A Miraculous Tale: Les Poissons

Chapter 8

"Where are we going?" Marinette asked curiously. Cat Noir was holding her hand, and they were standing at the back of the courtyard, near the red rope that separated them from the rest of the palace grounds.

"Now!" Cat Noir whispered. Marinette had no idea what now meant and was caught by surprise when he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her over the rope. He grabbed her hand again, and they darted behind the bushes.

"Next time, warn me before you do that!" Marinette whispered angrily. Wait, why am I even whispering? Oh yeah, probably because this senile cat is trespassing, and I am, in a way, his hostage! "Cat Noir, will you please let go of my hand?" He quickly let go. "Thank you. Now could you explain why you are taking me hostage on your expedition in trespassing?"

"Marinette, it's a surprise. Will you trust me on this expedition of ours?" He asked, making air quotes around the word expedition. "Besides, when have I ever led you astray?" Marinette couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Okay, fine." She relented.

"Good." Then he got up and darted onto a narrow path across from them; it was lined by bushes on either side. Marinette, who had been squatting uncomfortably in order to preserve her dress and modesty, got up as quickly as she could, lifted her skirts so she could run, and chased after Cat Noir.

She saw him running down the path; she hurried to keep up, but without her super suit, plus the fact that she was in a dress, made it impossible to get even close to catching Cat Noir. Frustrated, she ran after him. He disappeared around a corner, and Marinette followed. He turned around and started running backwards. He was wearing the traditional Cat Noir grin that Marinette had come to know so well, and he was laughing. Marinette couldn't help but laugh herself. She put on another burst of speed after they turned the next corner. Now they were both laughing. Marinette was still chasing Cat Noir, and he was still teasing her by getting close, then far away, then close again. She was running as fast as she could, and the wind in her face mixed with the jostling of her running was making her hair fall out of the bun. She didn't care though, all she wanted to do was reach Cat Noir. He turned his back to her as they rounded another corner; both of them flying down the path. They were laughing so hard Marinette wondered how they still had the energy to keep going.

"Wait up, Kitty!" Marinette managed to say through her laughter. Cat Noir slowed down and came to a stop. Marinette saw that the path ended just ahead of him, and she slowed down too. Marinette continued laughing while she put her hair back into the bun. She finished fixing her hair and looked up. When she saw Cat Noir's face her smile broke.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. It's just that, well, no one has called me kitty before, no one except Ladybug."

Marinette's face burned. Oh no, what have I done! Great way to ruin your secret identity! You better fix this!

"Well, I, um, you see, one time when you and Ladybug were together I heard you call her that, and I thought, well, that's a good nickname, and I thought I'd call you it. If you don't want me to, I understand." Marinette said hurriedly. Cat Noir was silent, and Marinette knew he had seen through her lie. Then he said, "no, you can call me that. I don't mind it, really. It's just that no one else besides Ladybug has called me that before. You caught me by surprise is all."

Marinette nodded, scared the moment was over. Wait, why would I be having a moment with Cat Noir. I'm being silly. We are just partners slash friends. Just that.

"Marinette, in order to see the surprise, we have to jump over that wall. Is it okay if I..." He trailed off.

"Oh yeah, sure." Marinette said, trying to shake away her thoughts. He walked over to her and gently picked her up. She put her arms around his neck, and he ran and jumped over the hedge. They landed, and he put her down gently. She looked around. They were in a beautiful garden. The moon shone bright overhead, filling the garden with a silvery light. There was a fountain, a fish pond, and a large oak tree with a wooden swing. Marinette walked over to the swing, her skirt trailing behind her. Then she turned around, looking again at the garden.

"Cat Noir, this is beautiful!" He walked over to her.

"There is one more thing I want to show you." He said.

"Okay."

"I might need you to piggyback me though, unless you want to climb an oak tree in a ballgown." Marinette laughed and looped her arms around Cat Noir's neck.

"Don't choke me. I know I'm a nice looking cat, but you don't have to strangle me from excitement." She lowered her arms, and then closed her eyes as Cat Noir used his stick to lift them in the air. Then they came to a stop. Marinette opened her eyes and looked around. They were near the top of the tree, and Cat Noir was balancing carefully on his stick which was the only thing between them and the ground. Marinette's grip on him tightened. I know I swing from buildings everyday, but being this high without my supersuit is scary. Cat Noir stepped onto a nearby tree branch that looked thick enough to hold them both. He managed to coax her into letting go of him, and he helped her sit on the tree branch. He sat beside her. She reached over and gripped his arm. I'm such a clutz; I'll probably fall off this branch. She thought nervously.

"Nervous, much?" He teased. "I thought you were the girl with a bedroom balcony on the roof of a building."

"Yeah, but the top of the building is sturdy ground beneath your feet. Right now I'm sitting on a tree limb. It could give out at any second and we could fall to our deaths, or I could lose my balance and..."

"It's okay, Marinette, I won't let anything happen to you. Plus, if you're too busy worrying about how you're going to fall to your death, you'll miss the amazing view." He pointed out in front of him, and Marinette looked. The view was amazing. The castle sat majestically in the maze of gardens and courtyards. A grand staircase led you up to the castle's main entrance, and a driveway curved around a large statue of a knight on a horse.

"It's beautiful!" Marinette breathed.

"I'm glad you like it." They sat together on the tree limb. After a few seconds Marinette gained the courage to let go of his arm. They sat there in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"Thank you, Cat Noir, for showing me this. This is so much better than the ball."

"I think it is part of the ball. After all, we are still on castle grounds. Just a little more secluded." Marinette blushed, and turned her face away.

"You okay?" He asked with concern.

"Yeah." She turned back to face him, then saw something behind him. "Cat Noir look out!" She pushed him back as someone threw what looked like a glob of green sludge at him. He fell back just in time, but the sludge hit her instead. She made to wipe it off, but a second after it hit her skin it disappeared. Then a tall man with wild green hair, a chef hat, and a black spoon flew toward them on an upside down frying pan.

"I am Les Poissons, and I have come to take your miraculous, Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

Cat Noir sat up, looked at the villian, and pushed Marinette off the tree. Falling very fast to certain death, Marinette screamed. Then she fell into Cat Noir's arms. He leaped over the hedge and ran down the narrow path.

"You honestly didn't think I was going to let you turn into a pancake, did you? What kinda hero would I be then?" He kept running, and leaped up onto the ledge of a castle window. "He must've thought you were Ladybug because of the dress." Cat Noir said as he pushed the window open. He leaped into the room, then ran through it and into the next. He set Marinette down.

"Are you okay? Did he hit you?"

"Yeah, but I don't..." All of a sudden she burst into a fit of coughing. Cat Noir led her to a nearby chair and helped her sit down. She stopped coughing.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry about me, Cat Noir! I'm fine here. Go..." She started coughing again but managed to say, "go defeat that bad guy."

Cat Noir nodded and left her sitting on the chair coughing. Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse.

"What happened, Marinette?"

She finished coughing, and put her hair back into two ponytails while she said, "This akumatized villain called Les Poisons hit me with green sludge, then I started coughing. It doesn't matter though. Cat Noir needs Ladybug! Tikki, spots on!"

Marinette transformed into ladybug. Okay, I need to find Alya. Master Fu thought she could help. Marinette headed back to the party to find her.