"Do not let toxic people infect your ability to love. Toxicity is the opposite of love. It tears apart instead of building together."

— Forbidden Love

CHAPTER FORTY

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

They say, one truly does not value what they have, until they've lost it, because you cannot fully appreciate the things you have until they're gone. Marinette never fully understood this concept, because she never valued anything so dear to her heart before. Everything she once had—the forcefulness to marry, the terrible living conditions, the unfortunate reality of her parent's death, and her aunt's ridiculous morals—she would've given up in a heartbeat. But, for the first time ever, Marinette finally, and fully understood the depth of that well-known saying.

Because now, she had something—or rather, someone—she was afraid to lose.

Chat Noir.

Chat's limp body was lifted into the arms of four courageous men, who pursued forward into the darkened forest to bring him home. By this time, the evening sun had fallen, and night had descended, leaving hardly any light for any of them to see.

But the men seemed far from afraid.

Even when Marinette had told them where they would be going, they did not hesitate. As this story portrays, beyond the other side of the wall was forbidden, and legends of old state of the magic that is kept there, and of the dangerous creatures that lurk there. They named it the Forbidden Forest because it was forbidden. But it is that which is forbidden that lures the curious heart.

The moment the men exited the church, Marinette followed shortly after. Be damned of what her aunt, or her uncle, the priest, or even of what Sir Nathaniel thought of her actions. Who cared if the ends of her purely, white dress turned black and ripped with her incautious movements. The only thing Marinette cared about was making sure that Chat Noir returned home safely. And that her Adrien had a chance to remain alive.

Despite if her family was against it or not, Marinette could feel their presence linger outside the chapel as she persistently followed the men into the woods. She never looked back. Marinette had figured none of those people would dare to follow any farther, afraid that if the legends they had heard all their lives were undoubtedly true.

So, you could say, Marinette was surprised to find that her sisters (and a curious crowd of people) had followed after them into the darkened forest. Emily was quick to join her sister's side, her tiny, little hand grasping the ravenette's. Marinette could not help but smile at the action.

"I do not know what is going on, but I am here for you." Krissy says from Marinette's other side, grasping her sister's shoulder gently.

Emily squeezes her hand. "Me too."

Genuinely, Marinette is grateful for her younger sisters' support. But to verbally respond to the affection would be a different story. She was too preoccupied in watching her love's limp head bob up and down with every careful step the men took, and more accurately, was trying to think of any possible way to save Chat Noir's life. The possibility of the magic re-consuming him was her plan A.

But if that plan failed, what would be her plan B?

Or would there even be a plan B?

She begged herself to not think that way. Chat Noir would live. He had to!

Otherwise, she was not so sure if she could continue on without him.

"Is the other side of the wall really as scary as the legends say?" Little Emily's grasp tightens around her sister's hand, pulling Marinette out of her thoughts. As she looks down, the ravenette catches the little girl's curious gaze peeping up at her, waiting for a wise answer.

Marinette shakes her head.

"No, not at all." Marinette says softly. "It is beautiful there."

"So, you have been?" Krissy asks.

Again, Marinette nods.

There is a pause after that, and only the sounds of the leaves rustling beneath their feet ensue. Marinette isn't sure if Krissy is upset with the confirmation or not, but she does know that the truth was bound to come out eventually. She had planned to tell her family about Chat Noir one day. However, she never expected this to be the way they find out.

"You know," Krissy says, after a moment of silence. "The guy really does love you."

And Marinette has to will herself not burst out into tears because God, she knows that. She knows how much he loves her; how much Chat Noir is willing to go to show her how much he loves her; what risks he's willing to take to keep her safe. Hell, the only reason he was even in this predicament was because of his divine love for her.

Slowly, Marinette turns to look over at Krissy, offering her sister a gentle smile. "I know."

