Alter Ego (An Adrien Agrest/Chat Noir X OC Fanfiction)

Chapter Three: Fish Out Of Water

~~~Eloisa~~~

Inside the box was a round, gold ring with a lion engraved in the center; The lion being Estoura's National animal. This was a ring that I had seen on my father's finger my entire life: But that wasn't what was so surprising about the gift. 

What was surprising about it was the fact that once I opened the box, I barely had a moment to glance at the ring before a ball of golden light flew out of it and began whizzing around my head. I jumped, following it around until the light faded away and in its place...was a small, floating creature.

It looked like a lion, with a while orange mane and big yellow eyes, but it was tiny, and flying and it had nubs on the end of its legs were its paws should have been.

"What the heck is this?!" I asked, looking down at the ring inside the box. "What are you?!" 

"My name is Maane, your Majesty," The small creature had a deep-yet-squeaky voice, and it bowed to me as it spoke, "And from this moment on, I am your Kwami." 

"My...Kwami?" I questioned. "What on earth is a Kwami?! Why did my father have one, and why did he give you to me?!" 

"I understand that this all must be very confusion to you," Maane said, "But I promise you, I can explain all of this, but I'll start with the obvious. Have you heard of the Lion of Estoura?" 

I furrowed my eyebrows at this.

I'd grown up hearing stories about 'The Lion of Estoura'. Estourian lore said for the past several decades, a superhero in the form of a lion had protected the citizens of Estoura from evil. It was said that this hero was incredibly strong, immensely fast, and had all the agility of a true lion. But not only that, some folktales say that anyone who heard the Lion's roar would instantly pledge loyalty to him and would follow him to the ends of the earth. But that was just folklore...a Estourian legend. The Lion isn't real...is it?

"Well yeah, of course. Every Estourian child knows the stories of the Lion but...they're just that. They're stories. What do a couple of bedtime stories have to do with the reason I'm talking to a tiny floating lion?" I asked. 

"Because they're not stories, Princess! The Lion of Estoura is real!" Maane stated. 

"W...what?" The Kwami nodded, flying down so that it was floating beside the box. He gestured his tiny arm at the ring that still remained inside.

"This ring is what is known as a Miraculous. It has the power to grant whoever wears it the powers of the lion! My powers are bestowed on whoever commands the miraculous!" He said. "And many years ago, this miraculous was gifted to the Queen of Estoura by the Guardian of the Miraculous', so that this country would always have the power of the Lion watching over them!" 

"This...this is insane," I put the box on the seat across from me, shaking my head, "This can't be true. This must be a dream! That's it, I fell asleep on the plane, and this is all a dream, and I'm going to wake up, and this will all disappear."

"I'm afraid not," Maane said, flying directly into my line of sight, "I understand that this must be overwhelming for you, but the reason your father gave me to you was because the miraculous is only to be worn by the king or queen of Estoura; The one person who is most trusted with protecting the country and its people."  I laughed.

"So, you mean to tell me that both my father, and my grandmother, while they were on the throne, wore a magical ring and ran around as a lion-themed superhero?" Maane nodded, but I shook my head. 

"You can take time to let this sink in," He said, "But in the meantime, the ring is in your possession now, which means that I'm going to be by your side at all times, as long as you have it."