I'd been here sooner, we could've danced!"

Marinette watched as Adrien squirmed himself out of her grasp looking rather uncomfortable as he smiled. "H-Hey Chloe!"

The woman beamed up at him. He looked back up to see Marinette watching them. "Princess, this is my cousin, Chloe Bourgeois. Chloe, this is Princess Marine--"

She cut him off as she glared daggers at the women, "I know who she is. Your-." She spat the word out, "fiancée." She forced a smile on her face and held her hand out giving Marinette's a tight squeeze before she leaned in and whispered, "I will make your life a living hell." before letting her hand go and pulling herself back. Marinette smirked at the woman, "I would love (really big emphasis on the word 'love') to see you try." Chloe let out a screech of annoyance catching a few glances here and there but perked up when the music changed. She turned to Adrien blocking the dark-haired woman out of her sight.

"Would you like to da--" Her question was interrupted by another, deeper voice next to her. 

A tall man with well-defined muscles that stood out in his suit held out his hand and directed his attention to her. "Mlle Bourgeois, would you grant me this dance?"

Chloe huffed. She knew she couldn't turn him down. It would only make her look bad. So instead of further damaging her reputation, she told Adrien to wait for her and placed her hand in his. As they walked off, Marinette was sure she'd heard something along the lines off, "Thanks Kim, you're a life-saver."

When the two were out of sight, he turned back to her. 

"Your cousin seems quite fond of you." He rubber the back of his head - a habit he seemed to do when he was nervous - and chuckled.

"Yeah, she's been like that ever since we were younger. Every now and then, she comes over to visit."

Marinette nodded in understanding. "I'm assuming that means this won't be the last I see of her."

He laughed. "When we get married, you'll see her pretty much every few weeks!" His laughter died down and she stared at him. They had yet to actually discuss their marriage. They'd both been holding back. Unfortunately, there was no sudden intervention to quickly change the topic and get them both out of their misery. The awkward silence was broken when he sighed and spoke, "May I ask you something Princess?"

Marinette nodded.

He rubbed at the back of his head again and furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you actually want to marry me?"

Marinette sighed. "Would you get offended if I told you the truth?"

He shook his head.

"No." She paused before continuing, "I mean there's nothing wrong with you. It's just that we've barely just met and we haven't even gotten a chance to further acquaint ourselves yet!"

He nodded and looked down, "Yes. I suppose that's what the few months are for. Unlike others of high-class, my mother believed in love before marriage."

"Where is she?" He looked back up. "Your Mother I mean. I've seen her portraits around the castle but I haven't met her yet in person."

His eyes hardened, "She passed away a few years ago."

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the every-so-joyful prince and now saw despair and loneliness etched into his face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

He shook his head, "No it's okay. Not many people do. Everyone just assumes she's bedridden. We held a private burial for her. My father wouldn't even allow anyone to open the casket because it would only remind him of the fact that he'd just lost the best thing that ever happened to him."

She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted yet again by the two figures she saw walking up to them and beaming as two proud parent would. And there was the well-needed intervention! When life gave you over-talkative parents, you used them as a distraction. 

"Maman! Papa! You made it!"

She moved in to hug her parents but was stopped by the hand held up by her mother indicating for her to stop right where she was. Sabine tutted and pulled the fan out of her hair then handed it back to the owner. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng! What have I told you about putting your fan in your hair! You just need to get a little purse to put it in! What about the one I gave you with the earrings for your birthday!"

Marinette smiled as she bore the scolding she'd gotten from her mother that she somehow missed. She unfolded the fan and placed it back up to her mouth.

"Are you happy now?"

Sabine sighed shaking her head. Just where had she gotten such an ill-mannered daughter? Her features then lit up and she replied, "Of course!" She pulled her daughter into a hug. "Oh, how I've missed you my little dumpling and it's not even been a day! I honestly don't know how I'm going to manage without you!"

Marinette giggled. "You know you can come and visit me. Or you could send a letter or call."

Sabine separated the hug. "I know, I know!" It's just that we've been dealing with a couple of things back at home."

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed, "Is something wrong?"

Sabine hesitated before she answered. 'It's okay my sweet potato. It's only a few minor affairs and it doesn't concern you."

