aMarinette stared at the list of questions she'd scribbled on paper five minutes ago, preparing for today's Get to Know You activity. They were stupid questions. What's your favorite color? Basic. How old are you? She already knew that. What's your favorite meal? She didn't care. But she had to ask them, and she didn't want to upset Tikki, who had seemed on the verge of an internal explosion yesterday. Tikki didn't deserve extra stress. So instead, Marinette flatted out the piece of paper, and went to take a quick shower before her maid showed up with breakfast.

The warm water fell on her skin too gently, and she pushed up the water pressure settings and heat until the water stung her skin. She'd showered late last night, but she could still smell Allard on her. She grabbed her rose-scented exfoliator and scrubbed with her hard loofa, not noticing when her skin became red.

She remembered Chat Noir's familiarity with this man. How did they know each other? They weren't family, were they? Friends? Not likely, since Chat didn't seem to like him very much.

What kind of life did Chat Noir have, anyway? It didn't do anything for her to wonder about it, but as she continued to scrub, now working through the shampoo on her scalp, his face stayed on her mind. He was pretty, she could tell that much. It was always just a little too dark for her to see his face clearly, but she knew some things. He had clear skin, blonde hair. He was strong, yet his hands were so soft. At least, the one, ungloved hand that had held her own last night was. She blushed and scrubbed harder. He was obviously kind, brave, and loyal. Funny, too.

But who was he? And why did he really want to fight the Akumas? And, when he wasn't, what did he like to do? What was his favorite color and favorite meal? How old was he?

There was a knock on the door and some muffled calling, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Coming!" she yelled.

Marinette rinsed off the soap quickly and covered herself in the towel. With her hair dripping wet, finally feeling confident she didn't smell like a farm, she walked into her room.

She stopped dead in her tracks. It wasn't her maid that had called to her. It was the new guard, Chloe.

"Good, you're out," she said cooly. "Janet went to get your breakfast and asked me to make sure you hadn't died in the shower."

Marinette blushed under Chloe's sharp stare, and she tried to cover herself more. Chloe was a pretty girl, with wavy blond hair, high in a ponytail, and bright blue eyes. She held herself regally and although she wore the plain brown guard's uniform, she somehow made it look good. In fact, the brown made her glow. Marinette had always been jealous of people who could wear brown.

"Your highness?" Chloe asked sharply as Marinette's silence continued.

Marinette shook her head. "Yes, um, I'm awake. I'm alive. You can go back to your post."

Chloe nodded. "Yes, Miss." She promptly turned and went back to her post.

Marinette quickly got dressed in a casual light-blue summer dress, despite the fall that had come upon them. She followed Chloe down the hall so she could start her early morning classes. She had briefly forgotten that Adrien was going to have classes with her starting now, but when she walked into the room, Tutor Plagg was discussing his current understanding on the topics they'd be covering. Adrien had already graduated from 12th grade college, so he didn't technically need any more official schooling, but Marinette assumed that there would always be more to learn. Just in different settings.

Class passed as normal. Adrien was a diligent student, raising his hand constantly and answering questions, which Marinette was grateful for. They headed to lunch, where Tikki showed up for the first time all morning.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to classes this morning!" she said excitedly, sitting down at the table. "I've been in meetings all morning. You know how it is. I talked with your father, Marinette."

Marinette looked up, excited to hear more. "How is he?"

Tikkie grinned. "He wanted me to remind you that he's only a text away."

Marinette blushed, nodding.

"In fact," said Tikki, taking a bite of the broccoli on her plate, "he's just a phone call away. Literally. He has about 10 more minutes until he has to leave, if you wanted to go talk to him."

Marinette leaped up. "Really?! What room?"

Tikki winked. "In the classroom, actually."

Marinette tried to stay calm as she sped walk down a long hallway that led her back into the classroom. But just as she turned a corner, she ran into something hard, with large clashing sounds immediately following.

She'd ran into one of the servants, who was carrying used dishes on a tray. Marinette leaned down to help her out.

"You don't need to do this, Miss," squeaked the young girl as she immediately helped Marinette grab things.

