We were all hesitant to declare our support. I think the only reason we did join is because Candy is the closest thing to a friend each of us has. Once we were all in, Double Agent, Messenger, and I started drafting a Contract. Candy put a stop to that.

"No Contracts," she said. "I don't want to bring magick into this. It's enough for me that I trust all of you, and I hope you trust me the same."

Then she brought in the eyes again, and we all broke down and agreed to do it like Normies. That put six Changelings and a human against the fifty-some-odd of the Freehold.

What do you do when you're outnumbered and outgunned? Get sneaky. That was what we all agreed was best, anyway. There was no chance we would survive attacking directly, and we couldn't hope to win a guerilla war. We estimated we had at most one week after we started moving to win or we were done and could look forward to slow, painful deaths or being sent back to Arcadia. Honestly, I'd take whatever death they offered me over that any day of the week.

Contrary to what Maud believes, Candy wanted to start with Onyx Monarch not because she hated him the most - she saved that place in her heart for Ashen Monarch, a fact we'll come to later - but because he was taking the throne with winter's onset. She said that actually made him more vulnerable if she played her cards right. None of us knew what she meant or what her plan was, only that her outsider friends would somehow play a role.

That secrecy set the tone for all our meetings. Candy was extraordinarily careful to make sure we only knew what we needed to know so we would always have plausible deniability. That's a thing with us humans where we bullshit our way out of compromising situations by having some half-arsed excuse for why we were there that everybody knows is a bald-faced lie, but they can't prove it's a lie and have to accept it because we've all agreed to the shared delusion of a concept called "innocent until proven guilty." This is called 'consensual reality', a concept I'm sure you find wholly alien.

Our neighbours - the Mages, Vampires, and Werewolves - all have an alliance with one another, that Concord we've mentioned before. Part of what helps them keep from breaking down and tearing out each other's throats is this annual party, something they call the Congressus Peculiaris, where they all get together and try to play nice. They held it on the winter solstice last year, and Candy's Mage friends invited her to attend with them. Of course she went, and of course our weepy Onyx Monarch was pissed when he found out.

He summoned Candy before a tribunal on Christmas Eve. I don't know about you, but I think anybody who'd put somebody on trial right before the holidays is a dick and deserves what happened to him later. I didn't know yet this was part of her plan, only that all members of the Freehold were required to attend her trial. The only clue I had that this was what Candy wanted to happen was when she gave me some blue powder and told me to mix it into Sugar Drop's drink while everybody was distracted.

"Dame Candy, you are accused of willfully disregarding the directives of the Courts to associate with outsiders. Furthermore, we have it on good authority you have on multiple occasions revealed the secrets of our magick to them, an act of high treason," he declared. "How do you plead?"

She stood up tall and looked him right in the eye to say, "If going to a party with my friends is a crime, then I plead guilty."

"So be it. You are hereby found guilty of treason and willful endangerment of this Freehold." All four monarchs carry weapons, and his is a sword. He drew it and held it against her neck. "The punishment for both is death. Do you have any last words before I dispense justice?"

She gave one of those little smirks, the one she uses when somebody's right where she wants. Normally, it's a good thing, like when she's planning a surprise party. This time? It sent a shiver up my spine.

"You haven't left me with anything to lose, so I hereby demand trial by combat."

Our Freehold system comes from Europe and was invented back when trial by combat was an acceptable way to judge somebody. Since the monarchs swore to uphold the ancient seasonal Contracts, they're bound to obey. We almost never use it because few crimes would be worth the risk. In a trial by combat, either side is free to use lethal force, and most monarchs are pretty good in a scrap or have somebody on retainer who is.

I'd imagine that's why Candy's demand took the wind right of Onyx Monarch's sails. His eyes widened, half the courtiers gasped, and Sugar Drop just passed out then and there. Must have fainted from the shock, poor thing. I decided to be a sweetheart and carry her home, just as Candy asked.

