MB: Hello friends and fellow Fanfictioneers!

In honour of the upcoming, live-action remake of Disney's Aladdin (which I'm sincerely hoping turns out good. Will Smith, don't fail me now!), I am proud to present the conclusion to my Aladdin and Miraculous crossover series: "Miraculaddin 3: The Queen of Thieves".

Enjoy! :)


CHAPTER ONE:

THERE'S A PARTY IN AGRESTE

Despite the beautifully-warm day in the desert, a cold wind blew in from the north.

A shadow fell upon a sand dune, only to be disturbed by the boot-prints of a dark, slender, female figure.

The young woman reached the top of the dune, which was more of a small hill that led down into a grand valley.

At the centre of the valley was the city of Agreste, the crown jewel of the magnificent, desert kingdom. Beyond the stone walls, square hovels, and winding streets, there was the palace of King Gabriel – marble white with massive, golden domes and glistening banners of purple and silver.

The woman stared long and hard at the palace in the distance, and the air seemed to grow colder.

If she could, she would spit at everything that glorified citadel stood for, but half of her face was covered with a thick, sapphire-blue veil. The wind knocked against her back, and her long, blue cape swept around her body. Trails of sand got carried into the air, but the woman was protected by her phantom-like hood. Underneath her cape, she hid her tight garments, leather cuffs, and knee-high boots.

It wasn't exactly the kind of attire to wear to a royal wedding, but the Queen of Thieves wasn't concerned with proper dress code.

Behind her, she heard the chorus of moaning camels.

The Queen looked behind her, making sure all twenty of them were staying in line with their leader. Each camel carried two large, heavy baskets on their sides. The camels' bored expressions implied that they were getting tired of lugging the hulking things around.

The Queen took the reins of the head camel... just as the lid of one of its baskets popped open.

A tiny girl with deep-pink hair peered out of the basket, her eyes as blue as the ocean depths. "Are we there yet?" she hissed with a sweaty sigh.

"Shh," the Queen whispered gently. "Just a little longer. Wait until I give the order." Without waiting for a reply, she snapped the basket lid back into place, stuffing her impatient companion back in.

"Ow!" the girl's muffled voice sounded.

The Queen grinned underneath her veil, and then she preceded down the hill towards the city gates.

It wasn't long before she joined up with the long line of visitors.

People from near and far were pouring into the city entrance like ants on the march. All of them were dressed in their finest clothes, from the most elegant noble to the humblest traveller. The wealthy travelled on elephants with litters, horses with glittering accents, or camels lugging pounds upon pounds of bags. The massive, grey elephants snorted as they carefully trudged through the open gates.

The Queen of Thieves didn't dare glance at her surroundings for too long, especially with several Agrestian guards standing at the gate and on top of the wall. The men observed the visitors with stone faces, like they wished they had something better to do.

As far as any of them were concerned, the mysterious woman leading the twenty camels into the city was just another common merchant bearing gifts for the wedding.

The Queen loosed a shaky breath the moment she set foot beyond the grand threshold. The shade was a balm to her overheated body, but it still made her shiver taking in all the houses and holdings Agreste had to offer; every dreary crack on the walls, every alleyway festering with mud and rats. The Queen convinced herself to push on through.

Soon, this would all be over.

Soon, the Queen of Thieves would reveal her special surprise for the bride and groom.

Then, she would never have to lay her pale, blue eyes on this wretched city again.


Lieutenant Roger stood silently with his arms folded, watching with indifference as the visitors filed in one by one.

Nobles, shahs, paupers, explorers, merchants, and entertainers – all of them had come to witness the marriage of King Gabriel's son to the legendary Hero of Agreste. Even kings and queens from neighboring lands had come, bringing their barrage of children, servants, and gifts with them.

Roger groaned. This mixture of high-born and low-born stature was abnormal here in Agreste. Back in the old days – back when Roger was still the respected captain of the royal guard – only the rich and powerful were allowed to attend events at the palace. But thanks to the prince's bride, that had all changed. Now, even the poor and desolate were invited, bestowed with fine new garments and monetary donations as part of a previous charity run by the future princess herself.

