PEEP! BEEP! PEEP-BEEP!
The alarm's ringing sound echoes through the tiny cottage in the woods, frightening the birds and animals outside. There is a loud knock on the door before it opens.
"For Grimm's sake, turn the alarm off!" mr Badwolf barks angrily as he strides over to the bedside table and picks up the mirrorphone.
"Nnggh... Let me sleep, dad... Summer's not over yet..." the girl groans half asleep, half awake.
"How do you..turn it off? Argh!" he growls at the ringing screen as it won't budge at the touch of his large fingers.
"Wake up Cerise, otherwise you will be late!"
Cerise turns around in her bed, pulling up the duvet over her head. She is still so very tired and could most likely go back to sleep if she just closed her eyes for a little bit. She had dreamt that dream again.
"Cerise."
"I want to sleep, dad."
"Is that so?" there's an huge lot of extra weight on the bed as he sits down on the side of her bed. "Then you will be late for school, my girl."
Cerise sits up straight, faster than a firework. "What?!" her grey eyes are wide in horror, her hair a complete mess. "Why didn't you wake me sooner? Why didn't my alarm go off?"
Mr. Badwolf chuckles and drops the mirrorphone in front of her on the duvet and rises from the bed. "It was ringing. Is, in fact. I can't turn it off for some reason."
Cerise turns off the alarm without any trouble and then gets out of bed. "How late am I for school?"
"Oh you're not late, I was joking with you. But you better get ready because we need to leave soon."
"Thanks dad", she gives him a kiss on the cheek and walks out from her room, down the stairs to their cosy kitchen.
"Here we are! The portal to Ever After!" Madeleine Hatter giggles as she jumps up and down, pointing at the marvellous spiral hole in front of them. She turns to look at her friends, Bunny and Alistair. "What ever is the hatter with you two? Hm?"
Bunny sighs and looks down at her shoes. "It won't be the same without you, Maddie..."
The daughter of the Mad Hatter giggles and hugs Bunny tightly. "This is not goodbye, you know. But yes I will miss you too. Tell me, why aren't you transferring too?" she turns her head to the side, thinking.
"Leave Wonderland? Have you completely lost your head?" Alistair says with a sad smile, knowing she would get the joke. "Of course we're not transferring. And you know why."
"Yes yes, I know. It would just be so much more fun if the four of us would go together", Maddie replies and takes out a cup of tea from her curly hair. "Oh don't look like that, you knew she would be going too."
Bunny shakes her tiny little head. "I-I didn't know..."
Alistair takes her hand and smiles. "Don't be sad, Bun. It's not a warewell, you know."
"And not forever", Bunny sighs. "But ohh..."
"Yippie here she comes!" Maddie suddenly cries out and points with her whole arm towards the pink and purple hills where the princess of Wonderland approached. "Yohooo, Liiizzie!" Maddie sings out and waves with her whole arms, spilling out tea all around herself.
Lizzie Hearts stops before her three friends, looking more wonderlandiful and spellbinding than ever before. She smiles happily, knowing that her future is full of new things she could never had imagined. But when she sees Bunny's sad eyes she begins to cry. And not the pretty kind of cry.
"D-don't look like thaaaat, wh-why can't you be hap-happyyy for mee!"
"Oh Lizzie, I am happy it just that... that... Oh..." Bunny is unable to finish her sentence because she starts crying too. "I miss you alreadyyyy!"
"Aawwww Bunny-bunbun!" Lizzie whimpers and embraces her tiny friend in a tight hug. "I will miss you too."
A soft ringing sound starts to echo around them. Bunny and Lizzie both dry their cheeks with napkins and giggle softly at their emotional outburst. Maddie drinks her tea and shouts out: "Grouphug!"
"Have a wonderful term, you too", says Alistair as they all hug.
"You too, Alistair." Lizzie smiles.
Maddie grabs her by the arm and waves at the other two. "Say hi to pops for me!"
Alistair nods. Bunny waves goodbye and sniffs as they watch their two best friends walk through the portal to Ever After.
"I am so hexcited about starting school! Aren't you, Lizzie?" Maddie asks as they travel. All kinds of things passes by, chairs and pianos, even cakes and horses too. There's an explosion of different colours surrounding them. "I can barely wait to see Raven again, we had so much fun this summer."
Lizzie smiles at her and sighs. "I only hope that it will be better than in Wonderland. And that I will be working with fashion."
Maddie looks up at her friend and giggles, her bubbly laughter echoing through the portal all the way back to Wonderland.