A weirdly shrill melody startled her awake and frantically twisting her head for signs of danger. There was no dagger under her pillow however and her clothes were meant for sleeping, not fighting. Morning light—an unusual thing to be awake for since the Folk went to sleep at that time and it had long since proven wise to mimic their nocturnality—shone into the room she resided in from a window above. She let herself be perplexed for a moment before remembering that she wasn't in Faerie anymore—neither a sídhe nor Tír na nÓg.
Turning to the source of the noise on the shelf above her, she identified it as a strange rectangular object that on top of everything was vibrating. Modern technology, she presumed.
With little idea what to do with it, she tapped on it a few times and breathed a sigh of relief when it eventually shut up. She stared at the small thing for a bit, curious to its function but couldn't find anything remarkable about it. It certainly was no weapon, unless she'd throw it at someone with enough force, and the only thing it had done so far was startling her awake. Deciding that this was enough reason to dislike whatever it was, she put it back on the shelf where she had found it. It now lay next to the pair of red earrings with their characteristic black spots.
She sighed.
Their rim had changed from a silver to a golden colour when she had taken them from Marinette, just how they had looked like back when she had worn them so many centuries ago.
What would Tikki say if she saw her now?
She started shaking when she thought about it. Chloé's fear of attracting Danu's wrath for the theft wasn't an exaggeration in the slightest and, old acquaintance and even friend or not, she rather wanted to wait a little bit before she'd find out what exactly the kwami's fury entailed. She knew of a fae's wrath only too well—being held under the sea for a human century had taught her much in that regard—and witnessing a god's wrath instead of that of a Fae Queen wasn't something she wanted to do first thing in the morning.
Turning away from the shelf and thus the sight of the Miraculous, she took in her full surroundings for the first time. The previous night she hadn't had much time to look around before casting a temporary sleep spell on Marinette, carrying her to Chloé—she could feel how sore her wings were from that flight still—and flying back. For simplicity's sake she had picked clothes similar to those Marinette had worn from her closet. The soft fabric felt comfortable, but it also made her feel utterly defenceless, which brought its own anxious edge with it.
Now, in the light of day, Marinette's room looked much friendlier. The closet was still open from her nightly raid, but she could also see various other things she had not paid attention to before. Curiously she walked down the steps from the bed and looked around the clean and oddly expensive-looking furniture. She knew that it had been a few centuries since she had last been in the human realm, but either wealth had changed dramatically since then, or she had been lucky to land in a wealthy family's home. Either way, she liked it.
Deciding that the clothes she currently wore—probably a modern nightgown—just wouldn't do, she looked at miniature paintings on the wall. They were oddly clear, so she prayed for their accuracy when she copied Marinette's choice of clothes from one of them. A pair of pink pants—odd to wear some without being anything close to a huntress or a knight—a white shirt with a cherry blossom and a black jacket later, she looked at her reflection.
Perfect!
Tying her hair into twin tails was the easiest part and she was even a little disappointed at the lack of creativity. On revels she had gotten used to wearing the most extravagant and regal of hair styles and it was always a small pleasure to braid her hair in complicated ways to marvel at the end results. Authenticity came first though.
Maybe she'd be able to experiment with her now shorter hair a little later but for the moment, she had research to do. Chloé had told her a lot about this girl, a whole winded tale of kindness and escaping death's jaws countless many times without knowing. She sure was lucky, so no wonder she had ended up with Tikki. What she needed was a role though. A script she could act out and play the perfect part of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
With a giddy grin she let herself fall back in a chair and gave out a startled laugh when it started spinning. If she could act her way around the Folk and survive, then playing the role of an ordinary girl would be a piece of cake. Then again, Marinette wasn't an ordinary girl. Her gaze flicked back to the bed where the earrings were. If there was one being in this world who'd know Marinette's mannerisms and everyday life inside out, then it would be Tikki who had been by her side for over a year.
She tore her eyes away from it again.
No, it has to work without her for now. I can do this!
With that conviction, she eventually opened the hatch and walked downstairs. She was greeted by what looked to be a kitchen and a salon all in one. It radiated cosiness in a way she had seen many times before in the overly luxurious houses of the Folk. Just that here this comfort meant no danger. It was odd to think about how she could just throw herself on the couch with its soft-looking pillows and lay there without having to be afraid of the couch swallowing her whole, or of an assassin to jump out from behind it. This kind of naïve safety had become such an utterly foreign concept to her that she still couldn't help but eye the room a little sceptically.
