Disclaimer : No, I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

Chapter 02: The Masquerade

The black carriage pulled to a halt, signaling their arrival to the castle. One by one, the three of them went out of the carriage and stepped on to the stone pavement.

Adrien surveyed the castle. It was a beautiful white palace with shining glass windows, marble tiles, spiralling pillars, curved arches, and flowering plants scattered here and there.

The three Agreste men entered the palace in silence. No one spoke and no one acknowledged the others' presence. It was already the norm for them to be that way. Sad, but true.

Once they reached the Masquerade, they all separated from one another. As Adrien lost sight of his brother, he made way to a quiet corner, pretending to be drinking a cup of...whatever it was that he took from the table earlier.

He idly watched the people dance. Dresses swished as the women and men danced to the music, their faces covered by beautiful intricate masks. Some even had peacock feathers as an added design to their costumes.

He himself also wore a mask (of course, this was, after all, a masquerade). His was a black one that complimented his attire that was largely made up of the color black. Cat ears were situated on top of his head and his blond hair was tied at his nape.

Scanning his surroundings, he noticed a golden haired teen who looked to be around the same age as him going near him. Her white with gold dress swished as she walked, matching the sway of her hips.

He wondered why she was going in his direction. Surely it wasn't because of him? He looked besides him. Nope, it was just him here. Great. He resisted the urge to sigh. He really didn't want to deal with anyone right now.

Stopping in front of him, the girl flipped open her fan and started to slowly fanning herself. "So, what's a handsome man like you doing here in this corner?" She asked, peering up at him with her lashes lowered.

He forced a smile on his face (he hoped it looked convincing). "Just...taking a rest." He replied. The unknown girl giggled. The sound high and a bit unpleasant to the ears.

She then grabbed his hands and started pulling him to the dancefloor. "Come on," she invited, "let's dance!"

Adrien called it a lost cause and allowed the female to drag him and dance. As they danced, Adrien took the time to examine his partner. She was attractive. Breathtaking, if he was being honest, although, there was something familiar about her.

He couldn't really place where he knew her but he knew that he does know her. He looked at her calculatingly. It was a bit frustrating. It was as if it just was on the edge of his mind but couldn't remember for the life of him.

He internally sighed. Well, no use beating ones self over something like that. As they danced, however, something caught Adrien's eye.

It was a man. He wore a hooded cloak and a violet butterfly shaped mask. The man smirked at him. Taken aback, he noticed that the man had already vanished in the sea of people.

He narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. He ignored his partner's chatters (he really haven't felt the need to listen to her. After all, she just kept on nattering about herself. If there was something else he noticed about her, it was that she was self absorbed.) and instead, he scanned the people around him.

There was nothing else amiss. People danced around them. Some were chatting quietly by the sides and some couples were even sneaking off into the gardens. So, what else was wrong?

He had a baaad feeling about this.