Chapter 1

Another year, another boring Choosing Ceremony.

Renee Emilie Graham de Vanily had had enough. The stress that led up to the event was practically nonexistent anymore. As she laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, she couldn't help but wonder why she was getting up in the first place.

The college was closed for the event, so there was no use in going to study for her finals. She'd go buy groceries, but every single one of the stores were closed as well; all so the government could have their fun at the Choosing Ceremony. Renee thought for sure that the whole thing was rigged. It had to be. Why else were the same types of people chosen from the bowls?

Her eyes drifted from the ceiling to her closet door, where her Choosing dress hung neatly. It was a beautiful shade of ocean blue, but after wearing it every year for the same occasion, it'd gotten old. She'd once looked forward to wearing it, along with stomaching so much anxiety it made her sick. Now, though, it was just another thing to do. Another thing to check off her to-do list.

She thought long and hard about whether or not she should get out of her sheets. Stay warm and comfortable and risk the police breaking her door down, or leave the blissful existence her pillows gave her to attend a stupid Choosing?

To protect her grades, she decided to sacrifice her sanity and throw the sheets off of her. If she got hauled off to jail, she couldn't finish her business degree, after all.

As she got ready for the day, she tried not to bother her roommates, who were chatting it up in the bathroom they all shared. Their gossip did pique her interest, though.

"OMG, you have to look your best, Nathalie! You can't half-do your make up this year."

"What? Why?"

"I hear they're finally auctioning off Gabriel Agreste this year. You know, the handsome brooding babe from the Capital?"

"What?! How come I didn't hear about this?"

"Jamie said she picked up the rumor on the Celebrity tabs. It's about time they marry the guy off. He's almost twenty-seven already!"

"No way. I'm pretty sure he's younger than that."

"Ugh, but that's beside the point. He just hides away and thinks he can ignore the whole country. It worked for a while, I'll give him that. Everyone forgot about him until all the juicy rumors started popping up. Believe me, Nathalie, you have to give it your all this time."

Renee pulled on her flats as she exited the bedroom. "Why are you guys getting all dolled up? It's not like you're trying to impress anybody."

"You don't know that." Renee's bratty roommate, Taylee, looked over at her. Her mascara was so heavy, it looked like spiders had crawled onto her eyelids. "If I have a chance to move to the Capital for free, I'm gonna take it. And I'm going to look fabulous doing so." She turned back to the mirror to put another layer of mascara on.

"Okay, fine," Renee mumbled. "Why do you care, Nathalie?"

Her other roommate couldn't help but blush. Her long black hair was falling out of her ponytail and the single red streak hung in her eyes. "You know how much I care about the well-being of society. If I have a chance to meet the future leader of the country, I don't exactly want to look trashy."

Renee nodded her head, a little more impressed with her answer. She was a political science major, after all. "Okay, that's fair."

"What about you? Don't you care about looking your best?" Taylee said. She glanced over at her from the corner of her eye. "And in that ugly blue dress? You need to upgrade your wardrobe, at least."

"For your information, I don't care about this Choosing thing," Renee snapped. "I'd rather be studying for my business final than putting makeup on my face for no reason."

Nathalie gave her a sympathetic look. "Are you going to at least brush your hair?"

Renee screwed up her nose. "No. No one's gonna care."

Taylee let out an exasperated sigh. "You're no fun, Renee. If you had the chance, you'd study all day. That's boring A.F."

"For you, maybe."

Her roommate glared at her but decided to drop the topic. Her attention turned back toward the mirror, applying even more mascara. Renee and Nathalie exchanged a look, both silently agreeing they weren't rooting for Taylee this year.

Stomaching her nerves, Renee made her way into the kitchen, opening her food cupboard and pulling out one of her bagels. As she raided the fridge for her cream cheese, she heard one of the girls come in behind her. Probably Nathalie.

"You know, you should at least brush your teeth. You could be on TV, after all."

"Yeah, not my style," Renee said. She closed the fridge, shoved the bagel in her mouth, and looked over at Nathalie. She seemed to be all ready to go. Her hair was pulled back into a neat low bun, her makeup was minimal, and her glasses were slightly askew on her nose. The outfit she wore fit her well: a simple black button-up blouse and a red pencil skirt with black flats.

"Still, would you do it for me?" she pleaded.

Renee thought for a second, then mumbled around the bagel, "Fine."

Nathalie looked pleased as Renee trudged her way down the hallway once more, this time to brush her teeth. And maybe her hair.

* * *

Taylee had blabbed all the way to the Choosing Ceremony, and Renee was about ready to rip her head off. Nathalie was being sweet, as always, politely listening to whatever their bratty roommate had to say. It was all gossip and rumors about how 'Gabriel was going to be there' or how 'Gabriel's favorite food was croissants, can you believe that?!'.

Renee was almost relieved by the time they arrived. Sure, she'd have to wait in line for a while, but at least she'd be separated from Miss I-Have-Spiders-On-My-Lashes. Sadly, though, she'd be separated from Nathalie.

She and Nathalie were from the same neighborhood and had grown up together. They'd been pretty close in high school, but it wasn't until they'd moved out that their friendship really began to grow. They'd had a couple of classes together, which had sparked the idea that they should try to live together. So far, it'd worked out great. Nathalie was a little shy, deciding to opt for a private room, but that didn't bother Renee. She understood not wanting to be around people like Taylee.

Still, though. Nathalie was so smart and always seemed to have a plan. Renee admired that about her friend.

