The Starling and the Hatter

Elise is running from her past.
Maddox longs to be her future.

Elise left everything behind. Her family, her livelihood. She’s determined to escape the brothers who tormented her and find her own way, but being a peddler and performer at heart, her only prospects are within the festival community. So she sets off to find a new village and transforms herself into the Starling. But when winter approaches and her prospects are bleak, a young hatter invites her to take refuge in his parents’ home. Does she dare trust the family she’s just met when she fears retribution from her own brothers?

Maddox Hatcher falls for Elise almost as soon as she walks through his door, but she’s fourteen and focused on survival, so romance is the last thing on her mind. Instead, he becomes her trusted friend and ally, a protector she can count on. But it’s been three years now, and when an old acquaintance comes into Elise’s life and catches her eye, Maddox realizes he can’t wait around forever.

With the constant danger of her brothers finding her, Elise must be vigilant in guarding her identity and her safety. But nothing can prepare her for the encounter that will inevitably come.

Inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this story follows Elise down the rabbit hole of the traveling festival performers, and her friendship with Maddox, the hatter who loves her.