Welcome all to the mini-stories, and in some cases not so mini, of Miraculous Pirates! I will be your host for the evening.
And if you would be so kind as to leave any future requests for hidden backstories, piratey exploits, or anything else that tickles your fancy about the Miraculous Pirates story, at the bottom of the story, that would be much appreciated!
Remember! I.O.N.
Enjoy the story!
The ship rolled on the choppy seas as rain pelted them from every direction. Ladybug held tight as best she could to the post, but every second that passed she could feel her grip on the ship slipping. For a moment, the young pirate captain wished she'd left this duty to one of the others for a few hours. But then that moment passed and Ladybug was calm in the sense that no one else had to be out in this terrible storm.
They had all seen it coming and were able to get everything stored away and as safe as possible before it hit, so there was no reason for anyone but the captain to be out. She was there to make sure that nothing important flew away, but that didn't seem to matter as she herself was seconds from being blown off the ship.
Now Ladybug wasn't insane, she had thought that something like that might happen so she'd left her earrings in her bunk with a letter that told her first mate exactly who was to be the next Captain.
Even as her thoughts drifted the pouring rain loosened her fingers hold on their perch and the young captain Ladybug was pulled away when the next wave hit. She was sent sprawling on the deck, with nothing to tie her down. Somehow Ladybug managed to keep herself from being washed away from her ship when the next wave hit and was mentally preparing for the next one when an unexpected light distracted her.
It was one of the youngest members of Tikki's crew, bringing her captain some food to weather the storm on. The light was only momentary, but it was enough to distract Ladybug and when the next wave hit she was washed away with the waves, the young crew member's scream was torn away as well.
Looking back on it, Ladybug couldn't tell you how she survived that storm. Every time a wave bashed over her head and dragged her under the stormy waters, it was only some unknown will that made her hold her breath until she was buoyed up to the surface once again, only to repeat the process.
This went on for what seemed like hours until she was hit over the head by a floating piece of wood and knocked her unconscious. Her limbs went limp and Ladybug stopped fighting the waves.
As it turned out, this is probably what saved her. If she had continued to struggle the waves would've dragged her down. Though as it was the captain was carried along with the waves drifting farther and farther from her ship. And with Tikki went her memories, so that by the time the storm finally stopped and the waters calmed, she had only the barest idea of her self.
When the dawn light broke through the remaining clouds, it saw the former pirate captain Ladybug washed up on a foreign beach without a memory to her name... or her name for that matter.
When the young woman woke up, she was in a large fancy bed with another woman sitting beside her. "Miss! You're awake! How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Oh, the master will be so glad to hear it! But first, we need to get you out of those clothes! Wait here for a moment while I fetch the others." Then the other lady was up and heading for the door before Ladybug could ask any questions.
The next few minutes were a blur of confusion, that just served to destroy any imagined peace the teen might have had. Finally, she managed to get the woman she'd woken up to alone to ask her some questions. Taking a deep breath she asked, "Ma'am, I don't mean to be rude, but where am I? Who are you? Who am I? Why am I here? What happened to me?"
The older woman gave the younger a sad look, as she realized how startling all of it must seem to the child. She took a deep breath and tried to answer the questions to the best of her ability, "You are in the house of Lord Dylan. My name is Celest. You're here because our master found you washed up on the beach after a storm. And as for who you are and what happened to you, well we were kind of hoping you'd answer that ourselves."
Taking a few deep breaths the young girl processed everything that she'd just heard. And the rising panic at realizing that she had no idea who she herself was. In fact, the only thing that she did even vaguely remember was walls of water and fear.
It took a little longer than planned but the virtual army of maids finally left the room and left the amnesia-ridden girl with Celest and waited for a summons from this 'Lord Dylan'. Once it came, Celest and the girl walked slowly and headed for a room on the other side of the house.
The talk lasted a few hours in which Lord Dylan explained how he had come upon her at the beach the morning after a terrible storm on his daily walk. Afterward, they had speculated that she had possibly been washed overboard during the storm, which would explain the memory of water.
