Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Darkness.

No, not darkness, darkness was not strong enough a word, he mused.

Darkness was a room by candlelight compared to this. It was looking into an abyss, like gazing into the void. Like standing on the precipice of a black hole, staring as light was sucked in and simply ceased to exist. 

Nothingness was a more apt description. 

He felt normal, But there was a sluggishness in his bones, as if taking a step forward would send him crashing into whatever was below. Turning his head from side to side took effort beyond his imagination for such a simple gesture. 

He tried to take a step, but found his body unwilling, no- unable to do so. Some sort of liquid sloshed around his ankles, flowing like a river one moment. Yet the second he tried to take a step it was like standing in dried concrete. Every time he tried to move, the surge grew. Until he was struggling to keep his footing. Though the only indication was the force with which it pushed against him, the normal roaring associated was drowned out by the sheer deafening silence that this place seemed to exist in.

He drew a small magic circle in the air, hoping to conjure forth a simple light spell to counteract the inky darkness in which he found himself, only to fail at doing so. Great, so he was stuck in whatever this was without the use of his magic.

One breath filled his lungs with pure cold. Making his body convulse involuntarily, the next set them alight with humid heat, his eyes burned as if staring into a nonexistent sun. His cheeks stung, as if burned by the same star. His ears however were numb with frostbite

Without warning something slammed into his side, buckling his knees as he fought to keep standing amidst the onslaught of what felt like a gale force wind, and then suddenly. As quickly as it had appeared…

Only to slam into him from the back, this time his footing failed him. Sending him plummeting into the-

The liquid, he was pretty sure it wasn’t water, washed over him. Yet the thick, viscous liquid didn’t creep into the eyeholes of his mask, didn’t soak his cloak or pour into his boots, it settled over him like a thick, murky blanket instead.

His eyes widened however, as he realized something.

He was sinking. The bottom wasn’t there, and he was descending into something . His lungs were burning as he tried to stave off a breath that he feared might be his last, clogging his lungs with ichor as he sank further and further down.

Mere seconds passed, but they felt like an eternity. His chest was on fire and it was getting harder and harder to-

A lapse in judgement, a miniscule break in concentration. That was all it took, but his mouth opened, lungs aching as he gasped for…

Nothing.

A few more seconds passed, his vision becoming blurry as darkness crept in. Before sinking turned to falling . His lungs suddenly filled with oxygen once more as he plummeted an unknowable height, too busy trying to drag air into his starving lungs to wonder about the inevitable bottom.

A bottom that, thankfully he didn’t actually meet.

A light suddenly appeared within the darkness, bathing the abyss in pale blue rays and forcing his eyes shut at the sheer intensity of what, contrasted against the void felt like a burning star.

Suddenly momentum ceased to exist, leaving his body suspended as he bobbed up and down like a float in the ocean.

Something happened then, the cerulean rays poured over him, penetrating his clothes and seemed to soak into his skin, filling him with a pleasant warmth he hadn’t felt before.

The sensation put him at ease, seemingly ebbing away decades of stress. He opened his eyes once more, looking into the orb which didn’t burn them anymore. It pulses with life, and something else. Something he couldn’t place.

He tried to move, first a finger, then his hand and his arm after that. It seemed he had some sort of control again.

Curious, he tried to move again. Finding himself able, if clumsily so. To bring himself closer  and closer to the source of light.

He stopped a few feet in front of it, arms outstretched as he floated in front of the object. It didn’t resemble a star much from this distance, it was tiny, small enough to fit in one of his hands he reckoned. And there was no evidence of any sort of burning or heat from it, merely a pleasant, nostalgic feeling.

He stretched out an arm, palm open as he moved it towards the strange orb.  Mentally bracing himself for whatever might occur.

It wasn’t enough.

A single finger brushed the beacon, two seconds later a blast slammed into him with enough force to send his weightless body careening away for what felt like an eternity, vertigo making itself known as he was thrown around like a leaf in a hurricane.

That wasn’t the worst part, within his disoriented mind, pictures, images, sounds and words slammed into his consciousness with the strength and ferocity of an adult slitherbeast, each one of them hitting with enough force to make him clearly remember them, even if they only appeared for microseconds at most.

These aren’t my memories .

A house, eyes, pine trees. All of these he had flashburned into his memories. more followed thereafter. The smell of molten butter, the feeling of grass on his fingertips, a feeling he couldn’t quite place yet felt oh so familiar followed them.

Then came the sensations. Not his own, though he felt them nonetheless, like the radiating heat from a roaring fire. Hopeful, happy, comfortable, like he belonged. Slowly morphing into the very opposite. Ostracized, vilified, outcast and abandoned. Feelings he had no recollection of ever recalling to such an extent shoved daggers of ice into his soul. 

It was almost too much, the sheer intensity of such feelings. And he wasn’t even feeling their true extent. A question he asked himself at that point, who had been hurt like this?

And then something echoed throughout the emptiness, a hymn, a song. Sung by a voice that felt like it was coming from the farthest reaches of the world, yet clear enough that it sounded as if sung right in his ears.

Louder and louder it crescendoed, until he could feel his eardrums rupture and blood pour out of his ears. Until all he could do was open his mouth for the first time and let out a scream, a roar of such unfettered agony that it transcended his sleepy delirium.

--

Kikimora was, despite her diminutive stature, an old demon, ancient even. She’s seen many things that would shatter the souls of mortals and come out none the worse, she was around when civilization was at its most primitive, when the first primal magicks were harnessed by witches and demons alike she saw and watched. 

She’s lived through the fall of empires, the sacking of cities, the genocides of races. 

Witnessing those atrocities, one could argue she was numb to things such as fear. Oftentimes she’d agree, fear was something she had barely any recollection of feeling.

Yet, when in the early hours of the morning, as the sun crested over the rolling hills of the boiling isles. As light poured into her room’s singular window and she was getting ready to dig into the hearty liver and potato pie the castle’s servants had brought to her chambers for breakfast, when that howl rang through the castle.

She felt something icy settle in her veins.

Breakfast forgotten, she bolted from her room. Slamming through the wooden door as she tore through the winding hallways and into the throne room.

The guards seemed taken aback by the lack of her normal aloof attitude, face undoubtedly warped into a worried scowl. They followed her however, past the massive heart suspended above the emperor’s throne and into the tower.

The tower was, under normal circumstances. Completely forbidden to anyone except the emperor himself, though Lilith and she herself had been granted permission on rare occasions when the emperor was too busy to come down to meet them.

She knew of some of the chambers she passed as she raced up the cold stone steps, guards losing ground as she out-sped them quite handily in her haste to get to the chambers.

At the very top of the tower, a pair of almost black wooden doors met her, at least twelve feet tall, 20 foot across and undoubtedly covered in a myriad of protective runes and spells.

So, she hoped the emperor would forgive her for the expenses he’d have to make to replace it, as she cast a fireball that utterly obliterated the black wood.

She made it about two steps into the room before she was lifted off of the ground, muscles unable to make any headway against the force levitating her above the ground.

Straining herself she was able to get a look out of the corner of her eye as the door rebuilt itself. Glowing with blue runes that even she didn’t know.

“Kikimora, please knock next time.” 

Her head whirled around, taking in the rather plain room before settling on the form of emperor Belos. Her shoulders sagged slightly, he didn’t seem to be hurt in any way, shape or form. Though the heaving of his chest and the shaking of his limbs dampened her relief considerably.

He released her from his telekinetic hold, setting her down on the floor as he swung his heads over the side of the bed, a flash of light later and Kikimora was looking at the fully clothed form of the most powerful witch ever.

“My liege, are you alright?” Normally she wouldn’t dare insinuate a thing, she’d seen members of the emperor’s coven banished for insinuating such a thing. But they were in private now, and there had always been a certain bond of familiarity between the two of them.

“I- I do not know.” He responded, turning to gaze out of the window. Something about the tone of his voice made her step forward. Unsure of what to do but still eager to at least do something.

“I’ll be gone for the day, please make the coven aware of that fact. Though I don’t think it needs to be said that this stays between us.”

“Of course, my liege” She bowed, stepping back out of the chambers, thankfully this time she opened them instead of obliterating them.

He needed to get out.

This room was constricting, fraying his nerves with its mere existence as he stared out of the window. He needed somewhere, anywhere else to be at this point in time.

A location sprang to mind, he closed his eyes and felt the rush of magic as he blinked away. Opening them again he found himself standing atop the titan’s skull.

A sharp, ringing pain echoed through his chest, driving him to his knees as he felt the familiar taste of iron in his mouth. It was getting worse.

But, he was the emperor, he couldn’t allow a moment of weakness. So he gritted his teeth and stood back up, ignoring the way his body screamed at him as he stood atop the gigantic skull.

From here he could see all the way to the titan’s feet, the rays of a new dawn illuminating the boiling isles in orange tinted sunlight.

Any other day, he would have been able to appreciate the sheer magnificence of his dominion.

Any other day, his mind wouldn’t be infested with questions, burrowing through his thoughts like maggots. And he had not a single answer.

He’d felt something in that dream- vision- nightmare or whatever it might have been. Something he hadn’t felt in so long he’d forgotten what it felt like.

He’d felt whole .

But that was a small drop of positivity amidst an ocean of conflict that bashed and raged against the shores of his mind.

He had stood against armies alone, faced cosmic entities that defied imagination, walked through realms where the deepest darkest fears of the imagination were made manifest. And yet nothing had made him feel like that had.

A feeling he wasn’t even sure he recognised. No, he did recognise it. He just didn’t understand it, fear.

He almost wanted to scoff

He was the emperor, a force without equal, he commanded and reality itself obeyed . Yet a simple dream was enough to make him feel fear where demons that had burned civilisations had merely made him feel disappointed.

Yet, deep within himself he knew it was something else, that it wasn’t just a dream.

What it was however, he didn’t know.

But he would find out, one way or another.

Suddenly, a familiar feeling had the hairs at the back of his neck stand up. That same inexplicable sensation was back, though weaker this time. If last time had been a Gale, this was a breeze.

It was a sense of, of accomplishment , and of pride and a myriad of other emotions in varying degrees.

He supposed, if these were to be a thing now. This was a better feeling than the other ones.

That simply brought him back to the sea of questions swirling within him, one however stuck out above them all. That voice . He knew the common tongue like everyone on the isles, he spoke a hundred demonic languages, and even more dead ones than he could count. But that voice, it had been melodious, yet unnerving, familiar, yet not. And most of all.

Complete and utter gibberish to his ears, except for two words.

Little light.

--Meanwhile--

A certain 9 year old was smiling, listening to a few songs from an anime she’d recently found whilst drawing.

Today was a good day, today was the weekend. And that meant no school, it meant no mean words or angry looks, it meant no visits to the principal’s office or her mother’s disappointed looks.

Nope!

Weekends meant staying up an hour later, they meant getting to eat some sweets when mom went to work, weekends sometimes meant going to something like the park where she could try to play with the ducks, they were usually up for a game of tag. Unlike the kids at school or at the playground in the park.

Weekends were fun, though she kinda sometimes wished she could invite people to come play with her over the weekends, but mommy had said after they’d all been too busy to attend her birthday that maybe inviting people over wasn’t the best idea.

Didn’t matter much at this moment, because she was busy correcting an age old mistake, it all made so much sense. Why hadn’t people thought of this yet?

She was just finishing up the final touches, drawing up the tiny little eight legged creeps spewing forth from that little orange beak.

Why were people so obsessed with making griffons these cool lion eagle things, this was so much better.

It looked perfect, just like how she’d dreamed it.

That was a nice dream

Well, it hadn’t started out as a nice dream, first she was back at school. And she’d just tried to help but they’d called her names and she hadn’t even done anything but she still got sent to the principal’s office.

And her mom didn’t believe her, she’d told her that she loved her and that she’d grow out of it but she didn’t believe her.

She never did.

But that didn’t matter, because suddenly the not so nice dream turned into a really nice dream.

There was this flash of colour and suddenly she was floating through this really cool place.

There were busses that looked like centipedes, and fairies that had no eyes. The people had these weird pointy ears that acted kinda like a cat’s.

There was a screaming school bell and a really angry black thing that was kinda scary but didn’t really see her, and then there was this big flapping of feathers and woosh there was the Griffon.

There was no eagle head, of course there was no eagle head. The hooked beak would only block the spiders it spit out at some girl, who screamed and ran away whilst the really cool Griffon just sat back.

A pigeon head really did make a lot more sense. She supposed, thought it was kind of a shame that she couldn’t pet it, her hand went straight through it and it didn’t notice her. But its coos were cute so that was fun.

Afterwards she’d flown around a bunch and ended up taking a nap in the clouds, that’s when she’d woken up. Mom had already gone to work so she quickly made herself a bowl of cereal before starting on her biggest project yet.

So she’d poured the milk and cereal into the bowl, grabbed it and went to sit at the small table in front of the TV, she’d grabbed a few pencils and a stack of paper as she put on the TV

And finally she was done, the table had a few splashes of milk on it and she had some smudges of pencil lead on her face but it was finally done!

A sound of the door’s lock turning made her bounce with excitement, oh mom would be so proud of her, her art was so good!

She waited for a bit, before running down the hallway with a shout of “MOM, LOOK WHAT I DREW!!” once those familiar words rang out through the hallway.

“Luz, I’m home.”

Chapter Text

As a kid, nothing’s quicker to ruin your fun than seeing those dark clouds in the sky, or feeling those first cold droplets slide down the back of your neck.

As a kid, rain sucks.

Rain meant staying inside, staying inside often meant bored children, bored children often led to hijinx, hijinx often led to annoyed parents, etc.

Luz supposed it was lucky, then, that she wasn’t bored. Or that her mother wasn’t home, no doubt working another long shift at the hospital. The little girl was currently holed up in her room, clad in a purple otter onesie and nestled firmly within a nest of blankets as she sketched away on her bed.

Currently she was sketching a… What was it called, again? She scooted herself up a bit, trying to read the name she’d written on the upper corner of the paper.

Snaggleback. It read. She frowned a bit as she looked at the sketch again, tapping the point of her pencil against the palm of her hand as she looked at the creature’s bumpy round shell. Yeah that made sense, she supposed. 

Just a few more there, a line there .

“Aaaand done.”  she muttered to nobody in particular, looking over her newest piece of art as she wet a finger to try and get some of the graphite off of the back of her hand.

It was sketchy, and there were some spots where the lines were blurry or faded because she’d accidentally rested her hand on the paper. Definitely something she’d take another crack at.

Looking at the time, however, made it clear it would have to wait for another time. Her mom would be coming home from work soon, and that meant Dinner! She put the notebook away, placing it in the little box under her bed where she kept all her sketches, pencils and such.

Turning off her bedside lamp left her in the darkness, the only lights in her room coming from the dim sunlight that broke through the rain clouds and into the window, and the soft glowing heat lamps of her little terrarium.

Well… Little might not be the correct word. The hundred-twenty gallon aquarium took up most, if not all of the desk it stood on. It had taken her a few birthdays and a lot of chores to save enough for the whole kit. 

It had been a pain to get everything, too. The little water dishes and the rocks had been easy. The wooden plank that divided the enclosure in half, too. But the special lamps and the inhabitants themselves had been much harder.

Eventually, two days worth of pleading and a promise to take out the trash for a month had convinced her mother to make the four hour trip to go get everything.

So worth it. She thought, looking at the enclosures. On the right was Azura, happily dozing away on her basking rock. On the left was Hecate, who was currently relaxing in her water dish.

Her water dish… Which was currently dirty.

“Seriously, again?” She muttered, taking a glance over to the other half of the terrarium and confirming that yes, Azura had dirtied her water dish too.

For all that she loved her two little hognose snakes, they had a nasty habit of pooping in the water bowl, which meant she needed to clean it almost every time after feeding them. Usually, Hecate had the decency to not follow in Azura’s footsteps… or whatever they were called in snakes. But this time, she’d just decided to be a brat too.

Well, she had another half hour before her mother returned, so she might as well, she did always say that Luz would have to “take care of them herself” so.

Well, first thing first. Opening the lid of the enclosure she first grabbed Azura’s water bowl. The bigger of her two snakes opened its eyes, looking quizzingly at the intrusion, but didn’t move from her spot.

Well, that’s one. Luz thought, setting the first water dish to the side, now onto the second one.

She just hoped Hecate would play along for once, but a quick glance over to the left enclosure quickly quashed that. The smaller of her two snakes was always the grumpier one of the two, and today was no exception.

The tiny snake was hissing up at her, pressed flat against the bottom of the water dish in an attempt to make itself as threatening as possible.

Luz just thought she looked adorable.

But, how cute a six inch snake trying to make itself look scary might be, it didn’t really change the fact that she was still laying in the water dish. She didn’t have a stick or something on hand so she just settled for trying to slowly reach over to her tail, and pull her out of the dish that way.

Of course, Luz’s hand barely got within five inches of the bowl before Hecate struck.

"¿En serio Hec, otra vez?" 

Hognose snakes are odd things. Usually, they’ll prefer to use their signature noses to bump into people instead of striking like normal snakes. 

Hecate was not like most hognose snakes, Luz had found that out the hard way when she’d tried to pet the feisty little noodle, where Azura had allowed the perhaps slightly heavy handed petting, Hecate definitely didn’t- Luz had ran crying to her mother after Hecate had mock striked at her the first time.

How far they’d come, that the Dominican-American didn’t even bat an eye at the tiny snake furiously chewing on her thumb.

“C’mon, let go.” The tiny snake seemed to latch on even tighter as she raised her hand up a bit, thankfully there was a silver lining to this whole situation. Luz raised the snake a tiny bit higher, lifting Hecate clean up in the air. Quickly using her other hand, she grabbed the water dish from under the snake before lowering her down again.

The moment she touched the ground again, Hecate unlatched herself from Luz, no doubt slithering away onto her own basking rock to sulk for a bit.

“Little grump.” She muttered. That snake really seemed to hate her, she reckoned- inspecting her thumb. No droplets of blood meant she hadn’t broken the skin, but what she did see made her lift an eyebrow in concern at Hecate.

Hecate normally struck with an open mouth, really unusual for hognose snakes but something she was used to by now.

She wasn’t used to seeing venom on her fingers afterwards. Hecate normally only bit dry, foregoing trying to inject venom over simply using her needle like teeth to hurt.

Well, she’d wash that off with some water and soap in a bit, the worst hognose venom did was cause some mild irritation so it wasn’t really that bad even if it did somehow manage to get into her system. Now she was wondering what had caused her to do something like that.

Thankfully, as Luz had predicted- Hecate had indeed gone up onto her little basking rock instead of using her shovel nose to dig herself into the bedding or hiding below the little log in the corner. Which allowed the girl to quickly spot the reason for her attitude.

Her eyes, normally clear and vibrant- were opaque, and she looked a bit paler than usual in the brighter light of the heat lamp.

“Phew” Luz couldn’t help but say, she wasn’t sick or anything. Merely about to shed.

Well, that was a relief, though it did mean she had to add something else in the notes for the neighbor.

