So… I know I said I wouldn't post anything until hitting 10 reviews, but I changed my mind. I don't see it getting there unless I keep posting. I was also going to wait until completing a book but…nah. So here you guys go, a new chapter! Enjoy!
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Adrien's P.O.V
I grumpily walked down the muddy streets filled with puddles from the rain earlier. The gray clouds still loomed above the rundown buildings that housed the poor people of Paris.
Kids ran around in their ragged clothes laughing, jumping and playing in the muddy puddles.
It may seem like a dreaded place but hope still lingered in the darkest places. I see it every day when walking down this same pathway. Unfortunately, nothing has changed my gloomy mood since our fallen Ladybug and the love of my life, Kagami.
Life in the poor part of town has never been the same since her death. Some had hope that a new Ladybug will come and continue what the last one couldn't. Others were like this weather, gray clouds blocking the sun's light and bringing a chill to what we call home.
We lost a hero, a friend, and hope for our future. We lost so much in one night and took a big hit. Even the miraculous holders weren't acting the same without Kagami. I definitely changed.
My love is gone and since then, I never transformed back into Chat Noir, now declared MIA.
I've seen the holders visiting Master Fu, probably wondering where I am, and why I'm not doing my duties. Master Fu tried to convince me to go back and stop worrying the others. Yet I hadn't had the motivation to do so.
My purpose was to protect Ladybug and destroy. There was no Ladybug. If I transform, the memories would come and cloud reason with destruction. So what was my purpose now?
"Hey, long time no see!" Nino said, coming up from behind and slinging an arm around my shoulders.
"Hey," I dully replied, hands in pockets and head low. Nino knew of my gloominess but does not know the reason why. He has tried many times to get me to talk about it, but I always shrug it off.
What was the point of telling anyone? Master Fu was the only one who knows about my feelings I had towards Kagami.
"I'm not sure what your deal is but you know you can lay it on me. I'm your best friend, your pal, your amigo, remember? You could say we're practically brothers but that's a bit cheesy," he rambled, then scrunched his nose.
"Speaking of cheese, you really need to hold off on that camembert. You seriously reek of it."
I snorted a bit and faked a small smile, mentally and sarcastically thanking Plagg for the smell. Nino always knew how to cheer me up with his ridiculousness. He was weird and funny like that, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
"I'll think about it," I replied.
"There's that missing smile, almost forgot you had one!" Nino cheered while I rolled my eyes. What would I do without my best friend?
"Hey, boys!"
We stopped and turned to see Nino's girlfriend, Alya running up to us with a giant smile.
"Hey, Al. What's up?" Nino asked the redhead.
"I've got the biggest scoop and couldn't let it not be told to anyone else," she said, enthusiastically.
"What's the news?" I asked. Alya's news wasn't all too thrilling since it was pretty much the same kind of gossip. People stealing, fights breaking out, an akuma causing havoc or the rich doing stupid things. Same old, same old news every time.
Yet, I was quite taken back with what she said
"I heard that a new Ladybug has been chosen! Can you believe it?" the girl squealed, hopping up and down.
Nino and I's eyes widened at the information in surprised with the news. How was this possible? Why wasn't I notified about it? I was one of the leaders of the miraculous holders. This must be false gossip spread to get in people's heads that we still have a chance.
I narrowed my eyes and spat, "If you are just going to fill people's heads with false hope, I hope you enjoy watching it being crushed too. There is no way another Ladybug has been chosen."
Brown eyes landed on me before Alya shook her head.
"I thought it was a trick to so I looked into it with one of the best fortune tellers that poor have. She told me, 'A new heroine shall rise from the ashes in red and black to guide the lost to be found once again,'" Alya quoted the fortune teller.
I knew Alya was talking about Madam Olympia and rumor has it, she could see into the future. Nino and I thought it was a scam the first time we tried until the fortune actually came true. No one knew how she did it but it comes for a real cost to get a fortune.
"And how did you get a fortune from Olympia?" Nino asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"I gave her one of my mom's fresh baked cookies," Alya replied, sassily poking Nino's chest with a smirk. It was rare to have some nice freshly baked cookies these days, a real treat to enjoy especially Mrs. Cesaire's cookies.
"Do you know when we will be seeing the new Ladybug?" Nino asked, but Alya shook her head in disappointment.
"More like new replacement, that phony," I thought, bitterly.
"I'll see you two later. I need to go talk with someone," I said, parting with the couple. I need to go see Master Fu and have a little talk with him.
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Marinette's P.O.V
I gasped when the strings to my dress were pulled tighter, barely letting me breathe. Were they trying to suffocate me or what?
In a couple of hours was the party for the Ladies of the Court to find a husband. That was mainly why a party was being held in our honor, and my parents invited all the young men they could find.
