AN: Aww thank you so much for the positive reviews! I can't express enough how much reviews are the backbone of giving an author a confidence boost. Not to update faster or to gain more story traffic but more like a nice pat on the back, like, hey, there's people out there who are genuinely interested in the story you're trying to tell! It makes me happy. The follows/favs are nice too.
Again, thank you. In this digital era, I easily become a discouraged potato when I see others who are far more creative on Tumblr and AO3. This is honestly my first attempt at a more fantasy-based story so I hope that it's at least an enjoyable wild ride of FEELS.
We're one step closer in unveiling the truth about Marinette's familiar! WHOO!
Happy reading~ :D
Qu'est-ce Qu'il Y A Dans Un Nom?
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A soft hand.
A feather light caress on her face.
Pale pink lips puckering against her blushing cheek as they kiss her.
A giggle escaped her lips at his gentleness.
Memories from so long ago of a budding romance.
"No… No… NOOO!" the girl with bright red rainboots wails as she abandons her broomstick and rushes towards a gasping body covered in mud on the wet forested floor.
His golden sun-kissed blond hair the only indicator that she had finally found him.
Quickly checking the glowing green pendant, she feels its pulse weakening as she shakes the pendant and rattles it in closed hands near her chest.
"Please, please, keep him alive!" she cries into the pendant as she carefully rests his dirtied face on her lap. Her ruffled black dress becoming wetter and dirtier as she uses it to clean his cold face.
She leans her head and kisses his forehead with a shaky breath, "I'm… such… a… u-u-useless… witch" she sobs into him. She couldn't even manage a simple curative spell without a piece of chalk and stored up mana. She finally found him in the winding woods but she could do nothing to save him.
"Mar-…" his voice groggy, body convulsing in tremors of chills.
"Shh… shh… don't speak" she croaks, adjusting him to have him cradled in her arms.
"Live… for me" his voice extremely dry, feeling as if engulfed with a thousand hellfires as he tried to speak. It was the most he could say as he became tired, so, so very tired.
She hastily shakes her head, the tears blinding her vision as she presses her trembling hand on the glowing purple wound on the side of his abdomen.
Her green pendant's glow fluttering, fighting to remain stable. In the end, she knew that if she did nothing then he would surely die. Momentarily letting go of the pressure placed on his wound, she wiped the tears away with the back of her hands and sniffled.
Her brows furrow, blue bell eyes narrow as her quivering lips halt. Her face contorts from sullen to determined.
And boy was she pissed.
She knows it's risky and it's technically a forbidden magic but she was desperate and would literally die for him if it meant that at least he'd survive this.
She didn't ask for this.
He sure as hell didn't ask for this nor deserve it.
They were like two innocent creatures caught in a spider's web.
Two pawns in a game of chess.
She braces herself as she snaps her fingers and makes her broomstick come forth. Inside the bristles of the broom, she always carried a hidden dagger within. Taking it out, she held the curved blade with the leather sheath decorated with emeralds. Removing the magical guard placed on the small dagger, with a bright fire burning in her eyes – in one quick motion, she slices her right palm, grunting at the pain.
Her blood starts to drip onto his face as she stops it by curling her injured hand into a small fist. In her other hand, she takes leaves surrounding his body that were drenched in his blood with small twinkles of the purple glowing substance.
She crumbles the leaves in her hands as she clasps her bloodied hand mixing both the leaves covered in his blood and her own. She blows into her closed hands, causing a faint orange glow to start forming of an ember. Placing the tiny ember on his wound, she hears him groan in discomfort as she closes her eyes and chants a spell that she knew would come with repercussions if she even gets out of this alive.
"Ex nihilo nihil fit; Carpe noctem!"
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Marinette groans as the first rays of sunlight come in from her glass stained window panes. She stretches her arms and twists her torso, feeling a pink blanket shimmy off her back.
