The New Guardian

Chapter 13: Goodbye

Marinette's finger tapped against the wood before her hand sluggishly fidgeted. It felt the floor beneath her before reaching the front, grabbing onto a bar. Marinette heavily lifted her head up, struggling to take in her surroundings. As her blurred vision faded, she saw that she was in a wooden cell. There was a small light above her, but everything else was dark. Marinette pressed her hand against the ground, pushing herself up. Her arms shook. She was so weak. Where did all of her strength go? She had never felt this helpless before. Did they drug her or something? Marinette's memory was too fuzzy.

Marinette sat up and fell back, leaning against the wall. Her eye lids felt heavy. Her fingers reached to her ears, grazing over the skin. Her earrings were gone and so was her power. Marinette sighed. She remembered the entire meeting with the temple elders, but almost everything afterwards is a huge blank in her mind.

A light went off in her head. Marinette groaned, rubbing her temples. She saw April. Not now but earlier. She was running to her dorm room when she passed April in the hallway . . .

"April, April, April, April!" Marinette shouted, sprinting down the hallway and stopping in front of her. She took a deep breath. "April."

"Marinette." April smiled nervously and her eyes widened.

"I need . . . I need to tell you . . . something." Marinette bent over, panting.

"Well are you gonna tell me or should I come back later? You seem busy." April moved to walk past.

"No, wait!" Marinette stopped her. "I'm leaving the temple, so there won't be a later!"

"What happened?" April asked, face blank. "What did the council say? Was it Chat Noir? Are you running from him again?"

"Not this time. I need to get away from this place and these people before it's too late." Marinette walked to the other side of her. "The teachers, the students, the council, they're all out to get me. I have to go now!" Marinette turned to leave, but April pulled her back.

"You can't be serious. Of course you won't fit in here. You aren't one of us and you never have been, but that won't matter." April put her hands on her shoulders. "You've told me yourself that you're starting to enjoy it here, so why worry about them? I've seen you grow as a holder over the past few weeks. You should be here even if you were never supposed to be."

"You don't understand." Marinette removed her arms and looked around her. She moved to April's ear and whispered. "They're after me." April raised an eyebrow. "Listen, I don't know when they are listening or if they even are, but I need to leave while I still can."

"How do you know they're after you?" April seemed skeptical. "You have a little bit of a hyper and overreactive personality, Marinette. Are you sure you aren't reading in between lines that aren't even there? Was it Priya? I told you how competitive we all are."

"No, April!" Marinette rolled her eyes, still catching her breath. "Think about it. Why would they invite me here in the first place? I was their enemy before I even got here. It doesn't make sense for the council to act so friendly while they let me stomp all over their century old rules to be here."

"I guess that's a little suspicious, but I don't know exactly how the council thinks to agree with you."

"I also overheard them say something about a trial." Marinette announced. "They want to try me for my 'crimes.' The whole meeting I had with them was completely awkward and they were definitely repressing their real feelings, but after it was over, I went back because I forgot my purse, which I never got back. I overheard them talking negatively about me and how I don't deserve everything I have. I didn't hear a date and time for the prosecution, but if I leave now, I might have a chance to escape."