Lydia coldly observed the Rowan Tree. Maleficent and her friends were nowhere in sight, but that could change at any moment. Still, this was Lydia's best chance at sneaking into the Rowan Tree and stealing the scroll.

Silently, Lydia made her way to the Rowan Tree. Katherine followed meekly. She had become even more timid since Lydia had forced the truth out of her.

The truth. Lydia's lips curled upward at the thought. Who would have ever guessed her sister would have had the intelligence and courage to work against her? But no matter - Katherine knew better now. Lydia had seen to that.

Lydia climbed into the Rowan Tree with as much grace as she could manage. Her icy blue eyes scanned the nest, and Lydia smiled cruelly when she found what she was looking for. She walked over and picked up the scroll.

"I wonder," she mused, looking the parchment over, "how long it will take the little beastie to realize her spell is gone." Lydia smirked and turned to exit the tree. She and Katherine walked down the hill, triumph burning like a flame in Lydia's chest, bringing a flush to her cheeks.

A tiny creature appeared out of nowhere and zipped past Lydia. She flinched - for the first time since her exile, Lydia was walking through the Moors without having taken an Invisibility Potion. It was risky, but Lydia had to admit, her trust in her sister had been weakened when she learned Katherine had once plotted against her. But at any rate, the creature didn't seem to register her.

"Was that Robin?"

Lydia glanced over her shoulder at Katherine, who trembled in her sister's gaze. It was the first time in days Katherine had spoken.

"It could have been, if Maleficent had been with him," Lydia shrugged. The two faeries had been inseparable the past few days.

Katherine looked like she wanted to say something, but Lydia turned away. The two hiked on to the borders of the Moors, avoiding other creatures.

As the sisters walked by a meadow, a faint cry carried across the wind to them. Lydia paid it no attention until Katherine gasped.

"What?" Lydia asked, and she looked to Katherine. One of the girl's hands was covering her mouth as she gazed across the meadow. Lydia followed her eyes, and saw someone kneeling in the grass. She squinted, and realized it was Diaval. He wasn't alone. In his lap, recognizable by her wings and horns, was Maleficent. Oddly, she appeared to be glowing gold.

"What is going on?" murmured Lydia. Then she shook her head - it didn't matter. Until Lydia realized the gold light matched the magic of Katherine's spell. "Is that your time spell?"

"I don't know," Katherine said, her voice quivering.

Lydia ducked behind a tree, curious. She heard a moan from Maleficent, and it was music to her ears. She relished her enemy's suffering.

Katherine didn't seem to enjoy the scene as much as Lydia. She gave her own little moan as she watched Maleficent. Glancing at her pale face and wide eyes, Lydia decided it was time to go. Before something silly like past amity drove Katherine to try to help Maleficent. Lydia stalked away, assuming her sister would follow. She was at the edge of the forest when she realized Katherine was not behind her.

"Katherine," Lydia growled to herself as she scanned the area. Her eyes widened when she saw her sister was slowly approaching Diaval and Maleficent. Katherine seemed to sense Lydia's rage, and she glanced over at Lydia. She cringed, wringing her hands when her eyes met her sister's angry ones. But she was not to be distracted from her act of betrayal.

It didn't make sense. Katherine was too cowardly to betray Lydia. Yet there she was, walking right over to the enemy! "Disgraceful," Lydia thought, glaring at her sister. Her anger built and she muttered a spell. Next to her, a few innocent flowers caught fire. Lydia walked away to the other side of the meadow, getting closer to Diaval, Maleficent, and Katherine, but staying well in the shadows. Several sticks snapped under her feet, but Diaval and Maleficent were otherwise occupied, and did not notice.

Diaval was talking to Katherine. Lydia stepped behind a tree to eavesdrop.

"...are you?"

"Just a friend," Katherine said, her voice high and frightened.

"I've known Maleficent for years, but she's never mentioned a friendship with a ten year old human girl. Why are you in the Moors?"

"That's not important," Katherine said. "What happened to Maleficent?"

"Why is it any of your concern?" Diaval asked.

"Yes, Katherine, do tell," Lydia hissed to herself. Her fist clenched, crushing the scroll she held.

At that moment, Maleficent gave a shriek and began to cry weakly. Diaval's black eyes widened, and he grabbed Maleficent's hand.

"Maleficent, you're going to be alright, I promise," he soothed. He glanced up at Katherine, his eyes suspicious and calculating. Wondering if the girl truly could be of help.

"If you tell me what happened, I may be able to help her," Katherine said.

"You're a human, what could - "

"I'm not a human, I'm a sorceress," Katherine said.

"A sor -"

"Yes, and I can help Maleficent, just tell me what happened," insisted Katherine. "Please."

Behind her tree, Lydia was shaking with rage. Every ounce of her wanted to scream at Katherine, punish her for having the nerve to betray Lydia. She dug her nails into the bark of the tree she stood behind.

