"I used magic, Tikki! Only Ladybug is supposed to be able to do that! Oh, how am I going to get myself out of this one?"
We were out on my balcony. Tikki perched on the rail as I leant against it, a cookie in her paws. Her little red mittens of hands seemed too tiny against the baked treat. Sometimes I wonder how she manages to eat so many in a day.
"Relax, Marinette." She said in a forced cheerful tone. "You should be proud of yourself! Lucky charm is extremely difficult to perform."
"I would be proud of myself if I did it as Ladybug!"
"So? You can trust them."
I snorted.
"Tikki, Marinette is nothing compared to Ladybug."
"That's not true!"
"Yes, it is. Marinette is ordinary. She's supposed to be ordinary. I need her to be nothing. It's the only scrap of normalcy I have left."
"Oh, Mari..."
"That's not all." I continued. "Every time someone finds out, something terrible happens. Alya? Kidnapped. Nathaniel? Dead. Imagine if that happened to Chat! Or Nino or Queenie! How could I live with myself knowing I hurt them?"
There was a silence; A silence filled with my inner screams. Why was everything so damn hard? My eyes welled with tears that quickly slipped down my cheeks, my chin and onto my shirt. This stupid rebellion cost us lives! Good, innocent people ceased to breathe. Nathaniel and Lila! They were gone. They were never coming back. And Alya was as good as dead. It was all my fault. If I hadn't decided to fight then they would still be with me.
"Marinette!"
My thoughts silenced. Did someone-
"Marinette!"
The voice was coming from below. I peered down from the balcony to see a leather clad cat standing on the sidewalk.
"Chat Noir?" I called down, my heart racing. This was it. He knew I was Ladybug.
"Can I come up?" He asked.
"Er, ok? But how are you-"
He leapt up higher than physically possible and landed on the bar. I screamed.
"How did you do that?"
"Magic!" he smirked and hopped down from the railing.
"Which is what you're here to talk about, right?"
"Correct."
Tikki left us. Chat fidgeted. I stared at my feet.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I should have-"
"Princess, you don't have to be sorry. I know this whole magic thing is new to you."
New to me? But I'd discovered my powers months ago. He knew that.
"Ladybug and I are here for you. We can teach you some basic spells and such."
Ladybug and I.
Ladybug and I.
Ladybug and I.
He doesn't know.
He is an idiot.
I was stuck with the world's most oblivious person for a partner. Excellent.
"That would be nice." I squeaked out with relief.
"Erm, I also know about your curse."
"What?!" I exclaimed. "How? Who told-"
Oh my gosh.
"That rotten little-" I muttered, then looked him in the eye.
"Adrien?"
"Er, yes. Him."
I felt a twinge of annoyance. I trusted Adrien and he just up and told Chat Noir, someone who he didn't know I was willing to trust! I mean, what if he told Chloè? Oh gosh, that would be a nightmare. She would probably throw a party.
"When I see him, I am going to wring his neck," I growled and Chat looked sad.
"He said that you haven't really been near him recently."
"Because I've been worried he's going to keep talking about it." I snapped. "Yeah, I'm cursed. Yeah, I didn't want people to know. So what? Am I supposed to talk about my feelings? How's that going to help, huh? It'll just be awkward! Especially since-"
I caught myself. What I was about to say was embarrassing and Chat would laugh at me. Oh gosh, I nearly told him about my crush on Adrien and how I was trying so hard to get over him.
"Especially since..." he prompted. I waved my hand, trying to wave away the subject.
"Nevermind. And I don't really want to talk about my curse right now."
"Princess, I really need to talk about it right now. Hawkmoth sent me a vision."
My eyes widened.
"What did he say?" My voice changed from an angry rant to a hushed whisper. The annoyance and rage which I had felt morphed into fear.
"He wanted me to take your earrings."
My hands reached for the studs in my ears.
"You can't have them."
"I know. That's how you get your powers, right?"
I nodded.
"It's the same with my ring." He waved his hand in the air. I had noticed his ring before, and I never really thought much of it. I had never gotten a close look. But it seemed familiar. I'd seen it somewhere before...
He kept talking.
"Ladybug probably has something like it, I'm not sure."
I wanted to call him an Idiot. Instead, I restrained myself.
"Oh," I said. "Look Chat, it's late. We had a rough night, I should probably get some sleep."
His eyes widened, possibly only realising the darkness around us that moment.
"Course, Princess." He cursed. "Sorry, I forgot you don't like it when I call you that."
"No, It's fine." Through all the swirling emotions, I managed a smile. "It's sort of grown on me."
He jumped off the balcony, I disappeared into my room.
That night, I dreamt of a memory. Actually,only part of a memory, I felt there was more, but I couldn't remember the rest. There was a silver ring, with a paw imprinted on it, in between the pavement stones. I was kneeling on the ground. I picked it up. That was it.
I had seen the ring before. Just where, and how, was the question.
MLBMLBMLB
"No!" Alya Cèsaire screamed. "I won't help you! I won't!"
The past few months had been the worst of her life. She was thrown in a cell, given only the smallest portions of food. Her clothes were filthy. She could probably name at least a hundred different ailments she was suffering from. But the worst part was the interrogations. Akumas barged into her cell and demanded to know about her best friend, Marinette. What were her weaknesses? Her loved ones? Alya refused to talk, so they hurt her. Lashes, beatings, magic. All of these were used to try and get her to open up.
Then Marinette came to her aid. She was so close to being free, but was snatched away again and brought here, to this cave. She pressed against the damp wall, trying to get away from the shadowed man. The cave's darkness forbade her from seeing his face, but she knew it was Hawkmoth. Another figure stood beside him, this one a female. Something about her felt familiar, but Alya didn't know what.
"Come on, Alya! You could be powerful. You wouldn't feel the hurt and the pain!" The girl said. Her voice sneered. She had the air of a snob. An oh so familiar snob.
"Chloè?" Alya gasped.
Alya could feel the smirk in her tone.
"Clever one, aren't you?"
Alya didn't know why the betrayal hurt her so much. Chloè was the only person she knew who would do this. But she did feel betrayed. She thought that, deep down, there was good in Chloè.
The man stepped forward.
"Enough chit chat, girls. Alya, just stop fighting. It will all be over if you just give in."
The necklace around Alya's neck felt hot and heavy. She could sense the dark magic in it, trying to take control, but it couldn't. Not without her permission.
"No! You won't turn me into one of them!" She cried out, but her resolve was weakening. She just wanted it to be over. She wanted to end it all. Maybe if she let it in, everything could be better.
The charm took the moment of acceptance. It spread, making Alya let go of herself. Every ounce of her was filled with evil power. Every bad thought she had ever had was magnified.
The new Volpina arose.
*I realise that my death toll is already at 3. I'm not sorry.
Anyways, I'm back to school next week, but hopefully, that won't conflict with my next update. Have a good one!
~Pancake *
