Chapter Eight

A clever Disguise

"Don't you think we should focus on our mission?" the Lady sounded confident when making the suggestion, hoping to snap the lost little cat who'd just been a fierce lion as she'd danced with him out of his thoughts. There were moments of confidence in him, and moments where he just seemed… lost.

"Uh?" Obviously, the Lady's blond-haired companion hadn't been listening. He'd been too far in the back of his mind to be able to do so. "I'm – I'm sorry. I wasn't listening. What were you saying, My Lady?"

Marinette couldn't help but roll her eyes. Was she really to find and arrest a wanted and possibly highly dangerous criminal with this doofus at her side? Some battle that would be. Marinette considered the two of them would hardly stand a chance against a magical villain like the Moth – magical earrings or not. This man was an adult, and they were two teenagers fooling around.

Marinette had to consider that second thought. How old was this boy by her side, actually? Marinette herself was seventeen, but she couldn't tell how old the Prince was due to his mask.

Was it really important? Perhaps it was. Perhaps it wasn't. The chance that Marinette knew this face behind the mask was impossibly small, anyway. It was likely that he was from another Kingdom, and had travelled all the way here to protect Paris.

And then again, even if he wasn't, the city of Paris was so large. Marinette had hardly seen ten percent of all the land the city covered. Let alone the rest of France.

Marinette decided to let go of the thought; if this boy wanted to share his identity with her, he'd probably do at some point – Marinette just wasn't sure whether or not she'd be comfortable sharing hers, too.

"I was saying that we should stop mocking about and get back to focusing on our mission," the Lady told her companion. "The Kwamis are counting on us – especially the one that needs rescue from the Moth."

The Prince's eyes met the Lady's, and his head gave a small nod. Adrien had almost forgot what they were here for – it was partially the Lady's fault, too.

Thanks to her, Adrien remembered the other reason as to why he was supposed to be here, the reason this ball was even happening at all. Adrien was supposed to be socialising with the guests while maintaining his secret identity, while trying to find a girl whom he found fit to become his Queen.

And yet, the Lady was the only girl Adrien had had eyes for all night. Even despite the fact that part of Adrien's mission was to work with the Lady, Adrien probably wouldn't have wanted to spend time with anyone else that night. The thought of possibly of ending up talking to Chloé all night without realising it horrified him. The Lady was definitely a better choice – Adrien wondered who she was.

"Of course, My Lady," he said, but then his face turned into a frown. He remembered the invitation he'd handed out a couple days ago, to – Marinette, was it? The baker's daughter.

Had she accepted his invitation, or had she ignored it? That single question formed an instant distraction for the Prince.

Where was she? Was she enjoying the party? Was she looking for him, for the Prince? Or was she at home, did she not care for the invitation, the ball, for him at all?

For some reason, thinking that Marinette wasn't at the ball that night upset Adrien more than he thought it would.

"Noir?" The Lady woke Adrien from his thoughts. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, My Lady," the Prince said quickly, his cheeks turning bright red underneath his mask. "I was wondering if there was anyone I knew at the ball tonight."

The Lady shrugged. "It's a masquerade, so you won't likely find out," she said. "It's also a positive for us – you know, so we won't stand out with our concealed identities."

Adrien nodded absentmindedly. He remembered Plagg's explanation of how the kwami's magic and jewellery worked. The Lady was right; if Adrien hadn't got his father to turn the ball into a masquerade, he and the Lady would've stood out as a sore thumb now. Lucky them.

"Okay, alright – enough." The Lady let out a sigh. "We need to focus on getting this done – before the Moth makes a move."

The Prince nodded. "What time is it? We only have until midnight before the kwami's magic fades."

Marinette's eyes scanned the ballroom, in search of a clock. Above the throne hung one, ridiculously large and with silver and gold details – the royal time indicator told her that it was just half past ten.

Marinette bit her lip. "We don't have much time," the Lady told her companion. "It's one and a half an hour until midnight. We have to hurry and find the Moth."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" the Prince said. "Let's just hope midnight doesn't strike mid-fight."

Adrien grinned at his Lady, but she seemed very unimpressed.

"Seriously, stop that," she said, "before I change my mind and fight you instead."

The Prince offered her a series of quick, apologetic nods. Apparently, she wasn't a fan of puns. But then again, they were on a mission, they were supposed to be protecting Paris and possibly the Royal Family, too. They weren't supposed to have time to joke around.

The Prince suggested his partner they check the gardens first, because they were probably the least crowded and easiest to scan for suspicious activity – the Lady asked him how he knew this, and Adrien had to quickly make up an excuse that he'd been in the garden earlier that night, when the Lady hadn't arrived yet.

The gardens were never busy during castle parties. Adrien knew this all too well – he often found his father there, enjoying his own company or the company of one or two of his 'friends'. His most loyal subjects.

