Al Drin Hoshizora: Aren't you the sadistic one.

A-Plus Cassiopeia: Well, she would if she could get out of the witch's hair.

Back at the valley, the fairies and humans had been waiting at the valley's entrance for well over two hours. Alas, they saw no sign of Mirror Isabella showing up. By now, several people had left out of boredom.

"Are we sure this is the right day?" Brenda asked, looking at her watch.

"It has to be!" Sam replied. "I've been counting down the days since she left! Where is she?"

"Maybe she's too busy partying at wherever she's settled down in?" Janet suggested. "It's been a year; more than enough time for her to grow accustomed to her new living conditions."

"Bullcrap!" Mirror Samson snapped, shocking everyone with his obscene language. "Bella's not one to forget a day like this! It doesn't matter how much she'd be enjoying herself at wherever she's at; the moment her banishment is up, she'd come right back here. Unless. . ." He paused for a moment.

"-Unless she can't come back," Sam finished, and his eyebrows furrowed in intrigue.

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"It's not like Bella to just skip out on a day like this," Sam pointed out. "The only reason she'd not come is if she can't."

The children went silent, thinking things over. Eventually, Janet turned to Isabella and said, "Isabella, Bella is your reflection. If you have a mirror, couldn't you see her in it?"

Isabella shook her head. "Ever since she left, I haven't been able to see her whenever I look at myself in a mirror or any other reflective surface," She explained. "I just thought Bella was intentionally hiding herself out of spite. But now. . ."

Sam took a step forward. "Come on, you guys!" He said to the others. "I think Bella's in trouble! We have to go find her!"

He was about to take flight, but then saw that the others weren't budging. "Guys, come on," He said, gesturing them to follow him. "We don't have all day."

"We don't even know if Bella is in trouble," David said, folding his arms. "And even if she is, why should we help her? It's not like she's done anything to deserve it."

Sam groaned. "Come on, guys, do not be like this," He said. "I know Bella's been a. . . jerk, but she's still family."

"She's not my family," David grumbled under his breath, shifting his eyes.

Sam let out a loud groan. "Fine," He said. "I'll go by myself! You just tell our parents you let me leave the valley alone!" With that, he flew off into the air.

The others stood at the valley entrance, watching him leave. Eventually, David mumbled, "Dang it."

Turning to Isabella and Mirror Samson, he said, "Could you give us a flight? We're going to see if Bella is alright."

He almost vomited speaking those words.

After catching up with Sam, the group, which now consisted of the Barrets, the Crystals, Brenda, and Amanda, landed at the entrance of the nearby forest.

"Why are we here?" Brenda asked, scratching her head.

"I don't think Mirror Isabella would've moved too far away," Isabella explained. "She was only banned from the valley, after all; she'd probably keep right on the edge of it without breaking the terms of her exile."

"Makes sense," Amanda said as the group walked towards the forest. "All we have to do now is ask if anyone's seen her. And since Bella's not exactly hard to find, we should be back home in no time!"

Several hours later, and the group was still in the forest, no closer to finding Bella then when they had first arrived.

It had seemed like such a simple objective; ask any fairy if they'd seen Mirror Isabella, find her, and bring her home. But the longer they stayed in the forest, the group found themselves more lost than anything.

Most of the fairies they had asked had no idea what had happened to Bella. The closest answer the group had gotten was that, while most of the fairies had met Bella, the girl had simply vanished on her first day, and no one had seen her since. The group felt that some of the fairies weren't giving the full story, but they didn't have the time to press matters.

"This is so pointless," Isabella grumbled as the group left a nearby village in the forest. "We still have no idea where Bella is." The group slumped down on the edge of the woods.

"You think Bella just left this place?" Amanda asked. "Everyone's saying she just vanished. Maybe she moved to some other, far away place."

Sam grumbled. "Still, how could she forget this day?" He asked. "Even if she wasn't coming back, she could've at least given us some sign. Maybe sent a note, or something."

"She can't."

The group froze, and they turned to see a raven-haired girl standing on the edge of the village, wearing a blue dress.

"Who are you?" David asked, shuffling away from the fairy.

"My name is Lily," The girl introduced. "You're looking for a girl named Mirror Isabella, right?"

"Yes," Sam said, nodding. "How do you know?"

"Because I met her," Lily explained nonchalantly. "A year ago, when she first showed up here."

"Really?!" Sam asked, springing to his feet and approaching Lily. "Do you think you could help us find her?"

"Well, I would, but. . ." Lily trailed off, scratching the back of her head and staring over Sam's shoulder into the dark forest. There was an uneasy look on her face.

"But what?" Sam asked, confused.

Lily bit her lip. "I know where your friend is, but I wouldn't go after her if I were you," She warned the group. "She's as good as dead."

"Tell us where she is!" Sam shouted at her, louder than he would've liked.

"It's not where she is that's the problem," Lily whispered. "It's who she's with that's the issue."

The group froze, a confused look on their faces.

Lily shifted her eyes, and whispered, "Follow me," Before turning and heading back towards the fairy village.

After a moments hesitation, the group followed her.

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