Chapter Eleven

A Fox and an Illusioned Prince

Unfortunately, Adrien couldn't hold his breath long enough to keep himself from expressing his utter displeasure with his Lady's plan.

"But My Lady," he said frantically, attracting the unwanted glances from bypassing guests, "that's insane! You can't do that!"

The Lady smiled, but her body language was slightly hostile. "And why not?" she inquired.

"The Moth," Prince Noir explained. "You've seen what he can do. What if he turns you against me? I don't want to fight you!"

The Lady smiled. "You won't have to," she said. "Trust me, I've got it all figured out...

"Our powers aren't the only ones that are limited to midnight, Chat."

Prince Noir's mouth opened, letting out a near inaudible gasp. "Oh..." It was as if he hadn't even noticed the dumb nickname his Lady had used to address him. "I see where you're going... so you're saying you want to trick him?"

The Lady had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Yes," she said, "we're going to trick him."

Prince Noir rubbed his hands together. "Alright," he said, "I'm starting to like this plan. Tell me more."

The Moth was annoyed. His plan seemed perfect, but still, it'd failed the previous night. The girl had drifted from his orders and gone her own direction, and the Prince had intervened. That's what you get for allowing yourself to be distracted by a pretty face. Everything that had gone wrong the previous night made the Moth hesitant to pick another ball attendant to help him get what he needed. Still, the Moth considered having another pet, so to say, by his side to help him perform his plan. After all, it's only fair; there were two superheroes trying to take down the Moth, and he was on his own. Two against one isn't particularly fair, eh?

Of course, there was little different from the girl the Moth had chosen the previous night amongst the other guests to choose from. There was, however, one girl who seemed quite promising.

She was a fox. Or at least, her dress suggested she was. Her eyes were devious and green, and her brown hair had been done elegantly. The Moth had noticed her earlier that night, boasting about her accomplishments rather than her riches. And the Moth just so happened to have a suspicion that most of these acclaimed 'accomplishments' were simple white lies to make the girl look important.

The most interesting claim the girl had made, was that she knew the girl behind the ladybug mask personally.

"I'm sure of it," the girl said proudly to anyone who was willing to listen. "I know her. The girl behind the mask is my friend, she said she'd dress like a ladybug and impress everyone. Of course she's going after the Prince's heart! We decided to go in on our own, so we wouldn't know what we were dressed like, so we could compete in winning the Prince's heart."

She then grinned. "And I have to admit that I feel bad for her, but I'm going to win. Especially if she just keeps hanging around that kitty-guy. I'm just saying... I won't lose this game."

The Moth believed he'd hit the jackpot. If this girl were truly a friend of the Lady's, which quite honestly, the Moth doubted she was, then she'd be far more useful than the previous girl had been. The Lady would trust the girl, and wouldn't suspect her intent until it was all too little, too late.

Or perhaps this girl was just incredible at lying – her life, or at least her persona at this party, was a lie.

And the Moth knew a perfect way to put that talent at play.

He drew another butterfly from his cloak, ready to transform it into another Akuma.

"Mon petit Akuma," the Moth whispered to the small creature. "I have a job for you. The Lady thinks she's in the middle of some fairy tale, and her happy ending is about to come true. It's time we teach her that sometimes, fairy tales are but an illusion."

The Akuma turned dark once more under the Moth's influence, and he let it loose, off to find its target. This time, the Moth would handle things slightly differently.

"Fly, my Akuma," he said, "and darken her heart. Turn her against the girl she claims to be such good friends with."

And the Akuma would do just that. The girl didn't even know what hit her; one moment, she was talking about how soon, she'd be Queen. The other, she stopped mid-sentence, turning away from the people she'd been talking to, leaving them behind utterly surprised as to where she was going. The surprise didn't last too long, however, because the guests returned to enjoying themselves and the party pretty quickly.

The girl knew where she was headed. The voice in her head gave her instructions.

She had to find the Lady and stop her. This girl was dangerous! She shouldn't be anywhere near the Prince. Nor that cat-boy, for that matter – or whoever he was. If the voice in her head was telling the truth, then everyone at the ball was in grave danger – and why would the voice tell her anything but the truth? Something about it... just felt so genuine.

But back to the matter at hand – Lila had no idea who this Ladybug was – she'd been telling lies all night just so people would think she was great. But now, someone had told her quite an interesting tale about this girl. She was a thief, suspected a violent one – and Lila had been chosen to stop her.

Of course the man, who had introduced himself to Lila as the Moth hadn't left her empty-handed. The girl found a flute in her purse, which transformed into quite the interesting weapon the moment Lila blew the first note. The weapon, the Moth explained, was a wand that could create illusions at Lila's commands – simply by playing musical notes. Ah, Lila thought. That's why it appeared as a flute at first.

Lila took the wand with gratitude, feeling as though she could finally do something good. She'd take down a criminal, and expose her for everyone to see.

