An: NymhadoraTonks: Thank you for your well wishes and review. Yeah, Molly is like that annoying little brat that everyone just agrees to hate. But you also have to think about where she's coming from with Mitchell being her brother and the whole breakup. More Chester POV in this chapter (and quite possibly the future). Matt will find himself again, but it's a long time before he does, that's why there is a bit of a time jump here. I hope you've enjoyed this little backstory and come back for the epilogue of the real story.

Epilogue

Broken Souls

Over the holidays, students began to forget about the strange Wonderlandian boy who disappeared, finish grieving the loss of Madam Yaga, and move on from the rush of the fall and into the calm winter season of school. It was a time of peace for many. For others, it was only a reminder of how alone they truly felt.

As for Chester, he stayed with Danielle and her parents through the holidays. He would visit his mom occasionally, but he didn't wish her to think he had dropped out of school. He didn't even bother to visit his other Wonderland friends. In truth, he felt lost. With unsaid feelings and burned bridges, Chester didn't know if he could go back. Danielle could see right through him, he knew that. She could see through everyone.

"Why are you really here, Chester?" she asked him one afternoon. They were taking a walk through the woods behind her house. She had just finished her training for the day. Chester took a long breath, feeling the cold February air enter his lungs.

"I had a fight with Matt," Chester shrugged.

"We both know that's not the only reason," Danielle raised a brow.

Chester bit his lip. "I...I hurt someone. Terribly." Danielle gave him an encouraging look. "They hurt me too, but I deserved it."

"Who is he?"

Chester's eyes widened but he continued. "He was...my boyfriend, Oakley."

"He sounds nice," Danielle offered.

"He is," Chester agreed. "He loves plants and helping people and he used to love me...but I left."

"You left because he loved you?"

"I left for Matt," Chester shook his head. "And it was all so overwhelming. We were already broken up, so I thought it was my best option. I wasn't what Oakley wanted anyway. We never were out in public and I think he wanted to be but I just...don't know."

"Why didn't you want to be seen with him?"

"I want to protect him. He's already gone through so much torment and I would hate to drag him even farther into the mud."

"Why would that happen?"

"Because I'm a just Chester, the prankster. I do nothing but prank people, while he's got something. He's got a future and I'm...stuck in the pages."

Danielle stopped walking. "Chester, you don't even realize your own worth."

"What do you mean?"

"You think you're nothing? That boy loves you. Why would he love you if you weren't something? You might think you're not worth it, but he certainly does."

Chester let that sink in. All of this time, Chester convinced himself that he didn't deserve anything, but Oakley wanted to give him everything. Oakley did want him. There was no game, no prank. Memories of the days with Oakley filled Chester's head. The laughs, the kisses, and the moments. Through the confusion and fog, Oakley still wanted him.

Oakley loved Chester and Chester loved Oakley.

He had made a mistake.

"Chester?" Danielle called him back to the present time. Chester snapped from his daze. He grinned before wrapping his arms around Danielle. She was stiff for a second, then returned the embrace.

For Oakley, he would take Molly's place as student body president. He began to make changes immediately. He restricted Molly's mirror cast times and helped organize holiday activities for the students. His efforts became great successes and earned him the praise he deserved. As glad as he was to be truly part of something, he felt as if he drifted away from Laura. Ever since she had come back from the hospital, she hasn't been the same. With his busy schedule, he never came to understand was happened. He later would accept that he never would know.

He was now managing the decoration committee as they hung up the last of the pink heart twinkle lights. In a few minutes, the True Heart's Day dance would begin. Oakley had spent most of the last few weeks planning this day. It almost felt like his whole life this year had led up to this night, and Oakley was alone, but he didn't feel alone.

Earlier, when he was getting ready, he was staring at himself in the mirror. He had dressed in a pink blazer that had gold designs on the cuffs. He felt as though he was missing something. He had already stuck a gold pin in his short black curls. There was something missing on his face. Oakley stared into his own dark eyes and then it hit him. He began to dig in his makeup bag.

He drew on metallic gold eyeliner. He had worn eyeliner before, in the comforts of his home and dorm room. Something about tonight made him finally feel like he could wear it out. There was nothing to be ashamed of anymore. He could finally show himself that he could feel complete, even if he was alone. Oakley smiled in the mirror at himself.

