MiraculousTale

Welcome to the Underground

Mt. Eiffel

201X

Chapter 1:

Darkness. It was all around her, swallowing her whole. The sunlight from above was growing smaller and smaller, reaching the size of her fist before she finally hit something.

Marinette groaned in pain, her back throbbing. She closed her eyes as she winced, rubbing the spot that hurt the most. After a moment, she opened her eyes. She expected to see the same darkness she saw before, but no. It wasn't actually dark. The spot of light above her lit the area around her just enough so she could make out ruins of some sort. She reached up to touch her head, but froze when she saw what was on her hand.

It was a purple butterfly. She swatted it away, yelping in surprise, then noticed that she was surrounded by the same purple insects. In fact, they appeared to have broken her fall.

She sighed and looked back up at the small beacon of light she had fallen from. How could she be so clumsy? Why was just walking in the woods be so hard for her?

Well, there was no use in trying to figure out how to get back up there. The walls that lead up to the hole were sheer cliffs with no way to climb. Pulling herself up, Marinette swatted some of the butterflies away as she got to her feet. The butterflies fluttered in irritation but didn't react in any other way.

Marinette wrapped her arms around herself and glanced around the room. The cave she had fallen into was full of... columns? Were these ruins of some sort? She walked down a long hallway, running her hand along the wall. There were inscriptions, like some sort of hieroglyphic language, but she couldn't read them. Heck, she barely passed her French class.

There was a door at the far end, the rock carved into intricate swirls. She gazed up it in awe. Had anyone else come here before? If not, their scientists were really missing out on a true marvel.

As she stepped into the next room, she couldn't help but notice that there were even more purple butterflies fluttering around the room. It was starting to grate on Marinette's nerves, finding butterflies everywhere. She walked around the edge of the room, taking in the beautiful markings and portraits. How pretty they must have-

"Howdy!"

Marinette screamed, spinning toward the voice. She raised her arms up in defense, ready to attack whoever had spoken. She scanned the area, but only saw purple butterflies fluttering and minding their own business.

"H-hello?" she asked the dim area.

"Over here."

She turned again, but still saw no one.

The voice sighed. "Down here."

She looked down. When she saw the giant purple butterfly a few inches away from her foot, she almost jumped out of her skin. It wasn't a normal looking butterfly, however. It looked like a small human with wings sprouting out of it's back. Its hair was midnight black that swept to the side, and two small antennae stuck out like up like weeds in a patch of grass.

"Who are you?!" she exclaimed, flying backward.

The butterfly smiled broadly. "My name is Billy; Billy the butterfly!"

Marinette tilted her head and took a cautious step forward. "You... butterflies can talk?"

Billy scoffed and straightened his purple and black suit. "Of course we can! It's you humans who never listen to us."

"O-oh."

"So, you're new around here, aren'tcha?"

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I guess you could say that."