Mary's eyes snapped open before she could even process she was awake. Her head ached horribly and rang with the most agonizing sound she could imagine. Did not think was possible. Lizzy, wherever she was, was crying in terror. Mary flung the covers off herself, determined to find help.

"Mary!" Kitty exclaimed in surprise as she came up the stairs. "What are you doing out of bed? You look like you'll faint at any moment!"

Mary gripped a table in the hallway to keep balance and focused on using every ounce of strength she could muster to remain upright. Her eyes slowly rolled up to focus on Kitty. "Lizzy," she gasped. "Where is she?"

"I don't know," said Kitty worriedly. "Truly, Mary, you look very ill! Please, let me help you back to bed."

Mary slapped Kitty's hands away. "Bring me Jane!" she ordered.

Kitty bit her lip and looked ready to cry, but left to fulfil her task.

Mary clumsily slipped down the wall and set her head on her knees. Kitty was entirely right. She was ready to faint.

"Mary?" said Kitty smally after who knew how long.

"You didn't find Jane," Mary said flatly without raising her head.

"Mrs. Hill said Mama took her out for a call to the Gouldings," Kitty said nervously. "Can I get you the medicine the apothecary brought for you? It could help."

"Absolutely no more medicine!" Mary said with conviction. She raised her head to show Kitty her resolute expression. "I don't want anything further prepared in this house! Do you understand me, Kitty? Nothing!"

Kitty nodded, her eyes and nose beginning to run.

Mary did not have time to soothe her emotional sister. She would apologize for her rough manner later. "Papa has made you start learning to ride with the stablemaster, correct?"

Again, Kitty nodded.

"Good," said Mary, and she began pushing herself back up the wall with great effort. "Get on a horse and go with all haste to Netherfield. Bring Darcy and Bingley back here with you."

Kitty's eyes widened. "But Lizzy and Jane said I'm not supposed to – "

"They're not here right now, are they, Kitty?" Mary snarled. "Go! Now!"

Kitty yelped and scampered away. By the time Mary had managed to stumble to a window overlooking the front of the house, Kitty was speeding away. Her most immediate task accomplished, she collapsed in the hallway, unconscious.

"No, no, no! I must see Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley immediately!"

Darcy recognized the hysterical voice easily enough and made his way down the stairs a little faster than he had planned. "Thank you, Heathcliff," he said to the butler, "I will handle this. Please resume your duties."

Heathcliff bowed to Darcy, then went on his way.

"What is the meaning of this, Kitty?" Darcy hissed, grabbing Kitty's arm and beginning to pull her toward Bingley's study.

"You and Charles have to come right away!" Kitty sobbed. "Something terrible has happened, but I don't know what! Jane's out, I can't find Lizzy or Lydia, and Mary's being so incredibly awful!"

Darcy refrained from rolling his eyes with great difficulty. In the course of the past year, he had discovered he could tolerate Lydia's wild manners with much more ease than Kitty's hypersensitive emotions. "Take a deep breath, Kitty, and tell me what is the matter," Darcy said as gently as he could, closing Bingley's study door behind them after checking the hall to make sure no servants were about.

Kitty had begun hiccupping from crying. "All I know is that Mary was very insistent that I bring you and Charles back to Longbourn immediately. Please, Darcy, something is desperately wrong!"

Darcy furrowed his brows. He knew Mary to be sick, so why was she giving Kitty orders at all, much less those to leave Longbourn unattended and against the express wishes of the eldest sisters? Furthermore, Mary was a very stable person. To unnerve Kitty was not a difficult task, but to put her in this state required some effort that he did not believe Mary would expend with impudence.

"Wait here," Darcy said to Kitty.

"No, you have to come now!" Kitty objected.

"Charles is still above stairs," Darcy explained. "I will get him quickly and we will leave with you."

Kitty swallowed another sob and nodded.

His sense of unease rapidly growing, Darcy took the stairs two at a time.

"Mr. Darcy! I thought you must be out for a ride by now," said the sickeningly sweet voice of Caroline. "Perhaps you might wait for me to have my horse saddled and I can join you."

"Certainly not," said Darcy. An unpleasantly tight feeling had come over his chest, depriving him of any patience, especially where Caroline was concerned. He burst into Bingley's room without knocking.

"For God's sake, Darcy, I – "

"Something is wrong with the Bennets," said Darcy. "Kitty is waiting for us downstairs. We must go."

