The following day, Cathy set her trap. She locked the doors in the kitchen and propped the window open with a wooden spoon. Around the spoon, she tied a string. With a broom in her hand, she waited for the witch to arrive.

Sure enough, bang on six, the witch climbed in through the window. As soon as her paws touched the floor, Cathy yanked the string, sending the spoon flying, and the window slammed shut.

"Stay where you are, witch!" she yelled, raising the broom. Ready to whack her if she charged.

Tibbles backed away from her.

"Witch... Do I look like a witch?"

"Not at the moment, but I've seen you. I followed you yesterday to the woods. I've seen what you are."

Tibbles stared at Cathy for a moment. "Very well. You deserve to know the truth."

Tibbles waved her paw and changed back into a witch.

"Who are you?" Cathy asked, lowering the broom.

"My real name is Lilybeth. I'm a fairy godmother and I work for King Julius."

"Doing what?"

"Spying. Among other things. I've been watching Hex for many years."

"Why?"

"Because he's wicked, mean, and cruel. The king wants him arrested, but without proof of his wrongdoings, we cannot."

"So you're not really my friend? You were just using me to catch Hex?" Cathy dropped the broom and slumped into a chair at the kitchen table.

Lilybeth sat beside her and placed her hand on hers.

"I am your friend. All I have ever tried to do is protect you. That's why I helped you with magic, and why I asked if you needed my help to escape. The king and I both agreed your safety comes first. If we believed you were in danger, we would have stepped in to protect you."

"Do you still intend to spy on Hex?"

"It'll be difficult now you've blown my cover."

"Not if I help you."

"You'd help us arrest Hex?" Lilybeth frowned, as though she didn't believe it.

"Yes, I would."

"Why?" Lilybeth needed convincing. So Cathy pulled the picture from her pocket and placed it on the table in front of her.

"That's why."

Lilybeth's eyes drifted from the picture to Cathy's face and back again.

"I see."

"That's not me... the girl is my nan, Florence. Hex wrote something on the back." Cathy turned over the picture.

Lilybeth nodded. "Florence was a sweet girl. Too good for Rune Hall. Hex forced her to work every day. Convinced demanding work and strict discipline were the only way to raise a child. He treated her as he treats you now. But as time passed, Hex grew more controlling, and when she could bear it no longer, Florence sent a letter asking King Julius for help.

"Florence pleaded with the king to help her escape from her father and the king agreed. Escape for Florence came at a price. The only place beyond her father's reach was the human realm.

"The King sent me to deliver his reply. He wrote back explaining, here we live forever, but in the human realm, time is fleeting. Florence would grow old and one day she would die. Her time there would be short. He told her to live her new life to the fullest. To never waste a moment. King Julius created a potion to smear onto a mirror. To open a portal. He asked her to ponder it. For once she crossed, she must not return.

"Florence left that night, and I often wondered about her. Did she find the happiness she deserved? Because of you, I see she did. When you arrived, I thought you were her, and Hex had somehow brought her back."

Cathy studied the girl in the picture who didn't smile, and who looked lonely. "Now I have more reason than anyone else to want Hex arrested. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Florence is safe. And after I help you, I want your word you'll send me home."

"You realise you can stay here. The fairy realm is as much your home as the human realm. You are one of us."

"I don't belong here. Please, promise me you'll send me home."

"Of course. If you wish it, so be it."

Cathy took back the picture and slipped it into her pocket.

"I'll speak with the king. Cathy, you must be careful. Hex is a villain."

With a flick of her hand, Lilybeth transformed into a grey mist and vanished.