Our Tale As Old As Time

Chapter 12

         The navy strands of her hair whiplashed across Marinette's face as she leaned over Philippe's neck. They were on a furious gallop toward the castle, with her father's help and a promise to stay safe she had escaped and began her ride back to the castle. The horse's heavy hooves made a rhythmic pound along the trail, a strong soundtrack for their journey. Marinette just hoped she wasn't too late. Chat could hold his own against Gaston, no doubt, but that didn't sooth any of the worry that continued to grow inside her. Chat Noir was her partner and the thought of anything happening to him made her heart ache. Gazing up to peer past the trees, Marinette saw the tower come into view. They were almost there. Hang on Chat. As they drew even nearer to the entrance, Marinette began to see the mob bursting through the doors of the castle and make a run back toward the village. So far, the furniture had won, but what about Chat Noir? Dismounting, Marinette gathered her skirt and sprinted up the steps, through the crowd, into the castle, and past the cheering antique gold housewares. Her heels clacked on the tiling just as fast as her heartbeat. At least until her heart dropped. A cry of pain came from the west wing, she didn't need to guess who it came from, she knew who it came from. She had heard the cry so many times before, that she distinctly knew that it was Chat.

"Chat!?" Mari's paced quickened as she continued to yell for her partner. She couldn't be too late! She just couldn't be! "Chat!?" Her voice ran out once more, a lump in her throat. Where was that dumb cat!? By the time she got to the west wing, it was empty. The blistering winds screamed in horror as the rain blinded the eyes of all who looked towards the outside world. The dark stormy skies would make it impossible for Marinette to spot Chat Noir, he would be camouflaged so well in this backdrop, despite his golden hair and shining green eyes. Leaning over the balcony rail, Mari strained her eyes against the rain, refusing to blink as she scanned for the two men locked in a deadly duel. That's when Marinette remembered the rose. With a quick turn of her head, she saw that the table was still holding the glass with the enchanted rose upright. Thankfully, the flower hadn't been damaged in the tussle while it was still in the room. However, it didn't mean that there wasn't any damage. The lime green rose only had a few petals still holding on. Who knew how much time they had left? Whatever the amount, it was very short. The girl's attention was brought back to the task at hand when she heard another shout. Her ears and brain synched as she twisted her head toward the sound, feeling the bright blue of her eyes dull and her skin become as white as a sheet when her mind registered the view it had captured. Chat Noir was on his back, rolling between his shoulder blades, clutching his side. There wasn't an arrow in his side meaning only one thing. Gaston had pulled a gun and Chat, had been hit. Gaston's cape blew wildly in the winds and his hair had come loose as he slowly approached Chat with a malicious walk. Even from a few feet away Marinette could hear Chat's moans as he tried to convince himself to keep fighting.

"You've lost feline! Did you really think that she'd love you!?" Gaston spoke coldly. Words that were even sharp enough to pierce her own heart, yet, knowing well that it was slicing through her partner's.

"She obviously doesn't love you.....Ah." Chat's retort was quick and witty even in his current state. Chat Noir was a fighter and wouldn't go down easily. A trait that Marinette had always admired and had been lucky enough to witness many times over as Ladybug. How foolish she had been to not see his side of Chat Noir until now. To not understand how much he meant to her.

"Curtain call kitty!" Gaston hollered aiming his gun down toward her partner. She needed to do something quick.

"Chat!" Both men paused and turned their heads to see her. That should do the trick. Thankfully, she knew her partner well and knew just how to help him. She knew her presence would give Chat the boost he needed, making his desire to save damsel's in distress beneficial for once. With a forceful kick, Chat Noir kicked the gun from Gaston's hands, causing it to fall to the ground below.

"How about we go for round two?" Marinette could hear Chat grit through his teeth. He was hurting, badly. She didn't even want to begin to imagine what he was feeling, instead she decided to focus on a way to help him. Except, what could she do? The men resumed the battle, Chat Noir the one with the advantage. Hopefully, his bad luck wouldn't catch up with him and turn the tables.

"Where is he!?" Mari turned her head to see Plagg, the horror and concern he wore a new sight to see on the kwami's face, ignoring the fact that it was also because the magical being was a panda bear stuffy. The teen couldn't bring herself to speak and simply pointed in the direction of the scuffle. One swing and a dodge after the other, Gaston and Chat Noir began to scale up the side of the castle roofing. Slowly, the two started to travel along the room horizontally, coming back towards her.

"Plagg, how's the rose!?" In unison the two looked over their shoulders at the glass casing, as another petal fell. They were running out of time. If she and Chat didn't meet up now, they'd probably be out of time by the time that they did. "Chat!" She saw his head turn and knew he had understood her by just her expression. He must have had better eyesight than she did to be able to see through the darkness of the storm. It had started to lighten up, but it was still dark with a heavier rain fall. He still clutched his side and as he got closer, she could see the dark stain on the leather of his suit. Marinette just hoped he wouldn't bleed out and die before she could try to save him. With a final dodge of Gaston's swing, Chat Noir jumped towards her, unfortunately it was too short. Chat fell just below the balcony, but not enough that he couldn't save himself from a dastardly plummet. Wrong character. Marinette grabbed his hand, helping him pull his chest up over the rail.

"Dah...." She could tell he was strained and struggling to pull himself up, folding over himself in an attempt to ease his pain. "You came back." His eyes were soft and sad making her heart swell and flood with emotions that she had bottled up and disguised for so long. The tears springing to her eyes as his blood-soaked hand came up to her face. With the back of his fingers, he brushed his hand along her cheek, laying her own hand over it, she leaned into the touch.

"Of course, I came back. You're my partner." There was a high risk she had given her identity away, but Mari didn't care about that now. Chat needed to know how much he meant to her, now more than ever. The two were so distracted by each other, that they had forgotten about Gaston until it was too late. "Look out!" Marinette screamed clutching his hand and pulling on his arm. The hero turned his head just as Gaston jumped on his back.

"Ah!" Chat's grip tightened around her hand, his body visually tensing up. Suddenly, Marinette was blinded by a white glow. It took a her a minute, but soon her eyes were able to focus in on the blade of Gaston's knife. The moonlight reflecting off the metal, a fresh coating of blood dripping off the tip. The final blow. With a final testament of strength, Chat Noir leaned back, throwing Gaston off balance. The man slipped and fell. Marinette thought it was over, but she was wrong. Chat's body lurched back and dropped below the rail again. Gaston had grabbed onto her partner's ankle. Mari felt her partner lose his grip and begin to slip as well. Instantly, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms underneath his arms, using all her strength to hold him up as he shook his leg from the villainous grasp that held it captive.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no..." Gaston pleaded as his hands slid down Chat's boot, frantically trying to hold on. If Chat had anything to say about it, he didn't say anything, though Marinette was sure Chat would have plenty to say about it when this was all over.