Helloooo lovely readers! This is my first story and I'm super excited to share with you! I'm totally making this up as I go and scheduled chapter releases are just not going to happen, unfortunately. I know, I know, life can be such a pain in the butt, but it is what it is. Also, expect some mistakes. I have a few editors, but errors still seem to pop up every once in a while. So sorry in advance! In case you didn't read the summary, this is all based on the show 'Miraculous Ladybug' which I suggest you all check out if you haven't already done so. Anyways, enough with the banter, on with the show!
Chapter 1 - If the Jewelry Fits…
The attic door squeaked as Marinette pushed in up and into the dark room. She climbed the last of the stairs and hauled herself onto the rickety floorboards. A singular paned window supplied the lighting for the whole room, and the streams of twilight exposed the thick clouds of dust flying through the air. The attic was stuffed with brown boxes of memories, family trinkets and lots and lots of photos a few in color, but most on black and white.
Marinette maneuvered around the labyrinth of boxes, turning the boxes to see their labels before moving on. Taking out a hanky, Marinette sneezed and forged on. Dust was always her biggest enemy.
Closer to the back of the maze, Marinette finally came across what she was looking for a box labeled 'Old Sketchbooks.' Taking it off its pedestal of other boxes, she grabbed it from underneath and took it over to the window where she could see what was inside. She really wished she had brought a flashlight.
Prying open the taped flaps, she released another cloud of dust. Her breath stuttered before letting out another monstrous sneeze. She wiped her nose again before searching through the box's contents.
Like the box had advertised, there were loads of sketchbooks that were filled with all kinds of fashionable drawings from dramatic ball gowns to studded clutch purses. Marinette flew through the pages admiring her grandmother's handiwork. She loved her grandmother's drawings. They were always so in depth, but still looked so simple. But that wasn't the only reason she wanted to follow in her footsteps. She was recognized by thousands of famous designers from all over the globe. She'd traveled to every continent displaying her work and teaching young aspiring designers about how the business was run. This was what she was doing at the moment as well. She rarely came home, which was sad to Marinette, but she knew her grandma was happy and so she dealt with the absence of her role model for the time being.
Back in the stuffy attic, Marinette just finished flying though the last sketchbook. She placed in the pile she started beside the box and absent mindedly reached in the box for the next book, but slightly retracted her hand when it touched leather.
"I never cared for leather all that much. It just doesn't have the same comfort as wool to be quite honest," was what her grandmother had told her once. Then, what did she have a leather briefcase for? Curiously, Marinette held the surprisingly light bag in her hands and pulled back the flap. The fabric inside was all worn and torn in some places, however it was completely at a loss of contents. If it looked so used, why didn't she recognize it?
Deciding to ask her mother, Marinette stood up, brushed the dust and grime from her pink pants, and started walking to the door in the floor. She completely forgot about the stack of sketchbooks in her way as she found herself falling face forward to the ground. The leather bag slipped from her grip and fell in front of her. She groaned in pain and annoyance at her own stupidity before reaching for the bag. Her hand grabbed the bottom and lifted it up with her as she dusted herself off again.
From the corner of her eye, Marinette noticed a small box, about the size that would carry an engagement ring, lying on the floor where the bag fell. Curious, she made sure to step over the books before moving towards the black suede box and picking it up.
The lid jutted open with Marinette's hand to reveal a pair of shimmering black and red polka dot printed earrings. She stared as the glossy finish gleamed in the late sun's beams. They were truly beautiful. Making sure no one was watching, Marinette stashed the earrings away in her circular clutch purse and started cleaning up the mess she had made. Her grandma wouldn't mind if she borrowed them, surely.
Pulling her attention back to the reason she had come up in the first place, she picked out the sketchbooks she wanted, and put the rest back in the box on top of the leather briefcase. She placed the now lighter 'Old Sketchbook' box back where she found it on top of the other boxes and wasted no time getting out of the attic, but made sure to close the door behind her.
She climbed down the spiral staircase and shut herself in her room. Staring down at the multiple sketchbooks in her hand, Marinette walked over to her pearl stained desk and plopped the books down. After sorting the books apart by article of clothing, Marinette began to work on her school project.
A few tossed personal sketches in the trash bin later, Marinette heard a strange noise. It sounded like a cross between a bee's buzzing and the cat's scratching, if that was even possible. Apparently it was. The pencil lead on her own sketchbook paused its dancing across the page as she tried to listen more closely. As quickly as it had started, the disturbance faded away, leaving Marinette to thinking it was a figment of her own exhausted imagination. Scoping across her room one more time, she gave up and returned to her hopeless assignment.
A few moments later, the buzzing sound returned. Now on high alert, Marinette was certain the noise was not just her mind trying to play tricks on her. She rose from the swivel desk chair and started searching through her room for the source. She pulled back the floor to ceiling sheer curtains, looked behind and under her bed, and even climbed up to her peer above the ceiling fan, but still found nothing. The longer the search went on, the louder and more violent the buzzing became. Just as the stress was starting to get to Marinette, she felt a vibration on her hip. She had completely forgot to take off her purse from earlier. But her phone was on the desk.
