Heart of Black

The Story Begins

In a small village so secluded that nobody was even aware of its existence, lived Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She was a seventeen year old girl with shoulder-length dark blue hair and bright cerulean eyes.

She lived with her mother and father at the bakery they ran. Her best friend was Alya Césaire, a girl she really just considered her sister. They grew up together since they were six-years-old, which was Marinette’s age when she moved to the village.

However, happy as this story may sound, things weren't exactly going brilliantly for the village folk.

There had been rumors going around for years of dangerous werewolves lurking in the forest and eating unsuspecting victims. Strangely enough, everyone who was reported to have gone missing was female. That sure made her feel a whole lot better.

However, after while of believing those stories, Marinette decided she didn't really believe in werewolves. Every time someone went missing, the people would blame it on some fictional character. Nobody really had evidence of this ever happening, but somehow, everyone fell for such stories—even herself, at some point.

And around these strange fairy tales she grew up hearing is where our story begins.

-o-

”Can I try a piece?” the five-year-old boy asked, pointing at the croissant in his friend's hands. She peeked up at him curiously.

“Sure,” she responded, ripping off a chunk and offering it to him. “Have you not had a croissant before?”

“No,” the boy shook his head, devouring the flaky bread. With his mouth still full, he gave her a thumbs up. “I like it. Did you make it?”

“No. My mama did. She makes good food,” the girl responded, shyly. “But see, when I become big like her, I will also make yummy meals.”

“I want to try them first,” he pouted, the corner of his lips drooping down. The blue haired female thought for a moment, before making a declaration with a wide grin on her face.

“You will eat my first croissant ever, I promise!”

-o-

The Dupain-Cheng bakery was filled with the wonderful scents of freshly baked pastries and breads wafting through the air. It was around seven in the morning, and they would be opening in around half an hour. Lots of work had to be done to upkeep their bakery, as they were the only one in the entire village.

Marinette cracked open the oven, checking on the bread. She let out a small ooh as she observed the slightly browned crescent-shaped pastries.

“Maman! I think they're done!” she announced, pulling out the tray with an oven mitt. Looking at them, she felt a sense of pride. Soon, her mother appeared around the corner.

“They smell wonderful!” she complimented. “This is the first batch of croissants that you made alone.”

“I know!” she exclaimed gleefully. Marinette had practically shoved her mother out of the kitchen earlier in the day, insistent on making today’s batch alone. So, she ended up doing just that—and successfully, for once! “I'm happy with how they turned out,” the girl noted, pleased with their appearance.

Her mother smiled. “I'll go put these in the display cases for people to buy. Why don't you go outside for a bit?” she suggested. Marinette nodded.

-o-

And outside she went. Originally, she was headed for Alya’s, but along the way she found what appeared to be Kim doing something to a kitten with a stick.

“God, Kim! Leave the poor thing alone!” she called. He turned his head towards the source of the voice.

Marinette tossed a twig at the boy’s head, causing him to let out a loud ouch. He dropped his own stick that was previously grasped, instead shooting his hands up to his head and over the spot his friend had hit him.

The small, grey cat ran off back where it had come from. Marinette let out a sigh of relief before turning back to Kim and shooting him a harsh glare.

“What did I say about terrorizing defenseless animals?!” she lectured, causing the teen to childishly cover his ears. She couldn’t believe she had to scold him like this. He was the one that was an entire year older than her.

“I wasn't hurting it! I was trying to play with it, then suddenly—”

“I don't even want to hear it,” she crossed her arms over her chest, acting as if she were his mother and tsking. Kim was ready to get chewed out some more, but she then smiled. “I’m joking. But seriously, let's just leave the animals alone. They're small and easy to hurt.”

“I really didn't mean to,” he promised. Marinette nodded.

“I know.”

Just after she said her goodbyes to Kim, a piercing shriek startled the girl. Her eyes popped open wide in alertness, until they landed on her best friend, Alya.

She caught her in a hug before the redhead began sobbing.

“Marinette! Why do you have to leave?!” she cried, gripping the back of her friend’s shirt tightly.

The blue haired female blinked in astonishment a few times. Her friend was normally very composed, and witnessing her in this kind of broken down state was very rare. “Leaving? That's absurd,” she replied. Alya shook her head.

“You didn't see it yet, did you.”

“No…” she responded, unsure of what she was supposed to see. It must’ve been bad to emit this kind of reaction, though. That's when her friend lifted her head and stared her right in the eye, a dead serious look in her hazel orbs.

“You were selected.”

Marinette’s entire body tensed up

I was selected?

The severity of the words barely registered through her mind as her eyes widened in fear. She could feel the blood drain from her face.

What?

See, their village had a system. Whenever something was needed from the forest, which wasn't very often at all as no one wanted to risk more fatalities than necessary, they would pull a random person’s name. Of course, there were requirements. The person had to be sixteen or up, and they were allowed to bring someone with them.

Marinette shook her head, trying to swallow the fear she felt.

There’s nothing there in that forest. Werewolves are fake. Ghosts are fake. Demons are fake. There’s nothing to fear.

She tried to convince herself that, although a bit of doubt managed to sneak into her mind.

But...then, where did all those people disappear to?

“I’ll be fine,” she spoke, not really sure if it was to herself or Alya. “Everything will be okay…”

But would everything really be okay?