AN: I'm sick so here's a new chapter.
"The Lady of the house hasn't been faring well since her and her husband's return from the East" A servant whispered to another in the mansion halls one morning.
The house had become very worrisome of the Lady Emilie's of the Agreste manor, as most had adored her over her husband. She had gotten ill for no apparent reason and even the doctors couldn't identify the cause nor what she was ailing from.
Gabriel Agreste being the most affected tried not to leave his wife side and still reassures his son that she will be well soon. His son although being fourteen was not going to be cohered into believing such a thing as he is witnessing his mother fall deeper into sickness.
While in the main bedroom Gabriel sat next to his wife while she found it hard to stay awake for more than thirty minutes.
"Darling I think this is all caused because of-" Emilie started to say before going into a fit of coughing.
With a reassuring hand on hers she looked to see her husband's face twisted in sorrow
"The book… yes I thought it to be a possibility. It hasn't just affected you since our return, looking at some events in Paris of late." Gabriel confirmed her thoughts.
"Have you deciphered in the text how we can fix all this?" she said weakly.
"Somewhat… I could only pick up that if one were to recite the following text that a wanted recipient would receive certain gifts. Some vary but the stronger powers are of Luck and Misfortune." He explained.
Emilie frowned "I know that face, what else is to be said?"
"The holders of Luck and Misfortune can only be activated at the same time since they only exist because of one another."
A sigh of disappointment escaped her lips "So activating the holder of Luck could be dangerous in odds of the Misfortune holder to be awoken too. And we have no knowledge of who it could be correct?"
"If we select a candidate for one of them, the persons opposite or confidante will be the other holder with or without consent." Gabriel confirmed.
Emilie nodded sadly "And getting rid of the book won't solve this?"
Gabriel shook his head "I've tried to dispose of it but it finds its way back in my personal library."
Emilie laughed bitterly "I'm afraid we've gotten into something, haven't we?"
Gabriel frowned not responding, watching his wife slip into slumber. He stood up and exited the room to let his wife rest. As he exited the room he got a fright to see Adrien trying to walk away from eavesdropping.
"Adrien." Gabriel said sternly.
Jumping in surprise Adrien turned around timidly and rubbed his neck "Y-yes father?"
"How much did you hear?" Gabriel went straight to the question.
Adrien could only feel frightened at the tone of his father's voice and he couldn't lie to him as his mother always had told him that it would do more harm than he thinks it would.
Adrien gulped "All of it…"
Gabriel feared that to be the answer and he sighed to hear his suspicions confirmed.
"I'm sorry you had to find out all of this Adrien but do try not to concern yourself with it." Gabriel tried to dismiss his son.
"I want to help Papa!" Adrien blurted out.
Gabriel turned around just as he was going to take his absence and looked at his son in shock.
"We need a candidate for someone to be the luck holder and I'll take up the task." Adrien said in a bolder tone.
"Adrien you know the repercussions, the holder for misfortune will awaken too."
"Then I can find the holder and my good luck can solve it."
"We don't know that." Gabriel turned down the notion.
"We can figure it out before Mama is gone, just please let me do this!" Adrien pleaded in tears.
Gabriel close to his own breakdown looked to his heartbroken son and laid his hand on his shoulder.
"I will give it careful consideration."
...
'What a horrifying mistake that was…' Adrien thought to himself as he was lying against the cave wall.
The young boy lying in the dark cave, looking like a rabid wild cat was recalling the biggest mistake he had himself tangled up in. In hindsight it was a good plan but the execution was miscalculated. He wasn't meant to be the holder of Misfortune yet why did it happen so?
Adrien bitterly remembered how his father and himself went to his mother's room where she had slept and his father stood in front of him and read a verse from the mysterious book. That's where his memory stopped and only came back to the stench of decay and his mother was dead. It only later came to his traumatised state that he was the one responsible for it and not to mention his fathers petrified face that he could never forget.
Before Adrien could comprehend anything else he dashed out the mansion running away from the town. He kept going and going until his legs were about to give up and he managed to find something to hide in and that's where he had stayed for the next couple of years.
