*Furiously wipes away at the lack of sleep in her eyes*

Okay! Well here's another chapter for you guys! Hopefully you enjoy it, and I hate to say it... but I do not own Descendants because it all belongs to the Walt Disney Company. I know, right? This is definitely a big shocker. You know, I honestly don't entirely understand why fanfiction wants us to put this on every single chapter that we write because we are obviously making zero money. It probably doesn't help that I kind of suck at remembering to always put the little disclaimer at the top of everything I write, but seriously guys... why would I be writing this fanfiction for ya'll if I owned it? I mean, I would be out there doing the smart thing: making movies and therefore more money! xD

Eh-hem. Anyway, I am deeply sorry my little "three in the early morning" rant. So, without a further ado, here is the next chapter!

As the band students walked off to relieve themselves of their uniforms, Melody let out a laugh and gave Doug an amused look. She nudged him jokingly in the side.

"What was that?" the raven haired girl instantly grinned, already thinking back to her friend's interaction with Evie.

Doug only shrugged and let a sly smirk cross his features. The short trumpet player playfully nudged her in return and sent her a sarcastic look, replying, "I think I could ask you the same thing, Mel."

Melody scoffed, but blushed accordingly. The girl shook her head with her dark ponytail flying behind her and went to pull off her blue jacket, airily rolling her eyes in his direction. She eventually smiled down at him.

"Whatever," Melody offhandedly spoke, "I'm just concerned since you looked like you wanted to jump her bones, is all."

"What?" Doug cried in a rushed whisper. His face became hot, as he looked around himself, and he watched her guffaw openly at his utterly panicked expression.

Melody laughed, dutifully folding up her jacket, and idly setting it over her arm in order to carry the thick garnet in the band room to put it up for next year's lacrosse season. She tightened her hold around her flute and smirked with a firm amusement in her eyes. She continued, "Oh, don't act like you didn't hear me, dwarf boy."

"Oh yeah," Doug embarrassedly challenged, "Then what about you and that pretty blond boy, huh? Don't act like I didn't see you looking at him and the panic in your eyes when he so much as glanced at you... Honestly, it's easy to tell that you have a major crush on him. Just go up and talk to him. You're amazing, so what could you lose?"

"Same to you," Melody mumbled in her caring reply with a blush. She asked down to her best friend, "You do know that you already have a fair shot with Evie, right? I mean, she practically adores you already. Just go for it."

Doug's eyes opened in mild surprise.

"Y-You think so?" he quickly worried up to her, "B-Because sometimes I feel like she does, but then she will go and just act a certain way that says differently, and then I'm not too sure again-"

Doug exasperatingly shook his head, "Ugh, it's just so frustrating!"

"I'm sure that she likes you," Melody gave him a soft smile and reached over to gently pat his arm. The girl winked, before saying, "You just need to give the two of you young'ns a fair chance at a relationship. Give yourself a chance. Give Evie a chance."

At her kind words, Doug blinked in response but slowly let a smile form on his lips. He gave his friend a grateful glance.

"Thanks Mel," he replied softly with a light flush, "You don't give up either, okay?"

The girl in question merely grinned and fingered awkwardly at the loose fibers that hung off of her jacket. She gently mumbled, "Agreed. I guess we both have things that we need to work on this year, huh?"

"Yeah," Doug nodded in slow acknowledgement, before sighing dejectedly, as they finally neared the entrance of the band room.

Hesitatingly, his friend muttered a short, "Good luck."

Doug gave her a thin smile and duly replied, "You too."

Trudging forward, the pair mutually walked into the band room, and both let out an awkward laugh. They paused. With a faint blush, the two teens nervously turned to wave at one another, as they parted ways. It was true; the two friends would certainly need all of the luck that they could get.

"Are you sure that you will be alright here on your own?" Ben frettingly wondered down to a dejected Ace. The boy's head hung downward, as he sat sickly upon a small grey table, "Honestly, do not hesitate to say no, because I am more than okay with staying here to keep you company until the nurse can finally see you."

Ace gave a remorseful smile and looked tiredly up at Ben. He stared into the prince's brown eyes for a long moment, before he suddenly pulled away. It was almost funny how the slightly overbearing man seemed to hover around the younger boy like a nervous, handsome hummingbird. The teen grunted. He sighed pointedly, and his shoulders drooped for the hundredth time, as his fingers moved to grip tightly onto the table. His knuckles turned a stark white.

