A/N - I'm so sorry that my hiatus was longer than expected. Hopefully the gap before the next chapter will not be as long 💜

Théo Barbot considered himself a patient man, but even his patience these days was wearing a little thin. Marinette Dupain had slipped through his fingers, in the middle of the night no less, leaving little trace of her whereabouts. It was a blow to his ego, that went without saying, and he was determined that some day, somehow, the little wench would pay for humiliating him. Even that brat Félix had taunted him about his runaway bride. He would show him though. From the moment Barbot had laid eyes on Marinette all those years ago at her Grandfather's estate, he knew he would make her his bride. She would be the perfect wife, and her Grandfather's lands the perfect asset.

Still, it was taking all his patience. Gabriel's war might have been a setback to his plans, but it wouldn't last forever, and sooner or later Marinette would have no choice but to return to him, and when she did he would make sure she would never be able to leave his sight again. It would only be a matter of time. Every cloud has a silver lining, and this war had presented Barbot with a unique opportunity that couldn't be ignored.

Climbing the winding staircase to the roof, Théo found Mr Ramier tending to his coop of carrier pigeons. Théo rolled his eyes at the way Ramier fussed over his stinking birds, talking to them like they were his children. Seriously the man needed to find a hobby, or a woman maybe. "Any news today?" He asked. Before Mr Ramier had a chance to answer, Lila came around from the other side of the coop holding a tiny pigeon in her hands.

"There is news indeed, dear Uncle." She said, stroking her fingers down the bird's back.

Théo could see a mischievous look in his Niece's eyes as she kissed the bird on the head and handed it back to Ramier. Following Lila back down the staircase, they entered into the great library where they knew no one would be around.

"So, what's the news?" Théo asked impatiently, his voice reverberating off the walls.

"XY found Chat Noir." Lila replied in a low voice. "He had given them the slip from the field hospital where he was taken wounded to, but XY has located him hiding in a house with members from the underground and he has been watching them for a number of days. Bourgeois troops have now taken the surrounding area so they will need passes to cross the checkpoints. Two have already left to continue with the documents, but Chat, his Captain and a nurse are still hiding."

Théo rubbed his goatee. "Perfect." He grinned.

"I must say, I doubted your plan to flush Chat Noir out, but they took the bait hook, line and sinker."

"Of course they did." Théo boasted proudly. "They have no reason to think the documents they are carrying are fake, especially with a mercenary like XY tracking them. Everything is going to plan nicely. Once the documents arrive and we get rid of Chat Noir, we will begin phase two and deal with the King and the Prince."

Barbot noticed that Lila was trying to hide a smirk on her face. "What's that look for? You know something else?"

"Only the Prince's whereabouts." She replied teasingly. "XY saw him."

"Saw him? Where?" He asked keenly.

"That's the beautiful part." Lila laughed. "It turns out our dear Prince is none other than Chat Noir himself."

Théo's eyes widened in surprise. "No... For certain?"

Lila nodded. "XY would know him anywhere. The man was responsible for having him dismissed from the academy after all and he is just itching to settle that score."

"Things are just getting better and better." Théo practically salevated as he rubbed his hands together. "Change of plans. Send a message back to XY and tell him to steal back those documents and bring them to me. I may have a new use for them. He can do what he likes with the others, but he must make sure he disposes of the Prince. He can choose how, just make sure he doesn't survive and we can blame his death on the war. With both the Prince and Chat Noir out of the way, the army will be demoralised without their heroes and will blame the King. What about our dear Félix? I gather there is little love between him and his Uncle these days."

"Not much, but that goes without saying and he is desperate to get his mother's estate back, enough to want to piss the Kong off any way he can. A question though -  if the Prince is out of the way, do we really need to bother with Félix seducing the Princess? Surely with no Prince to marry she would simply return home."

Théo could see Lila was getting testy about the whole idea. "My dear Nice... could that be a touch of jealousy I see?"

