A Miraculously Tangled Tale (Tangled AU) #miraculousladybugawards2019

Chapter 9

  The early morning sun began to rise higher into the light blue sky, it's bright rays making the whole forest seemingly ablaze. Both Marinette and Chat Noir were seated on the forest floor, which was covered with leaves and soft moss. As a soft breeze swept through the trees, Marinette began to tell her secret to Chat Noir-- the very same secret she had sworn her stepmother she would always keep safe.

In all honesty, Marinette was glad to finally have this chance of not holding back. Befana had warned her countless times to keep her mouth shut if by chance a stranger asked about her hair. 

But she had spent 17 years of her life being cooped up in a tower, completely isolated and deprived even of the simple pleasure of being outdoors. And one thing she longed for during those long years (besides seeing the Miraculous Flight), was having a friend. 

Now granted, she didn't exactly consider Chat Noir as a friend...yet. But she trusted him enough to consider him as an ally. 

An ally that sometimes happened to annoy her to pieces. 

"Well," Marinette began, wrapping her arms around her propped up legs and resting her chin on her knees, her long hair cascading all around her, "For as long as I can remember, my hair would always glow whenever I sang. I still remember when it first happened-- I was four years old, and by then my hair was already reaching my feet. My mother would teach me how to sing, and once I was finally able to, my hair just started glowing out of nowhere. I was scared and terrified at first...I thought there was something wrong with me.

 But she told me there was nothing to worry about, and that my hair is a special gift I was blessed with at birth. She said before I was born, there was some sort of prophecy that stated a baby girl would be born in a small village with dark hair...a Lucky Charm. That she would have the ability to heal and bring happiness. 

And when Mother had me...she knew people would be after us. Evil people with horrible intentions to use me. So that's why..." Marinette sighed, suddenly feeling very exhausted. 

"That's why she's been keeping you locked up in that tower," Chat Noir quietly finished for her. 

Marinette nodded with a small smile before she continued. "My mother has done so much and sacrificed everything she had for me, and I love her with all my heart. But, I can't bring myself to tell her that I can't spend the rest of my life being shut out from the rest of the world. I need to see things...feel things...and just live."

"Well, you're not locked up in a tower anymore," Chat Noir pointed out. "And after going to watch the Flight, you're just gonna go back and repeat the same thing you've been doing all these years?"

At first Marinette didn't know how to respond. Would she really go back?

Of course she would. That tower was the only home she had ever known. Where else would she go?

But the real question was: Could she go back to being completely isolated and shunned from this wonderful world of adventure she had just discovered?

She covered her face with her hands, the stress of her situation finally taking a toll on her poor heart. 

"It's complicated," she finally whispered. 

Chat Noir shrugged. "Technically, life itself is complicated. You're always wondering what's gonna happen, why things always happen, and how you wish things would be different from the way they are."

"I didn't know you were such a philosopher, kitty," Marinette smirked in spite of herself. 

"I'm not," he huffed. "I'm just being realistic, that's all."