"Not that I don't appreciate your diligence Ben, because I kind of do, but I really would rather be by myself right now," the raven haired teen dimly admitted, "I'm sorry."

The prince felt taken aback, but then gave an understanding smile at the teen's apology. His eyes simply shined at the very thought of a villain ever saying the word sorry. It truly was a beautiful concept. There was definitely hope for this boy, yet.

Still, Ben worriedly said, "Okay, but only because that is what you wish. This was all my fault. It was so stupid and crass of me to expect you all to introduce yourselves to the entirety of the school... I really hope that you start to feel better soon."

At that, Ace allowed himself a true smile.

"That is correct," the villain humorlessly muttered. He watched, as Ben's shoulders suddenly dropped in dejection, and he immediately felt bad for the older male. The dark haired boy let out a hopeless chuckle, "However, thank you for at least trying to make me feel better. It really does mean a lot to me."

Upon hearing his words, the prince brightened. His happiness was dashed when Ace suddenly let out another sickly groan, and he gave a heavy frown. The elder student immediately turned worried.

"Are you okay? Is everything alright?" Ben rapidly fussed, staring at Ace with a pair of wide eyes, as he placed a careful hand over his stomach. The prince hastily moved to run outside the room and called back, "There is a trashcan behind you! I am going to go see if I can find the nurse."

As the sound of Ben running off entered Ace's ears, the younger boy instantly paled. He could not be there when they came back. He refused to be there when he came back. There was no way that he was staying there. The boy had to leave.

Sticking out his tongue in a look of moderate discomfort, the raven haired villain gingerly pushed himself off the table. He let out a dull grunt and a painful sigh when he felt his feet exhaustedly hit the ground below him.

"I can't be in here. Gotta go hide," Ace muttered softly to himself, already moving to look outside the awaiting door. He cheered inwardly when he saw that he was completely alone in the nurse's office. Bit by bit, stepping delicately into the hallway, the teen strode forward, until he suddenly turned his steps into a mad sprint. He had to move fast. He had to get out while no one else was here. The male let out an exhilarated laugh.

Ace smiled brightly, beginning to feel lighter, as he swiftly continued to struggle his way down the long corridor. He hurriedly searched for a place to hide. The teen suddenly stopped in his tracks, as a heavenly beam of yellow light entered his vision. He stared in confusion, before his gaze drifted upward to his left, and he felt a huge weightlessness when he saw that he was passing by a gargantuan window. He grinned. His heart skipped like a record, as behind the piece of glass stood a grand and intricate landscape. A magnificently tall form of escape; a hedge maze. It was absolutely beautiful, yet also somewhat foreboding. Perfect.

Now that the teen had finally found his destination, Ace's grin became grander, and a bit of a pep entered his step at the thought of finally getting some alone time. This was a gift from himself, after all. This is what he wanted right now; to be completely alone, although unknown to him, this was definitely not what he needed. But he had always had trouble with knowing how to dig a little deeper. The teen needed to learn how to talk through his issues and learn how to understand others. Not run away. In the end, running would always solve nothing.

Yet, the long haired boy continued to huff indelicately and sprinted as fast as his shaking legs could take him down the seemingly never-ending hallway. He took in a deep breath, glancing hastily around himself, but failed to see the pair of sparkling green eyes, which meticulously followed him down the hallway from a hidden corner. The two emeralds sharpened understandably, and the figure studied him closely, before gradually moving forward. It stared. Blinking curiously, the owner of the eyes allowed a gentle but firm smirk to grace its features. Instantly, the tiny person erupted into a set of gentle, girlish giggles.

"Well, what is this?" it wondered aloud, "Running and running. Just running away from problems."

The shadow crept further and gave the large, toothy grin of a mad man. Its' emerald eyes sharpened.

"Curiouser and curiouser," the unknown giggle spoke into the distance and noiselessly emerged from the shadows. The short bob of blond hair that sat on its head bounced a little, and the slinking figure stopped for a brief moment, before swiftly beginning to follow him down the hallway. It skipped once, humming an almost inaudible tune. Something about a lobster, she thought. A moderately mad chuckle escaped its' throat. It was completely giddy at the thought of its' next chase.

