An: A little classic fairy tale for the Holiday Season. For the story I did a quick google search on the Christmas traditions in France and while I hope I was on point, if there was a chance I misinterpreted something I do apologize. Disclaimer, don't own the show or the characters, or Alexandre Dumas original tale of the Nutcracker. This is a Marichat AU, with a tiny Adrinette. Happy Holidays Everyone! ;);)
The Unlucky Nutcracker
.~*~*~*~*~*~
It was Christmas Eve in the city of Paris. The sun hadn't set yet, but it was still late in the afternoon. Everyone was hussling here and there in every shop for some last minute shopping in the March de Noel. Some getting that one last special gift, others that one ingredient that tied the whole Christmas dinner together.
Of all this celebration and merry-making, none were busier than the Dupain-Cheng bakers. In fact, the whole family was tending to the bakery, handing out several treats for the holidays. The head baker, Tom, and his father Rolland were busy preparing the different breads for the customers' Christmas dinners. Tom's wife, Sabine, was busy decorating the buche de noel orders that she had a long line for right behind her. Tom's mother, Gina, was teasing kids saying she worked for Santa Claus and was in charge of deciding which kids deserved presents, and which ones deserved coal. Finally the daughter, Marinette, was preparing gift boxes filled with tasty macarons and other Christmas cookies.
"Thank you, and have a Merry Christmas," she said as she handed the next box to the elderly lady.
"You have a wonderful Christmas as well, Marinette." the lady said as she stepped out of the shop.
The next person to come through the door was the family friend Nadja Chamack and her young daughter Manon.
"Marinette! Marinette!" the little girl came up to the baker's daughter, jumping around her and trying to reach for a cookie.
"Hey there, Manon, Merry Christmas!" Marinette answered back while giving her a Santa shaped sugar cookie. "Are you excited about leaving your shoes out for Santa?"
"Yep, Maman said he'll leave lots of goodies in my shoes if I leave them by the fireplace." Manon said with a mouthful of the sugary treat. "I'm going to stay up so I can see what Santa will bring me."
"Now now, Manon, you know that he won't come to little boys and girls that stay up way past their bedtime." Nadja joined the conversation.
"But I want to open the presents tonight." she gave a little whine.
"Maybe you'll get to open one of the presents tonight, if you're good." her mother bargained.
"Okay." then without another word, Manon skipped off to look at all the decorations and desserts around the bakery.
Marinette could only smile at the enthusiasm of the child. "She's really excited for the holidays."
"Well, what little kid wouldn't be when there are presents involved?" a new voice entered the bakery.
"Grandpa Fu!" Marinette called out as she rushed to her great grandfather. He was a very little man, so she couldn't tackle him as she would with her paternal grandfather. Instead, she gave him a gentle hug when he met her halfway.
"Ahh, Marinette, it is so good to see you." he hugged her back.
Sabine came up to meet her grandfather as well. "It's good to see you, Grandfather. Marinette, why don't you keep him company upstairs while we finish up in the bakery. We'll join you shortly and I'll finish dinner."
"Sure thing, Maman." Marinette led him up to the apartment area above the bakery.
They were met with the sight of Manon playing with several ornaments around the house. She was currently at the coffee table where there was a stuffed snowman family that Marinette had made herself. She didn't mind if the little girl played with them, so long as if kept her distracted.
"Hey, Manon, look who's here." she stepped aside to give her a better view of the elderly man.
Manon saw him, then stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "You're not Santa."
"Manon." Marinette started to scold, but Grandpa Fu eased his great granddaughter, and turned his attention to the little girl.
"Then what am I doing with all these presents?" he presented the handbag the held several wrapped boxes.
"Are any of them for me?" Manon gasped, then came up to the old man, practically bouncing on her tip toes. Not that it did much good since she was practically the same height as him.
"I don't know, these gifts are meant to be for good little girls." Grandpa Fu held a wrapped box up to his eyes as if he was inspecting it.
"I'm a good girl." Manon whined with her lip sticking out again.
"But don't good girls wait for the whole family to be together before opening any presents?" he cocked an eyebrow, testing whether she knew the answer or not.
Manon entired body sagged in defeat. "I guess." she admitted, then went back to the snow family on the table.
Marinette had to bite her tongue to keep herself from laughing. Then she leaned down to whisper to her great grandfather. "I remember when you pulled that little trick on me."
"Shhhhh." Grandpa Fu held a finger to his lips.
Marinette smiled at the man, then turned her attention back to the little girl. Manon was still pouting by the Christmas tree, staring at the presents as if she could unwrap them with her mind if she focused hard enough. Deciding she needed a new distraction, Marinette went over to the shelves for the art supplies. "Hey Manon, why don't we make some paper snowflakes and ornaments while we wait?"
Manon turned back to the teenager smiling, temporarily forgeting the tree. "Can we make a gingerbread man chain, too?"
"Sure, and once we cut them out you can draw on them."
"Yay!" she jumped up and headed toward the table Marinette set the supplies on.
The pigtailled teenager got to work with the crafting to keep the little girl occupied until the rest of the grown-ups showed up. She helped Manon make several different snowflakes, while Grandpa Fu participated by creating different origamis to put on the tree. Once in a while Sabine would come upstairs to check on the turkey she had roasting in the oven, then hurried back downstairs to help her husband. It took about another hour before the store was closed up, and everyone could enjoy the holiday together.
"Can we open the presents now!?" Manon asked in excitement.
"Not yet, dear, we're going to have dinner first, then you can open one of the presents tonight." Nadja answered. Her daughter tried to whine about waiting even more, but then she saw the look Grandpa Fu gave her, and chose to be a good girl and sit at the dining table.
They spent a joyous time at dinner, talking about everything and nothing. Then when it was time for dessert, Marinette got the plates ready in the living room while the adults enjoyed some wine. Once again, Manon was sitting by the Christmas tree, just waiting for someone to say she could open a present.
"How about a gift for pair of such good young ladies?" Grandpa Fu picked up the presents he had brought, and gave them to Manon and Marinette.
Manon rapidly tore the paper off the box, and all but ripped the box away to reveal what looked like a wooden jewelry box. Being more careful, she opened it up to find that it was a music box with a fairy that danced in a figure eight pattern to the music. The Fairy was in a blue dress with wings, a star tipped wand in her hand, and the music played The Sugar Plum Fairy.
"Wow." was all the little girl could say.
"What do you say, Manon?" Nadja reminded her daughter.
"Thank you, sir." she said, not taking her eyes off her new toy.
But Grandpa Fu just smiled. "You're very welcome."
Marinette took her turn and opened the small box. Judging by the size, she guessed it was a piece of jewelry, and she was right. It was a pair of earrings with red and black gems arranged to look like ladybugs. "Oh, they're beautiful, Grandpa, thank you."
"You know, Marinette, ladybugs have been a symbol of good luck for many centuries." he replied.
"Yeah, I know. I think I could use a bit of good luck with how much of a klutz I am." She said as she placed them on her ears and looked at herself in the mirror. It was no secret to anyone in her family or her school that she was madly clumsy. She couldn't count how many times she tripped on nothing. But she always got back up and dusted herself off. Maybe these earrings will give her the right amount of good luck to put an end to that.
"It is possible, although I think there might be someone that has more bad luck than you." Grandpa Fu stroked his beared as if in deep thought.
"Really, who?" Marinette asked, not really believing him.
"Like that poor cat that's stuck in the Christmas tree." he pointed to the decorated evergreen.
Marinette turned to look at the tree, her eyes searching up and down at the many different ornaments and bobbles. Sure enough, there was a foot tall wooden black cat sitting on one of the branches.
"I don't rememeber seeing that earlier." Marinette said more to herself, then got up to reach over and take the cat off the tree.
It was a pretty simple wooden piece. Fashioned in an upright sitting position, Marinette could tell it was handcarved and painted all black. Turning it over, she saw that the tail was loose and when she moved it back and forth, she turned it back around to find that the tail moved the mouth up and down. Oh, it was a nutcracker. An unusual design choice but still very creative, and she appreciated that. The last detail she looked at was the eyes. They looked like blown glass that held a beautiful peridot green, and in the firelight they sparkles like gems.
