Crowned Love (MLB FANFIC)

Chapter 3

"Maman, Papa!" Marinette's parents turned to the door as they heard her voice.

"Maman, Papa, what's going on? The Emperor of Auria just visited my school saying Verilia invited my class to my coronation?" Her parent's eyes widened as they heard her.

"W-What? He didn't say anything to you, right?" Sabine rushed over to Marinette, leaving the flour unattended. Marinette was taken aback. Come to think of it, she was the only one in her class with slight Verilian features, though they were faint. What if the Emperor grew suspicious of that? But...maybe he didn't notice? Yes, that must've been it...

"I'm gonna have to contact Tikki...don't go outside for now." Marinette nodded.

"How, though?" she inquired. Sabine smiled. She reached for Marinette's necklace.

"Here, press and hold the ruby. Tikki has a set of earrings she always wears. The first time, she hears a chime. Then, we click the button using our own version of morse code," she explained.

(END OF THE PART I WROTE IN 8TH GRADE)

In awe, Marinette's fingers traced the embedded ruby, nostalgic memories of her and Tikki returning once more. Sabine stretched her hand, silently asking for the piece while scrambling for loose paper. Marinette handed the necklace to her mom, and watched as the pendant vibrated slightly in her mother's hand, delivering Tikki's reply.

"This is going to take a while, why don't you go up and finish packing for the trip? Is there anything you forgot?" Her mother said, scribbling on the paper.

"I'm not sure...I'll check." In truth, Marinette was very, very sure there was nothing she forgot. There wasn't much to pack anyway, most of the stuff she'd need would meet her in Verilia. But with her heart being consumed by anxiety, she felt there was something she needed to do.

Unfortunately, checking her already packed baggage didn't really satisfy her feelings, but after idly sitting around for what felt like hours (but was only a few minutes), Marinette came upon the perfect destination to release her feelings.

"Maman, I'm going back to school."

...Unfortunately, she'd have to wait a bit until she could go there.

–

"Sabine, what are we going to do?" Tom slumped on a stool, close to tears. Sabine sighed and sat next to him, stroking his back.

"Everything will be okay, dear. The Aurian Emperor still holds a grudge with us for the past, but if anything ever happened to Marinette, they know they'd be on the top of the list of suspects. With the recent recession, they just can't afford relations between our empires to remain sour. You know that."

"I can't help but worry...we almost lost her trying to flee Verilia..." Tom choked back tears, rubbing his face with his flour stained hands, "What did Tikki say?"

"She doesn't know why he visited." Sabine got up from her seat and grabbed the paper with Tikki's message scribbled on, throwing it into their fireplace.

"Of course..." Tom watched as the paper was enveloped by the fire.

"Sweetie?" Sabine jerked her head back to Tom, rushing to turn the store sign to say CLOSED in large gold letters.

"Hm?"

"I think we should let Marinette go to Verilia with her class."

"What?" Tom suddenly stood up from his stool, walking over to Sabine, "You know as well as I do how dangerous that is. Not to mention how much time Marinette requires to prepare for the coronation!"

"What if...we postponed the coronation?"

"Sabine, what are you saying?"

"It's much too soon, she's still so young! And she's been away from her country for so much time...she still needs to gain more support in Verilia, solidify her position. Maybe we should just introduce her to the public for now, as the crown princess. And...we should have her engaged."

"This is too much at once." Tom sighed heavily and held Sabine's hand.

"Look Tom, Marinette can't draw too much attention to herself. She should leave with her class, and we can pick her up at the airport. She has far too many enemies, and she'll be safe hiding with her class! And...right now, Marinette is the heir apparent of Verilia. We should start now if we want to find her a suitor with whom she can raise the next heir." Sabine pulled away from Tom, kneading the dough. Tom sighed again and plopped onto the stool once more.

"You're right. We'll let her know when she comes back."

–

I have no idea what 8th grade me was thinking making 16 year old Marinette the Empress of an Empire, so I tweaked the storyline a bit. Plus! They are now in college, not in high school, because I definitely do not want a teenager to be engaged. Soooo everyone should be 21. Still not the ideal age to inherit an empire lol.

-Taro