You Should See Me in a Crown (MLB AU)

6.

"You're a..." Alya said, still gasping for breath. "You're a..."

"Yeah..." Marinette nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "So... um... yeah, I'm Marinette Estelle Catherine Barlowe. Princess of Auralryn."

"And it gets better," Adrien added. 

"Don't tell me..." Alya said, suddenly starting to feel sick. "Please don't tell me you're really..."

"Adrien Edmund Nicholas Sowden of Gavaria, at your service," he playfully bowed, but she just got even more nauseous. 

"That's not even the craziest part," Marinette said. 

"I'm not sure how it can get any crazier," Nino said, helping to hold his girlfriend up. 

"Oh, it can," Adrien said. "You see... uh... Marinette and I...

"We've been betrothed since birth, apparently."

Alya lost it and ran to the bathroom, just barely making it to the toilet. 

"So, you're saying that's why you've been disappearing," Alya said a good while later. 

"Yes, we've been with my grandmother," Marinette nodded. 

"Like, girl, what happened back there?" Alya asked, still in awe by the transformation. "You look so much older and more mature!"

"I know! Which is why I demand answers!"

Both girls saw Chloe stomping up to them. 

"First you ruin my month by being with Adrikins," she fumed. "Then you go ahead and dress like you're royalty!"

Marinette tensed up at the mention of royalty. 

"I mean, come on, Dupain-Cheng," Chloe started ranting, but Marinette pursed her lips at the sound of her fake surname as well. 

Well, then again, being called "Estelle Catherine Barlowe" all the time would be more time-consuming. And a lot more annoying. 

Oh, how Marinette wished she could just whip out a tiara and reveal herself. It would certainly make things a lot easier. Chloe probably would suddenly stop picking on her all the time!

But then again, Chloe would also suck up to her to try and earn more popularity.

It was always the popularity game with her. 

"I mean, you were like, okay before, sensible enough to talk to," Chloe continued. "But where are you getting this entire makeover from? Your hair doesn't look like a rat's nest anymore, your nails actually look normal, and... oh my gosh! You have two eyebrows! Who knew?"

Marinette simply rolled her eyes at the comments. Everyone knew she couldn't have been as bad as Chloe was describing. 

Right?

"And nice heels," Chloe snickered. "Trying to compensate for being the shortest person in the world?"

"And how's the weather up there with you?" Marinette simply replied. "Is the air thinner up there?"

"Yes!" Alya cheered. "Slay!"

"Whatever, Dupain-Cheng, it's not like you can control me," Chloe huffed, flipping her ponytail and walking away, but not before adding: "It's not like you're the queen of this place."

Once she was out of earshot, Marinette and Alya burst into giggles. 

"If only she knew," Alya teased. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I've been saving this surprise for a little while now," Margaret said, leading the teens through a long hallway. "Of course, you'll have similar versions of this surprise in Auralryn, but I thought I might tease you for what's to come."

"Okay, now I'm actually dying to know what this is," Adrien said. 

"Careful, I wouldn't want you to miss our future wedding," Marinette teased. 

He ended up laughing with her. 

"Okay, let's see what's in here," Adrien said, being the first to open the door they'd stopped in front of. 

Both of them stared in slack-jawed shock. 

"Oh my gosh" was all Marinette could come up with, running deeper into the room. "This place is awesome!"

It was. It was a massive suite with one of the most colossal beds she'd ever seen. She couldn't help it and flopped backwards into the comforter, which was softer than anything she'd ever felt before. 

"So you like it?" Margaret asked. 

"Are you kidding? I'm never leaving here," Marinette laughed. 

"And Adrien, yours is just down the hall," Margaret said and Marinette saw him do a little victory dance. "I figured you two could start staying here in the last few months before we leave for Auralryn."

Both Marinette and Adrien shared a look. 

It had already been one month. 

Half a year before they were gone.

All they knew was that, especially when they got close to leaving, time would slip away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An entire week passed, but neither of them really knew anything big happening. Just one of those normal weeks they'd been enduring for a month, only this time, they had Alya and Nino to help cover their tracks. 

And Chloe was more suspicious than ever. Both of them knew they had to be extra cautious. 

It was the beginning of the next week when Adrien suggested the two of them do something together. 

"Like what?" Marinette asked. 

"Not really sure," Adrien shrugged. "But I've been thinking, we're supposed to be married. And of course, it's not the worst thing I've ever heard, but I feel like we're still technically in the friend part of our relationship."

"I hate to say it, but you do have a point there."

Silence filled the air for a moment. 

"I have an idea," Adrien finally declared. 

"What idea?" Marinette asked. 

Adrien simply gave a smile. "Meet me at the Eiffel Tower Friday at seven. You won't want to miss this."

And with that, he left her alone, eager to get started on his project.