After wishing each other good luck, the three roommates parted and headed toward their separate lines. However, as she was standing in line, Renee made a curious observation: everyone she saw was over the age of seventeen. That struck her as odd, considering that the Choosing Ceremony was for the ages seven through thirty. Where were all the teenagers?

Finding her spot was easy enough. She could practically see where she'd stood for the past 15 years. Her feet had only gotten bigger. Nothing else had changed. The rocks even seemed to be untouched.

The sun shone down on the ceremony like a beaming laser. Renee could feel the heat of it bouncing off of her head, arms, shoulders, and even the ground. She could practically see the air waving from the heat.

As they waited, people fanned their faces and watched the pre-show video that played. It was usually the same thing every year, but this time, it seemed a little changed. Instead of it being pictures of war, death, and destruction, they were ones of fields, flowers, and beautiful scenery shots taken around the Capital.

Something was very off about this year.

TAP TAP TAP.

A ringing sound rippled through the area. Everyone's attention turned toward the stage, where Bob Roth stood in front of a microphone. The organization liked to change up the announcers every few years, and by the sweat on Bob's brow and the flashcards in his hand, this was his first year.

"Testing testing, one two three." When he was sure the microphone was working, he cleared his throat. "Welcome, everyone, to the 47th annual Miraculous Games, everyone."

No one applauded after that statement. Apparently, Renee thought, she wasn't the only one who didn't want to be here. Bob pulled at the collar on his throat before straightening his grey suit coat and continuing.

"Well, as you all know, it's time once again for us to choose who is going into the Miraculous arena. But first, we have a special video for you all to watch!"

The screen flickered, which drew everyone's attention to it, and it soon revealed the face of the country's most unlikeable bachelor, Gabriel Agreste. His hair was gelled back to the point that it reflected light, his glasses were crystal clear, and his dark eyes were half-hidden by his eyebrows. Even as he said his piece, it sounded as though he was reading straight from the teleprompter with no emotion whatsoever.

"Greetings, citizens. I am Gabriel Agreste, son of the President of our country. This year is a very special year for the Miraculous Games, seeing as the winning female will be betrothed to none other, but myself. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to get to know each of you through this experience."

Yeah, right. You seem really into this, buddy, Renee thought. You're less interesting to listen to than my stats professor. And he's seventy-years-old.

"If any male wins the Miraculous Games this year," Gabriel continued, "they will have the chance to work here at the Capital at any high-ranking position they please. With that said, I will now turn the time over to Bob Roth for the next proceeding part of the ceremony. Good luck, and thank you for being here."

Uh, huh, sure. My pleasure, buddy.

The video shut off, and all attention was turned back to the front. Bob gave the crowd a beaming smile, though it didn't win anyone over. No one was excited about the next part of the ceremony.

"Now, we'll draw two names from the Choosing bowl," Bob announced. He shoved his hand deep into the glass bowl. While everyone else was on the balls of their feet, Renee yawned. How much longer were they going to drag out this next part? It's not like there was anything to be worried about any-

"Renee Emilie Graham deVanily."

The whole world froze. For a moment, Renee blinked, then tilted her head back and forth. Did she hear that right?

"Renee Graham de Vanily? Is she here?" the announcer said once more.

Her heart began to pound inside her chest. No, this can't be happening. It wasn't real. She must have heard it wrong.

"Security, is Renee here? The paper said she checked in."

No, no, no. She refused to believe that it was true. She had a final next week. She had chores to do. Hell, she hadn't even washed her face or took a shower!

A hand gripped her shoulder. The sudden movement shot Renee back to reality and she sucked in a shocked breath. A security officer pulled her out of line and into the aisle. She stumbled for a moment, and as she regained her balance, she looked up at the monitor. All the cameras were focused on her.

In that split second, she thanked Nathalie for making her brush her hair.

"Ah, there she is!" Bob said. "Come on up to the stage! You can help us pull out the next name."

No thanks, Renee wanted to say, but the security team was already pushing her up to the front. She picked up the pace and shamefully made her way toward the stage. She could feel everyone's eyes on the back of her neck, but she refused to acknowledge any of them. All she had to do was get to the stage. Then, she'd make a new plan.

Climbing the steps wasn't hard, even when she almost tripped. It was standing next to Bob Roth, who was stirring the names in the bowl around, that was hard. She faced the audience. A lot of them gave her looks of pity, but she forced herself not to look at them. She'd given that same look to the poor sucker that'd been chosen for the past 15 years. She wasn't in the mood to have karma bite her in the butt.

"And now, for the second person!"

Bob rummaged around in the bowl for a few long moments before pulling out a single name. Renee closed her eyes.

This can't get any worse, she told herself. I'm off to the Capital to fight random strangers for a guy I'm not even interested in. There is no way that this horrible situation could get-

"Nathalie Sancoeur."

Renee's eyes flew open. Almost immediately, she locked eyes with her roommate and friend. Her eyes were wide with both shock and fear. The two girls gazed at each other, both feeling the same gut-wrenching dread in their stomachs.

Renee had been totally wrong.

Things had gotten a whole lot worse. 

---

Welcome to the prequel to Miraculous Games! 

I'm actually really excited about this fanfic. I've been wanting to tell Emile and Gabriel's side of the story for a long time. People are super harsh when judging Hawkmoth in Miraculous Games (same with Nathanael but we're not going there today, haha) and I wanted to tell his side of the events. In order to do that, we have to jump all the way back to the beginning... the rise and fall of the Agreste family. 

So please, enjoy the story of Emile and Gabriel. 

Comments will be chosen like in the previous book, so I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

Shout out to @Pug_Moneyz55 for requesting I write the prequel during COVID-19's lockdown! 

Have a Miraculous day, everyone!