"Good morning, sweetie. You're up already?" An Asian woman, probably Marinette's mother, asked from where she stood in the small kitchen, busy with making breakfast.
"Yeah, I was woken up by that annoying thing on my shelf," she said, hoping it wouldn't sound too odd. She really needed a vocabulary list for this century.
Marinette's mother chuckled. "I should have known you'd forget to turn off your phone's alarm. I'm surprised that it managed to wake you up though."
She shrugged with a grin, mentally cataloguing the word 'phone' and assuming it was the rectangular thing's name.
"Lots on my mind."
It wasn't even a lie.
The woman nodded sympathetically.
"I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but just know whatever is going on between you and Adrien that you can always talk to me about it. Relationships are difficult at your age and when he left, he looked pretty torn up about whatever it was yesterday."
She had to think fast. Was Adrien the Cat Sidhe Chloé had mentioned? If yes, then he would be at Marinette's side right now and not return for a while. The only excuse that came to mind was the thing Chloé has suggested she should say.
"I…we're taking a break. Something serious came up," she said and did her best to look broken-hearted about it.
Marinette's mother immediately stopped her breakfast preparations to rush over and hug her tightly. She froze for a second before easing into it and hugging the woman back. It had been centuries since she had last been hugged in such a way—death's literal embrace didn't count—and it felt warm and safe. It was something she hadn't known she missed until that moment.
"Oh honey," Marinette's mother said and rubbed her back. "It'll be alright, don't worry. He's a good boy and is hurting right now too. I'm sure you'll find a solution."
She nodded and even let a few fake tears escape her eyes to complete the act. When she drew back from the hug, she quickly looked around the kitchen in search of food. To get anything to eat in Faerie that wasn't poisoned, enchanted or otherwise tainted had been a real challenge. She was glad to not encounter that complication here and to have a full palette of food available for once. Bread and butter seemed like a good and familiar solution for now, even though Marinette's mother sent her a quizzical look when she turned down a sweet pastry. She'd had enough of sweetness for a lifetime. Salty things kept her safe and dangerously sweet things had been all she had been able to find in the Otherworld.
"I'll just be up in my room today and…think about all this. Is that all right?"
"Of course, sweetie. I'll bring you up some lunch later, okay?"
She smiled. "Thank you."
It was nice to be able to say that again.
Diaries were an amazing invention and she was very thankful that Marinette had loyally been keeping one. Even the conversation from the previous day with Adrien had been written down in it. From what she had gathered, he had tried to tell her about the Folk and that he was one of them, but he hadn't managed to do it and instead cried. An unusual thing for a Cat Sidhe to do, unheard of even. Then again, his brother had been a special case as well. Very human for a halfling.
Speaking of his brother, she finally knew his name: Félix. His mother must have had a particularly cruel sense of humour to have named her Unseelie Cat Sidhe kitten the Latin word for lucky. If at all possible, she looked forward to reconciling with him and hopefully even have him help her play her act.
Going through the diary had taken a few hours, but eventually she had read through its entirety that spanned over the course of over a year and even included Marinette's experiences as Ladybug. Very useful indeed! While reading, she had written down unfamiliar words on a piece of paper and added explanations to them once she realised what they probably meant. As such, she had found out that she had been right and the rectangular object that had woken her up that morning was really called a phone. It apparently was a very frequently used apparatus with many functions.
Unlocking it had revealed a gold mine of photos and so-called videos. Most of them were of Marinette and a blond boy that looked similar but still very different to Félix. Adrien. She had to give it to him and Marinette: they were adorable together and she found herself curious what would become of them now. The Folk was the very definition of wicked and she very much hoped that Marinette would be able to realise how utterly human this halfling was and that he deserved at least a chance.
One hour of videos later she found herself immensely rooting for her counterpart. Now she felt bad to have told her mother that she and Adrien were on a break of their relationship. But then again, it wasn't like Adrien was going to show up any time soon, so it was at least a logical reasoning for the moment.
Marinette's mother—who she had found out was named Sabine—brought up a plate with something warm around noon like promised. Whatever it was, it smelled absolutely delicious. She thanked her and then devoured everything. It had been a long while since she had eaten something this good.
In the afternoon, she had discovered the texting feature. It had been a coincidence as she had tapped on the colourful little pictures on the phone and what it offered her was another goldmine of information. Conversations with several people were now accessible to her and she immediately started going through the ones she deemed most relevant. Especially those with a person called Alya who was Marinette's closest female friend.
