A/N: This is the one I will always consider to be my very first serious piece of creative writing. The first words were written on 15th of Feb and owe themselves to a very special person who, during Valentine's Day dinner, listened to me babble incoherently about how I always have so many random ideas and eventually said, "Well, why don't you just try to write them down?"

She's also patiently spent hours being my cheerleader, absorbed both my anger and my angst, and to date still volunteers to be the first to read my fic so she can "take out the cheesy crap bits." I've lost track of how many times she's sighed whilst seeing 02:00am come up again on our clock as I huddle in the darkness, lit only by the glow of my laptop, laughing maniacally. (on the inside of course, but I know she knows) Thanks for being there and always believing in me. This one is dedicated to you.

The other people, both deserving of equal thanks, are my betas. In many ways, this story wouldn't be without them. Not wouldn't be better, just wouldn't be. They excel at being a cheering section whilst still offering their Southern, and far more Northern con-crit charm. It seems forever ago that I sent my first chapter off to them in trepidation, never knowing it would be one of the best things I would ever do. Technically speaking, they're still to do a final run-through of this work, so any glaring mistakes are undoubtedly from my last minute tinkering, and have absolutely nothing to do with them. But the constant re-writes are driving me completely insane, so I figured very slowly but surely I am going to start posting each chapter in turn. (whilst hiding my head below the parapet to avoid their wrath)

So, law_nerd and quiethearted, thank you both – take a bow, you guys undoubtedly rock the party that rocks the party.

So the story – well, being an AU (really AU) its roots of it lie in so many works of fiction – Andersen, Grimm, Carroll oh and of course, Garth Nix. ;-) I couldn't possibly credit every single source, suffice to say, it owes itself mostly to the 'fairytale' genre as a whole.

What's it about? I think the easiest and most fitting description is – life – and all the crazy that it contains (around 65k of mad to be precise). It's happy in parts, sometimes it's desperately sad. It's about the consequences of our choices, and the bearing those have on shaping us as an individual. It's about how far we can be pushed as people and what it is that we're able to become. It's about…well, honestly…it's just about reading it and judging for yourself.

So please enjoy!