Miraculous Snow White

Chapter 4

The next morning, Marinette made them breakfast before making them lunch. She then handed them all their lunches as she told them to work hard. "Now, don't forget, my dear. The old Queen's a sly one, full of witchcraft. So beware of strangers." Fu said.

"Don't worry. I'll be all right. See you tonight." Marinette replied.

"All right men lets go." Fu said as he started marching off.

"Be awfully careful 'cause if anything'd happen to you, I, I..." Nathanael started saying as he got as red as his hair. Marinette handed him his lunch and told him goodbye. He then started marching off. She said goodbye to a few more dwarves after she handed them their lunches.

"And be sure to watch out." Nino said as he got his lunch and marched off.

"Oh my Ivan. Didn't you leave already?" She asked, surprised to see Ivan still standing there with his own lunch in hand.

"Now I'm warning you, don't let nobody or nothing into the house." Ivan said.

"Why Ivan, you do care. You've been so quiet that I was afraid that you didn't like me." Marinette said before she smiled brightly and sent him on his way.

Tikki was exhausted as she had flying around the castle all night and trying to avoid Lila because she smelled of dark magic. But she decided that if something had happened to Marinette, Lila would have the answers. So she followed Lila when she woke up the next morning and wasn't surprised when Lila demanded to be left alone today. She really won't let go of that box. Tikki thought as she saw her holding the box. What she wasn't expecting was Lila pulling on a wall sconce and the wall rotating to reveal a secret room. Luckily, I can go through any materials. Tikki thought when the wall closed. She zipped through the wall and found Lila standing in front of a mirror.

"Magic Mirror on the wall, who now is the fairest one of all?" Lila asked the magic mirror as she still held the box in her hands.

"Over the seven jeweled hills beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the seven dwarfs, dwells Marinette, fairest one of all." The magic mirror responded. Tikki looked in shock at the magic mirror as she thought of how that possibly could have happened.

"Marinette lies dead in the forest. The Huntsman has brought me proof. Behold her heart." Lila told the mirror as she presented the box.

"Marinette still lives, the fairest in the land. 'Tis the heart of a pig you hold in your hand." The magic mirror replied.

"The heart of a pig! Then I've been tricked!" Lila then stormed over to a table and Tikki immediately recognized the contents as books on witchcraft. "The heart of a pig! The blundering fool! I'll go myself to the dwarfs' cottage in a disguise so complete no one will ever suspect." She started looking through the books until she found the perfect spell. A brew to change her appearance completely. "Now, a formula to transform my beauty into ugliness, change my queenly raiment to a peddler's cloak. Mummy Dust to make me old. To shroud my clothes, the black of night. To age my voice, an old hag's cackle. To whiten my hair, a scream of fright. A blast of wind to fan my hate! A thunderbolt to mix it well." Tikki had then fled as the darkness became too much for her.

Lila, not aware of any of this, drank the potion and her looks changed. "Look! My hands! My voice! My voice. A perfect disguise. And now... A special sort of death for one so fair. What shall it be?" She said as she rifled through another book. "Ah! A poisoned apple! One bite of this apple and the victim's eyes will close forever with the sleeping death." She cackled. She then brewed the draught so she could dip the apple in it.

"Dip the apple in the brew. Let the Sleeping Death seep through! Look! On the skin! The symbol of what lies within. Now, turn red to tempt Marinette. To make her hunger for a bite. When she breaks the tender peel to taste the apple in my hand, her breath will still, her blood congeal. Then I'll be fairest in the land! But wait!" Lila then froze for a second before she started rifling through the book. "There may be an antidote. Nothing must be overlooked. Oh, here it is! Love's First Kiss. Bah! No fear of that. The dwarfs will think she's dead. She'll be buried alive! Buried alive!" She then started cackling evilly as she put the red apple on top of a basket of green apples. She walked down the secret staircase to the hidden boat dock.

Marinette was humming merrily to herself as she swept up around the house. She had just finished cooking dinner in the fireplace and she was cleaning up after herself. I wish Adrien was here with me but he is needed in the war. You better come home safe... She started thinking but her thought was interrupted by a knock at the front door. "Adrien..." She breathed out, hoping that it was him. She opened the door and came face to face with an old beggar woman in a black robe and a basket of apples in hand. She frowned but tried not to let it show.

The beggar woman looked worse for wear and she seemed to coughing up a storm. "I'm sorry for disturbing you my child but I seem to be lost. I was going to the village to sell these apples but I got lost, and now I'm too exhausted to find my way to the village. Can I rest for a while in your house?"

"I'm actually house-sitting myself." Marinette said as an apology. "I'm not sure if they'll like it if anyone else comes in." She ignored the birds that started twittering like mad.

"I won't rest long, I just need some bread and water and a few minutes to sit and then I'll be on my way." The beggar woman replied.

"Oh okay. Let me take you inside." Marinette said and offered her to come in and that drove the birds crazy and they started attacking the beggar woman. "Shame on you, frightening a poor old lady. There, there. I'm sorry." Marinette said as she shooed the birds away before she comforted the old woman. "Come inside." Marinette then led the old beggar woman inside.

"Oh, thank you very much young lady." The old lady sneered when Marinette started to lead her inside but Marinette didn't notice the old woman's tone. The reason this old lady took so long to get to Marinette was because she made a detour to the huntsman's place to punish him for failing her. "I don't know how I'm going to repay your kindness."

"I don't need anything. Just making sure you're better is reward enough." Marinette replied as she handed the old woman some bread and a cup of water. She was unaware that all the animals had run off and were currently bothering the dwarves, who were working in the mine. The dwarves then quickly realized that the animals wanted them to go home now as Marinette might be in danger so they all ran back to the cottage with the animals help.

"Oh then I know what to do. Since you've been so good to poor old Granny, I'll share a secret with you. This is no ordinary apple. It's a magic wishing apple." The old woman said as she grabbed the plump red apple that was redder than blood. "I have plenty of apples to sell, this one is special and only kind people can get it." The old woman continued to lie as she held the delicious red looking apple closer to Marinette.

"Are you sure I can have this special apple? There isn't anyone else that you would give it to?" Marinette asked, still hesitant to take the delicious looking fruit.

"Of course dear, there must be something your little heart desires. Perhaps there's someone you love." Marinette blushed a dark red as she thought of Adrien. "I thought so. I thought so! Old Granny knows a young girl's heart. One bite and all your dreams will come true."

"You really think so?" Marinette asked, her eyes shining as the old beggar woman placed the apple in her hands. She thought long and hard about her wish and then she took a bite of the apple. She then promptly collapsed to the ground and the apple rolled out of her hand.

The old beggar woman started cackling evilly as she stared at the princess. "Now I'll be fairest in the land!" She shouted victoriously. She then left the cottage to see the dwarves riding deer and coming to her very quickly. She ran in the opposite direction which led up a rocky mountain path.

"Quickly men! Don't lose her!" Fu shouted. They all chased her up the mountain path until she realized that she couldn't go any further. She saw a huge boulder stuck by a tree.

"I'm trapped! What will I do? The meddling ugly little fools! I'll fix you. I'll crush your bones!" She cackled as she tried to dislodge the boulder but rain had started pouring down and bolt of lightning hit the boulder, shattering it as all the dwarves dodged it, and broke the ground beneath her feet. She screamed as she fell to her death in the rocky ravine below.

The dwarves then came back to the cottage to see Marinette laying lifeless on the ground. They all wept in sadness. So beautiful, even in death, that the dwarfs could not find it in their hearts to bury her. They fashioned a coffin of glass and gold that they placed her in. Soon the next morning came but they couldn't be happy, not with her gone.