Lydia had a small funeral. Diaval, Aurora, and Robin attended, although more for Maleficent and Katherine's sake than for bidding Lydia farewell. Well, Robin remembered how she was when she was little, a temperamental but fun and nice girl. But he had said goodbye long before, when she was exiled from the Moors.
After Maleficent had had time to think things over, she realized Katherine was right. It was easy for a magical creature to kill themselves. Just as easily as Maleficent could grow a flower, Lydia could cause her magic to kill her. Maleficent only wished that she had been able to send Lydia's conscious into a deep sleep, so Lydia wouldn't have died… And then what? Had her magic taken away from her, and die from some foreign human disease? Spent the rest of her life in madness, screaming for the blood of Maleficent's family? Lydia had become a person devoted only to herself. Maleficent wished Lydia were still alive so she wouldn't ever have to worry that she had killed her, and that wasn't the right reason to wish a person were still breathing.
Maleficent was sitting in her nest with Diaval, Aurora, and Robin, quietly mulling over the events of the past few days, particularly the night Lydia had died, and the fight before then.
"Robin?"
"Yes, Maleficent?"
"Did I ever thank you, Diaval, and Aurora? Thank you, Robin, Diaval, thank you for protecting us in the battle, and Aurora, thank you for helping Katherine," said Maleficent. "I think we would have had to deal with a lot more loss if it hadn't been for your efforts."
Diaval reached over and took Maleficent's hand, which had been resting on her knee. "I couldn't dream of not protecting my family when they needed it," he said, raising his eyebrows. He squeezed Maleficent's hand and released it. "You fight good."
Maleficent found a smile tugging her lips upward. "You, too."
"I was rubbish," Robin groaned, putting a hand over his eyes. "I'm going to go find a squirrel later and defeat it so I can prove I can win a fight without falling asleep."
"That was an accident, I'm sure you're a fine fighter," said Maleficent reassuringly, but Diaval had already shape-shifted into a rather large squirrel, with black fur and a huge bushy tail. He chattered something Maleficent didn't understand, but if she had to guess, she would have guessed Diaval had challenged Robin to a fight.
"It's on!" Robin cried, zooming at Diaval the squirrel. Maleficent and Aurora fell over laughing as the two did battle.
"I thought you helped animals! I didn't know you fought them in your free time!" Aurora giggled.
"He's normally very peaceful," snorted Maleficent, grinning at the pair. They had both found twigs and were sword-fighting, sending the two girls into another fit of giggles. Robin managed to disarm Diaval, who held his tiny little arms up in surrender as Robin poked him threateningly in the chest.
"I win," Robin announced, puffing his chest up in pride. He glanced over to Aurora and Maleficent, pleased he had amused them. Robin always enjoyed putting on a show. Maleficent loved his animated stories, especially when they were about her parents.
Diaval transformed back into a man and grinned at Maleficent and Aurora. As they wiped tears of mirth from their eyes, Katherine climbed into the tree.
"Did I miss something?" Katherine asked, the smallest bit of genuine amusement in her voice. Katherine had been, understandably, very depressed since her sister had died. She had known Lydia all her life, and she had so been hoping they could return to the friendly relationship from when they were young. Since Lydia's passing, Katherine had been spending a lot of time alone, though Maleficent did her best to help her friend.
"Diaval makes a ridiculous squirrel, is all," said Aurora.
"Hey! I am not ridiculous. Not in any form."
"I think you'd make a ridiculous flamingo," commented Katherine. Maleficent frowned.
"A what?"
"They're a foreign bird. They're bright pink and stand on one leg," said Katherine. Maleficent took one look at Diaval, imagining him as a pink raven, and then began to laugh. Pink was not his color.
"How is your head feeling?" Katherine asked Maleficent.
"It's fine right now," said Maleficent. Ever since she had tried to use Lydia's spell to her advantage and remember things she had wanted to remember, she had been plagued by horrible headaches. But if she relaxed and tried not to think too much about her past, she was fine. Unfortunately, that made it impossible for Maleficent to work on regain her memories, as she had hoped she would be able to. "How - how are you doing?"
"I'm okay."
Maleficent nodded, knowing that while that wasn't entirely true, her friend would be alright eventually. As Katherine sat next to Maleficent, Maleficent mused - losing someone was hard, and recovery was hard. But you couldn't let the grief consume you, not when you had other people that needed you, not when you had duties to complete. You had to recover, or you would join the person you had lost. It is in the human nature to fight to survive, so that is what you do. Like when Maleficent had lost her wings, she had almost thought she would die from the grief, but -
Wincing, Maleficent put a hand to her temple. Feeling a headache threatening to harm her, she tried to push aside the thoughts of losing her wings.
