After spending over an hour knotting together all of the bedsheets and curtains in her closet, Marinette tied one end to her sturdy bed frame and flung them out the window to the side, along the edge, hoping the darkness would hide the white sheets. The moon was still bright, but the castle was an off white, so hopefully it would just be seen as a trick of the light.

Running quietly to her bathroom vanity, Marinette put on the darkest makeup possible, and then realized she could still be recognized. It would not be ideal if someone were to recognize her. So instead, she went to her closet and grabbed her dark green, stretchy pajamas, and a red mask from the last masquerade ball they had last Halloween.

That had been right after waking up from her coma. Marinette shivered as a million terrifying memories instantly passed through her mind as she looked at the mask, but she pushed them away and put it on anyway. It felt cool to the touch, with the lingering grief and confusion associated with that time period.

She shook her head and looked at the emerald green pajamas as she shook them on. She needed to get something else to wear besides pajamas out to the town. Maybe she could make something? She probably could convince Luka, or maybe even Jenna, to bring her some sewing supplies and fabric. Red.

Yes, red, because when she left this castle, she was Ladybug.

Escaping from her window was physically more demanding than hiding in the shadows through the castle, but Marinette really was a good climber, and just a few elbow scrapes were leftover from the climb.

Marinette had originally thought that she would immediately get caught as she climbed down the third story balcony, but no one called her name, no one yelled about an intruder, no sirens sounded through the air. Instead, Marinette hid behind the bushes. It wasn't common she was grateful for her height, but now was a time she was grateful for it as she slunk low, hidden in the shadows. Once, she thought a guard stationed near the back entrance had seen her, but after a few moments, he turned away, and she was safe to keep moving.

It was only a 20 minute jog into town. Marinette made sure to keep her breathing low and to avoid running in the middle of the streets, but she also wanted to be seen by Chat Noir. He seemed to be much more stealthy than the Akumas.

But once apartments, shops, and larger buildings began surrounding her, Marinette slowed down, and she tried to remember where the city center was. She recognized the bakery she'd seen the night before and decided to follow the roads and see how much she could remember. But it seemed like an endless maze made to confuse citizens everywhere.

Marinette, briefly, wished she'd grown up in town. If she had, she'd know exactly where to go without a struggle. But the thought immediately passed as she remembered home.

She missed the trees she used to climb and apples she used to pick. She was free to run through the grass and get messy, free to come in and out of her home and kiss her mothers cheek as she stayed home and ground wheat, cooked and baked, or hung the laundry. It was easier, then, to accept that the worst thing Marinette had to deal with was whether or not her father would come home before or after dark, or whether she'd get a good grade on her exams.

But right now was not the time to feel melancholy. Nostalgia really would be her downfall. Instead, Marinette needed to focus on finding either the town center or—

"Hello, M'lady," said a low voice behind her.

Marinette suppressed a squeal as she swirled around, kicking the person who spoke to her.

"Oof," the other person breathed as they were knocked to the side. Sounding like the air was knocked out of him, Chat Noir stated, "You sure got a solid kick."

"Oh my gosh, Chat, I'm so sorry," Marinette breathed as she jumped forward to held him up. He thanked her briefly and then started laughing.

"I don't think I'm going to need to worry about you, Ladybug." He ruffled her hair. "Nice outfit. And.... Makeup..."

Marinette puffed out her cheeks. "You can't know who I am."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

She raised an eyebrow back at him. "Why do you dress up like a cat?"

"Touché, M'lady. Touché. At least I don't broadcast my desire to stay a secret." Ladybug gave him a Look. Because wearing kitty ears and a black mask wasn't a solid hint. 

He took another breath and then stood up straight. "I haven't heard anything about the Akumas tonight. It seems they didn't have anything planned, or at least anything they wanted to share with anyone."

"Do they normally broadcast their attacks?"

Chat shrugged and motioned for her to follow him. "To an extent, yes. Mostly word of mouth, sometimes by notes."

"Weird," Ladybug muttered as they began to walk. "Where are we headed?"

Crossing the street, Chat said, "I was thinking we should go to town square to see what was going on yesterday. This morning's news really set people on edge."

The news. Of course.  Marinette hated that the only information she was allowed was completely controlled. She tried going to the library one day to find something to read during her free time, but it was locked, and when she asked tutor Plagg about it, Marinette was told that her free time should be spent studying what he chose for her.

"Oh, yeah," Ladybug said unconvincingly, "this morning sure was crazy." She tripped over something that echoed like glass. The two of them froze and waited for footsteps, but once enough time passed, they continued forward, this time a little quieter. "Want to let me know what you saw from your perspective?"

