Nature wasn’t all that great.
At least, that was what Marinette tried to tell herself whenever she was rushed away from the forest bordering most of the village.
She loved her village, and all of its traditional customs, she did.
At least, that was what she said after she had to sit through another betrothal ceremony, even her own.
She had been in love with Felix for three years, and he in love with her for all three and then another two.
The betrothal made the danger of their relationship, the severity of the punishment, all the more real.
People caught in a relationship outside of betrothal weren’t punished, only forced into betrothal earlier than fourteen or fifteen.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like her betrothed, Nino was a great guy, but not her type.
Felix just blatantly hated Lila, though. She lied and flirted with any warm body she could get her hands on and both Felix and Marinette loathed her.
So they loved in secret, with stolen kisses in the dark, as close to the forest as they could muster, a deep seeded superstition keeping them from venturing deeper.
They’d been told since childhood that the forest was the source of dark magic; the craft of the fae.
While some things from their childhood didn’t stick, others remained, and that was the legend of Adrien and Kagami, two lovers who escaped their betrothals.
Kagami was an ice cold warrior and Adrien was a sheltered son of a baron.
It was impossible for them to be together, Adrien was promised to the Mayor’s daughter and Kagami was to be sent to the army as soon as she reached adulthood.
So, in the dead of night, they escaped to the forest, despite the myths of black magic, and were never heard from again.
Felix would mutter about how idiotic the myth was.
“They ran into the forest? Instead of vacating to another town? What sort of fools were they?”
And he could grumble and snort, but Marinette could tell that there was till some lingering fear by the way he would walk closer to the trees when they strolled, keeping her farther away.
Neither of them acknowledged the looming marriages facing them both when they were together; there was never enough time to talk about it.
But then, the unimaginable happened.
Marinette was woken up by her parents standing anxiously over her bed.
“Marinette, you’re getting married next week.”
“What?!” It was impossible, she had a year or two left, at least.
They shared an uneasy glance.
“Nino’s family has suspicions that he’s in love with the town reporter. They don’t want us to ship him off, so we’ve agreed for an early wedding.”
She felt a single tear trail it’s way down her face.
“Aw, it’s alright dear. I’m sure that once you’re married, Nino will be a devoted husband.” Tom smiled and patted her shoulder.
“Tom, why don’t you go and open the bakery? Marinette and I need to have some ‘girl talk.’”
As soon as he had lumbered out, Sabine locker the door, closed all of the curtains and pulled Marinette down to crouch with her beside the bed.
“You’re not going to work all week, if anyone asks, tell them you’re preparing for the big day.”
“Maman, what are you talking about?” She spoke, but her mothers hands were quickly pushed against her mouth.
“After you’re married, you’ll be safe.” She smiled softly, brushing Marinette’s bangs from her face. “Go to him.”
“What? Wh-who are you talking about?” Marinette felt her face heat up.
“You can’t hide things like that from your mother, dear.” Sabine cupped her daughter’s face with her hands. “Find him, and spend as much time as you can before next week. I’m sorry things couldn’t be different.” She stood and walked out, stopping as she unlocked the door.
“I was lucky; I was already in love with your father when I married him. I know your situation is not mine, though.”
And she was gone, leaving Marinette to ponder her situation alone.
Marinette met Felix behind her house, close to the forest, as usual.
She pulled him to her desperately, kissing him long and sweet.
Once they parted, she dropped the news. “I’m getting married.”
A steely look crossed his eyes. He grabbed her hands and squeezed them tight, like they were the only thing anchoring him to this life. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“I’ll talk to the government, convince them to let us stay together.”
“Felix, you can’t. There’s no getting out of betrothal; they’ll exile us.”
“Then we’ll run away, leave and never come back.”
“What? Like Adrien and Kagami?” She joked, trying to lessen the mood.
“I can’t lose you, Netta.” Suddenly the desperation in his eyes became crystal clear.
“Okay.” She spoke without thinking.
“Okay. I’ll do it, I’ll run away with you.”
Felix collapsed to his knees, bringing Marinette down with him. “Thank you.” He whispered as he drew her closer still. “Thank you.”
She pulled back, grabbing Felix shoulders to face him.
“If we’re going to do this we’ll need a plan people are going to be watching me really close.”
He nodded, a thoughtful look passing over his face.
“The best time will be when no one expects it; just before the wedding.”
The rest of the night they plotted, making lists of essentials and what they’d need to prepare beforehand.
In the day, Marinette would stay in her room, sewing her wedding dress, which, in reality, would be perfect for surviving anything nature threw at them.
At night, she would smuggle things out to Felix, who would hide them in holes by the woods.
The morning before her wedding, they would slip away, and take to the road, to find a new life together, in a new town.
If only it were that easy.
The morning of her wedding, Marinette was never left alone; there was always someone besides her, chattering about how happy they were or how beautiful the dress was.
They were all right, of course.
The dress was her favorite shade of pink, with embroidered flowers trailing their way up the left side of the skirt. Abandoning tradition, the dress was not floor length; the loose skirt stopped just above her ankles.
It was perfect for surviving a long journey, if only she could be alone so she could escape.
Finally, fed up with the dozens of bridesmaids keeping her from Felix, she shouted that she needed be alone for a moment.
They each gave her a knowing smile and hurried out the door, murmuring about butterflies in her stomach and “hope she doesn’t get cold feet.”
Marinette was finally alone.
She pulled out the braided rope Felix had brought days earlier and tied it to her bedpost.