"Hardly." Lila folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "Félix is intolerable at the best of times. I just try to make the poor orphan boy feel welcome. Kagami though, I'll be more than happy to see the back of her."

Théo's face became more serious. "I was speaking to Nathalie the other day. The King has been hearing rumours of a traitor and is becoming paranoid, casting suspicion on everyone in the court, including me. Wouldn't it be a shame if I could give him proof that traitor happens to be a member of his own family."

Lila's face broke into a broad grin. "Oh Uncle Théo, you are devious."

Théo grinned. "Who else but a traitor would plot to steal away the bride from his own cousin and destroy his Uncle's alliance for his own reasons. He makes the perfect fall guy without even knowing it. We just need him now to follow though."

"Oh I have complete confidence in that. Félix loves nothing more than rubbing his Uncle the wrong way, and this will do it alright. He also does have some misguided loyalty to his cousin, so saving him from what he sees as a miserable marriage he figures justifies the means. Speaking of marriage, what of your missing bride to be Uncle Théo? From what I remember the Dupain Estate is just a small farming province on the outskirts. What makes this Marinette so important?"

Théo gave Lila a cryptic look before walking over to one of the bookshelves. Although quite a tall man, he had to reach up to take down a book of maps. Opening it, on the table, Théo pulled out a map of DuPont and the surrounding areas.

"Dupain's estate is the breadbasket of DuPont. The Bourgeois know how important that is, and I will have full control of the wealth from it. The joining of our estates will give us control from the western border to the ports in the south. Not to mention that Dupain lands are considered to be the most, shall we say fertile." He smirked. "I see a long future of Barbot sons as heirs to a great southern province, and with Bourgeois protection, our rivals will be unable to touch us."

Lila gave him a skeptical look. "And how do we know Audrey Bourgeois will keep her end of the deal? For all we know, once her husband is made King she could sell us out."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. I know her dirty little secret, one that I'm sure she doesn't want her husband finding out about any time soon."

Lila grabbed his arm, giving it a shake. "What secret? What aren't you telling me? You know I hate being kept out of the loop."