Her list of notes had long-since extended to profiles of important people in Marinette's life t and she very much hoped that no one would ever find those lists. While she felt like she was only scratching the surface, it still was a huge improvement from that morning.
The day ended with not much happening apart from her extensive studies of Marinette Dupain-Cheng's life.
Bless holidays.
As it turned out, there was another free day following that Sunday. It was May 1st and while she had forgotten the name of the holiday that France was celebrating, she knew of another important celebration that took place simultaneously: Beltane. It would be safer to awake Tikki on this day to create a protective ward around the house, but she stubbornly dismissed it. Whoever had gifted Marinette witch glasses, a faery triad and other things to keep the Folk away was a godsend! She very much suspected Adrien and Félix and made a mental note to thank at least the latter of the two for them. They would do the trick for now and some of her own enchantments would do the rest.
Research, masked as mourning, was her main task for the day once more. Once dusk rolled in, she felt pretty secure about all the information she had gathered. While it hadn't been like sneaking through the hidden hallways of palaces and finding out not only names, but also important bargains—she really couldn't refer to her life in Faerie as boring—it had still given her a similar feeling of accomplishment. Dirty secrets and using them to her advantage had become her specialty, having made her a master of remembering even the most insignificant detail. In a world full of immortals that looked down on her, it had been her only protection for a while. It was a relief that those skills were still useful to her in this realm to a certain extent.
There would be school the next day and she had a timetable, an idea where her seat was and all she needed to do was find the classroom. Marinette apparently overslept and was late to school most of the time, so she'd try to mimic that to the best of her ability. She wouldn't be too late though and therefore still catch someone from her class outside to follow them to what would be her classroom. She'd recognize those people from pictures she had seen on Marinette's phone.
It was laughable how easy this was in comparison to freeing a fair one's bride or outrunning a blood-thirsty kelpie!
This was not easy at all!
Apparently Alya, who she had recognised immediately, had a different class than her in the first period and had asked her where she was going when she had just blindly followed the hazel-eyed girl. She had tried to talk her way out of it by saying that the free day had made her all confused so that she was mixing things up. Alya had accepted that explanation, but then she had been left to find the room on her own. Asking someone would be suspicious, so she had just compared the room numbers to those of her time table.
She had been late to class, but at least that was normal for Marinette, so no skin off her back.
The things that were taught were another thing she struggled with. She could read and speak French, but to have someone explain mathematical equations, chemical reactions or even the way humans evolved from apes—interesting—to her was a little difficult. She managed, but had to opt out of answering any questions the teachers had thrown her way.
She didn't even need to fake to look like death warmed over when she exited her last class before lunch.
The thing with faking was that lies had started to fall as easy from her tongue as did the truth. When surrounded by silver-tongued tricksters who thought they could glamour her, she had just pretended like she was under their spell, agreed with their suggestions, done what they asked, until she had gathered enough information and moved on.
Fae couldn't lie. It was only too easy to make them believe that she had been glamoured to tell the truth so that nothing she said was questioned. Or at least it only rarely was. She had mostly been overlooked anyway, as a lowly human servant, a changeling without a master. A disgrace not to be noticed, but, as many of them had found out too late, also someone to not be underestimated or overlooked.
Humans were similar to the fae in some ways, or rather the fae were similar to humans. The distinct differences after living with one and not the other for so long was throwing her off her game though, especially the part about lying. She was no expert on this world and while fae overlooked her awkward blunders, here every other mistake was immediately placed under scrutiny. It was unnerving.
"Hey Nette, you alright?" Nino asked.
She had found out through her research that he was Marinette's childhood friend and therefore had known for her since they were small children. To fool him into thinking that she really was Marinette was one of the biggest challenges so far.
"Yeah, just…I'm worried about Adrien," she said, sticking to the story she had read about in the diary. Apparently, Marinette had divulged those worries to Nino multiple times over the last months and therefore it wouldn't be too odd to bring it up as a reasoning.
"Me too. He doesn't pick up his phone and Félix doesn't either. Did he say anything to you?"
She shrugged. "He came by on Saturday to talk and was very torn up about telling me something, but he never got to the point and said that he'd write it down instead. That's the last I heard from him."
When in doubt, stick to the truth.
"Man, I know these two have problems, but that's just…not right."
"I still vote that we storm Gabriel's mansion and bust them out of there!"