"Several days ago, she tried a spell to make herself younger. She turned eleven, and tried the spell again today. She meant to become older, but instead, she became maybe six years old. After half an hour or so later, she was flying, and I grabbed her and tickled her, and then she suddenly just started glowing and hurting, and I don't know what I did!" Diaval took a deep breath to steady himself and looked at Maleficent sadly. He tucked a dark lock of hair behind her pointed ear. Lydia crinkled her nose at the sickenly fluffy affection.

Katherine assessed the situation, looking down at Maleficent. Lydia could almost hear her thinking to herself.

"I don't think you did anything. Perhaps it was a side effect," she frowned. Some of the nervousness left her face, chased away by the urgency of the situation. Someone needed help, and Katherine's own emotions could wait.

Compassion. Disgusting.

"Nothing went wrong when she was eleven," Katherine continued. "So what changed?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. The pinhead could at least try to sound like she hadn't been spying on Maleficent for days.

"There was a list of directions with the spell, but it said nothing about side effects," said Diaval, shifting himself so Maleficent was more comfortable. She buried her head in his side, moaning.

"Maybe the spell was designed only to be used once," Katherine said. She kneeled next to Diaval and touched Maleficent's forehead. "I believe she had a fever."

Maleficent gave another shriek. "Robin!"

"Robin will be right back," Diaval assured her, rubbing her back. Maleficent writhed in his lap, sweat shining on her brow, and she gave a surprisingly strong howl.

"What do we do?" Diaval turned to Katherine, looking desperate. Katherine was silent, and Lydia smiled - Katherine had no idea what she was facing. But then she began to speak.

"The opposite of pain is comfort, correct?" Katherine said.

"Yes," Diaval said, grabbing hold to the idea. "Are you saying - "

"What's comforting to Maleficent?"

"The Moors - "

"Robin, Aurora, and you - "

"And her wings," Diaval finished. "So do we get Robin and Aurora? If they're here, she'll feel better?"

"Maybe," Katherine said, "but that's not exactly what I had in mind. We could put pieces of what comfort her - a Moors flower, a feather from you and a feather from her wings - in a potion."

"Alri - wait, how did you know I'm a raven?" Diaval asked, narrowing his eyes. Katherine blushed.

"Oh - I'm a sorceress, remember?" Katherine stammered. Diaval opened his mouth again, but Katherine cut across him. "I could brew a potion compromised of things that comfort Maleficent, combined with Healing Azar," she continued. "Healing Azar is a magical flower that comes in bloom when it is set on fire. It wilts shortly after the fire burns out, but if it can be brewed in a potion before that happens, it will stop illnesses from progressing. I could alter its target to the spell."

Lydia could see Diaval was impressed. Katherine only looked ten, but was obviously well educated. Lydia wondered where her sister had learned about Healing Azar (she would never admit it, but Lydia hadn't even heard of Healing Azar until then). Probably Katherine had read about it in one of her books.

"Where can I find Healing Azar? Is it rare? I've never heard of a flower like that."

Pointing in the distance, Katherine said, "It grows at the top of the mountain, as close to the sun as possible. I've seen - ow!"

Maleficent had whacked Katherine in the side with her horn, crying out. Lydia thought the gold aura had brightened, but that could be her eyes playing tricks on her. Or not, because Diaval froze in evident horror.

"Is she…."

"What?" asked Katherine, concern lacing her voice.

"Did Maleficent get bigger?"

"I don't think so," Katherine said, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked over Maleficent.

Diaval shakily inhaled. "What does Healing Azar look like? How many flowers do you need?"

"Healing Azar, when not in bloom, is a tall flower with an orange bud," Katherine said. "It looks unremarkable until you light it on fire. But there aren't many flowers you can mistake it for. When you find it, dig up four of the flowers by their roots. You'll bring them back here, and we'll have to plant them in the ground again. Then we would light them on fire, cut the stem, and put it in the potion."

"I'm going to get the flowers," Diaval said, determination glinting in his eyes. "I'll leave once Robin gets back. Or do you think we should bring her home? I was worried about moving her, but maybe she would be more comfortable at home."

"No, I would avoid moving her," Katherine said. "But I would also leave as soon as possible. You go get the flowers, and I will stay with Maleficent."

Diaval shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave her with someone I don't know."

"I'm trying to help her!"

Diaval looked at Katherine a moment before saying, "Right, sorry."

Sighing, Katherine said, "No, it's fine. I would be wary if I were you, too. But to show you that you can trust me, here." Katherine reached up and tugged a string out of the front of her dress. Lydia blinked as she recognized the necklace. It had a flower on it, preserved by magic. It had once been Lydia's mother's. Lydia had forgotten Katherine even had it.

Katherine closed her eyes and began to murmur under her breath. It was several minutes before anything happened. The necklace suddenly flashed white, and a replica sat in Katherine's hand. Katherine looked relieved that the spell had worked as she handed the copy over to Diaval.

