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Chapter 5: What's a Little Memory to a Queen?
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Lady Delila de Rossi found herself in a concoctive emotion that contained anger, frustration, jealousy, and worst of all puzzlement. Most of the anger was targeted toward that pathetic Marinette girl and the dress she sold her. Then, of course, that stupid prince had to have an allergy for feathers, ruining her chance to make a good impression on the king. She had to move fast before any future opportunities were lost, so she used the locket to switch the material of her dress with a beautiful loveseat in one of the resting rooms.
Disaster removed, and now she could gain the attention of the prince once more. She found him talking to that messenger she remembered seeing at the tailor shop. He better not have spoken anything against her, or she'll have a special message for him. Lila had a little more trouble getting Adrien's attention, no doubt the bustle of the party causing distractions. But then he finally glanced at the amulet, and she had her hold on him.
Now just ask me to dance. She ordered in her mind eagerly. She needed that one special moment with him. And then he will be all mine.
"Excuse me, your highness." Someone had dared to interrupt them, and the prince turned away from her again.
Then she heard the rest of what the man said. A princess!? There weren't supposed to be any princesses at the ball. She knew there wasn't any princesses in the royal family save for the late queen's sister, but she lived in Paonne. This event was meant to invite only those in the kingdom. What kind of foreign tramp was waltzing in here and stealing the prince away!? And he left without a single thought! How dare he!
Lila would've yelled and screamed at the audacity of it all if that useless messenger man hadn't still been right next to her. Instead, she bit her tongue to force any cursing out of her thoughts and addressed him curiously. "I didn't know other royalty was attending the ball tonight."
"There isn't." Nino informed her. "That's just what Prince Adrien calls a girl that's very special to him."
Very special to him!? A girl that's very special to him!? The words kept repeating in Lila's head. How was this possible?! She had certainly never heard anything about the prince having a suitor intended. And even if he did have someone, he never should have been able to resist her spell. Nothing had ever fought against her magic before. She needed to know more about this.
"That sounds really nice. I'm glad the prince has someone so dear to him." she tried to sound as sweet as possible without having the urge to vomit.
"Really?" Nino asked surprised.
"Of course, now if you'll excuse me."
Lila slipped away through the crowd and went back to the resting room she fixed her dress in. There still wasn't anyone in here, which was suitable to her needs. She pulled the locket off and opened it up. The strange lilac colored magic seeped out of the jewelry and rose to form a small creature that appeared to be sleeping. It was the size of a canary, with the head much larger in proportion to the body. It was the same lilac color, had small arms and legs, with two pairs of wings like a dragonfly, four antennae on its head, and a blue diamond marking between its closed eyes.
"Wake up you worthless insect!" Lila flicked at it, making the creature jolt awake and looked around in a panic.
"Huh? What? When? Where? Who? Why? How?... Oh, it's only you..." the being said when it focused its attention on the woman. "What do you want this time?"
"You've got some explaining to do." Lila growled.
"Why should I have to explain anything to you?" The magical being yawned flew around the room. It couldn't go far because the smoke-like magic was still connecting it to the locket like a leash.
"Why isn't the prince falling for me, Gimmi!?" Lila demanded.
Gimmi only laughed at the woman. "I told you I can't completely change someone's heart, not without something being sacrificed."
"I know that! It's not about a silly thing like love." Lila sighed, annoyed at hearing this speech again. "I just wanted to keep his focus on me so he will think it's love and want to marry me."
"So, you make him pay attention to you, then he'll mistake it for attraction and make him lose interest in someone else. Sounds about right." the being didn't see the problem.
"Except it's not working!" she shouted this time. "Why isn't it working!?"
"Could be a number of reasons. Maybe you're not concentrating enough. Maybe the prince has no true interest in you." Gimmi smiled when Lila scowled at him for that one. "Or maybe some other magic is going on here."
"Other magic!? But you're supposed to be the strongest one of your kind." she grabbed the creature and shook it in anger.
"That doesn't mean... other kinds of magic... can't be stronger than mine." Gimmi struggled to break from her grasp.
"You mean like a witch?" Lila thought about it for a moment and released her servant. "Yes, it could be possible. It could be that princess he was talking about. She might have a spell on him already."
