A/N: above is an accurate representation of Ladybug and Chat Noir that I believe also fits the description I have of them in this story.

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Marinette usually hated royal meetings. It dragged on and they could never really talk about issues without there being an argument between the magistrate and their head soldier, Marinette's eldest cousin, Louis Cheng. However, the debate they were having that day was quite interesting to her.

The main topic that day was about an incident from the Agreste Kingdom. A vigilante, by the name of Chat Noir, fought a soldier nearby a bakery where an actress was about to be sent to prison for not asking permission for property.

Marinette glanced at the empty chair besides her. King Thomas could not make it to the meeting that week because he had other business to attend to. If he were to be there, the conclusion to the meeting would have been official already.

"He should have left her," one of the reporters commented on the case, "Did she not deserve to go to prison? The Agreste family has a say in what performances are acceptable—"

"It's not about that," Louis argued, turning the subject back to Chat Noir, "this is about people acting out towards soldiers as if we are the danger to the country. This is about whether or not we should expect a vigilante who uses this...'dark magic' like Chat Noir in the Dupain Kingdom."

Marinette perked up at the mention of 'dark magic'. What did her cousin mean by that? And Chat Noir rang a bell in her head somewhere— she could not place it.

"We cannot deny that rumours spread fast," the magistrate added, "There is no doubt that there will be some resistance in sectors of the Gollieb country, but I do believe that they are more worried about the war."

Some of the members glanced in the Marinette's direction and she tried her best to look confident. They were expecting the princess to say something like her father would because she was going to lead them into battle after all, was she not?

"I know that many of you are concerned whether or not our numbers are enough according to the armies set out by the Bourgeois Kingdom..."

A few nods of agreement passed over the table, urging her to continue. Marinette did not know how to explain her thoughts in a structured way to the magistrate, or the rest of the jury for that matter. She did not know how they would take her views and whether they would approve or not, but she had to tell them before it was too late.

"I had sent out a letter to the Agreste Kingdom..."

A ripple of shocked silence shuddered the table before a wave of arguments development afterwards:
"Our enemy becoming an ally?"
"This is preposterous!"
"Who decided this?"

Marinette wanted to disappear at that moment. She looked in the direction of her cousin and stared at his blue-bell eyes, the same as her own. He smiled at her reassuringly, mouthing 'Great idea'.

The princess could not help but think about how truly amazing Louis was. He deserved to be a prince— a leader better than she would ever be. But, no, he was stuck with training her and groups of soldiers in their army. He was responsible for the order of their country, yet he was not allowed to order from the throne...unless she was dead.

However, Louis hated the idea of ruling a country just as much as she had. He admitted that she was his most prized student because she had this determination he had admired from the beginning. Marinette loved her cousin dearly because he was her only family who could truly look after her in a time of need.

Louis had more experienced with fighting for he had led an army into battle before, but since King Thomas insisted that Marinette would lead the next war— like her mother— Louis could do nothing but try and turn her into a soldier as strong as himself.

"I believe that becoming allies with another country will really benefit us," Louis agreed, taking Marinette's side, "We've been rivals with the Agreste Kingdom for far too long."

"They will refuse the proposal either way," another member said, "Why are we wasting our time with this argument?"

The magistrate raised his hand to indicate silence and peace of mind through the table. He cleared his voice, "We should have a vote. All in favour of becoming allies with the Agreste..."

The magistrate looked up to the entrance of the hall where a messenger was standing with a silver tabloid embroidered in a purplish wax.

"A letter to Princess Marinette," he announced, "from the King and Queen of the Agreste Kingdom."

Murmurs of surprise cascaded the hall. Marinette accepted the letter almost hurriedly before opening the envelope with shaking hands. All members of the table stared at her with judging eyes, waiting to hear what was written on the paper. Marinette was ecstatic— the Agreste finally replied to her and at the perfect time as well.

Marinette read through the letter carefully, taking it all in. Her heart leaped with relief at the first sentence.

"We are delighted to inform you," she read aloud, "that we accept your proposal as being allies of war against the Bourgeois Kingdom."

Gasps of discombobulated disbelief bombarded the thoughts of every single individual in the room. Louis was the first to applaud the sentence, raising his hand to the magistrate before initiating the vote, "I."

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Adrien had received many complaints in his life, but receiving complaints about Chat Noir indirectly from soldiers was much worse.

"He's a threat to the security of this country!" Soldier Bruel said, "Using dark magic to take down soldiers— he almost killed me!"

Adrien gripped the arms of his throne next to his father's. The queen sat on the left of King Gabriel, whilst Adrien sat on his right as the upcoming heir to the throne. The thought was quite intimidating compared to war because leading a group into death is much different from leading a group for life. The seat to the right of Adrien was empty, but he ignored it as usual.

