Sleeping Rainbow (A Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction)

Chapter 6: Hawkmoth's Plan

The girls carried Marc back to his room and laid him in bed so that he was more comfortable. They used a silk duvet to cover his torso down, one arm draped across his stomach while the other on his side. If it were not for his steady breathing, you would have thought he was dead. Juleka raised her hand and a shower of purple and blue sparkles fell on him. A small smile appeared on Marc's face, he looked so peaceful. Though this made the girls feel more relaxed, it did not cease the guilt inside them. 

"Hey girls, look on the bright side," Alya spoke up, trying to be positive. "All Marc needs is true love's kiss to wake up. We just need to find him."

Rose squealed, suddenly cheered up, "Oh, what about the boy he was talking about yesterday?"

Marinette thought back to their conversation with Marc before telling him the truth. She pulled out the feather necklace and her blue eyes widened with realization.

"Wait, what did Marc say his name was?" She asked frantically.

"He said his name was Nate," Juleka replied as the girls were catching on. "As in..."

"Prince Nathaniel!" All four girls finished in unison.

Alya laughed, "Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Especially when Marc described the girl, she definitely sounded like Princess Alix."

The miraculous godmothers all agreed that if the feeling was mutual, Nathaniel will be the one they need. They have to find him and possibly Alix. To prevent any complications, they placed a sleep spell on the entire palace, even Marc's parents and their guests, just until Marc wakes up. Then they transformed and left the palace to go back to the cottage.

A few hours earlier...

Nathaniel pulled himself up the giant wall and jumped down, not without crashing on the ground though. He pulled himself back up and dusted his clothes. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice behind.

"Wow, I was wondering when you'd show up."

Nathaniel looked around to see Alix strolling towards him.

"What are you doing here?" Nathaniel asked, worried. "It's too dangerous."

"You don't think I was going to let you go on alone, did you?" She replied with a smirk. "You're my brother, I'm not dropping you. Besides, you know I'll never miss an opportunity to be in the outdoors."

Nathaniel smiled warmly and with Alix, they explored deep into the woods, where they soon found the cottage. But when they went inside, instead of Marc, it was just darkness and emptiness. They soon received a whack on the head, painful enough to knock them out. Nathaniel saw a blurry figure standing before him before blacking out. The figure smirked evilly, summoning another swarm of white butterflies, and disappeared with the two bodies.

When the miraculous holders got into the cottage, the place in a mess. They rummaged everywhere and soon found a satchel bag. They found a pencil and a sketchbook, filled with doodles and sketches. One of them was of Marc, wearing his red cloak and his iris flower crown.

"This has to be Nathaniel's," Marinette remarked.

Rose questioned, "But if his bag is here, then where is he?"

When they noticed a small white butterfly flying away, they came one conclusion.

"Hawkmoth!"

In the dungeons of Hawkmoth's lair, Nathaniel woke up to find himself and Alix locked in a cell. He then noticed Hawkmoth standing outside with a smug look and snarled at him. Alix was giving him an equally outraged expression.

"Finally awake I see," Hawkmoth commented, resting his hands on his cane. "Too bad I can't say about your little Iris."

When he mentioned Iris, Nathaniel was burning with rage. If the metal bars were not there, he would have pounced on the butterfly miraculous keeper and strangled him. Instead, he just banged on the bars.

Nathaniel demanded, voice full of fury, "What did you do to him? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!"

Alix just stood next to Nathaniel, trying to calm him down and thinking of murdering Hawkmoth. The tall man only sniggered with amusement.

Hawkmoth sneered mockingly, "Well, in case you haven't noticed, Iris is the prince of Anciel Palace, Prince Marc. The one whom I cursed to death 16 years ago."

Alix continued to scowl at Hawkmoth, while Nathaniel stared with his blue eyes wide in realisation. His cheek coated with blush and his grip on the bars tightened. Suddenly it all made sense to him. He knew that Iris seemed familiar, he knew he had seen that smile before.

"Initially, I thought the bluebell ruined my plans," Hawkmoth continued. "But she unknowingly provided me with an opportunity. Don't worry, I'll let you out...when they hand me the ladybug miraculous so I can obtain ultimate power!"

Nathaniel and Alix exchanged worried looks. They knew Hawkmoth is already powerful with evil intentions, but with this ultimate power, who knows what he could be capable of. They could only sit back and hope that the miraculous holders have a plan.