"I dunno." the being shrugged.
"We'll just have to see who is better skilled when it comes to bending people to their will." she closed the locket, trapping the creature again, and walked out to the ballroom.
Several people were dancing now, so it took her a moment to find the prince dancing with this so-called princess. They were smiling at each other, whispering into one another's ear and laughing. The princess, or whatever she was, wore a simple pink dress, hardly extravagant enough to be worthy of the title. Then when the music changed, and they slowed down, Lila was able to get a better look at the little troll's face. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
It was Marinette! Why did things keep going back to Marinette!? First, she ruins things with her dress, then she has the nerve to insult her by gaining all the attention of the prince. Her prince! Now, no one else can come between them because he called her a princess. They would have to separate on their own. And judging by the way he was looking at her, that wasn't going to be an occurrence anytime soon.
"She must be the one with the magic." Lila concluded.
It all made sense. Marinette had been sabotaging things from the start so Lila wouldn't interfere with her own plans. She must have the prince under some sort of love potion. Knowing that now, how was Lila going to make her own spell work? Obviously, she had been too hasty when she first came here. She should've made some inquiries on the prince's relationships to the people of Papillon. Too often the rich and powerful were separate from the common, so she had no thought to believe otherwise. She wasn't beaten yet; this new information does present the opportunity to spread whatever lies she wanted.
She watched the two dance for a while before they slipped away to talk to some other nobodies like that messenger, and another woman. It seemed as though all four of them were friends. This could be useful.
She waited for Marinette and the prince to leave for outside before making herself known to the other two. "Good evening. Lovely night, isn't it?"
"Good evening." Nino greeted politely.
"Yes, it is nice." Alya replied happily, not noticing how Nino stood himself a little straighter at the presence of the woman.
Lila pretended to look around in search of something. "What happened to the prince, and that beautiful woman he was with?"
"The prince and Marinette went to get some air." Nino said shortly, not forgetting how this woman had upset his friend.
Lila noticed this, and she knew just how to play it out. "Oh, that was Marinette! I didn't know she would be here too. I almost didn't recognize her with that beautiful dress she was wearing." she said excitedly.
"She was invited by his royal highness personally." Nino felt if he emphasized it enough, she would take the hint and move on.
Instead, she turned her head to the side and looked worried. "Is something the matter?"
"I don't know, is there?" Alya asked, not sure why Nino had his guard up like this.
He crossed his arms before answering. "This is the one that gave Marinette a hard time in her shop."
Alya turned back to Lila with a scowl. "Is that right?"
Lila sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll admit my behavior was less than desirable. I was really only thinking about having a beautiful dress for tonight."
"And catch the eye of the handsome prince?" Alya added dryly.
"Well, yes in a way-" Lila tried before the girl interrupted her.
"Listen, darling, I don't know what you're used to, but around here our prince has had his eyes on one girl, and that's my best friend..." she stepped closer.
"Really?" Lila played curiosity, but not backing down. This peasant didn't scare her.
"So, if you're thinking you can pull off trying to steal him away..." Alya pointed a finger at her chest to make good of her warning, but she didn't expect the surprised look on Lila's face.
"What!? Oh, goodness gracious No!"
"Uh- Wait, what?" Nino asked confused.
"The last thing I wanted was to steal the prince's heart. I could never have the stomach to be a queen. I feel faint enough when I have to talk to more than five people at once." She fanned herself at the thought of it.
"But then why were you so concerned about meeting the royal family?" he asked.
Lila took a deep breath to calm herself. "My family isn't very high in social standing, especially with my father's health starting to wane. So, we thought that if I could at least have a good impression to the royal family, my name could be mentioned to someone of good marriage material."
"You're saying you came to the ball to hunt for a husband?" Alya supplied the rest skeptically.
"But not his royal highness, I promise. Not that it wouldn't be flattering, he is very handsome and charming after all." Lila held her hands up to extent her surrender of the notion. "And if you wish, I will apologize to Marinette about the dress."
Alya thought it over and decided to let go of her anger in a long sigh. It would probably be better to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. "Alright, and if you want, I can tell you who to definitely not choose for a husband." she grinned.
