Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Ben's Note of Sheer Awesome: Or for this story, should I call it Neb's Note? Nah, we're the same person, you get the general idea. Besides, Neb might think he knows what's about to happen, but even he can be shocked. How? Eh, you'll have to find out at the pace Neb does. I don't really have that much to say actually, so I might as well start chipping away!

Week 1-Tuesday

(Neb)

After resting up in the Mad Hatter's guest room (which the Mad Hatter kindly lent to him) Neb arose early and picked a spot to have a morning cup of chocolate milk. He was aware that he was in a tea shop, but cold beverages seemed to wake him up faster than hot ones. Currently, he was reading a few newspapers while simultaneously glancing out the window.

"Hi!"

"Gah!" Neb screamed, throwing his newspaper. He glared at Maddie as she giggled and sat down next to him. "Maddie. To what do I owe the displeasure?"

"Lemurs don't like police monkeys," Maddie giggled. "What are you up to? Are you having a tea party?"

"Does it look like I'm having a tea party?" Neb said flatly.

Maddie squinted her eyes at him. She looked be concentrating really hard, looking at Neb and around him. "Um…yes?" she guessed.

Neb facepalmed. "I'm checking old newspapers to see if anyone would want to kill Lizzie," Neb said, "while also waiting for her to come inside. She's been standing outside for over twenty minutes."

Maddie turned around. "Oh! She comes here every morning and does that. Normally she waits for her mother to arrive so they can have a heart-to-heart chat, them being Hearts after all! Although, since today's Tuesday, she's probably waiting for transportation to the Queen of Heart's castle."

Neb raised an eyebrow. "Does she go there every Tuesday?" Neb asked.

"Nope! It's scatter brained!"

"But you made it sound…"

"Sounds? Oh, I hear a clock, the sound of tea pouring, typing on your laptop…"

"Stop, not what I meant," Neb sighed. He then paused. "What laptop?"

"Nothing! Say, Lizzie's leaving!" Maddie said, pointing. Sure enough, Lizzie began to walk away, someone next to her. "Odd. Kitty doesn't normally come here to talk to Lizzie this early. She's normally asleep right now."

"Maybe we found our killer," Neb nodded and headed for the door. "Don't follow me."

Once Neb was gone, Maddie sat alone, staring at the door. With a big smile, she stood up and promptly began to follow the author.

(Lizzie)

"This random guy just walked up to you and asked if you had enemies?" Kitty asked her. "Sounds like you have a stalker!"

"Tell me about it," Lizzie groaned. They were currently walking toward Lizzie's mother's castle, which wasn't as far as one would think. Kitty knew a few short cuts, so Lizzie figured she could get her there faster.

Lizzie considered Kitty the night before. She called her up and asked if she would walk her to her mother's castle. This Neb figure was starting to freak her out. Lizzie knew she could take him if it came to it, but she didn't really want it to come to it.

"Who is he anyway? He doesn't sound Wonderlandian," Kitty pondered.

"I don't think he is. Neb Author. Author isn't a Wonderlandian last name," Lizzie sighed. She then offered Kitty a smile. "Thanks for walking me. I don't think I could handle being by myself."

Kitty shrugged. "Only a cat nap. Nothing that I can't do later," she said. "I was worried though when you called last night."

"I'm probably making it bigger than it is," Lizzie sighed. "I don't know Kitty. With the rumors of the Evil Queen circling and my mother getting in the 'betrothal' mood, I've been paranoid a lot."

Kitty offered Lizzie a sad smile. "Sorry about that. Not everyone can be commoners like me," she said.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "You still going on about how adorable Alistair is?" she asked.

Kitty blushed. "No! B-b-b-besides, he likes Bunny…"

Lizzie bit her tongue. She knew that was a lie. Alistair had had a thing for Kitty since they were little kids. Alistair had sworn her to secrecy though. He wanted to tell her when the time was right, so Lizzie had to wait before she said anything.

"Ah, we're here," Lizzie said, changing the subject. Indeed, Kitty and Lizzie, having taken short cuts Lizzie didn't even remember, were approaching Lizzie's castle. "Thanks for walking me Kitty."

Kitty shrugged and smiled. "Any time you need, just call," she said and vanished. Lizzie turned to the castle, sighed, and walked toward it.

