Chapter Text
She never could have predicted a time when the people she supported and protected would turn on her, but here they were. A mob of people breaking down her door and rushing into her home in the dark of night. The rage radiating from them is so different from their usual gratefulness. They weren’t gentle as they bound her wrists behind her back and gagged her. Or as they yanked her from her home and relentlessly pulled her across the town square to the pyre they set up just for her on the outskirts of town.
She was tied roughly to the center stake of the pyre, her already bound arms pressed to the wood, scraping her wrists. The abrasions on her legs caused by multiple falls she took on the jaunt was irritated by the course ropes tied over her smock. She hoped this torture would end soon but she could see that the people had no intention to lighten her suffering. The mob before her began picking up and hurling stones at the girl, not caring where they struck. When they ran out of stones two men walked forward with lit torches. She did not want to think about the pain that awaited her but it was hard not to imagine it as she felt the heat rise around her.
The air began to thicken with smoke, choking the crowd of spectators and the victim. She felt the blaze begin to burn the wood below her. The flames licked at her bloodied feet, slowly searing her; within moments, the heat had charred her skin as the flames engulfed her feet. The smell of burnt flesh and hair filled Marinette’s nostrils. She screamed in pain and panic, but the gag muffled any sound she made. The flames quickly traveled up her body lighting her smock and engulfing her completely. The girl continued her muffled screaming from within her cocoon of pain and fire.
Marinette jolted awake, breathing rapidly as she took in her surroundings. She sighed in relief as she recognized the familiar pink walls of her bedroom. Calmer, she looked towards the poster of Adrien Agreste taped next to her bed but instead of Adrien’s dreamy peridot eyes, Marinette found the cold unforgiving eyes of the people who burned her at the stake. Once again, Marinette jerked awake, this time taking a moment to confirm that she was truly awake.
She could still smell her skin burn and feel the tingling and pain. She looked towards Tikki, still sleeping on her pillow. A heavy panicked sigh escaped her lips. Can she justify waking Tikki after the week they’d had? No, she needed all the sleep she could get. Grabbing a blanket, Marinette carefully stood and pulled herself onto her balcony through her skylight. She wrapped the blanket around herself as she walked over to the railing. Not even the sight of the city she loved helped to shake the memory of her dream.
The girl didn't notice the black clad superhero that landed softly behind her until he spoke. “A penny for your thoughts.”
Marinette was so immersed in thoughts of her nightmare that even the soft voice made her jump a foot in the air. “Chat! You scared me.” Her exclamation sounded much angrier than than she felt.
“I’m.. sorry. I’ll … I’ll go.” The disappointment in his voice as he had turned to go was evident.
“No!” she called for him to stop. “ I’m sorry, Chat Noir. I just wasn’t expecting you. Is there an akuma?” She asked though she had long suspected that Chat used the suit a lot more than she did, even when there were no akumas or patrols.
He turned back around and smiled sheepishly. “No, I couldn’t sleep and the house felt stuffy.” She nodded, wasn’t that close to what she had experienced herself? Plus the nightmare.
“Why are you out?” he tilted his head, quizzical and curious. “You’re not usually out at this hour, are you purrincess?” He intoned quietly as he walked to her side and leaned on the rail.
Marinette shook her head, “Just a bad dream. Nothing to be worried about. I just couldn’t stay in the house.”
“You look haunted. You sure you’re okay?” Concern colored his voice. “Problems at school?”
She chuckled awkwardly, yes, Lila was still wreaking havoc on her social life but the nightmare had nothing to do with her. Did it? She sighed heavily. “Maybe my social life caused the nightmare but… it wasn’t about my life.” She winced at the thought of being burned in real life before continuing. “I… uh… was burned at the stake in my nightmare.”
“Oh, ow… I really hope your social life is better than that right now.” How could he sound so genuine?
“You and me both.” They stared at the city of love together in companionable silence for a while before she thought to return the sentiment and genuinely ask him about his motivation for being outside the house. “Problems at home?”
He didn’t look at her as he shook his head. “Fought with my father before going to bed. Had a nightmare. Fittingly, it was about Ladybug, burning at the stake too. My father held me back while Hawk Moth and Mayura tortured her, jeering at her pain…” He trailed off with an irrily haunted look on his face. It was a side of Chat Noir she had never seen. “And no matter how hard I fought, I couldn’t escape, I couldn’t stop them... I couldn’t save her.”
She tried not to wince, burned twice at the stake on the same night. Good thing premonitions didn’t exist. “Neither of us had good dreams tonight.” She knew she was stating the obvious, but was unsure what else she could say.
“No,” the negative weighed the conversation down and both superheroes became enthralled in their own thoughts. Marinette didn’t know how long they just stood there in companionable silence once more before the chill of the night made her shiver even in her blanket.
“You should go back inside and try to sleep again.” Chat declared when he saw her breathe on her hands in an attempt to warm them.
“Yeah, I probably should.” The frigid air engulfed her as she pulled her blanket off in preparation to go down the skylight. “Thank you for the company, Chat noir.”
“My pleasure, Purrincess, sleep well.” He said as he bowed.
“I’ll try, you should too.” She responded and laughed as she descended into her room. She thought she heard Chat say something as the glass closed down but when she lifted it again to ask him what it was, he was gone.