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One jump ahead of the hoofbeats

One hop ahead of the hump

One trick ahead of disaster

They're quick, but I'm much faster

Here goes

Better throw my hand in, wish me happy landin'

All I gotta do is jump!

Vanessa's howl echoed off the walls, shaking the boxes around her as Hat Kid ran past. The floorboards wobbled and shook, opening up cracks beneath her. She hoped they would never grow larger enough to swallow her feet on top of all the horrible, horrible things she'd been through today.

Stupid. That was what all her friends would call her. She was so dumb. She'd been so close to helping Vanessa. And she'd messed it up. Messed up, like how she never noticed all the fake timepieces the Conductor was giving her, or how she let Mustache Girl find out about them.

"Get back here!" Vanessa shrieked. Her voice bounced off the walls in every direction. Hat Kid couldn't even tell if she was in front of her or behind her. When she peeked over her shoulder, she saw the black mist creep in from around the corner.

Why did she even bother trying? She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be collecting her timepieces so she could go home! Who cared if some lady stayed lonely forever?

Mustache Girl wouldn't. If Mustache Girl came here, she would have just locked her in the bathroom, or thrown her down the stairs. She wouldn't care who got hurt. If they were bad, she would be more than happy to throw them away.

As a shower of ice crystals ripped through the wall beside her, Hat Kid began to think that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Then she remembered how sad Vanessa looked, how hurt she was when she thought Hat Kid would run away.

"Where are you?" Vanessa's voice rang loud and clear over the tops of the boxes towering above. "Where are you?!"

She sounded closer this time. Hat Kid ran faster. She turned a corner.

It was a dead end.

Hat Kid boots skidded against the floor. She gasped and turned around.

The black mist crawled closer. Further back, she could see the strangled glow of Vanessa's lantern pouring in. It only got brighter, every second she stood there waiting.

Hat Kid's eyes flickered to the big wooden crates around her. The mist nibbled at her toes, and a cold feeling started to seep through her boots.

Thinking fast, she flicked her umbrella out. The tip smashed into the boxes. Overhead, they trembled, creaked, and crashed to the floor.

That should keep her busy, she thought.

With that done, Hat Kid turned back to the dead end. If she still had her hats, this wouldn't be a big problem. A change to her Brewing Hat and she could blast right through it. But since she couldn't, she had to find another way to escape.

Slowly, her eyes drifted up, and she was struck by an idea. If she couldn't get through them, what if she tried to go over?

She didn't have a moment to waste. Hat Kid grabbed onto a plank sticking out of the wall, and she pulled herself up.

"Where is she?"

Vanessa slammed into the side of a crate. Her hand clawed through the wood, shooting jagged ice crystals in all directions. Her head spun as she pushed off it and stumbled forward.

"Where is she?" she cried again.

Her gaze snapped onto Moony, watching her from his perch at the very top. He grinned back.

How should I know?

"How should you know?!" Vanessa grasped at the air. "You're up there! I'm down here! Please, you've got to tell me! I have to find her! Find her, before she... before she..."

And what will you do, once you have her?

"I..." The girl had tricked her. Left her alone, even after she said she wouldn't.

But was that before she lashed out? Or after?

No. She hadn't done anything wrong, she couldn't have.

"I don't know."

Vanessa shook her head and snarled. She didn't know? What kind of reply was that?

Of course, Moony whispered. She betrayed you. Just like your prince. The second she realized what you were, she fled. You can't ignore something like that, can you?

"No! Never!" She growled, anger welling up inside her. It crept up inside her like a patch of ice, curling inside her stomach. Her hands shook with the effort of keeping it in. Her lantern clanked along.

"When I get my hands on him..." she hissed. "When I get my hands on him, I'll... I'll..."

She stopped. What would she do? What did she do to everyone else?

No, she didn't do anything. They left her. They hated her, and they left her.

You'll what? Moony sneered. What will you do, Vanessa? Freeze her? Turn her to ice?

