“So, Ranger White, how was your visit with the Hatter?”

  “Maddening, as always,” I groaned, trying to massage away the rest of my headache. Rapunzel elbowed me, but as this was not a full Table meeting, I saw no reason to respond to her prodding.

  “Did you learn anything?” Counselor Horrace was a genius when it came to riddles and cyphers, which were often what the Hatter spoke in. Perhaps a bit standoffish at times. Overall, he was a kind and inquisitive individual.

  He once admitted to me that he had trained under the original spymaster for the rebellion. I had never met the man myself, but I heard stories. The man proved vital to keeping the rebellion under the old king’s radar, which must not have been an easy feat. The way I see it, he earned the right to disappear into obscurity and then some.

  “As per usual when dealing with the Hatter, while I have no doubt I learned something, I have no idea what I learned. The man can prattle on like no one’s business." This got a smile and a nod of understanding from Horrace. “But this time there was something different. Almost like a tinge of mania on top of his normal mania. He also wasn’t as obtuse as he usually is, which was…odd.”

  “And potentially concerning,” Horace said.

  “Yeah, just a touch." I shifted slightly and continued. " I thought about asking him what was wrong, but I was worried that might scare him off, so I didn’t. At least, not directly. I was able to record some of the interactions, with his permission, and I took notes on the rest on the way back. I figured you could look over them to see if I missed anything since I probably did.”

  “What were you able to glean? Was he focused on a particular topic, or did he seem scattered?”

  “He seemed rather intent on the concept of parts of a whole,” I explained, rifling through my notes. “No metaphors so obvious as pieces of a puzzle, but he mentioned pages of a book and the spokes of a wagon. He talked a lot about needing the parts to be truly whole, but the parts can function on their own as if they were the whole but never as strong as the whole?" Horace looked as confused as I felt during the conversation. " We talked in circles about that one until I mentioned sympathetic enchantment theory, and he let the topic drop.”

  “That must have been the thing he wanted you to know. Now you just need to figure out why,” the Quartermaster said. He was only ever known as the Quartermaster and once I learned of his connection to the rebellion, I understood why. When asked in private, he did confirm to me that he had been a message runner for the rebels.

  The man gave up his own name to further a cause most were too afraid to believe in, and once the old king was gone, he never took up his name again. Perhaps it was out of respect for what he had to do, a way of honoring those who had sacrificed everything to see the king fall. Perhaps it was out of fear one day the king would return, or someone else would take his place, and the world he had worked so hard to build would come crumbling down.

  I never asked.

  “Were there any other concepts he was fixated on?” Horace asked. My eyes flicked briefly to the clock. I would need to be going on soon to check in on another project I was overseeing. The only reason I had been given leave to speak with the Hatter was due to the fact he only came to us when it was important and then, he would only ever speak with me.

  “He talked a lot about stories. The fact that they are always told by the victor and the storyteller decides what is true and what is not. He seemed almost lucid when he told me the power of a story can redefine the truth and some stories are never really over.”

  I could feel Rapunzel’s eyes boring into me, but I ignored her. No need to give them more cause for concern.

  “Do you think he believes the old king could…” Rapunzel let the question trail off, likely afraid to finish it.

  “No, absolutely not. I asked him if that was what he meant and he gave me the most straightforward response he has ever given. If the people of Wonderland felt there was a chance the old king could possibly return, they would close any connections they have to this realm. No, I think there is something else going on and his rambling won’t make sense until we get on the trail of whatever it is.”

  The two men relaxed somewhat at my words and Horace started to say something, but a knock at the door cut him off.

  “Oh my, is it time for you to go already?” He looked up at the clock.

  “I do believe so. Apologies for not being able to stay longer, but I have other matters to attend to. If you have any other questions, send them to my study and I will answer them upon my return.”

  “Very well. Thank you again for being willing to take time away for this.” Horace stood and bowed his head towards me.

  “Of course.” I returned the gesture.

  Rapunzel waited until we left the room and were down the hall before she spoke.

  “How could the Hatter possibly know about the stories?”

  “How does he know about any of the stuff he has known about the past several times he requested a meeting? I have long stopped questioning that strange man.”

  “Do you think he was trying to give you a hint as to who or what is behind this?”

  “Possibly. It certainly confirmed my belief there is someone behind this. I imagine we will have more answers soon.”

  “Think there’s another story?”

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  “Between the fact they have been escalating and the fact the Hatter mentioned them specifically? I know for a fact we aren’t done with this. And I’d be willing to wager it's bigger than we realize.”

  “Wonderful.”

  My next meeting was significantly more somber. Dina was there, as expected, but I was shocked to see Circe joining us as well.

  Being head of the Rangers, she had the right to sit in on any meeting she so chose. It was something she did quite regularly to keep herself up to date on everything that was going on. She claimed being part of those meetings gave her greater insight into what was going on more than reading reports ever could.

  That said, something told me this was not merely a random drop-in.

  “Somethings changed,” I stated.

  “Yes, it has. If you will take a seat, we can begin our meeting,” Dina said.

  I maintained eye contact with Dina as I sat down, reading the concern in her eyes. There was the tiniest dash of fear there too, but also no small amount of confidence. This assuaged some of my unease. Circe, as usual, was harder to read.

