Chapter 7
Author's Note:
Just some quick information before you read, :).
For the first portion:
Normal text = what is happening currently, with a focus on Marinette.
Italicized text = what happened centuries ago, with a focus on Nature's Sibyl.
Additionally:
*malákas = a Greek curse that can be perceived as 'jerk' or 'a**hole'.
- I tried to incorporate more of Marinette's rambling, let me know how that went.
- With alt-Ladybug, I'm not using any of Marinette's personality, seeing as they're opposites, but I'm also trying to make sure she isn't the female version of Chat Noir.
Thanks! Enjoy, :)
Anger curled up in her heart like the embers of a flame. How dare she?
Marinette entered the classroom as fast as a bullet. Out of breath, she barely made it to the front row. Alya looked over, trying to hold back a laugh. "Slept in again?"
Trixx didn't understand anything. The royals were selfish brats! The definition of malákas*!
"It's practically routine by now," Marinette laughed.
Thank Zeus she wasn't one of them. That their sexist laws prevented her from claiming the true title of royalty.
Alya smiled, and the both of them turned towards Mlle. Bustier, but not before the sight of an empty seat caught her eye.
Like 'princess' meant anything more than someone they could marry off. And they'd tried to do just that.
No Adrien. Her heart dropped, as she started to become frantic. Was he okay? What if the croissant she gave him yesterday was expired and now he was sick with a incurable disease? He'd be in quarantine, slowly getting worse, and she wouldn't be able to profess her love! No, no, no, no-
But she'd escaped! She'd ran, far away from that place, to a far lesser known village.
Alya sent her a confused look after seeing where her gaze went. "Adrien's just at photography, like he always is. Supposed to be taking pics for Vague this time."
Why didn't Trixx get that? Couldn't she see the glint in the eyes of the priestess? Acacia was a fake, like them all.
Right. Of course. Few.
Noting her reaction, Alya lifted an eyebrow. "Did you get over your Chat Noir fantasy?"
And it wasn't like she didn't help the villagers. That was the whole point of her powers, to provide safety for those who deserved it.
Marinette flinched-
Kókkini flinched as the memory came back to her. Trixx's words bit at her with a knife.
But the kwami was wrong, blinded by heroics. She didn't understand.
-she'd been caught. "Oh, no! I still think he's pawsome…" she said dreamily, looking off into the distance.
Her eyes wandered to the nearby forest, but Kókkini shook her head and turned right, heading towards her home instead.
Luckily, Alya seemed to believe her. Chuckling, the reporter turned away to flirt with Nino.
Trixx would be back in the morning, once she saw the truth.
Not that Alya'd ever confess to doing it. She and Nino were 'only friends.'
It was then that the bright light blinded her.
Mlle. Bustier launched into her lesson about Greek dynasties. "Now," she explained, "not much is known about King Icarus."
She rubbed her eyes. What was she seeing? The town didn't have a garden - at least not one of this size.
"Little happened during his reign. I'm not even sure why it's in this textbook, actually!" she laughed. "But I'll address what we do know, since I feel obliged."
Kókkini gazed at her surroundings. The flowers seemed to flow off in every direction, some buds, some wilting, but most in full bloom.
"King Icarus was estimated to be married to Queen Hermia around his 31st birthday, Hermia being 16 at the time." At the sound of some gasps in the room, she chuckled. "Yes, I know, this may seem strange to us. But let's all remember that this was a different time."
Seeing a drooping white crocus, she smiled sadly. Her mother's favorite…
"Hermia died in her twenties or thirties-" Mlle. Bustier was interrupted by Chloé's shock. After a meek apology, she continued. "-but not before she gave birth to Prince Adonis."
… but she shouldn't become distracted. Where was she? She took a step forward, and a dirt path appeared.
"Icarus died ten years later, during his mid sixties. Could anyone tell me what happened to Prince Adonis afterwards?"
Kim raised his hand, flailing it around. "Yes, monsieur?"