"The necklaces are connected," Katherine explained. "When you say Congregamini, your necklace will aim to reunite with its twin, guiding you to me. Not that I would, but if I did do something to Maleficent, you would have the power to track me down."

"Congregamini," Diaval repeated, and the necklace flew out of his hand. She gasped as it reconnected with her necklace. "Sorry!"

"It's fine," Katherine said. She did the spell again, and it took a moment for it to work. She gave Diaval the new copy.

"Thank you," he said. Diaval stoked Maleficent's hair, leaned down, and whispered something in his ear.

"No..." Maleficent whimpered as Diaval gently picked her up off his lap and laid her on the ground. "Don't go…."

"I'll be right back, I promise," Diaval said. Sadness and pain were etched on his face, and it looked like it physically hurt him to stand up and prepare to leave.

"She's in good hands," Katherine assured him. "Go get the flowers, and come back as soon as possible."

"Of course," Diaval said, and he transformed. Lydia watched the raven fly away, the necklace in his talons, before striding out of the shadows and storming over to Katherine.

"What do you think you are doing?" Lydia shouted. The blood from Katherine's face drained, but she didn't move from Maleficent's side.

"I can't let her suffer because of my spell," Katherine said quietly. Her eyes flickered down to Maleficent, and Katherine scooted a bit closer to her, almost as though she were protecting her from Lydia.

"Yes, you can, and you will!"

"Lydia - "

"TRAITOR!" Lydia screamed, pointing at Katherine. Katherine flinched. "After all these years, you betray me! For her!"

"Please, Lydia! You were friends, why do you hate her so much now?"

Lydia felt her rage rise inside of her, and it was unleashed in a spell that knocked Katherine over.

"We are going back to the castle, and that is the end of that," Lydia hissed, walking over to Katherine and pulling her to her feet. But Katherine recoiled.

"Lydia, Diaval - he - "

It clicked. When Katherine had given Diaval the necklace, she had armed herself against Lydia. If Lydia took Katherine away, Diaval could still find her. The necklaces would reconnect.

"Take off the necklace. Now!" Lydia ordered. For a moment, Katherine stood still, swaying slightly. Then she gave a very tiny shake of her head.

Lydia was silent. Hatred and rage seemed to be pulsing in her very veins, turning her face an unpleasant red. Then, forcing calm into her voice, Lydia said, "Very well, then. I have no further use for you."

Katherine gave a strangled scream, and fell to her knees. Lydia raised her head. The dead told no secrets.

"Sister, please…."

She was begging for her life. Pathetic, Lydia thought. But it bought Katherine a second, and that was all she needed.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Lydia's head snapped up, and she said something very unladylike. Robin and a few other faeries were approaching. "Turbare," she growled, sending a spell their way. But the faeries easily dodged the magic.

"Now is the time. Kill them all," Lydia thought. She aimed at Maleficent. "Occ - "

"No! Contego!"

Lydia felt herself being flung back by Katherine's spell. She gave a shout of rage and leapt to her feet again. She shot another spell at the nearing faeries, but didn't wait to see what damage it caused. She lunged at her sister and locked her hands around Katherine's throat.

"I should have done this - " Lydia began to say, but she cut herself off with a growl. The faeries were peppering her with their pitiful little forest spells, shouting. But Lydia didn't let go, not even when her dark hair was turned to grass. But a roar sounding through the meadow caught her attention. She looked up to see two Tree Warriors running to her. It was time to leave.

Throwing Katherine away, Lydia aimed at Maleficent and cried, "Occides!"

Her spell shot toward Maleficent. There were panicked cries from the faeries, and Lydia grinned wickedly at their despair. But her smile slid off her face when the gold aura around Maleficent gave a bright flash, and Lydia's own curse was thrown back at her.

Lydia only just managed to avoid the spell. She gave a shout of rage and frustration - her time had come and gone. She turned to run, but the Tree Warriors had caught up to her. One grabbed her, and lifted her off the ground. Lydia twisted around in his grasp and managed to burn his arm. He dropped her, and she shot off like a scalded cat.

The Tree Warriors stopped chasing her once she was past the boundaries of the Moors, but Lydia didn't stop running for a long time. She didn't paid attention to direction, and she was almost halfway to the human before she finally fell. She gasped for breath, coughing as her heart rate gradually slowed down. She put her fingers to her head, and scowled at the grass that replaced her hair. She would try to find a remedy when she got back to the castle.

Lydia stood up, and set off in the direction of the abandoned castle. She was filled with anger at when she thought of Katherine, and but brushed it away after vowing to kill her sister with Maleficent.

...

Meh. I didn't like this chapter much - Lydia ended up being a little crazier than I wanted. I meant to post this last night, but I ended up watching Captain America: The First Avenger for the first time. Have any of you guys seen that? What did you think? I thought it was fantastic, but I like Iron Man a bit more. Tony is just hilarious, even though he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes.

Well, thanks for reading. Please review! Constructive criticism welcomed.

Kitty