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Marinette's P.O.V
My brain was scrambled but I managed to answer Alya's question.
"Oh, I sometimes take the secret passageways to get to other places faster and to avoid certain people. I have been using them since I was a little girl. The other servants can vouch for me," I explained.
Alya raised an eyebrow, "Pardon for the misunderstanding. What I meant to ask was, why are you in these tunnels right now? Should you not be at your father's funeral?"
"Yes...well, you see...the reason is quite simple...as to why I am in these tunnels and not at my father's wake..." I stalled as I tried to figure out an excuse.
I could tell Alya the truth and say I am visiting a friend in the kitchen. Alya knows that I am close with the servants so it would not be so far-fetched.
Yet, I wanted to keep this operation with Rose as low-key as possible. Alya might want to come along and I cannot risk the chance of her following.
I did not want to place her in any unnecessary danger. I do not think I could bear the guilt of dragging someone into something they did not mean to get involved in.
Alya's suspicion melted into one of sympathy.
"Are you taking a break?" she questioned. I perked up as Alya just gave me a good answer.
"Uh—y-yes. That is my reason," I agreed, "I am taking a breather."
Alya smiled at me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, "There is no need to hide that. I understand that it is hard losing someone you care for and I do not believe the wealthy are very good at the mourning part at funerals."
I chuckled a little. Alya was not wrong about that.
"You are correct," I replied, "If you will excuse me, I think I am going to get a snack from the kitchen. I am not terribly a fan of what they are serving."
Alya gave me a nod before I parted ways with her. I released a breath I did not realize I was holding. It felt like such a close call but I am glad that Alya did not notice me practically sweating. I thought I was done for a second there. I guess I am either good at hiding my true intentions or Alya leaps to conclusions.
No matter. I do feel bad about the half-lie but it is for the best that she stays out of harm's way. It is not like she has any powers.
I finally arrived at the kitchen and opened the door a little. I poked my head out, seeing the staff making their way around the kitchen in silence. They wore faces of sadness like many of the other servants.
I spotted Rose placing snacks on trays.
"Rose," I called, trying to only gain her attention, "Rose!"
I was successful in getting her attention but not successful in only getting her to look. Some of the other cooks glanced my way and made their way over, giving me their condolences about my father.
As annoyed as I am and just want to talk with Rose, I could not be mad at the staff. I knew they meant well so I endured through it. After a few minutes, I managed to grab Rose's wrist and escape back into the tunnels. I released a sigh of relief, glad to have gotten away.
"You must be getting bombarded with sympathy over your father's passing," Rose commented.
"More or less," I muttered, "And as a way to get away from the so-called wealth's "sympathy," I came to see you for a break. You said there was something you learned about my mother?"
There was a high chance I probably already knew what Rose was about to inform me. Yet, who is to say mother did not lie or leave something out? Mother did not say anything to me about her still working for Gabriel Agreste to this day.
Why did she not tell me that she was continuing her assassin duties? And how could that be now? Gabriel is in a cell at the hideout...unless it is one of his lackeys that she had talked to. Only Rose will be able to answer my questions.
"Yes," Rose agreed, "and it is something that will happen very soon."
I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what mother was going to do. I assume she will do whatever the person on the other end wants before we go to the poor section. It is only a matter of time.
"What is she going to do?" I questioned.
Rose did not answer.
"Rose?" I questioned. I could still hear her following behind me but her silence confused me. What reason could have made her go quiet? The only reason I can think of is Rose can detect another presence nearby. Being she is the infamous Princess Fragrance, she could probably sniff out anyone nearby.
"We will discuss the rest when we get back to your room," Rose said.
"Very well," I replied.
That would be the best solution. We cannot let anyone eavesdrop on us about my mother and her secret job. That would throw everything out of proportion. What would happen if one of the staff members heard it and word got out?
A bounty could be placed on my mother's head. I do not want to think of what her enemies would do to her.
We might still be miles away from renewing whatever figments are left of our relationship, but it was slowly starting to change for the better.
Honestly, I should have never given her so many chances to redeem herself. Should have left my mother in my past and never looked back. She does not deserve my respect or love. She has hurt me too much and still is. Mother is hiding things from me...not that I was not hiding something from her, I suppose.
It does not change how she has treated me.
I have trust issues with her. The only thing I believe coming out of her mouth is lies. Until she can commit to telling the truth through her words, I want to see it in her actions first.
We arrived in my bedroom. I was a bit surprised Tikki had not flown out from her hiding spot to greet us. She was probably okay—could be taking a nap somewhere—but I was slightly paranoid that something was wrong with the little ladybug.