Bingley made a mess of his cravat, jammed his feet into his boots, and hurried back down with Darcy. They collected Kitty and exited the house.

"You rode bareback?" Darcy asked Kitty incredulously.

"Mary said not to waste time," Kitty explained. She prepared to clamber back onto the bare beast, but Darcy grabbed her and settled her on his own saddle, then swung up behind her. By this point, his anxiety was so great he spared not a single thought for Muggle proprieties.

"Hill, where is Mary?" Kitty asked breathlessly after leaping down from Darcy's stallion without waiting for assistance.

"Miss Mary fainted in the hallway," said Hill, looking skeptically at Darcy as the man dismounted. "Sarah and Milly have only just gotten her back into bed and sent for her medicinal tea to be brewed."

"NO!" Kitty exclaimed, then rushed into the house.

Darcy and Bingley exchanged a quick glance, then moved hurriedly to follow Kitty. Again disregarding propriety, they went up to the family rooms and looked into the open door where Kitty was arguing with one of the maids.

"She does not want it!" Kitty squealed desperately.

"No one ever wants to take their medicine, Miss Kitty," said the maid patiently, poised over a sleeping Mary with a spoon and cup. "It is what is best for her."

As the maid moved to spoon some liquid into Mary's mouth, Kitty rushed forward with a scream and knocked the cup onto the floor, spilling its contents and shattering the ceramic.

"I said no!" Kitty stated in the firmest tones Darcy had ever heard from her. "Leave us!"

Looking thoroughly scandalized, the maid exited.

"Mary!" Kitty called, shaking her sister. "Mary! They are here! Wake up!"

"Why does Mary not want to take her medicine?" Bingley asked, stepping cautiously into the room to avoid crushing any of the shards into smaller fragments.

"I don't know," Kitty groaned frustratedly. "She said she did not want to have anything made at Longbourn. She was very insistent!"

Darcy bent down and grabbed a broken piece that still boasted a few drops of liquid. He smelled it and, very cautiously, tasted a little from his finger, then spat it out with a disgusted grimace.

"What is it?" Bingley asked anxiously as Darcy repeated the tasting process.

"Some monstrous concoction that most certainly was not prepared by Meryton's apothecary," Darcy answered. He could not quite identify all the elements he was tasting, but knew well enough that they were not combined lightly or by happenstance. He drew his wand, pointed it at Mary, and whispered, "Enneverate!"

Mary woke immediately, eyes wide with panic, and shoved herself up in her bed. "You did not let them give me anything, Kitty, did you?"

"No!" Kitty said quickly. "And look, I've brought Darcy and Charles!"

Darcy stepped to Mary's bedside immediately. "What – "

"Lizzy is in danger," Mary said without preamble. "I don't know where she is or what happened, but I am certain she is in terrible trouble. You have to find her, and quickly!"

"Beggin' your pardon, Miss, but Miss Lizzy went out to town with Miss Lydia two hours past," said a footman that had, evidently, been sent to deal with Kitty by the maid she had evicted.

"Just the two of them?" Darcy demanded. Surely Elizabeth would not have behaved so recklessly!

"Yessir," said the footman.

"Kitty, do not leave the house under any circumstance! Stay with Mary!" Bingley said firmly to the girl, who nodded dutifully, and then he and Darcy scuttled from the house.

"I will take the path through the woods," said Darcy as he leapt onto his horse. "You take the main roads. We meet back here in an hour."

Bingley responded with a nod before digging his heels into his steed.

The tight feeling in Darcy's chest continued to grow the longer he searched until his breath only came in short gasps. Where was Elizabeth?

Just as Darcy had been preparing to turn around to meet Bingley, he saw something that made his heart stop entirely. There, just off the path, was a strip of fabric he recognized as being from one of Elizabeth's dresses caught in a bush. Nearby was a random bit of mud that, when he investigated, Darcy found to be made of blood.

He vomited violently in the bushes.

"You are certain there was nothing to trace?" Jane asked fearfully, wringing her hands in Longbourn's parlor. She, with Bingley, Darcy, Kitty, and a very gaunt looking Mary, had locked herself into the room after sending Mrs. Bennet on a fool's errand to the kitchen. She would smooth whatever upset Mrs. Bennet caused with the kitchen staff later. Now, she needed answers.

"Whoever took them must have had portkeys or disapparated," said Bingley dismally.