Théo simply grinned at his petulant niece. "I'll keep that one to myself for the time being. Now run along sweetheart and make sure Félix does a good job."

~~~~~
In another part of the palace, Félix stood with his arms folded at the tall glass windows in the hall and watched as Princess Kagami carried out her usual routine. One thing Félix noticed was that Kagami was a creature of habit. Every day, in the afternoon before tea time, the Princess would come down from her chambers and sit on the same stone bench with her book and pencil. Sometimes she would spend up to an hour there before she would then return back to her chambers where Lila would be waiting with her hot bath. Félix really wanted to get a better look at that book. If it was a diary of some kind maybe it might have some useful information in it. Lila wanted to know what kind of agreements King Gabriel had made with Queen Tsurugi. Money? Troops? Resources? Félix had to admit, he was curious himself, but for Adrien's sake of course. Personally he couldn't care less unless there was something in it for him.

Félix tapped his fingers on his arm. He had planned to approach the Princess today, but Lila was running late. A few minutes later, Lila finally came running up the hall. 

"Oh, you decided to come after all?"

Lila gave him a sharp glare. "I wasn't trying to be late, you know, my Uncle wanted to talk to me."

"Oh? About what?" Félix asked. Lila was caught a little off guard at being asked.

"Ah, nothing really. He just wanted to show me some old maps in the library." Lila sighed a silent sigh of relief when Félix just grunted and looked back out the window.

"So what about that book?" He asked, pointing out the window. "Did you find out if it was a diary?"

"I couldn't find it anywhere in her room at all." Lila replied. Felix rolled his eyes and Lila pouted. "You know I only have a short amount of time to look while she takes her bath. I told you, she's a cagey, difficult person. No wonder she likes hot baths, the woman is as cold as ice. You can't get more than two words out of her and whatever that book is, she keeps it well hidden."

Félix rubbed his forehead. So much for being useful. "Clearly it must be important then if she conceals it so well. I'll just have to see what I can get out of her then." Félix leaned over and gave Lila a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks anyway. You better run along and get her royal introvertedness her hot bath ready, she won't stay out there much longer."

Félix didn't see the way Lila's eyes watched him as he crossed the hall and exited out of the palace. "Soon." She whispered to herself. "Your time is coming, Félix, and everything you ever wanted will be mine."

The sun was beginning to dip behind the trees, and Félix knew he wouldn't have much time before the Princess left to go back up to her chambers. Crossing the garden, Félix soon found where Kagami was sitting on her usual stone bench, her hand flying across the page. Curious.

"Good afternoon, your highness." Félix declared with a low bow. Kagami was startled at being spoken to. Gaining her bearings back she took in the tall man with his slicked back blond ponytail and richly embroidered clothes. Kagami had little interest in the other people in the palace, preferring to keep her own company until the Prince returned. In the time she had been there she had only spoken to King Gabriel, Nathalie and Lila. She placed her book down, standing up and giving a slow, deliberate curtsy.

"My Prince." She said, her head still down. "I had not heard of your return from the war front. I thought you were being held prisoner behind enemy lines."

That was unexpected. Félix figured Kagami must have thought he was his cousin. Well he couldn't very well let that bit of fun slide.

"I'm afraid stories of my capture were greatly exaggerated." He replied with a flamboyant bow of his own. Boldly, Félix closed the distance between them, taking her hand and holding it in his. Kagami looked at him with a raised eyebrow, mischief clearly in his emerald eyes. "But no Bourgeois troops could hold me back from being by the side of my beautiful bride to be." Just as he brought her hand to his lips, Kagami quickly whipped it away, her eyes glaring at him like daggers.

"You're not the Prince." She accused him flatly. "How dare you touch me when we have not been properly introduced."

Félix couldn't help but be amused at the feisty little woman. "Well perhaps if someone came to dinner once in a while we would have been better acquainted. We will be family after all, that is if my cousin ever gets tired of playing hero."

Kagami sat back down on the bench, picking her book back up. "At least he shows the courage of his convictions," She said, sounding clearly annoyed. "and does not go about pretending to be someone he is not."

Félix watched her as she opened her book and turned her back to him so he couldn't see what she was doing.

"Considering you haven't seen the Prince since you were 15, how could you be so sure I'm not he?"

Kagami stopped and looked over her shoulder, her eyes cast down. "The Prince was always kind to me, but never forward. Your manner is very unlike him." She then turned her hazel eyes up to look at him. "Besides, I already knew who you were, Duke of Fathom."

It was all Félix could do not to let his mouth fly open. "Wait. If you knew I wasn't my cousin? Then why the charade?"

Kagami closed her book and stood up, keeping her back to him. "Because I wanted to see your reaction. Now I know if you are someone to be trusted or not." She then turned and looked him up and down. "Besides, the King told me to keep away from you because you were trouble."

Félix tried to pull his best smoulder. "I could be trouble if you wanted me to be?"

Kagami snorted and started to walk away, but Félix called after her. "And what was your verdict? Can I be trusted?"

The Princess turned her head to look back at him, looking at him through her lashes. "Not one little bit." She replied. Félix wasn't entirely sure, but there seemed to have been a spark in those hazel eyes as she turned to walk away. As Félix headed back into the Palace, he couldn't help but smile. She wasn't a thing like he had expected. Lila was wrong, she wasn't cagey or difficult, she'd just been locked away for too long and needed someone to finally open the door.

~~~~~

Almost two weeks had passed since Marinette and the others had arrived at Wang Fu's house. Ivan and Mylène had left the next morning after they had arrived to take more supplies to the underground network and Alix had been working with her contact, Max, in regards to making the fake passess. Alix would come back and forth to Fu's house every few days with news updates on troop position and fresh supplies and clothing. Yesterday she had supplied Nino and Alya with the first set of passes. Alix guided them as far as the next safe house, but then they had to continue alone.

