Inspiration is fleeting, so I had to write down this Rapunzel AU before it left me!

(warning: it gets off to a slow start so please just stick with me)

Locks of Ebony and Gold

by thepeacockandthebutterfly

There was a legend in their country. The legend spoke of seven precious stones, each of them carrying miraculous powers.

One of them had power over fortune, bending luck to its will. This was the garnets, blood red stones that were often viewed as the most powerful of the gems. It was often compared to a ladybug with the vivid red of a ladybug's outer shell and the myth that they gave good luck.

Another was a sparkling emerald which held the power of destruction. Referred to as the black cat because everyone knows that black cats are symbols of darkness, it balanced out the ladybug miraculous, for every good thing in the world has its dark partner.

Perhaps the best known of all the jewels was the sunstone, which lay in the palace, kept safe along with the crown jewels. It was associated with trickery and mischief, but there were many who believed it stood for courage. Seeing as most preferred the mischievous label, it was called the fox after the fables from other countries that had been carried across the ocean.

Its partner was the peacock which symbolized honesty and divination. This gem had its own legend circulating around it as it was said that King Agreste himself had once born the kyanite stone with its blue hues.

Jade, long considered a stone of healing, was the gem of the fifth miraculous. Immortality and wisdom were supposedly gifted to this turtle, the long-lived reptile.

And as each of the other stones had its partner, so was the butterfly the partner of the turtle miraculous. A deep rich lavulite stone with swirling purples was its gem, symbolizing rebirth and the soul, just as a butterfly starts out as a caterpillar and then is reborn as a colorful insect.

Yet, there was one miraculous which stood alone. The scholars of the country who studied the legend theorized that the partner to the bee was lost a long time ago. No one truly knows what happened. But the citrine stone was the source of kindness and a hard-working spirit. It held the spirit of the tireless bee, which spent its days working for the betterment of its fellows.

This legend had been passed down from generation from generation until it was woven deeply into the roots of the town. No one knew whether it was true, but they accepted their lack of knowledge. Except for one man.

This man was affectionately nicknamed Hawkmoth, the country's resident wizard. He was called upon only for marriage ceremonies, birthings, and curses. But although most saw him as a lunatic, Hawkmoth himself was quite smart. And his theory was that anyone who could wield the two most powerful gems would become a god. And so he searched the land for the stones, stealing them from the most unlikely of places.

But little did he know that soon he would face a foe greater than he could have dreamed of.

"Tom!" Sabine called to her husband, one small hand rubbing the rounded bump of her belly.

Tom came hurrying to his wife, not wanting to incur the wrath of a pregnant woman upon himself. "Do you need anything, Sabine?" he asked, hoping that he would be able to meet her demands.

Sabine nodded enthusiastically. "I don't know why...but I've been craving wild chestnuts." She shot Tom an apologetic look, knowing what that meant.

He sucked in air slowly and let it out equally slowly. "That means going into the forest...Hawkmoth's domain..." He gulped quietly, trying to not show his nervousness to his wife. He didn't want to disappoint her.

He left early the next morning for the forest, praying that he would be able to quickly locate a chestnut tree. However, fate had a different plan. Tom found his way stumbling upon a cottage deep in the forest, where light could not reach the forest floor.

And with a flash Hawkmoth was upon him, snarling with rage. "How dare you!" he growled.

Quivering with fear, Tom held up his hands, hoping that Hawkmoth would register the submissive gesture. "I-I'm sorry, my pregnant wife wanted wild chestnuts."

Hawkmoth took a deep breath, obviously thinking about something. But then a positively malicious smirk spread across his face. "But of course...you may take all the chestnuts you want from my forest," he cooed, voice turning syrupy smooth.

"What's the catch?" Tom asked, not trusting the wizard to not name a price.

And then the smirk on Hawkmoth's face turned into a full blown grin. "I want the child."

"NO!" Tom answered, voice raising.

But Hawkmoth only titled his head in response. "So you want me to kill you right here...and then seek out your wife and kill both her AND the child?"

Fear spread all over Tom's face as he stuttered, "B-but there must be something els-!"

Glaring, Hawkmoth cut him off with a sharp statement, "I've named my price." Hawkmoth stepped closer to Tom, using his imposing appearance to strike fear into the baker's heart.

Tom swallowed, knowing that he had no choice. With a sigh he shakily replied, "The child is yours."

