An: Sorry for the delay everyone, I needed a little refresher with the story to keep myself on track. Plus I had to do some extra homework for this one, which brings me to some acknowledgements I wish to make.
I want to give a special thanks to the youtubers, whose videos showed me the different ways nettles could be used, as well as the proper way to make the string and knitting. So thank you very much, and if anyone else is curious, check out these on youtube: Sally Pointer, Fiber Flux, and Conner Creates
Chapter 13: The First Cloak
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Marinette stepped away from her progress and hurried over to the bucket of cool water she kept on the porch. Every bit of her hands felt like it was on fire right now. Her fingers were so swollen that she could hardly bend them, and there were little bumps all around her palms and wrists where the nettle fibers were digging in. It almost felt too painful to dip into the water bucket. Once she finally did, and her skin got over the shock of the sudden temperature change, there was an easing relief that made the pain more tolerable.
She wished she'd had the foresight to purchase a pair of gloves to get he leaves off the nettle stalks. Master Fu hadn't owned any with all the years of labor in his garden toughening him up. No doubt these nettles wouldn't have bothered him in the slightest. Marinette just wasn't use to the burning sting of these plants. She'd stuck herself with sewing needles countless times, but this was different.
"Are you alright, Marinette?" Tikki asked floating above the seamstress' head.
Marinette nodded yes as she tried massaging her hands in the water. Maybe the rubbing will get some of the nettle hairs out.
"We're sorry, my queen. I wish there was an easier way for you to do that." Pollen said guiltily.
Marinette smiled gently at the bee kwami, and pet her little head to show she didn't blame them. They had tried a few different way to get the leaves off. The problem was these grave nettles weren't made the same way as the usual weeds. They had a good inner bark that made them grow tall, but the outer layer she needed to use for the string was more susceptible to breakage, and more fused to the stems so she had to be careful. She tried to use a worn out piece of leather, but it was tearing up the stalk too easily. Next, she tried it with a rag, but it still wasn't working too great. Plus, the stinging hairs were still getting her through the rag. At that point, Marinette had finally had enough and went straight to breaking the stems and leaves off bit by bit with her bare hands. She might feel like she needed to chop off her hands to make the pain stop right now, but at least the stalks were all clean.
"Maybe you should take a break." Wayzz suggested as he held out a towel for her.
Marinette accepted the towel, but shook her head to say that she would keep going. There was still a lot of work that needed to be done before she got to the actual knitting. Right now her hands felt like she shoved them into a wasp nest, but it wouldn't last forever. She was just going to have to get use to it.
The seamstress made it back inside to find the kwamis had continued on without her. While they weren't permitted to handle anything to do with the cloaks, they still did a part by taking care of the other bits of the plant. Plagg, Nooroo, and Duusu gathered all the leaves to put them into a basket. With a quick boil and cooling to get rid of the sting, the leaves were valuable for making different dishes. Or if she let them dry out, Marinette can make a nice tea with honey.
"Look, Marinette, we gathered all the seeds for you." Trixx called out with Wayzz and Pollen showing her the bag filled with their hard work.
Tikki had the great idea to have more than one crop to harvest from. If Marinette planted the seeds near Master Fu's grave, as well as bury the remains of any game she hunts, it would give the soil the right nutrients for the grave nettle seeds to grow. It was also in a good open spot with some partial shade from the yew tree, so it would get plenty of moonlight. If this plan worked, Marinette could harvest from her home, and then give the field in Papillon more time to grow more. This might even cut her time to make the cloaks in half. Even though there was still plenty of work to get done, having more than enough materials always felt comforting to her. It was like she always said in her tailor shop; there was no such thing as too many supplies.
"Pleh... Blagh... Disgusting... And it Burns!" Plagg cried out suddenly with his tongue hanging out. Marinette turned to him quickly to find him spitting out the remains of a raw leaf that rested on the floor. Did he really try to eat that?
"I told you that was a bad idea, Plagg." Nooroo said with his paws crossed, not bothering to feel sorry for the black cat.
