“You come from the world outside the Book, correct?” the dodo said.
Sabrina nodded. “We’re here looking for—hey! Where did Pinocchio go?” She scanned their surroundings. The little traitor was nowhere to be seen.
“He must have run off in all the chaos,” Daphne said.
“This Pinocchio is important to you?” the dodo squawked.
“We’re in this book to save our brother from a man known as Mirror. To stop him, we made a deal with the Editor. If we capture Pinocchio before he can make changes to his story, then the Editor will help us with our problem. We’ve been trying to find the little jerk and now we’ve lost him!”
“We can help,” the Cheshire Cat said. “Then you can free us.”
“Absolutely not!” Sabrina said. “You will slow us down.”
“You agreed!” the White Rabbit argued.
“I did not,” Sabrina said. “I barely understood a word you said. I was a bit distracted, trying to keep my head from being cut off.”
“I’m not sure we can take them even if we wanted to,” Daphne added. “They aren’t real.”
“The second we leave the Book, we’ll be as real as you,” the rabbit said.
“You don’t want to leave this book anyway,” Sabrina said. “The town we live in is on fire and our house is not much more than a demolition site.”
“You say all that like it’s a bad thing,” Puck said, surprised.
“Anything would be better than the endless tedium of being a character in a story that never ends,” the dodo said.
“What does ‘tedium’ mean?” Daphne asked.
“Tedium is kind of a boredom due to repetition.”
“What does repetition mean?”
“Having to do something over and over again.”
“It’s like brushing your teeth or changing your underwear. Eventually you just give up,” Puck said.
The Cheshire Cat ignored him. “This story never ends. When it gets to the last page, we are all sent back to the beginning. Each day we say the same things, wear the same clothes, and a few of us meet the same untimely deaths. Imagine living a life where you cannot make your own decisions lest you be devoured and rewritten. Imagine being stuck in the same day, forever and ever.”
“I just want to chase squirrels!” the puppy whimpered. “That’s all, but the Editor is mean. I did it once and he sent the monsters to fix me.”
“None of us volunteered to be in a living history book, and no one asks us if we are happy. The Editor is unsympathetic to our plight; thus, we have come to this drastic decision. The only way to escape our bondage is to escape the Book,” the White Rabbit said.
“The Editor is not going to be happy,” Sabrina warned. “We’ve met him, and he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’s going to be pleased that you four are taking a vacation.”
“Who put him in charge? He rules over us without thought or mercy,” the dodo said. “Any little change in the story and our very existence is wiped clean.”
“If things are so bad, why haven’t you gone through one of the doors yourself?” Daphne asked.
“We’ve tried!” the puppy barked. “We can’t open the doors. Only outsiders can do that.”
Sabrina took a deep breath. She wished she could get away and think. That was the problem with being a Grimm—there was never any time to contemplate a decision. If only she could find a quiet tree and some time to analyze the characters’ requests. She hadn’t been lying about the Editor; she suspected he would be furious. But she could also be sympathetic. When she found out he was the Master, Mirror had told her a little of what his life was like as a prisoner. She would have done anything to free him if she’d known he was suffering, but he had never shared his pain. These four characters, strange as they were, wanted something she might be able to provide. On the other hand, they were four more people who were going to turn to her to lead them. They were four more people putting their lives and destinies in her hands. No! They couldn’t come. What if something went wrong?
“All right, you can come with us, but let’s get something clear, first,” Daphne said before Sabrina could answer. “We’re not strolling through these stories because they’re fun. We’re looking for Pinocchio. We can’t have anyone slowing us down. You fall behind—you’re on your own. If you get hurt, we will leave you. If the Editor sends revisers after you, we cannot stop to save you, and trust me, they’re gross—so keep up!”
“Agreed,” the White Rabbit said. “We will not be a burden. And in return, we offer our assistance in your search. This Pinocchio you speak of sounds like a powerful foe. You may need all the help you can get.”
“I will bite him!” the puppy said.