"Y-You were in Afghanistan?" Nathaniel blurted out, his eyes wider than before. Was such a fact that impossible to believe? Violet simply nodded in response. She did just say she lost them in the war, she didn't need to repeat herself. Captain Dietfried Bougainvillea assigned her to work with Major Gilford as his personal weapon, but her classmates didn't need to know that.

"Why were you there?" Violet heard someone ask. She turned her head to look at the boy with the red hoodie.

"Kim! You don't ask someone a question like that." A girl with short red hair slapped the athletic asian boy on the shoulder. The boy they called Kim, while muscular, could be disposed of easily should he ever become a threat. Violet had killed stronger men at a younger age with just her bare hands. His friend Alix, could also be neutralized easily. Violet shook those thoughts out of her head internally. She was discharged from the Legion with honors, Lieutenant Colonel Hodgins said she didn't have to fight and kill anymore. Those were the Major's orders, he said. Go to school, make friends and live a happy life. But, how could she be happy when the Major wasn't here?

"I was sent there." Violet said plainly, her monotone voice echoing throughout the classroom. Even Mrs. Bustier was silent. The class would have to be delayed by a few minutes now. Violet would need to become more efficient.

"On a business trip?" A tanned skin boy with headphones around his neck asked, Nino Lahiffe. He was from Morocco apparently.

Lt. Colonel Hodgins orders regarding questions such as these was to give vague answers. They would find out in a few days when Mayor Bourgeois held his press conference celebrating the veterans that had returned to France. Violet and Lt. Colonel Hodgins were invited to attend. Hm, she would have to stop calling him Lt. Colonel since he also left the Legion. He also made that an order.

"Something like that." Violet turned her attention back to her notebook. She would have to make up for lost time once school was over. She had a few hours before she was supposed to meet up with the Lt. Colon-

"I love you." Major Gilford gave Violet a smile even as blood coated half of his face.

"Now now class. I'm sure many of you have questions for Violet, but we're in class right now. You can ask her later during lunch." Mrs. Bustier said, forcing Violet out of her thoughts.

Violet's eyes were drawn to her right arm which was shaking lightly. Was there something wrong with it? She would have to perform a maintenance check on it once she had a chance. Raising her eyes towards the board that held the information that Violet needed to write down, she released a breath that she didn't realize she was holding in.

Major Gilford...where are you?

Eventually, the lunch bell rang. Marinette groaned as she stretched her arms. Today was a good day so far. There was no akuma in sight thankfully, and she hadn't embarrassed herself in front of Adrien again!

"Where should we go for lunch today? Your parents' bakery?" Alya packed up her belongings. Most of the class had already left, with Chloe dragging Adrien away before anyone could say anything. Mlle. Bustier shooed everyone that wanted to ask Violer a question saying that they could do it outside. She probably wanted some peace and quiet.

"Nah. You get bored of eating sweets or bread if you live in a bakery." Marinette closed her backpack and tapped her purse. She would have to sneak Tikki a cookie soon for lunch.

"How about that cafe we have been wanting to try? The one by the new news station." Alya suggested as she slung her bag over her back.

"Sure." Marinette glanced towards the back of the room. Violet was sitting alone reading one of the school's textbooks, her dull, blue eyes scanning each page diligently. "Let's invite her to come and eat with us!"

Alya flashed Marinette a worried smile. "Are you sure, girl? She seems like she wants to be alone."

"Of course. I'm the class president and it's my job to make sure she's comfortable! Strangers are just friends you haven't made yet after all." Marinette gave her a large smile. Dragging Alya towards the back of the room, Violet looked up from her book.

"Hi Violet! Nice to meet you. My name is-"

"Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Miss Alya Cesaire." Violet interrupted respectfully, her light blue eyes making contact with Marinettes. She saved her page in the book and closed it.

"You know our names?" Alya asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. Miss Dupain-Cheng designed an album cover for Jagged Stone. He's my guardian's favorite musician so I know quite a bit." Violet said softly. She turned to Alya. "He's also a fan of the Ladyblog."

"Tiffany Evergarden is a fan of Jagged Stone?" Alya asked excitedly as she pulled out her phone. This better not turn into an interview!

"I am not sure. While Mrs. Evergarden is legally my mother, I am under the care of former Lieutenant Colonel Hodgins at the moment." That sounded like a weird arrangement.

"Does that mean you're an illegitimate child-"

Marinette elbowed Alya in the side. "Hey! You don't ever ask someone that."

Alya blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "You're right." She bowed her head towards Violet. "I'm sorry."

"There is no need to worry, and the answer to your question is no." Violet said.

"Anyways!" Marinette interjected before Alya could ask another question. "We were wondering if you would like to eat lunch with us?"

Violet blinked slowly. "Thank you for the offer, but I must decline. I already ate the proper amount of nutrients I need to keep working throughout the day."

"What?! You need to eat lunch! It is the third most important meal of the day after breakfast and dinner!" Marinette exclaimed. Was she sick? Did Violet have some sort of condition?

"I was trained to be able to work long hours without food or water." Violet seemed like she was about to say something else when her phone started ringing.

"Please excuse me for a moment." Violet answered the phone. She immediately stood up and stood at attention. Marinette couldn't make out what the person on the other end said, and Violet's expression never changed.

"Yes sir, it is my break now." The person on the other end spoke again. "Very well."

Violet ended the call not even a second later. Glancing at the two of them, she paused.

"Is the invitation still open?"

Marinette couldn't stop herself from smiling.

A/N

I'm having a lot of fun writing this story. The hardest part is getting Violet right, but it should be a fun challenge.