The next thing you know, every street urchin in Agreste will be a lord, Roger thought bitterly as an elderly man approached him.

It was Master Fu, the "Great Guardian". And now, apparently, the ordained minister for the wedding. He leaned carefully upon his cane, wearing his old, temple robes and scratching the small, grey beard on his chin.

His brown eyes gleamed up at Roger. "Ah..." he sighed with a smile. "In all my one-hundred and eighty-seven years, never have I seen so much bustle and hustle and assorted commotion."

Roger snorted. No one could possibly be that old.

Master Fu tilted his head at the lieutenant. "Whatever's the matter, Roger? Your dear prince has finally chosen a lucky bride to marry. Shouldn't you be celebrating as well?"

Roger gritted his teeth. Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "What's there to celebrate? The "lucky bride" isn't even a princess – just a no-account baker's daughter."

The same one, Roger thought to himself, who earned me my demotion.

He looked down at Master Fu, just to see the old man's reaction to his remark.

Roger never expected those brown eyes to glow amber.

Nor did he expect Master Fu to vanish in a whirl of orange light.

Before the startled lieutenant could fully register the magical change, he found himself staring into those same amber eyes, only now they belonged to a tall, tanned-skinned girl.

Her mouth was drawn up into a smirk, and her shoulder-length, auburn hair fell beside her face in fiery waves. She wore the standard uniform of a palace official: dark purple with lines of silver. A small, curly pendant hung from the girl's throat, glowing as orange as a blazing sunset.

Roger stiffened with a gasp. Oh, great... not her again!

By her, he meant Lady Alya – defender of the citizens of Agreste and the future Chief Advisor. Also known as Rena Rouge, the "fox fatale".

She folded her arms at Roger, keeping that sly smirk on her face. "No-account?" Alya repeated. "My, my, my... And here I was walking all the way down here, thinking, "Hey, I should go see if Lieutenant Roger is doing a great job greeting the guests at the gate! Maybe I could put in a good word to Captain Nino for him, commending him for his amicable and dutiful nature.""

Roger resisted the urge to growl.

A year ago, this girl had just been a rambunctious street rat. Had she said those words to Roger then, he would have no qualms hanging her from her toes in the palace dungeons. But things have changed, he reminded himself.

Alya wasn't a worthless urchin anymore. She was on the king's personal council, and the best friend of the bride. Oh, and the girlfriend of the current captain of the guard, who had previously been the prince's lowborn manservant. Why has this good city gone to the rats? Roger mourned.

He cleared his throat. "I, uh... Apologies, Lady Alya," he forced himself to say with a strained smile. "I was only being comical. I speak with the... greatest respect."

Alya's smile warmed, though the lieutenant could still see the spark of mischief in her eyes. "Wonderful," she said with that perky tone he always hated. "I'm sure Captain Nino will be pleased. Carry on, lieutenant." She turned away, her red hair whipping along her shoulders, but then she paused. "Oh! And next time, don't be afraid to say her name. Try it phonetically."

Roger swore steam was coming out of his ears... until they picked up several cheers down the street.

He looked to see a group of children, noble and commoner alike. Each one was waving a red flag speckled with black polka-dots: the colours of their beloved heroine and future princess.

"Ladybug! Ladybug! Ladybug!" they cawed like annoying crows.

Alya smiled, looked back at Roger, and nudged her head towards the children. "See? Like that."

Roger had it. He opened his mouth to retort...

... but the snivelling girl was gone in the blink of an eye. All that was left of her was a small trace of orange smoke.


As much as Alya enjoyed teasing the plump, fiery-headed guard, she had a job to do:

Making sure all the arrangements for the wedding were in order.

Most of the stands and stalls in the marketplace had been cleared away to make room for the parade of guests. The stables across the city were completely full, as were the inns and taverns where most of the foreign visitors were permitted to stay. The royalty and nobility had their own accommodations already set up at the palace. Rooftops were packed with common-folk waiting to head down for the ceremony.

Alya smiled and nodded at them as she passed on by. A normal representative of the royal family would have taken the main street to the palace, but Alya decided to take to the rooftops to avoid traffic. She had grown up in this parkour jungle. She would never get tired of being here, even after she became Chief Advisor. Besides, she had a perfect view of the city from up here.