Luka, despite his own reservations, gave the satchel of documents to Nino to get to the King. Alix had explained that a man and a woman traveling together was less suspicious than two men since guards were on the lookout for spies. Luka considered taking the documents himself, but felt he should be the one to stay and protect the Prince... and Marinette who had scarcely left Chat's side since they had arrived.

The nights were often difficult for Chat. Marinette wondered if it was a side effect of not being able to see that his dreams seemed to be so vivid. Fu needn't have bothered with the extra bed in the room, as Marinette spent most nights sharing the bed with Chat, holding his hand so he wouldn't wake up thinking he was alone in the dark. It was doing absolutely nothing to settle her heart being this close to him all the time, having him so dependent on her. It didn't matter how many times she told herself that he was promised to another, as she herself was, Marinette could feel herself slipping more in love with him as each day passed. His smile, his laidback humour, the way he had started calling her m'lady...  it was hopeless to even think about.

Fu had continued to be quite mysterious. As yet, he still had not explained to Marinette how he knew her name. Most of the time he was locked away in a room on the other side of the house, but he did give her a balm for Chat Noir's eyes, instructing her to apply it twice a day to help the healing process. In the few days of applying the treatment, Marinette could already see a vast improvement.

Sitting next to Chat on the bed, Marinette carefully unwrapped the bandage and rubbed the balm over Chat's eyes. The swelling was drastically reduced and the redness was all but gone, but Fu had warned against him trying to open his eyes before he was fully healed. Slowly she moved her fingers over his closed eyes, up to his eyebrows and over the bridge of his nose. She wondered if his eyes were still as green as she remembered them that night at the masquerade. Taking a clean bandage she wrapped it around his head, his blond hair a little wild still from where she had cut it. He had been unusually quiet this evening. Normally Chat was quite chatty while she tended his injuries, but tonight he seemed to have been deep in thought.

"Marinette, can I ask you something?" Chat suddenly asked, reaching up and gently holding her wrist from his head.

"Of course." She replied, her heart thumping.

"Can you tell me what you look like? I'd like to know."

That wasn't a question Marinette was expecting to be asked. "Um... well. I have dark hair that's tied back at the moment." She laughed nervously.

"What colour are your eyes?"

"Blue. Blue like my father's."

"What about freckles?"

"Um... a few. Mostly on my nose. My mother said that was my French side coming through."

"She wasn't French?"

Marinette pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "No. My mother is... was Chinese, and my father was French so I like to think maybe I got the best of both worlds you know." She chuckled nervously. Adrien reached his hand out towards her.

"May I please touch your face." He asked, hesitantly. "I might not be able to see, but I can feel."

"Yes." Marinette replied breathlessly before Chat's hand found her cheek, the cool metal of his ring touching her overheated face. Slowly Chat moved his hand, running his fingers across her eyes and over her eyebrows, much like she had just done to him. His hand then moved ever so gently downwards, his thumb trailing down her nose and his fingers along her cheek bone. He then moved to curl his fingers under her chin, his thumb tracing across her soft lips. His other hand came up to find her hair and Marinette almost held her breath as his fingers tugged on her ribbon, pulling it slowly apart and causing her hair to cascade down her shoulders.

Chat took some of her hair in his thumb and forefinger, it was soft as silky, just as her skin was. Adrien didn't have to see her face to know that she was beautiful, he already knew that in his heart, and he also didn't have to see her face to know that he had formed a strong attachment to her, despite not knowing who she really was.