"What do you think?" Grandpa Fu came up behind her.
"It's a beautiful nutcracker, Grandpa." she replied, not breaking her focus away from those wonderful eyes.
"I'm glad you like it Marinette. He's a very special black cat that needed a special girl like you."
That broke her out of her thoughts, and turned to face her great grandfather. "This is for me?!"
"Of course, my dear. Promise me that you will take good care of him." his eyes almost looked sad.
"I promise." she smiled at her great grandfather, obviously this piece meant something special to him.
"Hey, how come Marinette gets another present!" Manon's voice nearly screeched out in outrage.
"Now, now, honey, if Marinette's grandfather wants to give her another gift, that's his choice." Nadja gently scolded her daughter.
"Technically, the earrings and black cat were meant to go together as one gift." Grandpa Fu said.
"Well, I think it's a wonderful present." Sabine said, admiring the wooden cat in her daughters hands.
"Very thoughtful, Grandpa Fu." Tom added.
Manon crossed her arms and huffed. "It's just a silly wooden doll."
"It's not just a doll, it's a nutcracker." Marinette pointed out. "Would you like to see how it works, Manon?"
Manon eased the scowl off her face and watched as Marinette reached for the bowl of shelled mixed nuts. She picked a small almond and stuck it in the cats mouth. Putting pressure on the tail, she was able to break the shell easily, then presented the whole almond to the little girl.
"Here." she gave the nut to the girl, then went for another one.
Manon popped the nut into her mouth, then went to reach for the nutcracker herself. "Can I try? Can I? Can I, please?"
Marinette wasn't sure about complying, but she didn't want to upset the little girl any further. "Alright, just be careful."
Manon practially yanked the nutcracker out of the teenagers hands and went for a handful of mixed nuts. She heard one of the adults say, "Easy, Manon." but paid them no mind as she stuffed some of the nuts into the black cat's mouth. When she tried to push the tail down, the mouth wouldn't budge. She tried again, still the nuts wouldn't crack. Loosing her patience, she set the nutcracker on the floor and stepped on the tail. The nuts fell out of the mouth, but everyone still heard something crack.
"MANON!" Nadja yelled at her daughter, which snapped the girl out of her actions, and she realized what she did.
Marinette swooped up her nutcracker to see what the damage was. His mouth wasn't broken, but turning him around she saw the tail was too loose now. Taking a closer look, one of the screws had snapped and the wood the nail goes through was cracked. "Oh, no."
"Manon that was a very inconsiderate thing to do, young lady." Nadja scolded.
"I'm sorry." the little girl mumbled, not looking up at her mother.
"Didn't Marinette tell you to be careful?"
"Yes."
"And were you? What if Marinette had done that to one of your toys, how would you feel?" Her daughter didn't answer her, shuffling her foot against the rug. "You would feel bad, right? Isn't there something you should say to Marinette?"
Manon finally looked at Marinette. "I'm sorry I hurt your kitty."
Making a long sigh, Marinette allowed the frown to leave her face. "That's alright Manon, I think I can fix him."
"Okay." Manon didn't cry, but she still felt really sad.
"Well, I think this means it's time for bed." Nadja sounded less mad, but still final.
Manon got ready to obey, but then turned around to face everyone. "Does this mean Santa won't come now, cause I was bad?"
Nadja looked at her daughter softly, and sighed. "No, sweetheart, I'm sure Santa knows you didn't mean it, and that you'll be more careful from now on. Right?"
"Uh-huh." she twiddled her thumbs.
"Okay, then let's go get some sleep." she led her up to guest bedroom they were staying in.
"Goodnight, Manon." Marinette said, then turned back to her nutcracker.
"Do you think you can repair him?" Grandpa Fu asked as he came up to take a look himself.
"Yeah, the damage isn't too bad. I've got some screws to replace this one, and a little wood glue can take care of the rest." Marinette answered, then hurried up to her room to get her supplies.
The adults went back to talking and enjoying their desserts as Marinette got to work. She worked with the wood glue first, then attached the screw. Luckily she had the right size for the hole, and then tied some string to the tail to keep it in place until the glue dried. As an extra detail, she attached a jingle bell to some green ribbon and wrapped it around the cats neck. Now he looked a little more festive.
"Very well done, Marinette." Grandpa Fu complemented.
"You think so?" she smiled at her great grandfather, and held the nutcracker close.
"I do. Putting your personal touch to something makes it more your own. Plus, that unlucky cat needs a lot of love and care, since he hasn't had very much over the years." Grandpa Fu took a seat by the fire, and Marinette followed suite.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there's a long story behind that nutcracker. Would you like to hear it?"
"Yes, please." Marinette got excited.
Grandpa Fu smiled, "Alright then..."
...
Once a long time ago, there was a very wealthy family named Agreste. Much of their wealth came from creating wonderful dresses and suits for royalty, so they had a very high standing in the royal court of France. The head of the family, Gabriel Agreste, was in charge of most of the designs that were worn by the king and queen themselves. Many would say that his creations rivaled all others.
Gabriel relished in his ability to create, so much so that he wanted to make more than clothing. Many times he would create furniture designs, architecture, even grand paintings and sculptures. In fact at one point, he created the idea of his perfect woman in a marble statue. He worked himself tirelessly over every little detail of what he imagined her to be. When he was finished, he wished more than anything for this wonderful woman to be his wife.
By some miraculous coincidence, he made his wish on Christmas Eve, which has a strange way of making things happen. When he woke up the next morning his statue was gone, and in its place was a sleeping beauty of his creation in living flesh. He gave her the name Emilie and they were married shortly after.
Their time together was nothing short of perfect. Gabriel would fashion the finest dresses for his wife, and Emilie would be the envy of the entire court. But Emilie also had a very kind and gentle heart, and wanted to be around those in need. Gabriel felt this brought no benefit to them, but at the same time he could not deny her anything. Then their happiness only grew with the birth of their son. He was a very bright boy with a heart of gold, and he loved his parents more than anything. He always wanted them to be happy.
Unfortunately, their peaceful time was not meant to last. Gabriel never took it into account that his perfect and wonderful wife could be effected by any normal ailments. It wasn't long before a sickness took her away from her husband and son.
This made Gabriel fear for his son's life, and he wanted to keep him safe. So he locked him up indoors, away from other people. He provided his son with every luxury he could ask for, but it did nothing to ease the boy's loneliness. He had no friends, no pets, and was often left alone in his room to study or play piano. The only person that was ever allowed to see him was his tutor, Master Fu.
"Master Fu!?" Marinette exclaimed, interrupting the story.
"Indeed, a distant relative, I'm quite certain." he answered, then continued.
One day Master Fu noticed how his student seemed extra sad, and wondered if there was any way he could help. "Tell me what troubles you, my young pupil."
"It's just that I never get to go outside. Never get to see other people besides you. Father's worried that something bad will happen to me like my mother. I wish there was a way for me to be free without disobeying him." the boy sighed in defeat.
"Perhaps I can help with that." Master Fu then pulled out a strange ring from his pocket, and held it out to the boy. "This ring will disguise you in a way that no one will ever be able to recognize you, and you can run out into the city without a care in the world. It will also give you some protection from harm, make you stronger, and faster than most other men."
The Agreste heir was astonished by such a wonderful gift. "You would really trust me with something like this, Master Fu?"
"Of course, my boy, you deserve it. Simply say the words 'Claws out' to the ring, and the magic will awaken."
With that, the young man slipped on the ring, spoke the words, and was transformed into the appearance of a black cat. He wore a full leather suit, with a long black belt that acted like a tail, and two flaps on his head to give the appearance of cat ears. He also wore a mask that made his eyes look like big green cat eyes. It was perfect, he didn't even recognized himself. He didn't hesitate to slip out into the night and experience the world.
For more than a year young Agreste, or Chat Noir as he named himself, would run around the streets of Paris living a life of fun. He made several friends under his desguise, and was always eager to help those that asked for it. The children in the city loved him, they thought he was a real hero. It truly was a great taste of the freedom he had longed for.
