Chapter 6: Evangline becomes the fox

"Little fox?" Jacks' teasing smile turned confused, then concerned. He peered into her eyeholes. "Are you alright in there?"

"I'm…" She was not alright. She had just left the Jacks of her present, who no longer knew her, and was now face to face with a man who could only be the Jacks of the past; before he became a Fate, possibly before he even became The Archer. And, of course, he still didn't know her. And this Jacks never could. "I'm fine."

"Indeed?" Jacks gave her a sceptical look. "That's a relief. Forgive me, but I thought you might have been lost. Or mad."

"I am. Lost, I mean." In the sense that the camp she had just come from wouldn't be pitched for another few centuries.

"Well then, let me escort you to civilisation." He offered her arm gallantly, and when Evangeline took it, she couldn't help but startle at just how warm he felt when there was no magic running through his veins. "I'd been having terrible luck before you came along, but now I won't be returning empty-handed. I'm Jacks, by the way: Jacks of the Hollow."

Evangeline bit her lip beneath her mask. "It's nice to meet you."

"And do you have a name?" Jacks prompted. "Or perhaps you really are a fox, and a witch turned you human?" He reached out, and she grabbed his wrist before he could remove her mask.

"It's better if you don't learn my name. Or see my face."

As far as explanations went, it was woefully inadequate. Her Jacks might have said 'suit yourself' and then stranded her in the forest. But this Jacks laughed.

"Perhaps you are mad after all. Or I am, for humouring you."

They walked in the opposite direction to where the camp had been, him guiding her over the rough terrain as the light continued to fade. Eventually the forest thinned, trees turning into quaint little buildings; artefacts from a bygone era, but clean and freshly built. Jacks turned to her. "Where should I take you?"

Evangeline frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, unless a dragon dropped you out of the sky - which isn't impossible, now that I think about it - then I assume you came from somewhere around here. And I want to make sure someone else is responsible for you before I leave, because you seem like the type of person that can't help but get into trouble when left unsupervised."

Evangeline's face was covered, but Jacks must have sensed a change in her body language, because he added, "or I can just give you directions, if you don't want to be seen walking arm in arm with a handsome man."

"It's not that," Evangeline assured him, and he grinned.

"Oh, good. The fox mask I can handle, but a jealous husband would have been too much for me."

You have no idea. "No, it's just that I don't actually have anywhere to stay." For all she really knew, The Assassin had dropped her here at random and completely forgotten about her. In any case, she would be a fool not to use this opportunity to her advantage. "Could you recommend somewhere?"

"The Hollow." It was the answer she had been hoping for, and Jacks offered it without hesitation. "My family owns it, and we're always taking in strays like you. Well, maybe not exactly like you." He glanced meaningfully at her velvet slippers (now caked with mud) and the gold embroidery on her tattered sky blue gown. "I've met royalty that dresses more casually than you."

That made her pause. Jacks wasn't the only person from the past that would end up meeting her in the future. "You've met royalty?" She asked carefully.

"Oh yes, the Valors are good friends of ours." Jacks resumed walking, skirting the town until they reached a building Evangeline would have known anywhere.

It may not have been quite as magical as when an arch stone had been hidden in its clock (and speaking of the clock, it was currently stuck on "mutton stew with dumplings", "ginger beer" and "apple pie"), but this Hollow was imbued with a different kind of magic. Cooking smells mingled with woodsmoke, laughter mingled with the clinking of cutlery, and everywhere Evangeline looked there were people. It was what the building had been designed for: a space for people to meet, drink and be merry. It made the present-day Hollow seem unspeakably lonely by comparison.

Evangeline's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the space just next to the meal clock. Sure enough, two names were carved into the wood just as they were in the future: Aurora Jacks. She wondered if they had been there a long time, and if there was any truth to it at all. Lala had been adamant that Jacks never saw Aurora that way, but Aurora had been equally adamant that he had.

"Jacks!" A female voice called over from one of the packed tables, and a pale hand shot above the other diners to wave him over.

"Come on." Jacks grabbed her wrist before she could stop him. For the first time since she had gotten it, the touch of his bare skin against her scar didn't give her any sort of shock.

He really is human…

While she contemplated this, Jacks towed her over to a table of people that, much like Jacks and the Hollow, were familiar in a startlingly unfamiliar way.

