Thought of this after watching Howl's moving castle, although it ended up evolving from a oneshot into a 3 chapter fic. It's also inspired by another amazing fanfic The Ladybug Boutique by Foxmittens on .


Marinette waved sweetly to her latest customer as they walked out of the thick curtains that covered the entrance to her personal office. They had asked her to steal the heart of their beloved and give it to them, an offer that she was forced to refuse now that she was under scrutiny from the council of magic users. How annoying, she used to accept offers like that all the time. They were quick and simple, and they left her with a sizable profit; damn council, they finally noticed her activity and had her supervised by the warlock Chat Noir of all things.

Not like she hated Chat or anything, the pun-loving warlock brought out the more playful and sassy side of her personality. Even if Chat and her had no idea who the other was in the non-magic portion of their lives. Marinette ran the shop under her witch disguise, Ladybug; and that's who Chat knew her as, not Marinette. Any non-magical customers would see Marinette at the counter, but anyone magically inclined met the red and black mask of Ladybug, unidentifiable by any means, magic or not.

That was for the best, names held power in most areas of magic, although they didn't mean much in her area of expertise but one could never be too careful.

The ringing of a bell echoed throughout the shop, signaling the arrival of another customer. Marinette stood and strolled from her office to the front counter, which sat just in front of her office, allowing her to ensure that nobody unwelcome just "happened" to meander their way inside.

"Welcome to Luck and Love's Charms. Looking for anything in particular?" Marinette asked politely, her familiar Tikki flying from her usual perch to land on Marinette's shoulder with a loving coo. Marinette returned the gesture with an appreciative rub to the head.

Tikki was a surprise find for Marinette, literally flying into the bakery's window one day. Her parents had agreed to let Marinette take care of the recovering bird. They had discovered Tikki's magical affinity not long after. The bird's unusual coloring was the first hint; Tikki was covered in crimson red feathers with spots of black sprinkled throughout, her head was completely black though, as was her underbelly. The second hint had been when a customer had pegged the bird for a purple martin, which were not even closely native to France and certainly not bright red and black in coloration. The third and last sign had been when Marinette's magic had connected to the bird while performing a spell, and the bird had responded in kind.

After Tikki's reveal as Marinette's familiar, there was much celebration and congratulating from her parents, not every witch or warlock had the luxury of having a familiar. A partner who could take on some of the magical burden and even weave their own spells on occasion, Tikki was actually the one who maintained Marinette's disguise as Ladybug, since Marinette didn't have much magic to spare from making her charms.

Speaking of Ladybug, the customer that had wandered in was looking at Marinette with awe on her face.

"Ladybug." The customer whispered, her eyes wide.

"At your service." Marinette said, adding a trademark Ladybug smirk, putting one hand on her hips. "But it's not like I'm wearing a Ladybug mask or anything, right?"

"What? Oh, that-I-I-just didn't expect to walk in on Ladybug, the shop seemed small. Not that Ladybug wouldn't work in a small store, but it was just-a shock- walking in on the Ladybug. It's an honor to meet you." The customer blubbered out with a small bow. "I am the witch Sapphiere."

"A pleasure to meet you Sapphiere." Marinette said, returning the bow.

"I love your dress by the way, wherever did you get it?" Sapphiere asked.

"Ah, this is one of my designs actually, all of the clothes in the store are." Marinette said, gesturing to the many small articles that lined the left side of the store, ranging from gloves to scarves. Her dress was more of a personal project than anything, it was red to match her mask, with small black frills lining the edges. The collar and areas near the frills were solid black as well, the edges forming floral silhouettes. It had taken a while to make, especially considering that it came down to her ankles, but Marinette was proud of it.

"Interesting, your very talented as a designer." Sapphiere complimented.

"Thank you, your dress looks lovely as well. The blue matches your eyes perfectly." Marinette returned, an embarrassed tint rising on her cheeks.

"Oh, this thing? It's just an everyday brand, you have heard of the Agreste company, no?" Sapphiere said, shrugging.

Marinette flinched on reflex when she heard the word Agreste, but that matter was not what needed her focus now, the customer did. Rubbing her hand nervously, she decided to change the subject by asking "Yes I have, are you looking for a charm of sorts to match your dress?"

"Yes, I am, but do you have any infused with luck in love? I've been lacking in the romance department for quite a while, and it's a little disappointing." Sapphiere said self-consciously.

"Don't be embarrassed, love charms are what I'm known for after all." Marinette reassured her, coming out from behind the counter to sort through the items she had on display, checking for anything that might suit the woman.

"Bracelet or necklace?" Marinette asked promptly.

"Bracelet." Sapphiere responded, nodding slightly.

Sapphiere had hazel hair, with dark blue eyes and pale skin. So Marinette could immediately discard any charms that had warm colors, they simply wouldn't go with Sapphiere's complexion. If she wanted to match Sapphiere's overall theme though, the bracelet would need a hint of blue somewhere.

