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Adrien peered over the stone wall of the vast palace garden. The Dupain-Cheng’s were holding yet another party, and all the nobility from the surrounding kingdoms had been invited. It seemed as if they held parties every few weeks, and no expense was too much. Ice sculptures. Dancing girls. Lauded minstrels. Exotic foods. It never rained on a Dupain-Cheng party. Even Mother Nature seemed to bend to their will. It was a grand affair, and Adrien had been to almost every one from his perch upon the tall live oak tree.
“Adrien!!” A voice called from below. “Get down here!”
“Not yet, Plagg! I’m still looking!”
“Hurry up! You were almost caught last time! If they see you, I will not be here when they come looking!” Plagg threatened, running his hand through his long black hair as he leaned his back against the stone wall and waited for Adrien to finally decide to come down from the high branches. Plagg had become bored with this game long ago, but Adrien continued to come here like a man looking for a drink of water.
“Don’t worry. No one ever looks up—” He suddenly ducked behind the leaves and branches, a gasp escaping his lips.
“Someone looked up, didn’t they.” Plagg said dryly, looking at his fingers in the most nonchalant way he could.
“Shhhhh.” Adrien called down, still hiding. He waited. A breath. Two breaths. Three. Then he peaked again to see the coast was clear. He paused for a long moment, looking around and attempting to see if anyone was looking up at him again.
“Plagg! It was her!” Adrien finally called down, excitement in his voice.
“The girl?”
“Yes! She looked up here.” Adrien grinned like a love-sick fool as he placed his head against the large branch and all but swooned at the thought. “You should see her, Plagg.”
“I don’t have to. You’ve described her enough times, my imagination does just fine with the details.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice, but Adrien ignored it.
“She has her hair up again. In that twist in the back. The one that shows off her neck. And the dress she’s wearing.” He sighed, gazing out over the party again, searching for the beautiful girl he was describing.
“Adrien–”
“--You don’t know beauty until you’ve seen this goddess, Plagg.”
“Adrien–”
“I’ve watched her dance a thousand times, Plagg. What I wouldn’t give to dance with her. To hear her laugh–”
“--Adrien–”
“--to see her smile at me like she does the men that try to woo her. I would give almost anything…”
“Anything?” A feminine voice came from directly behind him, and he spun around, almost falling from his branch as he saw Princess Marinette Dupain-Cheng sitting on the branch. Her dress was hiked up and tied off, revealing her beautiful, tone legs – and if he had been more of a gentleman, he might have been able to take his eyes off of them. “Perhaps you could start by bringing your eyes back up to my face, good sir.”
The amusement in her voice let him know that she wasn’t angry at him, but he blushed a deep shade of red as he realized he had been looking at her in a completely inappropriate way. “I-I-I’m s-sorry!” He reached his hand to the back of his neck in a nervous habit.
“Adrien!” Plagg called up, pacing back and forth in an infuriated manner.
“Your friend is quite upset at my arrival.” Marinette stated, waving fingers down to Plagg, who in turn let out a grumbling huff. “And in his defense, he did try to warn you. But as you continued to wax on about the beautiful girl at the party, you didn’t seem to notice his calls of warning.”
Adrien’s blushed deepened. “I… I can explain!” He attempted to say, and her beautiful laugh was her only response. “I come here… to… check the trees. To make sure that they are safe. No bugs or diseases. It would be very bad for the garden if the trees outside it spread diseases to those inside.”
“How noble of you.” She commented, though it was evident she didn’t believe a word he said. “So this particular tree must be in serious danger, as you continuously come to check on it… and it seems only whenever my parents throw one of their parties.”
He pursed his lips together, closing his eyes for a moment as he attempted to gather his thoughts. “I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to spy–”
“--of course you did.” She countered, her face never losing the beautiful smile. “And I have to say, you have been doing an excellent job of it. I do not believe any of the nobles noticed your intrusion.”
Plagg’s voice called up, “If he was doing a good job, he wouldn’t have been caught!”
“True!” She giggled, “but I caught him months ago. These parties are very dull, and I honestly couldn’t take another moment of it—”
“--Marinette!!” A voice called from nearby.
