ADRIEN

"That you could find it in your heart to forgive me for all the pain I've caused you."

"...you think I haven't been doing that for the past days?" I look away in disappointment. "My feelings for you are not frail or weak. So when are you going to step up for me?"

"Adrien..." she cries.

"Marinette, do you want me as much as I want you?"

I had to fake my sleep after that. I did not want to continue watching her cry nor did I want her to see me cry as well.

She left when I turned away from her and laid back down on the mattress. She told me to rest well in a whisper then left.

Now I don't know how many hours have passed since then. I couldn't tell if the sun is even up since we're in some sort of underground quarters.

I hear the sound of someone on the other side of the room. I purse my lips and let out a breath before I speak.

"Listen, I'm not in the mood to talk about what happened."

"Ah, a lovers' quarrel?" An unknown voice muses. I sit up immediately upon hearing the voice and I could feel my cheeks flushing. This is what I get for assuming that it was Marinette.

I face the woman who helped us last night. She flashes a small smile at me. "Your wife is still sleeping. She was exhausted after staying with you here."

I decide to stay quiet. There is still no guarantee that she could be someone I could fully trust.

The woman walks toward me and grabs the empty pot since I accidentally hit it hours ago. "I might as well refill this."

Again, I choose to stay quiet.

"I thought you were the talkative type."

"And I thought you would abandon us," I decide to utter, breaking my silence.

"I can't do that." She shakes her head. "Your wife's mother - ah. Your mother-in-law is someone who I owe my life to."

"Mother? Wait...Sabine Cheng..." I whisper in realization then look down at my hands that are resting on my lap. Marinette has never told me about her parents. Now that I'm hearing the name of her mother in a place like this, it could mean that she might be known around this place.

"That's her name." She places the full pot beside me then sits on the ground, facing me. "Your wife has never talked about her parents with you?"

I let out a soft chuckle. "In times like these...it's hard to find time to talk about trivial matters."

She scoffs, "Fine. I'll act like I believe that." I could feel the woman eye me cautiously then she lets out a sigh. "I'll also act that I believe you and Marinette are married."

"You know a lot." I look at her. "I guess it's pointless to hide anything from you."

Behind her, Marinette suddenly enters the room and stops when she notices that I am awake and is conversing with the woman. She opens her mouth to say something but shuts it, immediately changing her mind.

The woman notices the shift of my mood and follows where I am looking at. Once she knows it's Marinette, she lets out a small smile and stands. She dusts off her pants and points at the space beside me. "I think you might as well sit beside him," she tells Marinette.

I face the other way as Marinette clears her throat and approaches me. She does sit beside me but chooses not to utter a word.

The woman, sensing the tension between us claps her hands together and exclaims, "I prepared lunch for the three of us. It wouldn't hurt if we eat together, right?"

------------

The food was enough to fill our stomachs. Honestly, I wasn't even thinking of eating anything for this whole 'trip'.

We gave our share of canned food as well since she was kind to prepare lunch for us.

"I never got to ask for your name," the woman utters to me before drinking from her cup of water.

I could feel Marinette's gaze on me as I take a sip from my water as well. "I'm Adrien," I say, telling the truth.

"Last name?"

"...Agreste," I answer in a whisper.

"Adrien Agreste..." she mutters looking away, then like as if something connected in her mind she looks back at me in an instant. "How are you related to Engineer Gabriel Agreste?"

My eyes widen with her sudden question. She knows that I'm taken aback with her question and I hesitate before answering, "He...he was my father."

She hums and leans back a bit. "I had a feeling." She crosses her arms in front of her.

"So, we have a son of an esteemed engineer," she continues, "and a daughter of a proditor." She scoffs and looks between Marinette and I. "What have the two of you planned? To elope in a rotten place like this?"

"W-We're not here for tha-" Marinette starts but gets cut off immediately by the woman.

"Then why exactly are the two of you here?" She asks in a stern manner.

I face Marinette and she does the same. She nods, giving me the permission to answer the woman.

"I'm a soldier who decided to become part of the mutiny in support of the rebels."

She sighs, "You're one of Hugo's men, then?"

