I turn slowly in a circle. The forest is silent, expect I can hear the soft sound of snow falling from the sky.
Where am I? I know I'm not in Paris, because I could see the Eiffel Tower from anywhere in the city. No, I'm in another world entirely. I look down, surprised to see I'm Marinette, and not Ladybug.
I just wear a cream colored sweater, but surprisingly I'm not cold. I walk into the forest, warm but alone. '
I wish the sun would come out, because the forest is beautiful! Far in the trees, I hear the call of birds, twittering and tweeting in there own secret language. Cat Noir, my partner and best friend likes to sit and watch the birds on my balcony. I'm not sure what the birds think of my Kitty, but they entertain each other.
I sit down under one the pine trees, watching some sparrows. They hop closer and closer….
"Get up!" A voice sharp as an icicle jerks me awake. The birds are gone, and I see white feet. I look up and see somehow who could be Cat's twin, but this Kitty's snow white. Only the eyes are a glacier shade of blue.
"You shouldn't fall asleep outside in the cold. You could have froze," his voice is icy, but I'm drawn to it like a warm fire. "I'm sorry," I say.
Even his hair is white. He wears a cape the same color of sky, a baby blue. "Come with me," he says, holding out his hand. I have just met him, but I would follow him anywhere. "I take you someplace warm," he says.
He keeps his hand in mine. Wise of him. In this forest, I could easily lose my way. "Where I am?" I ask. "The winter forest," he says.
Soon, I see a small log hut with chimney smoke rising from above. Good, walking through snow is tiring, would it be tiring if I were Ladybug? Can I even transform here?
He opens the front door of cabin. A cozy fireplace sits in the middle of room. He walks me over to the fire. "Sit there. Warm yourself. I'll be back soon." His words are like ice pellets, not yet thawed to me.
I draw my hands to the fire's warmth. Even if he is sharp, he did rescue me. "Here you are," he says. The cup is warm, a dark liquid sloshes around. Hot chocolate, perhaps? I take a tiny sip. It is chocolate, but a deeper richer version of the drink I make back at home.
I set the cup down, and extend my hand. "I should thank you for saving me. I'm Marinette, but you can call me Mari." "I'm glad I found you when I did. The woods are no place for a princess like you," he says.
I laugh gently. "Princess? I'm no princess. Just...madly clumsy." "Just because your are clumsy doesn't mean you aren't intelligent and sweet and creative." "You just met me. How do you know I'll that?" I ask.
He doesn't answer for a moment. All I hear is the hissing, popping, crackling fire. And the soft plop! Plop! of water dripping off my hair. "I know you somehow. I'm Cat Blanc, by the way." I reach out my hand. Somehow I expect his hand to be icy, but its warm.
"Do you live here by yourself?" I ask. I scoot closer to the fire. Fires can be like old friends. "Yes, I live alone in this forest. I created it."
"How?" My miraculous grants me the power of creation. Is his power similar to mine? Or…
"There was a girl I loved. Her name was Ladybug." I keep my face neutral, not giving anything away. "She disappeared from the forest one day. Everything was green and pretty. My emotions got the best of me, causing my power to create this eternal winter. If she ever comes back, who knows? Maybe the forest would be green once more."
I'm in an unfamiliar world, would I even have my power here? Cat sits close beside me, playing with a lock of my pigtail. "You resemble her very much, Marinette." His touch warms me like no fire can.
Is this what causes the spark of love? Just one touch, one look? "I..remember stepping through a mirror and then I was here." Before that is blurred around the edges.
"Maybe she went back through the mirror, or is in disguise." Well, the a new way of putting my secret identity.
My stomach growls. "Oh, I need to get you some food." He says. I walk back with him into a the kitchen. A collection of meat, cheese, grapes and bread are sitting out.
"May I help?" I ask. After all, I am a baker's daughter. Our hands touch briefly, and Cat looks into my eyes, like he's asking a question. Does he feel it too? My hunger dies, only to resurrected by a different kind of hunger. My lips meet his.
We push and pull at each other like magnets, drawn together. "Marinette," he gasps. "I was supposed to find you."
A full moon shines through the window. His snow-white hair glistens like a pearl from the light of the moon. It beckons it finger.
"Do you have a another warm cape?" He looks out the window, the moon path lighting everything in sight.
As we step out into the dark, the beauty of the night takes my breath away. The cold burns my lungs, but I am so happy to be in this world.
We laugh and chase each other in the moonlight. He gently pounces on me, sending us into the soft pillowly snow. "I know I just met you, but I'm in love, for you are Ladybug."
I smile saying, "Spots on!" I don't have secrets here, that has vanished. "It was you. It was you all along," he says.
Suddenly, the mirror opens and I stand up, reaching down for Cat Blanc's hand. The same moon in this world, shines in mine.
"You showed me the Eternal Winter Forest, now come to Paris." I kiss him, and the spell is broken. Everything rushes to green, we walk into the mirror, back to reality.
When we reach my room, I'm still Ladybug. The black butterfly flies around the room. "What happened?" Cat Blanc, or should I say, Cat Noir? Asks. "We broke the spell, with love's first kiss."
