Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

"He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him,"

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish fairytale writer.

"I'M LATE!"

Ladybug dashed along roofs, scaled walls, jumped great arches, making impressive moves. She had just finished her daytime patrol and helping some crime, only to realise the time.

"Oh man, oh man! I'm late, late, late, late, late, I'm so late! Let's hope Vanessa can hold on until I get back!"

"MAAAAAARRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEE!"

The matron teacher screamed her lungs out from the balcony at the front of Olympe boarding school. Trees shook, birds flew away, cars hit the brakes, people stopped walking. The matron took her duty seriously. She was in charge of the domestic and medical arrangements at Olympe. She was solely responsible for the welfare of every student at the school. A school of vulnerable girls in dire need of protection. All the girls were accounted for.

Except for one...

"MAAAAARRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNEEEEETTTTTTTEEEEEE!"

The small woman called for Marinette again, curls popping out of her tight bun, hair coloured dark brown. Sharp brown eyes blazing of hot fire. In spite of her mighty scream, her figure was very petite and wearing a tight blue dress, white collared, long sleeves with white frills on ends and pearly white buttons down the chest, matched with black tights and black flat shoes.

She groaned, gritting her teeth in growing ire. "That girl…"

In fury, she closed the doors behind her as she stomped off in search of the missing girl. Throughout the school, girls flooded everything chatting, studying or practicing.

The matron went down the stairs, calling all over the school for the girl in question.

"MARINETTE! MARINETTE! MAAARRRRIIIINNNNEEEETTTTEEEE! Where in France is she?"

Just then, Vanessa stepped onto the front hall, staring at her phone and listening to music with the earplugs in her ears. Her braids were arranged in the French style while she was donning a purple silk robe and a pair of white boots.

The matron quickly thought of an idea upon seeing her. She and Marinette were best friends, practically joined to the hip until Marinette screw herself loose and disappear to God knows where.

"Vanessa!"

The girl of the name didn't hear her, still swaying to the music ringing in her ears.

"VANESSA!"

This time, she jumped at hearing her superior and so she rushed over to the woman, gazing up in obedience.

"Yes, miss?"

"Where is Marinette, call her forth to me!" The matron ordered, throwing in some Shakespeare.

Vanessa shook her head furiously. "I haven't seen her, sorry!"

"You said she's washing her hair earlier!"

"S-S-She said she has to check on the petunias from the gardens for sketching!"

The teacher palmed her face, grunting and ran off. Vanessa sighed in both relief and tiredness. True to her word, Vanessa Camberwell made up excuses to cover for Marinette while she's Ladybug. Turned out having an ally who knew her identity turned out to be rather helpful.

But the bathroom excuse wasn't going to cover her this time.

'Hurry up, Mari, they're going crazy without you!'

"MARINETTTE! MARINETTTTTTTTE!"

By now, the matron ran through halls and rooms, screaming frantically, looking as hilarious as a headless chicken.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"I'm here! What's up?"

The girls, the teachers, the matron, and Vanessa turned to the top of the stairs. Marinette stood in all her cheerful glory as if she wasn't the reason for the madness. She seemed different after a month in Olympe. Good different. She was wearing a pink fluffy jumper, black skinny pants, her signature pink flowers embellished on her left calf, a gold belt around her waist, and black slippers. Her blue hair was pulled up in a ponytail.

"YOU!"

Glaring furiously, the matron marched up the stairs, her hawk-like eyes set on the small girl, seething through the mouth. She was even more intimidating when she was looking up from the bottom step.

"12 years working here, and I haven't had a girl as odd as you!"

Marinette smiled nervously. "Thank you?"

"What have you been? I almost called the police of a possible kidnapping!"

"Uh…"

"You are my most difficult charge! Half the time, you're nowhere to be seen and the other half I'm looking for you!"

"…I take that as a compliment."

"Hey Mari!"

A gang of girls ambushed her, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her away.

"There you are! We need you in costume design. The dancers ripped their leotards again."

"Not again! Gotta go, bye, so sorry!" Marinette called as she was dragged away from the matron, the woman left by herself in a flabbergasted state.

Vanessa joined in the group, managing to squeeze next to her best friend. Careful of anyone listening in, she whispered. "Where were you, girl?

"I was helping chase a mugger down 10 blocks." Marinette hissed.

