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Bart looks at the now soaking wet Princess with absolute horror on his face.
“This is it. This is when I die. Goodbye cruel world. I had one job and I screwed up. If I get out of here quickly enough, nobody will know I did it.”
Bart tries to zoom out of the room to clear himself of being a suspect but miserably fails as he trips over the bucket that held such water.
“Traitor,” Bart scolds the water bucket.
A laugh from the bed of the princess causes Bart more anxiety than it should. He turns to see Princess Marinette sitting upright, looking down to him on the ground. His face flushes red.
“Hey lovebug, I didn’t see you there.”
“Is that why I’m covered in water and there’s a suspiciously placed bucket underneath you?”
Bart spares an awkward smile as he gets up from the ground, kicking the bucket as far away from him as possible.
“I don’t see a bucket. Do you? Must have been someone else.”
Marinette shines a smile to him as she gets up from the rather uncomfortable cot. She offers her hand to Bart which he accepts with no hesitation.
“I guess I fell asleep longer than I thought. Why were we out here in the barn? Last I can remember, I was at supper with my mother and a few of her colleagues from other kingdoms.”
Bart tilts his head at the Princess’ question. ‘She does not know about her. Though to be fair, Marinette was distracted talking to that Agreste and Wayne boy.’ Bart thinks as he finds a way to tell her.
“Do you remember anything else? It was quite the night.”
Marinette is the one to tilt her head this time. She ponders for a moment.
“I remember talking to a couple princes. They were rather boring though. Oh, there was another princess there as well. Wait, she had come into the dining room throwing accusations toward my mother, but I spoke up. Some form of ball of light came toward me. Then it went black. Did I die…”
“Lovebug, you may be an angel in disguise, but you are still alive. That ball of light was actually magic, and that princess was the sorceress, Zatanna. She blamed your mother for her father’s death. You were put under a curse.”
Marinette blinks at Bart. He offers his hand to her. She accepts and it helps her calm down.
“If I was under a curse this whole time, why was it just broken now? How long has it been anyway?”
Bart loses eye contact with her. He looks down at the ground.
“You know you can tell me anything, Lightning bug. I won’t be mad at you for being the messenger. In fact, I’m madder that my mother moved me out here on a cot for some reason.”
“It’s been 3 years Marinette. In that time, they could not find a single prince to awake you from your slumber.”
“Excuse me. The 3 years is fine. We both know I needed that sleep having to deal with Felix and his tricks every day. But the ‘not find a single prince’ part, that is concerning. Why were there princes called in to try to wake me up if there was a curse on me? How many were sent?”
“They thought the curse was a true love curse. You know, that ‘true love’s kiss will wake them’ one that is always talked about.”
Marinette holds onto Bart’s hand tighter as she lets her anger and frustration through her.
“It was my mother that said that, wasn’t it? Ugh, I had told her time and time again that I do not want to marry some prince. And how is she supposed to know who my ‘true love’ is anyway? It is just like her to hold me to such stupid societal standards. What if I want to marry a boy from the village? You know what Lightning bug?”
“I don’t believe I know. What is it Marinette?”
“I bet no one has come in here to check on me besides you and most likely, Felix. Why don’t we just run away? Get out of this stupid place, away from my mother and start a new life. We’ll bring Felix with us. Be our own family.”
Bart considers the proposition but puts himself beside Mari.
“I love that idea Lovebug, but you are a princess. If you do not show yourself, Lady Lila or Chloe will be crowned in your absence.”
The silence that enters the barn is killer. Despite that, it is broken by none other than the blonde.
“My dear bugs, as much as I would love to agree with you my Ladybug, I must agree with the Lightning bug. Queen Diana has announced to the kingdom that one will be chosen tomorrow.”
“Could you have, I don’t know, brought some good news with you Butterfly? I’m not surprised you were eavesdropping.”
“He has been sleeping in the rafters every other night. We have been the ones taking care of you.”
That was it. Marinette’s final straw. She lets out a loud grunt of frustration, anger, and discontent. Which almost immediately turns into a shocking amount of energy. In fact, perhaps a bit too much for the village boys.
She grabs the boys’ arms, pulling them to be beside each other. Without hesitation, she drops down on her knees in front of them. The boys are perplexed to say the least.
“Lightning bug, Butterfly, make me the happiest princess and do me the honor of taking my hands in marriage.”
The silence once again appears. This time, however, it is not broken by Felix. In fact, it is only broken by the sound of tears falling from Bart’s cheek as he throws the trio into a hug.
“I love you both, so of course I will take your hands in marriage. How do you plan to marry us both though our Ladybug? Queen Diana is”
“Queen Diana is going to have to deal with it, Butterfly. She was content on leaving her own daughter in some dusty barn, replacing her with one of two snobby socialites, and moving on as if nothing had transpired. I deserve my happily ever after. No, we deserve our happily ever after and we are going to get it. Tomorrow will be our day, not theirs. The reign of the Ladybug, Firefly, and Butterfly shall begin!”