Chapter 1

"Mercy, mercy!"

The blond grinned. "Sorry, old pal. Warriors don't know the meaning of that word."

"No!"

The skilled fencer poked the tip of his rapier over his opponent's heart before dropping it. Both men couldn't handle the serious facade anymore and laughed, their bodies shaking as they did so.

"I will beat you someday," Nino vowed, teasingly holding the point of his sword in the air before swiping it down with a flourish. "Just wait and see."

Adrien chuckled. "By the time I'm done waiting I'll be dead."

Nino scoffed and slapped his hand on his best friend's shoulder. The pair walked out of the training hall together, bypassing the other students to head back to their respective rooms. They spied one of their fencing teachers by the entrance/exit and stopped to say hello to him.

"Ah, Mr. Agreste and Mr. Lahiffe. How was your match?"

While Adrien's lips curled into a smirk, Nino's twisted into a scowl.

"Still can't beat him," he mumbled. Adrien dropped his previous expression and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder in support.

Mr. D'Argencourt offered a smug, proud grin. "Well, Mr. Agreste is the top student. It will be hard for someone to beat him. But not impossible." He turned his attention to the aforementioned student. "Did you work on that special move I showed you?"

Adrien nodded. "I did, but it's not perfect yet."

Mr. D'Argencourt hummed in contemplation. "Well, we still have time. I will see you both at the next lesson."

The young men bid him good-bye before returning to their previous journey of going to their rooms.

"You should show me that special move he's talking about," Nino suggested with a sly grin.

Adrien frowned and shook his head. "I can't, it's supposed to be really secret. He said it's only been in his family but he made an exception for me since he...well...sees potential in me."

Adrien never liked to brag, only sometimes being conceited when he was teasing or joking. Other than that, he was very uncomfortable whenever his superior fencing talent was brought up.

"It's alright, I get it," his best friend replied, not seeming to mind at all, which the blond was thankful for. "That's actually awesome. He must really like you."

"I guess."

Seeing how his friend was growing more uneasy by the second, Nino switched topics. "So, what are you doing tonight?"

He shrugged. "Not sure."

Nino rolled his eyes. "Come on, man! You hardly ever go out and have fun. The ladies love you." He smirked and winked at the innuendo, jabbing Adrien's side with his elbow.

The blond rolled his eyes with a faint grin. He was no stranger to women, he's spent time with some since being sent here by his father. But he wasn't a womanizer who liked to drink and party every night. He liked to keep to himself sometimes, he had a calm attitude. Nino sometimes had trouble understanding that.

He also knew fully well that Nino was right. Whenever he went out there would always be at least one woman who would try to flirt with him. Adrien supposed he was handsome, but sometimes females acted like he was a male model for good looks!

"I'm just going to stay in tonight."

Nino sighed. "You're so boring, sometimes."

"Hey!"

"Adrien!"

Both men turned around to see one of their classmates jogging towards them. Kim didn't break a sweat as he reached the two, not even taking extra breaths. It made sense, he was the most fit one at the academy.

"What is it, Kim?" Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's the Headmaster. I saw him and he told me that he wants to see you."

The fencer's face slightly paled and his heart skipped a beat in brief worry. What did he do? Was he getting kicked out? His father would be furious...

Adrien forced his voice to sound indifferent. "Thanks, Kim. I'll go see him now."

"Good luck. See you guys later."

With that farewell Kim was off to wherever, probably to walk around town and try to woo a few ladies. Nino gave his friend a gaze filled with pity.

"Do you think it's bad?"

He swallowed. "I don't know."

...

Adrien had forced Nino to return to his room; he didn't need him accompanying him as though he were a child. He was a strong 20-year old who could handle things on his own.

So why was his hand shaking like a nervous school boy's as he attempted to knock on the door?

Adrien huffed. This was ridiculous. He was a grown adult, he had to face this like a man and just get on with it.

With that last thought, he raised his knuckes to the door and knocked.

"Come in!" Came his Headmaster's voice.