The design department of Olympe school was busy with girls working away, rolls of fabrics shimmering in the lights as it unfurled by rough hands to be cut and sewn, many voices overlapping, girls running all over the place. More girls entered the room, the ones pulling Marinette to the dancers worrying over tears in their outfits.

"Marinette! Thank God you're here! We need your help!" Swanhilde cried.

Marinette broke free from the clutches of hands to bent at Swanhilde's torn dress and tights. As she worked to fix the damage, her bluebell eyes ran over the other dancers, finding fault in their attires.

"You have too many ornaments on. The feathers weighed you down, the fake diamonds's sharpness cuts through the fabric, you don't need so many strings of pearls- are you kidding me, a boa?"

"We're swans. We're supposed to have all this. All the famous ballerinas wear these as well."

"I told you a million times, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. In my opinion, a dancer should be able to move while wearing a piece of art. It's challenging. Both of us need to work together to create the prefect outfit, one that looks and feels splendid…though I adore the works of Léon Bakst."

Swanhilde smiled genuinely. "You are truly are the best designer ever."

Marinette smiled back. In no time, she flourished into the best fashion designer in the whole school, earning the respect the school's alpha girl, especially that Marinette preferred the ballet outfits than the dance form to help the ballet department.

"I heard the matron went mad this morning. What did you do now?"

Marinette sighed but answered. "I angered the hawk."

"Again." Vanessa commented, gaining a giggle out of Swanhilde and the other girls.

"It's not funny." Marinette snapped.

"It kinda is."

The girls laughed again.

Marinette attempted to concentrate on sewing the gap on Swanhilde's tights, though her mind floated to the matron. "I don't mean to rile her up so much. Why does she want to know my every move anyway?"

"You're the first girl to sneak away from her. And you did so, repeatedly." Vanessa said in calm, matter-of-fact way.

Soon Marinette was finished, standing up to Swanhilde's overjoyed clap, and walked away, brushing pass Vanessa to quietly whisper in her ear. "I'm the first girl to be a superhero."

Vanessa giggled at the retort.

Marinette headed for her section, her designs on proud display. Three mannequins adorned her creations. Two purple dresses and a pink gown. She lifted the skirt of her pink gown, searching for any marks or faults. None.

"Those dresses are so stunning, Mari!" A girl complimented.

"Thanks. The purple ones are for Vanessa. She's a great model when she's not moving. The gown is for my fashion design class. I have to design a costume for a fairytale setting and I chose what a princess would wear. Help me put it on for your photography, Leica-Lou."

The girl named Leica-Lou aided Marinette onto the gown, the creation feeling much heavier than it appeared, made to inspire grace and innocence. Leica-Lou tied the sash around Marinette's waist while two more girls put on her makeup and added on accessories. As they worked on her, Marinette looked to a mirror, blushing at her reflection.

"I feel like a real princess."

"Yeah, sheltered, pampered and monitored." Vanessa commented. She then gazed at her best friend, admiring her beauty. "You know, if you weren't straight, I could fall madly in love with you."

The other girls talked among themselves.

"We're going out tonight at 6, right?"

"Yeah, to practice our dance moves and try out the outfits the design department gave us."

"If you don't rip them first!"

"This homework I like!"

"Haha! The media will go wild if they see me in this!"

Vanessa torn off her robe, shaking her body donning a scandalous two-piece, way too revealing for a politician's daughter, but this was Vanessa, Marinette learned, she would wear whatever she wanted without the opinion of others. The two-pierce was periwinkle in colour, consisting of a crop-top and miniskirt and purple beads sewn on. The crop-top was more of a bra, a bralette with purple beaded tassels on front. Clear white and purple beads were on the end of the miniskirt, showing off her legs.

Music blared loud on her phone, playing one of her sister's boyfriend's songs. She begun moving her body to the beat, the beads of her bralette and skirt making clicking sounds, never once tripping over her boot-wearing feet as she strutted. Her muscles flexed in dual styles, seductive to slow and easy lyrics, and agile to the faster beat. Hips twisted, arms waved, legs stride. The way she danced was incredible.

The room sprang into new action. The girls from Vanessa's modern dance class backed her up, adding more emphasis on the dancing. Then Swanhilde and her ballerinas took the stage by reciting their routine to the hiphop music and managed to pul it off while giving off an air of something formidable. And then girls of the fashion design class strutted about in a mock catwalk, adorned in feather boas, sunglasses and bits and pieces of their costumes. Even one girl from the gym did a somersault.