"Wait. How could you know Hu-"

"And I suppose Marinette is with the government because of her father," she cuts me off.

"You knew my father, as well?" Marinette joins in.

The woman merely lets out a breath and shakes her head. She brings a hand to her forehead and closes her eyes. "I'm sorry that you two are brought into this kind of messy world," she utters in woe. "But there's nothing I can do about that, instead I can try to guide you through it." She opens her eyes and looks at the both of us. "My name is Nathalie Sancoeur. I was a rebel with Sabine before becoming one of the first people deemed as proditors."

Nathalie grabs our plates and stacks them on top of each other. "Sit while I place these away. You both need this kind of information to help you."

She places them at the side and fills the pot with water again. "Life as a rebel was daunting yet dangerous," Nathalie continues. "To stand against a group that held power over us was exhilarating to an extent."

She looks right at me as she finishes then smiles. "I think you understand the feeling, Agreste?"

I nod and shrug. "It is short-lived, though."

"Exactly," Nathalie agrees with me. "Marinette, your mother would always say that victims of tyranny become tyrants themselves." She places her hand on top of Marinette's and gently squeezes it before letting go. "And that spoke volumes amongst us. It's sad for me to say that it took me time to open my eyes and see that our actions as rebels were becoming too brash...irrational," she continues, her eyes distant. "I personally found it to be dehumanizing," Nathalie whispers.

I look away and close my eyes out of bitterness. The things I have done...and people that have died under my hands. All just leave wounds that eventually turned into scars - the pain may be gone temporarily but there will always be a constant reminder that will haunt me until I die.

"I know what you mean," I utter under my breath and let out a deep sigh. Then I feel someone place a hand on mine. I open my eyes and look at the hand that gently caressed mine, then I face the owner. Marinette continues to looks at Nathalie though while she holds my hand.

"Why choose to be a proditor? To be called one is uh..."

"Degrading?" She lets out a laugh. "That's what they want you to believe. Yes, it was meant to degrade us, but I found it absolutely empowering."

"What exactly is a proditor?" Marinette asks in haste, looking between me and Nathalie.

"To be a proditor is to betray," I answer her. Nathalie nods at me and gestures to continue. "When the mine was still in  operation, a group of people wanted it to stop. They were fighting for the freedom of the miners as they were over-exploited. Those very same people eventually became the leaders of the rebellion."

"Your mother, Marinette, was one of them," Nathalie chimes in and I continue.

"But as the number of people increased, so have the different ideals and beliefs." I smile sadly. "It was becoming too much to handle. Until one of the leaders stepped down from their post and decided to pursue another group, hence what the rebels left behind called proditors."

Nathalie looks at Marinette and shows her a small smile. "Do you know who it was?"

"W-Who?" Marinette stammers out of nervousness.

She continues to look at her until Marinette widens her eyes in realization and shakes her head in denial. "It can't be...It can't be my mother. You told me that she was just part of the proditors. How...how could she even be the first?"

"Your father helped her with a lot," she answers Marinette. "He stayed with the government that time. He couldn't leave because they wanted to keep you safe. So to help his wife, he infiltrated their system to find something valuable. Because none of the two sides wanted to lose, your parents thought that there might be something that the two sides can agree on. It was their last hope," she whispers her last words.

Marinette pulls her hand away from mine and scratches the back of her ear in annoyance. "What in the - never mind," she mutters. "How could my parents even be separated by the two sides?"

"Your mother felt compelled to oversee and care for the rebellion-"

"Thus left her seven year-old daughter," Marinette adds impatiently.

"Your father stayed low-key and worked silently in the government when your mother continued work with the brewing rebellion," she continues despite Marinette's growing restlessness as she loses her patience, "But when his wife wanted to create a new group that incorporated the beliefs of his co-workers, he helped her on the sidelines. Your parents are brave people."

"Felt compelled?" Marinette spits out. "She felt compelled to take care of strangers rather than her own daughter? Wow!" She exclaims sarcastically, "All for what? My mother resorted to something as dangerous as going against two powerful groups!"

"Marinette," I utter in concern and hold her arm. Immediately, she yanks it away from me. I continue to look at her in worry. This, in its entirety, is clearly not going to end well.