He wouldn't call it love, because to admit that he was falling in love with his mysterious Angel would only hurt his heart in the end. His duty was to marry Princess Kagami, and while he might still dream about his sweet little Ladybug from the masquerade, it was hard to ignore the way his heart beat faster, or the ache he felt in his chest having Marinette beside him. It was almost worth the nightmares just to have her next to him at night. It was selfish, so selfish to wish that he could hold her, to crave the warmth of her body against his, to want to feel the touch of her soft lips against his own. It was selfish to want to wake up through the night and hope to find her in his arms. All too soon he would have to face the reality of a life without her there, and it wasn't a reality he wanted to face. Not yet.

Marinette watched him as he ran his fingers through her hair, his right hand still cradling her chin. She could feel him leaning in closer, his lips achingly to her own. Her breath caught in her throat and Chat stilled, but his face was still close enough that she could feel his warmth. Chat dropped his hands away and moved back and she immediately missed his warmth.

"I'm sorry." He apologised, recoiling back. "I didn't mean to offend or upset you."

Marinette had to shake herself out of her surprise at what she thought he was about to do. "No, don't apologise." She assured him. "You didn't offend or upset me, not at all."

A knock came to the door and Marinette hastily tied her hair back up as Luka entered the room. You could almost cut the tension in the air with a knife.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No, not at all Luka." Chat said, rubbing the back of his neck. Marinette quickly turned her head away, packing up the balm and washcloth she had been using, but she couldn't successfully hide the deep blush that had invaded her face.

"Fu sent me up for Miss Marinette. He wants to talk to you." He then addressed Chat. "You really need to get out of that bed, you know. I can help you up if you like."

"No thanks. I think I'll stay here for now." Chat replied, sliding back down under the covers. Marinette placed her hand over his.

"Kitty you know you really need to get that knee moving if you want to walk on it properly again. At least promise me you'll try and walk around the gardens tomorrow morning."

Chat twisted his hand around, grabbing hers and bringing it to his lips. "Alright m'lady. But only if you promise you'll walk with me. Didn't Fu mention something about a walking stick?"

"I'll chase it up for you." Marinette could feel her cheeks burning again and kept her face turned away from Luka as she walked past him and out the door. The Captain stood there for a moment and Adrien was aware of the fact that his heavier footsteps had not followed Marinette's lighter ones out.

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Adrien quiried, sensing something was off.

"What are you doing?" Luka asked a little more harshly than he intended.

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. What was all that with the nicknames and the hand kissing. I'm not sure I even want to know what you were doing before I came in."

Adrien folded his arms across his chest. "I wasn't doing anything." He said defensively. "I didn't exactly ask to be stuck here without my sight and a banged up knee, but Marinette has been wonderful to me, even though I know it must be hard at times for her. I just wanted to know more about the person who has been with me continuously for the last few days. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Really? Is that the position you're taking? Because that's not how it looks. In fact it looked remarkably a lot like flirting to me."

Adrien rang his hands together. "What do you want me to say?"

"Adrien..."

"I like her, alright." Adrien interjected. "There I said it, are you happy now?"

"No it's not alright Adrien." Luka snapped back. "Have you told her who you really are?" Adrien turned his head away as Luka continued. "I didn't think so. You're the Crown Prince of DuPont, you are betrothed to Princess Kagami and the whole
Country is depending on you to help end this war. You don't even know who Marinette is or anything about her."

"Do you?"

"We aren't talking about me."

"I know she's a lady." Adrien replied and that surprised Luka. "The other night she was singing a song and I asked her about it. She went to say her nanny used to sing it to her, then backtracked to say it was a neighbour that used to babysit her." He smiled to himself remembering how adorable he thought she was babbling and tripping over her words. "Even you have to agree that your average country girl doesn't have a nanny, so she must be nobility."

Luka rubbed the stubble on his chin. That actually did explain quite a bit. He always felt Marinette was a mystery, often avoiding talking too much about herself. But if she were really nobility then why was she trying to hide her status?

"I see." Luka said, contemplatively. "Even if she is, that doesn't change your position. I don't want to see her getting hurt."

