DISCLAIMER: MIRACULOUS LADYBUG AND ALL OF ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO ZAGTOON AND THOMAS ASTRUC AND NOT ME. THE PLOT EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN ASPECTS AND CHARACTERS CREATED BY ME BELONG TO ME.
Summary: After a tragic loss, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is having trouble coping after she is forced to move from the busy streets of Paris, to Porqueolles, an island. An unfortunate slip and fall into a cave unlocks more than she ever thought possible about her new home, her family, and the sea that binds it all together.
...
Bridgette flounced around the house, babbling a mile a minute about how excited she was that Marinette was there, while Marinette herself looked around her new home. While she'd been busy during her and her aunt's emotional encounter outside, she hadn't gotten a good look at the size of the house. Now that she was inside, however, she was realizing just how nice it was. Large windows let in plenty of light, driftwood furniture, white paint and the high ceilings made the admittedly large house seem like a well furnished mansion. The kitchen and living room had an open floor plan, letting even more light in from the sliding glass doors that led to an outdoor sitting area with a stunning view of the ocean. Surprisingly, the house was quite close to some of the low cliffs that lead down to a small hidden beach.
In other words, the house was absolutely stunning.
"Well that's nearly everything! So are you ready for- Sweetie? Are you okay? You just blanked out..."
Marinette blinked, and realized that while she'd been admiring the decor, she'd forgotten to pay attention to the tour.
Just great. She'd hoped that she didn't have to pee soon or she'd be in deep shit.
"Oh! Oh I'm sorry I was just...Um, you have a beautiful home?" Marinette laughed nervously, an embarrassed blush on her face for being caught unawares.
Bridgette smiled, though Marinette got the feeling that she knew exactly why she blanked out. "Thank you sweetie, but it's also your home. Don't be afraid to ask where everything is if you get lost okay? Or for anything really. This is your home too, and I want you to feel welcome here."
As much as Marinette wanted to hang onto the bitterness she felt at being forced to live here, she felt that she couldn't without feeling really guilty. Her aunt was making a real effort to make her feel wanted, loved, and welcome, and to be upset with her for wanting to reconnect with who she suspected was her only family left, sounded petty, something that she refused to be.
So instead of feeling bitterness, she felt grateful, and nodded her agreement before looking around to see where they were. "So, where are we now?"
Bridgette seemed to remember where they were at that moment, so caught up in her emotions that she blushed. "Oh! Right! Well, I've heard that you like to design clothes, so I cleared out one of my storage rooms and well, welcome to your new room!"
Now initially when Marinette heard the words 'storage room', she'd thought that it'd be some closed in room with no windows with a twin bed.
She was sorely mistaken.
The theme of driftwood was clearly a favorite, as it seemed that the floors and beams on the ceiling were made of repurporsed driftwood. The walls were painted pink, her favorite color, and some of her things that were sent ahead of her were already set up and ready for use. It felt like her room from Paris had almost been upgraded into this amazing room here. It was when she noticed the large window that viewed the ocean did she realize exactly which room they were in. She immediately ran to the window, almost pressing her face against the glass. "This is the attic?"
Bridgetted nodded and smiled wide, practically all of her pearl white teeth showing. "I heard that your old room was in an attic, so I wanted to make this feel as much like home as you're used to. I couldn't get the loft bed because of the slanted ceiling, but I hope you'll still like what I've put together. And there's enough space for your things, and enough room for you to store things to design your clothes. Do you like it?"
Did she like it? Of course not. She loved it. Everything reminded her of home and even more. The gratefulness she felt before her aunt opened that door didn't even compare to what she felt now. Bridgette Cheng was really trying. She must have really loved Marinette if she had fought this hard, and went through all of this trouble, just to get her there and make her feel welcome and loved. Going so far as to make things as close as she could to her old room, and even be considerate of her craft.