"Bu Teehee sa I coo eaa eehh..." Plagg tried to say with his tongue sticking out, which had already doubled in size from the swelling.
"I said you had to prepare it right, then you can eat it. Why don't you ever listen, you stupid stinky sock!?" Tikki shouted angrily at the deity of destruction.
"I mm no doopid..." Plagg said glaring back at the little bug.
"This is why you should stick to cheese." Tikki sighed, choosing to take pity on her friend. She reached over and petted his head. "Don't worry, it'll wear off in a little while."
"Dis Suss!" Plagg tried to cry out, but ended up making a raspberry noise with his enlarged tongue.
The rest of the group, Marinette included, were trying really hard not to laugh at the poor kwami. Even Tikki was biting her lip to keep it all in while Plagg tried to wipe off any remaining residue with his paws. Marinette thought she should help a bit by putting some water into a bowl. Plagg accepted the bowl and dipped his tongue into the water, blowing bubbles of relief. At this point, not one could hold it in anymore and let themselves laugh away. Marinette still had to restrain herself because she was still holding the bowl.
Once everything calmed down, Marinette got back to work. She lined up several off the stalks evenly on the floor, and started stepping on the stalks. With each step, she heard a satisfying crunch under her feet. This was allowing the stalk to loosen up and separate the outer layer from the bark-like insides. When she didn't hear as much crunching, Marinette took a stalk and bent it to split it open and peel off the outer skin into strands. She then continued splitting the strands until they made nice small ribbons. The kwamis explained that she didn't have to break them all down to the fine fibers, the grassy ribbons were perfect. The rougher the string, the better to break their seal, they said.
When she finished that stalk, she moved on to the rest of the batch on the floor until she had a good handful of ribbons. She lined them all into a bunch and hung them out to dry a bit on the hooks where they kept other herbs. The process was repeated until her whole harvest was made into ribbons.
By that time the first batch she made was dried enough, Marinette started to twist it into string. Taking a couple of ribbons and folding it in half, she twisted one end a bit, crossed it with the other, and twisted the second end to cross it again. And that was the start of it. Just twist and cross, twist and cross until she was close to the end of the ribbons and added more to keep it at the same strength. Twist and cross, twist and cross again. She kept going until she had to go for another batch that was dried and kept going, making a continued long nettle string.
"That's coming along greatly, Marinette." Tikki praised her holder's progress. Already she had several yards of string.
"How much do you think this is going to make?" Plagg asked looking at the rest of the harvest.
"Hmmm, I guess if Marinette sticks to a simple knit, this batch might make one cloak." The bug kwami took a calculated guess.
"Only one!?" Duusu and Pollen both whined.
"Don't worry, friends, this is only the start of Marinette's work." Wayzz said calmly.
The kwamis continued to watch Marinette twisting until they got bored and went on to do something else. The seamstress worked continuously, only getting up to retrieve another batch that was done drying. After a few hours, Tikki finally told her to stop and eat something. It was just as well since she had to check on the animals afterwards. She had a slice of bread with some butter while looking around the grounds to make sure all the animals were safe and still fed. Then she got back to work with the string knowing that everything was still in order.
Not that she had to worry too much with her little friends around. Each kwami took turns watching the barn and the garden, only pulling her away from the nettles when it was necessary. Trixx and Wayzz kept an eye on the sheep and chickens, while Pollen and Nooroo looked after the garden. The rest of them decided to help make dinner for everyone when it got late enough. Tikki couldn't move too far away from Marinette or the earrings, but she helped supervise Duusu and Plagg as they used the nettle leaves to make some soup.
"Is this enough, Sugarcube?" Plagg asked as he finished up chopping some celery and onions with a small knife.
"Yep, that's plenty. Now we need some shallots." Tikki answered while shredding up some freshly washed nettle leaves. Pollen, Nooroo, Trixx and Wayzz came back into the house at that point. Nooroo joined Plagg as he was gathering all the vegetables for the pot while the rest continued to watch Marinette work.