“It’s Tikki! Hide!” The Princess suddenly pulled her legs up on the branch and curled up closer to the trunk as if to hide her position. Adrien followed suit, giving Plagg a ‘please help me’ look.
Plagg in turn just shook his head, moving to lean back against the wall as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Marinette!” The voice called again, and a woman with bright red hair and blue eyes came rushing through the area. “Marinette!”
“Are you looking for someone?” Plagg asked, startling the woman from her pursuit.
“Y-yes!” She answered, stopping under the tree. “The Princess! She is supposed to be at the party, but several guests saw her exit earlier, and now I cannot seem to find her.”
Plagg grinned at the woman. His green eyes seemed to glow with mirth. “Then perhaps I can help you find her. If you don’t mind the company, of course. My friend is also missing. Who knows… they may even be together.”
The woman’s eyes lit up. “You would do that for me?”
“Of course, sugarcube.” He leaned over and took her hand in his own, offering a quick kiss to her knuckles as he bowed before her.
The woman blushed, pulling her hand back quickly. “W-well then… Let us go quickly before I lose all chance of finding my charge.”
With that, Plagg and the woman left. Marinette let out a loud sigh of relief, then a soft chuckle formed on her lips. Within a moment, the chuckle turned to a full laugh. Even Adrien was caught in the moment, laughing at his friend that had led the woman away. After a few minutes, the laughter between them finally died down, and Adrien felt much more comfortable.
“Who was that?” He asked, leaning back against the trunk of the tree.
“That was Tikki. My maid servant. But she is more like a mother hen. Always keeping an eye on me. When you have a chance, can you please thank your friend for me.” Princess Marinette smiled once more, and he could see the tears left over from her laughter.
“Of course.”
“I did not catch your name.” She continued.
“My name is Adrien.” He responded. “And it is an honor to meet you, Princess.”
“Marinette.”
“W-what?”
“My name is Marinette. Do I look like a Princess to you?” She said, “Do Princess’s climb trees in gowns or hide from maid servants?”
“Well… I suppose not.” Adrien replied. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Marinette.”
“And I, you, Adrien.” She responded.
They both seemed to giggle at the joke.
“So if you are not a Princess, what were you doing at such a grand party?” He continued to play the game.
“Looking for a Prince to whisk me away. Marry for love against his father’s wishes.”
“Ah. Did you find him?”
“No.” Marinette leaned over, looking out over the party. “But I did find a roguish, knave hiding in the trees and spying on unsuspecting, innocents below.”
“Oh! Were you scared? He could have been anyone. A thief. An assassin. Possibly a kidnapper, ready to steal away a beautiful Princess.” He spoke dramatically, causing a snicker to escape the Princess.
“I would be so lucky.” She sighed wistfully, before looking at him with affection. “I’ve made up so many stories about this knave. Thought in my head who he might be. Why he’s here. If he’ll ever disappear.”
“I’m sure he’s just an innocent peasant boy, seeking a bit of a thrill watching the nobility mingle and trade stories of their riches. Of course, he could also have seen something that was worth coming back for…”
“Oh?”
“...yes. A beautiful Princess.”
“Should I be jealous?” Marinette asked, and Adrien was silent for a moment.
“That he cannot seem to stop thinking about the Princess? Wishing he could hear the stories she tells her guests. That he could dance with her in his arms. That she would notice him.”
“Yes. Of that.”
“What would the Princess do if this knave said that he only had eyes for her, Marinette?” He found courage to put his thoughts into words.
“The Princess would ask him to return the next day. And the next. And the next… Meet him in his tree. Safe from prying eyes.” She answered, eyes raw with an unspoken emotion.
“And if he agreed, what would the Princess do?”
Marinette smiled at him, “This.”
And suddenly, her lips were upon his, kissing him with a gentle affection. He was startled, and by the time he realized what had happened, she was pulling away again.
“And… if he returns the next day?”
“He would get another one.”
Adrien smiled, feeling his heart flutter with the beginnings of love for the playful Princess that had climbed a tree in the most unorthodox clothing just to meet him. “Then he readily agrees.”