When Bridgette heard a sniffle, of course she'd thought that she'd somehow messed up and felt disappointment weigh on her heart. But when she felt the weight of someone collide into her with a fierce hug, she realized that she'd done something monumentally right. And she couldn't be more grateful for it.
...
Later that night, Bridgette proposed that they go out to dinner to celebrate Marinette's arrival. On the ride there, her aunt began to go into more about herself. Apparently, Bridgette wasn't all sunshine and an airhead, as the elder woman seemed to be. She was also extremely observant. As Marinette donned her favorite white flower print dress and put on light makeup, she wasn't spared the knowing look Bridgette gave her as her face turned red. As it turns out, Bridgette knows Adrien's boss, who owns a small restaurant in town, his only other passion besides camembert cheese Bridgette remarked. Before the tour of the house, Adrien had gotten a call from work and had to leave without giving a proper goodbye. While she felt sad, Marinette knew that Adrien would have stayed if he could. She also realized that while she was disappointed that he had to go, she didn't want to come off as some clingy brat, and let him go with a smile, a fistbump, and a wave.
As Felix drove them, (who lived nearby to "keep an eye on his favorite spazz", his words)Bridgette began to talk to Marinette about her work. She never thought that the slight woman who was her aunt, would be one of the best treasure hunters around, and as Marinette remembered what she could of the tour of the house, Bridgette Cheng was very good at her job. Felix remained mostly silent, but chimed in a few times, mostly to scold Bridgette and get into small arguments with her. Despite their fighting, Marinette could tell that they cared deeply for each other. While she couldn't confirm if they were dating or not, the chemistry was definitely there.
When they pulled up to the restaurant, Marinette could tell that it was more like a hole in the wall kind of place, but still very popular with the locals.
"Marinette, before we go in, I just wanna warn you about the smell."
Marinette turned to her, her eyes full of concern and slight disgust. "The smell? Is this place unsanitary or something?"
Bridgette laughed, shaking her head. "Oh don't worry, Plagg is very serious about food safety and cleanliness. Remember what I said about the camembert cheese? He stores most of it in the back, but the smell kinda leaks into the the restaurant. The smell won't cling once we leave, but the scent takes some getting used to."
Marinette sighed in relief and nodded, and walked in as Felix held the door for both of them. Just as Bridgette warned, the smell hit her like a fist to the nose. Bridgette snickered, immediately noticing the green tinge Marinette's face had taken. "Told you so."
Trying her best to ignore the smell, and finding it getting easier by the minute, she followed Felix and Bridgette to a table near the center of the room, where a dark skinned boy with glasses and a red cap came over, a pen and small pad open and ready to take their order.
"Welcome to Le Chat Noir, please don't mind the smell-"
Marinette giggled, not meaning to interrupt the waiter's introduction but unwittingly catching his attention nonetheless. Once he realized who was at the table, the formality was gone and a huge smile overtook his face. "Well if it ain't Bridgette and Felix, and-I'm sorry who are you?" He said, his attention back on Marinette.
Before Marinette could answer, they were interrupted by a familiar voice. "Marinette!"
She turned, and a smile and blush blossomed onto her face as Adrien, dressed the same as their waiter came over to stand by Marinette and offer his fist for a fistbump, which she readily returned with her own.
"Whoa whoa, hold the phone, you two know each other?"
"Nino, this is Bridgette's niece, the one I was telling you about. You know, the one that Bridgette's been talking about for like a month?"
The boy's, now known as Nino, face lit up in recognition before offering Marinette a smile. "Oh that's right! Hey, I'm Nino Lahiffe, part time waiter, part time DJ, and full time best bud to Adrien Agreste here." He said, as he offered Marinette his hand to shake.
She took his hand and shook, glad to know another person her own age. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It's nice to meet you Nino."
"Likewise. My man Adrien wasn't kidding, you really are pretty."
Both teens teens faces turned red, before Felix chimed in, cutting the conversation short. "Can we get back to ordering food now?"