Marinette's eyes narrowed. She could tell her mother was lying but instead of calling her out, she turned to where Adrien and her father were stood talking.

"You look tired." She turned back around at her Mother's voice.

"You noticed?"

Sabine gave her a knowing look. "All that makeup doesn't fool me. Besides, when you're tired, you slouch."

Marinette straightened up. Sabine laughed. "Alright, alright. Off to bed with you!"

Marinette shook her head in protest - this would be the last time she saw her Mother in a while and she wanted to make it last - but she knew that Sabine Cheng always got her way. And not only because she was the Queen of China.

 They made their way over to the two men.

"Your Highness, could you please escort my daughter to her bedchamber. It's awfully dark and I don't want her getting lost. "

Adrien nodded. "Of course."

He would've held his arm out for her, but he didn't want to go too far for their first day together. He didn't want to seem to desperate for them to get along.

Where there was Marinette, there was Kiwi. Where there was Adrien, there was Damian and Nino. And where there was Nino, there was Alya. The Courtyard was cold and if you looked close enough from a bird's eye view, you could just about make out the formation they were in; two in front (Adrien and Marinette), two in the middle (Kiwi and Damian) and two in the back (Nino and Alya). 

She shivered. But the good kind of shiver. She liked the feeling of the cool air on her skin compared to the stuffy ballroom they'd just been in. The shrubbery and plants were impressive and the trees stood tall covered in red, orange and yellow proving that they were ready to shed themselves for the upcoming winter.

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The hallway was so much more bigger when there weren't maids and guards loitering around. Moonlight shone in through the window lighting their pathway up. Alya and Nino were busy whispering about goodness knows what and Damian and Kiwi had nothing to say. Marinette could feel Adrien's eyes on her. 

"Is there something wrong?" She couldn't take it anymore. She had to know.

"Why do you always cover your face with that fan?"

She stopped walking making everyone else pause as well and drawing the attention of the flirting maid and guard and turned to him. Where should she start? So many facts to tell him. Best to start somewhere.

"There are many reasons. One being to protect a woman's face against the glare and heat of a fire. Another being the fan language." Before he could ask what that was, she continued, "The fan language is what you could call a sort of secret code. It consists of over a dozen moves." She pulled the fan down covering her bottom lip and spread it out. "This is 'I'm single'" She pulled the fan a bit lower and twisted it left and right. "This is 'Meet me outside'." She lifted the fan up to the bottom of her eyes. "This is 'Follow me'." She put the fan back to the position she always did; covering her mouth and nose but not too close to her eyes to suggest anything. "There are many more where that came from. Many women use it as a sort of secret language to men so as not to grab too much unwanted attention." 

She carried on walking and the group carried on too. A 'meow' was heard in front of them catching their attention to a dark corner in the hallway where two cats lay sat next to each other. A pair of green eyes and another of blue stared at the humans as they walked closer. The cats stepped out of the dark and walked to them stopping in front and then turning to each other and walking in what seemed to be a tight circle. When black met white, Marinette laughed. 

"Yin and Yang."

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As Marinette took a step into her room, Tikki following next to her, she turned around and addressed the man waiting for her to enter before he left. "You don't to call me 'Princess' all the time."

He smiled. "What do you want me to call you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, literally anything else? You don't need to remind me of my status every time you address me."

He grinned. Was that? No..it couldn't be. A Cheshire cat grin! (Less creepy of course.) He bowed. "Of course. M'lady."

She bid him and the others a farewell as she went into her room leaving Nino at his spot next to her door. She still had yet to meet the other guard who would be alternating posts between him and Nino. She shut the door and turned around to the sight of the rest of her luggage sitting on the floor. She moved to the cupboard where she'd placed the few things she'd brought with her that morning and pulled out a pink box opening it to reveal another smaller one where the earrings lay perched and a pink purse with white spots. She pulled it out and grabbed her sewing kit from one of her luggage boxes then sat down on the bed. She would change out of her dress and clean her face of the makeup later. Besides, if she were going to use it, she may as well make it look nice. She took out the black thread lining it with the hole in the needle and pulling it through then started with the cursive 'M' she planned on adding to the bottom left of the purse. Her tongue stuck out slightly as she concentrated. 

It was only then that she realised she'd forgotten her late night snack.