He had been so dispirited to not move and to waste away bitterly from where his sat. Maybe once or twice he went to look outside during twilight and he saw how the land around him had become more of a wasteland than when he first arrived. He thought the distance from the town would suffice.
He also thought his death would come around due to starvation but his body hadn't disintegrated from hunger. The rest of him did change though apart from growing of age but his hair had gotten to wilder state and his sight in the dark was 20/20. He remembered his face had black streaks on it but every time he looked to a reflection in a puddle he didn't notice anything of the sort but he did notice how frightening his eyes looked glowing green and looking similar to a black cats.
I guess he could call himself that…
An Unlucky Black Cat…
But what of his confidante that was supposed to exist after his transformation. Yes he had intended to hold Lucks power but held Misfortune instead so who got the power of Luck? Who was it? Was the person happy that they got such a gift?
Thinking of this person made his heart pound for some reason. His father told his mother that everyone has an opposite and that proves truer than he thought it would.
Like being Push and Pull or Forward and Backwards. Good Luck and Bad Luck.
A wave of a familiar sensation swept through him. It felt like cool water running through his veins or maybe it was fiery tingles stretching all over. The sensation was so strong he didn't know how to handle it.
Was someone close by?
'Seriously how did I land up in this situation?' Marinette whined internally staring over the southern wastelands.
She was clad in her red armour, excluding her helmet, that she got fixed and polished the day before. She had a lot of time to think about what she was heading too and her parents couldn't help but voice their concerns. Marinette came to a realization that perhaps she was the right person to do this. She did have this gift for some type of reason so maybe she could put it to use along with her own skills. Maybe this was her true purpose? She honestly doesn't know what having a true purpose even means so perhaps after all of this was over she might know where to head from here.
A small part of her did wonder if it was worth the risk to find ones purpose or goal in life but Marinette was stubborn like that. Despite all that had been given and done the young woman felt like it was her place and her place alone to find out.
She walked on the wastelands and noticed how truly dead it seemed to be out here. The grass wasn't even here, despite the massive amount of rain that had been around the ground should be lush but the soil seemed hardened and dry, as if it was like that even before the rains came and nothing had been absorbed.
Marinette wasn't sure how long she had been walking but the sun hadn't been fair on her nor were the dusty winds that swept by.
Once she had been thinking this track could be futile, a hard thump banged in her chest without warning. She initially thought it was nothing or was the exhaustion but ten another thud pounded in her chest and then her veins felt like they were on fire.
I became hard to breathe all of the sudden and she had to take a knee to steady herself from her heavy panting and rigid feeling. The power was overwhelming and was all so new yet familiar. She could best describe it as feeling exhilarated but overpowering and the rigidness she felt had passed. She felt so ethereal all of the sudden and she hoisted herself up to look around for what had caused the feeling she felt. Her instincts though kept telling her to track forward and without hesitation she did so, she tracked up until she saw a steep slope and her gut was telling her that something was on the top.
Her breathing was burning her lungs from overexertion from running up the hill and the relentless clanking of her armour should have alerted someone if they were at the top hence why she kept one hand on top of her sheathed sword.
Once she reached the top was more wasteland and her mind was irritated while she huffed and wheezed for air.
'To your Left.' A soft foreign voice whispered in her head.
Marinette almost jumped out of her skin at the stranger's voice that appeared. She unsheathed her sword prepared for battle but she didn't see anyone there.
"Is being in these Badlands making my mind rot?" Marinette asked herself aloud.
She looked to her left as the voice told her and she faintly saw something in the distance. Marinette thought she would feel fatigue but the fire that was ignited inside of her earlier still burned and was ever more so with each step. This truly was something she couldn't walk away from now.
Sunset had come and Marinette had to carry on without stop. As she got closer she noticed a cave in the distance next to a dead tree. Finally reaching the entrance of the cave she noticed it was small in appearance but the real size was far larger underground.
Her small body scorching on the inside confirmed that something was in this location. She went to the tree and cut the branches and nested them together tying it with a cloth she had. She also brought out her water pouch and drenched the cloth and set the branches alight with a flint. She cautiously shimmied her way down into the cave and when on a more level ground she began to track slowly and the sensation was swirling and twisting inside of her stomach. She wasn't sure how much further the tunnel went but the burning sensation is pretty much a clear compass from here.