"And here are the men's dorms," Mal smiled over to the villains, as she led them into the male dormitory. They trampled like a bunch of tourists into a grand and miraculously sized hall. A beautiful crystalline chandelier hung from the ceiling above them. Both Amedee and Major gazed around themselves in slight wonder, and then trained their eyes back onto the purple haired girl in front of them. The former male gave her a charming smile.

"I wonder," the dark boy jibbed, casually slinking up to her side, "But is there any way that you could show us up to our rooms?"

Mal let out an awkward laugh but sent him a tad grin. She politely declined his question. Amedee instantly frowned.

"Well, you are welcome up there any time," he casually muttered, although his brows furrowed uneasily. Most girls would have literally jumped at the opportunity to come up to his room for some... activities. But not this girl. Not Mal.

The witch smiled and pointed over to a nearby wall.

"There is a map on the wall over there which will show you how to locate your rooms. Don't worry, they are very easy to locate. Oh, which reminds me," the teen trailed off, as she reached into her pocket to pull out a trio of room keys that she had picked up from the front office earlier, "Here is a key for the two of you, plus one for Ace. They each have the number of your room engraved on them, so it definitely should be hard for you to forget it. Please, just make sure that you keep a good eye on your room keys. There is no telling what someone would do if they ever got a hold of them."

Major dutifully nodded, but delicately reached for the three keys. He stared deeply into her eyes, as his own moderately thick fingers wrapped around the thin pieces of seemingly normal copper. The teen gave her an attractive leer. His eyes seemed to glow an imaginary purple, and she stared blankly up at him, completely unaffected by his magic and utterly clueless at his obvious attempts to flirt with her. Still, the ex-villain did not notice his advances. Major felt his overconfident heart twist in annoyance. This woman was supposed to fall for him. Everyone was suppose to fall for him!

Beside the two teens, both Demetriades and Jenny let out a pleased scoff, and he sent them an annoyed stare. They made a mocking face at him, before conjointly snickering at his expression. Then their gazes turned, and their eyes locked, only to force themselves to face huffily away from one another. The pirate and goddess mutually crossed their arms in mild derision. They each glowered heatedly.

Finally, Major muttered, "Right," and scowled finely at the pair.

With a sigh, the appealing brunette simply shrugged and moved to carelessly offer Amedee his own private key, before pocketing his specific key, "Noted. I will pass it on to the barf boy."

Mal nodded, but then allowed a worried expression to form on her features. She smiled sadly, "I really hope that he starts to feel better. I told Ben that it would not be a good idea to try anything too drastic, and he did not listen to me. Of course he did not listen to me-"

Immediately, both Major and Amedee perked in interest.

"-but I had no idea that anything like this would happen. I love him, but god he can really be exhausting."

The two instantly deflated, looking down to glare discreetly at the ground beneath their feet. As their gazes traveled upward, the teens accidentally looked at each other and silently crossed their arms. Both moved their stare to gaze directly at Mal. She stilled.

The girl in question merely raised an eyebrow at their expressions and apologetically continued, "I truly am sorry for all of the trouble this seems like for you. It sucks. I know it does. I know exactly how you are feeling right now, but I am sure that you will come to enjoy it here. The rooms are really nice and clean, and the halls are usually very quiet. There are no talking mice or dancing broomsticks in the hallways. Almost everyone that you come into contact with here is completely hospitable."

Suddenly, Demetriades raised her hand again and quipped, "Yeah. Like I said before. I really want to meet these people."

The four other villains, including Mal, all turned to give the goddess a dubious stare. The group blinked, before the majority of the villains gave Demetriades a villainous smirk. Standing there, Mal failed to notice the quick exchange. She looked questioningly at Demetriades. From her place at the back of the group, Sherah just stared in minor doubt, while her brows furrowed unsurely.

The goddess shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "What? I like the bad ones. What can I say?"

The group stared, until Mal ultimately cleared out her throat and spoke over to the two boys, "Well you two are certainly welcome to head on up into your rooms now if you wish. Your bags from the Isle should have been brought in there by now, as we had them transported for you when you first arrived from the car, via the wonders of a magic carpet. You know, they are surprisingly fast, believe it or not."

Mal smiled brightly at the thought and said, "Actually, Ben and I even took a ride on one once. It was magical."