Oakley grinned as he replayed the memory in his head. The lights had darkened, and the music had started playing. Students filled the room, awing at the decorations and beginning to dance. Oakley took it upon himself to wander around, making sure everyone was having a good time. He was stopped several times to receive compliments on tonight. Oakley would smile and utter a thank you. That was what he was there for after all.

Oakley didn't see Eliza or Laura around. He was hoping to at least see them if he was not to talk to them. Fauna was the only one he occasionally talked to when he had the time. She would find him halfway through the dance. "Oakley!" she called as she made her way off of the dance floor. "You look amazing!"

"Thanks!" he exclaimed. "You look gorgeous." Fauna did a little twirl in her blue dress that faded white at the tips of the skirt.

"Thank you," Fauna gave him a quick hug. "I'm sorry I didn't see you sooner. I was hoping to get Laura and Eliza to come, but it was a lost cause."

"Well," Oakley shrugged. "What can you do if they don't want to come."

"Yeah," Fauna gave a brisk nod. "So, you here with anyone tonight?"

"Nope. You?"

"No, but it's okay. I've got my own true heart."

That was the music stopped. "Okay, everyone!" Apple called over the speakers. "It is now time for the fairies to bestow everyone with the heart blossom from the special Heart. Tree make sure to give to someone special to you!"

Faires zipped above the students, dropping off the heart blossoms. Oakley caught his own and starred at it. What was he supposed to do with it? He didn't have anyone special. "Oh! How pretty!" Fauna exclaimed.

Oakley held his blossom to her. "Would except my heart of friendship?"

Fauna looked at him with her eyes widened. He was confused when she grinned. "Maybe there's someone a little more special waiting for you."

"What?" Oakley raised a brow.

Fauna pointed beyond him. Oakley hesitated but then turned. When he did this, he dropped his heart blossom. Chester was standing there, dressed in a grey suit, gazing at Oakley with his glowing green eyes. When their eyes met, Chester grinned but didn't disappear. He walked slowly towards Oakley. His heart thudded with every step. He looked behind him to see Fauna was gone.

Chester then bent down before him and picked up Oakley's heart blossom. "You dropped this," Chester held out the blossom. Oakley didn't look twice at the blossom.

"I suppose you should break it before you give it back to me," Oakley said without much thought.

Chester's grin faded away. "I didn't want to hurt you. I wanted to protect you, which was stupid because I should've never run from you. I should've told you everything. Told you how insecure I can get about myself. I think it was just hard for me to believe that you could possibly...love me. It was all too good to be true, to find someone who might love me the same way I love you and—"

Chester stopped mid-sentence and they just stared at each other. Oakley couldn't believe his ears. "You...love me?"

"I do," Chester whispered. "If you were still mine I would scream it from the rooftops." There was another silence between them. Chester flushed. "But I should've given you what you deserved. I understand that I've lost my chance—"

Oakley cut him off with a kiss. It was like a spark had ignited a forest fire. He could feel everything in this kiss. All of the pain and the happiness all wrapped into one simple kiss. When they pulled away, Chester was still holding his heart blossom out to him. Oakley pushed Chester's hand back, making him take the heart. "I love you too."

Chester looked down at the heart, then pulled out his own heart blossom. "Your heart is mine if mine is yours." Oakley accepted the gesture. He looked from the blossom back to Chester. With a small grin, Oakley jumped back into the Cheshire's arms. They held each other tightly as they swayed to the music. Each boy feeling more whole than ever before.

For Matt, he felt as if he had simply lost every last good thing in his life. His pet, his passion, his love, and his best friend within a week. He had taken rest until the new year, then the tutoring started. Wade insisted Matt continued on with his studies. Matt tried his best to learn, but it was hard to do so without being able to read. His mother would come and sit on the edge of his bed and read to him. It would never give him the same thrill if he were to read himself. His life had become a constant repeat, but he thought it was better than changing. Little did he know that he was simply shutting himself off.

It was almost April when he finally noticed what was happening to him. On his day off, he had just spent it sitting in his room, staring at the ceiling. He didn't think about a single thing, just sat there in the hollow room. Now, Matt's brain was filled with thoughts. He regretted everything. Pushing Chester away, letting Hermon go off on his own, being too protective over Eliza, and joining that stupid bookball team.