So far, everything seemed to be in order. Banners and streamers decorated even the dirtiest hovel, and the air was sweet with the scent of jasmine flowers and roses. Though the marketplace was closed for the day, vendors were still selling their goods among the ever-growing crowd. Food and drinks were dished out, as were a few simple souvenirs. Musicians entertained the guests as they waited to be huddled through the palace gates. Children played and danced around with dolls and costumes from The Ladybug Princess, the public's favourite tale. No one objected to the spectacles, considering who the bride was.

Alya was quite certain that no one had ever seen a grand gathering such as this for generations. King Gabriel's own marriage to Queen Emilie eighteen years ago probably paled in comparison.

The redhead smiled as she broke into a sprint and leaped over a large alleyway, curling into a ball as she landed.

The arrangements in the city were all set. All that was left to do was double-check everything at the palace.

With any luck, Tikki was already way ahead of Alya.


The moment she set foot in the royal pavilion, where the wedding was to take place, Alya was amazed by how fast and how beautifully everything had been set up.

Snow-white banners hung from the domed, marble ceiling. Instead of walls, the whole pavilion was bordered with enormous, white columns, allowing fresh air and sunshine to pour in and give the space a more natural feel. Streamers and garlands of flowers were wrapped around the columns. The grand altar sat at the far end of the chamber, surrounded by smaller columns with a golden dome on top. A small staircase led up to the altar from the head of the wedding aisle. Rows of pale, unlit candles sat on a massive tri-stand behind the altar.

Alya's ogling of the pavilion was suddenly disrupted by a high-pitched declaration from the bottom of the altar stairs.

"Oh, for Astruc's sake!" Tikki squeaked, smacking her tiny hands against her enormous head. "What do these people think we're doing here – hosting a cake walk?! Just pick a spot already!"

Alya saw the ladybug kwami fumigate as she watched the noble guests enter the pavilion and debate about where they were going to stand. Alya could hear their constant nattering. "Too close to the window". "Not this side of the aisle". "Perhaps closer to the altar". "Oh, I am not standing beside him".

Next to Tikki, Plagg the black-cat kwami hovered over and patted her on her bulbous head. "Relax, Sugarcube," he said in his raspy voice. "They'll keep doing it until their fancy feet get sore. Then they'll decide to stay put. It happens all the time."

Tikki blew out a long breath and put on a straight face. "Okay, okay... so long as they don't start shuffling during the ceremony," she said. "So... are the flowers ready?"

Plagg nodded. "Already sent off to the bride."

"The tables for the feast?"

"Mr. Tom is taking care of it. I just spoke to him."

"The bridesmaids?"

Alya quickly ran up to the two kwamis. "They'll be around shortly," she answered.

"Seriously?" Plagg asked her sourly. "They've been dressing up for hours!"

Alya shrugged with a frown. "I keep telling them, "Girls, you look just lovely", but they don't listen. The way they behave, you'd think this was their wedding."

Tikki groaned, rubbing her face again.

Alya winced, remembering she was supposed to be the optimistic one here.

Tikki had been super-excited when Lady Nathalie, the king's royal steward, left the kwami in charge of arranging the whole wedding. But as the date drew closer, Tikki had grown more anxious and often second-guessed herself on every single detail. Now the day was finally here, and the poor, red creature looked like she was going to burst into tears.

So Alya quickly took Tikki into the palms of her hands and rocked her gently. "Don't worry, Tikki – the bridesmaids will be ready in time. I'll make doubly sure of it." She winked and beckoned to her magic pendant – a mark her status as an enchantress.

That seemed to ease some strain off of Tikki's tiny shoulders, and she smiled.

"And we needn't worry about the wedding gifts either," Plagg noted brightly. "Trixx has already got that covered."

Alya sprung to attention at that name. "You left Trixx in charge of the luxurious gifts?" she asked, her tone bordering on concerned.

Plagg bobbed his head to the side. "Technically, she volunteered."

Lovely, Alya thought. "Memo to me," she muttered. "Inventory check before and after the ceremony. I'll be right back."