"I would never hurt her." Adrien declared passionately.

"I know you don't mean to, but I'm talking to you as a friend here. Don't let her grow feelings for you thinking you are just a soldier in the King's army. It will only end in heartache, for both of you."

"But I can't help how I feel. I know Kagami well enough to know that we would never love each other the way a husband and wife should. I just..." He flopped back onto the bed with a frustrated sigh. "I wish I was just the Duke of De Vanily, a soldier who also happens to moonlight as Chat Noir, and not the Prince of DuPont."

Luka wasn't without sympathy for Adrien's predicament, but he knew there was also a selfishness on his part too. As the days passed, Luka found himself looking forward to the evenings when Marinette would join the rest of the household at dinner time. He loved talking to her and listening to her tell stories from the field hospital. He loved the way she smiled and the way her eyes sparkled. He was falling in love with her. Logically he knew he should have been the one traveling with the satchel, as Captain he had a duty, but if he was being completely honest he didn't want to leave her side which was why he let Nino go instead.

"We can't change who we are, Adrien. You are the Prince of DuPont and the law states that you must marry a Princess. You need to tell her that before things start getting complicated."

Adrien lowered his head. "I know Luka. I know you are right. I will tell her."

Meanwhile, Marinette made her way to find Fu boiling a pot of tea on the stove. He looked up at her with a smile as he poured the tea into two cups, offering her one. Marinette took the tea, taking a sip. It tasted just like her mother's special blend.

"How is the Prince, Lady Dupain-Cheng?" He asked. Marinette blinked at him.

"You knew who he was?" She asked. Fu nodded.

"So did you." He observed.

Marinette looked away from him. "Please, I have to ask you how you knew who I was. Only once have I ever been referred to as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and that was at the King's masquerade two years ago. Were you there?"

Fu chuckled lightly. "Oh no. My days of attending such a fair are long behind me, but I did know someone there. Come, let me show you something."

Marinette placed her tea down on the counter and followed Fu to his mysterious room on the other side of the house. Inside was a fireplace surrounded by shelves of books and bottles of colourful concoctions. The walls were adorned with astronomy and astrology charts, mathematical symbols and what looked to be strange ancient symbols Marinette did not recognise. The overcrowded desk was a pile of books, mortar and pestle, bottles and jars and something that looked suspiciously like a crystal ball.

"Are you some kind of wizard?" Marinette asked, wondering if perhaps she should be running away instead of coming inside.

"Nothing quite so exciting." Fu replied. "I am but a simple apothecary who sometimes can see what the eyes can not. To answer your previous question though, I am also your cousin Fei's great uncle."

"Oh. Does that mean you are also related to my mother?"

Fu hummed in response. "I spoke to Fei recently and she told me that she gave you a family heirloom. A pair of earrings your mother wanted you to have?"

Marinette nodded.

"Then why do you hide them in your pocket?"

Marinette took the earrings out of her pocket and looked at them in her palm. "I didn't want the Prince to see them."

Fu gave her a quizzical look. "The Prince can not see anything right now, at least not with his eyes. Perhaps you might like to try answering that again?"

Marinette closed her eyes and sighed. "Maybe I didn't feel worthy." She admitted. "Most of my life I didn't even acknowledge I was a Cheng. It wasn't that I was ashamed or embarrassed about, but I guess I just didn't understand who I was or how that fitted with who I was expected to be. Does that make any sense?"

Fu nodded. "One of the hardest things in the world is knowing who we truly are. You, my dear Marinette, must discover the answer to that for yourself. Will you wear the earrings for me?"

Marinette hesitated and Fu placed his hand on her arm. "Indulge an old man for me please and come sit by the crystal."

Marinette did as she was asked and sat down in the old, wooden chair. Fu sat on the other side, placing the crystal ball between them. Striking a match, he lit a short, fat candle on the table, a small trail of smoke waffling to the ceiling from the flickering light.