With one last gulp, Adrien twisted the doorknob and opened the door. Mr. Damocles welcomed the man with a smile and gestured for him to sit down in front of the large oak desk.

Along the walls were various pictures of graduating students, and also some sports teams, including Adrien's current fencing one. A long trophy sat on a shelf, it was said that Mr. Damocles earned that himself for fencing back when he was in school. All the other trophies sat in the trophy case in one of the hallways.

"I'll just get right to the point, Adrien," Mr. Damocles spoke. He held out a small, white envelop to the young fencer. "Your father has sent for you to return home."

Adrien blinked in surprise. Taking the letter, he opened it up and sure enough, there was his father's writing. He was honestly shocked that he didn't get his assistant, Nathalie, to do it.

He picked up his head to look at the Headmaster again. "Why is he sending me home?"

The older man shrugged. "He didn't say, just that he wants you home. I've arranged a coach for you to take in the morning."

The blond nodded, numbed by this new information. What reason could his father have for prematurely sending him home?

"Th-Thank you, Mr. Damocles."

He nodded. "You're welcome. I'll admit, I'll miss you, Adrien. You were one of my best students."

Adrien allowed a small smile to grace his features. "Thank you."

He stood and made for the door. After opening it and casting one last look to his previous Headmaster, closed the door and made his way to the room that soon wouldn't be his.

...

"You're leaving?! What do you mean you're leaving?!"

Adrien huffed while packing another shirt away. "I told you this five times, Nino. My father wants me back in Paris."

"But why?"

The blond shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say in the letter. Now are you going to help me pack, or what?"

Nino sighed and picked up a carrying case, ready to fill it with his best friend's possessions. "I can't believe you're just up and leaving. It came out of nowhere."

"I was surprised, too," Adrien agreed.

"Do you want to go back?"

At Nino's question, the young man paused. Finally, he sighed, clearly torn. "I don't know. Not really? I mean, there was never anything fun to do in Paris. Well, there probably was, but being a Nobleman means you can't do anything too adventurous."

Nino nodded, understanding. He came from a semi-wealthy family, and he didn't know the extent of Adrien's past situation, but he tried to understand it all the same.

Suddenly, Nino perked up with a gasp and a gleam in his eyes. "Hey, why don't I come with you?"

Adrien whipped his head to look at him as though he was crazy. "What?"

"You heard me! I'll go with you. I'll make sure you aren't trapped and still have fun. Besides, it'll be boring here without my best buddy."

Golden eyebrows drew forward. "But won't your parents be mad if you drop out?"

Nino shrugged. "You know as well as I do that wealthy people don't exactly need education past the basics. And we're far past the basics, they won't care that much. I can rent a room in town-"

"No, no!" Adrien protested. "You're not going to rent a room, you'll be staying in my house. Free of charge."

"Won't your father be mad that you brought a guest unannounced?"

Adrien's lips curved into a rare, sly smirk. "I'll announce you when we get there."

Nino grinned. "When did you become so sneaky? You've been around me too much."

Adrien laughed and continued packing, but soon the laughter died down and a serious look took over his face. "Nino, are you sure you want to come? Don't just make a rash decision."

His best friend placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure. Spain is nice, and they have amazing music, but I've been missing France." With a smile, he turned and gathered some of Adrien's things to put in the carrying case.

...

The next morning, Adrien found himself getting jostled around in the small coach, with a snoring Nino sitting across from him. Adrien was tired too, but even he could wait until they got home and he had a warm bed to sleep in.

A corner of his mouth tilted up. Now he'd probably have to hear complaints of a sore neck when Nino awoke.

Finishing packing and getting ready was the easy part. But getting Nino out of bed was the hardest part of all. Adrien literally had to grab his feet and pull him out under the covers and onto the floor. He received a good deal of scolding after that, to which Adrien just snickered at and told him to get ready.

He leaned an elbow along the sill of the coach, watching the green countryside pass by. He wondered if Paris was any different than what it was two years ago when he left it at the ripe age of 18. It probably wasn't.

