AN:

NymhadoraTonks: Yep. They are half-sisters. With the dark fae blood, Felicity doesn't have the same magic Laura has, therefore has more control and sense about magic. Read PowPow456 response to get the full story below.

PowPow456: Well, here's the backstory.

In early September after their final year at school (They are 1 year older than Raven and her crew), Faybelle and Indeevar get married. Felicity was born in early August the next year. During that year, Indeevar's spells gain popularity (this would take place a year after the war in Broken Glass). But no one knows the "Saphire Sorcerer" identity. Since Indeevar has such strange and powerful mixed magic, his father Merlin figures it out and feels threatened by his son's growing power.

That was when Indeevar finds out who Merlin is and seeks out his vendetta. He leaves Faybelle and weak newborn Felicity at home to go find his father before Merlin finds him. Flora (Laura's mom) goes with him. They had been best friends for years. The journey takes a lot longer and is more dyer than both of them thought.

It's about January by the time they get close to Merlin. The last night before the battle, Flora proclaims her love for Indeevar. They spend the night together, then Indeevar is lost in battle. He is proclaimed dead to the public. Flora, Baba Yaga, and Merlin all knew the truth, but a lot of threats were thrown around regarding Indeevar, therefore making him forgotten with never being found out to be the Sapphire Sorcerer.

From that one night, Flora became pregnant and gave birth to Laura in the middle of September. Technically speaking, Felicity and Laura are only about a year apart age-wise. But because of Felicity's birthday in early August, she was brought up a class. In this story, she is currently 17.

Hopefully, that made sense. I plan to write a full-length backstory if anyone is interested.

Chapter 17

Emptiness

When Laura woke up, it was dark out. Had she really been knocked out all day? She gazed around without lifting her head. She was surrounded by trees. They shaded any sight of the sky. The only lit was a flickering shadow of what Luara could believe was coming from a fire. She closed her eyes again. Was it all just a dream? Maybe it was.

That was when Laura heard the page rip.

She darted up from her lying position and turned her head towards the fire. She could the silhouette of Felicity sitting on her knees. Her silvery blonde hair looked gold next to the flames. She held a book in her lap and a bundle of pages over the fire. They were burning slowly. Laura gasped when she realized it was the spellbook. Her father's spellbook.

"What are you doing?" Laura tried to get up, but her body ached. Her voice came out like a hoarse whisper.

"Getting rid of this fowl thing," Felicity said, not moving at all. She dropped the sheets in the fire and began to tear out even more.

"No," Laura reached out. Why did she feel so powerless? It was as if she was burning. "You know the power that it holds."

"And you know the dangers it holds," Felicity snapped. "Look what happened to him. Our father."

Our. Laura didn't even think of that yet. Felicity was her half-sister. It made sense really. A light fae sister, the other dark. They were both so powerful and they had a natural competition. Laura supposed they had similar features as well. With the blonde hair, one more golden, the other silvery. Both with blue eyes, but one belongs to their father.

The image of Indeevar reaching out to her was still stuck in Laura's mind. The fear of a lonely man's eyes made Laura's stomach turn. He was helpless and probably desperate, but Luara was convinced she could've saved him. He hadn't run from her. He was taken. She could've had him back. She could've had a father. But Felicity had taken that away from her.

"We could've saved him," Laura managed to get up onto her knees.

"And then what? Bring the apocalypse?"

"Don't you want our father back?"

"I want my father," Felicity turned from the flames. "He left me and my mom when I was a baby. He didn't have to go, but he did. Instead of staying with his wife and child, he went off over some vendetta against a man he had never met. He got himself killed."

"But he's alive," Laura was starting to get more of her strength back. "We could've saved him."

"No! He's not alive. The man I saw today was nothing but a hopeless man who threw away his whole life for a smidge of power. And don't even get me started on your mother."

"My mother," Laura whispered. She was with him when they faced Merlin. "My mother lied to me."

"Mine didn't," Felicity muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me," Laura demanded.

"No."

"Tell me!" Luara did the puppet spell before Felicity could retort.