"It's okay," said Marinette kindly, ignoring her excitement to go speak with her father. "I'd like to help."

There was silence as dishes clanked together, but suddenly, Marinette smelled a familiar peppermint smell...

Images of the masquerade ball flashed before her eyes, making her nauseas. Not looking up at the man who had just walked up to the two of them, Marinette quickly picked up the dishes she'd made the maid drop, placing them on the cart. With a soft, "Thank you, Your Highness," the maid quickly scurried away.

"Advisor Duval," Marinette said, forcing her voice to not shake, "it's great to see you again." She hoped he couldn't hear the lie.

Duval had been advisor to the old king for years, yet at the age of 50, he still looked like he'd just left his 20s. He was a tall, strong man, taller than even Luka. He had light brown, wavy hair that he always glued to his head with gel. He smirked, and Marinette wanted to punch the lights out of him. With a deep voice, he spoke as if he was constantly threatening everyone around them. But Marinette knew more than anyone that he would follow through with those threats, and she was not happy that he was back on castle grounds, especially with her father and the Queen gone.

"Yes, Your Highness," he said, grinning widely at her with that charming grin. She looked around, hoping that someone would come into the hallway with her. She didn't want to be alone with him. "I'm glad to be back. I was asked by the Queen to conduct a meeting with her virtually with Advisor Sancoeur today."

Marinette nodded. "Well, it's been great seeing you once again, but I think I -"

Duval strode to where Marinette stood, until he was one foot away from her. "I'm glad to see you too, Princess," he said. "I was sad I missed you at the wedding. But if you ever need anything, please remember that I'm here."

Marinette forced herself to not run away on the spot. The icky feelings from last night were back, and the icky feelings from a year ago, and Marinette wanted to get rid of her very skin. Marinette nodded, her heart pounding.

"I'm sure that we just missed each other in the chaos of everything."

"Maybe," Duval said, nonchalantly. "I'd be so disappointed to hear you'd been avoiding me."

If Marinette we're honest, she wasn't even thinking about him. She hadn't thought about Duval in months. But now that he was in front of her, she had to shake away off the feelings she'd made herself forget. And decided that she wouldn't remember him after today. Because she couldn't remember him.

"Of course not," she smiled politely, feeling as small as a mouse as she stared up at his looming form. He was smiling, but there was a darkness in his eyes. She found herself trapped in them, her stomach turning. "I just was so busy."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here now!" he stated. "I've been hired to come back weekly, so we'll get to see each other more often."

Marinette's smile tightened. She opened her mouth to say something, though she didn't know what yet, when she was interrupted, but it wasn't Duval.

"Hey!" a happy voice sounded from around the corner. It was Adrien, and he was smiling politely at Marinette. "Ready to go to class?" Then he looked at Advisor Duval, a look of excited shock crossing this face. "Advisor Duval, it's great to see you! I hate to take away the Princess, but we're late to our lessons." He smiled sheepishly.

Duval stepped back and gave a soft smile towards Adrien, with a soft head bow. "Of course, Mr. Agreste." He looked back at Marinette, smiling politely. "I have duties to get to, so we'll have to talk another time. I'll see you around," he promised. But Marinette heard the threat.

She turned gratefully towards Adrien, who was waving at Duval's retreating form. After the man turned the corner, Adrien's smile dropped. It was like Marinette was looking at two different people. He looked down at her seriously, and said, "Let's go."

They walked towards class. On the way, Adrien said, "Are you okay?"

Marinette let out a forced laugh. "Of course! It's about time for the Get to Know You activity, right? You better have good questions, because I don't."

Adrien stopped in front of the classroom door. The serious expression made her turn away, but he gently touched her arm with his fingers. She froze. His voice was quiet, but strong. "Are you okay?"

Marinette nodded again, her stomach churning. "Yes. I'm okay." She glanced over at Luka, who stared at then grin the end of the hallway. He glanced away immediately, and her stomach turned again.

His gaze was sincere. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here," he promised. Marinette looked away. But just as she turned away, wishing she was anywhere but here, her stomach lurched once again. But this time, she got sick. All over Adrien's shoes.