"If magic wasn't so ridiculous and far-fetched, we'd call it science. Yet sometimes the most far-fetched ideas are the most realistic."

— Forbidden Love

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

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Morning struck a lot sooner than Marinette had wished. The sun soon began to show, and its light poured through the window, practically blinding her. She shot up into a seated position immediately as she inspected her surroundings. Marinette found herself peering over the side of her bed, in hopes to find her feline friend snoring in his makeshift bed on the floor. But to her surprise, she found him absent from his bed, his sheets looked as if they hadn't even been touched to begin with.

Where on earth had he gone?

Marinette swung her legs over the side of the bed, allowing them to dangle over the edge as her eyes stayed fixated on his front door. Perhaps he'd gone out? The ravenette frowned at the thought. She would've enjoyed tagging along. She wished he would have at least asked her if she wanted to come– especially after living in his home for an entire week already and being always stuck in it.

Marinette stood and stretched her limbs. A yawn escaped her lips as she pulled out her small bag from under the bed which contained her clothing and other articles she had decided to bring along for her journey. She placed the bag over the sheets and began to sort through it for a new pair of clothes. However, she found herself momentarily distracted as she absently pulled out a picture frame she had stashed away instead.

The sight of her and her sisters in a black and white photo all smiling brightly on last years' Christmas gala had Marinette smiling sadly. Although she had been eager to leave, she regretted leaving her sisters behind. It had already been an entire week since she had been missing, and the ravenette wasn't even sure if her sisters had been able to keep her absence a secret.

What would happen if Aunt discovered she was missing? Would she search for her? Put up 'missing niece' posters all around town?

Marinette figured their aunt neither had the patience nor nearly any care in the world, really, to go looking for her missing niece.

Placing the picture frame back into her bag, Marinette instead pulled out a pair of trousers and an under tee, grateful that she had been smart enough to take her uncle's clothing with her (although it wasn't his anymore considering she'd stolen it from his wardrobe).

She slipped out of her nightgown, and just as the lacey material hit the cold, hard, wooden floor is when the ravenette heard the front door click open and slam shut. There was no time for Marinette to react as she spun around in horror, only to find Chat Noir staring back at her in complete shock– his eyes as wide as saucers.

"My goodness!" Cried Marinette, scrambling to pull up her nightgown in a scurry. "A little privacy would be nice!"

Snapped out of his shocked superior, Chat Noir practically slapped a furred hand over his eyes. "I...I... for the love of—oh god, I-I am so sorry, Marinette. I had no idea—"

"It's fine," Marinette oddly interrupted, although she was deeply embarrassed Chat Noir had caught her almost naked in his home. "Let us just forget it ever happened. Deal?"

Chat nodded, "Deal."

He then moved away from the door, stepping past her and the bed as he walked toward the backside of his home. Then and only then did Marinette notice the brown sack he carried in his arms.

Then it occurred to her that he had been out. "Where were you?" Marinette asked, her eyes curiously following his figure.

Chat paused midway in his step. "I was getting food." He replied just as he set the large, brown sack down on his dining table. "You want to eat, do you not?" He asked, turning his head to look back at her.

"O-of course," Marinette stuttered for some odd reason. Maybe his somewhat hard gaze had an anxious effect on her. It seemed anytime Chat Noir spoke or looked her way, death was written in his eyes and in his speech. "I just thought that maybe... maybe next time I could come with you?" She suggested timidly.

Chat Noir turned his attention back to the sack off food as he emptied it onto his wooden dining table. "Did we not discuss already why it is not safe for you to leave this home?" Chat asked, his back still facing her. "Anyone could catch your scent. Even with you here it is dangerous."

"I could be careful!" Marinette tried to persuade.

Chat Noir shook his head, once again turning to face her. "Whether you are careful or not, my people can pick up your scent. If anyone was to find out that I was hiding a human here, well, my stature would be ruined for sure."

"Your stature, you say?" Marinette raised an eyebrow, and jokingly added, "I had no idea you were that important."

Frowning, Chat Noir fully turned around to face her. "To my disappointment, I am a prince."

"A prince?" Marinette raised both of her eyebrows in surprise. After living with her newest friend for already an entire week, Marinette had not expected to discover he was secretly a prince. How was she suddenly just finding this out now? "You? In a royal bloodline? Why had you not said that before?"

Sighing, Chat Noir made his was over to her, and from the other side of the bed, he sat on the edge. "It is not something I am proud of." He muttered, "I despise the label. Everyone expects something out of you that you cannot give."

Frowning, Marinette sat on the edge of the bed opposite from him. Slumping her shoulders, she sighed deeply, "Welcome to the club."

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow her way. "You too suffer from a similar problem?" He asked. Eyes now entirely focused on her, Chat sent her a concerned glance. "I have been meaning to ask you why in fact you are hiding here."

This was the conversation she had been trying to avoid.

"I have run away from my aunt's household because I am to be wed to someone I do not love." Defeated, she sighed disappointedly and looked away from Chat Noir. Marinette's eyes found her lap to be more intriguing to stare at, and her lips fell into a frown once again at the thought of ever marrying a man like Sir Nathaniel Logharth. "I did not know where else I could run to. I do not have any other relatives or friends close by but you."

Chat Noir sighed as he listened to her sad words. He definitely knew what it felt like to be standing in her shoes. He knew exactly how it felt to be forced into a marriage with someone you did not love, and he despised it. He despised his father for encouraging it. He despised Marinette's world for encouraging it. And he despised the human race for believing it was right. Although he could easily relate to Marinette, there was only one difference between the two of them.

Despite the fact that Marinette was free to run away from her problems (and her world for that matter), Chat Noir was bound to this magical land. And no matter where he hid, or how far he tried to run, his father would always find him.

He could not escape his world like she could, and he envied her freedom.

Shaking his head to rid of his depressing thoughts, Chat Noir stood to his feet and quickly changed the conversation. "You know, I do have a bathroom which you can freely change in with all the privacy you desire." And at the mention of a wardrobe change, Marinette suddenly remembered that she was still in her nightgown, and the memory of him walking in on her while she was changing returned embarrassingly.

"Haha yes," she chuckled nervously, averting her eyes away from his nervous gaze. "That would be nice. Thank you."

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