Chapter 10: Market Day
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There was something so comforting about doing morning chores, at least to the young seamstress. Maybe it was the start of the new day and finishing the work early, or maybe it was how the environment around her seemed to share the tranquil mood. The chickens were satisfied with the daily feed Marinette was spreading around the ground for them. After this she had to feed the sheep and groom the horse to get him ready for Master Fu's trip into town for supplies, plus he had to sell some of the yarn he made from his sheep's wool. Some of the kwamis were behaving mischievously around the chicken coop trying to collect the eggs for the day and scaring some of the grounded birds. Marinette didn't mind, though. It was moments like this that made her forget her worries for a short while.
It had been a couple of weeks since she was accepted into the home of Master Fu and the kwamis. He made things more comfortable for her by separating some of the house with a screen to make her own private area. Marinette kept her promise in helping around the house and gardens, and even made things easier for the elderly man by taking care of some of the more demanding chores that his old bones couldn't tolerate anymore. She was grateful to be welcomed as a friend and was able to bare her losses a bit more. That wasn't to say that she didn't miss her old life. She worried for her family, and for the castle with Lila taking over the way she did. No doubt it was only going to get worse. Then she worried for Adrien, wondering what Lila was doing to him right now. Was she seducing him? What if he had accepted her into his bedchambers? What horrible lies was she telling to him? Worst of all, was she going to keep her promise and do something terrible to hurt him? Every possible outcome ran through Marinette's mind and made her feel sick over and over again. She tried to be patient with Master Fu, hoping that he would think of a solution for her curse, but so far nothing had come to his mind. So, here she was, living the day to day as if her life had never been a part of Papillon.
"Ahhhh, Fly for your Life!" Marinette heard a tiny voice come out of the chicken coop, and saw Pollen and Trixx come out of the small openings.
She rushed over to see what all the fuss was about. "Pollen, Trixx, are you two okay?"
"Those stupid birds just can't take a joke!" Trixx lashed out and made some of the hens flap away.
"I told you not to pretend your tail was a worm." Pollen tried to scold the fox.
"Well, you could've helped me, ya know. Why didn't you try to freeze that chicken when it attacked me!?" Trixx complained, and Marinette watched him tend to his apparently ruffled tail.
"And waste my power on a stupid thing like that, no thank you." the bee kwami turned around with her little arms crossed and her nose turned up.
Marinette held off trying to laugh at them. "Maybe you guys should stay away from the chickens from now on. What if one day they decide you guys are a juicy lunch?"
"It was his idea!" Pollen pointed to Plagg, who just came out of the coop unharmed.
"Was not!" the black cat denied.
"Was too." Trixx agreed.
"Was not!"
"It totally was your idea, stinky sock, just admit it." Tikki said as if she caught him. She went over to rest on Marinette's shoulder, and the young woman welcomed her company by petting her little head gently.
"Oh, so what if it was, it's not like we can do much else without our powers." Plagg grumbled.
"You may not, but some of us still have some skill in reserve that we wish to keep for emergencies." Wayzz said.
Though they had explained it before, there were still a few things that Marinette didn't understand about the kwamis abilities.
"What other kinds of powers do you guys have?" she asked.
"Oh we can do many things." Tikki answered proudly as Plagg took a seat beside her, also eager to talk about themselves. "Besides our concepts, there are a number of spells we can work with so we can blend into your world."
"Yeah, when we have our full power again, we can be both astounding and terrifying at the same time." Plagg tried to sound menacing to scare the woman, but it didn't seem to be working.
If anything, Marinette was just more curious. "What do you mean by blend in?"
"How we look now is only a disguise to our true forms." Tikki explained. "If we wanted to, we could take the forms of humans to blend into society. We can also become the animals we represent. I'm sure you noticed how all of us resemble different animals?"
"Yes, I did." she agreed as she saw Trixx groom his fuzzy fox tail.
"Then there were all the other kwamis back in our realm." Nooroo added to the conversation while sniffing some pretty flowers.
"Huh? There are more of you?" Marinette asked amazed.
"Oh sure, there were tons of different kwamis." Plagg shrugged. "But because of that witch, they were closed off from the world as well. We don't know how many of them are back in our realm, or how many of them are stuck out here."
