AN: Small spoiler for this chapter for the sake of the warnings I feel I should give: This chapter contains character death and some blood due to self-inflicting harm, but it is not due to depression or other negative thoughts. I hope everyone enjoys!
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Chapter 11: You Break Our Curse, We Break Yours
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The once peaceful cabin that had been filled with happiness and contentment was now overwhelmed with dread and worry. The kwamis all looked at their eldest friend as he laid down on his bed trying to fight through the pain in his body. Each kwami was flying this way and that around the cabin looking for some sort of method that could aid him. Though he wasn't crying or loudly suffering, Master Fu's silenced proved to be more upsetting, and each of them just wished there was something more they could do.
"Would you like some more water, master?" Pollen asked concerned.
"That's alright, Pollen, thank you." the man replied tiredly.
"Perhaps some tea or broth to help you get you strength back?" Wayzz tried this time. He would've been more than happy to prepare his favorite brews.
Master Fu waved his hand weakly to decline the offer. "No, thank you. I believe some more rest will suffice."
"Yes, master." the bee and turtle kwami left him alone and went back to join the others at the dining table.
"How is he?" Nooroo asked.
"His wound is healing, and there is no sign of fever, but his heart is not getting any stronger." Wayzz answered sadly.
"Can't we try something else?" Trixx asked looking though the master's collection of healing herbs and journals. Despite having a vast knowledge from all the years he spent collecting, there just didn't seem to be a method that would work this time.
"I don't think it'll do any good." Plagg said in defeat.
Pollen looked around for their other friend, but she was no longer in the house. "Where did Marinette go?"
"Outside to feed the sheep." Duusu answered. "I think she needs some time to herself after such an ordeal."
"Yeah." all the kwamis said in agreement.
Master Fu and Marinette had returned to the house at a dangerous speed on the wagon with arrows riddled all over their transport. It was lucky that no arrow had hit the horse, otherwise they might not have made it back. The old man, however, had no such luck. The young seamstress had fretted over him about the arrow embedded in his shoulder. She had been almost too hysterical to do anything until Tikki made her take some deep breaths, and Master Fu assured her that he was going to be alright. Once Marinette got past her panic, she got to work.
While she had no experience in healing, she did her best to follow the instructions all her friends gave her. Pollen and Wayzz helped her prepare a sleeping draft to keep the old man stable and calm. Then Tikki walked her though getting the arrow out and cleaning the wound before stitching it up. That was the one thing Marinette didn't need help with being a seamstress, though she did have to fight the nausea coming from sewing flesh together instead of cloth.
Afterwards, everyone hoped things would get better as Master Fu regained consciousness, but they didn't. In the middle of trying to keep the wound from getting infected, he started feeling some chest pains. The kwamis taught Marinette how to make some remedies that could calm his heart rate and keep it from overworking his body. Then they each took turns watching him constantly. For the next few sleepless nights, the old man remained weak and in pain no matter what kind of remedy Marinette made for him. He later explained that his heart had felt like it's been struggling for the past couple years, most likely due to his old age. Now it was as if his heart was too calm, and it would eventually stop, and the kwamis were just waiting for something to happen.
Marinette didn't give up, however. Every morning, she and the kwamis went out into the woods for different herbs used for healing to try and get his strength back up. So far nothing seemed to be working. Marinette also made sure to keep up with the garden and animals. She was currently tending to the sheep just to get out of the house. She couldn't bear the looks on the kwamis' faces when they watched their elderly friend suffer.
Guilt ate away at her as she trudged back to the cabin after closing the gate. This was all her fault. She should've stayed out of the city and left Master Fu to his business. He and the kwamis took her in, and all she seemed to do was cause trouble. She probably made things worse for her parents back in Papillon.
There was no telling what the sheriff was going to do after her interference. Would he report to Lila? Would she make good of her word and hurt her family? The thought of anything else happening to them because of her made her sick. Then there were the extended taxes. She witnessed how the people of Papillon were struggling. Did things get worse after their visit? Surely, King Gabriel would be made aware at some point. Both the king and prince were wise and alert, they would've noticed the unhappiness of the city. If only she could warn them in some way.
She made it back into the house, still dreading the current events. The kwamis were keeping themselves occupied with some snacks and a game of chess. Master Fu was sleeping right now, which Marinette was grateful for. He still looked to be in a great deal of pain, which only added the extra weight to her helplessness.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki flew up to face the girl. The little red creature looked very concerned.