"Huh?" she groggily moves the blanket on her chaise figuring that her mother probably came in to at least place a blanket over her. "Ahh… I can't believe I fell asleep like that!" she whines, knowing all too well already that her parents stopped placing her into her bed whenever she'd fall asleep on the floor or on her chaise or desk because then the very next morning she'd complain.
"I regret being an ungrateful brat" she sighs as she blinks a couple of times to will the sleepiness away.
As she comes to, she untangles her messy pigtails from their black hair ties creating wavy tresses. She yawns once more and realizes that her little black cat familiar was nowhere in sight. Freaking out, she gasps as she runs around trying to find it all over her room.
"Maman!" she yells as she takes the spiraling banister downstairs towards the sizzling smell of meats and eggs being cooked.
"Good morning, sweetie" Sabine greets as she sets a towering stack of waffles, hearty meats and sausages, and five sunny-side eggs on the table for her father alone.
"Maman… did you… have you…" Marinette paused, unsure of what she should say. Should she call her familiar a plush toy? A new friend's pet that she's temporarily pet-sitting?
"Honey, remember to breathe. If you're going to ask me about your familiar, I gave him a bowl of warm milk and a breakfast crepe" she tells her daughter as Marinette tries to clamp her unhinged jaw back in place.
"WHAT!" she raises her voice with wide eyes and then tried to calm down, "uhh… I mean, him? Hehehe"
She wanted to disappear into the floorboards in that very moment but hadn't memorized the spell yet.
Sabine sets her spatula down and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel, "yes, your father and I are well aware of the familiar rule. It's part of the reason why we didn't want you to grow attached to a pet when you were younger in fear that you'd reject your familiar. They're a big responsibility"
Marinette frowned, "I-I know that, of course I'd never deliberately ignore my responsibilities"
Sabine walked over to Tom as he squeezed his wife's hand, "we know, we're sorry for assuming"
She couldn't get mad at her parents even if she wanted to. In the past, she admits that she was careless with things but she's sixteen now and a full-fledged witchling. She's fully come to terms with her responsibilities and had one more question to ask.
"So… uh… where is he?" she asks while her head is still processing the fact that her familiar is male and was actually, finally, awake!
"Hmm… I think he went back up to your room, you might want to check there first before heading to school" Sabine suggests as she sits down to have breakfast with her husband, "hurry now or your plate will get cold!"
Marinette nods as she zooms upstairs again to find her familiar and change into her school uniform.
Upstairs in her attic bedroom, she finds her school uniform which consists of a black plaid suspender skirt and a short sleeved ruffled white blouse placed neatly on her chaise lounge. And right next to the clothes that weren't there before was her black cat familiar soundly asleep on the tip of the chaise.
Marinette groaned, "will I ever get to meet you awake?"
She deeply sighed and got dressed, along with her uniform she put on nude tights for the chilly spring weather and her black and white patterned mary jane low heel shoes. The finishing touch was the thin grey ribbon bracelet on her left wrist to indicate her school year. The more years meant brighter colored ribbons. Grey was such a boring color but she couldn't complain much, at least it compliment her already dull uniform.
As she reached for her bag on her desk, her butterfingers completely missed causing her to knock down a picture frame and spill out the contents from within the bag. Out came her textbooks, a journal, the indestructible glass mug from yesterday, her pencil pouch, and the green pendant necklace she received from Mme. Bustier.
She bent down to clean up the mess and briefly paused to examine the pendant. It was warm in her palm and made her feel… safe? She didn't quite know how to describe the feeling but she felt the need to protect the little green stone. Unclasping the two ends, she placed it on her neck and tucked the necklace into her shirt unsure if she'd get scolded for wearing 'jewelry.'
Gently, she scooped the black cat into her arms and carried him out feeling bad that she still wasn't skilled enough for a space altering spell so that she could carry both her bags and her familiar comfortably in the same bag.
Having a quick meal, she bid her parents a hurried farewell as she found herself rushing through the grandfather clock again and waiting in line for entry into the school grounds.