"Her?"

The girl. Who else?

Something else sloshed around in her stomach. It bubbled, frothed, and foamed. Vanessa slowed. She stumbled into a wall, leaning against it, and she clutched her head.

"Freeze her?" She shook her head. "No no. I wouldn't do that. Why would I want to... No, I don't want to. She doesn't deserve that. I can't..."

She grabbed a handful of her hair, anything to settle the boiling sensation in her head. "Please," she murmured. "You have to help me find her."

Then what?

"I'll figure it out when I find her!"

Moony's eye slits thinned. She must have looked so pathetic to him, but where else did she have to turn?

He didn't even say a word to her. All he did was nod his head off to the side.

Right now, it was all she could ask for. She had a girl to find.

Vanessa barreled ahead. Past rows and rows of boxes, each identical to the last. They could have stretched on forever, and she'd never have noticed.

But they had to come to an end. Her attic was only so large, and up ahead, she spotted a turn.

Was she around that corner? Vanessa couldn't tell. She couldn't hear the sound of the girl's footsteps. Not with all the crashing coming from above.

Vanessa looked up just in time to see an avalanche of wooden crates descend upon her. She barely had time to cry out before they buried her.

The crates proved to be no better than the floor when it came to shaking. They wobbled with every step she took, and the attic seemed to go on forever. She was so sure it was only a tiny room before.

Half those boxes weren't even there, last time she visited. It was like magic.

Magic, just like everything else in this stupid forest.

She didn't have much time to worry about that, not when the floor ripped out from beneath her feet.

Hat Kid yelped. The box tumbled down, and her foot slipped. She flung out her arms and, to her relief, felt solid ground under her boots.

She just kept running. Running from the horrible screeching behind her. A reminder that she'd done nothing to help.

Further down and far below, she saw a faint blue glow.

It couldn't be. It was too good to be true.

But when she looked behind her and saw ice starting to edge up behind her, pointy and sharp, she realized she didn't have any other option.

She jumped. Her boots smashed into the wood as she landed on the other side.

They buckled and tried to throw her into the pit below. Hat Kid didn't care. She had to get there, had to see.

An ear-splitting wail came from behind her. A cold breeze brushed over the back of her neck. Her hair flew in front of her face.

There was a crackle and a flash, and ice covered the floor.

It sparkled so prettily, coloring the planks such a nice shade of blue. Hat Kid might have stopped to admire it if her foot hadn't slid out from under her and dragged her over the edge.

The fall was a lot longer than Hat Kid remembered it. She sucked in a breath, her eyes going wide. Flailing her arms, she grabbed onto the first thing she could find, anything to make the landing hurt less.

Her fingers wrapped around something soft. A big blanket. She yanked it down with her.

When she hit the ground, it folded around her like a big hug. A really, really dusty one. She rolled herself free, hacking and sneezing, and slowly, she pushed herself to her feet. Dusted herself off.

The floor all around her was covered in blue.

At first, she thought it was ice, but it didn't glitter and shine like it.

Hat Kid dared to look up.

Before her, the timepiece lay on the ground.

Behind her, bits of wood scattered to the ground. Vanessa rose. Her lamp rattled in her rigid grip. Her hands quivered with... Anger? Disappointment? Despair? It was so hard to tell.

And that frustrated her. More than she could put into words.

She put her fist through a wall instead.

"Where. Is she?!"

Moony had no answer for her. Not for how she should have felt, nor where the girl had gone. His narrowed gaze said she should have known herself.

Vanessa glanced around, swinging her lamp before her. The fallen crates. They couldn't have tumbled down on their own. The girl had been here. Right?

To her right rang another crash. That had to be her. It couldn't be anyone else, there was no possible way.

Her feet carried her toward it. Mist oozed out to her front, ice-cold magic dripping from her fingertips with every step she made. It rolled out down the corridor, brushing over walls that stretched on and on and vanished in the distance.