However, the news of the great Chat Noir did not go unnoticed by Gabriel Agreste. It wasn't hard for him to discover that it was his son behind the mask when he tried looking for him on several nights to find him missing from his room. Gabriel was at a loss of what to do. Sooner or later he wouldn't be able to control his son, and he would lose him forever.
So, Gabriel decided to take some drastic measures, and slipped into the lowest part of town, where strange dealings would take place. There he found a small shop that was owned by a young sorceress named Cerise. She was a very clever girl, dealing with strange works of magic. Gabriel asked for a way to keep his son obedient and for him to stay safe, and that he would be willing to pay anything for it. Cerise happily provided him with a magical powder gathered from the wings of an ancient moth. All Gabriel had to do was spread it over the young man's body, and his son will be safe and compliant forever. When he asked what the payment would be, Cerise only said that if there was something she would desire of him, then she would demand it. Gabriel complied with stating that as long as it was within reason, she would have what she wanted.
Though he felt it was for the best to use the powder, Gabriel decided to give his son one last chance to make the right choice. He confronted his son during his lesson with Master Fu about his disobedience and ordered him to promise that he wouldn't run off into the city again where he could get hurt. The boy begged his father not to lock him away again, to let him go off and live his life as he wished. Gabriel could only see this as rebellion, and said how he would not allow him to leave his side ever again.
The young man was heartbroken at his father's words, and at first could only see his life being over. But then he turned to Master Fu, who only gave him a single nod as if to give permission to the boy to flee. So, he used the power of the ring and tried to escape as Chat Noir. Unfortunately, at the same time, Gabriel had thrown the small pouch of powder at the boy, covering him in a foul smelling dust. Gabriel had ordered his son to stop from leaping out the window, and he expected the boy to obey. But instead, the powder began to glow, and transformed Chat Noir into a little wooden nutcracker.
Gabriel was shocked, confused, and outraged at what had become of his son. He immediately went back to the sorceress to demand answers. Her response was that she only gave him what he asked for, that his son stay safe and compliant. What better way for that to be accomplished then to have the boy be a piece of wood that will never sneek away, never talk back, and will always sit quietly to be observed? Gabriel tried to ask for a way to reverse it, but the only response Cerise gave was for him to agree that the nutcracker would one day belong to her.
The hopeless man saw no reason to agree, and gave up in trying save his son. He simply returned to his house and placed the black cat nutcracker on the mantle in his drawing room. Master Fu had stayed around observing the powder used on the boy. He was a bit knowledgeable about several works of magic, and felt it was his duty to inform the father what he knew.
"My lord, there may be a way to free your son." Master Fu started.
"And what might that be?" Gabriel asked, not looking at the old man.
"The spell was designed to keep him safe at home, if you were to perhaps give him to someone that could love him as a simple nutcracker..."
"Who would want a nutcracker shaped like an unlucky black cat?" Gabriel interrupted him.
"Not all black cats are considered unlucky." Master Fu said simply. "And it would be the best way to restore your son. The one that made the spell has a claim over him, so unless it is broken..."
"No, the best thing would be for him to stay safe, here, with me. Even if he has to stay as a wooden nutcracker for the rest of his life, then so be it. I'll lock him away in a vault, where no harm will ever come to him." Gabriel decided, and then never spoke a word of it again.
He kept his word and hid the nutcracker away until his final days, which wasn't far off as Gabriel Agreste had succumbed to an illness a few years later. In his will, he had left the black cat to his nephew, who held no love for the unlucky nutcracker, and sold it off to the nearest pawn shop. It sat alone in the shop for several years until a fire spread, leaving the nutcracker to be one of the few things that survived. Bad luck followed him everywhere after that, going from one owner to another. Cerise tried to recover him, but luck was not on her side either. Eventually, the unlucky nutcracher went back into the hands of Master Fu, and has remained in the family's care ever since.
...
Finished with his story, Grandpa Fu turned back to his great granddaughter and saw that the poor girl had large tears streaming down her face as she held her black cat closer to her chest. He had expected such a reaction from her, since Marinette had such a sweet and gentle heart. He did hate to see her so upset, however.
"There, there, my dear, it is only a story." he gave her a pat on the arm to ease her sorrow.
"Well, it's a horrible story! My poor kitty didn't deserve to be treated like that!" Marinette said proudly.
Her kitty, interesting. Grandpa Fu thought. "There are many times we can confuse love for possession, much like a bird in a gilded cage. No matter how well we take care of it, the bird will always have the desire to fly away."
Marinette could only nod silently in agreement, then something occured to her. "What was his name?"
"Hmm?"
"You kept saying the Agreste son or young man, but you never said his first name." she pointed out.
"Ahh, I'm afraid his name was lost to the story, another part of being the unlucky black cat. The only name that seemed to remain for him was Chat Noir." Grandpa Fu answered.
"Poor Chat Noir." she whispered to the nutcracker. "I can't imagine having my life taken away from me like that. And all he did with his freedom of the magic ring was help other people."
"But again, it is only a story, Marinette." Grandpa Fu stood up from his chair.
"Well I think I would want a different story for him. One where he would break the spell, maybe make a new family for himself. Where he could be happy." Marinette got up herself and placed the nutcracker on the mantle over the fireplace.
"Perhaps one day his story will be different, when he finds the magical lucky charm to go with his bad luck." Grandpa Fu said a little cryptically. "Maybe a little luck like the earrings I gave you will come in handy."
"What do you mean, Grandpa?" she followed him.
"You shall see, one day." was all he said back, then he rose from his seat to head for the stairs.
"You're not leaving already, are you?" she asked a little disappointed.
"We all want to be up early for the presents, don't we?" he smiled as he gathered his coat and cane.
"But why don't you stay the night?"
"I have to take care of my shop, as well as have my medication in the morning. It will be alright Marinette. I will be back before you open your gifts." he stopped at the front door to give his great grandaughter a final hug.
"Do you want me to walk you home, Grandpa?" Marintte tried one last time, feeling bad about him being out in the cold all by himself.
"No no, you go on up to bed, my dear, and a Merry Christmas to you."
"Merry Christmas, Granpa Fu. I'll see you in the morning." Marinette said goodnight to the rest of her family after that, then went up to her room for the night.
.~*~*~*~*~*~
Marinette tossed and turned under her covers, quietly telling her brain to shut up and go to sleep, but it was no use. There was just too much on her mind. Grandpa Fu's story had been a like pop song just repeating in her ear over and over again. She knew it was a silly fairy tale to go with the nutcracker and that's all it was suppose to be. So, why did it feel like some truth lied within the story? She reached a hand to her ear and turned one of the earrings, thinking about her grandfather's words of them being a lucky charm. She wondered what he was really talking about. Was there some sort of connection to the story, or was it all just her imagination? And why was she still stressing over it? She should be jazzing up about the presents under the tree, for goodness sake!
Feeling frustrated at her own restlessness, Marinette got out of bed and headed downstairs toward the kitchen. Maybe some hot cocoa will help her sleep. All of the adults had gone to bed by now, so she would just sit by what's left of the fire for a while to relax.
Flitter- flutter- pat -pat-
She suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the living room; a gentle flapping noise, like an insect's wings.
Flutter- pitter- patter-
"I have waiting a long time for this..." A voice she never heard before sounded over the strange noise, stopping Marinette in her tracks.
She was halfway down the stairs already, but still out of the line of sight of whoever was in the living room. Crouching down to take a peak, Marinette could see a young woman with short brown hair. She wearing slim purple dress, and there were butterflies flying all around her which must have been the cause of the fluttering noises. And she was addressing Marinette's black cat nutcracker.
"After all these years, you will be all mine." the woman said as she reached for the wooden figure.
Not having any of that, Marinette hussled down the rest of the steps, and called out to the intruder. "Hey, what are you doing in my house!? And what are you doing to my kitty!?"