"I knew my father was a cheater and got himself killed," Felicity said as soon as the magic reached her. Laura could feel her arms burning, and stopped the spell. Felicity put a hand over her heart. "You said you would never put that spell on me again."

"You said I needed to be more open. But I didn't know you were keeping more secrets than I was."

"It's not a secret," Felicity shook her head. "Everyone knows it. But no one had ever told me who he was. I didn't understand that they were all put under a brainwash before."

"We can expose it," Laura crawled closer to Felicity. "We can get back at our mothers, our grandmother, and everyone else. We can expose the truth of our father's wrongful faked death."

"Then what do you expect will happen? That everyone will want to set him free so he can make up for lost time with us? What do you think will happen when my mother finds out he's alive? That she'll jump for joy when she finds out her 'dead' husband had another daughter with his best friend?"

Laura wondered if her mother knew he was alive all along. That she knew the truth as Baba Yaga did. Was Faybelle the one to first hear the lie? "It's not my fault for wanting my father back."

"He was never your father," Felicity shook her head as she turned to the flames again. "He was never mine either. He was a selfish man, whose works should never be seen again. Just like him."

With that, she dropped the book into the fire. Laura screamed. "No! No!" She then began to sob. That was the last piece Luara had of him. The last piece of power she could use. She had lost it all.

She could hear Matt's voice in her head.

"No, I don't."

Only then did Laura feel power brew inside her. The anger his voice gave her presented her with power. Laura suddenly jumped at Felicity. She took out the flames with a wave of her hand. The book hadn't completely burned. Laura took the hot book in her hands and flipped through the pages. There was still come unburned. Laura grinned, but then Felicity pushed Laura away from it.

"No, Laura! It's too dangerous," Felicity yanked the book from Laura's grasp. Felicity started a flame in her hand and held it to the bok. Laura threw magic at Felicity, hoping to stop her. The book was knocked from Felicity's hands. The dark fae looked down at the book, then at her hand before meeting Laura's eyes with an intimidating stare. "I was wondering when this was going to happen."

"Place bets on it, did you?"

"I don't want to fight you, Laura," Felicity said honestly. "I'm protecting you."

"You're not my mother," Laura stood.

"I am your sister."

"You are no sister of mine." Laura got into her fighting stance.

Felicity looked shocked at first, but then her eyes narrowed as she took her own stance. "Then I shall protect myself."

That was when the duel began.

Laura's arms burned with every strike. She could feel her magic draining. She tried using the puppet spells multiple times, but it didn't work. Felicity remained strong, which didn't help Laura's case. when they got caught in a standstill, Laura could feel herself beginning to slip. She forced any magic she had left in her, but it wasn't enough.

Laura lost control and fell to the ground. Everything around her went black.

Over the next few days, Matt continued to recover. Many healers had come through the White Castle doors and did their best to help him. He had slept most of the weekend away. Other times he would lay awake and think about Eliza or Hermon. Chester had come to visit him a few times, but he didn't know where Hermon was or how Eliza was doing. The Chesire seemed distant. Like he was worried about someone else.

At first, Matt wasn't allowed to look at any phones or devices. But by Tuesday, Matt was allowed to look at a book for took it from his father's outstretched hand. Matt grinned as he sat up slowly and opened the cover. When he looked down to start reading a chapter, Matt gasped. The letters were all jumbled. Backward maybe? Some felt as if they were jumping off the page. Matt tried to decode them, but that only gave him a sharp pain where his injury was.

Matt had suffered a panic attack that day. Because that was the moment he knew that everything had changed.

The magical doctor from Ever After had come to him Tuesday. Although he wasn't in the room with Matt very much. Once Matt described his state of mind and the complications, the doctor met outside with his parents. Matt jumped up from his bed and crept to the door to listen. They were speaking in very hushed voices. Matt pressed his ear to the crack in the wooden door.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Wade asked.

"He's got traumatic dyslexia, there's nothing any healer can do."

"But he loves his books," Maddie whispered.

"What about bookball?" Wade asked. "He told me he wants to go back once he's healed."

