I didn't update! I know! I just had to think of 'non-stupid' plot. I also had my exams going. Whatever! Here you go!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers!
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"I'm so sorry for your loss. Luka was a great man, and a great music player too." said Samantha Dewhurst, her co-worker, while patting her shoulders.
Marinette merely nodded. It was her first day back to work as a researcher in the Department of design Research and Development but she didn't really feel like doing anything. She felt a pang in her heart everytime someone would come up to her and say, 'I'm so sorry for your loss,' 'Luka was a great man' or 'Luka was a great music player.'
She tried to feel something, really. but how could she when she didn't even remember him?
It was like one of those times, when you hear someone die in the news. You feel sad for a while, but forget about it eventually because that person wasn't really that close to you.
But they were close, sweet Merlin they were about to get married too...
She sighed.
She had a mixture of different emotions; specifically guilt for not feeling miserable enough, and anger at herself for letting Damian win again. She shoved her emotions out of the way and tried to busy herself with her designs and art.
The department was quiet when she started mixing up the ingredients. Everyone probably thought she needed some alone time and she was thankful for this. She needed to lose herself. She needed to relax or she would go mad. She sniffed the perfume coming of her newly stitched dress and smelled the intoxicating scent of the mint herbs. She watched, satisfied, as the dress formed a wavy pattern.
"Marinette."
She turned and cringed slightly at the sight of brown hair, accidentally cuttimg a bit more than necessary.
"Oh no." The dress turned shocking pink this time, the waves of the dress shaking and shaking.
"DUCK!" she yelled.
The dress exploded with a deafening sound, splattering pink goo everywhere.
Bugger. Now she had to start all over again. She spat the liquid substance that got inside her mouth, stood up and pursed her lips at the pink mess. She had been stupid enough to think that filling the dress with pink waves would make it more beautiful.
"Alya told me to come check on you." came Rose's dreamy voice. Her clothes and hair were disheveled, covered in pink goo. Marinette chuckled at the sight. She walked over to Rose and hugged her tightly. "And to invite you to our house for dinner too."
"When did you get back?" Marinette asked while grabbing a cloth and cleaning Rose's clothes.
Rose was a naturalist. She travelled the world looking for various mad creatures and places.
"Just yesterday." She replied serenely. Marinette started cleaning the walls. "I just had a feeling you needed help, with Luka gone and Damian Wayne back and everything."
Marinette stopped momentarily.
"Oh, so Alya told you?"
"That Damian Wayne came back? Yes." "I suppose it was only a matter of time."
Marinette fidgeted awkwardly. Talking to Rose always made her feel rather uneasy. She didn't know what Rose was thinking half the time and she hardly understood what she was saying.
"What makes you say that?" said Marinette.
"A lot of things," she smiled dreamily,"Damian Wayne's quite evil, but it gives me great comfort that unlike other crimminals, he knows how."
Sometimes Marinette wonders what the world would look like through Rose's eyes. She was incredibly open-minded, and she saw things most people didn't see, or didn't want to see.
Maybe that's why Alya fell in love with her.( I am sorry readers if you don't like Alya and Rose. I ship them though.)
"How? How to what?"
Rose stared at her although she looked like she wasn't really seeing her. She stared and stared, her protuberant eyes never blinking even once. It really made her feel uncomfortable. "To love, of course." She said nonchalantly, before looking away. "He's just got a different way of showing it."
Marinette stared at the floor in embarrassment. "I—er—"
Rose carefully held a lock of short hair in her hand, examining it dreamily. Her vlonde tresses were now highlighted with streaks of pink.
Marinette moved towards her to get the pink goo out of her hair. "Here, let me."
"Oh no," Rose told her, "I kinda like it. Besides, my hair bothers you, doesn't it? It's blonde like Adrien's, yes?"
Marinette managed to nod stiffly. She watched, dumbfounded, as Rose started heading to the door, pink highlights and all. She stopped for a while.
"I knew he would come back, because the things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end."
She smiled a dreamy smile again, then she was gone.
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The room was dimly lit; it was more of a dungeon than a room actually. It might even be underground, because there were no windows, merely torches. There were rows and rows of people that were seated around every wall on what seemed to be benches rising in levels, all positioned so that they had a very clear view of a chair in the center. The chair had chains on its arms.
Marinette was sitting at the very corner of the dungeon, hidden in the shadows. She stayed there specifically so she wouldn't be seen by the person who was about to sit in the center chair. She wasn't allowed here, but somehow she convinced Alya to let her come, as long as Damian didn't see her.
She could see from the top of everyone's hats. They were all patiently waiting for him, and none of them were talking to one another.
She heard footsteps. The door in the corner of the dungeon opened and five people entered— or at least one man and four guards. As if it wasn't already cold enough, the guards seemed to make the dungoen colder.
She fidgeted in her seat nervously at the sight of him, only relaxing when Alya touched her shoulder.
"It's okay."
Somehow those words sounded familiar.
Alya stood from his seat beside her and occupied the empty seat close to the center chair. She wanted to see Damian's reaction to all of this. Damian sat lazily; he didn't acknowledge Alya's presence. His hands were sprawled in the arms of the chair, his legs were crossed and he looked very much like he didn't have a care in the world—like he wasn't about to be sent to jail or he wasn't surrounded by four dangerous monsters.