It is then when the stone wall, separating their two worlds from one another, finally comes into view through the darkness. Its stretch is as far as the eye can see, and its height towers over the average man's height, but that doesn't stop the four men from pursuing forward. In fact, Marinette was almost for certain that they picked up their pace.

But she pauses abruptly when her eyes catch onto a darkened figure towering over the wall, and when Marinette suddenly stops, her sisters halt beside her. Puzzled, Krissy's gaze follows Marinette's, somewhat frightened when she too notices the unfamiliar figure.

Her grip on Marinette's shoulder tightens. "W-What is that?"

However, before Marinette can respond, more figures began to show themselves. Though the darkness was now their only source of protection from the humankind, Marinette realized the mysterious creatures were merely members of Chat Noir's tribe. They stood tall on the wall, lining a long it as far as the eye could see it stretch. They said nothing, nor made any motives to charge forward at the upcoming crowd of people, but the four men who carried Chat Noir paused merely a few feet away from the stone wall, afraid to approach any closer.

No one dared to move any closer. But Marinette did what she knew had to be done. Letting go of her youngest sister's hand, the ravenette stepped forward.

And above her, the king stood. When she had first met him, he had been kind to her, welcoming her as a possible suitor for his son with open arms.

But now, the king held an emotion in his eyes that she couldn't quite read. He stood stoic; emotionless; contained.

And worst of all, he and the rest of his tribe were dressed as if ready for battle, their attire accompanied each with spears.

The sight was frightening to stand before.

"What have you done?" The king uttered deeply, lowering his spear to point it straight at the ravenette. She did not dare utter a word against him, and instead, out of respect, lowered her head. Not once would Marinette have bowed to a man in her life, but in this particular situation, this was different. This was not a man who looked to dominate her because of her gender.

This was simply a concerned father who needed to place the blame of his son's predicament on someone. Because deep down, this man was terribly afraid for what would be upon his son.

This man didn't want to lose his only family.

"Bring him over to us." The king then said, lowering his spear to direct it over towards the four men who still held Chat Noir limply in their arms. Marinette's eyes followed the spear's point. "And then take your leave. From now on, we wish to never see your kind again."

The four men immediately complied to the king's demand and stepped forward, lifting Chat Noir into the arms of his fellow tribe members. Once Chat was securely in his own kind's arms, the four men stepped back once more and wordlessly began to take their leave.

The king then spoke up again, for a crowd of people still lingered around. "None of you will ever speak of this occurrence ever again. If so, your days of living on this earth will end. Mark my words."

And no one dared to speak against it. For the king was not one to bluff.

But Marinette? Marinette would not simply leave and forget the world Chat Noir had introduced her to. The Forbidden Forest has become like her second home, because it was Chat's home. His world she had come to love, and enjoy, and cherish. It was a beautiful world that didn't deserve to be forgotten.

What it deserved was to have a proper and truthful legend.

"Please sire," Marinette fell to her knees, and for the first time in all their lifetime, her sisters watched Marinette shed a single tear for a man. "Please do not make me leave and never see your son again. Your majesty, please, I am in love with Chat Noir."

And Marinette knew her pleas could only carry her so far. Despite the king's loving nature towards his son, his majesty the king also had a stern nature. A nature that Marinette had witnessed herself when Chat Noir once pleaded to never marry. It was plea from his own son that the king first rejected, and had it not been for their scheme, the king would have never changed his mind.

She prayed he would once again listen.

Marinette could sense the hesitation in the king's eyes as he struggled to remain contained before her, and the rest of the unwanted crowd. It was then when the ravenette realized how truly frightened the king was for his son's well-being. In the background, Marinette could faintly make out her sisters' desperate shouts of her name, as if trying to convince her that this truly was the end of the road.

Marinette begged to differ.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" The king suddenly asks her, and hesitantly, he pulls his hand back to return his spear to his side. She's somewhat surprised to find that the king is reconsidering her presence, and Marinette doesn't hesitate for a second to respond.

"Yes sir."

