Maleficent's entire body hurt. She took a deep breath to calm her heart as it beat wildly in her chest, and asked for Robin. She opened her eyes as Robin gave a relieved sigh, like someone had lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders, and said, "Good gods, lass, you gave us quite a scare."

"Sorry," Maleficent mumbled. She tried to sit up, and a hand under her wings helped push her up. "Thanks, Diaval."

"You're welcome," he said, moving so he crouched at her side. "How do you feel?"

"Like I grew six years in half a day," Maleficent winced. "Can I have some water?"

"I'll go get you some," a female voice said. Maleficent nodded, then froze.

"Katherine?!"

Katherine bit her lip, looking like Maleficent did when someone discovered her pulling a prank on them. Sheepish and apologetic, but without the amused gleam in her eye that Maleficent still wore even when she was caught. "Um… hi?"

"I thought - Diaval said you left," Maleficent said. "I mean, I'm glad you're here, but… aren't you supposed to be older?"

Sighing, Katherine said, "It's a long story. But you're our main priority right now. I'll get you some water. Birchalin, would you mind coming with me?"

Katherine jumped out of the tree, leaving Maleficent feeling quite baffled. She shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position - her dress was too small.

"What do you remember about today?" asked Robin, hovering before Maleficent. Maleficent took a deep breath.

"I used the time spell again. I was trying to make myself older, but I don't know why then I ended up even younger." She thought for a moment. "It feels like the spell is warning me that… it can't be done. I can't grow older." It was scary to think that she was stuck in a time she didn't belong. Her twelve-year-old body and mind living in her future. "I was six, and we were playing in a meadow. Then, I suddenly just... hurt."

Maleficent shuddered as she remembered the experience. It had been so strange. She had felt the pain, and heard and saw everything around her, but at the same time, she felt like she was rapidly flying through the events of the years that followed being six years old. The pain and the memories both fought to overwhelm her. Maleficent was afraid that surrendering to the memories would separate her from Diaval and Aurora. If she yielded, then maybe Diaval and Aurora would leave her life, as though they had only been a dream. But eventually, she gave in to the memories.

By the time the sound of Diaval's voice and the burning of her throat pulled her out of her memories, Maleficent had another year's worth of memories of Stefan. More than ever it seemed impossible that everything had gone so wrong between the two of them.

"And you remember the past few days with Aurora, me, the spell?" asked Diaval. Maleficent nodded.

"Yes." Then Maleficent's stomach sank. "Oh no, Aurora wasn't here, was she?" The idea that Aurora would have seen her in such a weak, pained state made Maleficent worry for the Queen.

"She hasn't been informed," Robin said, landing on Maleficent's knee.

"Good," Maleficent said, relieved. After a moment, she gave a little cough and asked, "Why… why is Katherine here?"

"She approached me while you were hurt," said Diaval, his black eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't know why she was in the Moors. But she devised an idea to stop the spell. I went to the mountains, retrieved the flowers she needed, returned, and she made the potion."

"That's why my throat hurts, from drinking the potion," Maleficent said, mostly to herself. She cleared her throat and asked, "Do I want to know what was in that potion?" Once, Katherine had told her some of the ingredients sorcerers sometimes put in potions - rare plants, butterfly wings (that made Maleficent cringe and pity the poor butterflies), ashes from a fire lit at midnight, the occasional eyeball….

"Would you feel uncomfortable is I said one of my feathers was in the potion?"

Maleficent's eyes widened.

"I'm a clean bird!" Diaval exclaimed defensively, throwing his hands up in the air. "I preen myself all the time!"

"Why was your feather in the potion?" asked Maleficent, trying to not think about having drunk that.

"Well, Katherine used sources of comfort to help you. Your wings, the Moors, your family and friends… It was either use my feather or boil Robin."

"Boil me?" Robin was aghast. Maleficent laughed at the look on his face, although it turned into a cough.

"Boil Robin? What on earth are you talking about?" asked Katherine as she climbed back into the tree, carefully holding a cup. Katherine handed the cup to Maleficent, preferring to look at their fingers rather than meet Maleficent's eyes. "Although he would certainly be quieter boiled."

Maleficent nearly choked on her water as she laughed.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm only kidding, Robin. We couldn't shut you up if we sewed your lips together."

"Well, aren't you sassy today."

Katherine gave a tight smile. "I should explain myself." She sighed, and looked down at her hands, clasped together in her lap. "I made the time spell. Like I said earlier, I never meant to hurt anyone. I created the spell six years ago. Lydia... she was going insane." Katherine finally looked up at Maleficent, who was listening with a solemn look on her face. "Lydia hasn't always been the nicest, most mild-tempered person. But she became completely unhinged, until - until she absolutely hated someone, and spent all her time plotting their downfall."

"Why - why did she hate someone so much?"

"She thought she loved someone… but he already loved another girl. Someone she had always been a little jealous of."

Maleficent thought for a moment, trying to think of any men in the Moors Lydia would be enraptured by. Only one man came to mind. Already fearing the answer, Maleficent asked, "Who did she love?"