Tomorrow morning, she and her mother were taking a three day trip to meet up with some family. A cousin of her’s was turning 15. Meaning this would be the first quinceanera Luz had ever attended, and she was really excited.  

But she had two pets to take care of, and it had taken her mom a lot of convincing but Miss Abigail next door had finally caved and agreed to take care of the two of them whilst they were gone.

She doubted the woman wanted anything to do with the snakes, but she was an animal lover. Even set harm free mouse traps and such, so she was pretty sure the neighbour would follow the instructions Luz had left her.

--

Rain battered and poured against the castle’s walls, the acidic droplets sizzling out against the magical barrier. Thunder shattered through the sky whilst the winds howled against the black skies.

The dead of night, and none save one were awake in the castle. 

A singular figure, ensconced on the uppermost level of the highest tower, pacing back and forth with a slight manic fervor instead of slumbering like all others.

Belos didn’t sleep much, not anymore. Ever since that night, a little more than a year ago, that same damned dream haunted him. The first time was disconcerting. The second time, a night later, was no better. The ones after that slowly but surely dug themselves a hole within the emperor’s memories.

He’d begun opting to simply not sleep unless sufficiently exhausted, instead using the newfound hours to do a myriad of things- scouring through ancient tomes, writing new legislation and orders, all whilst trying to find a way out of his current predicament.

The first few weeks had been spent trying out various elixirs and potions, when all of those failed to make any headway, he’d spent another few weeks researching spells. From spells that incited dreamless slumber to ones that worked against nightmares, none were effective.

When physical means had been exhausted, mental means were his next bet. Setting up mental barriers had not worked. Confronting the weird visions with force brooked the same result.

No matter how much he raged and struggled within the dreamscape, the result would be the same. Him, standing in front of that orb, and getting blasted away whilst sensations, emotions and the like burst into his psyche. Every night was different, yet still eerily familiar. Not that he had any clue as to why it had felt familiar.

Tired from his pacing, he seated himself in the simple wooden chair in front of his desk, resting his chin on his hands as he stared out of the window into the storm brewing outside. All the while, his mind wracked itself with questions to which the answers eluded him.

He had not an inclination as to why the second hand feelings... affected him. He’d crusaded in the savage ages, he’d quashed rebellions and uncovered plots by the dozens. His hands were stained with blood of witches and demons alike among many, many other beings. And he’d naught but lost a minute’s worth of sleep over them.

These feelings, no not feelings- echoes of feelings- They did . And to a degree he was uncomfortable with. Be it joy or sadness, it would affect his own personal mood, oftentimes for hours on end.

And then there were the images. Using magic photos hadn’t worked, confirming his hypothesis that they were in fact not his memories. Thankfully his memory was vast, and so he was able to sketch them from said memory.

Not that it made him any wiser. One was of a forest full of brown pine trees, the next was a pair of brown eyes he did not, yet at the same time did know. Many others had joined those over the course of that year. 

The thing that intrigued him most, were still those two words. 

Little light.

If there was one thing he supposed was clear from the past year, it was that whatever this was, it was deepening. Feelings became sharper- more distinguishable, pictures became clearer. 

Those words, however?

Nothing.

Pondering any more would not do any good. He had an empire to run. And, from what he could tell of the moon’s position through the storm clouds, about seven more hours till dawn.

--

Well… Her cousin’s quinceanera had been a bust.

"Luz, ¿en qué estabas pensando?"  Her mother said, not taking her eyes off the road, they were pulling into town now after an 8 hour drive and those were the only words she’d spoken the entire trip.

She didn’t reply immediately, merely hugging her knees tighter before a quiet "Lo siento mami.” left her lips. 

“I don’t want to hear it Luz, when we get home you go to your room and you don’t come down until I say so, you understand me?” That time her mother did turn her head to look, and the look of sheer disappointment made her shrink further in on herself.”

“Yes.”

A few minutes later, they pulled into the driveway, and true to her word, Camilia immediately sent Luz to her room.

The young girl collapsed on her bed, burying her face in the pillow as she just laid there, replaying the past few days’ events over and over in her head.

It wasn’t fair.

She’d been quiet throughout the entire Mass, she’d not accidentally tripped anyone during the waltz, she’d been playing tag with a few of her little cousins when the waltz was over and the dance floor had been mostly empty. One of them had pushed her a bit too hard when tagging, making her trip and stumble into a waiter, who’d then spilled twenty glasses of champagne over the quinceanera herself.

Immediately the girl who’d pushed her blamed her for everything. And all of them believed her.

She hadn’t even meant to, it had just happened . Two other cousins of hers were there too, but they’d immediately blamed her as well, and as per usual, nobody believed Luz the weirdo.

Not even her mom.

So, now Luz was probably gonna be grounded for like a month for something she didn’t even do. How fair… It almost made her want to cry. She probably would have, if not for a quiet sound that echoed throughout the room suddenly.

Was that… squeaking? Luz’ eyes focussed on the direction of the sound, which seemed to be coming from her…. Terrarium.

Ice shot through Luz’ veins

No.

nononononononono. Luz’ thoughts blared as she leaped off the bed, crossing the room in three steps as she tore open the lid to the terrarium.

The scream she let out sent her mother bolting up the stairs, the door almost flew off the hinges as Camilia stormed into the room.

"Luz, ¿qué sucedió? ¡¿Estás bien?!" Her mother called out, voice laced with panic as she looked at her daughter.

Luz didn’t respond. Merely lifting her hands up so her mother could see. Camilia’s shocked intake of breath burst a dam, af if someone else seeing made it all the more real. Tears poured from her eyes.

“I told her not to.” She whispered, collapsing to her knees.

“I, I told her not to. Why doesn’t anyone listen to me !” This time it was a scream, which broke off into another pitiful sob. 

Her mother rushed off down the stairs, no doubt to dial up some animal hospital. 

Why hadn’t she listened? Why did NOBODY ever listen?! Even Miss Abigail didn’t. Luz had even written it down, they weren’t supposed to get live mice. They were too little for such a thing. But once again, had anyone listened? No. She’d just thrown in a live mouse with Hecate, her smallest snake.

And now Hecate was in pain and she was bleeding and Luz could see bone from where the mouse had chewed deep, but just thinking of that made her sick. The clumsy twitches she was making within Luz’ hands made it even worse.

She was dying all because she- no. They didn’t listen to her. Nobody ever believed what Luz the weirdo said. And now Hecate was dying because of that.

It's not fair. was all she could think. A warm feeling building up in her chest as she looked down again. Seeing the mangled form of her little noodle made her want to scream .

It’s. Not. Fair. This time her eyes opened again, as that warmth grew and grew, this time joined by a feeling of disgust and anger.

It’s not fair. Something happened then. A warm tingly feeling encompassed every fibre of her being. She screwed her eyes shut as the room suddenly lit up. The feeling became more and more intensive and then. Just as soon as it had appeared, it was gone .

Luz didn’t open her eyes for a while. When she did, it was because of a weird, kinda stingy feeling on her thumb.

When her eyes opened. The sight before her made her tear up again.

Hecate was chewing on her thumb, Hecate. Hecate who wasn’t bleeding or missing chunks and didn’t have any bone showing.

What? Who? Why? How? Luz didn’t care, breaking off into a teary chuckle as she nuzzled the grumpy snakes, tears pouring from her eyes, this time in happiness.

"Yo también le quiero, pequeño gruñón" she muttered. Shoulders sagging in relief as exhaustion set in.

Oh wait, her mom.

She took off down the stairs, snake still in her hands as she yelled for her mother to stop calling.

--

Something has changed.  Was all he could think to himself.

He didn’t know why, or how, but something had. He’d been having that same dream again, finally crashing after two weeks of not sleeping. He had been drowning in that formless yet viscous liquid again. When something had shattered apart the dreamscape.

A girl, a human girl, based on the ears. She was sitting and crying and angry at something whilst she held something in her hands. And Belos felt everything .

This was the person his bond led to, some insignificant little girl? 

Then, something happened. Something that had made him take back those thoughts immediately

A light erupted from the girl’s palms, bathing the entire mindscape in a light so bright he had to avert his eyes.

When he turned to look again, the girl was crying and smiling, and the relief hung so thick in the air it was almost palpable.

Something else hung in the air too, something that by all accounts should be impossible. Yet, clear as can be, it was still there, and once again Belos found himself without an answer. That wasn’t possible, and yet, he’d felt it. It had washed over him like a tidal wave, and the residue was still present wherever this girl was.

The very air seemed to be soaked in it.

Magic.

Chapter Text

The sun was cresting over the horizon, shining its first rays into many a home. Shops opened their doors as the island slowly came alive. Children prepared for school, while their parents prepared for a day of work and the day to come.

In the emperor’s castle, Belos had, as he had become accustomed to over the five years since that weird bond had manifested, not slept at all. To fill the time normally spent sleeping, he instead opted to write a myriad of new rulings he’d been needing today.

The council of covens would be convening in full strength today. Not a normal occurrence, to say the least. The hellish political climate in the upper echelons of the isles usually meant someone in a position such as coven leader would be likely to find themselves on the wrong end of a witches’ duel, or a curse- or an assassin's blade.

The prior leader of the oracle coven, a massive grey demon named Urtharion, had met such a fate a week before this particular meeting. He allowed himself a humourless chuckle at the irony of someone able to see into the future not able to see an assassin coming, but he didn’t spend it much of a further thought. 

After all, if he’d been weak enough to let a simple assassin do him in, he wasn’t worth much of a thought anyways.

Descending down from his tower, he found a pleasant sight at the bottom of the spiralling stairs. The owl-masked shade met him with a curt bow, taking a step back to let the emperor through.

“I trust you completed your assignment?” A moot point really, they had never failed him before, and- as expected, a quick nod was his answer. 

“Excellent, I’m off to the council. I expect you know what to do?”

Another quick nod, and the shade melted back into the shadows. He briefly thought about simply walking down to the lower depths of the castle, but decided against it.  Instead, he envisioned the gigantic black stone room, with its round white table, carved out of the oldest spirit willow on the isles and the eleven seats placed around it, and, with a small bit of magic, he found himself wrapped in shadows as he teleported down to the council room.

He’d emerged from the darkness just outside the room, unable to warp straight into the chambers as there were three dozen enchantments to prevent getting in, or out of the room in such a manner. Instead, he silently watched the council whilst they waited for him, still unaware of his presence mere meters from them.

The level of coherency was about what he expected prior to him entering.

In other words, they were bickering like children.

The heads of the abomination and plant covens, Alador Blight and Cirin Bellerose, were roaring profanities at each other, backed by their usual followers among the other covens. As per usual, the leader of the construction coven was not participating, instead opting to build a tiny diorama of the castle out of what looked like reeds. All the while, Lilith was trying to keep the two warring factions from ripping each other's throats out.

Well, he’d seen quite enough of- whatever this was. So, he took a step forward. In an instant, all eyes were on him as the room fell silent.

“I- uh, welcome. My emperor.” Lilith was the first to find her words again, deeply bowing. Swiftly, the other coven heads followed suit, none daring to risk offending their emperor.

“Thank you for being here today.” He says, like they had a choice- as he takes his own seat. He motions the rest of them to sit down, and they all do. Looking at him without really looking at him. Avoiding looking him in the eyes, most of all.

He’d heard two members discussing it, once. He’s pretty sure they were the previous potions and beast keeping coven heads, he’d stumbled across them in some outcropping somewhere whilst travelling via shadows, and had opted to listen in to sate his curiosity.

There’s this aura. I can’t describe it, but it feels like you’re in the room with an apex predator. Always observing, always watching, always hunting. Those were the words the prior head of the beast keeping coven had described him with, whilst the other one had nodded along to every word.

Kind words from a dead man, he supposes. Then again, in a place like the Boiling Isles it’s better to be feared, than to be loved.

It also meant having to be one step ahead. And he always was a step ahead.

“Before we discuss the reason for you all being here, I wish to congratulate the newest member among our ranks.” He pointed at the newly appointed head of the Oracle coven, a black haired witch named Quill. The witch in question merely let out a weak “Thank you.” As the others politely clapped for him.

“Speaking of which.” As he said that, the massive obsidian doors opened behind him, his shade dragging in a tied up and bound figure.

“I believe you know this person?” He asked Quill, lifting up the bound shape off the floor and into the light.

An ugly, bloated thing, the bound up witch was. No doubt suffering from some kind of illness. He struggled and thrashed against his bindings, but they held firm.

Quill shook his head firmly, an act that made the unsightly witch’s struggling intensify.

“Are you sure?” Belos asked once more, snapping his fingers. The bound witch began screaming as the bindings constricted around him, suddenly no longer mere rope but eyeless  serpents that were hissing at him with open mouths. Quill still refused to meet either of their gazes.

“I don’t really know why I’m asking you, he’s already confessed everything.” Another snap, and the snakes had been turned to rope again, the assassin apparently thought the best use of that newfound development was to scream and cry at an annoyingly loud volume.

“Throw him in the dungeons.” The guards positioned around the room nodded as they dragged the witch out of the room.

That should get the point across, he reckoned. Turning to look at Quill again, the man had somehow gotten a few shades paler as he seemed to try and sink into his chair.

“Quite short sighted, don’t you think? The leader of the oracle coven failed to see such a thing coming.” The black haired witch shrunk in on himself as the mocking laughter of the fellow coven leaders rang out.

“Please don’t be so quick to mock, Alador. I know you were the one that came up with the plan in the first place.” He couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth twitch up in joy as the head of the abomination coven’s mouth shut with an audible “click” whilst looking outraged at the suggestion.

“Don’t worry, neither of you will face… repercussions, for this. I just thought it would be best if such a thing were brought to light, for clarity's sake. You do understand, do you?” Both of them shakily nodded, whilst the other coven heads sent them death glares that had the corners of his mouth quirk up.

Well then, that’s that. He supposed, satisfied with the hostile atmosphere. Onto the main event.

Standing up, arms wide as he towers over the rest of the gathering. He begins to speak, his words echoing off the walls as the ten before him hang onto his every word.

“You ten, you stand at the apex of magic. None match your guile, strength or wisdom. And as such, you are the only ones with which I can share plans of this magnitude. The titan has spoken once more, in its infinite wisdom imparting a message that shines a light upon our next cause of action.” He lets the words hang in the air for a bit, looking on as they turn to each other. confusedly bickering among themselves.

All but one.

“Could you please elaborate, my emperor?” Lilith asks, ever the inquisitive soul.

“The day of unity is upon us.”

--

Hours have passed since then. Time spent planning and discussing as they lay the foundation of what is to come. The sun is high in the skies when the last of the council members depart, leaving him sat alone within the black chambers, lost deep within thought.

All was going exactly as planned, victory was close enough that he could almost taste it. 

He shook his head, chastising himself for presumptuous celebrating, if it worked victory over the only enemy that truly mattered would be his. But should it fail..

No, he wouldn't allow it to fail.

He couldn’t.

A pang of annoyance, not his own- shot through him then, though something felt off about it. Suddenly it shifted into wonder and then...

It all faded into nothingness… Briefly, he wondered if something had happened to the child, before he felt it again. Wonder. Pure, unadulterated wonder. 

This was different than any other time. Before, He’d described the feelings as standing in the basking glow of a campfire. This felt like he was standing in the fire itself. There was a rawness. A purity that he’d never felt before.

It almost felt like a veil had been lifted, like some sort of blindfold had been torn from his eyes. 

Three years ago, he’d finally gotten a glimpse of the other end of the bond, yet never had he felt a thing like this. 

It felt right, like a part of him that had been missing had found its way back. He didn’t know how to feel about that particular fact, though.

The last time he’d felt like this, was when this bond had originated all those years ago. The time before that, it had been a night he remembered in perfect detail. Smoke rose from the battlefield, fires roared into the night as they celebrated and chanted in harmony. The day he’d won the final battle, the day he’d claimed sovereignty over the Boiling Isles.

The worst night of his life.

Another pang hit him, though this time less noticeable, barely so even. Compared to the one before that, this felt- well for lack of a better word it felt like it wasn’t calling out to him, as all those prior flashes had been. This one seemed content to simply make its presence known before disappearing back to wherever it had come from.

 A sudden…. tiredness overcame him. How long had it been since he’d slept? A month? Two? He honestly couldn’t remember.

Well, night was still a few hours away.

He could put it off a little while longer.

--

Well , today has certainly been a ride. Luz thought, bundled up within her sleeping bag as she faced her first night in another realm. 

She’d already quashed the urge to write something about today, because quite frankly? A story whose summary begins with “How a failed book presentation lead to me living with a witch in a demon realm.” would definitely get her sent to Camp Reality Check. She shuddered at the thought.

And to think, if she hadn’t followed Owlbert, she’d have missed all of this.

And what a thing she would have missed. She’d never have met Eda, or King… or Hooty, she wouldn’t have broken into a prison to save a Burger Queen crown, she wouldn’t have saved Eda from a grumpy ex- or was it a scorned suitor? But yeah, escaping from Warden Wrath had been amazing and exhilarating.

It was like a dream come true. Weirdest thing about that? 

Not a figure of speech. Luz had seen those very streets. Bonesborough had sounded familiar . She’d seen that weird centipede-vore-bus-thing. Before, she’d always known that Griffons had looked like that, and lo and behold.

It was insane- they’d called her insane for mentioning such things many times, too many to count. And here she was- and it felt right. 

It felt, well- it felt like home, she supposed.

The room basked in a faint light as she fished her phone from her pocket, damn. No reception, though with the whole “demon realm” thing she should’ve expected that one. She was pretty sure wi-fi towers didn’t transcend reality. Would have been cool if they did.

Alas, no AMVs for her, though she had a feeling she’d be too busy with all the witch training tomorrow and the days after that to really have any time to herself at all.

Luzura, greatest mage to have ever lived. A childhood dream that was actually coming to reality. Take that, bullies! Oh just imagining the looks on their faces when she comes back… The mental image of wide eyes and slack jaws is enough to have her snort in amusement, turning in her sleeping bag as her shoulders shake with laughter.

Oh, that was going to be great. Tomorrow was gonna be the start of the story of Luz the witch.

  She couldn’t wait to learn how to shoot fire, or how to create ice from thin air, or to brew potions and so many other things. If she’d listed them all she would probably be here till morning, and that wouldn’t be good, so turning off the phone she snuggled further into the sleeping bag as her eyes drooped, heavy from the running and the- no mainly from all the running.

Her eyes slowly but surely shut themselves, as a million ideas ran amuck in her head.

When her eyes opened again, darkness greeted her. Well, it wasn’t completely dark, where was some light coming from somewhere. Though all it did was shine on a whole load of nothing.

There were no smoky mountains, no beast filled woods or busy towns, just her. Alone with herself.

Yeah that wasn’t gonna do.

She tried to stretch her legs, only to find them curiously absent. Never one to let a mere lack of motor function stop her, she just willed herself forward.