She stopped abruptly and drew her sword and her other hand held the torch she made but her chest was ready to explode, she felt much unprotected. Something was here.
"Is someone there? Show yourself!"
"So did someone actually send a young girl to kill me off?" A voice spoke out in the darkness ahead.
Marinette frowned "Seems that way."
The voice went quiet but very soft sounds of footsteps kept coming her way and she saw eerie green glowing eyes in the darkness. Once her eyes met the green they opened wide in shock and awe.
"Make yourself known Warlock." Marinette bolstered.
"Warlock? They sent a pretty faced girl like you to face a warlock? Sorry to burst any egos but…"
Out of the darkness stepped out a blonde young man who looked war torn and ragged but that didn't affect his handsome face. His eyes were so intense even though he tried to hide them under his long locks of hair.
"I'm no warlock." He finished.
She felt blindsided and her body felt like it was pulling her to get closer to him but she fought herself to remain where she was.
Her brow rose and she lifted her sword to point at the boy "Fine then you claim to be no warlock but then are you or are you not the one responsible for all the atrocities that have plagued this town for the past four years?"
He was dazed at her; he wasn't sure how to form his next words for it had been so long to speak or to even see another person. When seeing properly in the light he couldn't help but to ask why a beautiful woman would ever come to a place like this.
'Beautiful?' he surprised himself with the word. But it was accurate nonetheless.
He chastised himself for zoning out after she asked him a question "I am the one responsible. But I am no warlock I swear… I'm just cursed that's why I am here. I thought me being here would be further enough from the town to not affect them…Guess I was wrong." the boy said looking deflated.
"C-cursed?" she sputtered then dropping her sword and holding onto her chest.
"Mademoiselle! Ah!-" The young man tried to help her but was attacked by the ache he had for the last hour.
He couldn't help but push himself forward to her as he wobbled on his legs and she was on her knees. She plunged the torch into the ground and used her free hand to support her then she too tried to crawl forward subconsciously.
He fell on to the floor and panted from the burn sensation reaching his throat. His instincts were yelling at him to do what he feared most.
"Gr-rab my h-hand" he choked out.
It was an extreme risk, he knew it was but he felt like this was the only thing to do.
Would this be it for him?
She didn't argue and she stretched her hand out to his, fingertips away and with one foul swoop he grabbed her hand and cool water washed over him.
He felt reborn.
He looked up to look at how she faired and she although looking fine breathed in deeply like she just came out of a pool of water. She pushed herself up while still holding onto him.
"Are you alright- What happened to your face?!" Marinette almost jumped back.
The boy she grabbed hands with had transformed into another boy, one with shorter hair and normal green eyes that were human unlike the ones before. Perplexed the boy put his free hand on his face and felt no change in his opinion.
She picked up her sword and faced the blade to show a portion of his reflection. He looked and his heart felt like it was going to combust with joy!
"I'm.. me again." He said tearing up.
She couldn't help the pang of sadness going through her at his words.
'So he was telling the truth about being cursed.'
Without warning to her he jumped forward to grab her in a hug that made her heart pound harder than she ever recalled. She didn't know this boy but her body felt so right being with his and his arms felt happy and ever the more loving.
He realised his actions and retreated from his hug and pulled away bashfully "I'm sorry that was improper! I don't even know your name, how shameful of me!"
Marinette's face felt hot but her heart that was pounding a minute ago was now was fluttering. She coughed and tried to hide her red face.
"No, its fine. I didn't mind… I just feel rude as to not now your name."
He smiled so sweetly, the first she'd seen and her heart couldn't bear it. How that is so since she just met this boy, ready to kill him no less and yet she feels so drawn to him, forgetting that mission.
"It's Adrien and you m'lady?" he asked
She smiled at the title "Marinette and… we have a lot to talk about what just happened" she motioned getting up ad releasing his hand which felt cold.
He followed the motion and looked her straight into her blue bell eyes "Indeed we do."
AN: Curse Talk is coming up.
Spare this sick author some thoughts on the chapter?