Darcy stared blankly ahead as the conversation swirled around him. After casting up everything he could have possibly consumed in the past twenty-four hours, he had struggled back to his horse and retrieved Bingley. The pair had investigated the site and found nothing promising. He wound the fabric that had been left behind absentmindedly through his fingers. Elizabeth hated this dress slightly less than many of her others.

How could she have been so very foolish? How could she have left Longbourn without telling anyone? Without waiting for him, or Bingley, or Jane to go with her?

She was not thinking clearly, Darcy reasoned after jumping up from his seat and making his way to the window to stare out it. Elizabeth had not been herself since returning from India, and he could hardly blame her. She was the only functioning sane person in the house, as Jane was being dragged to this place and that place, and Mary had been indisposed. She had likely just wanted to get away, or to stop Lydia from whining. He should have gone over to Longbourn to support her.

"Stop it, Darcy!"

Darcy whipped around and looked at Mary in surprise.

"To quote Lizzy, 'The path you are traveling down leads to madness.' If there is blame to be had, it is certainly not by you!" Mary declared.

"You heard his thoughts!" Jane exclaimed.

"You're all quite loud at the moment," said Mary. She turned to Darcy again. "I was being fed some sort of potion, wasn't I? It interfered with my abilities?"

Darcy had not investigated the matter enough to be able to say exactly what Mary had been given, but was confident enough in his initial observances to nod.

"How are we going to get them back?" Kitty asked, handkerchief in hand.

"Darcy and I will leave for London at first light tomorrow," said Bingley. "Lizzy and Lydia are certainly no longer in Hertfordshire. London will be a better place to search. Once they've been found, we'll return and quell any gossip with mine and Jane's wedding."

"I will tell Mama we've decided to stop fighting her and let her do whatever she wants for the wedding," said Jane. "That will buy us a week of time, at least."

"No," said Mary.

"No?" Bingley asked incredulously.

"No," Mary repeated.

"Pray, explain yourself, Mary," said Jane, uncharacteristically irritated.

"You will get married exactly as you planned," Mary said calmly. "We will tell everyone in Meryton that Charles found an estate he might like to purchase, but the matter is very time sensitive. He sent Lizzy to see if it might be appropriate for his bride, her sister. Lydia, we will say, has come down with the same thing that has been ailing me."

"I will not be married without Lizzy to stand up with me!" Jane declared with a red tinge in her cheeks.

"Yes, you will," Mary countered without raising her voice. "Once you've wed, the lot of us will all go to London, where Kitty and I will be much safer and you three will have many more resources available to you. Besides, Lizzy would never forgive you if she were to learn you delayed the wedding on her behalf."

"Mary is right," Darcy said before Jane or Bingley could object. All eyes turned to him. Such were the first words he had said aloud since finding the bloody mud and Elizabeth's torn dress. "Proceeding with the wedding is the best thing we can do. Going to London immediately is not a wise decision, anyway. We would be absolutely clueless where to begin. We need to gather evidence here, first."

"They are not here, Darcy!" Bingley objected.

"Presently, no," Darcy answered. He felt as though he were watching the scene from outside his body. He was entirely numb. Pure logic was spewing from his mouth. His emotions had given up. "It stands to reason, however, that Elizabeth and her family were observed here. Mary was drugged so she could not hear the thoughts of those around her. The kidnappers waited on the path to Meryton that Elizabeth most often takes. They knew she and Lydia were alone. I would bet good money they are aware of the wedding and used such to their advantage. With so many people coming for the celebrations, who would take note of an unfamiliar face? No, we need to gather evidence here before proceeding to London."

"How can you be so cavalier about all this?" Bingley burst. "You claim to love this woman, for heaven's sake, and yet you refuse to go after her immediately!"

Darcy was not quite sure how it happened, but he found himself with his hands gripping Bingley's lapels as he shoved his good friend into a wall. "I seem calm, Charles," he shouted with such ferocity his throat ached, "because I shall go absolutely insane and be no use to anyone if I give in to the fears trying to gain control of my mind!"

"Darcy," said Mary lowly, placing a gentle hand on Darcy's forearm after several moments of tense silence, "let him go."

Horrified by his actions, Darcy released Bingley and stepped back into a corner, staring at his hands that had acted so rashly without his permission.

"We are all upset, and rightly so," said Mary. Though she barely spoke above a whisper, everyone heard her quite clearly. "Fighting isn't going to help us. Darcy's got the right of it. We have to put our emotions aside, difficult as that may be, and think about what is going to be most helpful to Lizzy and Lydia."

