My One, My Only

Chapter Nine: An Arrival

The journey was long and awkward, but they finally made it to the Dupain-Cheng kingdom. It was the morning of the ball, and several other royal carriages had arrived at the same time that the Agrestes had.

Adrien was staring out the window of the carriage through a slit in the curtain. The world surrounding the Dupain-Cheng palace was lush and vibrant. The scenery was similar to his own home, but different, it was lively.

All the carriages were steadily pouring into the palace, and Adrien could see that each carriage was being unloaded by the staff.

"Father, are we going to be staying in the Dupain-Cheng palace while we're here?" He didn't look at his father when he spoke.

"Yes, accommodations have been arranged for us to stay in the palace, but just until the ball starts. It's a good opportunity to roam the grounds and take notes on the layout."

He absentmindedly nodded his head, and watched as they pulled up to the front. They were unloaded and directed to their room. Fortunately for him their rooms were separated, so Adrien was allotted a few hours of freedom from his father before the start of the event.

He settled into his room and took a bath, the trip lasted four days without them taking a single rest. He changed into some fresh clothing and left the room, his father asked him to roam about the castle and see what he could discover.

Most of the servants who accompanied them there to the Dupain-Cheng's were already roaming around the castle taking notes, so Adrien wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be observing.

He wandered around the castle walking through the hallways, it was bright. The halls were open concept, so the sun spilled in illuminating and warming the corridors. He felt comfortable here, even though he'd only been there for about an hour. It was probably just because it was a different environment from his usual lonely one.

He roamed the palace grounds for a good five minutes before he realized he was lost, he had been aimlessly taking turns left and right and didn't stop to think about the fact that he was in unknown territory. Shoot he thought, I should have been paying more attention. I haven't seen a servant in quite some time either, perhaps they are all busy preparing for the night.

He stopped walking and sat down on a window ledge. "Alright think Adrien, someone is bound to walk by at any moment so perhaps it'd be best to wait here. Then you could ask for directions on how to get back to your sleeping accommodations." He nodded his head agreeing with himself.

He steadily grew anxious in the three minutes he sat there waiting for someone to pass by. Concern furrowed his brow, and anxiety danced in his stomach. What if nobody came by? Would he be in trouble for wandering the palace, if somebody did happen to find him here?

It was too much to take. He had to start moving again, be proactive and find his own way back.

He walked through the halls for a few minutes before he realized he couldn't find his way back on his own. At this point he didn't care if he got in trouble for wandering the castle, he couldn't stay lost like this forever. Eventually his father would notice his absence, and he knew he would be in a world of trouble for it.

He continued to steadily pace the corridor when he thought he heard some feminine voices sounding in the distance. Where there were voices, there was bound to be people, and people meant help.

Following the sound it steadily grew louder, he could distinguish two separate voices. Both were conversing in an excited tone, when suddenly they drew quiet. Adrien was concerned he wouldn't reach them in time, in case the sudden quiet was due to them leaving wherever they were.