"The death of the king marked the end of their reign. After a mourning period, the oldest son would be crowned king."
Wary to walk forward, but seeing no other choice, she started walking. Not a breeze chilled the air.
Mlle. Bustier clapped. "A very good explanation! And now, onto our mystery for the day.
"According to this textbook, Adonis may have not been the only child of Icarus and Hermia. Though most artifacts of the palace at the time did not survive, a family portrait was found.
"Do any of you know what the painting resembled?"
The path seemed to go on forever, similar to the flowers, and Kókkini felt nervous. There were no other footprints, and the entire garden seemed incredibly still.
Again, Kim raised his hand. Max laughed at him, jesting at his nerdy tendencies.
"The painting included a girl, around the age of ten, standing next to seven or eight year old Adonis.
"However," he continued, "the other paintings and vases that survived showed no sign of any princess, so it's highly unlikely that the rumour is true."
Then, the flowers faded away, becoming scarcer and scarcer until only grass remained.
As she continued walking, a pond came into view. Never a fan of reflections, mirrors only seemed to flaunt the rich's power over the poor, she continued walking.
"You bring up a good point." Mlle. Bustier agreed. "And as tonight's assignment, I would like each of you to say whether or not you believe it.
"Was the older daughter real? Or perhaps, simply a painter's imagination?"
For the first time since she'd arrived, a gust of wind swept around her.
It seemed to swirl around her, but perhaps that was just her imagination.
The class broke out into chatter, as everyone debated the mystery. There was that feeling in that air, of speculation and answer just out of reach.
Alya twitched in her seat, her Theory Mode activated. Raising her hand, she asked if she could see the picture of the painting.
But then, the wind started to speak.
Helloooo Princessss Daaphnee, it called.
Enraged, she bit back. "No need for formalities." It's not like I'm one of them.
Ooohh, buuut youuu areee.
"NO. Not anymore."
Alepoú, Kókkini, Princessss Daaphnee. Thesseee areee youurr titless, aaand yet yoouu onllly claaiim twwoo.
"'Alepoú' is what they call me when I protect them, 'Kókkini' is what they call me when they see me on the street, but that is simply a title of selfishness and mercenary."
Yoouuu eembraass yoourself, buuut yoou shuun yoourr origins.
"You have no place to tell me this!" she growled angrily.
Ifff yoou oonly kneeeww. Buuut yoou wiiill knoow soooon.
"Of course!" Mlle. Bustier replied, smiling.
After searching on her computer for a bit, she drew up a low quality image of the painting and projected it onto the board.
Marinette froze.
The wind stopped swirling around her, changing to circle around her hands. A pink light appeared around them, entrancing her to cup them together.
She watched as a lotus grew in her palms, first only a seed, then a bud, and then fully bloomed before a minute had passed.
Was this the same magic that lent her Trixx? she wondered.
It was the picture perfect painting of a family; smiles on everyone's faces, hair pressed perfectly, all in their finest clothes. But while the rest of the family had silky brown hair, the oldest daughter's was a ginger.
Her red hair had a vibrancy that Marinette had only seen once - twice before.
Was this…? No, it couldn't be.
And yet still…
Prinncess Dapphnne, Kókkiniii, Aleepoú…
The lotus exploded into pink, causing Princess Daphne, daughter of King Icarus and Queen Hermia, to flinch.
whaatt flooower wiiil chooosee yoouu?
The pink grew in vibrancy, and wrapped itself around her.
She swore the lotus's remains spoke to her before everything disappeared and she was left in darkness. "Go forth," it whispered, "little hydrangea."
Marinette stared in amazement, wondering. It really was a mystery.
Running fast enough to get to Earth 1…
School was out, and his modeling shoot had finished, so Adrien found himself in the back of the limo, surrounded by velvety black.
Gorilla sat in the front, stoic as always. He wasn't the best for conversation.