Bridgette elbowed Felix in the ribs, who doubled over in pain. "Don't be rude! Marinette is making friends."
While they all laughed, Marinette could swear she felt eyes on her and turned around, barely missing a brown haired girl's gaze as she quickly turned her own head. She too turned back around, not wanting to seem rude, but the feeling quickly came back. This time Marinette resolved to ignore it. It was uncomfortable, but she refused to engage any person that wanted to be alone. She just wished the girl would stop staring holes into the back of her head-
"Marinette, did you decide on what to order?"
Damn it.
Mentally returning to the conversation, she quickly glanced over the menu and became unsure of what she had a taste for. "Um..."
"Not sure?" Adrien said, bending over to get a closer look at the menu.
Marinette shook her head. "Any suggestions?"
"Hmmm..." Adrien scanned the menu, running his finger over the selections before stopping on a selection. "This one."
She quickly read what he picked. "Ratatouille?"
"Yeah. Its one of my favorite dishes, plus its supposed to help cheer you up. And with everything going on, you could use some cheering up, right?"
Marinette felt touched, and nodded, smiling up at the thoughtful boy. "Y-Yeah, thanks Adri-"
"Adrikins!"
Nearly every head turned to see a blonde haired girl with a pony tail and designer clothes practically shove everyone out of the way to get to Adrien, who's skin appeared to have lost all color. "H-Hey Chloe..."
"Oh boy, here we go..." Nino said, heading back to the kitchen to drop off their orders.
Once the girl, apparently named Chloe made it to Adrien, she practically jumped into his arms and placed big kiss on his cheek. Adrien, to his credit, appeared to not take any pleasure in the kiss, or even the girl's company as he tried subtley yet almost desperately to remove himself from her grasp. "What are you doing here Chloe, you know Plagg doesn't like people loitering around if they're not ordering anything..."
"Ugh, as if I would order anything from this dinky place. I don't even know why you still work here. You could always work at my daddy's hotel, then you could see me all the time! I feel like we don't see each other anymore Adrikins." Chloe said, batting her false eyelashes at the even paler boy.
"Chloe," he said, sighing, "I already told you. I LIKE working here. It's fun."
"Isn't seeing me all the time fun?"
Thankfully, before Adrien could answer the question, Nino came back with their drinks and a pitcher of water. "Here's your drinks folks. Your food will be out shortly."
Adrien sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, Chloe, I think it's time for you to go. If Plagg catches you here-"
"What can he do? I'm the mayor's daughter remember?"
"But this is his place of business, and he has every right to not want you here if you aren't a customer Chloe."
"Ugh, fine. If being here with these people," she said as she gazed around at the occupants at the table, before her eyes landed on Marinette, narrowing in suspicion. "Uh, who are you?"
Thankfully, before Marinette could snap back at the girl's disgusted tone, Adrien answered for her. "Oh right! Chloe this is Marinette. She's new to the island. Marinette this is Chloe, the mayor's daughter-"
"And his closest friend." She answered with a haughty tone and smirk, as if her relationship with the blonde boy meant she was above Marinette.
Yeah not likely.
"Yeah you're wrong about that Chloe, I'm Adrien's best bud." Nino said, coming back with the table's orders and setting them down. He never did like how the blonde tried to claim ownership over his best bud, and frequently became the spine that Adrien didn't have to tell her she was wrong. Not that he minded.
"Oh please. Adrien and I have known each other since we were babies."
"And back then I'm sure if he could have ran, he would have."
"Nino!" Adrien admonished, but Marinette snorted in amusement, which immediately caught the blonde girl's attention. "Oh, you think that's funny you nobody?"
"Watch your mouth Chloe, that's my niece you're talking to." Bridgette said, who was content to stay silent until the brat decided to target her niece.
"Oh! So she's double the nobody then. How unfortunate."
"Excuse you, but I'm definitely not a nobody." Marinette said. "I also know that I'm not a spoiled brat who thinks she can get away with everything just because her daddy has money."