"One Potato, two potato, three potato, four..." Duusu sang rolling the golden spuds to the cutting board. "Four potatoes for the Soup, Do we need some more?"
Tikki giggled at the peacock's antics. "Hehehe, no I think that will be enough, Duusu. We just need to dice these up, too."
"What about the cream?" Nooroo asked carrying a small jar of thyme. "All we have is sheep's milk. Will that be okay for the recipe?"
"Well, you don't have to add the cream, that's mostly for texture." Tikki answered. "But we can just use some of the butter instead."
"Great, I think that's everything." Plagg announced looking at all the ingredients and what was in the pot already.
Tikki looked everything over in agreement, and went back over to Marinette. She could see that the seamstress was almost done with making the string with the ribbons she had. Within the next day she could start on the first cloak. The kwami felt she had done enough for today and flew up to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"Marinette, why don't you help us with dinner? We need to put some water in the pot to boil, and then we can add the ingredients." she informed the young woman.
Marinette carefully set the end she was twisting down, and moved the bundle of string over to the side. She would have to roll all this string up into a skein so it wouldn't get tangled. At least the ends weren't unraveling when she let go, so that proved she was doing it right. There was about one batch left for her to twist, so she should be able to get it done after supper. She got up and observed the kwamis preparations. Everything she needed to make the soup was diced up and ready for her to throw in the pot. She started with some seasonings and butter to sauté some of the vegetables before putting in the water and bring to a boil. After some simmering, they added the remaining ingredients, nettles included, and Marinette tested the broth by adding some sheep's milk like Nooroo suggested, which helped to make it creamier. Within the hour, the nettle soup was ready for everyone to partake in. Marinette served the soup into tiny little clay bowls Master Fu made for the kwamis before filling her own.
"This looks delicious." Pollen said sniffing the soup.
All the kwamis agreed saying something similar. Marinette held up her bowl to signal everyone to enjoy as she took a spoon to test it out herself. The taste, to her, felt like something similar to spinach. Add that with the flavor of the seasonings and vegetables, it had a wonderful creamy zip to it. As she devoured the dish, she couldn't help but think of all the different recipes she could try to make with the nettle. Maybe if she caught some fish, she could try replicating her father's spinach salmon quiche recipe. The flavor wouldn't be the same, but it might be close. She should surprise this idea with the kwamis. Right now they were all slurping away at the delicious soup. Some of them even went back for seconds.
"It's amazing how that painful weed can make such a delectable dish." Wayzz said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"It makes a great sauce for camembert, too." Plagg said dipping a wedge of cheese into his bowl. Marinette stared in wonder thinking he must think the soup is really good to want to alter his favorite food that way.
"I wanna try the tea with honey next." Pollen said as she licked the bowl clean.
"Me too." Nooroo agreed.
Marinette nodded to the kwamis that she would try that next, and they finished with their meal. Once the dishes were finished, Marinette made one last round outside to check on the animals. Then she got herself ready for bed before going back to the ribbons and finish the string with the last of the ribbons she had. Her hands felt very rough after she tied off the ends. She left a little bit untwisted so she would be able to tie together some more when she had more nettle plants. She would have to make another trip into town shortly if she wanted to keep up the same pace. She wanted to keep going and roll up the string, but she was fighting to keep her eyes open.
"You can stop for today, Marinette. You've done enough." Tikki said landing on her tired hands. She could easily see how exhausted her holder was.
Marinette fought against a yawn and decided the ladybug kwami was right. She can keep going in the morning after her chores. The kwamis helped her put away what they needed to, bolted the door, and felt the fire one last log to warm the cabin up. Marinette fell asleep by the time her head touched the pillow, and the rest of the kwamis smiled down at her before joining her into dreamland.
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"Your Royal Highness, please reconsider..." Viscount Robert Roth was making one final attempt to plead his case about remaining on the tax collections.
"My decision is final, Viscount. You shall no longer be assisting the accountants. Be thankful I don't see to it that you are criminally charged." Adrien said, putting a stop to the man's groveling.
