Marinette had left the throne room behind Her, being led down another set of hallways, these much grimier and dark. She guessed that these were used only by the staff, which is why they weren't as extravagant as the others. The guard was still walking in front of Her, not so subtly glancing back every so often. She didn't like the way he continued to look at Her like prey. Any moment, Marinette expected him to push Her up against the wall, trapping Her between his arms and the rough stone. Marinette slowed Her pace, making sure that She was walking farther behind him.

A door opened at the end of the hall, another figure stepping through. The old woman's eyes immediately turned to Marinette, her expression just as harsh as every other person in the palace.

"This a new girl?" The woman's voice came out gruff and slightly annoyed.

"Yes, but She'll not be working under you," the guard said. "Lord Cash has assigned Her to his private chambers."

"Another one?" The woman asked, her eyes widening. "He's been going through chamber maids like dirty laundry these days."

Marinette's eyes flitted nervously around the room. She didn't like the fact that so many other girls had been coming and going so frequently. Fei's lists of Cash's crimes came to mind, and at least a few on that list would explain the constant overturn, though it wasn't an explanation that Marinette liked. "Have they been moved to other jobs within the palace?"

"Don't you worry your pretty head about it, girl," the housekeeper said. "What's your name, dear?"

"Lina," Marinette said. It had taken her a moment to remember what fake name She was using right now but still tried to seem calm.

The woman stepped forward patting Her on the shoulder. "It's a good name, though there's not much cause for me to try and remember it. I'll show you where to go and what needs to be done," she said, taking Marinette's hand and leading Her toward the door that she had come from before. The woman turned toward the guard. "You can run along now. I've had to chase you away with a broom from my girl's one too many times. I don't want to see you anywhere near this one, hear me?"

"You've got no authority to give me orders," the guard said.

"I should give you a smack upside the head. That's what I should give you," the housekeeper snarled. She slammed the door shut behind them, leaving the guard in the hall. Marinette found that She was now in the palace's kitchens. It was difficult to hear the housekeeper as she continued to speak over the sound of pots and pans banging together. "Stay away from those men, you hear me? This job is already hell, so don't make it any harder on Yourself."

"Yes, ma'am," Marinette said, nodding Her head.

"Where did you get your upbringing?" The housekeeper asked. "You've got quite the manners for a village girl."
"I never said I was a village girl," Marinette said. "Ma'am."

The housekeeper shook her head, looking down at the floor. "Never mind. Forget I asked."

Marinette followed the housekeeper through the kitchens and out another door that led to another set of hallways. These were much the same, dimly lit and covered in dust and dirt. The housekeeper walked fast and Marinette struggled to keep up with her.

"Try and use the staff corridors as much as possible," she said, speaking quickly. "It's not forbidden to walk through the palace halls, but You won't be bothered as much."

A cleverly hidden door opened into the main halls of the palace. Once shut, it was hard to see unless you knew what you were looking for. Marinette tried to think of some way She might be able to get word to Alya, Kagami, and Fei of the existence of the passage. They would be easier to use to sneak around than trying to stay hidden in the main halls, where a guard could come around the corner at any moment.

The housekeeper led Marinette to another ornate door, though this one was much smaller than the entrance to the throne room. She pushed it open, the door squeaking on its hinges. It was clear from the moment they stepped inside that this was Lord Cash's private chambers. It already seemed clean, spotless even, with the bed already made and everything in its place. Marinette wondered what She would even need to do.

"You'll be scrubbing the floors and sweeping mostly," the housekeeper said. "I've got other girls coming in to make the bed and wash the sheets, so You won't need to worry about that."

There must have been some kind of confused expression on Marinette's face because the housekeeper quirked a brow, looking at Her skeptically. "You do know how to sweep and mop, do You?"

"Sorry, ma'am," Marinette said, laughing nervously. "I've never held a job like this before."

I've never even had a job before.

"Gods have mercy," the housekeeper said, letting out a deep sigh. "Figures they'd hire someone only for their pretty face again. I'll help You just for today, but I expect You to have it down by tomorrow morning. "

By the time Marinette had finished cleaning the floors in the Cash's chambers, She was already exhausted. When She had decided to infiltrate the palace as a servant, for some reason it hadn't occurred to Her that She would actually need to work in order to keep up Her cover. Currently, She was taking a short break in the palace kitchens, resting Her feet in the only available chair, which all the servants seemed to take turns in using.

