#frommaddie

Wow! At Wonderland High, even the class schedules are in Riddlish. Totally hat-tastic! But I’d better un-riddle this fast if I’m going to graduate before the Queen’s party.

"It’s always a failure to ever agree. I don’t see you, how can you see me? See me before the middle. Catch a fish with the end of this riddle."

Every year before the first day of school, Headmaster Grimm requests that all students attend a week of Orientation. Of course it's mandatory, but he likes to be polite. This year is special. On Legacy Day, we were to unlock the Storybook of Legends and pledge to follow our parents' fabled footsteps. I couldn't wait to throw my first Wonderland tea party! Of course, there was the small problem that they sealed the portal back home. Apparently the Queen of Hearts "lost a few cards from her deck", and became the Queen of Crazy. Wonderland was declared too dangerous. This made Princess Lizzie Hearts terribly upset, which is a shame. Lizzie's really a sweetheart, even though she's always shouting "OFF WITH THIS!" and "OFF WITH THAT!"

Anyway, we all gathered in the Charmitorium for our "Book to School" assembly. I always found the seats in the Charmitorum too uncomfortably rigid. The royal students have comfy lounge thrones in the top-level balcony, but that's another story. I dug through my magic hat for a seat cushion when I saw something strange: a dark room filled with spider webs. I knew right away I was having a vision.

It happens from time to time. You see, the world is so crazy that I sometimes see through the madness and into the future. It's really fun and exciting, especially since I never know when it's going to happen! Unfortunately, nobody ever believes me for some reason. Oh well! Inside the dark room was a cracked mirror. And not just any mirror...

The Magic Mirror. Silky fog started slipping out, when the mirror suddenly looked right at me and spoke one word... Raven.

I searched all over for Raven. Finally, when there was nowhere else to look, I went back to the library, and there she was! What luck! I tried to tell her what happened, but she couldn't understand. Maybe I was speaking Riddlish again. So, I just took her to the Vault of Lost Tales.

When I brought her to Librarian Grimm, he slammed the book he was reading.

"Flipping flapjacks ripping rust! Cutting corners dawn to dust!"

*Translation: "I'm frustrated! How long until I find the spell I need?"

I approached him. "Horsehoes, clovers, rabbits feet! Feathers, friends, we share a seat!"

*Translation: "Lucky for you, Raven and I are here to help you."

The next bit of Riddlish was a jumble. But when he pointed at Raven, I'm pretty sure he meant, "Listen, daughter of the Evil Queen. Destiny is a myth. If you pledge on Legacy Day to rewrite your own destiny, everyone will be free to choose their own Happily Ever After."

Tea-riffic! It's everything Raven always wanted! She doesn't have to be the Evil Queen! Nobody had to follow their parents' stories! Not even me!

I awoke to the sound of knocking. I knocked back "Ready or not, here I come!" I followed the knocking back to the library. This must be how Hansel and Gretel felt following the breadcrumbs!

When I went past the back office, I hit a wall. But it was a secret door wall! I knocked, "I found you, now let me in."

With a FLASH, I went from the school library to a maze filled with dusty old books. The knocking was much louder in here. Hallway after hallway, I twisted, wound and rounded, until finally I walked into an office with books scattered all over, and a bearded old man knocking on his desk. And imagine my surprise when he spoke Riddlish!

"Tapping two-ways trickle down, unto too fickle upside frown!"

*Translation: "I'm so happy! Someone finally heard my knocking call!"

I grinned, "White knight, sunshine; a place, a face, I have mine?"

*Translation: "Hello, what's your name?"

"Atop a crown, a whistle, steam! A book so sad but does not dream!"

*Translation: "Ah, you must be the daughter of the Mad Hatter! I'm the Master Librarian, Giles Grimm."

Librarian Grimm was cursed with a babble spell and locked in the Vault of Lost Tales. Now he's searching for the spell to break the curse. Then it dawned on me... Raven knows about spells! I told him, but he looked worried. Most people do. You'd think the daughter of the Evil Queen would be good at magic, but her spells usually backfire. That, and people assume she's mean just because of who her mom is.

"She's really nice," I reassured him, "She doesn't even want to be the Evil Queen."

The sign on my dorm door said Raven was my roommate. Yay! She's felt so cursed lately, I couldn't wait to cheer her up with an epic Maddie tea party! I unpacked my best tea pots, and when Raven opened the door, she gleefully sang my name! I gave her a big hug and bigger cup of tea, then asked about her day. She rolled her eyes and puffed her cheeks.

While I was knocking around, she was on a tour with the other fairytale "villains". Apparently they worship that she's the next Evil Queen. What a fairy-fail! But I know what makes Raven say "Hex yeah!" She loves this Wonderland game called "If I Didn't". It's a rhyming game where you imagine how to turn something dully ordinary into something else wonderfully extraordinary!

Raven started our game with, "If I didn't sleep in a bed..." I imagined someplace soft and cozy to sleep. I know! "... I would nap in warm bread!" It was my turn. I wanted something to make Raven smile. Oh duh, of course! "If I didn't have to be the Evil Queen..." Raven had trouble with this one. Almost like she couldn't find a rhyme for "Queen". After a minute of thinking, she whispered "I don't know."

Yes! Victory is mine! "Ha! I win Raven! Let's play again!"

"MADELINE HATTER!" Professor Rumpelstiltskin loudly squeaked my name. I joined the tour group with my friends Cedar, Blondie and Kitty Cheshire. Kitty is from Wonderland too. She smiles all the time, even when she's annoyed, which seems to be all the time. Despite what she might tell people, Kitty and I are great friends. "Oh godmother. It's Maddie. Tell me, can I ever rid myself of you?"

I love her riddles! Let's see... "rid myself"... Kitty vanishes when she gets bored. Things that are "boring" and "dull". And it's "of me". She knows I love riddles. That's it! "You 'rid dull' with riddles! I mean, you riddle with 'riddles'! Good one, Kitty!"

At first she sighed, but then perked up and scribbled on a piece of paper. "One more riddle for Maddie," she gave me a drawing of monster smashing a town. "What's this worth to you?"