For her part, Ladybug told him how she could remember nothing of her past, not even her name. "Well that is a problem, now isn't it?" Lord Dylan had said and then proceeded to come up with random names in hopes that it might strike a chord with her. Eventually, she had let her mind wander and saw a little ladybug sitting on the window outside. Then inspiration struck.
"How about until we stumble upon my real name, because this will take a while, everyone can call me Connie!"
Dylan looked at her strangely, "Why Connie?"
"Short for Connielle."
And so it went, every day Connie would meet up with Lord Dylan and they would try and figure out her name. Though she didn't realize it, the girl was making the young lord fall in love with her, unfortunately, she felt only the love one would feel for a sibling.
Which was really going to be a problem when he decided to propose to her.
Weeks had passed since the crew of Tikki had seen their leader and everyone was beginning to fear that she had drowned in that storm. Well, all but the youngest amongst them, who still believed in miracles and fairies and Ladybug's oldest friend. They felt it in their bones that their captain would come back.
Ever since the storm, Tikki had been prowling every coastline they could easily get to, going off at any rumor about a young woman washing up on a beach. One of Ladybug's second in command had just heard such a rumor in a local tavern when another patron warned them off, "You won't want to go there, boy! If the girl you're looking for is there, she won't be able to leave by now."
"What do you mean?"
"Lord Dylan is known to be a possessive man, if he takes an interest in her then they'll be married soon enough!"
The second in command looked horrified at the idea of his captain married off to some lord without any say in the matter. He turned back to the old man warning him away. "Um, where would this Lord Dylan's land be? You know, so my ship and I can avoid it."
The man laughed, "I can see what you're doing boy! You'll go there no matter what I say, so I'll tell you and save you the hardship of finding another reliable source of information. It's about a hundred miles due west, you'll know it's his when you see it. Lord Dylan is also a showboat and everything he owns is larger than many would deem necessary."
"Thank you, sir! What do they call you, so that my friend may thank you when we find her?"
"It doesn't much matter what they call me, but if you must call me something, call me Carapace."
The second in command smiled and ran back to the dock where Tikki was waiting.
Lord Dylan sat confidently in his chair as he waited for Connie to show up for their daily meetings to try and find her name. Though today would be little different, he thought with a smile. Today he would propose, sure that she would say yes, after all, he had been nothing but polite and it had been him to save her from the beach, and have his staff nurse her back to health. What reason could she possibly have to say no?
The smile on his face widened as Connie entered the room. Lord Dylan and Connie spoke for a few minutes before Dylan thought it time to give his proposal. "May I ask you a question?"
"Of course, though I don't know if I can answer it."
"I have no doubt you will."
"If you think so."
"I know we haven't known each other long and it's true that you still don't have your memory back, but I believe and hope that if we were to marry then you might find you don't really need your memories so much, as you start to make new ones with me, and eventually a family. So would you do me the honor of marrying me?"
But the latter half of his question had gone unheard, as one word continued to echo throughout Connie's brain, 'Marry... Mary... Mari... MARINETTE!' The name snapped into place just as Lord Dylan finished his proposal, and she could help but shout for joy, "Yes! Yes!" She grabbed the lord by his hands and nearly shouted with glee, "I remember! I remember my name!"
Lord Dylan smiled while Celeste and the few other servants that had been around to throw random began to celebrate. In all her excitement Marinette hadn't even noticed that she had been proposed to and had, subsequently, accepted said proposal. Lord Dylan wasn't one to pay much attention to specific details in this certain situation. All he would acknowledge was the fact that he had proposed and the one he had proposed to had said yes.
And since he had known all along that she would accept, Dylan had had the entire wedding planned out. All that was left was to send out the invitations, with a little luck the wedding would be held within the week.
"Hey, Celeste?"
"Yes Co- Marinette?"
"What's that ship doing out there?"
