Claudia Hatter's POV

She blinked once, then twice. The cold water hit Claudia's skin as she sank, trying to free herself. She screamed until she couldn't. Oh, yes, she screamed so loud until it felt as if her lungs collapsed. She thrashed in the water, her chest compressing, but her wrists were bound. Claudia's wails were muffled underwater as she desperately gasped for air to no avail. She was dying, but she refused to leave this world without making her betrayer—that traitorous asshole—feel remorse.

So Claudia fought back, kicking her tied-up legs to cause a splash; an uproar. She couldn't speak, but wouldn't let herself be silenced. No, she wouldn't let herself be powerless. She wanted to make the Traitor feel guilty and ashamed. Claudia struggled against the bounds as the water stung her glassy eyes. Above the surface, she saw the blurry shadow of the Traitor, watching her fight for her life.

I trusted you with my life, she thought hopelessly.

With my heart.

The unspoken words floated around her head as Claudia felt herself drifting. Not just further down the river, but from the mortal world. She was drowning and no one was coming to save her. What would her friends say? What would her younger sister think?

I am everything but powerless, Claudia Hatter drew her final breath in vain.

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Adelaide Hearts' POV

Adelaide Hearts drew a sharp breath as she paced around her bedroom. She was growing tired and relentless, sick of Claudia's silly antics. Finally, there was a knock at the door. Adelaide swung the door open, coming face-to-face with Claudia's sister. 

"I got your message." Tilly pocketed her phone, concern written on her face. "When did Claudia leave?"

"I don't know," Adelaide snapped, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I was tired, I wanted to sleep so I shut off the lights and assumed Claudia went to bed." She raked her fingers through her messy hair, her temper growing faster and faster. Calm down, she thought. "At some point, Claudia must have left our dorm."

The Hatter sister shrugged. "Maybe Claudia just went out, you know? She's just a social butterfly. Anyways, I'm supposed to be hosting a tea party right now..." Of course, Adelaide could never rely on reason alone to convince Tilly.

"Your sister is missing, Tilly."

"She's not."

Adelaide threw her hands up in the air, beyond frustrated. "I know, her antics are unpredictable and quite frankly crazy, but it's odd, isn't it?" As the future Queen of Hearts, Adelaide had to predict the unforeseeable for her people, for Wonderland. Straighten up, don't slouch, and tilt your chin up ever so slightly, her mother's voice entered Adelaide's mind. "Stop dilly-dallying. Claudia could be—"

"Claudia is fine!" Matilda's voice rose in the dorm. "Now, can I go?"

Adelaide was disappointed. "You're nothing like your sister, Tilly." She said that with disdain on her tongue. Out of all her Wonderlandian friends, Adelaide enjoyed Claudia's company the most but understood her sister the least. So childish and unworried. Even if Claudia was the next Mad Hatter, she was refined and knew her own limits. She was a human being; Tilly was just...

Tilly.

She let out a sigh. "Are you done scolding me, Addie?"

Adelaide narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "Yes." She watched Matilda exit her dorm and then proceeded to slam the door. Claudia isn't okay, and her sister is too foolish to realize it, she thought angrily. Something is amiss.

And Adelaide was scared that it was her fault.

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Alex Liddell's POV

Why aren't you responding, Claudie? Alex Liddell typed on his MirrorPhone, sitting in the Student Lounge. They had planned to meet an hour ago, but she wasn't replying to any of his texts. Maybe she was still angry at him for what he had done. I should have never done it, he scrolled up on his screen to see the string of unread messages he sent Claudia. I ruined everything, I ruined our friendship. It was exhausting and quite frankly, terrifying.

"Why are you up so late?" his cousin's voice arrived at the entrance of the Student Lounge. Beatrice walked up to him, her button nose rosy from the cold outside. She loved her evening strolls. She sat next to him on the edge of the sofa and ruffled his hair until it was messy.

"Stop it, Bea," he groaned.

"Bah, you're so plain." Bea stood up, rolling her eyes. The Liddell cousins were practically joined at the hip, they were always around each other at some point of the day. She was cunning, which dishearten Alex, but he'd never admit that. Her way of getting through things was often... dishonest. Cheating on exams and such, which was so ironic since Bea had the brains to ace on her own. She just didn't have enough self-confidence to believe in herself. "You didn't answer my question," Bea said pointedly.

"I'm waiting for Claudia," he replied.

Bea glanced at the clock. "It's eleven, an hour away from midnight, Lexy."

Good Godmothers, he really hated that nickname. "Well-aware that Claudia isn't even going to show up. Thanks a ton, Bea." Alex stood up from the sofa and they started to head towards their dorms. "Have you heard from Claudia? I mean, you're her best friend too."