  “My lady Circe, it is a pleasure to have you join us,” I said, inclining my head towards her. A warm smile spread across her face as she returned the gesture.

  “I have been following your investigation of these stories closely and your mentor has been keeping me apprised of your theories. You have done well so far, both in this and in your other duties as a Ranger.”

  “It means a lot to hear you say that, my lady. Am I correct in assuming your presence here has something to do with the stories?”

  “Indeed. I don’t need to tell you why an occurrence such as this would be cause for concern. So far, few outside of this room are aware of the situation, but at the rate things are going, we may need to change that soon. Before I do anything, though, I wanted to hear from you. What do you think is going on?”

  I leaned back in my chair for a moment, pondering her question. It was something that had been haunting me since I first became aware of what was going on. The stories started out small. Then grew in scale, some delving into the downright odd. Our experts on magical creatures were still scratching their heads over the ordinary goose with golden eggs last time I checked in with them.

  “Dina and I have kept this quiet so far because we knew it had the potential to cause some people to panic. There is still a lot I don’t know about what is going on. One thing I am certain of is this is not a return of the old king, as some might fear it could be. Things would be progressing very differently if that was the case. This feels more like someone trying to create a similar kind of story magic to whatever the old king was using to control people.”

  “Do you think such a thing could be achievable?” Circe asked.

  “Do I think someone could fully recreate the power he had? No." I shook my head. " There are too many pieces that could not be replicated. Magic today is not quite the same as it was then, and there are too many who would fight it,” I explained. " Some could feasibly create something similar, if they were clever about it and patient enough to not rush things. For what purpose, I do not know, but I doubt it is one we would approve of.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Dina said. “The sooner we get a handle on this, the better. The last thing we need is word to get out about what is going on.”

  “Agreed on both counts. It would only result in a panic, which would complicate things even further. If things continue to escalate, though, I do recommend we start reaching out to our neighbors, so they aren’t blindsided by this,” I said, rubbing my temples.

  I realized belatedly that recommending such a thing could be considered impertinent, even with my status among the Rangers. Circe was nodding along, though, so I figured I had not crossed a line in this situation. Toed it, perhaps, but did not cross it.

  “Such thoughts have crossed my mind, and I have alerted them something strange is going on,” Circe said. " I have yet to share any details, however, since there is little, we know for certain about this situation. That is why I wanted to be a part of this meeting. I wanted to hear your thoughts on the situation.”

  “The situation has changed, hasn’t it?” I asked, looking at Dina. She nodded, shifting forward in her seat.

  “A new story has appeared. This one was found not too far from here,” she said.

  “When?” I asked.

  “Not long after you left to meet with the Hatter. Thankfully, we were able to get to it before anyone else could.”

  “Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner?”

  “That was my decision,” Circe stated. “I wanted to know what the Hatter had to say, and I knew he would speak to none other than you. It was determined the events in the story would not be happening for a few days at least, so I decided it was worth the wait.”

  I deflated somewhat at her words, noticing the look Dina was giving me.

  “I apologize for my impertinence.”

  “There is no need to apologize, Ranger White," Circe said gently. " I appreciate your passion and dedication in this instance. I also know how draining the Hatter can be on one’s manners.”

  “He certainly is a unique individual,” I admitted. " I think he is aware of the stories. He talked about the power of stories to reshape the truth and how one needs to watch the words they use lest they have more power than they expected. He did not seem overly concerned, but he was more focused and less flowery when he talked about it. I decided it would be best to deliver the recording of that part of our conversation to my mentor or yourself, instead of passing it off to Horace.”

  I carefully slid the stone across the table to Circe's waiting hand, where it was quickly grabbed and tucked into a pocket. Dina nodded approvingly, and I felt some of my nerves melt away.

  “I will review this later. In the meantime, I have another mission for you," Dina said apologetically. " I know this is a stressful situation and normally I would allow you a few days to rest and recover…”

  “But the story comes with a timeline and it's important the ending doesn’t come to pass?” I offered.

  “That is correct. There are a few ways you can stop this from happening, but you may need to stay on this until the ending to know for sure. The stakes are much higher than any of the previous stories.” Dina held out a tattered scrap of paper.

  The air around it hummed ever so slightly with a sense of potential. Experts in a number of fields spent days trying to discern the nature of the magic on the other pieces of paper with not much luck, much to my annoyance. The only thing I could glean for certain was the magic was ancient. Any other facts eluded me.

  This page was bigger than most and as I skimmed it, my eyes grew wide.

  “As you can see,” Dina said, “the person behind this is growing bold. I’m sure you understand the importance of ensuring this doesn’t happen.”

  “Of course. Are the Statesmen aware?”

  “They will be made aware soon, but as there is much, we do not know. I don’t want to risk them interfering and costing us valuable intel. Much as I would like to send in an army, I know the fewer outside influences we have, the better.,” Circe said pointedly. "That is why I am sending in my best Ranger. I have seen what you can accomplish on your own, and I know you can act without leaving a trace. Do what you can to stop this story from coming true and pay attention to what happens. Perhaps on your own you will be able to glean something we’ve been missing. We need answers and we need them soon.”

  “I won’t let you down.”