Into Another World (kotlc/mlb au)

Chapter 6

"You didn't put on a cape," Biana observed as they went down the hall.

"Is that a bad thing?" Adrien asked, feeling the familiar lump form in his throat. "Did I mess up?"

"What? No," Biana said. "Are you panicking because of it?"

"Um, yes!?"

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down there," she laughed. "It's just that most members of the nobility prefer to wear capes. It's a sign of status."

Adrien nodded, but his muscles still felt extremely tense. He really needed to work on getting his anxiety under control.

"You know, every time something happens, you tend to freak out," Biana said. "Why is that?"

Adrien tore a hand through his hair. "That, right. It's anxiety. It's... been rough on Earth."

"I could understand why. I mean, you were in the wrong world for so long."

Adrien nodded in agreement, trying not to let "wrong world" bother him. Technically he had been in the wrong realm for fourteen years, but he'd called it home for so long that even his thoughts of being from somewhere else often felt far-fetched. Maybe that had been why he'd been reluctant to believe Sophie when she revealed Aelesia as a real place.

They stopped at the double doors, a dark wood adorned with gold. He could hear chatter flow through the crack between the wood and the marble floor.

"Who's all in there?" he asked.

"The Vacker Court," Biana smiled.

She pushed open the doors and Adrien lost his breath yet again at the grand sight.

All eyes flew to him, and he could hear the whispers.

"It's really him!"

"He's a lot older than I thought he would be."

"Missing for almost fourteen years. I feel so bad for him."

"They say he doesn't have any memories of Aelesia."

"Well, he's now destined to become the head of the Agreste line, simple as that."

"Oh, give the boy a moment to breathe; he's probably terrified out of his wits."

"Don't worry," Biana told him. "It's always like this, people whispering about you."

She gently intertwined her fingers with his and led him into the room, and he distracted himself by staring at the sights around him. Ethereal golden arches held up the space, he could see his face in the floors. Marble columns rose up, reminding him of the pillars the ancient Greeks would use to build their temples. In fact, he could see many references to ancient and classical architecture, only it was more grandiose, more elegant.

Sophie had mentioned how it wasn't until the fall of the Roman Empire that the worlds split for good.

Della was the first to rescue the duo from everyone's stares, who all quickly went back to their own conversations, but Adrien kept hearing his name thrown around every once in a while.

"What do you think?" Della asked.

"It's... so is this everyone on the court?" he asked.

"Currently, yes," she nodded, and Adrien could see a group of teenagers in a corner, one of them making the others laugh, Sophie the hardest of all. She was still in the dark blue dress from earlier, which now, in the night air, made her even more beautiful.

Gah; what was he thinking!? Sophie probably already had a boyfriend!

"If it isn't the boy of the hour."