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Authors: Andrew Buckley
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understand her?” asked Robert.
Veszico looked at Robert with her dark eyes and shouted in her tiny ringing voice.
“Yes, we all can,” said Lily. “She says don’t interrupt her.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, uh… miss.”
Lily turned her attention back to the Fairy, standing with her arms folded across her chest. Her wings twitched impatiently. “I understand your kinship with the rabbits and I know you’re upset…”
Veszico shook a fist and pointed back to the door.
“Yes, it was Rumpelstiltskin who slaughtered the rabbits but that doesn’t mean you should…”
Veszico leapt into the air and began to glow red, then white, then burst into flames. Many people kept their emotions hidden, others wore their emotions openly. Fairies preferred a much more dramatic display; when angry, they simply burst into flames.
“Veszico!” shouted Jack but it was too late. The Fairy took off out the door. “Damn it, Lily, you could have grabbed her first!” Jack jumped to his feet. “Take the Othasider and go visit the Historian.”
“Jack, you know I can’t.”
“You can and will; we’ll need to know what the Dwarf is planning. He hasn’t been out of the Tower long but it seems he already has an agenda. Find out what it was he was trying to do before we put him away. I’m going to go after Veszico and hope I can find her before she finds Rumpelstiltskin. Thank you for your hospitality, White Rabbit; next time we meet I hope it’s under better circumstances.”
With that, Jack left the room.
Robert turned back to the Rabbit.
“You said before that the Dwarf, Rumpelstiltskin, showing up in my bathtub was very interesting. Why is that interesting?”
“I wish we had time to stay and chat,” said Lily, “but we need to get moving. It’d be an advantage to get as far North as we can before sunset.”
“I’m sorry to see you leave so quickly but I suppose I have my own work to do here. A word of advice for you, Lily, my dear. Don’t underestimate the Dwarf. If Jack is right, and he already has an agenda, he’s probably several steps ahead of you in this dance and you’ve yet to even learn the tune. And moreso, your unlikely partner here probably can’t even hear the music yet. What I can tell you is that the Dwarf came for my blood and he took it straight from the source.” The Rabbit placed a paw over his bloodstained fur where the wound had been. “This means he intends to travel to Othaside again soon. It was nice to meet you, Robert Darkly. While I fear your life will never be the same again, maybe that’s just the way it’s supposed to be. My thoughts go with you both.”
Lily and Robert stood as the Rabbit hefted himself from his recliner.
“Actually, there is something else we need from you. Robert doesn’t have a passport, and if he’s to come with me on this chase he’ll need one.”
Robert shook the tiny vial of blood attached to a silver chain around his neck.
“This is a passport?”
“Yes, the blood of the White Rabbit will allow you to pass through any door and it will take you to a location in Othaside,” said Lily, “Travelling through a door without the passport will just send you to another location in Thiside. The contents of that vial are highly coveted. All Agents have the same blood that you have around your neck and there are some people who would kill to have it.”
The White Rabbit had shuffled back to his living room to pack some food for Lily after furnishing Robert with his first ever piece of jewellery. The tiny vial was made of glass but the silver necklace was intricately woven. Its actual origin was the Northern foothills of the Grimm Mountains where the seven Dwarves had mined for the last three hundred years.
“But why? Couldn’t anyone just come here and purchase some blood? You said it was a commodity. Commodities can be bought and sold.”
“It’s true and sometimes people are granted temporary passports, a watered-down version of the
Veszico looked at Robert with her dark eyes and shouted in her tiny ringing voice.
“Yes, we all can,” said Lily. “She says don’t interrupt her.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, uh… miss.”
Lily turned her attention back to the Fairy, standing with her arms folded across her chest. Her wings twitched impatiently. “I understand your kinship with the rabbits and I know you’re upset…”
Veszico shook a fist and pointed back to the door.
“Yes, it was Rumpelstiltskin who slaughtered the rabbits but that doesn’t mean you should…”
Veszico leapt into the air and began to glow red, then white, then burst into flames. Many people kept their emotions hidden, others wore their emotions openly. Fairies preferred a much more dramatic display; when angry, they simply burst into flames.
“Veszico!” shouted Jack but it was too late. The Fairy took off out the door. “Damn it, Lily, you could have grabbed her first!” Jack jumped to his feet. “Take the Othasider and go visit the Historian.”
“Jack, you know I can’t.”
“You can and will; we’ll need to know what the Dwarf is planning. He hasn’t been out of the Tower long but it seems he already has an agenda. Find out what it was he was trying to do before we put him away. I’m going to go after Veszico and hope I can find her before she finds Rumpelstiltskin. Thank you for your hospitality, White Rabbit; next time we meet I hope it’s under better circumstances.”
With that, Jack left the room.
Robert turned back to the Rabbit.
“You said before that the Dwarf, Rumpelstiltskin, showing up in my bathtub was very interesting. Why is that interesting?”
“I wish we had time to stay and chat,” said Lily, “but we need to get moving. It’d be an advantage to get as far North as we can before sunset.”
“I’m sorry to see you leave so quickly but I suppose I have my own work to do here. A word of advice for you, Lily, my dear. Don’t underestimate the Dwarf. If Jack is right, and he already has an agenda, he’s probably several steps ahead of you in this dance and you’ve yet to even learn the tune. And moreso, your unlikely partner here probably can’t even hear the music yet. What I can tell you is that the Dwarf came for my blood and he took it straight from the source.” The Rabbit placed a paw over his bloodstained fur where the wound had been. “This means he intends to travel to Othaside again soon. It was nice to meet you, Robert Darkly. While I fear your life will never be the same again, maybe that’s just the way it’s supposed to be. My thoughts go with you both.”
Lily and Robert stood as the Rabbit hefted himself from his recliner.
“Actually, there is something else we need from you. Robert doesn’t have a passport, and if he’s to come with me on this chase he’ll need one.”
Robert shook the tiny vial of blood attached to a silver chain around his neck.
“This is a passport?”
“Yes, the blood of the White Rabbit will allow you to pass through any door and it will take you to a location in Othaside,” said Lily, “Travelling through a door without the passport will just send you to another location in Thiside. The contents of that vial are highly coveted. All Agents have the same blood that you have around your neck and there are some people who would kill to have it.”
The White Rabbit had shuffled back to his living room to pack some food for Lily after furnishing Robert with his first ever piece of jewellery. The tiny vial was made of glass but the silver necklace was intricately woven. Its actual origin was the Northern foothills of the Grimm Mountains where the seven Dwarves had mined for the last three hundred years.
“But why? Couldn’t anyone just come here and purchase some blood? You said it was a commodity. Commodities can be bought and sold.”
“It’s true and sometimes people are granted temporary passports, a watered-down version of the
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