So then what was vibrating?
Cautiously, and after gathering her courage, Marinette unclasped her purse and slowly opened the sides. Immediately, a red blur shot out of her bag and started flying through her room, bouncing off the walls and nearly knocking over her bookshelf. Scared out of her mind, Marinette squealed and dove for cover under her desk. With her hands over her head, Marinette watched as the blur continued to dart around her room until everything suddenly became silent.
Cautiously, Marinette began to creep out from her hiding spot. The room was exactly as it was before. No mess at all! It's like that blur had a mind of its own! What is this assignment doing to me? she thought to herself. Blaming the heavy workload, Marinette decided to put all of whatever was left of her sanity into this project. She crawled out from underneath the desk and moved across the room where her chair had rolled to. She pushed it back to her workplace, sat down, and swiveled to her sketchbook. She picked up her pencil and put it to the paper before realizing there was a red figure lying down in a deep sleep.
She couldn't smother the shrill scream that found its way out of her throat. After realized what she was doing, she covered her mouth with both hands and scooted the chair all the way to the back wall. Still for some reason, the little creature had yet to even move.
A loud thudding came from outside her door before a loud knocking came from behind her door. "Marinette? What's wrong? What was that loud banging earlier?" her mother called concerned. Marinette face palmed. Of course her mother had to hear everything. What a day this had to be.
"Uh," she stuttered, "Well, it's nothing, really mom. I just dropped something really heavy on my foot. Sorry, I didn't mean to scream." There was a long pause while Marinette waited in nervous agony.
"Well, if you say so. Do you need the ice pack?" she insisted.
"NO!" Crap, she left her emotions unguarded and ended up yelling at the door. She coughed, trying to make it sound like an accident, which it was. "I mean, no that's okay. It'll be fine. I can just wait out the pain. Thanks though. Love you!"
"Okay okay, my goodness. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." And with that, Marinette heard soft footsteps grow fainter and fainter. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"She seems nice. Was that your mother?" asked a soft, sweet voice. Marinette's eyes widened to the size of baseballs. She slowly swiveled her head to her desktop, where the red doll -sized figure was now sitting up with its large orbs for eyes staring right at her. Her jaw dropped to the floor as she stared back.
"...Yes, she was," she was finally able to say after remembering how to speak. Who, or what, was she speaking to? "And, who are you exactly?"
The question seemed to bring the creature back into a business like stature. It stood on its two feet and straightened its back. "Ah yes, time for introductions! My name is Tikki and I'm here to tell you that you have been chosen to be the next holder of the miraculous!"
Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she scooted in the swivel chair over the the desk. She propped her chin in her hands and stared down at Tikki. She didn't seem to be more than ten inches tall. What exactly was she? She was small in stature, had a high pitched voice, and could fly around at incredible speeds. Did that mean she was a...
"Are you a fairy?" Tikki seemed to be annoyed that her reaction to her amazing reveal as the keeper of one of the precious miraculous was a question about what she was.
"Sure, if it makes this easier for you, call me what you want. But what I'm trying to tell you is that the miraculous had chosen you! This is a BIG deal..." she trailed off.
"Marinette," she finished.
"This is a big deal, Marinette! The miraculous has chosen you to be its guardian, as well as keeping the world safe from evil! You should be taking this seriously!"
Things were starting to get heated and Marinette wasn't sure how she could believe what this fairy/person/thing was trying to tell her. She, a guardian? Oh please, Marinette wasn't even capable of watching the store when her parents were out. How was she supposed to protect a miraculous...thing.
"What even is a miraculous? I don't even know what I'm supposed to be protecting!" She argued, raising her voice to match Tikki's.
Instead of answering with words, the small fairy flew into Marinette's lap and into her purse, still at her waist. Tikki crawled back out carrying the black ring box and placed it into Marinette's hands. Her annoyed expression was replaced by something between sincerity and sorrow.
"What's in this box is far more precious than any diamond or famous artwork, and out of all the billions of people now roaming the Earth, it has chosen you to be its protector." She flew back onto the sketchbook and smiled widely at her. "And don't worry Marinette, because now you have me here to help you! I'll always be there for you along the way."
Marinette was speechless. She stared back at Tikki taking in her words before glancing down at the little deceiving box in her lap that was apparently concealing the world's biggest secret. Opening the suede lid, she admired the little studded earrings. The sides of her lips curled into a smile as she held the jewelry in her hands. She looked to Tikki for approval, and she smiled. The little creature zipped from the table, took the miraculous and attached each of the earrings to each of her delicate lobes. Marinette reached across the desktop to the free-standing mirror and brought it closer. Her bangs were able to cover the studs from the front, however, from the side, they were in full view. If all she had to do was wear a pair of earrings, then being protector of the miraculous didn't seem like such an impossible task.
"Of course, those aren't just regular earrings, you know," came Tikki interrupting her thoughts with a knowing smile on her face.
