Into the Realm

Chapter Thirteen: Meeting the Rebellion

Everything was unfamiliar. Everything was... unbelievably different. The air, the ground beneath Tessa's boots, the trees she passed. The fact that she was currently walking side-by-side with Ronan Brown and Heather-Jane Eulage, all the while following a fairytale character she admired as a child, was a thought so outrageous Tessa had to pinch herself several times in order to remember that this was real. This was very real and not a dream. Tessa stifled a yawn; this may not be a dream, but that didn't mean she couldn't dream about going to sleep soon. She was tired. Dog tired. So tired that she was ready to flop against that mossy boulder and proclaim the right to nap.

No, she wasn't just tired. Tessa was exhausted. She was being pushed past her physical abilities. Hiking through the woods was one thing, but hiking in warm, humid weather? Downhill? While wearing a thick sweater over an extra-large t-shirt and no pants? Wearing combat boots that were more for fashion than physical activity? If the wind blew too hard then her hot pink hipster underwear would be exposed to the world.

There had to be an easier way to accomplish this... whatever they were doing.

Red had been leading them through the forest for the better part of the hour. They moved at a steady pace, going further and further away from both the portal that got them here, and the last place where Aria was seen. The trees were so thick now that Tessa had a hard time making out Red's outline in front of her; it was no matter, though— she could at least hear Brown's racket while he was walking, so she could tell where they were going. He seemed to stomp on every crunchy leaf they passed. Tessa noticed that every time he crunched a leaf Red tightened her grip on her bow.

She rolled her eyes— typical Brown, not knowing the potential danger they were in.

Well, Tessa couldn't be one to talk, since she still had no clue as to what was going on. She had a vague idea: something about the Silver Queen, some horrible and mean evil person took over this world. And then there was some hero who was supposed to save this world— her, apparently. Tessa wasn't sure if she was supposed to know this or not, but Red wasn't trying too hard from keeping that part a secret. A trickle of sweat dripped down from her temple, almost emphasizing her sudden annoyance of her lack of knowledge, and she reached up to wipe her forehead. She cursed silently as she wiped her damp hand on the hem of her t-shirt and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater, choosing to not think about the hero part and to focus on the disgustingly hot weather part.

Tessa didn't believe in humid weather— she heard once that the South was famous for wet heat but she didn't believe in it. It didn't get this humid in Pennsylvania. Sure, there would be a few days during the summer when it would be unbearably gross outside, but those were the days when Tessa enjoyed staying inside. With air conditioning. And ice cream. With a good book and the movie inspired by the book to watch afterward. And if Robin called her up, bored out of her mind because it was the summer, then they would go out shopping or to a movie theater, or to a coffee house in downtown Trenningway— all of which had AC. But the Realm? Nada. Air conditioning was most likely only a dream. Tessa was more of an indoor kind of person.

She glanced over at Heather-Jane. The poor girl was sweating profusely as she trudged through the fallen leaves next to Tessa. She had tied her hair up into a bun to rid herself of the thick blanket of her curls, but Tessa felt a twinge of remorse. She had given Heather-Jane sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt to sleep in. It would have been comfortable and cozy in her cold house, but here? That, combined with the minor shock she was in, had to make her feel miserable. Tessa had wondered why Heather-Jane was unusually silent... but then she remembered the intense fear she must have felt when she was by herself in the Realm. When she saw Aria being dragged away. When her arm was injured by the creature—sorry, the Cheshire. When she spent two hours, dreadfully alone and violently terrified, in the Realm. Miserable? She was probably worse than miserable.