Life at the bakery was difficult for Marinette to adjust to. All the tasks were almost impossible for her to attend to. As much as she tried to complete the things her parents did, her height restrained her.

Her parents fully understood her circumstances, and tried to comfort her. They even expressed that it was completely ok that she wasn't able to do the same tasks that they did around the bakery, especially because they could imagine how difficult it was for her. But Marinette didn't want to give up.

She wanted to be able to help her parents so that they didn't have to do everything by themselves, but not just that, she also wanted to prove that she could do the same things as them; regardless of her height.

So she concocted a plan. To build essential tools that would help her in the bakery.

Late at night, after her mother tucked her in the tiny walnut bed, Marinette would stay up and build the tools she had in mind.

She made a sensible rope with a tiny hook at the end so she could easily swing it up at great heights and climb up, a long wooden ladle she carved out to be used at lengthy distances, and an assortment of other tools she could easily fit in the palm of her hand, and use at her disposal.

She went to sleep excitedly, promising herself that she would wake up extra early in the morning to bake her very first pie.

Before she knew it, she awoke to the sun rising in the sky.

Although it was early, her parents had yet to awake. Marinette could tell because the familiar scent of bread and cinnamon didn't fill the air as it did on every morning that she awoke.

She crept down to the kitchen with her make shift satchel filled with the tools she had created, and climbed up on the counter top, and put down her bag down. The family recipe book sat propped up on the counter in front of her. She turned the pages slowly as she looked up and down the pages until she found the recipe she needed.

Reading over the ingredients several times, she decided it was time to put her resources to the test.

Marinette emptied out her bag and placed the tools on the counter, first thing first was to gather up the needed ingredients.

Luckily, they were already there. Marinette's mother had already gathered the ingredients and placed them on the counter so that she could bake a pie morning.

Multiple jars of crushed and sweetened berries sat nearby. There was an assortment of blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries. "I think I should go with cherries!"She said with a smile. She pushed the jar over by the baking pan and the ingredients. Looking over the recipe once more, she exhaled a sigh at the difficult work ahead of her, "Let's get started." She said with a push of her sleeves.

Twenty minutes of excruciatingly trying to knead dough, shaping it into a pie crust and pouring the cherries into the crust that she had made into the pan and Marinette was nearly finished. "Phew" she said as she wiped her flour covered forehead.

She was nearly covered in flour, dough, and cherries from head to toe, "I feel like an absolute mess" she said examining herself. "At least I only have to make the lattice top and then I'll be done… oh no" she gasped, "I completely forgot about the baking part!"

The sunlight began to stream in through the windows. "Mama and papa should be waking up any minute" she said as she frantically tried to hurry up, "I think I'll perhaps finish this up, and leave it to them to cook the rest. Although I'm sure they wouldn't mind too much" she said with a giggle.

She quickly went onto creating the lattice top, and began to try her best and put the lined pattern down on the pie. "This is really difficult. Even my tools are no good!" she said with a disgruntled sigh. Adjusting the last lines, she decided to take one final look to make sure she arranged it correctly.

Ever so carefully, Marinette latched her makeshift rope and hook onto the lid of the preservatives jar, and climbed up. Gazing from above, the line work looked quite normal. There were a few areas where the lines were crooked or slightly ajar, but Marinette was quite pleased with the job she had done.

As she turned around to reach for the rope to climb down, the sticky residue on her shoe caused her to slip. Making her tumble down, and fall into an exposing crevice of the pie.

Before she knew it, she found herself literally swimming in the cherry goo. Marinette tried to move her legs through it, but it was too slippery, and too thick to easily pass through. It also reached up to her neck in the tightly enclosed section she was trapped in.

She tried again to move her arms up through the cherry sea but could not. Kicking her legs and trying to propel her body, she ended up moving farther underneath the upper part of the crust of the pie, rather than the opening part and out. She tried wriggling back but it was no use.

She was stuck.

After persistent trying, she finally managed to move one arm up, and then the other one. Holding onto the upper part of the pie, she tried to penetrate her way through. Nothing. No effort managed to work. A twinge of sadness filled her, "This is what happens when you try to do things that aren't meant for your size" she thought with a sniffle. "What's all this?" a muffled voice said.

The sound of footsteps boomed throughout the kitchen. "Help, I'm stuck!" Marinette yelled out. "Stuck where?" her father's voice called back. "Inside the… pie." Marinette said with a twinge of shame. The footsteps walked over to the pie's direction.

The top of the pie peeled back slowly. She gave a nervous smile at her father's perplexed expression. He gave a look of worry back as he plucked her out and placed her in the palm of his hand. She laid back in his hand exhausted "Thank you papa." She said without an exhausted huff. "Let me guess… you wanted to help out?" he asked. She faintly nodded her head. "I'm so sorry." She whispered as she closed her eyes.

Her father's rumbling laugh made her eyes snap back open again. "You're laughing?" she said confusedly as she tried to sit up. He wiped a tear back from his eye with his free hand "Only you would get yourself in a sticky situation like this!" she joined in on his laughter. "What is so funny?" mama said as she looked in on the scene.

And they laughed even more.

After she gave her parents an explanation as to what happened, and got cleaned up from her adventure, Marinette took the rest of the day off to relax and take it easy. She watched the customers come and go dreamily wondering what it was like to be them.

Her mother caught her watching them, "What are you thinking about?" "Huh? She broke free from her stance "Oh! I was just daydreaming." "About what?" he mother teased. "Don't laugh, but it was about being tall… like everyone else." She looked down to escape her mother's glance. "Don't ever wish to be anything but yourself chérie. You're perfect just the way you are." She said as she scooped her up in her hand and cradled her.

Marinette hugged her mother's hand. "You always know what to say mama" she said with a laugh, "Well I am your mother." She said with a grin." I have something I want to show you later." Marinette's eyes twinkled in anticipation. "I absolutely can't wait!"

As the day closed to an end and the bakery closed, Marinette's mother tucked her in and pulled up a chair next to her. "So, what are you going to show me?" "It's something that you're going to really enjoy." She pulled out a large book that Marinette hadn't noticed she had hidden behind her back.

"A storybook?" Marinette sat up "That sounds great… but are there any stories about people who are… well you know, my size?" she said twiddling her thumbs. "Well, yes there are actually." She leafed through the book until she came upon an illustrated picture of people- with wings.

Marinette marveled at the image before her "Faeries?" she exclaimed. The image portrayed a group of faeries gathered around what appeared to be a king and a queen. They all looked joyous and happy at what appeared to be a special occasion. "It says here that faeries are tiny folks with wings that work together to ensure the change of season's happen successfully. They live under the reign of their king and queen, and live in the veil of the faeries. You can often identity them by the soft glow of their wings amongst the darkness of the night."

Marinette studied the picture intently, "Mama, have you ever seen a faerie?" She looked down, "Sadly I don't think I have chérie, but that doesn't mean that not they're out there." she said with a faint smile. "It's getting late." She dimmed the lantern. "It's nearly time for you to get to sleep."

"Could you keep the book open so I can keep looking at the picture?" Marinette asked as she walked towards the door. "Of course Marinette" She propped the book up nearby her walnut bed. She blew a kiss to her as she was leaving the room "Bonne nuit Marinette." "Bonne nuit mama…"

She gazed up at the picture longingly. Imagining what life among the faeries must be like. Stepping out of the bed, she walked up to the window. "I wonder if there are any faeries out there right now…"

Down below from the view of the window, and in the forest a not so distance away, she swore she saw the faint glow of glimmering lights.