A small part of her recoiled in terror. Where was she going? it cried out. This attic was a twisted maze, one she could lose herself in forever if she wasn't careful.

But that was crazy. Moony would never let her get lost.

Something snagged her foot. Vanessa screamed. Her arms flew out, lamp hanging at the front. They didn't stop her from slamming into the floor.

The icy fog swallowed her up. Vanessa gasped, and she sucked in a frigid breeze.

It was cold. Colder than she'd ever felt. She didn't even know anything could get this cold. It was enough to coat the inside of her mouth in ice.

Vanessa pushed herself off the ground. She sputtered, and flecks of white splattered over the walls.

She'd been tripped by another pile of crates, thrown to the floor by someone. The girl.

Vanessa looked up, down, and everywhere between for her. Over the boxes stacked high all around her.

Much higher than she remembered them being before.

What if the girl had taken a fall? From that high, she'd be hurt, and if she was hurt, it would be Vanessa's fault.

Except it wouldn't be. The girl would have never hurt herself if she hadn't abandoned her.

"The girl," she said to herself. "This is all her fault." It had to be. Yes, it had to be, because if it wasn't...

I have to find her.

Yes, she needed to find the girl. If she found the girl, it would all make sense. Before her, the corridor split in two. She could go left, or she could go right.

But which way had the girl gone?

Vanessa peered left. Moony smiled back. She looked right, but Moony's face was there waiting for her. Smiling that empty smile of his.

"Which way is it?" she growled.

He didn't reply. He didn't even move.

"Which way?!" she said again, louder this time.

His vacant eyes just stared. Stared straight through her.

"Tell me!" She howled. "Tell me, or I'll... do..."

Her face twisted. Her hand lunged for his neck.

Her fingers stopped an inch short.

She pushed. Tried to close the gap. Sweat drops, the first in so long, beaded the side of her face, as she forced her arm forward, but no matter what she did, it just. Wouldn't. Move.

Then she stumbled forward. Her hands grasped at the empty space, and wisps of smoke slipped through her hold.

Moony watched her from a few feet away. That damnable smirk, eternally frozen onto that pale blue mask.

Vanessa opened her mouth. A scream tore forth from her lips, and all her searing cold anger poured out in a roaring, frosty gale.

Never in her life had she been so happy to see its comforting blue glow. She reached out and pulled it close.

"I'm never gonna let you go," she whispered to it. "Never ever never!"

Not that it could understand her, or that it could feel anything, but it was the thought that counted, right?

A cold wind snapped her out of her thoughts. It tickled her toes and crept up to her knees, and when she looked down, she saw that terrible mist crawling up to her.

Vanessa couldn't be far behind.

Hat Kid had to hold back a cry. Scrambling to her feet, she looked over her shoulder. In the far back, a painting hung overhead. They hung all around, her showing people she had never met smiling and laughing.

And blotting them out was a shadow, cast over the painting at the very end. Vanessa's shadow. Stumbling and bumping against the walls.

Hat Kid turned on her heel and sprinted away.

She wouldn't stop now. Not when she was so close. She had the timepiece, all she had to do was find a way out. A window, a secret tunnel. Something, anything would do!

A crackle came from below. Hat Kid looked down. Her reflection looked back up from the sheet of ice on the floor.

Her boots squeaked, squawked, and slipped. Her hands waved wildly as she tried not to fall over. Only a second later, she spotted the turn but by then, it was too late to stop herself.

Hat Kid's face slammed into the crates. She heard them come loose above her. There was nothing she could do to stop it.

She pushed off the side, and the boxes came crashing down behind her. Her side skidded over the wall. She turned away, keeping the timepiece safe from harm.

Vanessa's roar shook the entire house. That was all she needed to get herself going again. Big paintings whizzed past her, a blur of colors as she slid faster and faster. Up ahead, another turn barreled toward her.

This time, she threw her umbrella out before her. The hook snagged on the corner. With a grunt, she pulled herself around, and she flung herself through it.

