Two chapters today - here's the first!
"Miss Nathalie, wake up." Alya hesitantly shook her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting up.
The girl pointed to Gabriel, who appeared to still be sleeping. "He's having a nightmare. Adrien's not here, and I didn't want to wake Mr. Agreste because-"
"He's frightening?" Nathalie asked. "Don't worry, I understand. Where's Adrien?"
"I think he and Marinette are talking," Nino said. "She's not here either."
"Let them be. You two should-" she paused as Gabriel mumbled something.
Alya exchanged a look with Nino. "We'll give you a minute," she said. "C'mon, Nino."
"But-"
"Come on, Nino," she repeated, grabbing his wrist and pulling him away. Soon, they were out of sight behind one of the rock formations.
Nathalie knelt by Gabriel, putting a hand on his forehead. "Gabriel, it's only a dream," she whispered.
He inhaled sharply but didn't wake. She sighed, pushing his hair from his face.
When she'd sung to Adrien back on the ship, it had comforted him immediately. Maybe the same would happen for Gabriel.
Deciding on the lullaby Adrien had liked, she hummed it quietly, continuing to run her fingers through his hair.
It seemed to work; the tension melted from his face, and he might've even smiled.
She sang for another moment, replacing her humming with the lyrics of the song. Nathalie had always loved this lullaby, especially because it was one of the few mermaid songs remaining from ancient times.
Some mermaids also used these songs to drown men, which she found despicable. Instead of soothing children, the lullabies were being used to drag sailors to their deaths.
But she would never do that.
As she finished the song, she raised her head to find four pairs of eyes watching her, with a fifth pair belonging to Duusu.
"It's so romantic," the kwami breathed.
She quickly looked away as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "He should be alright now."
"That's the same song you sang to me," Adrien said. "And the one my mother did too."
"So did mine," Marinette murmured.
"Mine too," Alya added.
Adrien sat next to her, looking at his father. "What was he dreaming about?"
"I don't know, I couldn't wake him. But he's okay." She looked at the teens. "You all need to go back to sleep, tomorrow will be a long day."
"Yes, ma'am," all except for Adrien replied.
"But I'm not tired," the boy protested as his friends went back to their spots. "Can't I stay with you?"
"I'm going to sleep too." She moved to stand. "I-"
A hand gripped her sleeve, making her pause. "Don't go . . ." Gabriel mumbled, clearly more asleep than awake. Nathalie didn't even know if he was speaking to her.
She and Adrien exchanged a look. "Maybe you should stay with him?" he suggested innocently.
"Doesn't look like I have much choice," she sighed. "Stubborn man."
Adrien choked down a laugh. "Can I stay too?"
"If you'd like."
He curled up next to her, reminding her of a cat. Plagg rested near his head. Duusu settled on her chest as she lay beside him. Gabriel's hand remained securely around her wrist.
When she was almost asleep, she thought she heard Adrien whisper, "Goodnight, Mom."
Chloé didn't know how many people she'd bribed, but she finally had an idea of where to find Volpina.
But what she didn't know was how or why her mother had shown up.
"Mom, what are you doing here? Weren't you on a trip? Did you follow me?"
"Clara, I came because I wanted to speak to Gabriel."
Chloé blinked. "Gabriel Agreste?" she clarified. So her mother could remember his name, but not her own daughter's? "Why? And what makes you think I know where he is?"
"You're looking for Volpina, right? So is he, from what I've heard. And I know where she is." Audrey sighed. "I'm hoping to apologize to Gabriel. We didn't part on the best of terms."
Her mother wanted to apologize? That was a first.
"It's not going to be an easy trip," Chloé warned her. Even she'd thought of turning back more times than she could count. How she longed to be back in her bed with her stuffed bear, Mr. Cuddly. Not that she would tell anyone that. Besides, more than anything, she wanted to get rid of Volpina.
"Don't worry about me, Casserole. And I know a shortcut."
The song was still ringing through Gabriel's head when he woke with the sunrise. It was the same one Emilie had sung to Adrien, but the one he'd heard in his dream was a bit different.
Looking to his left, he decided that it perhaps hadn't been a dream as he saw Nathalie and his son. Both were fast asleep next to him.
It had been her singing, he was certain.
As he sat up, he noticed that he was holding her wrist. He had no recollection of doing so.
With a brief moment of hesitation, he stood and made his way to the shore.
He had a lot to think about.
The group spent a few more days in a similar manner, traveling until sunset and spending the nights above the water. There were no more mishaps.
Now, Gabriel's eyes narrowed. Two forms were approaching that looked suspiciously like mermaids.
"Is that . . ?" Marinette asked.
"No way . . ." Alya said.
"Chloé?" Marinette exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing here?"
Gabriel, however, was more concerned about the woman next to her.
"Audrey," he practically snarled. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you now!"
"Whoa, calm down, Dad," Adrien said, grabbing his arm. He looked at Chloé. "It's nice to see you again, Chloé."
Chloé looked shocked that he was even speaking to her.
"I'm not even going to ask how you're a merman, but I wanted to apologize," Audrey began. "What I did was wrong and I know it."
"Which part?" Gabriel retorted. "When you tried to drown me? Or when you tried to drown my son?"
Audrey huffed. "I'm trying to do something nice, won't you let me?" She looked over at Nathalie. "I remember you. Natasha, right?"
"Nathalie."
"Well, I'm sorry for banishing you and for sending that vile creature after you." She trailed off. "I really don't know what I was thinking . . ."
"You sent that after her?!" Gabriel exclaimed, and would've lunged forward if not for Adrien tightening his grip. "She almost died!"