Jane took several deep breaths, exchanged expressions with Bingley, and then approached her middle sister. "Mary, would you please stand up with me at my wedding in three days?"

The very first opportunity they had, the newly wedded Bingleys, the two remaining Bennet girls, and Darcy all loaded up into a carriage and sped out of Meryton. As soon as they reached the inn just outside town, they traded the horses for Darcy's thestrals and took off for London.

"I have contacted my cousin, Major Fitzwilliam, to see what news has reached the Ministry," said Darcy after a solid half hour of no one saying anything. "Elizabeth's disappearance was not reported until just yesterday, and the auror that checked on her last before that has not shown up to work since."

"Paid off or killed off, do you think?" Mary asked rather callously.

"One option is just as likely as the other," Darcy replied. "Fitzwilliam agrees with me that, while the Ministry should know that Elizabeth and Lydia have been stolen, we cannot trust them to resolve the matter. Either Wickham or Malfoy is horrifying enough. Combined, the two of them have enough connections to sway an investigation in their favor." He thought it the greatest travesty in the world the two had come upon each other and conspired together.

Interrogation of Mrs. Philips and Kitty had provided the information that Wickham had returned to Meryton for a few days while Elizabeth was away, claiming to have sold his commission. Mrs. Philips, who had appreciated the scoundrel's open manners, had invited him and his friend, introduced as Randal Smith, to tea. She had hosted them again once she had taken on Kitty and Lydia for a few days while Mrs. Bennet went with Jane to London for her daughter's trousseau. Smith, whose description in physicality and mannerisms was as good as identical to Malfoy, had not attended that time, but Wickham had made quite a good impression on the youngest Bennets. Before he left, he had asked his presence be withheld from the older girls so he could surprise his "friends" when Elizabeth returned. Lydia had offered her services, and Kitty had promised to keep quiet.

Mrs. Philips, at the conclusion of questioning, had said there must just be some terrible misunderstanding. Kitty had been inconsolable over her role in the affair for hours. Darcy had consumed more brandy than was strictly necessary.

"But you told me they've both been proclaimed dishonorable," said Kitty with innocence and belief in justice that would have been adorable if it were not so pitiable. "Malfoy was disowned by his family! Surely no one wants anything to do with either of them!"

"There are other things, Kitty, that can motivate a person to side with such people as Wickham and Malfoy," Mary explained.

"What did Fitzwilliam suggest?" Bingley asked, his new wife's hand clasped firmly in his own.

"He recommended staying within the law as much as possible without trusting it," said Darcy. He felt a great deal of sorrow that what should have been a very happy day for the newly minted Bingleys was, instead, swathed in stress and fear.

"Have you a plan?" Jane asked.

"Half a plan," Darcy answered. "The half that I have yet to solidify depends on several factors that I will not know with certainty until we reach London." He had written a multitude of letters and had high hopes of receiving answers in the form of visitors.

Everyone was so somber and reflective, quite inappropriate moods for a wedding day, that not another word was said until the carriage started to descend in the dead of night.

Darcy stayed in his carriage while the Bingleys and Bennets disembarked. Upon coming to his own stables, he was encouraged to see candlelight behind several of the windows of his house.

Darcy came in through a servant's entrance and went directly to his study. He smiled in grim satisfaction to see Solveig, dressed in such a way as he was sure terrified his staff, looking out his window. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, however, she whipped around toward him with her wand raised.

"Good evening," Darcy said, nonplussed, and made his way to his chair.

Solveig greeted Darcy in her language, then pulled at the braid into which she had woven Elizabeth's hair a week previous.

"Yes, Elizabeth is in danger."

Though Solveig spoke no English, she understood well enough. She beat her wand twice over her heart and the magical tool grew and shifted until she held a formidable double-edged battle axe.

Darcy could not help but smile. His beloved certainly knew how to choose friends.

"See, Lizzy, the thing is that you're going to duel for us," said Wickham in a frustratingly patient manner. "There's really no two ways about it."

"Not until you let me see Lydia," Lizzy insisted. Days had passed. She had not slept in the same place twice. Or pretended to sleep, anyway. She had not been able to bathe. She had not been able to touch her wand. The fact that she had, therefore, skipped her animagus incantation at least four times was the least of her worries. Lydia was being kept away from her, and she did not trust the assurances of the murderous kidnappers before her when they said Lydia was alive and well.

"Our unknowing accomplice is fine," said Wickham.

