章 3: 3. Chapter 2
A/N: To the reviewer that commented that Theo always seems to play the bad guy, I agree. As Copycat, he's just such an easy target, it's not even fair.
But, I needed a villain. So, he got shoved into the role. :)
Where'd the rat slink off to, now?
Adrien had followed Theo down into the servants' area. There weren't many people Adrien hated, but Theo made the top of that short list. Adrien knew he and Theo disagreed on a lot of things—the current war, for instance—but the havoc Theo had been wreaking on Adrien's life since he returned from the warfront was past the limits of unacceptable. He hadn't the chance to corner him before, which was why he was doing it now.
Except he lost track of him.
A scream rent the air, and all thoughts of Theo vanished. He rushed down the hallway where he heard the sound. "Let go of me!" someone cried. A voice distinctly female.
Adrien's heart began racing faster as he demanded more of himself. Those words out of a woman's mouth were never good. Never when it sounded panicked and desperate.
Then all was quiet. And he had two options ahead of him.
Which one. Which one. Which one.
"Come on," he whispered to the air, flipping his gaze back and forth between the two hallways. "Give me something."
"Heeeellllp!" came the shrill scream.
Adrien bolted to the right, then spun left upon hearing the sound of a door banging open, then slamming shut, only to find himself in a hallway full of shut doors.
"No! No! Stop!" came the teary voice. Adrien rushed forward, throwing open every door he could to find where the woman was.
Finally, the last door he threw open revealed the disturbing scene of a man holding a woman to the ground, hoisting her skirts up high enough to reveal her pantaloon-clad thighs.
Adrien didn't think as he leapt at the man, knocking him away from the woman and pinning him to the ground.
Theo.
Adrien's grip around the earl's neck tightened. "You piece of—"
Theo's fist shot up to collide with Adrien's chin before he could finish the sentence. Suddenly, it was a fight for life as the two men battled it out in the small servant's room. Things broke. The walls shook. Theo had his hands at Adrien's neck, and Adrien never let go of Theo's. Air was becoming hard to get, but Adrien wasn't surrendering first. He was going to scrape together every ounce of strength he had to pound Theo into the ground.
"What is going on in here?" a booming voice shouted, demanding attention.
The collar of his shirt was suddenly grabbed and yanked. Adrien stumbled to regain balance as he was ripped off of Theo and practically tossed aside. When Adrien steadied himself, he found Mr. Damocles—at least that was what Adrien believed this man's name to be—now stood between them, his eyes raging fire.
"Which one of you," he growled, low and fierce, "is going to take responsibility for her?"
Adrien looked where the man was pointing, and his heart nearly shattered. It wasn't just any woman there. It was the sweet, selfless girl who he had crossed last winter. The girl who had given him hope that there was still kindness in his kingdom. The girl whose smile and bright blue eyes had somehow burned their way into his memory and resurfaced in his dreams at night.
Now, she was kneeling on the floor, her skirt still quirked up to reveal her leg, her blouse ripped open, her hair out of its ponytail and frayed over her shaking shoulders. Her arms were crossed over her chest to conserve as much modesty as she had left while tears trails glimmered down her red cheeks.
Adrien swore Theo would pay for this.
A gasp called all attention to the doorframe where a large man in fine clothing stood. However, considering the way his lips were pursed tightly in shock, it wasn't him who made the sound. A girl, one with brown hair and servant's clothes, suddenly ran past the man to the shaking girl on the floor, wrapping her in a protective, covering embrace.
"I demand explanation!" Duke Bourgeois shouted. "What happened here?"
"I was just about to ask that question myself," Mr. Damocles said, staring down the two young men. "Though it seems fairly obvious what happened, why don't one of you explain it for us."
Adrien stood still. He wanted to rat Theo out, tell him exactly what happened, but he knew Theo. Theo wouldn't go down without a fight. Theo would accuse him of whatever he accused Theo of. A shouting match between the two men was not something Marinette needed right now. So, he kept quiet, all while shooting a scathing glare at Theo.
