- Lucas

Lucas stepped through the door and tripped over his too-large T-shirt, tumbling down a set of stone steps to land with a splat in a puddle. For the second time that day, Amy rushed to help him up, though there was nothing to be done about the healthy layer of mud that now coated him from head to toe. However, that was all forgotten as they noticed their surroundings. It was amazing! Ferns and other small plants towered over them, and small creatures that were obviously dragonflies and rocking-horseflies did battle as they buzzed around the teens' heads.

As he tripped on the hem of his shirt for what must have been the fifth time since being shrunk, Lucas sighed and cursed his shirt for not fitting him the way Amy's did her. But then, everything fit Amy. She could put on a dress made for a three-year-old and it would probably defy physics to fit her perfectly. 'Especially now.' He thought to himself as he watched his friend scale a fallen tree branch without any trouble at all.

"There is some kind of antidote for that nasty drink, right?" He asked rhetorically.

"I certainly hope so." Amy said, shrugging.

"Oh, there's an antidote all right." A silky voice said from behind them, and Lucas spun around to find himself face-to-face with a grey-and-blue cat that sported a grin that literally split his face. The fact that it was floating several feet above the ground didn't seem to surprise the teens, which surprised them immensely. "And who might you be? You have so much mud on you that I wouldn't recognize you if you were my own brother." The cat motioned to a spot about five feet to Lucas' right. "Stand right here, if you please."

Cautiously, Lucas stepped onto the indicated spot and was immediately drenched by a flood of water that had been collected in a pitcher plant above his head. Thoroughly soaked, the teenage boy spluttered and glared at the cat. However, most of the mud had been washed off in the impromptu shower.

"Much better!" The cat purred. However, after getting a good look at Lucas' face, he drew back with a startled expression on his face. "Stayne?" He whispered, cocking his head at him curiously.

"Who?" Lucas exchanged a confused look with Amy, but she just shrugged again. This cat was making no sense, and only added to the confusion by disappearing in a puff of smoke and reappearing next to Lucas' shoulder.

"Ilosovic Stayne, former Knave of Hearts. You look just like him, except that you have two eyes while he only has one. Tell me, are you related to him?" The cat said, all the while disappearing and reappearing at a dizzying rate.

"I've never even heard of the guy." Lucas said in exasperation.

"Hmm." The cat frowned, which, somehow, was even freaker than when he was grinning. "You must be Overlanders to have never heard of Ilosovic Stayne. And here I thought Overlanders didn't have hair this color." That last bit was aimed at Amy, whose carroty curls he was now "fingering". "I'll take you to see another person with orange curls, who might be able to help you. Though, I warn you, looking like Stayne will not count in your favor with him."

The cat led the two teenagers through the forest, stopping several times so that Lucas could untangle himself from his T-shirt, until they finally reached a large clearing in which sat a windmill, its propellers twirling in the breeze. In front of the windmill was a white table that was laden with all kinds of tea-time stuff. Around the table sat three people: a twitchy hare in a blue suit, a white dormouse in pink trousers, and a pale-faced man with shocking, neon-green eyes who wore a raggedy, yet regal, top-hat perched atop his orange hair.

"Oh, good. We caught them during tea-time." The cat said. "Hatter! We have some Overland visitors!"