Feelings

33-Marinette

I walk out of Master Fu's room with a tear stained face, clenching the letter he gave me in my hands. Marianne stands outside and pulls me into a hug. She's been crying as well. We stand outside and wait for the bad news that we know is coming. We sit down for about five minutes before the nurse that went into the room comes back out again.
"I'm sorry to inform you that he has passed away," She says. Her face shows no emotion but I guess when your job is watching people die you get used to it all.
A single tear rolls down my cheek as I stand up to leave.
"Marinette," Marianne calls. "I still have to tell you something about the miracle box."
I nod as she leads me to her car. We sit in and drive in silence for the first ten minutes.
"He was so proud of you, you know," she tells me, breaking the silence. "He spoke about you constantly and he regretted telling you that he lost his memory. Everyday he considered getting a train to Paris and telling you the truth. He was going to but then he got ill and couldn't travel." She rests a hand on my knee but keeps her eyes on the road. "He asked me to send you that letter. He wanted a final goodbye." I can tell she's crying from the way that her voice breaks mid-sentence.
I stay silent and just play with the letter in between my hands.
"That from Fu?" She asks. I nod. "I know it's tempting but you musn't open it until you get to Paris, okay?" I nod again.
She eventually gives up trying to start a converstaion and goes back to focusing on driving. I feel a lump in the back of my throat and suddenly the tears begin to spill from my eyes. We pull over into a small side road and Marianne holds my hand.
"Marinette. Talk to me," she whispers.
"It's not fair," I cry.
"I know hun, nothing's fair." She rubs the back of my hand. "But he was old, it was his time."
I gulp and wipe my tears on my sleeve.
"We're not far from my house now," She tells me as she starts the car again.

After a few minutes we reach a gorgeous white cottage. There are red and pink roses planted in the garden. It looks like a fairytale cottage. There is ivy climbing up both sides of the house. I get closer to the front door and see that the door frame is decorated in ladybug and cat paw drawings. I smile as she opens the door and lets me inside. The interior is even more beautiful than the exterior. The cottage smells like cookies and cakes. The hallway is decorated with pictures of Marianne and Master Fu when they were younger and a few from when they were re-united. I walk through a door into a small room which must have been the lounge. There were two small, blue sofa's on each side with a small coffee table in the centre of the room. There's a half drunken cup of tea and a few puzzle books. But the thing that catches my eye is a small frame with a picture in. I pick it up and study the picture. This one isn't of Master Fu or Marianne. It's of me and Chat Noir. A photo of us saying "pound it" after an akuma battle. My mind has a million thoughts but one thought is stronger than the others. I think about Chat and what he's doing. I have no idea if he's still at my house or if he went home. I think about my feelings for him. I love him. I know I do. And I really thought that I was over Adrien but after what has happened to him in the last 12 hours I'm pretty sure I still love him. I perch on the edge of the sofa and put my head in my hands.

"Love is difficult Marinette, especially when there are two people you love," Marianne says, sitting next to me.
"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" I ask.
"I could see it in your eyes. You love two people," she replies.
"Yes, I do."
"Like I said, love is difficult but I have a feeling that your little situation will work out just fine in the end," she tells me.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't tell you. It is something that must happen on its own. But I promise you, it'll be fine."
"Okay," I sigh.
"Now come on, I have to talk to you about the miracle box," she says, standing up.
I follow her into a small kitchen with a large circular table in the centre.
She sits down and motions for me to do the same.
"You may think that now Hawkmoth is out of the picture, that you and the box are safe. But you aren't." She warns.
"What?" I gasp.
"Master Fu told you about why he hid all those years back, didn't he?"
"Yes, he said during the war, someone found out about the magic miraculous and tried to take them from you. But he said that those people died a long time ago so there was  nothing to worry about." I reply.
"Well, that's what we thought," she sighs. "It turns out that they are still alive and are still looking for the miracle box. I'm not sure what we are supposed to do but we have to be careful. We can't let anyone get their hands on the box, okay."
"Okay," I reply.
"Good, you have my number so you can call me whenever you need. I'm only a train ride away, remember," she smiles.
"Yes, thankyou," I reply.
"Would you like me to drive you back to the hotel?"
"No, it's fine, thanks. I'll call a taxi," I insist.

I call a cab and say goodbye to Marianne. I sit on the garden wall while I wait for the car to come. I take out my phone and see that my mother has messaged me.

Are you on your way back yet?

I reply and turn my phone off as the cab pulls up infront of the house. I get in the back and tell the driver the name of my hotel. He grunts in response. I feel a little weird, especually as I can't see his face but I just let it slide. After about ten minutes I realise that we are going in completely the wrong direction.

"Excuse me, I don't think this is the way to the hotel," I say.
"I'm not taking you to the hotel now that I have you where I want you," he hisses back.
"LET ME OUT!" I scream, trying to open the door.
He turns around to face me and my heart drops.
"Gabriel Agreste!" I scream.
"Hello," he grins, "Ladybug."