"That sounds terrible." Marinette sympathized. So, all the kwamis were in the same boat as her, completely separated from their homes and loved ones. Then she thought about something else, something that no one ever really explained. "How was Lila able to seal you guys off in the first place if you have so much power? What was Master Fu's involvement?"
All the kwamis looked at each other before Tikki finally answered. "Master Fu was supposed to be the one guarding our way back home."
"Then what happened?" Marinette tried to encourage the kwamis to tell her more, but they all seemed reluctant.
"That part of the story belongs to Master Fu, and I think he should be the one to tell you." Tikki left it that.
"Hey, Marinette, are you really going to marry a prince!?" Pollen flew up to the young womans face with her eyes sparkling at the question.
She could tell the kwami was trying to distract her from her line of questions, and though she did not want to be swayed, she did not want to be rude by refusing the cute little bee. Maybe if they realize she was willing to share her problems, they will eventually reciprocate.
"Well, I was, but now everyone thinks Lila is going to marry him." she answered sadly. "I don't blame him though. I know he loves me as much as I love him, he just doesn't remember me right now. If I'd had the chance before they took me away, I'm sure I could've helped him recognize me."
"Ooooh, it's just like in the fairy tales!" Pollen spun around Marinette's head. "Destined lovers torn apart by a wicked witch's spell. Hey, maybe only true love's kiss can break it! You must climb the walls of the tower, and into the chamber where he slumbers, and with one sweet kiss, his dreams shall awaken him to find the true love of his life standing over him! That Would Be Sooooooooo Romantic!"
"Ugh, come on Pollen, that's way too cheesy, and coming from me that's saying something." Plagg said in disgust as he flew off Marinette's shoulder.
"I don't care, it would still make a great story. After all, Love Conquers All!" she declared in a mighty determined pose, or at least as mighty as she could appear given her small size.
"That would be nice if that was all it took, but you know that's not the cast, Pollen." Wayzz tried to calm her down.
"I know." The little bee sighed in defeat, making Marinette giggle at her antics.
"Do you think Master Fu will figure out a way to stop Lila?" Marinette tried asking again thinking this would be a good time to show she was willing to try anything, even follow along with Pollen's dramatic story. "Maybe he couldn't before, but if I can help..."
"Don't worry about it right now, Marintte. We'll talk more about it some other time." Tikki said almost in final,
"But..."
"Come everyone, we shouldn't bother Miss Marinette any further." Wayzz agreed with Tikki, and the rest of the kwamis left Marinette alone as she went back to finishing her chores.
The seamstress had worried that maybe she had overstepped. After all, what business was it of hers what Lila did to them in the past? She argued with herself that it was all connected to her own misfortunes, but at the same time she shouldn't try to force them to talk about their experiences. She debated back and forth if she should keep talking about it, even as she started loading up the wagon to get it ready for Master Fu's journey into town.
She started packing him a lunch in silence, but apparently it was still loud enough to catch his attention.
"Is something on your mind, Marinette?" Master Fu took a seat at the dining table while she wrapped up the bread and cheese.
"I- It's nothing, sir." Marinette didn't want to talk about it if she was going to end up upsetting the poor man like she seemed to do the kwamis.
"Are you sure?" he asked again.
She thought maybe she should ask anyway, but she kept stopping herself thinking this wasn't the right time. So, she tried changing the subject. "I guess I'm just worried about my family, and I wish I could see them."
Master Fu smiled at the poor girl, understanding her turmoil. Then he offered her a lifeline. "You know, you could always come with me to the market if you wish."
Marinette wanted to jump at the chance of going into town, but then she thought about the ones that wanted her dead. "But what if the sheriff sees me? He'll arrest me on the spot and take me right to Lila."
"That would be fine by me," Plagg spoke up. "I can take them both out with one shot and solve all of our problems."
"Now, Plagg, you know you don't have enough power right now, and it won't be the answer to freeing Gimmi. We can't afford to be reckless." Master Fu scolded the black cat, then turned back to Marinette. "You can come to the market with me, and we can keep a low profile. As long as we don't attract any attention, you can check in on your family and maybe ask around to see how things are with your fiancé."