The woman was surprised at the sudden voice, and turned to face the girl. Getting a better look at her, Marinette could see that she didn't seem that much older than herself. While Marinette thought she was beautiful, she had eyes that held a sinister look to them. And the way she was smiling at her made the girl feel very nervous.
"I'm taking what was rightfully mine. So, why don't you be a good little girl, and go back to bed?" she waved her had at Marinette as if she was shooing away a fly.
But the pigtailed girl just stood her ground. "I don't think so!" She hurried over to reach her nutcracker, but was stopped by a group of the butterflies that clustered together to block her path. Not wanting to fight her way through just yet, she turned back to the intruder. "I'll ask again, who are you?"
"I am a great sorceress, and I've come to save that dear little nutcracker. My name is Cerise." she smiled and gestured to the black cat.
"Cerise?" Marinette remembered that name from Grandpa Fu's story, the one that placed the curse on the poor boy and turned him into a nutcracker.
"Yes. You see, that nutcracker was placed under a spell by his wicked father because we were in love. I tried to save him, but his father hid him away from me before I could - "
"Liar!" Marinette interrupted. "I know you were really the one that cursed him!"
Cerise's smile quickly melted into a scowl. "Well, I guess it saves me from wasting my time with sweet talk. Get lost, girl, that black cat belongs to me. He's my payment for the magic powder his father bought from me, and I expect it to be paid."
"You're wrong, Chat Noir doesn't belong to you!" Marinette declared proudly.
"But he does. It was my magic that turned him into this ugly nutcracker, and only my magic can turn him back to normal." Cerise held out her hand to let some of the butterlfies land on it.
"I don't care! My great grandfather gave the black cat nutcracker for Christmas. He trusted me to take care of him, and that's what I'm going to do! And he's NOT UGLY!" Marinette said angrily at her insulting her kitty.
"Oh, so you think he belongs to you, then?" Cerise allowed a hollow laugh to escape her. "And what are you going to do to try and stop me?"
Marinette didn't really have a plan at the moment, so she shooed away some of the butterflies, and reached over for the black cat and clutched him to her chest. She wasn't going to let this witch to anything to him. Cerise didn't seemed to be bothered by her actions, however. She just laughed some more, then raised her hand to make a strange black and purple smoke that radiated from her fingers. Marinette wasn't sure what that was, but it had to mean danger.
Cerise flicked the smoke in her direction, and Marinette tried to avoid it, but the substance seemed to have a life of it own and headed straight for the nutcracker. The black and purple smoke surrounded her precious nutcracker, but she wasn't sure what it was going to do with it. It wasn't getting hotter or colder, smaller or larger, it didn't spread to Marinette's hands, but the stuff wouldn't go away either.
"What are you doing to him!?" Marinette cried out. She wondered if any of her family heard her and would come down to help.
"I am restoring him to the beautiful creature he once was. When he sees that I have saved him, he will come to me with open arms." Cerise smirked and waited for her magic to take effect.
Marinette wasn't about to wait for what was going to happen, but looking around she wasn't sure what her options were. Should she fight off the sorceress? Probably not, Marinette had no idea what Cerise was truely capable of, and she might cause harm to her family. Looking around for anything useful, the only thing that came to mind was the window that had been left slightly ajar, no doubt from her Grandpa Rolland when he was enjoying he annual festive cigar. Without thinking twice, Marinette threw the unlucky nutcracker out the window.
Cerise was shocked at the girl's actions. She hurried over to the open window, and looked down for the wooden figure. Fortunately, it had slid along the slanted roof and onto a pile of fresh snow unharmed. Outraged, Cerise turned to give her a good dose of punishment, only to find that the girl was already gone. She heard a bell go off downstairs and looked back out the window to find Marinette had picked the nutcracker up and made a break for it down the street. Cerise could only laugh at such foolishness.
"There's no point in running, my little doll will have no choice but to come back to me." Marinette could hear Cerise's voice in the distance, but she refused to believe her words.
She ran out in the cold streets of the city, not caring that she was wearing nothing more than her nightdress and robes with some bedroom flats. She wasn't sure where she should go, but maybe if she got far enough away and kept the nutcracker out of the witch's reach, she would give up and leave them alone. She made it through the park, and headed for a bridge over the Seine, but then she started hearing the fluttering of the butterfly wings again. Turning around, there was a large flock of the winged insects following her, so she ran faster across the bridge.
Somehow, the butterflies were able to keep up with her, and started to attach to her dress and in her hair. She waved them off and swatted them away, but more kept coming to her and swarming all over her body. It got to where she couldn't see her nose in front of her face, much less make it to the other end of the bridge. The smoke was still surrounding the nutcracker, but Marinette wasn't going to let him go. She couldn't walk any further, so she held the black cat close and tried to shield him from the butterflies. Marinette felt overwhelmed; she was cold, tired, and surrounded by bugs.
"Someone... help me... please..."
Then there was a flash of red light, and Marinette felt the weight of the nutcracker leave her arms. She opened her eyes to find something else circling her body. It was a ring of shiny red dots that orbited around her and was keeping the butterflies at bay. Everytime a butterfly would get close, some of the red dots would cover it, turn it into a white butterfly, and it would fly away. Eventually, all of the reformed insects would fly off on their merry way, leaving Marinette alone on the bridge with the red dots. Looking more closely, she could see that they were actually glowing ladybugs. She wanted to thank them for helping her, but eventually they went away as well. Being completely alone now, Marinette looked around for her wooden nutcracker, but it was nowhere in sight.
"Chat Noir? Where did you go?" she asked softly, not expecting an answer.
"I'm right here, my princess." she heard a gently voice behind her.
Turning around, she saw a young boy with blonde hair standing above her and holding a hand out to help her up. He was wearing a leather suit, all black, with two flaps on his head that looked like cat ears, a golden bell at his neck like the one she placed on the nutcracker, and a black mask over his bright green cat eyes. She took his gloved hand, which had claws, and stared at him in astonishment. He looked just as she imagined from Grandpa Fu's story.
"C-Chat Noir?" she whispered.
"At your survice, princess." he made a bow.
"Yo- you're real?!" Marinette wasn't sure if she believed her own words.
"As real as real can be, my lady. I appreciate you trying to help me back there." he gave her a sad smile.
She couldn't believe it. Forget the fact that she had been saved by glowing ladybugs, this took the cake. Her great grandfather's story had been real. He was a boy that gained a magic ring to become a sort of cat hero, and then got turned into a wooden nutcracker by a witch named Cerise. "H-How is this p-possible?"
"My guess is that your earrings had something to do with it." he pointed to her jeweled earlobes.
"Huh? My earrings?" Marinette asked confused. Why would her Christmas present have saved them, and how?
"I recognize them. Those are the earrings of good luck, much like how my ring's magic holds bad luck." he held out his hand for her to have a better look.
It was a beautiful black metal ring with five green gems arranged in the shape of a pawprint. But if her earrings held magic the same as Chat's ring, did that mean she was able to stop Cerise's spell? Did she save her black cat nutcracker?
"So, are you free from the spell, now that you're not a nutcracker anymore?" she hoped.
Again, he looked so sad. "I'm afraid not. Cerise wasn't lying when she said I belonged to her. Since it was my father that accepted magic from her so long ago, he never really paid her back. So, she has a right to claim me as payment." As he said this, the smoke returned and shaped itself into a chain that pulled Chat Noir to a different direction, no doubt back to the witch.
"No, Chat, there has to be some way I can help you." Marinette tried to wave the smoke away, but all it did was disperse for a moment, then reshape itself back around him. "What is she going to do to you?"
"I'm not sure, I just know that she's wanted to possess me since she turned me into a nutcracker." the smoking chain tugged him away again, and he reluctantly let it lead him away.
Marinette hated the thought of him giving up like this and rushed in front of him to stop him from going further. "No, I can't let this happen! I want to help you, Chat Noir!"
"You've done enough already, princess. This is just something that has to be." He turned to see that there were more butterflies coming their way.
Marinette's heart broke at the thought of her kitty falling into the hands of that horrible person. She hurried ahead of him and got in the path of the butterflies coming for him.