In the midst of the chaotic fun, Marinette laughed while not ruining her dress, just laughing, smiling and having fun watching the madness.

"I never seen you so stressed, Valérie." Ms. Auberon noted in her seat and desk.

The matron paced up and down space of the headmistress's office, ranting about one girl. "That girl is driving me up the wall!"

"Marinette? But she's so nice."

"I'm not saying she's a bad girl, but she is difficult at times."

"I know she has a tendency to be late, but she does everything so diligently and on time."

"Don't talk to me about diligence! I'm an ex-navy marine. I can lead a team of 20 armed men, I can assemble a gun in 10 seconds, and I can save 100 people from a burning village, but I can't keep that girl under control without her sneaking off! It's easier to herd cats!"

"Why didn't you watch her then?"

"Because I was minding the other girls!"

Ms. Auberon pulled a stern expression on her kind face. "Ms Duchemin, it's your job to watch her and all the students. It's not just Marinette. If I can't trust you to keep track of one student, I cannot trust at all to watch any other students. Now close the door on your way out."

The matron, Valérie Duchemin, was dumbfounded by her boss's words. She walked out the office as told, but once the door was closed, Valérie slid down the doorframe and sat on the floor. She never felt more pathetic than ever.

Scolded by her boss for failing to find one girl out of 500 students for the first time in 12 years? A perfect record broken in a month.

In her state, a dark butterfly flew to the list of girls' names in her hand. A suave voice soothed her.

"Poor, poor Valérie. Some girls don't stay still, and you get blamed for it. The army didn't prepare you for this. But I can. I will give you the power to put those brats in line. In return, you must give me Ladybug's and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

She smirked, a purple butterfly shaped one line masking her face, and saluted. "Yes, sir!"

In the middle of taking pictures, Marinette and Leica-Lou jumped at the sudden loud noise. Screams echoed

"What was that?" Swanhilde questioned.

She and the other girls ran out of the room, leaving Marinette alone.

"Hey, wait for me! Damn dress, why did I make it so heavy to represent the submission of women throughout fairytales and history?"

She tiptoed in her poufy gown, able to run due to the heaviness. Thankfully, Vanessa ran back and helped her out, holding onto her arm. Tikki popped out from Marinette's bag, cookie in mouth and flew after them.

They all saw through a nearby window that branches curled around their school, making a huge nest. A huge lock barred the school-gates. Then they glanced from the corner leading to the front hall and blanked.

Their matron wasn't their uptight supervisor anymore. She was outrageous! Her skin was as yellow as lemons, brown hair turned to dark-red pulled in a tight ponytail on the top of her head and her eyes were even more hawk-like, bright red behind big yellow glasses designed after the hawk, tipped with red feathers. She wore a brown skin-tight suit mix-matched with yellow army-boots, a yellow hawk symbol spread across her chest, red feathers arranged around her waist in a skirt, and a bulky yellow belt with the akumatized list tucked in against her hip.

"I am Hawkeye! All of you must stand in place!"

Bright yellow lasers shot out of her eyes, freezing the students in place. Some girls tried to run away from behind, but red eyes appeared on the back of her head and shot her laser beam at them. Once froze, Hawkeye pulled the frozen girls to her nest of clustered students with the help of her laser eye vision.

"No one escapes my nest!"

"Ah, Buddha!" Vanessa exclaimed. "Mary Poppins' fraternal twin sister just got akumatized!"

"Because of me!" Marinette wailed in horrified realisation. "And she's wearing red and yellow with feathers? Yuck!"

"Quick! Through here!"

Vanessa pulled Marinette back to the design room.

"I'll tell everyone we got separated during the attack. Now go! Paris needs Ladybird!"

"Bug! La-dy-bug!"

"I'm from England! I'm used to British terms."

"Thank you, Vanessa." Tikki chirped as the named girl dashed away. "She's a nice girl."

"Oh yeah. Tikki, spots on!"

In a red and pink flash, Marinette became Ladybug and she snuck out the window, ready to face Hawkmoth's newest villain.

Hearing the commotion in a different and far part of Paris, Chat Noir left his patrol to the chaos.

Ladybug snuck into the school, careful not to let Hawkeye's extra eyes spot her. By now, Hawkeye had captured every single girl in Olympe.

All except for Marinette.

"Damnit, that blasted girl! Where is she?" Hawkeye shrieked.

"Amazing. She even evades the matron when as an Akuma." One of the girls commented.

