Swinging for Home by Lizzie Hearts
Cards and kettles! It's Tri-Castle-On day! Oh dear ... you must pardon my hexcitement. As my mother, Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts, would say, "No matter how the deck is shuffled, we must not lose our royal head!" I wonder, though: if she were me today, would she really manage to keep her crown?
Sometimes living so far, far away from Wonderland, I worry I might be losing a bit of my muchness. Ever After is perfectly enchanting, of course, but no place can hold a card to the tea-soaked charm of Wonderland. Only there do I feel like my true royal self! In the language of Wonderland, I would say, "Castles echo under walls so far to busy classrooms full of empty." In the language of Ever After I just say, "I miss my home."
Oh, but off with this dismal speech! I daresay today will increase my muchness much indeed! Tri-Castle-On day means just one thing, you know. Oh curtsy, of course it really means THREE things (and maybe even six more impossible things before breakfast), but for this royal girl the MOST important thing of them all is that Hextreme Croquet is on the schedule. Yes! Hextreme Croquet — the official game of Wonderland! And I am the official champion of the official game of Wonderland! Why, I've been winning Hextreme Croquet since I was just a Four of Hearts, and the only place I feel at home these days is out there on the lawn, regally swinging my flamingo mallet. That the people of Ever After have included such a majestic symbol of Wonderland in their Tri-Castle-On tournament is proof of their remembrance of my home. I graciously accept the honor of their respect on behalf of the Wonderland crown. And oh, my wickets, it's going to be royally spelltacular when I win!