Cinder-Mari

A Secret Garden

A/N I GO OFF TO COLLEGE IN 2 DAYS!!!!!! Oh my gosh guys, I'm so nervous and scared about living on my own for the first time. I am excited though, as long as I can keep my grades up and stay sane it's going to be great. Now to figure out how to do that... :/

The music stopped, and so did Marinette and Chaton. She spent a few silent seconds staring up at him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed, until the crowd that had grown around them began to applaud. "Long live Prince Adrien!" They cheered, and Marinette stared up at her dance partner, the shocking realization finally made clear.

Adrien's head shot up for a second, and his emerald eyes widened at what he saw. Just as Marinette turned around to see what had frightened him so, Adrien grabbed her hand, pulling her into a corridor leading out of the ballroom. All Marinette saw was that whoever was coming towards them, was wearing a fine orange ballgown and making long, angry strides.

"So, you're a prince! When you told me you were here to learn your father's trade, I didn't know you meant that!" Marinette said, still breathless from the dance. Adrien chuckled, still pulling her along the hallway. "Yeah, my apologies. I wasn't sure how differently you would treat me if you knew, so I stretched the truth a bit."

"It's all right, but where are you taking me?" Marinette said, marveling at the fine wallpaper and lavish decorations, racing past her as she struggled to keep up with the prince. "I want to show you something. It's where I go whenever I want to truly be alone, trust me, you'll love it."

A few minutes later they stopped in front of a door, which Adrien proceeded to unlock with a key taken out of his pocket. He held the door open for Marinette, and she stepped through only to gasp with delight. 

Marinette looked back at Adrien, her eyes alight with wonder at what she saw. "What a beautiful garden!" She exclaimed. "How is it all inside, and the plants are still able to grow?" Adrien smiled, and pointed to the ceiling, which was revealed to be made of glass. "My mother loved plants, especially flowers, so my father had this room built for her."

FLASHBACK TIIIIIME!!! 

"Adrien, did you know that all flowers have their own language that they use to talk to each other?" The small boy's eyes widened at what his mother said, and lowered an ear down to a lily, wondering if he could hear it if he was close enough. His mother chuckled at him, pulling her son into her lap.

"No, it doesn't work that way for us, silly. The way we can hear a flower speak is to look carefully for what it's trying to tell us. If we come down here every day to water and weed this lily, it'll bloom brightly to show us how happy it is. If we neglect it though, it will shrivel up in order to say how sad it is, and even to cry out for us to take care of it."

"Oh, I understand Mama." Adrien said, observing the secret language of flowers now that he truly knew what it was. "Are people sometimes like that too?"  "Yes, my love. Often people are nervous to tell others what they're thinking, or they don't want to bother anyone with their problems. That's why it's very important to know to take care of the people when you become king, Adrien. Often they won't come and tell you what they need. You'll need to go and provide them with food, clean water, shelter and medicine if you can see that they want of it."

"Adrien? Adrien!" Bugaboo's frightened cries brought Adrien back, and he looked at her questioningly. "Yes, what is it?" "You've been crying for the past five minutes, and wouldn't answer me." Adrien then noticed that bugaboo's gloved hand was resting on his cheek, her blue eyes filled with concern, and even fear.

His heart overflowed with the sadness of the memory, and the love he harbored for this girl, and wrapped his arms around her tightly, eyes brimming with fresh tears. Marinette blushed at the feeling of the person she loved so close, but wanted to everything she could for him, so she hugged him back.

"My mother was trampled under a carriage while she and my father were meeting some dignitaries in China. There was nothing the doctors could do. You are...the first person I've let into here since she was buried." Marinette gasped upon hearing of the tragedy, she knew that Queen Emilie had been killed in an accident, but never found out exactly what happened. "Oh my, Adrien I'm so sorry."

"Sometimes I wish my family wasn't royalty. If we lived ordinary lives, like you, my mother would still be alive. My father wouldn't be so caught up in caring for a country to forget about his own son. Most of all, I wouldn't be forced to marry someone I don't love."

Upon hearing this, Marinette's eyes opened widely. "Y-you're getting married??? W-what're you doing, asking me to dance, and bringing me here to be alone with you??? This isn't proper!" She began to wiggle out of Adrien's embrace, but he chuckled and grasped her hand gently. "Bugaboo, please know that it's not like that. While my father and the grand duke like to think I'm proposing to the Roman Princess Lila Rossi tonight, I am not ready to get married."

Marinette relaxed a little, while Adrien lay down on the grass beside her. "Though it is true that my father wants me to get married to a princess if my life depends on it, my mother taught me to never settle for anything less than true love. It was all she'd ever known, and couldn't bear the thought of me going into a cold, unfeeling marriage like so many before me."

Marinette blushed at the mention of this, while Adrien stared up at her with eyes that were clear and unwearied. He suddenly sat up, an arm circling around her back and looking desperately into her eyes. "Please, tell me who you are. What is your name?"

"M-my name is-" Before Marinette could say the entire sentence, she heard a loud, angry voice from the other side of the door. "King Gabriel, I demand that you bring your son out here posthaste! You promised me that he would propose to my daughter tonight, but then he chooses to dance with another girl and then disappears? Let me make this promise to you, if my daughter does not become the new Queen of France, you'll have the Roman army to answer to!"

Marinette looked at Adrien sadly. "Y-you'd better go sort that out, I don't want you to get into trouble with your father." He nodded, though it was clear he didn't want to leave. "Don't go anywhere, I will be right back." She nodded, and Adrien left through the door. Soon after though, Marinette heard a beeping in her ear. She wondered what it meant, then looked at her gloves to find them slowly disappearing.

Oh no, the magic must be wearing off. It was bad enough that Adrien was caught spending time with a mystery princess, but his father would be so angry to find out that she was just a peasant girl.

Marinette ran out of the secret garden, nearly colliding with King Gabriel himself. "Oh, I'm so sorry your majesty!" The king chuckled, ignoring that this was the girl Adrien danced the night away with. She seemed sweet enough, and a member of his country as well. "It's quite all right, my dear."

"Pardon me for saying so, but your son is the most wonderful person I've met. So kind, and full of life and laughter. I hope you know how much he loves you!" Marinette bowed her head in a half-curtsy and ran out of his plane of vision. King Gabriel looked back after her, realizing with a start how much she resembled the late queen. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing for Adrien to marry a common girl, as long as he's happy. Maybe.