"Or she will be, assuming you don't say something else stupid right now," Malfoy spat.

Lizzy swallowed her rage with great difficulty. What she would not give for her wand, or even a sword. She was by no means competent with the weapon, but she thought she could manage to gut Malfoy or Wickham well enough.

"There's a smart girl," said Wickham condescendingly. "Now, tonight is just a small demonstration. You're going to take a bit of Polyjuice before we bring you out to the ring, and you'll use a different wand."

"You can't expect me to perform credibly with an unfamiliar wand without practice," Lizzy snorted.

"And you can't expect us to trust you with your own," said Wickham. "You're rather at a disadvantage here, Lizzy, so I suggest you simply accept your fate."

Lizzy bit her tongue until she knew it was on the verge of bleeding. Wickham had told her of the plan he and Malfoy had made, though she was confident he had not told her all. Such would be foolish and, though Wickham was many things, foolish was not one of them.

Wickham and Malfoy were both strapped for cash. Desperately. And so Lizzy would fight in dueling pits under a variety of disguises while they collected on bets. Once they were satisfied, they would release her and Lydia. Being thrown into the dueling pits, Lizzy did not doubt. Being let go, she did.

She continually told herself to take things one step at a time. Her opportunity would come, or Darcy would. Either way, Lizzy was not going to accept her fate without one hell of a fight.

Two days later saw Darcy hosting a conference in his dining room consisting of the Bingleys, Mary, Fitzwilliam, Sophia, Phoebe, Josephine, Zebulon, Solveig, and Josiah, who had brought along his friend and colleague Erik. Erik, quite conveniently, was born of Nordic parents that had insisted he learn the language. Such enabled Solveig to communicate with the rest of the party.

Darcy had invited Kobina, but the man was unable to come because his daughter was sick and his wife's uncle was at death's door. Kobina did, however, send a pair of spears his brother had crafted. Darcy accepted Kobina's devotion to his family as a perfectly reasonable excuse and, though he appreciated the gift of the spears, did not think they would be the best of weapons to use. Fitzwilliam and Solveig, warriors they were, appreciated the spears thoroughly, however.

Albert had tried his best to be available, but he had already donned his uniform and his superiors refused to let him go anywhere. Silas had left for his Grand Tour the day after graduating Hogwarts and was unreachable. Higgins was underage and so Darcy had left him alone.

Bavishni had come, and with a great deal more fanfare than Darcy had expected. She was, he learned, a princess of her people and had kept such secret throughout the competition. As royalty of a nation so closely tied to Britain, she commanded a great deal of respect, which she proved she was not afraid to wield as a frightful weapon.

Darcy had only ever seen Bavishni be pleasant and personable. When she arrived in the most elaborate sari he was sure existed, he had been floored. When two Ministry representatives had arrived just after her to pay their respects on behalf of Minister Fudge and to offer assistance, she had imperiously turned them away without leaving them in doubt of her wish to be left alone. Darcy had been positively in awe. Yes, his beloved definitely knew how to choose her friends.

Strategy was discussed at length.

It was eventually decided that Darcy would visit all of Wickham's old haunts to gather whatever information he could. Fitzwilliam would do the same for Malfoy, though he would have to be remarkably careful since he was supposed to have cut of ties with Malfoy along with the rest of his family.

Jane and Bingley would take Mary to every large event they could possibly get into, much to Mary's dismay, in the hopes that Mary might catch a hint of Lizzy and Lydia's whereabouts, if not hear the girls themselves.

Bavishni would spend most of her time at the Ministry. Her father had business he wanted accomplished anyway, which provided her a most convenient cover while she searched out who might be aiding Wickham and Malfoy.

Erik would take Solveig into the seedy underside of the British magical world. She would draw less attention in such places, and someone had to go, anyway, since it was a very likely place for Wickham, at least, to show up. It would take them time to prove disreputable enough to get into places such as the pits, but they were up for the job.

Sophia and Josiah agreed to go take up work in Meryton to prevent any other family members from disappearing and to be present on the very slim chance that either Lizzy or Lydia resurfaced.

Zebulon would employ his likeable personality and use his connections throughout Diagon Alley to see if he could find a financial trace of Wickham or Malfoy. The pair had clearly plotted out the escapade with a disappointing amount of forethought, and so had to have purchased a variety of supplies.

Josephine and Phoebe agreed to navigate social channels. Phoebe would set up a vast deal of calls with their friends that had met Wickham in Hogsmeade to see if they might gather hints of his plans. Josephine, who possessed more tact and whose family was better thought of by many pureblood snobs, would carefully go about doing the same for Malfoy.

