Thorns of Roses

Chapter 59 - The Secret Temple

The day flew by quickly without any inconveniences.

After the royal couple left the library - just as Marinette suggested -, she and Félix headed back to the piano salon and stayed there for a few more hours.

It was finally a weekend, thus they had the luxury of putting their royal duties aside - as there were no political meetings or diplomatic events held on these days -, which allowed them to spend their whole day exactly how they desired.

It didn't take much time for the Princess to realize that listening to the Prince's enchanting music, - music played for her and only for her - had become her favorite activity. Even though Félix had offered her to try playing the piano with his help, she put his suggestion aside this time. She rather chose to listen to his play, - feeling the movements of his body beside her while she let herself get swayed by the music.

As the afternoon progressed, they decided to take a walk in the courtyard to avoid their parents, or any other bothersome company that could disturb their time together.

Given that the weather was surprisingly pleasant, despite being the beginning of November, a simple coat was more than enough to go outside. While they were wandering on the pathways, their feet automatically brought them to the lake - seemed as if this place inevitably became their most cherished spot.

As they walked around the lake, they talked about anything that came into their minds - deliberately avoiding topics like the infection or their parents as neither of them found any delight in ruining their time with concern or anxiety.

Letting themselves get carried away with their conversation, they didn't even notice when the sun settled down - giving up his place on the Moon and the stars' behalf who had been patiently waiting for this moment the whole day.

By the time, they returned to the Palace, it was already dark outside. Regardless of the guards standing by the entrance, the building seemed to be completely emptied. Only a few members of the royal staff occasionally occurred in the hallways - finishing their last tasks before returning to the servant's quarters.

Attempting to be as cautious as possible, the royals didn't go directly to the library. Instead, to let everyone in the Palace aware of their whereabouts, they turned to the stairways and walked up to their suite. In order to not raise any suspicion, they stayed in their room and waited a little more. When the clock hit midnight, the door slowly opened, and the two stepped out to the hall, wearing cloaks to cover their faces.

Not much of a surprise, Captain Lahiffe and Lady Césaire were already standing by the entrance, seemingly deep in conversation before they noticed the royal couple approaching them.

Just as planned, they also put on a disguise themselves - not allowing anyone to recognize them. Only a few locks of their stray hair, or more specifically their hair colors, could make their identities exposed in the dark. Nonetheless, to their luck, only the main hallways and salons were lightened by the candles at night - giving them the perfect opportunity to sneak into the library unobtrusively.

"Have you encountered any issues?" Félix asked as they stepped before their friends.

"Not at all. Everything is secured." Nino nodded firmly - being aware of the spots where the royal guards were stationed during the night. In normal cases, one guard was always ordered to the library's hallway as well, so he had to make sure to switch his own position with them for tonight.

"That's a relief." Marinette took a deep breath. "Should anyone come here, you can be of help in distracting them, right?"

"Of course. You can count on us." Alya gave her a determined look.