The wings of an angel. Skin like silk. Hair that sparkled like the sun, even with just the dim light of the lantern. Features that looked as though the gods carved them out of perfection itself. He was truly the most beautiful being Marinette had ever seen.
She walked up to him, unable to control herself. She wanted to see him up close. She had to ensure that the vision in front of her was no illusion.
The closer she got, the less control she seemed to have over herself. She was so caught up in the image in front of her, so entranced, that she didn't even notice when her arms began to quiver. The lamp in her hand shook and clattered, but Marinette paid it no mind. The only thing she wanted to think about was the man sleeping in front of her.
She'd heard of a beautiful god with the wings of an angel before. Stories were often told about him. Mortals naively loved him. The gods feared him. But what was his name again?
Marinette didn't care. At that moment, all she could really think about was how gorgeous her husband looked. It was as though she couldn't tear her attention away, as though his beauty had put her under a spell…
Marinette got closer to her husband, her face only inches away from his, when suddenly a drop of oil flew out of the sputtering lamp. It landed on the man's shoulder, and his eyes immediately shot open.
His eyes were even more beautiful when they weren't obscured by a mask. They were the purest green, deep and kind, and reminded Marinette of the first leaves of springtime. She was so busy staring into those forest green eyes that she didn't notice the angry fire that started to burn right through them.
"How could you!" he yelled at her, suddenly pulling her from her trance. "I've done everything for you, and yet you couldn't even live with two rules?"
Marinette pulled herself away, suddenly realizing what was happening. "A-adrien… the g-god of love…"
He quickly looked to the sky in fear before turning back to his wife. "You weren't supposed to know! I told you never to look at me! I can't control my disguise when I'm asleep!" Suddenly thunder began to rumble, and Marinette could hear the crack of lightning break through the night. "Now my father will know you're still alive! How could you do this to us?" Marinette looked at the god in front of her, too shocked to respond. "It was your sisters wasn't it? They put this doubt in your head. I told you not to trust them!" He then turned towards the window. "I told you you could stay here as long as you followed my rules. I told you that we could be together as long as you could just obey those two simple rules… but you've lost that right." Suddenly, the house around them began to fade away. The gardens turned to ash, the fountains to pebbles, and all the gold gilding to sticks as the walls of her palace disappeared before her eyes. The god unfurled his wings, pain and fury dancing in his forest green eyes. "Goodbye, Marinette. Now, I can never see you again, and it's all your fault."
He then shot into the sky with a giant flap of his wings, his hand gripped tightly around his burned shoulder.
Marinette stood in the remains of her palace, tears streaming down her cheeks. What had she done? How could she have made such a grave mistake? And why had her sisters done this to her?
She knew that, in the end, she couldn't blame them entirely. Yes, they had put doubts in her head, but Marinette knew that she was the one who had chosen to trust her sisters over her husband. She was the one who was unable to control her curiosity. She was the one who had disobeyed her husband's orders and looked upon his face.
The more she sat there, weeping, the more the reality sank in. Not only was she in love with a god, but supposedly that god loved her back. And she had destroyed that. Why couldn't she just have trusted him?
Marinette wept into her dress, which had now reverted to the simple white frock of a commoner. She had lost everything, all because she was curious and didn't trust the man who had given her all she asked. She was so blind.
Time seemed to stand still in that moment for her, as she sat there crying. Eventually her tears dried up and the sobs quieted, but still Marinette sat there. What could she do now? She could not return to her kingdom, for she never wanted to return to the life where everyone treated her like an object. She could not go to her sisters, because that they had played a role in ruining her life. And even if she wanted to find Adrien, to apologize, to beg him to take her back... she had no idea where to start searching.
Marinette sat amongst the rubble, pondering her options for hours. She tried to work up the energy to stand up, to make a decision, but the more she thought, the more hopeless everything seemed. There was nowhere to go. She had no one to rely upon. No friends, no family, and now, no husband.
She was so lost in her despairing thoughts that she didn't notice when a breeze blew by.
"How could you do this to him?" A voice said from behind Marinette, causing the girl to snap from her self-induced trance. "I thought you actually cared about him."
Marinette turned around, only to see Nino standing there, looking hurt and angry. He clenched his fists, and refused to look in her direction.
Marinette stood and looked directly at the god before her, a fire starting to light inside her. "How dare you! I did care. I cared more about him than anyone!" She yelled at him, infuriated by his insinuation.
"Then why wouldn't you listen to him!?" Nino yelled back, finally looking in Marinette's direction.
Marinette held her ground. "I made a mistake, okay! It's something humans do. My sisters… they told me that my husband was a monster, and I listened. I've known them all my life. They were the only ones to ever act kindly towards me! I thought I could trust them, and I was wrong."
Nino shook his head. "How naive can you get?" He yelled at her. "You couldn't see that your sisters are lying, manipulative, selfish brats who have always been jealous of you? You couldn't tell that they only used you and toyed with you? I knew it, Adrien knew it, heck I'll bet even your parents knew it. How could you be so blind!?"