"I only have 499 students! I cannot fulfil my order until I have all 500 students accounted for and the Miraculous of that duo! My duty must be done!"

Ladybug crept closer in. Then one of Hawkeye's back-eyes saw her.

"You'll do." The akuma snarled and darted for her.

The girl in red dodged every laser beam shot her way.

"Missed me! Missed me again!"

The fight led the both of them outside, the laserbeams going off as wild as lights at a concert. One of the laserbeams almost hit Chat Noir as he finally showed up. He took his place next to Ladybug, baffled by the newest threat they faced.

"She's got eyes at the back of her head!" He said, stunned.

"I know." Ladybug said, rolling her eyes.

"SHE'S GOT EYES AT THE BACK OF HER HEAD!" The volume of his voice cracked up to measure the shock.

"I said, I know!"

Hawkeye glared at the superheroes, but when she noticed Chat Noir, the pupils of her eyes slanted into straight slits. Chat Noir noticed her staring and gulped before leaping away just as Hawkeye pounced. Pretty soon, Hawkeye and Chat Noir were tangled in their own chase, forgetting about Ladybug. She watched the scene, perplexed. If she could reveal her secret identity and confess Olympe was her school, she could've mention that the matron was very protective of the girls, especially when boys were involved.

"Even as an Akuma, she hates boys."

"A little help will be useful right about now, milady!"

"Alright, alright! Time to wrap this up. Lucky Charm!"

The yoyo went up…and down came…a mirror. With red frames and black spots.

"A mirror?"

"ANY DAY NOW!"

"I'm working on it!"

Her vision went grey as she thought of a way. Hawkeye's four eyes, the school's windows and the mirror itself. She smirked, then that smirk fell when Hawkeye has just pinned the boy in black leather down, eyes glowing, intending on freezing him while he was terrified.

"LADYBUG!"

She held the mirror under the nearest sun-ray, directing the beam of natural light to the school's windows and anything out of glass, the light bouncing off and shot in all four eyes of Hawkeye.

The woman screamed, scrambling off Chat Noir.

"Cataclysm!"

The boy's right hand illuminated black and hit the list, destroying the list and freeing a black butterfly in the process. Ladybug snatched the butterfly before it took off.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

She threw her yoyo up in the air, tiny red ladybugs spiralling. Immediately, all the damage was good as new, as if never been touched by an akuma, all the Olympe girls were unfrozen and free, and Hawkeye was back to normal as Valérie Duchemin, thought dazed and bewildered. The list, once possessed of Hawkmoth's control, laid on the stone pavement. The butterfly, once black, fluttered away on flawless white wings.

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir proclaimed and bumped fists.

Valérie swayed her head, slowly gaining conciseness. The first thing she noticed with clear eyes was the superhero duo.

More specifically. the superhero boy standing on her turf.

"What is that fellow doing here on school's grounds?"

Chat Noir squeaked and immediately scampered off, right into the alley facing the boarding school. A green and black light shone a minute later. Just as urgent, Ladybug leapt away for a hiding place, finding one behind the gardening shed. She detransformed back to normal, without getting changed out of her gown. Careful not to step in any mud and dirt, she pussyfooted on cautious feet to the path while the Olympe girls came out through the door.

She knelt beside Valérie. "Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

Valérie gently gripped Marinette's offering hand. "There you are…"

Adrien, no longer Chat Noir, stepped out the alley, careful not to be seen by the school, when he spotted Marinette. And he stood on the spot, staring at her with a blank look.

"Wow…"

For the first time in a month, he caught sight of her.

And what a sight!

She laid on the stony ground, fussing over the fallen woman, her big gown puffed out around her in a pool of pink. Her gown was magnificent, her best work yet. A very pale shade of pink, the sleeves slipping off her pale shoulders and falling to the ground in elaborate folds. The huge skirt flared beyond the length of her arms, helped by the darker-pink petticoat underneath, fluffing the gown out to a fuller volume. A deep-pink sash of strong satin was tied around her tiny waist, a bow knotted at back. The gown was quite fitting in its form, giving her curves never seen before, the bodice cut at a low length, exposing her skin, emphasising her chest which made her busty…Averting his eyes, he found a simple necklace of a big pearl and two small ones at each side of it resting on her collarbone, matched with the same pearls circling her wrists and the big ones clipped onto her earlobes, her black studs peeking out from behind. Her familiar, pretty face was done up with makeup, ordinary pink lipstick and pink blush clashed with bold fuchsia eyeshadow and black eyeliner against her innocent blue eyes. To top it off, her hair, her hair seemed freer. Thick, luscious and silky, falling perfectly past her bare shoulders, ending in little swirls and a veil of white and sparkles floated down her back, her body, trailing behind her. An unusual flower crown sat on her head, a tiara arranged of delicate brown branches and pink flowers.