It did sound like a simple plan, but Marinette still felt apprehensive about coming along. "Are you sure it will be okay?"
"Of course," Master Fu said right away. "Now why don't we finish saddling up the horse, and we can be on our way through the marsh before it gets too late."
"Yes, sir." Marinette said with a new confidence and got right to work.
The seamstress made quick work of the wagon and loaded up the wool that Master Fu wanted to sell. She also packed a lunch for them later in the day, and had a special hiding spot for the kwamis to accompany them. Master Fu only allowed a few to come along at a time, fearing that all the kwamis would cause too much mischief. This time it was Tikki and Plagg's turn. Master Fu also provided Marinette with a dark gray cloak to hide her face in case they did happen to run into the sheriff in town.
After a double check that everything was in order with the house, the small group set out into the marsh and return to the city. Master Fu explained how he created a secret and safe way to pass through the Fool-Eating Marsh. After much trial and error, he was able to create a trail where the ground was the firmest, and cut a large limb off the right side of each tree that leads into town. All Marinette had to do was stay to the right of each tree and she would remain on the path. It turned out the way through the marsh was much shorter, and she had ended up going in circles more than she realized on her first day. It only made it a near two hour trip by wagon. The seamstress paid close attention to the man's instructions, and could tell that he had made this trip several times, which made her wonder.
"How long have you been living in this marsh, Master Fu?" she asked.
"It has been a few years now." he answered. "The kwamis and I have been able to make this place a nice and comforting home."
She didn't doubt that, but something wasn't adding up. "Were you still searching for Gimmi when you came here?"
Master Fu had to think about it before answering. "Yes, we were, but we didn't have any leads for so long, that we had almost given up. That is, until you came along." he smiled at her.
"Yeah, Marinette." Tikki agreed. "Now that your here, I'm sure we can find a way to free Gimmi once and for all."
"We've certainly waited long enough." Plagg grumbled, and Tikki looked at him disapprovingly like he shouldn't have said that.
"How long have you been looking for Lila and Gimmi?" Marinette asked.
"Umm, it has been a sev-" Tikki stopped herself. "S-several years. There would be times where that woman would create chaos in another town, like a mysterious sickness or a scandal with a lord or something. Then afterwards before she could be caught, there would be a fire or something to distract everyone and she would escape. We tried following her trail, but Lila was very good about covering her tracks. She always made sure to use Gimmi's magic for things that, to the normal eye, would be something that happens naturally. We were worried that we were never going to find them. But now that she cast this spell on you, and started using Gimmi's magic carelessly, this gives us a chance to gain the upper hand."
"How do you plan on freeing Gimmi? And how was the kwami even trapped in the first place?" Marinette asked Master Fu more than the kwamis.
"As we have said before, Lila used a spell to trap Gimmi. The only way to break it would be to create a counter spell." Master Fu answered but didn't go into detail.
"What kind of counter spell?" Marinette wanted to know desperately. If there was some way she could help, she had to know the details.
But instead of giving them to her, the elderly man held up a hand to stop the conversation. "That's enough of that for now, we are coming up to the front gates. It's best we not discuss such things in front of the townsfolk, less they think we are involved in some sort of witchcraft. Tikki, Plagg, your hiding spots if you please."
The kwamis obeyed, and Marinette was left with more unanswered questions. She felt like there was still a lot more they did not want to share with her, specifically how Master Fu played a part in all of this. She didn't pressure the matter further, believing that they would eventually trust her with the truth. Plus he was right, they had finally come up to the front gates of Papillon, and the last thing that should be overheard is magic. There hasn't been a witch trail in about fifty years, and King Gabriel did his best to keep it that way, believing that more rational investigations should be practiced rather than superstition. That wasn't to say that it didn't still happen in other neighboring countries. A decree had been made by the king that overwhelming evidence had to be presented if such a charge was made, and not just here say. This caused most to not use the words witchcraft, and call it anything else. This is also what made it so surprising when Marinette had witnessed Lila's wrongdoings right before her eyes. It made her frightening and powerful, and Marinette was helpless to stop her.
