The Adventures of Blackwing

Chapter 23: Bad to worse to good

I looked at myself in the mirror that was hung in the guest room. I put my mask on. Adrien shouldn't be able to recognize me now. I told myself. I had borrowed a flower hairpiece from Felix's mother and I had curled my hair. It was time for the ball when Felix came up to get me. "I was wondering, would you like to dance with me?" Felix asked. "Sure." I said. "Okay. The rules of the ball is that each heir of the family gets the first dance." Felix said. I laughed. "I'm glad I know how to dance." I said with a smile. Felix smiled too. "Well, should we get going, my lady?" Felix said as he held out his hand.

I didn't hesitate to take it. As the two of us walked down the stairs, I could hear everyone admiring the two of us.

Once the two of us reached the bottom, I saw the other heirs come forward with their dance partners. Adrien had brought Kagami. Why didn't he bring Marinette? I questioned myself. Felix turned to me as the music began playing. The two of us danced until the song was over, without messing up.

Once the dance was over, I heard lots of clapping. Adrien and Kagami walked over to the two of us. "Hey, Felix!" Adrien said. He looked at me. I looked away, beginning to blush. Thankfully, the mask covered it. "This is Kagami. She's a friend from school." Adrien said. "So, is she JUST a friend?" Felix said with a laugh. Adrien laughed too. "Yes. I was going to ask my crush to come with me, but unfortunately, she's gone missing." He said.

Felix looked at me as I looked away. "Well, what was her name?" Felix asked Adrien. "Her name's Zueki." He said. Felix smiled. "I'm sure she'll be home soon." He said. "So, who's this?" Adrien asked. "This is Crystal. She moved here a few weeks ago." Felix said. I looked at Felix. He winked at me. I smiled. "What a lovely name," Kagami said. "Thanks," I said.

I saw Adrien looking at me. I was hoping he wouldn't recognize my voice. "Well Adrien, is your father here?" Felix asked. "No, he said he had more important matters to take care of," Adrien said. I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to search his house for any Miraculous while I was studying with Adrien! I felt like such an idiot! "So Crystal, are your parents here?" Adrien asked me. "Um, no. They had work." I said.

Felix whispered in my ear, "It's time." Earlier, I had rehearsed the song the two of us would play. The two of us walked over to the piano. I was singing and Felix was playing the piano. As I stood in front of the piano, I could hear the crowd quiet down. Once it was completely silent, I began singing.

(Insert song here) https://youtu.be/Fssm5wDTcL0?list=PLDE5Ky3I29KnD1qPW2qZZFnclArEdq37B

Once we were done, I heard lots of clapping. I saw Adrien walk up to me and congratulate me. Then he whispered in my ear, "What are you doing here Zueki?" I took a few steps back. Then I realized that Adrien had recognized my voice when I was singing. I started walking away from Adrien until he grabbed my hand. "Zueki, you don't belong here! Come back to Paris!" He said. "Why? Nobody believes me there. I would rather stay here Adrien. I'm happier he-" Adrien pulled me forward and kissed me. Several people in the crowd gasped. I didn't pull away though.

Felix walked over to me and pushed Adrien away. "What do you think you're doing to Crystal?!" He yelled. "You know that's not Crystal, Felix! That's Zueki and she's coming back to Paris with me!" Adrien said. Felix looked at me. "Is this true?!" He asked. I couldn't answer. I just ran upstairs and locked myself in the guest room. I sat down on the bed, crying. I looked at the picture I had brought from my house. I've made a mistake. I need to fix it. I told myself.

I grabbed my phone out of my backpack and turned it on. As soon as it was powered on, a call came through. It wasn't Shark and Yuma though. It was the same unknown number that called me within the past few weeks. "Hello?" I answered. "Is this Zueki Tsukumo?" The person asked. "You've called this number seven-thousand times! Yes this is Zueki!" I said. "I regret to inform you that both of your parents, Reginald Kastle and Yuma Tsukumo, passed away less than two hours ago due to a car accident." He said. "What?! You're lying!! They can't be gone!" I screamed in denial. "I'm sorry for your loss, but you must be here in Paris to collect their things in two days." The man said as he hung up.