As the girl spoke, Jenny made an obvious gagging gesture. She let out a loud, attention grabbing gag in Mal's expense, and the target of her joking's eyes widened. The rest of the crowd just stared on with an amused gleam in their eyes, and even Sherah had to give a tad chuckle. They could all agree that it really was quite gross having to listen to the freshly turned good girl talk about the love and goodness that she had discovered from her short courtship with Ben. He was such a strapping young fellow. It set the villains on edge, and they vowed to never let anything betray their love for villainy, even Sherah. She was determined to set people upon the path of redemption, no matter what.

"Stop that," Demetriades commanded, although the teen had absolutely no room to talk. The goddess had been making fun of the annoyingly happy and violet haired girl silently from behind her back her entire there, "That's wrong. How about I go and actually choke you, huh?"

"Oh, aren't you the pot calling the kettle black," Jenny sarcastically replied. Unlike Demetriades, the dark pirate did not care if she let her mocking be known to everyone. Seriously, the raven haired girl even wanted Mal to know that she openly hated her. She sought justice. The pirate blamed her for her shortcomings, and she wanted the infuriating witch to know just what she thought of her; that she had absolutely no reason to be happy here.

Jenny raised her fists in a threatening stance, "You want to go, pinky? I'll have you know, I'm known as Jenny Left Hook back home."

"Funny," Demetriades breathed, "Because I have lived for literal centuries beneath the Isle, and I have never heard of you until today... How queer, don't you think? I wonder why that is."

"Oh, it is on!" Jenny cried.

Demetriades visibly sneered, "Actually, to tell the truth, it is only the first day, and I am already getting sick of you and that utterly detestable face of yours. Maybe it's time I helped you by getting rid you of it, hmm?"

The goddess lit a dangerously hot pink flame within her palm and bent down into a threatening stance. She arched her finger. Jenny physically paled. The overly confident pirate turned fearful and quickly shut her lips. She really needed to learn how to keep her mouth shut!

Gasping, Mal took a hurried step forward and allowed her eyes to turn a slightly darker shade of green.

"Now, now girls," the thin ex-villain called in a rushed tone. She threw both hands up in an attempt to soothe the feuding females, "Let's not get carried away here. How about the three of us just head on over to the girl's dorm where you can calmly talk about this-"

Demetriades scowled and barked, "No, we will settle this now!"

The goddess threw the ball of sparkling fire towards Jenny, and the raven haired girl immediately yelped in fear. Ducking precariously, the teen gasped and fell onto the floor and baulked at the fire as it flew over her head. Demetriades could only stare. The small troop of students watched on with wide eyes and baited breath, as the ball of fire went flying towards the front doors of the male's dormitory. The group gasped, as a handsome brunette stepped unknowingly into the giant hall, still casually holding the door open behind him. He turned his head and looked up, instantly gaping at the ball of flame suddenly heading straight towards him. He stilled. The pink fire ran hotly by his side, only missing him by a few centimeters, and slammed directly into the wall behind him. His deep green eyes stared as if he had seen his entire life flash before his very eyes. After a very long moment of drawn-out gaping, the male slowly scrunched up his nose and carefully sniffed at the air around him in distaste. A hollow frown appeared on his face.

"Smoke," he eventually muttered through his shock and mutely took a step backwards out of the doorway. He paused visibly, before resoundingly turning and closing the door flatly behind him, "Smoke."

Mal instantly cringed. At his retreating form, she hurriedly cried, "Sorry Flynn! Oh god. You nearly killed him!"

"But I didn't," Demetriades happily countered, "And if you were paying attention, then you would know without a doubt that I did not, in fact, kill him."

To her left, Jenny took in a set of extremely loud and comical breaths, continuing to breath in long, terrified gasps. In and out, in and out, the girl hyperventilated, as she thought of the fire which had been aimed at her head. She physically whitened, and her eyes turned to stare fearfully at the now moderately quiet goddess.

"That doesn't matter!" Mal continued to panic, "But what if you had? What if you hurt someone else? Oh god, oh god."

Demetriades laughed, "That is gods to you, girl. There is definitely more than one god. I should know."

"Excuse me?" Sherah suddenly spoke up from out of the blue, "But there is only one true god. He is the god of the earth, the world within an entire universe which only took him seven days to create."

