The interior of the cottage was bigger than Maya remembered. Remembered was probably the wrong word. But it was bigger here than it was in real life. There were pieces of her life in the castle and her life in the cottage. Riley's sunflower plants lining the windowsill, the golden tapestry along her bed from her parents, her bookshelf full of words she never read at the castle, the stack of sketchbooks Zay had brought home from the market he went to once a month.

Relief wasn't quite the right word for what Maya felt. Maybe grateful was. Profoundly grateful. She was so tired, but she didn't want the life the younger, demon version of herself would suggest. She didn't want to sink into the earth, but to sink into the arms of the people who'd loved her for her entire life, in the place where she'd truly known home. She hadn't had the happiest childhood. She wouldn't pretend that she did.

But it wasn't nothing. Maya could have reminisced about her home for the longest time, but there were three people she was very, very eager to see. One dressed in green, one in red, and one in blue. Her family. She practically ran into Riley's arms. Riley had always been her favorite.

"How are you here?" she cried. "Are you asleep too?"
She pulled back and Riley tucked a loose strand of Maya's hair behind her ear, an achingly familiar gesture. "No, Peaches, we're not."

"Then - I don't understand."

"We're not really here."

Maya furrowed her eyebrows, pulling away and looking at the three people standing in front of her, gently smiling. Isadora's face held the hint of impatience, which wasn't anything new. They weren't attacking her, so she guessed they weren't Maleficent's demons. So what were they then?

Isadora answered Maya's question as if she had heard her. "We're fragments of your mind as it sinks deeper into your subconscious. That's why this house looks different than the cottage. Your reality here is completely subjective."

Maya looked to Zay to decode what Isadora meant. "She just means that we're part of you. I think. I don't know what she means half the time." Maya laughed. God. She'd missed them so much. "What we are, is part of your memory. The deepest part. I would say the most important part."

Isadora cut in. "No, all the parts of Maya's memory hold equal weight, it's just a matter of how close they are to the surface."

"I know, Isadora, I was trying to do a cute family thing. Forget it."

Maya was thrown back to the castle, when they were specks telling her to wake up. "You tried to save me in the castle, didn't you? That was you guys."

"Not exactly," Isadora said. "That was us in the real world. Or, the waking world, I suppose, to give a more adequate definition. Like Zay said, this is the deepest part of your memory, the only place Maleficent can't access. You guard the memories here very carefully." Then, Isadora looked at Maya with a little twinkle in her eye. "So do we." Isadora was never one to be as affectionate as Riley or as emotional as Zay, but she had her ways of showing her love.

"But that thing, the version of me as a child. What was that then?"

Isadora grimaced. "That was real. Maleficent just nudged it awake. But that child has always been close to your heart, Maya. I'm sorry we could never do more to rid you of it."

Zay's hand was on Maya's shoulder in a flash. Lucas' hand twitched toward his sword instinctively, but he seemed to realize that there was no threat. "If I could have, I would have slain it years ago. In the real world."

"So what do we do? How do fix it?"

Riley's hand found Maya's. Even if it wasn't real, it felt good to be with someone she knew and trusted. Although, when she looked over her shoulder at Lucas, just to smile and let him know that everything was alright, she thought that maybe she'd had that this whole adventure. When Riley spoke, her voice was just like it was when she was teaching Maya a lesson at home. Usually, Isadora was her tutor, but Riley liked to read. "Isadora changed the curse to save your life, but she wasn't able to save you from it completely. Part of Maleficent's soul went into you. That's why she can live on in your dream. In order for you to end it, royal blood must be shed."

Maya was starting to get it. "Queen Maleficent."

Riley smiled. "Exactly. You have to be the one to kill her. The moment she is dead, and royal bled has been shed, the kingdom will awaken from their slumber." Riley placed her hand under Maya's chin. Her fingers were cold. "But we will be with you, every step of the way."

"So will I," Lucas said, stepping forward. Maya's eyes flew to him. "I mean, you probably knew that by now, but I, uh, wanted to say it."

"Right," Maya said. "Riley, Isadora, Zay, this is my -" she gestured to Lucas and then realized she had no idea what to call him. "My Lucas."
He dipped his head, giving a slight bow. "We know," Isadora said, earning her an elbow from Zay.

"Right, that's me," Lucas said, smiling nervously, which Maya found endearing. It wasn't like he was actually meeting her family, but she liked that he cared about making a good impression. "And I need to know - We know what we can do, but what can Maleficent do?"

Zay frowned, looking down at the ground for a moment, his usual bravado gone. "I'm sorry, but your parents, Maya - well, I guess I mean, Your Majesty. Their blood made her stronger. I'm so sorry. But you will have your vengeance."