Hawkmoth nodded his head and smiled sinisterly, turning to exit the small glade. An idea had popped into his head, a brilliant one if he did say so himself.

When the child was born, everyone instantly adored the beautiful little girl. They marveled at her, amazed with the perfect features of the child. And then when she was a mere week old, a wizened old man wobbled into the Dupain-Cheng cottage. He nodded at Sabine and smiled at the precious baby girl in her arms. But it was Tom he had come to talk with.

"I know about your deal with Hawkmoth," the mysterious man said, his almond eyes twinkling a kind brown.

Tom bit his lip cautiously, glancing at his daughter. "Can you help?" he asked quietly.

"I can help the child, but, alas, I cannot prevent her being taken from you." The old man looked truly apologetic, but Tom could also hear the truth in his words. There was nothing that could be done.

The old man hobbled over to Tom, pressing a small box into the other man's large hands. And then with a wave of his cane and a wink he left the house.

Tom fumbled with the little box, large hands clumsy in his haste to open it. And when he finally got it open, he found two sparkling garnet earrings. Tom suddenly recalled the old legend of the miraculous stones, remembering a mention of a garnet stone.

He walked over to his daughter and, accepting her from Sabine, slipped the earrings into the girl's newly pierced ears. He didn't know if these were truly the fabled ladybug miraculous, but if they could protect her, he would do anything.

And the next day he woke up to a scream. He threw off his covers and rushed down the stairs to see his wife lying on the floor, crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sinking to the floor and wrapping his arms around Sabine.

She looked up at him with vacant, unfocused eyes filled with tears. "She's gone."

And Tom instantly knew what had happened. Hawkmoth had claimed his ransom.

Hawkmoth gazed at the bundle in his arms almost tenderly, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart at the sight of the little girl's innocent face.

Her tiny face was heart shaped, with huge eyes that he knew were a lovely blue zircon shade. Just like the gemstones in their sparkling clarity. The tuft of hair on her head was jet black, almost blueish in hue, sleek and shiny. He could tell that this baby would grow to be a lovely woman.

And then his eyes were drawn to the garnets in her ears. He wondered for only a moment if they could possible be a miraculous stone, but as he gently touched the stones, there was no tell-tale spark of magic. Unlike the emerald and the lavulite stones, which were already in his possession, the garnets did not suddenly shine with a hidden light at his touch. After all, what was he thinking? A mere week-old infant could not possess the most powerful miraculous! Hawkmoth scoffed at his own stupidity.

Marinette grew up like any other child, but she was naturally a curious child. Right now she was high up in a tree, the garnets in her ears twinkling in the faint sunlight.

"HawkDaddy?" she called down to the wizard where he stood down below. He was currently bent over, picking plants for his latest creation. The queen herself had fallen ill and the king, worried sick, had sent for Hawkmoth.

He looked up at her and a little smile creeped across his features. "How did you get up there, Darling?" He had found himself smiling at the child more and more often, thinking of her as his own child now. And it had only taken 7 years...

Just then there was the sound of a cracking branch and Marinette, a shocked look plastered on her face, began to fall through the air.

Hawkmoth shot out an arm, power crackling up his arm. A blast of purple energy swirled forward, materializing into thousands of pure white butterflies which poured forth to catch the falling child and bring her safely to the ground. Hawkmoth stared at his arm in surprise, instantly curious as to what had happened. It seemed like magic had just flowed right out of him! He reached up to the purple stone that hung around his neck, rubbing the smooth, round lavulite stone thoughtfully. This was the first time the butterfly stone had performed for him. But what did that mean? He would have to go back to his hut and test out the only other jewel he had been able to find so far...the black cat emerald...

But first he had to comfort Marinette, who had come running into his arms. She looked up at him, eyes devoid of tears and promptly squealed, "Will you teach me to use the pretty magic, HawkDaddy?" Apparently she was fine...ok...

"Of course, little lady!" He twitched his fingers, thrilled when the magic pulsed through his veins again and twisted to create beautiful clouds of white butterflies.

Marinette watched them flutter about, amazed at the pure creatures. She stuck out her hand and wriggled her fingers in imitation of Hawkmoth, frowning when only pink sparks burst from her fingertips.

Luckily for her, Hawkmoth did not notice the little sparks. And Marinette was perfectly satisfied with her potioneering skills anyways. The duo trotted back to the cabin, Marinette grinning the whole while.