She wondered how he did it, how he was so calm everytime a situation like this happens. She thought of different reasons; maybe he wasn't really calm, maybe he was just good at hiding his nerves... then again maybe he didn't really feel anything at all.
"Damian Wayne," said the deep voice of Mr. hideous Worden, he was wearing a black hat and dark potys, "you have been brought here by the Council of Law so that we may pass judgement on you for a crime so heinous—" She saw Damian raise an eyebrow "—that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court.
"We have heard the evidence against you. You stand accused of torturing and killing Adrien Gabriel ( I forgot his surname) by the use of Wolfseed poison," gasps and murmurs errupted from the crowd. He paused as if he was waiting for Damian to protest. When Damian didn't do anything he continued, "You were found in possession of the Luteus stone and you were also behind the murders in the Winter Masquerade in Paris five years ago."
"...sweet Merlin, Wolfseed? That's impossible to make, that is..."
"...it hasn't been brewed over hundreds of years..."
"...Luteus stone! Is it still inside..."
"...and what poison did he use in the Massacre? I heard they couldn't find a cure..."
"...no cure at all. It destroyed the teacher, having to watch those students die a slow, painful death..."
"...of course it would be nothing short of brilliant, this is Damian Wayne..."
Damian remained impassive. His handsome face was expressionless but he had a calculating look in his eyes. Marinette felt a cold, sinking feeling in her chest again. Perhaps it was because of the guards.
"Do you have anything to add to your testimony before we pass judgement?"
Damian's lips slowly curled into a smirk.
"These evidences," he said tauntingly, "what are they, exactly?"
"I beg your pardon?" said Mr.Hideous, slightly confused by his question.
"Kindly elaborate – the evidences you have—against me." Damian said slowly, as if he was talking to a child.
"Oh yes, well," Hideous cleared his throat. He placed spectacles in his eyes and unrolled a piece of paper. He began to read. "The brewing process of Menispermum (commonly known as Wolfseed) is incredibly difficult, containing 727 steps over a seven month maturation period. Because of this, Menispermum is rarely used and fairly unknown to most people, and is only known to a few assasin families." He looked up from the parchment. "The Wayne family is one of the old asirtocracies capable of brewing Wolfseed. They practice the art of poison-making. Impossible as it may sound, you have the skills to do so."
Damian's smirk widened but he didn't say anything. Marinette was infuriated with the way he was behaving. He was too calm and collected. He was up to something.
"Yes Mr. Damian?" Hideous looked slightly irritated. Apparently, he noticed Damian's behavior too. "Do you have anything to say?"
"It just seems like you based your accusations on weak evidences." He replied in a casual yet arrogant tone.
The noise from the crowd grew louder. Mr. Hideos's face twisted into pure dislike. He stared at Damian with deep annoyance.
"Weak evidences?"
"Do you have any proof at all that he was poisoned?" Suddenly it dawned on Marinette what he was going to do, he was going to manipulate everyone into thinking he was innocent. The sodding git.
Let him try then. He can't possibly worm his way out if this one, can he?
"Nothing?" Damian paused and waited for Hideos to answer. When Hideous didn't speak, he leaned back on his chair and clicked his tongue. "I'm disappointed."
She desperately wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.
"From what I heard, the doctor gave him medicine that contained wolf blood. Now there have been cases—rare occurrences, mind you— where people die of having to take such a medicine. Adriens's blood is not compatible with the wolf's blood and therefore his body rejected it."
"Marinette said she saw the roses that killed Adrien turn black before withering." Alya said loudly. "Care to explain that one?"
This time, Damian finally acknowledged Alya. "Ah yes, Marinette. Can she prove it?"
Damian stood from the chair and started pacing around the dungeon, eyeing everyone he passed. "Even if Adrien was poisoned, which I doubt very much, there isn't any proof that it was me who did it, is there? I do have motive, yes, but there is still no concrete evidence putting me in the crime scene." He snorted a short laugh. "Hell, I didn't even give him the roses—"
"Your team hit him with the fencing stick that sent him to the Hospital Wing!" Alya said loudly.
"An honest mistake." He replied. "It's music, woman. People get hurt. My team did send him to the Hospital Wing, but that's all. As far as I know, that doesn't amount to murder."
"The Luteus Stone was found inside of you—"
"I thought we already established that I only placed it inside of me because I was forced by Hawkmoth?"
"What? WHAT? You played Hawkmoth! You did it to gain more power!"
"Believe what you want idiot, but remember, Fu himself said I was innocent."
He thought about everything. Marinette was about to stand and give him a piece of her mind but Alya beat her to it, she stood from his chair in anger.
"And what about the people in the Winter Masquerade Massacre?" Alya was shouting now. "I suppose you think they just dropped dead of their own accord?"
"Again, there is no real evidence against me." He stopped walking directly at the place where Marinette was hidden for a while. This can't be happening. He was winning. He was manipulating people into his side again. She tried to stand and hex his sorry arse but the person to her right glared at her and reminded her that she mustn't be seen. Damian continued walking. "Aside from the fact that I know how to brew such poisons."