He had spent the past week looking over all the records and reworked the financials to put the city back on track. With the help of the king's advisor, and the reports he got from Nino and Alya going through town, it looked like the numbers were finally starting to make sense. Now it was just the matter of relieving the viscount from causing anymore damage, but he and the Lady Rossi were not making it easy.
"My dear prince," Lila spoke up beside him. "Please do not place all the blame on the viscount. This was my fault as well."
"I'm aware of that, Lila, but this is a situation that requires more than an apology. My people have suffered, and they're going to expect repercussions." Adrien wasn't going to be swayed by the lady's dramatics. Nino, Alya and Nathalie were all in the room with them, but they stayed in the background so as not to interfere with his judgement.
"Then perhaps the viscount can continue working beside the accountants, free of charge, of course." Lila suggested, and gave Roth a quick look to be silent before he had a chance to protest. "In fact, he should donate some of his fortune to those in need. I shall even take it upon myself to give the people anything I can. Like you said, I'm going to be queen one day, I should always give more than I take."
Adrien thought about it for a moment, and decided this was the best scenario to take. "I will allow this, but I expect a full report of your accomplishments. I will also be assigning some of the accountants to double check everything. And I better not see something like this happen again."
"Of course, my love." Lila planted a kiss on the prince's cheek. Adrien allowed it, but did nothing to reciprocate.
"But my lord..." Roth tried to make an argument again, but Lila ran up to stand next to him and take his arm.
"Come, Viscount Roth, we have so much to get done." She nearly dragged him out of the room before he could say another word, leaving the small group alone in the office.
"I'm glad that she owned up to her mistakes." Alya said trying to break the ice first.
"I would rather she never made such a mistake in the first place. Who knows what could've happened if we hadn't caught it when we did." Adrien responded as he leaned back in the chair and tried to rub some of the stress off his face.
"Relax, man, everything turned out alright." Nino said trying to ease his friend. "It's a good thing you and Lila went shopping that day."
"Yeah, super lucky." Adrien sighed. He hadn't truly wanted to go with Lila that day, but now he was grateful for it. Any day further, and the people might not have been willing to listen to him.
"Speaking of lucky, can you tell us more about this Ladybug woman that saved a little girl?" Alya asked hoping the prince would have more information. She had heard several rumors about the heroine wearing a ladybug cape, and that she spoke to the prince himself about the injustice the sheriff was causing. One rumor spoke about how she fought Sheriff Adolphe and kicked his butt into a pile of horse dung. Alya desperately wished that one was at least true.
"I'm afraid I know just as much as you do, Alya. This Ladybug disappeared before I had a chance to talk to her." Adrien smiled, sorry to disappoint his friend.
"Maybe we can all get another chance to see her the next time we go into town." Nino suggested. It had been quite a while since they spent a day together as friends.
"That would be nice." Adrien agreed while closing up some of the files, then turned to the advisor. "Is there anything else I need to look over, Nathalie?"
"That was the last of the state papers, sir, but this report was just given to me from the physicians. It's about your father." Nathalie said as she held out the folder to him nervously.
A grim feeling washed over the prince, and he was hesitant to take the paper.
Nathalie took this as a sign that maybe the prince wanted to be alone before reading it. "Shall I clear the room, sir?"
"No, Nathalie, they can stay. I trust them." he smiled sadly at his friends before finally opening the report. He took a moment to skim through the physicians notes before reaching the end. The results written down left a frustrated scowl on his face. "Diagnosis: Inconclusive! What is that suppose to mean!?"
"It's the doctor's fancy way of saying they have no idea what's wrong." Alya commented.
"How can they not know!?" Adrien got up form his seat and started pacing the room.
They didn't tell the people how sick the king actually was, and Adrien worried about his father's lack of recovery. Some days he seemed to be getting better, and then all the sudden there was a relapse. He had listened closely to the physicians when they examined Gabriel's symptoms. His lungs were clear, yet it seemed like he had trouble breathing, and there was a continuous cough. His heart didn't sound abnormal, but for some reason it was weak. He also had trouble keeping food down, so it was even harder for him to keep his strength up. The doctors thought perhaps the illness was related to the one the royal advisor suffered from, but Nathalie's symptoms didn't match. She had also been able to recover on her own in a shorter amount of time, this illness continued to linger.
