Disclaimer: You know by now

AN: Written for AU April on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord. Originally it was written with the prompt witch. (Which was supposed to be there.) Instead I'm going with Myths and Fairytales.

Everyone knew about the witch that lived in the forest. A figure of myth and legend that was either the spawn of Satan or a gift from the gods. A protector of the village or the source of all wrongs. A kind and compassionate teacher or a temptress out to lure souls down a forbidden path to the Nine Hells.

It really depended on who you asked.

For Alya Cesaire, it might as well have been an invitation. Great magical powers, a mystery that nobody could agree on and dangers galore. It just screamed out to be investigated by an investigative journalist. (The journalist part was arguably a bit more of a work in progress, but still.)

So at the edge of the forest, Alya looked up at the trees and grinned. She could practically taste the air of mystery around the forest and she was so down for it. She had her trusty pen and her well worn, but still reliable notebook. What more could she ask for? (Her friends and family would probably say self preservation instincts, but they weren't here and they wouldn't understand anyway. Besides, what was life without a few risks?)

She stepped forward, pushing her way past the long grass and onto the dirt track beyond. The path to the mysterious witch, or at least that's what people said.

The path itself was clearly neglected. The thin, muddy track was surrounded by wildflowers, grasses and more than a few weeds. (Including some rather unpleasant stinging nettles, Alya noted to herself.) But it was definitely used. Perhaps by the witch? Or was it someone else? She pulled out her pen and quickly scribbled a few notes.

She continued to walk, going deeper and deeper into the forest. She was getting somewhere, she could feel it. The path was rough, but it was definitely going somewhere. The only question was, where?

The path abruptly opened into a clearing and Alya blinked briefly in surprise. This was…unexpectedly close to the edge of the forest.

She looked back at the path behind her, then at the sky. She hadn't been travelling that long. Only an hour or two at most, judging by the position of the Sun. She was obviously further in than she expected. This clearing was not close to the edge at all.

She pulled out her notebook and made a few notes. She still had a significant amount of daylight left available. She had plenty of time. She looked around the clearing, hoping for a sign that things were not as irrelevant as it seemed.

Unfortunately the clearing was unexceptionable. Nothing really notable about it. No glowing magical artefacts or plants or strange new creatures. (Or even normal magical creatures. Did they count?) Not even any kind of domesticated animals to indicate the presence of people.

It was almost anticlimactic really.

Still, she still had time. Maybe it led somewhere. Or she needed to go a little further in to find the real path to the witch.

She looked around the clearing once again, hoping that she had somehow missed something.

The clearing revealed nothing new.

Alya sighed. There was nothing here. She obviously needed to go deeper.

Suddenly she heard a noise. A sound like someone crashing into or through something. She turned quickly to see a fast moving…person?

Before she could register any further details, the person crashed head first into her, knocking them both into the ground and knocking her glasses flying.

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" the person said as they stood up quickly.

Alya fumbled for her glasses as the blurry figure (well girl really. The voice clearly belonged to a girl.) looked at her. (She assumed that the mysterious girl was looking at her. It was hard to tell without her glasses.)

"Did you drop something?" the girl asked, but before Alya could answer, she suddenly dropped down and grabbed something.

Suddenly the world swam back into focus as the girl put Alya's glasses back on her face.

"I'm sorry," the girl said again. "I'm clumsy. So very very clumsy."

"Hey clumsy girl, it's okay," Alya said and the other girl smiled slightly. "I'm Alya."

"I'm Marinette," the girl said and they shook hands. "What brings you out here?"

"Oh I'm looking for the witch that's supposed to be living in this forest," Alya said excitedly and an unreadable expression crossed Marinette's face.

"Why do you want to find her?" she asked, before biting her lower lip. Alya put a hand on her new friend's shoulder. (Were they technically friends? Alya wasn't sure but she definitely felt an instant attachment to the girl.)

"Hey, it's okay if you don't want to tell me about her. I just want to tell her story. Or…at least talk to her."

Marinette bit inside her cheek, like she was debating telling her something. Finally she spoke.

"I know the witch," she finally said. "But meeting her is…complicated."

"Oh?"

"She is..it's hard to explain…I have to go, sorry!"

Before Alya could say anything else, Marinette bolted, disappearing into the forest.

Alya stared in the direction Marinette ran to for a few seconds, feeling a strange sense of loss. A kinship with Marinette that she couldn't explain.

Still, her curiosity was definitely peaked. The witch was real and she was somewhere in the forest. And…Alya was pretty sure that she had met someone who knew where she was. (Or better yet, was the very witch she sought. Gods knew, she had heard enough stories about disguised gods and trickster spirits and all manner of things pretending to be someone else.)

She looked in the direction Marinette had disappeared. She could follow. Search in the direction of her new friend. Or push further into the forest, exploring further and finding new clues or maybe new mysteries to explore.

Still, it didn't really feel right to continue. And…she had a hunch that Marinette would be willing to guide her in future.

Turning around, she walked back to the village. Her investigation could wait. The stories were common enough and the story wasn't going anywhere.

And…she didn't want to be one of THOSE reporters.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

It wasn't until the following month that Alya was able to return to the clearing. School, chores and various other obligations kept getting in the way.

