To My Dearly Detested | ✎

9 | inclined to love

Marinette wrung her hands together nervously.

Today marked a week since she had met Adrien. A week ago she never would've thought she would've made progress with the prince she had once deemed to be her enemy. But now, here she was, spending almost every day with him, learning things about him, enjoying his company. They had even made it official. They were now friends.

This was exactly what she had hoped for, and she couldn't be happier.

So then... why did she feel so uneasy?

"You are in a wonderful mood this morning, milady," Luka said with a smile. He was walking beside Marinette through the gardens. Adrien had not accompanied them. "I suppose things are going well with the prince, then?"

"They are." Marinette met his gaze and smiled. "We are friends now, which is more than I could have ever hoped for."

"A definite step in the right direction," Luka nodded approvingly. "But I have to ask, if I may, why you are so nervous then?"

Marinette glanced down at her hands, only to realize that they were shaking. Luka, being as observant as he was, had, of course, taken notice and was looking down at her hands as well. Marinette offered him an uneasy smile as she pressed her hands into her abdomen, hoping to subside her nerves.

Perhaps she had a vague idea as to why she was so nervous. Just yesterday, Adrien had mentioned his father's plan to host an extravagant ball, allowing all of the townspeople from Kingdom Agreste to attend and be properly introduced to the woman who was to be their new future queen. Adrien had also mentioned that a ball such as grand hadn't been hosted since his mother's passing. The gates themselves hadn't even been opened since then, which meant the townspeople hadn't seen the palace, or their leaders, in over twenty years.

A few things worried Marinette when she was given this news. One was that, even though she had been confident beforehand to rule beside Adrien, she was now feeling anxious that perhaps the people wouldn't like her. Two was that, a ball as important as Adrien described it would be would require absolute finesse and perfection... something Marinette couldn't amount to, considering she was a horrible dancer and always seemed to trip over her own two feet.

And it wasn't as if she had much time to prepare either. The ball would be hosted only a day before she was meant to return to her own country.

That was only six days away.

Marinette offered her knight a tight smile. "I will assume you have already heard about the upcoming ball to announce my name to the people of Kingdom Agreste?"

"I have." Luka nodded, his smile turning sympathetic as if he already understood the root of her unease. "Is this what troubles you?"

"More or less." Marinette shrugged. "I thought I was prepared for this day, but now that it is fast approaching, I worry that I might not be what the people are expecting."

"Nonsense." Luka waved a hand at that. "You are a ray of sunlight, milady. The people will see that just as much as your own people see it."

"These people have not seen the faces of their rulers since Queen Emilie's passing." Marinette met his gaze with worry as she bit her bottom lip. "They have been neglected. What if they are so angry that they refuse to accept me?"

Luka rubbed his fingers along his chin, seemingly lost in thought. "I see your point." Then, he suddenly snapped his fingers, and a grin appeared on his face. "What if you went down to the village to see its condition for itself so you know what to expect? You could go in disguise; like you used to do in our own country when you were young."