...Huh?
Marinette had never known how wonderful Paris looked at night from the rooftops. The soft glow of street lamps radiated a romantic feel that gave the place a whole new definition to 'The City of Love.' It was well past sunset, but still the hustle and bustle of the city people was still in full swing. Not wanting to attract attention, Marinette made sure to stick to the shadows whenever possible. When leaping across streets, she was always wary of pedestrians spotting her from below. But the more she ran and swung between buildings, the more relaxed she became. She understood now why the miraculous would be so desired. This feeling of ultimate freedom was something she never could have imagined.
A permanent gleeful smile was plastered on her face. Her dark blue hair would have been a monstrous mess had they not been in their two infamous pigtails, but that was the last thing on her mind. It was almost unbelievable that she was completely clueless to what would flip her life upside down just an hour earlier.
"What do you mean 'not just earrings?" Marinette questioned suspiciously.
"Well, my dear friend, instead of using mere words, allow me to show you. All you need to do is brush the miraculous with the back of your hand."
...That was it? A simple brush of the hand was all it took to activate the most precious object in human history? Marinette was skeptical did as she was told. Casually tossing her bangs over her shoulder, her hand brushed against the glossy jewelry. Then Marinette watched in horror as Tikki was somehow sucked into the earring.
"Don't worry, Marinette, I'm okay," Tikki assured her. Marinette felt a wave of relief pass over her. The last thing she wanted was Tikki to get hurt and leave her to figure out how to protect the miraculous on her own. "Let the miraculous do what it was made to do."
As if on working under a spell, her hands concealed her face momentarily before darting away to reveal a black and red polkadot mask. Her arms flailed out as a similarly styled suit began to materialize all over her body, from her neck to her feet. Her clutch purse was now replaced by a hand-sized polkadot circular locket which secured itself on her hip.
Fully transformed, Marinette walked across her room to the full length mirror hanging from her closet door. She was completely in awe. She had never worn something so scandalous before, but at the same time so covering. Apparently Tikki heard her thoughts because she heard because she could hear her uncontrollable laughter. Her face flushed so red it was difficult to tell where the mask separated from her face.
"Okay, okay, so I have a superhero suit...now what?"
This was exactly what Tikki had been waiting for her to ask.
"Now," she said slowly, "we see what you can do." Before Marinette knew what she was doing. Automatic instincts kicked in and she was flying out the window and running across her neighbors' roofs living the life she never knew she would have.
Yeah, she thought, I could get used to this.
The next morning Marinette woke up and ran through her daily routine: wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth, and the works. But she explicitly made sure to wear the ne earrings, as Tikki insisted. She had wanted to hide the jewelry in the box she had found them in, thinking they would be safer at home, but because Tikki said otherwise, that's how it was.
Soon she found herself walking outside the school where Alya, her best friend, was leaning against the barred fence waiting for her. She looked up from her phone and had the largest grin on her face since the new tech store opened up down on 6th.
"Oh. My Gosh. Marinette, did you see? Please tell me you saw." Alya blurted once she saw her.
Marinette put on an uncomfortable smile, "Uh, see what exactly?"
Alya rolled her eyes at her friend's internet ignorance. "See this!" She explained jutting her smartphone in Marinette's face. After a moment of staring, her eyes widened to unimaginable lengths.
What, more like who, was on the phone's screen was her! Okay, sure, the photo was terrible quality and it didn't show her face, but it was her from last night swinging across the city. Apparently she had been too careless and allowed someone to take a picture of her. This was just wonderful.
"Isn't it wonderful!" Alya exclaimed reading her thoughts, "A mysterious figure people are calling 'The Ladybug' was spotted patrolling the city! Friend or foe nobody knows, but one thing's for certain!"
"And that would be..?" Marinette asked scared of the answer.
Alya gave her a smug look, "That I'm going to be the one who reveals their identity, of course!" She pumped a fist in the air, "This is going to be my big break in the journalism world!"
This was bad. Alya was her closest friend-someone she told everything to! She wanted nothing else but to be able to talk about everything that had happened yesterday, but now she wasn't so sure such a big secret could be shared with anyone. Not even Alya.
"Hey, are you feeling okay? You look kinda pale." Alya interrupted her thoughts again. Marinette immediately straightened up and smiled, "Haha, no I'm fine, really! Maybe if I just get to class I can sit down and rest a little."
Alya was completely lost. Marinette had insisted on going to class, when it was usually her having to drag her butt there herself. What was up with her this morning?
"I better go, but good luck with your identity search!" Marinette turned around and facepalmed. Why was she wishing her luck when the last thing she wanted was for Alya to find out the mystery person was her of all people. She really was hopeless. Suddenly something Alya said crossed her mind.
Ladybug, huh? she thought passing through the front doors, not a bad name for a heroine, I suppose.
Ahhh! That's the first chapter! It would make my little heart sing if you'd leave me one of those little reviews, or a favorite! Alrighty, onto the next chapter! Thank you so much for reading!