Heart of Black

She's a Demon

The entire village was silent as she spilled the contents of the bucket onto the burning tree. She could tell half the people present were expecting a repeat of not too long ago, which would be without a doubt an utter disaster.

Everyone held their breaths as the clear substance flew out of the container, landing perfectly on the tree. For a moment, nothing happened. People tsked and started grabbing buckets to keep pouring. Did he lie again, after all? she wondered, dejectedly sighing.

However, when the mystery liquid soaked the fire, the flames got completely put out, leaving some smoke behind. It disappeared in the blink of an eye. The burnt branches and grass blades were the only evidence a fire ever even occurred. Some people dropped their buckets, obviously confused and shocked.

There was a collection of surprised gasps, sighs of relief, and definitely a lot of murmuring. Of course there would be—after a whole village of hundreds diligently worked to put out a fire, some seventeen year old klutz walks up and makes it disappear in the blink of an eye. If that wasn't suspicious, she didn't know what was.

To her horror, people began backing away. Marinette had been expecting a more positive reaction than this, she’d just saved the entire village! Even if it was technically because of her the fire started, but still…

“Marinette…how did you do that?” Alya queried cautiously. It broke the girl’s heart to see her best friend approaching her so hesitantly.

“What? It's just…water…” she replied, peeking into the empty bucket and wondering if it was really water after all. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But why was everyone so afraid?

“She’s a demon!”

Marinette's eyes widened, as she turned around to face the person who said that. To her surprise, it was the redheaded, teal-eyed boy she entered the forest with and had gone missing. Nathanael.

“What?” she asked, confusion etched into every feature on her face.

“Marinette disappeared into the forest and when I went looking for her, I could hear screams and saw a weird greenish glow. I ran away as fast as I could,” he accused, pointing at the blue haired female. There were gasps from the villagers as they gave the girl weird looks. Marinette wished she could tell them it wasn't true, but she couldn't disprove it.

“Nathanael, what—”

“I knew something was off when she eagerly accepted my offer to travel with her,” he spoke evenly, turning to the girl with a slightly frightened yet somehow smug and confident expression. “You lured me in so you could eat me, right? You also fed on all the other people who disappeared.”

Marinette shook her head vigorously. What kind of person did he take her for? “I brought the medicine back yesterday to save our village! Do none of you remember that?!” she cried defensively, getting tired of being doubted.

Chloe stepped in. “Medicine? Nice try, Marinette, but how can we trust you’re not trying to poison us all?” she inquired, actually making a smart point for the first time in all the years Marinette had known her.

There were sounds of agreement heard from all around her, lots of murmuring, some chanting, yelling, and gasps. All the noises blended together until one loud, booming voice caught her attention.

The horrific words that came out of her mayor’s mouth made her heart drop further than she ever thought could be possible.

“For the safety of our village, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is to be sentenced to death tomorrow.”

-o-

Marinette lay in her bed all day, beneath the covers, curled up into a ball. The news was overwhelming, and needless to say, rather depressing. Nobody spoke up against it, either, so maybe dying was the best choice after all. Nobody wanted her there…

She briefly wondered where that demon boy was. He hadn't shown himself after handing her the bucket. She felt a flare of rage run through her body upon his remembrance. If he never started that stupid fire in the first place, she wouldn't be dying tomorrow.

The girl chuckled bitterly. The joke was on him, in the end. If he didn't have her around, that’d mean no food. Maybe he’d regret his decision and feel bad about it. Although, it'd be too late once he did. She’d already be gone.

Marinette wished she hadn't interfered at all. She should've stayed to the side and not used any buckets offered to her. That would've been the safest thing for her, but her focus was on the safety of her friends and family at the moment.

At the thought of her friends, she remembered Alya. She remembered how the girl seemed afraid of her. Marinette knew the redhead was always extremely scared and freaked out of the idea of demons in general—her friend being accused of one was probably too much for her to take. She wondered how Alya felt about her being sentenced to death. Sad? Or maybe, relieved?

A knock on her door snapped the girl out of her reverie. For a second, her heart filled with panic as she thought they decided to kill her earlier. But her nerves soon settled as her parents walked in.

Her mother carried a large backpack, and a winter coat in her hands. Confused, Marinette sat up, as the items were set near the bottom of her bed. Her parents wore concerned yet guilty expressions.

“Marinette, we know you're probably upset that we didn't protest earlier,” her father said gently. She avoided eye contact and chose to study a painting on her wall, instead. “But it was with reason. Sweetie, we know you're not a demon. That's outrageous.”

She crinkled her nose in distaste. “It doesn't matter what you think. I'm going to die,” Marinette deadpanned as though she didn't care, although her own words hit her harder than anticipated. That's when her mother placed a caring hand on her back.

“I'm not letting you die, mon bébé,” she assured her. Marinette finally stopped staring at the painting and looked into the older woman’s eyes.

“Maman, what do you mean?” she asked, feeling lost, though still hopeful.

“I want you to run away.”