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Again, Marinette was greeted with the crankiness of the school guard named Theo Barbot who just looked done with the world as if some great injustice fell upon his shoulders by having to deal with hundreds of witches and warlocks every morning for who knows how many years now.
"Oh, I see you received your familiar" he simply commented.
Marinette nodded, "I did" she was curt, already knowing that if she even tried attempting a light conversation with him, he wouldn't care either way and dismiss her.
"Any magical scrolls or textbooks in your possession?" he asks with a sigh.
"No"
"How about poisonous insects or plants?"
"No"
"Clearly you're a witch. You may proceed"
Marinette nods again and takes her things inside. As soon as she entered, she was greeted with the sight of Alya and Nino in the front courtyard. Nino holding something above Alya's shorter stature as she tried jumping to snatch whatever it was that Nino had.
"Give it back you jerky boyfriend!" Alya stomped on his foot causing him to stagger.
"Ow!" he yowled as he dropped the silver shining object.
Alya used his hunched back to balance herself as she dipped to reach the little object before it fully fell to the floor.
"Uh… hey guys" Marinette awkwardly made herself known.
"What's going on?" she asked when Nino raised his hands in defeat and plopped down on the stone floor.
Alya snickered as she kissed the silver object in her hands, "oh nothing, just punishing Nino for making fun of the nametag I got for my familiar"
"Oh! Did it finally speak to you?" Marinette waited in curious anticipation as Alya energetically nodded, "he did, girl!" she squealed as she took hold of Marinette's shoulders and bounced around excitedly with her.
"Congrats!" Marinette cheered as Alya came down from her high enough to properly show her.
"It didn't take long but my little fox explained that first-time summoned familiars are usually too weak to speak or do much on the first day but after dinner, we were talking and I can proudly confirm that I won't be in charge of a bratty imprisoned warlock"
"Pure animal?"
"Yup!"
"So, he had no prior name?"
"Nope!"
"Alya, will you please release the privacy spell on that nametag and tell us all what you decided to name your familiar?" Nino spoke up, placing his head on crossed arms as he laid down on a patch of green grass having used a bit of magic to cover the stone he was laying on.
Alya rolled her eyes, "sheesh so impatient"
Marinette decided to play along as she sat on a nearby stone bench, patiently awaiting the news as she placed her sleeping familiar on her lap.
Alya laughed and thanked her for her undivided attention and tapped the top corner of her glasses three times. A spark of magic scrubbed away at the censored name and within seconds a puff of orange smoke spelled it out in large letters for them to see.
"Trixx?" Nino raised a brow at the peculiar name.
"Oh, like you're one to judge" Alya sassed him.
"Touché" he grumbled, getting up from the floor and clearing the grass away with a flick of his wrist.
Before Marinette had the chance to tell Alya that she liked the name, the bell rang as everyone scurried, vanished, and levitated towards their classrooms.
"Damn those seniors" Alya narrowed her hazel eyes, watching as they were the only ones left in the courtyard.
"Someday soon" Marinette assured her as they made their way at a normal pace.
"Why aren't you in a hurry?" Alya asked Nino who was escorting them.
He shrugged, "they aren't as strict towards students with seniority"
"Must be nice" Alya commented as she walked straight into the classroom with crossed arms without looking back.
"Thank you, Nino" Marinette sheepishly thanked him with a nod and made her way inside.
Nino smirked being all too familiar with Alya's moodiness. Once he could see that she was sitting at her desk and that the teacher hadn't arrived yet, he phased through the wall of the classroom. He knew he could've just walked in and then leave once being told to but what fun would that be for him?
"Yo, Alya!" he called, gaining everyone's attention.
Alya wanted to sink into her chair and turn invisible at his next words.
"You'll be one badass witch soon enough. I love ya, babe!" he winked and with puckered lips and a held-up palm, he sent a kiss with hearts her way.
Alya blushed and sunk even further into her chair as she tried to swat away at the visible puffs of red kisses and pink hearts floating around her desk.