It actually worked, and not just forwards, up, down, side to side, soon enough she was pulling off all sorts of aerial acrobatics, the only indication of which being the slight lightheadedness and the turning of her stomach, which she didn’t mind. Because it wasn’t like peeing right? Where if you pee in a dream you pee in real life.

Yeah… she’d rather not test that theory. So she slowed down a bit, instead flying at a slow pace throughout the void.

Suddenly though. Something stopped her, moving was impossible- no matter how much she willed it, she just wouldn’t budge. 

Suddenly, something moved. A shadow that didn’t move like a shadow.

Ah great, this is where the dream becomes a nightmare . She grumbled within her mind.

What stepped forth from the darkness wasn’t what she’d expected however.

The what wasn’t some kind of eldritch abomination, or a werewolf or some other creature.

Wasn’t even a what, more of a who really.

A him, to be exact.

The man was, well pale wasn’t the right word. Eda was pale, Greg from three houses over was pale.

This man was simply white , as if whatever pigment he’d had somehow had pranced off along with his smile, because the frown he wore looked like it was chiseled onto his face.

A full black beard and long dark locks framed the pure white of his face, a thick nose that looked like it had been broken many times and never once had been set correctly. A few scars on his cheeks, one running from his right cheek to his chin, cutting his beard on that side in half.

The most striking thing about him, however, were his eyes.

Blue, the single most blue colour she’d ever seen shone from those eyes. But that wasn’t the oddest part about them.

Blue was the only colour in those eyes. There was no white sclera, or small red veins.

It was simply pitch black, as if behind them there was simply, nothing .

A hand reached out then, straight for her. And she suddenly was aware of just how big this man was. He was easily twice her height. Literally . So, when that massive paw came down, almost touching her face, she did what any fourteen year old would have done.

She screamed.

--

Something had changed. This confirmed it, he thought to himself as he walked through the darkness.

Unlike any dream, well that dream he’d been having these past five years, there was no wind. No ridiculous shift in temperature or thick liquid he was stood in, the space was still as dark as ever, though.

He supposed, compared to the dream he’d had these five years. This was something he could get used to, but. It did mean he was just- standing in a dark, well he didn’t know the word to accurately describe the place he currently found himself in, void? Space? Something along those lines he supposed.

Warily, unsure of any trickery. He lifted a foot, finding it as easy as lifting his feet when awake. Suddenly he noticed something else.

He could feel the weight of his cloak upon his back, the cool metal of his mask over his face. It wasn’t just cutting winds or boiling air. He could actually feel things for a change.

Vindicated by his findings, he took a step forward. And then another, and another, and he didn’t stop. He didn’t know where he was walking to- if he was actually walking towards some far off destination or if he was walking in place.

He didn’t find himself caring all that much. 

Suddenly however, the darkness wasn’t so dark anymore. A light, that light was in front of him.

Cautiously, he took a step forward, not very keen on getting blasted back into the real word just yet.

It did nothing, though. No flashes, no shockwave. Nothing. Not even when he was a mere foot away from it.

When his hand reached for it however, a different story.

He’d lifted his arm about four, five inches. And suddenly a scream tore through the void like a slitherbeast rampaging through a city.

“GET AWAY!”

He had enough time for one thought, before he found himself back in his chambers, panting and sweating as he woke up.

That single thought being.

What.

Chapter Text

This trip wasn’t a total bust, Luz supposed.

Truth be told, she’d not been looking forward to the trip to the emperor’s castle. From what Eda had told her, the guy was downright draconian with his rule over the isles. Sadly enough, it was mandatory, and she’d been shepherded along with the rest of the students as they travelled to the depths of the titan’s chest.

There, in the middle of a squared out hole, sat the emperor’s castle, rising out from the depths like a sort of man (witch?) made mountain.

Wait a minute.  

She was pretty sure she remembered this, she’d drawn it before. She’d even used it as the location for a final boss in her DnD campaign a few years back.

She still had no clue what it all meant, when she’d shown Eda her drawings, explaining the dreams she’d been having for over five years the older witch had frowned before muttering that she’d never seen such a thing before. She’d promised to look into it in the future.

The other dream however, the one she’d had on her very first night in the isles? She’d not breathed a word of that one, not even to Eda. Thinking about it still unnerved her a month later.

Her little reminiscing session almost made her miss something awesome.

A hat that heals all curses? That was something she could use to heal Eda’s curse! She’d begun drafting up a plan on a random piece of paper she’d stuffed in the hood of her uniform when suddenly, a door had slammed open.

Eda’s sister had walked in, twigs and leaves in her ruffled hair, cheeks red and scratched up as she all but stormed off down the hallway. 

When the tiny red tour guide had mentioned her going to see the emperor, she decided to sneak after the cloaked witch.

“Curiosity killed the cat” is what people often say, but she wasn’t a cat. And she’d left her cat eared hoodie at the Owl House, is what she told herself as she creeped after the witch, until finally, they came to what appeared to be the emperor’s room.

When she heard the doors slam shut, she followed into the hallway, sidling up to the keyhole in the middle and peeking into the room.

It was massive. Guards were stationed all over the throne room, standing motionlessly in rows as a massive heart beat, suspended by pipes above the throne- the occupied throne.

So that’s Emperor Belos. She thought.

He didn’t look like he was doing too well.

Even from what must have been at least forty meters, she could see the frantic way his shoulders heaved, he was slumped over the side of his throne and… someone was handing him something?

She realized an instant too late that it was a palisman, before the emperor’s finger ripped through its wooden body, decapitating the poor thing before pouring the green liquid inside into the black holes of his mask.

Bile rose in her throat as she took a horrified step back, turning around to rush away.

As she rounded the corner, however, she slammed face first into a wall, sending her sprawling to the ground.

She shook her head, feeling an oncoming headache from the force of the blow as she looked up.

Not a wall.

“Going somewhere?” 

All she could do was stare open mouthed at the black holes within the emperor’s golden mask.

The mask cocked to the side, making her flinch at the movement.

“Well?”

He took one step forward, a single step. But it triggered Luz’ fight or flight reflexes in a way that not even Grom had managed to, scrambling to her feet she bolted past the emperor as fast as her legs could carry her, taking off down the hallway at breakneck speeds, not daring to look back.

She took the stairs five steps at a time, and had barrelled over seven guards and used a hastily drawn fire rune to set the eighth guy’s cloak on fire in her mad dash through the almost labyrinth like structure that made up the castle.

There. At the edge of the hallway she could see the spiralling staircase she’d come from originally, all she needed to do was-

Her train of thought was abruptly halted when suddenly the floor between her and the staircase began writhing, eyeless snake-like things sprouting from it in seemingly random intervals and sizes.

She stumbled back when one of them snapped at her, almost taking a bite out of her ankle, and before she knew it she felt herself being lifted off of the ground by her hood.

“Well, that wasn’t very polite of you.”

She froze, going stiff as she realized just who was holding her. 

“Don’t do that again.” He said, and slowly he set her back down onto the ground, thankfully placing the hood back over her head. She didn’t want to know what would happen if he found out about her being a human of all things.

“Now then.” She flinched again, before slowly turning to face him, she had to crane her neck upwards to the point of it nearly hurting to get a look at the masked visage of the emperor.

“I take it you’re with the field trip from Hexside?” He asked, no doubt noticing her uniform.  Her lips and lungs seemingly refused to work properly, she did barely manage a shaky nod in confirmation.

“Thought so, please entertain me however, I don’t recall those colours you’re wearing belonging to a coven. Which one are you studying for.” An armoured hand emerged from his cloak, waving at her uniform.

This time, she did manage a verbal response.

“A-all of them.”

All of them?

His head cocked to the side, making the intruder flinch. Since when had Bump made the option to study every track a thing? He supposed it would make sense for those hoping for a spot in the emperor’s coven, but he’d be having words with Bump about implementing such a change without his say-so.

Now, where was he.

Oh yes, the child in front of him.

There was… something off about her. He was curious as to how she’d even managed to find the throne room, even more so about how the guards had failed to spot her, this tiny girl who was trembling before him, pulling her hood over her head and trying to make herself as small as possible.

Pathetic. If this scrawny little thing could best his security, there needed to be a fair few drastic reforms.

The fact she was refusing to meet his gaze was wearing his nerves thin too, he grasped the girl’s hood, preparing to yank it down so she’d have nothing to hide behind, but the girl pulled away. That little motion made the back of his gauntleted hand graze her cheek.

Darkness.

Suddenly he wasn’t standing in the halls of his palace anymore, he was within a very familiar dreamscape, standing in front of that shining thing again. Though there was one, massive difference.

HIs hand was outstretched, he was touching it.

Touching it.

The light dimmed, then. Without preamble or warning, and suddenly it wasn’t a light he was touching anymore.

Brown eyes, wide with terror, looked at him, he yanked his arm back, taking a step back as his mind tried to comprehend the new development.

He didn’t know how long they were standing there, simply looking at each other in confusion and terror. ten seconds? A day? But when he spoke, she spoke the same word back.

“You.” They parrotted one another.

And suddenly, the dreamscape wasn’t so dark anymore. They were only flashes, glimpses of parts of memories that felt like they were still locked away somewhere. But both of them felt a sense of familiarity regarding them, a feeling that told him these weren’t figments of the imagination or some illusion spell cast by a third party.

These were real.

That made the revelation they presented the two of them with, so much more meaningful, and terrifying.

A melody began then, one hummed by some unseen entity, leaving them looking around frantically, trying to locate the source of the sound. When a voice finally joined the humming, he saw a pang of recognition dance across the girl- Luz’ face, though he himself found the words’ meaning lost to him.

That is, until a second voice rang out, and even though as before the words that were sung prior were not ones he understood, the voices… Now that was a shock, he was able to differentiate two different ones. The first one was female, heavily accented and melodic, beautiful.

The second?

His own.

“Sleep well, little light.”

And then they were back in the hallway, as everything crashed into him at once his knees buckled, sending him to the floor a panting mess, shoulders heaving as he clutched his scalp underneath his mask. The gi- Luz was not doing any better it seemed, sunk to her knees and looking despondently at him, he noticed the beginnings of tears welling up in her eyes. 

“-mperor, Emperor Belos!” He vaguely heard the thunder of footsteps as Lilith and a dozen guards stormed into the hall.

The girl’s eyes grew wide, and he saw her scrambling back, when she almost crawled backwards into the summoned serpents a quick snap of his fingers returned the hallway back to normal. Leaving the girl a clear path as she got to her feet and bolted once more, this time at an even greater speed.

She’d barely rounded the corner into the spiralling staircase when Lilith had come up beside him. Looking worriedly down at him.

“My emperor, are you alright?” The worried tone annoyed him, but the sentiment he supposed was appreciated. He gave a nod of affirmation, she turned back to the guards that had come with her.

“Find the intruder-”

He raised a hand, cutting off her speech. “No need for that, dear Lilith.” 

“My emperor?” The tone had him frowning, his gaze wandered from her concerned face, following her eyes as- huh, that was new.

His hand was shaking.

Dissolving into a formless pile he rearranged himself standing again, towering over all others in the hall.

“Leave her be, t’was merely a student that took the wrong corner somewhere.”

“But-” Lilith began, but a glare from him fixed her in place, the guards behind her discreetly took a few steps back.

“I appreciate the concern for my safety, Lilith. But the titan’s will is to be followed.” 

That seemed to do the trick, the raven haired witch stood down, visibly uneasy still but not willing to face the emperor’s wrath over defying the titan’s will.

“Apologies, my emperor.” He waved her off, taking off back towards his throne room, parting the guards as they hastily stood aside to let him pass. He could hear the clacking of heels behind him, and sure enough his coven’s leader was walking alongside him the next moment.

“If I may be so bold, what purpose did you summon me for?” The raven haired witch inquired.

“Another time, apologies for the inconvenience. you are dismissed.” Her footsteps fell silent as he left her behind. 

As he walked through the halls, taking the exact same route he’d followed the girl through from the shadows, his mind was struggling to comprehend what had been revealed.

He made it up to the door to his throne room, before he was forced to accept that getting anything else done today was a pipe dream. So he shifted up into the tower. Not his room or the study where he did most of his work, but the room where he’d been archiving this strange bond.

He took two steps into the room before he dragged over a chair, collapsing into it with a sigh as he cast a spell to lock the door.

He took a look around the room, gazing over the various glimpses he’d been given over the years, until his eyes found a particular drawing.

The- Luz was sat on her knees, crying as she held something, some kind of serpent? In her hands, he’d done a decent job with her he supposed, though he could notice a few details he’d gotten wrong.

Once more, the new reality of the situation slammed into him, taking off his mask, he gently laid it on the little table he was sitting next to. He pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a shaky breath at the headache he could feel coming.

This…. Certainly complicates things.

--

Luz was definitely not ok.

Willow was pretty sure Gus had noticed too, when they’d stumbled onto Luz she’d been trembling, eyes darting back and forth and taking panicked breaths. She’d wordlessly taken her beloved notepad back with just a quiet “thanks” and had proceeded to completely quash any suggestion of going after that hat of healing.

So, despite her multiple assurances that she was indeed “fine” and that there was “nothing to worry about” Willow wasn’t buying it, at all.

But, that would be something for next week she supposed, Luz had bolted the second they’d arrived back at Hexside, taking off into the woods as she ignored Gus and Willow trying to call her back.

She just hoped Luz would tell them when she was ready. 

--

Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out don’t freakoutdontfreakoutdontfreakout.

“AAAAAH.” She screamed, the sound echoing off into the woods. How could she not? This was insane, this had to be some kind of spell, o- or curse? Yeah! A curse would make more sense than what she’d seen there. And if she could just convince herself of it actually being a curse instead of.. that. She gladly would have, hell she was trying even now.

Her hands flew into her hair, she tried to screw her eyes shut- to somehow remove the images that even now flashed through her mind’s eye. But every time she tried it had the adverse effect. As if somehow further cementing it as the truth.

It terrified her.

Just… how was she gonna tell Gus, or- or Willow? Or Amity?!

Her eyes widened, fear clutching at her heart.

What would Eda think? She couldn't lie, Eda saw through those within microseconds, and she’d pressure Luz until she broke and then- and then...

Would she be mad? Would she shout and scream and chase her out of the Owl House, or would she be disgusted and disappointed, simply telling her to pack her things and not come back.

Her breathing picked up as panic set in, she could see the house from between the trees but her feet refused to move her closer.

Was this is? Was this her last day in the place of her dreams?

The thought itself made tears well up in the corner of her eyes, she furiously rubbed them away with her sleeve.

No. She wasn’t gonna break down.

That’s what she repeated as she began walking towards the owl house

No. I’m not going to break down.

She spotted Hooty’s ever-smiling face at the same time he spotted her, extending from his spot in the front door.

“Hiya Luuuuuzzzz, how was school today?” He asked in that obnoxious voice of his.

I won’t break down.

“I-it was fine, mind if I come in?”

“Okaaayyyyy.” With that the door swung open, revealing a dark interior. Seemed like Eda and King weren’t home, that should at least buy her a bit of time and why was there a cake there on the coffee table?

Suddenly a small shape burst from the cake, revealing itself to be king in all his adorable glory.

“The cake is me!”

I won’t.

“What’s with the surprise?” She asked nervously as she walked further into the house, moving to sit down on the couch as the tiny dog-demon extracted himself from the cake.

A dark blue bundle, neatly wrapped up in purple ribbons was dropped in her lap then, followed swiftly by a hand ruffling her hair, she couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden contact. Slowly looking at the person touching her hair.

“It’s for you kid, whaddya think?” 

Eda.

“I-I.” She tried, slowly unwrapping the bundle to reveal a beautiful cloak made out of witches’ wool. A small paper note fell out onto the floor then, she scooped it up.

1. won’t.

She turned it around.

To a young witch, from her proud mentor.

-Eda

Her eyes stung with tears once more, and she quickly put the cloak aside before they began flowing freely.

I-I..

“By the way, how was the trip to ol’ bonehead’s castle… Kid?” She looked at Eda, finding a concerned look on the face of the witch, and just broke down.

She found arms wrapped around her then, as a weight settled next to her on the couch.

“Kid, what’s wrong? Tell me.” The older woman gently pried, wrapping the small girl up in a “hug”

“Y-you’ll hate me.” Was all the young witch in training managed before she buried herself firmly in Eda’s embrace, who in turn hugged her tighter, king scrambled up the sofa then, placing himself between them as he hugged Luz’ midsection as tightly as he could.

Eda scoffed “Nonsense kid, please, you know you can tell me what’s wrong.” She pried gently, and it seemed to work, as the young witch-in-training extracted herself slowly from the embrace.

She took a few breaths, bracing herself for something it seemed as she stood up from the couch, before her lips opened

“Belos…” She stopped there, as if afraid to continue.

Eda’s eyes burned with hatred, clenching her dress with such force that small tears were beginning to form in the red fabric.

“Belos.. he’s-” Luz tried again.  This time Eda sprang up from the couch

What has that tyrant done. Was the singular thought on Eda’s mind, the photos were rattling and some of the furniture was beginning to float.

“What has he done to you, if he’s hurt even a hair on your head I swear to the titan I will end him.

“He’s my Father!” Luz forced out, eyes screwed shut and fists clenched at her side.

Eda’s anger washed away, in the blink of an eye.

“What?”

Father?

“I- I just found out today, I swear!, but I understand if you don’t want me around anymore.” She trailed off, shoulders slumped “I’ll uh, go grab my stuff.” She pointed in the direction of her room, moving to grab her stuff when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“Not so fast.”  Eda’s voice rang out, tone dangerously monotone

Luz clenched her fists again, preparing for what was to come as she was spun around shouting? Or cold dismissal?

Being swept up into a bone crushing hug wasn’t an option she’d even considered. But as the older woman’s arms wrapped around her, her chin resting on the girl’s head she broke down again. This time in relief as she collapsed to the floor, Eda keeping her close as she sobbed into the witch’s dress, king’s tiny paws came up around her waist and even Hooty’s tube like form wrapped itself around them.

“Silly girl, you thought I’d kick you out just for that?” Eda gently chided, feeling small wet droplets prick at her own eyes, Luz didn’t respond, merely holding her mentor tighter

Chapter Text

A Shade’s purpose is to serve.

It is to devote yourself fully, to be the Emperor’s advisor, confidante, protector, right hand and assassin.

To be a Shade, most of all, is to observe. To notice any minute detail, from  the differences in fabrics used in flags and how they wave in the wind, someone might have woven explosive magic into it and nobody would be any the wiser until it was too late.

It was the Shade’s purpose to notice that, among ten thousand other things.

To pick out traitors from single words spoken in passing, to be able to notice enchantments and curses by the way they made the wind around them reek and the magic in the air shift slightly . 

To notice, oftentimes meant picking up things you didn’t intend to.

Even if the Shade hadn’t, it would still be hard to not notice the emperor’s current situation, since that was painfully obvious to anyone who was even playing the closest bit of attention.

That really said a lot about the rest of the coven. Then again the guards had seen fit to let a fourteen year old girl slip up to the throne room unseen, and the coven’s leader hadn’t even noticed the intrusion.