"Well you try growing up without a friend!" Marinette stared at him, knowing that if she hadn't already cried herself dry, tears would be streaming down her cheeks. "You try growing up having everyone you meet rather look at you than talk to you! Let's see what your willing to overlook then if someone offers you a kind word." Marinette gritted her teeth. "Let's see how desperate you are for kindness. Even if it's false. Then let's see how much you trust the only people that ever gave that to you."
Nino glared at her. "Don't you dare try and make yourself the victim here! Because of you, my best friend is heartbroken, and for some reason he can't even heal the burn on his shoulder! And on top of all of that, his father is keeping him captive, and won't even let me see him! It could be centuries before that man gives Adrien another taste of freedom, and it's all your fault."
Marinette stared at him, dumbstruck. "Adrien's hurt?" She asked, concern flooding over her. Had the oil hurt him that badly?
Nino looked at her face, and a look of regretful realization crossed his face. "You really do love him, don't you?" He asked, although Marinette was willing to bet she knew the answer. "Well, I can't say that I'm happy with your choices, or that I completely forgive you but… people do make mistakes." He sighed. "And I know he will never be happy without you, so…" He looked at her. "If your willing, I can help you try and earn your husband back."
Marinette had been wandering for two weeks. She had never had to travel before, especially over long distances, and she was not used to the pain in her feet or the exhaustion that plagued her, but she forged on, determined to find the house of Gabriel, god of perfection, and Adrien's father. Nino had given her directions, but she could only hope she was following them correctly.
Eventually, as dusk fell one cool evening, Marinette stumbled on an old, abandoned building by the seaside. She found her way inside, grateful to have a place to stay for the night, when she realized where she was.
The walls were inscribed with wheat stalks and depictions of people working the land. There was a gold-gilded altar, upon which sat a bowl filled with dried, shriveled fruits, all coated in a layer of mold. Flies swarmed around the small structure, and Marinette questioned why the building had been so neglected. It was clearly the temple of Alya, goddess of the harvest, and she was always a popular goddess.
All her life, Marinette was taught to respect the gods. She would go to temples weekly, surrounded by a group of bodyguards of course, to leave offerings and pay her respects. How anyone could care so little for a temple like this escaped her.
Marinette looked around, and decided that this would be a great place to stay the night. However, if her upbringing and recent experience with gods taught her anything, it that the gods didn't just give without expecting something in return. If Marionette wanted to spend the night in the temple of a goddess, she needed to give something back. She didn't need to anger any more gods than she already had.
Marinette got to work, and despite her exhaustion, she spent the next few hours cleaning and fixing the old temple. Hours later, the building at least started to resemble a temple again, and satisfied with her work, Marinette said a quick prayer and fell asleep.
The next morning, she finished cleaning a few spots she hadn't been able to see in the dark, and she set back out on her journey.
However, after having walked not even a mile, she saw a strange woman just up the path. As she approached the woman smiled at her. "Was it you who cleaned you the temple of Alya?"
Marinette nodded. "I wanted a place to stay the night, and it would not have been fair to use someone else's home without offering something in return, so I decided to clean the temple in return for using it."
The woman's smile widened. "Well I appreciate that. Most people would not have been so kind as to repay me for allowing the use of one of my temples. And even less would go to the lengths you did."
Marinette was startled, but being used to meeting gods at this point, she managed to stay calm. "Thank you for the compliment."
She gave a slight bow but Alya shook her head. "That's not necessary, Marinette." The goddess smiled. "So, I hear you're looking for Adrien." the goddess gave a knowing smile.
Marinette nodded. "Yes, lady Alya." She replied politely.
Alya put her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Look, there's no need to be so formal. I'm not going to smite you for not having flawless manners." The goddess laughed. "Especially not after what you just did. I owe you."
Marinette's eyes widened. "Really?"
Alya nodded. "Yes, really."
"Then can you help me get Adrien back? Or at least help me talk to him?"
Alya shook her head. "Sorry, but I can't do anything that would get Gabriel's attention. It won't turn out well for either of us." She smiled mischievously. "But I promise you, I'll find a way to help you when you need it most." Alya turned to leave, but gave one last smile to the girl before her. "The rest you can do on your own. Good luck getting Adrien back!" The goddess gave a small confident wave back before disappearing into thin air, leaving Marinette confused, but ultimately more confident now that she had a goddess on her side.
Hey guys! I feel I must apologize profusely for the exceptionally long hiatus. Nothing I say can excuse it. I've actually had this chapter written up for a while, but I wanted to write a few more chapters before uploading it. I hope you'll be happy to know I'm almost done writing this entire story, and just need to finish the final chapter and do a little proofreading, and I'll be completely finished. If you've kept up with this story after so long, all I can do is thank you. Life got in the way of this, and I apologize that I didn't try just a little harder to finish this more quickly for all of you, but thank you so much for staying with me. If it wasn't for all your kind comments, I wouldn't have ever continued this story, and I want you to know that these final few chapters were written for you guys. It won't ve long until the end, I promise, and whether you're an old or new reader, thabk you from the bottom of my heart for your support. Keep an eye out for the next few updates. :)
