Lizzie Hearys slid a thin book titled "Wonderland! A Libretto of Whimsy" back onto the library shelf. She hadn’t enjoyed it. Not at all. It hadn’t been a proper book, nor even an improper one. “A bound thing with words” was the fairest description she felt she could give it. And yet, it had Wonderland in the title, so she had finished reading those inadequate words nonetheless.

Though to be fair, unless a book about Wonderland managed to transport her back home again, she would always feel that the tome had failed her.

Lizzie: Off with your head!

The words echoed back at her. The library was empty, most of the students still in class or out in town. Only she, you, and Kitty Cheshire had remained at Ever After High, having no place to go.

No home… She felt a twinge near her heart. After the Evil Queen poisoned the wild magic of Wonderland, Headmaster Grimm ordered all the doors, portals, and wells to Lizzie’s homeland sealed against the infection.

Only a few Wonderlandians had escaped, like Madeline Hatter and her father, who now had the Tea Shoppe in Book End. That was where Maddie lived when she wasn’t at school. But like Kitty Cheshire, Lizzie was never not at school.

She looked over to where you were studying with Kitty. A whole month had since passed since you joined Ever After High. Ruby was having fun with her new friends, some underclassmen you had meet in passing, while you were focusing on your studies and spending time with your friends.

Lizzie wondered where you and Ruby would go for when Chapter Breaks starts. That's their version of summer, just in case you didn't know. But, still, did you ever go back to Oz? Even though there's not much left?

Her finger traced the spines of the books on the shelf looking for another title that had something— anything—to do with Wonderland.

Wonderstruck...Wonder Princess… Wonder Red Now and Other Palindromes…

She grabbed an enormous volume titled Wonderful Wizards, Volume Two: Lands N–Z, exposing a severed head sitting on the shelf behind it. Lizzie startled and dropped the book onto her foot.

The eyes of the head opened.

You lifted your head and looked over in worry. However, that worry left when you saw just who the head was.

Kitty: Could you keep it down? I’m trying to be headless here.

Lizzie stomped her foot. Looks like she didn't appreciate Kitty's "prank". Sighing, you closed your book and got up. You decided to make your way over to make sure they didn't start fighting.....again.

Lizzie: Ugh! Save the pranks for someone else.

Kitty’s head moved out, appearing to float off the shelf and at Lizzie, her eyes wide. Lizzie just rolled her own eyes.

Y/N: Aren’t you embarrassed to be walking around like that?

The rest of Kitty Cheshire brightened into visibility.

Kitty: It’s not really walking if you don’t have legs or feet.

She had a point there. Actually, you had no idea how her whole...thing worked.

You didn't even know what to call it.

Lizzie: Oh, even if I can’t see them, I know what those sneaky feet are doing under there....

Kitty: Under where?

Lizzie: Underwear?

Kitty: Where?

Lizzie: In your dresser back at your dorm room, I should hope.

Kitty giggled, and Lizzie couldn’t help laughing a little, too. It was nice that at least one person in Ever After understood her.

You watched the two girls and smiled. You knew how close the Wonderlanders were to each other. Even Maddie treated them like sisters a lot of the time.

You kinda envied them. You only had Ruby to relate to in terms of your homeland. Though, you knew it was selfish to complain when the Wonderlanders also lost their home.

Lizzie: I believe I finished the last Wonderland book in this inadequate library, I am therefore bored. Croquet?

At the mention of the sport, Lizzie’s pet hedgehog, Shuffle, popped her head out of Lizzie’s handbag.

Shuffle: <Roink?>

Y/N: The hex is that thing?! Was it just hiding in your bag this whole time?!

How did it not suffocate in there? It was so small!

Lizzie: In a minute, poppet.

She petted the animal, but it jumped out and instead landed in your arms. You held the animal while Kitty rolled her eyes.

Kitty: Croquet again? Meh.

Lizzie: Don’t say ‘meh'. It’s unbecoming.

Y/N: And lazy.

Kittu: Myeh.

Lizzie: Better, but now I don’t know what you mean.

Lizzie picked up her handbag and walking scepter and began muttering under her breath.

Lizzie: Myeh…nonsense, and not the right kind of nonsense, not the kind of nonsense that makes good, solid sense. Come along, then, Kitty.

Kitty: I think I’ll just stay here for a while. In the library. Curl up with a good book.

She vanished, but appeared again ontop of the bookshelves. You moved Shuffle to your shoulder and tossed her up a book.