"Mr. and Mrs. White," the doctor said calmly. "Your son nearly escaped death. I would never advise him to play again. It's just too risky with where he was hit. You're very lucky that he only has minor panic attacks and dyslexia. He could've come out much worse. I'm so sorry."

Matt opened the door without thinking. The three in the hall turned to face him. Matt didn't bother to look up into their faces, he just left. He ran down the hall. Hearing his father's voice call behind him, Matt ran faster. It probably wasn't a good idea to run, but at this point, how could things get worse?

Matt didn't stop running until he got to the gardens. He found his favorite bench and sat down. His head pounded as he caught his breath. Matt didn't really know how long he sat there. It seemed like time passed either twice as fast or slow these days. It must've gone fast, because the sun was starting to set by the time his mother came and sat next to him.

"Why me?" Matt asked quietly, tears forming in his eyes.

"My dad would say the early bird gets the longest end of the stick," Maddie matched his tone. "But I think it was just plain bad luck for a good kid." She tilted his chin up, forcing him to look at her. Maddie's face was covered in drying tears. Matt sobbed as his mother pulled him into a hug. They sat that way for what seemed like hours.

Eliza felt as if she were losing her mind. Perhaps it was already lost. It was the only way she could make sense of everything. After murdering Hermon, Eliza told Fauna everything. About her fainting spell, the strange loss of control when she got emotional, and about that poor little mouse. Fauna was forgiving and supportive as usual. Together they put Hermon in a shoebox laced with hay from the dragon barn. Eliza put him on Matt's desk, engraving his grave on the table. She knew he wouldn't be disturbed there. Baba Yaga certainly wouldn't be needing that classroom anymore.

Over the weekend, Baba Yaga was found in her cottage, barely hanging onto life. Oakley described it like life had gotten sucked out of her. She never woke up and was pronounced dead yesterday. The cottage was dead too. Its legs had strange burn marks. Eliza wasn't surprised by her death. She was very old. But for the cottage to be dead made Eliza suspicious.

Laura was found Saturday night. Felicity had brought her into the magical hospital. She wasn't allowed any visitors because she hadn't woke up yet. Eliza didn't know why Felicity was the one to find her, but there were better questions afoot. The doctors and nurses had been trying to figure out what Laura had done to herself, but Eliza knew.

She was thinking about it all weekend. The book had warned Laura. It said right on the page. Laura had messed up, and now was losing control. Eliza should've seen this coming. She had lost control of herself too. But this time, Eliza wasn't so sure that she could pull through again. She would be fine during the day, but at night, she could feel the unhinged power crawling through her veins.

Worrying about Matt didn't help. She couldn't contact him. All she had heard was that he was in critical condition this weekend. She wished she would've listened to him. His warnings could've saved her from her mistake. But there was no taking that back now, was there? Could he possibly forgive her for what she had done to Hermon?

Eliza was in a deep hole. One she knew she couldn't pull herself out of without Laura's help.

It was Thursday now. Eliza hadn't heard anything about Laura or Matt. Baba Yaga's funeral was scheduled for this weekend. She would be sent to her homeland in a witch's cove to be buried. Fauna had oddly taken the death hard. Or maybe she was using that as a cover to be worried about Laura. Oakley had been by frequently to check on her. Apparently, Chester had gone missing too.

Oakley had just taken Fauna out to get a latte. Eliza sat in her room, looking out the window. Now that Halloween was around the corner, most of the leaves have become crisp and have fallen off the branches. She found herself relating to the trees. They both lost something that was once theirs. The trees' simple leaves and Eliza's mind were one of the same. Lost.

She tried not to cry. That would trigger it. Before Eliza could begin to even blink back tears there was a desperate knock on her door. Eliza shot up from her perch and wiped her dry eyes instinctively. Crossing the room she took a deep breath. Could it possibly be a word about Matt or Laura? Could it be Matt or Laura? Eliza opened the door and gasped.

Matt was standing there with a blank expression. His eyes were puffy, and his curls had been cut shorter around his head wound. "Hi," Eliza said in a breathy voice.

"You're alive," Matt said with a little relieved grin.

"Not really," Eliza thought to herself. She then spoke real words. "And so are you."