"I don't understand it. They're suppose to be the best doctor's in Papillon. How can they not help their king!?" Adrien said agitated. It was taking everything in him to not collapse in front of his friends.
"Adrien, new diseases happen every day." Nino reached over to place a hand on the prince's shoulder. "They can't know about ones they've never faced before."
"I know, I know. It's just so frustrating that we can't figure out a way to help my father." Adrien sighed accepting Nino's comfort. "We've tried medicines and bloodletting to help his heart, but it hasn't been improving. And it's so hard for him to keep things down, he's never going to fight this on his own if he can't eat."
"Perhaps if we restrict him to simple broths and teas, his body won't rebel against it." Nathalie suggested.
"Ummm, Adrien?" Alya held a hand up nervously.
"What is it, Alya?" he looked at her.
"Is it possible... I mean, have the doctor's looked into the possibility of... poisoning?" she struggled to say the word out loud.
"Yes, we have." Adrien said, slightly disappointed that poison wasn't the answer.
It was actually the first cause the prince and the advisor suspected. They ran each meal given to the king with three different taste testers, and nothing happened. They also tested the health of several people that had the same meal, or at least the same ingredients, for the possibility of a blameless contamination such as rotten meat, or maybe even rodents. There was still nothing to indicate the cause of the king's failing health.
"What if this is just like my mother all over again? Something that can't be cured?" Adrien asked hopelessly.
"No, Adrien, don't think like that. There has to be something we can do." Alya said hoping to find another answer. "Maybe Nathalie has the right idea. All we have to do is help him keep some food down, and maybe he'll get better on his own."
"Perhaps." Adrien went back to his desk to pick up the book about herbal remedies. He had been reading this in his free time hoping to find an answer. He handed the book to the advisor. "Nathalie, I want you go into town, and ask a few apothecaries for some medicine ideas. For right now, let's focus on ones that can help his heart and fight nausea so he can keep some food down."
"Yes, your highness. I shall step out into town right away." Nathalie obeyed, ready to head out the door before Nino stopped her.
"Wait, ma'am, why don't we help you look as well? We can cover more ground that way." he volunteered.
"That might be a good idea. There's only a handful of apothecaries in town. It would look less suspicious if you only looked at one or two. No one would think twice about Nino and I browsing in the others." Alya agreed.
"She's right, the less people that know how bad my father is, the better." Adrien picked up a pen and parchment. "I'll make a list for each of you on what could be useful."
"Very good, sir." Nathalie nodded.
"We won't let you down, Adrien." Nino and Alya said together, making the prince smile at there loyalty as he started writing down the list.
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Several people stopped what they were doing to get a glimpse at the famous Ladybug that was finally being seen walking through the streets. Dressed in her dark clothes with the bright red cape with black spots, it was just as the rumors had said. She had a throw bag over her shoulder filled with something, and seemed to be browsing at several different stores. No one walked up to try and speak to her, and the shop owners left her to her own business, waiting for her to speak first. Of course, none of them knew that she couldn't do that. Many of them just observed and marveled at the mysterious heroine.
Marinette could feel all the eyes starring at her and wasn't sure if all this attention was a good thing. She guessed she must have been the real talk of the town after she saved that little girl. Starring or not, she was grateful everyone was at least keeping their distance. She also felt comfortable knowing that Tikki and Plagg were with her right now. The other kwamis had stayed behind to look after the house, much of them were still in shock when she ran out of supplies. Marinette smiled, still remembering the looks on their faces when she went through the nettle string so fast. Though she had never before now made string from scratch, the knitting she could have done blindfolded, with one hand. It still took a couple more days between her usual chores, and she had to get the hang of it with the string being rougher than normal yarn. Once she got the technic started, the rest was easy. Using up the whole line made about a quarter to a third of the first cloak, giving her a good estimate of what the rest is going to take. If she gets double the harvest this time, it might be enough to finish it. Hopefully, with the supply in the field being bountiful and the seeds she planted by Master Fu's grave grow within the next few weeks, she will have finished the rest in record time.
