The Huntress and the Knight [2/?]

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𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖳𝗁𝗋𝖾𝖾→

The amazing and talented artist behind the cover is none other than my soulmate Pear! Be sure to show her some love, she’s such a talented artist and amazing friend!

What’s this? A second chapter? Yes, I can deliver! I’m so excited for this series and I really appreciate the love and I got on the first chapter. I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!!!

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Word Count: [2,037]

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What Ladybug had said was not true. It couldn’t be. As Adrien rode back to the castle, these thoughts filled his head. There was no way that his father could have attacked the kingdom and killed the king and queen, and maybe even the princess. His father may be stern, but he was kind and true. He wanted the best for everyone, and his late wife, Adrien’s mother, hadn’t even been royalty. She was the daughter of a farmer that Gabriel had met one day on his tour of the kingdom. They had been inseparable until she died giving birth to Adrien.

Besides, the Agreste family had always ruled over the Kingdom of Miraculous. There were volumes upon volumes of books in the library dedicated to the Agreste legacy, but they were off-limits to everyone, even Adrien. His father always told him that they were delicate and that there was only one copy of each volume, but now, Adrien worried that those tales of heroic kings and queens were all lies.

“No, don’t think that,” Adrien whispered to himself as the castle came into view. “Your father wouldn’t lie.” But even as he whispered these words to himself, doubts crept in. After all, Ladybug wasn’t the only one to mention a lost princess. of the castle staff were always whispering about her, and he had heard people in the village square speculating about Ladybug being the princess. These rumors had to come from somewhere. He just needed to go to the library, and prove them wrong. He would check the history books just to confirm that his family had, in fact, always ruled this land.

When Adrien arrived at the castle, he handed his horse off to Kim, the stable boy. Although, he was about Adrien’s age, so maybe the title stable /man/ was more appropriate. Quickly, Adrien raced up the castle steps and burst through the door, ignoring the stares of the castle servants as he made his way to the library.

The library was on the third floor, right across from his bedroom. The only problem: it was across from his father’s bedroom as well. It was the royal hall, after all. It hosted many bedrooms, a private dining room, and the library, among other rooms. The many bed chambers were used for esteemed guests, whereas the smaller bedrooms on the first floor and the basement were for the servants.

Adrien knew that if his father saw him going into the library this late at night, he would grow suspicious. Sure, the library was one of Adrien’s favorite places to be, but he always went straight to bed when he got home from the villages of the kingdom. He couldn’t let his father know what he was doing, so instead of taking the grand staircase, he went to the left hall of the first floor instead. Adrien knew the place like the back of his hand, so when he reached the end of the hall, he quickly placed his hands on the frame of the giant portrait of him and his father and pulled. It swung open to reveal a secret age behind it.

Adrien climbed in and closed the portrait behind him. It was pitch black, but that didn’t bother Adrien. He had discovered the servants' staircase when he was a little boy, maybe eight or so, and had taken the time to memorize everything about it. He knew the location of each step, which ones were taller than others, and which ones might creak if he didn’t step carefully. The servants’ staircase led to every room of the house so that the servants could easily enter a room to clean it without getting in the way of the royals and their esteemed guests.

After a few minutes of carefully walking as to not alert anyone to his presence, Adrien reached the door he was looking for. After a moment of listening to make sure no one was there, Adrien swung the portrait door open and climbed out and into the library. The torches of the massive room were still lit, so it meant that Max was still here. He was most likely reshelving books, so if Adrien was quiet-

“Prince Adrien, what are you doing-” Adrien quickly put a hand over Max’s mouth and signaled for him to be quiet. Max nodded and Adrien dropped his hand.

“I need you to let me into the history section,” he told Max as he made his way to the corner of the room. The massive library hosted thousands of books, but Adrien wanted access to the room that was connected to the library. It was a small door, hidden away in the back, but inside was a huge room filled with the kingdom’s history. Adrien had only been in there once before with his father, but today, he would go alone.

“You know I can’t,” Max replied as he followed Adrien to the back of the library.

“If you don’t, I’ll get you fired,” Adrien replied. He hated threatening Max, who had been a friend to Adrien ever since he became the bookkeeper, but Adrien knew he had no choice. Max was forbidden to open the door to anyone but the King, but Adrien hoped that he valued his job more than the rules.

“You and I will be the only ones to know,” Adrien told Max as they approached the door. Luckily, it worked, and as Max approached the door, he took a tiny silver key from his pocket and slipped it into the lock of the door. There was a small click, and when Max turned the handle, the door opened inward.

