A nightmare leaves me cold and shivering.

I curl up tightly under the thick blanket, but it does little to help. Already I am forgetting what the nightmare was about, but the feeling stays with me. Knowing that I will not be able to fall asleep again, I stand up.

I pull the blanket off the bed with me, keeping it wrapped around my shoulders. I found a good hairbrush in this room last night; now I set about untangling my long hair. My glance falls upon the filthy plastic brush Mustardseed gave me, and I am thoroughly relieved that I shall never have to use it again. I make a mental note to throw it in a fire the first chance I get. However, I take Titania's flute and the little mirror and place them in my pocket; I don't intend to go anywhere without them.

When my hair and teeth are brushed, my face is washed, and memories of the nightmare are all near gone, I head downstairs. Breakfast seems to have already been prepared, so I take a plate from the kitchen and sit at the table.

Heart is the next to come downstairs, looking much better than usual due to the complete absence of any makeup, then Nottingham, already immaculately clothed and groomed. Fool comes down when I am already completely finished. She is wearing droopy pajamas, her ridiculously colored hair all tangled around her head, and her eyes half-closed. Nevertheless, she piles up an entire plate and begins eating with incredible speed.

Breakfast takes a while, mostly because of Fool. Nottingham and Heart, once they are finished, go back to their rooms. Unsure of what to do, I go back to mine as well, and spend the remaining time brushing my hair over and over. I don't need to, but it feels soothing.

Then Heart knocks at my door. When I open it, she beckons me over to a window and points. "Down that street," she says, "then turn right on Maple." She goes on with the directions, then gives me a description of the house. "Huge, at the end of its lane, completely backed by evergreen forests. Plain old brown color. Shouldn't be too hard for you to find."

Fool sidles up to us on her way to her room. "See, she has confidence in you!" she says cheerily before going to get dressed.

"Anything else I should know?" I ask Heart.

"I don't know much about the place. That's why we're sending you there."

Fool pops out, having changed in a remarkably short time. "Come, friend!" She grasps my arm and leads me downstairs to the door and then, because she's that kind of person, pushes me out and slams it behind me. Normally, of course, I would stride back in and demand apologies for the insult, but today I am impatient to get to the Grimm house.

The journey is short, Heart's directions perfectly simple. I find the house without any trouble at all, then dart to the forest behind it and sidle between the trees. From here, I can see the back of the house, but it is unlikely that anybody inside can see me.

What now? I wait.

After a while, I realize how incredibly pointless that is. The sun is well over the horizon, and everybody inside must be wide awake, but there's no chance of me finding out anything important while I'm way out here. I need to get closer; it might be a risk, but I'll take it.

I glance left and right, then scurry across the backyard. It worries me to leave the cover of the trees, but with any luck, nobody will be looking outside. I creep right up to a window on the ground floor, crouch down, and peek in. What a stroke of luck—it's the living room, and both Relda Grimm and the Wolf are sitting there. They seem to be speaking, but their voices are too quiet.

I press my ear up against the glass. Now I can just barely hear, and thankfully, my head is obscured by a large pile of books on the sill.

"—don't know. I think I've gotten the phone number of just about everybody in the town now. Nobody has a clue."

"Listen to me, Relda," the Wolf says. He sounds tired. "I still believe that it has something to do with the storm that built up while we were training. It was magical, I can sense these things."

"But that makes no sense! Are... are you sure you saw nothing else?"

"If I had, I would have told you." The Wolf's voice is a growl, and I get the feeling that he has said this many times before.

When Relda responds, she sounds nervous. "I know, I know. It's just... I'm scared, old friend. What if they're gone forever? What if the Scarlet Hand has them?"

If only.

"My precious leiblings... what if they've been kidnapped, and someone comes after you next, or Puck?"

"Calm yourself." It's odd to hear the Wolf saying that; last I remember, he constantly needed to be calmed. "They don't have a chance of taking me, and I'd quite like to see the force it would take to take the Trickster King somewhere he doesn't want to go."

"Of course." Relda sniffs, and I realize she's been crying quietly. "Where is the boy, anyway?"

"Up in his room, brooding." Oddly, I can hear a smile in the Wolf's voice. "Trust me, it won't be long before he figures out a way to rescue your granddaughters without making it obvious."

Making what obvious? I wonder for a brief moment, but that thought is quickly overtaken by another. If the Wolf is right, Puck is simply sitting in a room all on his own—if I can find him, I can talk to him, this time without Sabrina Grimm walking in! But I must hurry.

As quietly as I can, I take off, flying straight up. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the Wolf twitch, as if he has spotted me. But he does nothing, so I ignore it.

I need to find some way into the house. An open window would be preferable, but highly unlikely in January. Perhaps I can find the window to his room—if he sees me, he'll open it. I know he'd be unable to resist.

But I am unsuccessful. I can't see Puck anywhere, and there is simply no other way to get in. There is the chimney, of course, but I know that I would be noticed. Besides, I am not going to sink so low.

Why can't I find his room? It has windows, surely. Don't all rooms? But I can't find it, so out of desperation, I try opening a different window. It looks like it leads into a bedroom, possible where the Grimm girls sleep. I can't open it. When I peer closer, I see why: it's nailed shut.

But that gives me an inspiration: surely, somewhere on the upper floor, there's a window that can be forced open from the outside. It's a narrow hope, but before long, I am proved correct. I manage to slide one open and stumble into a hallway.

Now, actually inside the Grimm house, it seems even more dangerous. I feel oddly exhilarated from being in this situation. I can just barely hear the soft voices below me, so I know that I must be extremely quiet if they are not to detect me. I float slowly along the hall, looking at the doors on either side. And there! Yes! There! A door covered entirely with badly-spelled "Keep Out" signs. His room.

My heart beating excitedly, I turn the doorknob. Its light squeak sounds like a blaring alarm to my ears, and I wince. Barely breathing, I open the door.

So—this is why the room had no window! A vast meadow spreads out before me, a forest of trees on the horizon. It's impossible, magical, wonderful. Excited, I take a step forward—

Suddenly, I hear running footsteps at the other end of the hall. Spinning around, I see the Wolf leaping to the top of the stairs, eyes flashing. He pauses for a moment to glare. "I thought I smelled an intruder," he growls, and lunges at me.

I jump back with a yell. The Wolf's hands—claws—barely miss me, and he stands up, ready for another attack. Without wasting a second, I turn and fly, hating myself for running, but knowing that I stand no chance—

And the Wolf chases me down the hall, arms outstretched, until I flee out the open window, and still he leans outside, following me with his eyes and growling, until I'm gone, lost among the houses of Ferryport Landing, safe and terrified.