Bea cocked her head. "Now that I think of it, not recently, no. It's a bit odd, huh?"

"Do you think something happened to her?"

She shrugged. "Well, Claudia Hatter is... Claudia Hatter."

"You're so unhelpful."

"And you're being paranoid."

Perhaps Bea was right about that part, Alex was feeling eerily paranoid. Claudia had been acting weirder in the past weeks, often going solo and silent during the night. It wasn't unusual of her to go off to the deep end without telling anyone. "Yeah, you're right."

"That reminds me," Bea said, "Matilda is totally pissed at Adelaide."

"Addie? Why?" Why wasn't really a huge concern. Adelaide could be rather difficult, she wasn't exactly stellar at social cues or situations with Ever After High students or even with Wonderlandians. She was odd to say the least, plus she took after her mother. The Queen of Hearts was terrifying, she was ruthless and unflinching, similar to Adelaide.

"You know how it is, Adelaide gets so frustrated with immaturity."

"I'm pretty sure Tilly is just as mature as the rest of us."

Bea laughed. "And how do you think Adelaide sees us? Just proving my point."

Suddenly, Alex's phone buzzed. His eyes lit up, believing it was Claudia, but it was just a text from Adelaide in the Wonderland Group Chat. Or Topsy Turvy GC as it was named. Has anyone heard from Claudia? Adelaide had messaged.

AJA (@ace-carrd): No? Why?

AHS (@adelaide_hearts): Something is amiss.

CC (@kittycatx0x0): I know we're all used to Riddlish, but you're just speaking with the words of an 1800s English professor, Addie.

AL (@lostinwonderland): Cadien, stop flirting 24/7. @adelaide_hearts, I think none of us heard from Claudia yet. Bea's with me though, and she hasn't seen anything. Is Claudia OK??? What happened?

AL: Adelaide???

AL: Addie? OMG, respond!

CC: Yk that Addie basically is an old grandma, right? She doesn't know how to use a phone even if her life depended on it.

AJA: FR!!! (pls don't kill me addie)

BW (@bibi_bae): Whoa, I just joined, what happened again?

CS (@spades): Did you hear the news?

BW: What news, Carmelo?

AL: Good Godmothers, can someone spam @adelaide_hearts?

CC: I LUV SPAMMING! @adelaide_hearts @adelaide_hearts @adelaide_hearts

AJA: Cadien, stop it, you're blowing up my phone.

*@adelaide_hearts sent a link in the group chat*

AHS: There's a new post on the MirrorBlog, someone was found drowned under the school bridge. That's just outside the EAH building, isn't it?

"Drowned?" Bea asked as Alex clicked the link, waiting for it to load. "Who was it?"

Finally, the MirrorNetwork stopped glitching and the article came onto his screen. His voice caught in his throat as he swallowed hard. "It's... Claudia."

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MirrorBlog Weekly Articles:

THE NEXT MAD HATTER FOUND DROWNED!

Written by Cressida "Honey" Lockes

Ever After High students are left shocked and dismayed when EAH Royal upperclassman, Claudia Hatter, was found dead under the school bridge at midnight. Claudia Hatter, aged eighteen, was allegedly drowned in the river that separates the school from the Village of Book End. It's known as the Forever Bridge, known for its deep waters and the Bridge Troll from The Three Billy Goats Gruff, though our beloved troll mascot was taking the night off with his troll lady.

So that begs the question; what happened to the next Mad Hatter? Was it just a coincidence the one night that the troll guard is gone, she drowns in the river? This allegedly could be premeditated, most likely suicide. As the people say, Claudia went completely mad and drowned herself. She was found by Headmaster Grimm, who was hearing complaints about a foul smell by the riverbank. Shortly after, Grimm called the police and the scene was closed off to the public. Luckily, your girl Honey managed to sneak past the yellow tape and get a few quotes from Milton Grimm.

Grimm states, "This is an incident that will deeply affect our school community, grievance counsellors, Madam Baba Yaga and Professor Jack B. Nimble, will be available on campus. Claudia Hatter's suicide will be discussed tomorrow at the assembly hosted in the school's Charmitorum, but we must respect the Hatters' privacy, so I beg that we refrain from asking questions. Now, go away, Miss Lockes." Certainly, things are looking very tense now.

While post-death reports are being done, then there's the question of what happens to Claudia Hatter's legacy. The younger Hatter sister, Matilda, was left without a legacy until this recent uproar. Now, Matilda Hatter is given her older sister's destiny, but can she live up to Claudia's happily ever after? Tune in on my MirrorCast tomorrow for the details. All in all, what happened to Claudia Hatter was a tragedy, may her soul rest in peace.

Signing off, Honey.