"I'm alright, Tikki." Marinette tried to put on a smile, but she knew she wasn't fooling anybody.
"You know we don't blame you, right, kid?" Plagg said as he engulfed a large piece of camembert.
"Yeah, well, I blame me." Marinette sighed while taking a seat at the dining table. "If I had just listened and not attracted the sheriff's attention, Master Fu wouldn't be in the state he's in right now."
"You don't know that Marinette." Nooroo protested. "The sheriff could've noticed you a separate time you went into town."
"Which is all the more reason why I should've stayed here!" she dropped her head onto the table, feeling like the slight thumping pain was a decent punishment. "Now I learn that the people of Papillon are in trouble, my parents included. How could the king and Adrien let this happen!?"
"Perhaps they are not aware of the people's welfare at this time." Wayzz pointed out.
"Yes, if the royal family have not greeted the people for a while, and are only looking at the reports given to them, what else do they have to go on?" Pollen agreed.
Marinette lifted her head back up to look at the kwamis. "Lila said how she had more power than the royal family could imagine. I'm sure she's playing a part in all this."
"With Gimmi in her clutches, it wouldn't be difficult." Tikki moaned. "I'm positive that's what's going on."
"Guys! It's the Master!" Duusu flew over and cried out to get their attention.
Marinette hurried out of her seat and went over to the old man's bedside. His breathing was labored, and he seemed very weak, as if keeping his eyes open was challenging enough. She looked over to the kwamis, waiting for anymore instructions on how to help him. But they were all looking down solemnly, not saying a word.
"What do we do? Tikki? Plagg?" The seamstress urged them to give her an answer, trying to by optimistic, but they still said nothing. "Come on, isn't there anything else we can do?"
"No," Tikki answered at last. "I'm sorry Marinette, but he's not going to last much longer."
"No, no there has to be something else! We can't just give up!" Marinette tried to deny it, but when she looked back at the old man, she could see that even he didn't see another way for him to make it through this.
"My dear kwami friends..." Master Fu struggled to get their attention. "Please forgive me for failing you..."
"Stop right there, Wang Fu!" Trixx interrupted him. The other kwamis gasped at the fox for speaking so informally, but he ignored them. "None of us ever blamed you for what happened!"
"But it was because of my weak heart..."
"No! That witch fooled us all from the beginning!" Plagg spoke up this time.
Marinette was a little confused. "What does his sick heart have to do with anything?"
This made the black cat clamp his mouth shut and avoid eye contact with the seamstress. Marinette looked at the other kwamis, and they all seemed tight-lipped all of the sudden. Apparently, there was more to the story than what they had already told her, and they were reluctant to share.
She looked back to Master Fu, who looked like he was going to cry now, which made her feel worse. "I'm sorry, it's not my place to ask."
"No, Marinette, you have a right to know the truth..." he whispered and gave a nod to the kwamis as permission.
"Are you sure, master?" Duusu asked for confirmation.
"Tell her about Marianne." he said, then closed his eyes to let himself rest some more.
"Marianne? Who's that?" Marinette asked waiting for the kwamis to start explaining.
Plagg chose to be the first. "You know how we told you about Gimmi being the kwami responsible for the doorway to our realm, and how Master Fu helped guard this side?" She nodded yes. "The fact is that there was more to it than that. It wasn't just him."
"How so?" she asked giving them her full attention.
"Fu was part of a group of guardians that looked after the doorway and kept it safe from anyone that might want to steal the kwamis and gain their power. It was an honor that passed down through their generations." Wayzz said.
"The problem was that they kept it as such a guarded secret that there weren't many of them left by the time it was Wang Fu's turn. He had to do a lot of it on his own." Pollen looked at the old man sadly.
"Where was this doorway?" Marinette asked realizing they never got into full detail about that.
"In a secluded area high up in some mountains in Tibet. The guardians separated themselves from the small village at the bast of said mountains. Not the best place to make friends." Nooroo commented.
"Master Fu got to spend some time in the village in between guarding the door, and that's where he met Marianne." Tikki said.
It wasn't hard to guess what this woman meant to the old man. "He loved her."
"Yes, she was very dear to his heart." Duusu answered in near tears. "It was so tragic! A love that could not be because of his duties to the guardianship. The others were so against them being together..."
"Why? Couldn't they just be together when you guys weren't here?" Marinette remembered them telling her how the gateway would close for several years. And even when the kwamis were here, surely that wouldn't get in the way of Master Fu's happiness.
