Marinette was walking steadily back towards the village when she noticed black smoke rise up in the air. A fire. She was about to take off when Alix rushed up to her. She looked disheveled and her eyes were sunken in.

"Marinette!" she exclaimed. "Come quick!"

Alix began running away and Marinette reluctantly followed, fearing what the source of the fire could possibly be.

The two pushed through a hectic crowd of villagers until they stopped in front of a large cottage that was up in flames. Marinette gasped as she noticed the untouched house next it and that's when she put the pieces together. Nino's house was up in flames.

She saw him gasping at the sight in complete terror, then he fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"Nino!" Alya's voice echoed, going over to her friend. Marinette quickly joined the two.

"What happened?" Marinette asked frantically, kneeling down beside him.

"I-I was returning from my errands when I saw a fire consuming my house," Nino stuttered. He stared at the ground in disbelief.

"Who did this?" Alya asked shockingly, glancing back and forth between Nino and the dilapidated cottage.

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows and growled. "I bet the King did."

Nino looked up at Marinette. "What? Why would-"

"Because you spoke out against him," Alya mumbled, shaking her head.

"Exactly," Marinette nodded angrily. "He's letting his true colors show."

"Man, that's sick," Nino muttered sadly.

"I'm not surprised," Marinette replied, standing up. "He has always treated the lower class horribly. My parents said so."

"Someone needs to do something about him," Alya mumbled annoyingly.

"You have no idea how much I agree with that statement," Marinette replied.

"Where am I going to live now?" Nino asked helplessly.

"You could stay at my place, I have an extra room," another friend, Max, announced, walking up to him.

Nino smiled gratefully. "Okay. Thanks."

Max helped Nino up and the two of them closely inspected the damage. Alya crossed her arms.

"We have to tell the others," Alya said with an affirming nod. "Ms. Bustier at least. She is one of the most authoritative figures in Parisilia."

"Not yet," Marinette said. "We don't know for sure if the King did it or not."

Alya groaned. "I'm tired of the defensive act. Let's go offensive."

Marinette sighed as another friend joined the conversation. Rose skipped up to them. "Guys, what do you think happened to Nino's cottage?" she asked, glancing at the burnt building.

"We... don't know. Maybe some raiders," Marinette replied, earning a glare from Alya.

"Oh," Rose replied softly. "You don't think it could be the King?"

"No," Marinette shook her head quickly.

"What do you think?" Rose asked, glancing at Alya.

Alya's eyes darted to Marinette and she sighed before answering. "Raiders are my best bet."

Rose let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I'm glad you two think so. Juleka thinks that the King did it."

Marinette smiled awkwardly. "What??? That's ridiculous."

"I know," Rose laughed. "I gotta go. See you!"

Rose skipped off and Alya growled at Marinette.

"One day they'll find out for sure," Alya warned before walking off.

When Marinette returned to her cottage, she sighed heavily and stared out the window. The burnt cottage painted an ugly picture in her mind. She clenched her fists.

King Gabriel had gotten away with enough crimes. Now it was time for Marinette to take a stand. She exited her cottage and called for a town meeting at sun set.

"Everyone!" she shouted. Candles flickered to life and illuminated the dark. Groans erupted from the exhausted villagers and eventually, they all circled around Marinette.

"What is it?" Juleka yawned annoyingly.

"Can't this wait until morning, girl?" Alya asked sleepily.

"I have a lot to do tomorrow," Nathaniel said.

Marinette silenced the complaints. "This is a town meeting regarding the King," she said. "We're done being treated like this! Taxes are being raised for the fifth time this month! Aren't we ready to take a stand?!"

"We can't," Rose replied sadly.

"Yes we can!" Marinette yelled enthusiastically. "Together!"

"Yeah right," Kim scoffed. "He'll just kill us all."

Numerous people nodded and murmured in agreement. Soon, they decided that it was no use and had begun walking back to their cottages.

Nino walked up to Marinette and placed a hand on her shoulder. He frowned.

"We don't have any power over what he says."

Marinette couldn't believe it. No one had any hope. Nino and the other villagers retreated when Marinette had a sudden burst of courage. Just before they were all out of hearing range, Marinette caught their attention once again.

"Then I will do something about it!" she barked.

They all turned their heads. "What did you say?" a man asked, squinting his feeble eyes.

"I will stop him. With or without help," Marinette declared.

They stood silent. A woman broke the silence, slowly approaching Marinette. She grabbed Marinette's hands and squeezed them tight.

"May God bless your soul," she spoke out shakily.

Marinette watched everyone exit back into their houses without another word. She felt a tear race down her cheek and stormed back into her cottage.

Marinette climbed in bed and stared at the ceiling for the longest time. She didn't want to admit it, but she needed help. She really did. The unfortunate girl closed her eyes and wished for a miracle as she listened to an unexpected wave of rain come down on the village.

She wished...

and wished...

Marinette opened up her eyes again but nothing had changed. She sighed and rolled onto her side. "This isn't some fairytale," she murmured.

Then, a crackling sound caught her attention and she jumped out of bed. Looking around, Marinette couldn't detect anything different. A glowing red orb in the corner of her room then caught her eye. Shocked, she slowly approached the orb.

The red glowing orb mystified her; Marinette had never seen anything like it. She crouched down in front of the orb and outstretched a hand to touch it. The closer her hand got, the more curious she became.

The instant Marinette's fingers made contact with the red orb, a bright red light filled the room, blinding her. She jumped away in fear, rubbing her eyes profusely.

When Marinette regained her vision, she could see that a tiny red creature with black spots was sitting where the glowing red orb was. The creature possessed big blue eyes and a warm smile.

"Hello, Marinette," the creature spoke out softly. "I'm Tikki, your fairy godmother, and I'm here to make all of your wishes come true!"