Celeste walked over to the window where Marinette was watching a ship sailing over the ocean. It was too far away to see any concrete details of the boat, but something about it gave Celeste a bad feeling. "I don't know. It doesn't look familiar. I hope it's not pirates."
"Pirates?"
The older maid looked at the young woman out of the corner of her eye. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she didn't have all of her memories. "Thieves of the sea. Disgusting brutes. It would be a crying shame if they ruined the party." Celeste saw the look on Marinette's face and thought that she'd scared the girl. "Oh! But don't worry dear! Lord Dylan would never let something like that happen."
"Of course... I was just wondering what would cause someone to revert to piracy."
"That's an odd thing for you to be wondering about."
Marinette seemed to snap out of it and smiled at Celeste. "You're right. I'm feeling a little tired I think I'll head to bed a little early if that's alright."
Celeste rolled her eyes and shoved the girl into the bed. "Get some rest. Things are going to be changing soon."
As Marinette slept, she dreamed. In her dreams, she was sailing across the oceans, three young women about her age to her right, and two young men to her left. They were all smiling, and telling her to hurry up or they'd miss the tide. In the dream, she tied a red and black spotted mask across her face and left her cabin meeting the five she called siblings, who were all similarly masked.
They were quickly joined by others, some older, some younger. But in the dream, every one of them felt like an important part of herself. Each one a person she would fight for.
Then Marinette saw a ship sailing towards her. The wood was painted a beautiful red that seemed timeless. On the side in elegant writing was the name of the ship Tikki. Marinette didn't know why but the ship brought tears to her eyes and a longing to her heart.
Bolting upright with a gasp, Marinette awoke. Questions tumbled through her mind, 'Who were those people? How do I know them? Do I know them? What was that ship? Why do I want to find it?'
With a sigh, Marinette resolved to ask Celeste or Lord Dylan about it in the morning and tried to go back to sleep.
Marinette woke up extra early the next morning so that she could ask Celeste. "Good morning Marinette! You're up early!"
"Yeah, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?"
"I'm all ears."
"Have you ever heard of a ship named Tikki?"
Celeste's face paled as she looked at the young woman, extremely worried as to why she would know that ship. With a shaky breath, she answered, "Why do you want to know Marinette?"
"Well, it's just that last night, I had this dream and in it, there was a ship, and I think it was named Tikki." Marinette looked at the older woman who had quickly become like a mother to her, "Why? Is it something bad?"
Fighting back her tears for the girl Celeste once again supplied an answer, "It's a notorious pirate ship. People say that the crew members are cursed because it's been around so long. They're ruthless, and if you were dreaming of that demon ship, Marinette, then I fear it may mean that you've run into it before."
Looking at the woman who was struggling not to cry, Marinette felt horrible for even bringing it up. Taking Celeste's hand, Marinette asked, "Did they take someone from you?"
The older woman looked startled, as if she hadn't even considered it a possibility, "Oh no! I just can't help but feel so scared for you if you had encountered it before." Smiling softly, Marinette hugged Celeste.
"Thank you."
Wiping her eyes, Celeste cheered up, "Well, as much as we may want to, we can't sit here gossiping all day! Let's get you dressed and fed, shall we dear."
After properly dressing, Marinette promised to be out in a few minutes wanting to collect her thoughts before her first official breakfast with Lord Dylan. Walking over to the window, she was once again surprised to see the same ship from the night before. Something tugged at her when she saw it like she'd seen it before.
Looking closer, Marinette realized that it wasn't the same as the one in her dream, but still felt familiar.
When a knock at her door sounded, Marinette made a snap decision, if the ship was still there that evening, she would sneak out to find it. With a smile, Marinette headed out into the hall and into Celeste's waiting escorting arms.
Marinette's day was so full of wedding preparations, dress fittings, and crash courses in nobility that by the time evening had come, she was tired enough to sleep for a week. But she had work to do. With a quiet groan, Marinette picked herself up off of the bed and dressed in the plainest, darkest clothes she could find.