Hawkmoth sat down at his desk and placed his freshly-picked herbs on the table. Marinette followed suit, hopping up on her stool. Hawkmoth slid several plants over to her, turning to quiz her on what they were.

He lifted up a plant with heart-shaped leaves and tightly closed orange buds. "What is this, my little Mari?" He had taken to calling her Mari, partially because it was short for Marinette and partially after Marie Curie.

Marinette reached to rub the leaves, bringing her fingers back to sniff them. "It's Ashwagandha, used to reduce anxiety and inflammation."

Hawkmoth nodded, satisfied with her answer. He then handed the girl a root, her large eyes taking in the parsnip-like part of the plant. And then Marinette rolled her eyes, saying, "Typical. You just had to choose the plant from the bedtime story you read me last night."

"But what is it?" Hawkmoth was secretly pleased that his daughter remembered the old fairy tale.

Marinette held up the root. "Rapunzel." The slight upturn at the corner of her father's cheeks was confirmation enough.

He then picked up a bunch of leaves, picking out one of the larger leaves and gently placing it in her palm.

Marinette leaned in to examine them, noting that they were thicker than average and had a waxy covering. She had a guess as to what they were, but she made sure to smell the leaves. Sure enough, a scent somewhere between menthol and cinnamon wafted off of the leaves. She lifted her head triumphantly. "It's boldo!"

Hawkmoth had to hold back a smile. She was a natural. He carefully selected one last plant, one that he himself had not been able to identify until he was almost 14! Without the distinctive flower, the leaves were easily mistaken for other plants.

She held the leaves in her fingers carefully, automatically processing the velvety hairs coating the leaves. They were a gray-green which was a pretty typical color for leaves. And there were no flowers for which she could make a better guess. Taking a sniff, she noted that the leaves were odorless. However the leaves were separated into lobes, the tips pointed. There were definitely many herbs like this, but the lack of a stem or flowers or root showed that they would have made the task much easier. Hawkdaddy didn't usually give her a specific part of a plant without a reason.

Now which herbs have leaves like this AND distinctive flowers?

She pondered the question for only a few moments before she had a vague idea.

It's got to be some kind of mallow. But the odorless thing...that's more common in marshy plants because the root carries most of the scent, right?.

"I know!" she suddenly shouted, spinning to grin at Hawkmoth, "It's marsh mallow, right?"

Hawkmoth sighed before smiling slightly. This child of his was talented, far surpassing his knowledge at her age. "That is correct, Mari darling." He pushed aside the roots he had cut up along with the leaves, neatly piling them up by plant. An idea came to him all of a sudden. "Would you like to accompany me to heal Queen Brigitte?"

Marinette leapt up, eyes dancing with delight. "Oh, yes!" She ran over and wrapped her small arms around his waist. A gentle pink glow suddenly flickered around her arms as she hugged Hawkmoth, the surge of energy lifting the man's feet off the ground just slightly. "Thank you, Hawkdaddy!"

Hawkmoth gasped for air at first, but began to chuckle once he was set back down. He did not notice the rosy light. "You're welcome, sweetie." He couldn't help but feel part of his heart going out to this little girl. She was so important to him now, she had invaded every bit of his life. And he knew what he was going to give to her for her 8th birthday. Even if he was a little bit conflicted over it... He glanced towards the lockbox which held a gleaming emerald ring in its depths.

It's perfect for her.

Hawkmoth walked briskly up to the castle gates, holding Marinette's small hand tightly. When the two reached the ornate doors, Hawkmoth placed his mask over his own face. And after a second thought, placed a red and black mask over Marinette's eyes.

She smiled up at him and then opened the doors. She strode in first, waiting for her father to catch up. He shook his head at her antics, but moved to catch up with her.

Marinette, glancing around for any watchful guards, broke into a sprint, hurtling down the long hallways. That is-she WAS sprinting. But as fate would have it, she ran right into someone.

Adrien had been fleeing his nanny. Key word: had been. For he had run right into someone else. He moved away, blinking his eyes. Because before him was a very pretty girl about his age. She smiled at him, displaying a missing tooth, but it was still an infectious grin. But the unusual thing was she had a ladybug-print mask surrounding her bright blue eyes.

"H-hi," Adrien stammered. He suddenly remembered an old story his mother had read him. He cocked his head, examining the girl. "Are you the ladybug?"

"The what?" Marinette was very confused. She had run right into this really pretty boy and now he just sounded kind of insane. "Um...how hard did I hit you?"