"You leave him alone!" she cried out with her hands open as if to shield him from the insects.
The magic ladybugs came back from her earrings, and transformed the butterflies to making them fly away again. Marinette thought the ladybugs would disappear afterwards, but instead they surrounded the strange chain around Chat Noir's neck, and severed it. There was still a small bit from his neck, but they could no longer see the chain along the road where her Cerise was likely coming from.
"What just happened?" she asked.
"I think your magic bought us some time so I don't have to go back to Cerise right away." Chat Noir touched the chain thinking something would happen, and it still didn't go away completely.
"But she could still come for you." Mariette said worried.
"It's alright, Marinette. I'm grateful that you tried." he smiled at her sadly knowing that there was no way for him to be completely free.
But Marinette wasn't going to give up that easily. There had to be a solution. Maybe there was something in the story that had the answer. She remembered the part her grandfather said about Master Fu knowing a way to break it, so maybe...
"We should go see my great grandfather." she said suddenly.
"Huh? What for?" Chat Noir asked confused.
"He's the one that told me your story, so maybe he knows a way to break the spell. We can go over to his shop right now." Marinette took his hand and led him off the bridge.
The black didn't want to have false hope that the shopkeeper that held onto him for so many years would know how to help him, but he couldn't say no to the sweet girl. Her eagerness to help him left a warm spark in his heart that shoved away the cold. And it was that thought that made him realize that Marinette was still in her flimsy nightwear, and it had started to snow again.
"Oh princess, I'm sorry. You must be freezing." he tried to warm her up by rubbing his hands along her arms and back.
"I little bit." she said through her chattering teeth. "I wish I had better sense to grab my coat or something."
"If only I knew the words to awaken the magic in your earrings." he said disliking his own lack of knowledge.
"What do you mean?"
"When you say the secret password to make the jewels work, it provides you with whatever you need. That's how I got this suit. It protects me from harm and is keeping me warm."
"Oh, that's incredible." Marinette gasped, then shivered at a sudden unfortunate gust of wind. "It's alright, Chat, Granpa Fu's shop isn't that far."
"But you'll catch your death in this kind of weather." he protested.
She didn't want to tell him that he was right. The biting cold on her skin was starting to feel very painful, and she couldn't feel her fingers or toes. If he was right about her earrings, then there had to be a way to activate them. Thinking back, the ladybugs came to help her when she asked for it, so maybe the same thing could happen again.
"Please help me." she said as she reach to touch her ears. "It's very cold out here and I can't help Chat Noir if I freeze to death."
Chat Noir was shocked that she was still thinking of him when she should be concerned about herself. At first nothing happened, so they both thought that didn't work. It only frustrated the black cat further that he didn't know the words for the earrings. Then suddenly a few ladybugs appeared and few around Marinette. Each one landed on a different part of her gown; some on the nightdress, some on the silk robe, and one landed on each shoe. A soft pink glow came off of each ladybug, and it was as if all the cold melted away from the girl. Then the ladybugs disappeared again.
Marinette let out a sigh of relief at finally feeling warm. "Ahhh, that's so much better."
"I'm glad that worked, princess." Chat said honestly.
Marinette wanted to say something else, but it was forgetten when she realized the smokey chain around his neck was growing longer. She didn't know if that meant Cerise was getting closer to them, or if they were running out of time, but she knew they had to reach her grandfather's shop quickly.
"We better get going." she said as she took his hand again.
They had to take the long way around the block because Marinette worried they might run into the witch again since the shop wasn't that far away from the bakery. Chat Noir just blindly followed her, lost in his thoughts of the beautiful girl holding his hand. It had been so long since he felt real contact with another person, and he didn't want it to end. Part of him felt it would end to soon once they got to the shop, so he wanted to make it last as long as possible.
The opportunity was presented to him when he spotted a small ice skating rink in a park. There were several people on the ice. Some were skating alone and performing their own tricks, and the rest were couples just enjoying the gentle to and fro of skating together. Chat Noir noticed how happy the couples looked and decided he wanted to share that with this girl. He made them both stop walking.
"Oh, look at that, princess." he pointed to the rink.
Marinette looked in the direction, and smiled at his joyous expression. She supposed it had been a long time since Chat Noir had seen other people like this. It was pretty late, but there were still large groups outside enjoying the holiday. She wondered when was the last time he actually had fun like this, since she didn't know the exact number of years he was a nutcracker. It wouldn't take that long to get to the shop, so maybe they could spare a few minutes.
"Would you like to skate, Chat Noir?" she asked.
His smile lit up like the sun, and be practically dragged her onto the rink. Marinette quickly rented a pair of skates for herself, and Chat Noir explained that he didn't need it as he closed his eyes to focus, and his pair of boots transformed into a new pair of skates. He did say the suit would provide him with whatever he needed.
She let Chat Noir get onto the ice first as she finished tying her laces. He started off slow at first, then when he picked up speed, he spun around really fast, dipped into a low spin, then stopped suddenly in a presentable 'Ta-da' pose. He took off again after that to do a lap around the rink, and jumped up to do a perfect triple and stick the landing. All Marinette could do was watch dumbfounded.
"Wow, you're really good." she said, still holding on to the rail at the edge of the rink.
Chat Noir skating up to get close to her. "Would you believe that I have never skated before in my life?" he said smugly.
"No way!"
"It's true, another little gift from the ring." he held up his hand again.
"I don't think I can pull that off without knowing the password." Marinette said honestly. "And otherwise, I'm not very good at skating. You'll be seeing me fall a lot."
"Not if I promise to not let you fall." He took her hand and pulled her away from the rail.
Marinette was shocked by the sudden movement, and worried she was going to slip right then and there. But true to his word, Chat Noir held on to both her hands and guided her along the ice. He moved to stand beside her, and they followed along the outside of the rink with the rest of the couples. They moved left and right in perfect sync with each other. Marinette couldn't help the blush forming on her cheeks at their closeness, her heart pattering like a drum.
Chat Noir took things a step further by leading them to the center of the ice, then spread them out so they were only holding each other on opposite sides. They started to spin around together, still keeping a tight hold to their hands. Marinette looked up to watch the snow dance around them, and they just laughed at the magic of the moment. But then the dizziness was starting to get to the girl, and she almost lost her balance. Chat Noir caught her in time, and brought her back to hold her against his chest. She kept a firm hold on him as their spinning started to slow down.
"See, I told you I wouldn't let you fall." he said in a low, soft voice. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, making her feel so safe, despite knowing they were being pursued by a crazy butterfly sorceress.
Marinette looked up at him, seeing herself in those beautiful green eyes. Everything felt so new and strange to her. She never had moments like this with another person. She found herself wishing they could have this moment together forever. She saw his eyes look quickly to her lips and back into her eyes again. He leaned down toward her, and she felt the need to do the same. This was crazy. She had only just met Chat Noir, after all, and she didn't even know his real name. And yet, she couldn't stop herself from wanting to kiss him.
Closer and closer they came together, until the chimming of a bell broke away their moment, and caused several people to rush off the rink and to the bell. One couple accidently bumped them, and forced them to pull away. Marinette and Chat Noir looked to see what the hurry was, and found a large man pulling some sort of cart. When he parked near the rink, he opened up the cart and turned it into a kind of food stand.
"What's that, princess?" Chat Noir pointed to the small stand everyone was lining up for.
"Oh, that's Andre. Normally he's the traveling ice cream man, but during the holidays he does this special sweetheart cocoa for everyone." she answered, thinking hot cocoa sounded really good right about now.
"Sweetheart cocoa?" he said curious.
"Come on, I'll show you." she only replied as they removed their skates and got in line.
Chat Noir paid close attention as he watched the people before him getting cups of the hot drink. Several were couples stayed close together with their cocoa and touched their cups together in a cheer before drinking. Then when their turn came up, Andre the seller was surprised to see Marinette out this time of night.
"Oh Marinette how wonderful to see you. And who is this you have with you on this lovely Christmas night?" Andre asked as he turned to the leather clad young man.
