SNOW WHITE

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STORY SETTING: SNOW WHITE'S CASTLE

Snow White has been living happily in the castle with her Prince, the current King, and the 7 dwarves for many years after her stepmother had disappeared, leaving her with the mirror. Every day, she visits the mirror on the wall and asks the same question every day.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Am I, Snow White, the fairest of them all?"

Snow White knows the answer to this question. For she has always gotten the same exact response:

"You are not the fairest of them all."

"You are the fairest of them all."

Both Snow White and the Mirror simultaneously reply. However, Snow White takes a pause and tilts her head to the side in momentary confusion.

"Excuse me?" She asks.

"Am I -- Snow White -- the fairest of them all...?!" She asks the mirror again with a sickly sweetness.

"You are NOT the fairest of them all." The mirror repeats. Snow White stays still and asks a different question.

"WHO IS... THE MOST FAIREST OF THEM ALL?"

The Mirror on the wall warps the image of Snow White to an image of a strange lady standing in the middle of the forest. She was dressed in a beautiful red gown, and the animals flocked all around her.

"It is Marianne, who is the fairest of them all." The mirror says.

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I was reading a different message when a pop-up message appeared like some kind of bad joke:

[YOU ARE THE MOST FAIREST OF THEM ALL.]

" . . . " I was at a loss. Not only did ai lose Jung-woo for the nth time, but now I have become the main character?!

While I try to figure out my little dilemma, I did not notice my surroundings. There was a small little sparrow that landed on my black-brown head, a little doe nibbles on her red, sparkly gown and a squirrel climbed up to my houlder to offer an acorn.

" . . . " Instead of sitting around contemplating what to do next, I take the acorn and drop it on the ground. The little stem the acorn had points southwest.

"I guess it's this way to Jung-woo." I take off to that direction with a parade of animals behind me.

"You would think animals following you is such an amazing feeling..." A bird perches on my fingertips, slightly opens its wings and poops before tilting its head and flying off.

"Great. I'm a walking perch stand." It was a good thirty minute walk until I heard the trickle sound of water from the distance. Picking up my pace, I rush out of the forest and into a small stream. At the top, there were mini waterfalls with bears catching fish.

I'm walking up to the edge, I look down at my reflection. I look like someone had dolled me up to some fancy party in the barn house. The dress was very pretty, though lugging in it around the forest is not exactly the ideal place.

I crouch down and grab a pebble. Throwing it hard and in an angle, I was it skip five times before it sank. Feeling both incompetent and useless, I keep putting Dal Jung-woo in danger.

"Maybe I'm not cut out to take care of others but myself..." I grab another pebble to skip. I threw the rock.

Sighing to herself, something in the bushes moves. With no weapon, I spring back to my feet, grab the nearest and biggest stick I could get my hands on, and point at the bushes.

"Who's there!?"

The bushes stay silent. Instead of calling out to whatever is hiding behind the bush, I threw the stick over.

TUD!

" . . . "

It took a second, but the bushes shuffled and moved again. However, a shadowy figure appears. The shadow had fiery eyes watching me. After a little staring contest (I won, by the way) with the head that was looking just over the bushes. It rose up along with the rest of the body. I involuntarily take a step back from the muscular figure who had reached past my head ages ago.

"The question is... " He wore a, a red tunic, brown pants and hard black boots. He was covered in black soot, twigs, and leaves head to toe, all while scowling at the ground. I keep my guard up when I see his hand on a big, heavy hammer resting on his broad shoulders.

"Who are YOU---" His angry eyes finally find my wary ones. His angry look disappears for a brief second before glaring back at me.

"Umm... I'm Marianne. I don't know how and where this is. I was reading books one minute and the next, I found myself here." I couldn't exactly tell him that I was fighting books in the library.

"Umm. Have you seen a little boy by chance?" Jung-woo might have passed here, I thought.

"The only one stupid enough to be here is you." He grunts before walking up to me. Since I threw my stick, I was left defenseless against this man. The animals that were around or on me had scurry away. He stops in front of me.

"Follow me." He commands. He was walking away but stopped when he realized I wasn't following him. He scowls and scratches his head.

"Hmph. If you want to die, then just stand there." He turns around and continues to walk. He might be able to help me find Jung-woo, I thought.

Keeping a decent distance between us, I follow behind. It was a long walk, but it was better than walking aimlessly. I even figured out what was wrong with the interface system. The only thing I can do is store things in the storage ring. I couldn't take anything out from it, but I could at least look at my profile.

Big man in front of me takes us to a small clearing with a cottage. Smoke was rising out of the chimney, and a fire was crackling in the outdoor stove... Was the owner not worried their house would catch on fire?

"This is my place." He grunts, walking straight into the stove. He grabs metal tongs and sticks them inside the stove, and pulls out a large rectangular block.

"Pass me the hammer." He points to a direction while not looking at me.

"Umm... please?" I roll my eyes and grab the hammer off the stone table. As soon as I pull hammer off the edge, it slams right down the ground.