Miraculous One Shots 2024

Tides of Fate

Written for Verabraun_art's Mermay - Day 6: Doctor

Ships: Adrien/Marinette, Luka/Marinette

Tags: Merman Adrien, Forbidden Love, Arranged Marriage, Pirate Luka, Disney Twits, Ambiguous/open ending

*****

In the fading light of dusk, Marinette clung to a piece of debris, battered by the relentless waves of the tempestuous sea. Saltwater stung her eyes, blurring her vision as she desperately scanned the horizon for any sign of salvation. But all she saw was an endless expanse of churning water, threatening to swallow her whole. Her idea had completely gone amidst.

With each passing moment, her strength waned, and fear threatened to consume her. She wasn't a strong swimmer, she'd never been near the sea. Since the arrival of Princess Melody, the crowned Prince Eric and his new wife Princess Ariel had banished the kingdom from the sea, a wall erected to stop the civilians going in and the rumoured 'Merfolk' coming out.

Her venture here was purely unfortunate. An escape from an impending marriage she didn't want. Her parents had sold her out. Auctioned her off at one of those pesky Pirate auctions, where men screamed 'we want the redhead' and paid for a lady's pleasure. Despicable really! Especially her parents. They'd sold her hand to the nefarious Captain Luka for little more than a hundred pieces of gold.

So, here she was. Stranded in the sea, in her great escape. She hadn't thought this through. Her fingers began to ache from their tight grasp on the splintered wood she was holding. The waves growing reckless around her and making every lift and fall dig the sharp wood deeper into her skin.

As she struggled through the churning waters, her wedding dress billowed around her like a ghostly shroud. The delicate lace and satin, which should have been a symbol of joy and celebration, now clung to her like the desperate grasp of a long-forgotten nightmare. The hem, heavy with seawater, floated up and around her, creating an ethereal halo that contrasted sharply with the chaos of the storm-tossed sea.

The water swirled around her, each wave a relentless reminder of the freedom she sought, yet was so agonisingly out of reach. Her dress, now a tattered flag of defiance, fluttered and flowed with each movement, a stark white against the deep, dark abyss below. It was as if the ocean itself was trying to reclaim her, to drag her back into the depths from which she had escaped.

Her breath came in ragged gasps, her heart pounding like a drumbeat of determination. She felt the weight of her predicament pulling her down, yet she refused to be consumed. The floating fabric of her dress was a beacon, a radiant symbol of her undying hope and the fierce will that burned within her.

With each stroke, each desperate push through the water, Marinette's dress transformed from a relic of captivity into a banner of her resolve. She would not be subdued, not by the sea, not by fate, and certainly not by the shackles of an unwanted union. As the water surged around her, she swam towards a small island of sand on the horizon.

But everything within her ached. Hurt.

A violent cry left her lips, unsure whether it was a plea for help, or a shriek of pain. She screamed again, sure her doom was most certainly impending.

Just when she thought she couldn't hold on any longer, a shadowy figure emerged from the depths below. Through the murky water, she could barely make out the silhouette of a man with piercing eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

Before she could comprehend what was happening, strong arms encircled her, pulling her down into the abyss. As darkness closed in around her, Marinette felt a sense of calm, knowing that she was no longer alone in the vast, unforgiving sea.