She jumped when Alya suddenly appeared at her other side. That girl, as it turned out, was the one she needed to be the most careful around. Alya was too curious for her own good and had already prodded her for information in the class they had shared earlier about the talk with Adrien. She had lost count how many times she had told her that it was private and that she didn't want to talk about it. Dissuading her had been a real piece of work and that had been about only one piece of information. She didn't want to know how much of this treatment she'd have to endure looking forward. Probably a lot, when Marinette's exasperation over exactly that trait of her friend was anything to go by.
"Nah dude. He already threw us out once and it might get the two into even more trouble," Nino reasoned.
She could only nod in agreement, glad that at least one person here thought of thinking things through strategically. Impulsiveness in a delicate situation was never a good solution, especially not when fae were involved.
"Urgh, I know! It's just so frustrating that we can't do anything!"
"I hear ya, Al," Nino said and pulled her into a one-armed hug, which she answered with a peck on his cheek.
She smiled. The two of them were a cute couple. She hoped they'd never find out about the Folk and would live blissfully ignorant ever after.
"Hey, are you really okay Mari? I mean, the thing with Adrien…"
"I'm fine," she interrupted Alya before it would escalate into another prodding session.
Besides, the less discussion they had about Adrien the better. Deciding that it was probably best to give them at least a small piece of information to satisfy them, she repeated the excuse she had also given Sabine. Best to keep that story straight.
"We're just…taking a break right now, that's all."
To her horror, that stopped both Nino and Alya in their tracks and made them stare at her with slack jaws. She cringed internally.
Damn it, another mistake!
"W-why?!" Alya exclaimed and threw her hands up. She looked genuinely shocked.
"Just…to sort ourselves out. It's a bit of a mess right now," she said, getting as close to the truth as she could.
"Nette, you've been in this mess since October! I don't think it's a good idea to take a break now when he clearly needs you as more than a friend."
"I'm sorry that you don't agree with my very personal decision."
Always polite, never raising her voice to not offend a fae. The wording stayed, but being surrounded by humans had made her daring and her voice snappy. Something completely out of character for Marinette in this type of situation as it seemed.
"Girl, you know we didn't mean it like that!" Alya said.
She shook her head. This was no good, she had to fix it.
"Sorry. It's just all so new and I'm not sure how to handle it."
How true!
Before she knew it, she was wrapped in a hug by both Nino and Alya.
"It's okay, we gotcha."
She nodded mutely.
Her mistake of declaring her relationship break with Adrien had not been her first one. It was the subtle things: a different choice of words, a gesticulation Marinette usually never did, the lack of things Marinette usually did do but never bothered to write down in her diary—like squeaking when poked in the side or raising her hand in class a certain way. Then there was her absolute lack of knowledge about this time period. The last time she had been in the human realm, France had still been ruled by a monarchy after all! There were a lot of everyday things that were natural to the people here that Marinette therefore didn't write down, that she still needed to learn.
It was no use. She needed help if she wanted to perfect her performance and not draw further suspicion. At least she would be able to chalk those irregularities up to her supposed bad mood about the trouble with Adrien and Félix, but that excuse would get old eventually.
There was no help to be had. No one who knew every little detail about Marinette's life she needed to desperately know about. Not even Chloé.
No one except for Tikki.
She swallowed. It wasn't something she was looking forward to at all but she very desperately needed guidance. This wasn't like the jobs she had taken before where a human had been kidnapped to never be seen again and where she'd just have to wing it until she was discovered and chased out. This time Marinette's reputation stood on the line as both herself and as Ladybug. The eyes of the entirety of Paris were on her and, as it turned out, of the entire Unseelie Court that resided in that very same city as well. If she messed this up, she wouldn't just ruin a random person's life that was lost anyway. She would ruin the reputation of someone extremely important and the consequences could be fatal. No one she had ever replaced had come back. Marinette, though, would.
A heavy sigh tore itself out of her as she climbed up to the loft bed and took the earrings into her hand. She stared at them for about a minute and then braced herself for the inevitable wrath of the goddess of creation.
"Here goes nothing," she muttered, putting in one earring and then hesitating with the second one. Closing her eyes and shooing away her useless nerves she finished securing it. The effect was immediate as she felt the jewellery in her lobes warm.
Familiarity and distant memories washed over her when a ball of light materialised in front of her and then became Tikki. Only now did she realise how much she had missed her kwami and tears started to prick at her eyes.