"The guardians said it would be too risky. That someone should always be there when we arrive and leave, and that personal feelings shouldn't interfere. And since the guardianship was such a secret, they were reluctant to gather more volunteers for the task." Wayzz answered.
"Fu told Marianne as much, and then she shared an idea with him." Trixx said grimly.
"What idea?" Marinette leaned forward, waiting for the next part of the story.
"Kwamis have the ability to bind themselves to an object so we can remain in this world and the human that holds the object can use our powers." Tikki said. "So, Marianne said that if Gimmi were to make such a bond, then they could travel the world and live their lives together while still guarding the doorway."
"It was all a lie, and we fell for it!" Plagg hissed. "Once Marianne had Gimmi, she used their powers to destroy the door and seal us up!"
"What about the other guardians?" Marinette asked and her question was returned with some very bleak faces.
"It was horrible!" Nooroo cried out. "She broke Master Fu's heart and then poisoned all the others. We tried to stop her, but without our powers, she was just too strong to fight."
"We believe she spared us and Master Fu to cruelly remind us of our failure. She fled the mountain after that, only to use Gimmi's magic for selfish purposes." Tikki finished.
"We've been looking for them for seventy years, now." Wayzz calculated. "At one point, Master Fu became too old to travel, so we settled in this part of the Fool-Eating Marsh."
Marinette had to stop them because something didn't add up. "Wait, then how does Lila fit into all of this?"
Tikki sighed. "Several times, Marianne would use the magic to make herself a fortune and buy herself into the higher societies. Another part of the schemes was changing her appearance and even keep herself from aging."
"Ugh, it wasn't hard to do, either. My guess was that she traded years from several people to make them older, and then herself younger. Then trading hair and eye color is a piece of cheese." Plagg explained more of the witch's tricks.
It was then that the answer came clear, and Marinette gasped in understanding. Marianne was Lila using the kwami magic to stay young forever. The woman she had met was probably completely different to how she was supposed to look.
"We kept trying to find her and Gimmi. Sometimes we would lose the trail for several years. Often, she would weasel her way into a royal family to become the next ruler. One time a small kingdom wouldn't accept her, and she ended up killing everybody before we could warn them. Then she just slithered away like the miserable little slug she was!" Plagg ranted taking his frustration out on some of the fruit on the table, turning it into mush.
"How was she able to get away with all of this for so long?" Marinette asked, finding it hard to believe that someone would be so cruel.
"She was very good about covering her tracks. She used Gimmi to get rid of anyone that would try to stop her, maybe even frame them so people would think they were witches or something. It's not hard to make large groups believe in superstitions. Sometimes we would find traces of magic like when we found you, but it was never enough to track her. She always made herself blend in." Tikki said.
"And now she's set her eyes on Papillon... on Adrien." Marinette gasped.
"She has done this many times, hurting so many innocent lives." Master Fu got their attention again. "I was a fool. I believed her to be kind and caring, willing to accept my feelings, but even that was a lie. And now my ignorance has harmed a sweet girl like you."
Marinette's heart bled for the poor man, and she reached out to him. "I'm so sorry, Master Fu, you didn't deserve any of this."
He accepted her hand and held it as tight as he could. "Neither did you, Marinette, and now I believe you are the only one that can put an end to all this."
"Me?"
"Yes. If you truly wish to gain back the life that was stolen from you, then you will have to fight for it."
"How? I don't know how to fight Lila's magic. I have no power of my own." Marinette didn't want him to rely on her only to fail again.
"You don't need magic." he smiled at the dear girl. "You have something far more special."
"Are you sure she can do it, Master Fu?" Tikki asked next to the seamstress.
"I'm sure Marinette will be the one to free us all." he smiled gently as if there wasn't a care in the world.
"How will I do that?" Marinette asked, still unsure what she could possibly do by herself.
Instead of answering, the old man waved her off and changed the subject. "I think I should very much like to have some of those fresh fruit pastries you had promised us, Marinette. Now that we have all the ingredients."
The seamstress just nodded and stood from the side of the bed. "Alright. Do any of you guys want to help me?" she asked the kwamis.
"I do! I do!" Most of them cheered out and Marinette got to work. She looked back to see that Master Fu had fallen asleep again, so she left him alone. She would wake him again once the pastries were done and they could all enjoy it together.
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The next morning was bright and beautiful, but no one was feeling cheery about it. Half of the kwamis were sobbing away with the other half trying to console them. They were all watching as Marinette placed the body of their departed friend into the freshly dug grave.