Ever since that day, the Emperor’s demeanor had shifted. It was almost imperceivable, to anyone but the Shade.

The way his responses were sometimes a microsecond too slow, or the slight tensing of his shoulders when guards stumbled around the corner. The fidgeting of his hands under his cloak or the minute tapping of his feet.

Something was bothering the Emperor. But that didn’t matter to the Shade, the Shade’s business wasn’t to question or to make their observations known.

It was to follow the Emperor’s orders. Without question or hesitation.

And would you look at that?

The emperor’s hand moved, and had anyone else had been in the room besides the two of them, they would have brushed it off as the Emperor simply choosing to move his hand a few inches, if they noticed it at all. 

The Shade wasn’t “anyone else” 

So, they stepped forwards out of the shadows without a word, and waited.

“The intruder, the one from a few days ago. She is a human going by the name of Luz Noceda, get close to her, protect her and observe, you will receive more orders in time.”
With a wordless nod, the Shade stepped back into the shadows. There was a job that needed doing.

--

When Eda had been twenty-one, her life had been a mess. She was the most wanted criminal on the Isles, constantly on the run from the emperor and her sister, homeless and living from whatever she could scrounge up.

One cold night the night market had something different in stock, something produced in the armpit that apparently was amazing at letting one forget their problems for a night. The thick black liquid apparently was enough per flask to knock even the biggest of trolls on their ass.

Eda had bought, and drank six of them.

The resulting rampage, and it really couldn’t be called anything but a rampage. Had ended with the houses of people Eda remembered vaguely disliking in school being in ruins, afterwards she’d opened a portal to the human realm, eloped with some “Pines” guy in a place called Las Vegas, ran off with every cent the guy had, and had promptly fallen asleep in a money-nest in a hollowed out tree stump.

The reason for bringing that up? Well she’d been pretty sure in her forty-plus years of life that nothing would ever be able to beat that night in terms of weird things that had happened to her.

The events of the last few days had comfortably pushed that to no. 2.

Luz, the spunky little human that had somehow wormed her way into a spot in Eda’s heart she’d thought dead for years, Luz who’d contemplated going to Grom as an otter and who thought that King was the cutest thing in the world.

That Luz.

Was Belos’ daughter.

The thought itself was just… what . Not that Eda wanted any knowledge of what that tyrant apparently did in his free time. The mere fact he apparent did posess a sex drive had caused her to lose her lunch. What Hooty had afterwards done to said lunch had made Luz lose her lunch.

They had to throw King out the window when his bony face turned green to prevent him from making it a three for three.

That had been an…. uncomfortable night for all parties involved.

The poor girl had been devastated the day she’d found out, she’d spilled her guts to Eda, rambling about things she’d seen that didn’t make sense yet did, and a song her mother had sung to her when she was little. And that apparently Belos had been there .

Eda suspected that Luz still hadn’t fully accepted the situation, as the next day she’d been back to her bright and cheery self.

Almost. It was very obvious that the whole new reality of things weighed heavily on her, but she didn’t seem eager to talk to Eda about it.

Well, not that Eda could blame the kid. She’d been pretty vocal about her, to put it lightly, dislike for Belos.

That the kid had thought she’d be kicked out merely for being that bastard’s daughter that had stung a lot more than Eda was comfortable admitting.

If anything, it had made her even more proud of just how wonderful Luz had turned out. And if she, somewhere in the back of her mind suspected the fact that Belos simply hadn’t been part of her life had something to do with it, she wasn’t ever going to vocalize that.

However, as happy as the owl house’s residents were to simply ignore the new way of things. There were definitely going to be some changes that had to be made.

“C’mon Eda, I’ve been to Bonesborough on my own plenty of times before.” Luz whined as Eda grabbed her things.

“I know you don’t like it kiddo, but we both know going into town right now alone isn’t a good call.”

He might be looking for you.  

It was unsaid, but both of them knew that was the reason for Luz’ new chaperone rule. Luz’ eyes clouded over with emotion as they turned towards the floor.

“Okay.”

“Chin up kiddo.” Eda said, pulling the young girl’s new witches’ wool cloak over her head. “Maybe you can show your friends this new toy of yours?”

That seemed to brighten up the girl’s mood considerably. Which meant Eda had about four or five seconds to get them out of the door and onto Owlbert before the inevitable excited squealing began.

She’d made it with about half a second to spare, the wind whipping through their hair as they ascended up above the pine trees. 

Eda frowned as she saw a white cloak disappear behind a tree a little further into the woods. It confirmed her theory.

He was looking.

But, that was something to deal with later. Right now they had to stock up on some apple blood, among other things.

As they landed on the edge of town, things seemed the same all around, same bustling streets and cheery attitude. Both of them found themselves unable to fully enjoy the atmosphere though, with the looming threat of the emperor’s coven hanging over their heads.

“Well, I’m off to get some elixir, would you mind getting me the apple blood?” Luz nodded excitedly as the owl lady placed a small pouch with a few hundred snails in her hands. She moved to run off to the store before realizing something.

“Eda… Where exactly is the store?”

The owl lady facepalmed, before tiredly answering the question.

“Across the market, third street on the right, it’s the small shop on the left. Owner’s a big blonde demon by the name of Gary.” Luz nodded, before running off again.

“Remember, grab some of the strong stuff too!” She called after the retreating girl.

Eda couldn’t help but worry slightly as the girl ran off, but at most she was a few hundred meters away, and one of the coins had a tracking spell put on it that would notify her if any irregularities happened.

And woe to the person that tried to grab her when Eda found them.

Thankfully, Morton ended up having a lot in stock, she bought almost all of it. Explaining that her curse had grown worse and inquiring about some stronger potions, he’d replied that he’d look into it before disappearing back into the shop.

She was just about to head over to Luz when something caught her eye, it was brightly coloured, overly flashy and way too sappy for her tastes.

A new Azura book had apparently come out, if the posters were anything to go by. 

Poor girl must’ve forgotten with everything going on . She spared a glance, seeing the girl nowhere as she pulled out her pouch.

Still a few hundred snails left, more than enough for a book. Eda supposed it wouldn’t do any harm to get the girl something as she moved to where the posters were pointing her.

And then she saw the line.

You better be grateful. She growled mentally, shoulders slumping in annoyance as she moved to the back of the line, preparing for a very boring few hours.

“The things I do for you kiddo.”

--

Is this it? Luz thought as she looked at the shop, it was small and dark and there was a weird smell coming off of it.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she saw  a white cloaked figure with an odd mask disappearing around the corner, her heart hammered in her chest as her mind made the connection.

Screw it. Luz bolted into the show, slamming the door shut behind her as she went.

The store from within looked a lot better than from the outside, polished stone floor and dark wooden counters filled with jugs of apple blood, her eyebrows quirked up in interest as she spotted something on the countertop.

It was in a cage, a really basic one. Two wooden planks with iron bars between them, as she crept closer her eyebrows knitted together.

It did kinda look like an apple, she supposed… Though the twelve spider-like legs, the little wings and the four sets of eyes made it resemble some kind of spider thing too… Slowly she reached a finger out, trying to pet the little creature.

The moment her hand passed between the bars however, the entire creature seemed to split open, revealing a gaping maw with hundreds, if not thousands of teeth. If not for the cage suddenly being yanked back, she probably would have lost a hand, regardless of her stumbling backwards and landing on her butt.

“Oww.” She whined as a faint chuckle rang out. The cage was placed back on the counter and a hand appeared in front of her eyes. She took it and was promptly dragged back up on her feet.

“Well then, I don’t reckon you’ll be trying that again?” Luz blinked as she took in the woman in front of her.

Wow . Was all that her mind supplied before her cheeks flushed.

She was tall, as tall as Eda whilst not wearing heels, as for how she looked? Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe it, shoulder length hair so black that when the light hit it at a certain angle, it mimicked a starry sky, a pair of pointy ears just poking out from between the raven locks, framing a pale face with shining light blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a short sleeved shirt that revealed toned arms.

Wait a second?

“You don’t look like a Gary.” She blurted out, causing the woman to let out an amused snort.

“Yeah, you’d be right about that.Gary passed away a few days back, I’m the new owner. Name’s Gwendolyn, but call me Gwen.” The woman offered a hand, which Luz hesitantly shook. 

“You’re not from around here, are you?” She said as Luz withdrew her hand.

“Uh, what makes you say that?” She muttered nervously.

“Well, the ears. And the fact you just tried to pet one of those, but mainly the ears.”

Oh crap. Luz thought, the cloak must have fallen off of her head when she’d fallen to the floor.

“So, you’re the human that’s got the emperor’s coven in such a tizzy outside?” Luz paled a few shades as the woman continued, moving back to the other side of the counter.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna call those nitwits in on you. Would only lose me a valuable customer.” The way she’d said that made Luz relax, albeit slightly.

“Speaking of which, you might want to put that cloak back over your head, few of em coming down the street.” The black haired witch muttered. Luz quickly obliged, yanking the hood back over her head.

“Anyways, what can I do for you?”

Luz fished out the pouch of coins from her pocket, placing it on the counter. “I’d like to buy some apple blood, a few strong ones too.” The raven haired shopkeeper grabbed the pouch from the counter, weighing it in her hands before opening it.

The shopkeeper let out a low whistle. “Damn, you doing shopping for the month or something?” Luz nodded.

“Aight then, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a list of Gary’s around here somewhere, you mind telling me which name you normally use?”

Luz fiddled a bit with her thumbs, before answering “Edalyn Clawthorne.”

To her surprise, Gwendolyn’s mood didn’t change, she merely nodded.

“Let’s see, at least thirty boxes, twenty bottles and- yeesh four pitchers of the strong stuff?” She looked over at the human for an explanation, but Luz just shrugged.

“Not my business to judge.” She muttered, drawing a quick magic circle in the air, in the back room behind her the noises of clinking bottles began ringing out.

“It’ll probably take a few minutes for everything to be ready, so you’re gonna have to wait here for a bit.”

“Eh, I don’t mind.” Luz replied, before her eyes found the weird apple like creature in the cage again.

“Is apple blood really, y’know? Blood?” She couldn’t help but wonder.

“Yup.” The witch replied, popping the P as she placed her hand on the creature’s cage “Once a month we drain these suckers, it doesn't hurt ‘em, it does make ‘em a lot more manageable to handle though.”

She patted the top of the cage, causing the creature inside to slam into the iron bars as its teeth gnashed hungrily against each other. 

“A-and that one’s not been drained?” Luz asked, the witch shook her head.

“This one was drained a few hours ago.” Luz’ eyes widened at that.

“How bad do they get?”

“If you don’t drain em? Well, probably the moment you’d entered the shop, this bastard would have chewed through the metal, carried you off somewhere. And the only thing they would’ve found of you likely would have been a few guts in a tree somewhere.”

Luz turned green and the raven haired witch handed her a bucket, snickering slightly at the face the human was making.

“ ‘S how How Gary met his end, by the way. His family’s lucky demon bones are so tough. Or they would’ve had nothing left to bury.” Gwen seemed mildly disturbed by the sentence too, shuddering slightly.

 Suddenly, a crate came floating out of the back room, placing itself on the counter.

“Well, that’s that, need any help carrying it out?” Luz shook her head, thanking the shopkeeper before something else popped in her head.

“Wait, I have a question.” She grabbed one of the “strong ones” out of the crate. How come you guys can sell this to minors, isn’t there alcohol in these?”

“Have you ever tried some?” Luz shook her head.

“Well, the simple answer is, they’re enchanted. Anyone under the age of eighteen tries to drink one? They turn bright purple for like, a week.” Luz snorted at the mental image, before another question popped up.

“I’ve seen a few purple demons around here, how does that affect them?” 

Gwen chuckled. “Oh, it doesn’t just turn you purple , I’m talking glow-in-the-dark purple, seriously, the amount of parents complaining that their kids cant sleep is hilarious.”

Luz chuckled at that, grabbing the crate off the counter and walking out of the shop, giving a quick thanks to the shopkeeper before moving back into the street and the market.

--

When she got back to the spot Eda had been in previously, she didn’t see anyone. So, fishing her sketch block from her hood, she began a sketch. The scene in front of her seemed like the perfect thing to draw. The bustling streets and people walking through made it a bit of a challenge, but one she enjoyed undertaking.

The various shapes and sizes intermingling through the stalls, she saw a weird tri-bladed sword passing hands in one of the back stalls and quickly sketched out the details to refine later, a small witchling’s treat had fallen into the dirt, causing it to cry thick tears she tried to capture. So engrossed as she was with her drawing that she didn’t notice the figure creeping up behind her.

Until.... A book was unceremoniously dropped in her lap, almost making her mess up the linework on one of the front most stalls.

“Eda, be carefu-” She tried, but was cut off.

“None of that, I got that for you and it was hell . You don’t get to complain. “ The sheer tiredness in Eda’s voice made Luz do a double-check on the book, her eyes widening as she read the title.

The newest Azura book.

She was pretty sure the high pitched squeal of joy she let out deafened at least a few of the market’s customers, not that she cared at that point, bouncing in the air like an excited child whilst hugging the book.

The owl lady couldn’t help but smile as the kid jumped with glee.

“Worth it

Chapter Text

To become Emperor, one needed guile, charisma, and a vision.

To be Emperor was to have power, followers, and the people behind you.

To stay Emperor however, that was something entirely different.

And it all came down on one thing.

Ruling.

More specifically, how to rule.

 Ruling with kindness and generosity was bound to make the people adore you, yet it often made those close to you bold, made them start to poke and prod at the edges of what you notice and what you allow, and before you know it, death is all that awaits you.

Ruling with an iron fist was undoubtedly more effective. The more scared people were of you, the less likely notions of revolt and rebellion. Funnily enough however, it often lead to the same thing, scheming in the night, the reasons might change, hidden behind a veil of “justice” with the goal of “toppling a tyrant” 

Both strategies had their merits, that was to be sure. But they relied on one thing that made them so intrinsically flawed.

They were based on assumption .

The Assumption that a happy people guarantees one’s safety. The Assumption that a scared people is a pacified people.

Assuming something, was often the slippery slope that lead to the opposite happening. He’d found.

That’s why Belos prized one thing above all others.

Information.

Why indulge the people in acts of wanton generosity, when knowing when and where people were in trouble with the harvest and compensating accordingly was so much more effective.

Why waste lives trying to quash a revolt, when a single dagger in the night can stop it from happening at all.

Information, he finds, is a commodity that when used well, is worth more than any jewel, any amount of gold or any army.

So, that’s what he’d done.

He’d gathered information.

Though, this time it wasn’t to make sure he was aware of the newest schemes of Odalia’s, Alador might be the public face. But everyone with any sense knew who exactly was the true leader of the Blight household.

It also wasn’t about the frustratingly frequent gatherings of wild witches.

It was about a certain human.

His dau-

He shook his head, again. Assumptions were the death of logic. Though a bitter part of him spat out that it wasn’t him “wanting to be certain.”

He’d amassed quite the pile of information as well, currently laid atop the simple wooden table of his private study, where, ensconced within the tower of the castle, he was going over them all.

The first report was one of Bump’s, recalling how she’d managed to sneak inside the school within an abomination cauldron. He definitely had to make sure it wasn’t that easy to sneak into a school in the future.

The second was various accounts of a witches’ duel between her and one Amity Blight, he frowned slightly at the name, recalling it being the same as the youngest of the three of Alador and Odalia’s children. 

Nothing seemed to have been destroyed, nobody had been harmed.

The next major incident however made his ire rise.

A greater basilisk within a school?! He’d been sure they’d all been exterminated. Clearly he hadn’t been thorough enough.

He did feel a pang of… something when reading that it had in fact been Luz among with a few others that had combined magics to take it down.

That had been the deciding factor that had pushed Bump to allow them to study multiple tracks.

He just hoped they’d join his coven instead of opting for the other option.

Why had he been doing all of this? To know more, about the enigma that had presented itsef, or well, herself to him.

Luz the human, someone he’d heard of in passing. His daughter , the thought itself still seemed like it made no sense, but that seemed to be his general state of mind when it came to that particular tidbit.

Pure and utter confusion.

Well, there was one thing that he wasn’t confused about, and that was the if. Those flashes had been clear enough, like throwing singular pieces of different puzzles into his mind. He knew what the full thing looked like, yet he didn’t know at the same time.

All that had been made clear by those microscopic glimpses had been his relation to the girl.

His gauntleted hand carved grooves in the wood of his table as he clenched his fist. One would assume the fact one had a literal child wasn’t something that just slipped the mind.

And yet, here he was.

The girl looked nothing like him, from the reports acted nothing like him. She seemed to be on every single level, except for the most important one… Nothing like him.

Which opened up another can of worms that unfortunately he couldn’t just seal up.

A daughter, would mean a mother. Which he also didn’t recall, he knew of spells that created children, but those always left a mark. A magical fingerprint which the girl definitely didn’t have.

Every question he asked led to four more, each and every one of those unpacked into more and more of a riddle that had his blood boiling.

His fist shot out, impacting on the black stone of the wall, and the tower shook.

--

Well then. First day of school since the trip to the Emperor’s castle.

Luz wasn’t looking forward to this, at all. But it didn’t really matter at this point, she was gonna have to face her friends at some point.

So, when Eda had dropped her off, she’d put on her best brave face and walked into school, trying to just enjoy the day despite the storm brewing in her mind.

It didn’t last long, Willow and Gus had been worried about her, which was really sweet, truly it was- but around the fifth time they’d asked her if she was ok it was getting annoying.

The day didn’t get much better from there on out, though thankfully a familiar face joined them at lunch.

Luz perked up as she saw the familiar mop of green hair moving through the cafeteria, jumping up and waving at the witch to come join them. 

“I see your foot’s healed?” Willow asked as the Blight joined them.

“Yeah, still a bit tender. But it feels so good to just be able to y’know- do stuff again.” Luz nodded, thankful of the tension in the atmosphere lessening somewhat. Maybe today would be fine after all.

“How was the trip to the Emperor’s castle?” Amity asked absentmindedly, before taking a bite out of her lunch, instantly Gus and Willow’s eyes were on the brunette as she stiffened.

“Fine.” She bit out after a while, her tone thoroughly unconvincing. If the concerned look that passed over the green haired witch’s face was any indication. She noticed the three of them sharing concerned glances.

“Are you sure?” Gus tried.

“Look guys, I’m fine!”  She snapped, making them flinch back.  “Please. Just drop it?”

The way they looked at her after that only made her feel worse, great, now she was being angry at people who really hadn’t deserved it. Even Amity was giving her a hurt look. 

The fact they were worrying about her at all was really sweet, they really didn’t need to. But she just wanted to be able to take her mind off of the whole situation for a bit.

She’d tell them, eventually. But right now she supposed apologizing was the only thing she could do.

“Sorry I-” She began, only to be cut off.

“Well, if this isn’t the saddest bunch of wanna-be witches I’ve ever seen.” Boscha muttered, walking up to the table with her cronies in tow.