A few of the servants, like the housekeeper and main cook, had been working here for years- almost their entire lives even. Others had only been here a few short weeks, having replaced previous employees that had mysterious "quit" on short notice. Everyone seemed to be familiar with the constant overturn in workers that it confirmed the suspicions Marinette already held. Cash was using some of his household positions to fill quotas for his shipments. The words "human trafficking" were not uttered within these walls, but it was a widely accepted use.

Like Marinette, there were a few girls who had been hired just today or a few days before. She was determined that they would not meet the same fate as those who came before them. A deep regret had settled in Marinette's chest that She couldn't have done something sooner, but it only fueled Her determination.

"What is taking so long?" The housekeeper asked as she reentered the kitchens in a tizzy. Marinette immediately stood up from Her seat, feeling as though She would be scolded by the boisterous woman if She were caught slacking. "Dinner needs to be prepared in twenty minutes. We're behind."

"We had to remake some of the food for the prisoners," one of the cooks explained. "I got burnt."

"Who cares if it was burnt?" The housekeeper asked. "The master will have all of our heads if his dinner isn't on the table when he expects it to be."

"It's just-" the cook paused, looking to the ground "-this is the best meal they've gotten in a while."

The housekeeper let out a sigh but understood as well. Marinette couldn't imagine what Cash was feeding those he kept jailed in his own home. Those had to be the people who had offended him the most. She secretly hoped that Chat and Nino would be among them. It would make rescuing them much easier.

"Well, is it ready to go now, at least?" The housekeeper tapped her finger impatiently on the table.

"Yes, ma'am," the cook said. "I just need to deliver it-"

"We don't have time for you to deliver it personally," the head cook said. "I need you to finish cooking the vegetables."

"I'll take it," Marinette said, stepping up to take the tray from the cook's hands. All three pairs of eyes snapped to Her. "You need the extra time so allow Me to take it."

"Right," the housekeeper said. "Just make sure you get back to wipe down down the bedside tables in the master's chamber when you're done. That needs to be finished by the time he's ready for bed."

Marinette nodded, making sure that the heavy tray was steady in Her hands.

With any luck, She'd get to see exactly who She needed to.

------------------------------

Chat sat in the corner of their cell with his back pressed up against the wall. Thankfully, they had kept him and Nino when they had locked them up. Nino was sitting on the opposite side of him, head rhythmically pounding against the wall as he stared off into space. If Chat knew Nino as well as he thought he did, his mind was probably moving at a mile a minute, trying to think of a way for them to both get out of here. That was exactly what was on Chat's mind, as well, though it wasn't just about seeing that Nino got out of here safely.

The thought kept replaying in his mind: There's someone I need to get back to, there's someone I need to get back to, there's someone I need to get back to...

With any luck, it wouldn't take him too long to find a way to bust out of here, but Chat wouldn't stop trying even if it took him years. Or however long he had.

Clearly, no one had recognized him yet. Chat wondered if Felix had even put out wanted posters with his face on them or not. Cash had a bounty of gold sitting in his dungeon right now and the man didn't even know it.

One clunk of Nino's skull against the stone wall seemed especially loud, pulling Chat out of his thoughts. "Will you stop? You're going to give yourself a concussion and then what use will your brain be to me?"

"Please, you could get out of here just fine without me," Nino said, his voice sounding distant and disinterested. He hadn't even turned his gaze to look at Chat. "I'm only holding you back from making your grand escape."

"Are you kidding me? Even with my magnificent brute strength, I wouldn't make it past the stairs," Chat said. "I need you to help me come up with a solid plan. Otherwise, you and I are going to rot down here together."

"Well, we wouldn't want that would we?" Nino asked softly smiling, his head finally turning to look at him. "I doubt you'd look handsome anymore suffering from starvation."

"Quite right," Chat said in agreement. He let out a deep sigh, sinking down the wall he was leaning up against further. "Damn, what does a man have to do to get some food around here?"

As if on cue, there were voices down the hall, the sounds of guards laughing with one another. Prisoners howled as someone was passing by, and Chat swore he heard a few wolf whistles. The door had shut at the end of the hall, leaving whoever was passing by to walk down the stretch of cells alone. Chat craned his neck, hoping to see who it was who passed by them.

Even in the darkened room, he knew who She was immediately. It was clear that She couldn't quite make out their faces, keeping Her gaze on the ground as She set a bowl of food on the floor and pushed it through the bars. "Here you go," the Princess said, already turning to leave as quickly as She came.

"Pri-" Chat stopped himself from using Her title. "Miss, might You have any seasoning You can spare?"

The Princess's eyes flickered upward, widening as She finally recognized him. "Chat," She softly exclaimed, dropping to Her knees. Chat crawled his way to Her, hands reaching up to touch Her own as they wrapped tightly around the bars separating them. "I had hoped I'd find you here."

