"If were going to find Goodfellow, we should get started now. If hes hiding, or if he doesnt want to be found, we could be searching awhile."

She nods, looking quite reluctant.

He gently took her hand and crossed the meadow and slipped into the thick forest surrounding it.

She followed him wordlessly.

In the end, Puck found them.

The woods surrounding the cabin were sprawling and vast, mostly pine and big, shaggy trees with furry trunks. Ferns and pine needles littered the forest floor; the air was cool and smelled of sap.

Ash slipped through the woods like a ghost, following some invisible path, keen hunter instincts showing the way. As they hiked, they had to duck beneath branches and scramble over needle-covered rocks.

Ash brought them to a grotto surrounded by pine trees and stopped, gazing around. It was very quiet. Threads of sunlight slanted in through the trees and dappled the forest floor, covered in mushrooms and pine needles. The trees here were old, thick creatures, and the air seemed filled with ancient magic.

"Hes been here," Ash said, as a breeze stirred the branches, ruffling his dark hair. "In fact, hes very close."

"Looking for something?"

She glances over to where the voice was heard from.

There was Puck, lying on an overhead branch, smirking at Claire. His shirt was off, showing a lean, bronzed chest, and his red hair was all over the place. He looked more...I dont know...fey out here, something wild and unpredictable, more like Shakespeares Robin Goodfellow, who turned Nick Bottom into a donkey and wreaked havoc on the humans lost in the forest.

"Rumor going round these parts is that youre looking for me," he said, tossing an apple in one hand before biting into it. "Well, here I am. What do you want, your highnesses?"

She glances at Ash, refusing to say anything.

Ash caught her glance and stepped forward. "Something is wrong with Claire's glamour," he said, brief and to the point as usual. "You know more about Summer magic. We need to know whats happened to her, why she cant use glamour without almost passing out."

"Ah." Pucks emerald eyes sparkled with glee. "And so they come crawling back for Pucks help after all. Tsk tsk." He shook his head and took another bite of the apple. "How easy it is to forget grudges when someone has something you need."

Ash sighed, as if hed expected this. "What do you want, Goodfellow?" he asked wearily.

"I want the princess to ask me," Puck said, switching his gaze to Claire's. "Ill be helping her, after all. I want to hear it from her own frosted pink lips."

She tenses before looking up at him. She stares at him silently for a long moment. She rolls her eyes, "Puck, will you help me or not?" She mutters, clearly annoyed.