Lila put her hands together and gave her an adorable smile. "Oh, would you really?"
"Sure, let's start with the ones you immediately cross off the list."
Alya locked an arm with Lila and led her to a spot where they had a good view of the ballroom. Nino trailed behind them, hoping that his lovely Alya would point Lila in the direction of an eligible lord and be done with it. Then they could return to their own enjoyment of the evening. He wasn't really paying attention to them until Lila pointed at one man in particular.
"What about that gentleman?" she gestured to Sheriff Adolphe.
"Oh, it's best you stay away from that one." Nino advised.
"Why? What's wrong with him?" Lila asked innocently.
The couple explained how Sheriff Adolphe was one of the law enforcers of Papillon. Most of his job consisted of tax collecting and settling disputes around the city. The problem was that he was a very pugnacious man. Too often was he quick to label someone a thief or conspirator to treason just to gain the credit of putting them behind bars when they tried to fight back.
"Were none of his claims accurate?" Lila asked.
"That's the worst of it." Alya said in frustration. "He did actually arrest a group for arson. They were trying to burn down the Duke of Bourgeois' home. The duke was so grateful that he lets the sheriff carry on with his actions."
"Even when someone tries to speak against the sheriff, Duke Bourgeois always vouges for him. Adolphe keeps trying to make himself look good with claims that could ruin businesses." Nino said.
"He even tried to go after Marinette's mother."
"Oh my, whatever for?" Lila gasped.
"He tried to accuse Madame Cheng of poisoning the bread in their shop just because she's foreign." Nino answered. "If Adrien hadn't been there to witness the whole thing and stop him, things would've been a lot worse."
"The prince?" Lila was genuinely surprised this time.
"Yep, at least Sheriff Jackass was worried enough about his actions reaching the king, but he still has the support of the duke. The prince did what he could by declaring that the sheriff should always have irrefutable evidence before making an arrest, but it still didn't stop him from being a complete piece of shit!" Alya felt like scratching someone's eyes out at the thought of that horrible man.
Lila, on the other hand, took everything to note. This sheriff was not only paranoid and antagonistic, but he was practically an enemy to Marinette. He could prove to be very useful to her, along with this duke the sheriff had in his pocket. She talked with the pair a while longer, letting them tell her about the other guests. There was mention of the Viscount Roth again, and Lila made a note for him as well. She could always play things off his greed.
Then she looked toward the hallways that were partially covered by curtains. It was the prince and the tailor, and they looked like they were sneaking back into the palace. They looked so unbelievably happy, too. Holding hands and laughing like a pair of mischievous children. Lila would have to do something about that.
She turned back to her companions and smiled. "Well, I think I've bothered you two enough for tonight. You should enjoy the rest of the evening together."
"Thank you, Lila, and I'm glad we settled things earlier." Alya said honestly.
"As am I, good evening." She slipped away in the direction of where the two other love birds were hiding.
.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adrien wished more than anything that he and Marinette could just spend the rest of the night alone together, but he still had a duty to keep his attendance with the rest of the ball. At least now he can enjoy it with his fiancé. He felt so delighted at the thought of calling her that, and he'll be even more ecstatic when the day comes that he'll get to call her his wife.
They were making their way back as quietly as possible, but it was a challenge to hold back the laughter trying to escape them. Marinette felt drunk with jubilation. If Adrien hadn't been holding her hand right now, she was pretty sure she would collapse from the lightheadedness she was experiencing.
"Shhh, stop laughing Marinette, someone will notice us." he told her while holding back his own chuckle.
"I can't help it." she held her free hand over her mouth hopelessly. "I'm so happy I feel like I need to scream!"
"As do I, but we have to hold back until my father makes the announcement." They stopped at a quiet area in the hallway where Adrien could easily sneak through back to the throne where Gabriel still sat. "Wait here a moment. I'll tell him he can address everyone, and I will get to present the kingdom with my new bride to be." He gave her a quick kiss before stepping into the crowd.
