CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

THE BREAKOUT

The way Roger was acting, you'd think he was the one getting married instead of the prince.

The stout lieutenant licked his fingers and smoothed some of his flaming hair back. He flashed a winning smile to his reflection in the mirror.

What a fortuitous day this has been, Roger thought. I've captured the most wanted criminal in the seven deserts. Not even that spotlight-stealing blunette saw that coming.

What amused him more was the fact that the Queen of Thieves was Ladybug's sister. Karma is the sweetest weapon of all. Perhaps now she'll think twice about going up against me – Agreste's real hero.

In the glass, Roger could also see his two fellow guards sitting at the office table, drinking some of that wine Roger had been saving for a special occasion. Both men seemed less chipper, but the lieutenant shrugged it off as harmless jealousy.

"Don't worry, men," Roger said. He licked something off his teeth and then turned to his gloomy cohorts. "When the king gives me my due, I'll put the good word in for you." He recast his gaze at his reflection. "The little people who –"

He stopped, his breath catching with horror, as the mirror showed him a hooded figure standing in the doorway behind him.

Roger stared aghast as the figure vanished in a streak of blue, like the waves of the Agrestian Sea.

"It can't be...!" the lieutenant rasped, his stark-white face turning red in the mirror.

She was locked up in the most secure cell in the palace! Roger had put her in chains himself!

Grunting, the lieutenant slapped his turban back on and rushed out of the office, ready to draw his sword.

But when he stepped into the grim-looking hallway, there was no one there. Not even a shadow danced along the torch-lit stones.

"Sir?" the black guard asked as he and the scrawny guard ran to their leader's side. "What is it?"

Roger glanced down both ends of the hall, heaving with paranoia. "She was here. I know it!" he hissed.

The thin man scrunched his eyes. "Who was?"

Roger was about to answer... when something slammed onto his head before leaping off.

The lieutenant cried out as his turban slid tightly over his eyes. He heard the startled shouts of his companions as he yanked his hat back up.

There she was – gazing at him with those taunting, bluebell eyes that reminded Roger too much of her younger counterpart.

The black guard spoke it into being. "The Queen of Thieves!" he cried.

"But... no woman could have escaped that cell!" the scrawny guard claimed, his pupils dilating.

His friend shook his head vigorously. "She isn't a woman, I say – she's a demon!"

The Queen of Thieves bowed mockingly to the three baffled soldiers. Then, she twirled around and sprinted down the hall in all her hooded, caped glory.

Roger gnashed his teeth together so hard they hurt. No! Not when I'm so close!

"I don't care what she is!" he spat angrily. "I want her back – dead or alive!"

Marinette's footsteps were silent as she stole into the city streets.

The guards' feet pounded behind her with a passion, so loudly she heard them from the other side of the block.

But Marinette didn't want to lose them. If Bridgette was ever going to have a good chance of escaping, Marinette wanted the soldiers' focus directly on her. This was what Alya liked to call "cat-and-mouse". In this case, Marinette was the mouse; the bait leading the nasty cats away from their true prey.

As she took cover in a nearby alley and melted into the shadows, voices rang out down the street.

"Which way did she go?"

"I don't see her!"

"Surround the block!" came Roger's voice. "She's around here somewhere. I can feel it."

Footsteps sounded, and Marinette knew now was the time to move.

She climbed a stack of barrels – very slowly and very noisily – before heaving herself onto a rooftop.

As expected, the guards noticed and came around the corner just as Marinette went over.

"There!" cried one. "She's on the roof!"

"Get up there!" Roger bellowed from the ground. "Now, now, NOW!"

Marinette ran to the other side of the square building, only to come to a high ledge overlooking the sleeping marketplace. On the other side of the street stood a tall, observation tower decorated with long, royal banners.

Marinette quickly glanced down, smiled behind her face-cover, and then turned around to await her pursuers.

Roger's two lackeys crawled breathlessly over the other ledge, lifting their swords at their seemingly-trapped escapee.

"Found her!" the black guard boasted with a smile.

Marinette grinned... and fell backwards off the roof.

"Lost her," she heard the scrawny guard mumble.