Opening her back window, Marinette scanned the room once more, before hiking up her skirts and grabbing the rope to climb down.
“Marinetta! I’ve got your favorite croissants for a snack before you go down the isle!” Tom barged in, holding two trays in his hands.
Marinette froze as she stared at her father, who was staring right back.
He didn’t say a word, he only nodded closed the door, and rifled through her closet, pulling out a brown drawstring bag.
He placed every croissant into the bag, adding the loaf of bread and the knife he was holding on the other tray.
He hugged her tight, knocking all the breath out of her before pulling back and handing her the bag with tears in his eyes.
“I always knew I would cry when I saw you in your wedding dress.” He remarked. “I just never thought about that it would be the last time I saw you.”
“Make sure he takes care of you.” He cupped her face in his enormous hands, making Marinette feel like a little girl again. “I’m proud of you dear; I’ll try to stall for as long as I can.”
He grabbed the rope and held it tight, signaling Marinette to climb to down.
Felix was there when she landed, leading her to the hole where they buried the bow and arrows they had made.
He kissed her temple before beginning to walk to the next hole, stopping abruptly.
Marinette followed his gaze and saw Lila, smirking and waving a horn in the air.
A horn like that could signal the whole village. Marinette realized.
She reacted instantly, grabbing Felix’s hand and running into the shade of the trees, the horn sounding behind her only pushing her to run faster.
“Marinette!” Felix yelled. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not losing you. We’ll just have to make due.”
“Marinette.” Felix dug his feet into the dirt, pulling Marinette to a stop.
“We can’t possibly survive here. We have a few croissants a bow and ten arrows.”
“I don’t care, I can’t just live knowing I left you for a stupid rule and I certainly can’t live being separated from you, which is definitely what’s doing to happen if we go back.”
“Marinette-“ Felix’s lecture halted, as he stared at something in the distance.
A trail of roses and sunflowers, Adrien and Kagami’s favorite flowers, according to legend.
Marinette glanced at Felix, tugging on his hand, pleading with him silently.
He nodded and they set off, following the path of flowers.
The sun had almost set and the trail didn’t seem to be ceasing.
Marinette shivered, wishing she had added a coat to her dress.
Felix noticed, and draped his jacket over her shoulders, all the while ignoring her glance.
“I don’t want you to catch pneumonia, of course.”
“Maybe I will.” He shrugged.
A sudden feeling of remorse cane over her, as she realized how much Felix had given up to be with her.“I’m sorry.”
He stopped. “Netta, for what could you possibly be sorry for?”
“For dragging you into this mess, loving me can’t possibly be worth dying in the cold.”
“Netta, you listen to me,” the anger in his voice startled her, “even if I die in this forest today, I will never could never regret having met you.”
“Felix...” Marinette stopped as Felix kissed her. “I love you.”
“I love you too, angel. I could never stop.”
They were about to lean towards each other again, but a brilliant white light flashed in front of them, drawing Marinette’s attention.
A crystal fountain stood in front of them, with a couple sitting at its rim.
“Hello.” The girl in ruby tones spoke, giving them both a small smile. “I’m Kagami.”
“And I’m Adrien!” A golden boy waved. “Sit with us?”
Marinette gave Felix a cautious look before shrugging and sitting next to Kagami.
Felix soon walked over as well, placing a hand on hers.
The other couple gave each other knowing smiles.
“So, I take it they’re still betrothing people?” Adrien asked.
They nodded, still unsure of what was going on.
“Is that why you came here?” Kagami probed. “To escape betrothal?”
“What were you looking for, coming here?”
Marinette didn’t have an answer to that.
She glanced at Felix. “I guess I just couldn’t imagine a world where I wasn’t with him, I don’t think I would be able to survive.”
“I didn’t either.” Adrien stared at Kagami.
“We can help you.” Kagami stared. “We can lead you to a new town, where you can live together and start a new life.”
“Or, you can drink from the fountain, become one with nature like us, help us save our old town from self destruction.”
They glanced at each other, a silent debate passing through their eyes.
“We’ll drink from the fountain.”
Adrien beamed. “I thought so.” He gestured to the fountain. “Fair warning, it’s kinda weird after your first drink.”
Marinette cupped her hands, scooping the sparkling water into her mouth, Felix leaning beside her to do the same.
As soon as she swallowed, something changed.
She could feel the forest, every tree, every rose and sunflower.
Marinette turned to Felix, to share this new feeling with him, when she gasped.
Felix’s eyes were a vibrant ice blue, in contrast to the usual silver they had been in the village.
Jasmine was growing at his feet, surrounding him and weaving with the pink amaryllises coming from the ground underneath her.
They stared at each other for a moment, before Felix cleared his throat and knelt before her.
“Marinette we have been through a lot these three years, we’ve needed to do so much to stay together, and now that I know for certain that I will be with you for all eternity,” he picked up one of the jasmine blooms, twisting the stem into a circle, “I ask you, though I am only fifteen, will you marry me and allow me to be your husband?”
“Yes! Yes!” She jumped to him, causing them both to crash to the ground. She couldn’t bring herself to care as he slipped the makeshift ring onto her finger, her kissing all over his face.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Adrien clapped and cooed over the couple.
Years down the road, another couple would escape into the forest, seeking refuge in nature.
There they would meet a warrior of roses with her prince of sunflowers, and a amaryllis angel with her jasmine defender, and there they could learn that the village was wrong.
About love, about law, about nature.