Master Wang Fu had seemed in good spirits when he woke back up to enjoy the baked goods Marinette prepared for everyone. They were all happy and having a good time. She tried to ask again about how she could help with the kwamis' curse, and he only replied with she must break the kwami curse before breaking her own. He never went into further detail after that, and went back to sleep saying he would explain things in the morning. He never woke up again.
Marinette and the kwamis put him to rest near the garden and under a yew tree. All the kwamis said their final goodbyes before she filled the hole up. The seamstress felt bad that they didn't have any spare wood to make a coffin, so the best she could do was wrap him in a sheet and gently place him on a light bed of straw in the earth. When it was finished, she sat beside the grave feeling a great sense of emptiness around her.
Despite having the seven little deities beside her, Marinette was feeling more alone than ever. She troubled over the thoughts of her friends, her family, her beloved prince, and also for the dear little kwamis that also became her friends. They were all counting on her, but how could she ever accomplish freeing them from their sealing spell? What did she know about magic? She stared at the grave, wishing desperately that Master Fu was still here to help her, that anyone out there was still on her side.
Tikki sat on one of the large rocks and looked out at all her friends. Wayzz was trying to sooth the extremely emotional Duusu, while Trixx was letting Pollen and Nooroo snuggle on his big, fluffy tail. Plagg was beside her purring away to comfort the both of them. This experience had affected her and the kwamis differently than before. Normally, they would've made friends with several humans during their visit, then say their goodbyes and come back in another time to find completely new faces. They had never before been around long enough to watch a friend throughout their lifetime. To watch them grow old and fade away. This cut through each deity deeply. Tikki scratched one of Plagg's ears as she looked back at Marinette, thinking about how her fragile life was ruined by their powers. They had to make this right.
The red kwami nudged Plagg to get up and gave a nod for him to follow her over to the seamstress. She was still looking at the graveyard with tears streaming silently down her face. The ladybug and black cat didn't say anything to her. They took a seat on each shoulder and nuzzled her cheeks. Plagg did a little extra by purring gently, making Marinette lean toward him for comfort.
"Tikki? Plagg?" Marinette spoke at last.
"Yes, Marinette?" Tikki got off her shoulder to face her directly.
"Do you think Master Fu was right when he said I could break your curse?" Marinette wiped away the rest of her tears to get herself together.
"I'm sure you will be able to do it." Tikki put on a big smile for her. "He believed in you and so do I."
"But I've never done anything magical before. What if I mess something up and your curse gets worse?"
"Trust me, kid, it could not get any worse." Plagg answered as he floated up to be beside Tikki. "Plus, once you break our curse, we'll be able to break yours and you'll get your life back."
"Are you sure it would work?"
"That will all depend on you, Marinette. On your own strength and determination." Tikki tried to urge her to accept the task.
Though she still wasn't sure of herself, Marinette felt it wouldn't hurt to at least know all the details. "What would I have to do?" she asked in a new curiosity.
Both kwamis smiled at the brave girl, and Tikki began explaining. "First, in order to break the seal, you must construct a special cloak. One cloak must be made for each kwami."
"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard, since you're all so small..." Marinette started thinking this was going to be easy, then she heard Plagg snort at her comment.
"Hold it there, pigtails, it's not going to be that simple." Plagg teased her since her hair was too short to be up like that now. "We told you that how we look now is just a disguise for convenience. You'll have to make the cloaks for our true forms."
"We're about two meters in height, so they'll have to fit to that." Tikki supplied the measurement. "And these cloaks have to be made with a special plant that can repel magic."
"What kind of plant is that?" Marinette asked, eagerly to get things started if the supplies were easy to come by.
"It's a rare stinging nettle that grows best around graveyard soil and under moonlight." Tikki explained. "So, what you have to do is take the nettle plants, spin them into a hemp-like thread, and then knit that threat into cloaks. The nettle plant will scrub away the seal and renew our connection to the kwami realm, everyone will have their full powers back and, we can free Gimmi from Lila's torturous hold."
"Okay, I think I can do that. I've never made thread from scratch before, but I know how it's done." Marinette replied thinking through the process she had witnessed once or twice.
"There's one more thing, Marinette." Tikki said a little nervous about saying the rest. "The last condition is that you must make a vow as you make the cloaks, and you have to keep that vow for the whole duration. If you break it at any time, all your efforts will be null and void, and you'll never be able to finish the cloaks or even have a second chance to start over from scratch."
"What kind of vow do I have to make? And why is making a vow so important?" the seamstress questioned why keeping a promise would affect magical creatures so much.