Turning a full one-eighty degrees, Marinette landed on the soft cover of a nearby stall, which had been set up conveniently below her. The fabric tightened and allowed the hooded blunette to bounce back up and fly over towards the tower.

She hit the wall, and might have slid all the way down had she not grabbed onto one of the banners.

Glancing back, she smiled when she saw Roger's men shouting at her from their ledge. Marinette waved at them before climbing up.

Once she made it safely to the cone-shaped roof, Marinette saw the full moon reaching its apex in the sky. She decided she had bought Bridgette enough time. Now, it was time to disappear and make back for the palace.

Marinette looked to see a long bridge connecting the tower to a series of large buildings. Aiming for the bridge, she leapt gracefully off the roof.

Something snatched her by the ankle.

"Gotcha!"

Gasping, Marinette couldn't do anything as she was flung unceremoniously onto her front.

Her cape fell over her like a blanket. Marinette groaned and propped herself up on her elbows so look back at her attacker.

Roger chuckled as he stood over her like a shadow against the backdrop of the moonlit sky. "The Queen of Thieves," he mused darkly.

His sword glowed blue, and Marinette felt an eerie chill down her spine.

"Looks like your charmed life is over, Your Majesty!" Roger raised his blade high in a stabbing arc.

Marinette rolled out of the way in time... but her cape didn't.

There was a nasty RRRRIIIIIP!

She felt the fabric tearing from her body before cool air kissed her exposed face.

Even in the dark, Roger's bulging eyes weren't hard to miss as he stared at her. "You?!" he breathed.

Marinette knew there was no point in denying it, or begging for forgiveness. She knew Roger well enough.

She rose to her feet with a hardened expression. "Yes." Her voice was low with resignation.

The lieutenant stared at her for a long time before his lips curled. "Well, well..." he mused, reaching to grab the scruff of her borrowed tunic. "I guess I'll have to settle for the Princess of Thieves."

Marinette bore her teeth at him, but she didn't try to fight back. Not this time.

"I knew you were trouble, but I had no idea you'd pull a stunt like this," Roger admitted with a snort. "I guess larceny does run in the family."

"For my family, it was worth it," Marinette stated.

Roger huffed, though he kept his cruel smile. "Perhaps," he said as he lifted the point of his sword against the girl's chin, "but now we shall see if the king still wants you in his family... street rat."

"Excuse me."

Marinette inhaled at that bold, regal voice coming from behind Roger.

Blinking, the lieutenant turned around...

... only to get a fist in the face.

Marinette fell to the ground like a rag doll as Roger released her.

Meanwhile, the lieutenant stared out starry-eyed into the distance, his body swaying like wind chimes on a breeze. Then, with a muffled groan, Roger collapsed face-first beside Marinette and lay utterly motionless.

Only then did Marinette look up at her saviour, who was glaring viciously down her nose at the fallen guard.

"Nobody calls my sister a street rat," the Queen of Thieves declared.

Marinette gawked at her. "Bridgette?!" Her mind buzzed with a mixture of relief and confusion. She came back for me?

Bridgette wasted no time pulling her sister to her feet.

At the same time, several angry barks came from below. The other guards were gaining.

"Alix is waiting with horses a few blocks away," the Queen explained as she broke into a sprint. "Hurry – we must move."

Reluctantly, Marinette followed her older sister across the bridge.

By the time the watcher at the city gates heard the alarm, it was too late.

Two horses raced through the open entrance in a flurry of kicked-up sand and dirt. Marinette sat on one horse, keeping a steady pace with Bridgette and Alix as they raced into the dark, bluish desert together.

Over the dunes they went, not stopping until they reached a series of large, rock formations sticking out of the sand like melted bricks. The sisters waited until they were well-concealed within the narrow pathway that cut through the rocks, and the high walls shielded them from the glaring moonlight.

Finally, Marinette knew she could go no further. She pulled hard on the reins of her horse and came to a stop in the middle of the miniature canyon.

Bridgette followed suit, patting a green-looking Alix on the back as the latter fell flat against their horse's neck.