Matt nodded hesitantly. Tears were still brewing in his eyes. "I can't play bookball anymore," Matt said through broken words. "Or...read."

Eliza's heart dropped down to her stomach. "I'm sorry," she said in a whisper. Matt closed the distance between them and hugged her. Eliza stayed frozen for a moment. He was really broken about this. She was going to tell him what had happened, but how could she now? He was crying into her shoulder, thinking that she was there for him.

But she wasn't even there for herself.

Laura woke up in the hospital. She darted up from her bed. Looking down at the needles in her arm, Laura realized she could feel the power within herself again. She looked around the room for Felicity, but only her mother was sitting in the chair next to her bed. Her blonde hair was swept into a low ponytail. She was wearing dark pink scrubs.

"Hi," Flora grinned. "Feeling better?"

Laura gave a small nod as she sat up further.

"You've been out for most of the week," Flora explained. "Felicity Thorne brought you in. She said you passed out after doing a too complex spell. I was so worried about you. I haven't seen much sorcery overdue, but I know they can be deadly."

"That's a lie," Laura suddenly said. Flora looked up curiously.

"What's a lie?"

"It's not deadly," Laura shook her head. "He lived."

"Who lived?" Flora searched her daughter's face. Laura hated playing this game.

Laura rocked herself back and forth. Her power was tingling at her fingertips. "Indeevar Yaga lived. The Sapphire Sorcerer lived."

"How—" Flora stood, but didn't do anything else.

"I found his spellbook," Laura admitted. "I know everything. Faybelle. You. Merlin. The battle. I know that he's Felicity's father and...mine."

Flora took a step back, clearly shocked. "How?"

"He told me," Laura explained. "I saw him."

"They told me he would possibly live. That I would never see him again." Flora placed a hand over her heart. "I was...broken without him."

Laura could see the love and pain in her eyes. It made sense now. Flora never got over Indeevar. They had touched once and then were separated. "You loved him?" Laura asked.

Flora nodded. "For all of my life. Faybelle had trapped him into that marriage. If we both made it out alive, he would've run away with me."

"Why didn't you tell me about him?" Laura demanded.

"They threatened me," Flora admitted. "Merlin's associates. I'm lucky I made it out alive."

"They all lied," Laura shook her head. Anger was bubbling inside of her. "They stole him from me."

"They stole him from all of us," Flora sat back down next to Laura. "But there's nothing we can do."

That was just it. There was something they could do. "We could set him free," Laura said suddenly. "We can put our magic open. I'm sure once we tell Faybelle she—"

"Laura, no," Flora shook her head.

"We can't give up."

"We don't have another choice."

This was typical of her mother. Just to give up.

"If you love him, why do you just stand aside?"

"Because I love you. I would've searched for him years ago if I had the chance, but I couldn't just leave you."

Laura sat back. She was standing in her mother's way for years. If it weren't for her, Indeevar might've been saved a long time ago. She had broken her mother, which affected everything in Laura's life. An empty feeling brewed inside her stomach. "I'm not going to stand in your way any longer, mom. You'll never have to see me again."

Laura then ripped out her IV. Flora gasped. "No, Luara."

"Yes, mom," Laura stood from the bed. "I understand now. Your life would've been better without me." She tried to run for the door.

"Laura, stop!" Flora threw a shield spell at the door. Laura was knocked back. Turning slickly, Laura drew the lines and pulled the puppet spell on her mother. Flora stiffened, then dropped to her knees. The shield spell broke and Luara released Flora. She rolled onto her back and gasped for air. That spell must've been used on her before. She reacted the same way Felicity did, but she seemed to go into a state of shock.

Laura looked at her mother in horror. Had she lost control again. Laura looked down at her shaking hands before running out the door. As soon as she got outside she was magically transported to the woods so she wouldn't be found. She found herself in the same clearing she and Felicity were in many nights before. Ashes were in place of the fire. Laura fell to her knees and began to shed the growing tears in her eyes.

It was gone. It was all gone. The book had been burned. Felicity's trust had been destroyed. And Laura's soul had been broken.