Hatter stayed quiet for a long moment before replying. “Alice already considered that, and you’re all right to be concerned over rations. Once we hit the Enchanted Forest, there’s no chance for food, and who knows how long it will take us to find the caterpillar.”
I stopped in my tracks. “I’m sorry, did you just say we’re looking for acaterpillar?”
As Hatter turned to me, a deep line formed between his eyebrows. “Didn’t I mention that?”
“Yeah, no. You called him a legend, but you failed to mention that the person we’re looking for is this tall!” I brought my fingers about an inch apart.
The others burst out into laughter.
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for the clowns to stop. “What’s so funny?”
“He’s not your normal caterpillar,” Dum answered. “The stories claim he’s as tall as you.”
“Oh . . . well, I guess that will make him easier to find.”
“Don’t speak too soon,” Hatter said. “The Enchanted Forest is like a maze. All races of fae have gotten lost in there, sometimes for weeks. Many emerge as nervous wrecks.”
“Why?”
“Because the forest tests you,” Dum said. “Each test is different, so the best we can do is lean on each other for support, and work as a team.”
Wonderful. Because those are two things I’m so great at.
Hatter gripped my shoulder, and bent down to look deep in my eyes. “It’s okay, Alice,” he said as if he could read my mind. “We’ll worry about it when we get there. For now, let’s walk and be on the lookout for a town where we can find provisions.”
I merely shook my head, and we continued on.
We didn’t come across a town until the sun set, which, considering we’d slept past midday, wasn’t that long. Still, the timing was fortunate. After hearing that the queen’s soldiers were searching for me, I was keen to avoid contact with anyone but other rebels.
“Should I go too?” I asked as my group assessed the quiet looking village from the outskirts of town. “Are we going to rob a store?”
“Rob it?! We’re leaving crowns!” Dum looked offended.
I had no idea why she was hanging out withme,anassassin,if the idea of stealing some bread offended her, but some people were odd like that.
“Sorry.” I replied, feeling a little bad when the pixie continued to stare at me. “It’s just that it’s getting late. I wasn’t sure if anything would be open.”
“I’m not sure if you should come or not,” Hatter said. “All the buildings on the outskirts look like homes, and usually shops are centralized. Going into a shop means walking through the town, which means more chances that someone will spot your hair. The pixies and I can get the food. But honestly, after learning that soldiers are after you,” he gestured around to the wider woods, “I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone. Even if you are capable, there were so many of them.”
I didn’t take it as an insult. There was no way in hell I’d be able to fight off the number of soldiers we’d seen trekking through the forest. “If only I could use aether to mask my stupid hair.”
“Actually . . . maybe we can make that happen.”
I turned to Hatter, incredulous. “Excuse me? You said the memories you had of me wouldn’t be enough to free the aether.”
“We can’t free all of your aether magic, but it wouldn’t take much to change your hair color. Perhaps I can loosen a bit, and you can try?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “But I have no idea how I’d go about it. And the book said that this would be painful . . .”
“I’d only talk about casual things. Like when we used to play as kids. If they don’t lead to trauma, they probably won’t hurt. And if it does, we’ll stop right away. It’s worth a shot.”
More than anything, I wanted to recall my past on my own, to be able to mull over those early memories in private. But itwouldbe handy to have my hair a different color—masked by a glamour that only the aether could create.
I sighed. “Fine. Just let me review this first.” I opened the book to the page where it explained how to manipulate aether, and read it again.
Strong visualization is key. Okay, got it.
“All right, I’m ready.”
