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Chapter One

And as I am an Honest Puck

Names

What’s in a name, really? I ether to make a word Does a rose by any other name really smell as sweet? Would the nant if it was called Romeo and Gertrude? Why is e call ourselves so important?

Heh, sorry, I don’t usually get philosophical I’ve just been wondering lately Names are, of course, very important to my kind Me, I have so many, I can’t even remember them all None of them are my True Name, of course No one has ever spoken my real name out loud, not once, despite all the titles and nicknames and myths I’ve collected forit right

Curious, are you? Wanna know my True Name? Okay, listen up, I’ve never told anyone before My True Name is…

Hahahaha! You really thought I would tell you? Really? Oh, I kill , they tie us to this world; they ground us in reality somewhat If you know your True Name—not everyone in our world finds it—you’re more “real” than if you don’t knoho you are And for a race that has a tendency to fade away if we’re forgotten, that’s kind of a big deal

My name, one of many, is Robin Goodfellow

You may have heard of me

Once upon a tiiven my natural charm, but there are those who just don’t appreciate my brilliance We weren’t supposed to be friends, the three of us, or even friendly with each other I was part of the Seelie Court, and they…weren’t But I’d never been one for following the rules, and who knew Queen Mab’s youngest son could be such a rebel as well? And Ariella… I’d known Ash a long tied her presence She was the buffer between us; the one who could calm Ash when he slipped too far toward his ruthless Unseelie nature, or advised caution when one of my plans seemed a little…impulsive Once upon a time, ere inseparable

Once upon a ti stupid And lost them both in the process

Which brings us to…now Today Where, onceready to head off on another adventure Just like old times

Except, he still hadn’t forgiven o And he hadn’t really invited , either I sort of…invited myself

But if I o anywhere

“So,” I said brightly, falling into step behind the brooding prince “Griht?”

“Yes”

“Any idea where he is?”

“No”

“Any idea where to start looking?”

“No”

“You do realize that doesn’t constitute ht ice-boy?”

He turned to glare at nored h his icy indifference was a victory Of course, when poking the Winter prince, one had to proceed with caution There was a fine line between irritation and having icicles hurled at your face

He glared at h his hair—a sure sign that he was frustrated “Do you have any suggestions, Goodfellow?” hereluctant to even ask And for just a moment, I sa lost he was, how uncertain of the future and what lay ahead Anyone else wouldn’t have seen it, but I knew Ash I could always catch those tiny flashes of emotion, no matter hoell he hid them It almost made me feel sorry for him

Almost

I grinned disar for my opinion, ice-boy?” I taunted, and that doubt vanished, replaced by annoyance “Well,” I went on, leaning back against a tree trunk, “since you asked, we ht want to check if anyone around here owes him a favor”

“That narrows things down,” Ash said sarcastically I rolledeveryone that ht owe our feline friend a favor, the list would fill several books

“Well, then” I crossed estion, Prince, I’d love to hear it”