Heart of Black

An Innocent Facade

Of course, there was nothing to prevent Marinette from going into this dangerous situation. It was decided, and set in stone. So, she spent the rest of the day saying her goodbyes and packing her bags. Tomorrow came by far too fast, and before she knew it, it was time to leave.

It wasn’t a situation that could be compromised. Turns out that the village needed her to retrieve a medicine from a doctor who resided in the forest. There were already a couple people who have fallen severely ill from the sickness, and they were trying to stop it before it spread to everyone else.

Marinette shoved a scarf and gloves into her backpack. Somehow, everything seemed a bit more real and scary the day of. Last night she’d stayed up, consulting herself until she felt better. And she was confident up until she woke up this morning.

Marinette grabbed a water bottle and held it up. “Maman, should I bring this amount of water, or will I need more?”

“I think that should last you…” she responded, tucking a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear caringly. She then held out a container full of desserts and breads for Marinette to take. “Eat these and have lots of energy, my baby.”

“I’ll be fine Maman. Watch, by tomorrow I'll be right back here where I should be,” she smiled reassuringly, although she wasn't too sure of it herself. Just then, the older woman grabbed one of her hands, placing a cold, metal object into her hands. Marinette’s eyes widened as she gripped the hilt of the dagger, pulling off the top to reveal a sharp, clean tip, that could easily wound someone if she weren't careful.

“Please be safe.”

-o-

Marinette waved goodbye to all the folks in her village, wondering if she really would see them all again. The way they all gathered to show how much they cared about her and wished her off well—even Chloe, the stuck up daughter of their village’s mayor who hated her, or maybe just people in general, came to bid her good luck.

Just as she held her breath and prepared to take her first step onto the path, a voice stopped her.

“Wait, Marinette!”

She turned around, a confused look etched onto her face, as she came face to face with Nathanael. He was a shy but sweet boy that she would often hang out with as a child. Figuring that he came to say goodbye, she was ready to say just that, until he spoke again.

“I'm coming with you,” he announced. A few noises of approval around them were heard. Of course they'd want a guy to come with her. Marinette sighed, however thought it'd be better than journeying alone. She did get lonely rather easily.

“Thank you,” she said gratefully, offering him a genuine smile. He had obviously been expecting her to protest against it, since he looked a bit surprised at her response.

“It's the least I could do.”

And with those words, they confidently set off into the woods, ready to face whatever would come their way.

-o-

They trekked on a path for a while, until it suddenly cut off, leaving them unsure of where to go.

“Did you read the map correctly?” Marinette asked, leaning over to take a peek at it. He scratched his head in confusion.

“I did. I think if we just keep continuing to the east we should find his house,” Nathanael responded, pointing off in the direction of a bunch of trees. The girl grimaced. She hated everything about this idea, but knew that she shouldn't have expected the journey to be so easy.

“Let's go, then,” she sighed, forcing herself to sound as positive as possible.

They continued walking through for a while longer, getting their feet caught on fallen branches more than a few times. Marinette had even tripped at one point, leaving a few small cuts on her ankle. It was, as expected, very unpleasant and even slightly painful. But nonetheless, they persisted through.

After a while of this, Marinette felt as if they were getting nowhere. Every inch of the forest looked identical—just a bunch of trees. It was getting slightly dark out, and she could tell it was already late afternoon, maybe even almost evening.

She was having trouble seeing, as the countless numbers of branches and leaves blocked out the small amount of sunlight left in the sky. She slowed down her pace in order to not misplace her feet and stumble. Getting even more hurt right now definitely wasn't ideal.

“Nath,” Marinette spoke, stopping in her tracks so he could catch up, “can I see the map?”

She waited patiently for a few moments, only to find that he didn't respond. She was only met with a chilling silence. Only then did she realize Nathanael’s footsteps were nowhere to be heard. The blue haired girl’s eyes widened in fear as she spun around.

“N-Nathanael?” she called again, voice quivering slightly as she looked around in the dark forest, only being able to see a few feet in front of her due to the dim lighting. Again, he didn't respond, nor could she spot him.

Just at that very moment, she heard a stick snap from behind her. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she turned around, crunching the leaves beneath her feet as she did so. Her hands automatically reach into her back pocket, where she stealthily hid the dagger.

A few more footsteps were heard, but to her surprise, a little boy popped out from behind one of the taller trees. Obviously stunned, she tucked the dagger away, rushing over to the young boy who looked lost and hurt.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concern evident in her tone as she gripped his shoulders and held him upright. He peeked at her through his half-lidded eyes, breathing heavily.

“I-I got lost. I’m s-scared,” he admitted, clutching onto her hands. She could see the tears forming in his eyes. Marinette figured he’d probably tripped and fell at some point, so she hoisted the boy into the air and safely in her arms. She couldn't imagine how far he must’ve walked to get this deep into the forest.

“It’s okay, honey,” she soothed, motherly instincts kicking in. After hanging out with the children of the village and taking care of them so often, she developed a soft spot for them. “I’ll get you out of here and we’ll find your mommy,” Marinette promised. He smiled up at her.

“Can you help me get my bracelet?” he asked, innocent emerald eyes staring into hers. She cocked her head in confusion.

“Bracelet?”

He nodded. “I dropped it. I think it's over there somewhere…”

Marinette bit her lip. She really should wait for Nathanael to come back from wherever he went…she was concerned that maybe he’d really gotten captured by a strange creature. But it wouldn't hurt to help this boy out while she waited…

“Okay, let's go look for it,” she agreed, letting him down and walking him to the area he pointed towards. He led her right into a patch of trees, where there was little to no open space. Marinette felt an uneasy feeling pooling in the pit of her stomach when she realized it was now practically pitch black. She couldn’t see anything—not the boy’s figure, not the ground, hell, she couldn't even see the trees.

Marinette suddenly stopped walking, wondering if this was a good idea after all. She’d put herself and the boy in danger by walking out here. Even if werewolves and monsters were fictional, there was no denying the fact that real wolves were lurking around, waiting for pray. She wouldn't be surprised if she bumped into a panther or lion here. Sure, they didn't even really hang out in forests at all, but the girl wasn't taking her chances.

“Hey, I think we should turn back now—”

And that's when she came face-to-face with the same set of green eyes she’d seen earlier on the little boy. Except this time, they were glowing, narrowed, and belonged to something even bigger than her. The figure that she could distinctly make out seemed about half a foot taller than her, and definitely muscular. She could see ears on top of it's head, and a wicked smile plastered on the creature’s face.

Oh, shit.