Today really wasn’t her day, was it?

Amity rolled her eyes. “Boscha, still unable to act mature I see.” She deadpanned, which made the three eyed girl sneer.

“Careful, traitor. You really happy here with half-a-witch Willow and the human?”  The dismissive tone really rubbed Luz the wrong way, but noticing how Willow’s ears drooped out of the corner of her eye made something rise within her.

Anger, pure anger, all the frustration, sadness and questions bubbled down into anger. Even as Amity sprang up from her seat and all but chased the group away it didn’t abate. Her fists remained clenched at her sides as she glared daggers at the retreating forms of Boscha and her crew.

Looking to Willow next to her made her fury somehow burn even hotter, but that was something she could deal with later. Her friend needed her.

She bumped against Willow’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t listen to her. She’s just jealous of you having actual friends.” 

“Yeah, don’t listen to her.” Amity added whilst Gus gave the plant witch a reassuring smile.

Her smile returned a bit, though it was fragile, it felt a bit fake. Around the same time Luz had an idea, an idea to pay the bully back.

That night she snuck into the kitchen, careful not to wake up King or Hooty. Eda, she wasn’t worried about as the older woman usually just lept deeply enough to give the grim reaper pause.

When she finally found what she’d been looking for, she quickly moved back to her room, stuffing it in her school bag before dozing off

--

The next day, her plan fell into motion. She had potions as one of her first lessons with Boscha being in the same class, now she just needed the right opportunity to act.

The perfect time came a little over halfway through the class, when the three-eyed girl excused herself to go to the toilet, Luz quickly snatched her bag without anyone noticing, digging through it until she found what she wanted

There! She carefully grabbed what she’d been looking for before digging into her own bag.

A minute later, Boscha’s bag was back next to her table, just in time for the pink haired girl to walk back into the classroom.

Now all Luz had to do was wait.

She just hoped Eda wouldn’t notice.

By the time lunch rolled around, it really was just a matter of when. Luz had walked with Gus into the cafeteria, picking out a spot a bit closer to Boscha’s usual table than where they usually sat. Gus had quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion but hadn’t commented.

Willow and Amity had joined them soon after, and much small talk ensued. Luz wasn’t really paying all that much attention, busy munching on a sandwich and sneaking glances at the table were Boscha was currently sitting.

Gus and Willow didn’t notice, too busy with their conversation. Amity, who had been listening and not participating whilst working on an assignment, did.

“Luz, what’s wrong?” Amity asked, quirking a brow.

“I-uh, NOTHING!” She squeaked, face flushing with embarrassment as she tried to play off getting caught.

“Okaaaaay.” The green haired witch trailed off with a confused look, focussing her attention back on the texts, Luz tore her eyes away from watching Boscha like a hawk to check out what the Blight girl was walking on, leaning over the table to get a look at her texts.

Amity looked back up, only to find Luz’ face a few inches from her own. With a startled yelp she shot back, almost falling off of the bench as the human girl looked at her concernedly.

“Amity, do you have a fever or something?” Luz asked, and Amity just- sat there gaping like a fish, a small snicker drew her attention however and she shot a baleful glare at Willow’s all too knowing grin.

“I don’t know Luz, but you might want to check.” She said, the grin turning smug.

Wait-what. Amity scrambled back, almost falling off the bench a second time as she tried to paw at the concerned looking human’s hand in an effort to stop it from reaching her forehead. 

Willow was gonna pay for thi-

“IEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH” Her train of thought was cut off as a piercing shriek echoed throughout the cafeteria. A few of the flying demons dropped from the sky and onto benches as windows cracked at the sheer pitch and volume.

After finally unplugging her fingers from her ears, she took a look at the cause of the ungodly shriek, to find Boscha…

What.

Amity blinked.

Nope, still the same.

She blinked again. With the same result. She briefly wondered if this was a fever dream, but a quick pinch to the back of her hand relieved her of that notion.

Which meant that what she was looking at, was in fact Boscha.

A glowing, purple, Boscha. But Boscha nonetheless.

No way. she realised something then. Her head swung around so quickly it was a miracle she didn’t experience whiplash as her eyes found the smug grin of Luz Noceda. The brunette seemed to notice Amity looking at her as the smile quickly faded in favour of trying to act innocent.

Amity had to admit, she was impressed. Something that calculated and ruthless wasn’t something she thought Luz capable of, and if she hadn’t been so horrified at the fact that this was LUZ of all people doing something so mean-spirited, she’d probably have complimented the prankster.

As it stood now, she could only stare slack-jawed as the hysterical Boscha was escorted out of the cafeteria to the sound of laughter and jeers, one thing single thought on loop in her mind.

Willow and Gus are right. There is definitely something wrong with Luz.

--

Walking back from school, Luz feels pretty good about herself. Still high off of what had happened with the bully at lunch. She’s in so much of a good mood that she even scratches Hooty behind the…. face before walking in the door.

That feeling ebbs away within moments as she sees Eda on the couch, arms crossed and an angry expression on her face currently fixed at none other than Luz herself. A tiny part of her hopes that Lilith had passed by and soured her mood, but the fact that the crate of apple blood is sitting on the table in front of her makes that hope fade away to.

“Hi Eda.” She tries, slowly shutting the door behind her.

“Luz.” The owl lady replies, and the tone makes a shiver run down her spine.

“Sooo, what are you do-” 

“Sit.” Eda interrupts her, pointing to the opposite end of the couch, her shoulders sag as she walks towards it and takes a seat opposite of her mentor, eyes downcast on the ground.

“So, mind telling me why there’s a bottle of alcoholic apple blood missing.” 

“Wha-” She tries to say, but Eda just holds up a finger to silence her.

“Before you begin, just so we’re not wasting time here, I know it was you.”

How?! Luz thinks as her eyes go wide

“Magic” Eda deadpans, answering the unsaid question as she draws a little glowing circle in the air. “So, mind telling me why you stole something? You know if you need something you can just ask me, I really didn’t expect something like this from you, that's more of a me thing.” 

The disappointed tone Eda’s voice takes on is one all too familiar to Luz, and she scrambles to explain the situation.

“I, I didn’t take it to drink or anything to that extent.” She says, flailing her arms. The owl lady just rolls her eyes.

“Kid, that was obvious. Since you’re not currently lighting up the room, literally” She adds.

“So, mind filling me in on what exactly you needed it for?”

Luz swallows, feeling a cold sweat break out. For a moment she considers lying, not an option. She wonders if maybe running would be the smart thing to do, but as Eda had reminded her just now, magic was a thing. So that was out.

So, she really has only one option.

“I used it on a bully!” She admits, and she watches the annoyed look on Eda’s face just slip away, replaced by one of confusion.

“I- there’s this girl in school and she’s really popular and she really hates me for some reason and she picks on my friends and she made Willow sad and  I was so angry at her and I grabbed your potion and I put it in her juice box.” She rambles off, unable to stop after having started, tightly gripping the bottom of her uniform’s skirt as her eyes are screwed shut.

“Heh.”

Luz blinks, looking confusedly at where the older woman is currently sat looking at her with a grin, she can tell she’s trying to keep it in. But the subtle shake of her shoulders betrays her amusement.

“Oh, I am kinda pissed I didn’t come up with that one kid.” Eda breathlessly admits, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye.

“Did it work?” Luz nods at the owl lady’s question. 

“Where?” 

“In the middle of the cafeteria.” Eda looks- well she looks proud at the success of the prank, but there’s something more to her look.

“Any evidence that can be tied back to you?” 

Luz shakes her head. “Did it during potions, dumped the rest in one of the potion containers and threw the glass in the bin.”

“And by bin you mean those glass eating demons that hop around the classroom?” Luz nods and Eda nods her head back in approval, looking quite impressed and entertained.

“Why’d you do it?” Suddenly her face shifts into one of disapproval and curiosity.

“Because-” Luz falls silent then, eyeing Eda’s expectant look. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean.” Eda asks. “Is why.”

“B-because Boscha just keeps getting away with bullying my friends, and- and someone needed to do something.” Luz defended.

“Publicly humiliating the girl at lunch was the only way to do something? ” It’s phrased like a question, but both of them know it’s not. Luz’ eyes go wide with realization as she recalls the mocking jeers and laughter thrown at the hysterical pink haired girl before she’d been escorted out of the cafeteria. Her eyes turn to the ground once more.

“And there it is.” Eda mutters, before reaching over to rest a hand on the girl’s shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze that she leans into instinctively.

“Am I a bully?” She asks, when her lips seem to be able to form syllables again.

“No.” Eda shakes her head. “Definitely not, you’re a kid who’s just had her whole life flipped upside down and whose emotions are going haywire. Doing something like that doesn’t just make you a bully, it makes you someone who cares a lot and ended up doing something wrong because of it.”

That… that makes her feel a little better. Eda squeezes her shoulder a second time.

“Look kid, if I’m honest, I don’t fully understand what you’re going through right now. But I’m willing to listen, whenever you’re ready.” She clenches her teeth at the mention of… that. But she knows the older witch means it. So she nods her head.

“Maybe.” She mutters, and Eda nods, leaning back onto the couch.

“Got any plans for today?”

Luz nods. “I was gonna go into the market with Amity, Gus and Willow, it’s ok if I go with friends, right?” She stiffens. “I’m not grounded, am I?”

“I’m still not comfortable letting you into town alone, so it’s probably for the best you bring a few friends. As for your question? Nope.” Eda answers, obnoxiously popping the “p” Luz’ shoulders sag in relief as she gets off of the couch.

“You are however gonna buy me a new flask whilst you’re in town.” 

“Okaayyy.” She groans.

“Out of your own pocket.”  That makes Luz look at the owl lady questioningly.

“What? I’m not paying for it, it’s coming out of your allowance kiddo.”

Luz blinks.

“I don’t have an allowance.”

Eda blinks.

“oh yeah, right.” She digs into one of her dress’ pockets, grabbing a small pouch of snails.

“Don’t try buying anything else, I counted ‘em last night.” She says, before tossing them to the human girl.

“Even if it’s some of those snacks you like?” Luz suggests. Eda knows the girl is playing her, hell the witch could probably have written a book about tricks like this if she’d actually wanted to. But she can’t help but shake her head in exasperation as she nods. Shooing the snickering girl out of her house.

She waits till she’s well and truly gone before moving up off the couch, groaning at the pain that shoots through her.

She can practically feel the pennaceous feathers trying to burrow out of her skin as her breathing becomes short. Quickly grabbing one of Morton’s elixirs and chugging it down… before moving onto the next when she notices next to zero change from just the one potion.

She just hopes Morton’s promise to “look into” stronger elixirs pays off.

--

“Sooooo, any plans?” Gus asks as they’re all sat on one of Bonesborough’s many fountains, looking over at the bustling streets as they laze around.

“I was gonna head to the library later…. would you like to join?” Amity asks, going slightly pink in the cheeks as she looks at Luz. The unspoken question of “Book club?” unnoticed to all but the two of them.

“Maybe.” Luz says. “I still gotta buy back that vial for Eda.” She mutters. Before realizing she said that aloud. Eyes going wide in alarm as she looks at the three others. She just hoped they didn’t put the pieces together.

A gasp from Willow removes that silly notion quickly enough, Luz can’t help but flinch at the plant witch’s scandalized look. Wow it does not feel good to have Willow of all people look at you like that, Luz finds out in that moment.

“That was you?!” Willow whisper-shouts in disgust, Luz and Amity share a knowing glance before she nods. Gus just looks at the three of them confusedly.

“Why?” Willow asks, and Luz can’t bring herself to meet the girl’s gaze, instead focusing on some faraway roof ornament as she scratches the back of her neck.

“I- I honestly don’t know?” She lies through her teeth. “I guess I was just sick of her bullying you all?”

“It was a really mean thing to do, Luz.” Willow gently chides. And Luz can only mutter a sad “Yeah.” In reply.

“But, I guess she did deserve it.” That makes both Luz and Amity look at Willow in alarm.

“What?”

At right around the same time Gus’ eyes widen.

“THAT WAS YOU?!”

Luz turns to Gus, ready to explain when a glimpse of a white cloak draws her attention, she goes white. Sucking in a breath before quickly scrambling off of the fountain.

“i’ll explain later, gotta go guys!” She shouts, prompting the three of them to follow her.

Only Amity has the sense to look back first, frowning as she spots a masked figure dressed in the emperor’s regalia disappear into the crowd, before running off after the others.

--

It takes Luz about five minutes to stop running, something that makes Willow and Gus realize that wow they’re out of shape . Amity looks fine but her cheeks are flushed a bit and her breathing is noticeably heavier.

When they’ve all caught their breath, Gus demands the story from Luz, who nervously regales it back to Gus.

He seems slightly disturbed by the whole thing, but doesn’t disagree with the fact that Boscha probably had it coming, though he does suggest at least apologizing.

After that, it’s a long way to the shop. Luz wants to take back alleys and winding roads, avoiding the marketplaces.

The only problem being, she’s not familiar with them. Thankfully Gus comes in clutch, taking them on a route that avoids every major street and lands them smack dab in front of the shop.

Luz finally takes note of the billboard hung up above the door.

Gary’s apple blood boutique, it had originally read, only now there’s a rex X painted over the name Gary and a small wooden plank with “Gwen” has been hastily hammered onto it.

As she pushes into the shop, the faint ringing of a bell rings out, or, would have, if it hadn’t been the Boiling Isles.

Instead of a dainty little bell, an unholy shriek rings out that has her jumping a foot up in the air. The witches in her group look unfazed.

“Suppose I should have expected you back here.” A familiar voice rings out, and the group’s eyes are drawn to the shopkeeper.

Crap. She looks pissed. Luz takes in the stiff posture, crossed arms and the frown on Gwendolyn’s face before the witch speaks again.

“Name’s Gwendolyn, call me Gwen.” She says, flashing a polite smile at the others before levelling a glare back at Luz.

“Do you mind telling me why I had a pair of supremely pissed off parents and a glowing purple kid here not an hour ago?”

Luz does feel bad about the whole situation, but all she can think of in that moment is Thank god I dodged that bullet.

“Uhhh, why’d they come here?” she asks, and the shopkeeper’s eyeroll is so exaggerated it looks like it hurts.

“Those spells are unique per seller, it’s like a magical fingerprint.” She explains, and Luz goes pale a second time that day.

“Relax kid, I didn’t tell them. And I’m not going to, if you tell me why.”

“Uh, miss Gwendolyn?” WIllow speaks up, stepping forward.

“Once again, call me Gwen. But yes?” She says, turning towards the plant witch.

“She, she uh did it for me. That girl that came in here? Her name’s Boscha, she’s kind of a jerk and Luz just wanted to pay her back for messing with me constantly… Not that I’m saying she was right or anything.”

“Ah, a bully huh?” Gwen mused, before shrugging. “With parents like that it only makes sense.” 

All of them notice Amity cringe at that blunt statement.

“Honestly kid, can’t really fault you for standing up for your friends. But yeesh I had you pegged wrong, I expected you to be more along the lines of “lets all be friends and get along” type. Not fire and brimstone, shows what I know.”

“I mean, I- I guess? I don’t know, I’ve not been all myself lately…. There’s a lot going on.” Luz admits, and she can see the wheels turning.

“Seems what you need, is an outlet. Tell me, do kids your age still like to cause wanton destruction?”

They looked at eachother, before shrugging. “Sure.”

--

“So, why exactly is this place abandoned?” Luz asks. They’re all in a clearing just outside of Bonesborough- Two hills over, to be precise, via an abandoned trail behind one of the court buildings. Gus and Willow are currently casting spell after spell whilst Amity and Luz are sitting on a few tree stumps together with Gwendolyn. Amity’s head is in a book, having snatched Luz’ new Azura book that she’d been unable to buy due to her leg after Luz had mentioned it being in her bag. 

‘Remember those apple critters from the shop?” Gwendolyn remarks, using a small knife to remove some dirt from underneath her fingernails. Luz nods, a shiver running down her spine as she recalls what the shopkeeper had told her about those monsters.

“There used to be a nest of ‘em, way up in that tree.” She points at one of the gigantic redwoods surrounding the clearing. Luz looks at the tree nervously, and she notices Amity look up from the book in concern out of the corner of her eye.

“They’re not here anymore… right?” Amity asks, and Gwen shrugs. Which is probably the worst response she could’ve given at that point.

“All the adults were wiped out or rounded up, can’t say for sure we didn’t miss any of the babies.”

“That is not very reassuring.” Amity dryly remarks, and Luz nods in agreement.

“It’s the truth, lying won’t do you guys any good if there’s one around here, this way you’re at least expecting it.” Gwen admits, playing with a lock of her black hair as she looks on, eyebrow quirking up as she sees Gus narrowly avoid getting hit by a gigantic root that bursts from the soil.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. How’d you end up on the Isles anyways?” She turns to Luz, who is drawing a few glyphs in her note pad.

“What do you mean?” 

“Well.” She begins. “Unless you were somehow sucked in by a trash slug, which I doubt considering you’re well- alive. I can’t really think of any other way you could have ended up here. She can see Amity looking up again, no doubt interested in the answer too.

Luz shrugs. “Came in through a portal by accident, Owlbert stole my Azura book and I tried to get it back, chased him right through a portal, Eda made it with some sort of key.”

“Huh, cool.” The witch admits.

“By the way, why’d you even join us? Don’t you have a shop to run.”

“That I do.” Gwendolyn agrees. “But it’s a lot harder to run a shop from prison. If it turns out there’s one of these creatures still around, they’ll show themselves soon enough. If they’d found out I sent you all here and you guys ended up kicking the bucket, I’d be royally screwed, that’s a good  fifteen years in the conformatorium at least. I’m basically here to make sure none of you get killed.”

“You really suck at making people feel at ease. You know that, right?” Amity deadpans, snapping the book shut as Luz giggles in agreement.

The raven haired witch looks like she’s about to reply, when the brush rustles. Suddenly all eyes are on the brush, Gwen’s grip tensing on the knife in her hand.

Nothing comes out of the bush, whatever it was retreating back into the forest, they let out a collective breath they don’t know they’ve been holding.

Neither Luz nor Amity are aware of the figure watching them from the treeline, a few dozen meters to their rear.

--

It’s not often Kikimora finds herself summoned by the Emperor himself. Oftentimes, he trusted her well enough to run things on her own.

Indeed, a summons by the emperor was a very unusual thing to Kikimora, yet she wouldn’t dare presume the reason why.

As she moved into the throne room, Lilith’s kneeling form caught her eye before the emperor did, he was sitting on his throne, posture indicative of boredom as his finger tapped on the arm rest.

“Lilith, I don’t want excuses . You’ll have the Owl Lady here within three days, I’ll cure her little affliction and she’ll join the coven. Should you fail, you’ll be banished and persecuted like any wild witch. Begone from my sight.” His tone was one of barely restrained anger, which was worrying to the small red demoness. The emperor rarely lost his calm, and when he did, the results were never good.