"Who's this, Jacks?" This Aurora Valor had pale blonde hair but was otherwise exactly as she had looked a few centuries later.

"I found this little fox wandering the forest." Jacks presented her to the others with a flourish, and his eyes sparkled like they used to (or one day would). But instead of cold, silvery magic, it was a warm and human mirth. "Luckily, my aim was less than true, so I was able to catch her alive."

"Hello, Miss 'Fox.'" A girl with deep brown skin and a dress accented with rows and rows of what appeared to be dragonfly wings was the first to greet her. "I'm Ariel Merrywood."

It was hard to look at Ariel Merrywood and imagine her as Ariel 'Lala' Lagrimas, The Unwed Bride. Still, it was clear she had the same bold spirit and kind heart in her youth as she would in her future. "It's lovely to meet you," Evangeline murmured. Every time I do it.

"And I'm Lyric Merrywood." This was the only complete stranger among them, even if the others were still strange in different ways. Lyric Merrywood had dark curly hair and a face made for laughter. His brown coat was embroidered with a pattern of gold oak leaves, and a fat gold signet ring sat on the pinkie finger of his left hand. "Ariel's brother, and future lord of Merrywood manor."

The urge to warn him bubbled up in her, but she forced it down and the moment passed. If her mother's tales had taught her anything, it was that nothing good ever came of trying to change the past. Even the girl who had fallen through a crack in time, the one Time itself loved most, had been unable to control it.

"I'm Prince Castor Valor." Castor stood and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, like they had just met at a ball instead of a rowdy inn. "Any friend of Jacks is a friend of mine."

He held her gaze with such raw sensuality that in another life Evangeline might have been thoroughly charmed, but for some reason all she felt was dread. It wasn't fair to compare this man (a boy, really) to the monster he would become; Castor was no more Chaos than Ariel was Lala, and the lips brushing against her skin did not hide the sharp teeth of a vampire. And in any case, Chaos had never hurt her personally. Except…

An image came unbidden: staring into bright green eyes, realising her mistake a second too late. Teeth ripping into her neck. Pain. Blood. Jacks, more scared than she had ever seen him. Darkness.

She shook her head slightly, just in case any more strange things shook free. It felt the same as all the other memories the unicorn had returned to her, but there was nowhere to fit it that made sense.

"I think you've broken the poor girl, Castor." Aurora Valor laughed melodically. "One kiss and she's lost all her senses."

Jacks, who had been silent until then, batted Castor's hand away. "I apologise for Prince Castor," he said, glaring at the boy. "He likes to touch things that don't belong to him."

Castor scoffed. "As if you're one to talk."

Aurora, last at the table, did not introduce herself but instead looked pointedly at Jacks. After a moment, he seemed to understand the cue, and sighed.

"And this is Aurora."

"Princess Aurora Valor," she corrected swiftly. "But we don't stand on ceremony here in the Hollow, so please feel comfortable addressing me informally." She took Evangeline's hand like her brother had, but instead of kissing it she regarded it with surprise. "How strange. With such a fancy gown I assumed you were minor nobility, or at least wealthy; but the callouses on your hand would suggest otherwise. Jacks," she turned to him reproachfully, "did you grab some poor farm girl and make her dress up as part of some silly joke?"

Evangeline opened her mouth to speak in Jacks' defence, but Aurora continued talking, squeezing her hand as though comforting her.

"I'm so sorry about him. He intimidates all the local girls."

"Intimidates?" Ariel mouthed to Castor, who grinned.

"More like seduces all the local girls."

"All but one," Ariel quipped, and for a moment Aurora's carefree facade faltered.

"But," she continued, acting as if she hadn't heard them, "if you knew him like we do, you'd know he's actually a perfect gentleman. Aside from his sense of humour."

Ariel and Chaos snorted, but Lyric laughed as though Aurora had told a hilarious joke, watching her closely for any sign of approval.

Jacks merely glared at her. "Do you seriously think I grabbed a random farm girl and dressed her up, just to make you laugh?"

Aurora recovered quickly. "Well she had to come from somewhere." She regarded the dried mud on Evangeline's hem. "And it clearly wasn't a castle."

"Actually," Evangeline said, gently removing her hand from Aurora's grasp. "I used to work in a shop. As for the state of my hands…" She smiled sweetly, even though she knew nobody could see it under her mask. "I've always had thick skin."