Maya couldn't grieve for them again, so she held a hand up to silence Zay. "Can you not call me Your Majesty?" Isadora raised her eyebrows curiously in response to the question. Maya shrugged. "I've always been Maya to you guys. I don't want that to change yet."

"Be gentle, Zay," Riley said, putting her arm around Maya. "Maya just lost her parents. Nothing is going to bring them back. She's going to have to deal with that."

"Uh, can we not talk about that right now?" Maya asked, but she was ignored.

"Vengeance might make her feel better," Zay said.

"Plus," Isadora interjected, "it would wake everyone up. A win for everyone."

Maya looked at Lucas, whose eyes were narrowed, not with suspicion, but with thought. Maya was thinking, too. Riley, Isadora, and Zay were her family, that was true. But it was like they were the most extreme versions of themselves. The traits that Maya had known them for in the real world were more pronounced. Riley's compassion, Isadora's intelligence, Zay's bravery. Maybe that was what made them different here. They were made up of how she remembered them most.

"Here's the part that you've already figured out, Maya." Isadora was grinning now, interrupting Maya's thoughts. "This reality might be subjective, but that means you can control it. That's how we take her down."

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maya had thought her cottage seemed bigger, but she hadn't realized how much. They turned into the door that should have been her bedroom, and instead she was greeted with a long, wide hallway, filled with armor and targets and weapons. Oh, hell yes.

Lucas lingered back with her a moment. "You know, I'd like to come here one day. In the real world. It'd be nice to see where you grew up. I mean, if you want." His cheeks tinged pink.

Maya interlaced her fingers with his. "I guess we could arrange something, Huckleberry."

"You know, you're different than I thought you'd be," he said, suddenly. Different than he thought when he looked at her and fell in love? Was that a bad thing? Lucas seemed to realize how that sounded as soon as he said it. "Not in a bad way! I just mean…. you're so much more real. And you're funny. And you're just - I can't wait until we wake up from all of this and we can get to know each other for real. Without, well, the threat of impending doom and all."

She opened her mouth to respond, but Zay cut in, grabbing her and taking her to the armor. Time to get suited up. He'd picked out something beautiful. Gold, with little red jewels in the lining, but strong and sturdy, and fierce. Maya had always thought a suit of armor would be heavier. In real life, that was probably true. But this felt like it was part of her, like it was holding her up and making her stronger. Lucas came strolling down the hall once he was suited up too, tailed by Isadora, who'd helped him.

His was similar to hers, differing only in color: silver with blue diamonds. It suited him well. Plus, the character fit. A shining knight, sword in hand. When he saw her, he sucked in a breath, then grinned. "You look badass."

"Oh, you like?" She took some steps forward, putting her hand around his neck and pulling him down towards her.

"Are you sure you wanna do that in front of your family?"

"They're not really here. It's just my subconscious."

"Right. That explains all the weirdly flirty comments Isadora was making."

Maya laughed, and then kissed him. He tasted like blood and dirt and victory. She was glad he wanted to see her cottage in the real world. She was glad he felt like they could be sure enough of a future that they could talk about it. It made her feel more confident, and considering the battle she was heading into, she could use some confidence.

They spent the next few hours doing summoning practice. Lucas and Zay seemed to hit it off, practicing sword techniques in the corner. Maya, on the other hand, was learning how to make hills grow out of the floor, how to shoot knives into bullseyes just by conjuring up the image in her mind. By the time their practice was done, she was exhausted, but ready. She could do this. She had to do this. She didn't have the choice to fail.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

So, they went. With her family behind her and Lucas beside her, they left her cottage and headed towards the palace, towards darkness and danger, but maybe towards salvation, too. The implications of what she was about to do were starting to set in. She was talking about murder, about ending a life. Lucas' voice sounded in her head, saying no, this was more like execution. It was kind of annoying that Maya knew him well enough to be able to know what he'd say without asking him.

Whether it was murder or execution, though, she'd have to do it now and deal with the feelings later. She couldn't hesitate. Maleficent sure wouldn't. The all-too-familiar feeling of dread and paranoia set in as they headed back the way they came. All the demons Maleficent could send - how much time would they be wasting trying to fight her off, even with the five of them? "I wish there was a way to get there faster," Maya said. "She can see what we're doing now, she can -"

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maybe Maya wasn't surprised to find that she was suddenly transplanted into the throne room of the palace - she'd gotten really good at that summoning thing - but she wasn't exactly thrilled.

"Are you kidding me?" Lucas said. "We could have done that the whole time?"

Maleficent sat on the throne, a cool, evil smile growing wider on her face. "Be careful what you wish for, my dear."