"What are you doing here?" Chat asked, his brows furrowed. "Where are the others? Are they close by?"

"They will be in a while," She said, looking down at the end of the hallway She'd come from. The guards were still outside the closed door. They'd have at least a few minutes together before things became suspicious. Her eyes were back on him almost instantaneously in a way that made him want to tear through the metal barrier between them. "We're going to get you out of here, don't worry."

"How can I not?" Chas asked. He gave Her a pointed stare, his grip on Her hands and the bars tightening. "You're here alone."

"It's what needed to be done," She tried to assure him. "I needed to take risks as well."

"What for? What's possibly worth more than Your safety?" The Princess huffed as he asked his question, avoiding his gaze. Chat moved his head down to keep their eye contact. "I can't be by Your side right now, and clearly, You've left Your other protection."

"I am capable of taking care of Myself," She snapped at him.

"You're right. I know You are," Chat said, nodding. "Doesn't mean I want You to have to rely only on Yourself."

The Princess's fingers brushed across the inside of his wrist as She shifted. Chat's heart fluttered at the touch, but She had no was of knowing how much She affected him. She continued to speak without caring that hearing Her voice now with no way to truly reach Her was worse than any torture he might endure at the hands of the guards just outside. "You'll be by my side again soon enough, I promise. Once Kagami, Alya, and Fei make it inside they'll come free you two first," She said, looking at Nino with a sad smile of apology. "Then all five of you will come to find me when I give you the signal with Cash's location."

"How will we know when to look for the signal?" Chat asked, wanting to make sure he knew as much of their plan as he could before She had to rush off again.

"You'll know," She assured him. The Princess turned to Nino again, a smirk on Her face. "Make sure he doesn't do anything too reckless until then, okay?"

"You've got it," Nino said, giving Her a mock salute.

"And you're going to try and not get yourself killed, right?" The Princess asked him. "If I have to see you bandaged up with a bleeding shoulder ever again-"

"Never again, Princess," Chat said, shaking his head. "I promise."

The Princess sighed, looking down at the ground as She tried to compose Herself again before looking back at him. "I should go. I don't want the guards getting suspicious," She said.

"Just let me know which one's asses I need to kick when I get out of here, okay?" Chat asked. His tone made it sound like a joke, but his expression was hardened, not forgetting their teasing words and disgusting comments when She had first entered the jail.

The Princess reached Her hand through the bars, ruffling his hair. "Stay safe for Me."

"Stay safe for me," Chat repeated to Her. "You better be there to meet me on the other side of this."

"I promise," She said. Her hands lingered on his for a moment more before both of them had to reluctantly pull away. Chat knew that She was taking his heart with Her, but it just gave him more cause to get back to Her side and collect it again.

He watched for as long as he could, face pressed against the bars of his cell. The door was opened for Her again at the end of the hall, and Chat's expression hardened as he watched the sickening glances the guards shared between them when She passed by. Their gazes lingered on Her for longer than he was comfortable with. When the door was finally shut again behind Her, the sounds of slamming shocked him to his core, dragging him out of his stupor.

"You've thought of a way out of here yet?" Chat asked Nino, turning to him.

"Uhhh-" Nino glanced around nervously. "Maybe?"

"Tell me what you have so far," Chat said, scooting over to sit closer to Nino so they could speak quietly with each other.

"Why are we still coming up with an escape plan?" Nino asked, confused. "Marinette just said that they were going to break us out of here. Shouldn't we wait for them to get here?"

"We could, but a lot could happen between now and then," Chat said.

"We'd risk throwing a wrench in their plans, though," Nino argued with him. "Clearly, the girls already know what they're doing. And we still haven't a clue."

"All I know is that the Princess is planning on facing Cash alone," Chat said. "That's not something you want to happen either, right?"

"Well, no. I'd like that to be avoided, too," Nino contemplated. "But, still we could end up derailing-"

"Nino," Chat interrupted him, a dark and serious expression crossing his face. "I need to get out of here. Now."

Chat was beginning to feel restless. He wanted to punch something. If couldn't be holding the Princess's hands anymore, then he would use his own to tear something apart.

"You're not going to make it out of here." Nino and Chat seemed to both be surprised when those words didn't come out of either one of their mouths. The voice had come from the next cell over. Both of them scrambled to the bars of the cell, trying to peer past them into the next one as there were openings in the stone wall. Another face was staring back at them. "I've been trying to think of a way out of here for two days, and, trust me, if I can't, you certainly won't be able to."

"Who are you?" Nino asked.