Marinette turned to see Agreste sitting on the horizon, so small she could lift her hand and cover the whole city. But despite the distance, it continued to glow like a soft lantern, including the grand palace and its golden domes.

Marinette couldn't see any traces of black specks against the glowing city. "Did we lose them?" she asked.

"I don't know," Alix moaned as she sat up uneasily, "but I did lose my lunch back there."

"Don't worry," Bridgette said with a hard look at the city. "They won't be able to pick up our trail until daylight. By then, we'll be long gone from Agreste." She cast Marinette a pitiful, guilt-ridden gaze. "I'm sorry for what you've lost," she said softly, "but you can't go back now. You know that."

The Queen tugged on her horse's reins and turned away as though that was the end of the conversation.

Marinette's chest caved in at Bridgette's words, and she found herself staring longingly at the place she called home; the city that held everything she knew and everyone she loved.

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to take off, and never look back?

Adrien had asked her those words on the day they first met. He kept coming up with all sorts of wonderful things they could do together if they left the city together – the places they would go, the dreams they could fulfill.

But that was before Marinette's life changed from being a meek, baker's daughter to being the brave heroine who saved Agreste.

That was before King Gabriel decreed that Adrien could marry whoever he choose, noble-born or not.

Adrien was the prince of Agreste. He couldn't leave the city with Marinette, though she imagined he would do so anyway just to be with her. But was their love worth leaving everything and everyone behind?

The kingdom needed its future king... and Marinette needed Adrien.

She made her decision, and climbed out of her saddle.

Bridgette was already several feet away by the time she looked back and realized her sister wasn't following her. "What are you doing?"

Marinette looked at her firmly. "I'm not going with you," she replied. "I can't."

Bridgette gave her an incredulous look, and then she too stepped back onto the sandy ground. "Marinette, the moment that guard saw your face, your life in Agreste was over," she explained with a thick, convincing tone. "You can't go back."

Marinette fiddled with the blue hilt of her dagger; her family's dagger. "I have to go back," she insisted. "Adrien is there. And Alya, and Mama and Papa..."

Alix scrambled off of Bridgette's horse, her nausea forgotten as she affixed Marinette with a look of genuine worry. "Bridgette's right, Ladybug – it's over," she said. "You're a criminal now, just like your sister."

The well of anger inside Marinette finally burst open, and she slashed her arm through the air as she shouted, "I am nothing like her!"

Bridgette reeled like she had been hit in the gut with the pommel of a sword.

But Marinette wasn't finished. "I won't do what you did! I won't run away!"

"Uh-oh..." Alix winced, glancing at Bridgette.

The Queen's eyes flared with wounded pride. Then, she stomped over to her sister. "I never ran away from anything in my life," she snarled.

Marinette met her in the middle, staring back into those eyes of steel with her own eyes of relentless ocean. "You ran away from your family!" she argued.

"I told you what happened!" Bridgette stated. "What else could I do? What else can you do?"

Marinette responded by unlatching her dagger – and the belt that came with it – and holding it out towards the Queen of Thieves. The sapphire pommel sparkled in the light from the city.

"The right thing," Marinette said.

Bridgette's irritation subsided as she beheld their family heirloom. Her eyes darted between the weapon and her sister, and her throat bobbed as she got the message. "Marinette, you can't..." she said almost pleadingly.

Marinette held back the angry tears threatening to come out. "Take it back," she said unkindly. "It's yours anyway."

When Bridgette still didn't accept the dagger, Marinette gave up and tossed it at her sister's feet. The hilt, scabbard, and belt left a soft indent in the sand, almost sinking out of sight.

Bridgette just stared at the whole thing, her lip quivering and her face twitching with pain.

The whole while, Alix stood open-mouthed behind the Queen of Thieves.

Marinette sighed as she dug her heel into the sand and walked back to her horse.

She got her foot in the first stirrup when she heard Bridgette rasp, "Sister."

Marinette felt her eyes burn again, but she shook her head and hoisted herself up. "You're right," she said as she grabbed the reins. "I am your sister, and I always will be." She shot Bridgette a glance that was half-angry and half-sorrowful. "But I can't live your life. I won't walk out on everyone I love, including Adrien. I'll accept the consequences of my actions."