Chairs were pulled up for her and Jacks, and within seconds an older man came over from the direction of the hearth. He had long blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail and carried two bowls of a stew that looked and smelled utterly sublime.

"I see you've caught yourself a fox, Jacks," he commented, eyeing Evangeline's strange appearance with curiosity and amusement, but no trace of judgement. "Shall I chuck her in the pot?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to make do with mutton tonight, Pa." Jacks grinned at Evangeline. "Besides, there's hardly any meat on her."

The man laughed. "We'll soon fix that. Get that stew in you, Miss…?"

"Fox." Evangeline hoped her voice sounded normal despite her inner thoughts being all over the place. Was this man standing before her really Jacks' father? She supposed she could see the resemblance: they had the same flaxen hair and dimpled cheeks, but seeing an older version emphasised just how different Jacks looked as a human. She had always thought of his beauty as sharp - almost severe - with long pale limbs and a cruel mouth. But Jacks of the Hollow was tan and healthy, with the toned physique of an archer. Even his smile was different; though it still made her stomach swoop the same way.

"Miss Fox." Jacks' father confirmed. "You're welcome at The Hollow." With a last nod to the others, he returned to the hearth.

It was only once he left that Evangeline realised just how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten since yesterday evening (in her original time), and there had been a lot of running around since then. Unfortunately…

"Not hungry?" Ariel asked kindly, noticing her untouched bowl.

"I promise it's better than it looks," Castor assured her, and Jacks shot him a glare across the table.

"It looks as delicious as it always does. But if it's not up to your standards, Your Highness, then feel free to enjoy your meals at the palace from now on."

"Perhaps she already ate," Lyric suggested, and Evangeline got the sense he often played peacemaker between the other two boys.

"Perhaps she's deformed," Aurora spoke up suddenly, "and she can't take the mask off without revealing it."

The others, even Lyric, clearly refused to validate such a rude comment by acknowledging it aloud; but their eyes did shift to Evangeline with renewed curiosity.

"Are you really going to keep the mask on all night?" Lyric finally asked her.

"Yes." She glanced self-consciously at Jacks, who was hiding his own curiosity well. She placed her stew to one side with regret. "But I look forward to eating this later on in my room, if that's alright?"

"You're staying here?" Aurora said, at the same time that Castor asked, "what's it for?"

"The mask?" For all that it was covering her entire head, nothing had ever made her feel so exposed. She struggled to think of an answer that didn't raise questions she had no way of answering. "It's just…easier if I keep it on."

"No name, no face…" Aurora frowned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you dragged a criminal into our midst, Jacks."

Lyric laughed uncertainly. "She doesn't really seem the type, does she?"

"Well, let's ask her then." Aurora raised a finger toward Evangeline. "Are you hiding any crimes, Miss 'Fox'?"

"Like what?" Evangeline asked mildly. "High treason? Regicide?"

The others laughed, but Aurora scowled. "Treason and regicide are not laughing matters, especially in the presence of royalty."

"Oh, lighten up, Aurora." Castor nudged his sister with his elbow. "We're all friends here."

"In any case, she's under the protection of The Hollow now." Jacks turned to Evangeline. "As I said before, you're welcome to stay as long as you need. And no matter who you are, as long as you respect the other guests then I'll personally make sure that they respect you. And your privacy." The last sentence was directed at Aurora, who wilted slightly.

"I'm just saying, she's weird."

"It's the Magnificent North," Ariel argued. "We're all weird, at least according to southerners."

"True," Castor agreed. "It's probably just a simple curse."

Lyric grinned. "Or maybe she's a foreign princess travelling in disguise. That's always a classic."

"Maybe it's none of our business." Jacks frowned at the group.

"The point is: we of all people shouldn't be judging books by their cover, considering just how much magic is in our lives." Ariel rubbed her arm idly. Did she already have a dragon scale tattoo hidden up her sleeve, or would that come later? "What seems 'weird' now might make perfect sense in the context of a Northern Tale later."

"The tale of the fox girl who wanted to be human!" Lyric clapped his hands in delight.

"And seduced an archer to do it," Castor added, earning a sharp look from Jacks.

"The Ballad of the Archer and the Fox," Ariel said dreamily. "You can't deny it has a ring to it."