Lilith all but scrambled up to her feet, trying to keep a dignified posture to mask her fear as she bowed and walked, speedily out of the room.

The emperor’s gaze snapped to her the moment the doors shut behind Lilith, she dropped to one knee immediately.

“My emperor, I was told you had summoned me?” She said, waiting for a reply.

“You may rise, Kiki. And yes, I do have a task for you.” She rose to her feet, eyes widening minutely as she realized he was standing right in front of her, instead of sitting on the throne where he’d been moments prior.

“Do you have any recollection of a certain individual by the name of Luz Noceda?” He asked, her brow furrowed. THe name did ring a bell, but she couldn’t put a finger on it.

“The name? Yes, the person however I do not recall.”

He nodded. “She’s also known as the Owl Lady’s disciple.” That made her frown. What was a child doing in the company of a wanted criminal?

“Do you wish for us to capture her, my lord?” He waved the suggestion off, shaking his head.

 “Nothing so… drastic. Recently it has come to my attention that the girl is a human, one that entered our world via the use of a portal key.”

Her eyes widened. “I thought they’d all been destroyed?”

“As did I.” Belos mused, turning away from her to look at one of the tapestries on the wall. “What I wish for you to do, is deliver a message. If the human delivers the key to me, anything she wishes for will be hers.”

“My lord?” She questioned.

“What is it, Kiki?” She could all but feel the edge his voice had.

“Would it not be easier to just, take the key by force?”

The Emperor chuckled at that, a sound that made Kikimora’s hairs stand on end.

“I suppose it would be more effective. But it would only set us back in the long run, now. Can I trust you with this task?”

“Of course, my lord.” She bowed again. “Where can she be found?”

“I have been informed that at this present time she is in Bonesborough, if you hurry. You might be able to deliver the message today.” He snapped his fingers, and a small slip of paper appeared between his fingers, he handed it to Kikimora before dismissing her.

As she walked out of the throne room, her eyes were focussed on the image. It was a drawing of the girl in question.

Unremarkable was Kikimora’s first impression of the girl. The only thing that stood out were the round ears that distinguished her from witches. But, if the emperor saw something in this odd human girl, it was not her place to argue.

--

Today was a...decent day, Luz supposed, waving goodbye to her friends before taking off back towards the Owl House.

They’d spent the afternoon in that clearing, messing around with spells, or in Luz’ case, glyphs, Amity had shown her new Abomination skills whilst Willow and Gus had tried to come up with new spells. At the end of the day, Gus had laid the foundation for a sort of mirror spell, one that allowed it to seem like there were dozens of him at once, whilst Willow had almost managed to summon an entire field of flowers in a single cast.

They’d had to call it quits then, Gwendolyn shooing them back towards the town, as she had something to do later on. They’d decided to call it a day then, going home for the day.

Yeah, Luz thought it was a pretty decent day.

Until a familiar red demoness blocked her path, stepping out of an alleyway. She took a few steps back,reaching into her hoodie and grabbing one of her glyphs.

“Please, I am not here to fight.” The demoness said, holding up her hands in surrender. She frowned at that, but let the glyph go.

“Why are you here, then?”

“To deliver a message, one from the emperor personally.” Luz flinched at the mention, swallowing as she found her throat go dry before answering again.

“What kind of message?”

“It has come to our glorious emperor’s attention, that you are in possession of a portal key to the human world. If you were to hand it over, he will grant you any wish you desire.”

Luz’ eyes widened. How did he know about the portal?! That was alarming to say the least.

“Oh, okay. I’ll think about it” She muttered, trying to step around the witch. She merely nodded, allowing the young human to pass her. 

“That is all he asks.”

Luz took off running the moment she was past the diminutive demoness. She didn’t stop until she could see the Owl House past the trees. She saw Hooty’s sleeping form from the treeline, opting to sneak around the back instead as she really didn’t want to deal with the house demon right now.

As she snuck around the back however, something caught her attention as she peaked into one of the windows, there was a veritable pile of empty elixir bottles stacked on the table. Eda was in the process of downing what looked like a fifteenth bottle. Tt seemed to have finally taken effect. Some of the sprouting feathers retreated back into her skin as she collapsed back onto the couch.

Eda really wasn’t doing too well.

Luz entered via the back door, calling out to the witch that she was home. She heard a frantic scramble and the sound of magic being cast as she walked into the living room. Eda was sitting on the couch, a lazy smile on her lips that would definitely have fooled the human girl if she hadn’t seen the state the owl lady had been in mere moments ago.

“Hey kiddo, how was today?”

“I- it was fine.” She corrected, grabbing the vial from her bag. “Here’s the vial. Sorry for stealing it from you in the first place.” 

The grey haired witch waved her off. “Pah, forget it. Now, where are my snacks?” Luz dug through her bag. Tossing the treats and the left over coins to the owl lady before faking a yawn. 

“I think I'm gonna go to sleep, see you tomorrow.” She muttered, leaving the room.

“Goodnight kid.” Eda called back as she walked up the stairs.

--

Luz fell asleep after hours of tossing and turning, kept awake by the torrent of emotions that today’s events had brought with them.

First the whole Boscha situation, and now Belos knew about the key. Today really couldn’t get any worse.

An incorrect statement, she realized, as she suddenly found herself with a very familiar and very unwelcome dreamscape.

Soon enough, because there were just some days when the universe loved to just pile things on top of eachother, creating a messed up layer cake of bullshi-crap. Footsteps rang out.

Approaching footsteps.

Soon enough, the massive form of her f- the Emperor Belos emerged from the blackness.

“What do you want?” She snarled, making him take a step back. He put up his hands in mock surrender.

“Easy now, I’m not here to fight.”

“Why did you send your followers after me, then?" She challenges, taking a step forward.

“Ah, I take it Kiki relayed my message, have you thought it over yet?” 

The key. She frowns at that. “How’d you even know about it, and what do you even need it for?”

“As for the how, well I cannot tell you that. The what is a similar answer.” He replies, tone so infuriatingly monotone it drives her a bit mental.

He’s toying with her . Her mind supplies, and her glare deepens.

“At the end of the day, I am simply a humble messenger for the titan, and to make his will manifest that key is of the utmost importance.” He says, and she frowns.

There’s a feeling she’s not felt before, it’s as if some kind of alarm within her mind goes off as he utters that sentence, a feeling that she cannot describe. It does however tell her one thing.

He’s lying.

“Why are you suddenly so interested in me, or that portal?” She asks, hoping he catches on to her calling his bluff. “Just because you’re my fa-” She chokes, unable to get the words out. “Just because of that you’re suddenly so interested in me?”

“Well, when one finds out that they have a child they were unaware of for said child’s entire life, I suppose interest is to be expected, isn’t it?” Luz’ eyes widened at that, because 1. Unlike before, he isn’t lying, and 2.

Unaware?

“Well.” He sighs, all melodrama that makes her want to roll her eyes if she were able to tear her eyes away from his form if she wasn’t afraid doing so would end with her grizzly demise. “I suppose all the stories the owl lady has been telling about me, would make a reaction like this warranted. How is she doing by the way?”

He’s baiting you!!! Her common sense screams at her. But another, louder part of her mind overtakes it.

Her curse is getting worse.

“If, if I give you the portal, will you heal her curse?” She asks, and his hand comes up to his face, tapping on the pointy chin of his mask thoughtfully.

“I suppose that answers my question.” He says, after a few moments.

“Will you heal her?” She presses.

“Yes.” He says, sticking out his hand. She doesn’t take it.

“Do you promise?”

“I do.” He says. And Luz can only focus on one thing.

He’s not lying.

Chapter Text

Amity had really missed walking on her own. Not having to be carted around by her siblings or her father’s abomination really felt good. It gave her back a sense of agency and independence that she’d sorely missed.

It also meant having to spend less time with her family. Ed and Em had mellowed out, but they still adored annoying her to no end, and dad was… well dad (Which encapsulated awkward and demanding and really bad at talking to her, but still so much better than mom).

Nevertheless, being able to go out on her own was such a blessing.

Otherwise she never would’ve been able to meet up with Gus and Willow on such short notice.

She found the two of them sitting on the same fountain they’d been at the previous day with Luz, the two of them making small talk until they saw her approach.

“Well, I asked dad. Turns out Boscha’s been de-glowed, but she’ll probably be away from school for a few days.” Amity says. 

“Well, that’s good. I guess?” Gus says, and Willow just shrugs. Amity can’t help but agree with the plant witch, but that’s not the reason they’d convened here.

“What’s wrong with Luz?” She asks

“You mean besides her being oblivious as can be?” Willow off-handedly remarks, causing Amity to go scarlet, levelling a death glare at the plant witch whilst Gus just looks between them confusedly.

“I-ignoring that, she’s not been herself. I mean that thing with Boscha?” She says, and the two others agree.

“Yeah, she’s been like that ever since the trip to the emperor’s castle.” Willow says.

“What happened there? Just yesterday she started running when she saw one of the emperor’s coven.”

“What?!” Both Willow and Gus scream, Amity just looks at them owlishly.

“Did neither of you look to see why she was running?” She asks them, dumbfounded. They both shake their head no.

“Also, why the hell were YOU out of breath, Willow? Don’t you train like, every day?” Amity asks the plant witch, who just shrugs.

“Never had good stamina, and I mainly do strength training at home.” Willow replies, Amity supposes that’s fair enough.

“Back on track, do you guys know what happened?”

“Well.” Gus begins. “She snuck off during the tour, we found that writing block she always has on the floor.”

“She was planning on stealing the healing hat for Eda.” Willow ads.

Amity smacks herself on the forehead. “Please tell me you guys were planning on stopping her.”

“Nope!”

“We were gonna help her!”

Amity’s pretty sure she’s never going to be able to stop dyeing her hair, because shit like this is going to make her go gray before she’s 20.

“Ok, ignoring that incredibly stupid plan, anything else?” She asks. Willow seems to think it over for a bit, whilst Gus lets out an offended “Hey!”

“Not really? She almost ran us over, came running down the stairs so fast she almost flew out of the window. She looked pale, almost as if she was going to be sick.”

“Ok, so something happened between you guys losing Luz on the tour, and you guys finding her again. Something big enough to make her act like, well like this. How long do you guys think she was gone?”

“About fifteen minutes?” Willow guesses, before looking at Gus for confirmation, he nods along.

“Yeah, about that long.”

Amity frowns, tapping her temple with a finger as she tries to wrap her brain around the situation.

Fifteen minutes. What could have happened in so short a time?

--

Luz really doesn’t want to leave her bed. Normally, she would’ve been out and about hours before now, but she just can’t bring herself to leave the confines of her sleeping bag.

Kikimora is staying in Bonesborough for a few days. Should you agree, seek her out. She recalls Belos’ last words in their discussion vividly, and it’s been the main cause of her ongoing mental battle.

Should she?  She hates that she has to ask herself that question. No! A part of her screams, the part that applies to her reason and logic, the part that points out that he can’t be trusted, that giving him what he wants will only bring harm and ruin to the people she cares about.

As per usual however, another part of her disagrees. The part that points out that he hadn’t been lying, and that somehow knows he’ll keep his word about healing Eda.

Eda… She’s getting worse, and fast . Luz knows that if she does nothing it’ll be too late before she knows it, and what then?

Ah, who is she kidding. She knows what she’s gonna do, has known exactly which one she’s gonna pick since the offer was made. She’s just been trying to convince herself otherwise.

Now the only thing she has to do is get that key from Eda.

“Hey kid, I’m gonna head into town for a bit, need me to bring anything back?” Eda’s voice calls out, and Luz realizes she’s not got much time left.

“WAIT!” She yells out, scrambling out of her sleeping bag and storming out of the room.

Eda frowns at her as she skids into the room, king blearily opens his eyes with a tired “Wha?” 

“Eda, before you go. Mind giving me the key?” She says, twiddling her thumbs.

“Need to charge that phone-thing of yours again?” She asks, Luz nods. Eda shrugs, plucking the key from her mane of hair.

“Here ya go kid.” She says, tossing the key to Luz, who catches it. “But don’t leave King alone with it, alright? He’s been watching giraffe videos and I don’t want those creeps influencing him.”

Luz nods rapidly “Alrighty, not gonna let King watch any animal videos, thank you Eda, have a good day!” She says, a little too quickly, as Eda raises a brow before shrugging. “Alright kid, have a good day.” With that she steps through the front door.

“HIYAAAAAAAAAAAA EDA.”

“Cram it Hooty.”

“Geez, okay, fine !” 

She lets out a dry chuckle at the banter between the Owl Lady and the house demon, and out of the window she sees Eda take off on Owlbert.

This is it. She muses, and clutches it tightly within her hands.

“Uh, Luz?” King’s voice calls out, and she turns around to find the diminutive demon standing in the doorway, holding her phone. “This thing’s full.”

“Y-yeah, I know.” She lies. “I needed to quickly grab something from the human world and I didn’t want to worry Eda.” King looks at her, frowning a bit, before shrugging. Hopping on the couch and opening her phone.

“I won’t tell her, if you let me watch these giraffe videos.” He says, and Luz lets out a chuckle at the absurd threat.

“You know what? Fair enough.” She says, before pressing on the eye of the key, opening a portal from which the actual portal appears.”

She’s just about to step into it, when King’s voice calls out again.

“Luz… you’d tell us if you were leaving, right?” King says, and she freezes. Before looking at the dog-like demon.

“Of course I would.”

“Oh, good.” He says, looking down at the couch, away from her. “You’re family Luz.”

“I know…. You’re family too.” She says, before stepping into the portal.

And that’s why this is something I have to do.

--

Going through the portal is a really odd feeling, but not an unpleasant one. When she opens her eyes again, she’s back in the forest, looking at the wind sweep through the autumn-red leaves of the forest’s trees.

She sneaks back to her house, careful to not let anyone see her. She uses her spare keys to open the back door, sneaking up the stairs, her mom’s on shift at the hospital so she doesn’t need to. But it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

She opens the door to her room as quietly as she can, and she can’t even describe how much she’s missed the smell, she’s tempted for a bit to jump on her bed, but decides against it. She’s terrible at making a bed and it would be obvious to mom.

She does, however, press her face up to the glass of her terrarium, causing her two snakes to look up at her in confusion.

She vows in that moment, to give them as many scritches as she can when she gets back from the isles.

If she gets back. She realizes.

Because that’s what giving the key to Belos means, giving up her route home.

“Lo siento, mami.” She says, tears pricking at her eyes. She has to do this, for Eda.

She knows she’s got to get out of this house quickly, because she’s on the verge of a breakdown. And she doesn’t want her mom to come home to her daughter, who should be at camp. Crying on the floor.

She reaches underneath her beg, grabbing her drawing supplies and stuffing them into the bag around her hip, filling it with all the drawings she’s made of the boiling isles throughout the years.

No better time to get answers. She supposes. Shoving the now mostly empty compartment back under her bed before stepping out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

She walks back towards the stairs, but takes a quick peek into her mother’s room when she notices the door is open, finding it empty.

She turns away again, walking down the stairs with renewed vigor.

Unaware of the letters laying on her mother’s bedside table.

Written in her hand.

--

When she gets back, King is still sitting there on the couch, staring intently at the screen.

“Hey King, I’m gonna meet up with Amity at the library, if Eda comes back tell her that’s where I am, alright?” She lies, and the casual way he just nods makes her heart feel even heavier.

“Have fun.” He says, before screaming at the phone “Yes, crush them all.” Luz rolls her eyes at that, stepping out of the front door.

“Where are you gooooing?” Hooty says, and she clutches at the key around her neck.

“to the library with Amity. Bye hooty!” She says, waving at the demon as she walks off into the woods.

“BYE LUUUUUUZ!”

Neither of them notice the figure in the treeline.

--

Lilith is, for the first time in while, at her wit’s end.

Well, not a long while, it’s only been a week or so since she’s last seen her sister. But that’s the problem. Two days, she only had a measly two days left to somehow capture and/or convince her sister to join the coven. 

Or she’d be banished.

The problem is, she truly doesn’t know what to do. She’s spent the last half hour pacing in front of one of the castle’s many murals, trying to wrack her mind to find a solution, a way in. A frontal assault on the owl house will not work, her raid had proved that when that infernal owl demon had walked through her men like it was nothing.

She’s pretty sure she’s gonna be seeing those dead eyes in her nightmares from now on.

But that’s not the problem, she fists at her hair, growling in frustration as she stomps her foot down.

“She’s got no friends, no connections, nothing.” She lists off, counting on her fingers.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” A voice rings out then.

Lilith is a prideful individual, always has been and likely always will be. That is why she vows to personally incinerate anyone that dares breathe a word of the sound she makes as she jumps a good two feet in the air, startled beyond measure.

“E-Emperor Belos.” She says breathlessly, looking at the towering figure standing in the doorway. She takes a knee, eyes downcast on the floor as his footsteps approach her.

“Rise.” he says, and she does, nervously looking at him, he doesn’t meet her gaze, instead looking at the mural.

“The owl lady’s disciple.” He says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Lilith blinks. “The human?”

He makes a sound of affirmation, and she just about slaps herself upside the face because how had she not thought of that.

“The human will be arriving at the castle later today. In the evening if I’m not mistaken, I have business with her. Maybe you can use this to your advantage, hmm?”

“My emperor?” She asks.

“I am not here to help you, merely to inform you.” He dismisses the question. “But, I do suppose I have some advice. The human is not to be harmed, understood?” She nods quickly, and he turns away. Stopping just before leaving the room.

“I trust you know what to do?”

And with that, he’s gone. And Lilith feels an idea bloom. A little white lie wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Belos however, smiles behind his mask. All is going according to plan.

--

Luz is beginning to really hate Belos, though this might be one of the more petty reasons. It’s not the fourteen years of nothing even resembling a mention of his existance or the tyranny this time.

It’s the stupid cryptic way of speaking, she’s spent the past half hour just… wandering through Bonesborough. Still no sign of that red demon though.

“Would just telling me the address have been too much to ask for?” She mutters, turning back onto one of the busier streets after checking in one of the alleys.

“I see you made the right choice.” A voice speaks from behind her, and she twirls around to give the demon a glare.

“Do you have to sneak up on people like that?!” She hisses out, and the demoness shrugs.

“Probably not.”

Luz rolls her eyes at the non-answer. “So, how does this work?” 

“There is a clearing a little ways past Bonesborough. I trust you’re familiar with it?” Luz barely manages to fight down a shocked “What” because how did they know about the clearing? They’d only been there once.

Kikimora assesses her expression with a critical eye, but doesn’t comment. “Go there and wait, you’ll be brought to the castle from there.” With that the demon turns away, leaving Luz standing in the middle of the street as she disappears into the crowd.

--

It takes her a good while, but eventually she makes it to the clearing. She just hopes Gwendolyn doesn’t find out she went here without her permission, or the shopkeep might actually lose it.

That train of thought doesn’t end up going anywhere, as suddenly a figure steps out from behind the tree.

Her eyes widen in recognition, before she frowns. So that’s how she knew. The familiar mask makes her realize that she’s been trailed by this figure these past few days.