Under the cover of night, Marinette snuck down to the beach. It didn't take her long to find the, now docked, boat.
Before she could even approach it, however, a voice appeared from behind her, "Well now, ain't it a bit late for such a pretty young lass to be wandering the beach on her own?" Despite herself, Marinette jumped. Turning around, she found that the voice belonged to an old man, with kind eyes and an easy smile.
"Not if she's looking for sailors." Marinette replied with a smile.
The old man laughed, "Well I can't argue with that. Why would you happen to be looking for sailors, young miss?"
"I was actually hoping you might be able to tell me some stories."
"Any sailor can tell a story. But I get the feeling you're looking for one in particular."
"And if I am?"
For a time, the old man stood in silence thinking over the decision he was about to make. Marinette waited patiently the entire time, hoping he could help her. Finally, he sighed and spoke, "Then I'd invite onto my ship and ask you what you were looking for."
With a smile, Marinette followed the kind captain onto his boat.
Sitting quietly, Marinette waited for the sailor to finish making his tea, before starting. The man sat down slowly and took a sip of his tea, before speaking, "So what are you looking for?"
Marinette sighed and stared into her cup trying to find the words, "I'm looking for answers." She raised her head and looked into his eyes, "What can you tell me about Ladybug and Tikki?"
If he had had anything in his mouth it would have been forcefully expelled at her question. As it was, he recoiled slightly and looked around to make sure no specters had appeared. "Miss, you might want to be careful. To most sailing folks even mentioning those names is bad luck and almost enough to cancel a voyage. They fear it'll summon them like they're some kind of demon."
"So you can't tell me about them?" Marinette asked sadly.
"Many would say that they wouldn't dare." The kind captain smiled mischievously, "But you're in luck because I believe that telling stories makes everyone just a little bit greater. So I'm gonna tell you what I know."
"Thank you."
He heaved a deep sigh, "You may want to hold off on that thanks, little miss. Ladybug and Tikki are quite the pair. Lots of stories about them, but very few solid facts. Some say that Tikki is a ship larger than life with a crew of over ten thousand terrifying pirates and that Ladybug is a giant of a man that'll kill you as soon as look at ya. Others say that Tikki is barely bigger than my own Lavender here, and that Ladybug is a vigilante, bringing her own brand of justice to the seas. There are even those that think Ladybug isn't a human but some kind of angel or demon depending, and Tikki is just their mode of transport."
"What do you believe?"
Lavender's captain huffed, "I believe that they're just a normal captain and boat that enjoy causing a bit of mischief."
Marinette looked past her new friend towards the little window that showed the open ocean, something about these stories seemed familiar, "Is there anything that the stories can agree on?"
"Very little. Though most agree that, if it's convenient for them, the crew of Ladybug will help out smaller ships. They're also pretty quiet in the years when farming and trading are tough."
The two talked for a while longer, Marinette asking questions and him answering to the best of his ability. Tea was drunk and refilled many times, and as they spoke, bits and pieces of conversation would stick out to her, never enough to trigger a memory, but always a sense of deja vu. Before long it was close to dawn and Marinette had to go, lest she be discovered missing.
"I hope this helped you, missy."
"I think it did. At the very least it gave me a lot to chew on." Marinette waved goodbye to her friend, but before she began the trek back she had one more question, "We've spent hours talking, and I've never once asked your name. What do they call you?"
"If you must call me something, call me Carapace."
"Well, goodbye Captain Carapace and may wind always fill your sails and the waves see you smoothly to your destination." Marinette had no idea what had caused her to say that, but it felt right, so with a smile and another wave, she headed off.
Once she was a good distance away did Carapace softly reply, "And may fortune and glory always dog your heels, Captain Ladybug."
Slipping softly into the bed, Marinette was able to rest easy for ten minutes before Celeste and the others came in to prepare her for the day. "Oh aren't you excited, Marinette!"