Now there was only a matter of the nettle leaves. Despite making the delicious dishes for the past couple days, there was no way she and the kwamis were going to tolerate eating that constantly. So, they had the bright idea to sell some of the leaves to an apothecary to make tea and medicine. Which was why she was walking through town right now, other than getting more nettle stalks. Plus, it would be a good idea for her to earn some extra coin instead of only relying on trade, just in case. She stepped into the shop of one of her old friends, the smell of several herbs and flowers wafting into her nose. There was also the strong smell of bees' wax and honey. It was just like Marinette remembered it. The shop owners not only made good remedies, but they were also beekeepers with the best honey and candles to sell. Marinette could see there was already a customer waiting in the center, so she decided to look around a bit before getting to her own business.
A curtain in the back was pulled aside to reveal a small, plump woman with several braids in her hair and flowers in all her pockets.
"Hello and welcome. What can I interest you in today?" The shop owner, Mylene, asked the waiting customer.
"I'm looking for some medicines." A woman answered simply.
Marinette let herself walk around the several shelves filled with all sorts of herbs and fungus as she listened to the customer. Right now she was out of sight for the other two people in the shop.
"How can I help you, ma'am?" Mylene asked.
"I was hoping to discuss finding a remedy for... a friend. He hasn't been feeling very well." The woman spoke carefully, like she did not wish to give too much away. Marinette didn't give much thought to it while the owner inquired on the customer.
"Say, aren't you...?" Mylene started to ask, but was interrupted.
"I am, but I would like to keep this business as quiet as possible." Now that voice was really starting to sound familiar to the seamstress.
"There's been a lot of talk around town. Is it about... his majesty?" the shopkeeper whispered as softly as she could.
Marinette was still able to hear her, however, and the question made her stop in her tracks. She took a peek through the glass jars to see the customer was none other than Nathalie Sancoeur.
"I'm under orders from the prince to search for anything that can help the king, but he would like to keep how serious it is out of the public knowledge." The royal advisor said sternly, more or less giving the shopkeeper an order that she is never to repeat what happens in her shop.
Marinette kept herself hidden away, mostly because she didn't want to get into trouble, but also because she wanted more information about the king. Gabriel had the best doctors in Papillon at his disposal. So, for the advisor to be browsing around an apothecary for the king felt like a very bad omen. Did this mean that he wasn't getting any better? And what did this mean for Adrien?
"O-of c-course, ma'am, I understand. C-can you tell me his... Umm, I mean, can you tell me the patient's symptoms?" Mylene asked timidly.
"There doesn't seem to be a fever, but there is a cough. His body is weak, and he can't keep anything down." Nathalie named off a few.
Mylene thought about it for a moment. "Well, it doesn't sound like anything sickness I'm familiar with. Is it possible there is another reason behind it?"
"We have looked into other probable causes, but nothing has been proven yet." Nathalie answered.
"Oh, well, the symptoms do sound a bit like arsenic, and if you have someone tasting the food, the effects wouldn't happen right away." Mylene tried to reason.
"Again, we have looked into it, and the results were the same. Right now we are just focusing on keeping his strength up, but he has to be able to eat first."
"Very well, ma'am. I have a few remedies that help with nausea, maybe I can come up with some teas to help settle his stomach." Mylene started looking through several jars of herbs.
Marinette listened to the conversation very carefully and came to a certain conclusion on her own. She needed to talk to the kwamis right now. She treaded carefully through the shop until she reached a far corner that she knew Mylene wouldn't go to right now. It was where she kept the pest control powders, including arsenic and other poisons. She opened her bag and rubbed her ear to let Tikki and Plagg out, but held a finger to her lips to let them know they had to be quiet.
"What's going on, pigtails?" Plagg whispered.
"It sounds like the king is being poisoned." Tikki answered for her, having heard the whole conversation between the advisor and the shop owner.