The goddess stared, but barked a scornful laugh in her face. She smiled knowingly at the tiny human and said, "You know, I really hate to burst your bubble girl. No, wait. Actually I don't, but your precious 'god' is really just a fat lard named Zeus who loves to screw everything and everyone but Hera. Poor woman. It's quite sad, really."

"You take that back," Sherah seriously cautioned, as her dark grey eyes filled with a scalding passion. The death grip that she held around her bible tightened, and a few burning tears entered her gaze.

Demetriades arrogantly rolled her eyes, "Or what short stuff? You wanna hit me with your book or something?"

Mal let out an exhausted sigh and gave both Amedee and Major an agitated look. The two guys shook their heads in a negative fashion and jointly shrugged their shoulders at her question. No, they had no idea how in the hell to stop this, and frankly, they did not feel like jumping in on the action. The pair was perfectly content with just standing mutely on the sidelines and watching the fight with mild glint in their eyes.

As Mal turned away from them, the darker male let his eyes flash a deep purple. He subtly flicked his wrist, and smirked as a dark shadow noiselessly chuckled and rushed to pull gaily on Demetriades' shadow. It dutifully drug her down onto the ground, and she bellowed out a violent scream, her eyes turning a stark red.

"Who did that?" she echoed into the large hall with her head burning at a scalding temperature, "Who dares to pull me down?"

Mal tiredly threw an exhausted hand onto her face, letting out a short whine. She groaned audibly and stared at the fuming goddess who laid on the floor, steaming in her spot. The pretty blond turned a fuming shade of pink.

"I am a princess of the Underworld," the goddess arrogantly cried out, "And I will not be treated this way! You hear me? I will not!"

From within the depths of his lair beneath the Isle of the Lost, Hades grinned mercilessly down at his daughter's dramatics, as he stared humorously through the glossy sheen of the Present Fate's eyeball. Well, he was thoroughly entertained. The god lowered it down from his face and picked off a random stray hair that had somehow gotten stuck on it and carefully handed it over to the grotesque looking woman. She huffed indelicately. The fate beside her let out a girlish giggle and gave a crooning aw. The old bat with snakes in her hair had always had a stupid liking for the younger god.

Gazing over at the sister, Present, the ruler of the Underworld charmingly said, "Again, thank you for showing me that. You're beautiful. I love ya."

He gave her a charismatic smile, as his eyes trained over to the slightly shorter sister beside her. He swiftly crooned, "And aren't you looking truly radiant today Future. As always, a Fate worse than death."

The middle sister allowed him to prod delicately at her snakes, and two sisters beside her frowned. The shortest of the three Fates suddenly grabbed the eye from Present's hand. Future let out a hopeful yet disheartening moan. Past immediately groaned. There was no stopping their middle sister.

"Alright, alright," her smoky voice said, "Here you go."

Haughtily, she tossed the orb over to Future, and the middle-sized Fate smiled with glee. She eagerly threw it up into the air, dutifully wanting to share what she could about the future with Hades. From their spot, all three of the Fates gazed at the ball through their blank eye holes. The god of the Underworld smirked, consciously knowing that he had the little Fate fully wrapped around his bluish finger.

The group of four spirits all watched, as the orb erupted into a giant ball of light. A blue image, edged in white, appeared in the air above it.

Hades felt his eyes narrow dangerously at what he saw.

"By this same day in four months, exactly," the Future Fate carefully versed, "a life-changing truth will be stated matter of factly, and upon the very skin of your daughter's subtle left hand shall sit the heavy, hard weight of a warm promise band that once forged in the strongest of metals and golds, will fit her within the most comfortable of molds, as the boy of her affections shall leave many traces, yet the strength of their love will seem to grow from odd places."

Staring up into the image before him, Hades let out a violent yell. Absolutely, no one would take his daughter away from him!

"What?" he furiously screamed.

Past eerily grinned up at him. The shortest and most brutal of the three sisters happily grumbled, "Congratulations, Hades. You've got a son-in-law."

Ace let out an exhausted breath of air, as he finally arrived in the middle of the hedge maze. He was used to such obsticles, so he knew that he would have no trouble finding his way out. The boy fell onto his knees in complete exhaustion and breathed heavily into the surrounding silence. He sighed tiredly. The teen took a slight comfort in the fact that he was totally alone at the moment. Finally, he was actually beside himself.

