Of every possible outcome Marientte had expected, this hadn't even made it into the top hundred. A fire in the kitchen was on that list. A freak hurricane tearing through the country was on that list. Heck, her mother rising from the grave to slap Lila across the face had been higher on that list than this, because never, in all her time with her stepfamily, had Chloé ever helped her.
Marinette was scrubbing the parlor floor on hands and knees when Lila came storming down from her bedroom with the empty black chest in her hand, calling Marinette's name in a way that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Without another warning, Lila slammed the door open, strode into the parlor, and began to scream insults at her stepdaughter in a tone of such anger that all Marinette could do was stand there and wait for it to be over. She couldn't bring herself to look at Lila, instead staring at the floor and clenching her hands around her rag to prevent her stepmother from seeing how much she was shaking, until she suddenly heard another, very different voice cut through the air.
"Mother, if you must scream at Marinette, could you at least do it while I don't have a headache?"
Marinette glanced up briefly as Lila rounded on the blonde girl entering the room, only tempering her voice slightly as she stated
"This little thief has been going through my things - things that are mine by law! She stole the rest of the jewels in this box, and she's probably sold them to make a little extra cash for herself! That's what you were doing when you snuck out last night, wasn't it!" she spat down at her stepdaughter.
Chloé sighed loudly and tossed her pale gold curls over her shoulder with a jerk. Marinette braced herself for more rebukes, but what came next made her stare up at Chloé in astonishment.
"Do you mean those cheap jewels in your box, mother?" she said in a tone of utter boredom, examining her perfectly buffed nails as she spoke. "Actually, I went to bed early last night, and I noticed that your door was unlocked. I decided I didn't want to give her the chance to take them herself. They're pretty, aren't they?"
Marinette just gaped at her stepsister in shock. Luckily, Lila was staring at her intently and the dumbfounded look of shock on her face apparently was tantamount to confirmation of her daughter's story. She set the box down on the couch and walked up to Marinette, suddenly resuming her saccharine tone as she gently patted her cheek and said
"Oh, my poor Marinette! And here I thought it might have been you! Well, can you blame me? Of course you can't! Now, clean up this mess before I get back, and do have the tea ready, won't you? Of course you will."
And with that, she strode out of the room, black box in hand again. Marinette took a deep breath and continued with her chores, hands and breath still shaking. Chloé just sat down in a comfortable armchair by the bay window and began to read the book on the side table. Marinette finished her scrubbing in silence, trying to make as little noise as possible, then turned and opened her mouth to speak to her stepsister.
To say what, exactly? To thank her for lying to protect her? To ask why she'd done it? But before she could bring herself to say anything, Chloé looked up and saw her gaping.
"What are you still doing here?" she asked in her usual stuck-up voice. "Don't you have something to be doing? And get me a glass of water while you're at it - the dust in this room is insufferable!"
And so Marinette had no choice but to take herself off to the kitchen again. She was several minutes bringing the rest of the usual tea things out, along with Chloé's requested water, but her hands were still shaking slightly as she entered the parlor once more. She stopped, however, when she heard Chole's voice - except if she hadn't walked in and seen her stepsister's lips moving, she wouldn't have believed it was really her. This tone of voice was so different: low and serious.
"Does she really think we don't know? I'm telling you, it's all going to come back to bite her sooner or later, and us along with her if we don't do something. I don't want to be on the wrong side when that happens-"
As Marinette made a slight noise, Sabrina looked up from her sister's face and gasped, cutting off the conversation and turning away in embarrassment. Chloé looked up and her unusually serious face was replaced by the usual mixture of disdain and boredom before she opened up her book again, ostentatiously ignoring both her younger sisters. Sabrina just smiled shyly at Marinette before looking around frantically for something - anything - to do.
The strawberry blonde was by far the kindest of the three women, even if she did follow her mother and sister's example in keeping Marinette chained to the housework. She may not have been the bravest of girls, but she still left a bread roll here or "accidentally" dropped a few coins there, and all things considered she still made at least a slight effort to make Marinette's daily grind a bit easier. Her older sister, on the other hand, could easily have been identified as her mother's daughter by any outsider. While their clothing styles were as different as could be - Lila still clinging to the fashions of her young days - they shared enough mannerisms to make it clear. Until today, Marinette would have assumed that Sabrina, not Chloé, would be the one to keep her safe from their mother's wrath, but apparently not.
