A blond teenager leaned up quietly in his silk bed. He was the the king's son, Prince Adrien Agreste. Adrien pulled his hands out from under the covers and slowly rubbed his eyes, clearing it of crust and sleep.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
There it was again. It happened last night as well. A knock, but one that didn't have a hand behind it.
Adrien silently slid out from under his covers and crept over to the door, muffling every slow step with a small snore. He'd have the item of surprise now as last time he wasted no time and ran over to the door, crashing over his carpet, only for the intruder to scurry back down the halls. He did often sneak out after all.
The Prince reached the door and put his right hand on the handle with quiet ease, at the same time grabbing a sword he rested next to his door. He quickly pulled the door open and jumped forward as he did so, sword now resting only a breath away from his intruder's neck. Now, the questioon was, who lay beneath him?
Adrien pulled the hood from the person's head and focused intently on the darkened face. Despite the low light, he was able to identify his inruder as the court lyre and his all-time best friend, Nino Lahiffe. His mouth was shut tight so he wouldn't burst out in laughter and wake the whole castle, tears even beginning to form in his amber eyes. Adrien frowned. Another prank courtesy of the Nino. "Who else should I have expected?" he scoffed under his breath.
Adrien glared at Nino, hoping it might calm his bursting laughter, but despite the blond's good intentions, Nino opened his mouth and filled the hall with with a deep yet childish giggle. Out of fear, Adrien slapped his hand over his friend's mouth and dragged them into his room with the other, all under the blanket of dark night.
A quiet scurry of slippers came down the hall. Nathalie. It had to be her. She was the only one that lived in the eastern part of the castle, other than Adrien, of course.
This knock was meaningful. It wasn't a prank. What would Nathalie say if she found Nino in Adrien's bedroom? The King already hated him enough and Nathalie wasn't one to keep secrets from King Gabriel. Everyone knew how close she was to him, rumors even sprouting about her possibly becoming the next queen.
"Adrien! I thought I heard noise in the halls! Are you endangered?" came from outside the door.
Straight to the point, no wavering voice. Classic Nathalie. Adrien yawned, acting as if he had just awoken. And she was gone. She didn't like to waste time on simple matters. Her life was dedicated to the King, after all and Gabriel certainly wasn't a simple matter.
Adrien turned to face the lyre. "You owe me."
Clink. Clang. Clank.
Adrien jumped backward from the sword jabbing toward him. Nino's sword. They were sparring at the moment and Nino had the Prince on the ropes.
Clang. Cling. Clink.
"You can do better than that, your majesty!" taunted Nino, even adding a quick bow to the end.
"That was a mistake," Adrien cackled, slashing at Nino's sword.
Clink!
There was no doubt about it. Nino was a force to be reckoned with. Adrien's sword was stopped by his partner's, a cheeky grin upon his face.
"Alright. We'll stop," Adrien chuckled. "It's clear I won't ever beat the unstoppable Nino."
"You flatter me," said man retorted.
They laughed, dropping their swords to the side and crossing the courtyard in order reach the fencing around the perimeter. As they walked, Nino turned to face Adrien. "'Sure you're ready to visit the village. You could always get robbed." He chuckled again.
"Hey, you once grew up there and you haven't robbed me yet," the blond countered.
Nino burst into laughter, reaching up a finger to wipe his eye before answering, "Yet!"
The boys walked themselves over to the fence, laughing at one another's jokes. They hopped onto the sharp fence with gentleness, careful not to be stabbed on the points, and landed safely on the ground. Then, they were off through the forest.
Everything was loud and noisy. The villagers loved Prince Adrien instantly and a party started in one of the numerous bars. It was almost too much to handle for such an introverted person.
Adrien turned to look for his friend and found him with his tongue half-way down a barmaid throat. He recognized her as Nino's girlfriend from the all the descriptions the love-sick lyre gave. She was pretty after all. Now, what was her name again? Oh, It was-
Creak.
"Alya! A little help here!"
The Prince turned his head to face the open door-the source of the voice. She was gorgeous. From her raven hair to her bluebell eyes, her fair skin to her clearly over-worked hands, she was beautiful. It was love at first sight for Adrien Agreste. He knew it. The thumping in his ears was a tell-tale sign.
Adrien turned his head to face Nino and Alya, who were now loose from one another's grasp. Alya smiled, but there was anger hidden behind it. She was mad that the girl interrupted her first make-out session in a month, but still ran over to help the girl with her bags.
"Mari! Glad your here! I have a friend who would just love~ to meet you!"
Alya turned to face Adrien, a suspicious grin plastered on her cheeks. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, meet Prince Adrien Agreste!"
There it was again. The thumping. Adrien smiled, whole-heartedly. 'Thanks Alya!' he thought to himself.
He waved. "Hi!"
'Marinette' squealed, dropping all of her bags and hiding behind Alya. 'Oh no, she's scared of me!' But oh, the opposite was true. Marinette Dupain-Cheng had silently loved the Prince for quite awhile now, but some people were just far too dense.
Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!