"This is Chat Noir. Chat Noir, meet Andre." Marinette answered as she leaned onto the cat's shoulder, just smiling at him. "We'll have two cocoas please."
"Ah, what an interesting costume." the cart man complemented as he prepared their drinks.
"Thank you, Andre." Chat Noir replied politely, but he wasn't really looking at the man. He was too preoccupied with the beautiful girl at his side.
Andre noticed this, and grinned at the pair. "What a lovely couple you two make. Here, some sweetheart cocoa's on the house." He presented them with two brown cups steaming with cocoa and three large marshmellows in each.
Realizing what he said, Marinette tried to reject the idea of getting them free, or that he said they were a couple. "Oh, we're not... you don't have to..."
"Nonsense," Andre wouldn't hear of it, and gave them the two hot drinks. "Happy Holidays."
"Happy Holidays." Marinette led Chat Noir from the stand and toward a nearby bench. It was probably just as well the more she thought about it. She was still in her nightgown and without her wallet.
When they sat down, Chat Noir went right to enjoying his drink, and savored the sweet chocolatey goodness that filled his stomach in a warmth that he hadn't experienced in a long time. He had to slow down a bit because it was still pretty hot and he almost burned his tongue. He was almost disappointed when the drink was gone.
Marinette almost had the thought to let him have hers, but she knew the secret to what made Andre's hot cocoa so special. "Is it good?" she teased.
"That was delicious, I kind of want to get another one, but I don't have any money." he licked his lips clean.
"But you haven't finished that one yet." she said taking another drink of her own.
Chat looked into the empty cup, not understand how there could be anymore. Then Marinette showed him take her fingers to the edge of the brown cup and breaking off a piece. She held the piece up to Chat's mouth for him to eat. Trusting her, he let the piece fall into his mouth, and realized that the cup was made of gingerbread cookie. He quickly ate up the rest of his cup, not caring how childish he looked in licking off every crumb the fell in his hands. Marinette let herself laugh at him while finishing her own treat.
"That was fantastic."
"I told you they were special. Just wait until you try his ice cream." Marinette said without even thinking.
She saw how his expression turned sad, no doubt thinking about Cerise still coming after him. The chain had grown longer while they were sitting there, now reaching past his knees. How could she be so insensitive!? Talking about things they could do in the future when said future was so bleak if Cerise got her way. They needed to reach her great grandfather's shop quickly.
"Come on, we're running out of time." Marinette got back on her feet and took hold of her kitty's hand to lead him in the right direction.
"You really don't have to waste your time on me, princess. This is just the way things have to be for me." Chat Noir tried to let her down easy, feeling that he wasn't worth all this effort.
"No, what Cerise is doing to you is wrong!" Marinette denied the idea right away. She stopped walking under a lightpost. "I'm going to do everything I can to help you. I promise."
Chat Noir could only stare at her. It was so strange, earlier she seemed terrified when she was running away from Cerise, and when she was surrounded by the butterflies. Now, it was like she found righteous courage, and nothing was going to stand in her way. She was amazing.
However, he still didn't see a way out for him. "Do you really think your grandfather will have the answer?"
"I don't know, but we have to try." Marinette tried to put on a brave face, but on the inside she was a nervous wreck. She worried for Chat Noir, worried that she might fail him, worried the Grandpa Fu wouldn't know a way to help him, and she worried that Cerise was going to do something horrible to him. It was all she could do to not fall to pieces. She breathed deeply, and looked up at the lightpost to clear her head, and she spotted something on the metal post. "Oh."
"What is it?" Chat Noir asked looking up as well.
"Mistletoe." Marinette chirped, her face suddenly feeling too warm.
"Oh." he looked back down at her smiling.
"Umm.. we... w-we d-do have to... DON'T... will do ... It's just a trilly sadition..." she fumbled at her own words. This was crazy! There was no way!
"I don't mind, princess. This is, if you'll permit me." he held her hands and looked into her eyes again, waiting for her to make the next move.
This was nuts. Absolutely insane. But he looks so sweet right now. And his eyes are so beautiful, I could just drown in them. Does he really want to kiss me? Or is it just because he hasn't has close contact with anyone after being a nutcracker for so long? I wish my heart would settle down so I could think! No, don't think, just do! Marinette decided to throw caution out the window after that, and threw her arms around him to give him a strong kiss on the lips.
The black cat was surprised by her boldness, but then let the shock die down and wrapped his arms around the lovely girl. Her lips were so soft and sweet, and not just from the hot cocoa. Marinette was everything he had only every dreamed about and more. She was thoughtful, careing, smart, and beautiful. He never wanted to be apart from her. Maybe it was too fast to say that he loved her, but he didn't care. His heart yearned for her more than he anything else in his life, even the freedom he gained from the ring.
Reluctantly, he pulled away to look his princess in they eye. "Marinette, I... I never did anything like this before." he admitted.
"Me neither." she let out a short breath. That kiss had been her first, and she understood what all the fuss was about in those fairy tales and teen dramas. But as dreamy as it was, they still had to stay focused. "And maybe we can talk more on it later, but for now the shop."
Chat Noir worked fast by lifting the girl bridal style into his arms to get her feet off the snow. He smiled at her little squeak, then said softly. "Just tell me which direction to go, my princess."
They finally made it to the shop, which was naturally closed down. Marinette's great grandfather lived in the apartment right behind the building, and she knew where he hid the extra keys. They made sure to keep quiet so as not to alarm him. Most of the lights were off, but Marinette was able to spot a soft light coming from his living room area. Hopefully that meant he was still awake.
She took a quick peek to find Grandpa Fu was indeed awake and reading a book by a dimming fireplace. She made a knock on the door frame to be polite and wait for his reaction.
"Marinette, whatever are you doing out at this hour?" Grandpa Fu asked when he realized who was in his house.
"We need your help, Grandpa." Marinette answered.
"We?"
She reached over and pulled Chat Noir more into the light. "Yes, we. That story you told me before, it was all true wasn't it?"
Rather than answering, Grandpa Fu stood from his seat and stepped closer to observe the young man in black leather. "So, you have freed him from the nutcracker spell. I am very pleased to see you back to normal, Chat Noir."
"Master Fu, is that you?" Chat Noir hadn't expected to see his old tutor once more. He looked much older than he rememebered, but it was still him. As a nutcracker, all he could remember was seeing the shopkeeper take are of him, but he was never able to get a good look at the man's face.
"Master? Wait, you two know each other!? But I thought you said that the nutcracker stayed in the family for many years." Marinette said confused.
"Indeed he has, and it has been over eighty years since the poor boy was placed under that spell. I was a much younger man at the time, but I swore I would search for a way to save him. And it seems that you succeeded, Marinette." Grandpa Fu explained.
"Well, I don't know. I don't think I did completely." Marinette tried to answer honestly. "And that sorceress that caused all this in the first place is still after him. Do you know a way we can help?"
"Hmmm, I supposed that would explain this." he touched the magical chain around Chat Noir's neck. It was dragging on the ground at this point. "The sorceress was never paid her fee, therefore it is a binding contract that she takes whatever she wishes to compensate her services."
"So there really is no hope for me?" Chat Noir shoulders sagged in defeat.
"No, I don't believe it. There must be something we can do!" Marinette said stubbornly.
"I'm not sorry to say that there is nothing you can do." Everyone heard a new voice coming from the hallway. Cerise stood triumphantly before them holding the chain that now fully connected with Chat Noir's side. With a quick tug, the black cat was forced to the sorceress's side, and the chain wrapped around him in a bind. His legs were completely locked together, but his hands were still free. He thought he could fight her off until the butterflies started to swarm him and create a strange see through cocoon that he couldn't escape from. "Now you'll never get away from me again."
"Chat Noir!" Marinette tried to run up and help him, but her grandfather held her back with his cane to keep her safe. "Let him go!"
"No can do. I've waited a long time for my prize." Cerise tapped on the cocoon as the black cat was trying fruitlessly to scratch his was out.
"Why are you doing this?" Chat Noir voiced was muffled, but everyone could still hear him.
