Chapter Text
~ 4 years ago ~
Adrien walked through the dark hallways of his house. It was one of the hallways in the basement. He had never been there.
It was cold. And dark. The twelve year old didn’t want to do anything other than go back to the comfort of his bed, but the cold steps of his father at his side were enough to intimidate him into going forward.
His bare feet stumbled on the hard ground, but he was able to regain balance before crashing into the ground.
“Move forward Adrien. We don’t have much time.”
The boy swallowed in fear, but he kept walking under the dim light of a torch.
His father had been acting cold and strangely since his mother… since the accident. To be fair he had never been particularly warm or happy before, but now everything was different. He didn’t blame him. Adrien was different too.
But even so, this was the first time his father dragged him out of bed and into a moonlight walk in the spooky hallways under his house. The only light was coming from the fire carried by his father, and even that was barely enough to get by.
Faint wings of bats rumbled on the ceiling, and small squeaks behind the columns indicated the boy of the presence of rats; which was odd, considering the house was constantly being cleaned by the help.
Adrien tried to hide his fear, but he couldn't stop the slight tremor across his body. He was already 12 years old; he was supposed to be almost a man now. But under the darkness of his house, he allowed himself to feel afraid.
Finally, they arrived to a door made of rotting wood, closed with a rusty lock. His father took out a thick silver key and slowly opened the door.
Inside was a stone room, so different from the rest of the places in the house the blond gaped in surprise. It looked like a kitchen, yet all the furniture was old and rotted, the herbs hanging were all dry and dead.
In the middle of the room, an old woman was mixing stuff in a cauldron. Her face was covered by a veil, but her hand looked so old and garnled they resembled those of a mummy. Her long fingers, adorned with many rings, counted dried leaves picked from her bag and placed them into the cauldron.
Suddenly, she pulled out a small bone out of her bag, still covered in blood and grime. She dropped it unceremoniously into the cauldron, and its contents began to glow in a repulsive red, foul-smelling and slimy.
Adrien gasped in horror. The woman was a witch.
His father grimaced at him, but the, for the first time since they entered the room, the woman looked at the, Her eyes, a magnetic olive color, passed over the buy, but finally settled onto his father.
“Gabriel Agreste. Do you have the jewels?” she asked, her voice sweet as honey.
Adrien froze in indignation. How dare she refer to his father by his name rather than his title. But before he could protest, his father interrupted.
“I have them.”
The man took out a handkerchief from his pocket and spread it on the table. Adrien leaned in to see. Inside were a couple of jewels: a silver ring and a pair of black earrings. They didn’t seem like much, but the witch smiled at them with delight.
With a nod of her head she placed the jewelry on the table and quickly started taking several objects from her bag and hastily putting them in a straight line on the table. She then looked at his father again.
“You know the consequences for your actions.”
She didn’t say it as a question.
“I do.”
The woman leaned over the table and for the first time, she fixed her eyes on Adrien.
“Then let us begin.”
As the witch started mumbling in a foreign language, the boy looked at his father.
“Father, what is happening?”
His father looked at him with steel in his eyes, but then he did something Adrien would have never imagined. He Knelt in front of him.
“Adrien, you know I want the best for us.”
The boy questioned his sanity at that moment, even as he responded.
“I know Father.”
“And you know I would do anything to bring back… to bring back your mother, right?”
The boy froze. This was the first time he had mentioned his mother since it had happened. And… What the hell did it mean to bring her back? It made no sense. But still, he managed to nod his head.
“Good. Then you must know that I am making the right decision.”
Adrien didn’t understand. What decision? What’s going on? And why on earth was there a witch in the basement of their house?
He wanted to ask so many questions, but his father’s stern eyes silenced him. A man in his position shouldn’t be pestered so mucho. “Yes father.”
The man nodded and stood up, turning to the witch. “We are ready.”
The boy could not see behind her veil, but somehow he knew she had a horrible grin. “Let’s get started. Come closer to me Adrien.”
How the hell did she knew his name?
The boy stepped closer to the woman, but suddenly, he felt his father’s cool hand on his shoulder. The man seemed uncomfortable, but still he looked into his eyes, and said something that shook the air away from him.
“I love you son.”
His father had… never said those words to him. Not even when mom was around. He turned, with questions in his eyes, yet the man only responded with a strained smile.
Still not comprehending anything, Adrien walked up to the table, where the woman took the silver ring in her hands.
“Let’s begin.”
The door closed behind him with a dull thud.