Maxwell Hearts' POV

"When I said I needed to prepare to see my mother again, I did not mean I needed you to become my personal makeup artist," Maxwell said as Dahlia rummaged through her makeup bag. Sitting in the Royal Waiting Room—yes, that was a thing in Wonderland—was nerve-wracking. The others had gone to wait in the Courtyard since it was a personal meeting between Maxwell and the Queen of Hearts, but Dahlia claimed she knew a way to calm his nerves.

"When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, but put on makeup afterwards." Dahlia smiled brightly, dabbing a pink powder on his cheeks. What is that called again? Blush? They sat cross-legged on the chessboard-tiled floor in silence. Maxwell allowed Dahlia to do her work in peace to give himself a mental pep-talk.

It's only your mother, he tried to convince himself. Yet, their relationship was rather strained. Off with their heads! Maxwell always heard his mother's commanding voice everywhere he went, even in Ever After High sometimes. They hadn't seen each other in a while, what would she say? Would she scold him? Would she punish him?

"Okay, I'm not done, but ta-da!" She fished out a tiny hand mirror and flipped it around. Dahlia's makeup was subtle; enhancing Maxwell's cheeks and making him look less pale. "Hold still, I still need to finish touches." She smiled brightly, it was a million-dollar kind of smile.

What was that sudden feeling that Maxwell had? It was making his heart beat faster, his hands becoming clammy. Why was he suddenly so nervous? Especially around Dahlia out of all people? Ah, Max, my boy, you're in love! Dumbass...

"You're pretty good at this," he managed to say.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to be a cosmetic artist when I grew up and own a salon, you know? But that's not possible anymore, just wishful thinking," she replied, applying a golden powder on the tip of his nose. That's highlighter, Max.

"Why not? You're clearly good at it."

"Because of my fairytale, Apple White is my best friend forever after. She's a Royal, she wants to fulfill her destiny. You can't have Snow White and the Six Dwarfs, can you? Whatever, she wants... Well, I guess I want it too!" Dahlia smiled thinly. Is that really how Dahlia thinks? Maxwell wondered. "Besides, Apple is the main character, I'm just the dwarf that follows her. That's why I always let her take the lead on my ideas, you know? Being the future queen is a big deal and—"

"So you're toning yourself down for her?" he interrupted, holding up his hands.

Dahlia hesitated. "No, I wouldn't exactly say it like that."

Maxwell stared into her eyes. "Dahlia, let me give you a piece of advice, take it how you want it. You are Dahlia Dopey, not an extension of Apple White to make her seem better. You are your own individual person, you deserve your time in the sunlight too. Want to be a cosmetic artist? Go chase your dreams, you can worry about Apple later."

Then he saw it; a small, dying spark in Dahlia's eyes being rekindled. She stood up, looking as if she had a dozen thoughts all at once. "Thanks, Max!" She pressed a light kiss on his cheek out of excitement before dashing off to join the others in the Courtyard. Maxwell turned bright red, even without the blush Dahlia applied. Dahlia's lips left a little lipstick on his cheek, but before he could actually process the kiss, the doors to the Throne Room opened.

"Maxwell Hearts, you may enter."

His heart nearly leapt out of his chest as he numbly nodded, walking inside. His footsteps echoed as Maxwell's hands became clammy. Don't screw this up, he thought. Finally, he arrived at the golden throne. The Queen of Hearts sat there, her red heart-shaped lips pressed in a thin line. Mother raised her chin ever so slightly, gazing upon her child, her heir.

"Hello, Maxwell."

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Maxwell wasn't quite sure how they all ended up at a tea party with his mother. She sat at the head of the table, thinking silently about what the group had told her about the Storybook of Legends. She rested her chin on her hands, staring at Maxwell. Like she was deciding.

"These tarts are delicious," Katrina Cheshire said to try and clear the tension. She licked her sticky thumbs while Tobias looked as if he was going to melt into a puddle of sweat. Melina and Scarlett kept avoiding eye contact, Dahlia and Chase were shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

"What tea is this? Lavender? Green tea? You know, Vesperina would adore this," Rina continued her fruitless attempts of conversation. She grinned and nudged Tobias. "Tobi, we should totally visit Vespy and Blaise in Ever After High, it'll be so fun and—"

"No," the Queen of Hearts said sharply. Please, don't ruin the moment, Mother, Maxwell thought hopelessly. "The portals to other lands are sealed and forbidden, which is exactly why I am not allowing you to enter the Chess Battlefield."

"Mother, you can't be serious," Maxwell tried to reason. Their meeting was messy, mainly involving Mother screaming about loyalty and honesty. She was horrified that Maxwell had left Wonderland without consulting her back then. "We need those pages!"

