"Isn't it beautiful here?" Emile asked her sister, Amile. The girls and their parents were on holiday and were camping out in America, in a beautiful pine forest. It was different then the usual castles they stayed in, in Europe, but Emile couldn't help feel a thrill of excitement through her.
Amile just sighed, swinging her feet impatiently as her sister braided her hair. "Its fine, but its not Paris," she sounded as if she were scowling. Emile, however, wasn't giving up. She knew how stubborn her sister could be, bookish and quiet. Not that there was anything wrong with that.
"Don't you want to go exploring today? Papa is taking a group of men into the woodlands." The fresh smell of pine tickled Emile's nose, along with the good smells the servants were cooking at the fire.
"No, I'll stay in with Mother, and working on my sewing." "Fine," Emile sighed. She couldn't force her sister, but she felt the familiar lonely pull.
As they ate their breakfast of porridge, the sun rose and Emile was lost in the beauty of the red ball of fire. "Ready to go?" He asked, and she nodded eagerly. "Make sure you stay with Papa," her mother warned. "Your always getting lost thanks to your daydreaming." Emile bit her lip. Daydreaming was her key to happiness, but as a good daughter she held her tongue, only nodding mutely.
The group set out into the trees, and Emile skipped alongside her father, loving the warmth of the sun in her golden hair. But Father strode ahead quickly, and Emile tired easily, and sank beneath a tree. She would catch up in a moment…..
Emile felt something crawling along her finger, and she giggled, opening her eyes slowly. Then she gasped. Father was gone! Oh, no, Mother would furious!
"Don't worry, they've only gone to the meadow." Emile's head shot up, to see a man with kind black eyes staring at her, and she squirmed. "Please don't be afraid, I am your friend. And you have another friend upon your finger."
Emile looked from the man, to her finger. A little red ladybug sat upon it. Emile rubbed her eyes. "Ladybugs mean good luck, don't they?" the man chuckled. "Oh, yes. Now, what is your name?" "Emile." "Emile, my name is Fu. Now, I bet you are hungry, aren't you?"
Now that he mentioned it, it had been a long time since breakfast. "I am, a little." "Come with me, my fire's just up this way."
Emile followed him deeper into the forest, gasping in delight when they came upon his camp. "Good, the soup is done. I'll pour you a bowl," Fu said.
"Are you on holiday too?" Emile said, dipping her spoon into her bowl. "I wish I was. But I'm a wanderer." "Doesn't that mean you don't have a home?" "Oh, if I wanted to settle down I would, but for I like adventures." Emile sighed. "I wish I could be like you. Mother and Father keep me at home, but I want to travel the world." "I have a feeling your wish will come true some day, though maybe no you expect." Emile was quiet, thinking. Fu was unlike any man she'd met before.
"What's in the box?" she asked, pointing. "Is it treasure?" Fu laughed heartily. "I suppose their treasure to some. Actually, that's why I'm guarding the Miraculous." "Miraculous?" Emile said, slowly.
Fu paused, with his hand on the lid, and stared at Emile, dark eyes serious. "If I show you, you must promise me not to tell anyone." Emile nodded, and Fu lifted the lid.
Jewelry! Their was jewelry in the box, shining brightly in the sunlight, but it was unlike any jewelry Emile had ever since. "The Miraculous may be jewelry, but they contain hidden powers." Emile felt her eyes widen. "Powers?"
Fu went over each one, and Emile suddenly felt strange as he described the Peacock's power. It was almost like….she was linked to it somehow. "Your looking a bit pale, do you need some water?" Fu asked her, breaking her from her thoughts.
She nodded. "Come, there's a stream nearby." Emile bit her lip. She should be looking for Father, but that seemed unimportant right now. "So, what are the two most powerful?" she asked, as they walked.
"Ah, curious as a cat, I see. Well, one is actual a Black Cat Miraculous, which causes the power of the Destruction, and the Ladybug which grants the power of creation. Above all the Miraculous, they must never fall into the wrong hands. Ah, here's the stream."
As Emile bent down, the water rippled, but it wasn't her reflection upon the water. A girl with satin black hair in a red-black spotted suit and a boy in a black cat suit stared back at her. Emile tumbled forward into the water.
"Are you alright?" Fu asked, as he pulled her from the water, and Emile nodded. "The boy with Cat Miraculous, he looked like me."
"Emile! Emile?" Emile whirled around seeing her Father marching towards her. "Getting into trouble again, I see." "What? No, I-" Emile looked back to find Fu gone, but it didn't matter as Father swooped her up into his arms.
Emile sighed, holding her tongue. She wouldn't mention Fu again, even when she discovered the Miraculous again, but she wouldn't forget the day she meant the kind Guardian in the woods.