Les Hors-la-loi || Outlaws

12

1182, present day

Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder as they sat against the wall. For no particular reason, Adrien kissed the top of her head. Both of them ignored Gabriel's pleas to be let out.

Chloé stood in front of the bars to her father's cell. At Marinette's request, the wolf curled around Chloé's feet, ready to snap if André made a wrong move.

"What has gotten into you, my princess?"

Chloé's hard expression didn't change. "You can stop pretending. I saw you up there in the throne room. You didn't care about anything. Had I been your direct opponent, you'd have killed me with no hesitation."

André walked up to the bars and grabbed hold of them. Fenrir bared his teeth. "Chloé, I am your father, and you will obey me."

"My father died before I was born, on a battlefield, when he killed his own brother in cold blood."

André seemed to pale slightly. "How do you know this?"

"I pieced it together myself. You are a sick man who only cares about how much power you have. For all I know, you might have killed my mother because she knew the horrid crimes you committed."

"How dare you!" André shook the gates, and Fenrir stood up and growled.

"How dare I what? Confront you? Play outlaw with you? Confine you in your own dungeon to make you pay for how you've ruined the kingdom? How dare you assume you have any kind of authority anymore?"

"You have brought a fairy to fight your battles, child. You have no idea the cost of working with them."

Marinette stood up sharply and marched up to the cage. "My mother paid the price for the fairy that protects me. You pissed her off by every wound you gave me. It was only natural she would turn violent. You're lucky to have survived the encounter with my fairy."

"Your fairy?" André echoed. "The fairies belong to no human."

"Indeed. Perhaps I am one of them. You wouldn't know. You had no idea your daughter had planned everything every step of the way. You can't see past your own greed."

"Oh, would you look at that. The princess and her maid, standing on their own feet. Go, have your fun. You'll be begging me to return to power when all of it is too much for you go handle, daughter."

Chloé scoffed. Adrien stood up slowly and went to stand between Marinette and Chloé. Absently, Marinette took his hand and leaned closer to him.

"I won't ever seek help from the man who murdered his own brother," Chloé said.

"To tell you the truth," Marinette said, "Chloé won't ever feel overwhelmed. After all, she's not the heir."

If possible, André paled even further. Adrien did not voice his confusion. In the silence that fell as André tried to find some means of denying what he knew to be true, Gabriel found his voice again.

"What is this nonsense?" he cried from his own cell. "I laid out your path for you, lined with gold! All you had to do was marry the girl and all would have been well. But no, what is this? Standing beside a mere castle maid!"

Adrien sighed and rolled his eyes. He glanced at Marinette. "Should we tell him what we've been doing this past month?"

Marinette shrugged. "I mean, if you want him to explode. . ."

"You are so amusing," Adrien muttered with a smile, giving her a brief kiss. "Chloé, shall we leave? I'm certain everyone is waiting for you to speak to them all."