Adrien stared at his reflection in the mirror and frowned. He was wearing a royal suit, his hair was styled perfectly to the side, and all dirt and grime was washed off his face. He looked like his old self.

Chloe peeked her head into the room and smiled. She slinked over to him and grabbed his arm, holding it tight.

"You look ravishing, my sweet Adrikins," she whispered fiercely. "I can't wait to be Chloe Agreste, the Princess of Parisilia."

Adrien pulled away from her and glanced at the ground. Chloe tilted her head. "Oh, Adrien. What's the matter? Everything will be just fine," she said in a fake sympathetic tone.

"I hope so," he replied meekly.

A knock then came at the door. Chloe turned her head in annoyance. "What do you want!" she hissed.

The door opened slowly and a maid was standing there. She bowed slightly before speaking.

"The King will return shortly," she said quietly. "He is unaware of the present arrangements between you and your Highness."

"What? My father is back?" Adrien gasped in shock.

Chloe ignored Adrien's remark and gasped at the maid. "Well, that just won't do. We'll have to inform him immediately!"

The maid gulped hesitantly. "B-But he won't be back until later."

"I don't care!" Chloe barked. "Send a messenger over to him now or else I'll have your head!"

"Very well," the maid bowed shakily before exiting the room.

Adrien faced Chloe and frowned disapprovingly.

Chloe shrugged. "What? They're uneducated servants, they should be thankful they aren't in the gallows."

Adrien sighed and took a seat. He rubbed his temples. Then, he noticed his ring. That's right. He still had Plagg. He could escape somehow!

"Uh, Chloe, could you fetch me a glass of water?" he asked.

Chloe scrunched her nose up in disgust. "You dare ask me that? How about I inform a servant instead?"

"Uh, yes, that'll do just fine," Adrien nodded with a cheesy smile.

Chloe curtsied. "Very well," she seethed. She exited the room, leaving Adrien by himself.

He opened up his coat and Plagg flew out, breathing heavily.

"It's about time you gave me some fresh air!" he complained.

"Sorry," Adrien said, flicking his friend a piece of cheese. "We need to transform. I have to find Ladybug and warn her!"

Plagg yawned lazily, eating the cheese. "Fine. But only because I love you soooo much."

*

Ladybug stood on top of the pile of unconscious guards and smiled proudly. She smacked the dust off her hands. The villagers cheered.

Ladybug jumped off the heap and landed on the ground with a thud. She waved before leaving immediately.

"I'll return with everyone! No one will get hurt!" Ladybug exclaimed.

A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd of villagers. Then, a figure emerged from the front of the crowd. A girl with curly brown hair stood there, breathing heavily. She had a slate and a piece of chalk in her hand.

"Wait!" she called. "Could I ask you a few questions?"

Ladybug bit her lip, knowing she didn't have any time to spare. Adrien, Alya, and everyone else the Kingdom had taken were in grave danger.

"I'm sorry!" Ladybug apologized. "But I need to save those innocent people the village had taken!"

The girl nodded slowly. She looked disappointed at first, but then a smile formed on her face. "Okay. Go save the day, Ladybug!"

Ladybug smiled. She flew her yoyo into the air, it latched on a tree, and she soared away to the Kingdom.

Overhead, Ladybug could see the King's chariot and the containment cells trotting on through the forest below. The Kingdom was near.

Ladybug knew she couldn't just stop in front of the chariot. She was almost certain the King's guards were heavily supplied with weapons. True, she had defeated the other ones with ease, but these guards were with the King. They had to protect him at all costs, so they weren't going to be easy to fight off while trying to get to Gabriel.

Ladybug had to devise a plan.

But first, she needed to find Adrien. She stopped in her path and settled atop a tree, retracting her yoyo and securing it around her waist. She looked around. The sky was darkening significantly. It looked like it was going to rain; how ironic.

Then, Ladybug spotted a black figure coming towards her. She gasped when she noticed it was Chat. He was soaring over to her by extending his pole on the ground every so often and using it as a sort of crutch.

He finally landed on the tree with Ladybug. His eyes were wide with shock.