That memory of the dagger at her throat, and then the hungry wolf that tried to take a bite out of her, made the poor woman shiver so hard her skin ached from the goosebumps. She brought the cloak tighter around her shoulders as if to break the nonexistent chill in the air. Her fears also arose when they went further into town. She kept her hood up and looked around for anyone that might recognize her. She knew that wasn't possible with Lila's spell, but there was still the likelihood that Sheriff Adolphe would notice her. She just had to stay low, and stay beside Master Fu. It will be okay, she could do this.
Master Fu drove the wagon to the area where me made trading deals with the local weavers. He owned a couple of rare black sheep, which brought a good price for the raw wool and the material he spun into yarn because it was a natural color that didn't require dyes. When he was able to gain some profits, he and Marinette went to the local markets to trade some of their other goods for items they couldn't find in the woods. Master Fu traded several of the vegetables from his garden with the milkman for some butter and cheese, camembert to be specific for his little black cat friend. Marinette did her part by trading the herbs, nuts and berries she gathered for some sugar and flour. She had promised the kwamis to make some tasty treats for them when they got back to the cottage.
"Merci, Monsieur Roux." Marinette thanked the man handing her the bag of flour. She knew him well because he was the one that always provided supplies for her parents' bakery. He was a very jolly man that was always kind to his customers, even got into the habit of letting children call him Oncle Roux, herself included.
"Yes, very good. Now please continue on." he waved her off like he was in a rush.
She guessed that he was very busy today, and tried to be quick in checking on her parents. "Say, has there been anything new at the Dupain-Cheng bakery? I've been wanting to look for a new dessert..."
"I don't know, ask them!" replied bluntly and hurried back into his shop.
Marinette was left shocked by the wagon. Oncle Roux had barely talked to her and tried to get her business over with like he couldn't be bothered with her. It was so unlike him. Come to think of it, everyone around her seemed to be acting reserved. There was a sense of paranoia in the air, where the shopkeepers still tried to do their jobs, but no one was really talking to each other. Even the people shopping didn't have their usual conversations she would always find in the market. Everyone was so tightlipped and looking at each other suspiciously. What was going on?
This made her worried for her parents, and she waited patiently for Master Fu to get back. It took several minutes before he finally returned with his basket filled with butter and two wheels of camembert cheese. She could feel the vibration from the little box next to her where the kwamis were hiding. No doubt it was Plagg just itching for the chance to devour his favorite treat.
Master Fu loaded his supplies and got ready to get back in the wagon when he noticed the young woman's distress. "Is something wrong, Marinette? Did someone recognize you?"
"No, but everyone is acting very strange today. It's like they're all really nervous about something." Marinette gave him a chance to look around and confirm her observation. "I'm worried about my parents. Can we please go and make sure they're okay?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Marinette..." Master Fu hesitated.
"Please, Master Fu. I won't talk to them unless it's unavoidable. I promise, I just want to check on them." Marinette begged.
"You know they probably won't recognize you..." he made sure she was aware of all the facts.
"I know, but I still want to see them, even if it hurts." she tried to say through her aching heart. It would hurt immensely if her parents didn't know who their own daughter was, but she wasn't going to hold it against them. This was all Lila's doing, and it wasn't going to stop her from loving about them.
Master Fu reluctantly agreed and they headed toward the bakery. Tikki and Plagg tried to come out of their hiding spots, mostly Tikki because she wanted to see the sweets in the bakery. But the elderly man reminded them that they had to stay down and keep anyone from seeing them. Marinette kept thanking him for giving her permission to do this, and she kept promising that she would stay low. She probably wouldn't even have to talk to them. Along the way she did start to notice some more unusual behavior with the townsfolk. The stock in the food booths were so much less than normal. She didn't notice it with the other places because they were the ones that also provided to the castle, so their business was always successful. Here, she noticed that one of her favorite meat shops that held the best sausage and meat pies was closed down. There was also a blacksmith that had a sign that said cash upfront only, which was unusual because they always allowed credit or trade for their work. It was the same in several other spots; coin only, no credit.
"Something's not right. Slow down here, please." Marinette spoke out loud.
"What is it?" the man beside her asked.
