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...The Denovorum was the only medicine that could save him, the only cure to his condition.
So she'd started researching about it and proposed a project to get it done. She'd travelled to different parts of the world to collect the rare ingredients, no matter how tiring and life-threatening it was. She'd do whatever it took.
For Dennis... and for everyone else who was suffering through the same condition...
The boy eyed her sadly, covering his face with both hands and shaking his head.
"I lost my Stethoscope."
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"Well of course, you have to do it," said the girl in front of her, haughtily. "It's your medicine and I just got my nails done. I don't want to get mud all over them."
Marinette rolled her eyes at the intended insult.
She was in the first level of S.F.O.W.W. with Lila, trying to collect sap from a fascinating little Morning Glory with absolute caution. The 1st floor looked peculiar in every sense of the word. It looked like an empty cave: cold, dim and moist, with its pointy, jagged rocks. It was an odd place to plant a Morning Glory, a plant that lived off of the sun. But this particular flower was different from the rest.
It was special because its bushes had been cultivated on special soil. It had many magical properties, which they could certainly use for the Denovorum.
The flower looked harmless in every way, but it was anything but. Certain things happened when one approached it incorrectly. She had to make sure the atmosphere didn't shift when she neared it. Her magical miraculous energy could cause that to happen.
She cast a Concealment charm with the help of Tiki around herself to suppress her magic temporarily. It was simple, really, much like holding your breath, but for a very long period of time.
Lila was her partner today. She had wanted someone else, anyone else, but Madam Dumass had noticed that they weren't getting along very well, which was, quote, "inappropriate behavior for Unexhibitables". She had been trying to get them to work together ever since the meeting. The two of them were disgusted with the idea, but unfortunately neither had a say in the matter.
So now they were stuck here, until she had managed to collect the sap from the Morning Glory, which was the only plant in the otherwise empty cave.
Lila really wasn't as dumb as she seemed to be. She was very intelligent and cunning and everyone liked her. She had half the people at work wrapped around her beautiful, manicured finger.
Marinette couldn't count how many times Lila had tried to get her fired, arrested or even injured. One time, she had even messed with one of Marinette's medicines, purposely spilling an ingredient that had caused the mixture to sprout fire everywhere.
Unsurprisingly, because of her beauty, brains and cunning she always got away with it.
(Author's not- *blows raspberries and falls down laughing while typing* Of course she isnt beautiful. Who am I kidding. I just made that ugly girl pretty in the book, so that the book doesnt get dirty due to her ugliness)
The only reason why Marinette had agreed to the arrangement was because she was sure Lila wouldn't dare try anything today, not when everyone knew she was responsible for Marinette's safety.
At least, Marinette hoped she wouldn't.
Marinette shrugged the nasty thoughts off her mind and tried to focus. She had to have total concentration to keep her magic at bay. She took a few steps forward to the little plant placed in the center of the dimly lit cave.
Each step was like a death trap. One wrong move and this beautiful little Morning Glory could explode and kill her. She wasn't sure what kind of trap would be set off if she screwed up, since they were different almost every time. The last time an Unexhibitable tried to get near the plant without nullifying herself, the plant had sent poisonous fumes that almost ended her life. Marinette shivered at the idea.
"Hurry up, Dupain Cheng," Lila said irritably in a high-pitched voice that lacked its usual perfection. She always used that tone when she was alone with Marinette. "I don't have all day."
"Well then shut up," she responded angrily. "I can't concentrate with you blabbering about."
She heard Lila snort somewhere behind her. Marinette could tell the cow was just waiting for her to mess up. She mustn't give her the satisfaction.
Marinette was already far from the safety of the wards. She felt her body tremble as she inched farther away from Lila, felt slight perspiration form on her forehead.
The plant was within arms reach now and pretty soon, she would be able to touch its leaves. She stopped a bit to admire the flower, fascinated by its blue and purple petals. It really is a wonder how something so small could be so powerful and dangerous. Carefully, she extracted the sap with the tip of her wand.
She took a vial from her pocket and transferred the sap within.
Thank Merlin.
Marinette sighed in relief and started making her way back, when she felt a familiar shift in the atmosphere.
"What?"
Her Concealment Charms had just collapsed!
She felt unbelievably stupid. Really, she couldn't even cast a proper Concealment! What the hell! Lila was probably guffawing at her stupidity right about now. What was wrong with her?
Frightened, Marinette looked back at the flower.
She didn't have time to think as the ground beneath her started shaking violently, and to her utter horror, it began to crack. Not just small cracks either, massive ones, with thunderous echoes bouncing off the cave walls and dust and debris spreading everywhere. She ran as fast she could to Lila, to the safety wards, as the solid earth plummet into a pit.