The school stood as a grand castle in the background, flower petals showering her in a soft breeze, the birds chirping, natural light dawning a halo on her. The schoolgirl wasn't a schoolgirl, she transferred into a maiden fresh out of a storybook, a blushing virgin, a precious princess of a noble lineage.

She was, without question, a princess. So beautiful.

Leica-Lou obviously thought so as she took pictures of Marinette in her Disney Princess moment in different angles. One angle caught glimpse of Adrien in her camera.

"Hey, is that a boy?"

"A boy?"

"A guy?"

"Where?"

"Is he cute?"

Girls started shrieking. Quickly Adrien hid back in the shadows of the building in an effort not to get caught.

"Alright, alright, ladies! You know the rules. No boys allowed on campus without permission from the headmistress." Valérie stood up, acid on her tongue at the very mention of males. "Boys. They're predators."

"Like a hawk?" One of the girls remarked and the rest of her friends giggled.

"OK, get insides before I get akumatized again."

Valérie herded the girls inside, all too zealous to follow her word, ushering to the door. Marinette tried to stand up and walk forward, but her gown kept her down. What she didn't expect was her matron pulling her up to her wobbling feet and helping her swan down the path.

"How do women walk in these things?" Marinette whined.

"In the olden days, the heavier the better." Valérie snarked, earning a laugh out of Marinette. The woman couldn't resist chuckling, the whole experience she had kinda loosen her up.

Inside the school, Leica-Lou glanced at her camera, muttering to herself. "I could've sworn I saw a guy. And he looked billboard-familiar."

On the outside, Adrien slowly stepped out of the shadows just as Marinette disappeared behind the doors and the gate shut, closing off to outsiders.

He stared in still silence, gazing longingly on what he saw.

Marinette, his friend, his princess, left Françoise Dupont for a school that was more of a castle.

He gawked in awe at this majestic place, fancy motto and pretty garden, containing the girl he wanted to see more than ever.

"So, this is where you've been hiding, Princess. You were in Paris all along." A huge grin grew on his face. His limbs jolted, his body moving in joy. "I've found her. Plagg, I've found her!"

Plagg ate his chuck of camembert cheese before giving a snide remark. "So how are you gonna see her without that hawk woman eyeing you or any of the girls wanting to ravish you? And didn't that lady say no boys allowed?"

Adrien cringed, stopping his dance. "Oops."

Akuma of the Day: Valérie Duchemin

Olympe's matron. A retired navy marine seal of the French Navy.

Her name came from actual French women in the army; Marie-Angélique Duchemin is the first woman with a recorded rank in the French Army, Corporal and Acting Sergeant, and the first woman decorated with the Legion of Honor. Valérie André was a neurosurgeon, a veteran of the French Resistance during WWII where she flew a helicopter in combat, the first woman in France to attain the rank of three-star general and received many decorations for her achievements.

Akuma- Hawkeye; play on her eyes like a hawk and the need to protect and count the girls of Marinette's new school, Olympe. The fact Valérie/Hawkeye has eyes at the back of her head is a reference to the saying'a mother has eyes in the back of her head.'

Léon Bakst was a painter and costume designer for the the Ballet Russes, a ballet company based in Paris that performed in the early 20th century. He designed exotic and richly coloured interior sets and costumes for the company. His designs and the Ballet Russes's performance revolutionize ballet, fashion and interior design.

In Vanessa's remark about Valérie/Hawkeye, Mary Poppins is character from the books by P.L. Travers, about an English nanny who rides in the air by an umbrella and is capable of magic. Also made into a beloved Live Action/Animation Disney film.

For note:

Marinette wears different outfits to symbolise the changes she's going through and her ambition to become a designer, and since she's attends a performing arts school and takes fashion design class, she's making outfits non-stop. So each chapter, she wears a different outfit.

Vanessa doesn't rely on clothes as much as Marinette. But as the mayor's (of London) daughter and a celebrity herself, she does dress up for outside appearance and when dancing. She prefers baggy and comfortable clothes.