Beauty And The Blanc

Freedom

Marinette stood up from her knees, wiping her tears. She had made this choice, she had to come here, or else Chat Blanc would have hurt everyone. She still didn't understand why she was wanted, but those weren't questions that could be answered. At least not now. She decided to explore the places in the mansion she was allowed to go to.

On the first floor there was a dining room, an extremely long table looked like it could seat a humongous family, but only two chairs were seated there, as far away from each other as possible. A vase stood in the center of the table, with a singular pink rose inside. Marinette brushed her hands along the wood of the table as she passed by, going back towards the stairs in the foyer. Chat Blanc said that her room was upstairs and to the right...

Marinette opened the door, and was shocked at the sheer size of the bedroom. Whoever lived here before must have been rich, because the room was filled to the brim with games, toys, high tech electronics, even a rock climbing wall! She walked around the room, wondering why the evil Chat Blanc would give her such a nice place to stay. He did seem to like her in some way, maybe he just needed a friend around.

She sat down on the edge of the soft bed, and suddenly the overwhelming events of that day hit her like a brick wall. She fell backwards. Sprawling across the bed and felt her eyes flutter to a close, exhausted.

-----

The sunlight coming through the floor to ceiling windows woke her up. She yawned and turned over, looking at the clock. She was still surprised that Chat Blanc had managed to keep this house up and running, what with the flooding of Paris and all of the other nearby cities using emergency power, according to Alya. Getting up out of the bed, Marinette couldn't help but wonder where the Chat was. If he was so lonely, why didn't he spend time with her? She went down the stairs, calling out, "Chat? Chat Blanc?" But there was no reply. She went into the dining room and noticed that there was a small plate filled with fresh fruit and waffles, and a glass of orange juice. Well, he did say he was going to get food last night. There was still no sight of him, however. She took the plate of food, taking a bite out of an apple as she walked back into the foyer.

She was about to go upstairs again, but she couldn't help but look at the door to the room that she was forbidden to go in. She started to walk over... but quickly turned around, shaking her head. Chat Blanc was mad enough already since she called him a killer. If she made the situation any worse he may... he may... she didn't want to think about it.

Marinette went back up to her room and ate her breakfast before looking at the game console next to the computer. Curious, she picked it up, seeing the starting screen to a game load on the television.

"Ultimate Mecha Strike 3?" Marinette read aloud, confused why the name of the game sounded so familiar. Grabbing the controller, she sat down on the couch and pressed start.

She played the game like an expert as if she had done it for years. She cheered as she beat another computerized player, "BOOYAH- Marinette style!"

"You always were good at that game."

Marinette screeched and fell off the couch, dropping the controller. She looked up and saw Chat Blanc standing behind the couch, smiling slightly.

Marinette started to stammer, "W-well I-I mean these are just computers, I-I'm sure any real p-person could beat me easily-"

Chat Blanc jumped over the couch and sat next to her, motioning to the unused player two remote, "Could I take that as an invitation to play?" he asked.

Marinette readjusted herself on the couch, looking confused, "You're telling me that you, Chat Blanc, play video games? I thought you would just leave me here while you plotted in some sort of evil lair."