Katherine's lower lip trembled. "S-Stefan."

Robin fell off Maleficent's knee. Maleficent was silent for a moment, remembering what Diaval, Aurora, and Robin had told her. "Lydia hated me."

Katherine gave a small nod. "Even after Stefan be - became king, Lydia still considered you an enemy. She thought that even if you two were no longer courting, you should have stopped him from becoming king, or maybe you had influenced his choices. Something ridiculous like that. She actually went to the castle once, and tried to convince Stefan to take her as his wife. He refused. Lydia became violent. She wanted revenge on you, since she decided you were the reason Stefan was in the castle, and I didn't know what to do. I was so scared. I tried to talk her out of her crazy fantasies, but she never listened. So I - I made the spell to make her younger and forget her life. Then she wouldn't be mad at you, Maleficent, and maybe Lydia and I could reconcile."

"What does she want from me?" Maleficent asked. "Or, to do to me?"

"She simply wants you to suffer," Katherine said sadly. "I still have trouble believing how much she's changed. We were so close when we were young. Lydia, Maleficent, and me. Do you remember, Maleficent, all the time we spent together?"

"I do," Maleficent said softly. Those had been fun times. Lydia and Katherine had been like sisters to her. Although Lydia had always been nice enough, she did have a temper. She was quick to become angry or jealous.

"I thought if she grew younger, everything would be fixed. It didn't occur to me that Lydia's demeanour wouldn't change. But she was hostile and I was scared!

"It was ridiculous of me to try something like that. I shouldn't have hoped to overcome her using force. But I was desperate. I created the spell, and tested it on myself. I used a potion to protect my memories from disappearing. The spell worked. It was… irreversible, like I had intended."

A shiver ran up Maleficent's spine. Irreversible?

"The spell only works if one places it on oneself. If the targeted person does not undergo the change willingly, the spell doesn't work properly."

"Which is why the spell was so harmful to Maleficent today. She didn't want to go back in time, she wanted to go to her body and mind's future," Diaval reasoned. Katherine nodded.

"That, and it isn't really meant to be used on a person twice. Especially not to make them older. Anyway, I was going to present the scroll to Lydia, making her think it would send her back in time so she could win Stefan."

"Win him? That makes Stefan sound like a prize," Maleficent shuddered.

"That's what Lydia saw him as. She did genuinely like him, but mostly she just wanted to win his affections to prove herself better than you, in a way. She was always a little jealous of you, Maleficent. For your wings, and the way your powers came so naturally, while she had to work to memorize spells and perform her magic."

"Jealous of me?" Maleficent couldn't believe that Lydia would be so jealous of her. But… she could. She could understand why Lydia would be jealous of her powers. She could understand that Lydia's envy would have eaten away at her for years, until she hated Maleficent. And at that moment, Maleficent resented herself, for not having done something to make Lydia feel better, more confident about herself.

"I lost my nerve," Katherine continued. "Lydia scared me so much I couldn't do it. I took the scroll to Stefan, telling him about everything. He didn't want another enemy, so in return for keeping Lydia from attacking him, he would hide the scroll."

"That's where the pixies found the scroll, in Stefan's library," Diaval said. Katherine nodded, then suddenly burst into tears.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen to you, I wanted to protect you!" Katherine sobbed.

"Katherine, I understand. It's alright," Maleficent said, moving over to hug her friend. "Thank you for trying to protect me."

"I - I'm sorry I failed," Katherine sniffed, giving Maleficent a weak embrace in return.

"Well, I'm still alive, so I wouldn't say you failed," said Maleficent. "How did you get away from Lydia?"

"Yes, why were you in that meadow?" Diaval asked, leaning forward. Maleficent didn't like the chilly look he was giving her friend.

"Lydia - she forced me to tell her what I knew about your condition," Katherine said. She shook slightly at the memory, and Maleficent grew worried. What had Lydia done to Katherine? "She's been watching you for years."

"Gods, that's creepy," Robin muttered. Maleficent nodded, and twisted around to look into the darkness. She could have sworn she felt someone's eyes on her. But Balthazar, still guarding the tree, would have chased off any unwanted visitors.

"Lydia found out about my intentions for her. And she - she stole the scroll this morning."

"What?" Diaval and Robin cried. Robin zipped over to where Maleficent remembered dropping the scroll that morning. Sure enough, the parchment was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry. If it helps, I still remember the spell, but now Lydia knows it, too," Katherine said, sounding ashamed.

"It's fine. What happened after Lydia took the scroll?" Maleficent prompted.

"We walked by the meadow, and I saw you," Katherine continued, trembling again. "I knew my spell had gone wrong, somehow, and I couldn't let you suffer because of me. I went to help, but Lydia was so mad. After Diaval left, she attacked us. But Robin, some healer faeries, Balthazar, and Birchalin arrived. Balthazar and Birchalin chased her away, and we moved you to the tree. The healers checked you over, but were at a loss of what to do to ease your pain. I sent them away, in cause Lydia decided to make a reappearance. Maybe I should have let them stay, in case they came up with any ideas. But thankfully, Diaval returned soon."

