"Come on, Adrien," Mona said as she carried a pair of guard boots while in front of her Marinette carried a helmet in her hands while Adrien fell behind as he hauled a heavy chest plate. "You try carrying this thing around," he said as he struggled to keep it from falling out of his grasp."We're almost there," Marinette said as they rounded a corner. Adrien sighed in relief as he saw the familiar trade shop.

Mrs. Baleen's Trading Spot was a popular place for the leaders to get things for the others. She was one of the remaining kind people that survived the wave of darkness. Whenever they came to trade for goods she would tell them storied of before Lord Hawk Moth and the cold-heartedness while they looked around her many trinkets.

"Hello, children," Mrs. Baleen aid as they walked in. "Hi, Mrs. Baleen," Marinette said as they placed their loot on her counter. "What can we get that will be useful in exchange for this stuff?" The old lady examined the loot before looking at them with a smile. "A few grappling hooks, some books, a few baskets of fresh fruit, some barrels to hold water in, and a recipe book for simple meals. And a few bits."

The children grinned widely at the sounds of getting bits. Bits were coins that could buy many things that could help them. Mrs. Baleen asked them to place the armor in the clothing area while she got their things ready. When they came back there was a box full of several grappling hooks, and a few books. There was also a few baskets of fruit on the counter, next to it were three barrels for holding water.

As she handed them a book of recipes, she nodded to a wagon hitched to two horses. "You can borrow it so you can take this to your hideout but you must bring it back," she told them. The young leaders nodded as they snapped their fingers and the supplies was magically transported to the wagon. Before they left the shop keeper pushed three wooden boxes towards them.

"A gift to thank you three for your rebelliousness," she said as they looked inside them. Marinette gasped as she found a ladybug yo-yo, a sewing kit, a book to sketch her designs, and a bunch of beautiful fabrics in hers. Adrien found a book about fencing as Mrs. Baleen handed him a shiny fencing sword and its holster and a metal baton. Mona found a bunch of white throwing knives and some paints.

"Thank you," they said as they headed for the door. "Be careful with those," she told them. "I don't want you three to get into more trouble." They nodded as they left and hopped onto the drivers bench on the cart. Marinette pulled out a hat for Adrien and bonnets for her and Mona to hide their faces. With a glance at their things, Mona created a mirage around them to make it look like they were children taking their fathers crops to the market.

As Adrien drove, they made sure they kept their faces were hidden, especially when they passed guards. When they reached their hideout they immediately unloaded their stuff and placed them inside. When they were finished they sent the horses and the cart back to the shop while they headed inside. Their friends were cheering about how much stuff they had gotten from the armor.

"There's enough food her for a month!" A ten-year-old boy said as he pumped his fist in the air. "We'll feast like kings and queens!" A toddler girl said as she jumped up and down while clapping her hands. The leaders laughed at their friends eagerness but it died down when they remembered tomorrow. It was the day most of their parents were taken from them. The Day of Mourning.

This was the only day that the children of the mages cried. Any other day if they were hurt they didn't cry. When someone saw this they would ask the same question. Why don't you cry in pain? they would ask. Because nothing hurts more than the lost of my parents, they would answer.

On that day they would all cry as they went from the parents of the eldest to the parents of the youngest. The children would give their parents a gift in front of the tombstones they made for them in a place in the woods. The last ones to get their gifts were the parents of the leaders. Everyone would place gifts for them and every year Adrien, Marinette, and Mona were there long after the rest left.

At midnight, when it was no longer The Day of the Mourning, they would all stop crying and go back to how they were for another year.

That night they really did feast like royalty. They had cooked a few turkey, made tomato soup, and drank some fresh, sugary lemonade. When dinner was over the leaders retreated to the bedroom they shared. Since there were so many young mages and so little room, many had to share. The leaders did their best to separate the boys from the girls, but for them there was no escape.

That was a problem. Marinette had fallen in love with Adrien because he was so generous, so sweet, so selfless, so...handsome. For Adrien he had fallen for Marinette because of her bravery, loyalty, intelligence, determination, and creativity. He just thought it made her more beautiful. But he was better at hiding his feelings. Meanwhile Marinette always screwed up whenever he complimented her or eyen gave her a certain look.

Then there was Mona, in the middle of it all. They would always come to her, telling her their feelings and to keep what they say a secret. She kept it all to herself, but it was impossible to play matchmaker with the two. If they even gave the slightest touch on accident they would automatically go into blathers of apologies.

Even once when Marinette was talking to Mona in their room alone about it, Marinette just happened to open the door for him then automatically slammed it into his face before he could even speak or look at her. Mona knew it was hopeless, but she just couldn't stop herself.

But tonight they were just happy they could give their friends a good enough meal. As the girls waited for Adrien to finish washing himself off and pour more clean water in the bath Marinette sketched some outfits. Meanwhile Mona had painted a target on the farthest wall from their beds and threw her new knives at it.

Adrien came out of the bathing room in lose shorts and shirt, drying his hair with a towel. Marinette stared at him without being noticed then got up to go clean herself. When she stepped inside she saw that Adrien had filled the metal, rusty tub up to the precise amount of water she liked in her bath and made a mini fire next to it to warm it a bit. She smiled at him knowing her best.

After a good thirty minuets she gout out, dried herself off, slipped on a nightgown as long as her knees with thin straps and a pale pink and changed the water in the tub, she stepped out and walked to her bed, her hair lose and brushing her shoulders with each step. Her bed was right between Adrien's and Mona's, and she always was afraid of being close to Adrien at times like these.