Lies, the prince thought, glaring at Soldier Bruel. A lump formed in his throat and he considered either walking up to the soldier to punch him or throwing up. His people respected him as Chat Noir, but his soldiers hated that side of him. On the other hand, his soldiers respected him as Prince Adrien, but his people did not. He could never truly be accepted by everyone, no matter who he decided to be.

The prince felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down irritatedly to see green eyes, dark hair and a toothy grin.

"Not now," Adrien whispered rudely to his little sister.

Emma was not exactly royalty— adopted is a more accurate term. She was found outside the Kingdom in a bread basket by two boys who did not really care about whether or not they caused mischief. Adrien was one of curious boys at the time, wandering before the gates to see what boring things their people were up to— until he heard a loud crying noise besides the castle entrance.

The king ordered that the baby be sent to an orphanage, but Tara insisted she stay. The queen believed that Emma would have been good for Adrien's manners development. However, her expectations were different to the reality of Adrien's future, what with the wars, training and the reputation of having a heart of rock.

"I finished a piece on the harpsichord," Emma whispered back, "the song about being in the rain. The one you love."

"I don't love anything," Adrien hissed, "Go away, I'm busy."

"Like always."

The king let out a loud, purposeful cough that diverted Adrien's attention back to the situation at hand. Emma let out a hopeless sigh, sulking back to her room, not surprised at being ignored once again by her father and older brother.

"What is your opinion on the new criminal, Adrien?" King Gabriel repeated.

The prince hesitated before interrogating the guard, "Did you threaten the actress in any way?"

"No, sir," Ivan lied.

Adrien pulled a fist angrily. He knew that it was no use screaming 'Liar!' to the soldier in front of all the guards in the hall because it would evidently back fire at him. The prince needed to show that he was on both sides— his soldiers and his people— for the sake of Chat Noir...well, himself.

"I would like to ask a few civilian witnesses that were on the scene as well," Adrien started.

Ivan stared at the prince in shock and so did Adrien's parents. Never had the prince ever taken opinions of the people into consideration. Where did the sudden change of heart come from? Did he not trust Ivan as a loyal guard?

"I cannot decide whether I believe you or not, Bruel," Adrien continued, sitting higher upon his chair, "Your description seems quite...animated now that I think about it. A criminal with cat ears? Dark magic? You're better than this."

The prince knew that he was pushing his luck by questioning the existence of himself as a criminal, but he needed to see how Ivan would react. Lying was one thing, but not allowing anyone else to talk on Chat's behalf was disloyal of him.

"Please, Your Majesty," the soldier begged, "I would never lie to the royal family and I have been a loyal guard for the past five years..."

"It's not that we do not trust you, Soldier," King Gabriel acknowledged before Adrien could reply, "However, I do believe that no opinion is more important than another."

The prince nodded, silently thanking his father for understanding his views out of the situation. The queen agreed, "Our son is right. We care about our people and their opinions as well. I have no doubt that the witnesses will report on the exact same description you've given us, Ivan. We just do not want any irrelevant rumours about us being negligent towards what the civilians have to say."

The guard turned immediately pale and Adrien had to resist the urge to smirk deviously. He knew that he had won yet another fight. Of course, he would soon have to deal with the accusations of many other soldiers about his alter ego, but that would be dealt with later became many of their guards were too busy focusing on training for the next war, concerned about losing more loved ones.

"You're dismissed," King Gabriel waved Ivan off nonchalantly.

The guard nodded sternly, turning on his heel before walking out of the room. The king and queen turned to their son who seemed almost content at the conclusion of the issue.

Adrien stayed silent, looking anywhere but at his parents. It was always awkward between the three of them, especially after the first war during that traumatic time when...no, they all refused to think about it.

"Adrien," Queen Tara asked, "Are you well these days, dear? With your training?"

The prince rubbed the temple of his head, annoyed, "Training is as it always has been, Mother. Exhausting."

King Gabriel frowned at his son, the pride of his country who came out of two wars successfully. A true hero to the Agreste Kingdom...yet he seemed so sad all the time. The prince did not have any reason to be, though— he had all the riches in the world, he was the strongest of his youth, a handsome fellow with opportunities someone could only dream of.

But why was he so personal, even though he had a wealthy family? Adrien even kept pretending that his sister didn't exist in the first place. Why did he choose to be all alone?

"As you know Adrien," King Gabriel said, "you are almost eighteen now—"

"Is this going to go into another discussion about marriage?" Adrien interrupted before groaning, "Father, I've told you before that I am not interested—"

"I am discussing a future where you will eventually rule the Kingdom."

The prince inhaled carefully, letting out a shaky breath. Leading this and leading that, he thought exhaustedly. Adrien shook his head and asked, "Could we rather talk about this after my birthday?"

"You said that last year," the queen reminded him, "You cannot keep avoiding your destiny, Adrien."

The prince stood up abruptly, noticing the concerned and confused expressions upon the face of his parents. Adrien shivered at the word 'destiny'. Had leading an army into battle also been destiny? Was him turning into a horrid ruler meant to be?