Lizzie: Really?

Kitty: Rlyeh.

Pieces of her fade away until only her mouth remained.

Kitty: And also fhtagn.

Then, her mouth vanished as well.

Lizzie: Well, I never!

You had no idea what a “fhtagn” was, but it sounded rude. She waited a moment in case Kitty changed her mind and reappeared with a croquet mallet.

She didn’t.

Lizzie: Fine! I shall go and play with Y/N, then!

Y/N: Huh?

She suddenly grabbed your arm and began to drag you along as she stomped out of the library.

Lizzie marched out the doors of the library, scepter held high. She kept right on marching, as if leading an army to battle, all the way out of the school and toward the croquet field.

You were not getting out of this.

You passed a little man raking leaves, one of Ever After High’s gardeners.

Kitty had told you that all the groundskeepers were part of Old Tom Thumb’s family and were usually too small to notice. Though little, this man was far larger than a thumb.

Besides, it was Kitty’s nature to be misleading. You suspected he had considerably more leprechaun than Thumb in his family tree. Besides, the name stitched on his coveralls read GREEN.

He eyed Lizzie as she marched onto the croquet lawn.

Lizzie: Croquet!

Green startled, dropping his rake.

Green: Um… what ye say?

Lizzie: I said croquet!

You sighed as you stared at the field. You didn't even know how to play croquet, yet here you were. Holding a club that was styled as a green flamingo.

Y/N: What she means to say is, we would like to play a game of croquet.

Green did not seem consoled by this clarification. His eyes darted around as if afraid others were about to run up and yell things at the grass, too.

Hesitantly, he raised a hand and gestured toward the small garden shed. That was where the mallets and hoops were stored, so she pointed that out to him.

Lizzie: That is where the mallets and hoops are stored!

Green nodded and started to rake again, still staring at her as if she was the odd one instead of the only person around who was helpfully shouting “Croquet!”

Except, you were on his side. Though, you did understand what she was trying to do.

In Wonderland, a clutch of card soldiers would have set up the croquet court, but in Ever After, Lizzie had to do it herself. With your help, of course

You placed the hoops in properly awkward locations, skirting the grove of invisible trees that had sprouted on the lawn. No way to cut them down until someone found an invisible ax, which was, you had been told, impossible.

Lizzie: Ha! Nothing is impossible.

Lizzie dug the hazard troughs, politely invited all the grass-dwelling insects to take their business elsewhere, and even managed a fairly good swamp wicket by dumping buckets of water into a hollow.

Proud of your combined work, you plopped Shuffle onto the grass. The Wonderland-bred hedgehog promptly curled up into a nearly indestructible ball, and Lizzie whacked her with a flamingo mallet.

The hedgehog sailed through the first hoop, rebounded on a second, and settled just on the edge of one of the hazard troughs.

Lizzie: Good enough. Your turn.

She waited for the sound of a mallet striking one of the inferior Ever After croquet balls, but it never came. She whirled, a mouth full of insults about insufferably slow players, only then remembering that you didn't have anything to hit.

Y/N: Uh, actually, I don't even know how this works. Also, is this animal abuse?

Lizzie: For Queen's sake! What in the vorpal sword is so hard about this?! You hit the ball through the hoops!

You nodded.

Y/N: Right, I got that. But, how is score kept? And what do I hit?

Lizzie was about to lecture you, but she suddenly stopped herself.

Lizzie huffed, stalking back to the garden shed, picking up all the hoops as she went.

She tossed them unceremoniously into the garden shed. She then walked back to you and crossed her arms.

A moment later she huffed impatiently and returned to put it all away properly.

Everything has a place and should be put in it. That will be your job, since people, things, and in-betweens tend to forget their place.

It was one of several special messages her mother had written for her on a pack of playing cards. The cards were full of advice and not-advice, instructions and out-structions, as well as the occasional verbal sneeze.

She pulled the deck out of her pocket, her thumb running over the word Lizzie her mother had inscribed on the case.

Y/N: What's that?

Lizzie looked back at you to find you leaning against the entrance of the shed. She held up the cards to show you.

Y/N: Playing cards. From Wonderland, I presume?

Lizzie: Everything has a place.… Except Lizzie Hearts, perhaps. I could put the croquet hoops back in the shed but not myself back in Wonderland.

Shuffle: <Roink?>

Shuffle snuffled at Lizzie’s boot.

Lizzie cleared her throat and kneeled down. She began to pet the hedgehog before she whispered to her.