Adrien blinked. She doesn't know the legend? "You know, the old legend? The one about the miraculous stones?"

Marinette shook her head, a frown marring her lovely features. And although she was confused, she was now intrigued. Curse my insatiable curiosity! "What does it say?"

Adrien looked both ways, checking for his nanny, and then whispered, "I have a book that you might want to see. Come with me?"

Marinette felt like she could trust this boy, so she nodded. And then the two children ran off through the palace.

Adrien dragged Marinette, giggling, into his bedroom. He ran over to his bookshelf and pulled out the leather-bound book that told the legends of their country. He ran back over to the girl, thrusting the tome into her arms. She looked down at it in awe, opening the large book with reverence. She flipped to the section that spoke of the miraculous stones, delving through the pages.

Until the two kids looked up at the clearing of a throat. A stern looking man looked down at the two and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Prince Adrien, who is this?" he asked, voice exasperated.

Adrien scowled at the man. "This is Lady Marinette, the daughter of Hawkmoth."

Marinette blushed slightly at the title and curtsied slightly. "Hi, Adrien wanted to show me a book while Hawkda-father treats Queen Brigitte."

"Very well." The man left the room, an imperious air surrounding him.

Adrien rolled his eyes at Marinette, but she didn't see it, she was too busy reading the legend of the miraculous stones. The first part was rather interesting, speaking of Tikki, the first bearer of the garnet stone. She had been the embodiment of good luck until the day she died, upon which she was absorbed into the stone.

Marinette reached up a hand to touch her garnet earrings absentmindedly, a smile playing at her lips.

Hawkmoth couldn't find Marinette, but knowing her, she had found something interesting to look at. That child really was too curious about everything. "Oh well," he said, sighing. He had a job to do.

He strode into the regal queen's bedroom. It was surprisingly plain, with blue walls and white stripes. It was quite simple, actually. But his attention was focused on the woman on the bed.

The queen was beautiful, that was true. Her long golden hair fell across her chest while her vivid green eyes were half shut. "Hawk...moth?"

He stepped closer, checking for what the problem was.

Abnormally warm forehead, definitely a fever.

Glazed over eyes, hallucinations?

He knew that she had been throwing up a lot prior to his visit, but that didn't tell him much.

Let's see...

He pulled back her eyelid, noting the dilated pupil.

A horrible thought struck him all of a sudden. "Hey!" he shouted, getting a guard's attention. "Get me the queen's healers!"

The healers arrived quickly, bowing to the wizard. He merely waved them aside, impatient for answers. "Did the queen request a sleeping aid recently?"

"Yes...she asked for a sleep aid about a month ago," one healer said, whimpering at the glare shot at her by Hawkmoth.

He snarled in frustration. "Well? What did you give her?!"

The healer being questioned trembled under the wizard's furious gaze. "I gave her herbal tea."

"And what was in the tea?" Hawkmoth could feel his temper rising, these healers might have poisoned the queen!

She glanced up at him before looking back down at the floor. "U-um...lemon balm, rose hips, lavender leaves, mandragora root, mint leaves, fennel seeds, chamomile, and a spoonful of honey."

Hawkmoth gritted his teeth, unable to hold back his fury. "YOU IMBECILE! MANDRAGORA ROOT IS DEADLY TO HUMANS!"

The healer's eyes were wide and fearful now, she was shaking. "I-I thought it was a sedative."

"Well, you. thought. WRONG!" Hawkmoth bit back his rage, focusing on the queen and chasing out the healers. Now that he knew what poison was running in Queen Brigitte's veins, he could now attempt to get rid of it. He opened his satchel, pulling out little herbal bottles. He poured a cup of hot water into a dish, hands steady despite his anger. His thin fingers added shredded ginger, chopped yellow dock root, crushed milk thistle seeds, a single Echinacea bloom, and diced burdock root to the hot water, stirring the mush together. And then, as an afterthought, added a rose hip and a spoonful of honey. As soon as the herbs had mixed together, he rushed to the queen's side, spooning the substance into her mouth. He watched the slow movement of her slim white throat as she swallowed and took a deep breath.

Please don't die on me, Brigitte...you know he'll rip my head off if you die here.

I hope that wasn't too bad... *winces*

Anyways, I hope someone is reading this and that you all actually like this AU because, personally, I think it's an interesting story. (that might also be because I wrote it but eh)

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