"I'm late for training," Adrien excused himself after facing his mother, "and Emma just finished a piece on the piano so you might want to listen to that."

The prince gripped the hilt of his sword, stood up from his chair and exited the room. The king wanted to call Adrien back, maybe give a few words of comfort and wisdom...but it was no use. Gabriel stared at his wife and she gave him a soft smile in return.

"He's still our selfless, little boy," Queen Tara said, "Deep down. Adrien cares about his family and his people— he just refuses to show it."

"No, he just won't let go of old times," the king grumbled, "He thinks that he's the only one who truly suffered from the war."

Tara did not argue with that statement. If anyone was depressed from a tragedy of a young boy, it was the mother. She remembered how he used to cry to sleep, while the rest of her family wouldn't even sleep at all. Gabriel was right— the war was a truly traumatic time for everyone so Adrien had no right to feel sorry for himself. However, he was the only one who personally experienced the scene so who were they to judge?

"I just wish there was a way to help him," King Gabriel sighed.

Just as he said that, the queen pulled out a letter from her dress with the Dupain Kingdom symbol on the cover. It looked a bit crumpled and dirty, but still eloquent nevertheless.

"Maybe we still can."

* * *

A bead of sweat passed along Adrien's head as DarkBlade parried his moves effortlessly. The prince attempted to jab and swing the edge of his blade at his trainer, but it was no use.

His deflects were weak and techniques seemed to fade each time DarkBlade advanced upon his steps. He wasn't exactly being himself— his stances and defences were exceptional as always, but something just did not seem to add up.

"You aren't fighting like you usually do," DarkBlade noticed, blocking an attack with a Front Guard.

"I just need more practice," Adrien breathed, "Again!"

After beating the prince in several challenges, DarkBlade once again tried convincing the prince to change his mind about the Dupain Kingdom's proposal.

"We cannot afford a decrease in numbers of our armies, Your Majesty," he admitted, "We don't want anymore dead bodies on the battlefield."

"I am not replying to that letter," Adrien sneered, "and that's final."

"You're physically weak," DarkBlade acknowledged, "admit it. Once you fall, so do the rest of us. Our Kingdom needs all the help we can get."

Adrien threw his sword to the ground, groaning at the truth of those words. He brushed his fingers through his damp hair through to the nape of his cold neck.

The stress he was carrying from the day really weighed him down— his mind raced with questions and secrets which he could not comprehend. The prince could only wish that his small crown had the power to absorb big thoughts.

"You threw it away didn't you?" DarkBlade asked, referring to the letter.

"Buried near Mother's Tigridia Pavonia flowers, in fact," Adrien answered matter-of-factually, "further indicating that I refuse to become allies with the Dupain Kingdom. They are worse than the Bourgeois' after they allied with the Kubdel's in the first war."

[A/N: Tigridia Pavonia refers to peacock flowers, just in case you're wondering ;) ]

DarkBlade hesitatingly rested his sword on the wall before calmly walking up to his student. Prince Adrien folded his arms ignorantly, almost as if daring the trainer to come up with an argument against his final decision.

Adrien needed to understand that now was not the time for selfish, arrogant thoughts— especially since the war was advancing upon their country. He needed to stop worrying about the past and focus on what would be best for his people in the present time. Adrien needed a wake-up call.

"I know that losing your brother in the war must have been difficult for you," DarkBlade said, "but the impact of Hugo's death affected all of us too—"

"Shut up."

The order was simple, but deadly. The trainer winced in shocked serenity. He breathed evenly before shaking his head in a displeased manner, "You need to accept this, Your Majesty. I know you ignore your family as best you can so that you don't go through the same heartbreak—"

"You're a fool!" Adrien yelled, holding up his sword in a Short Guard, "You know nothing!"

DarkBlade shook his head while holding his hands up, palms out. Adrien narrowed his brow because he knew that that gesture usually meant that someone was showing an act of cowardice. The prince retreated back, dropping his sword once more without apologising.

"I know," the trainer continued, "that you are afraid of letting people down. The responsibility of leading another country with your own just adds to your list of worries because you hate being relied upon."

"If I hate being relied upon," Adrien backfired, "then why had I been leading armies all this time?"

"We just want to help you. You're ignoring important matters that will get you nowhere."

"I'm already lost."

Just then, a knock came from the entrance of the training room, loud and clear. One of the guards entered, breathing heavily with a proud smile on his face, which the prince immediately envied.

"Speak," Adrien ordered impatiently.

"The king and queen wishes to inform you," the guard blurted out, "that we are now official allies of the Dupain Kingdom."

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A/N: sorry— rushed chapter.

I really wanted to focus on Emma, Louis and Hugo because a part of me really believes that there is a reason Marinette specifically chose those three names for her future children.

4~~ Collision