"I won't stand for this in my household," the duke said after half a minute of silence. "Nor will I let this matter go unsettled. If that were my own daughter there, I would demand a marriage to salvage whatever reputation she had left. Therefore, I think it in this girl's best interest that happens in this case as well. So, which one of you is going to take responsibility of this girl?"
Adrien fought to keep a straight face, but his heart was racing. He looked at the scowl in the duke's face before sparing a glance at Marinette and her friend. The girl aimed a disgusted glare at the mayor, yet even under that expression, she seemed to know that was a reasonable course of action. Adrien then turned his attention towards the girl in her arms. She was only choking on tears now, no longer sobbing. He doubted she even heard the mayor.
"I'll take responsibility for this poor girl," Theo spoke up, his voice smooth as ever.
"No," Adrien countered, immediately snapping back to the conversation. "I will."
The duke and Mr. Damocles looked between the two men, now each more confused than before.
"Sirs."
All the men turned towards the brunette on the floor. "Please, allow me to get my friend out of here. Let me get her cleaned up and make sure she's all right. Then when she is ready, she can explain everything."
Mr. Damocles' expression softened. "Get her out of here. Take her to your room. She can stay as long as she needs."
The girl nodded before slowly coaxing Marinette up off the ground and guiding her away.
Once the two girls were out of the room, Mr. Damocles shut the door. The duke wasted no time launching into a tirade. "I demand answers, and I demand them now."
"I was the one that saved her from this bastard."
Adrien stared at his accuser in anger. "Liar!"
"Why were you down here in the first place?" Theo shouted. "You had no reason to be."
"And I suppose you did."
"Lord Barbot. Lord Noir." The duke did not look pleased. "One account at a time."
"I heard her screaming," Theo stated. "I came to her rescue before this man could ruin her. I knew he was bad luck, but I never knew he was a scoundrel."
Adrien scowled at him. "My counter-argument will sound a whole lot like yours."
"Yet all you do is accuse me of lying. Unless you had something to hide, you would have given your case already."
Adrien didn't know what disgusted him more: Theo, or the fact the other two men looked inclined to believe him. "We'll ask the girl then," Mr. Damocles said. "Once she's settled, she'll tell us exactly what happened."
"But that still doesn't solve the issue of her reputation," Duke Bourgeois argued. "No one is leaving this room until we have a solution for which one of you is going to marry her."
"I will." Theo stated.
"Ask her."
All three men turned to look at Adrien.
"Ask her," he repeated. "If you, my good duke, demand she marries one of us for her own reputation then I don't see why she shouldn't get a say in this matter."
Mr. Damocles studied him. The look on his face shifted from curiosity to speculation. Adrien didn't miss the disapproving glance he shot at Theo.
Well, it was comforting to know he at least had one man on his side.
The duke seemed oblivious, though. He was far too busy thinking on the Adrien's suggestion. "You serve a good point, Lord Noir. Very well. If both of you are willing to step up to the task, then that will be our solution. Mr. Damocles, will you please go inform the girl's father? Send someone else to man that table."
"Yes, your grace."
With that, the duke dismissed everyone. The door opened, revealing about ten different people standing there.
"What are you all doing standing about?" Mr. Damocles shouted. "Get back to work!"
The servants wasted no time fleeing the scene.
Adrien sighed, shutting his eyes but resisting the urge to hang his head and rub the tiredness away. This would not bode well.
Mr. Damocles looked stoic as ever as he went towards the party again. The duke looked pale but held himself together as he always did.
And Theo never left the man's side.
Smart rat.
Adrien was the last to leave the room, only to pause. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a little white ribbon on the floor. Her ribbon, the one that had tied her hair back. He plucked it off the ground and wrapped it carefully around his fingers before slipping it neatly into his pocket. He'd find the right time to return it. But right now, he thought it most prudent to find the girl's father. Without a shadow of a doubt, Marinette would choose him, and he needed to reassure the man that he would take precious care of his daughter.
However, when he saw the substantial-sized man that stormed after Mr. Damocles, he decided he could wait until the man's righteous anger died down a bit before approaching him.
After all, he couldn't protect Marinette if her father wrung his neck first.
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