Losing Identities

Chapter 18

Marinette's POV

I wake up on what feels like a cloud.  Pulling the soft covers tighter around me, I glance to the side and am almost blinded by the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen.

Wow...

I must be in heaven.  That crash... I died.

I step out of bed and find myself wearing a white sundress, my hair loose.  With a yawn, I start to look around.

I'm in a large room, with flower-covered pillars reaching to the ceiling.  A giant window features the sunrise. I have a pastel pink canopy bed with a matching pink rug.  A wardrobe houses every female outfit I've designed. Next to it is an intricate vanity. Shelves along the walls hold my craft materials, and my sketchbook awaits me on a gorgeous desk.

Everything in here is amazing, custom-made for me!  Where is Adrien? He needs to see this!

I notice a door and hurry to it.  It leads me into a lavish hallway, with five doors along one wall.  I open them all.

The first door is a pink-themed bathroom - mine.

The second is an elegant living room with a piano.

The third is a small but expensive kitchen with a small dining table for two.

The fourth is a staircase leading down.

The fifth is a black-themed bathroom.

The end of the hallway has a door as well.  I swiftly open it.

There's a bedroom as large as mine, with green walls, multiple balconies filled with various books and gadgets, and a black canopy bed.  It also has a gigantic window.

Adrien is standing in the middle of it all, mouth agape.  He's dressed in a white shirt and pants, looking like an angel.

"Marinette!" he shouts when he sees me, hurrying over to give me a hug.

"Adrien!"

He hugs me tight, kisses me, and spins me around in the air.  I laugh. Then he pulls me close and kisses me again. What a sweetheart!

"Where are we?" he asks.

"In an apartment, I think.  It feels like heaven."

Adrien brings me over to the window, and we look down.  We can see the tops of buildings, even the Eiffel Tower, which is surprisingly close.  We're not actually that high above Paris. Strange...

"Look," Adrien says, pointing around.  "That building's right near my house. And these ones, too.  We're exactly above where my house is!"

Suddenly chills run down my spine.  I don't know quite why. This whole place, although beautiful, is quite odd.  Why would it be above the mansion?

"Enjoying the view?" someone says from behind us.

We turn around and see Adrien's father standing there.

"What?  How..." I mumble.

"I hope you like the apartment," he says.  "I created all of it just for you."

"You made this?" Adrien gasps.

Mr. Agreste smiles.  "I did. It didn't take me long with my new powers."

New powers?  That means... Mr. Agreste has our miraculouses.  Mr. Agreste is Hawk Moth!

"How could you?" Adrien screams.  "You took everything away from us!  You hurt us! You killed us!"

"I didn't kill you," Mr. Agreste says calmly.  "You were both just seriously injured. I had to restore your health."

"And why?  Why would you injure us?" I yell.  It's taking all my strength not to lunge at him.

"I don't have enough control over my akumas as you might think," he says.  "They were the ones who hurt you. I didn't instruct them to do that."

Adrien balls up his fists.  "You could have told them no!"

His father sighs.  "I could have. But I really needed the miraculouses.  And then I needed you back. I'm sorry, both of you."

"Get me out of here!" Adrien shrieks.  "I hate all of this! I hate you!"

Mr. Agreste's face hardens.  "Now, son..."

"Don't call me that!"

"I made this for you because I love you.  All of it was to make you happy."

"I was happy before, okay?"  Shaking, Adrien stomps his foot.

I cross my arms.  "Mr. Agreste, your actions have caused more harm than good to us.  No amount of apologizing and cool stuff is going to change the fact that you hurt us!"

He grimaces.  "Very well, then.  I'll leave you two to get all your frustration out.  But at six o'clock, you will come downstairs for family dinner."

"No!" Adrien and I yell.

"You will be there!" Mr. Agreste says forcefully, then storms out the door.

Adrien screams.  I hold him as he starts to sob.  My poor kitty...

"I don't understand," he whispers.  "What did I do to cause all this?"

"Nothing," I reply, tearing up.  "He's just wrong in his thinking."

"If he really loved me, he wouldn't have let anyone hurt me, no matter what."  He sniffles, and I rub his back.

"I think he learned his lesson now," I reply.  "But that doesn't make everything okay."

"It doesn't!" Adrien cries.  "I miss how everything was before..."

My heart breaks.  "Me too."

He's silent.

"Maybe we should give him a chance," I say after a while.

"Why?"

"Because deep down, he really seems to care."

"What if he doesn't?"

I take a deep breath.  "Then we'll find a way to change things."

Hey everyone!  This currently has 2.08k reads... wow...
(Internal freakout)
Thanks guys!!!
I have my cast's first performance today (there are two casts) and I'm PANICKING!  I don't usually get stagefright, but the dress rehearsal went badly.  Hopefully we have a chance to practice the difficult scenes...
Anyway how's your day going?