Nino laughed as he phased out the wall and walked away.
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Seconds later, a blue puff of smoke shrouded the classroom. Instead of coughing, many students hummed at the smell of blueberries.
"Good morning, my dears!" Mme. Bustier appeared as she set her steamer's trunk on the desk and took out a full skeleton for anatomy, beakers, test tubes, microscopes, a full-on chemistry set and a spice rack out of the trunk.
"Today we shall start on potion learning!"
Mme. Bustier heard half the classroom uproar into cheers while others booed, being disappointed in not starting off with familiars again.
"Now I know my teaching style is a bit unorthodox but I do like to switch things up so that my students do not start to grow bored of the same curriculum. Now, I highly encourage that you form a group of at least two to four for potions class"
At this, Alya immediately scooted her desk towards Marinette. A few minutes later as the hype died down of trying to find partners, two girls walked towards Alya and Marinette.
One girl with a streak of purple in the bangs of her dark hair and being the taller of the two girls meekly waved. The shorter girl with blonde hair spoke up on behalf of the two, "hi, I'm Rose and this is my girlfriend Juleka! May we join you two?"
Marinette warmly greeted them, "of course"
Alya smiled back, "ditto, the more the merrier!"
Rose thanked them both as they took their seats with Juleka quietly scooting closer to Rose.
"That's a cute cat! Your familiar?" Rose asked Marinette as she took a journal and pen out of her bag.
Marinette smiled and nodded at the sleeping cat on top of her desk.
Mme. Bustier clapped her hands after giving the students a good ten minutes to choose their teams, "listen up my dears! I hope you chose wisely because these groups will be yours for the remainder of the year. Please allow yourselves an additional five minutes to decide whether or not you think you'll learn well with your chosen group and switch if you see fit. This is the only chance you'll get!"
Rose, Juleka, Marinette and Alya looked at each other in a silent questioning way as if asking if they were all alright with their decision. When the five minutes passed and no one moved seats from their group, they smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Now that that's settled, today we shall begin class with illegal plants. I should not have to repeat myself when I say that these plants are highly forbidden within school grounds and in no way, will they be tolerated nor encouraged to use. You're all old enough to be responsible for your own casting and spells. So, with that being said, we will only have one class conducted towards this specific topic. First we will go over atropa belladonna most commonly known as deadly nightshade and aconitum or the infamous wolf's bane"
A couple of students, mostly the males were howling and trying to make scary sound effects.
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After class, Marinette finished packing her things to leave and meet up with Alya who had left seconds earlier with their new friends Rose and Juleka.
The only reason Marinette opted to say behind was due to her sleeping familiar that she had to be careful in transporting. Her arms were starting to hurt with how much she's been carrying around the cat.
"Marinette, a word please" Mme. Bustier called out as she flipped through a large ancient looking spell book.
"Yes?" Marinette stood in front of the desk, nervously wondering if she had done something wrong.
It was only her second day at the school!
Mme. Bustier silently handed her a pitch black business card. Confusion colored her features as, immediately as she touched the card, she was transported to another realm.
"Wha-…" Marinette gasped as her head spun at the sudden transition. She was now standing in the middle of an emptied classroom. It looked just like the classroom she was just in but the only tell-tale sign that this was another place in time was the backwards writing and position of objects. The birds outside the windows chirped at a lower, slower octave, the clouds swayed in the opposite direction just as the waterfall in the middle of the courtyard.
Marinette's grey ribbon bracelet was now placed on her right wrist and her uniform's skirt was now white with the ruffled blouse being black.
"What's going on?" she asked no one in particular as she clutched onto her familiar who felt like the only sure thing in this reality.
"I'm sorry I scared you dear but we needed a private place to speak. Welcome to the mirror realm, a pocket in space that hides within our normal realm's time. We only use this pocket in order to speak to students who have special familiars" Mme. Bustier said, appearing in a puff of white smoke rather than her usual blue.
