27. Day 3 Part 2

"What do you think you're... GLUB!" Chloe was powerless to prevent a yellow fuzzy sponge from penetrating her mouth with abandon. Slushy, soapy water filled the inside of her jaw, causing her to retch repeatedly in a most unladylike manner.

"I told you not to speak while I'm trying to wash your face!" A very motherly-sounding Zzubo sighed, while scrubbing her new charge's forehead with great vigour. "Are you alright?"

"I was absolutely fine..." Chloe growled with lividity, fully recovered after her unexpected choking fit. "Until an oversized parasite came fluttering through my front window one fine day, and my life has been one of torment and humiliation ever since!"

"Oh, don't over-exaggerate things!" Zzubo was quite used to Chloe's callous barbs by now, and only smiled broadly in response to the blonde's ire. "I know it may be difficult for you to adapt in the short term, but believe me when I tell you this is for your own good. When this is all over, not only will your attitude have improved significantly, as befits the hero you're destined to be, you'll be much happier as a person, too..."

"Happier?!" Chloe couldn't believe what she'd just heard, and stared at her kwami with complete bewilderment. "Oh, you mean, like a beautiful girl who has the best wardrobe in France, stands a chance of marrying the hunkiest young model in Europe, possesses a personal slave who'd do anything for her, and has complete freedom to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants? And you, the same interfering little bug who took all those wonderful things away from her, has the nerve to lecture her on being 'happy'? Just who the heck do you think you are?!"

"I knew you wouldn't understand just yet..." Zzubo sighed as she wrung out the sponge. "But one day soon, you will... and I intend to be the one who brings about that change of heart. Now, could you tilt your head back, so I can wash behind your ears?"

"What?! No!" Chloe screamed, quickly covering her hearing organs with both hands. "Do I look like a baby?"

"Well, considering the way you're acting right now..." Zzubo buzzed her disapproval "Size apart, I'd say there wasn't much difference. Let me ask you again: If I let you get ready for school by yourself, will you actually do it this time, or hide under your covers again?"

"Ha, as if I'd ever follow the orders of a weird creature like you!" Chloe scoffed, trying to maintain some level of dignity. "First chance I get, I'm telling everyone about you, then you'll be for it! Get ready to spend the rest of your life being pumped full of chemicals in a lab by scientists, you freaky little..."

"I'll take that as a 'no' then, shall I? Very well, then..." Zzubo was in no mood for fun and games that morning, as the heiress soon found out, She felt her hands being gently but firmly prised from their position on her ears. Warm, bubbly water soon replaced them, as the kwami really dug deep inside each lobe, flushing away every trace of dirt and wax.

Ignoring the now steady stream of screeching and cursing from her new surrogate child, Zzubo addressed her in a voice that left no room for doubt. "Hear me well, Chloe Bourgeois. As far as you're concerned, I am the equivalent of a second parent for you. Unlike your father however, I won't put up with any of your silly troublemaking nonsense. So, you have two options: you can either abide by the new rules I set out for you, and we can have a great time together. Or, you can carry on disobeying them, and get punished as a result. I will instill discipline into you, if it's the last thing I do. Now, let's see if we can do something about brushing those teeth..."

...

After being left utterly mortified at having her morning routine forcibly administered by a being far smaller than she was, even worse awaited Chloe next.

"Which of your new outfits do you want to wear today?" Zzubo asked upon leaving the bathroom, the blonde close by her side.

"Are you joking?" Chloe took one look at the assortment of cheap clothes the bee creature had bought along, and gagged in pure revulsion. "I wouldn't be caught dead in those rags. You might be able to scrub my face and clean my teeth without permission, but there's no way you can make me..."

Unfortunately for the heiress, yes there was. In the blink of an eye, she found the bulky nightdress covering her being lifted over her head by a flashing blur of yellow and black, leaving her stark naked... but only for a split second.

Soon, Chloe felt the presence of underwear on her person, followed by a pair of jeans, and a matching navy blue T-shirt. Something then lightly pushed her onto the bed, where socks were pulled up, and the final touch was a pair of trainers that seemed to lace themselves. Just as well, since the blonde had no idea how to perform the task herself.

"Hope those fit you alright..." a solemn Zzubo commented when she'd finished dressing the astonished blonde in front of her. "I didn't have time to read all the measurements on your clothes, so I just took from your body myself while you were asleep. How do they feel?"

Left in an exhausted daze after what had just transpired, Chloe didn't even have the strength to get angry anymore. "F-fine." She murmured, before a scintilla of clarity suddenly returned to her ailing brain. "W-wait, does that include my..."