"I'm Max," he said and jabbed his thumb behind him. "This is Kim. We got arrested for not having a permit."

"Yeah, wait, I know you," Chat said, able to make Kim's face out a little more clearly now. "You two were in that dance troupe. You helped us hide from the watchmen."

"Oh, nice to see you again," Kim said, nodding his head. "Where's that girl you were with?"

Chat gritted his teeth. "She just left." He shook his head, pushing Her out of his mind. "How do you know there really is no way out of here?"

"I've run the simulation in my head hundreds of times," Max said. "Plus, there's no way of knowing what surprises might be waiting for us. Outside of this hallway, I don't have a good idea of knowing what we'd be up against. With just one fighter and one mastermind, there's no way we'd make it out of here."

"Well," Nino asked, a smile spreading across his face. "What about two fighters and two masterminds?"

-------------------

Marinette's hands were still trembling when She made it back to the kitchens. Leaving Chat just now was one of the hardest things She had ever had to do. She tried not to picture his face as She had walked away from him without freeing him from that cell. Even now, Marinette was trying to force Herself to not turn around and run right back to him. His grip on Her hands had rendered Her utterly helpless, something She could not afford to be at the moment. She needed to be strong on Her own for just a little while longer before She could rely on him for Her strength again.

Marinette deposited the empty tray near the kitchen sink, mind still racing from the encounter as She stared off into space.

"Missy." The housekeeper tapped Her on the shoulder, breaking Marinette from her daze. The older woman nodded her head toward the vase sitting on the counter. "I need you to take those flowers and replace the old ones in the master's chamber. Make sure you dust everything as well."

"Yes, ma'am," Marinette said quickly, gathering the large vase in Her arms. She offered the housekeeper a smile when she opened the door for Her, an expression that was not returned.

In fact, there was an indiscernible look on the housekeeper's face that formed a pit in Marinette's stomach. A nervous energy filled the deep hole inside Her. She tried Her best to brush it off as She began to walk down the servant's corridors.

Though they were a little confusing to navigate on Her own, Marinette eventually found the main hall that led to Lord Cash's private chambers. The halls were silent, the sound of Her own footsteps being the only thing She could hear until someone rounded a corner behind Her. With just a small glance backward, Marinette immediately recognized this as the guard that had shown Marinette to the throne room when She first arrived.

The guard matched Her pace, moving slowly about ten feet behind Her. When Marinette picked up speed slightly, so did he. Hoping it would provide Her some safety, She quickly made it the rest of the way to the doors of Cash's room. She shut it as quickly as She could behind Her, setting the vase of flowers down on the floor so She could catch Her breath. Marinette hugged Her knees as She sat on Her heels, taking deep breaths and squeezing Her eyes shut tightly.

The sound of the door opening again behind Her made Her jump up to Her feet. Marinette whirled around, staring straight into the eyes of the guard that had been following Her. He stalked his way into the room, and Marinette took as many steps as She could backward to keep Her distance from him.

"Are you allowed to be in here?" Marinette asked him, trying to keep Her voice even.

"Lord Cash has sent me to come fetch You," the guard said, a sickening grin on his face.

"What could he want with Me?" Marinette's back hit a chest of drawers, halting Her steps completely. The guard made the rest of the way to Her, gripping Her arms tightly. His fingernails dug into Her skin through the fabric of Her clothes.

"I believe he has a very important job for You," the guard said. His hand reached up, brushing back Her hair as Marinette shied away from his touch. "It's a shame. I wish you would have stayed around longer."

Marinette's heart began to pound as She deciphered the meaning of his words. Cash would be putting people on a ship to one of the neighboring kingdoms tonight. And Marinette was going to be one of them if She didn't find a way out of here.

If it was even possible, the guard's grip on Her arm tightened even more as he began to drag Her from the room. Marinette struggled against him on instinct, trying to kick and scratch Her way out of his hold.

"Stop struggling!" The guard shouted at Her, yanking Her arm roughly. "I'm not supposed to damage the cargo!"

Marinette froze. It occurred to Her that She still needed to find Cash and signal his location to the others. She hadn't seen the vile man since earlier in the throne room and guessed that as a lowly servant, She probably still wouldn't.

But as one of his prized pigs being led off to market...

She needed to make Her cover believable still, and even if the guard was leading Her to exactly where She needed to be. Marinette would be able to give the other Cash's location and possibly save any of the others who were being traded away as well.

As She got Her brain unstuck, Marinette began to fight against the guard once more, but let him drag Her out of the room. She had told Chat She had needed to take risks. This was just another one of them.