"Are you alright?" Diaval asked.
"I'll be fine," Maleficent said, rubbing her forehead and taking a deep breath. She wondered if this was what the rest of her life would be like, having to suppress the memories of her adulthood. The thought made her want to groan. It was almost as if Lydia had known she was going to die, and she had been determined to present Maleficent with at least one more trouble. Maleficent had to admit, despite Lydia's many flaws and wrongdoings, her dedication was something to admire.
Her friends were quiet, hoping silence would help soothe Maleficent's headache. It occurred to Maleficent that perhaps she would be able to overcome this issue. If she used Lydia's spell to bring back all her memories, then Maleficent wouldn't have any lost memories struggling to bring themselves back to the front of her mind. But Maleficent couldn't remember what spell Lydia had used. She asked Katherine.
"She reversed the spell Freduerant, which causes one to forget a certain event. The reversed spell obviously causes one to remember something," said Katherine, sighing slightly. "Why?"
"Well, I was thinking, maybe I could - oh!"
It hit Maleficent like a physical punch. It was so obvious, Maleficent smacked her forehead. That didn't help her headache.
"Maleficent?" Diaval asked, concerned.
"She reversed the spell! How?" Maleficent asked Katherine, excited. Katherine blinked at Maleficent, then realized what she was talking about. Her mouth fell open.
"Oh my - she just - she just spoke the incantation backwards," Katherine said. She buried her head in her hands, letting out a noise that sounded like a laugh and sob combined. "All these years, it never occurred to me, and Lydia just - "
"What? What are you talking about? Did you figure out how to reverse the time spell?" Aurora asked.
"I think so!" Maleficent cried. She jumped up. "If we just speak the incantation backwards, then the spell will have the opposite effect."
"That's it?" Diaval exclaimed in dismay. "That's all you have to do?"
"Well, I guess we'll find out."
Diaval cursed. "It's been weeks, and not once did that occur to any of us."
Since the Moors was lacking in parchment and writing instruments, Katherine wrote the spell in the dirt, her letters small and neat. Then she printed the spell backwards. Excitement and nervousness twisted Maleficent's stomach, and she shuffled her feet, wanting to just say the spell and find out what happened. Finally, Katherine finished writing the reversed time spell.
"Let's hope for the best," Maleficent said, squaring her shoulders and holding her hands out.
"Wait!" Katherine said. She muttered a different spell, and Maleficent and Katherine's clothes grew larger. Maleficent squeaked in surprise and pulled her dress over her shoulders, too aware of Diaval and Robin looking at her. While they were beloved family, they were also boys. "Sorry. I think our clothes would have been too small for our adult bodies."
"Maleficent, are you sure you want to do this?" said Aurora, her eyes worried. Maleficent nodded, smiling.
"This is what I want. I accept that I did bad things in my life, but forgetting them won't make them go away. I'll just take care not to repeat my mistakes," said Maleficent. "And I don't want to be in a child's body forever. Everyone's got to grow up at some point."
Aurora nodded. "As long as you're happy." She strode over and gave Maleficent a hug. "I love you. Godmother."
"I love you, too, Beastie," Maleficent replied. She drew away and smiled at Aurora, Diaval and Robin. She felt oddly like she was saying good-bye, but she knew that her family wasn't going anywhere.
Diaval shrugged, leaning against the Rowan Tree. "What, no sentimental words for me?"
"You smell funny."
"Excuse me?!"
Robin laughed heartily, and Maleficent grinned. "I'm kidding. I love you two, also."
Maleficent and Katherine read the spell once more, making sure it was memorized, then began to chant it. Diaval, Aurora, and Robin stepped back as magic surrounded Maleficent and Katherine, blinding the two. Maleficent felt a pang of nervousness when she couldn't read the words anymore, and hoped she wouldn't mess up. "...airuini sui satnulov tnecifelaM I," Maleficent finished. She held her breath, waiting for something. The magic faded away, but the dress on Maleficent was still too large. She hadn't changed.
Hanging her head in disappointment, Maleficent sighed. "It - it didn't work."
"Wait," Diaval said, "it takes a minute for it to take effect. Just wait."
So with her heart fluttering, as though it were a butterfly in flight, Maleficent stood, waiting. And then her hands began to glow. The golden magic surrounded her again, soaking into her skin. Maleficent gasped, and grabbed her head. Her bones and veins were being stretched and pulled, and as one might imagine - it hurt. For a minute, everything hurt, everything, and then, the gold light faded, and she was left doubled over, covered in cold sweat and trembling.
"Maleficent?"
She looked at the people watching her anxiously. She frowned. "Who are you?"
…
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