Rubbing the last of her tiredness away Marinette asked, "Excited about what?"
"Why tomorrow is the practice wedding! And then the day after, you'll be married!"
Managing a small smile, Marinette nodded, though her stomach felt like it was being tied in knots. "Doesn't this seem a bit... sudden to you?" She asked her new friend nervously.
Celeste sighed, "Lord Dylan has never been of the idle variety. Once he decides he likes something, he'll stop at almost nothing to get it."
"Oh."
"But don't take that to mean that he only sees you as something to be owned! I'm sure that he really does love you!"
"I'm sure you're right... Hey Celeste?"
"Yes, dear?"
"If this is really the best choice for me, why does it feel like my insides are getting tossed around by the ocean?"
Celeste smiled, glad that they were moving towards a topic she could handle, "That's the pre-wedding jitters kicking in there. Once you start walking down that aisle in two days, your stomach will settle right down!"
Marinette gave the older woman a kind smile, "Yeah. That's probably what it is. I'm just nervous." Celeste's grin got just a bit brighter at the sight. With a pat on the young woman's head, Celeste once again began preparing Marinette for the busy day.
Their first stop was the kitchens to taste test the menu and make sure everything would be perfect. Then another quick class in which nobility would be showing up, why, how important they were, and what she should do with each of them. All in all, it was a rather boring two hours. Then, unfortunately, it was time for Marinette's least favorite part of the entire day, the final wedding dress fitting.
With so many varying and contrasting shades of orange that would make even the very fruit hate itself, an obscene amount of lace, frills, and pearls, enough layers in the skirt to clothe an entire village, shoes that felt like death traps, and a corset tied tight enough to border assault. And that was all before jewelry and makeup got involved. Marinette absolutely hated her wedding dress.
After the dress had first been shown to her, Marinette had politely, but insistently, asked to be the one to choose her own wedding dress. Dylan had laughed and told her that the dress had been hand-picked by him with her in mind. So with difficulty the bride to be, bit her tongue and said no more on the matter. To him at least, Celeste, on the other hand, had heard her mumbling the different complaints she had with the dress under her breath. It was in these moments that a stray curse, or twenty, would fly out of the agitated girl's mouth. Curses that many would assume no polite lady would ever know about, let alone speak.
While others would have seen this as troublesome or slightly nervewracking. Celeste saw it as Marinette discovering bits and pieces of herself all over again, like how she apparently had an eye for fashion, preferred simpler styles in dresses, and could apparently curse like a sailor. Anyone within a three-mile radius of that dress could tell that it didn't suit Marinette and that she detested it with every fiber of her being, except for Dylan of course.
Despite all of that, however, Celeste could also see that Marinette and her lord were not compatible. Of course, she had no actual proof, on the surface, both appeared to be a nearly perfect match. After all, they both well mannered, polite, Dylan fit the gentleman roll to a T, while Marinette was a picture of beauty. But sometimes, the older woman would catch a glimpse of who the polite yet quiet girl use to be. The young woman that she saw in those moments was much more sure of herself, and something told Celeste that who Marinette was before she'd lost her memories, would've had no reservations about dueling it out with Lord Dylan.
It would be interesting to see how the wedding would play out.
That night, when Marinette left to meet Carapace, she found him talking to a young man. They appeared to be having a very serious conversation, and she almost turned around and headed back, when the older captain saw her and began walking the younger man over towards her.
With no way to leave without looking rude or terrified, Marinette stood her ground and waited for the approaching sailors to reach her. "Shouldn't a pretty girl like you be just slightly worried about two strange sailors coming towards them on a dark night like this?"
With a light-hearted laugh, Marinette answered, "Dark night? There's an almost full moon out!"
"So, missy, have you come to hear more stories about Ladybug and Tikki?"
"If you don't mind spending a few hours answering questions." Then Marinette looked at the young man who had yet to speak, "And as long as I'm not interrupting any business of yours, Captain."