Or at least, he had thought he was alone.

A female voice broke through the underbrush.

"Who. Are. You?" the stranger iterated.

Ace physically jumped and noticeably whitened at the implications of her presence. He could not fathom why someone would have followed him out there, but the very idea of the notion only seemed to creep him out. The teen swallowed and sat himself delicately onto the ground, thoughtfully throwing his arms around himself. He stared suspiciously at his surroundings.

The teen quickly parroted her words, speaking on edge into the distance, "Excellent question. Who. Are. You?"

A lengthy moment of stillness followed his question, until a gentle chuckle was eventually heard. He gawked, as the form of a thin, blond haired female easily slunk out from the depths of a nearby shrubbery. The stranger grinned openly.

"Touché," the apparent owner of the voice jilted, "Perhaps there is promise for you, yet."

At her sudden out of nowhere appearance, Ace could only stare in wide-eyed shock.

He managed to mutter, "H-How did you-"

"Magic," the pretty girl casually spoke, "And just a little bit of madness. You could almost say that they seem to work like a… charm."

The dark haired boy could only stare up at the girl, until he finally narrowed his eyes. Eventually, he managed to reply through his indigence.

"Okay, I am not sure," he slowly began, "but was that a very terrible pun that you said just now?"

The stranger merely blinked but completely ignored his question.

"You seem sad," she pointed out, staring almost too curiously down at him. There was a strange kind of familiarity in her eyes, and Ace's own orbs widened, as he noticed a bit of the caring nature that was hidden deep within her orbs. How odd for her to even care, he thought idly to himself. He was definitely not used to people caring about how he felt.

Ace said nothing, and the two watched each other's eyes, soundlessly staring into one another's gaze. The boy jumped when her voice suddenly broke through the thickening silence.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" came her confusing, abrupt inquiry.

Puzzled, Ace looked at her with a new curiosity in his eyes.

"W-What?" he managed to choke.

The unknown girl simply shook her head at him and bent down onto her knees. She gave him a deep, questioning stare and airily repeated her question.

"I asked, why is a raven like a writing desk? Honestly, it is not that hard of a question to remember."

Ace blinked and could only stare at her dumbly. She let out an irritated sigh.

"Come on, Tweedle Dum. It is merely a question. A question with just eight words. A question with just ten syllables. Words, words, words made of numbers, numbers, numbers. Just a question."

When the boy in front of her said nothing, the girl easily moved to sit beside him. She reached over and gently took a hold of his hand, turning it so that the palm was facing upward. The girl paid no heed to Ace's surprised blush. Her eyes narrowed, and she carefully studied his hand, moving one of her small fingers to gently run it across his skin, softly tracing the lines of his palm. She smiled cheekily.

"Did you know that people can tell your future by reading your palm?" she asked, smirked through the entire thought, "Believe it or not, I can read your lifeline. Would you like me to tell you what your future holds?"

Flushing at the feel of her gentle touches, Ace swallowed hollowly. A deep weight settled in his throat, and he gave a dumbfounded nod.

"S-Sure," he eventually managed to stutter, "W-What d-does it say?"

The beautiful blond beside him merely shrugged, but narrowed her eyes at his hand. She carefully looked over the now slightly sweaty palm. A firm smile made its' way across her porcelain-like cheeks. Ace could only stare. She really was breathtaking, just like an imported china doll that was made of the finest porcelain and fabrics. He blushed further when her fingers wrapped tightly around his hand.

The male took in a sharp breath, and the blond looked up at him, gazing deeply into the eyes.

"I see happiness," the girl stated clearly into his orbs. Ace stilled, utterly wide-eyed.

Grinning, she said, "I also... see lots and lots of flowers... and sunshine… Queerly enough, I also see crumpets. Oh, and butterflies fluttering in the breeze! I see you having a friend."

Ace blinked at that. Him having a friend? The dark eyed male stared straight at her, his brows slowly narrowing in suspicion. Who was this girl, and why was she saying such weird things? The boy's hand faltered in her tight grasp.

"I see you this afternoon," she continued, somberly closing her eyes as she continued to feel at his skin, "Yes, yes. You are sitting at a tea party. My tea party."