"When it comes to magic, a little thing like a promise can mean all the difference in the world." Wayzz said joining the conversation. "Any time a witch or sorcerer makes a spell, they must create rules that will help them put an end to them when they wish, otherwise the magic will just keep going. Since this is a matter of fighting a magical spell without any magic of your own, laws and contracts are made that keep the spells intact. The nettle plants are the rules given to us to wash away the seal we were forcefully trapped into."
"Okay, so what kind of vow would I have to make?" Marinette asked understanding.
"You could swear to never eat cheese again." Plagg smirked. "I'll be happy to help you with that, so you'd never break it."
"I'm sure you would." Trixx smirked at the black cat. "But you know as well as I that it cannot be as simple a promise as that, Plagg."
"She could vow to not sleep as she makes the cloaks." the bee kwami suggested.
"No, Pollen, humans need to sleep. It's not a luxury for them like it is for us." Nooroo countered.
"Oh, right."
"I still say swearing not to eat cheese is the best idea..." Plagg spoke up again. "Think about it, it's the easiest thing to keep track of, and she could have plenty of other things to eat, leaving all the good stuff for m- uh, I mean us."
"No, Plagg, you know it has to be something more significant than swearing off certain foods. It has to be something that ties to her reason for doing this task in the first place. It has to matter to what she's fighting for." Wayzz gently scolded the kwami.
"What's your big idea then, Wayzz?" Plagg stuck his tongue out at the turtle.
"I have an idea." Tikki spoke up instead.
"What is it, Tikki?" Marinette asked because she wasn't sure what a good idea for a vow would be after listening to Wayzz.
"Well, it's like Wayzz said, the vow has to mean something to fight against the spell Lila placed on you. Because of her, all your words were viewed as a lie, and hers were seen as the truth. If you were to make a vow of silence as you make the cloaks, then all your efforts will eventually reveal the truth without a word necessary." Tikki explained.
"So, I wouldn't be able to talk at all while I make the cloaks." Marinette made sure she understood the kwami's suggestion.
"Yes, that would be a good vow." Wayzz agreed. "Another reason it would be a good idea is that Gimmi has an extra sense about these sorts of things. If any of your progress and the reasons behind it were spoken out loud, they might be able to hear it. If Lila forces Gimmi to tell the truth, then all your progress could be lost, and we will never be free."
"So, even if I manage to begin working on these cloaks while keeping a vow of silence, there's a chance I could mess all this up and ruin everything for everyone." Marinette let her whole body slump. Surely there was no way she would be able to pull this off. She wasn't the right person for this kind of thing. Maybe the kwamis should try and find someone else.
"Marinette." Tikki's gentle voice broke her thoughts. "Master Fu believed you could do it, and so do we. Yes, it will be hard and challenging, but you seem like the kind of person that likes a challenge."
"But what if I don't do it right, or I end up making things worse?" she twisted her fists into her skirt nervously.
"I think you can do it pigtails," Plagg said. "It's gonna be really boring if you do take that vow of silence though. You sure you don't want to go with my suggestion?"
"Plagg!" Tikki said annoyed at the black cat, then turned back to the seamstress. "The choice is yours, Marinette. Whatever you decide." Then all the kwamis left to leave her to her thoughts.
It certainly was a great deal to process. On the one hand, Marinette finally had a way to fight against Lila. If she wins this, she'll have her happy life back. Everyone will recognize her again, and she'll go back to planning her wedding with Adrien. Then again, who's to say she would actually be able to do this? What if she doesn't do it the right way, the way they need it to be done for the magic of these nettle plants to work? What if she forgets to keep quiet at any given moment and says something stupid that will ruin everything for her little friends? Or even worse, what if she doesn't finish the cloaks in time and Lila destroys Papillon? What if Marinette takes too long, and Lila does what she promised to do to Adrien? That thought made her heart sink in fear, and tears started to fall from her eyes again. She couldn't do this. There was no way she could do this. The kwamis should try and find someone else, someone more reliable than her.
"Marinette?" Tikki came back to check on her to find the poor girl crying again.
"I can't do this Tikki." she sniffled.
"I know things seem hard right now, but I'm sure you'll be able to do it." Tikki tried to give her some more confidence.
"What makes you so sure I'll succeed?" Marinette asked.
"Well, I don't, but I may have something that will help you along the way. Lucky Charm!" Tikki called out into the air, causing some strange swirling magic to appear create something that fell in front of Marinette.