With a small smile, Marinette set the glass of water down at Chloé's elbow and began to set out the rest of the requested tea things. When she'd finished, without hearing another word from either of them, she went back to the kitchen and began preparing dinner.
As might have been expected, Lila wasn't satisfied with anything in the meal, but her poison barbs fell short today. Marinette could feel Chloé's eyes on her all through the evening, and knew that Lila was watching her like a hawk, looking for any kind of misstep, but something was different tonight. As strange as it seemed, she wasn't as affected by the comments her stepmother made. She simply went about her chores, taking what slight comfort she could in the knowledge that her lack of reaction was more aggravating to her stepmother than anything else.
And she made a mental note to slip an extra cookie onto Chloé's plate the next morning.
...
She was out the door early the next day, walking down the sweeping drive toward the main road - she saved the forest path for nighttime ramblings - and hoping to get to the shops before the heat of the day. She hadn't managed to write to the owner of the pawn shop, and she was just wondering whether it might be open and generally empty today, what she might be able to barter away for the jewels, and whether anyone would mention it to Lila if she visited, when she heard her name called. In contrast to the last time she'd been walking down this road by herself, she turned with delight and saw a beautiful amber-skinned girl with a basket over her arm skipping toward her.
"Girl, how have you been!" the newcomer asked, her honey-colored curls bouncing as she looked Marinette up and down. "I haven't seen you in weeks - how are Lila and the girls holding up?"
Marinette sighed, knowing that her old friend Alya was not one of the few people immune to Lila's persuasion. She truly believed that Lila and her daughters were all either pitching in to help Marinette or were too sickly to do anything more strenuous than drink their seemingly endless supply of tea. Which one she believed at the moment, Marinette had no idea.
When Marinette's mother had been ill and the family had moved to this part of the country, Alya had been one of Marinette's only friends for several years. The two girls were the same age and though their different temperaments sometimes clashed, they always made up in the end and had been as close as sisters. It wasn't until the advent of Lila that the two had drifted apart - partly because Marinette was always so busy waiting on her stepfamily, and partly because Alya believed each and every one of Lila's statements and hung on them as gospel truth.
So, to avoid a possible awkward conversation and not wanting to lie to her friend directly, Marinette just smiled and gave a non-committal answer before changing the subject. Luckily, Alya was the biggest gossip in town and was always ready to share her news. She chattered on as they walked, the crowd around them thickening as they got closer to the city.
"- and Ivan's started waking Mylene home in the evenings, isn't that sweet?"
Marinette nodded as they crossed the bridge and entered the outskirts of the market quarter, but suddenly ducked behind her friend as she saw a familiar form.
"Hide me!" she hissed at Alya, who just looked at her, confused.
"From who?" Alya looked around and saw the tall, lanky figure in a black vest, his red hair standing out in the crowd. "Nathaniel? Come on, why would you be avoiding him? We've known him forever!"
Marinette gestured away from the main street and Alya followed her a few steps down a side alley, watching the young man in question walk away from them.
"Yes, Alya." Marinette said vehemently. "I'm aware we've known him forever, but I ran into him the other night and he tried to molest me!"
Alya's sudden face of shock and anger almost made her laugh, it was such a contrast from her usually cheerful expression.
"Why, that-"
"Yes, yes, I know." Marinette interrupted her. "But he didn't get far. Someone came along and helped me out."
Alya looked at Marinette's face, which she felt turning pink under her scrutiny, and then let out a high-pitched squeal.
"Marinette, you've got to tell me everything!"
"It's nothing really exciting, promise. A man was passing by and happened to hear me, so he came over and hit Nathaniel over the head and knocked him out before he got too far. And then the gentleman in question was kind enough to walk me back to where I felt safe."
Just as with Tikki, Marinette tried to be as vague as possible, but she knew that unlike her nurse, the gossip in Alya wouldn't be content with her equivocation for long. She couldn't place why she wanted to keep Chat Noir to herself as much as possible, but something in her stomach told her it would be better that way. Unfortunately, she was sure Alya wouldn't let her keep such a little tidbit of gossip to herself. Sure enough, the light in Alya's eyes didn't fade, but instead brightened to an intense fire.
