Chapter 12: An Announcement

"So then, he said 'it was a paw-leasure to meet you, M'Lady,' and I was like, 'cat puns? Really?' And he said, 'of purr-se!' I told him that that didn't even make any sense, but he just laughed and said, 'too bad!'"

Wow, was Marinette finally done with her exact word-by-word replay of her entire conversation with some cat-boy she'd met with once in the forest, whose name and face she didn't even know? If that wasn't a crush, Alya didn't know what was.

"Looks like someone's in looove, if you ask me," Alya teased her friend, smirking. Blushing, Marinette looked away. Well, they were both in love (if you asked her), but come on, how likely was it that they'd ever see each other again?

Blushing, Marinette walked on ahead of her friend, steadfastly refusing to look at her, though she could feel Alya smirking at her. Why did Alya have to tease her so much? She was...not in love, ha! Ya, n-no way...? Hehehe... argh!

Suddenly Marinette was snapped out of her denial (Mari, why must you refuse your feelings for Cat Noir for the 50 millionth freaking time?!) by a loud, "hear ye, hear ye!"

"Let it be known that in two weeks, there shall be held- at the palace- a Royal Ball, at which the Prince shall choose a bride!" The announcer paused, waiting for the crowd's murmurs and exclamations to die down. "At his request, every maiden in the land, be she noble or commoner... is invited to attend! He finished.

Lost in thought, Marinette barely heard the announcer's closing remarks. She was going to be able to see her kitty! No, h-he's not... oh fine, who was she kidding! Yes, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in love! Even though she hadn't seen his face and didn't know his name, she was deeply in love with her kitty.

"Hm... someone sure looks excited to go to the palace!" Alya said in a sing-song voice. "I don't suppose this is about a certain kitty-cat? She teased.

Argh, why did her friend have to be so nosy! An excuse, any excuse- "uh, um, I'll make you a dress for the ball, gonna go get started on that now bye!" She blurted out as she ran away.

Marinette was so excited about the news that she blurted it out to her stepfamily as soon as she arrived home. They were also excited, though for much different reasons...

"I will trick the prince into loving me, see if I don't!" Yelled Chloe.

Oh, this is the hugest of news!" Exclaimed Sabrina.

"Girls, calm yourselves," Lila said dramatically. "Now, one of you must win the heart of the prince!" She told them. Looking up, she saw Marinette. "What are you still doing here?! You must go back to town and order us three fine ball gowns!" She demanded. After telling Marinette exactly how the dresses should look, she shooed her off, shrieking at her to "go, quickly! Before the seamstress is drowning in work!"

Well, if they wanted such hideous, gaudy, tasteless gowns... then they could have them. They'd never pay for a dress for Marinette, so she would just make her own along with the one for Alya. She'd have to remodel an old dress since she couldn't buy enough fabric, but if that was what it would take... she was going to see her kitty again, no matter what!

A/N: Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me! Yep, today is my birthday, so I wanted to post a chapter. I'm just glad that I didn't have to post chapter 13 today...

Ugh I hope everyone else agrees that Lie-la has a terrible fashion sense... so do the stepmother and especially the stepsisters in the Cinderella movie. I mean... just... ugh! I mean, you can imagine... a ballgown Lie-la's weird blue-gray color, with orange accents and an ugly orange jacket? Absolutely hideous.

So, I made Marinette finally admit her feelings for Cat Noir! I mean, it's about time! I just can't stand the obliviousness and the denying feelings any longer. I can't wait until Marichat happens in... probably season 4? And Awakening is going to be awesome! I know, I'm getting totally off topic. Oh, well. Favorite, follow, and/or review please!

Potato: Thanks for always reviewing! Yeah, I'm sure that would totally make Adrien happier, but unfortunately I'm not sure that Vincent knows Marinette exists yet...