The magic diminishes at midnight. I can embarrass the Lady by exposing her in front of all ball attendants – including the Prince. They will all see for who she really is – a con-woman.

"Have you noticed any possible Akuma-victims yet?" Adrien still felt at unease with the Lady's plan, despite the fact that he'd agreed to do his part. The Lady's plan had a low chance of success, and that's what worried Adrien. He didn't want to lose her to a villain – even if he'd just met her. He cared for her, and wanted to get to know her. If the Moth succeeded in his plans, then it was very much possible that 'getting to know each other' would be impossible for the Prince and his Lady.

"Not yet," the Lady responded. She, on the other hand, was far more confident that her plan would succeed. Yes, of course it would mean that Marinette would be revealing her true identity to everyone attending the ball including the Prince, but she was fine with that. There might be ball attendants who would scoff, but she'd be a hero, and thus there was probably at least one person out there who'd appreciate her and her efforts. And of course, Prince Noir's efforts, too.

Suddenly, something unusual caught Marinette's eye. There was a girl, dressed in an orange, fox-themed dress, beckoning her and – Chat.

"Wait," the Lady said, pointing at the girl in the fox-dress. "Look, there she is. Our Akuma-victim."

"Are you sure?" Prince Noir asked. "She might just be a fan of us. I mean – we were quite the celebrities last night."

The Lady threw Prince Noir an angry glare. "No jokes," she hissed. "This is serious. If we mess up tonight, we might mess up permanently, so keep it together, Chat."

"Sure, Bugaboo," Adrien responded. If they were starting to dish out horrible nicknames, then he had plenty to give. As for his Lady's response, if looks could kill, then Adrien would've dropped dead to the floor right that very moment. And it amused him very much.

"Ah, Ladybug," the girl said as she saw the unlikely duo approaching. "I am so glad to finally meet you." She smiled a honest smile – or so it seemed.

"You see?" Prince Noir said, offering his Lady a cheeky grin. "A fan. What's your name, sweetheart?"

"My name is not important," the girl said. "It's... Lila. But I signalled to you, Ladybug." The Lady raised her eyebrows, causing her mask to lift along with them.

"Me?"

Lila nodded. "The Prince wants to meet you."

A figure stepped out from behind a pillar. Both heroes' jaws dropped in surprise.

Adrien was looking at his own face. Dressed in the exact suit he'd worn the day before. Marinette was looking at the boy who'd helped her the night before, who'd given her the invitation to this ball.

Lila smiled. "He's quite the catch, isn't he?" she said. "Unfortunately, this is all you'll get to see... darling?"

The illusion-Prince nodded at Lila. "Of course, my future Queen," he said. Then, his face turned back to the Lady and Prince Noir, his expression cold. It sent a shiver down Adrien's spine. Wrong again, he couldn't help but think it. It's not that girl, either. I can't believe I'm actually saying that. But – it's not me. Is it?

"Lila brought it to my attention that we have two thieves in our midst tonight," the Prince said. "Either you can come with me freely, or we'll have to make this public."

The Lady shook her head. "You're mistaken, Your Highness," she said, "there is in fact a dangerous criminal out and about tonight, but it's not us. We're actually trying to stop him." Prince Noir stood by her side, nodding his head vigorously to confirm the Lady's claim. This Lila-girl was definitely Akumatised.

When the Lady noticed the Prince wasn't believing her words, she motioned to Prince Noir and began to back up, only to walk with her back against a wall.

How did that wall get there?

When the girl turned around, she noticed it was in fact, not a wall. It was a very tall man – one of the castle's guards.

"Alright," the Prince said, "it appears that our dear friend Gorilla here has to take you to the dungeon until my father can deal with you... which will be tomorrow morning at the earliest."

Both the Lady and Prince Noir tried to make a run for it, but the Gorilla grabbed one arm belonging to each teenager, keeping them in place.

"Your Majesty," the Lady shouted, "please! You have to believe us; we're not criminals! We're trying to help you, honestly!"

The Prince's expression didn't change. "If what you're saying is true, then you can explain yourself..." The Lady smiled. Too soon, unfortunately.

"...tomorrow, when my father decides whether to put you on trial or punish you as he sees fit. I'm sorry, but I don't want anyone potentially dangerous walking around this castle freely.

"I, as future King, must keep my people's safety and best interest in mind."

"And that's the right thing to do," Prince Noir said, "but right now, you're making the wrong decision regarding what's best for your people."

"Ah!" Lila let out an annoyed sound. "Don't listen to them, Adrien! Send them away!"

I would most definitely not let a girl like that boss me around, Adrien thought, grimacing. She reminds me of Chloé for some reason.

"Of course, my sweet Lila," the Prince said. "Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. You saved the Kingdom."

Lila smiled as she watched the Lady and Prince Noir get dragged off by the single guard. The first part of her plan had succeeded.