Instead of answering him, Marinette tried to get the attention of a local, and Master Fu helped by stopping the wagon. "Excuse me, monsieur, is something going on with the shops? Why is everyone saying coin only?"
"Pff, where have you been, under a rock?" the man replied rudely, but still stayed around to answer her question. "The king's taxes has been taking a hard toll on the shops. He assigned a new tax collector, the Viscount Roth. No one really has any coin because we do a lot of trades, so Roth says he'll just take supplies instead."
"Really?" Marinette was surprised at this. King Gabriel never did anything like this before. Papillon relied on trading goods, and any coins made for taxes was provided for the palace and army. Was something else going on? Was there a risk of war that no one knew about? Either way she could see where it was a problem with the people. With the supplies being taken for taxes, the low stock is hurting the shops because they can't keep up with supply and demand. No wonder everyone is on edge.
"Then there's Sheriff Adolphe!" the man spit in anger. "That bastard keeps questioning anyone that can't pay their taxes. Says they are under investigation for suspicious activity! He's ruining all our businesses!" He didn't give the seamstress a chance to respond and decided to go drown his anger in a local pub.
All this sent of warnings in Marinette's mind. If Sheriff Adolphe also played a part in this, then everything had a whole meaning. He was in league with Lila, he helped in trying to have her killed. What if that meant this whole tax thing was Lila's doing? Then her mind went back to her parents and suddenly it felt like there wasn't enough air in her lungs.
"Master Fu, we need to get to my parents fast." she breathed heavily while urging him to move the wagon.
"Of course." he flicked the reigns and they continued on.
Her old tailor shop was the first building to come into view. She took a quick look inside through the windows, and saw there wasn't much on display just like all the other shops. What did that mean for her assistant? She got more nervous the closer they came to the bakery. The sign said they were open, but the curtains were drawn. She was also pretty sure she could hear some shouting from inside the building. Marinette didn't even wait for Master Fu to completely stop the wagon as she hopped off and went through the door before the man could get a word in.
Once she was inside, she froze at the sight before her. Sheriff Adolphe was inside with two other soldiers holding Tom and Sabine in restraint. The man was knocking over containers, ripping apart loaves of bread, and smashing cakes as if he was looking for something. She looked at her parents, and found Tom struggling to hold himself back as the sheriff was tearing through his shop. Her mother looked terrified however, making Marinette think that the sheriff had probably threatened her if Tom tried to resist.
She couldn't stand it, she had to do something. She grabbed hold of the man's sleeve before he could knock another tray of macarons on the floor. "Sir, stop this! What do you think you are doing!?"
Fortunately, Marinette still had her hood up, so the sheriff didn't recognize her right away. As far as he was concerned, she was just a peasant that was getting involved in things she shouldn't.
"Stay out of this, woman, you are interfering with official royal business!" Sheriff Adolphe yelled at her before shoving her to the floor and into the mess of desserts.
Marinette didn't let that stop her. "Why are you doing this? What is it that the bakers have done?!"
Feeling like relishing in his imminent success, the sheriff replied. "These bakers have not paid the proper amount of taxes owed to the crown, so a warrant of investigation has been issued. I also have some damning evidence that the Dupain-Chengs are traitors to the crown."
"That's a lie!" Tom cried out, finished with being silent.
Marinette had heard enough as well and got back on her feet to get right in the sheriff's face. "The bakers are anything but traitors! They are good, hard-working people and have always cared about others. Anyone would tell you they make the best pastries in the kingdom, and have always been loyal to the king! He has trusted them to provide bread for the castle for years, and they would never jeopardize that! You're just a stupid little man that always want to look for trouble where there Isn't Any!"
Sheriff Adolphe was stunned into silence at the young lady that dared to yell at him. He didn't even move with Marinette moved up to the bakers to stand beside them. The other soldiers had let go of them at that point, seeming to agree with Marinette's defense for the couple.
"Yeah, what she said!" Tom agreed thunderously. "I do make the best pastries in the kingdom. His Majesty himself said so!"
Sabine looked at Marinette with gentle gratitude and pulled aside the hood to get a better look at the girl's face. "Your words are very kind, young lady. Tell me, have we met before?"