Chloe's face turned red with anger before she spotted the pitcher on the table, promptly grabbed it, and emptied it over Marinette's head, completely dousing her with icy water."
"Oops, my hand slipped." She said, before laughing.
"CHLOE!" Adrien yelled, catching the attention of everyone in the restauarnt. "That's it! Leave, now!"
"But Adrikins! She insulted me! You heard her!"
"You insulted her first Chloe, and that's no reason to dump water on her! Out, now!"
The blonde pouted, before looking at Marinette's soaked form and grinning. "Fine, at least this little nobody knows her place now." Chloe sauntered out of the restaurant as if she did nothing wrong, while Nino raced over with a towel. "I can't believe she did that."
"Marinette," Adrien said. "I'm so sorry..."
Marinette then stood up, her hair covering her eyes. "No Adrien. I'm sorry. Sorry for ever thinking coming here would be a good idea." She then raced out, covering herself as best she could so her underwear wouldn't show through the white fabric of her now ruined dress. She ignored the multiple cries of her aunt and Adrien to come back, and decided against trying to go back to the house. She'd never make it back without getting lost.
She stopped once she got far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the restaurant and found that she was near the woods. Against everything screaming at her to go back and give everything a second chance, she decided that she didn't want to be found right now. She wanted to be alone with her feelings, feelings of anger, sadness, self pity and regret. As she walked towards the trees, she couldn't believe just how bad her first day of her new life ended. Being soaked by some rich daddy's girl that believed she was God's gift to everyone. Given the stink eye by some other girl she didn't even know, and now all she wanted to do was go back to Paris and be around the family she already knew.
She wasn't blind, she'd seen the look on Bridgette's face when she said what she said back at the restaurant. She'd hurt her, and through the tidal wave of bad feelings, seeing Bridgette's face crumple with hurt stood out the most. And after everything she'd done to make her feel welcome in her home. Bridgette must think she was an ungrateful brat...
Deciding to stop her trek, she halted near what looked to be a small cave. Naturally curiousity took over and she looked inside, noticing that instead of flat ground, the cave instead sloped down at an angle. Since it was dark, she couldn't tell how far down it went, but she definitely didn't want to take any chances of falling in-
Suddenly, Marinette felt herself being pushed forward by two hands on her back. When she tried to gain her footing she ended up twisting around, falling backwards into the cave, and only catching a glimpse of the person who pushed her; Brown hair.
She screamed, tumbling deeper and deeper into the cave before finally hitting the bottom, pain exploding in her arm and head before she blacked out.
...
Suffice to say, when Marinette came to her senses, the first thing she sensed was pain in her arm and head. She groaned, then coughed when she breathed in sand instead of fresh air. She stood up on shakey legs, and felt her arm and head, thankfully noting a lack of blood, but both body parts were tender to the touch, and she feared she might have a concussion. She tried looking around her, but it was pitch black. Using her undamaged arm, she felt around for her phone and found it in her pocket, and switch the flashlight on. She couldn't remember much, but she did remember that the cave had been open when she saw it. When she pointed the light towards the opening however, fear began to overtake her.
The entrance was closed.
A better look showed that the entrance had been covered by several rocks. Rocks that hadn't been there previously.
She began to remember things as her panic increased. The incident at the restaurant, walking into the woods, the cave entrance, hands on her back...
Someone had pushed her in.
And then they shut off her escape.
Tears came pouring down her cheeks as she tried to fight off her even more heightened panic. She had to calm down. Its obvious now that someone had wanted to hurt her, had followed her and deliberately made it so she couldn't escape.
She aimed her light down from the entrance, and was happy to see that the ground was sloped. Her happiness soon faded when she realized her injuries would never allow her to make the climb, along with the loose sand. Even if she did, she had no way of knowing how many rocks were piled on outside the cave, and moving one could cause them to fall inwards on her, and potentially kill her.
