A/N: I totally wrote this instead of studying for my Physics exam. Oh well.
A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot.
Enjoy ;)
"If you keep your mouth open like that, you might catch a fly."
Alya's comment went unnoticed; Marinette continued to gape as she stared in amazement at her surroundings. They were currently walking the width of the training ground on a wide dirt path, which split the field down the middle.
To her right were hundreds of canvas tents. Dirt paths similar to the one they walked on weaved between clusters of them. A few trees and bushes were scattered around, along with the occasional fire pit or patch of grass where soldiers relaxed and talked.
To her left was a wide, open space, where most of the soldiers were currently training. Tall posts stood along the treeline on the far end of the field, and clumps of tree stumps were strewn in front of them. The rest of the open space was being used for combat training, both with weapons and fists.
When they reached the sideline, Marinette turned around to view the field as a whole again. Alya watched her, amused.
"Which training grounds are these?" Marinette asked absentmindedly.
"The South. This is where you'll stay for a while." Alya smirked as she added, "And it's also the smallest of the training grounds."
Marinette turned wide eyes over to her. "The smallest?!" Holy-
Marinette was overwhelmed. All of this was just… incredible. There were hundreds of soldiers and dozens of experienced troop leaders right in front of her, and this was only a fourth of it all. The tents, the weapons, the fighting and training methods, where did they get all of it? All these years they were growing and building this, while the people and the royals remained none the wiser. Marinette's mind buzzed as she went back through the last five years, imagining every moment of pain and hopelessness and letting it dissolve away. This was real. This was all the hope she needed.
Alya laughed. "Alright girl, I'm serious. Close your mouth. I'm genuinely concerned something's gonna fly in there."
Marinette clamped her mouth shut, but when her eyes trailed over the training grounds again, it slowly opened.
Alya rolled her eyes. "Come on, you'll have plenty of time to gawk later. We need to get you set up to join." She grabbed Marinette's arm and pulled her into the forest. Marinette peered over her shoulder for one last glimpse before the field disappeared behind the treeline.
She turned her attention forward and noticed they were walking on a well-worn path in the dirt. "Where are we headed now?"
"The Center Compound. It's right up ahead here, and you should probably prepare yourself. Personally, this area is my favorite."
They reached the clearing, and once again, Marinette was astounded. This area was more of a square than a rectangle, but it was still massive. Various different crops grew in the space before them: corn, rice, potatoes, wheat, beans, and probably more that she couldn't see from here. Acres upon acres of farmland spread the expanse of the clearing, and in the center was a village. The houses were tightly packed together, and the structures appeared to be more permanent than the tents set up at the training grounds. In the distance, Marinette saw more buildings a small ways from the village: stables.
Her mouth was open again, and she was speechless. This was an entire world that she hadn't known existed, that France didn't know existed. She vaguely registered Alya grabbing her arm again and leading her down the dirt path between the crops. She turned her head in every direction, trying to take it all in even though her mind was dangerously close to short circuiting.
The chatter from ahead drew Marinette's attention towards the village. As they got closer, more and more people became visible. Some were working in the fields next to them while others walked between buildings carrying baskets of food or piles of laundry to nearby clotheslines. Everyone seemed to have a job they were doing.
The people warmly greeted Marinette and Alya as they entered the village, Alya responding for the both of them as Marinette was still incapable of forming a coherent thought. They passed kids, parents, grandparents, soldiers, farmers, people of all ages and occupations. The village vaguely reminded Marinette of her own, mainly because of the arrangement and style of the buildings, but she caught sight of one building that made her stop dead in her tracks.
It looked exactly like the bakery. Almost. Unlike the bakery's carefully built structure, this one appeared a bit rushed, and instead of being made of bricks and clay, this one was made of wood. The layout and design, the slightly curved front that was unique to the bakery, was exactly the same.
Alya stopped too. "Marinette?" she asked.
Marinette lifted a finger and pointed. "That building." Alya turned to look at it.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"It-" She paused for a moment to get her thoughts together. "Who built it?"
Alya shrugged. "Dunno. It was here when I joined, and I'm pretty sure it's been here since the beginning. That's where some of the royal soldiers stay."
That drew Marinette's attention immediately. Her eyes flicked to Alya. "What? Royal soldiers?"
"The retired ones. The ones that Chat Noir broke out of the prison five years ago. Most of the escapees are serving in the army right now, but a few of them just can't anymore, physically and mentally, so they stay there." She vaguely motioned at the building.