"Marinette, spill! What was it like to be rescued by a handsome stranger?"
Marinette felt her heart beat fast and her face go an even darker shade of pink as she laughed uncomfortably and managed to get out
"H-handsome? Why would you think that?"
Alya just put a hand on her hip and looked at her with a note of condescension in her eyes before saying
"You aren't going to convince me you're going pink over an old sailor with bad teeth. Now spill! What he was like!"
Marinette shook her head and said quickly
"It's not important, Als. And besides, I should get going - Lila's waiting on me, so I can't stay long."
"Where do you need to go? We'll go together - I want to hear more about this mystery man - do you think you'd be able to pick him out in a crowd like this?"
Marinette led the way to the various shops, changing the subject and trying to distract her friend with topics that clearly didn't interest her, being very careful to keep well away from the story of her rescue or any mention of her rescuer. Somehow, she found this more difficult than she'd expected - she noticed after a few streets that she was searching every shadow, half expecting to see his black cloak, blond hair, and cheeky grin. Then she mentally chastised herself.
"You were around him for two hours!" she told herself, not hearing Alya's latest tidbit of gossip. "You'd better get a grip on yourself."
They were just finishing their shopping and Marinette was about to suggest they leave when they heard trumpets from the main square, a few hundred feet away. Alya's eyes lit up at the prospect of more news, especially city news, and she pulled Marinette behind her, ignoring the clear discomfort her friend felt. Marinette tried to remove her friend's grip, but before she could, Alya dropped her arm abruptly as they reached the outskirts of the crowd and saw a royal troubador standing on a raised platform and reading from an official-looking document.
"Hear ye, hear ye!" he proclaimed in a booming voice that clearly stated his intense disinterest. "His Royal Majesty, King Gabriel, has decreed a festival of masks in honor of the visiting Royalty, Queen Tomoe and her daughter, Princess Kagami. Every citizen of the country is invited to celebrate our upcoming alliance with our neighbors to the east with the Royal Festival, beginning one week from this evening, and lasting for three nights, the last of which will be a masked dance. Though there will be a private hosting at the palace, there will be no discrimination for the celebration and all work will be halted for the duration of the festival nights, for His Majesty wishes to all the kingdom to join him on this most joyous occasion."
The troubadour finished his reading and rolled up the scroll, stepping down from his platform and apparently oblivious to the excited chaos his announcement had caused. Alya turned to Marinette and grabbed her hands with a cry of delight.
"A festival for the whole kingdom? I can't believe it! It's so exciting!"
Marinette wanted to rejoice with her friend, but she knew that Lila wouldn't let her attend any such thing. Nonetheless, she enjoyed seeing her friend so animated, and so smiled right back with only a slight pang. Alya didn't even protest as she was led out of the city once more and to the main bridge.
"- and the food! If the palace is paying for it, I'm sure it will be the best money can buy!" she was saying - her tongue going a mile a minute. "And can you imagine what the princess will look like! Oh, she'll be so radiant, and so will he I'm sure! I mean, can you imagine any engaged couple looking anything else?"
Marinette stopped in her tracks, her feet planted in the ground by that one word.
"Engaged? Where are you getting that?"
Alya just laughed at her.
"I always forget you're such a little innocent, Marinette! Don't you realize? Prince Adrien and Princess Kagami are going to announce their betrothal at the festival. That's why the king's putting it on, silly. It's a big show to prove that the princess is going to be the new queen and to show her off to the kingdom. I wouldn't want to be in that position - except for the being queen part, and marrying the prince! Could you imagine?"
Marinette's heart sank so low it almost hit her knees.
"... I sure can." she said in a low voice. Alya looked at her and suddenly sobered.
"Oh… I forgot about that. You've got a thing for the prince, haven't you?"
Marinette shook her head.
"It's just a lot of daydreaming. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."
Alya seemed to take this without question and continued walking, monologuing about the various attractions that might be found at the festival, including but not limited to the food, the music, and the chance of meeting a handsome stranger. Marinette tried not to giggle at this, remembering Alya's question about recognizing her "mystery man" in a crowd, but all in all, she wasn't entirely sad to see her friend part ways from her.