Chat turned and gave her a knowing look. Ladybug feigned ignorance, so with a slight tilt of his head, Chat said, "I came into town this morning and found the police had blocked off the square. But they didn't do a good job at hiding it. High on a post, was a body-shaped bag." Marinette remembered the bag she she'd seen the day before and felt the panic surrounding it lessen, knowing it hadn't been a real body. That is, until Chat continued his next words. 

He tightened his fist. "It hung from its neck, like the old gallows. And on its head, a crown."

Marinette felt her stomach go cold. "It was a message to the new king, you think?" Her father. What if he was in danger, right now? Suddenly Marinette felt ill. 

Chad nodded his head, looking bothered. 

"I don't get it, though," Marinette stated, shaking her head a little too quickly. "Shouldn't they be happy about having a king that used to be a commoner? Wouldn't it be better, since he understands, and maybe could do good for the people?" Just because Marinette didn't like the new arrangements didn't mean it was a bad choice for the kingdom. 

Chat looked at the sky. It was pretty tonight. The moonlight lit Chat's face, and Marinette saw the outline of his pointy nose and strong cheekbones. "You'd think so. I think so. But the Akumas... Maybe they're tired of royalty in general." 

"What do they expect without royalty?" 

Chat stopped and turned to look at her directly.  "Now, that is the question we have to find out. And we will."

They turned to the square. Marinette had no idea how they got there. But looking around, it was completely empty, except for a few strings of leftover police tape someone forgot to grab. They walked around the square for a good ten minutes looking for any type of clue, but Chat Noir gave a little chuckle after a while, just as Marinette, holding a piece of a silver watch that she found, was just about to call to him.

"What's up?" she asked.

Chat smiled at her as he walked over. "Just glad I'm not doing this alone, even if I didn't find anything."

"Well, lucky for you, I found something." She held up the watch's band. "It's missing the clock, but you can see where it's meant to be."

Chat held his hand out politely and waited for her to hand it over. He gave a slight bow, which was weird out of her perfectly perfect princess name. She blushed, realizing that whoever was under the mask was really a gentleman. For a moment, she was tempted to ask him but let it go just as fast. If he shared, so would she. 

"If the band is here, the clock has to be around here somewhere," Chat whispered to himself. 

They searched for a few more minutes until Chat gently called out, "Ladybug, come here. I found it." 

She followed the sound of his voice into the alleyway over, where he was crouched down on the ground, looking at something shiny.

"Look at this," he said, and swiftly stood, grinning like an idiot. "It's not ticking anymore."

"A broken watch, then?" Marinette felt disappointed.

Chat shook his head no, still grinning from ear to ear. "I know where this watch came from. We could go and ask him. Talk to him about it. These watches are meant to never stop; they're powered by something other than batteries. So the fact that this one," he held out the clock to her, which read 3:24, "probably means there's something more going on."

Marinette could feel his excitement. "Well, it's a start."

"I think," he said, giving her a dramatic bow, "that you are something special. I couldn't have found this without you. You did good work tonight. I do have to go home now, though. Will I see you tomorrow?" 

Marinette, blushing fiercely and hoping her mask covered it enough, nodded. "Could we set up, like, a place to meet?"

Chat grinned. "What, don't think I can find you?" 

Marinette rolled her eyes. "For my sake. Can we meet at the entrance to town, next to the bakery?"

"Which one?" 

Marinette grimaced. "Uh, the one with the scones in the window?"

Chat gave her a teasing look. "Very specific. The Bakery near the castle?" 

Marinette slowly nodded her head yes.

"Okay, does 10 PM sound okay?"

"Ish." Marinette smiled. "I'll be there then, tomorrow."

Chat waved goodbye and 

Marinette, left to her own devices, realized that she had no idea how to get back. But she knew she could see the towns from the castle, so if she climbed, maybe she could see the castle from here. 

Marinette, clad in her emerald pajamas, shivered slightly, feeling suddenly very alone. But as she climbed the building next to her, luckily made easy due to stairs, she could see a lot more than she bargained for. It was night, of course, so she couldn't see everything, but she could see the outline of the mountains, the buildings and random street lamps she hadn't passed by yet. The stars, some hidden by the moon's light, made her feel less alone. There were many of them, and though they were so far apart, they shone bright enough to reach all the way to her. Marinette wondered briefly if the stars knew there were others, or if they felt alone, too. But people, for years, had told stories of the stars, stories she knew since childhood, stories she learned in her lessons, and stories her mother told her. And she knew that even if the stars felt alone, they would always light up the night when she needed it most. 

Marinette followed the streets home, where she climbed her home-made ropes, unknotted them, tucked them in her closet, and then fell right on top of her bed, not even getting under the covers, and fell asleep quickly.