The drawers were sparse, just the way she had left them. On the bottom were clothes that didn't fit her anymore because she had gone through a growth spurt in the faerie realm about a year ago. The top was socks, underwear, and two books she'd read a hundred times but hadn't gotten rid of yet, and in the middle were the things she was actually looking for.

Not fresh - but an extra pair of folded jeans, a handful of shirts, and the two dresses she owned on all of Earth.

Her possessions on each realm were meager, something she tried not to think about very often. They rotated when they needed to, make sure she was dressed, fed, and sane enough to continue with her life and errands and tasks, but she was pulled away too often to collect anything of real interest. Everywhere she lived was tricksters who moved things she didn't have attached to her body.

Addison sighed, wondering what she would do with herself once she picked a single place to live. What would she buy? What would she collect? Where would she settle down?

The thoughts rolled through as she stripped off her dirty, ripped clothes. Would she buy a closet full of gowns, like the ones royals wore when they crossed through the town square? Or would she live in ordinary clothes, eventually donning an apron and finding a job at a shop in some town? She pulled a pale green cotton dress over her torso.

She couldn't remember when she had gotten it, but the hem still sat at her knees.

Things had been too wild recently. Her memories were slipping and blurring together. Her quest needed to be over already before she lost control.

Her door opened, slamming against the wall behind it, startling her out of her thoughts. A recurrence she was thoroughly tired of, and she had only been at the witch's house for a few minutes.

Five? Ten?

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"Are you done, your highness?" Mathilda asked, standing in the doorway. She had a hand on one hip and a mug in the other with steam coming out of the top.

"I'm dressed." Addison smoothed down the wrinkles in her dress before trying to stand a little straighter. It was nice to be in a clean outfit but also strange. Like the trip between the last few realms had been a lifetime, and now she was donning a new skin.

"Good. Come to the table." Without another word from either person, Mathilda turned and walked out of the room.

She really is a very strange woman, was all she thought before walking back down the short hallway and sat on one of the table chairs. Nothing had changed in the few minutes she had been gone, not even an extra cup of whatever the witch had brewed. There was one difference, she corrected her thoughts — one of the other chairs was occupied.

At least it was at the head and not on the other side of the cauldron.

"I'm ready for you to explain yourself. Is the damn Queen going to come after me again? Or should I be looking for a hellhound?" Mathilda asked. It was grating.

Addison clenched her jaw. The conversation was open, and she knew logically… responsibly… honorably she should answer it with the truth. She should try to explain the deal she had made with the fairy queen, but she still wasn't sure it would make a lick of sense. She also had a feeling in her gut that opening that line of talk was going to open up a line of questions she couldn't even begin to predict.

She could already see the greed behind the old woman's eyes, wondering what special thing Addison had brought down upon her.

A lie…

She hadn't come up with a single crumb of one yet and would slow down her response significantly. She took a deep breath to center herself and try to pick a thought to land on.

"The flower," Addison said. Her eyes went wide, having no idea where the words had come from. "I got it from the herbalist and wondered if you were working on anything that needed something fresh." Her lips pressed together. There was no way to take it back now without everything getting a little bit worse.

"You —"

"Yeah," Addison interrupted. Rudely, she knew, but the only way she could see forward was just to keep barreling on. "So I came straight here, but if you need a hand for a little while, I'm allowed to stay."

"Wait." Mathilda's head tilted slightly to the side as if it might help her process the words that now swirled around the room.

"Let me go get it." Addison stood up and walked into the room without waiting for a response, exactly like the witch had done to her just a few minutes prior.