I've had this written for a while and keep forgetting to post it. Sorry!
Five: Treachery
On the mountains adjacent to Hogwarts, there was a forest. Currently, there were three people concealed within the thick trunks and leafy branches. But no one knew if they were even real people at all.
"Here's the stone, Lust," Aileen said, holding the crimson stone out. It was fairly small, but Lust didn't seem to mind.
"You're sure this is the real thing?" she asked, examining it in the light streaming through the forest canopy.
"As real as my Oroborus." Aileen gave a small smile that seemed to hide something.
"Good." The stone began to glow. A red, crackly light began to issue from the stone, surrounding Lust. "Finally…" But before she could finish her sentence, the red light transformed into a purple glow that sparked around Lust's body. In a flash of light, both Lust and the stone were gone.
Envy frowned, eyes flashing to Aileen, who was unperturbed by Lust's disappearance.
"What did you do to her?"
"It was an imperfect stone," Aileen laughed. "I wanted her off my back. She's gone far away from here." She stopped laughing, suddenly. Her eyes grew wide with shock. "I…what have I done?" She picked up the set of scales she had set on the ground, voice cracking. "They're uneven…evil…"
Envy shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. She's gone."
"But…I…killed her!"
Now, it was Envy who was laughing. "Killed her? It's like you said – more like helped her. Now she doesn't have to worry about trying to be human. She's probably happier now."
Aileen shut her eyes. "Why can't we just stay like this?" she suddenly asked in a low voice.
"What?"
"We're ageless! In our real forms we can never die! If we find the Stone, then what? We'd just die anyways!" Aileen fell to her knees, tears running down her face.
Envy put a hand on Aileen's shoulder. "I don't want to become human. That was Lust. I don't even remember why she did in the first place. Now come on. We have to get back to the castle." He held out a hand for Aileen, who took it and stood up, brushing tears from her face.
Back at the castle, Aileen pulled a key from her belt and opened the classroom door. A voice made them stop dead in their tracks.
"Miss me?"