Marinette zoned out again. The prison break. That was her key to finding out what happened to Adrien. If he was still alive ‒no, he is still alive‒ then he'd be kept in the prison. They might know something about him, maybe whether or not he's still there. She needed to talk to them.
Alya continued on, oblivious to Marinette's racing mind. "Anyway, this way girl. I didn't realize how late it was, so you can stay at my place tonight. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to Nino."
Marinette looked over to her left. She couldn't see the sun behind the building next to her, but the pinks and purples in the sky above it told her it was setting. Marinette nodded and let Alya drag her past the bakery lookalike. She cast a fleeting glance at it before sighing to herself.
She needed to be patient. Suddenly interrogating a group of royal veterans would be suspicious, and she couldn't risk that right after she just arrived. For now, she would establish herself here as a soldier. She figured she'd wait until she at least made it to the East and West Training Grounds before she attempted to do any digging.
As they walked, the larger buildings on either side of the path shrunk down to small, tightly packed wooden houses. Alya led her over to one of them and stopped in front of the door.
She grabbed Marinette's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "I'm gonna apologize in advance."
Marinette quirked an eyebrow. "For what?" She gave a teasing smile. "Is your house really that messy?"
Alya nodded, completely serious. "It is, but that's not what I'm worried about." A loud crashing sound from inside punctuated her sentence, and she let out an exasperated sigh.
Marinette looked between Alya and the door. 'What was that?"
Alya pressed her lips into a thin line. "The Sapotis."
Marinette didn't have time to react before Alya wrenched open the door and stormed inside. Marinette hesitantly followed, and her eyes widened when she saw the state of the house. Tables and chairs and blankets were all stacked precariously in a pile in the center of the room, looking like a fort only halfway through construction. At the far wall, which was only about ten feet away in the small living room, two identical girls stood at either end of a couch, arguing loudly.
"I told you we have to put it over there." The twin pushed the couch, and it moved a few inches forward.
The other twin pushed back against it, stopping the movement. "No! It has to go over there."
"If we do that," she shoved harder, "then the chairs will fall like that one!" Marinette's eyes found a scattered chair off to the side of the fort.
"It only fell because the couch wasn't there to hold it up!"
"It fell because you stacked it wrong!"
"Nuh-uh! You stacked that one!"
No I didn't!"
"Yes you did-"
"What on Earth is going one here?!" Alya yelled over them.
Two identical faces whipped towards the door before breaking out into grins. "Alya!" They sprinted over, passing dangerously close to the unstable structure. Alya let out a grunt as they slammed into her at full force. She tried to keep her expression stern, but she couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face. Alya kneeled down and wrapped her arms around the twins.
"I missed you guys."
"We missed you too,' the girls chorused.
Marinette watched the interaction fondly. If Alya had been on the same trail as Marinette since she was in Versailles, then it must have been at least three weeks since she saw these girls, who Marinette presumed were Alya's sisters. Watching them elicited a small pang in her chest. She missed her parents. A lot.
Alya pulled back and looked between the girls. "Now, what in the world did you do to our living room?"
The girls smiled innocently. "It wasn't us! It was the Sapotis!"
Marinette covered her mouth and smothered a giggle. The girls looked up at her, noticing her for the first time. Marinette lowered her hand and gave them a small wave.
"Hello, I'm Marinette."
The girls waved back enthusiastically.
"I'm Ella."
"I'm Etta."
"Marinette is going to stay with us tonight, so I want you to be on your best behavior. Alright?" Alya gave them a serious look.
The girls giggled and nodded.
Alya wasn't convinced just yet. "I'm serious. No more destroying the living room and making forts."
"But it wasn't us! It was the Sapotis!"
Alya huffed loudly.
Marinette laughed again. "You know, Alya, maybe it really was the Sapotis," she teased. The girls began chattering in agreement, practically vibrating with excess energy.
Alya whipped around to face Marinette. "Don't encourage them!"
An hour and a broken gas lamp later, the living room was rearranged again, and Marinette was able to see what the space was supposed to look like. There was a couch and an armchair squeezed into one half, while a dining table took up the other. It was cramped, but it was cozy.
Marinette didn't realize she was hungry until Alya brought up the subject of dinner. At the mention of food, the twins, who had calmed down a bit by their standards, fired up again.
"Didn't you two eat dinner already?" Alya asked suspiciously.
"Nope! We're starving!"