Mother glared, silencing him. "For there to be order, there must be chaos first." Her gaze flickered to Melina and Scarlett. "You two must go to war if you intend to unlock the Chess Battlefield." She rose from her chair. "Which is what your mothers will decide for you."

"Wait, what?" Scarlett asked, mortified.

Mother was unfazed. "Both of your mothers have been notified of your arrival, they are coming here shortly. Really, there's no use asking for my permission when it's clear the Chess Battle will occur either way." She tossed a lazy glance at Rina. "It's Earl Gray."

"Oh, thanks!"

Tobias had his head in his hands. "Please read the room, Rina."

"What room? We're in the Courtyard."

"For Grimm's sake—"

Melina stood up from her chair immediately, revolted. "You can not do this," she said, her voice wavering. "Our mothers hate each other! Of course they'll want the war to happen now that Scarlett and I are back in Wonderland! This wretched battle can not occur, lives will be lost, one of the sides of the chessboard will lose—"

"I don't remember you ever being the Ruler of Wonderland," Mother snapped and Maxwell glared at his mother. This family reunion was not going well. "You may be the next White Queen, but you should remember your power doesn't extend past chess."

"Can we all just calm down for one minute?" Dahlia asked politely, a strained smile on her face.

Chase pointed at Dahlia. "Yes, yes, we should do that—"

"Why in the world would we want to kill each other? We're cousins for crying out-loud," Scarlett said, irritated and terrified. Their impending doom awaited them. "I agree with Melina for once, it wasn't your place to intervene with our legacies!"

"We need more time, we need your help!" Melina added.

"Okay, let's just take deep breaths—"

"Both of your chess queens need your manners back!"

"Can we all just shut up...?"

"Good Grimm, this is entertaining!"

"Rina, this really isn't the time."

"War is a serious subject and—"

"You are all children! Why would you know anything about—"

"Everyone stop talking over each other!" Dahlia shouted, slamming her fist on the table. All chatter stopped and Dahlia's cheeks went bright red. "Um, thank you." She cleared her throat and gestured to the Queen of Hearts. "My Queen, you need to understand something important. Neither Melina or Scarlett want the war to happen, there's a way to prevent a massacre. If you were given any opportunity to stop Wonderland from its downfall, you would do so, correct?"

Mother scowled, but nodded. Maxwell hadn't seen anyone reprimand his mother in a long time considering she usually wailed "Off with their heads!" before they got the chance to. Dahlia continued, "This is why it's critical for us to retrieve those pages. They're not just destinies; they're lives we're handling."

Maxwell couldn't help but feel a burst of pride for Dahlia. Maybe she did need that piece of advice after all to push herself. The Queen Hearts pursued her lips, thoughtful. "Well, I suppose you're—"

Suddenly, a loud horn blared, making the teacups and plates rattle. What in the world? Maxwell thought incredulously. Rina glanced around, her eyes wide. "The White and Red Queen must be here! Damn, that's a rather grand way to announce your presence."

Chase shook his head, a look of dread on his face. "That isn't to announce the Queens have arrived—it's the war horn. The Chess Battle has begun."

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Luka Pinocchio's POV

"I can't believe I'm stuck with you out of all people," Luka told Lyric, scowling. She merely rolled her eyes, crossing her arms under the layers of her sweaters. The gruff humanoid polar bear had locked them in the ice-cold dungeon, filled up with snow, under the order of the Snow Queen. It was beyond freezing and even if he was wooden, Luka was 50% sure he'd die from frostbite. He let out an exhausted sigh of frustration, cold vapour escaping his mouth.

"I'm sure Raven and Winter will rescue us eventually," Lyric reasoned.

"Keep telling yourself, it'll be a Christmas miracle that they'll find us before we freeze to death," Luka snorted, tugging the sleeves of his jacket further. Lyric Seabrooke was annoying, always finding fault in whatever he's doing. It wasn't his fault that he managed to accidentally start a cult-like riot in the boys' washroom!

I wish I could provide an answer, but Luka's... Luka.

"You know, you're not very helpful right now! Plus, where the hell did they take Corbin and Crowley?"

"I don't give a shit about those birds."

"They're the size of a car, they can eat us now, can't they?"

"Wood isn't very appetizing, but birds do eat fish."

"I'm a mermaid!"

"Which is technically fish."

"Again, I'm a mermaid!"

"Stop saying mermaid like that!"

"Good Godmothers, you're impossible." Lyric huffed and turned away, too annoyed by Luka's shit. Then he did feel a bit bad for being so unbelievably shitty towards her, they were stuck in a terrible situation which ended badly for the both of them. Luka thought about apologizing, but cursed his stubbornness. Luka retreated to the corner of the cellar, deciding it was best for the both of them.