"Like I said before..." Zzubo reassured the heiress, "You haven't got anything I haven't seen before. Do you want to go and look at your reflection? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what's there..."

Having little choice in the matter, Chloe approached the mirror in her bathroom as if it were a poisonous snake ready to strike. Already, she could feel the cheap denim and cotton itch every pore on her frame, and her consciousness screamed at her to tear these disgusting garments off. She presently had nothing else to wear though, so with great willpower, surpressed the overwhelming urge.

It's one thing seeing yourself without any make-up on, and another when you're resplendent in unfamiliar, uncomfortable attire. The first reaction Chloe derived from her pauper's makeover, was that she was staring at a different person. Unkempt hair, two tiny uncovered spots on her face, clothes of a commoner... if the snooty blonde had seen this scruffbag passing her limo, she probably would have wound down the window, before pointing and laughing with great gusto.

Now that the scruffbag was her, though... the joke didn't seem so funny anymore.

She had to admit though... she didn't look that bad. Sure, she resembled an average, unimportant citizen of the city instead of the prestigious, classy scion of the Bourgeois name that she truly was, but she was still recognisable. The beauty and grace for which she credited herself somehow shone through the tawdry togs she was forced to adorn, and the blue of the ensemble matched her azure eyes quite well. She was loathe to say it out loud, but she didn't look a total disaster...

Of course, she wasn't about to tell the smug little kwami hovering by her side that. "I hate it." She stated bluntly, while crossing her arms with aggression. "And the sooner I pick up some insect repellant to get you out of my hair, the better. Then, thing'll finally get back to normal around here, and I can pretend that kwamis, miraculouses and giant talking bees with attitude problems have never existed..."

"You might as well hope that day turns into night, Chloe Bourgeois..." Zzubo couldn't help but grin slightly at the heiress's petulance. In quite a few ways, her new 'daughter' and her stubbornness reminded the insectoid so much of herself. "Your destiny has been foretold for some time now, and there's nothing you or I can do to change fate. Nor do I want to, with the very future of the world at stake. Now, speaking about hair... how would you like yours styled today? I'm thinking bunches might make a nice change..."

With the bee creature's unbelievable speed and strength that she'd displayed so far, Chloe had finally resigned herself to the fact that, for now at least, there was little she could do but go along with her new 'mother' and her wishes. "Fine. Whatever..."

...

"Usually, I would say breakfast in the most important meal of the day..." Zzubo whispered from Chloe's bag. "But, because of your extended nap, and your tomfoolery during morning preparation, I fear we may have to skip it today..."

"Hey!" Chloe pointed out, as she descended the stairs at quite a pace. "You're the one who sent me off to La La Land for so long with that weird spell of yours! Also, I could have quite easily bunked off school. All it would have taken is one phone call, but of course, you took that as well..."

"Even if I hadn't, That wouldn't be an option, Chloe." Zzubo was quite stern in her rebuke. "Your education is essential to your upbringing into a well-rounded individual. Under my watch, such errant behaviour will not be tolerated. Remember, I'm always going to be here, keeping an eye on you..."

"Yeah, well anyway..." Chloe rolled her eyes at the unyielding kwami. "At least no-one will see me in this sorry state on the way to school. I'll be safe in the back of the limousine, hidden behind the darkened, bulletproof glass. The tabloids would have a field day if they knew I looked like this..."

"That's where you're wrong, Chloe..." Zzubo stipulated, her words causing the blonde to pause in horror. "Why do you think I got rid of all of your expensive items and fancy clothes? It's because I wanted you to experience life as a normal girl, and how you don't need all of those overpriced things to be content. Part of that process is experiencing something you may not be used to, but will be doing anyway... going to school on foot. So, you'd best get a move on. I'm not sure you can really afford to be in any more trouble right now if you're tardy..."

"What?!" Even with all of Zzubo's many outrageous demands so far, that last one just had to be the cherry on the cake. "You expect me... Chloe Bourgeois, one of the most important people in Paris, to just casually stroll down the street dressed as a peasant, being stared and laughed at by all and sundry?"

"Yes." Zzubo said, with absolutely no hesitation. " So, off you go."

"What makes you think I won't just open my bag here and now, revealing you to the entire hotel?" Chloe threatened, being just about at her wits end. "Then, I can tell them all what you're putting me through, and this ridiculous arrangement can finally come to an end..."

