Chapter Text
I hid behind a tree in the dark of the night. The shadows clung to me, invisible to all, but that was nothing new. I had grown used to going unseen. A boon more often than not, just as now. I watched a man dig away beneath a willow tree. He dug and dug until the hole was deep enough, like a grave. I tilted my head when he scooped up a bag and carried it down. He covered it back up, knelt, and left.
I waited a moment longer before I approached the site. The man had taken his shovel, but curiosity got the better of me. I clawed away at the dirt beneath me until I hit the bag. I struggled to find the zipper under the dirt, but found it. I undid it and gasped. It was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Never ever had I seen anyone more beautiful than she, particularly among the living.
I gawked at the woman’s frigid beauty when a glint caught my eye. I glanced down to see a peacock tail brooch pinned to her bloody shirt. I gingerly touched the brooch and admired it. It wasn’t as beautiful as she, but it added to her radiance.
Voices snapped me out of my trance. I reached to scramble out of the hole, but I paused. I looked back down at the woman, entranced once again. I shook my head, zipped up the bag, hastily filled the grave, and ran. I hid behind the tree again as the villains, Shadybug and Claw Noir approached the grave.
I watched them bicker and argue before they dug up the grave. I held my breath when they tore the beauty from her grave and threw her around. They searched for the brooch, but didn’t find it. I furrowed my brow as the brooch was on there. They should be able to see it, but they didn’t. I remained as they tossed her aside and left the grave disturbed.
I stepped out from my hiding spot towards the beauty when I stepped on something. I looked down to see the brooch on the ground. I tilted my head and picked it up. I stared at it as a compulsion to put it on washed over me. I surrendered to this feeling and put it onto my shirt. A soft light shot out that materialized into a small peacock creature with a tiny body and large head. I circled around it in awe.
“What… what are you?” I asked in my whispery tone.
“Pardon me, little one. My name is Duusu, and I’m a kwami. We have only met, but I have a favor to ask. One that puts you in extreme danger.”
“Oh. What would that be?”
“Please, don’t let those villains take me. Their boss wants us all, and if he gets us all, it’ll be disaster. I know I’ve no place to ask you this, but they’ll find me eventually.”
I stared at Duusu. I had some knowledge of Shadybug and Claw Noir, but it didn’t go far. I knew they destroyed Paris many times over, ruined lives, and so much more. Betterfly worked to stop them, but he never seemed to get anywhere. So many died every day, and I could be next.
“I will, but you must be able to keep me safe too.”
“I can offer what I can. Powers, that is. They aren’t much, but you saw beauty in my former holder. Perhaps you can make use of them. More than those that would seek to brutishly abuse me.”
I glanced back at the woman’s discarded corpse. “She was your holder before, but died?”
“Unfortunately. She did her best, but her best wasn’t enough. She was beautiful herself, but that can only get you so far. You must be more than just beautiful. You must see beauty in the world somewhere, and she did not. But you do! You can succeed where she failed.”
I stared at the woman. I mulled over Duusu’s words. Beauty in the world? I never saw beauty in the world. Though that was not entirely true. I loved the end of fall that led into winter. The quietness and death of the season brought with it a sense of beauty that no one ever seemed to share. Even now as I gazed upon the woman, I see her as the most beautiful thing ever, even in death. She is the first, and the only.
“Little one?” Duusu asked.
I turned back to Duusu. “I’ll do it.”
Duusu breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I promise, I will keep you safe. You’ll just need to speak these words: Duusu, spread my feathers. Once spoken, I will be yours and you will be mine. A bond that can only be broken when you set me free… or death.”
“Very well. Duusu, spread my feathers.”
Duusu shot into the brooch and transformed my clothes into a simple black dress with a full black veil over my entire body to shroud me. I looked myself over and started towards home when I paused. I glanced back at the woman’s corpse and the grave. I figured it would be suspicious if I returned her to it, but I couldn’t leave her out like this. Her beauty couldn’t be wasted like this. It needed to be displayed, not hidden away.
I approached the woman’s corpse and scooped her up. I was surprised by my newfound strength. I carried her away from the tree in search of a proper home. I would ensure she got a proper burial and shrine.