Cagnes- sur-Mer

"Driver," Lili commanded sweetly, "how long until we arrive?"
The driver kept his eyes on the road which made it much harder for Lili to detect his agitation; but she did, "About fifteen minutes Madame Rochefort."
Lili nodded and looked out the window. She straightened her sleeveless Versace risino print dress with her delicate hand with fingernails carefully manicured. Her outfit was complete with her Prada Bijoux necklace, Gucci white sunglasses and Jimmy Choo's. She didn't think black and white together screamed "Emilie De Rochefort", but her personal stylist advised otherwise.
"Cagnes-sur-Mer really is beautiful," she commented to the driver as the car sped past the large antique buildings, "it's like an old village but with an air of elegance and mystique about it." The driver only mumbled a 'Mhm' and continued to stay silent. Lili didn't mind the slight rudeness of it; it's not like he was being paid for having conversation with her. He was only getting paid to drive; nothing more.

Just like the driver said, the limousine arrived in front of Lili's cousins' estate within fifteen minutes. It was a grand chateau about two and a half times the size of her own dwelling. It reminded her of a castle that she used to dream up when she was younger, except for the fact that in those dreams, she was a damsel in distress. But, for some reason, she never did imagine a knight in shining armor to rescue her. She had always found a way out on her own.

The driver drove up to the Chateau Paradizo's front gates and before, the young Rochefort knew it, they were passing through the taunting, towering iron gates. Emilie entertained herself for the moment by imagining her being surrounded by Mishima henchmen, with Asuka Kazama leading an entire coup d'tat against Lili's nation...Paradizo Chateau just happened to be "Her Highness"'s castle.
Off with her head! Lili screamed maniacally in her mind. She chuckled as the limousine began to stop.

When the limo finally came to a complete stop, Lili waited for the driver to exit and open her door. When he did so, the sixteen year-old girl stepped out as gracefully as she could, feet first, pushing her long, blond hair out of her eyes, skillfully as she stood, in a move she called the "jaw-dropper".
Immediately after her arrival, the large, cherry, front door opened slowly and out popped a little boy; probably about five, with a bar of chocolate in his hand. The light brown residue smeared across his mouth.
For the moment, Lili pulled back her revulsion and smiled, wanting to make a good impression from the very beginning. Maybe then they might form a little trust in her.
"Hello," the sixteen year old Rochefort beamed, "who are you?"
The little boy was in truth, scared of the smiling teenager. Despite popular belief, he wasn't one of those young kids that appreciated being stared at and smiled at like he was some sort of puppy.
He took a bite of his chocolate, "I don't like clowns. Are you a clown?"
Emilie's smile faded until her face was contorted into a look of shear anger and hate. She sighed and moved on, correcting her facial features in an instant, "Where's your father...boy?" She had forgotten his name that Alisa had told her before. What was it? Ben? Brandon?
"Inside."
That seemed to be all he was revealing. Lili clapped her hands and summoned the driver to help her get her bags out of the limousine. She allowed herself the distraction of helping for the moment, wanting very much not to see the boy's face. The young Paradizo had by then gone back inside.
Good riddance, Lili hissed in her head.

Lili had let the driver do all of the work and take out the bags from the trunk himself while she texted Lars Alexanderson for updates on the next King of Iron Fist Tournament. She wasn't supposed to, but she doubted that a five-year old knew what the Iron Fist was, so she risked it.
"Excuse me, you are Miss...Rochefort, correct?" commanded a young female voice. Lili thought it was a little too commanding.
She looked up from her mobile, her eyes revealed her agitation, "Yes, I am Emilie De Rochefort."
She had by then glanced at the girl and noticed her features. Her hair was composed of tight blonde curls and her wardrobe was very elegant, looked expensive and was very...pink. Her dress was a pretty pink sundress, patterned with white flowers. The girl was about five inches shorter than Emilie but (even though the Rochefort would never admit it) she was just as beautiful.
The girl held out a hand politely, Lili shook it hesitantly, not knowing what to expect from who she assumed was Minerva Paradizo. After all, genius did not automatically mean mature.
"I'm Minerva Paradizo. It is a pleasure to meet you," Minerva said just as politely, confirming Lili's assumptions.
"Very nice to meet you Miss Paradizo," Lili smiled.
Their hands parted and they stood in silence for a few seconds until Minerva spoke, "You are from Monaco, correct?"
Lili wanted to be spared from the small talk; it irritated her much too much. But, wanting to remain polite, she swallowed back her annoyance.
"Yes, I am."
Neither parties wanted to admit that they had been researching the other, especially Lili, who had underhandedly received the information on the Paradizo's.
"I had just had the pleasure of meeting your brother. He is a very...charming boy," Lili continued with the conversation.
"Haha," Minerva chuckled, "hardly,"-she checked her watch-"Well, I better show you to your quarters to get settled. You are undoubtedly tired, no?"
"Oui," Lili agreed and followed the young girl inside.
"Are you in a rush?" the Rochefort heiress asked Minerva after seeing the girl walk in an astonishing pace in front of her, despite being in heeled sandals.
Minerva only glanced behind her, "Non, but I know you must be wanting your rest, so I will waste no time."

Lili could hardly contain her laughter. This was the girl she almost feared? She was a terrible liar to say the least! Who did she think she was fooling? The girl must surely have known, her of all people especially, that not all blondes were morons. That was the mistake many people had made when they came across Lili. Especially in a fight. According to them, "she's a rich, stuck up and gaudy blonde dunderhead with absolutely no skill or talent for fighting and could not possibly harbor any passion for the ring. She thinks that with daddy's money and a few karate lessons at the local Y that she can take living MMA legends like the ones seen at the Iron Fist Tournament". Lies. All of it. She was intelligent when it was necessary to use that intelligence and never did she flaunt it like this prissy did. Minerva seemed to make it her goal to add a new, overly complex word in every sentence she spoke. Emilie felt it was highly unnecessary.
Screw being kind. She was going to put this girl in her place now.

"Oh," she began, a devious smile playing on her lips, "actually, I'm not too tired. I slept plenty on the flight over and in the limo and 'jet lag' is a foreign term to me. I was planning on seeing the sights after I got unpacked. You've lived here a while now, yes? I was wondering if you would accompany me around the city? Oh please do! I mean, we just met and I want to get to know you! Please?"
"Actually," Minerva began, "I can't-"
"Oh, please, won't you? I'd hate to have to bother your father about this, y'know, getting me a driver and having him tell me where all the hotspots are because I can tell he's a very busy man, but if you can't-"
"Fine," Minerva agreed hastily and sharply. She did not want to receive a lecture from her father about how "she could not take her own cousin around to see the city and how because of that he had to take time out of his very busy schedule and blah, blah, blah".
"Oh, excellent!" Lili clapped.
Take that, ya brat,Emilie thought confidently.

Oh, Miss Rochefort, you've made your first move it seems. Oh well, it doesn't matter because no matter how many moves you make, I will come out on top. You can count on it,Minerva thought, smiling in Lili's face all the while.

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