The king returns her response with a silent nod, and with a gesture of his hand, he demands a few of his guards to retrieve the ravenette. In an instant, Marinette finds herself being lifted into the air and onto the stone wall, despite her hesitance with these tribe members that she has never met before. Once her feet are situated on the surface, the king extends his hand out to her, and hesitantly, Marinette places her hand in his.

"I have never quite met a woman as brave as you." The king remarks, and as she looks up, she finds a slight smile playing on his lips, despite his immediate sadness. Marinette returns the smile gratefully.

For the first time in her life, Marinette had encountered true equality. Though it had yet to spread through her entire culture, she realized that Chat Noir's kind had more respect for the human race (every color, every gender, and every shape), than her own race did. And what was their reward for respecting the humans so highly? Not once did they invade the human world, and yet, the humans only thought poorly of them.

Little did they know of how much they were truly missing.

"Marinette!"

And from the crowd, Aunt suddenly emerged, dragging a hesitant Elizabeth behind her. As it turns out, the woman had been persistent enough to follow after her niece into the forest everyone thought was dammed. Marinette had to admit, she would give her aunt credit there. Once Aunt let go of her eldest niece's wrist, the woman marched forward, disregarding the fact that the guards lined above the wall raised their spears to her approach. However, the king silently commanded them to yield with a silent wave of the hand, but Marinette would have gladfully allowed the guards to remain their stances. Hell, maybe those spears would be necessary in this particular situation.

"What in god's name are you doing?!" Aunt screeched, the moment her nose was practically pressed against the wall. You could only imagine how close the awful woman was. "I do not know what is going on, but I do know that you just stormed out of your wedding! Now, you will get down from that wall and return with me to that chapel, or so help me Marinette, you will never leave your damn room for as long as you live!"

Marinette could only raise a somewhat impressed brow to that. Aunt cursing? Now that was a sight to remember.

"Did Aunt just say a bad word?" Marinette swore she heard her youngest sister, Emily, whisper into Krissy's ear from behind, but she wouldn't dare bet her money on it. Krissy was the one to silently nod in response, too bewildered in what she had just heard to verbally reply.

Marinette shook her head as she met her aunt's fierce gaze. "I will not return to that wedding, Aunt. I do not love Sir Nathaniel, and I certainly never will. You are too focused on your social status to realize what that red-headed pig has done to me. He has you wrapped around his little finger!"

"Preposterous!" Aunt barks out a laugh in return. "Sir Nathaniel is a decent man!"

Marinette scoffs at that. "You are a fool if you still believe that." She spats.

"You little twit!" Aunt seethes through gritted teeth, and with whatever strength the frail woman still had in her, she jumped up in attempt to reach for her niece's ankles. However, the wall was far too tall for the woman to reach, and her short stature had an enormous part in preventing her from extending. Alas, the woman tried nonetheless to reach for her niece's shoes.

And Marinette could only smirk as she watched the scene play out.

"You get down here this instant!" Another failed attempt to jump, and Aunt was back on her toes. "I will not ask again!"

"But you never ask!" Marinette retorts, folding her arms above her chest. "You always try to force us to do what you want. Have you ever considered that your nieces' may have different dreams than you?"

"Marinette is right!" Elizabeth suddenly steps forward, pulling her aunt back with a forceful tug of the shoulder. Startled, Aunt is quick to recoil and stare face-to-face with her eldest niece, bewildered by Elizabeth's potent actions. "Your only concern is keeping up your image! For once in your life, put all of our needs before your own!"

Aunt's brows knit together, and with a quipped tone, she points a daring finger at her eldest niece. "Watch your tone with me, young lady. For years, I have done nothing but provide a roof over your head, clothes for your back, and food on the table. I have provided you with every necessity! The least you all could do in return is marry a man as quickly as possible!"

