Free Along Came a Wolf (The Yellow Hoods, #1): Steampunk meets Fairy Tale by Adam Dreece

wooden railing. The view was breathtaking as the autumn sun touched the horizon and the adventurous day slowly retired. 
    The brilliant colors of the forest mirrored the mix of thoughts and emotions the yellow-hooded trio felt as they sat and thought about their day. They silently watched the leaves dance and the trees sway.
    All of a sudden, Elly hiccuped loudly. She tried not to look embarrassed. Her hiccups were more like a bear roaring than a mouse sneezing.
    Richy and Tee tried to ignore it and continue the thoughtful mood.
    Once again, Elly erupted in a hiccup. This time she was a bit embarrassed. Richy and Tee broke their silence and giggled.
    “It was terrifying,” said Richy, looking out at the sunset.
    “The hiccups or what happened today?” asked Tee, trying to resist the grin creeping across her face.
    Elly, trying to head off the teasing, took control. She looked at Richy. “You saved the day, Richy.”
    Tee nodded in agreement.
    Richy continued to look straight ahead. “Were you guys terrified too?”
    “Yup,” said Elly.
    “Oh yeah!” answered Tee. “That hiccup was monstrous.”
    Elly reached over and punched Tee in the shoulder.
    Richy smiled, nodded quietly, and then continued. “I was trying so hard to convince those guards to come. That older guard was just refusing and wanted to put me in jail if I wouldn’t just go away. I was scared he was going to shoot the lady guard when she started to follow me, but I was more scared of you guys getting hurt.”
    “You know, when I got captured, I was really scared,” said Elly. “I kept thinking that maybe I should have planned a little.”
    Tee turned and looked at her. “I’m glad you didn’t. There was no time. I was out of energy. They would have caught me if you hadn’t shown up when you did. You guys saved my life, and my grandfather’s. I don’t know how to repay you… I’ll never forget it.”
    They sat there in silence again, watching the sun dip a little further beneath the distant mountain range.
    After a couple of minutes, Richy said, “You’d have done it for us, Lala.”
    “Yeah, only you’d have done it with more style ,” added Elly, grinning.
    Richy sprang up and did an exaggerated imitation of Tee’s signature gestures. “Oh, yeah, and about a half dozen La-la’s ! Fear not, for here I am! La-la! La-la! Fa-la-la-la-la!” 
    All three burst into hysterics. It felt good to laugh.
    Tee stood up and leaned on the railing. “We have to head back before our parents wonder where we are.”
    As they started to walk down to the first floor, Tee said, “There’s one thing I keep wondering about.”
    “What’s that?” asked Richy.
    “What was all of this about? I can’t explain it, but I feel like there’s something evil out there.”
    “In the forest?” said Richy, a bit confused.
    Elly corrected him. “No—she means out in the world.”
    Tee nodded. “I feel like our fate is somehow tied to it. Does that sound crazy?” 
     “I know what you mean,” said Elly. “I feel like today was some kind of test.”
    Richy took it in, and asked thoughtfully, “And we passed, right?”
    “Time will tell,” said Tee. “For all we know, this was only the first part.”

    Nikolas walked up to his daughter’s log cabin. He was tired, but had cleaned himself up. He carried a bottle of wine, as he always did when he’d visit for dinner. 
    After wrapping everything up with the guardsmen and Captain Archambault, he was ready for a nice, normal evening with family.
    Jennifer was in the front yard splitting a few logs with an old hand axe.
    “Oh, hi Papa,” she said. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and glanced around. “Where’s Tee?”
    Instinctively, he looked around, but then remembered. “Oh, she went off with her friends. She said she wouldn’t be long.”
    Jennifer gathered some pieces of firewood from the ground, and then stopped. “You’re a bit early,” she said suspiciously. Her dad was notorious