Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Ben's Note of Sheer Awesome: Been a while since Neb and I had a solid chat. He said he wanted me to have him write this fic because he loves Lizzie and he wants people to see him tease her in public. I agreed, because Neb is practically me. In fact… Neb is me, in case people still haven't figured it out. However… something Neb doesn't know. I like to tease him more than I like to tease Lizzie. Hehehehe… let's do this!

Week 1: Wednesday

(Lizzie)

Lizzie sighed as she sipped some of the tea from her cup. She had returned from her mother's castle the night before, completely mentally exhausted. After pretty much ignoring her mother most of the day, the Queen of Hearts caught onto Lizzie's disception and gave her a lecture about running Wonderland. Lizzie assured her mother there would be other times to discuss betrothal and the Queen of Hearts agreed and ate some cake.

Lizzie sighed, rubbing her eyes. She truly loved her mother… but betrothal? Lizzie just wasn't ready to pretty much be sold off to any random man her mother thought of. Sure, Lizzie would dispose of him and run the kingdom… but what if Lizzie didn't want a disposable man?

"Don't be silly," Lizzie muttered to herself. "'All men are disposable'. Mother's never wrong…"

"And neither are goats, but we never give them time to listen!" Maddie giggled, sitting across from Lizzie. "How do you like the tea?"

"Wonderlandiful, as always," Lizzie said, sighing. "Maddie… is it wrong that I disagree with my mother on this whole betrothal thing?"

"Depends on how you look at it," Maddie said.

"I just think… there's someone out there for me," Lizzie sighed. "But… I'm afraid… my mother won't approve of him and I'll get bored of him eventually. I don't want that… but I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life. Like my mother."

Maddie remained silent for a moment. "No one wants to be alone," Maddie said after a while. "But even when we are alone… we aren't. Whoever we're meant to be with… they're here Lizzie." Maddie stood up and leaned across the table, pointing at Lizzie's heart. "We just don't know who they are yet."

Lizzie smiled and gave Maddie a hug. "Thank you," she said. "That's been bugging me a lot."

"No biggie," Maddie giggled. "Say, you know that new guy in town?"

Lizzie's smile was replaced with a scowl. "Blagh. Neb," she muttered. "I hate that guy…"

"So you have met him," Maddie guessed.

"Yes… and Maddie, stay away from him," Lizzie warned. "I could have sworn he was stalking me yesterday… just be careful if you have to talk to him."

"Do little lambs get lost in a wolves stomach?" Maddie giggled.

(Neb)

In the spare room of the Mad Hatter's Tea Shop, Neb was standing on his head, thinking to himself. He had been doing this since he got back the night before. He had dark black bags under his eyes and looked nauscious as he swayed back and forth.

"Hey Mr. Author! Lizzie's in the…" Maddie said, bursting into his room. She trailed off when she noticed what he was doing. "Why?"

"Helps me… think," he grumbled before falling over. "Oh dear cheese… that was not a good idea…"

"You don't have a lot of those, do you?" Maddie asked him.

Neb muttered something as he resituated himself into the sitting position. "I don't like you," he muttered. "What did you say about Lizzie?"

"She's in the shop now," she said. "From what I heard, this betrothal is really bothering her."

Neb nodded. "Fits with my new theory," he said. "Good news Maddie, Lizzie's not in danger of dying."

"Good," Maddie sighed in relief.

"She's secretly plotting someone's death, more than likely her own mother's."

"You lost me."

"Allow me to explain," Neb said dryly. "Lizzie's not a fan of this big betrothal thing, correct? She also, by some extent, have some concept that men are disposable. So, this is how I see it. Lizzie wants the throne but doesn't want to get it through marriage. The only other way Lizzie can gain the throne is if her mother dies. Therefore, Lizzie's plotting her mother's death, hence why Lizzie's number came up. It's not Lizzie who's going to die. It's her mother, by Lizzie's hand."

"Interesting theory," Maddie said. "One problem."

"And what could that possibly be, oh smarter than me," Neb asked, sounding annoyed.

"Lizzie idolizes her mother. She wouldn't kill her, even if this betrothal isn't the best idea," Maddie said.

"People lie," Neb said flatly. "It's the best thing I have. No one I've seen wants to kill Lizzie. The only other thing it could be is if Lizzie wants to kill someone."

"Could be, but it's not Lizzie's mother," Maddie said firmly.

"Agree to disagree," Neb said, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a girl I need to stalk."

Neb left the room, leaving Maddie alone. "Yeah, that didn't sound any better in his head as it did out loud," Maddie sighed.

(Lizzie)

Lizzie's day went by quickly. It was mostly uneventful… well, as uneventful as Wonderland can get. It was getting late by the time Lizzie decided to head home. Or, at least… as close to home as she wanted to go.

Unlike most would think, Lizzie didn't live with her mother. Lizzie had a cabin in the Wonderlandian woods which she stayed in. She figured it was best if they lived a part, mostly for the betrothal, but also for the fact the Queen of Hearts was paranoid. Lizzie figured if she and her mother were apart more often than not, Lizzie's sanity would stick around longer.

Lizzie made her way through the woods by herself. Wonderland was a safe enough place for Lizzie to know she'd be fine roaming the woods alone. Plus, she'd been doing it since she was ten. Nothing had ever happened before, and nothing would now.

As she made her way through the forest, she couldn't help but feel… cold. It wasn't the temperature outside… it was something else. Lizzie continued her way… only to freeze in place. She took a breath and looked ahead.

"Go ahead. Do it," she said, her voice shaking.

"Oh Lizzie," came a male voice full of sarcasm. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already. Besides, I'm not in the killing business. Unlike yourself."

BN: Yeah, raise your hand if you think Neb is a stalker. *everyone in the universe raises their hand, including Neb* See? Anyway, this chapter was basically to set up Neb's wild theory that Lizzie's going to be a murderer. We all know that it's an insane theory, but remember, Neb doesn't know the series as well as he does in 101 Ways Kitty and Alistair Are Adorbs. He doesn't know Lizzie's love toward her mother. I find it kind of funny to write Neb before the events of the Kidnapping Arc in my other fic simply because he's an amateur at being an author. Funny how the cycle works, huh?

Also, Lizzie's issue with the betrothal. Here's my thing on it. Lizzie knows that, in her heart, someone out there is for her. She doesn't know who, but she knows they're there. Lizzie's having a hard time with it because she doesn't know if her mom is right, but her opinion is also right. Is the perfect man for her disposable? That's her mind-set as she goes through all of this, because she doesn't want him to be disposable.

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