Still, she was back and eager to explore further. Maybe even find Marinette again. (There was something special about that girl. Something…different. Alya was drawn to it in a way that she didn't really understand.)

The clearing was mostly unchanged. The flowers were a bit more alive and the colours of summer were a little more pronounced, but little else had changed.

It was also empty.

Alya looked at the clearing around her. There was no sign of her new friend Marinette (well friend-ish, Alya supposed. She had only met the other girl once after all.) It was disappointing. A part of her had hoped to see the other girl.

Still, she had other things to think about. Things like where to go next. She was on the right track, she was sure of it. All she really needed to do now was to work out her next move.

"Alya."

Alya snapped her head around so fast it was a wonder that she didn't give herself whiplash. Standing at the edge of the clearing was Marinette. And she wasn't alone. Standing at her side was a boy with blonde hair, green eyes and…a pair of cat ears? She wasn't really sure, but they looked like cat ears.

"Hi Alya," Marinette said nervously and Alya smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Hi Marinette," she said with a slight smile. She looked at the cat boy and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Alya."

The boy looked at her in surprise and for a moment, Alya wondered if she should have let Marinette introduce them. Then he smiled and the whole world seemed to light up.

"I'm Adrien," the boy said with a smile as he shook Alya's hand. Marinette glanced at him and some kind of unspoken communication happened between them. Alya was almost envious.

"You…still want to meet the witch?" Marinette asked and Alya's face lit up.

"Do I!?! Heck yeah!" she said excitedly and Marinette blushed slightly.

"And…would you still want to meet the witch if you couldn't tell people about her?" she asked and Alya's face slightly fell.

"Well if that's what she wants, I won't tell anyone," Alya said and Marinette looked at Adrien again. Even more unspoken communication between Marinette and Adrien.

Marinette took Alya's hands into her own and looked Alya in the eye. There was a slight tingling sensation in her fingertips and the world appeared to slow down and then speed up. She looked around and gasped.

They were in the same clearing, but it wasn't empty. There were a few wonky cottages around them that seemed to defy the laws of physics and purple-blue fires that burned around them. And the people…

In the villages and towns that peppered the local area, humans were normal. Expected really. Even in the biggest towns, the chances of seeing anyone not human was slim to nonexistent. They existed, certainly. But they rarely frequented this area that most people would be lucky to see even one.

But here? Here she could see strange, clearly nonhuman people walking around as though it was perfectly normal.

"Oooh, you must be the new girl Marinette was talking about."

Alya raised an eyebrow and Marinette looked slightly embarrassed.

The owner of the voice bounced up to her. A short girl around the same age as Alya with short blond hair and wearing a pink dress, she could easily have passed for a human were it not for a pair of short, slightly curved horns poking out of her head.

"Hi, I'm Rose," the girl said brightly as she stuck out her hand.

"Alya," Alya said as she shook hands with the girl. Rose smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Alya. I'm a demon!" she said brightly. She gestured to another girl, a tall girl with long black hair with a long purple streak. "This is my girlfriend Juleka. She's the witch that you're looking for and she's amazing!"

"Hey," Juleka said quietly. Alya looked at Marinette, then at Juleka.

"Oh this is too cool. What did you do? Are we hidden by magic? What determines who you help? How long have you been here? How powerful are you?"

Juleka looked taken aback by Alya's enthusiasm and Marinette quickly stepped in.

"Maybe I should show you around and give Juleka some time," she suggested gently as she led Alya away.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

By the time Alya was on her way home, she was buzzing. She had set out to find a witch. She had expected to find a single woman. Maybe two.

She hadn't expected to find a whole hidden magical community (even though she couldn't actually tell anyone.) It was awesome, amazing, incredible…just wow.

It wasn't a particularly big community. Just a handful of magical outcasts who didn't really fit in with their own communities who had found a place to belong with Juleka the witch. The two hundred and twenty five year old witch who looked no older than Alya. That was…unexpected.

As she walked into the village, her mind went through the people she had met in that unusual place. There had been Ivan the rock troll who had left his home and family because he refused to give up his music. Mylene the tree spirit who had saved his life and had been expelled from her clan as a consequence. No wonder he was so dedicated to her.

Then there was Rose, a demon who was in exile because she loved the witch. And because she didn't hate humans wholeheartedly. (Or at all really. It was hard to believe that Rose could hate anyone.)

There was Marinette the sorceress. (NOT witch. She was very insistent that she was not a witch, although Alya couldn't tell the difference. Still, if she said that she was a sorceress, Alya would call her a sorceress.) A magic user who had managed to upset Princess Chloé and had been banished from the capital as a result. Her loving husband Adrien the Neko-boy had followed her without hesitation.

She reached the edge of the forest and looked back at the path behind her. It seemed almost dream like. Unbelievable. A hidden community that was impossible to find next to a perfectly ordinary village. And yet it existed. It existed and it was real. And she had been there. And she couldn't tell anyone.

Still, she made new friends and that was worth something at least. It made a heck of a difference in her opinion.

She turned and continued walking. Her inner journalist wanted to tell the world. Let them see the amazing people hidden on their doorstep, but she knew deep down that would be wrong. If and when they were ready would she be able to tell their story.

"Good day?" her mother asked as she got home and Alya nodded.

"The best," she replied. "Simply the best."

AN: As you can probably tell, this story struggled to end for me.