She almost made it, but she hadn't been fast enough. The ground buckled beneath her and she jumped managing to grab onto the edge of the safety point for dear life.
"Help!" she yelled at Lila, trying hard not to look at the bottomless pit beneath her and praying that her hold would not slip. She felt her heart hammer at an exhilarating pace, felt her limbs stretch painfully with her weight. Lila stood above her, perfectly calm about the whole situation. She looked down at Marinette and nudged her head.
"Oh look, leeches."
Marinette swallowed a lump in her throat and willed herself to look down. Sure enough, huge, black, blood-sucking leeches formed at the bottom of the once endless pit. Were they even there before? Of course not, this was all part of the Morning Glory's magic! If she hadn't been so scared she would have been fascinated.
"I really did just get my nails done," Lila said mockingly, examining her already flawless nails. "Hmm. Let's see... I'll come crying to everyone and tell them how I tried to save you, how I tried to hoist you up from the depths but I just wasn't strong enough. I couldn't use my kwami, of course—"
"This is insane!" Marinette shouted. "Stop fooling around and help me!"
"I'm not fooling around, Dupain Cheng," Lila said. Her face suddenly darkened. "Is it so wrong to want you dead?"
Marinette paled at her words. She wasn't serious, was she?
The look on Lila's face answered her question for her.
"They'll know you did this on purpose," Marinette hissed. "They know how much you hate me."
Her high-pitched laughter echoed in along the cavern walls.
"Yes, Dupain Cheng, I hate you. No, I despise you," she spat. "I hate that everyone thinks you're so bloody perfect, that you're a bloody war hero! Like f**k! If I have to listen to another one of Dennis's rubbish stories about your rubbish greatness, I'll go barking mad!"
Merlin, aren't you already?
Marinette felt her hand slowly losing its grip on the edge but she clutched on harder and ignored the pain as the rough rocks dug into her skin, drawing blood. Hold on, Marinette. I am not going to let myself die like this.
"And then there was Couffaine! The bastard! He chose you over me."
"Lila," Marinette said calmly, making the mistake of looking down again and seeing the leeches. She suddenly felt nauseous. "You have to calm down. Just pull me up and—"
"You ruined everything for me! I made it in! I made it in here and I'm a bloody Unexhibitable for the love of Merlin! BUT NOBODY CARED BECAUSE THEY FUCKING WORSHIPPED YOU!"
Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had always known that the girl hated her, but to hate her so much as to want her dead?
"I hate that you get everything you want! I hate that they look up to you and see you as a perfect little angel, when the truth is all you'll ever be is a filthy little baker's daughter."
She stood up and pointed a knife at Marinette's fingers, that were clinging onto for dear life. Marinette was absolutely horrified then, it must have showed in her face because Lila began to laugh hysterically again.
She looked like a raving lunatic.
"Well, when you're gone they'll forget about you eventually, won't they? Won't they?" she said, excitedly. She had a positively deranged look on her pretty face now. It reminded Marinette painfully of Chloe. "They won't miss you. And then they...they'll love me." She laughed maniacally again, clutching her head. "They'll love me! Not a piece of cookie scum! ME! THEY'LL LOVE ME!"
She raised her knife at Marinette and placed the knife over her fingers who could do nothing but shut her eyes tight and brace herself for the impact. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—"
Before she could even cut her fingers, a katana came wooshing towards her and hit her on the chest.
An earsplitting scream left Lila's lips as she writhed and convulsed on the ground. Marinette panted, scared stiff, confused at the turn of events. She gaped a few more minutes at Lila before her brain finally registered what had happened.
Oh no.
She felt the familiar cold emptiness inside her again. This situation would not be looking good for Lila.
"Damian, stop!" Marinette shouted.
She tried to lift herself up again, desperately. She had to help Lila, who was still screaming at the top of her lungs and rolling on the ground in misery, out of her line of vision. The katana buzzed and churned the interior of her stomach aand chest, churning all her organs.
Then the whole cave turned silent, as if she had temporarily gone deaf. She heard nothing, save for Lila's ragged breaths.
Damian's tall frame appeared before Marinette seconds later, his eyebrow raised. He stood above Marinette, who was still dangling off the edge. His handsome face was masked with impassiveness again but Marinette could tell he was angry.
"She tried to kill you."
There was a dark promise lingering in his stony greens, a malevolence that told her he was about to do something extremely unpleasant.
She shuddered.
Something similar had happened before. Marinette remembered the night in the Restricted Section with three particular people who had tried to hurt her with the curses from a dark book and how Damian had reacted violently when he had found out. They had died a couple of weeks later. Now she doubted if Chloe really had been responsible for their deaths.
"No, she didn't!" she lied. "My Concealment charm collap—"
"Because she tampered with it," he interrupted in a harsh tone.