"Did you see how I did that?" he exclaimed.

Ladybug nodded. "Yes, Chat. Where have you been lately?"

"Busy..." Chat mumbled.

"Well, we don't have time to talk. Some friends of mine have been captured by the King."

Chat's eyes widened with shock. "He did?" he said in disbelief. Then, he cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah. I know."

"I would ask why you're acting so weird all of a sudden but we don't have time. We need to go to the Kingdom. I'm afraid Prince Adrien was captured and taken there!"

"No he wasn't," Chat said quickly, shaking his head. "I saw. He's safe. The King is coming back so you need to leave!"

"I know he's coming back," Ladybug said defensively. She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "But how do you expect me to back down? The King has taken my friends and is planning to execute them!"

Chat lowered his ears.

Ladybug took out her yoyo. "Look, I can handle this myself. If you don't want to help, then fine. See ya."

She soared away through the sky and towards the Kingdom. Chat sighed.

"Just be safe," he mumbled.

*

Ladybug landed behind a tree. She was so close to the gates of the castle. She couldn't just waltz in as Ladybug. Then, an idea popped into her head.

But she could waltz in as Marinette.

Ladybug released her transformation. Tikki flew out of the earrings and landed safely in Marinette's hands. She set her tiny friend in her pocket and then narrowed her eyes.

The King's chariot came to a stop, as did the containment cells. Guards flooded out of the carriages and waited by the doors of the cells.

With one swift motion, all doors were open. Villagers were standing inside, shivering with fear. Marinette saw Alya.

Her arms were crossed, and fear wasn't evident on her face like the other villagers. She seemed... unworried.

The villagers were shackled and ordered to exit the cell, one by one. Alya exited carelessly. A curious guard approached Alya.

"Well, you do know what happens after this, right?" the guard said.

Alya shrugged. "Eh, I've done some thinking, and I'm not really that worried. Ladybug is going to save us all. She always does."

The guard laughed. "You're kidding yourself, little girl. This superhero is too much of a coward to do that. I bet our men back at the village put her in her place."

Marinette smiled slightly. The guard had it all wrong. She put them in their place, not the other way around.

Another guard shoved Alya forward annoyingly. "Keep moving!" he barked.

The huge group of prisoners were now awaiting entry into a secret door on the side of the castle. Now was the time for Marinette to make her move.

She crouched down slightly and started sprinting for the middle of the group. She pushed her way through with little questions asked. Everyone faced forward, either unaware or uncaring of the fact that she just joined the group.

The group began to move, and Marinette shuffled forward, keeping her head down. She knew the King was after her specifically, so she had to make sure a guard didn't see her face.

She heard a creaky door open ahead of them, and they continued moving. Coughs were exchanged. Marinette stared at her feet as she moved along.

Then, their surroundings became significantly darker. Marinette couldn't help but look up.

They were now surrounded by jail cells. This is where they'd stay until execution. Marinette held her breath as the stench of rot filled her nostrils. People groaned and gagged at the smell, while some had puked right there.

"Listen up you filthy peasants!" a guard yelled. "We're going to be putting you in these cells. You'll stay here until tomorrow morning. You can guess what happens after that!"

The large group was separated into two smaller groups. Marinette guessed each one would be stuffed into a cell.

She had to move. She looked around for somewhere to hide until the guards left so she could release the villagers.

Then, she spotted a trap door beside a cell. Was that supposed to be there? She didn't know. But it was better than nothing.

Marinette slowly migrated over to the spot where the trap door was. She bent down slightly and was about to lift it up when a loud voice caught her attention. Her heart sank at his words.

"Who's not supposed to be here?!" the guard roared.

The villagers murmured to each other in confusion.

"We have a surprise guest?!" another guard yelled. "Come on, show yourself!"

Marinette's heart skipped a beat. How did they know she was there?! Whatever the case was, she had to transform quick. She quickly climbed into the space beneath the trap door. It was pitch black, but it'd have to do.

"Tikki," Marinette whispered in the dark. A red flash bursted out of her pocket. Ruckus began to ensue above her as villagers screamed in terror. "Spots on!"