Chapter Text
In retrospective, straying from the path in that cavern had been a bad idea. But Marinette had gotten curious and left her parents’ side to explore on her own. Naturally, she had gotten lost.
She didn’t know how long she spent, wandering in the dark, cold and damp. In such environment, you quickly lost any notion of time. So, Marinette wandered with her flashlight and her backpack, until her legs felt sore and her eyes were dry from crying.
Then she felt a draft.
“An opening?”
A draft meant the air was flowing from somewhere. It wasn’t still like in the caves. She followed it, tracing it back to the source. It was a wall, ruined by erosion and riddled with holes through which the air flowed. She pushed. Even with her skinny arms, the stone didn’t resist. It crumbled in a hole wide enough she could pass.
Cautiously, the girl left the cavern and looked at the room. The smell of very aged wine made her nose wrinkle. Obviously, the place was a wine cellar. A half-putrefied door led to a corridor that gently sloped up. She followed it flashlight in hand, only to pause at the sight of a strange door. It was made of stone rather than wood or metal, and there was a large pattern engraved on it. She dusted it – and almost jumped when the dust revealed gold.
Marinette didn’t hesitate. She didn’t bother with tissue and used her hands to dust the pattern. What she got was an intricate astronomical design, drawn in molten gold. The twelve signs of the Western Zodiac were prominently displayed. Before she could figure how to open the door, the golden drawing shone and the two panels slid inside the wall. What was on the other side made her breath catch in her throat.
It was a crypt, not two ways about it. It was circular, with twelve statues standing at regular intervals on pedestals, eight men and four women. Each had a specific zodiac sign associated with them, but none looked like warriors or legendary heroes. No, the people depicted were a farmgirl, a blacksmith, a fisherman, a priest… Humble folk. Common folk. The crypt had no window. The only source of light was Marinette’s flashlight.
In the middle of the crypt, standing on an altar was a metallic, rectangular box. The girl cautiously approached it, only to notice the words on the altar’s frontside. Naturally, they were in Latin.
Animo forti, qui locum istum invenit; - To the brave soul who finds this place,
Tuo legato nostro dignus iudicaberis. - May you be judged worthy of our legacy.
Sit prudenter utere suis viribus - May you use their powers wisely
Sicut fecimus in saecula. - As we did for centuries.
She didn’t know what the words meant. She did, however, utter them aloud.
It was enough. The box burst open in a blinding light as twelve different voices echoed across the crypt. It was a storm of sound and magic which filled the room, and Marinette was in the middle of it. The girl shrieked and curled on the floor. After tense moments, it all faded.
The girl grunted and stood. Her flashlight was still working. A look down told her the blue and pink clothes she wore were ruined by filth and dust. She sighed and looked at the box. It was open, and also in perfect state, as if time hadn’t touched it. It also contained twelve items, each decorated by a zodiacal sign. The girl counted a bracelet, a necklace, an anklet, a brooch, a ring, a circlet, a pair of earrings, a dress hook, an eyepatch, a pendant, a belt buckle and a hair clip. She touched the eyepatch –
“Eh, not a bad choice.”
Marinette abruptly turned. A small creature emerged from behind the fisherman’s statue, no bigger than ten centimeters, navy blue and in the shape of a mermaid. Eleven other creatures emerged, all the same size but each a different color and spotting attributes that reminded her of different animals.
“Are you sure about it, Akwwa? I mean, yeah, we’ve been trapped in that crypt for the past six centuries, but if it means falling in the hands of a greedy, selfish brat…”
Akwwa, the mermaid creature, turned to the one who had spoken. They were purple, with a scorpion tail and black eyes.
“Pyqqe, I am a telepath. Reading people’s thoughts is what I do. She’s safe. If anything, she reminds me a little of Blanche, but with Tristana’s skills.”
“A seamstress?” The scorpion creature perked up.
“Actually, I am an aspiring fashion designer.” Marinette corrected. “But yeah, I sew my own designs. I mean, making good-looking clothes isn’t all. They must also be practical and comfortable.”
The scorpion creature hummed.
“I could get behind that. My original owner was a seamstress by trade, so I know a thing or two in that field. Fine, I approve.”
“I really don’t see how that was ever in question.” The silver, canine-looking creature huffed. “If Akwwa says she’s alright after reading her mind, then she is. Besides, it’s been too long since we were trapped in the crypt.”
The black, avian creature smirked.
“Howll and Akwwa agree? No need for a vote, then. Everyone, we just found ourselves a new Guardian.”
Marinette raised a brow.
“A Guardian?”
The twelve creatures grinned.
“Yes. The Guardian of the Zodiac Miraculous.”
~*~
They told her a story. It was a story about fairy-like beings called Kwami, who embodied concepts such as Protection, Imagination, Intuition, Observation… In ages long gone, a mage bound them to jewelry, and those who wore the jewels were granted powers. But some were misused. The twelve Kwamis associated with the Western Zodiac were used for evil, so they tricked their owners into destroying the jewels, the Miraculous. Then, they wandered. Until, one day, they heard a prayer.
During the Hundred Years' War, raids called chevauchées were frequent. A village victim of such disaster prayed fervently for support. The twelve Kwamis answered. Incapable of interacting with their surroundings, they were still capable of telling the village’s survivors how to make Miraculous. The town blacksmith crafted the items, and the church’s priest enchanted them, and the twelve Kwamis of the Western Zodiac returned. For the next two hundred years, they protected the village, who grew into a city. Until the Holy See caught wind of them.
The Inquisition came, and it came with an army. The Zodiac Holders could have fought. Their Kwamis didn’t simply grant them a Power, they also granted them mastery of an element. Each of them was a match for an army. But the Holders knew they could only win battles, not wars. They gave up the powers of the Zodiac and hid the twelve Kwamis in the crypt. Then they fought. Akwwa was fighting her tears as she recounted her final Holder’s last stand. Her brethren were no better.
For the next six centuries, the Kwamis dwelled in the crypt, using their powers to maintain it. Now, at last, someone had found their way to them, and their heart was gentle and kind. Worthy. They were looking forward to getting out.
They gave Marinette the choice. To become their new Guardian or not was her decision. Though the girl doubted she had the profile, in the end…
She agreed.
~*~
Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng were worried sick. The sun had finally set and their daughter was nowhere to be found. They had called the police, who had sent a research team and made a missing person appeal. Now, they could only wait.
“Mom! Dad!”
The pair turned to see their daughter emerge from the woods, face marred with dirt and clothes ruined with filth. They fell in each other’s arms with tears in her eyes. The Zodiac Miracle Box was safely hidden in the girl’s backpack, hidden from sight and unwanted questions.
“Marinette! My baby girl, where have you been?”
“I found an exit by following a draft. Afterwards, I wandered until I stumbled upon the village.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. Equus, the Kwami of the Sagittarius Miraculous, was the embodiment of Observation and granted sharpened senses to his Holder. Locating Marinette’s family hadn’t been hard. Getting there, especially with the girl’s tiredness, had been more so.
“It’s alright, Mari. You’re back with us. We are so relieved…”
She didn’t mention her discovery. After the Kwamis’ tale, the idea didn’t sit well with her. Silently, however, she promised herself to use them wisely.