"Do you think Lila is a part of it?" the black cat growled under his breath.
Marinette nodded her head and pointed to one of the arsenic jars while shaking her head to try and tell them it wasn't an ordinary poison.
"What do you think it is, Marinette?" Tikki asked as she watched the woman try to mime her theory.
Marinette didn't know how to explain that she thought perhaps Lila was using her captured kwami's magic to make the king sick. She first tried waving her fingers at them to indicate something mysterious and sinister was happening. Then she pointed back to the jar while repeatedly tapping her earrings. To put more emphasis, she waved her fingers at her other hand that she pretended was holding a cup, and acted out drinking from the invisible cup. In a final dramatic affect, she stuck her tongue out with her head tilted to the side to imitate death.
"You think Lila is using Gimmi to use a magical poison on the king?" Plagg asked arching one brow.
"It is possible." Tikki said grimly. "If that is what's happening, then that means whatever that advisor gets is not going to do any good. A magically made poison is not going to have a cure."
The seamstress' heart sank at the information. She thought that maybe Tikki or Plagg would know a way to heal a king. But she supposed if you hurt someone with magic, there wouldn't be a nonmagical way to fix it. The only exception would probably what she was doing right now with the nettle cloaks. That thought sprung an idea in her head. The grave nettles were meant to repel magic, so would that mean it could repel magical poison? Marinette reached into the bag to take out a handful of leaves and show them to the kwamis. She held it in front of them, desperately hoping they would understand her question of if it would work.
"Yeah, you could use the nettles." Tikki said, but she didn't sound sure of herself. "But you need to understand, Marinette, this wouldn't be a permanent cure. If the king eats the nettles, it will help him fight it and he would last a little longer, but the only way for him to be completely healthy again is if Lila, or someone else with Gimmi, wishes for him to be better."
That felt like a good enough answer to her, so she put the leaves back in the bag and encouraged the kwamis back in their hiding spots. She quietly made her way back to the front of the shop where Mylene was still trying to offer different remedies to the advisor. So far, Nathalie was rejecting everything the small woman had to offer because it was either something they had already tried, or something she knew wasn't going to work.
"Perhaps it would help to give him a sleeping draft. If he has a good rest, then maybe that will help his body settle down and he could gain an appetite again." Mylene said as she looked for some lavender and chamomile.
"Perhaps, but I would still like to have something for his nausea, just in case." Nathalie agreed.
Marinette felt this was a good moment to make herself known, and walked up to the two women with her bag full of nettle leaves in her hands.
"Oh, hello and welcome, miss. I'll be with you in a moment, I just have to finish with this customer here." Mylene addressed her, thinking the young woman must have just walked into the store without her realizing it.
Marinette waved her hand to show it was no trouble, but then turns her attention to Nathalie. The advisor wasn't looking at her at first, so she took the initiative and tapped her on the shoulder. Nathalie turned to her and looked her up and down, rather disinterested in the woman trying to speak to her.
"Can I help you?" she asked politely.
Since she couldn't speak, Marinette did the first thing she could think of and bowed to the advisor respectfully. She then held out her back for the older woman to inspect.
"What is this?" Nathalie asked, but the woman in the red cape didn't answer. She merely held out the bag for her to take. She decided to humor her and took the bag to open up, only to find it full of some sort of leaf. Nathalie wasn't sure what to make of the offering. "Do you expect me to do something with this?"
Again, the young woman did not answer. She did a deep curtsy to the advisor, pointed to the bag, and then made a gesture of putting something on her head, like a hat.
"Can you not speak?" Nathalie asked, getting a little impatient.
Marinette could see it as well, and tried to explain it again by looking around the shop. There was a set of crystals on a table, one of them with several spikes like a pointed crown. She supposed that would be close enough. She picked up the crystal, held it on top of her head with one hand, and pointed back to the bag of nettles with the other. Nathalie looked back and forth from the bag to the woman trying to decipher the message.
Mylene seemed to be the one to figure it our first. "Ma'am, I believe she's trying to say she wishes to offer her bag to the king."
