(No one's POV)

    "Anyone else wondering why Marinette called an emergency meeting?" Chloé asked. Chloé, Nathaniel, Marc, Aurore, and Mireille were all gathered in one of Chloé's hotel's biggest rooms. Well, mysterious abandoned guest room to anyone who wasn't part of the Royals.

    The room had a bit of a history, but those small years that it had been in use, it'd served as one of the Royals' main 'keeps'-or 'towers' depending on who you talk to-and had seen more drama and wicked plans then the Heathers musical.

    The room was large, thrice the size of Chloé's room, and every part of that room was clearly being used for something. In one of the corners, there was a lounge-looking section with beanbag chairs, a coffee machine, an ice cream maker to rival those at Sweet Frog, a lot of fluffy pillows, and even some plush toys. There was also an Alexa, and above the Alexa hung a list of songs to play.

    As you can imagine, given the people who picked out these songs, almost every song from Mean Girls and Heathers-any badass musical, really-was present on that list.

    There were also some computers and i-pads, comics, sketchbooks, unfinished drawings and designs, fantasy books, and a giant TV. On the same shelf that was miraculously holding the TV were a popcorn machine and some corn kernels.

    In another one of the corners was what seemed to be a research section, with computers and shelves lined with books on legal affairs and the Salem Witch Trials. There was a whiteboard and plenty of conspiracy boards, and one of the latter had pictures of the Akuma Class and Lila.

    There were also two phones-one iPhone 14, one old-style phone-with a list of phone numbers and which number called which person. Some names were simple-French authorities, Mari, Nathaniel. Some were odd-the mafia, suppliers, hackers. No one allowed in the room dared to question any of them.

    One corner of the room appeared as a sort of study section for normal teenagers, with history books, notebooks, flashcards, some biology books, things like that.

    One part of the room was some sort of runway, and walking the opposite way down the runway leads you to a closet full of clothes that, just like everything about the Royals, give off serious Heather vibes. Almost everything in that closet was custom designed-guess who?

    And then we have the center. In the center of the room was a long table with twelve seats fit for royalty surrounding it, and at those seats sat the Royals, who were living up to their name.

   Well, two of the three, anyways.

    Chloé was wearing a high black skirt with a black and white striped flutter sleeved shirt. The sleeves were light gold and connected over the neckline, and over that she wore a black leather jacket with gold lapels. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and on her legs she wore black fishnet leggings and black sandals with gold straps. Sitting on her literal golden throne with her legs crossed, she looked like a true queen.

    Nathaniel, sitting by Chloé, looked both terrifying and stylish. No surprise, that was the Scarlet Prince's specialty. He had dark crimson red boots and dark gray jeans. For his upper attire, he wore a black suit-style shirt with cuffed sleeves that stopped around his elbows. With the shirt he wore a short scarlet tie, and with the attire he wore a look of anticipation.

    Nathaniel nodded. "A meeting that she is now late to, might I add." The two looked at each other. Marinette was never late.

    Marc turned his head towards his male partner. "So? When's Mari gonna get here?" He asked, bored. Nathaniel merely shrugged in reply.

    Chloé tapped the green-eyed boy. "Hey, Marc? Be careful with using Marigold's nickname. Remember, from the second she steps into this room, she's Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Empress both feared and loved by her people. You, as of the moment, are one of those people."

    The comic-book writer nodded, and then snapped his head back to Chloé. "Wait, as of the moment-"

    Before Marc could finish, the door opened with a flourish as a true Empress stepped into the room. "Sorry I'm late, Jagged had a last-minute emergency." With a shrug, she strode over to the head of the table and sat down.

    And then there was Marinette, who was making it clear that she was the Empress here. She wore a short black dress with white polka-dots scattered all over it and a black belt. Over the dress she wore a custom-made loose lavender sweater with a crown emblem on a little pocket towards the upper right.

    Everyone looked at each other, and then back to Marinette. Chloé boldly decided to break the silence. "Well, I'll ask the question for the rest of you. Why'd you call the meeting?"

    Marinette sighed hopelessly. "Do you really have to ask? I thought you were smarter then that, Chloé." The queen in question began to play with her hair. "I mean, it's obviously because of Lila, but you can't just send us a vague text and exp-"

    Marinette coughed. "Did you forget who we are?" the fashionista asked playfully. The two girls burst out into laughter as any remaining wisps of tension were banished.

    Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "Well? You say this is about Lila? On with it, then." To this, Marinette nodded. "As you wish, little prince." Nathaniel tried not to react at the reference. You are the Scarlet Prince, feared by all. You are ruthless. You are not going to lose your shit over every little Owl House reference.

    "Well, as you know, Lila may be our most skilled opponent yet. She is everything we've faced before-hackers, bullies, liars, and more." Marinette began, but was cut off by the oh-so-brave Aurore. "Wait, Lila's a hacker?" the parasol girl asked with surprise. Marinette shot her a look that had a clear message, 'If you weren't in my good graces, I would murder you. Now shut up if you want to live.'

    Marinette continued. "She has total control of the class of damn sheep and our godforsaken teacher." The bluenette wore a look of disgust at the last part. "Adrien knows but says nothing in fear of his father and Lila. He also has no idea what our classmates are doing to us."

    "We need to get him involved!" Chloé said, slamming a fist on the table. The whole room seemed to shake with her fury.

    "Calm down, Goldilocks." Marc said, putting an arm on her shoulder. Chloé let out a sigh and gave a small smile to the younger of her partners. "Thanks."

    Marinette eyed the blonde. "Chloé, as much as I would love to have this conversation today, we're here to discuss Lila. I promise we'll cover the topic of Adrien soon, just not today." Chloé nodded, disappointed, but understanding.

    "But, anyways, back to why I called you here. As our rivals grow, so must we. That's why I've called you here today. We must become smarter, sharper, quicker, more adaptable. So, Marc, Aurore, Mireille.." The three named looked to each other. Was this really happening?

    "I'm aware that you guys weren't official members of our ranks, and I would like to change that today." Marinette had to try hard not to laugh at the giddy look on Marc's face. "So, would you all like to-" But before Mari could say the words, Aurore yelled, "YES!"

    Everyone looked to the dotted weather girl, who melted into her chair. Her face turned pink with embarrassment. "Sorry.." the pigtail blonde muttered sheepishly. Mireille laughed and kissed Aurore on the cheek, which seemed to brighten her up.

    "Dottie, chill. It's fine." Mireille assured her girlfriend. "Aww, you make my day so sunny, Mir." Aurore teased her, but everyone heard the grateful undertone.

    "Okay, you guys, time to focus. I love it, it's very sweet, but not right now." Marinette told the weather duo. "Translation: Save the fruitiness for later," Chloé added. Marinette shot her a playful glare.

    The Empress in the room decided to continue, even with her point made. "Anyways. Everyone, please welcome the newest members of the Royals: Marc, Aurore, and Mireille!"

    Everyone's faces went from shocked, to understanding, to excitement. Chloe clapped first. Then Marc and Nathaniel joined in. "The Royals will PREVAIL!" Marinette cheered.

. . .

    Lila sat on her bed with a chess set next to her, thoughts racing. She giggled, as if she could hear Marinette's cheer all the way from her room. But she couldn't.. right? "This game is so amusing.. but everyone has already made a mistake."

    Lila moved all the chess pieces into play. A small picture with different faces for each piece was taped onto the pieces. She moved some of the white pieces up to the black side.

"They chose to play. And on the wrong side, no less."

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    FINALLY! This took so long to finish up for some reason *cough* Wattpad kept deleting all my hard word *cough*, but I think the final product looks good! Well, have a lovely day!

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