Cinder-Mari

The Great Guardian

A/N Who has two thumbs and is officially out of high school???? THIS GIRL!!!!! As of last night, I am officially signed up for my first classes in order to get my associate's in arts. YASSS!!!!! 

Suddenly a knock came at the door, and Marinette stood up to go answer it, confused to say the least. The bakery officially closed an hour ago, who could possibly be knocking on her door with all of her closest friends already inside?

She went to go answer it, finding Lord Bourgeois and Chloe on the other side. "Lord Bourgeois! Mademoiselle Chloe! What are you two doing here, is anything wrong?" "Perhaps, Marinette." Lord Bourgeois said, his worried brow becoming more creased by the second. "Chloe has accused you of stealing her jewelry."

"What??? I would never do something like that!" Marinette said in disbelief, seeing out of the corner of her eye that her friends had also came down. Lord Bourgeois sighed, shaking his head with his eyes closed. "Marinette, at the moment no one is accusing you of anything. We only wish to search the bakery and your room, if you have nothing to hide it shouldn't matter."

Marinette couldn't shake the feeling that Chloe was up to something, but what could be the harm with them simply taking a look around? "Of course, Lord Bourgeois. I hope this gets sorted out without much consequence." He simply nodded in return, and he and Chloe made their way into the main reception of the bakery.

The search went quite well, until Marinette heard Chloe yell in her shrill voice from inside Marinette's bedroom. "Father, come look what I found under Cindermari's bed!" Marinette and her friends rushed upstairs, and saw Chloe holding up a diamond necklace with a smug smirk. Marinette gasped in disbelief. "What??? I've never seen that before!"

"Liar! This necklace went missing just after you cleaned my rooms!" In her infuriating anger Chloe naturally went for the nearest thing to her hands, which was the dress that Marinette was wearing, the dress she planned to wear to the ball that very night. The thin fabric ripped all too easily, and Chloe laughed scathingly when it came off in her hands.

"No wonder you felt like you needed to steal my necklace, your own clothes are practically falling to pieces. It's just as well anyway that you cannot go to the ball, you probably would've stolen from the king too." The pent-up anger that Marinette had kept inside from working at Chateau Bourgeois bubbled over, and she launched herself at Chloe with only her friends to keep her back.

"You spoiled, ungrateful, self-absorbed little brat! You framed me with that necklace, I just know it! What did I ever do to you??? NO ONE deserves to be treated as you have treated me!!!" Although Marinette was in such a frenzy, Lord Bourgeois slapped her across the face and grabbed her arms in his large fists.

"First you steal from my daughter, then you attempt to attack her?!? I was wrong to extend succor to you, Marinette Dupain. You're a savage, and you're fired! Be grateful I don't do the same to the other maids in this room!" That slap had snapped Marinette back to her senses, but Lord Bourgeois and Chloe had already stormed out by the time she could speak again.

Alya, Mylene, Juleka and Rose released their hold on Marinette and looked at each other uncomfortably; and Alya took it upon herself to speak first. "Marinette, are you going to be okay?" Marinette looked at her friends for a moment, realizing what happened, before bursting into tears and racing to the back courtyard. 

Alya, Rose and Mylene were about to run after her, but Juleka held them back. "She'll be fine, she just needs room to think. Don't go anywhere just yet, Marinette will know where to find us when she's ready to talk about what happened."

Meanwhile, Marinette was sitting on a stone bench, crying with her head in her hands. "I'm sorry Maman, I don't believe anymore! Kindness doesn't solve all your problems, it just leaves you vulnerable!" She yelled into the still night, the french countryside only answering her back with silence. "Oh Chaton, how I wish you were here. You must be feeling so confused at the ball, wondering where I am. I'm so sorry."