"You're lying," Nathaniel said in disbelief.

"Not even a little bit!" Lila exclaimed. "He said he wanted to talk to me about a rumor that's going around and he'd like to clear it up and be friends!"

Nathaniel snickered, "He just wants a friendly talk Lila. It doesn't mean you're going to get married and have kids."

"I know, but this is just a start. Our relationship will have to move at a slow pace. I'll help him get over his missing wife and he'll see me as his saviour. He'll ask me to marry him, I'll say yes and we'll live happily ever after, with me as his queen. You'll have Marinette and nothing to worry about," She explained giddily.

"Sound too good to be true," Nathaniel muttered, but brightened up soon after. "It is possible though!"

"I know," Lila said smugly. "Anyways, I need to go shopping and get me some new lingerie for my new man!"

"Eww, too much information," Nathaniel frowned. Imagining Lila in a lingerie made him feel sick.

Lila's laughs were heard as he ended the call.

Nathaniel sighed and plopped down on his bed.

Lila was right. Adrien didn't know anything, he was just trying to give him a scare. Marinette was his and no one, not even Adrien, will take her away. He'll make sure of it.

* * *

"Again with the dumb meetings?!" Tom exclaimed, glaring at Adrien and Gabriel who stood at the other end of the table. "We won't ever find her so we might as well give up now."

"Tom!" Sabine's shrill voice seized all the chatter in the room. "You're saying we should give up on looking for our daughter?!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Marinette ran away, if she doesn't want to come back that's her fault. We'll just say she's dead or something. Gabriel can find Adrien a new wife and we'll move on with our damn liv-" Tom was cut off when he felt the cold metal of Adrien's gun press to his temple causing a collective amount of gasps to go through the room.

"Adrien!!" Gabriel shouted looking at his son with wide eyes.

"You're a sorry excuse for a father! I should just end your miserable life here," Adrien presses the gun harder to Tom's head.

"Gabriel, call of your boy," Tom said shakily. Adrien could pull the trigger at any given moment.

"I'm not a dog. I can't be 'called off'," Adrien spat, tempted to pull the trigger of the gun, he emptied several minutes ago, just to give everyone here a warning that they should not mess with him. "And for the last time, she didn't run away!"

"Adrien, put the gun down," Gabriel said warily.

"Be quiet father, I know what I'm doing," Adrien said calmly, a firm grip still on the gun. "Show the pictures to Tom here."

Gabriel hesitated, but did as the Prince ordered.

"Take a good look at those pictures, Tom. That is Marinette. Read the message in the fourth picture," Adrien said, trying to keep his cool. He didn't want to break down at the sight of those pictures again. "Does that look like someone who ran away, your highness?"

Sabine was sobbing as she looked at the pictures of her little girl, her son by her side trying to comfort her.

"Open your eyes, Tom. Don't be a stupid king," Adrien said, pulling the trigger. Everyone's screams of surprise reached his ears.

When they opened their eyes, Adrien was standing beside his shocked father, gun reloaded and tucked safely in his pants.

Tom let out a breath of relief when he realized he was still breathing.

'That boy is crazy as hell,' He thought glancing at the emotionless Prince.

"Now, back to what the meeting was really called for. I have an idea of who has the princess and I have a plan to get her back. Hope is not lost and she is not dead, I'm sure of it," Adrien said, taking a seat and looking at everyone.

Sabine sniffled as she wiped her eyes, "What do you have in mind?"

"Well..."

* * *

"Do I have to wear this?" Adrien groaned, running at the sleeves of the jacket. "It's too much and very uncomfortable."

Gabriel gave him a disapproving look, "Adrien, you are a prince. You should be wearing this on a daily basis. Not those horrible rags you have in your closet called clothes."

"I could have thrown own a nice dress shirt with a tie and some black jeans and still look like a prince, father," Adrien retorted earning a scowl from his father.

"You are a prince and Lady Kurtsberg is a Queen. You wanted to meet her wearing that sorry excuse of a good outfit? Are you sure you're my son?" Gabriel widened his eyes to prove his point.

"Now that I think of it, we don't look alike at all," Adrien muttered, tapping his chin.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and shoved Adrien who laughed.

"We're almost there, your highnesses," The driver announced.

A little while later, they were driving through the gates of the Kurtsberg Kingdom.

Adrien looked at the castle and rose his eyebrow, "I expected it to be bigger than this."

"This kingdom isn't very wealthy Adrien, hence the reason it really isn't that known," Gabriel explained and Adrien nodded.

The limo stopped in front of the castle and a guard quickly opened the door. The royals slipped out of the car and looked where the queen stood, at the doors of the castle.

She wore a straight creme dress, with a red sash and a small crown situated on top of her head.

Adrien and Gabriel wore similar sashes, only their sash was green. They too had on their crowns.

The Queen descended the stairs with a kind smile.