"I wouldn't call it 'soon,'" Diaval sighed. "I'm sorry I wasn't quicker." Diaval recounted his tale of what had happened on the mountain with the Guardian. Katherine was surprised - she had never heard of the Guardian.

"I wonder who she is. A sorceress?" pondered Katherine. "She sounded immortal, talking about 'long ago,' even though she looked young."

"Are sorceresses immortal?" Diaval asked.

"Well, not really. I shouldn't have phrased it like that. Sorcerers don't age, nor do they often fall ill. Like faeries, the main cause of death for sorcerers is being slain, especially in battle. There are a few cases where rare diseases affect them. Sometimes faeries or sorceresses die while giving birth, or they become so depressed, they lose their will to live and thus their magical abilities, which keep them alive for so long," Katherine explained.

"What a cheery conversation this is," Robin muttered.

"Well, possibly the Guardian was a sorceress," Diaval said. "But she never said an incantation."

"Maybe she's the Healing Azar flowers somehow personified," Maleficent suggested, stifling a yawn. She didn't hurt anymore, but she was exhausted.

"Maybe, but we'll talk about it tomorrow. You, lass, need to sleep," Robin said. Maleficent didn't argue.

"May I come back in the morning?" Katherine asked, standing up and wringing her hands.

"No, because you are going to stay right here," Maleficent said, grabbing Katherine's wrists.

"But - "

"But nothing. Sit," Maleficent ordered, gently pulling Katherine down. Maleficent yawned, but was cut short by lack of room to breathe. Her dress was too tight to let her to take very deep breaths.

"Do you need a new dress?" asked Diaval, ever-observant. "You have some robes, although they'd be too large."

"Better too big than suffocating," Maleficent decided. Diaval nodded and hopped out of the tree. He returned after a moment, holding a folded dark-brown robe.

"Thank you," said Maleficent, taking the clothes. "Where did you get this?"

"Um… it was stowed away by your old staff," Diaval said. "You wore it… when Stefan was king."

When Maleficent was evil. "Oh," she said, trying to not feel repulsed by the robes. She considered not wearing them, but she supposed she would like to be able to breathe properly.

The boys exited the tree. Katherine had to help tug the too-small dress off Maleficent. Once upon a time, it had been too large, until Aurora had helped Maleficent to adjust it. They had done too good a job.

"Katherine?"

"Yes?"

"You said you used the spell on yourself years ago, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you - did you ever grow, after using the spell?"

Katherine hesitated. "I'm sorry, but no. I haven't appeared to age a day ever since I performed the spell."

"Oh." Maleficent's heart sank. How would she get her memories back if she didn't grow into them, the way she had when she was tortured by the spell?

But did she want her memories back? At first thought, of course. But… she didn't want to remember being evil. Stefan's betrayal. Their war. If she didn't remember, it didn't feel real to Maleficent. Especially since Katherine still looked ten.

If only Maleficent could undo the struggles between Stefan and her. Between Lydia and her.

Could she?

"Katherine? Could your spell actually turn back time?" Maleficent asked quietly as she pulled the overlarge robes on over her head. Katherine froze.

"I - I don't think so."

"The scroll said - "

"The scroll was a lie. It was meant to tempt Lydia, to make her think she could go back in time. But it was a trick. You know what the spell really does."

"Could the spell be changed?"

"Maleficent, you can't go back in time," Katherine said, pale. "It's impossible."

"Becoming younger is supposed to be impossible."

"Even if you could go back in time, it would be too dangerous," Katherine insisted. "One mistake fixed could lead to thousands of new problems."

That sounded like an over-exaggeration to Maleficent, but she just nodded. Considering she had been the one to have tried to erase her sister's memories, it sounded a bit stupid coming from Katherine that going back in time was dangerous.

"You can come back in the nest now," Maleficent announced to Diaval and Robin. They returned to the tree. "Thank you, Balthazar. You can go back to your post now."

"No, I want to see you safe. Birchalin can manage by himself," Balthazar said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I will stay here."

"Thank you. Good night."

"Good night."

Maleficent retreated to her normal sleeping spot and sat down. "Diaval, Robin, Katherine, thank you, too. I'm sorry this happened."

Diaval reached over and squeezed Maleficent's hand. "It wasn't your fault. But I would do anything for you."

Nodding as he landed, Robin said, "Same here." Katherine agreed, though she looked a bit sad.

"That means a lot to me. Again, thank you. Good night," Maleficent said, lying down and closing her eyes.

"Good night, Maleficent."

...

Hey Malefifreaks! Nice long chapter for ya. Sorry it's a bit of review, and a bit of a filler, but I wanted to fully explain everything with the spell. If there's anything I didn't make clear, please tell me, so I can correct it.

Thanks for reading! Please review. Constructive criticism and random jokes welcome. :)

Kitty