He thought about last fall when he was happy. Matt thought he had been waiting his entire life to get to where he was, only the rug had been ripped from under his feet. There was nothing good that could come into his life now. There was nothing that he could do to make himself feel better. There was just no hope to be found in his empty heart.

It was only when he went to sleep that night did he see his hope. He had a vivid dream vision the same as he had after his accident. There was a lunch table in the middle of the castleteria. It was empty, all except for Matt. He wasn't eating, just simply sitting there. It was when he gaze above the table did he see those violet orbs again. Her eyes were nothing like he had ever seen before. The glimmers of lavender made them something to truly study and admire. Before, he hadn't noticed the dark lashes around the eyes. Now, he could see parts of his creamy white flesh, her dark brows, and the shades of pink on her cheeks.

She had no lips, but the whisper still echoed in his head.

"I need you."

Matt woke up in a sweat. He could feel again. His walls were coming down again. He wanted to remember it all. Every last detail he could of the vision. He began to search around in his darkroom for some paper. He found his notebook a flipped it open to the first blank page. Snagging a pen, he began to scribble. There was something about the girl that made him believe he couldn't forget this.

When Matt stopped scribbling, he held up his drawing in the faint moonlight leaking from his window. The eyes staring back at him were exact replicas of his dream. Beautiful reminders of his hope. He still had a chance. What if he did go back to school. Would she be there? Was this girl real? Or was she a simple signal to tell him not to give up?

Either way, Matt knew he had to go back to Ever After. He knew he couldn't lose his hope, even if he had lost everything else. He would hold onto what he had now. He had this vision for a reason. He now had these violet eyes. And now, he had hope.

For Eliza, she had gotten her mind off of Matt. It was easier now that he was gone. It was almost like he never existed. That part of her life never existed. Now, all she had to worry about was learning to control her magic. Laura had been giving her lessons ever since Matt left. Small spells of the nightmares were the only consequences Eliza would face. It wasn't exactly what she planned for this year but at least she was part of something. She drifted away from her old self. Eliza liked to pretend she didn't notice, but it had become quite obvious once she looked at old memories like someone else's life. At least she still had her friends. That would never change, even if she did.

It was April when Matt came back, but by that time, Eliza had morphed well into her new life. He seemed to have healed now. She would've hated to see him in pain, but perhaps he was still hurting on the inside. No one had talked to him, he simply sat alone at the lunch table, and he would only take his place in the back of the classroom.

In some way, it almost felt like nothing had changed between them. Perhaps this was the way it was supposed to be. Eliza would become the rebellious teen she had always aspired to be, and he would simply stay in the background where he could be safe and could be happy. Eliza couldn't give him that. Perhaps in another life, but not now, not ever again.

Sometimes, she would wonder what could've happened if she hadn't been in the room that night. If she had gone with her gut and left the room before Laura had put that spell on Fauna, she wouldn't have put herself and Matt in danger. They could've stayed together, maybe they could've even loved each other. When Eliza thought about things like that, she simply shook the thoughts out of her head. It was useless to wonder when there was no use in trying to fix permanent damage.

Even when that permanent damage wasn't her fault.

For Felicity, she watched her half-sister slowly wither into something new. She vowed to herself that she would never tell her mother or anyone else about what had happened. She couldn't do that to Faybelle. Instead of dwelling, Felicity buried herself in her schoolwork. If she wanted to become a magical doctor, she couldn't give up now. At least that way, the lost thoughts of what could've been wouldn't drift across her mind.

When it was finally graduation day, Felicity felt like she would finally have left her guilty conscience behind. As she reached for her diploma, she could see Luara staring at her in the crowd. Her eyes looked as if they were apologetic. Felicity glanced at her, then the diploma. After a moment of hesitation, she turned away from Laura and took the diploma

She would move on with her life and soon forget about almost everything as if it were a distant dream. She would pretend that she wouldn't miss Laura. Pretend that she wasn't concerned about what was to become of her half-sister. She would go on, for her legacy.

For Laura, she accepted the change. She had branded herself a simple orphan. She didn't go home to her mother during the holidays. There was no point now. Her mother felt like a stranger to her. Her father was almost a complete mystery. At one point, when she looked into his desperate eyes, she thought that she could've known him. It was too late for that now.