The old man laughed, a deep and hearty laugh, "This boy here could tell you more stories about Ladybug than anyone else I've met!" Shoving the boy forwards, Carapace continued, "Go on then kid! Introduce yourself!"
With a slight stumble and glare at the other man, the younger man bowed slightly to her and said, "Good-evening ma'am. My name is Kim."
And that was the last thing Marinette heard before her world went black.
Sighing Marinette opened her eyes, and stared at the girl in the mirror in front of her. To most, the girl staring back would be seen as a beautiful young woman, being prepared for what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Instead, Marinette saw someone with no memory of her past, or possibly a family that you never know what had happened to her, being led through the steps of a marriage she really had no passion for.
Grabbing a small section of her dress, Marinette noted that it was, at least, of the finest quality fabric she had ever felt. As if that could make up for the hideous designs and colors and the overall eye destroying style of the dress.
The bride-to-be turned her head to stare out the only large open window that was in the room and thought back to the previous night. She had snuck out to hear more stories of Ladybug when Carapace had introduced her to a young man who called himself Kim. After that, it got a bit fuzzy for her.
She had half-remembered dreams of being a child with him and four others playing hide-and-go-seek on a boat, a slightly older version of herself picking up a sewing needle for the first time and creating fun little masks for the six of them. Marinette would almost believe they were memories, except for the fact that she also half-remembered being a fairy princess and dancing across the ocean as it rained chocolate. So she didn't put much stock in it.
Marinette was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice that she wasn't alone anymore until a female voice spoke from behind her. "That is just hideous! I've never seen a dress that ugly before in my life! Mari, why on EARTH did you allow them to put you in such an offending dress?! Orange isn't even your color!"
Marinette spun around to see a young woman around her age with blonde hair held in a high ponytail, and striking blue eyes.
But the most notable thing about the other girl was her outfit. A long faded yellow shirt flowing free and untucked from a pair of black pants, small heeled black and yellow boots, with a long yellow coat striped with zig-zagging black lines, black gloves, a pretty comb shaped like a bee, and a yellow and black mask, gave the unmistakable impression of a pirate.
The intruder was smiling at her while also managing to look extremely offended at the sight of her wedding dress. Then the unknown pirate continued to speak, "Please tell me you weren't the one to pick out that dress."
And despite herself, Marinette scoffed and replied, "If I'd had any say in picking this dress, trust me, it wouldn't have been this. Now, who are you?"
"For now you can call me Queen Bee." The girl said, "And I'm here to help you get out of that dress, this disaster of a wedding, and get your memories back."
Marinette knew that she should be afraid of what was happening, knew she should scream for a guard or someone to capture the most likely wanted pirate. So, of course, she said, "How can I help?"
Queen Bee smirked and handed her a small jewelry box, which contained two polka-dotted earrings, "You can start by putting those on."
Replacing the giant ugly earrings that went with the dress with the tiny ladybug themed ones seemed so right and so familiar for some reason. And while she had been focusing on putting the earrings on, two more young women appeared in the room.
One was dressed in a neat dark blue shirt, a light pair of lighter blue pants that only went to her knees, black ankle boots, a long coat that looked like it was once a rich royal blue, but has since been splattered with other blues, purples, and even pinks, the peacock brooch that sat proudly on the coat, and the dark blue mask which seemed to complete the ensemble. It even managed to go with the shorter girl's bright pink hair.
The other girl was dressed much differently. The white shirt seemed to shimmer and shift around as if it couldn't decide what color it wanted to be. In fact, Marinette noted, the pirate's entire outfit seemed to have that effect. Black pants, boots, and gloves, an orange, and white mask and a short orange jacket. But the centerpiece was definitely the fox-tailed necklace that laid at her throat.
Marinette also noted that the peacock pirate was holding a bundle of clothes. "Okay, so who are they?"
"They are Paon and Rena Rouge. And they're also here to help."
