The king sat across from Cathy and tapped his fingers on the oak desk. Lilybeth watched Cathy from her chair beside the bureau.

"I think it's time for honesty, don't you?" Julius said, his brown eyes never leaving Cathy.

Lilybeth's chair creaked as she shifted in her seat.

"What would you like to know?"

Another creak from beside the bureau. Cathy wouldn't look, she couldn't.

"Let us start with the house of sweets."

Cathy nodded.

"Whose idea, was it?"

Cathy's head throbbed painfully, and she struggled to swallow.

"May I have a glass of water, please?"

The king waved his hand, and a glass of water appeared in front of her. Cathy took a sip and then she began.

"It was my idea."

Lilybeth gasped. Still, Cathy didn't look. If she did, she'd never be able to confess to the wicked thing she'd done.

"Why?" Julius asked, his disgust clear in his tone.

"Hex kidnapped me and forced me to work as a servant. I didn't know what he was capable of. I was afraid.

Then one afternoon, a witch and her son walked into the library while I was cleaning."

"Agnes and Prince Horace?"

"Yes."

The king grimaced at the thought of the vile pair.

"Hex knew I was there, but he didn't see me as a threat."

"Because?"

"Because he'd decided I was... uneducated. A simpleton. That I could neither read nor write."

The king frowned. "Whatever gave him that impression?"

"I did. It was safer." Cathy took another sip of water. It did nothing to ease the tightness in her throat.

"Continue."

"I listened as Horace asked Hex to design a trap to catch children, and in return, they would grant him a way to steal the children's magic. Hex agreed. A week passed, and Hex still hadn't devised a trap. He was in a terrible mood, storming up and down the corridors of his home, slamming doors, and cursing.

"And then he asked me, 'How would I trap fairy children?' Of course, I didn't know. Why would I? I had no intention of helping in such a diabolical scheme. But Hex lost his temper. With a flick of his hand, he transformed me into a..."

"Into a what?"

Cathy's cheeks burned with embarrassment. "A cockroach."

"And so, to save your own skin, you agreed to help Hex to catch children?" The king looked even more repulsed by her.

"No. It wasn't like that." Cathy felt the panic rising. Julius didn't understand. How could she make him see? She'd had no choice.

"Then explain."

"I-I felt scared, but I knew if I could buy some time. Keep my head down and search through every one of his spell books. I'd escape. Long before they ever built the house. Before they could cause harm to anyone. Then I could find help. Warn someone... anyone."

"But that's not what happened. Is it?"

"No. I discovered Tibbles wasn't who she claimed to be, and there was no way for me to escape. Unable to step beyond the rose garden at Rune Hall, Hex had trapped me. So I agreed to help you if you'd send me home. But..."

"But what?"

"But then I found out who Hex really is. He confided in me about his wife, Rose, and told me about his daughter, Florence. He's not the wicked sorcerer you believe him to be."

"So, you helped him escape?"

"Yes."

"You betrayed me?"

"Yes."

The king rose to his feet.

"Then I have no choice." Julius turned to Lilybeth. "Have you anything to say on Cathy's behalf?"

Finally, Cathy looked at her friend.

Surely now, after hearing the truth, Lilybeth would speak up for her.

"No. I have nothing to say." Lilybeth refused to meet Cathy's stare.

"Very well. Cathy..."

Cathy looked up at the king.

"For your crime against the realm, you will spend an eternity in prison."

Cathy's hands trembled in her lap, and her vision blurred with tears.

"What about Jake?"

"I have yet to decide."

At that moment, two guards entered.

"Take Cathy to the dungeons."

"Lilybeth, please," Cathy pleaded, but the fairy godmother turned away.

Cathy had lost everything.

And even worse, she may have condemned her brother along with her.