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Luka jerked up from his sleep, coughing, thumping his chest. It felt as if smoke had gotten into his lungs, like the fire in the Lifairy. You're burning up, the flames are inching closer and closer. Ash is falling from the sky like snow, you're dying. Oh, yes, you never had life and here it is ending in the worst way possible. Watch it burn, Luka, watch it all burn—

It wasn't real.

He inhaled sharply, fresh air coming into his system. Luka blinked, his vision slowly coming back. Absently, he rubbed his charred wooden legs, the ash crumbling in his hands. He was breathing perfectly fine, there was no smoke, no fire. Phantom pain. He had imagined it all.

"Are you... like, okay?" Lyric asked from the other side of the cellar. The last person Luka needed to worry about him was her. The room was dark, it was probably evening by then. How long was I asleep for? Luka wondered.

"Just some nightmare, I'll be fine." Luka slumped against the wall, exhaling. It had been hours since they were imprisoned, where was Raven and Winter? They had to come for them, or they'd die otherwise. Can't believe I'm relying on those two to save Lyric's life and mine, he thought. Luka never relied on anyone else—they weren't him, how could he trust them?—and he wouldn't start now.

"Does it hurt?" Lyric pointed to the scorch marks all over his body.

No one had asked him that before.

"I mean, I... I don't know. I mean, yeah, I suppose. I know I'm a fucking wooden puppet for Grimm's sake, but I was created from the Blue Fairy's magic. So I guess I reacted like how I would if I were human; getting burned alive isn't too fun, right?" He wasn't too big on feeling and he suspected Lyric wasn't either. Luka wasn't out to prove anything, so he merely said, "Why do you even care?" Luka, the mastermind of changing subjects...

Lyric crossed her arms, her cheeks brightening. "Well, I don't."

"Me neither."

"Good."

"Good."

They both glared at each other until Lyric rolled her eyes, sighing. She crawled over to him, sticking out her hand. "Truce. Like, right now." Truce? Safe to say that word was a stranger to Luka's ears. Catching him gaping at her, she explained, "In this horrible case, I'd like to be the mature one. If I die in this hellish, icy cellar, I'd rather it be on good terms."

"We're not dying," he snapped, even though it felt like a lie. What was death for Luka? He was a wooden puppet. And Luka really couldn't imagine Lyric dying, that just wasn't... Lyric. Not like he cared, of course. He didn't, no, he didn't care if she lived or died. That would be stupid. Luka, we got the message, buddy... Kind of...

Begrudgingly, Luka shook Lyric's hands. They were warm, or at least warm to him since he never knew what human flesh felt like. That sounds so weird when I put it like that... "Never call yourself 'the mature one' here ever again," he said.

"Ugh, grow up, Luka."

"Me? Never." Before Lyric could speak, there was a loud bang at the end of the hall outside the cellar. "What the fuck," he breathed, standing up. He was so busy worrying that they would freeze to death that he didn't consider that the Snow Queen could also execute them. Shit, shit, we're actually going to die, a dozen thoughts ran into his mind. "Okay, if they come closer and open the cellar, we need to run."

"Run? What the hell are you thinking of? They'll maul us alive," Lyric hissed.

"Better than rotting in here and awaiting our deaths," he snapped back.

"I thought you said we weren't going to die, you hypocrite!"

"I obviously said that to comfort you, Fishsticks!" They backed away from the door, the shadows hiding their intruder. Slowly, they heard a loud click and the door swung open. Oh shit, we're so fucked— Luka grabbed Lyric's hand and tried to make a run for it when Raven's voice startled him.

"Guys, it's just us!" Raven said, holding her hands in the air. The guy who had unlocked the door was Winter for crying out-loud. Winter waved awkwardly, standing outside of the cellar, eyeing it with dread. He looked sort of freaked out, though Luka guessed it wasn't easy being back in the Snow Queen's palace. "Winter managed to steal a key, we're okay to go now."

"Dude, what took you so long?"

"What he means is that we're so grateful you saved us," Lyric corrected. Luka realized he was still holding onto her hand and dropped it, clasping his hands behind his back for good measure. What's wrong with you today? Luka wondered to himself.

"While we were scouting the palace, we saw the pages, they're frozen in the Snow Queen's scepter for some reason. Nadine literally could not have chosen a worse place for it to be," Raven said, shaking her head. She jerked a thumb towards Winter. "He offered to distract her while we steal the scepter. If being discreet doesn't work, then ambush her. We can not afford to lose any more time."

A/N: Luka + Lyric = Fishsticks. Seriously, think about it.