The seamstress pointed to Mylene and nodded her head to say she was right.
"What purpose could a bunch of leaves serve?" Nathalie sighed more irritated this time.
Realizing the advisor probably didn't recognize the plant, Marinette reached over to take some of the leaves out, and handed them over to Mylene for her to inspect. Nathalie took a good look at her while she did this, and realized that the woman was wearing a red cape with black spots on it. Was this the famous Ladybug she had heard so much about?
She was broken out of her thought when the shopkeeper made a gasp of recognition at what she was given. "Oh, this is stinging nettle!"
The young woman, Ladybug apparently, nodded again that Mylene was correct, and the shopkeeper continued to explain it to the advisor. "This plant is great for making teas and soups, and it's not too strong to it would probably be the best thing to help the king."
"You are certain this will help?" Nathalie asked for confirmation.
"Absolutely! Whatever is ailing his majesty, at the very least this will help him get his strength back. Plus, if this is a matter of poison, the nettles would help to get it cleaned out of his system." Mylene started to name off the properties, but then slapped a hand to her mouth when she realized she had just started talking about the king in front of a stranger when she had just been ordered not to.
"It's alright. Her offering this must mean she heard our conversation beforehand." Nathalie said noticing her panic, then turned her attention to the silent woman. "Tell me, are you the one known as Ladybug?"
Marinette nodded yes, deciding this would be the best identity for her right now rather than the exiled baker's daughter that no one remembers.
"I've heard quite a few things about you. It seems you are quite generous in committing selfless acts." she commented as she watched Mylene empty the back to put the leaves into a basket. "I shall accept your offer to the king, and am willing to pay both you and the shop for the product."
"Oh no, ma'am, you should only pay Miss Ladybug here. It is her trade after all." Mylene tried to decline.
"Perhaps, but think of it as compensation for you not gaining it as a profit. I believe this shall cover the both of you." The advisor handed several coins to both women, leaving them a little slack jawed, but she wasn't done yet. "Should your offering prove to be fruitful, I trust that you will continue with your original plan of selling to the shopkeeper so that I may retrieve some more for the king?"
"Absolutely, I'd be happy to continue business with both of you." Mylene said, then addressed Ladybug. "You can bring back some more nettle leaves whenever you are able, then I'll send for the advisor to pick them up."
"Very well." Nathalie agreed while taking out a few more coins for the two of them. "Please also consider this a separate reward. For your services to the crown, and for your silence. The fewer that know about the true nature of the king's health, the better."
"Yes, of course. You have my word, Mademoiselle Sancoeur." Mylene bowed again, and Marinette ran a finger across her lips to show they were sealed. Not that she could tell anyone if she wanted to, anyway.
"Very good. Also, Miss Ladybug, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the palace. I'm sure his royal highness, Prince Adrien, would very much like to meet you himself." Nathalie inquired. She was sure the prince would be more than happy to see the rumored hero of the town, much more now considering she was also helping his father.
Marinette wanted to accept, but it was too dangerous. She couldn't risk Lila catching wind of her when she was trying to work on the nettle cloaks. No matter how desperately she wanted to see Adrien, it was best if she stayed clear of him right now. She hoped Nathalie wouldn't say anything to Lila about giving her the nettle leaves. Maybe she will just say that she got them from the shop, and leave it at that. She tried to say as much to the advisor by holding a hand to her finger to keep things quiet.
"You wish to remain anonymous?" Nathalie guessed, and Ladybug nodded yes. "Very well, shall I at least tell the prince of your deeds?"
She didn't see the harm in it as long as he didn't see her, so Ladybug said yes again and made one final bow before leaving the store. This whole experience felt very productive. The shopkeeper will make a good profit, and Marinette makes a good use out of the nettle plants, beside the cloaks, that will be secretly helping the king. Hopefully this will keep Lila from hurting the royal family for a while longer, and give her more time. She made it through several shops to finish getting some supplies before making it back to the field once more to harvest more nettles and continue her work.
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