Needless to say, she wasn't getting out the way she came in.
She wiped away her tears, there was no use crying. She needed to be calm and think rationally if she wanted to make it out of there alive. She refused to be on a milk carton.
Directing her light behind her, she was happy to see that the cave kept going on. Looking around, she found a stick. Sticking her phone into her dress so that it was pointed in front of her, she took the stick in her uninjured arm and began to drag it through the sand as she moved forward. She figured she should leave a trail for herself in case she got lost.
Luckily for her, the cave was pretty much straightforward, with no other openings for her to explore, until the cave opened up to tunnel. Tucking the stick under her arm, she took her phone out from her dress and began to look around the cavern. When she looked at the ground, she was suprised to see water. Using the stick she poked into the water until she could feel the bottom, and seeing a lack of fish or any other predators like sea snakes and eels, she deemed it safe enough to step into the water.
As she continued walking, she noticed that the water level steadily rose the farther in she ventured. Not only that, but she began to notice the cave got steadily brighter and brighter the closer she got to the end of it. The discovery of light made her hurry faster. Light in a cave usually meant two things. Either someone was down there with her, or natural light was coming into the cave through an opening.
An opening she could escape from.
In her haste, she ended up dropping the stick, but couldn't care to go back for it. She had a chance to get out. To get help. And the first thing she would do when she got out was apologize to Bridgette, who would probably never let her out of her sight again, but Marinette found that she could live with that. As long as she could get out, she'd be able to live through any and everything else.
As she finally reached the end, any and all hopes she had of escaping were dashed.
The light that she'd been seeing came from the top of the cavern, were a medium sized hole, much like an oculus, let in light from the moon which shined down on a small lake sized pool of water, making it glow.
Further observation showed that there was another opening in the water. Another possible way out if it led to the ocean.
Or a maze of tunnels for her to get lost and drown in.
Either way, she was stuck.
The panic that she'd been holding off exploded all at once as she burst into tears and sobs. The hole was too high up for her to climb, especially with her injured arm. She couldn't scream for help, lest she disturb the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave. And she didn't want to test the opening in the water. Who knows where it led, how deep it went, or what else lurked in there.
She was never getting out.
She walked a bit further, stepping further into the cavern. If she was gonna be trapped there, she might as well be where there was plenty of light. Unfortunately, when she'd dropped the stick earlier, she also forgot to check how deep the water was before she stepped.
And she fell.
She dropped her phone, and as she tried to paddle back to shore, she felt herself being pulled back down into the water. She screamed, and looked back expecting to see a shark trying to drag her down to devour her. But she saw nothing, only felt her self being tugged deeper and deeper into the water, until she could no longer stay above the surface.
Under the water, as she was being dragged into the depths, she could just make out the full moon shining down upon her from the oculus in the ceiling of the cave. And as the last of her breath left her lungs, she realized that she was no longer afraid as she sank deeper and deeper and deeper into her watery grave. She thought of Bridgette, and how sad she'll be when they never find her body. Adrien, who she could tell would always blame himself for her death. Her father, who would be happy to see her in heaven and sad that she died so soon. And her mother...
Maybe she would finally get to know her.
...
When she opened her eyes, at first the only thing she could see was blobs of color, and she could hear muffled voices that sounded like arguing. Apparently they noticed that she was waking up because the arguing immediately quieted and she could feel warm hands touch her face. She could hear a voice, a female voice repeat something over and over, until her frazzled mind began to understand bit by bit what the voice was saying.
"ette?"
"inette?"
"Marinette?"
She groaned and answered with a hum, realizing that her throat felt like sand paper, and was about to ask for water-
Water.
The cave.
She'd been trapped, no way out.
She fell.
Water.
Drowning.
She'd been drowning.
She sat up abruptly, nearly headbutting the woman, Bridgette, as she could now tell as her eyes were wide open. She began gasping for air and kicking, as if she could feel whatever had pulled her down to the depths grab hold of her again.
