Vesperina Hatter's POV

Vesperina Hatter was always the weird one, she sort of had to accept that.

When she arrived at Book End and started attending Ever After High, she soon learned that she was the odd one out. EAH had rules, it had expectations and standards. Apparently, Vesperina did not fit into those standards. It was so strange; what did Headmaster Grimm mean when he said Vesperina couldn't have her mid-day tea party in class?

At first, she didn't let it affect her—they were just weirdos. They were the crazy ones, not her. Yet, after years at Book End, she increasingly started to see the dramatic change in how people treated her. She was insane after all, she was 'the weird girl from Wonderland.' And seeing as how the other girls often looked over their shoulders to glance at Vesperina, she guessed it hadn't changed.

"Do you think your mom will let us have a tea party in her castle?" Vesperina asked Rav.

"Nope," Ravenna said, "she will lose her mind."

"I do that every day!" Vesperina exclaimed excitedly. Rav merely gave her an odd look before turning away. Vesperina was used to it by now, but she still annoyingly wanted someone to relate to. Sure, her Wonderlandian friends understood her to some degree, but they were busy elsewhere. Right about now, she would be pestering Maxwell about playing a deck of cards (only to completely disregard the rules) or ask Chase to teach her how to ride a horse.

For the sake of Crimson and EAH's property insurance, Chase would have to politely decline each time. What a silly-billy.

Rolling up the map, Apple came to a halt. "I wonder what that is," she said, pointing to a large building. As they approached the building, there was a sign labelled Miss Muffet's Frozen Yogurt Shop. "Hey, doesn't Maisie Muffet own this place alongside her mom?" Apple asked as she peered through the window. "It's closed though."

"Seems as if Maisie upgraded from Miss Muffet's Stand to a whole shop." Rav pushed the door, finding it unlocked. "Look, we're all starving, maybe we should just, you know, eat here."

"There's no one to serve us and it's closed," Stella said, "that would be breaking-and-entering, Rav!"

Vesperina breezed past them, laughing as she entered the shop. Ding! The door's bell rang. "It's not trespassing if the person forgets to lock the door," Vesperina said matter-of-factly. The shop was nice, it had multiple tables along the wall and a large counter with the frozen yogurt machines behind it. "We'll pay afterwards! Oooh, do they have tea-flavoured ones...?"

"It would be nice to have something to eat," Bree admitted, sitting near the window. Using a yogurt machine can't be that hard, Vesperina thought as she hopped over the counter, eager to fiddle with the twisty knobs and try every flavour until she'd vomit.

"Can you have chocolate?" she asked Bree.

"Huh?"

"You know, because your dad used to be the Beast and dogs can't have chocolate... nevermind." No one ever got her twisted humour. Vesperina filled up two cups with vanilla yogurt and passed it to Apple and Bree. After getting Stella a mint one, and Rav with a rocky road yogurt, Vesperina sat on the counter with her own green tea frozen yogurt. Yes, that flavour actually does exist, and she's glad it does.

Eating a spoonful of yogurt, she observed her teammates. Apple and Bree were talking as per usual, probably chatting about the upcoming Thronecoming. Ugh, Vesperina thought. She still didn't find a date yet, so she would probably have to force one of her friends to let her third-wheel. Again.

Always the third-wheeler.

From the corner of her eye, Vesperina spotted Rav and Stella by the back. Cuties. Vesperina finished up her yogurt and went back for seconds when she dropped her spoon, shrieking. There was a towering hairy spider in front of her. Not just a normal spider, but the size of a car. Apple screamed while the spider hissed, baring its sharp teeth. Do spiders even have teeth?

"Holy hex, that's definitely the spider from Miss Muffet's story," Rav said, standing up from her chair. "Vesperina, that's a highly venomous spider, you need to slowly back away. One drop of its green venom in your blood will make you brain-dead within ten seconds."

"What?" Stella said, horrified.

"I think I'm already brain-dead, but fair enough," Vesperina said, slowly backing away. The spider suddenly lurched forward and Vesperina yelped, staggering to the floor. Apple threw spoons and cups at the spider, diverting its attention.

"Come and get us!" Apple yelled, waving her hands. The spider jumped over the counter, a bundle of screams echoing the air. Vesperina scrambled to her feet, fumbling through her pockets and slapping a few bucks on the counter to pay for their food. "Get outside now!"

Vesperina threw open the door as everyone ran out. The spider followed, its hairy legs extended in an attempt to snatch them up. They ran off, trying to lose the creature through the forest. "It's gaining on us!" Bree shouted. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, fairy-winged and pale-skinned.

"Go back to the shadows whence you came from!" the woman hissed as the spider stopped in its tracks. She whipped out her wand, chanting a charm. A spell was cast, stunning the spider's eyes, sending the beast running in the opposite direction. What? Who was their saviour?

The woman turned around to face them, dressed in black robes and her black fairy wings giving a flutter. She had high cheekbones and a stern look, a tone of malice in her dark eyes. Wait, she looks sort of like... "Ravenna."