Adrien stepped inside, awe overcoming him. Although the room was smaller than the library, only the size of his bedroom, it was filled with rows and rows of books filled with the rich history of the land. He turned to Max and smiled before reaching out to take hold of one of the books. He tenderly took the thick volume off the shelf, but when he opened it up, its pages were blank. He flipped through it, but none of the pages hosted a drop of ink. He put the book back and grabbed another, but it too was blank. He tried several others, but none of them held true. They were all fake.

“What is wrong with these books?” Adrien asked Max who only shook his head sadly. “Where is our history? Our culture? The past kings and queens who fought for our land. Where are they?” Again, Max shook his head, but this time, he gestured for Adrien to follow. They made their way to the back of the room where Max pulled out a book. Only this one had words on its pages.

“Your father burned most of our true history books. I only managed to save one,” he held the book out to Adrien, and Adrien took it. “Do not let your father get a hold of it. Now let’s get out of here before anyone finds us in the forbidden section.” Quickly, the two boys made their way out of the room and locked it behind them. Before another word could be spoken between them, Adrien dashed to the open portrait and jumped inside. Not losing a second, he closed the door and made his way to his room. Once he was inside, he locked the doors and windows.

When he was sure he was safe, he took a good look at the book that had been given to him. “The Kings and Queens of the Kingdom of Miraculous,” he read aloud, noticing that the kingdom name was the same. He opened it up and within seconds, he knew that this book was not what his father had taught him. There were pages upon pages of kings and queens that Adrian had never heard of, and when he got to the back of the book, he found proof that Ladybug’s tale was true.

The last ten pages of the book were dedicated to King Tom and Queen Sabine Dupain-Cheng. They had ruled the land for many years, and twenty years ago, they gave birth to their one and only daughter: Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Adrien sat down on his bed in shock, forgetting that he was still wearing his metal armor. He couldn’t believe that all of this time, he hadn’t truly descended from a line of kings and queens, he hadn’t even lived in the palace his entire life as he had thought. He was a year younger than the princess, which meant the takeover had happened when he was four. It was no wonder he had ed always living in the palace. He was too young to anywhere else.

When Adrien finally realized he was still wearing his armor, he placed the book down on the bed and got up. As he took off his armor, he began to wonder why no one ever said anything about this. Sure, he had heard whispers of the long-lost princess, but never of the king and queen and how they were killed. Ladybug was the only one who had mentioned that. If it was true, which Adrien was now sure it was, it meant that the people who knew about it were most likely too scared of what might happen if they did anything. They were scared of his father, and maybe, they were even scared of Adrien.

When he had finally gotten all of his armor off, he sat back down on the bed and took the book back into his hands. The page was open to a painting of the king and queen, and their four-year-old daughter. Even at a young age, the young girl was quite beautiful. Her raven hair was pulled back and her bluebell eyes were bright with happiness. Around her neck, she wore a golden necklace with a ladybug charm that Adrien assumed was made from rubies and black diamonds. He wondered how much she had changed since the portrait had been painted sixteen years ago. If she was still alive, that is.

As he lay there on his bed, he thought about his day. He had almost captured Ladybug twice, but now, he was no longer sure if he wanted to. If what she said was true, it meant that the people needed her. Sure, Adrien had always known that the people in the villages in the kingdom were less fortunate than he was, he had never realized that a full day’s work couldn’t even buy people a stale loaf of bread. He ed Marinette, and at that moment, he knew that he had to do something.

He got up from the bed and hurried over to his desk. He pulled out his quill and a piece of parchment and hurriedly scribbled out a note to the village girl. When he was done, he sealed it and made his way to the servant's age. Once inside, he made his way to Juleka’s room. Although it was late, he hoped that the head of the castle servants would still be awake. When he got to her door, he knocked, praying that she was still awake.

“Come in,” he heard as he pushed the door open. “This better be important-” she angrily started, but when she turned around and saw that it was Adrien, her tone quickly changed. “Your highness, forgive me. How can I help you?”

“I hope you have room for a new staff member,” he told her. “I need this letter sent out immediately. It must reach her before dawn tomorrow.”

“Who must it reach?” Juleka asked as she stepped forward to take the letter from him.

“Mari Césaire. She lives in the village not far from here.”

“Alright, your highness. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Arrange a carriage for tomorrow morning,” he replied as he turned back to the staircase. “I’ll make sure she arrives at the castle safely.” With that, he closed the door behind him. Although he was giving Mari a job, it didn’t feel like it was enough. In light of recent information, he knew that he needed to do more.