"Liars…"
Alya led the three of them back down the street towards a decent sized building; a small chimney sat on the roof, continuously puffing out smoke. Alya and the twins strolled in, while Marinette slowly trailed behind them, still taking time to observe her surroundings. They were in a kitchen. Sort of. Technically, they were in a small open area separated from the kitchen by a counter. Marinette figured this was a pickup zone for meals.
Her eyes were drawn to the kitchen behind the counter. In the back of her mind, something sparked with recognition. The longer she stared, the more it reminded her of her father's kitchen in the bakery. No, it looked just like it, right down to the number of cupboards and ovens and their locations relative to each other. A woman near the back turned around and smiled at the group of them, making her way over.
Marinette shook her head to herself. She was overthinking things. She was probably just hyper aware of anything remotely similar to her home; first the building outside and now the kitchen in front of her. She missed her parents and the bakery, that's all.
The woman came to stand behind the counter. "Alya! Welcome back!"
"Thanks, Maman. Late night?"
She nodded tiredly. "I don't think I'll be home for a few more hours. Your father had a problem with the cows today, so he'll be a while too." Alya's mom eyed the girls, who were innocently resting their chins on the counter and staring up at her. "Did the twins behave themselves on their own today?"
"Of course we did!"
She gave Alya a questioning look, and Alya shook her head. "I'll tell you later. Could we get something to eat? I'm famished."
Alya's mom walked back into the kitchen where she prepared a basket of fruits of vegetables. When she returned with it, Alya introduced Marinette.
"She's joining tomorrow, so I said she could stay with us tonight."
"Really? Well if we're having a guest," she went back into the kitchen and over to a stove, "then she must eat well." She returned holding a plate with a small slice of cooked chicken on it.
Marinette took it gratefully. They said their goodbyes to Alya's mom and walked back to the house, where they all sat around the table and dug into the basket. Marinette distributed sections of her chicken despite Alya's protests, while the twins devoured everything they could get their hands on. It wasn't long before Alya was ushering the girls into a door off the living room, presumably their bedroom. However, they didn't go without a fight.
"We don't wanna go to bed!"
"Oh, please. You were practically falling asleep at the table. Etta, get off the couch!"
"No! Not until you let us stay up!"
"Etta get- Ella, let go!"
"No!"
"I swear to god-"
As Alya argued and wrestled with her sisters, Marinette couldn't help but marvel at how domestic it was. Marinette had been roughly the twins' age when the country fell apart and she was forced to grow up early, so it was bizarre to see them, in the same broken world, giggling and laughing as they ran around the living room. Without the overbearing presence of the royals, life went on here. These girls were isolated from the rest of the world, yet they were living a better childhood than she ever could out there. She didn't think it was possible for life to be anything similar to how it used to be, but here it was right in front of her.
When Alya finally dropped back into her seat at the table, she looked exhausted. She sighed and turned to Marinette. "Just your typical day with my sisters."
Marinette giggled. "They seem like lots of fun."
"Ha! Just wait until they get their hands on some paint, that's always a blast to clean up." Alya ran her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. "So, how are you?"
Marinette had no idea. She had no words to describe how much her life had changed in the last couple of hours, but she tried to find them anyway. "I'm… overwhelmed? But in a good way."
Alya nodded. "Understandable."
"But, I have a question."
"Shoot."
"Nobody here wears masks or anything like the soldiers do." Alya nodded in agreement. "If the masks are to protect identities, then what's the point of them if anyone is allowed to come through here and see the families?"
"They aren't, actually." Alya leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Generally, if someone brings their family with them, they're allowed to come here and visit occasionally. If a recruit is alone, and we expect anyone who might infiltrate to be alone, then they stay at the training grounds since there's no reason for them to be here."
Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. "Then why am I allowed in here?"
Alya shrugged. "I trust you. After four years of this job, I've gotten good at reading people, and I know you're trustworthy."
Marinette's heart warmed a bit at that.
"Speaking of identities," Alya continued, "we need to get you one." She leaned forward and clasped her hands together on the table, and suddenly Marinette felt like she was under interrogation. "So, what do you want your disguise to be?"
"Uhh…" Marinette was drawing a huge blank. She hadn't really thought about that part yet.
"Here, I'll make it simpler. Name an animal." Alya rushed to add, "And please make it unique. I can't tell you how many dogs I've gotten. And lions. And tigers."
Marinette stared down at the table. An animal. This was easy, just think of an animal. She scoured her brain for any obscure animal she could think of, but none of them sounded appealing.