"It was your own father's fault." she answered as if she was tired of explaining.
"Chat Noir never wanted any part of this!" Marinette tried to step up again. "He deserves to be happy and free, not tied down to the likes of you."
"What he deserves means nothing to me. A magical contract was made, and nothing can sever it until the conditions are met. Since this kitty's dearest father is no longer with us, then the debt falls down to Chat Noir."
The black cat stopped fighting at that point, not seeing another way out. He didn't have the strength to try and escape anymore, even when Marinette was still fighting for him.
"That's not true!" Marinette tried to deny it.
"Ask your grandfather, he knows I'm right." Cerise smiled triumphantly.
Marinette turned to her great grandfather, who look just as defeated as her kitty. "Grandpa Fu, please tell me she's lying." she begged.
"I'm afraid what she says is true, Marinette. Magical contracts are more binding than any mortal law hopes to become." he admitted.
"Marinette, it's okay." she heard her kitty say through his prison. He gave her small smile knowing he will never see her again. "I'm grateful for the short time we spent together. You made being an unlucky nutcracker for all those years worth it. I'll always remember you, princess."
"Chat Noir..."
"There you have it." Cerise made her way to the door with Chat Noir being carried by the butterflies. "Now why don't we go somewhere more private? Notre Dame seems most fitting, I think." With that, they both disappeared.
"Chat Noir, No! Don't Go!" Marinette ran to the door to look for any sign of them, but it was as if they had vanished into thin air. She turned back to the old man, desperate for a solution. "I can't let it end like this, Grandpa Fu. There has to be something I can do! Some answer that I can't see."
"You care for him a great deal, don't you?"
"Yes, I do." she didn't hesitate. "He's a sweet boy that did nothing wrong. Cerise has no right to take his life away from him. Please help me save him."
"You already have the answer, my dear." Grandpa Fu said simply.
"What!? I do!? Well, what is it!? You have to tell me!" She almost wanted to shake the poor old man to get the answer out of him.
"Think about it Marinette. Think about the story I told you." was all he said.
"The story!?" She ran the tale through her head, trying to think if there was a clue somewhere in there. It couldn't have been the way to break the spell. She remembered that part. "But you said that his father didn't want to break the spell. He locked the nutcracker away until he died."
"That's right, but what did I say after that?"
"Uhhhhh... Uhhhhh... Something about it passing down to a family member... And... and then they sold him off to someone else, right?" she tried to think quickly.
"Correct, and then it landed back in my shop, and I decided to give him to you for Christmas." Grandpa Fu smiled wisely. "Now what does that tell you, Marinette?"
Suddenly the answer hit her like a train, but she wasn't ready to celebrate just yet. "But what about Cerise? She won't just let him go, so how can I stop her?"
"You recall I gave you another present to go with the nutcracker?" he pointed to her earrings.
Marinette gasped at the reminder. "That's right, they were helping me fight off the butterflies. Can they break the spell completely?"
He took hold of her hand in support. "Only you can accompish that, Marinette. However, the earrings can provide you with the right amount of luck to save your unlucky black cat. Just say the words 'Lucky Charm' and then tell the ladybugs how you wish them to help, like before."
"Thank you, Grandpa Fu."
Marinette ran out of the house and down the street as fast as her legs could carry her. Lucky for her, Cerise had voiced where she planned to go next. It was also lucky that the ladybugs were still keeping her warm, otherwise she would have been a block of ice by now. She witnessed several people holding each other closely and heading inside their homes to turn in for the night. All going back to their families for the holidays. Marinette found herself thinking this should be Chat Noir. He should be home for the holidays with people that care for and love him. She hurried across the bridge to the front entrance of Notre Dame.
The cathedral was left open to the public for the holidays in case anyone wished to may some evening prayers. This time, however, any attendence in the church was silenced by the magic the butterflies spread around the area. The insects released a dust over the visitors that forced everyone into a deep sleep. Cerise wanted to make sure no one would disturb them.
She let Chat Noir out of the cocoon and was dancing with him in the hallways as the pipe organs played some carol music. Chat Noir wasn't following her steps in equal enthusiasm, however. She held him tightly by the wrist, forcing him to waltz and follow her in misery.
"Come now, Chat Noir. Where's that free spirit I remember when you were out in the city?" Cerise smirked.
"How can I be a free spirit when all you want to do is possess me?" Chat said back in a slump.
"Don't worry, my dear kitty." she caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. "You'll get to run around as much as you want when you learn to obey my every command."
Chat Noir wanted to shrink away from her touch. Just the thought of spending another minute with this wicked girl was making him want to vomit. She did pull away for a moment to twirl to the music, but she still wouldn't let him go. Was this to be his fate from now on? To be forever at the mercy of this sorceress? At least he had the comfort of remembering the sweet pigtailed princess that stole his heart. He would always cherish that.
He continued to stiffly dance with Cerise until a familiar voice echoed throughout the cathedral. "Cerise!"
The sorceress stopped and turned to the find the little baker girl marching up to them. "You again! When are you going to give up?"
"Never!" Marinette declared. "You can't do this to Chat Noir! You have no hold over him!"
"Are you stupid? I already told you he belongs to me..."
"You're wrong! Chat Noir's father made out his will to pass down the nutcracker to a relative, and that relative sold him off until he ended up in my grandfather's shop. Grandpa Fu gave the nutcracker to me for Christmas, so according to your magical contract Chat Noir belongs to me." she took his hand and pulled him away from Cerise.
Chat Noir was more than happy to be by his princess's side again. He didn't even care about the notion of belonging to her. It sounded ten times better than what he was prepared for. And judging by the look on Cerise's face, Marinette's words were true. He stepped in front of her to protect her from the sorceress. He wouldn't let her touch his princess.
Cerise wasn't going to give up without a fight, and she smiled at the pair as if she still won. "You forget, this also puts the debt upon you, and I'll never except anything less than you proclaiming the nutcracker belongs to me. I'll just turn him back into that ugly lump of wood, and you'll only know him as a nutcracker until the end of your days."
Chat Noir felt his hopes dash away. "She's right princess. Nothing can break her spell."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Marinette reached to touch one of her earrings, and whispered as if she was making a wish. "Lucky Charm."
The ladybugs came back and circled in front of Marinette in a cluster until something was presented to her and she caught it. It was a small red leather pouch that was decorated with black spots. Chat Noir wasn't sure what she was going to do with that. The ladybug were still around as well, so maybe they had something to do with it.
"Please," Marinette addressed the magic insects again, "Please removed the magic used on Chat Noir to turn him into a nutcracker."
The ladybugs obeyed and landed on the black cat. He wasn't sure what was going on at first, but then some of them started to fly off of him, go into the leather bag, then fly back toward him to repeat. The bag started to look like it was filling up with some kind of sand until the very last ladybug went into the bag and then disappeared. Chat Noir suddenly felt lighter and realized that the chain around his neck had disappeared. What just happened?
"NO!" Cerise screamed out, clearly she understood what happened more than him.
"There, you have your powder back so there's no longer a debt to be paid." Marinette held out the full leather back to the sorceress.
Chat Noir couldn't believe it. Was it really that simple? He was finally free from the nutcracker spell.
Cerise was overfilled with anger, and summoned all her butterflies to her side. "I will destroy you both!"
She pointed to the pair to command the butterflies to swarm around them. Chat Noir got ready to pick Marinette up and lead her to safety, but not before she acted fast and threw the leather pouch right at Cerise. Not expecting the assault, the sorceress didn't catch the pouch and caused the powder to explode all over her.
"No... Nooooooo..."
The magic of the powder started to spread throughout her body, and made all her butterflies fly back to their master. They swarmed around her instead until her body was no longer visible. Smaller and smaller the swarm got until they disappeared completely. All that remained of the woman was a wooden nutcracker in the shape of a butterfly winged fairy resting on the cathedral tile.
"It's over." Marinette let out a breath.
"You did it Marinette. You saved me." Chat Noir could kiss her right now.
"I didn't do much, it was these magic earrings." she pointed to them.
