#ink-ity i had the best inspiration!

[kathasofwander]

Read it on Ao3!

Miraculous Freedom Fighters AU

Hi! Back in November, @ink-ity drew a Miraculous AU about Indian holders of the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous. Needless to say, it inspired a fic! We have since collaborated, and now present to you, the first chapter.

It is set in the time of the Indian Freedom Struggle, and begins in the year 1919.

Disclaimer: Most things in this fic is a figment of two creative peoples’ imagination. However, there are some elements that were historically true and necessary to be incorporated into the story.

Chapter 1: Lalitha gets the Ladybug.

Lalitha huffed as she prepared lunch. It had been two weeks since she had joined her new job, and life wasn’t getting any better. As much she didn’t want to admit, her employer was considerably nicer than any other British officer she had met so far, and she had had an ulterior motive behind taking up the job.

She carefully picked up the lunch tray and walked to the room where her employer sat with the group of his subordinates. “Ah yes, Lalitha, keep it on the table.” he told her. The girl obeyed and served the food to everyone. She bowed and walked out of the dining room.

“We have to do something to stop these protests. They are getting stronger and stubborn. There are talks of Gandhi organising a movement.” one of the subordinate officers said.

“We must talk to the leaders of these protests. Us responding with violence evidently has not helped.” Lalitha’s employer said.

“I say, sir, I think hitting them is the only way they will listen, those annoying locals!” there were mumbles, and the sound of a chair hitting the ground. “I will show you, sir; we are doing them a favour and they dare to rebel. They deserve the punishment. So saying, the subordinate officer stormed out, not noticing an angry Lalitha hiding behind a pillar.

She had heard enough information to pass to her friends in the revolutionary group, which she had joined after her cousin’s death.

Her family, the Godboles lived in a quaint village, where they owned a large piece of land which had been passed down from generations. They were one happy family; her parents, her aunt and uncle, their son Shekhar and his family, and Lalitha, of course, lived in a nice house just near the land.

The problem began when the Britishers entered their country and began laying unnecessary laws and taxes, which the Godboles found tough to pay. An officer who had been stationed in their village continually harassed her father and uncle about it, and threatened to take away their land.

Shekhar had joined a revolutionary group started by one Damodar Apte, and he helped organise rebellions that questioned these laws. One day, Lalitha was returning from the market when she saw the officer pushing Shekhar into a van. She ran to the vehicle. “Dada! What is happening here??” she asked urgently.

“I’ll tell you what is happening! Your brute of a brother pushed me when I asked him to obey the laws. He will be going to jail for a very long time!” the officer sneered.

“No! Lies!!” Shekhar’s wife shouted. “He is lying, Lalitha. He was harassing baba and kaka about the land, and Shekhar protested. This man is arresting him for no reason!” she cried.

Lalitha was stunned, and before she could speak, the van drove away. She ran behind it, pleading to let her brother go, but in vain.

“No!!” She cried. “If only I had been here, Dada wouldn’t have been arrested.” Her father came up to her.

“Come on, let us go home.” he told her gently.

“Baba! What about…”

“We couldn’t have done anything about it, Lali. I will tell Apte Ji; he will help us.” he said.

“But…” Lalitha cried as she walked home with her father. Two days passed with no news, and it was April 13, 1919. Gudi Padva, the harvest festival. Though it was a mediocre harvest, they were grateful for it. The celebration was solemn, and the Godboles prayed for Shekhar.

Alas, fate had other plans; the next day, the rest of the country heard of a deadly massacre in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar and how a ruthless British general had unleashed fire on innocent people in the garden. Just as they were thinking about the plight of the poor victims, a grim looking Damodar Apte knocked on their door.

“Shekhar has been convicted.” he told them. Lalitha’s aunt fell to the floor in shock, crying loudly.

“But how?” her uncle asked, trying to fight his tears. “He didn’t do anything!”

Apte handed them a letter. “He wrote this, and asked me to give it to you all.” he gave it to Lalitha. She tore it open and began reading, her shock only increasing. (She knew how to read; Shekhar taught her.)

“Rowlatt Act??” she exclaimed.

“Yes. It allows them to arrest and try political cases unfairly. The officer who arrested him told the court that Shekhar physically assaulted him. They believed him over your brother.”

“How dare they! I want to meet dada. We can get his conviction reversed, right?” Apte looked at Lalitha sadly.

“It won’t be of much help. We can try, but they have sentenced him to be executed tomorrow.” he told her.

“No!!” The Godboles were shocked.

The next day, Shekhar’s fellow revolutionary friends took them to the prison, for one last meeting.

Lalitha cried profusely, apologising again and again for not helping him. “Lali...Promise me one thing.” her cousin told her. She looked up at him. “Promise me that you will not let my sacrifice go in vain. Our country will be free from these oppressive rules, I need you to make sure of it.” he said seriously.

The time came. Lalitha and her family stood behind a wall. “Jai Bharat!” they heard Shekhar chant, before the loud sound of the gallows opening echoed. Her sister-in-law and aunt began crying loudly.

A day later, Lalitha expressed her desire to join Damodar Apte’s revolutionary group, but it was shut down by her father almost immediately. “We have already lost a son. We cannot lose another child.”

“But Baba! I want to…”

“No, and that’s final. Besides, we are leaving the village, and going to the city” he told her.

“But...our land??”

“We have surrendered it to the British. It was because of this cursed land that they took away my boy. I don’t want to look at it.” her uncle said angrily.

That night, Lalitha snuck out to Damodar Apte’s house. On her way, she bumped into a man. “Sorry!” she called out before continuing. He simply smiled.

She met Apte, and explained the situation to him. “I understand. Are you sure you want to join us?” he asked. The girl nodded. “Good, then go to the city. I have an assignment for you.”

And that’s how Lalitha Godbole had started working for a British officer in the city. Whatever information she overheard from her employer’s meetings, she passed on to Damodar Apte and the rest of the group. Her family didn’t know, of course.

However, simply being a messenger wasn’t enough. She had promised Shekhar that she would do everything possible to fight for the country’s independence, and she was determined to do more.

That evening, while returning from work, she noticed that her lunch bag was slightly heavy. She looked into it, and noticed a hexagonal box. ‘How did this get here?’ she thought. Hiding behind a tree, she opened it, and was immediately blinded by a glow. When the light subsided, a flying insect looked at her excitedly. “Hi! Majha naav, Tikki! Ani me ek kwami ahe!” (Hi! My name is Tikki, and I am a kwami!)

Translations:

Baba: Father in Marathi

Kaka: Uncle in Marathi.

Dada: Older Brother in Marathi.

Lalitha and her family, and Damodar Apte are our original characters.

You can read about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre over here