"I should have listened to you," was the first thing that came out of her mouth. She had wanted to tell Tikki that for so very long already, even though this didn't seem like the appropriate moment to bring up the past.
Tikki's expression went from anger, to confusion, to recognition in the span of a moment. It quickly settled on anger again.
"Where is Marinette?"
What could she say but the truth? One didn't simply lie to the goddess of creation after all.
"I don't know."
"Where is Marinette?!"
She shrunk back at the fury that radiated off the small being. In her time with the fae she had adapted to them, even grew unnatural appendages of her own, stemming from the magic Tikki had left behind in her. It was like further mockery, or at least the Folk found it hilarious. The mighty Lady in Red, reduced to simple servitude and wearing a gross twisted image of the creature she had once represented so proudly. She knew what fae magic felt like and what her own magic even felt like. A cheap imitation of Tikki's magic, but still so very similar. To feel just how powerful Tikki was, even after knowing it theoretically, was very much a shock.
"I honestly don't know! Chloé took her and if she succeeded, she's at a safe place. If not, then she said something about Cat Sidhe and I actually met one of them at a revel which must have been some two and a half years ago in this realm's time. Félix, right? And Adrien. They might have taken her to safety instead," she said and bowed her head all the while. "Please, Tikki, I really don't know about the whereabouts of your chosen, but I very much hope she is well."
"You…don't plan to stay."
It was a statement that was spoken with such confusion that it could as well count as a question.
"There are first times for everything," she said and couldn't help the grin that spread on her face. She even dared to look up. "I know this is unconventional and that you're distressed about Marinette, but if there's even the slightest chance that she's well and on the way to recovery, then you need to help me now. I'm a quick learner, you know that, and I'll have to make the best impersonation I can possibly manage to not let anyone suspect a thing. That way, no one in her life will worry about her, things will go on as normal, and when she eventually returns, she can have a nearly seamless transition. Wouldn't you want that for her?"
Tikki stayed silent and stared at her for a long while.
"Please! I've tried my best for the last three days but even with researching her diary and her phone I made one mistake after another. I need someone who knows Marinette to teach me how to act like her and you're the only one who can do that!"
The kwami nodded.
"I will help you, Bri—"
Bubbles came out of her mouth and she stared at her in absolute disbelief. Complete and utter silence took over the room and then Tikki flew closer and put her paws on her forehead. Almost instantly, she recoiled.
"You don't know your name," Tikki whispered in shock.
She shrugged. "No, I don't. A fae took it from me and forced me into servitude, but he died and my name with him. I'm a free changeling and don't serve anyone but myself. That I managed to get out of Faerie and back into this realm is a miracle of its own."
With the centuries, she had gotten used to not having a name. The only name she could remember that had ever applied to her was Lady in Red, but that had been with Tikki, when she had wielded the Ladybug Miraculous. Without it, the name had seemed like a false title, so she had never used it. Even now that she wielded it again, it seemed wrong to use it while she looked like someone else.
Then what Tikki had said sunk in.
"Wait, you said Bri. Is that the beginning of my name?"
There was no recognition inside her whatsoever, but it still sounded right for some reason.
Tikki sighed and nodded.
An excited grin crossed her face. If Tikki still knew her name, then she could just give it back to her. She would finally be truly free once more!
"What's the rest? Please tell me my name! It would free me."
"I can't."
Her hopes crashed to the ground and shattered into a million shards.
"What? Why?!"
"I can't tell anyone the name of a Miraculous holder, past or present. Not mine, nor anyone else's. At least not to those who don't know those names to begin with. You don't know your name, so the magic of the earrings binds me from telling it to you."
Right, when had things ever been easy?
"Well, at least I got Bri out of you. You can call me that, right?"
Tikki nodded and then looked away.
"Marinette is so much like you. A chime's child, creative, strategic and a fast learner. It's…somewhat distressing to see you again while you look exactly like her."
Bri smiled. "Another chime's child, hmm? Looks like my stay here will be shorter than I expected then. No one heals better and quicker than a natural healer after all."
Tikki threw her a faint smile. "I guess you're right with that."
"And I saw neither of the Cat Sidhe at school today which probably means they're with her. She'll be fine."
Tikki floated forward and hugged her cheek.
"Thank you for helping her."
"No problem. But seriously, I need help with figuring out how a computer works and what exactly the Ladyblog is if I want to keep Alya oblivious."
Tikki smiled. "I can help you with that."