"Before you do that, Chloe... think on this." Zzubo seemed remarkedly unphased for a kwami about to be exposed. "As you've already seen so far, I can be very elusive. Do you really want to take the chance that I won't just slip away as you open up your hold-all, leaving you looking more than a little silly in front of all those people? I doubt it, somehow..."

Oops. Chloe grit her teeth upon hearing Zzubo's assessment of her situation. I hate to say it, the beaten heiress thought, but she's got a point. If that happened I'd be the laughing stock of the entire hotel. Then, as soon as everyone had finished mocking me, the gigantic bug would be back to annoy me again, meaning that I'd shown myself up for nothing. Looks like she's really got me over a barrel here. I'll have to wait for another time to get my revenge...

"Chop chop, then..." Zzubo interrupted the blonde's train of thought with a loud whisper. "You can plot and scheme all you want about how to get rid of me later on, right now it's more important that you're on time for classes. Come on, let's go."

How on Earth did she know I was... Chloe breathed in deep, and composed herself. You know what... forget it. I'm done trying to figure out those weird thingies. I'll play along for now, as inconvenient as it'll be...

The heiress's mood quickly changed from irritation to anxiety as she reached the ground floor, though. For, even though she was prepared to skip breakfast, most of the other guests had more than enough time for their morning meal.

Right now however, a more interesting experience than shoving cornflakes in their cakeholes or reading the local newspaper had presented itself.

Namely, the most spoiled, pretentious teenager in all of France, who was usually dressed up to the nines at this time and happy to sneer at them as she passed the dining room...

Was quietly tip-toeing meekly away wearing... well, normal clothes.

This was such an unfathomable turn of events that each person in the eating area, young and old alike, scraped their chairs loudly on the floor as they stood up to get a better view, talking loudly to themselves and rubbing their disbelieving eyes at the rare spectacle before them.

Needless to say, this was definitely one occasion Chloe was not keen to be in the spotlight. Staggering backwards and blushing wildly, she slowly inched her way to the front door...

...But not before she'd caught the eye of a very illustrious chap, who'd happened to be enjoying a piece of toast spread with strawberry jam when she'd wandered into the foyer, that he'd swiftly dropped upon seeing his daughter looking so bedraggled.

"Chloe!" The mayor stumbled to his feet, an expression of utter shock on his face. "What on Earth do you think you're wearing?! And your hair, I haven't seen it like that since you were a little..."

The blonde heiress squealed upon seeing her father begin to brusquely stroll over to her location, flanked either side by his muscular aides. On top of everything else, she really couldn't deal with him at that specific moment. Perhaps she could explain things later, but for now...

"Sorry, Papa... I have to go..." She gasped, swiftly turning heel and dashing outside, past her waiting limo with a stunned Jeeves holding the door open for her, and into the street. It was surprisingly how fast she could move, when she wasn't wearing flats.

Sharing a confused look with the chauffer, Andre watched his departing daughter with considerable worry, while scratching the back of his head.

"What has got into that girl of late..." he mused, toast crumbs dribbling from his mouth. "She's beginning to remind me of-Oh no..." A flashback suddenly played in his thoughts. "Juliette..."

...

While the mayor was outside wondering if his only daughter was on the brink of insanity, a newsflash appeared on the television in the dining room. Now that Chloe was long gone, those who'd been intently staring at her, now found their attention shifting to the big screen, where Nadja Chamack stood there ready to relay a most unusual tale, which didn't involve Ladybug, Cat Noir or akumatised people for a change.

"Hello, good people of Paris. Last night, someone broke into this charity shop behind me and made off with quite a lot of their stock of second-hand clothing. The owners aren't going to call the police though, since all of the stolen goods were replaced with merchandise of far greater value. They do however, want to say just one word to the nefarious culprit... 'Thanks'."

If the bulletin wasn't bizarre enough, the sight of some of the posh outfits smuggled into the shop during the report was enough to get a few of the hotel guests spitting their coffee out.

They recognised a lot of the clothes, especially one ensemble of a yellow waistcoat, a striped T-shirt and a pair of white capris.

"Surely, all those belong to..."

"That would explain why she was wearing..."

"What an lovely, generous thing to do..."

The people conferring which each other suddenly realised who they were discussing.

"Nah, can't be her."

"Must just be a coincidence."

"Why break the habit of a lifetime, and think about others besides herself?"

Feeling suitably sure in their verdict, they quickly returned to their meals.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: No folks, I'm not dead. Just very, very busy right now, that's all. Hoped you liked this chappy, holler if you want to talk. No matter how long you have to wait for the next update, I guarantee it'll be here before the new season of Miraculous arrives. Only eight more months to wait... HURRAY!(?)