She caught whatever it was out of reflex and looked to find a pair of knitting needles. They were red with black spots all over them, a good quality too. Though the purpose of them was still a little lost on the seamstress.
"What are these for?" she asked the kwami.
"These are a part of my magic of creation." Tikki smiled. "I can make anything that will be useful to a person's task, and give it a little bit of extra luck so they can succeed. These needles will help you make the nettle cloaks successfully."
Marinette looked at the tools hopefully, then a thought occurred to her. "But didn't you say that those plants repel magic? Won't that make it where these won't work?"
"No, that's different. See, another sorcerer and I used a type of healing spell to make the seeds of those plants many millennia ago, so they and these knitting needles are part of the same magic. You're fighting against something that is a part of Gimmi, a part of Plagg and me." Tikki explained.
So much was running through the young seamstress's mind. She continued to question whether or not she could accomplish this. If Master Fu was right to believe in her. "Tikki, do you know what Master Fu meant when he said I had something more special than magic?"
"I'm sure he was talking about your good heart." Tikki answered quickly, which made Marinette wonder if that was the real answer. "Your kind, caring, and you seem to always want to help others and do what's right. That tells me that you have the determination. Even if this had nothing to do with you, and you were still living your happy life, you would still be there to try and help us. Am I wrong?"
Marinette felt a spark of realization run through her mind. Yes, she would have done that. If she had gotten wind of this sort of thing happening to someone else, she would be fighting tooth and nail to try and help them. She would even try going through the king himself to correct the injustice. She had done so on a few separate occasions in the city. Adrien always told her how proud he was of her, that she seemed to be an Everyday Hero of Papillon, to which she would lightly scold him for teasing, and he would reply that he was only telling the truth. Adrien was always the support she needed to make her feel like she could do anything, and now here she was needing him again. He couldn't be with her physically, but she still felt him in her heart, and she knew her prince would be telling her the same thing that all the kwamis and Master Fu had been telling her.
The young woman stood up then, feeling as tall as a tree. She made a quick stride back to the house to fetch the small knife Alya had snuck onto her person, and walked back outside to the fresh grave. The kwamis looked at her in confusion and followed her out to see what she was going to do. She didn't say anything at first and looked at the grave sternly. This grave was the proof about one person causing so much pain. Now it was Marinette and the kingdom of Papillon that was going to suffer because of that same person's selfishness. She wasn't going to let this continue. She will fight.
Taking the knife against her left hand, she ran the blade against the side of her palm away from the thumb, and cut into the skin until there was a good few drops of blood. Hissing through her teeth, she had to take a few deep breaths to keep herself from passing out. She never liked blood or violence, and mostly looked for a way to avoid it, but there was no helping it this time. She fought against the pain and took a few deep breaths before holding her injured hand over the loose soil, reciting her vow.
"I, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. . . by my own blood and upon this grave of my dear friend Master Wang Fu . . . . do hereby swear a vow of silence for the duration of fashioning seven cloaks of nettle for the Seven Kwamis to free them from their magical prisons. . . . Let no word be made from me until my task is complete." She turned her hand to let the drops of blood fall onto the freshly dug soil with all the kwamis as her witnesses.
There was a silence, and then the black cat spoke up. "Ummm, you know you didn't have to do that right away. You could've kept talking until you had the plants." he smirked at her.
Marinette just smiled at him, knowing he was fooling with her, but Tikki still took the opportunity to scold him. "Knock it off, Plagg, you know it is more meaningful this way."
"So, you really won't say a word for as long as it takes?" Pollen asked innocently.
Marinette just shook her head.
"No matter what?" Duusu asked with big wide eyes.
She shook her head again.
"Hey, pigtails! Knock Knock?" the kwami went up to her ear to bug her further.
"PLAGG!" This time all the kwamis were scolding their friends, all except Trixx who was laughing with the black cat. Marinette had to hold her hand over her mouth to keep form laughing.
"Honestly, you two!" Tikki sighed, then left them alone to their childishness. "Well, anyway, we should get that cut cleaned up, Marinette."
Marinette looked at her hand that was still bleeding a little bit and took out a handkerchief to cover it up. She followed her friend back inside to take care of herself and thought through what she was going to make for dinner. They could worry about the cloaks tomorrow, for now it was a time to relax and mourn their losses. She still had doubts on whether or not she could do this, but looking back at her wounded hand and saw her engagement ring. It was a good reminder of what she was fighting for, what she wasn't going to let Lila have while she was still breathing.
'Hold on Adrien, my love. I promise I will come back to you.'
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