"Welcome!" She greeted, shaking the hands of the men then leading them into the castle. Four guards trailing behind, two Agreste Kingdom guards and two Kurtsberg Kingdom guards.

They entered a room with multiple seats and the Queen told them to take a seat as she copied their actions.

"I have been eagerly awaiting today. I have been wondering what you could possibly want to speak about that is so important," She said as the maids came and placed pastries, sandwiches and tea on the table between them. They thanked the maids who nodded and left, not without glancing at the Prince. "Adrien?"

"Yes, your highness?" He answered, taking a bite out of the croissant he picked up, ignoring his father's glare.

"How have you been holding up since the wedding?" She asked, sipping her tea and giving him a look of sympathy. "Is the princess still missing?"

Ah yes, the Queen was also at the wedding and so she witnessed everything.

"Actually, that's why we're here," Gabriel intervened, sitting up straighter. "We think we might know who has the princess, but we need your help."

"I'll gladly help! Who do you have in mind?" She asked, eyes wide in anticipation.

"Prince Nathaniel," Adrien said coolly, stuffing a sandwich into his mouth.

The queen's smile slowly slipped off of her face. Anger filled her eyes as she glared at the men.

"How dare you accuse my son of doing something so horrible?!" She shouted, making Gabriel's guards stepped forward. Adrien held up his hands to stop them. He took a bite out of another croissant as he watched her.

"You don't think he's capable of doing something so awful?" Adrien asked her.

"Of course he isn't! I feel disrespected. You come into my castle and accuse my son of committing a crime," Her nostrils flared and her glare intensified. "Get out of my castle."

Adrien smiled, "Your highness, have a seat and let us handle the situation like adults. If we step through those doors right now, expect a thousand soldiers on your doorsteps tomorrow ready for war."

The Queen was speechless. Their kingdom and army could overpower hers a million times over. She couldn't risk it.

She took a seat and took a deep breath.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Adrien grinned.

Gabriel, who was quiet the entire time, watched his son with wide eyes. Adrien was getting more and more like him everyday. He felt proud and afraid at the same time.

"Say what you have to say quickly," she muttered, lowering her eyes.

"I suspect your son and someone else to be involved in the kidnapping of my wife. I received an email the other day. Would you mind taking a look at it?" Adrien said, taking out his phone.

The Queen took the device from the Prince's hand and her eyes were glued to the screen.

"Oh my," Her hand flew to her mouth. "This is terrible."

"Exactly. Which is why we need to get her back as soon as possible. If you don't mind me asking, where is Nathaniel?" Adrien pushed his phone back into his pocket.

"I don't know. He left taking a large amount of guards with him. Now he's just in and out of the country without telling me about where he has gone or when he will return," She sounded worried sick and this made Adrien angry.

"Do you mind giving him a call right now and just have a casual conversation?" Adrien tilted his head to the side. "I don't want Nathaniel knowing about this."

"Are you using me?" She asked.

"Trust me, it's for a good cause. I need to find Marinette and you're the only person that can help me to get her back," Adrien said, his voice cracking at the end, but he quickly regained his composure. "Please, just help me."

The Queen hesitated, but nodded.  She waved a guard over and he gave her a phone. She put in a number and it started to ring.

"Mom?" Nathaniel's voice came through the phone.

"Hello honey. I was just calling to check on you. This is this longest you have been away," The Queen said, glancing at the men across from her. They could hear everything Nathaniel said because the phone was on speaker.

"Oh. I'm fine, but I'm a bit busy, I'll call you later," He said and the queen panicked.

"No!" She exclaimed then cleared her throat. "No, don't hang up. I just want to know where you are. You don't tell me anything these days."

They heard Nathaniel groan before he spoke, "Jesus Christ woman! You want to be involved in every aspect of my life. I'm in the Caribbean on a vacation, okay? I just want a break."

Adrien heard this and started to think hard.

'Caribbean?' He thought, the wheels in his head turning rapidly.

"I'll call you later, baby boy," She cooed making Adrien smile.

"Whatever," He groaned before hanging up quickly.

The Queen put down the phone in the guard's waiting hand.

"What are you thinking, Adrien?" Gabriel asked, curiously looking at his son.

"I'll tell you soon," Adrien mumbled before smiling at the Queen. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," A small smile rose to her face.

"I'm sorry for threatening you earlier. That was totally unlike me. It was fun speaking with you, your highness," Adrien took her hand in his and placed a kiss on top. "We must go now."

Adrien and Gabriel rose and bid farewell to the Queen, their too guards trailing behind them silently.

On the drive back home, Adrien couldn't help but to feel like he knew exactly where in the Caribbean Nathaniel was.

* * * * *

Word Count: 1918

Two chapters in one day (they weren't back to back, but they were in one day 😋).

An update for your thoughts?

Are you excited for Adrien and Lila's date? I know I am!

This chapter was fun to write. You didn't see much of Mari this chapter, but you'll see her in the next one.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoy it.

Until next time, bye bye little butterflies 🦋🦋🦋.