"Tikki?" I called for my Kwami, eyes scanning the room for any blurs of red zipping in the air.
"This is strange," I thought, trying to keep calm. Yet, a panicked feeling was slowly filling in my chest. I was about to make my way around my room to search for Tikki when Rose gripped my wrist.
I looked back at the hand holding me before looking at its owner in the face. I was met with a weary expression.
"There is something...amiss," Rose whispered, on edge.
"Yeah, Tikki is," I wanted to sarcastically say but decidedly kept my mouth shut.
I believe Rose was saying something else is amiss. Something that may be watching our every move without our knowledge. Her gaze kept lingering on my bedroom doors and the tunnel door as if expecting someone to be on the other side of either entrance.
I did not doubt her survival abilities, instincts she had mastered over the years living on the streets. Rose tucked her hand into her skirt's pocket, readying to use one of her fragrance potions she is well-known for using.
I grabbed my mantle's fire iron, preparing to wield it the same way I do when training with Chat's baton.
"Would someone truly dare to attack us with guards roaming the halls every few minutes?" I thought. No one could be that naive...right?
Rose's head darted toward the hidden tunnel.
"Show yourself," Rose called, "Are you friend or foe?"
"Well," a familiar voice said as the tunnel door slowly creaked open, "I do hope a friend."
I relaxed my defenses and lowered my fire iron. My surprised eyes blinked at my personal servant.
"Alya? What are you doing here?" I questioned. Rose slid her hand out of her pocket, realizing that there was no threat.
"Why do you question my presence here? I am your personal servant. It is my job to be at your side," Alya answered, raising an eyebrow. She stepped out of the tunnel and shut the door behind her.
My face flushed a little in embarrassment, "Of course, a silly question."
"But," Alya continued, "I will admit I was quite...curious."
"Curious?" I questioned, not liking where this conversation was taking a turn. I noticed Rose seemed to tense as well.
Alya studied the both of us, "Yes, curious as to why you lied to me unless your said "snack" was her."
I was completely taken aback by Alya's comment, almost unable to even reply to such a statement.
"Wh-What?!" Rose and I exclaimed.
"I-It is not like that!" I quickly explained. Alya grinned, trying not to laugh at us. She waved us off, assuring there was no harm behind her words. I gave her a hard scowl, not finding it amusing.
"Do not fret. I was merely joking," she replied.
"I am glad you found that amusing," I scoffed, sarcastically before lightening my mood, "but I need to speak with Rose in private, please. Could you return a little later?"
Slowly, Alya's grin morphed into a more serious look. That was the moment I felt that "amiss" feeling Rose had sensed. I tried to decipher the sudden odd change in the air but whatever was written in the stars was unclear to me.
"Alya, is there something wrong?" I asked.
Said woman pursed her lips, seemingly wondering if she wanted to tell me something or not. She must have made up her mind though when a smile graced her cheeks as she finally answered.
"I will not beat around the bush. I know you are Ladybug and that Rose is aware of this fact to."
I stiffened before trying to forcibly laugh it off, "Oh my! What an imagination you have! How could someone like me be a superhero? Although, it does sound quite interesting."
"Was that convincing?" I thought, looking to see Alya's blunt expression. She raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
Alya did not buy my horrible lie in the slightest.
"Do not try denying it. I have the ability to see through lies so there is no point in trying to hide it," Alya said, placing a comforting hand on my tense shoulder, "Relax, I am not going to tell anyone."
Releasing a sigh also expelled the tension in my muscles. I do not know why but I believe Alya would never do anything to hurt or endanger me. I have not known her for very long but I feel we have a very close bond of friendship.
"Are you a witch?" Rose questioned.
"No," Alya admitted, vaguely, "I am a human magic-user holder."
"How did you figure out my identity?" I asked, "Do you realize how much danger you are putting yourself in?"
Alya just chuckled, "Probably not as much danger as I am usually putting myself in."
I was dumbfounded by her response, wondering what she meant by that.
"Wh-What?!" I stammered.
Just what kind of situations does she get herself into? It is quite concerning, especially with illegal magical use. Alya has already put herself in danger just by having magic, but getting herself into trouble with it was another level of dangerous.
However, Alya gave me an unimpressed expression and scoffed.
"You seriously do not know by now? I even gave you a pretty obvious hint as to who I am," Alya shook her head in disappointment.
Huh?
I was confused, to say the least.
"Oh! I see!" Rose said, understanding something I was not.
"What are they talking about?" I thought, wracking my brain to solve the puzzle. Was I supposed to know by...whatever hint she gave me? What was the hint? Her holder ability was to detect lies. How was that supposed to help me? The only person I know that has that kind of power is-
I gasped, the new information hitting me like a slap in the face. I pointed at Alya in realization but also disbelief.