I hated every moment of this and wished to hide in the lower part of the house to fence. The other Ladies of the Court however are opposite of me. They were thrilled to find a man and absolutely devoted in getting a higher status within the rich community.
I actually hated their guts because of their attitude and behavior. Although it was ladylike, those two were spoiled brats.
Chloe Bourgeois, the drama queen of this century, and Lila Rossi, the stealthiest liar in all of Paris. Those two were the vain to my existence to no ends.
The worst part, I have to see them at every party, since we were all lacking a husband. Every time one of the two make a scene or lies about things they haven't done, I want to rip their hair out then and there.
This was another reason why parties are terrible besides most of the guys that attend.
A knock came from the door before it creaked open and my mother's head poked into the room.
"Is she almost ready?" my mother asked, nervously biting her lip.
Why wouldn't she be nervous? This was pretty much my last chance to be married off so she doesn't become a total disgrace to the other rich people.
I bet, once my birthday has gone then my new home will be with the poor, and my parents will never see me again. No one would want to visit their dishonorable child in the poor part of Paris.
It was the sad truth during these times.
"She is almost done," our personal designer reassured, "just adding the finishing touches."
Mother just nodded a bit relieved before testing me again about being proper such as holding a fan right or agree to dance if a guy offers.
With those things said and done, the designer finished. I followed mother to the entrance of the staircase that leads to the party down below.
Chloe and Lila were talking about who would get the better man and having a happier life. I begrudgingly sighed in annoyance and couldn't wait for this party to end.
Trumpets went off, silencing the crowd downstairs as my father gives a small speech before letting his assistant present the Ladies of the Court. Chloe and Lila squealed a little with excitement and readied their fans as I unenthusiastically did so with mine.
"Good luck, Mari-trash. Who am I kidding? It's going to take a miracle for you not to end up with the rest of your kind, not like you didn't belong there in the first place," Chloe cackled and Lila grinned a sly foxlike smile. I could tell Lila had something up her sleeve as she sassily fluttered her fan. I felt my bottom eyelid twitch a bit as someone gripped my arm.
"Don't dishonor the family, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," mother sternly whispered into my ear before letting go and walked off to join my father. I glared at her retreating form as my father's assistant began.
"I present to you, the Ladies of the Court!" he announced, the cheering crowd clapped.
"First up, we have the lady of the Bourgeois household, Chloe Bourgeois!" Chloe began to elegantly walk down the stairs, holding her dress up a bit not to fall and clutched the fan so properly that she could be mistaken for a princess.
"Next up, we have the lady of the Rossi household, Lila Rossi!" the assistant announced as Lila went just gracefully down the steps as if she were floating, fan hiding half of her face mischievously.
"And last, we have the lady of the host's party and Dupain-Cheng household, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" I began to not so elegantly or gracefully walk down the steps still trying to look proper. It wasn't working though and there were a few distasteful murmurs spreading like a social disease.
I held back an eye roll and joined the other Ladies of the Court as my father tells everyone to enjoy themselves. He gave a cue and the music started playing.
Two guys walked up to other girls and offered to dance. Lila and Chloe smiled, returning their acceptance before being walked to the dance floor.
I was actually glad they were gone and no guy asked me to dance but felt mother's stare burn through the back of my head.
Holding back the urge to stay, I began to walk around to greet the other guests. It was pretty much the only proper thing I could do. I was a little bit of a clumsy dancer, especially in heels, but still pulled it off more beautifully than Lila or Chloe. Another reason they hated me.
The sound of a thump and clank came, a crowd of people forming and making fun of someone who fell.
An elderly man had tripped, his cane far from his reach and no one was willing to give the guy a hand. I walked through the crowd of people and helped the Chinese man back up to his feet and returned his cane. His clothes weren't the nicest, but I didn't really care about that and glad that he seemed okay.
"Thank you, Miss Dupain-Cheng," he said, smiling. I returned the gesture by getting him a cup of water before spotting my mother giving me a disapproving look again.
"I have to go, mister. Enjoy the rest of the party," I politely said, parting with the man. Some people gave me odd looks because of my actions to help someone that looked low in status, but I didn't care about them at all. Who am I to receive negative compliments from strangers and care?
The smallest deeds done can make a difference. That small deed was feeling good to do something noble when no one else would. The truest of bravery for standing out and helping someone else in need of assistance, that was inspiring and beautiful in my eyes.
Later in the party, I was about to just give up on the whole "get a husband" thing when a voice stopped me.
"May I have this dance?" a redheaded guy asked, offering his hand and bowing. Accepting his hand, we walked to the dance floor as I hooked the fan to the dress's belt. He placed one hand on my hip as I placed my hand on his shoulder, our other hand intertwining together.