The girl immediately opened her eyes, and a bright, knowing gleam entered them. She confidently pat at his hand a few times, before unexpectedly abandoning his hand and jumping up into a standing position. A confident smirk shown within her eyes.

"Meet me in the gardens at three," she briskly commanded, authoritatively pointing down at him.

Ace blinked in shock, "What-"

"No what, ifs, ands, or buts. Just action!"

Ace stared confusedly and cried, "Wait, what are you even talking about?"

"What my family specializes in, of course!" she jovially replied, already turning to leave, "Meet me at the gardens! Three o'clock this afternoon!"

"Wait," he yelled through his shock, "W-What is your name?"

The blond stranger merely glanced over her shoulder and winked mysteriously, as she silently reached into the depths of the light coat that hung over her shoulders. She drug out her arm and miraculously pulled out a tall top hat that was covered in a mass of blue ribbons and glitter. Her grip tightened around the hat's rim, and she mutely placed the decorated top hat upon her head; a tall pin sticking precariously out of one side. The girl grinned widely, as a terribly mad gleam entered her gaze. Ace's dark orbs widened further. He openly gaped at the odd female.

"Lidia Ladell Hatter, of course," her chipper voice quipped, "Now goodbye sir, Ace of Hearts. I guess I will be seeing you anywhere."

"Wait, what-"

With that said, Ace stared in shock as the daughter of the Mad Hatter and the impossible girl, Alice, suddenly popped out of nowhere. She left him in a blunt, mind-boggling silence. He gawked noiselessly at the suddenly utterly vacant space of air before him for a long minute, until the boy eventually shook his head. His lips settled into a firm, but careful line. So this was the offspring of his mother's enemy…

"What is going on with me?" Ace sighed softly at his predicament, and softly crossed his arms in front of his chest.

The teen threw his head down and let out a lengthy moan into his embrace. Wooow, this royally sucked.

He stared thoughtlessly into the distance and muttered, "I am going absolutely mad."

Ace puffed out his cheeks with an indelicate flush still sitting across his mounds. He sighed hotly. The lad hated how his heart had begun to thump wildly in his chest, as her touch suddenly registered throughout his censors. It had been breathtaking.

Ace stilled. The teen knew that his mother would hate him for his next thought.

It was absolutely ridiculous… but who would have ever thought that the girl born of both lucidity and insanity would have been this cute?

"Totally bonkers," the boy muttered.

Ace laid his back down onto the ground below him and raised a tired hand over his eyes. He shaded them carelessly from the sun, but gazed upward into the warm, blue sky. Flushing, the raven haired boy stared embarrassedly up into the great unknown and let out a content sigh. The sun reminded him of her. He had only just met the girl, and he was already fantasizing about her.

To think, the daughter of Alice Liddell and the son of the Queen of Hearts actually meeting one another in this goody two-shoes high school. What a pair. What a joke.

At the thought, Ace chuckled mirthlessly. The boy turned dismally onto his side and stared blankly at the grass that irrevocably blocked his gaze. He gazed at the lone, yellow flower, which danced easily along with the breeze amongst the tips of short greenery. He sighed pitifully.

What a joke, the young teen mused, snickering sadly to himself. All that mercury and genetics must have gotten to her head.

Still, Ace knew that, if anything was true, he was the joke. The beautiful Hatter was merely the jester.

And what a funny joke he was, indeed.

Okay, wow. First thing first: I really did start to ship Ace and Ben while writing this. Honestly, I was writing that one scene between them, and I actually thought, "Why does this sound really gay in my head?" Not that I have any problem with gay people, but it was weird. Then I had another thought, "Still, Ben is a nice guy. That is his character; a really nice guy. It's in character for him to be that doting towards someone, right? Right?!" Anyways, nothing will happen between these two at all like that, unless you guys find it interesting. I still ship Ben and Mal… Although this chapter did give me some shipperitis. But whatever.

** Secondly, here is our first review poll for this story: Who do you think Demetriades should end up with, if anyone? Leave me a review and tell me what you think.

Finally, before I go, I would like to give a big thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed this story so far, and I would like to give an even bigger thank you to everyone who has written a review. I love being able to hear what you guys think, and you have no idea how much us writers really appreciate being able to interact with ya'll. So, with that said, as always feel free to make any suggestions on what you would like to see in here. That's all folks!

Till next time, xoxo.