It then hit Adrien – he hadn't seen his father all night since he opened the ball just before the Lady arrived. After that, he retreated out of the ballroom, and hadn't returned since.

Where was he?

When Marinette set foot outside the ballroom into the large gardens, she was quick to realise the Prince had been right – there was no one there, or so it seemed. The gardens were larger than Marinette's eyes could see. The Prince, however, seemed confident in this large, unfamiliar area, and thus the Lady allowed her companion to lead the operation of scanning the outside for anything suspicious.

They first headed west into the garden, which, according to the Prince's information, was the smallest area to check. The Lady suggested splitting up, but the Prince denied her, suggesting that neither of them really knew what the Moth looked like and what kind of tricks he might have in store.

However, when the duo found the entire west part of the garden, with fountains and bushes, empty and almost desolate, the Prince gave in. If they didn't split up, scanning the entire garden would take at least two hours. Split in two, they'd be able to clear the job much faster.

The Prince headed east, the Lady headed south. The castle itself was located in the northern direction. It was possible that the Moth wasn't even hiding among the people, but waited somewhere more secluded and hidden, waiting for the moment to strike.

Marinette bit her lip. What was she doing? She had no experience dealing with criminals, let alone a magical criminal. The Prince was right – she and him knew nothing about the Moth. They didn't know what he looked like, what his plan of action was, or what he was capable of. What would the Lady and the Prince do if they found him? Or if either of them found him, in the garden, right now?

Marinette did not find the Moth, but she did find someone else. A girl. She was just standing there, all by herself, her back turned to Marinette. The dress she was wearing seemed to resemble a bee.

"Um, hello?" Marinette asked, careful not to approach the girl too quickly, afraid to startle her.

"Are you alright? What are you doing here, all by yourself?"

The girl turned around. "Oh, I was just waiting," she said and smiled. She played with her long, blonde hair as she spoke. "And I'm done waiting now."

"But- then who were you waiting for?" Marinette asked, feeling confused with the situation. She was too late to realise that the blonde-haired girl meant she'd been waiting for Marinette.

The girl stepped forward quickly, grabbing Marinette's wrist before she could run. "You!" the girl shouted. By the sound of her voice, Marinette realised who she was dealing with.

"Chloé, stop!" she shouted, but the girl in front of Marinette was no longer Chloé. She looked like almost an exact copy of Marinette, except her dress was black with red details instead of the other way around.

"I'm sorry, Lady," Chloé said, "but you don't get to be the star of this evening. That'll be me."Even Chloé's voice had changed to resemble Marinette's. "I'll wrap that little kitty around my finger, and then hand both yours and his jewellery to the Moth!"

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Do you think anyone will believe you?" she said. "I'm still here, you know!"

"I know," Chloé said, "but not for long."

Another girl appeared from behind a bush, whom Marinette recognised as Sabrina. She was carrying a rope and approached Marinette and Chloé.

"I have to get rid of you, so I guess I'll just tie you down in this empty garden," Chloé told Marinette.

"No, you're not!" Marinette shouted, pulling her wrists free. She turned and ran, but Sabrina was quick to get into action. She flung herself toward the ground, grabbing hold of Marinette's ankles.

"Hey! Let go!" Marinette yelled and tried to kick Sabrina off her, but her leg got caught in her dress.

"It's best if you stop struggling, Lady," Chloé said, "because you've yet to discover the secrets about your jewels."

Marinette looked up at Chloé; the girl was holding a wooden disc covered in a black-and-red ladybug pattern – a yoyo.

"What are you planning on doing with that?" the Lady asked, being unable to love her legs now thanks to Sabrina – the girl had decided to sit on top of Marinette's legs as she tied them to prevent Marinette from kicking her away.

"The cable is quite strong…" Chloé said, "I wonder…"

She tossed the yoyo skilfully, wrapping the extended cord tightly around Marinette's torso.

"So, you really think this is going to get you close to the Prince?" Marinette asked her opponent, but then came up with a better question. "What did the Moth do to you?"

Chloé shrugged. "He helped me," she said. "And if he keeps his word, then I'll get what I want.

"And if I get what I want, then he'll get his jewellery. So… just wait until midnight, alright?" Chloé winked at Marinette and walked away. Sabrina stayed behind to make sure Marinette wouldn't run – not that it'd be possible, with both her legs and arms tied tightly.

Marinette sighed. Defeated by Chloé. This truly was a new low point. If she could convince Sabrina to set her free, she could stop Chloé from doing whatever she was planning, but Marinette knew it'd take a lot for Sabrina to put herself past her fear of Chloé's wrath.

The Lady needed to move quickly and find a way to contact Prince Noir – as quickly as possible.