They Realised - an Amenath story.

Chapter 1 - Sinking in thoughts

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Nathalie was sitting in her bed, clearing up some files on her tablet, as she sighed. The masquerade at the Agreste mansion was being held that day, though she was still on her shift, and had far from nothing to do. There had been so much work lately, especially revolving around the miraculous. But even if she wanted to attend, her condition made her incapable of walking and standing up for long periods of time.

She sighed again, as she glanced over at the grimoire; it was still open. Little paper notes were attached with paper clips on almost each and every page, sticking out like they were a whole separate book within it.

And even then, having read the whole thing countless times, and paying attention to the littlest of details, the grimoire had provided no useful information about the miraculous.

She groaned; She was tired, really tired. The only hope she had was the sentimonster Optigami, which she had created as Mayura, some days after the battle against Miracle Queen. Getting to know each of the heroes' identities, except Ladybug and Cat Noir's, through the akuma battle, had given her more information than that useless book from the guardian ever had. As she created Optigami, she had attempted to make it spy on the holders in their civilian lives, so she could then figure out more about them, to get to Ladybug and Cat Noir.

...Which, she had managed to do.

She just didn't want to tell Gabriel. He doesn't deserve to know. She used to admire him. The way he was so passionate about his works, how he was putting thought and effort into everything he did, all his creations shining in his talent and skill making everyone stop and stare. He used to be kind, genuine, and hardworking. He used to be a man that would do anything for his family. A man that wasn't driven by power.

She started reminiscing back to an evening about a month after Emilie had just fallen into her coma. She and Gabriel were sitting at the fireplace. The little flames were echoing in the large room, as the sound of the little chess bricks being placed on the wooden chess board, overlapped with it. They sat there in silence. The two of them had even before Emilie's dead-like state, tried to study everything they could possibly find, in hopes of finding a cure, or a way to reverse the damage. But they had found nothing.

"How long has it been Nathalie?" Gabriel started, as he broke the silence.
She found herself slightly startled as she heard his voice but regained her composure quickly, as she listened to what he had to say. "For years, we have left no stone unturned on the entire planet. And still, no sign of the ladybug and cat miraculous." Gabriel spoke in a stern voice, as his expression saddened in disapproval. "I've gone over all the possible scenarios about their location, but none of them have proven effective. It would seem that these two specific miraculous don't want to be found." Nathalie replied, as she frowned.

Already back then, she knew what he was capable of deep down. She knew the lengths he could and would go for Emilie. But she believed in him. Believed in helping him. Believed that he would be reasonable. And she brushed it off.

Why did she brush it off...

She remembered him calling her ridiculous. Ridiculous for implying that the miraculous couldn't be found. Ridiculous for implying that they shouldn't be found. That they should give up. Ridiculous for putting limitations on themselves.

Ridiculous for being reasonable.

And yet, she was still the one apologizing. Apologizing for failing him. For failing his family. She was giving him her everything. It was hurtful. But she confused pain with love. She was gullible, and he knew that. He took advantage of that.

As she apologized, he gives her a gift for his affection towards her. He gives her the gift to make her stay. But she didn't see that. She was grateful and honored. But it was just another stupid stunt to justify what he had dragged her through. None of it was genuine, his words and actions were empty.

She was just feeding and helping this power-hungry monster that was once a human, to evil success. but her eyes didn't see the monster back then.

They did now.

She knew that he did genuinely care for her. Somewhere. That somewhere was very deep down. When she had insisted on being Mayura, he tried to stop her from it. The physical pain she was going through was on her to blame. But she still couldn't help but feel used.

She couldn't let him win. He didn't deserve someone like Emilie. This was long ago not done for his wife anymore. He was creating an unrealistic world inside of his head, that he thought could also work perfectly in real life. She knew it couldn't. He was way too far for that. And Adrien didn't deserve to fight against his father, he didn't deserve to get hurt.

Emilie also deserved the rest that she had been longing for. She didn't want either of them to engage in villainy and terrorism for her, she just wanted to rest. Yet Nathalie had still gone against her wishes, for her own selfish craving, and need for Gabriel's approval and appreciation.

Back then, she apologized for failing Gabriel. But the only one she had failed was Emilie, and herself.

She needed to do something. She attempted to work, but her mind was clouded, and she could hear the guests coming in one-by-one downstairs. She was a failure. She sighed as her head collapsed in her hands. But just as she broke down, she heard a knock on her door.

"Hello Darling" a blonde woman stood in the doorframe, deep green eyes looking at her.

...Amelie?

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