Paon threw the bundle at Marinette and smiled, "So go change into these and we'll do the rest."
When the soon to be former blushing-bride-to-be came back, she saw the entire room in chaos.
It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and not a cloud could be seen. Dylan had long ago decided that he wanted his wedding to be on one of the small cliffs overlooking the sea. His bride would come walking towards him, in a dress of his choosing, and they would bind their lives together forever. In just a few short minutes all of it would become a reality.
The guests had already begun to seat themselves when a terrible scream pierced through the air. Everyone froze as the terrified screech was cut off as quickly as it had begun. Dylan immediately sent servants and guards towards his bride's room, where the sound had come from. After he told his guests to stay where they were, Dylan also headed in the same direction
When they arrived at the entrance to Marinette's room, all they could do was stare. They didn't even have to open the door to see the carnage, mostly because the door appeared to have been ripped from its' hinges. The room was a war zone. Nothing was unscathed, mirrors were shattered, the bed had been overturned, even the pillows had been ripped up and destroyed. It almost looked like a murder had taken place, except that there was no blood and no corpse. In fact, there was no one in the room at all. Marinette was gone.
The enraged groom demanded that every inch of the house be searched for his bride. So search they did, not a room or closet went overlooked. But still Marinette, and subsequently, the people who had kidnapped her remained missing.
Finally, after two hours, Dylan ordered everyone back to where the wedding was going to take place before this had all started. When they got there, however, they saw a quite remarkable sight. All of the nobles and rich snobs that had been invited were tied up and held at sword point by Rena Rouge, and Dylan could see Marinette struggling from where she was being forcefully held by Ladybug. The cruel and ruthless pirate smiled when she saw Dylan had returned.
"Well now that everyone is here, I think we should begin. Don't you?"
"Release her you fiend!" Dylan shouted as he charged forward, but Ladybug pulled out her own sword and placed it at Marinette's throat. He had no choice but to freeze.
"Now I would hate to turn this celebration into a funeral, so why don't you just put that sword on the ground so you're not tempted to try anything, Lord Dylan."
Through gritted teeth, Dylan spat, "What do you want?"
Rena Rouge laughed, "Funny you should ask because our friend Paon is up at your fancy house taking whatever she wants. And I'm sure that she'll be back any minute with a nice sack of loot."
"You're no better than any other common thief!" Dylan snarled. The noblemen tried to take up a stand, but the fox themed pirate waved her sword threateningly and their courage shriveled up.
They all stood in a tense silence for some time. Until one of the noblewomen who had been placed in the back let out a shriek, "THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!" But even as she said it, a blue blur ran past and dived off the cliff. Ladybug and Rena Rouge appeared to have been waiting for that because the spotted pirate tossed the veiled bride to her partner and took off towards the cliff as well.
Rena Rouge, with the captured Marinette, went first, and just before she went over the edge Dylan caught a glimpse of Marinette's terrified blue eyes and knew he would do whatever it took to get her back.
Ladybug was quick to follow her companions, but before she escaped, she stopped and turned to face them. Armed with a confident smirk, she spoke, "Oh and as for that little comment before. We're pirates, not common thieves!"
With a backwards wave, Ladybug lept off the cliff, and for those that got a full view of her fluttering coat, it looked as if she were flying.
Down below Ladybug hit the water with a splash. Though the water was deep, she still managed to somehow hit the back of her head. Scrambling to Swim to the surface, Marinette caught her breath as an arm clothed in some of the most expensive material helped her into the tiny boat. "Honestly, where would you be without us?" Queen Bee asked exasperatedly, yet fondly. The blonde had quickly thrown off the veil of the dress after she had hit the water.
"Probably getting married to that fancy-schmancy Duke or whatever he is." Rena Rouge added.
"Or planning her own escape. Marinette isn't the type to just sit quietly and wait." Paon joked.