"I didn't know you'd end up caring about her-"
"So what? How many other mermaids have you tried to kill?"
"Uh-only those who've been banished," Audrey said weakly. "The only other one I remember is that girl from the Graham De Vanily family-"
All these years later, he finally knew what had caused Emilie's wounds. Anger nearly blinded him. "How dare you-?!"
"Gabriel," Nathalie said quietly, setting a hand on his arm.
He sighed angrily. "That's two women I care about that you've almost killed."
"Two?" Audrey asked.
"I won't accept your apology, but maybe you can do something good for once and direct us in the direction of Volpina."
Audrey sighed. "I doubt she's still there, but she was at Plainwich Port."
"That's where we just came from," Marinette said worriedly.
"She's following us," Gabriel grumbled.
"That means we have to keep moving," Tikki reminded them.
Adrien glanced at Chloé again. "Bye, Chloé. I hope we'll get to talk more later."
Chloé looked between him and Audrey. "Mom-"
"Just go with them, Chloé."
"Thank you." She looked like she wanted to embrace her mother, but decided against it.
Alya and Marinette shared a look of horror.
"Good day, Audrey," Gabriel said coldly.
"That was . . . interesting," Alya murmured to Marinette once they had swam away.
"Definitely," Marinette agreed, before turning to the newest member of their group. "Chloé, why are you even here?"
"If you must know, I don't like Volpina any more than you do."
"This is going to be dangerous," Nino warned her.
"Who are you again?"
"Nino," he sighed.
"You might get hurt, or worse," Alya said.
Chloé grimaced, but continued, "I can handle myself."
"Don't let Volpina curse you," Adrien told her.
"Curse me?" Chloé repeated, growing pale.
"Like she did to Nathalie."
"What did she do?"
"She's sick," Adrien explained. "And there's a mark under her bandages where the curse hit."
"What's going to happen to her?"
Marinette wasn't buying this fake show of sympathy from Chloé. "It's none of your business," she snapped. "Why would you care?"
"Marinette-" Adrien tried.
"No, Adrien, I've known her for years. She's only doing this for attention, probably yours."
"Please, M'lady," Adrien took her hand, lacing their fingers together, "let's give her a chance."
Left speechless, Marinette stared at him, catching sight of Chloé's shocked look from the corner of her eye.
"Okay," she said quietly.
When it was just her and Alya, her best friend gave her a wide-eyed stare. "Did I miss something? What happened between you two? Since when does he call you 'm'lady'?"
"We talked last night."
"That's it?"
"Well, yeah, mostly. He went for a little swim and we looked at the stars."
"How cute! I want all of the details, girl! Was there any-" Alya puckered her lips.
Marinette shoved her. "Alya!" She rolled her eyes. "If you must know, maybe."
Alya's mouth dropped open. "For real? Sweet! Nino's totally going to owe me!"
Marinette glared. "Keep your voice down, Alya!"
She laughed. "Sorry, girl."
"Plagg, how about you brief everyone on what happens now?" Tikki suggested.
The black cat kwami groaned. "Must it always be me? We're going through a kelp forest.
The currents are stronger here, so make sure not to get tangled up. And stay together, it's easy to get lost."
Nathalie felt wary as they all made their way into the seaweed. She stayed near the back of the group with Duusu at her side.
She'd found that the energetic kwami was quite the hopeless romantic. She was also kind, frequently asking how Nathalie was feeling.
"How are you feeling, Miss Nathalie?" she asked, right on schedule.
Instead of her replying with her usual "I'm fine", she lowered her voice. "Something feels off."
"Really? How?"
"I don't know, maybe it's the seaweed."
"I never liked seaweed," Duusu said, eyeing the plant. Under different circumstances, Nathalie might've laughed.
As the kwami babbled on, Nathalie unwound her bandages, finding they felt too tight.
She realized she'd fallen behind; she just caught sight of Adrien disappearing between the seaweed.
Nathalie paused, the water surrounding her feeling different. Heavy, even.
"Miss Nathalie? Why did you stop?" Duusu asked, halting as well.
"I just need a second, I'm a bit tired."
"We'll be left behind!" Duusu said worriedly. "You can rest when we're out of here!"
A current blew through, shifting the kelp.
"Does the water feel strange to you?" Nathalie asked.
Duusu shook her head.
"I'm . . . finding it hard to breathe, Duusu." Her eyes were heavy and she barely registered the second current pushing her against the seaweed.
"No, stay awake!"
Nathalie frowned at the kelp that had tangled around her tail and wrist. "Duusu, help me undo the seaweed . . ."
The kwami helped as best she could, but she wasn't really having an effect. In fact, she seemed to be making it worse.
Nathalie's grogginess faded away as panic slowly set in. "Duusu, I can't-" As her breath cut off, she managed, "Get help." She met Duusu's eyes, the kwami reflecting the fear she felt herself.
"Hold on!" Duusu squeaked, zooming away. Nathalie tried to rip the seaweed off, but she was unable to with her draining strength.
Her skin was paling, and she realized in horror that she was becoming human once more.
So, this was the curse.
Her earlier dream had been a warning. Just as it had then, the water around her become suffocating, and she was trapped in a forest of seaweed.
All alone.
There was no escaping from this, no waking up. If her eyes closed, she knew it would be for the last time.
I'm so sorry, Gabriel, Adrien.
She finally understood what drowning felt like. A false comfort, a painless death, but not for her. What a horrible thing to do to sailors.
As shadows approached her, she wondered if that creature had finally caught up to her.
She'd never know, probably. Everything was gone.