Marinette wanted to intervene, mostly because Aunt was leaving out the important little details, particularly in the aspects of necessities. Sure, they were provided with the basic needs to survive, but were Marinette and her sisters truly living? Though this topic could be further elaborated, Marinette realized that her true concern still lied with Chat Noir.

First Chat Noir, then an intense argument with Aunt. Priorities are the key.

"But what if I do not wish to marry a man!"

If the forest could grow any silent, then it surely did after Elizabeth uttered those words. Breathlessly, Elizabeth must have realized her slip up—for the poor girl covered her mouth with the back of her hand the moment she realized what she had just said. Marinette could only gape in response. Surely, Elizabeth hadn't truly mean that, had she? The girl had done nothing but brag her entire life about how she would be the first to marry and make Aunt proud. And now, she wished to have nothing to do with marriage?

Aunt raised a brow to that. "What on earth are you talking about, Elizabeth? Do not tell me you have suddenly reverted to your sister's childish behavior. You will marry, and that is final."

"I am not against the concept of marriage, Aunt." Elizabeth says forcefully in return. "More or so on who I plan to marry. You are so quick to assume that I wish to spend the rest of my life with a man."

And suddenly, everything seemed to click inside Marinette's head. The way Elizabeth fathomed over the idea of being the first to marry before aunt's eyes, the way she mocked her second eldest sister in previous years, the way Elizabeth continued to come back home empty handed from each and every ball they attended...

Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Was... was her eldest sister...

...attracted to women?

"What in god's name are you talking about, child?" Aunt's eyebrows knit together, and the woman had yet to realize what her eldest niece was trying to explain. "Who else would you possibly spend the rest of your life with, if not with a man?"

Elizabeth, who stood tall and proud, did not dare cower before her aunt this time. Instead, her eldest niece would no longer keep her secret hidden in the shadows. Marinette wanted to intervene, but Elizabeth was too quick to respond before the action could be made. "I am not attracted to men, Aunt. I never have been. I only went along with your little schemes of marriage because I was looking to please you; to make you proud. But now I realize how wrong I was. Marinette has shown me the true morals of a woman... and what we are truly worth. She has shown me what it is like to be truly in love. Marinette has never been afraid to defile against you, and to step out before society on what she truly believes. Now, it is my turn."

"You defiant child." Aunt seethed, taking a daring step forward towards her eldest niece. Instead of cowering before her aunt like she had done so many years throughout her youth, Elizabeth stood tall and with her chin high. "Now it is imperative that I take you back to that church, for the devil has placed such inhumane thoughts into your head!"

Elizabeth shoved her aunt back, causing the woman to stumble over her feet. "Inhumane?! You are the only inhumane one here, Aunt! Your only concern lies with yourself!"

And before the frail woman could retort, Elizabeth turned her back to her and faced her sister which still stood bewildered upon that wall. Elizabeth stepped forward, and with a gentle smile, shooed her sister with a wave of the hand. "Go, Marinette. Go to him. He needs you now more than ever."

Marinette remained stilled, hesitant to leave her sister in a time where she needed her the most. "Elizabeth I—"

"Do not worry about me." Elizabeth says in return. "Because of you, I would not be here where I am today; no longer ashamed of who I am. Please, my sister, that man you so dearly love needs you in his time of despair. Go to him, and when he is well once more, we will speak of this again."

And with that said, Marinette let a tear slip from her eye, nodding silently to her sister's demand of a request. Slowly, the ravenette descended down the other side of the wall, alongside a few of the other tribe members who assisted her upon the king's command. As soon as her shoes hit the fresh cut blades of the other world, Marinette turned expectantly words the king, in need of an answer.

"Will you be able to help him?"

The king looked down at her, and with the expression laced in his irises, Marinette only feared for the worst. Instead of confirming her horrible suspicions with a nod or shake of the head, his majesty the king reached for her hand and clasped it in his own, as if the action would provide some sort of comfort for the girl.

"Let us pray that we are not too late." The king instead replied.

_______________________________

Vote?
Comment?
Share?