"Ah, Lizzie! There you are!" the Queen of Hearts said as Lizzie walked into her Audience Chamber. "Come quick! I think I found you a proper suitor you can easily get rid of!"

Lizzie grit her teeth. She wasn't getting married for four years, and yet her mother was already planning her future wedding. She couldn't really blame her mother. The Queen of Hearts throughout the ages were known for slowly growing insane. Her mother had it and, despite hating to admit it, Lizzie had it. Granted, Lizzie's insanity wasn't as bad as her mother's… yet.

"Do we have to talk about that today mother?" Lizzie asked.

"Of course! We have to make sure everything about your future is planned to the tiniest detail! And eat cake! We can't forget about the cake. Guards! CAKE!" the Queen of Hearts shouted. The cards saluted and immediately brought in cake. "Ooo, cake!"

Lizzie giggled and sighed. "Actually mother… before we start… discussing, could I possibly play a few rounds of croquet? Just to get my brain working?"

"Brilliant idea Lizzie!" the Queen of Hearts beamed. "You do that and I'll eat cake. Sound good?"

Lizzie nodded and sighed in relief once she left her mother's presence. She had been avoiding that discussion every chance she got. She hated taking advantage of her mother's insanity, but she figured when… if she had kids, they'd do the same to her.

Lizzie rolled her eyes at the thought of kids. She loved children, with all her heart… but her? A mother? Lizzie loved her own mother beyond belief, but Lizzie couldn't picture herself with kids and being a mother they looked up to. Especially since Lizzie was losing grip on her sanity.

Croquet always seemed to help though. For some reason, everything seemed to go away, all her problems vanish when she was on the field. Lizzie knew it was because she was good at it… but maybe it was because it was one of the memories of her mother that was about love. Real love.

Lizzie smiled. Yeah. That was it.

(Neb)

"I don't get it. She seems perfectly fine," Neb muttered from the bushes. He was currently watching Lizzie play croquet, acting perfectly normal.

"What's perfectly fine?"

"Gah!" Neb yelped to find Maddie next to him. "I said don't follow me!"

"Silly, it's opposite day!" Maddie giggled.

Neb scowled. "If its opposite day, then by saying it's opposite day, it means it isn't opposite day," he said angrily.

Maddie digested that information. "Oh," she giggled. Neb rolled his eyes and continued to watch Lizzie. "Find the murderer yet?"

"No. Kitty was walking Lizzie because Lizzie's afraid of me. Geez, you meet someone once, and all of the sudden, I'm a stalker," Neb said, rolling his eyes.

"Considering you're watching Lizzie behind a bunch of bushes, you kind of are," Maddie pointed out.

Neb was silent. "Shut up," he grumbled. "I eavesdropped on Lizzie's conversation with her mother though. Apparently, Lizzie doesn't want to get married, at least, not be betrothed."

"Oh yeah! Her mom has really been trying to get Lizzie a future husband," Maddie said. "Couldn't find one that was disposable though."

Neb raised an eyebrow. "Disposable?" he asked her.

"You know. Every Queen of Hearts marries someone who they can get rid of," Maddie explained. "Not kill, mind you, just simply divorce."

Neb looked from Maddie back over to Lizzie. "Interesting," he said. "Perhaps I was closer to the killer than I thought I was."

BN: And there you have it! I thought I might need to explain something. Keep in mind that this story takes place before Alistair and Kitty hook up. Two years, actually. A lot of things that happened in the future might be different now because they haven't happened yet. The Queen's stress is one of them. This was before the curse, so the Queen's insanity isn't even half of what it's going to be after the curse.

Also, some of you (surprisingly) have PMed me about how Maddie was a useless character and shouldn't be in the story. Maddie's a pivotal character in every Wonderlandian couple story. (Except one, which is replaced with a different couple.) Heck, she's kind of crucial in this one. Neb, at this point in time, isn't a huge fan of EAH to begin with. Therefore, he doesn't know as much as he should about the universe. Maddie's kind of like Finch in the actually Person of Interest in this story. Neb replaces Reese. See how that works? Sure, Neb's the one who received the number, but Neb's kind of lacking in the thinky thinky department.

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