Adrien was lying on his bed, his head propped up by a pillow, and reading his fencing book. Mona emerged from the bating room after a while with her hair wrapped in a towel. When she reached her bed she pulled it off and threw it onto a nearby chair. With a sigh the girl flopped on her back onto the bed. A few silent moments passed between the leaders till the town bell chimed ten in the evening.

They walked down the stairs together with Mona holding a lit lantern towards the bottom floor, where the youngest children slept. Toddlers were on the floor playing with their old toys, while some were on the bunk beds talking. Babies giggled, cried, yawned, or slept in their cradles. Marinette clapped her hands three times to get their attention. "Alright everybody, bedtime," she said in a mother-like voice.

At the news many groaned as they got up, but some just stayed put until Marinette shooed them to their beds. Adrien smiled as she did so. She was a great mother figure and it was another reason why he liked her. The leaders ushered them to bed and Adrien pulled out a slightly thick book. It was a book of fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers.

He turned to the next story they were gonna read and everyone went quiet as he read Snow White. When he was done some kids were still up, so Mona sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' to them as they made sure they were tucked nicely in bed. When they were sure everyone was asleep, they blew out the candles in the room except for the lantern Mona held and left.

As they walked back to their room, a few of the older mages walked back to their rooms to sleep while some who were outside looking in the forest for food hurried back in, not wanting to be out past curfew. Before they cold go to bed, they checked with their lead guards, Kim and Ivan, to see if the guards were at their post. Then they checked with Max, who was in charge of attendance, if everyone was inside.

When they were sure everything was okay, they headed to their room. They were not being overprotective, they were being cautious. Hawk Moth was serious about his threat. It hasn't happened yet, but when the mages turn eighteen, they will become adults, and vulnerable to his powers. Then there were the guards, who had their orders to kill any young mages on sight.

When they reached their room, Mona closed the door and placed her lantern on her nightstand. They each got under the covers, said goodnight, and blew out their lights, being covered in total darkness.


The next morning, when the clock struck eight, Adrien woke to crying. He sat up in his bed, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and looked over to Marinette's bed. She was lying down, from her shoulders down covered in her sheets, facing away from him. He remembered what the date was and felt like crying himself. He walked over to Marinette's bed and sat down next to her.

He put a hand on her bare shoulder and let a tear fall down onto it, causing her to sit up. Her eyes were red and puffy from sobbing, and tears streaked her freckled cheeks. She pointed towards the bathroom, and when he looked, the door was closed, but Adrien could still hear Mona vomiting and softly crying.

Adrien couldn't hold them back anymore. He burst into tears and, without thinking, wrapped his arms around Marinette. He felt her freeze for a minuet but she returned it, causing them to be pushed closer together, and they sobbed in unison.


When they were sure everyone was gathered in the foyer, the leaders nodded to each other. They were all dressed in black, and everyone held at least one gift. Those who lost parents held two, while those who had to be taken away from their family for safety held one. Adrien, Mona, and Marinette said a word in unison and they were soon standing in front of a bunch of tombstones. All at once the sobs started

They went from eldest to youngest, and whenever a gift was placed on a parents tombstone or tombstones, the children wound get down on their knees, pressed their hands together, and pray to their parents to stay strong. Then there was the leaders parents. When everyone was done giving their gifts, they left the leaders to talk with their parents alone, teleporting themselves back while sobbing.

Mona was the first to. She placed a paper flower headpiece painted different colors on her mother's tombstone, and a poem on her father's. When she finished speaking to them, she left, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone. As Adrien placed a necklace around his mother's tombstone, Marinette wrapped a colorful shawl around her mothers that she made herself and a hat on her father's.

When they were done speaking to their parents they just sat there in silence. "That's a pretty shawl and hat," Adrien finally said. Marinette was stunned for a minuet but quickly recovered. "Th-thank you." She looked at the necklace Adrien had placed and asked him where he got it. "Mrs. Baleen gave it to me," he replied. "Thanks," Marinette said again. "For what?" "For comforting me when you woke."

"Oh." Adrien scratched the back of his head, nervous. He got up and held a hand out to her. "No problem. You comforted me and I comforted you. Lets get going." Marinette hesitantly took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. He said the spell and soon they were back in the foyer. The sound of crying filled every hall.

They cried too as they made their way to their room. It was noon and many were having lunch, crying on their food. But many of the young mages liked to be alone on that day or surrounded by certain people so they either ate alone somewhere, or ate in their room, while a few ate in the dining hall, mostly the ones with families.

They never let go of the other's hand. When they entered the room, all they found was a note from Mona saying she was going to eat and stay with her best friends the entire day until tomorrow morning. They noticed that she had brought them still warm food. Some chicken, mashed potatoes, and green peas mixed with black peas were on their plates while some of last nights lemonade was poured into two cups for them.

It wasn't unusual for black eyed peas to be a part of their meal. Some people believe that for every one you eat, the more lucky you'll be. They ate across from each other in silence, with occasional tears and sneaking a few glances at each other. When his plate was empty, all Adrien did was stare at it as he cried. He had put his hands in his lap and Marinette took it from him and placed it on the nightstand. He didn't look up, only cried quietly as he looked at his hands in his lap, one on each leg.

What happened next astonished him. His left hand was entwined with Marinette's right, and her head was on his shoulder. He heard her gasp softly between silent sobs. He decided to comfort her more. He took his hand out of her's, wrapped it around her, an entwined his right hand with her left. He hugged her close, their foreheads touching. He wanted to show her that he was here for her in another way.

He slowly turned his head, and planted a kiss on her forehead. Marinette gasped silently but returned it by kissing him on the cheek. He smiled as they stayed there for the rest of the day, not getting up to eat dinner, and falling asleep lying down next to each other, still holding hands and foreheads touching.