Nathalie scoffs. "The irony of what you said and your presence here...is uncanny. Isn't that why you're here with Agreste? You're basically following the footsteps of your parents, Marinette."

"But to leave her daughter and husband behind?"

"Your mother loved you very much-"

"Well if she did," Marinette angrily interrupts and snaps at Nathalie, "she would have left something better behind for me to remember her by. Father was strong without mother, but it came with tears - countless tears and pleas of wanting to see her again." Marinette stands and breathes heavily while glaring at Nathalie. "When I think of mother I only remember the heart-wrenching cries of my father."

"But, think of it," Nathalie whispers, looking up at Marinette, "you can fix what your mother left behind-"

"If what you're trying to say is that I'm just like my mother then I'd rather do nothing," Marinette seethes while glaring at Nathalie before she leaves and runs to the other room.

Nathalie sighs dejectedly and purses her lips then she shuts her eyes.

I shake my head and stand. "I'm going to her," I mutter and go to the other room where I come face to face with a restless Marinette pacing back and forth, her arms wrapped around herself tightly.

"Mari-"

"Don't," she snaps, holding her hand in the air. I pause and take a breath.

"I..." she continues after a while, "I should have known that I've thrown myself into some type of lunacy." She stops to look at me and in a hushed voice says, "that woman wants me to be exactly like my mother." She points at the wall separating us from Nathalie.

"And you think that you should follow what she wants?" I retort in a quiet voice. "Look, I know we have a problem between us. But allow me to say this, you are not your mother." I walk to her and unwrap her arms from her body. I hold her shoulders and lean forward to look at her eye-to-eye.

"The new knowledge of your mother may have been the missing pieces you needed to connect what happened in your life, but it doesn't mean that it dictates your stand in this fight." I hold her tighter as I drive my point across. "Your mother merely tried to take care of the past," I breathe out, "but here you are taking care of what is the present and the future."

Marinette lets out a heavy sigh and brings her head down.

"Hey," I coo and bring a hand to her chin. I make her look at me again. "And don't forget that you have me," I whisper, peering into her eyes, "I won't be at the sidelines at all for I will stay right beside you. I will fight with you."

I move my head closer to hers until our foreheads touch.

"Adrien," she gasps.

"Are you complaining?"

She chooses not to say anything and decides to just move her eyes away from looking at mine.

"I promise you, Marinette. Everything I said."

"Promise me to also rest your left leg unless you want the wounds to open again."

Sounds are then heard behind me and we move away to see Nathalie slowly enter the room with a piece of cloth in one hand.

Marinette takes a step to stay in front of me and holds her head up high. "Adrien and I can find another place to stay for the mean time. We do not need your help anymore."

Nathalie nods in understanding. "Then the least that I can do is take you to see the mine."

------------

He kicks me in the stomach for the nth time and I fall, letting out a fit of coughs. I dry heave at the same time and do my best to crawl away from the man that has started attacking me.

Faster...

Move faster!

The man suddenly grabs me from the back and turns me around for me to face him. I grunt in pain as I feel pressure on the wounds on my leg. I use the spare seconds I have to look at the side to see other men carry an unconscious Nathalie while others gag Marinette and place a bag over her head as she tries to scream and fight her way out of their tight holds.

"N-No...No!" I shout and move my body. But I am immediately stopped as the man's heavy boot holds me down on the ground. He drives his boot on my chest and I cough uncontrollably. I bring my hands to his ankle and try to claw it.

He leans forward with a sneer, driving his boot tighter on my chest.

Then suddenly, it stops.

His eyes widen in surprise and gasps in shock as he finally sees my face.

I also look at him in shock as his face is clear to me now. Why...why is he here?

"...Agreste?"

What is General Hugo doing here?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry for taking time with this chapter huhuhu my days are literally getting weirder by the minute.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Two days ago I got scouted for a writing opportunity by a company and I was shocked.

i ThOUght tHoSE THings OnLY hAppeN in Kp0p FaNfIcTIons???

I'm still thinking if I should take it because above anything else, writing for free is my life. Free Wattpad is lyf.

Might update the other book before going back to this one :)

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