It broke her heart to be asked that question from her mother, but Marinette knew it was going to happen. Like she thought before, she wasn't going to hold it against them. She was really just happy to finally see them again.
"YOU!" Sheriff Adolphe found his voice again and pointed to Marinette in shock and recognition, ruining the moment she could've had with parents. "You're that dirty little Thief."
This made the seamstress realize where she messed up. She had allowed her mother to move her hood, exposing her face. Marinette never knew for sure if Lila had worked the memory spell on the sheriff and he still knew her as the baker's daughter, or if he was just following the woman's orders. But what he did know her as was the woman that Lila wanted to get rid of to gain access to the throne. He also knew her as the woman that swung a knife at him and cut his face.
"You are charged with High Treason to the Crown, stealing from a elite viscount, Resisting Arrest, and the Attempted Murder of a Sheriff of Papillon!" he named off what he could at such short notice, then addressed his fellow soldiers. "Arrest Her!"
The soldiers made a move to pass the bakers and grab hold of Marinette, and she had no time to run away from them. Then, as luck would have it, the mess the sheriff had been making earlier cause the two men to trip over the custard and frosting all over the floor. Sheriff Adolphe would have seized the girl himself had it not been for Tom accidentally dumping a large bag of flour over the man's head. Marinette saw her moment and ran out the door.
She ran up to the wagon with Master Fu waiting patiently for her to return.
"How did it go?" he asked hopefully, then saw the panic in her eyes.
"We need to leave, Right Now!" Marinette jumped into the wagon and urged the man to take off.
Master Fu didn't need to be told twice, and whipped the reigns to hurry the horse down the street. Marinette took a chance looking back and saw the three dessert covered officials step out of the bakery to look for her. She witnessed Sheriff Adolphe pointed to their wagon and he demanded his men to go after them on their own horses. They obeyed quickly and were soon giving chase.
"Master Fu, hurry, they're going to catch us!" she cried to the old man.
"Who's going to catch us!?" Tikki came out of the box with Plagg behind her, but they still stayed low where no one would see them. They got curious from all the commotion going on around them.
Plagg looked over the wagon bench to see what was chasing them, then laughed at the two men on horses that were covered in frosting. "Haha, who are they? The dessert police?!"
"They're Sheriff Adolphe's men!" Marinette answered, worried that they were gaining on them.
"The sheriff that helped Lila when she tried to kill you?" Tikki asked.
"Yes." she answered, then looked at the old man that was still trying to drive through the streets as fast as possible. "I'm so sorry, Master Fu. I know I said I wouldn't attract attention, but he was going to hurt my parents..."
"It's alright, Marinette, I understand." Master Fu made a hard right, and then a turn around near the fountain to make a hard left hoping to lose the soldiers. "We just have to make it out of the city and we will be safe in the swamp."
"I think that's easier said than done." Plagg commented. "Those guys seem pretty determined."
Marinette looked around the street to try and think of a solution. They were back in the market district. Several people were trying to get out of the way of their wagon as they continued to race down the street. She could see several men trying to protect their booths, and she noticed some of the fruit crates that were unbalanced in their stacking. This gave her an idea.
"Master Fu, quickly, veer the wagon more to the right." Marinette ordered him and she stood up and took one of the wooden polls he kept in the wagon.
"Whatever for?!" Master Fu called out while trying to pay attention to the road in case anyone popped out in front of him.
"Trust me!" was all the seamstress said as she did her best to keep her balance and had the poll ready to swing.
The elderly man did as he was told and made a slight turn to the right until he was at the very edge of the road. When the food cart came into view, Marinette took a good long swing at the towering crates until the whole thing tumbled over after they passed, leaving all the fruit and wood pieces spread out on the road. The two men's horses forced a stop against their riders' orders, and refused to go further with all this obstacle in the way. The Sheriff forced his horse more to the sidewalk and he made it passed the fruit crates to continue the chase.
"We still got one more on our tails, guys!" Plagg updated their progress.
"Don't worry, we're almost there!" Master Fu cried out as the city's gates came into view. Marinette sat back in her seat as he urged the horse to run faster. They were going to make it out of here, she just knew it.
