Forbidden ~ Marcaniel Royal AU

chapitre neuf

cw // implied blackmail

Sour eyes stared at the letter held by his dominant hand, wrinkling the neat fold lines underneath. The young servant waited anticipating his reaction, proud to have handed him this information. Her confidence only shrank when he stared up to her with an unwavering expression.

"And you found this in his bedroom?" The King dragged, watching with unsettling intent.

"Yes, your Majesty. I thought you would benefit from knowing what it said."

His eyes studied her for a moment more, returning to the paper seeing genuinity. Though he felt like crushing the page in his hands, he settled for letting it fall to the table. "It is upsetting to find my son has been living another life under my own roof and with the help of my Mother, no less. Might you know of who this 'M' might be?"

She swallowed the sinking feeling in her gut, shaking her head. "I'm afraid not."

It scared her how the King just stared against the wall, his sour face turning to a darker emotion. "Return this to exactly where you found it and speak of this to no one."

The servant picked the letter from the table, quick to give the King a small curtsy. "Of course, right away! I'm glad I could be of use to-"

Chair scrapped viscously against the marble floors when the King abruptly stood. "I have to begin getting dressed for today's agenda, your presence is no longer needed."

No matter his reaction, she told herself his actions were simply stress. Holding onto the false idea that she would be rewarded for her help, the servant followed orders. With another quick curtsy, she hurriedly left the room with the letter in her hand. One day her efforts will be rewarded, surely.

Heeled shoes lightly clacked against the castle floors, traveling through the halls in search for the Prince's sleeping quarters. It had been a few years since the Bougeouis family last visited this kingdom, relying on vague memory of locations. The halls were devoid of it's usual knights, all assigned to the meeting hall for the handful of royals sitting inside.

By a stroke of luck, she took what she thought was the wrong turn and stumbled across the vast heavy doors signifying the royal's bedroom. Though far down the hall, it stuck out like a sore thumb amid the lackluster walls. Her heart directed nervous fluttering which she learned to ignore long ago, biting down the familiar sensation of anxiety.

She was a bit surprised at how much the inside of his room differed from the rest of the palace's theme. It was easy to see the Prince's personality in the way it was decorated- meaningful clutter, curtains closed, more artistic supplies than furniture. Though she didn't have time to take in everything, closing the door to start searching for something incriminating.

It was easy to tell that if there was something, it'd be mixed in along his mess. There were paintings stacked against the wall, an overflowing chest of different paints and tools, piles and piles of unfinished sketches strewn across the floor and desk.

Among this sketches was the letter, blending in easily unless each paper was studied. It didn't take too long to pick it out from the bunch, which Sabrina eventually did. Her eyes swept the page, showing the gradually increasing shock from the words she read. It had been a few years since they'd last interracted but still the fact that the prince had a secret lover was hard to wrap her head around. This was the same unsociable boy that wouldn't speak up if his hair was being set on fire, risking the consequences for love?

Deep down, Sabrina was quite proud of his growth.

But her loyalty to Chloe always came first. She laid the letter back in its place, hoping it wasn't far off from where it was left.

Along her walk to the kitchen to retrieve Chloe's cover of strawberry juice, she wondered who M could be. There were many people with that initial, close and far. The thought of M meaning Marinette crossed her mind a few times, each time having to remind herself of their past. She didn't know why he would have to hide being in love with the baker girl to begin with.

Both her mind and body wandered until Sabrina found herself back at the garden. She stirred the glass one last time before announcing her return, sure to give a respectable curtsy before her princess.

"Sorry, it took me a while to find the kitchen! I think I went the wrong way." Sabrina lied.

The princess hastily grabbed the glass from her hands with a huff.

"Whatever, Sabrina! Just be better next time." Chloe snipped, throwing the stirring spoon onto the soil.

She beckoned the girl closer, turning her ear towards her in waiting. "Well, did you find anything?" The Princess demanded in a hush.

Eagerly leaning to her ear, Sabrina lowered her own voice to a whisper. "I found a love letter, signed 'M.' He's been sneaking a secret lover into the castle late at night with the help of King Kurtzberg's mother."

The Princess eyed her servant, almost disregaring her words as a poor excuse of a joke. "That's almost laughable, him having a girlfriend? What girl would want him?"

Sabrina could only shrug, deeply out of the loop. "I'm not sure. Even on a hidden letter the writer's name was shortened. They obviously want to stay hidden."

Chloe's eyes dragged over to stare at Nathaniel, watching him continue to care for the various plants and nature surrounding him. She'd always known him as an open book, to think all this time he'd been hiding a major part of his life was confusing. It almost angered her, hating how she hadn't pick up on it before. Even though he hadn't done anything to wrong her, she still found herself wanting revenge.

She thought about jumping the gun, about marching over to him and announcing she knew his secret. If there was one past time she loved, it was making him squirm. She thought about making him fear, panic at how she could ruin his life at any moment. The thought of having complete control over him would feed her ego, something she'd been craving for years. She knew the one thing that could send him crumbling at a moments notice and the power easily went to her head.

If it wasn't for one scribe's words grounding her in the world, she would have destroyed Nathaniel's.

"Excuse me, Princess Chloe?" The scribe asked, already feeling out of place walking into the garden. "Do you have a moment?"

Chloe scoffed and looked him up and down. "Do I know you?"

He shifted on his feet, uncomfortably used to her attitude. "I'm the royal scribe, I just have a question regarding your packages?"

She just rolled her eyes and gestured for him to go on. A few yards away, the prince recognized the voice and perked up. He barely hid his smile as his mind registered who stood just beyond the row of lavenders.

"Would you prefer to recieve your packages now or should I bring them along on the next trip to your estate?" Marc asked, absolutely hoping she'd choose the first option.

Though all Chloe really wanted was to make everyone's life a hell of unnecessary events. "Ugh, do I really need to tell you this? Just bring them to my home!"

An unexpected voice spoke up, lightly startling the scribe. He looked over to the source, shoulders dropping after seeing that face.

"Chloe, you would have gotten mad if he hadn't asked and you know it." Nathaniel muttered as loudly as he could muster. He now stood in sight, exchanging a coded look to his lover.

The Princess frowned, grumpily crossing her arms. She didn't respond, already knowing he was right.

Nathaniel knew she wouldn't bother him for at least ten minutes. He decided to ignore her presence until then. "Marc, would you stop by my room later? I have a few, uh, letters to give to you."

He was never good at lying.

Marc just nodded, narrowly avoiding the lovestruck grin his own body threatened to show. "Of course."