Marinette did the only thing she could think of to stay quiet, and that was twirl around the empty hallway. She was going to marry Adrien. The love of her life was going to be her husband. She looked at the sparkling pink diamond ring on her finger that he managed to give in between the kisses and tears of joy. This had been a dream she experienced so many times, though never spoke it aloud to be anything but. Her dear mother and friends had been right all along. Their love will rise above whatever life threw at them. And Marinette promised that she will do everything in her power to be worthy of her dear sweet prince.
"My, my, Marinette. You certainly made quite a show with the prince, didn't you?" A voice that sounded sweet yet frozen crept up behind her.
She turned around to see Lila Rossi coming up to her. She wasn't sure what to say at first, then notice the woman's dress. "Hello, Lila, that's a beautiful gown you're wearing. Did something happen with the one you bought?"
"Humph, as if you don't already know." Lila dropped her smile and scowled at her darkly.
Marinette did know, and could take an easy guess to what happened. "I am sorry. I tried to tell you about the feathers..."
"I'm sure you did." Lila interrupted. "I bet you also thought that I wouldn't notice any of your own tricks at work here."
"Huh? What tricks?" she asked, not understanding what she meant.
"So, which is it?" Lila ignored the question. "A spell? A secret word? Or perhaps something more practical like a love potion?"
"What?" Marinette asked dumbfounded and concerned. She took a steady step back from the woman.
Lila let out a heavy sigh at the girl still playing ignorant. "With the prince, of course. Whatever spell you're playing on him is the only explanation to him thinking you're a princess, or that he would even be interested in you in the first place."
Realization spread across Marinette's face, and did the only thing she could think of. She laughed.
This only irritated the elegant woman further. "And just what is so goddamn funny!?"
The young seamstress got herself under control before answering. "What's funny is how hard it seems to be for everyone to believe the simplest things. They come up with these outrageous stories that make less sense than the truth."
"What truth would that be?" Lila asked crossing her arms.
"That the prince loves me, and I love him." she held herself straight and kept a soft smile on despite Lila's face getting more hateful.
Her smile dropped to fear when Lila came up to her in three long strides and whispered to her venomously, "Listen you worthless little tramp, you have no idea who I am, or what I am capable of. I have more power than you can ever imagine. More power than the royal family ever wished they had. If I wanted to, I could simply-"
"Simply what!?" They both heard a voice coming up to them, and the women turned to find Prince Adrien looking very angry at what was before him.
Lila took a quick step back and tried to play it nice once more. "Oh, your royal highness. I didn't see you come in."
"No, I'm sure you didn't." He quickly walked up to stand next to Marinette.
Lila had to play it quick before the seamstress got a word in. "I don't know how much of that you heard, but it wasn't what it sounded like..."
"Really!? Because to me it sounded a great deal like you were threatening my fiancé!" he wrapped an arm around Marinette and held her to his chest.
"Fiancé!?" Lila repeated.
"The prince has asked me to marry him, and I accepted." Marinette stated, finding her voice again and showing this woman that she wasn't afraid of her.
"Marry?" Lila said as if she wasn't believing them.
"That's right, and if you want to be spared any further embarrassment, I'm going to let you return to the ball peacefully, or else I will have you publicly escorted off the grounds. And I better not see you anywhere near us again." His voice was strong and commanding, the voice of a real ruler.
This only infuriated Lila further. No one talks to her like that and gets away with it, not even the prince. However, she decided to heed his warning and strolled away back into the ballroom.
When Lila was finally out of sight, Marinette released the breath she didn't realize she was holding. For some reason, she felt more afraid of Lila causing a scene and getting thrown out. So, it was a relief that things ended quietly. But what did she mean about having more power than the royal family? Was she just bluffing? Was she just trying to scare her?
"Are you alright, Marinette?" Adrien turned her body to face him, but he didn't let her go.
"I'm fine, Adrien." she tried to convince herself more than him.
The prince could see she was still upset about the encounter. "I could still have her thrown out if you want."
"No, it's alright. I'm not going to let her ruin our night." She smiled warmly at him and reached to kiss his cheek.
"Good. Are you ready to address your new subjects, my future queen?" He said half teasing.
"Let's just start with the engagement." She giggled at him.
"Of course, princess." He kissed her hand.
