Chapter Eight: Visiting Day

Evan ran around the mansion, climbing on the vines, jumping on ledges, and attcking everything. The boy, now six, had slick, dark purple hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed in a combination of Wonderlandian clothes Maddie had gone and collected for him to wear. His favorite outfit was a pretty purple and pink plaid dress with a huge green bow that was a few sizes too big for him, but today he wore a green and turquoise striped shirt with brown polkadotted pants.

Maddie was making breakfast while Raven was watching Evan to make sure he didn't hurt himself. When Maddie finished she called the others over. Breakfast was muffins with wings, sunnyside up eggs that looked like the sun, and, of course, tea. Maddie bought everything she needed from Wonderland, she went shopping there every Sunday. Raven and Evan sat down at the table and watched Maddie bring out the food.

"I'm gonna do it," Raven said with determination.

"Do what?" Maddie asked.

"Introduce Evan to my mother."

"What!" Maddie gasped.

"I have a grandmama?" Evan asked.

"Yes, sweetheart, but she is not a very... how do I put this... nice woman to get along with," Raven answered.

"Raven, can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Maddie asked.

"Sure."

They move to another room out of Evan's earshot.

"Think about this, I thought you wanted to keep Evan's evil heritage a sercret for as long as possible," Maddie said.

"He deserves to know, and so does she. Plus he has already met his grandfather on multiple occasions," Raven argued, bringing up the times her father had come to visit, "I know that she is the Evil Queen, a vicious and feared woman, but she is still my mother, and his grandmother."

"I won't argue with you, just... be safe, please," Maddie begged. Even though she was not the mother of Evan, nor in any relationship with Raven, she still felt like a part of the family and wanted them to be safe.

"I will, I promise."

Lilibet (Lily) White was in class taking princess lessons. The girl's face was pale, her hair was white blonde with yellow blonde and turquoise highlights. She wore a beautiful white dress with laces and bows and had a face of makeup. Quite fancy for a girl who was only five years old.

"Now remember children, always make a habit of smiling!" the teacher reminded. Soon the bell rang and class was dismissed. Lily was greeted at the door by her mother, the queen, Apple White.

"How was class, sweety?" Apple asked kindly.

"Kind of boring. I overheard that the boys get to do sword fighting, why can't I do that?" Lily asked.

Apple had been realizing recently that her daughter had taken after Darling more than her, "This is something you should ask your mama when she gets back."

"You can ask her now!" said a familiar voice. Darling was standing only a few feet away from them.

"Mama!" cried Lily as she ran towards her mother. Apple gave her wife an odd look.

"What are you doing back so early, did something happen?" Apple asked. Darling had gone out on a quest to fight a mountaintop dragon with some of the kingdom's other knights.

"When we got there, the beast had already been defeated, strange," Darling answered, "Anyways, how are you doing my loves?"

"Lily has your spirit, she wants to start sword fighting," Apple reported.

"Oh really? I think that's a great idea! Let's sign her up right away!"

"But, honey, she is the next Snow White, the next queen after me. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Raven teleported her and Evan to the hallway that she remembered well from walking though all those visiting days. She made her way up the stairs, clutching Evan's hand tightly and making sure he was safe.

They finally made their way to the top. Raven saw her mother's mirror, she hadn't talked to her since she had graduated from high school. The glass lit up and her mother's face appeared.

"Raven, is that you?" the Evil Queen asked.

"Yes mom," she responded.

"And that's... *gasp* my grandson! Hello little one."

Evan's eyes widened and his once confident composure shrank, "Mommy, she's scary," Evan said as he hid behind his mother.

"I see I still strike fear into the hearts of children, but I suppose I should bond with my grandson. Hello there Evan, I won't hurt you. I'm your grandmother, the Evil Queen." Evan slowly came out from behind Raven and walked a bit closer to the mirror.

"Hello," he said.

"Oh, what a nice child," the Evil Queen added before turning to talk to her daughter, "Raven, why have you been ignoring me for the past few years. It's almost been a decade since you last visited me."

Raven let out a sigh, "I wanted him to grow up without knowledge of his grandmother's villainous deeds, but I realized that he deserved to know. But I haven't had much time to visit, I've been in hiding from the queen."

"Your living with that Hatter girl, are you dating or is she just living with you and helping raise your child?"

"Just helping, she's being very generous." Suddenly they heard footsteps down the hall.

"We have to go," Raven said and began a teleportation spell.

"I love you, both of you, even though your not following your destiny. I hope you know that," the Evil Queen added as she watch her family teleport away. A janitor came bursting in. The Evil Queen disappeared from her glass.

As Raven and Evan returned home, she was met with a solemn Maddie.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's your father, the Good King, he passed away in his sleep last night." Maddie answered sadly, "You're invited to the funeral."