Addison's eyes closed, and as they did, she knew that she had lost her fight against sleep. It had been coming since the moment she sat down in the Queen's strange palace in the tree.

They had bobbed up and down while she listened, and now they were telling her they no longer had any reason to stay open. She was so tired, and so heavy, and so relieved that there may be an ending to the constant flinging across realms. Her thoughts swirled as the rest of her body gave way to the slumber. She thought about what the queen had told her the last time she'd been in the faerie realm.

The fact that she would get to choose someday, anyway. If she could just make it a couple more years, no matter what, she'd get to pick.

Words swirled around her brain, and in her ears.

"Without consequence," warbled in and out.

Would there be consequences when she chose at her given time?

She had no way of knowing. No way of guessing. She tried to open her mouth to ask, but her jaw was sewn shut and she couldn't find her tongue. So tired, so heavy, so warm and content.

Within the next breath, Addison was fast asleep, sitting right here in that chair.

----------------------------------------

"Addison."

Her eyes fluttered, closing tight when a thin line of light flooded in.

The words came again, a soft hissing sound that floated somewhere nearby, exaggerating the soft sounds. "Aaddisoon."

It annoyed her. That wasn't her name, she wasn't some child or puppy that responded to tone of voice or hand waving. She was old enough to be put to work and sent through trials; she was old enough to have earned a proper name.

"Addy."

She fluttered her eyes once more. She was groggy and still heavy. The word was losing meaning to her the more she thought it, but there was no other way to describe her iron limbs and anchored joints. The light was bright, but hurt less each time she glanced at it. With a low groan, she opened her eyes one last time and forced herself to look at the earth in front of her.

It was lush and green. The sun was shining down from up above, at an angle, she didn't understand at first. The trees were all around her, standing tall and apart from each other, and as she looked from the treetops down to the grass once more she understood the confusion. She had woken up while standing, which made no sense at all.

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Her lips pushed against each other as she searched for ways to ask the questions that nagged at her.

"Addison," the voice said. The queen's strange voice that defied any consistent description. "Its time to get started."

Get started, Addison thought. She licked her lips, glad that her body was listening to her now. It had felt like an eternity of strange sleep. Parts felt like a dream where other parts simply felt like benign sleep paralysis. No monsters on her chest, but no way for her to move or interact. It hadn't felt very comforting still. But now, at least, she was awake. Really awake with no rainbow dragons flying around her body, and no invisible chains holding her down in a black abyss.

"It's time for you to find the first door," the queen said.

"Find?" The words came out of her mouth and hit her ears like a freight train. How long had it been since she had spoken? An hour? A year? She couldn't tell, because both the motion and the sound felt foreign. It felt like she was listening to someone else mimic her, yet she had felt her own muscles move. She recognized her voice, but something disconnected it from her body.

Everything was wrong. She shook her head while waiting for an answer, hoping some grogginess would come away.

"Yes, my little one. You must find all 3 doors on your own. Once you take your first step, I must leave you. It's the terms of the arrangement."

Addison looked down at her feet. They gave her no answers, but she already knew she didn't really want to move them. She was having doubts about the entire situation and wondered if she should have asked more questions.

I took a deal with the queen of tricks. Of course, I should have asked more questions.

Anger and youth had decided for her before the doubting part of her mind had been given a chance to take part. She felt more than a little stupid, but it didn't matter. There were no other choices to be had, and she would never admit her doubt out loud.

"Where are the doors?" she asked.

The queen laughed. It seemed to last forever, getting louder before eventually subduing as the faerie gasped for breath. It seemed out of character, so human — so childish. Addison supposed that those in the faerie realm had a grand and strange sense of humor, but she couldn't say she had ever heard laughter like that before.

After the queen had finally caught her breath and calmed down, she moved in front of Addison and seemed to compose herself. She looked like she always did, with giant wings and glimmering eyes. But her shadow seemed much bigger like it was looking around them and soaking up something in the air. "I can't tell you that. I can tell you there is one in this realm. You must start in the forest and find the clues yourself. From there..." The queen paused.

She looked around them, and then looked back at Addison, making eye contact that felt like a laser. "You must follow your path. Once you take that first step, it is on you. The first step starts the journey, and it won't end until it ends. When you finish, you will find yourself with me again. I will take you to the higher court."

"Court?" Addison asked, raising an eyebrow.

The queen shook her head. "No no, little one. Let's not go there now. You must focus on the path ahead of you now. And you will need your energy." She smiled, her lips forming a lengthy line that curved up high.

Addison shook her head as if she was mirroring, but she couldn't wrap her around anything. She wasn't sure that she would be able to, so instead she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She intended to focus on the end of the path. She needed to focus on finishing and getting out of the nightmare that had been her life.