Al Drin Hoshizora: Uh-huh...
I am a burglar: Sigh...
A-Plus Cassiopeia: Too bad the same can't be said for Mirror Isabella.
One Year Later
The day had finally come. The day that everyone had been anticipating for months on end, for better or for worse, had finally arrived.
It had been a year since Mirror Isabella's banishment. And thus, her exile had been abolished. She was free to return home.
Sam had been counting down the days ever since he had watched his elder sister leave the valley to unknown places. He'd been watching the clock, watching the sun set and rise, and prepared himself for when the day would come when his older sister, who would now be twelve, returned to him.
The moment the sun rose on the day Mirror Isabella's banishment was up, Sam rushed into the rooms of his siblings to wake them up.
"David! Isabella!" He said, shaking them out of their sleep. "Get up! Today's the day!"
David and Isabella groaned as they awoke. "Sam, what are you doing?" The former asked, irritated. "Go back to sleep!"
"But Mirror Isabella's exile is over!" Sam said.
David and Isabella both froze in place. Their eyes both widened in unison, their jaws hanging open.
"...What?"
In the fairy valley, both fairies and humans had gathered in the forest to await Mirror Isabella's return.
"I can't believe this is happening," Amanda whispered to Mirror Samson as they stood among the small crowd at the edge of the valley. "She's coming back." Her hands were clasped together, both in anticipation and worry.
"Yeah, but what does that mean for the valley?" Mirror Samson pointed out, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms folded. He was staring off at the sky where he had last seen Mirror Isabella fly off a year ago.
Brenda, who was standing nearby, said, "Maybe she's mellowed out. It has been a year, after all."
All heads turned to Brenda, looks of disbelief on their faces. The young girl shrugged and mumbled, "It's plausible."
At that point, the Barrets arrived. "Alright, everybody, move aside!" David shouted as he and his siblings pushed through the gathering of humans and fairies. "The exile's family is coming through."
Amanda immediately rushed up to them. "Hey, you're here!" She said, jumping up and down excitedly. "So, today' the big day!"
"And the one we've been dreading," Isabella grumbled. She let out a sigh, and said, "Let's just get this over with."
"Yeah, I got it all planned," Janet piped up. "We wait here for Mirror Isabella to show up, we ask her how the year's been for her, we kiss and make up, we throw a big party, and we go on with our lives as normal. Sound sweet?"
"Sure thing," Amanda said, turning around to stare off at the edge of the valley.
The crowd waited there for a few moments, and Brenda said, "So, how long do you think we'll be waiting?"
"Eh, it shouldn't be long," Mirror Samson replied. "I bet Bella's been counting down the days for when her banishment is up. Knowing her, she's going to wake up this morning, and the first thing she'll do is pack up her stuff and come right back here."
With that, the crowd waited some more.
A few minutes passed, with nothing happening. Then ten minutes passed.
After another ten minutes had passed with nothing happening, Brenda snarked, "I guess she has a lot of things to pack, then."
Bella was lost.
Not physically, no. She knew full well where she was on the outside. But on the inside, she was trapped in a black void, blinded and bound by the eternal hellhole she had been trapped in, from which, as far as she could see, there was no escape.
Nothing had changed. She was still trapped in the witch's lair. Still the witch's prisoner, and now, her servant. The only thing that had changed was that Bella had stopped trying to resist, for she could see how hopeless it was.
She was no match for the witch's power. She was but a puppet for the witch to control now. She knew that any attempt to fight would only result in more pain for herself.
At the very least, now that she had stopped resisting, the witch had been... somewhat more reasonable. She was not kind, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the abuse she had dolled out on Mirror Isabella during her first few months of captivity had decreased somewhat now that her prisoner had stopped fighting back.
Occasionally, she would receive a scathe. Sometimes, Bella had made a mistake that earned her her punishment. Maybe she hadn't succeeded in catching as many vermin as the witch had wanted, or perhaps she'd spoken when the witch wanted silence. Other times, the witch was merely in a sour mood, and had taken it out on Bella to alleviate her anger.
Currently, Mirror Isabella was sitting at the witch's 'table', if she could call it that. The witch stood at the other side, chewing on a piece of bone from her latest victim; Mirror Isabella hoped it wasn't the bone of a fairy.
"I do hate bones," The witch commented, flicking the bone onto the ground. "They're so hardened, and tough. Not unlike you, Mirror Isabella."
Bella flinched, but said nothing.
"But the thing about bones?" The witch continued on. "If you put enough pressure on them, they become weaker, and frailer. Then, they break, and they belong to you."
Mirror Isabella tensed as the witch's long claws scraped against the table.
"And though it took a while, I have done that to you," The witch said to Bella. "It took a year, but you are finally mine."
Mirror Isabella's blue eyes widened. Her mouth opened and she exhaled a large breath.
"A year?" She gasped, her ears twitching.
"Indeed," The witch said. "Have you enjoyed your stay?"
"A year has passed?!" Mirror Isabella said, standing up from the table. A ray of hope began to shine in her chest.
"Why yes, my darling," The witch said, somewhat baffled by Bella's reaction. "What is your point?"
"My exile is over!" Mirror Isabella exclaimed, her eyes widening. "I can go back!"
"What?" The witch asked, her eyes narrowing and a cold grimace appearing on her wrinkled lips.
"I was banished from my home," Mirror Isabella explained to the witch. "The fairies told me. . . that I was to remain in exile for a year. Once a year had passed, I could go back. And now, the year has passed."
The witch's eyes widened. She knew, now, what Bella was getting at. Her claws bit into the table at the news, and the witch bared her teeth.
Turning away from the witch, Bella said, "Well, it has been a fabulous time here, but I'm afraid I must be going. I have a family to get back to." With that, she started walking away.
The witch growled, and she pointed a crooked finger at Bella as she walked. Instantly, a barrier of vines sprang from the walls and ceilings, blocking Mirror Isabella's path. The fairy gasped and stumbled backwards.
"No. . ." She whispered.
The witch telekinetically spun Bella around to face her. "Listen to me, little girl," The crone growled, anger clear in her voice. "You will never leave this cave. You belong to me now."
"But my exile is over!" Mirror Isabella protested.
"It matters not," The witch replied apathetically. "This is your home now, and you will remain here from now on."
Mirror Isabella stared at the witch, a growing anger at this injustice burgeoning in her chest. The witch noticed this, and she summoned a ball of fire in the palm of her hand.
"Don't try it," The witch sneered. "You couldn't defeat me at full power. And now, you don't even have a fraction of it. You're as weak as a normal human."
Mirror Isabella glared at the witch, fire in her eyes. She wanted so badly to kill her, but she could see the truth in the witch's words.
Her powers had, indeed, decreased substantially during her imprisonment. She wasn't even sure if she had any power left. There was no way she stood a chance against the witch now.
As much as she hated to do so, Mirror Isabella submitted.
"Alright," Mirror Isabella grumbled, getting onto her knees. "I will stay."
The fire in the witch's palm vanished into smoke, and a satisfied smirk appeared on the witch's lips. "That's better," She said. With that, she got up and hobbled off, leaving Mirror Isabella alone in the room.
The young fairy girl lay on all fours, seething in rage and bitterness.
For the first time in her life, she begged for her family.
"Oh Sam, wherever you are," She whispered, a hopeless plea in her voice. "Come and rescue me."
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