Lizzie: What’s that, Shuffle? You need a place to call your own? Come on, let’s go play cards.

Lizzie stood up, taking the hedgehog with her. However, she stopped when you didn't move. You just stayed in the entrance. She frowned, but you didn't budge.

Lizzie: Why are you in my way?

You shrugged.

Y/N: Why are you sad?

Lizzie looked a bit offended.

Lizzie: How dare you accuse me of such a thing?! I am not sad! I do not get sad!

You stood there for a moment longer. Then, you looked out behind you. After not spotting anyone, you stepped forward, making Lizzie step back, before closing the door.

Now, you were both in the shed together.

Lizzie: What are you...

Y/N: No one can hear us in here. You can talk to me if you want to.

Lizzie narrowed her eyes before she stuck her nose up and walked passed you.

Y/N: I miss my home, too.

Lizzie stopped. She slowly looked back to see you had lowered your head. You played with your ring before you turned around.

Y/N: I know I can't go back there. Not really. It's gone. The Land is still there, but what made it Oz is gone. I'll never be able to go back. Not really.

You took your ring off and showed it to her.

Y/N: This is all I have left of Oz.

Lizzie looked at the ring. She then took a deep breath. She placed Shuffle into her bag before she walked over to you.

Lizzie: I am not sad.

So much for that.

You just nodded and slipped your ring back onto your finger. Might as well get out of here now. You were starting to regret closing the door and...

Lizzie: I am scared.

You stopped. You looked at Lizzie to see that she was uncharacteristically looking down. She never looked down. She was a future Queen who wanted to see what was ahead of her.

Shuffle nosed out of Lizzie’s handbag. This caused her to snap out of her state of mind.

Lizzie: Sorry, little one. I’ll build something for you. Your own place.

Y/N: We both will.

Lizzie looked at you in surpise. However, you sat down in the ground and smiled. Shuffle even jumped out and landed on your lap. After a brief moment of consideration, Lizzie sighed.

Lizzie: Very well. But not here.

She shuffled a fresh deck of playing cards and shook her head at the mess of foliage surrounding the Wonderland well. In her mother’s Card Kingdom, every plant was nurtured, every flower painted. Surely someone’s head would come off for allowing a well to be so neglected, its plants so overgrown and rebellious.

Lizzie placed two cards, leaning against each other, on the seat of the bench you were now sitting on. Then another, and another. In no time, you were placing the last of her cards on the top of a surprisingly accurate re-creation of the Ever After High girls’ dorms.

Lizzie: That’s your room there.

She pointed to one of the rooms on an upper floor of the construction. She had made that part, which was why she trusted it. Your part of the dorm was questionable.

You weren't used to building things with cards.

Lizzie: It’s the same one I stay in. You know, in the real building.

Y/N: Wait, you share a room with Dutchess? Doesn't she have a goose that screams everyone awake?

Lizzie: Her pet Swan, Pirouette.

Y/N: Goose, Swan...whatever.

Shuffle sniffed at the cards and then skittered into the card building, which had no trouble supporting her weight. Lizzie was fairy, fairy good at building things with cards. Shuffle climbed up the card stairs, and settled into the room Lizzie had said was hers.

Lizzie: It isn’t really to scale. At least, not hedgehog-scale.

You found the tone of her voice to be a bit odd. It was a tone of voice she reserved only for Shuffle and a few plants she thought deserved respect.

But, she didn't feel the need to try and hide it from you. She knew what kind of person you were. You wouldn't make fun of her or tease her, but she also knew that you wouldn't tell anyone.

Y/N: I think she likes it.

You nudged Lizzie and motioned to the card building. Shuffle was comfortably squeezed in the small room.

Shuffle: <Roink>

Still, Lizzie sighed.

Lizzie: Too cramped? And lonely, I suspect, in that big house, so far from your real home, so few friends who understand your wee little roink s and adorable little sniffles…

She looked down at her lap. You and Shuffle shared a look before she climbed out of the cards and onto your shoulder.

Lizzie plucked a corner card from the building, and it collapsed.

Y/N: Lizzie, you okay?

Lizzie didn't say anything.

As she gathered the cards together, she was struck with an unsettling memory of a time in Wonderland when lightning had struck the Card barracks and it burned to the ground. Those soldiers had been so despondent when waiting for the barracks to be rebuilt, with no place to call home.

Y/N: Lizzie, why were you trying to make a home fo Shuffle? Are you maybe....trying to live through her?