Lemur? No.
Hamster? Eh.
Armadillo? No thank you.
Hippo? Absolutely not.
She bit her lip. Why was this so hard? She glanced down at the bag near her feet, her eyes finding the outside pocket. Red. Black spots.
"How about… Ladybug?"
Alya cocked her head to the side. "Ladybug? Are insects even animals?" She thought for a moment. "You know, I'm fine with it if you are. I've never heard it before, so you'll definitely be the only one."
Marinette nodded. "Alright, then I'll be Ladybug."
Alya grinned. "Well then, Ladybug, we need to figure out a disguise for you. Particularly one that hides your non-male qualities."
Right, she almost forgot about that. "Will I have to cut my hair really short?"
"No, I think you'll be okay. There are enough man buns around that they won't question another thrown in the mix. I've got some red face paint I can lend you to put around your eyes, and I think you should wear a cloth over your mouth just to be safe. You should wear baggy clothes too."
They both agreed to get her disguise together in the morning when they were more refreshed. They'd had quite the long day, and neither of them felt like doing anything other than passing out on the nearest flat surface. Alya got Marinette a blanket and a pillow and set her up on the couch. They bid their goodnights, and Marinette found herself alone with her thoughts for the first time all evening.
If she wasn't so tired, she would spend the next few hours staring at the ceiling contemplating everything that happened today. Her droopy eyes had other plans. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep for the first time without the looming task of finding the revolution hanging over her head. She was here now.
Her eyes found her backpack again, and she reached over and grabbed it, unzipping the pocket and pulling out the earrings. They glittered and glistened in the lowlight as Marinette admired them. They really were her lucky charm, weren't they? Somehow, everything was turning out right, and for once she felt like she was on the right track.
She spent a few more seconds holding them before she tucked them safely back into her bag and set it on the ground next to the couch. She laid down and pulled the blanket up to her chin, closing her eyes and letting out a contented sigh.
Unlike every night for the past ten years, Marinette didn't dream of Adrien and Emilie in the rain. She didn't dream of her father in a bloody heap on the floor of the bakery. She didn't dream of Adrien shivering in a cold cell, all alone in the dark.
That night, Marinette dreamt of apples and orchards and pastries. She dreamt of fields and tents and marching. She dreamt of giggles and laughter and joy.
She dreamt of a kind smile, blonde hair, and startling emerald eyes.
When the twins woke up, the rest of the house did too. The morning was just as, if not more hectic as the night before, possibly because the twins were now at full energy capacity. After breakfast, Alya let Ella and Etta loose on the kids in the street and took Marinette to a supplies building. It was there that they found some red sweatshirts and tank tops and some black shorts.
"But I'm not going to use the tank tops." Marinette pushed them back into Alya's hands.
Marinette didn't want to take anything more than what she needed, and she definitely didn't need tank tops; they were too revealing and feminine. However, Marinette was quickly learning that Alya was just as stubborn as she was.
"Maybe not in the army, but they'll look so cute on you. You can wear them whenever you come visit me." Alya returned them to a reluctant Marinette's arms. "You can't say no, they're already yours."
They headed back to Alya's house to get Marinette changed, but as they were making their way past the bakery look-alike, someone opened the door and walked out. Alya slowed to a stop and smirked at them.
"Hey, stranger."
Said stranger was tall and had short black hair. His entire outfit was dark green —his cap, his shirt, his pants, his boots, and the facepaint behind his glasses. He gave a small wave and approached them.
"Hey, it's been a while."
Alya crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders. "Only a few weeks."
He shook his head. "It was totally longer than that."
Alya's smirk grew. "Did you miss me that much?"
"Maybe."
Marinette looked back and forth between the two of them, feeling increasingly awkward by the second. They were very obviously flirting with each other, and Marinette considered slipping away and heading back to the house.
Alya suddenly remembered Marinette's presence. "Oh! Marinette, this is Nino-"
"Carapace!" he hissed.
"Oops. Right, codenames. Marinette, this is Carapace. Carapace, this is Mar-"
"Ladybug." Marinette held out her hand, and Carapace shook it.
"Nice to meet you, Ladybug." He pointedly looked at Alya, who rolled her eyes.
"Whatever." She nodded her head at Marinette. "Here's your new recruit."
Nino looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yup, and you gotta pretend she's a guy, alright? So she isn't harassed."