There was a long silence.
Damian finally stopped walking and settled in the center chair again.
"Mrs.Alya believes you committed these crimes. She claims you—confessed—that night in the Astronomy Tower." said Hideous.
"Coming from someone who accused Nino of being crimminal out of spite." Damian sneered at Alya. "Let's all take the idiot's word for it!"
Alya looked furious, her knuckles were white in anger. Marinette thought she was going to throw his chair at Damian.
"What about the Couffaines?" said a man said from the upper left bench. "The Couffaine Mansion burned to crisp and you suddenly come back from the dead, isn't that a little suspicious?"
"Yes it is," Damiansaid loudly, more menacing than ever. He seemed irritated at the mention of the name, "but we already know how the Couffaines died, don't we?"
More gasps came from the crowd. What is he playing at?
"Mr. Damian," Hideous said in a surprised tone. "Is this...Are you confessing?"
Damian suddenly had a very evil gleam on his eyes. She didn't like it at all.
"Well no, I didn't do anything," he smirked once more. His expression was almost feral, "Luka Couffaine shouldn't have stolen what was mine."
Marinette felt her heart race. She felt a mixture of hatred and anger. She saw Alya staring at her with utter confusion on her face. She stared back, trying to tell him she was just as confused as she was. The titters from the crowd were deafening.
"Mr. Damian?"
"The Couffaines died because of this." He threw a small object at Hideous and he caught it. He raised it at eye level.
"A ring?"
Suddenly no one was talking anymore. Alya looked dumbfounded. Marinette suddenly felt the need to get out of there.
"Marinette Dupain Cheng's engagement ring, to be more precise," Damian said with a sadistically happy smile.
"If you're going to blame this on Marinette—"
"Relax (Alya's surname)."
And at that very moment, Marinette knew the world had ended. She braced herself.
She didn't know how (he wasn't suppose to know she was there), but right now Damian's look was directed precisely towards her.
"It wasn't her fault, really." He continued, still staring at her intensely. He stood up again. "She didn't know I was still alive, so she thought..." He placed his hands on his pockets. "...it's okay to get married again."
The crowd went wild, voices of protest and shock resounded everywhere. She could hear a great deal of them from where she was sitting. A couple of people were already eyeing her in shock.
"...A baker's girl married to a Damian, unnacceptable..."
Marinette was literally frozen in her seat. She felt at a loss of words, of anything. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding.
"...This is obviously a lie isn't it? Marinette would never..."
"...Poor thing, she probably didn't know about the royal tradition..."
"Is—is this true, Ms. Dupain Cheng?" Hideous's voice was the only thing that made sense, the only thing that was clear amongst the whispers. It reeked of disbelief, denial.
"I—I—" She tried to grasp the right words but her mind went blank. What else could she say? The truth was already out.
"Go on, angel." Damian said in mock encouragement. "Tell them how we bonded. Show them my family crest."
"...a traditional marriage bond? That explains the Fiendfyre..."
"...I can't believe this. The Wayne name has been stained..."
"...and the memory loss too..."
"Tell them you belong to me."
Someone was grabbing her and pulling her to the center space. She didn't know who exactly. It was all a blur of confusion, the smear of colors of different faces blending before her eyes. She usually knew what to do or what to say, but right now she just felt lost.
Grey.
She remembered this feeling. She could never forget.
When the whole world held its breath...
She felt his gentle touch in her skin, felt herself shiver. He took her earings and aimed it at her arm. The crest she tried to hide after all these years was now as clear as ever.
He stared at her once more before giving her back her earings and letting go of her arm.
"The moment she wore the ring, the bond obviously noticed the betrayal." He told everyone in a serious tone. "What magic has bound together, no man can undo. And if any man should try to undo the magic, he, along with his family, will burn to death. I'm sure you know this." He stared at the royal families and they nodded. "She can't remember him because of the bond too. Betrayal is a grave offence in a marriage bond. I came back to tell her, and to warn the Couffaines, but obviously, I was too late."
"You're LYING!" She yelled, suddenly feeling her blood boil. "You did this on purpose! You WANTED them dead!"
"Such ludicrous charges." He gazed back at her, smirking again.
"Don't you see what he's trying to do?" Marinette yelled at the crowd. "He's trying to manipulate you into believing him! He's—he's brainwashing you!"
"Now, now, Marinette." He said mockingly. "I'm merely trying to prove my innocence."
"Innocence?" Alya shouted. "You wouldn't know the meaning of the word—"
"STOP IT! THE THREE OF YOU!" Mr. Hideous yelled. They all looked at him and kept quiet. He adjusted his spectacles and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.
It took a while before he composed himself and recovered from the shock.
"I now ask the jury," he said, his voice slightly shaking, "to raise their hands if they believe that these crimes deserve a death sentence."
A great number of hands were thrown in the air but Marinette shook her head.
It wasn't enough.
He won again.
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Well they didn't have enough evidence to send him to death in the first place. He was too thorough with hiding his crimes. Aww... :(
My longest chapter so far :p Read and Review!
BUG OUT!