The pair made it through the ball to come up next to King Gabriel. He had been waiting patiently on his throne working through his speech. When his son and intended arrived, he rose from the throne, held a hand out to the musicians to cease their playing, and then gave a signal to one of the announcers.
"Praise silence for his Majesty, the King." The man called out over the room causing all the guests to quiet down and turn their attentions to their monarch.
"My welcomed subjects." Gabriel began. "I would like to begin by expressing my wishes that everyone here is having a memorable evening." The audience gave a small applause in answer, and Gabriel waited for them to finish before continuing. "Second, I would like to share a truth that has been rumored but never been confirmed before now. My son, his royal highness, the crown prince Adrien has informed me of his proposal of marriage to Mademoiselle Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and she has accepted. So, now I would like to officially announce this royal ball as an engagement party, and I would like to give the best of wishes to my son and his bride to be. To Adrien and Marinette."
The crowd roared in cheers of happiness and congratulations as the couple stepped closer next to the king. Then Gabriel concluded the speech. "I invite everyone to share in their happiness, and joining me in wishing them a long, prosperous, and most of all loving marriage."
Adrien turned to Marinette, and she looked back at him. He pulled her hand up to his lips, never taking his eyes off hers. Marinette barely heard the crowd anymore. It was only her and her dearest love in the room right now, and nothing else seemed to matter.
.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"HOW!? How is this POSSIBLE!? What is wrong with you, You Stupid Creature!? Why wouldn't your magic work!?" Lila was screaming at her magical slave in a private room. But rather than being frightened, the strange being was just cackling away. "What are you laughing at, dammit!?"
"Because you clearly don't understand what's going on." Gimmi breathed, only to start laughing again. "This is more fun than when the earthquake cut off the fumes that gave the oracles visions."
"What's there to understand!? You were supposed to break whatever spell that Marinette witch was using! You have the strongest magic! But you didn't do anything, and now you're telling me you can't use your magic to break it-"
"I can't break what's not there." the being interrupted. "Why do humans always think magic comes from nothing?"
"Gimmi, I am your master, and I order you for the final time to break Marinette's spell." Lila spoke clearly as if it was suddenly going to work the way she wanted.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. There is no spell for me to break. What's happening between the prince and that girl is stronger than any magic." Gimmi wasn't laughing anymore.
"And what is that?" she asked shortly.
"Love."
"Oh, please..." she rolled her eyes.
"It's true!" Gimmi insisted. "I can do a great many things, but I can never interfere with love. Love is the greatest form of creation and destruction, of gain and sacrifice, which is the very core of my being. That's why your little tricks weren't working on the prince, because he already had the girl deep in his heart."
The creature's words only made Lila want to boil over with rage. Some unfortunate flower vases met such a fate against the lavished walls. This was all Marinette's fault. She knew she didn't like the little seamstress the moment she met her. Now that stupid, ugly, scrap of a whore was going to take away everything from her. She hated her more than she ever felt hatred for anything else.
"I want her dead." Lila hissed.
"I wouldn't recommend that, you know the rules. I can't just kill anybody." Gimmi said unaffected by her anger. "My laws of balance would have to replace a life for a life."
"I don't see why you can't kill anyone with all the power you have." Lila said.
"Because you humans can kill each other easily enough without using any magic, so there's no point in me getting involved." the creature said, bored that they had to explain this sort of thing all the time.
"What about just wishing that seamstress out of existence?" She went over to the brandy tray for a much needed drink.
"That would be even worse. You'd have to bring something unknown into the world, and there's no telling what you could bring forth. Plus, everyone would be suspicious of you if Marinette disappeared."
"Ugh, how useless can you get!?" Lila yelled after downing another mouthful.
"Hey, it's not my fault the prince was already in love, and from what I was hearing, they've known each other for a long time." Gimmi chose to indulge in the hors d'oeuvres tray and left the witch back to her pacing.
Lila had come too far to allow herself to be thwarted like this. There had to be a way to get Marinette out of the way. If only the prince hadn't shown up when he did, then maybe she could've caused some sort of accident without anyone suspecting her. Then those other two, Alya and Nino, were quick to defend their friend and the prince, so they might cause further problems. Marinette was just too involved with everyone. They knew her too well. It would be better if everyone just forgot about the insignificant little tailor.