Nino lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "I can pretend she's a guy, but I don't think that'll guarantee she isn't harassed."
"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.
"I was meeting with some of the other recruits earlier, the ones that'll be in my troop, and there's this one guy…" He let out a puff of air, looking slightly irritated at the memory. "He hasn't done anything wrong yet, so I can't exactly confront him. He just rubs me the wrong way, and I can tell he's a major asshole." Nino tried to look reassuring. "But if you stay out of his way, I think you'll be alright."
Marinette felt slightly apprehensive. She already had the task of collecting information that may or may not even be here, and now she also had to deal with whoever the hell this guy was on top of trying to stay unnoticed. Great.
Marinette sighed. "Right, well, we might as well get started then."
The three of them walked back to Alya's house so Marinette could change and grab her things. Marinette tucked away her new clothes in her bag, letting Alya hang on to her old clothes for the time being. Fifteen minutes later, she stood in Alya's room staring at her reflection in a mirror.
Her hair was tied in a low bun at the nape of her neck, the ideal man bun. The red sweatshirt was baggy enough to cover her curves, and although the shorts were a bit more form fitting than she would have liked, they weren't too obvious. Red grease paint covered the area around her eyes, and in her hand she held the last part of her disguise: a red and slightly see through strip of cloth. She tied it over her mouth and surveyed her completed look.
Yeah, she looked like she could be a guy. Perfect.
She walked out into the living room where Alya and Nino were talking. Actually, they seemed to be flirting again. They were standing close together and both wore playful smiles as they spoke. Marinette watched them, amused, before stepping back into the bedroom and walking out again, this time making her footsteps much louder.
Alya turned and looked Marinette up and down. Her face broke out into a grin. "Girl! Look at you!" She came over and walked in a circle around Marinette. "Damn, this might actually work."
"You think so?"
Alya moved to stand in front of Marinette. "Almost. You gotta fix that voice."
Marinette opened and closed her mouth a few times, awkwardly trying to find the right octave to lower her voice to. "You think so?" she said in an over-the-top manly manner.
Alya pressed her lips together. "Maybe you just shouldn't talk."
Marinette grabbed her bag, and right as they were about to leave, she remembered something; she'd been writing to her parents once a week. If she suddenly went silent, they would lose their minds with worry. She voiced her concern to Alya and Nino.
Alya looked conflicted. "We try not to come and go from the compound too often, so we don't deliver letters." Alya thought for a moment. "Here." She disappeared into the bedroom and returned with a piece of paper and a pencil. "Write to them one more time, and I'll make sure it gets delivered."
Marinette thanked Alya profusely before scribbling out a short paragraph explaining that she was somewhere safe and wouldn't be able to send anymore letters. She emphasized that they shouldn't worry and told them she loved them. She folded up the letter and handed it to Alya, who promised to send it out as soon as possible.
Marinette felt the outside pocket of her bag and confirmed that she had her earrings. "Okay, let's go."
They left the house and headed towards the South Training Grounds. Marinette waved goodbye to the twins playing soccer in the street, and she sent a lingering glance at the bakery building as they passed. When they reached the treeline, Alya stopped.
"Alright girl." She pulled Marinette into a tight hug. "Good luck, and make sure you pester Nino so he lets you come visit." Nino rolled his eyes.
Marinette giggled and squeezed her back. "Don't worry. I'll be okay, and I'll come visit when I can."
"Take care." They pulled apart, and Alya gave Marinette one last encouraging smile before her and Nino set off down the path. Marinette felt a bit sad separating from Alya; she was the first person she'd met and had been her guide up until now. She didn't know Nino all that well yet, but since him and Alya seemed to get along, she figured they would too.
Speaking of him and Alya…
She turned to Nino. "So how long have you and Alya been dating?"
He practically choked on thin air. He coughed and spluttered until he finally managed a short, "What?"
Marinette held back a smile. "Oh, so you guys aren't together, then?"
"Uhh…" His face was flushed and he squirmed a little. "Well, I don't really know. We're both working a lot, so we haven't talked about it."
Marinette hummed. "I see. Well, either way, I think you two look really cute together."
He was still blushing, but he offered a smile. "Thanks, Marinette."
They walked in silence for a minute or so before she spoke again.
"Are all the other recruits there already?"
Nino nodded. "They've been waiting around for a few days because we're short on people in the troop. I was going to start training today anyway, but adding you in won't be a problem."
Great, so her troop had all gotten to know each other already, and Marinette would be the outsider. Lovely.
