Marinette sat on the top of Notre Dame beside Chat, watching the sunset. He hummed a song as he whittled on a piece of wood. The curls of the wood shavings slid down the slanted roof into a pile below.
"I think we should run away from here," Marinette said suddenly. The sound of the wood hitting the roof and being fumbled with by Chat was her first response.
"L-leave? B-but you have sanctuary here! You're safe here!"
"But we're not free," she responded, adding him as emphasis.
"Mari," Chat looked at her, searching for answers in her eyes, "I thought you were happy here."
The lump in her throat only seemed to grow as she tried to sort her thoughts, "I am, Chat. But this isn't my home. I have my parents, my other friends, and I can't just stay here and forget about them," she held out her hand toward the town below, "I miss them."
Chat looked down at the pile of shavings below him. He was thinking very hard about what she offered. "I can't leave Notre Dame."
Marinette felt her heart being ripped in two. She really did not belong there, but at the same time, she did. She loved Chat more than anything in the world. But her family and friends had her love too.
"I'll help you get out of here," Chat said suddenly. He knew that Marinette was getting more and more lonely. Their conversations for the past week had been mainly about her family and friends. He wanted to keep her with him, keep her safe. But he also wanted her to be happy.
"Will you come with me?" Marinette asked, hopeful for his response.
"There have been guards on every door since you came here," Chat ignored her question. Marinette frowned, he always did this when he was going to give her an answer she did not like. "But we won't use the doors," Chat took Marinette by the hand and led her down to one of the walkways on the side of the church. He called Tikki and picked her up, "Carry Tikki, I'll carry you."
Marinette raised an eyebrow, "What are you planning?"
Chat pointed down to where no soldiers were posted, "We are going from here to there."
"That is a very long drop," Marinette commented as she wrapped Tikki's eyes with a scarf.
"Yeah, well, I've done worse?" Chat smiled sheepishly.
"Okay, first of all: not with me on your back. And second of all: that was a dirty lie," Marinette scolded as she climbed onto Chat's back and wrapped her free arm under his right arm on held onto his left shoulder.
"First time for everything," Chat laughed as he lowered himself over the edge of the tower. Slowly, the pair began their descent. Chat leapt from ledge to ledge with ease as the ground slowly came closer. Marinette had to bite the inside of her cheek at one point when he missed a foothold and they dropped further than planned. They landed safely, at last, and Tikki jumped greatfully from Marinette's arms.
"If we can help it, we are not doing that ever again," Marinette gasped as she felt the long-missed feel of grass on her feet.
"That could have been so much worse," Chat laughed as he watched Tikki lay on her side, overplaying her relief to be on the ground once more.
Marinette laughed at the spectacle before glancing down toward where a pair of guards were making their way to the side of the church. She looked back at Chat with a look of panic in her eyes.
"Come with me," she pleaded.
Chat felt his body burn when he heard the desperation in her voice. Her eyes reflected the full moon in the darkness of the night and it took every ounce of will power within him to decline. "I can't," he reasoned, "if Papillion finds out that you and I left on the same night, he will hunt you down by using me. It's hard to ignore a grown man with a tail wandering Paris. I'll stay here." The sound of the guard's voices grew louder and Chat felt his body and voice working without him, "Go!" He waved the two away from him and began to climb the side of the church.
Marinette inhaled sharply, blinking away her tears as she watched him go. She turned to run into a nearby alley but hesitated one moment longer.
"Chat!" she called, catching his attention once more. She threw a string of beads up to him, he caught them easily. "If you ever decide to come and find me, look for the Court of Miracles. If ever you are in a plight, look for the family in the night!" With her final words, Marinette ran with Tikki on her heels into the night.
Chat looked at the string of beads and back to Marinette's retreating figure. He had no idea what she was talking about. With his new treasure in hand, Chat climbed the rest of the way up the church.
When he reached the top he was immediately confronted by a man in shining armor. Chat knew instantly that this man was a soldier, in a place he did not belong.
"I am looking for the gypsy, Ladybug, also known as Marinette," he whispered.
Immediately Chat threw his gloves on the ground and began swiping at the man.
"No soldiers," Chat shouted as the soldier dodged his hands, "Sanctuary! You do not belong here!"
"Wait, Ah! Stop!" the man said as he began to descend the stairway into the tower, "I mean her no harm!"
"Out!" Chat shouted again as he managed to grab the man's cloak.
