Trahison

Chapter 4 (✔️)

(Extra-long chapter ahead. Enjoy!)

Ladybug

I didn't know exactly why I was walking on the streets at two a.m. in the morning. Maybe it was because I couldn't sleep — because my mind was plagued with nightmares. Maybe it was the thought that taking a stroll outside in the quietness by myself would calm me. Maybe it was because I was utterly reckless and my brain wasn't thinking properly.

When you think of Paris, it might be all 'it's the city of romance!' Or 'Paris, it's the city of lights ain't it?' But at night, it was a completely different story.

The gold hue of the Eiffel still shone in the distance, but it wasn't much to the pressing darkness. Paris was also a place that wasn't warm, or barely summery at all, so between my thin jacket and my skin, I didn't have a very stable body temperature as I tried to rub the heat into my arms. Eventually, I just settled for hugging myself tightly, crossing my arms across my body to preserve the warmth.

It could also be dodgy at night, with plenty of thefts and robberies, pickpockets and sometimes, if you were really unlucky, thugs that cornered you in the alleyway and threatened you for your money.

The cops were there for those things, but Ladybug could also handle them alright when the officials weren't around. Which was one of the only reasons I dared to venture out tonight.

The full moon offered a wane bit of light, shining down on me with its faint silvery wash that tainted everything white.

White, like Chat Blanc.

I let a shivery breath slide out of my mouth, forming cold misty fog in the night air. Just the thought of him sent shivers down my spine.

"Tikki?" I whispered into the thin air.

"Yes Marinette?"

"What Chat N—Blanc said," I hastily corrected myself, knowing that there wasn't any remnant of that cheesy pun-throwing hero, "is it really true Tikki?"

I gulped, bracing myself for the reply — knowing that the thin line of hope that I was holding onto was fake and useless.

"Oh Marinette. I... really didn't want for it to come to this, but then and again, I can't delay the inevitable. You were bound to ask." She murmured, mostly to herself, popping out of the purse to rest on my shoulder, my free-flowing hair shielding her from most of the chilly breeze.

My throat filled with ice.

"Wha–what do you mean, Tikki?" I asked, the evident fear in my voice rising, and making me stutter.

"It's true Marinette. It's all true."

"What? How?" I asked, voice trembling, unsure if I really wanted to know, to know what she meant, what she was about to reveal.

"It's always been like this Marinette. The world is made from light and dark. The light was the creation, the spark that ignited evolution in mankind, the hope and the peace, the faith and the kindness. It was what made the world thrive — made it grow and reach upwards, always benefitting things and bringing the good luck. It was the beauty and the loyalty. It was the perfection." My kwami's eyes were bright while she explained, her tone sparked with joy. Her words made no sense to me, and I didn't know how this had connected to Chat Blanc at all, but I stayed silent, knowing that Tikki would get to it.