"You are Rena Rouge," I answered in a quiet, befuddled voice. That would explain how she was able to get to battles quickly, especially the one that happened within this mansion.
"My, that took you longer to figure out than I thought, Ladybug," Alya teased, "Even Rose here figured it out before you."
A little creature crawled out of Alya's bandana, revealing the fox Kwami as proof of Alya's secret identity. The Kwami levitated near Alya with a sly smirk on its lips.
"This is Trixx," Alya introduced.
"But how did you figure out my identity?" I asked, "I do not believe I gave you any hints."
"I knew Ladybug's Kwami. So when I heard you talking about Tikki, the dots in my head connected," Alya explained, "Along with a few other hints you gave away without meaning to."
Speaking of Tikki, the Kwami came out of a different hiding spot, much to my relief. The little red bug floated near my head with a smile.
"There you are," I sighed in relief, "I thought something happened to you when you did not come out of your hiding place."
"I apologize for the trouble. I had just recently awakened from a nap," Tikki said before scolding Alya, "You know the very first rule is to keep all superhero identities secret, even from yourself. You should not have been digging up the truth."
"It was not like I was purposely doing it...at first," Alya said, watching the Kwami's fly off to catch up.
"And before you ask, no. I did not get this job just to reveal Ladybug's identity. This was actually a major coincidence. Chat Noir asked me to investigate some more on your parents but I see you and Rose are already on that."
"Do you want to help us?" I questioned.
"What?" Rose said in surprise.
"Well, why not let Alya join our little investigating team? I trust her and it would be good to have another miraculous rebel helping us. Especially one who is good at spying," I explained. Alya would be a great asset and has proved it already with her sneaky investigation skills.
Rose hummed thoughtfully before giving her reply, "Alright, I will take your word for it as my lady and the rebel leader in training. Alya can join us. As the rich say, the more the merrier. I am sure if we put our minds and powers together, we can accomplish great achievements."
"Fantastic!" Alya exclaimed, clapping her hands together in joy, "Unfortunately, I have not gathered much of anything due to being here for such a short time. So, could you fill me in on what you know? What were you both about to discuss?"
"Rose had spied on a conversation my mother had and learned something before I had arrived," I said, "I will fill you in later on the rest."
"Yes," Rose confirmed.
"Your mother was assigned a mission to go rescue Gabriel Agreste from his prison with a small group. Apparently, some captives of yours had escaped during the akuma attack on the poor section and managed to get back to their home base."
"Do you know when the ploy will commence?" Alya asked to which Rose disappointedly shook her head.
"I am afraid not but the way they were talking, I believe it will be sometime this week," Rose theorized, "but I do not know exactly the time or day."
"We cannot let them take Gabriel back quite yet. He is still very invaluable to us with his knowledge," I said, "We will have to assign teams of two heroes to guard the hideout and rotate them out every few hours."
"Wait, two heroes as guards? Is that not a bit extreme to guard one person against a small group of normal people?" Rose asked.
"Not when some of these people are armed with Banshees. Plus, they are being led by Gabriel's fiercest assassin. Might I add, who killed the powerful wizard that last ruled over Paris," I explained, wearily.
We may be going up against a small group of regular civilians, but these people will probably be elite soldiers trained to kill magic users. They will not hesitate to off one of us without a second thought. I am not willing to risk anyone's life.
Keeping Gabriel is not worth losing another one of my dear friends.
Would having three guards be overkill?
"Marinette is right. We have to be as prepared as possible. We cannot underestimate the SSS group...not like last time..." Alya trailed off. The memory hit hard as moving images of Fu's death still haunt my soul—all of our souls.
"If you say they are as strong as they are, then I would like to help as well if it means we can get closer to ending this war," Rose volunteered. I can see the fiery determination in her eyes, ready to do what it takes to cease victory.
I, however, was not fond of this.
"No, I will not allow you to walk into a deadly battle zone," I scolded, "I thought I lost you once, Rose. I cannot bear to actually lose you."
"Oh Mari, you never lost me in the first place," Rose assured, settling a hand on my shoulder, "Trust me, I know how to handle myself. Besides, I got the jump on your mom once. Rest assured, I can do it again."
I was still not fond of this idea but Rose is just as stubborn as me. Chances are, she would be able to sneak into the battle without my knowledge in the first place. I do not have the power to keep her away if she is set on being there.
With a heavy sigh, I reluctantly agreed, "Very well but just...be careful."
Rose pulled me into a hug with a smile.
"You as well."
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