"Very well," he said, though we could all tell he really didn't want to agree. Ever had a Beast smirk at you? I would have pissed myself. "Our contest will take place within the Hedge. I will sequester myself, and you will have one full day and night to find me. If you find me within the allotted time, we will engage in battle. All standard rules regarding the use of Contracts will be in force. If you fail to find me in time, fail to obey the rules as written, or lose our battle, you will be judged guilty. Our contest will start at dawn tomorrow and end the following dawn."

"Sounds good to me," she said, an eerily wide grin on her face. Keep in mind that she's a member of the Dawn Court.

Candy was kept imprisoned at the Freehold, but she was allowed visitors. Since we didn't want to appear suspicious, I was the only one to visit.

"I need you to get a message to the Hobgoblins for me," she said once we were sure nobody was spying on us. "Tell them to put the plan into action. They'll know where to meet me."

"What about the rest of us?" I asked.

"You know the spot between the candied lava lamps and the singing pistachios? Be there by sundown. B-Y-O-B."

I took her message to the rest of the team, including Maud. We weren't thrilled about escorting a human through the Hedge, but we had no way of knowing which of us Candy would need. We assumed she wanted us to help her in the fight.

If I've learnt any one thing in my years chumming about with Candy, it's that what you think she's planning is probably wrong. I should have remembered that before making a Contract with those hunting knives I ... er, 'borrowed.'

We showed up to that little corner of the Hedge as requested to find Candy and a group of Hobgoblins sitting about a fire. No worries, no tension in the atmosphere, seemingly not a care to be had. They were holding hands, bobbing back and forth as they sang a little ditty about spearing the captured animal and cooking it over the flame for dinner.

Behind them was a section of thorny vines that trembled and wept. My curiosity got the better of me when I realised none of the revellers were in a hurry to end their song. I took a peek into the vines.

I found what I first thought was a tumorous growth from a flesh tree. That lump turned out to be Onyx Monarch, but I could only recognise him thanks to the crown that lay on the grass beside him and some shreds of his costume. He looked as if he had quadrupled in size, just this disgusting corpulent mass that was trying desperately to roll out of imprisonment amongst the thorns.

He finally gave up and lay there sobbing and pleading to be set back to rights. Candy stood, walked right over to his oversized head, and squatted next to him.

"Will you agree before all these witnesses to a Contract lasting one lunar month to grant me any one request without restriction at the time of my choosing?"

"I agree to the Contract as stated," he whimpered.

"And will you further agree before all these witnesses to a Contract lasting forever and one day pledging that you won't tell anybody what happened here?"

"I agree! Please, just end this curse."

Candy stood, looked at her Hobgoblin crew, and said, "Sorry, guys, I guess he decided to be agreeable in the end. Why don't you put him back to normal, and I'll make some of my special cupcakes for you instead?"

They cheered and went right to working their magick. In a moment, Onyx Monarch was back to normal. He didn't say anything, just took off like a bat out of Hell, while we all gaped at Candy.

"The hell?" I finally asked.

"The rules say we can't call for retainers, but they don't say anything about not calling for help from friends. These little guys," she patted the closest Hobgoblin's head, "are my friends, not retainers, just like you."

"So that's why you didn't want to form a Contract."

Candy didn't reply. She just did a little happy dance as she said, "One down, three to go. This is going to be fun." She giggled then, but it wasn't like the kind she normally used. I'm not sure how to describe it, just to say that it caused me to shiver again. "Ditto, did you take care of Sugar Drop?"

"Yeah, no problems there."

She took a deep breath in and out through her nose. "I love the scents of fear, campfires, friends, and victory in the evening. I hope Emerald Monarch is ready for the dry, stale, three-day-old-leftover-slice-of-cake-you-forgot-about taste defeat, 'cause we're taking him down next."

While I did help in bringing down Emerald Monarch, Maud was more directly involved. Want to take over?