The South Training Ground came into view again, and Marinette felt a flutter in her stomach. She wasn't sure how she was going to pull this off; her main concerns were her voice and lack of muscle mass, which might put her at a huge disadvantage during strength training. Her nervousness grew tenfold as they entered the labyrinth of tents, drawing sparing glances from passing soldiers. Marinette took a few deep breaths to calm the swarm in her stomach, but she wasn't very successful.
They reached a patch of grass with a cluster of tents on it, and Nino led her to the one closest to them. He pulled back the canvas and stuck his head inside.
"Hey, you guys have a new roommate, so be nice. We're training today, so I want all of you out on the field in twenty. Got it?"
Marinette heard a chorus of mumbled agreement.
Nino clicked his tongue. "That won't do. I need a 'Yes Sir,' and speak up. We don't mumble here. Got it?"
"Yes Sir!"
"That's better." Nino turned to face Marinette, motioning to the tent. "Get settled, and I'll see you out on the field." He patted her shoulder and whispered, "I'm sorry, good luck," before heading off in the direction of the training ground.
Marinette watched him go, slightly confused, before she schooled her expression and ducked into the tent.
The space was roughly the size of Alya's living room. In each corner was a bed—if blankets stuffed with hay counted as beds—and they were arranged so one was pressed along the length of each wall. Three guys lounged on the beds, and they all looked in her direction as she entered.
Not wanting to speak, Marinette lifted her hand in a casual wave and stepped towards her bed. Of course, the only bed left was the one by the entrance; she couldn't wait to feel the draft at night. She expected her roommates to be a bit more friendly, but they weren't. They didn't do anything more than stare at her, and although in any other circumstances she would be put off, she was silently grateful for the opportunity to escape having to speak.
She crouched down next to her 'mattress' and shuffled around in her bag. She wasn't particularly looking for anything, but it made her feel less awkward to have something to do. She had just reached her tank tops at the bottom of her bag when one of the guys began talking.
He scoffed. "Can you believe this?" Marinette saw him motion towards her in her peripheral. The others said nothing, but he continued on. "They're really letting just about anybody in here, aren't they?"
Marinette clenched her jaw and continued her pretend bag search. Her luck must have run out because she had a feeling this was the asshole Nino warned her about, and of course, he was now her roommate. Nino's apology was making sense now.
"Hey, runt."
She had hoped her height wouldn't pose a problem, but she was wrong. Marinette didn't let the nickname affect her, and she continued on as if he'd said nothing. Ten years of experience with the royal guard made her good at biting her tongue.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
Marinette closed her eyes and sighed before turning her head to look at him.
He smirked condescendingly. "I think you're in the wrong place. This ain't the playground." He chuckled and appeared way too proud of his quip, which was subpar at best. She quirked an unimpressed eyebrow before turning back to her bag. She could already tell this guy would be the bane of her existence for the next few weeks.
She noticed a pair of gloves tucked in an inside pocket and grabbed them, slipping them on. The asshole looked as if he was about to start talking again, so Marinette stood and slipped out of the tent before he got the chance. She wandered over to a fire pit in an open area nearby and sat down on one of the tree stumps surrounding it. She rested her elbows on her knees.
Here we go.
She closed her eyes and recapped all that she needed to do. First things first, she needed to feel this place out a bit. Even though she was already friendly with a couple of the army members, that didn't mean she could trust them all. In particular, she couldn't trust Chat Noir. He was leading the revolution and ultimately decided their course of action, and she still didn't know his motive. In a perfect world, Chat Noir would be working with Adrien to take down the Fake King and restore Adrien to the throne, but Marinette knew that was probably far from the truth.
Chat Noir most likely expected to take the throne himself, but she wouldn't let that happen. Once she established herself here, she would try to talk to the retired soldiers and see if they saw anything that hinted at where Adrien could be. If she was lucky, she might manage to get a message to Chat Noir and hear what he has to say, although he might not tell the truth.
She placed her head in her hands. She had absolutely no idea how all of this would play out, but she hoped beyond hope that everything would be okay. She'd find Adrien, they'd take down the Fake King, and her country would be able to breathe again. For now, though, she needed to focus on keeping her cover here as a soldier. The butterflies in her stomach flared again as she heard her fellow troop members exiting their tents.
Right, training.
She straightened up and rolled her shoulders.
Alright, Ladybug, let's do this.
Marinette stood, back straight and face set, before she headed towards the training ground.