"Do you see things in there?" She asked, pointing to the crystal ball. Fu smiled at the question.

"No, not exactly. It's not like seeing a play in front of you, it's more a feeling with fleeting visions that I then must interpret the meaning of. The crystal helps me to clear my mind. Tell me, did your mother or Fei ever tell you the story of the Ladybug and the Black Cat?"

Marinette tried to think. "I vaguely remember my mother telling me something about separated lovers and soulmates but, but I'm ashamed to say that at the time I didn't take much notice. I thought it was just a fairy tale from her homeland."

Fu nodded. "Almost 1000 years ago, there was a Princess who fell very deeply in love with her knight. He had been sworn to protect her with his life, but their love was forbidden as she was to marry a Prince from a neighbouring kingdom in a great alliance. The knight and the Princess tried to run away together, but they were captured and the King threatened to have the Knight executed. The Princess begged for his life in return for marrying the Prince. Moved by the plea of his only daughter, the King spared the Knight, but in return, the Knight was sent to fight in a Great War.

Knowing she may never see her love again, the Princess snuck away to spend one last night with him, giving him a signet ring of a cat paw and he gave her a set of ruby and black earrings. They promised one another that no matter how many lifetimes passed, their souls would be reunited once again. The ring became known as the ring of the black cat due to the misfortune of their love. The Princess went on to marry the Prince and form their alliance. They say though, that the son that she bore was not that of the Prince, but of the Knight she had loved so much, the ladybug earrings bringing her luck and prosperity."

Marinette held her hands to her chest as Fu recounted the story, feeling quite moved by the tale. "How very sad." She lamented. "What happened to the Knight?"

"He was never heard of again and both the ring and the earrings became lost over time. Your mother's great grandmother was given the earrings quite by chance, a thank you from a stranger for helping someone in need and they became the family heirloom."

Marinette's eyes suddenly became wide. "Wait. The ring the Prince is wearing... are you saying that... that is the ring of the black cat?"

Fu nodded slowly. "I had foreseen the coming of the black cat in the runes. That was also how I knew to send the meadowsweet." Fu opened a drawer in his desk and took out a weather beaten scroll. "Written here is a prophecy that a war would befall the land. The union of the Ladybug and the Black Cat in the eye of a storm would bring a lasting peace to the land. You Marinette, you are the key to that peace."

Marinette reached her hand up and touched the earring on her ear. Trying to process what Master Fu had said was overwhelming. "So, you are saying that in order to end the war, the Ladybug and the Black Cat must be reunited.

"That is correct."

"Then... there is only one thing that I must do." Marinette said with conviction. "I must get these earrings and the Prince to Princess Kagami."

Fu sat back in his seat and folded his hands into his lap. "Is that the course your heart tells you to take?"

Marinette shook her head. "It's the most logical path." She insisted. "The Prince must marry a Princess, as per the law, unless you are about to tell me that I'm secretly royalty."

Fu shook his head. "I wish that were the case. You come from a long line of nobility, on both sides of your family, but I'm afraid no royalty. Still, sometimes love can find a way can it not."

Marinette could feel her cheeks redden. "You are very perceptive." Marinette said shyly before thumping her fist into her hand. "But look what love did to the Princess and her Knight. Yes, she had her son, but she never knew what happened to her love. No, it is an alliance with the House of Tsurugi that will end this war and she is the one that must have the earrings."

Fu rubbed his beard with his fingers as Marinette spoke. "If that is what you believe you must do, then I will do all that I can to help you. Take care of the earrings, Marinette, and the Prince. The future of DuPont rests with you."

Marinette bid Master Fu goodnight and exited back into the main house. It was dark, with only a few candles to light the way. Marinette couldn't hear any noise and assumed Luka and Chat must have been asleep. Taking her shawl from the hanger near the door, she ventured out into the night, needing some air to process her conversation with Fu and settle her erratic heart.