Ways to be Wicked - Descendants 2 AU

Chapter 8

 Sitting in his father's office was a lot to get used to for the newly crowned King of Auradon. When he was younger, Adrien had often played in the small sitting area while his father worked, galloping around, pretending to be a knight that was off to save a princess. Now it was Adrien who was sitting in the leather chair behind the larger than life oak desk. The walls were lined with books that covered everything from politics and history to mythology and philosophy. In the six months that Adrien had occupied the space, the books had barely been touched, the young king only having time to sign papers and barely manage to keep his social life and his head afloat.

His social life had taken a particularly hard hit as of late. He couldn't do his typical fencing tournaments with his teammates due to his influx of royal duties, hadn't seen Nino in ages, and on top of all that, he had managed to chase away the one person who seemed to treat him like an actual human being instead of a title.

Their lunch at the botanical gardens yesterday had been nothing short of a disaster. It had started off so well. The food had been fantastic, having time with Marinette had been nothing short of a godsend and in the end, she had run off and he was left alone with his pain and confusion. He hadn't seen her since.

He decided that she needed time to mull things over, just like he did. Had he really been putting too much pressure on her for all of this? He only wanted her to be a part of the court so that she could better fit in and not be ostracized. Being a lady of the court would go a long way to not only ease her troubles but ease the tensions in the court towards the VK's. Despite the events in the past six months, trust didn't seem to come easy, and if he wanted to keep his island friends in Auradon, it would take earning some confidences.

Adrien thought Marinette was doing so well. She was poised and elegant while still being uniquely herself. He could tell she was a bit overwhelmed with the media coverage - who wasn't - and the traveling and visits could be draining sometimes, but he still believed she was getting the hang of it. Maybe he hadn't taken the time to tell her that like he really should have - been there for her when it all seemed to be a bit too much.

Still, he couldn't stand the lies that she had told him, the extent she went to magic her way out of things. How could they truly trust one another, be the team he wanted them to be, when he couldn't trust what he was seeing with his two eyes?

He shook his head, gripping at his hair as he leaned over yet another set of documents, decrees and letters from various heads of state around Auradon. He couldn't deal with all of this torturous doubt and confusion at the moment. He would just have to find Marinette later and have a good long talk about all of this. He didn't care how long it took, what he would have to give up in order to make her happy. He couldn't lose her.

"Natalie?" Adrien croaked, his voice rusty from disuse as he pressed the intercom on his desk.

"Yes, your majesty?" His assistant's voice crackled over the line.

"Can you ask Lumière to give me the updated schedule regarding the Cotillion?"

"Yes sir," Natalie said politely. Everyone was always so polite to him, walking on egg shells. It was moments like this where he missed Marinette's candor the most.

"Thank you," Adrien said quietly before turning back to his paperwork. He had been rereading the same sentence for the fifth time when there was a commotion just outside the door. There were two female voices clearly arguing outside the door, one being his assistant while the other was much harsher with the distinct lilt of what Adrien could only call pirate slang. There was a sharp plea from Deborah before Alya came barging into his study without bothering to knock or ask.

Where Marinette had clearly been struggling with adjusting to Auradon life, Alya appeared to have taken it in stride. She was done up in a red plaid skirt and matching sweater set with a skull and crossbones stitched onto the breast. Her sleeves were folded up with a white button down under it with short brown heels and golden fish hooks for jewelry. She had done a good job in improving herself at Auradon Prep, making pretty good business by tutoring some of their classmates in Geography and History. Auradon looked good on Alya and he couldn't help but wish the same had happened for Marinette.