Not this time.
She would fight harder.
She could feel herself being grabbed, being pushed down and she just fought even harder, kicking, punching, twisting, whatever she could do to survive. She felt her fist make contact with something, and heard a pained shout, which stunned her enough to get her to stop moving long enough to be pinned down.
"Marinette! Marinette stop it's okay! You're safe!"
Bridgette, Marinette realized. Bridgette was talking to her. She opened her eyes, and looked around wildly, realizing that she was in her room, her new room at Bridgette's house, and that Bridgette was the one gently holding her face. Further observation showed that she was being held down by Adrien and a girl with reddish brown wavy hair and glasses. Felix, she noticed, was coming back in the room with a cloth held tightly over his nose, his face pinched in pain.
She looked back at Bridgette, who was now gently stroking her hair. "I'm okay?"
Bridgette nodded, a tearful smile spreading across her face. "You're okay."
"I'm not drowning?" Marinette said, her own voice growing watery as tears began to stream down her face, her voice hitching.
"No sweetie, you're not drowning. You're just fine."
Bridgette motioned for Adrien and the mystery girl to let her go, and once they did, Marinette sprung up and hugged Bridgette as tight as she could and sobbed.
She was safe.
She had escaped.
"I'm sorry Bridgette! I'm sorry I was being a brat and ran off! I'm sorry!"
Bridgette, ever the crybaby, cried right along with Marinette and told her she wasn't a brat and that she was sorry that she hadn't stopped Chloe in time from embarrassing her. Apologies were thrown left and right, and probably would have continued had Felix not stepped in.
"Marinette, I'm glad you're safe and that you're back. But can I get an apology for my nose?"
Marinette, blushed in embarrassment and apologized, realizing now that the hit she'd felt was her fist making contact with Felix's nose.
"Lighten up Felix! She didn't mean it! She thought she was dying!" Bridgette said, annoyed that Felix had ruined their moment.
"Yeah well she's not, and now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to see a doctor. She has a mean right hook and I think my nose is broken."
As Felix left, Bridgette rolled her eyes and hugged Marinette. "Don't worry about him. Despite his attitude, he's really glad you're safe. He was really worried about you."
Marinette nodded, but realized that some questions needed to be answered.
Like how the hell she wasn't dead.
"How did I get out? I thought I was trapped..."
"I think I can answer that one."
Marinette turned to see the mystery girl step up and give a small wave. "Hi, I'm Alya Cesaire. I'm sorry we had to meet like this. I'm the one who found you and got you out. I was night diving and that place is one of my favorite rest stops."
Marinette gave a small smile. "Thank you Alya. My name is-"
"Marinette, I know. I was there when that brat dumped that water on you. I just wish I could have slapped that smug look off of her face."
"And I'm sorry for that," Adrien said as he stepped forward. "I should have kicked Chloe out the first chance I got. Every time she comes there she always causes trouble. She's one of my oldest friends, and I didn't want to be rude, but when she did what she did, it crossed the line. I'm sorry Marinette. This is all my fault."
Marinette shook her head. "No it's not. Its her fault. No one told her to be a brat, she did that all on her own. She acts like she's above everyone else just because her dad is the mayor, and that she owns you."
"You'll get used to that," Alya said. "In the meantime, he's got great friends that'll be his spine, since the one he's got is a noodle." She said, grinning as Adrien frowned.
"Ha ha, very funny."
"I know, if Nino were here he'd think so too."
"Some friends I have."
Marinette giggled, but then coughed as her sore throat reared it's ugly head, and was immediately given a cup of water by Bridgette, who was fretting over her like a mother hen, making sure she wasn't hurt anywhere else, to which Marinette replied that she was fine. The only thing that hurt was her throat, but she could have sworn she had been hurt before. Was it her leg, or was it her arm? Her head? She couldn't remember. All she knew was that she was safe, she was fine, and she had family and friends who cared.
And that was all she needed.