That thought gave her an idea. "What if you just make them forget about her? If you can't erase her from existence, then would it be easier for everyone to never know she was born?"
"Hmmm, well it's not impossible... But it's not that easy either." Gimmi replied while munching another treat.
Lila wasn't pleased with the cryptic answer. "Can you do it or not?!"
"It's not that I can't do it. I'm just saying that there's no guarantee that it will stick. A memory is different for every person. There are those that will have one memory for their entire lives, and those that have many fleeting memories. Whether or not those memories ever completely go away depends on them."
"So, you're saying that even if I make the prince forget Marinette, there's the slight chance he will remember her." Lila started to understand.
"Also, there's not much of an equal sacrifice with the mind for my magic to work." Gimmi pointed out.
"What about burying the memories? I'll lock away all knowledge of the girl, and make the spell hurt them if they try to remember. After that, getting her out of the city and finishing her off will be easy." Lila thought about who she could use to help her in the process.
"Well, if you do that, then once she's gone the spell won't have anything to focus on. You might have to make another spell immediately afterwards, or they'll remember this Marinette girl again."
"That's fine. By then there'll be nothing left to find. I could either come up with the story that the girl ran away, or was kidnapped. And afterwards I'll be there to mend the prince's broken heart."
"I can make that happen, but there's still the price to pay. And this one will have two conditions." Gimmi informed her reluctantly.
"What are they?" Lila asked, unaffected by the warning if it meant she was going to get her way.
The creature used the magic smoke to create the outline image of a man. "You will be placing a spell on everyone that has knowledge of the girl, including the prince. Therefore, you won't be able to cast anymore spells on him or it will cancel out." The image looked like it was filled up with magic and that no more could be added.
"That's not a problem. With Marinette gone, the announcement of the prince's engagement can be to me instead. Everyone will only remember that I was the one that danced with him all night, that I was the one he proposed to. I'll go back to my original plan of making myself the only option for a bride." Lila could see how things needed to play out in her head. "What's the other condition?"
"The laws I live by will still have to be met..." Gimmi didn't want to say more, but Lila held firmly to her binding on him.
"Tell me, Gimmi, how do I make the spell a success?" she took hold of the chain that connected her magical slave to the locket, and pulled them closer. "Tell me, or no food for a week."
"You will have to offer something in exchange for the spell. Some memories will work." Gimmi looked her in the eye, determined for her to understand the seriousness of their discussion.
Lila saw no real harm in it. Why worry about old memories when her future would be set? Still, she knew she had to play things carefully when dealing with this otherworldly being. "Very well, Gimmi, you may take away memories you need from me in order to make my wish come true. However, you are not to take away anything that will matter to my plans, is that understood?" she ordered.
"Don't worry, you won't even know you're missing anything unimportant. Shall I begin, mistress?" Gimmi looked down in defeat, waiting for the command.
Lila thought about it for a moment. "Not just yet. I still need a few more pieces before I'm ready to begin the game."
After straightening herself back up, she walked out toward the ballroom once more. She spotted the couple once more engaging in conversation with other people. There was the king, and who Lila assumed were Marinette's parents. She also saw several around them that seemed genuinely happy for the pair, and others that had a look of disappointment, mainly young women. Obviously, those were people that thought they had a chance with the handsome prince. Lila walked along the edge of the ballroom and noticed the Duke of Bourgeois trying to calm his daughter down.
"Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous!" Chloe said in a violent whisper, but Lila could tell what she really wanted to do was scream.
"Now now, Chloe dear, if this was a decision that the king himself approved of, then there's nothing I can do." Andre said nervously, hoping his distraught daughter wouldn't start to make a scene. Luckily for him, Chloe stomped away to complain to her mother.
"I think it's an insult to the court." Another man invited himself into the conversation. It was the Viscount Robert Roth. "The crown prince should marry someone like my niece. Someone with a good social standing and background, not a penniless patch worker that's the daughter of some lousy bread makers."
"Not to mention they are criminals." Sheriff Adolphe added as he swirled around his wine glass as if there was something swimming around in it. "If it wasn't for the girl's connections to the crown, I would've arrested them properly ages ago."
