Mystified \\ ៳ᵢᵣₐ𝑐ᵤԼₒᵤꜱ

PROLOGUE

An empty, closed coffin laid at the front of a filled room. Soft sniffles filled the room as some of the most famous people in Paris had been gathered to honor the Mother of the famous, brand-face, Agreste siblings. Amelie Graham de Vanily and her son Félix sat in front of everyone else, apart from the Agrestes, who were in separate seating by themselves.

Eve sat with her cold gazed father to her right and her fake soft smile-wearing brother to her left, who was trying to hide his sadness from everyone present. Adrien glanced around the room trying to find anything other than the vacant casket to focus on. Eve was the opposite. She stared blankly at it, nearly puzzled. How could someone just vanish? Had her coughing fits meant more than what she said? Why did it have to be her?

Eve's vision began to blur with tears threatening to spill as she struggled to find answers to her only growing questions. Adrien's glance finally rested on the younger blonde. His heart broke a little more when he took in her glossy eyes she tried hard to keep away. He wrapped his right arm around her, subconsciously pulling her in. She looked up at him with a soft smile similar to the one Adrien wore. Eve softly rested her head on his shoulder.

An unrecognized man began to move to the front of the room. He stood behind a podium, shuffling what appeared to be index cards before he spoke, "Emelie Agreste was most famously known for her acting, but to the people she held close, she was so much more than that. She was a sister, a daughter, an amazing mother, and a wife..."

As the funeral progressed Eve saw her brother wipe away tears that threatened to spill out of the corners of his eyes. She'd gaze over at her father, who sat up straight with a furrowed but cold expression. His face never seemed to falter as everyone else's did, not a tear rolled down his face during the entire memorial.

Gabriel Agreste was never one to be caught vulnerable. To see him enraged or poker-faced was never an unusual sight. Especially not since the disappearance of his wife. He missed her to an ungodly extent and blamed himself even more. He should've done more. He should've found a way to save her.

When it came time, the pallbearers were called. Adrien, Gabriel, a bodyguard/caretaker nicknamed Gorilla by the Agreste kids, Mayor Bourgeois, and two others rose. Adrien took in a deep sigh before stepping foot outside. He already saw the paparazzi and although he typically didn't mind them, this wasn't the place nor the time for hundreds of people to be waiting outside, leaning as far past the barricade as they could without toppling over one another. He worried about how his sister would handle the screaming cameras. She didn't like the paparazzi in general, an overwhelmed and insecure wave seemed to splash over her every time.

They began to walk out, loading the hollow coffin into a hearse as quickly as possible, the clicking sounds of cameras headache worthy. A trail of people had left behind them. Eve and Félix were the first to exit the building and syncing covered their faces. The paparazzi were never this bad, but this event was headline-worthy and everyone wanted their picture to win the title page.

Eve and Félix hastily made their way to their separate vehicles. The younger cousin wrapping her arm around the older one for a brief sense of security. Natalie and Amelie steadily followed behind.

The closer they got to their cars the faster and louder the cameras seemed to go off. Eve could feel her breath become irregular as the excessively bright flashes began to make her head spin. Luckily, their cars were in sight.

The four waved their goodbyes before departing.

The two girls sat in opposite rows in the car. Eve rested her head in her hands, embarrassed as she tried to normalize her breathing. All those people, all those pictures. Adrien handles it fine and yet she never could. She always understood why her father never went out.

She casually reached for her water bottle, moments later Adrien and his bodyguard joined them in the vehicle. Adrien, too, reached for his water bottle. He kept his gaze forward while quietly fiddling with the cap. Gorilla turned on the car and classical music began playing causing a light chuckle from the siblings. The boy's soft chuckles slowly died down and faded into desperate laughs, hopelessly trying to keep his composure.

He was supposed to be the strong one and how could he do that if he couldn't keep himself composed? Although there was no one that directly made him feel this way, he felt like it was a role he had to fill, especially for Eve. Their father had gone cold since his wife's disappearance and Adrien wanted to be there in ways that he wasn't. But it was getting hard.

He leaned forward and engulfed his face in his hands, mumbling near inaudible I'm sorry's as he sobbed into his hands, desperately trying to wipe away his tears. Eve's heart broke for her brother as they drove off. She softly rubbed his back until he leaned back up, giving her a soft smile before dozing off.

After a long car ride they finally arrived home, Mr. Agreste's car showed that he was already home. He'd headed straight home after the memorial and locked himself up in his room. He gave himself time to spiral. Time to think. But anything that came to mind was irrational.

The first thing Eve did when she left the car was head up to her father's room. As she grabbed ahold of the doorknob, a clashing sound was heard through the door. Her gut yelled at her to just head back downstairs but her hand proceeded to turn.

Before she could push open the door a hand rested on her shoulder, simultaneously another clash was heard through the door, making her slightly jump.

"I would recommend not going in," Natalie advised with her usual monotone voice.

It looked as if she was about to carry on with whatever she had been doing before, but Eve turned her head due to the growing awkward silence and because a hand still rested on her shoulder. They held eye contact for a brief moment before Natalie looked the young girl up in down with pity glazing her eyes. She could tell that annoyed the girl as she shook off her hand, eyes forwarding back to the handle she still had a hold of.

Natalie sighed, "But you do as you chose, just don't disturb him for too long. Go downstairs when you're finished." She lowered her head a bit and walked off. Leaving Eve by herself to feel the tension seeping through the cracks of the now-open door.

She was greeted by her father clutching a picture frame, his knuckles white. It was a family portrait. Gabriel stood there inspecting every aspect of it. The people. The background. The frame. His hands. His rings.

Eve stood there in worry and hesitation. Watching her father stand still as a statue and ignoring her calls. "Dad", she breathed out one more time. His eyes abruptly focused on her, his gaze slightly shifting. Eve.

He hugged her, dropping the picture and its frame. He balled his fists and habitually spun his rings but stopped before he spoke.

"I'll fix this Eve, don't worry. I'll fix everything. We'll fix everything."

Although she was puzzled by his words, she brushed them aside, focusing on the unusual comforting hug from her father.

"I love you, Dad."

Word Count: 1,298

Published Date: 8/21/23

A/N: Finally have the prologue out and am working on editing the first chapter as we speak!! I don't have a writing schedule so I can't tell you when the next one will be published but I'm currently working on it!! School has also just started back up for me so we'll see how that effects everything, but I'm trying my best :))