As Alya took off down the pavilion walkway, which had been made to look like the wedding aisle, she heard Tikki asking Plagg: "Speaking of inventory, are you sure we have everything? I can't shake the feeling that we're missing something."

Plagg's response was lost in the clamour of the crowd.

Alya made her way far right to a small antechamber attached to the edge of the grand pavilion. All of the wealthier guests came in this way after leaving their elephants and camels at the royal stables. The reason being was because this was where the gifts for the royal couple were being dropped off.

Alya squeezed past a pair of bearded lords and went up to the head table, where a tiny, orange-and-white figure was supervising the stash of treasure.

Trixx the fox kwami smiled menacingly at the assortment of loot the people set down on the tables: goblets, dishes, jewelry, bags of coins, and large golden bowls – all encrusted with gems, pearls, and intricate metal designs. There were even candlesticks, models of ships, and animal statuettes.

Alya waited politely for a noblewoman and her young daughter to deliver their gift. Once they left, Alya addressed the clearly-ecstatic furrball before her. "Enjoying ourselves, are we?"

Trixx turned to see her friend, her bushy tail swishing behind her. "Oh, yeah – definitely," she replied with a grin. "You know, I had my doubts about all this wedding stuff, but this is actually not bad." She bowed to a younger lord and accepted a beautiful, painted vase from him before setting it down gently. "Ooh... Love the hydrangeas. I always did fancy nature."

Alya couldn't help but giggle. As annoying and selfish as Trixx could be sometimes, the little vixen was genuinely good at heart. Sometimes the redhead herself found it hard to resist the fruits of living in luxury.

"You do realize that all of this isn't yours, right?" Alya asked Trixx.

"I know, I know... I'm just making sure the soon-to-be newlyweds aren't getting ripped off," the kwami insisted, her violet eyes gleaming. "And who knows? Maybe Marinette will let me have one of those nice little goblets. She and Adrien only need two."

Alya's face slackened. "Oh, geez... Marinette!" she exclaimed before speeding back into the pavilion, leaving the fox kwami to stare after her.

Tikki and Plagg were still at the head of the aisle, but a new face had now joined them.

Seeing him standing there – absolutely dashing in that uniform of forest-green and sandy-white, his dark jawbone looking sharp against his high collar, and his brown, scruffy hair combed back into smooth, sleek chocolate...

Alya almost lost her balance... and her ability to breathe.

Nino saw her, and his face broke out into a relieved smile. "Aly! I'm glad you're here! I need your help!" he called.

Alya quickly reeled herself in before rushing up to her boyfriend, all while thinking, Damn, I should've put on my dress before I came here.

Nino waited until she arrived before blurting out, "Don't panic, but... we have a little situation."

Alya tried not to look frazzled. I'll deal with this first, then I'll go check on Mari, she assured herself. "Please tell me the bridesmaids aren't changing their minds again," she moaned to Nino, clasping her hands together in prayer.

The dark-skinned captain shook his head. "Nope, that's not it."

"Are they wearing anything naughty?" Tikki asked, putting on an adorable frown.

"This has nothing to do with the bridesmaids," Nino replied.

"Ooh, ooh! Some dumb valet parked an elephant in the wrong spot?" Plagg suggested.

"No."

"Uh... Trixx is palming some of the gifts?"

"I was just with her," Alya responded. "She's good. For now."

Tikki gasped. "Is it the meal order? Did the caterer mark chicken when someone actually wanted sea bass?"

Nino smacked his forehead. "No! It's not anything like that!"

Alya raised an eyebrow with impatience. Cute and brave as he was, her boyfriend was often slow to the point.

"Well, then?" the redhead asked as gently as she could. "What's the "little situation"?"

Nino sighed. "I just spoke with Nathalie in the hallway, and Mrs. Sabine. Apparently..." He took a deep breath.

Then, the captain of the guard spoke the four most dreadful words Alya, Tikki, and Plagg had ever heard:

"The bride is missing."


MB: (GASP!) (Evil laugh) Gotcha!

Inspiration for this chapter was drawn from the song "There's a Party Here in Agrabah" from Aladdin and the King of Thieves. (Again, I don't own it).