Rav blinked blankly. "Mom?"

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Tristan Lily's POV

After arriving on the island, Tristan breathed in the honeysuckle scent that Neverland always had. His feet sank in the sand a bit as they walked away from the shore. "We're back home," Tristan said, smiling a bit. He hadn't visited Neverland nor his family during his years at EAH, but he was going to graduate soon.

"Let's go find the Lost Boys!" Willow exclaimed.

"Hold on, we promised Tristan we would visit the tribe first and they would help us," Winnie said. It was true, Tristan's tribe had every ear and eye in Neverland, if they heard of the appearance of a mysterious book page, they would know. "I think we follow the path up there."

Tristan laughed. "Don't tell me you forgot your way in Neverland."

"It's been a while," she allowed, trekking ahead of them. They travelled through the forest, taking in the memorizing scenery. Tristan remembered chasing all of his Neverland pals when they played tag during their younger years, then their parents would disapprove of their mud-splattered jeans and dirty hands when they returned back home. Good times.

Willow was yapping about how fun Neverland would be to Nari—the poor girl was barely understanding Willow's fast words—while Blaise's head turned around. "Did anyone hear that? It sounded like singing." They came to a halt when Tristan realized where they suddenly were. The Neverland Lagoon. Stepping forward, he brushed past the trees and arrived in front of the lagoon. There were beautiful women floating in the water or brushing their hair on rocks.

The sirens.

"Their voices are stunning," Ladeline gasped, suddenly next to Tristan.

"Tristan, you're back!" Gigi, one of the sirens that Tristan remembered, exclaimed. She had light ginger hair that was slicked back from the water and she had a blue tail. She propped her elbow up and smiled at him. "Did you miss me?"

"Uh...yeah..." Don't get him wrong, Gigi was really friendly—and flirty for that matter—but sirens were dangerous at night. In his tribe, they had the belief that if they drowned by the tide, they wouldn't reach the upper world; Happy Hunting Grounds. Heaven, he supposed.

"Oh, hi, Gigi." Winnie popped next to him, scaring the living daylights out of him. Gigi ignored her, smiling serenely at Tristan. He forgot that the sirens had a habit of hating any other women in Neverland—jealousy was one word, but hatred was a better one. Glancing behind him, he saw Willow and Nari standing awkwardly away from the lagoon. Another siren was flirting with a mildly confused Blaise and Ladeline poked her with a stick.

Nightfall was coming, which was when the sirens really got dangerous. "Listen, Gigi, have you heard everything strange in Neverland?" Tristan asked the girl. "Like, book pages or something?"

The corners of Gigi's lips quirked upwards. "And what would you want to know about it?"

"I'm not kidding."

"Me either." Gigi feigned innocence, inspecting her nails as if she was bored. But she was a mischievous diva, so she said dramatically, "You might have to ask Captain Hook, you know? Heard he's back in the area."

Tristan's blood ran cold. "Captain Hook? Like, Holton's dad?"

"How is Holton by the way? Still hot?" Gigi asked distractedly, winking.

"Captain Hook is supposed to be exiled from Neverland," Winnie protested, horrified. The one person who is destined to try and kill me is back, Tristan thought. Well, that was just great timing, wasn't it? So consumed in his thoughts, he hadn't realized that night dawned on him and the moon was in full view.

Gigi grabbed his arm, all smiles. "You stress too much, let's have fun! You never hang out with me anymore!" She hummed, a beautiful melody wafting through the air. The other sirens harmonized, their voices together amplifying the sound. It trailed from Tristan's ears to his head. Get in the water, the sweet voices formed into one. Get in water, Tristan Lily, son of Tiger Lily.

Get in the water, get in the water, get in the water, get in the water—

Tristan wasn't sure how it happened. One minute, he was on land and the others were memorized by the voices as well. The next minute, he was six feet underwater, barely processing where he was. The water was cold, it made his lungs tighten as his eyes stung. Is this how I die? But then the water turned red, blood bursting.

Except, Tristan wasn't sure if the blood was his.

The next minute, he was back on land, coughing up seawater and doubling over on his side. It all felt like a fever dream. His clothes were drenched and he hacked, spitting up water. "I'm not dead, am I?" he rasped.

"I'd kill you if you were," Willow said, tackling Tristan into a hug. He laughed, but his knees were practically jelly as he stood up. Blaise's sword was bloodied and he sheathed it, glancing at Tristan.

"They were drowning you, so I sliced their arms off."

That certainly explained the blood. "Thanks, man." Tristan spotted a soaked Winnie, who was assuring Nari she wasn't going to get hyperthermia. He put two and two together. They locked eyes and nodded at each other, a silent 'thank you' and 'you're welcome.' Still, they shared the same train of thought.

Wendy Darling and Peter Pan can't save Tiger Lily each time.

A/N: And so Holton's dad comes back to Neverland! Good thing daddy issues was forced to stay at EAH. Don't worry, Rav has plenty of mommy issues too <3