"No, princess. Anyone else would have been afraid to face that sorceress and leave me in her hands. You're my hero, and I would be proud to call myself yours." he bowed to her in respect.
Marinette should have felt flattered, but his words also filled a sense of wrongness in her gut. "No, Chat, you don't belong to me. You shouldn't belong to anyone accept yourself. You should have been allowed to make your own choices from the start, but people took that away from you. I won't be one of them."
He looked back up to her feeling a little rejected. "Does that mean you want me to go?"
"I... I..." she wanted to say no, that she wanted him to stay with her, but that would just make her a hypocrite. "Oh, Chat Noir, I really care about you, but..."
"But?" he stepped away, not sure he wanted to hear her finish.
"Y-you should go live your life. Be what you want to be. Be free."
He stepped further away from her as if respecting her wishes, and Marinette wished she could take them back. She wanted to stop him, make him come back. She didn't want to lose him forever...
.~*~*~*~*~*~
"Chat Noir...don't go..." Marinette tried to reach out for him, but the more her hand tried to touch him, the further he went away.
Everything was getting darker, and she could see around her. It was like a dark cloud was bleeding over everything, and Chat Noir was only blending into it. The one thing that remained visible were his bright green eyes. Marinette tried to run to him, but her feet wouldn't move. There was nothing holding her, so why couldn't she move?
When everything went completely dark, her body started to feel lighter like she was under water. Higher and higher she went with Chat's eyes still in sight. Maybe she could reach him at one point if she got high enough. Then she felt something on her back, something soft and warm.
The light feeling was gone now, and Marinette realized she was laying flat on her bed, her hand still reaching out above her. Putting more focus to what was in front of her, she realized that it wasn't Chat Noir's eyes she was reaching for, but the Christmas lights she had decorated around her room.
Feeling fully awake now, she sat up and looked around. Everything was gone. She wasn't at Notre Dame anymore. There was no Cerise, no Grandpa Fu, and no Chat Noir. Her robe was right where she left it before all that happened. Did any of it even happen at all?
"Was it all a dream?" she whispered to herself.
Did her mind make the whole thing up after hearing Grandpa Fu's story? All of it felt real enough. She remembered how cold she felt running away from Cerise's butterflies in nothing but her nightwear. She remembered the feeling when she ice skated with Chat Noir, the hot cocoa, the mistletoe. Her heart felt sick that all of that was gone now. She felt worse at the thought that she will go downstairs and find her nutcracker the same as before; a lonely black cat sitting on the mantle.
"Marinette! Marinette!" Manon came through the trap door jumping and screaming her name. "Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!"
"Oh, yes Manon, I know." Marinette tried to sound cheerful.
"Come on, come on, let's go see what Santa brought!" Manon didn't wait for Marinette to follow her and dashed through the trap door and down the stairs.
Marinette looked around her room trying to get her thoughts together. Part of her wanted to stay up here and cry her eyes out at losing such a beatiful dream, but she didn't want to ruin the holiday for her family. So she decided to put on a brave face and head downstairs.
She found her parents, grandparents, and Nadja watching Manon tear through a wrapped box to reveal the set of superhero dolls she asked Santa for. Marinette let herself smile at the joy on the little girls face, and went to join the family.
"Merry Christmas, Marinette." Sabine was the first to address her daughter.
"Merry Christmas, Maman." she said back.
"Would you like to open some of your gifts, darling?" Tom asked.
"In a minute, Papa, I'll let Manon have her fun first." Marinette tried to seem patient, when really she didn't feel like opening any gifts right now.
"Nonsense, we'll look for one for you, won't we Manon?" Nadja rejected the idea.
"Yeah!" the girl cheered as she dove under the tree too look for a present with Marinette's name on it.
Marinette left it alone after that, and chose that moment to finally look at her nutcracker on the mantle. What she saw sent her into a panic and she shot up to her feet. It was gone. Her beautiful black cat nutcracker was gone. She hurried over to the mantle, and looked around in case he fell off somewhere.
"Is something the matter, dear?" Sabine asked seeing her daughter's distress.
"My nutcracker, did you see where it went?" Marinette looked around the floor, hoping it didn't fall close to the fireplace.
"Oh, yes, it's right here." Sabine got up and took it off the dining counter in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, Marinette, but it almost fell from the mantle. I was afraid it would break again so I put it here for safe keeping."
Marinette let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, ma- Wait, this isn't my nutcracker."
"Huh, are you sure, dear, this is the one that Grandpa Fu gave you." Sabine looked at it again, pretty sure there wasn't another kind of nutcracker in the house.
Marinette knew this wasn't the same one. Rather than being the hand carved black cat she came to love, this nutcracker was in the design of the traditional lucky cat with the waving hand being the mechanism that moved the mouth. No, this was wrong. This wasn't her nutcracker.
"It... it was different..." she tried to say.
"Maybe your just a little confused right now, Marinette. Grandpa gave you this lucky cat nutcracker to go with your ladybug earrings, remember?"
"Yeah, but it was an unlucky nutcracker." she was so sure. She even put that green ribbon with a bell on her kitty. This cat didn't have the bell.
"Unlucky? What do you mean?" Sabine asked concerned.
Marinette wanted to fight it, wanted to deny that this wasn't her nutcracker, but how would she make them believe her. So instead she said, "N-nothing, I guess my mind was still thinking about this strange dream I had last night."
"Are you going to be alright, darling?" she rubbed her daughter's back to comfort her.
"I think so." was all she could say.
"Look Marinette, I found you a present!" Manon interrupted them and showed a shiny square box to the pigtailed girl.
"Thank you, Manon." Marinette excepted the box and sat down by the fire, not even bothering to open it. She just felt so overwhelmed right now. She wasn't sure she could tell what was real and what was a fantasy.
She almost didn't hear the door open with her Grandpa Fu coming in to greet everyone. "Merry Christmas everyone."
"Merry Christmas, Grandfather." Sabine replied.
"I hope you don't mind, but I brought someone with me to spend the holidays with us." the elderly man held the door open for a boy to come through.
Marinette looked up to get a better view of him. He was about her age, and pretty handsome too, she thought with a blush. Then she saw his outfit and she had to hold back the laughter at the sight. He wore an ugly Christmas sweater that had kitties wearing Santa hats all over it. Even the santa had on his own head had cat ears on it. He had blonde hair and the prettiest green eyes she had ever seen, besides Chat Noir's. That thought made her feel sad all over again, wishing her dreams would just leave her be.
"Of course Grandpa, but shouldn't this young man be spending Christmas with his family?" Tom asked.
"Actually, sir, I don't have any family of my own." the boy answered like it was no big deal, but it got everyone's attention. "I've been by myself for a while, but I was glad to run into Master Fu."
"I hired him to help me with the shop, but I felt bad about him missing out on the holidays and insisted that he spend it with us."
"Well come right on in, son." Tom wrapped an arm around the boy and practically dragged him to the tree beside Marinette.
Marinette got up from her seat to reach out a hand and say hello. "Merry Christmas, um... I'm sorry I don't know your name."
"It's Adrien," He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "And Merry Christmas to you too, princess."
Marinette's heart stopped. It couldn't be. But looking into his eyes, even though they weren't like a cat's anymore, she could still see it, the familiar green in them. She looked down at his sweater and saw what she didn't notice before. A green ribbon tied to a bell around his neck. Then she looked at the hand that held hers and saw the ring. Chat Noir's ring.
"Is it really you, kitty?" she whispered.
"I finally had my freedom, but all I wanted was to see you again." he whispered back. "That is, if you want me, too."
"Yes." Marinette wasn't letting him get away again.
"Hey, look Marinette, you're under the mistletoe." Manon called out, spoiling the moment.
She looked up to find she was right, then she looked back at Adrien with headed cheeks. "Ummm, we don't have to..."
"Why not? It is tradition, after all." Adrien smirked at her, just like he did as Chat Noir.
Marinette didn't even care that her whole family was watching as her pressed her lips to the dear boy that was once an unlucky nutcracker.
.~*~*~Fin~*~*~