"Now now, Sheriff." Duke Bourgeois intervened. "You are a man worthy of your position, but there was simply no evidence to confirm your suspicions."
"What about the boy that was ill after buying bread from the bakery?" the sheriff debated.
"A mischievous lad that snuck one too many sweets. After that, the matter was closed and shall remain that way." the duke said as an order this time.
Sheriff Adolphe nodded his head in defeat, and didn't say another word as the duke walked away to join his family. Lila chose this moment to step in and include herself in their conversation.
"It does seem strange." she got their attention.
The viscount recognized her immediately. "You! You said you had connections with the royal family, with the prince himself. Looks like you're nothing but a pretty face with a mouth full of shit!"
Lila let him have his laugh before speaking. "Well, at least I had more to offer him when we both know your only concern was the wealth of the palace."
"What's your point?" he asked, not bothering to deny it.
"It seems to me that this baker family did all of you a great injustice. You lost your chance at endless riches," she turned to the sheriff. "And they escaped your righteous hand of the law."
"Absolutely!" Sheriff Adolphe agreed.
"What if I told you there was a way to right all these wrongs? For us to get what we want?" she could see she had their attention. What perfect little pawns she picked.
"How would you do it?" Roth asked.
"Obviously, this Marinette has a strange influence on the royal family, otherwise the king would not have made such a rash decision in making a match for his son. Without the approval of his court, no less."
"You're right!" Roth called out.
"One might question his judgement..." Lila walked around the two men as she spoke.
"Indeed." the sheriff was nodding his head in agreement.
"One might even wonder if the poor man is still fit to be king, if he ever was in the first place. After all, it was the queen that originally had royal blood..." Lila stopped and the men both turned to face her. They were now talking treason, and there would be no turning back if they continue.
"The only option would be for Prince Adrien to become king." Viscount Roth said lowering his voice so no one else would hear.
"With me as his queen." Lila gestured to herself. "I can give you both strong positions of wealth and power if you obey my orders."
"And how will you accomplish this with the prince being engaged to that baker's daughter?" Sheriff Adolphe asked in disgust.
Lila showed them her amulet and allowed it to glow as a show of power. "With a little help from my magic, that baker's daughter won't be a problem for very long."
"What!? Sorcery!?" The sheriff took a few cautious steps back and was ready to call for some guards before Lila's next words stopped him.
"Consider your next actions carefully, noble sheriff. I could just as easily find someone more suitable and make sure you are left with nothing, not even your life." she threatened.
"You... you won't use your magic on us, will you?" he ducked behind the viscount for protection.
"Only if you don't give me a reason to." Lila smiled and addressed Roth. "What about you, monsieur? What say you on using magic?"
The man merely shrugged and shoved the sheriff away from him. "I don't care as long as I can be rich."
"Perfect." Lila turned to get ready to leave, but gave her new minions some final orders. "Tomorrow morning, I will give you instructions on what to do, and all you have to do is follow my lead. Understood?"
"Oui, Lady Rossi." they both said together.
Lila finally retired to her room and opened her locket in the solitude of the chambers. Gimmi was revealed once more, this time looking discontent at the woman they were forced to call mistress.
"You're really going to separate two people in love with each other?"
"No, my dear kwami, you are." Lila gave Gimmi a mischievous grin, then got ready to say the right words for her desires.
"What is your wish?" Gimmi asked in defeat.
"I wish for the memories of Marinette Dupain-Cheng to be lost to everyone that knows her personally. And to those that know her socially, she will be nothing more than a stranger. I also wish for certain memories, like the prince's engagement or the owner of the tailor shop, to be replaced with myself."
"And what will you sacrifice?"
"You may take away any memories necessary that will be of no importance to me."
"So be I..."
.~*~*~*~*~*~
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An: That's another chapter done. If anyone was curious, Sheriff Adolphe is that ticket inspector jerk from the Qulin episode. I tried looking around to see if that man had a name, or if perhaps there was a fan-made name like how everyone seemed to collectively agree the Gorilla's name was Maurice. But I never found anything for the ticket guy, so I gave him a name. It seemed fitting. ;P
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed, and will be coming back for more. Til next time! ;);)