Sheriff Adolphe knew it too, and made a call out for the guards at the front gates. "CLOSE THE GATES! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"
The guard pulled the lever to close the large wooden doors. It was slow, but Marinette and Master Fu could tell they were too far away to make it through it time.
"We're going to be trapped!" Marinette said in a panic.
"No, we can make it." Master Fu said staying collective and calm. "Tikki, Plagg, you know what to do!"
"On it!" the two kwamis took off up to where the gate guard was.
Plagg did his part by messing with the man by moving his helmet to where it covered his eyes. It was only a moment, but the guard mistook the kwami for a giant insect, and started waving his arms around to shoo him away, and that made him let go of the lever. Tikki's job was to switch the mechanism gears to reverse the gates when she pulled the lever back. Luckily it wasn't too heavy for her to move it herself, and the gates opened back up in time for the wagon to make it through.
The kwamis made it back to Master Fu and Marinette, but the sheriff was still following them. He only made it passed the bridge before pulling his horse back because he knew they would go in the direction of the Fool-Eating Marsh. He would lose them real fast if they got away.
In a final desperate act, he got the attention of the archers standing at the castle gates. "SHOOT THEM! TAKE THEM OUT!"
Arrows started raining down on them, and Marinette tried to act fast by shielding them with the bags of flour in their cart. One of the arrows grazed her arm, but she focused on protecting the old man while he continued driving.
"Keep going! You're almost there!" Tikki cried out.
Master Fu made a cry out in pain, making Marinette look to see one of the arrows had embedded into his shoulder, making him lose control of the reigns for a moment. They almost veered off the road before he fought of the anguish and get them through the trees.
"I think we're safe now." Plagg called, not seeing any more arrows coming toward them.
"Master Fu, you have to stop! We need to look at that shoulder!" Marinette tried to take the reins away from him, but he continued on.
"No... no... not until we make it back to the house." Master Fu said through some labored breathing.
Marinette wanted to argue, but he could see the old man was stubborn and determined. So, she stayed quiet as they made their way through the marsh again, and tried to mentally prepare herself for what she had to do to save her elderly friend.
.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sheriff Adolphe made orders to his men to try and find those criminals that escaped into the woods, then rode back to the castle in a panic to break the news to the Lady Rossi. She was not going to like this. There was no telling what sort of wicked sorcery she was going to use, but if he played it off like the girl had attacked him after stupidly coming back to the city, maybe they could both finish her off this time.
He made it passed the front gates and through the front halls before Viscount Roth saw him approach and stopped him to demand where the tax collections were.
"What happened to you!? You were supposed to be collecting debts from the bakers? And why are you covered in flour!?" Roth asked finally taking notice of the state of the sheriff.
"That girl came back!" Sheriff Adolphe cried in outrage. "She interfered with my job, got in the way of the tax collecting, and she Tried to Kill Me Again!"
"What girl?" the viscount asked at a loss.
"The girl Lady Rossi wanted to get rid of, she sneaked her way back into the city." he answered softer this time so as not to be overheard. "I must inform her of the situation."
"Hold it!" Roth grabbed him by the collar of his coat before he could get away. "What do you think is going to happen to us when she learns the baker girl got away again?"
"Ummm... she'll try to kill her again?" Sherriff Adolphe guessed that's where he was going with this.
"Yes, that. But what if she also cuts ties with us for failing to get that little peasant? Then we'll be left with nothing!" he stood over the smaller man, making him tremble a bit.
"What are we going to do, then? We can't just keep this a secret! What if she uses her magic on us this time!? What if she turns us into frogs!? Or into stone statues!?" The sheriff wasn't sure who he should be more afraid of. The viscount towering over him, or the possibility of a magical demise.
Roth eased off the sheriff and gave him a pat on the shoulder in reassurance. "Lady Rossi doesn't have to find out. This is a no loss, no gain situation. Plus, the baker girl took a lot of risks coming back, and it landed her into more trouble. Surely, she wouldn't be stupid enough to come back again. Right?"
"I supposed that's true." the sheriff said trying to convince himself.
"Then we're in agreement. Nothing happened today, and we will go back to collecting the taxes." Roth led the man back to his office, and they got back to the work they were assigned by the powerful witch.
.~*~*~*~*~*~