"Special? What's so special about me? I'm barely even a witch!" Marinette incredulously uttered. She was getting tired of being constantly told that she was special. It was one thing if her parents told her that but to have her teacher and friend say it with such a vague tone made her uneasy.
"You might want to sit down, dear" Mme. Bustier kindly offered as she walked towards the chalkboard and flicked her wand to have chalk come to life and start to write.
"Normally, Principle Damocles would be here as well to explain this but he's currently away at a warlock sabbatical in America" Mme. Bustier began, "I know you probably have several questions to ask so let's start with the obvious one, shall we?"
"Why me?"
Mme. Bustier briskly chuckled at this, "it's not I who you should be asking but yourself, your aura granted you this, I'm only in charge of distribution"
"How is my familiar special? He's been asleep all day and only briefly woke up long enough for my mother to feed him!"
"Imprisoned familiars are far weaker than normal pure animal familiars who need less time to recover especially if your w-familiar is new to being well… a familiar"
Marinette's eyes widened, "I have a w-familiar?"
Mme. Bustier beamed at her student's realization, "right so!"
"What if I don't want it?" Marinette quickly suggested as she watched Mme. Bustier frown.
"I'm sorry my dear but it's not as simple as that. Both parties must be in accordance with the agreement with one another. Witches and warlocks who are granted w-familiars are special because they hold a power within themselves that they are not yet aware of"
"But… why me? I'm just a witch who lives in the mortal realm. The mortal realm! I haven't really been exposed to magic"
"Mortal or Witch's realm matters not in these cases. A great power surging within you has determined that you have the power to awaken the imprisoned familiar. You see… not all w-familiars are bad people. In fact, most are innocent in the crimes they've been accused of. Per the school's rules, a witch or warlock who manages to release their w-familiar and turn them back into the people they once were are granted seniority at a younger year level with access to restricted knowledge but only if you manage to free your w-familiar within the first year of enrollment. No matter when, if you free your w-familiar, you will be awarded a new pure animal familiar"
Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing.
She looked down at the sleeping black cat in her arms and back at Mme. Bustier to confirm what she was just explained.
"Oh, and another thing! W-familiar do indeed have names as they are imprisoned fellow witches/warlocks but as part of their punishment, they do not have any recollection of what their true name is. It is up to the owner to discover this very important detail in breaking the spell of their imprisonment!"
Marinette was ready to hit her head against the wall at this new piece of information.
"You are not allowed to get help from others. They may aid you in finding clues but not telling you the answer if your help figures out your w-familiar's name first before youself"
"Anything else?" Marinette deadpanned, feeling as if Mme. Bustier was about to add another thing to her already brewing headache. Just when she thought magic school was going to be fun and stress free.
"Your w-familiar in particular was a fellow student here. He should be of great help to your schooling and is one of the nicer ones. Most skilled in physical spells and was one of my top student in potion making!" Mme. Bustier tried her best to make it sound better for Marinette to ease the young witchling into this but couldn't help her slight frown, "shame that he was punished… Oh, yes! Your w-familiar is forbidden from telling you exactly how they came to be cursed. That's another thing your tasked to unlock on your own"
Marinette nearly fell out of her seat.
Just her luck, right!
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Done. To be continued!
What has Marinette gotten herself into?
Will Theo ever greet her with a smile on his lips and a skip to his step? Probably not. LOL.
Nino's familiar and Alya's familiar Trixx will make an appearance next time!
I wonder who Marinette's familiar is tho… huhuhu.
Note: the tidbit of latin at the very beginning basically means, "out of nothing, comes nothing/or nothing is made; seize the night!"
Until next time~ ;D
Please do review! Follows and Alerts tell me that you guys are at least interested in the story but reviews really let me hear out what your feedback and personal opinions on my stories are!
If anyone is afraid to leave reviews due to language difference - please don't be! I can fluently read Spanish and partial French! :) And hey, that's why Google translate was invented after all! LOL.