“Soooo.” She says, taking a step towards the masked figure. “What now?”

The figure inclines its head, an obvious “follow me” sign, before turning on a heel and walking back into the woods. 

Luz supposed that was all the answer she was going to get. She looked in the sky, the sun’s position indicating it was a few hours past noon.

Man, she really hoped she’d be back in time for dinner.

--

“C’mon Morton, there has to be something you can do.” Eda tried, her little visit to the potion’s shop wasn’t a successful one, to say the least. Actually, she’d had some pretty grim news.

There was no stronger elixir, at least no one Morton knew of, which meant one of two things. Either Belos and his cult had whisked the stronger stuff away, or it simply didn’t exist.

Neither option meant much for her, it was accelerating faster and faster and soon enough it would be too much to keep up with.

“I’m sorry Eda, there’s really nothing I can do for you.” Morton said, looking genuinely saddened at having found nothing, she waved him off.

“Eh, thanks for trying anyways.”

“H- how bad has it gotten?” He asked, Eda snorted. Prepared to deliver some snarky reply or tell him not to worry, when a coughing fit wracked her body. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, frowning as she saw a few specks of red against her pale skin.

She sighed. “Not good Mort, every day it’s getting worse, and it’s only speeding up.” He frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it after a few seconds of contemplation.

Seems like he didn’t know what to say.

Eda walked off, heading off to do some other errands. Well, it was more just her wandering around whilst thinking.

Worrying, more like. Strangely enough for someone who had basically just been given the news that a disease was terminal. She wasn’t worried about herself.

Hooty and King, they’d be fine- she hoped. At the very least they would have each other, she just hoped that King didn’t get the two of them in trouble. And Luz would swing by whenever she could to keep them in check after she was gone.

She hoped.

Luz was her biggest worry right now. The kid was something Eda never thought she’d experience, a bright bundle of joy, an eager apprentice and the first person to truly get close to her in these past long decades. Hell, she loves the kid like she’s her own.

Which is why everything about the current situation just seems all the more terrifying. Never mind the fact that whatever happens to her, it’s going to destroy the poor kid. She’s also beyond scared about the other elephant in the room. About what is going to happen to her once she can’t protect her anymore.

The thought of Belos somehow latching his claws into the girl is a thought that scares her, more than her own impending death does. The mere thought of him twisting that bright bundle of joy into something unrecognisable lights a match in her soul and a fire in her eyes.

She might boast about being the most powerful witch in the Isles, and she’s not wrong she supposes. But even she knows she would need her full powers to even stand a chance against Belos. Something she definitely doesn’t have access to.

Not that it would stop her from fighting him, even now. She’d die, that was certain. But she sure as shit would make him pay for it.

She almost frowns at the timing of it all, as if wondering if some sort of unseen force has it out for her. Her worst decline has definitely been this past week. Coincidentally starting at the same time as Luz had come home in hysterics with the bombshell that was one half of her parentage.

A whiff of magic on the wind, and something lands in her hair. Plucking out whatever it is she finds a small paper airplane, about as big as her fist. 

She’s about to toss it away, when things start lining up. Such a small paper plane can’t have been thrown from afar, unless there’s magic involved, at that moment her eye catches

unmistakable dark blue ink that only one person she knows uses.

Lilith.

So, with a deep breath and a tired gaze she opens the paper plane, reading the contents contained within.

Her blood freezes, before it boils. 

The buildings shake, the cobblestone cracks and shatters, the winds howl and the familiar smell of ozone hangs in the air as thunder crackles from the ground up, the people run away from the epicenter of the roiling storm of magic and the furious witch at its epicenter.

In all the chaos, a small yet so very important letter goes unnoticed, blown away by gale force winds yet somehow untouched by the sheer manic fury unleashed close by.

The people don’t notice it, screaming and scrambling over one another to escape the unleashed fury of the owl lady. If they would, however, they would find a mere few sentences, and to all but one person those words would mean nothing, never mind being enough of a catalyst to set off a living force of nature such as had happened now.

If you wish to see your apprentice again,

Meet me at the emperor’s castle at dusk.

Lilith Clawthorne

Eda takes off then, but not towards the emperor’s castle. Her sister had said dusk, and there at dusk, she would be.

Titan help Lilith, sister or not. If she’d harmed a hair on the kid’s head.

--

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

On, off, on, off, on again, and off again her pent went. Eyes focussed on the dim pink light that shone from the plastic diamond at the edge of her pen.

She’d been here for what felt like hours now. The moment she’d arrived at the castle, she’d been whisked away into a room, the strange figure that had taken her to the castle placed in front of the door.

She looked over the room, plain stone made up the walls, ceiling and floor, though she supposed the slitherbeast rug that took up a decent chunk of the floor counted too.

There were a few cabinets she’d not bothered to check through, a pretty damn big bed. She could easily put two of herself stacked up on the bed in it’s length and width, it was really soft too.

The massive walk in wardrobe and bathrooms were neat too, if really empty again. She’d grabbed a glass and filled it up in the sink before moving over and sitting on the small desk that was next to her bed.

After that, she’d spent a few minutes trying to get the stoic figure to speak to her. Hadn’t worked. After that she’d spent a while drawing light glyphs, the tiny golden balls floating around the room now, a few more ice and fire glyphs she’d drawn after that. But she’d stuffed those in her bag, who knows when she might need them.

Currently, she was simply just sitting at the dark wooden desk, chair propped up on its back two legs, mindlessly clicking away at her pen in an attempt to pass the time.

She silently hoped it was annoying  the figure standing in front of the door .

She glances out the window to find the sun laying low, bathing the skies in hues of orange and reds in its trek towards the horizon.

Guess I’m not making it to dinner. Eda’s going to be pissed when she gets back.

A crash rocks the castle then, and Luz finds herself falling backwards, she sticks out her arms. Trying to right herself to no avail.

She closes her eyes, preparing to hit the ground, when something in the air shifts.

When she opens her eyes again, her chair is back on all fours, and the figure has moved from the door, standing behind her with a hand on the back of the chair.

“Uh, thanks?” She tries. It says nothing, merely walking soundlessly back to the door. 

A few more crashes appear one after another, the crackle of lightning reaches her ears and she’s pretty sure she sees a blast of blue fire careen past one of the windows.

She’s about to try and see what’s going on, when the door opens. Kikimora appears in the doorframe.

“The Emperor has summoned you.” Is all she says. Luz sighs, walking over to the desk, gathering her bag and all its contents before putting on a brave face and facing the small demon once more.

“Well, let’s do this.” she says, following as the emperor’s right hand woman leads her through the winding catacombes. A quick look behind her confirms the odd figure has slotted in behind them and is following them.

Looking forward again, her brow furrows.

“Is your hair just made up of hands, or are they hands that act like hair?” She asks, and Kikimora turns around to look at her, opening her mouth before closing it again.

“I have no idea.”

--

The throne room, on the best of days. Is a dark and dreary room, the black stone and absence of natural light combined with the braziers give it an ominous feeling.

Today even more so, the guards are gone, having been dismissed some time prior, the fires in the braziers burn low. The only things alive are the beating heart suspended above the throne room, and the masked figure sitting on it.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. A finger wreathed in a golden gauntlet taps rhythmically, in sync with the beating of the monstrous organ above the throne.

The faint thundering of magic unleashed on the other side of the castle reaches his ears, but all it does is make him smile.

Just a few moments more . He thinks to himself, a few moments. And everything will fall into place.

Just then, the doors open, and Kikimora walks in, the shade behind her. In between the two of them, the human between the two of them.

And the first piece arrives . 

His form loses all solidity, dripping off of the throne and reforming in front of the trio. He feels a pang of disgust and unease from the human as she looks at him warily.

“I see you made the right decision.” He says, before turning to the other two figures in the room.

“Leave us be.” They nod, and within ten seconds the two of them are alone within the room.

He holds out a hand, Luz clutches the portal key around her neck fiercely, before looking into the black holes of his mask, meeting his gaze with a steadiness not many dare to.

“If I give you this, you will heal Eda?” She says, and he nods. “I shall heal her of the curse that her sister afflicted her with.” He says it with such a nonchalant tone, but the words have the intended effect.

Luz flinches back as if struck, looking at him as if he’s just grown a second head. “What?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? Well that must mean the Owl Lady herself is also unaware as to the identity of the person who cursed her, my what a shock it will be when she finds out.”

Her eyes are darting all across the room, her mouth opens before closing a few times, she’s unable to grasp the right words to refute the statement before a strangled “Why?” leaves her lips.

He shrugs. “I guess we shall never know, unless of course. You want to ask her?” He feels anger at that, but not at him.

“Now then.” He holds his hand out again. “The key?” She grabs it again, this time pulling the leather chain up over her head as she moves it towards the open palm. She hesitates however, as she’s about to drop it into his hand.

“Something the matter?” Belos asks, and she swallows before looking up at him again. 

“If I give you this, how will I get home?” She asks.

“The day of unity approaches quickly, after that I will have no use for this trinket anymore. You may have it back then.” She once again doesn’t detect a lie, but the mention of such a day makes her frown.

“Day of unity, what’s that?” 

“The titan has given me a vision, a plan on a scale almost unfathomable.” he says, apparently satisfied with the cryptic nature of the answer. She however, frowns.

He’s lying. Her mind supplies, and the moment Belos’ head snaps back to her her eyes go wide. She’d said it aloud, hadn’t she?

“What?” He says, somehow able to make sounding utterly dumbfounded terrifying.

“You’re lying.” She says once more, “I know you are, you were lying i-in my dream too, when you said you were the titan’s messenger.” She makes him actually take a step back at that.

Whilst a smug grin plasters itself on Luz’ face, Belos’ mind is working overtime to process the information just presented.

“You can sense my intent?” He asks after a small pause, and she shrugs. “I don’t really know? I just know I can tell when you’re lying.” 

He lets out a small chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.

“What a peculiar thing, this connection between us is. Do you wish to know how I knew you were there in the castle?” He asks and she raises an eyebrow but doesn’t object, so he continues.

“Your disgust, I sensed it through the walls. I suppose it had something to do with our proximity ,but I just knew you were there.”

“That is.. seriously creepy.” She says

Not how he would have personally said it, but he can’t help but agree there.

“So, what now?” She asks, putting the key in his palm. Before he can respond however the doors fling themselves open, almost blown off of their hinges by the force applied to them as a creature storms into the room . 

He’s barely able to grab the human and teleport the both of them out of the way before a massive feathered curse beast pounces where they had been standing moments prior.

He takes a discreet step to the side as he feels nausea bubble up within the human, managing to avoid the splash zone as the girl pukes her guts up. 

“My apologies, I forget how teleportation affects those unfamiliar with it.” He says, making a mental note to have that cleaned up the moment this business is wrapped up.

His attention shifts then, to the chaos unfolding within the room.

Lilith is chasing her sister’s cursed form as it seems to be going on a rampage throughout the room. 

And there are the other pieces.

He grabs his staff from within his cloak, the bright red orb crackling with energy as he raises it towards the cursed creature. Trapping it within a bubble of red and suspending it in the air.

Lilith’s gaze snaps to him, and she drops to a knee.  “My empero-” 

She is cut off then, by a scream of “YOU!” And a blur that slams into her with enough force to take her off balance. It takes Belos a moment to realize that there is nobody standing next to him anymore, and that Luz is currently attacking the leader of his coven with a hilarious, and slightly terrifying degree of efficiency.

Who knew hair pulling would be so effective.

Ignoring the scene in favour of the creature snarling and clawing at its prison, he brings her closer. The creature notices him then, and tries to tear at his face with razor sharp claws as it struggles to break through the bubble.

He lifts up his staff, and with a flash of blinding red light…

“-wear to the titan I am going to rip your face off and use it as a coaster you two bit, no good, double crossi…. huh?” The newly un-cursed Owl lady says, finally taking notice of her state.

The bubble disappears then with an audible “POP” letting the wild witch hit her butt on the cold stone floor.

“Ow.” She groans, standing up once again. Before finally seeming to notice who she’s standing in front of, she tries to summon her staff only to find herself unable to.

“What did you do to me?” She growls.

“I removed your curse, the transformation drained your bile completely. It will be a few days before you completely recover.”

That seems to stump the owl lady. “Uh, why?” In response he holds up a key, a very familiar key that has her growling at him, literally.

“I swear if you put even a hand on that girl I will-” Belos holds up a hand then, cutting her off.

“Luz is fine.” He says, and just hearing him say her name creeps Eda out. “It’s your sister you should be worried about.”

“Huh?” 

Belos merely points his staff, motioning her to look behind herself, and when she looks at what he’s pointing at, she’s witness to the singular most absurd sight she’s ever seen.

Luz, riding on her sister’s shoulders, both hands pulling at her hair with intensity that has Eda flinching, all the while a torrent of what are no doubt curses in her native language pour from her lips.

"- de rata embustera!"

“How long has this been going on?” She asks. 

“About a minute?” He says, and Eda lets out a whistle. “Damn, she’s really giving it a good go, isn’t she?”  He doesn’t respond.

“By the way, why is she going all… that, on Lilith?” She asks, waving in the general direction of where her sister is still being assaulted by her student.

“I would assume it has to do with the fact she was made aware of Lilith being the one to curse you all those years ago.”

“What.” Eda says then, though it almost comes out as a genuine growl. She rolls up a pair of imaginary sleeves, beginning to move towards the fighting witches in order to give Luz a hand.”

“Not so fast.” A voice calls out, followed by a snap of fingers, and suddenly she’s back in a red orb.

Check. Belos thinks, before snapping his fingers once more, disentangling the two fighting figures and drawing their attention to him.

Two pairs of eyes find the newly uncursed form of the owl lady at the same time.

“Eda!”

“Edalyn.” 

“Luz, what’s the meaning of this?” Eda asks, turning to the human girl. Lilith stops and stares at the girl too, there’s tears forming in her eyes and she’s fidgeting with her hands.

“I, he promised me he’d heal your curse if I brought him the key. Your curse was getting worse and I didn’t know what to do….. I didn’t want to lose you.” 

“Kid, you didn’t need to. We would’ve found something, you know we would have.” Luz shakes her head then.

“What happens now?” Belos asks, the question directed at everyone in the room.

“Now she’ll join the emperor’s coven.” Lilith says, and all eyes are on her.

Luz looks like the only thing restraining her from jumping the witch is the red magic holding her in place. Eda’s expression doesn’t differ much.

“Not exactly.”

“What?” Both Lilith and Luz say at the same time, whilst Eda just shoots the emperor a distrusting glare.

“The agreement was healing the owl lady, past that all bets are off, and last I checked she still is a wanted criminal with a long history of violent and destructive behaviour.”

Luz glares at him, whilst Lilith’s eyes widen.

“But you promised me-”

“A promise from which I would have gained nothing? I’m surprised at your naivety Lilith, I had thought you better than that.” 

“So, what now?” Eda asks, looking worryingly resigned.

“I’ll do nothing, you’re free to go, however considering you’re within my castle without magic, I don’t reckon you’ll get far. And if, or should I say, when you’re caught. There is only one sentence you’ll be given.” 

Eda’s mouth dries.

“Petrification.”

“Indeed.” He agrees, taking his eyes off of the owl lady to look at the other two women in the room.

Which one will break first.  

A small wave of his hand, and both are released. Luz looks confused for a bit, though fury is evident from her gaze, and from the gust of it that brushes past his psyche.

“Petrification?”

“A death sentence.” Eda explains. And Luz goes white.

Lilith however is at the opposite end of the spectrum, where the girl is the perfect fixture of silent fury and bone chilling horror, Lilith is one of barely restrained rage.

“You, you promised me. All these years, everything I did... “ Her shoulders heave with deep breaths, he can hear the creaking of the staff in her white-knuckled grip from here.

“YOU BASTARD!” 

There’s a flash of blue, and Lilith raises her staff to bathe the room in fire, spouting out a torrent of cerulean flames that Belos merely raises his hand towards, a pale red shield sprouting into existence which absorbs the flames like a sponge in water.

And mate. He thinks, allowing a full smile to blossom on his face, unseen to the other participants in the room.

He snaps his fingers again, and Lilith finds herself in the same bubble as her sister.

“Attacking your emperor? I believe that carries with it the sentence of petrification as well? always knew your sentimentality would be your downfall.” He sneers, looking at the raven haired witch’s defeated expression.

“Of course, there is another option.” He says, and he turns to look at Luz, she seems to shake from her stupor then, giving him a furious glare in return.

Eda’s eyes widen. “Kid, whatever he says, don’t agree. Do you understand me?”

Luz, to her horror, ignores her. “What is it?”

“I will let them go, absolve them of all their crimes and leave them be. If you agree to stay here.”

“Why?” Luz says. 

“This… Bond of ours, it is an enigma to me, I wish to get to the bottom of it, I assume you do, too?” Luz seems to weigh her options.

“Kid, don’t!” Eda says.

“On one condition.” Luz says, and Belos has to cancel the sound out of the orb because of the amount of yelling the owl lady partakes in following that statement.

“I’m listening.”

“An everlasting oath.” Luz says.

“Is my word not good enough?” He asks, amused at the suggestion.

“Lilith had your word too.” She counters, vitriol evident in every syllable.

“Lilith was a pawn, you are not . But I suppose given the situation, your request is reasonable.” He draws the pale circle, and she all but thrusts her hand into his.

“I will stay with you here tonight, in return you will let Eda and Lilith go, you will absolve them of all crimes and you will never bother them again.” 

“I agree.” He says. With the bond sealed, he releases the sphere containing the Clawthorne sisters

“Kid.” Eda says, running over to Luz and wrapping her up in a hug. 

“Trust me Eda, I’ve got this.” Luz says, and damn it if it doesn’t make Eda even more hesitant to let go.

“Now then, I believe both of you were leaving?”

“If you touch even a hair on her body, magic or not. I will end you. Am I clear?”

“Crystal.” he mutters, before his staff glows red and both of the Clawthorne sisters disappear in flashes of light.

“Well then, now that’s done.” He mutters, snapping his fingers again, the ring of the eternal oath appears around his hand again, he hooks a finger under the line of light, and with a quick tug, rips it in twain.

“What did you just do?!” Luz mutters in horror. Watching as the circle around her own hand dissolves.

“Such a petty spell like an eternal oath means nothing to one such as I.”

“So, you’re gonna go after them anyways?” Luz says, reaching a hand into her bag, it finds one of her glyph cards when Belos answers.

“No. I gave you my word, I hope this makes it clear that I intend to keep it, provided you keep to your end of the deal?” 

She detects no lie, and so she nods. “Yes, I’ll stay here tonight. I’ve been wondering about this connection myself.”

“Excellent, now I imagine this day has been taxing for you. I’ll have someone show you to your chambers.”

“No thanks, I know the way.” She says, and turns on her heel. Walking out of the throne room.

--

She can’t sleep.

Well, Luz supposes it’s only natural. With what had happened today and all that, she looks at the gigantic bed to her right from where she’s sat on the small wooden chair. 