Marinette found one eventually, a silver bracelet with tiny circles of blue topaz coming off it. Marinette proudly presented it to Sapphiere, awaiting her inspection.

"How much?" Sapphiere asked, examining the bracelet closely.

"After the infusion, 240 euros." Marinette answered, petting Tikki some more while she waited.

After another few minutes of consideration Sapphiere finally said "I'll take it."

"Great! Do you want to come with me to watch the infusion?" Marinette said with a smile.

"Yes please." Sapphiere said, handing the bracelet back to Marinette.

"Tikki, watch the shop please." Marinette ordered, giving the bird a murmur of thanks as it flew dutifully to its perch overlooking the store.

Marinette led Sapphiere to her office behind the counter, pulling out a chair for the woman to sit on as they entered. The room itself was furnished simply, with only a small table, a couple chairs, and a bookshelf. But it was cluttered with various objects, going from the bamboo sticks growing in the corner, to the red lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

Marinette went straight to the bookshelf, easily finding what she was looking for through the mess. Giving herself a satisfied smirk she set the objects on the only orderly part of the room, the small table. First she took out the rose quartz powder, sprinkling it into the outline of a maple leaf with seven points. Ignoring the confused look she got from Sapphiere, she made a circle inside the leaf and set the bracelet inside the circle.

Marinette stood to go to the potted peonies that sat next to the back window, picking off seven petals from the blooming flowers.

"Ladybug, if you don't mind me asking, I've never seen this pattern used before; are you sure it'll work?" Sapphiere asked hesitantly.

"Questioning me in my own field?" Ladybug teased, bringing the peony petals over and placing one at each point of the maple leaf.

"What! No, of course not! I would never-I was just-uh-just curious." Sapphiere exclaimed quickly, growing flustered much to Marinette's amusement.

"Questions aren't uncommon, my methods aren't Parisian anyways, they're Chinese. They're ancient too, passed down from my mother's side, so a lot of people don't know about them." Marinette reassured Sapphiere before taking off her black gloves to start channeling magic.

Raising her hands above the bracelet, Marinette hummed as she felt the magic seep out from her reserves, running through the channels in her arms to illuminate her hands in its soft pink light. It was like a gentle flame, warming Marinette from the tip of her head to the tips of her toes, and she could feel it constantly shifting, moving as if it was alive from her fingertips to the materials she had laid out.

The pink light spread to the formation on the desk, and soon the outlines that Marinette had sprinkled down were shining bright pink. The bracelet rose into the air, floating in front of Marinette's closed eyes. The outlines and peony flowers soon followed suit, rising to circle the bracelet.

Marinette kept her intentions strong in her mind, and her magic morphed to follow them. It was a practice that made vocal spells obsolete, but it took years of practice and skill to master effectively. Ladybug was considered a prodigy as a result of mastering the art at the age of 26.

The magic heated the air in the room as the powder and petals began to melt under its pressure. Molding them into a dark red liquid that flowed around the bracelet. With a sweeping motion from Marinette, the liquid quickly soaked into the bracelet, leaving behind no traces of its existence.

Marinette's magic began to fade, it's task complete. The bracelet lowered back down to the table, appearing unchanged but thrumming with energy. The pink light faded, receding from Marinette's hands and arms.

Opening her eyes, Marinette's first action was to inspect the bracelet for any flaws in her magic. Finding none, she presented it to Sapphiere proudly.

"Incredible." Sapphiere commented as she took the bracelet and put it on. The stones now had an undertone of violet if looked at under the right light, signaling the presence of magic.

"I'll just ring you up at the counter and you're free to go." Marinette said, walking briskly to the counter with Sapphiere trailing behind her.

The actual purchase didn't take any time at all, Marinette simply had to hunt down change for the notes that Sapphiere paid her with.

"This may be a little invasive, but what exactly is the spiral on your hand? I haven't ever seen anything like it." Sapphiere asked as Marinette handed her the change.

"Oh," Marinette said, looking down at the brown spiral that decorated the back of her right hand, realizing that the gloves that she usually wore had been left behind in her office. "this is also from my mother's side of the family; it comes with being a witch that specializes in love."

"How interesting." Sapphiere remarked, staring at the mark with interest. "I'm sorry but, it appears I'm out of time. I'll have to come back again if the bracelet works."

"I hope it does. Have a nice day." Marinette bid, her smile turning to a worried frown as soon as the woman was out of sight.

Tikki, sensing her emotional troubles, flew onto her shoulder and rubbed her cheek affectionately.

Marinette was to lost in her thoughts to notice though, her eyes trained on the spiral on her hand. More specifically the single remaining black line that went through the innermost band of the spiral.

She had been taught long ago by her mother how to read her spiral, what it meant, and what to do when it appeared on that fateful day.

There was only one line left, one line left out of the dozens that had been there years before.

It meant that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as Ladybug, would die in two days.