A Miraculous Fairytale

Chapter 18

Marinette peeked around the corner of the room. The kitchen was in clear sight. She could see the workers buzzing around inside, presumably fixing up the King's lunch.

She had to get inside while they were distracted. She glanced around the narrow hallway of the castle, her eyes stopping on a knight statue. It was covered in the shiny, hard armor and wielded a sword. She smirked. There's her plan.

Marinette quietly inched over to the statue, scanning the hallway. She crouched beside the statue. Then, she smacked the metal, and a loud clang resonated throughout the hallway. She dashed for cover and waited to see if the kitchen staff would fall for her trap.

"Perfect," Marinette whispered under her breath as the kitchen staff poured out of the room.

"Go alert the guards! It might be the superhero!" they yelled frantically.

Marinette darted into the kitchen and looked around for a cookie. She'd better hurry before they come back.

Finally, she found them, each one laid out perfectly on a silver platter. Her eyes lit up and she dashed to the plate. She took 5 cookies and shoved them into her pocket. Tikki immediately began to eat the delicacies.

Marinette sighed with relief. She turned around and jogged towards the exit. She opened up the door and stared wide eyed. Kitchen workers were staring at her in shock.

"Uh... gotta go!" Marinette yelled before racing off. Frantic yells followed her as she sprinted down the hallway.

She kept running until she was almost out of breath. She attempted to come to a stop, but crashed into someone instead. That did the trick.

Marinette frantically got to her feet and almost started running again when the person grabbed her arm. She turned to them with wide eyes. Emerald eyes stared back at her.

"What are you still doing here? I told you to leave," Adrien said.

"I'm not leaving without you," Marinette replied.

"You won't stand a chance against the guards," Adrien frowned. He grabbed her hands and squeezed them tight. "Please go."

"No!" Marinette exclaimed. "I can't let this marriage happen, Adrien!"

Her head dropped to the ground as she breathed in heavily. Then, her eyes glanced at his hands. His wrists were bruised.

Adrien took his hands away from Marinette and hid them in his sleeves once he noticed her gaze.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked slowly, fearing the worst.

"Halt!" a voice roared. Metal clanged violently behind them.

Marinette turned around and sighed. Not again.

Guards blocked the hallway, their swords drawn. Marinette stood up and brought Adrien with her. "I'm not letting you take him," she said defiantly.

"I'm afraid there is no way out this time," Gabriel said from behind them. Marinette turned around. The other half of the hallway was filled with armed guards as well.

"Hand over my son and face your death," Gabriel hissed.

Marinette shook her head, slightly shaking. Adrien remained quiet. "Never," she said. Although, she was not sure how she was going to make it out of this one alive.

Marinette dropped Adrien's hand. Now was the time. To risk everything. She breathed in slowly. She was done trying to keep secrets. If she wanted to stay alive, she had to do this.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette yelled.

A red flash lit up the room, blinding everyone. Immediately, Marinette's peasant clothing was replaced with the Ladybug suit. After the transformation was complete, she waved to Gabriel.

"Surprise," she said.

Adrien had no words. He couldn't compute what he was seeing. Ladybug was Marinette? It didn't make sense, but at the same time, it did. He backed away in shock, a lump forming in his throat.

Gabriel growled and clenched his fists. He pointed a finger at Ladybug. "You!" he yelled. "I knew there was something strange about you... peasant!"

"Stop the marriage!" Ladybug shouted.

"Never," Gabriel replied.

Ladybug swung her yoyo in the air. "Do it or else I'll take out all of these guards."

Gabriel shrugged. "Go ahead. They're expendable. Useless puppets."

The guards all shared looks of betrayal. They narrowed their eyes at Gabriel and aimed their swords at him. "Oh, is that it?" a guard grunted.

Ladybug smiled. "That wasn't such a smart move, Gabriel."

"Neither was your reveal, Ladybug," Gabriel smiled. "Now I can destroy your village and all those you care about."

"Not if I can help it," Ladybug growled. She glanced at the guards around her. "Looks like I have a whole bunch of people who are pretty sick of you."

"Doesn't matter, I have more where that came from," Gabriel mused, backing up to a window. He opened it and stood on the sill. "Au revoir," he waved, before leaping out of the window.

Ladybug raced over to it and looked out. He was riding away in a horse drawn carriage and going to the village.

"No," she whispered. She left the window and looked at the guards. "Will you please help me? I can't do this alone."

"Of course," a guard replied. "I'd like to teach Gabriel a lesson."

Ladybug smiled. She started looking for Adrien, but couldn't find him anywhere. She shrugged, hoping that he was safe somewhere. Right now, she had to get to the village.

*

Adrien ran to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He opened up his pocket. Plagg flew out.

"We need to transform," Adrien said frantically. "Gabriel is going to hurt the villagers."

"But the King said not to interfere with his plans or else he'd hurt you more," Plagg mumbled, staring at the bruises on Adrien's wrist.

"He said that to Adrien. Not Chat Noir," Adrien replied. "Plus, Marinette has risked so much to save me. It's the least I can do."

"Fine," Plagg nodded, eating some Camembert. He swallowed the last bite. "But try not to die, okay?"

"I'll try not to," Adrien responded with a nod. "Plagg, claws out!"