"So what may I call you by?" I asked, trying to start up a conversation so it wasn't awkward.
"My name is Nathaniel Kurtzberg. You can call me, Nathaniel," he introduced.
Nathaniel didn't seem all too bad but this was still the beginning of the party, anything could go down later on. We kept talking until I spotted a creepy guy with platinum hair and a frown engraved on his strict face all alone, staring out at the dancers.
"Who's that?" I asked Nathaniel, gesturing to the guy dressed in a red and white outfit. The ginger looked over at the man before humming acknowledgment.
"Gabriel Agreste, one of the most mysterious rich people you'll ever meet. I heard that his wife was taken and newly born child was murdered by akumas out of revenge but no one knows the reason why," Nathaniel explained.
If Nathaniel heard around by the gossiping rich who made up rumors to make sense of things that couldn't be figured out, then it was all a rumor, a lie.
Nathaniel and I stopped dancing so we could get some water to quench our thirst. Nathaniel wasn't all too bad of a guy and seemed to be a gentleman. I still had my worries and concerns something is going to mess it up though.
My worries came to life when a servant shakily poured a drink for Lila and accidentally spilled some of the red liquid on Nathaniel.
He lost it and yelled at the servant for being so clumsy and inconsiderate. The music stopped playing and everyone turned to look at us dumbfounded. I tried to calm Nathaniel down, saying it wasn't a big deal until he pushed me back into the table. Snacks and drinks went flying all over the place, making a mess.
Nathaniel and his family were excused from the party as the servant who served the drink helped me back up.
"Are you okay, Lady Dupain-Cheng? Oh my, you are a mess" the servant pointed out, worried. My makeup was runny and the dress stained orange, yellow, and brown from the drinks with bite-sized cookie crumbs and some options for salad. My back hurt from making contact with the table so hard and hair was probably a wild mess. Yet, I didn't care at the moment.
"Don't worry about me. Are you alright?" I asked her. She looked at me flabbergasted, too astonished to reply to the question.
My attention was soon drawn to the smirking Italian brat that stood on the side looking innocent with the Parisian brat. A low growl escaped through my clenched teeth and pointed menacingly at the sly woman.
"It was you, wasn't it? You sabotaged that whole thing, Lila," I yelled, angrily. Lila gasped, faking being offended by my statement.
"How was I supposed to know I was making this slave nervous or that Nathaniel had a temper?" she questioned. "It sounds like you are just jealous that I am able to find a gentleman unlike you."
I scoffed, boiling with hatred, "Me, jealous? There is nothing to be jealous of. I would say that you're jealous of me for how many men come to me instead of a spoiled brat like you and Chloe!"
There were gasps coming from the gathering audience and whispers. Reporters would love to get a juicy story like this to the public.
Lila and Chloe didn't seem fazed by what I said, the truth. Instead, Lila kept her offended look.
"This party was awful. Not only did you ruin the chance for yourself to get a man, but you also ruined it for the rest of the Ladies of the Court. This is all because of your jealousy, and ladies are not to be jealous. They are supposed to be considering and understanding. I will not hesitate to give this party a low review for its awful taste in lies and hosts," Lila said before turning away and leaving the party with an equally agreeable family.
Chloe and her family were the same way, shooting blaspheme comments while exiting.
The rest of the guests soon followed along, believing the "oh-so-trustworthy" Lila Rossi and Chloe Bourgeois who were true Ladies of the Court unlike me. Of course, no one would believe me. I wasn't like the other rich civilians of Paris nor would I ever be. I didn't fit in and that wouldn't change.
Storming off to my room, I kept cursing under my breath about Chloe, Lila and the guests. Once making it there, I threw my very uncomfortable shoes off near the fireplace that was lit and grabbed my wooden fencing sword to hit an old pillow to let off steam. Then the door slammed opened, revealing my livid mother.
Her scowl from before couldn't compare to her boiling face as she shut the door and stomped over. I swore I could see steam coming out of her ears.
"What. Was. THAT?!" she yelled, stopping me from hitting the pillow.
"Me exposing Lila and Chloe for their lies," I answered, glaring at my mother. She growled then took away my sword with venom laced in her body language.
"You are a Lady of the Court, not a fencer! You will act like a lady and see your place in this society whether you like it or not. You don't and never will get a choice in the matter," mother hissed, seeming stressed with the earlier events.
"I am making plans for an arranged marriage in the morning-"
"MOTHER!" I shouted in disbelief. This was so unfair on so many levels.
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" mother shouted, "I am your mother! There is no way you are going to make me look any worse than that stunt you just pulled. I also expect you to be writing apology letters to every guest tomorrow and just so you don't get distracted…"
Mother threw my saber into the jaws of the flames within fireplace, burning it to a crisp.
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