Noblesse Oblige

Chapitre deux

Author stuff: Well, it's Thursday. (shrug) Didn't realize yesterday was Wednesday. I'm not used to working Wednesdays.

Chapitre deux

Marinette Always Seems To Be Busy

"Give me that."

Marinette watched as Alya took away the dough she had been working on, shaping it into an oblong loaf instead of the normal circular shape her parents preferred. It really didn't matter too much, but her parents liked the consistency.

It didn't take long for news of her father's arrest to travel around Rochers – even the villeins who had been working the field knew. And while the news hadn't gotten any queer looks yet, it was only a matter of time.

She had heard what they said, however. They never were as quiet as they thought. "Tom Dupain was arrested, whisper whisper whisper, apparently he helped Chat Noir, murmur murmur murmur, his poor wife and daughter, mumble mumble mumble, how could he do that to them..." It was as if they had nothing new to talk about.

Honestly, though, they probably didn't. They lived in Rochers, after all.

Thank goodness for Alya and Nathaniel. They had volunteered to help with the boulangerie in the mornings. Both of them worked for Alya's mother at the Sanglier Bleu and had been up since mid-morning the day before. ("Who needs sleep?" Alya said when she had shown up at their gate just as Marinette and Sabine were getting started for the day. "Sleep is for the weak." Nathaniel had agreed.) Alya, Marinette knew, would always help if they needed it. Nathaniel, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise.

Alya had helped a couple of times before. She knew exactly what needed to be done, however she wanted to work quickly and just be finished with her task. The bread didn't exactly agree with her methods much or often. Nathaniel caught on like a house on fire. Sabine had only had to show him a few times how to shape a loaf, and he could do it almost as perfectly as her mother did.

With their help, they managed to finish ahead of time. Nathaniel and Alya opted to deal with haggling with others, rather than letting Marinette and Sabine do it. It was better this way. Less likely to be asked intrusive questions or hear the gossip.

"Thank you," Marinette said to them when they finally had some peace and quiet. She blew a few stray strands of hair from her forehead – tried to, at least. She sighed and just brushed them away, tucking what she could behind her ear.

"Yes," Sabine said, "thank you both for your help. We're eternally grateful."

She brought out two small baskets covered in old handkerchiefs Marinette had embroidered back when she was just learning. The images were awful. She could see all the little flaws, even from a distance. But Alya and Nathaniel looked on in awe at them.

"Maman Sabine," Alya said, starting to protest.

"Madame Cheng, really," Nathaniel said.

"Take it," Sabine said, insistently holding out the baskets to the pair. "Two loaves of bread each for your family and a good hunk of cheese Marinette made."

"The rosemary and marshwort?" Marinette said, raising her eyebrows. That would be the only one that would be near ready, as far as she could remember.

"Where'd you get marshwort?" Alya said.

"Some of the children found some and brought it to Brother Fu," Marinette said. "He had them give it to me."

Alya nodded and peaked under the handkerchief, smiling.

"Don't be greedy and keep it to yourself, Alya," Sabine said in the all-knowing-mother tone. She patted Nathaniel's hands, as he stood too tall for her to pat his shoulders. "We really appreciate all the help you can give."