Dear Bugaboo

The Mystery of Agreste

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   Adrien stood outside of his parent's room.

  The last time he was here was the day his mother had mysteriously disappeared. The youthful blonde had a nightmare and went to seek comfort from his father. Instead of moral support, Adrien was more frightened by his own father than the nightmare itself.

   The way his father's cold eyes gleamed with malicious intentions and face etched with a crazy look. Even with the young, oblivious innocence of a six-year-old, Adrien immediately knew something was wrong. He felt a shiver run through his whole body and excused himself back to his room.

   Adrien never dared to even step foot in this very hallway ever again. Yet, things have changed. Whether it was for the best or the worst, it didn't matter. What mattered the most was what was happening right now in the present.

Taking in a deep breath, the blonde reached and grasped the door handle of his parent's room. He twisted it agonizingly slow before pushing open the door with a long groan.

   The room felt even more empty and cold than his own room. The windows were covered by long, silky curtains that shrouded the room in darkness. The blonde scanned the large, quiet area before deciding to finally take his first step into the room after many years.

   Adrien walked in, turning on the lights to see. Yet, not even the lights could cast enough of itself to get rid of the dark aura of this place. This room felt ghastly haunted by the memories, making every hair on his body stand in paranoia.

   It was just too quiet for his taste.

   Adrien continued his way around what once was his parent's chambers and searched for anything valuable worth keeping. Many things brought some sort of bittersweet memory to mind and edged away from it. He looked through the desk, walk-in closet, stands before standing in front of his mother's dresser.

   Everything on his mother's dresser was still in its exact place like she never disappeared at all. It was all well taken care of and clean. There was a family photo sitting off the side and three jewelry boxes aligned in the center of the dresser. Adrien carefully began to open the middle jewelry box, his mother's favorite.

   Inside, there was a button that played one of his favorite childhood songs and his mother's most prized possession, a peacock pin. He never knew why it was so special but he did know that it held a place in his mother's heart. She practically wore it all the time.

   The teen pressed the button before picking up the pin, holding it carefully as to not drop it.

His and his mother's favorite lullaby played, echoing on the empty room's walls and clenching at his heart in more ways than one.

"Little kitty on the roof...all alone without his lady..." he began to sing in a quiet mumble while staring down at the pin, brushing his thumb over its smooth surface.

"Wondering if she'll come around," he continued, "All his hope on a maybe..."

Green eyes moved their attention away from the jewelry to the room's layout. Adrien felt so out of place and lost even though he could see the door from where he stood. It just all felt so wrong. Why did it have to turn out like this? Why did his mother disappear and father go down a bad road?

They were once a happy family. Now, that's all in the past and he felt even more alone than before. He was so glad to have Nathalie and his bodyguard. Those two were amazing but it just wasn't the same. Everything changed.

"Little kitty on the roof..." the blonde choked up a bit, "...sitting under the night sky..."

He looked back at the pin, longingly and gently caressing it, "...wishing she was here..."

Adrien could still picture his mother sitting at the piano while his younger form sat next to her in amazement.

"...sitting close by his side..."

He loved watching her fingers glib across the keys and listen to her melodious voice began to sing, "Little bird in the air...flying with a broken heart..."

"Eyes filled with tears...and herself torn apart..." Emile sadly sang as if she knew the pain that the bird was experiencing. Then, she looked down at her smiley, joyous son watching her. Suddenly, the pain and sadness were gone.

The image suddenly switched to him tucked in bed and leaning comfortably against his mother's form. She combed her fingers through his blonde locks while the piano continued to play in the background.

She was smiling, lovingly before she sang, "Little bird in the air...happily smiles when she sees..."

"...her kitty following behind her..."

"...her heart finally at ease."

Adrien could feel the dampness on his face and a longing torch his soul. He choked on a sob as the lullaby finally came to an end. The room was once again silent besides the occasional sniffles.

  The blonde placed the peacock pin back into the jewelry box and closed it shut. The teen wiped his face of the tears before picking up the wooden box, deciding that this was the only thing he was going to take. Nothing else in the room matter as much.

   With a shuddering sigh, Adrien began to make his way out of the room when he accidentally stumbled a little. He held the jewelry box close to his chest to protect it from harm. The teen latched his free hand onto the first thing he could grab, the wooden bed frame.

   Adrien was able to stop himself from falling. He let out a low growl, upset for almost possibly breaking his mother's favorite jewelry box and jewelry. Suddenly, emerald orbs locked onto the bed frame's indented carvings and noticed something odd.

   Adrien knelt down to take a closer look at the design. It was a beautifully crafted piece but the strangest thing about the complete center to the work. It was shaped in the same way as...

   The blonde opened up his mother's jewelry box and took out the pin. Out of curiosity, Adrien placed the pin into the frame. It fit perfectly into the carving.

   Adrien's eyes widened, watching the wall behind the bed open. He jumped back when the bed and flooring lifted back into the wall, revealing a secret staircase beneath. Adrien gaped in shock, standing up with the wooden box in his arms and stumbled back into his mother's dresser.

   "What the heck is this?" He thought, stunned. Just when he thought he wouldn't get any more surprises from his father, then this happens.

   Adrien inched closer to the staircase, unable to see the bottom through the darkness. The teen cough when an atrocious odor hit his nose. He plugged his nose at whatever that awful smell was coming from the secret stairwell.

   A knock came from the door, scaring Adrien out of his socks.

   "Adrien, is everything okay in there?" Nathalie's voice rang out through the door.

   "Can you come in here?" Adrien asked, looking back at the disturbing depths of darkness, "I think I found something."

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Questions, questions, questions!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!