In case you're interested, the titles are lyrics from Tom's Diner. With a Marinette focused chapter revolving around her parent's shop, it was too tongue in cheek to not use.
I'm Pretending Not To See
"Are you okay?" Colette's eyes teared as she attempted to pull Amelie closer.
Amelie's face was stained with tears, yet her expression was blank. Colette desperately grasped towards the girl's face, hoping it would encourage her to speak.
"Amelie, please, please talk to me." Her dread exuded as she shook the young girl for answers.
Bitterly, Amelie spat at the ground in between Colette's feet.
Gritting her teeth, Colette controlled her urge to reprehend the child; she knew that she had every right to be upset.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I didn't think that would happen. The withdrawals were... I'm sure he didn't mean it." Cosette struggled to rationalise her husband's actions. The withdrawals after years of wearing the ring had become unbearable. He was in constant pain, dreaming for reparation.
Only Graham De Vanily Twins can wear the rings, or it will end in devastation. Colette never imagined that the devastation would be as cataclysmic as this. She thought, if she took away the ring, and gave it to the rightful carrier, it would finally mend what she had ruined. But even with Emelie wearing the ring forged of pain, it did nothing to protect Amelie from the consequences.
"Oh no," Amelie's tone held no infliction as she spoke with irony, "I feel so guilty that he's had to withdraw from a magic that never belonged to him."
She is responding, that's a step. We can fix this. We have to be able to fix this. "You're right, he should have never had that power."
"But you didn't listen." Venom raised within Amelie's voice. "Instead, you made it my job to soothe his pain." As her anger elevated, she once again spat towards her mother. This time, it struck her cheek.
Weeping, Colette cleaned the spit from her face. "The active ring holders don't have the same cooling effect. I never imagined he could do something like that." The soothing touch had been an incidental discovery. Though Amelie being near Cosette's husband increased the pain, her touch would calm the torment. It was as if her skin was a form of methadone.
"You can blame his anger and his violence on the rings. But you're out of excuses once the metal left his finger. You held his hand as he wallowed in his own guilt when he took it off. How he couldn't believe he had committed such acts. This wasn't the ring. He did it. Of his own free will. And you let him."
"Here," Cosette took off her ring. "What if you took the ring? Here, it will help to protect you." Cosette's hands tremored as she attempted to set the ring in Amelie's palm.
The ring began to sing in Amelie's palms. She responded to the sirening call by jetting it across the room. "That fixes nothing!" Her shrill voice echoed throughout the house.
"I'll destroy them." Cosette spilled out a promise that she prayed Amelie would not accept.
Scoffing, Amelie bit her trembling lip. "You need to do more than that."
Gears began to turn in Cosette's head as she accepted her daughter's terms.
-
"It's been five years Mom! You can't keep blaming me for that!" Amelie shrieked. Emelie intertwined her fingers within her sister's, demonstrating her support.
"I will always have his blood on my hands because of you." Her words slurred as she wobbled in place.
She's Straightening Her Stockings
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Le Chat et Le Serpent
FanfictionAdrien works to heal himself after the death of his father. Even after the death of Gabriel, his power still remains, hindering Adrien's ability to move forward. As he finds solace with Luka, the one holder that knows his identity, he struggles with...
