Queen of Terror

Chap. 22

"I knew you were there."

I backed away, my heart thumping faster and faster. My body shook with fear as I trembled inside with the thought that Bridgette could have really seen me. No, it couldn't be. I suppressed a shiver as panic surged through me, my fear spiking. I was in a complete state of panic because I could feel nothing but blind terror. I took another step back as Bridgette continued to look into my eyes. A part of me expected her to be talking about something else, to be actually looking behind me and talking about something she hadn't known was there. But that didn't happen. Her eyes continued to stare into mine, and though I tried to stand straight, my legs were wobbly with fear.

"Marinette, did you really think I wasn't going to see you?"

It was when she said my name that I completely froze to my spot, my face twisted into a confused look. But how? When I had gone back to experience the death of my parents, she hadn't seen me. Except. . .

"Oh my goodness!" I breathed out. "This isn't the past." I shook my head as I looked down at Laura. "This is happening right now. As soon as we left, you came over and kidnapped her to do this!" It all made sense now. The reason why she hadn't seen me before was that those other experiences were all from the past, something that had already happened. She saw me now, somehow, because this wasn't the past. It was the present. When Bridgette saw I'd figured it out, she came rushing over to me, but before she could touch me at all, I'd already fully disappeared. I hadn't even felt myself vanishing away, but that may have been because I was too focused on the fact that Bridgette had actually caught me. I hadn't been too careful.

"Bridgette saw you because of two reasons, actually. . ." The voice in my head began to speak again as soon as I landed back in my room. "Because it was the present, and because you two are connected. She felt your presence. If it had been anybody else, they wouldn't have known you were there."

I wanted to ask why I had even been sent to the present, but I didn't question it as of now, knowing the question wasn't really important now. Laura was in trouble, and although I wanted to save her, I knew I couldn't. Bridgette had already given her that purple potion before I'd found out the truth, so to try to save Laura now was basically throwing myself off a cliff. I went back to my bed, feeling even more devastated. We weren't getting any closer to stopping Bridgette. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself that it was all going to be okay, I knew the harsh reality was that nothing was happening, and Bridgette was still winning. 

None of this was going anywhere. Bridgette had so many plans up her sleeves, yet I had none, except for defeating her, though I didn't know how to. Finding out the meaning of 'being connected' to Bridgette actually scared me. I had planned on torturing her, making her feel the same pain I had gone through, only this time, physical, but I couldn't do that now, could I?

Because if it happened to her, it would also happen to me.

Try to get some sleep. It's already too late to save her. I rested my head on my pillow as I shut my eyes, trying not to let the tears escape out of my eyes. I'd already cried before. I couldn't do it again now.

~~

May 10th, Sunday-

I woke up to a loud commotion coming from downstairs. At first, I was too afraid to head down, knowing full well that those people I called my friends were against me all because of Bridgette, but after getting dressed and brushing my teeth, I made my way out of my room and down the stairs. I heard a few voices, like a few maids and servants running back and forth, some of them screaming to go call the Queen. Well, here I was now. When I was making my way down the stairs, all eyes went up on me, and everything seemed to stop as I stepped on the last stair.