Marinette gaped at him in confusion. He clucked his tongue at her and made no move to help her up.
"She lifted it off?" she asked incredulously. "Why that bint—"
The screams behind him started again, rich timbres flooding her ears. For a split second, Marinette wanted it to continue. Let her suffer for trying to kill me. She deserves it. She—
"ENOUGH!" Marinette shouted. She mustn't let her hatred control her mind. Revenge was never the answer. She mustn't think like this. She mustn't think like him. "Just—just stop!"
He continued to stare at her with a blank expression.
"D-don't s-save her!" Lila yelled, despite still tortured by the katana. "D-don't you realize she's a f-filth? She's staining the worl—"
"Do you really think it wise to insult my wife in my presence?" he mocked, his voice dripping with venom.
"W-wife?" she growled, her face draining of all color. If possible, she looked even more deranged. "Y-you m-married her?"
Lila screamed louder, along with Damian's cold, humorless laughter. Marinette was certain her ears were bleeding now. Damian showed no signs of stopping.
It was absolutely terrifying.
"Damian," Marinette tried again, her voice shaking. She pushed away all thoughts of Lila finding out about their marriage. She could deal with that later; right now she had to save her from Damian's wrath. "Don't do this. She doesn't mean any—"
"Don't make excuses for her dearest," he said in a deceivingly calm tone, but Marinette knew better. His menacing eyes scared the shit out of her.
"Damian, please."
"No," he said condescendingly.
"Damian—"
He growled in frustration.
He stopped the katana with a flick of his hand again, but Marinette could tell he wasn't satisfied at all. She gulped when she saw his katana twitch ever so slightly. He was undoubtedly trying to control his anger. He stared at Lila with deep loathing and fury, causing the girl to cower in fear.
He was speaking more like cursing to Lila again but Marinette hardly heard it, she felt herself start to slip. She groaned in pain as her palms were chafed against the jagged rocks.
"Always so vulnerable," Damian said, turning his attention back to Marinette's now descending form. Finally, he pulled her up to safety, as if her weight were nothing. She landed on her hands and knees and sighed deeply in relief, taking a few more minutes to catch her breath.
She had never been so happy to see solid ground.
"Look at this, you're allowing your enemies to hurt you." He grabbed her roughly towards him, examining her bloodied palms in clear disapproval. He carried her in his arms before she could even protest.
"Put me down!" She struggled in his hold but he was much too strong. "It's not like I had a choice!"
His grip tightened, crushing her soundly against his solid chest.
"Pull away from me and I'll kill her."
He nudged his head towards Lila, silently daring Marinette to continue struggling.
He said it so nonchalantly, as if he were only joking.
But she knew he was dead serious, without a doubt. Marinette stopped squirming and snapped her mouth shut. This seemed to help lessen his rage and he smirked.
Marinette huffed in indignation, her face flushing red. Her gaze fell on Lila, who was now frozen still on the ground.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
The girl was too scared out of her wits to even reply, but thankfully she seemed like she'd be fine.
Marinette glared at Damian. "I can't believe you just used tha—"
His lips crashed into hers before she could finish and she stiffened immediately. "Marinette," he whispered so faintly, she almost didn't hear him. Marinette felt her stomach flutter at his awkward closeness. "Wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" His intoxicating scent flooded her senses, soft feathered breaths against her skin...
"Huh?" she whispered, in a daze, feeling the sudden need to taste him again.
"I just saved your life, love."
Oh.
Realization dawned on her and she felt her face heat up in embarrassment. Grudgingly, she muttered something that sounded like, "Thanks," under her breath.
"Good girl."
UGH. He had saved her life, again! She felt like a dreadful damsel-in-distress, always getting herself into trouble and always needing someone to save her freaking arse every single time. It was pathetic. Sweet Merlin, why did this always have to happen to her?
She buried her face in his chest and groaned in frustration.
Consequently, Marinette never noticed him hiding her earings in his robes, nor did she notice the red flash from Damian's ring that blasted Lila off the edge off the safety ward and into the pit of leeches.
His smirk widened in satisfaction.
Lila's terrified screams resounded once more, like music to his ears. Finally, he was contented.
He continued to walk pleasantly with Marinette's delicate form in his arms, ignoring her useless struggles and shouts to save the poor girl who was now drowning in a sea of leeches...
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He really is cruel :O
I actually feel sorry for Lila now... tsk.
Concealment charm – Invented. A type of magic that conceals magic and magical energy temporarily.
Morning Glory - a flower that lives off of the sun.
Pag-asa – means hope in Filipino.
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Special thanks to Riya and some others! (I dont know name. Please mention it below! I would love to mention you in my story then!!)
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