Normally, he'd let Plagg (and Tikki, now) out from inside his jacket so he could whisper with them, but the trip to Ladybug had got him in trouble - five minutes late for the chauffeur was too late.
Father had thrown a fit when he didn't find Adrien in his room, and now Gorilla was trailing his every move.
He opted to stare out the window. The black tint edged the view, which only increased his melancholy. This loss of freedom combined with the worry about Ladybug resulted in a terrible day.
Mlle. Bustier had given the typical homework: there was a worksheet for Maths, a response to write for English, and paragraph about the Song dynasty's benefits and drawbacks for Social Studies.
He couldn't work on it in the car though, the soft rumble of the engine usually distracted him.
Adrien sighed as his thoughts trailed back to Ladybug, just like they'd been doing all day long. He had to remind himself of the facts: Ladybug was going to be comatose for a bit, but she'd wake up after a couple of weeks.
Until then, he'd just have to battle akumas alongside… flowers? He cracked a smile as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
He spent the remainder of the thirty minute ride to his house researching flower puns. Sometimes he'd chuckle, and Gorilla would raise an eyebrow in the rearview window.
In the realm that Kókkini inhabits…
"So, I won't be able to get back to Tikki and Alya?" alt-Ladybug asked.
I apologize for the inconvenience. You understand what I've explained, yes?
"I do, and I want to thank you - it sounds like this other Ladybug needs to learn a bit of a lesson. Plus, you know, I'm not really one for the universe dissolving into chaos."
Kókkini chuckled. I figured.
"You're doing great," alt-Ladybug commented. "It sounds like she'll understand the importance very soon."
I hope she will. It was… an unexpected occurrence that she would come to feel this way.
"And so it had to be corrected," alt-Ladybug smiled.
Exactly.
"Um, so I'll be staying here?"
I could, if you'd like, send you into a temporary coma until she earns her flower. You'd have peaceful dreams, of course, and it would deter from any homesickness you might feel.
"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks."
I apologize again, if this impacts you negatively in any way.
"It's okay."
Would you like some lotus tea? Immortality has nice refreshments.
"Sure."
Alt-Ladybug waited for Kókkini to come back with the tea tray, taking in her surroundings.
Apparently immortality meant living in a realm of white, she figured out, while looking around the 'room.' While it had the aura of a 'room,' it was impossible to tell exactly where the white floor melted into the the white walls and then became the ceiling. It just somehow did.
She'd just use the explanation for everything: magic.
When Kókkini appeared from the magical doorway she'd disappeared into, the room lit up with furniture.
A wooden table, of course, but an assortment of chairs also appeared. Bean bags, rocking chairs, recliners, stools, cushions, and a mat on the floor all adorned the table.
Kókkini sat on the cushion, a velvety one dyed purple, and placed the tray on the table.
I wasn't sure what your preference was, she confessed, and alt-Ladybug's heart warmed.
"Well, thank you for the options," she said as she settled into the black bean bag chair across from the Sibyl.
The lotus tea was sweet yet savory, and it helped to calm any nervousness she had about the situation.
I'll be fine here, she decided. Kókkini was sweet, and she really had the best intentions at heart-
And then, as if it was by some other kind of magic than the one in her realm, some magic where someone needed her to be somewhere for some reason, she was pulled out of her white bean bag bliss…
Shall we flip the switch once more? To Adrien!
Adrien looked up from his homework, satisfied. Almost everything was done, he just needed to double check #9 with a calculator.
Tikki flitted around him, offering helpful tidbits of advice and an encouraging smile - a sharp contrast to Plagg's just-get-it-over-with-so-you-can-feed-me attitude.
Yin and yang, he guessed.
Suddenly, the little ladybug kwami flickered. At first, he thought it was merely his imagination, but then Tikki flickered once more, a third time, and then… she was gone.
His heart started to pound. "Plagg!" he called. "Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"
As he transformed, he could only think one thing.
Ladybug was back.