Right into the path of a big hole, leading down.

That's it! she thought. That's my way out!

For a second, she let herself hope.

She heard something crackle, heard it pop. Behind her, a wave of ice surged forward. She didn't need to look to know it was there, not when it had already reached her twice.

The hole got nearer. So did the ice. But the hole was so close. Once she was in, she would be safe!

Hat Kid threw herself forward. The ice nibbled at her feet.

The timepiece lit up the hole with a shiny blue glow. Her hands followed, and her head did too. Her feet banged against the sides.

Then she was sliding toward freedom. The bottom rushed up to meet her.

And she lurched back.

Hat Kid dangled high over it. She struggled. Whatever had her, though, it held on tight. Her breath locked in her throat, Hat Kid craned her neck over her shoulder.

Her cape remained stuck at the very edge of the passage. Tiny ice crystals swarmed over it like a million little white ants.

Her stomach plunged down. Hat Kid reached up. She yanked her cape, but it just wouldn't budge.

She was helpless to watch as the ice crystals inched closer to her face.

He was laughing at her. All around, his face watched her through a window of oil and vibrant colors. Following her as she staggered onward, her lamp held out ahead of her. It was all she had leading her forward.

"Why?" she said. "Why won't you tell me?"

Moony laughed harder.

Vanessa swiped at him. She tried to catch him, drag him back down. Once more, he slipped out of reach, and her lamp swayed precariously as it settled back down.

Her lamp... when did she have a lamp with her?

She charged at him. Her lamp came swinging around, but it passed straight through him.

"Come back here! Please, I have to know!"

Her words seemed to drive him further away. Every step she took brought him three steps back.

The realization drove panic into her heart. She couldn't let that happen. He couldn't leave her too!

A ragged cry broke out from her. She leaped forward, one last time.

And crashed into something.

Vanessa toppled backward. Some kind of thick cloth tangled her feet, but she grabbed onto the wall before she could fall. She blinked, clearing the dots out of her eyes. Then she blinked again.

Moony, her dear Moony, was standing before her, facing to the side. A window somewhere nearby let moonlight leak through. Bathed in it, his body glinted bright silver.

Carefully, Vanessa slipped around him. As she stepped over the tarp pooled around his feet, she stared at his face. His grin was still carved into his mask. Behind it, though, she could see his eyes.

She'd never noticed, but it had been years since she'd seen his eyes through his mask. All he had now were two hollow sockets.

But through them? His eyes were wide with fear.

Vanessa traced a finger over his cheek. It was cold. Cold, like the mist she'd almost choked on, only now it laced her fingers instead of her throat.

Somehow, that was more terrifying.

Moony was covered in ice.

Shocked, Vanessa took a step back. She looked behind him by chance, and looming over them both, she saw the painting. The very same painting she had in her room, the one with her, her beloved prince, and him.

They stared down at her now. Judging her, accusing her. Accusing her of what?

Her eyes drifted back down to Moony, shining a brilliant silver.

"Who... who did this to you?" she breathed.

You did, was her reply.

"No... no, it can't be my fault!" She fell to her knees. "It just can't!"

But why not?

Because... because Moony said so! Moony, he was always there to tell her it wasn't her fault.

Except now, he didn't say a thing.

"Please," she said, her voice beginning to waver. "Please, tell me it's not my fault!"

There were no whispered words of comfort for her.

This... this had never happened before. He was always there for her. Where was he now? She needed him, but where had he gone?

Her head fell. "Please. Tell me."

Silence.

Vanessa closed her eyes. She pressed her forehead against what was once her dear Moonjumper.

"Please... tell me you're still here."

He didn't.

The lamp slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor. Its glass casing shattered into a thousand pieces.

The wax spilled out. The candle inside licked the floor, and from it, its tiny flame began to spread.

It's a week late, but this chapter turned out a lot longer than I expected. Everything's come to this.

I'll try to get another chapter out by next week. Until then, I wish you all well, and stay safe.