Marinette remembered her mother as a stern but wise woman. She could remember her dark hair and deep brown eyes that burned with authority and confidence. Marinette's mother had been born into this life of nobility, and her father had married her mother to be king. The Queen of Lutraria had taught Marinette to be the future queen just as she had been taught all those years before. The Queen had broken the slouch in Marinette's back, muffled her childish giggles, and trained her face to be impassive at all times. Marinette's mother had never been able to weed out her daughter's clumsiness, but had made sure that if Marinette fell, everyone around her would be sure that she had meant to do it. The Queen had of course loved her daughter, but the expectation for the only heir to the Lutrarian throne was high, and the throne would show no weakness. If any weakness ever did come about, Marinette remembered her father as the man to stomp the weak link at the source. That's all she really could remember, his strength and aura. Whether his bloodline spoke for it or not, Marinette's father had been born to be King of Lutraria. He was feared not only by his own people but by their bordering lands as well. Marinette believed that this fear was what ultimately led to her father's brutal demise.
Marinette's final memory of her parents was when at the tender age of five, she watched both her mother and father being attacked by soldiers of the bordering country of Baspar. The King had been murdered and the Queen had been kidnapped, only minutes after she had hid young Marinette in the closet. Marinette could remember crying, and when the Basparian soldiers had fled she had sat with her father until her own soldiers had found her.
With the King dead and the Queen missing and presumed dead, Marinette's grandmother had retaken the role as Queen of Lutraria and guardian of Marinette until the young girl came of age herself. Marinette's grandmother had been kind and caring in the way her mother had not, but still had the aura and confidence of a queen. It was only a few months after the devastation of losing the King and Queen when Marinette's grandmother decided that Lutraria was no longer safe for the only heir to the Lutrarian home, and decided to send her granddaughter into hiding. This was how Princess Marinette of Lutraria had ended up in the care of two members of the trusted Lutrarian Court, Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain, and therefore took on the identity of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. While Princess Marinette was orphaned Lutrarian royalty, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a normal french citizen. As she got older, Marinette considered Tom and Sabine her parents and referred to them as such. In the years that passed, Marinette became closer to her parents and found it easy to share almost anything with them. Sadly though, with the arrival of the Ladybug Miraculous ended not only the princess' 'normal' life, but this close relationship with Sabine and Tom as well.
Being Ladybug while being the Princess was dangerous, and Tikki and Master Fu took it upon themselves to remind Marinette of this fact frequently. Under no circumstance could Marinette let anyone know she was Ladybug. Not her parents, not her grandmother, and especially not Chat Noir, no matter how much she longed to. Chat Noir had practically begged to know who she was, and as much as Marinette wanted to just show him, she knew it would put both of them in incredible danger. Marinette also knew that Alya would be targeted as well if anyone found out her true identity, and if her parents or her grandmother were notified of Marinette's hero duties Ladybug would be taken from her forever. She knew she could never let any of this happen, and this decision led to a lot of lying on the princess' part. Marinette knew though, if Alya hated her forever for keeping such big secrets, her best friend's safety was worth more than their friendship.
So, as the years passed, Marinette learned to keep her secrets locked away, and it had been quite easy for secrets so big.
Up until the day everything changed.
"Oh c'mon Marinette, this is the first time we've all been able to hang out in weeks! I know you've been dying to pick up a game controller with how busy you've been!" Marinette just shook her head, and continued down the steps outside of Collège Françoise Dupont. "Alya, my parents want me home so we can prep for tomorrow, you know how crazy Saturdays at the shop can be." Marinette's best friend sighed, before flopping down to rest on the stairs. Marinette felt a bit guilty at the look on her friend's face, though she had been feeling especially guilty when it came to her friend lately. "This would be the perfect chance for you to get closer to Adrien girl! I just wished this would've worked out, the conversation flows easier for both of you when you're playing any type of video game." Both Marinette and Alya laughed at this, but Marinette's chest began to ache. Alya did so much for Marinette, why couldn't she just tell her the truth? All of this lying made her feel distant from everyone. Marinette sat down on the steps next to her friend, giving her a side hug. "I'm sorry Alya, I know you and Nino pushed hard at Adrien's dad to give him some free time." Alya gave Marinette a sad smile in return, before looking up at the sky. "We should both get home Mari, it looks like it's about to pour."
Both girls hugged once more before rushing off their separate ways, Marinette reaching the bakery just as it started to rain, dark clouds gathering above and making the sky dark. She greeted her parents with a smile before closing the store early so they could all prepare for the Saturday morning rush.
As Marinette finished cleaning the last of the flour off of the counters, she could hear the storefront door open, and her parents talking in hushed voices. Marinette quietly made her way to the storefront, peeking out of the kitchen. In front of her, she saw her parents talking quietly to a woman hidden by her father's tall frame. She slowly walked out of the kitchen, seeing tall men in dark suits that she hadn't noticed before. As her parents turned to her, she saw the woman they had been talking to. Marinette gasped, running at her. "Grandma!"
The Queen of Lutraria stood in Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie hugging the heir to the Lutrarian throne, surrounded by bodyguards. Marinette looked up at her Grandma, her smile falling from her face when she noticed her Grandma's tear-stained cheeks. "Grandma, what's happened?" Marinette asked urgently, fear welling up inside of her. The Queen just shook her head, grabbing her granddaughter's face and smiling softly, before closing her eyes and kissing Marinette's forehead. "O, mi dulcis puer." The Queen paused before leaning down to whisper in Marinette's ear.
"Your mother is alive."