There was the village he'd never be allowed in, his father claiming that noblemen didn't associate themselves with peasants. The castle, which housed the royal family, and where Adrien sometimes went for various gatherings.

That was pretty much it, all that he knew of, anyway.

Adrien yawned and felt his eyes drooping. Maybe Nino didn't have that bad of an idea...

...

The blond jerked awake when the coach went over a decently-sized pothole. He hissed and grimaced at the dull pain in his neck whenever he moved it.

He should've waited until he got home to sleep.

"What was that?" Nino rasped, coming to. He blinked tiredly and looked around. "What time is it?"

"There was a bump in the road or something. As for the time..." Adrien glanced out of the window, his eyes narrowed at the harsh rays of sunlight. "I'd say it's about midday."

"Damn, I slept a long time, then." Nino chuckled and stretched his arms as best he could, given the small space in the coach. "Do you think we're close?"

Adrien peeked his head out of the window again, grinning when he could make out a castle in the distance. "I'd say we're pretty close."

...

Adrien's mouth dropped as he took in the village as the coach slowly rumbled through. It looked bad, worse than he ever saw it before when he had to pass through it in a coach like this. The homes looked...poorer. The marketplace was filled with people dressed in dirty clothes, some even had tears in them.

He didn't remember the village looking anything like this when he left.

"You said you weren't allowed here?" Nino asked, coming to look out the window beside Adrien. "I can see why," he murmered, lips slightly curled in disgust and confusion.

"It wasn't always like this," Adrien disagreed. "I don't know what happened while I was gone."

Nino made a contemplative hum and continued to watch. The only building that looked semi-decent was a small bakery, with a few different pastries displayed in the small windows.

Suddenly, a young woman sprinted out of the bakery doors, carrying a large box in her hands. Curious, Adrien's eyes followed her to see her stop in front of a small group of children.

The coach slowed, most likely due to the people crowding the streets along with other horses and riders, giving the blond time to view the situation.

As she faced the children with a wide smile, Adrien took in her striking beauty. Shiny, raven hair that shone blue in the sunlight wrapped into two, twin tails that bounced against her shoulders. Sparkling, heavenly blue eyes lit up in anticipation and warmth. Full lips and a bright smile.

Beautiful, yes, but he took pride in the fact that he wasn't swayed by a pretty face. There were many attractive girls back in Spain, but none could hold his attention for too long.

The little girls and boys, about ten of them, all bounced on their toes excitedly. With a grin, the woman pulled the package from behind her back and bestowed it to them. At once they gave a happy cry and dove for it, but once it was opened the savagery was replaced with gentleness.

Adrien's eyebrows rose as he saw the children pulling out clothing items, one outfit per child. The girls twirled with their new dresses, no doubt eager to be rid of their tearing and dirty ones at the present. The boys held up their outfits to their bodies, their friends critiquing it and ultimately giving them a thumbs-up.

Once the initial surprise died down, the children ran to the woman and smothered her with hugs. She smiled and patted them on their heads, looking like she was about to cry.

Adrien blinked slowly, in awe of this beautiful woman. A woman with her beauty and kindness and generosity in her heart? It was practically unheard of, in all honesty. Most of the females he had met in Spain despised children, though had no qualms about potentially producing some with him.

Of course, he never took their offers.

And the Ladies here in Paris all seemed cold and vain. He remembered Lady Chloe's conceited attitude, he knew she would've done anything to remain on top. She didn't care about anyone but herself.

He was forced to tear his eyes away from her as the coach rolled past. He numbly sat back in his seat, still entranced by the blackette with the giving heart.

"Are you okay?" Nino asked, noticing the weird expression on his friend's face.

"Yeah." He smiled. "I'm fine."

Nino observed the blond's lazy, dopey smile with an expression that clearly said he was creeped out. "You're scaring me."

Adrien snapped out of his daze and laughed. "Sorry."

"Whatever. So, are we almost there?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We'll be there in a few minutes."

Adrien looked out the window, collecting his thoughts. She was just a random woman who he probably wouldn't see again. He shouldn't allow himself to get all love-struck for a girl he had never even met.