Laura had spent most of her time rewriting the spells Felicity had burned from their father's book. She had some spells memorized, but now Luara wished she had memorized more. She could've unleashed her true potential. Laura knew if she had let her father go, he would've molded her into a great sorcerer. But she still wouldn't be good enough.

Now that she knew what was in her veins, she could finally get answers. She could learn spells and history about the fae and of Merlin. She could understand it all and unleash unlimited power. Laura could be better than her father. No. She will be better than her father. She would be better than any other sorcerer that ever lived. Perhaps even more powerful than the Evil Queen herself.

On the last day of school, everyone was gathering their things for the summer holiday. Laura had packed her last bag. Fauna had already left to say goodbye to all of her animal friends. Eliza was staring out the window, ignoring the empty room around her. Laura cleared her throat. "Are you sure it'll be alright for me to stay with you?"

"Of course it is," Eliza snapped away from her daze. "As long as you don't mind the attic."

"I don't think I'll be there much," Laura admitted.

"You'll never go home?" Eliza raised a brow.

"I will," Laura decided, "but only when my mom is working. So I have most of every day and some nights."

"What happened between you two?" Eliza asked. "You never told us what happened that weekend."

"The book was..." Laura wanted to tell Eliza, but another part of her knew she couldn't. "The book became dangerous, and things kinda snowballed after I overused my magic to fight Felicity. My mom didn't appreciate my recklessness."

Perhaps it was the weight of the lie, or perhaps the heaviness of the truth that brought tears to Laura's eyes.

Eliza crossed the floor and wrapped her arms around Laura. She accepted the embrace. "It's gonna be okay," Eliza whispered.

"Yeah," Laura didn't wish to break into tears right now. "I know."

For Fauna, not much had changed for what she thought was her life. She would soon see the differences in her best friends. They would never be properly explained to her, however, making her somehow the weakest of them all. She would still stand with Laura and Eliza, nothing was ever going to change that. Over the summer, she had hung out with Chester and Oakley and a few of his Wonderland friends. It was fun and exciting to go to new places and meet new people, but she still missed Eliza and Laura.

It was the first day of school of Fauna's second year. The air had become crisp again with cool air. She had already bid her parents farewell and now was moving through the crowd to find them. She had accidentally found Chester and Oakley, talking with Cedar and Kitty. Both parents were more than thrilled with the match.

When they noticed her presence, they finished their goodbyes and walked to her hand in hand. "Hey," Oakley greeted.

"Hi!" Fauna gave both boys a quick hug. "Are you two rooming together this year?"

"Technically, we can't," Chester looked down at their joined hands. "I'm still roommates with Matt. But, I've been room hopping anyways. I suppose I could stop by and crash once in a while." The Chesire raised Oakley's hand and kissed the top of it, then showed off his wide smile. Oakley's cheeks turned a flaming red.

"You're gonna distract him from his campaign," Fauna teased. "I suppose when you visit you'll be helping make posters." Chester laughed, but Oakley didn't even twitch.

"Right...about that," Oakley scratched the back of his neck. "I don't think I'm going to run this year."

"What?!" Fauna and Chester exclaimed together.

"But you loved being president," Chester reasoned.

"I did," Oakley shrugged. "But I think I should just take a break. Enjoy other things high school has to offer." He looked up to Chester and winked, making the Cheshire's purple cheeks change to a magenta.

"How about you?" Chester turned back to Fauna. "Still thinking pre-vet?"

"Most definitely," Fauna nodded. She was about to say more, but then she saw the wisps of green and pink hair. She faced the boys again. "I gotta go. I'll see you later!"

"Guys!" Fauna exclaimed as she almost tackled Laura and Eliza. Eliza's body tensed, while Laura simply laughed.

"Hey, Fauna," Laura greeted. "We were just looking for you."

"I knew I couldn't start my second year without you guys," Fauna's smile widened. "Any wishes for this year?"

After a moment of consideration, Laura grinned. "Power."

Eliza looked around, then at the doors. "Control."

"Doing it all together!" Fauna squeezed her two best friends before holing out her pinkies. "Fairy friends forever?"

Laura and Eliza exchanged glances before linking their pinkies to Fauna's. "Fairy friends forever," they repeated. Together, the three walked into the school, awaiting the fate of their second year.

One, an optimist.

The other, a skeptic.

The leader, a doomed and broken soul.