Tales of Ladybugster and Prince Adrien {AU}

~Prologue~

Seventeen years ago...

Tears welled up in Sabine's eyes. An adorable baby with a flushed pink face was wailing loudly, her tears enough to flood the hospital (fine, it wasn't that bad). The baby was healthy and strong. She picked her up and stroked her head. "Hello, little one," she cooed. "Aren't you cute?" The baby stared at her with wide eyes, as if she understood her, sort of nodded, then continued bawling in the crook of her arm. 

Beside her, Tom, who was pretty tough on the outside, but really was a softie on the inside, was even smiling at the baby, and he carried her for a moment too. 

It was a magical moment.

There was something about this baby. Something very special. This baby, she was magic. She wasn't the kind of magic used to protect jewels or weird vents and secrets in a certain castle. This magic was the kind of magic that was very rare. This magic brought her joy. This magic gave her a spark in life. This magic was the real kind of magic that not many people understood. She didn't either, until this baby came along.

But she couldn't stay here for long. If her parents found out they gave birth to a baby, things would go downhill from there. Her parents didn't approve of this marriage, and they wanted her to marry someone actually worthy, like a prince, not someone who bakes bread. She did have royalty in her blood, after all. But she didn't know that for a long time. How would she when she was raised in a cottage far from the castle where she was supposed to live happily ever after? Instead, she was stuck alone with only one person to take care of her, and it was so very lonely. Her parents abandoned her. They left her on her own with one very boring person and she had to be independent. She wasn't protected and had to learn to fight. 

And they had the nerve to say she had to marry a prince.

No, no, no. She couldn't let her baby have the same pain as her, the same life. She had to protect it. From this cruelty. Technically, she had royal blood, but she couldn't be discovered. She had to marry the person her parents approved of, a prince called Gabrielle. 

She passed the baby gingerly into Tom's arms. "Take care of her. I'd miss you." She planted a kiss on his forehead, then also kissed the baby. "I'd miss you too." She whispered. "Stay hidden, stay safe, stay secret. Be my Ladybug." She always was fond of ladybugs, and they were good luck too.

The baby seemed to understand her. She walked out of the building reluctantly, not wanting to ruin this special moment.

She turned around for the last time and mumbled, "She certainly is magic."

---

The trumpets were blown as Sabine and Gabrielle rode on a royal carriage rode by horses rode by two royal people with feathered hats. They gave the royal wave and stepped down royally and fanned themselves and put on fake smiles like they were perfectly happy with all of this and Sabine wanted to punch something. Her heart ached. She missed them terribly. Her real family.

The crown was put on Gabrielle's head. "I hereby declare you King, Gabrielle Agreste."

Lots of cheers from the crowd. Sabine smiled and half-heartedly joined in. 

Now she was Queen. 

She was Queen.

That meant royal mattresses, royal maids waiting to pluck your nose and paying you to thank them, royal dresses and gowns, royal food, everything a girl could dream of.

But there was so much responsibility, and she had to be dignified, and she had to be proper, and she wished she could just crack up and not care that it would not look great for a Queen. She wished she didn't have to do everything perfectly. Also, why was the outfits so heavy? And the crown! Impossible to wear. It must weigh at least 3 kilograms.

She had to ask herself two questions: Did being Queen solve her problems and she finally had a say in something and have her own choices?

And, more importantly...

Was this really what she wanted?

Many years later...

Over the years, Sabine had kept an eye on the girl. She was sad that this was the kind of life she had to live through, but this was to protect her. Or she would be killed the second her parents knew she was alive.

She had let her slip away a lot. After all, she was just being her Ladybug. She wished...she wished she could go back, throw away her title into a rubbish bin and be a nice, normal mother, a caring, good mother who took care of her baby and didn't abandon her because of  her parents' choices.

It sounded awfully familiar.

She stared out of the window forlornly. She had come a long way, her baby. Her Ladybug.

Stay hidden, stay safe, stay secret, she thought, and hoped it would remain that way.

Hey guys, I thought having this Prologue would connect the story better. If you didn't read this yet please read it first. Hope you like it! Wow two chapters in a day I'm so proud of myself *grins* :D! This is in Sabine's POV. If you're confoozed just read on. 

Also, I know, "stay hidden, stay secret, stay safe" is copied from Wings of Fire, Moon rising, book 6, but I decided it's fine to use, it's just one line, plus I'm telling you it's from this book, so no biggie.