Bridgette let out a disapproving snort before turning her back to Marinette. Finally, she spoke with a voice that was sharp as a blade and laced with defeat: "So be it."

Alix ran over to Marinette and tugged on her leg. "Girl, c'mon! Don't be so righteous," she urged. "The ultimate treasure is out there waiting for us. Now that we have the oracle –"

"The oracle?!" Marinette snapped back to Bridgette.

Her sister lowered her head. Then, she glanced at her fellow thief and gave her a stiff nod.

Alix suddenly looked guilty, like a child second-guessing herself after robbing a cookie jar. But she obliged and dug into the hidden pocket of her green-and-black suit.

Her hand emerged with the Miraculous secured neatly in her palm.

Marinette shot the peacock-shaped jewel a glowering look. Of course they took it, she thought. Why come so far only to go home empty handed? Marinette now wished Queen Emilie had chosen a different brooch.

Bridgette turned back to her sister. "I had nothing left to lose," she insisted.

This time, the expression Marinette bore her was nothing but pity. "Yes, you did," she croaked through the heavy lump in her throat.

She swore Bridgette's eyes became glossy, but Marinette no longer cared.

And she didn't bother to ask Alix for the brooch back. So long as it kept Bridgette away from her, they could keep it.

Marinette gently nudged her horse's side so that it was directly facing Agreste. Then, she cast Alix a sad smile. "Goodbye, Alix. Try to stay out of trouble."

The speedster's lip curled up warmly. "Good luck, Ladybug," she said, patting the young blunette on the knee before pulling away.

Marinette wasn't sure why she did it, but she glanced back one last time at her older sister.

Two women of the same blood, but with different destinies. Two sisters with alternate fates that could never be joined together. Maybe that's what Duusu had been trying to tell Marinette.

"I hope you find your treasure," she said to Bridgette, and she meant it. For all her sister's faults, Marinette had seen that kernel of good in her. It was enough to ease the ache in her chest.

Bridgette, for once, said nothing, and her face remained blank and pale as a white slate.

Marinette redirected her gaze homeward - to Adrien - and then she kicked her horse into gear.

Not once did she look back.

Bridgette watched with a sinking feeling as her little sister trotted towards the gleaming gem of a city, her blue form becoming nothing but a black silhouette shrinking into the distance.

The desert grew eerily quiet, and the air prickled with a sudden cold. Or maybe that was just the frozen emptiness that now lingered inside Bridgette, in the spot where she once held Marinette.

After a long minute, maybe two, Bridgette finally convinced herself that her sister wasn't coming back. And she never will, she thought.

Bridgette absentmindedly scooped the dagger out of the ground. Pebbles of sand dropped back down like fresh tears.

Bridgette had left the dagger for Marinette so she would feel safe; protected. Now Bridgette realized that she had been kidding herself all these years. Marinette never had her older sister's protection, and it was clear she didn't want it now.

She's her own kind of warrior, Bridgette thought. Stronger than I ever was.

With a final prayer to the heavens for her sister's good fortune, Bridgette equipped the dagger and belt around her waist.

Then, she mounted her horse. "Come, Alix." She extended a hand to her friend. "Let's go home."

The vast desert ahead of her seemed to moan the word softly: Home.

Alix looked towards the city – even though Marinette was well beyond her sight now – and let out a deep sigh. "Looks like we're down to thirty-nine again," she said as she took Bridgette's hand and climbed up behind her.

The Queen of Thieves blinked at those words, until it came back to her.

The Forty Thieves. Marinette winning the Challenge against Hawkmoth. That all seemed like a lifetime ago.

No doubt the others wouldn't take Marinette's departure from the Forty Thieves very lightly. No one alive ever leaves, they would say, quoting their blood-bound Code.

But as Bridgette ordered her horse onward towards the dark horizon, she decided that she wasn't going to let some ridiculous, old Code decide her sister's fate. She would explain everything once she and Alix returned to Mount Sesame. If necessary, Bridgette would take all the blame.

She had plenty of it to go around anyway.