Lizzid: Are you implying that I need a home? Are you trying to say that I’m obsessed with the hedgehogs’ home because I, too, am feeling homeless and am empathizing with their displacement as some sort of metaphor for my own? That would be highly inappropriate on your part!

She turned to you, but she froze. She saw your face and found herself suddenly feeling guilty.

She didn't mean to snap at you like she did. She just didn't want someone to look at her like she needed help. Surely, you understood.

You just sighed.

Y/N: You know, I'm trying my best to try and help you, but you're making it hard. You act like I don't know how you feel.

Lizzie sunk down while you continued.

Y/N: Me and Ruby lost our home to. But we also lost our family. Our friends. And we can't get them back. Yet here I am trying to be a good friend and help you and all you want to do is sit here and get mad.

You stood up, setting Shuffle down onto the bench. You didn't feel like dealing with this. So, you started to leave.

However, before you were out of the area, Lizzie stood up.

Lizzie: OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!

You stopped. You turned around with a bewildered look.

Y/N: What?!

Lizzie clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

Lizzie: What I mean is...thank you.

You raised a brow.

Lizzie: I'm sorry that I snapped. But, I am the future Queen of Hearts. I'm not exactly supposed to be revealing all of this to you.

You fully turned around and crossed your arms.

Y/N: When you apologize, it's rude to try and justify your actions. But, I guess I know what you mean.

You uncrossed your arms and walked over to her. You then grabbed of her shoulders gently and smiled softly.

Y/N: But, right now, you're not the Queen of Hearts. Right now, we're just students trying to figure out our lives. So, if you ever need to talk, or you just want to play a game of croquet, still have no idea how to play, then I'll be here.

Lizzie stared at you for a second. Then, she bit her lip.

Lizzie: My heart is fake.

You flinched.

Y/N: What?

Lizzie: On my eye. It's not a birthmark. Not like my mother's. It's make-up.

She then let out a breath.

Lizzie: That was oddly refreshing. Who knew that talking about bottled up emotions felt this good?

Lizzie smiled. Suddenly she didn’t feel so lost, so forgotten. Suddenly she felt a little more like the Princess of Hearts and a lot more hopeful. Her destiny wasn’t impossible, because nothing was. Home was far away, but there were ways to bring it closer. Even if just a teeny-weeny-bleeny bit.

And she had you to thank for it.

However, you heard a yawn. You both looked over to a nearby tree to see Kitty, curled up on a branch, just appearing.

Y/N: Kitty, have you been napping the whole day?

Kitty examined her nails.

Kitty: More or less. Hey, you want to get something to eat? The Castleteria kitchen might be open.

Y/N: I can eat.

Lizzie: Yes! We shall eat!

You let go of Lizzie as Shuffle walked over and hopped back into your arms. She seemed to really like you.

Kitty: As you wish, Your Highness.

She grinned as she always did.

Lizzie nodded, but she couldn’t help looking at her friend sideways.

Kitty’s grin always made Lizzie wonder what Kitty was up to.

And wonder was a marvelous thing.

Secrets are secrets and cannot be told.

If anyone tells you a secret, they are

lying. If anyone tells you a lie, they

might be secreting. In either case, step

away. Lies and secretions are to be

avoided.

To succeed in life as a queen and

princess and further ruler, you need

four things in your brain and two in your pocket.

The pocket things are solid, and the brain

things are not. Be sure not to mix them

up.

Puddles are the thing you think is the

thing, but is really the top of the thing,

and the bottom makes you drown.

Hair hides skin, but hide can also be

skin, especially if you have four legs.

Count your legs and comb your hair.

Depending on where you live, a boot

can be a foot case, a trunk case, or a

preposition. Be sure you know where

you are before getting dressed. When

in doubt, go barefoot.

Never believe a lie. Unless it’s the

truth—then go right ahead.

Fish love to be confused. Tell a fish a

riddle today that has no answer.

Clouds are well and fine up in the sky,

but never let one into your mind. Not

even if it says “Please.”

Tomatoes are sneaky. They love to

trick you into believing they are

strawberries or cherries or apples.

Before taking a bite, point at the thing

and declare, “You are a tomato!”

That’ll show ’em!

Yelling “Off with your head!” is a lot

more fun than actually following

through. Invest time in more pleasant

pursuits, like croquet and competitive

eating.

And no, I don't care if none of that made sense.

The End Is Just The Beginning....