Once the meeting had adjourned, Darcy went to Matlock House with his cousin where he was greeted by Georgiana holding Menace. The girl had been thrilled to be trusted with the care of the cat when Elizabeth went away to compete. The plan had been for Darcy to retrieve Menace and return him to Elizabeth after the Bingley wedding.

Upon seeing Darcy's eyes lock onto the cat as if it was a lifeline, Fitzwilliam skillfully got his parents out of the room without arousing too much suspicion. Lord and Lady Matlock knew what was going on – indeed, Lord Matlock had been assisting Bavishni as much as he possibly could – but Darcy had had enough for the day.

"Have you come to take Menace back to Lizzy?" Georgiana asked. Since beginning to meet regularly with Irene Gardiner, she had progressed in leaps and bounds. The benefits of interacting with an innocent girl of her own age were undeniable and extensive. "I took good care of him, just like she asked!"

Darcy lowered himself to his knees and held his hands out. Georgiana gave over Menace, and Darcy put the cat on the ground after stroking it a few times. "No, dearest, I have not come for Menace," he tried to say in his normal voice. "He shall stay with you a little longer."

"Does Lizzy not want him back?" Georgiana asked anxiously, threatening to revert to the terrified creature she had been for nearly two years.

"No, no," Darcy quickly soothed. "She misses Menace a great deal. She just cannot take care of him right now. She is – she is still away." He could not, would not tell Georgiana what had happened. It would break her, and he could not handle it.

"Are you sad, William?" Georgiana asked, grabbing her brother's face with her tiny hands.

"Yes," Darcy breathed, and he nearly started weeping then and there. "I miss Elizabeth very much."

"It is alright to be sad," Georgiana said as sagely as a six-year-old could. "Irene says her mama tells her that often."

Darcy quickly hugged his sister to his chest so she would not see the tears spill from his eyes.

In the pits, battles were half fought with a wand and half fought with one's fists.

Lizzy spat a mouthful of blood off to the side and wiped her lips off with her sleeve. In that moment, she hated herself. She hated how hard she tried. She hated taking Polyjuice and dueling under a different face every night. She hated that her opponent lay in the dirt and dust while the spectators watched, laughed, and exchanged money. She hated that she would do it all again tomorrow. She hated that her seeing Lydia was dependent on her winning five duels straight.

"My fighter wins again!" Wickham cried boisterously. He, too, partook of Polyjuice nightly. Presently, he had sandy colored hair and a narrow face. "Who dares face the Bejeweled Pixie on the morrow?"

More than almost anything else, Lizzy hated, with a burning passion, the fact that Wickham and Malfoy had discovered her emerald loaded with such promise and memory and polluted it with their greed and deceit. She hated that it made her feel hopeless and doubt everything the jewel represented to her.

"That was five," Lizzy said the moment she was behind a closed door with her captors. Wickham, being a more slippery and initially pleasing personality, usually took charge of the social aspects of descending into the pits while Malfoy lurked in the background to prevent trouble or stayed back entirely and checked on Lydia. "Where is Lydia?"

"That was only four, Lizzy, dear," said Wickham.

"Any child could tell you that a fight a day from Saturday to now makes five," Lizzy snarled.

"Saturday was only a demonstration, oh patient one. It doesn't count," said Wickham. And he left.

"Clean up, Pixie," Malfoy spat, throwing a wet rag at Lizzy. "Tight schedule to keep."

On the occasion that Lizzy was provided something to eat, she usually found she could not manage to do so. It was not the quality of the food, which barely deserved the distinction, but the fact that she was so full of rage she had little room in her stomach for anything else. Now, that anger roiled and threatened to come out onto Malfoy's dragon-skin shoes that had a hole in the sole.

Lizzy took the rag and, as she wiped off her hands and face, surprised herself by wondering if it would fit around Malfoy's neck.

Author's Note

AHHHH! SO MUCH UNHAPPINESS!

I originally did not plan on having anything to do with Bavishni or Solveig (especially Solveig) after the dueling competition, but I liked the characters so much I wove them into more of the plot. I hope you're happy to see them again... or as happy as you can be, considering the circumstances of their reappearances.

Please accept my apology for the long wait (again). I had to do the thing where I move approximately 400 miles away... with less than a week to figure out life. (:

Let me know what you thought of this update!