"Will you calm down?!" the man pleaded as he responded in kind with Chat's shirt.
There was a moment of awkward silence as the two glared angrily at one another.
"I just wanted to say I was sorry for… well first of all for taking so long to apologise… second of all, I want to say I'm sorry for getting her trapped here," the man defensively.
"What?" Chat breathed as he released the man from his grasp.
"I have been trying to find a way to properly apologise," he answered as he presented a small box, "But I didn't know how. And on top of that," he motioned to the walls around them, "I kinda can't come see her for obvious reasons."
Chat raised an eyebrow in response.
"Uh," the man rubbed the back of his neck, the lack of response was hard to deal with. "Look," he lowered his head and pointed a hand at Chat, "my name is Captain Nino. I…" he stopped and mumbled, "work for Judge Papillion."
Chat narrowed his gaze disapprovingly.
"BUT," Nino raised his hand to point up, "I hate the guy. I'd rather work for an angry bear. So if you would be so kind as to give this gift to her from… well… it's not really from me personally," he rambled, "I actually received this from a friend of hers. She and I… well…" he held up his hands and waved them around, "nevermind, it's complicated. The point it is," he looked up at Chat again, "I hate my job, your friend is awesome, her friend is gorgeous, my horse is parked in a no parking zone, please give her this thing," he took Chat's hand and pushed the box inside it, "I'll see you around."
Chat furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at the box as Nino walked back down the stairs.
"Oh, and one more thing," Nino added, turning to face Chat again, "Tell Marinette she is really lucky."
"Why's that?" Chat finally said, looking at the man questioningly.
"She has an amazing friend like you to look out for her all this time," Nino smiled before disappearing from sight.
Chat huffed a little before looking back at the box. He opened it carefully and looked inside. There were two brilliant red earrings inside. The red color reminded him of a ladybug, which made him smile at the memory of the day they met.
With a heavy sigh, Chat returned to his little home, the echo of the laughter, the secrets, and the love from the former tenant there made his heart ache. With another sigh, he put away the blankets and extra things he had put together for Marinette, certain she would never come back.
Once he finished cleaning the space he rang the evening bells for mass, alone for the first time.
Judge Papillion sat in his large chamber, a roaring fire before him. He watched as the flames danced on the wood. The red flames reminded him of how her dress had flowed as she danced that day. The shadows on the walls reminded him of her dark hair. It seemed that no matter what he did, he always saw her somewhere. His fingers twitched as he gripped the wood of the armrest of his chair.
He had only ever felt this desire with one other person. It made him sick to think of it. Her shining green eyes still made him feel… utter loathing. He hated her and he hated the wretched Ladybug for bringing the memory of her back with such power.
But what could he possibly do?
Papillion stood and began to pace. He began to pace and pray.
"Maria," he mumbled as the sound of his footsteps echoed about him, "I am a man of righteous calibur. I am within my rights to feel great pride for my righteousness. So now I must ask you, why have you sent this woman, this Ladybug into my life? Is this a reminder to me of her?" He turned toward the window facing Notre Dame as the sound of the bells reached his ears, "Is this a second chance?"
Immediately he summoned one of his soldiers, commanding him to search the cathedral for the girl. She had had long enough in her sanctuary. He would bring her to him and offer her a very nice deal. This was the second chance he needed. She would be his second chance.
He continued to pray for the next hour. His somewhat pleasant demeanor from realizing that he could get what he wanted changed, however, when the soldier returned with bad news.
Ladybug had escaped from the cathedral. It had to have happened that night. Papillion himself had seen her in the foyer when he had visited Chat Noir.
As a man of God, he could not let her get away. The need to have her in order to fulfill his second chance was much more important. He would find her even if it meant burning down all of Paris to find her.
She would either be his, or burn in the flames of the one who had sent her, the Devil himself.
That next morning, he called the guards to gather before the Palace of Justice. Nino brought the soldiers to attention as he emerged from the large doors.
Captain Nino saluted the judge as he descended the stairs, "The troops await your orders, sir."
Papillion mounted his black horse in a single movement, "Find the escaped Gypsy girl, Ladybug."
"You mean Marinette?" Nino clarified.
Papillion sneered, "I don't care what she is called, just find her and arrest her. Do whatever it takes."
With that, the soldiers under the judge's command began to raid any house that could possibly house any gypsies. Papillion hoped to find someone who knew where Marinette was.