Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Ben's Note of Sheer Awesome: Alright, so a few things are going to happen with this fic. This is going to take a course of two weeks. Mmkay? Two long probably painful weeks. The POV will switch between third person Neb and third person Lizzie, with occasional antagonist POV. Each chapter will have at least one Lizzie and one Neb though. I hope you enjoy it!

The Great Storycollector: Oh hey! I didn't expect you to check my minor EAH stories, but hey, thanks for liking it! This has been something I, myself, have been developing in my head for a while. Not necessarily for this fandom (my TD series will be involving this plot) but I figured to further explain a plot in my Kittystair fic, this needed to happen in this fandom. But thanks for reviewing! I appreciate all feedback!

Week 1: Monday

(Lizzie)

Lizzie Hearts knew a lot of things thanks to her mother. She knew how to run a kingdom, treat her people, and act like a lady. Lizzie followed every rule and was generally happy with what her mother told her to do. However, one thing escaped Lizzie's view. Something she figured she would never understand.

Love.

Lizzie found it funny, thinking about it in the Mad Hatter's Tea Shop in Wonderland. She was supposed to be an expert on hearts… and yet, love never seemed to be understood by her. Other people seemed to be in love, it seemed. She knew for a fact Harry March had a thing for Bunny Blanc and that Kitty Cheshire was madly in love with Alistair Wonderland. But… for her, there was nothing.

Her mother was no help. "To be a good queen, you must marry a rich but disposable husband," she always told Lizzie. "Look at me? I managed to raise you just fine without your father. Why? Because he was disposable."

Lizzie never grew up with a dad. That was probably why she and Kitty were close friends, since they were alike in that aspect. But Lizzie… missed that empty connection. She didn't miss that man (old drunkard, from what she heard) but she missed the love from a male figure. She didn't know how to feel about men… because she didn't have a male figure, like a dad, in her life.

While her mother said she didn't need a man, Lizzie felt differently about the subject. While men were disgusting and vile… Lizzie felt that one man was out there, just for her. She felt she couldn't run a kingdom on her own, despite what her mother said. She just… hadn't found the right boy yet.

"Pardon me," came a voice. Lizzie was stirred from her thoughts and looked up. A boy about a year or two older than her stood before her. He had messy brown hair and a pair of classes. His clothing was an old purple suit and musty brown suit. "Are you Lizzie Hearts?"

Lizzie looked at the boy like he was an idiot. "Of course I'm Lizzie Hearts," she said. "How can you not know me?"

"Oh geez, your royal highness," the boy said. "I didn't know that I was already supposed to know you. Sorry for being a daft idiot."

Lizzie raised a surprised eyebrow. "Are you… being sarcastic?" she asked.

"No," the boy said, rolling his eyes. Lizzie practically saw the sarcasm dripping from his mouth. "I know precisely who you are. I'm here for a few weeks, so I thought I ask around, get familiar with the faces."

"Then why ask me who I am?" Lizzie asked.

"Because I like people stating the obvious. Duh," the boy said, rolling his eyes again. "I'm Neb, by the way. Neb Author."

"I don't care who you are," Lizzie said, standing up. "It's been a displeasure meeting you Neb."

"Likewise," Neb nodded. Lizzie began to leave when Neb asked, "You don't happen to have any enemies, do you?"

Lizzie stopped and turned her head to look at him. "What business is that to you?" she asked.

"None. Except, you know, I could pass for a creepy stalker," Neb shrugged.

Lizzie glared at him. "As a matter of fact, I do," she said angrily. "I'm looking at him." Lizzie stomped off, out of the tea shop.

However, she practically screamed when Neb called out, "Helpful! Thanks so much!"

(Neb)

Neb glared at the door Lizzie left from. "Great. The person I have to save is annoying," he muttered. "Why couldn't she be a happy-go-lucky belly dancer?"

"You rang?!" came a way to chipper voice. Neb jumped in surprise and turned his head to see a girl wearing a hat in a purple belly dancer costume. "Hang on… I don't remember getting into this!"

"Sorry… trail of though," Neb muttered.

The girl cocked her head for a moment. "Oh! You must be the author!" she said, smiling. Neb jumped back in surprise while the girl giggled. "Madeline Hatter, but my friends just call me Maddie."

"Neb Author… but you knew that, didn't you?" Neb asked carefully.

"You're real name is Ben, you live in…"

"SH!" Neb said, grabbing Maddie's mouth. "People read this, remember? I don't want fangirls flocking my house!"

"Any guy I know would jump at fangirls flocking his house!" Maddie said through his mouth.

"I'm a different kind of guy," Neb muttered.

"Must be! Hey, weren't you talking to Lizzie Hearts just a few moments ago? She's fun! Well, kind of. She can be kind of moody sometimes, but don't worry, that's just Lizzie!" Maddie giggled.

Neb raised an eyebrow. "You know her well?" he asked.

"Yep! Everyone here in Wonderland is close! Well, the big head children of Wonderland, anyway," Maddie explained.

"So… does Lizzie have any enemies then?" he asked her.

"Um… I don't think so," Maddie said, shaking her head. "None that I know of, anyway. There's a lot of citizens here in Wonderland… not including the people in Ever After."

Neb sighed. "Great. Good thing she's not hatable in any way, shape, or form, right?" Neb said sarcastically.

Maddie cocked her head. "She's the future Queen of Hearts. I'm sure someone envies her," she said.

Neb facepalmed. "I was being sarcastic," Neb muttered.

"I know! I was too like a snake in the snotgrass!" Maddie giggled. "Say… do you have a place to stay Mr. Author? If not, you can crash here in my dad's tea shop! We have a spare room for random travelers!"

Neb sighed. "One, don't call me Mr. Author," Neb said. "Two, fine. I need a base of operations, so I guess here is a better place than anything."

Maddie clapped her hand happily. "Yay! You're just in time for tea time!" she giggled.

I'm totes going to regret this, Neb grumbled in his head.

BN: Shocking start, isn't it? I bet you guys expected a love at first site type of thing. On the contrary, Lizzie and Neb most definitely hated each other the first time they met. I've previously made easy relationships that just seemed to click, like Kittystair and Dexpid. I wanted to change things up and write a couple who absolutely despised each other. It's always been something I wanted to try, so I hope I do good.

Like? Hate? Meh? Let me know via review.