Marinette smiled as the three pirates joked and laughed. Although she had only known them for a few hours, Marinette could already tell that they were a lively trio. They took turns rowing, which Marinette finally got the hang of, after a few hilarious failures. All the while, her head began to hurt more and more. Doing her best to ignore the pain, Marinette threw her all into rowing.
After a particularly hard splat of the oar, Marinette got splashed in the face with a spray of water. The three pirates laughed as the girl dressed as Ladybug smiled good-naturedly and gently rubbed the back of her head. Queen Bee seemed to notice her discomfort and moved to get a look at the spot she was rubbing.
What Queen Bee found was a large bump that was beginning to look quite painful. "So tell me doc, how bad is it?" Marinette lightly joked before falling unconscious. Paon was quick to catch her head before it could get banged around anymore.
"I swear, our captain is going to kill us one of these days." Rena Rouge sighed as she and Queen Bee turned the little lifeboat in the direction of the hidden Tikki and started rowing.
"But we wouldn't have it any other way, now would we?"
Unbeknownst to the three pirates laughing and smiling above her, and the girl herself, that hit to her head had actually begun the process of returning her memories.
Marinette opened her eyes, fully expecting to see three figures sitting above her talking and laughing. What she saw instead was a beautiful sandy beach with thousands of colorful and oddly shaped seashells surrounding her. Out of curiosity, she picked one up.
Laughter filled the air as Alya absolutely dominated the new kid, Kim, in the race he had challenged her to.
The vision faded and Marinette laughed happily as she picked up one shell after another, eager to see what else they had to share. Memory after memory filling her head.
Marinette was six and welcoming her first sister into her family. Seven when Nino became family. Eight saw Alya, Ella, and Etta entering. Nine years old, with Kim and Alix being discovered and joining them.
Learning to swordfight, baking with her mom, watching as her mother's crew terrified ships of every size and shape. Laughing whenever her dad told a particularly bad pun.
When they were ten and eleven they all chose pirate names for themselves. Being twelve and committing her first pirate worthy crime with her five siblings. Fourteen and Marinette officially became Ladybug and captain of Tikki.
Aged fifteen and gathering a faithful and loyal crew she could trust and call family. Sixteen and setting off on her first search, as Ladybug, for the ships her siblings were all but destined to captain themselves and coming back empty-handed and disappointed. Marinette at seventeen years old and watching from the sidelines as the youngest three pirates cause mischief everywhere they went. Seventeen still, getting ready to turn eighteen when a storm hits and blows her overboard
By the time Marinette had stopped picking up shells, she was standing in front of a very familiar boat.
Placing her small hand on the side of her ship, she spoke, "It's good to see you again, Tikki." Tikki hummed lightly, happy to see her captain once again. Then the oddest thing yet happened. The pirate ship began to glow and shrink. It morphed and shifted until standing before Marinette was not a boat but a girl.
The girl was shorter than the captain but gave off the essence of power nonetheless. With a smile, the mysterious girl spoke, "It's a pleasure to see you alive and well as well, Captain Ladybug! The former boat hugged her and began pushing Marinette towards the sea, where an extremely nostalgic feeling was emanating from. The girl that used to be Tikki continued to speak as she pushed the confused girl further into the ocean, "We'll have time to talk later, but for now, it is time for you to wake up!"
Marinette's body was steadily being swallowed by the water until finally her entire body was submerged.
Deep ocean blue eyes flashed open, much to the surprise of the eight people watching her. Etta, Manon, and Ella were the first to recover as they shrieked and tackled her even further into her bed.
Before long Marinette was sitting up and her family was laughing and smiling, and lightly cursing her for being so dang difficult to find. After a few days good rest, she was up and out on deck celebrating with her crew.
But even as they sang and danced. The story of a young bride cruelly snatched from her loving fiance and a new rumor that the pirate captain Ladybug could now fly were being spread from traveler to traveler, ship to ship, town to town, growing larger and wilder with every retelling.
As asked at the very beginning, oh so long ago, please leave your requests here!
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Hope you enjoyed!
See ya next time!
