Chapter Text
“We have found her.”
The guard said nothing else but he and another brought in a girl with her hands bound. It appeared as if she had been struggling but she had given up. He couldn’t see her face because it was covered by her hood. Whether she had preferred to keep it up or if the guards had pulled it over her face to keep her from being able to attempt escape, he didn’t know. He pulled the hood down and he was not disappointed by her defiant scowl but he was angered that her face was marked with a cut on one cheek.
The guards had already been wordlessly dismissed and he didn’t bother to call them back. They could be called to account for their actions at any time. He turned to face her. Her hair was loose and wild. He suspected that was because of the struggle to find her. He had seen pictures and heard descriptions but once the word got out that he was searching for her she had run. She likely had help and all those who had helped hide her from him would be dealt with. He tilted her face up to his, holding her chin in his hand. She tried to pull away but he tightened his grip. Her blue eyes glinted with malice.
“You are Marinette?” he asked. “The daughter of the bakers from Anat.”
She didn’t look away from him. Her eyes bored into him but she refused to answer. He barely moved, just a slight gesture, but the guard on the wall reacted. There had been a child approaching with a pitcher. The pitcher fell with a shattering sound as the guard lifted him and drew his sword. There was barely a sound that came from the child after the initial surprise. That showed her that he meant business. They called him the Demon and she had heard that he was ruthless. She tore her eyes away from the child and looked back at the demon’s face before making a decision.
“I am.”
Her voice was surly but she had given him the information he needed. He still had to be absolutely certain.
“You were born when the algol star was dim on a night without a moon?”
She glanced back at the child again. The guard didn’t even reaffirm the threat. He just waited for the signal so she spoke before it was given.
“I was.”
“How lucky for you. We are to be married.”
—
No one reacted to her protests. They had to have heard her but the only thing that happened was the guard put the child down and instead took her down a hallway and locked her in a cell. It was cozy for a cell but even though the bed was soft, the window was high and narrow and the door was locked from the outside. She could hear occasional noises from elsewhere in the fortress but even though she could look out the small barred window on the door and see a guard stationed nearby, there was no sound in this hallway.
The days dragged on. She had no clue what was happening outside the fortress. She had pieced together that she had been brought to Nanda Parbat, the home of a man only known as the demon. Her village lived in the shadow of the fortress but they had always lived in harmony. She was certain that there were agreements made with the mayor to make the peace possible but she had never considered what they might be. She was unnoticed by most, living out her ordinary life until she learned someone was searching for her.
Usually she only left the cell for meal times and a daily walk with the demon. She started every morning with a bath in the cell and maids would bring her fresh robes that were ornately sewn with intricate patterns. They would do her hair and pin it in place before he arrived to walk her to breakfast. Over breakfast he would casually talk about the state of his domain or the political relations with the villages nearby, including her own. Initially she refused to eat, sitting stoically until he was finished but if she were given the opportunity to escape she would need to keep up her strength.
After breakfast they would stroll through the gardens. She had remained silent as he gave an account of his life until one day he took her to a new area and began showing her his animals. The first were peacocks because he thought they she would find them fascinating. She had and that was when she spoke. But only about the animals, at first. As time dragged on she spoke more and opened up a bit, hoping to eventually convince him to let her go.
She didn't know what he did after breakfast but she had a rotating cast of young girls who came to clean or play games with her. Their names were foreign sounding to her and it has taken her awhile to learn them all and tell them apart. But the routine was comforting and at least she often had company.
She didn't know when the supposed marriage would take place. It hadn't been mentioned since the first week. She used to be under guard every time she was out of the cell and there was always one stationed. Everything had been relaxed since then and they had developed a routine. She still missed her life outside but she was growing used to it here. She didn’t even mind the company of the demon. He was not kind or warm but it was more that he was reserved and hid his true feelings much of the time. She wondered whether that came from his position or if that had developed under his upbringing.
—
Damian didn’t think she had noticed his distraction. She had a distraction of her own in the form of the kitten he had brought her. The guards gave daily reports and one of them had said she seemed listless after her young visitors left in the afternoon. Some days he was able to make it back to her to visit in the afternoon or evening but not always. He didn’t want her to be lonely. She had recently been given access to books and writing and drawing supplies but a kitten would be someone she could love. He was altering the course of her entire life for his own purpose and he thought the least he could do was make sure she was happy here.
Upon first meeting the kitten she told him how it reminded her of a kitten one of her friends had given her. Her eyes lit up as she talked about Adrien and how his father had found out he was keeping the kitten and made him get rid of it. She didn’t talk about him the way she did the rest of her friends. He would need to find out more about him. He couldn’t have any potential rivals. They were nearing the time of the wedding and it would not do for her to hope someone might prevent their union. So he found Adrien and invited him for a visit. His father certainly wielded influence, especially in Anat, where Marinette’s family was from but Damian had more power and would crush them if there was opposition.