It really was an amazing bed. She doubted even her normal levels of tossing and turning would result in her falling out of that massive bed like she'd had a habit of doing back home. The pillows were amazing and the bed itself was so soft it was like sleeping on a cloud.

And yet sleep refused to come. Time and time again, the reminder of just where she was looping in her mind and eating away at any tiredness she might have felt. She’d given up trying what felt like a few hours ago, instead lazily sketching away to pass the time.

The creaking of her door opening has her frowning, standing within the doorframe is none other than the emperor himself.

“May I come in?”

“It’s your castle.” She mutters. Frowning at the giant witch as he enters her room.

“I see sleep has eluded you tonight. The same goes for me.” He tries to start a conversation, and she almost laughs at the sheer awkwardness of the statement, if it had been anyone but him, she probably would have.

“Yeah.” Is all she says instead, before noticing where he’s looking, or well, where she thinks he’s looking. That mask of his makes it mighty hard to know where exactly his eyes are focussed.

“May I?” He asks, hovering a hand over the stack of papers halfway hanging out of her bag.

“Sure.” She mutters, he picks them up. Looking them over for a bit before turning to her again. 

“When did you draw these?”

“The oldest one is the Gryphon, I drew that when I was nine. Ever since that night I’ve had dreams of the isles, up to like a month ago.”

“Five years ago, till a month ago…” She catches him muttering, she looks at him, expecting a reply, but he doesn’t give her one.

“You do realize, I know about your plans, right?”

“Uh, what?”

“I’ll come with you tonight .” He says, emphasizing the last word. “Smart, working such a loophole into an eternal oath, on anyone else I have no doubt it would have worked.”

She grits her teeth in annoyance.

Damn it, busted.

“But, then again. Those are the terms I agreed to.” He muses. “I meant it, when I said I’ll keep my word, but I do wish to add a stipulation.

“Which is?” She asks him.

“If you can escape the castle without getting caught, or if you can best me, you are free to go. If you try to run away after school or such a thing the deal is off.” She frowns, but she supposed after once again detecting no lies, that it’s really the only option she has.

“Fine.” She grumbles, and he nods.

“Excellent.” Belos holds out a hand then. “I have something to show you. Please brace yourself, I’d rather not have to clean up another pile of vomit.” He adds, after she hesitantly takes his hand. Causing her to blush in embarrassment.

A flash of magic later has her stomach doing backflips and her teeth clenching because no she is not throwing up again .

When she opens her eyes, they are standing in a small room, one that is covered wall to wall with drawings of all sorts of things.

“What is this?” 

“These are drawings I made, based off of flashes of memories I suspect came from this bond, they started five years ago. The same time your dreams of the isles did.” He supplies as she grabs a drawing off of the wall, one depicting a pair of eyes.

“You mentioned you stopped having those dreams a month ago, at that same time, these flashes stopped. I suspect the two of them are connected somehow.” He says, frowning when he receives no response.

He walks closer to the girl, trying to catch a glimpse of the drawing she is holding.

“Ah, that was one of the-“

“Mom.” Luz says, and his jaws click shut.

She turns to him, holding up the eyes so he can see them better.

“These are mom’s eyes.” She says, incredulity lacing Her voice. “Camilia Noceda, ring a bell?”

He shakes his head “Unfortunately not.” She frowns but doesn’t comment, instead pocketing the picture sneakily.

He notices, but can’t bring himself to bring it up.

“There is one, you might find interesting.” He says, summoning a specific picture. Luz gasps when she sees it, it’s her, a few years younger but undoubtedly her, tears are streaming down her face and she’s nuzzling- oh my god that’s Hecate!!

“I- wha- how?” How was this one so different from all the others, why was this one so important?

“Do you remember anything from that event?” He asks.

“I remember, mom was mad at me for something I didn’t do, and then I was sent up to my room and there was Hecate-“

“Hecate, the snake?” He asks. Odd name to give a pet.

“Yeah, she was hurt, a mouse had gotten into her enclosure and there was blood and bone and I remember feeling so angry and sad and-“

Her eyes widen, and she looks at him again, two parts hesitant and three parts shocked.

“There was a light, and suddenly she was healed… you don’t think?”

“I know.” He answers the unsaid question.

“That was magic. Your magic.”

Chapter Text

The Owl House was never quiet. Sometimes it drove King to the edge of insanity, but more often than not, the rambunctious nature of the house was just a fact of everyday life. He almost preferred it to a castle. Almost . Especially with the newest addition to their motley band.

Luz the human was… well, both literally and figuratively out of this world. She was amazing and nice and just a bundle of joy that had nestled herself firmly within the dynamic between Eda, King… and Hooty.

Which is why it hurt, so much , to only be able to look at her picture.

She’d left her phone with King, and he’d almost emptied the battery, which was horrible because it meant soon enough he wouldn’t get to look at the pictures of Luz anymore.

It still wasn’t Luz, but it was better than no Luz, which was something he really hoped didn’t happen.

Today, like most days in the owl house, it was loud. Extremely so, but he definitely preferred the quiet over this.

“Almost thirty years, and “sorry” is the best you can come up with, really?”

“What do you want me to do, Edalyn? Honestly, what?!”

Eda and Lilith had come home early in the morning, apparently having walked from the emperor’s castle, and the moment they’d both entered Eda had swung for her sister with Owlbert. It almost hit, too. After that, they’d begun screaming at each other.

It was almost noon, and they still showed no sign of slowing down.

“I can’t believe you actually thought that, that tyrant was going to cure me, and because of what? You asking him nicely?” Eda spits out at her sister, King reckons the only reason that spells aren’t flying through the air is because Eda’s apparently out of magic.

“It was the only choice I had Eda! You said it yourself remember? The curse accelerating and all that, if you’d just listened to me, if that stupid human hadn’t shown up.”

Eda goes very, very still at that. “Her name is Luz , and you are not pinning the blame for you cursing me on her. This all happened because of you and if you try to pull that shit again, I swear to the titan I will feed you to Hooty.”

Lilith suddenly feels something brush against her hair. Slowly she turns her head, only to come face to face with Hooty, sporting an uncomfortably excited look on his face.

“Really Eda?” The house demon asks in a tone that makes it pretty clear to Lilith that Eda’s not making an idle threat. She takes a few steps back, looking at Eda uncomfortably whilst the younger Clawthorne tries to pin her in place with a glare.

“Why is that hu-Luz, so important anyways?” She corrects after watching Eda’s glare deepen. 

“Wait, you seriously don’t know.” She asks, a few seconds later. “About the… thing?”  

“Uh, what thing?” What is Eda talking about? Her eyes widen, she’s not talking about that is she?

“Y’know, the thing involving Luz?” She hints, and Lilith huffs out in frustration. “Are you talking about the day of unity?”

“No, what’s that?” 

Shit. Lilith curses herself for letting something so huge slip, before realizing that she’s not in the emperor’s coven anymore… the thing she’d worked her entire life to obtain, gone.

“Wait, what were you talking about?” She asks, dragging herself out of her momentary slump.

“Huh, you really don’t know, do you?” Eda says, putting her hands on her hips.

.

“Know what Edalyn?!” She snaps, and Eda fixes her with a stare whilst pointing at her.

“None of that, you don’t get to be angry at me right now.” She teases mockingly, but soon enough turns serious again.

“Ok, listen to me Lilith, what I’m telling you right now does. Not. Leave this room, alright?” Lilith nods hesitantly. This must be something big, if Eda of all people is being so secretive.

“What about meeeee, I’m outside the room.” 

“You don’t count, Hooty.” Eda deadpans.

“Awwww.”

When Eda turns to her, Lilith can swear she sees a fire in the owl lady’s eyes. “Do you understand?”

Lilith nods. “I do.”

Eda sighs.

“Luz, she’s his kid.”

A beat of silence.

Lilith blinks.

“What?” Surely she’s not heard that one right, it sounded almost like Eda had said that the human.. Was Belos’s… child.

“E-Eda that’s insane!” she splutters.  “Never mind impossible, I’ve been in the coven for what? Almost thirty years? He’s never so much as taken a day off, surely you must have misheard.”

“I wish I had.” Eda says. “No, unfortunately this seems to be the case,  she- they seem to have found out quite recently. It happened the day of the field trip to the emperor’s castle, you know anything about that?”

“Now that you mention it, something odd did happen.” She admits, the way Eda and King look at her then makes it clear they expect her to elaborate.

“I was in the Emperor’s throne room, he’d summoned me… There was an intruder, Belos teleported out of the room to confront them.” Eda and King share a look.

“When we caught back up to the Emperor, something was definitely off.” She admits, gods it’s hard to admit such things . She finds, despite her now covenless status, the thought of discussing such sensitive information about the Emperor still makes her feel queasy.

“Off, how?” Eda asks.

“He was on his knees.” Lilith admits, recalling how that sight had made her breath stop in her lungs. “A flash of something went around the corner the same time I caught up to him, I gave the order to pursue. But he stopped me, said it was “just a student”. Eda, he was shaking. ”

“Seems like the kid wasn’t the only one affected.” Her sister mutters, throwing herself down on the couch. “Poor kid thought I’d hate her, that I’d send her home just for being that creep’’s kid.”

“Well, what now?” Lilith asks.

“Now, you’re helping me get Luz back, or you’re kissing the thought of staying here goodbye. Need I remind you of the fact she saved your skin too.” She adds the latter part when her sister’s mouth opens, no doubt to offer some prudish rebuttal borne of pride and what are no doubt decades of having to bottle up faults and problems in order to appear flawless.

Lilith wants to remind her sister that this is something that will end up with them on the run at best, and petrified at worst, something that will no doubt come crashing down around them to hammer that final nail in the coffin of their relationship and likely they themselves, too, but her mind catches on a particular fragment of the thing Eda had just said.

“Staying here?” She asks.

“Yeah? Last I checked, you’re   the homeless one.”  Eda snorts. “Suck it, mom and dad.”

“B-but the curse? And the hu- Luz?!” This doesn’t make any sense, Eda has spent the last… several hours calling her every name under the sun, and now she’s offering her a place to stay??

“Oh trust me, I haven’t forgotten about the curse, and I haven’t forgiven you, not by a long shot.” Eda takes a shaky breath then, no doubt to swallow another insult meant for the elder of the two sisters. “But, I can’t just let you live on the street, and you’re the best bet at getting Luz back, provided my plan doesn’t work.”

“Plan?”

Eda nods. “I’ve got a plan, one that he’ll never expect.”

“What about the everlasting oath?” Lilith counters, drawing a chuckle from the owl lady.

“I’m proud of her for that one, almost as if I’d taught her that myself.” Eda admits, wiping a tear from her eye, Lilith just looks at her confusedly.

“The wording, everlasting oaths are finicky like that, she said she’d stay there tonight. She never made any allusions to actually y’know, staying there permanently.”

Lilith’s eyes widen. “A loophole?” She lets out a huff. “I have to say, I’m impressed.”

The grin Eda shoots her is about 50% pride, 50% smug and a full hundred percent adoration.

“That’s my kid for ya.”

--

If Luz wasn’t looking forward to school a few days ago, she was positively dreading it now.

Thankfully she was able to convince the escort from the emperor’s castle that no , she didn’t need to be brought to the steps of school, she wasn’t five. Because that would have made today even worse .

Hopefully nobody had seen him, no offense to Steve, he was really nice. 

She spotted Gus and Willow on the steps, talking among each other. Finally, people to talk to.  

“Willoooow, Guuus!” She shouted, breaking off into a run, the two of them stopped their conversation to look at her, were they frowning?  

“Guys, what’s wrong?” She asks when the two of them share a glance. 

“I think that’s more of a question for us to ask, don’t you think?” Luz whirls around, finding Amity looking at her with a frown on her face.

“Uh, what are you talking about?” She chuckles awkwardly, eyes darting around for anyone listening in.

“You mean, besides me seeing you getting escorted by an emperor’s guard not five minutes ago.”

Aw crud.  

Her shoulders slump, and she sighs. “Fair enough, but not here. Alright? Meet me at the grudgeby field after school, okay?” All three of them nod at that.

--

“WHAT THE FUCK?”

Luz had been dreading this, telling her friends… Well she honestly had no clue what their reactions would be. And as much as it pained Luz, even though they were the best friends she’d ever had… She’d only known them for a month.

Kinda sad to think about, really.

Anyways, self-pitying aside, she was worried. In her head she hoped for a best-case scenario like with Eda and King, but she was really doubting that.

So, with a heavy heart and a drag in her steps, she met the three of them after school, and she told them everything.

Well, almost everything, the thing about the magic was best kept to herself.

The dreams she’d been having since she’d been a little kid, the encounter in the emperor’s castle when they’d gone there on the school trip, the dreamscape and the key. She went into detail about the exchange and Eda’s curse, about Lilith’s removal from the emperor’s coven, even the details about her and Belos’ late night discoveries in the towers, about him having a drawing of her mother’s eyes. She’d even shown the drawing to them.

Somewhere along the lines of the story during the school trip, the three of them had just gone dead silent, looking at her with almost open mouths and expressions of pure disbelief, which cleared to horror and back to disbelief again.

When Luz had finished her tale, she’d been expecting a lot of things.. For Gus to call her a liar? Probably. For Willow to just slowly back away and never speak to her again? Likely. For Amity to cuss her out and cut her off for daring to insult her mentor? Definitely.

She’d not expected the silence to be broken, by someone swearing loud enough to drive a nearby flock of… were those noses? To scramble into the air.

Much less the fact that the culprit was none other than Willow.

So yeah, that was a thing. Only Amity and Gus hadn’t said anything yet, and she was really becoming a bit worried at the shade Willow’s face was taking on.

“Well… I can’t say I expected that. ” Amity breaks the uncomfortable silence then, a fact that Luz could have kissed her for, if she wasn’t so sure the girl would be weirded out by it.

“Yeah, certainly not a dull moment with you around.” Gus admits.

“Honestly, I expected… More of a reaction?” Luz admits, voice light but with a twist in her stomach, dreading this being the calm before the proverbial storm.

“I mean… Our neighbour used to be in a cult.” Gus says, “Honestly he might still be, gotta ask him that sometime.” and the way it’s so casually mentioned reminds Luz of the fact that no, they are definitely not dealing with earth standards right now.

“We’ve gone through like, five neighbours in the past decade.” Amity adds “If mom doesn’t like them, they go. Willingly or…. otherwise.”

“Oh yeah, your mom’s scary Amity, remember the incident with the pine trees?” Luz can almost feel the shiver that goes up amity’s spine at that. “Please don’t remind me.” SHe hisses, before adding “-Wait, how do you remember that, we were like five?”

“Wait, so your mom just told you about what I’m assuming is murdering the neighbours, whilst you guys were five years old?!” 

Willow and Amity shudder in unison 

“She didn’t tell us, we were there.” 

“Y’know what, suddenly having a tyrannical cult leader as a dad really becomes less and less weird when you put it in context.” Luz mutters, and the light chuckle they share afterwards makes her feel a bit- a lot better about the whole situation.

Suddenly, a brush near them rustles, and all four of them are on edge.

“Hey kid, how ‘you doing?” The four of them let out a sigh of relief as the owl lady steps out from the bushes. Luz runs over immediately, wrapping her arms around the witch’s midsection in a hug.

“Eda, how are you?!” She all but squeals out.

“Well kid, seems like ol sourpuss kept his end of the bargain at least, not a feather on me. Now you coming or what?”

Luz blinks. “Huh?”

Eda shoots her a proud smirk. “Good stunt you pulled with Belos by the way, that’s something I would’ve done.”

Luz’ eyes turn to the ground. The reminder of her failure putting quite the dampener on her mood.

“He found out.” Eda blinks.

“So, you’re still under oath. Aren’t you?”

Luz shakes her head. “No, he broke the oath with his magic.” All of them gasp at that.

“I didn’t know that was possible.” Amity breathes.

“Me neither.” Gus admits.

Eda growls after regaining her senses. “Well, that doesn’t really matter now does it? C’mon kid let’s go.”

“I-” Luz begins, before falling silent. She desperately wants to go with the owl lady …. But, she wants to know about this weird thing between her and Belos too, and there’s the deal she’d agreed to yesterday to take into account too...

“Eda, if I do, it means you’re back on the run.”  Luz argues, Eda just brushes her off.

“Pfft kid, I’ve been on the run since I was 16, doesn’t make a difference to me if they put me back on the no-no list.” Eda looks completely unbothered by the fact she’s talking about going back to being wanted by the law.

“What about Lilith though?” Luz tries, and Eda’s face morphs into a frown. “Kid, you’re not seriously telling me you’re doing this for Lilith , right? You had a pretty good go at her yesterday.”

“I mean, I’m still furious at her. But even she doesn’t deserve to have her life ruined like that, and this might be the only way I can find out what exactly this connection is.” 

“Kid, are you sure about this? This is Belos we’re talking about, here.”

“Yeah, and he’s my father , like it or not,” Luz counters, and Eda frowns.

She sighs at that. “I still don’t like it, and I mean really don’t like it. But if you think it’s the right call, I won’t stop you.” She holds up a finger, though. “If you feel like calling it quits, you come running ok? Damn Belos, damn Lilith and damn being a member of society, ok?”

Luz nods, before explaining further. “He told me that if I bested him, or if I could escape the castle I would be free to go, so if I play this right, I could keep you and your sister free, learn more about this connection and be back in the owl house before the month is up.”

“Well.” Eda sighs. “I guess I’ll be going back to the owl house then, ‘you need anything?”

“Could you bring me some other clothes tomorrow?”

“ ‘Course kid, no-  IIIEEEHHH” Eda jumps a solid two feet in the air as she turns around to find the masked visage of a figure in the emperor’s coven not a foot away from her face.

Luz hears the sound of roots breaking through stone and the familiar sloshing of a moving Abomination, looking back she finds all of her friends ready to attack, Eda meanwhile looks not dissimilar to a scared cat, hair puffed up and all.

“How long have you been standing there?”

The figure shrugs.

“Well, that’s tooootally not creepy.” Eda mutters, relaxing her grip on owlbert somewhat from when she was ready to swing at the masked figure not moments prior. She turns to Luz one last time.

“See ya tomorrow kid.” And with that she leaves back the way she came from, into the bushes.

Of course, not before giving the masked figure the finger first.

Luz can’t help but smile

--

This was the furthest she’d ever been down here . Luz thought, descending down black stone steps into the bowels of the castle. When she’d arrived back from school, the red demoness had met her at the gates, mentioning that Belos had wanted to see her and that she was to follow.

They’d been walking for a good ten minutes now, and Luz was coming to a new realization.

She really hated stairs.

Seriously, they just went on and on and on, carrying them further downwards, the only light being the red flames hanging from braziers on the walls, illuminating the dull black rock. It didn’t look as much built as it looked to have been simply carved from a solid block of stone, there were no seams from masonry, no small holes or rounded edges, just sheer rock face encasing them from all sides.

It was strangely beautiful, all things considered.

Luz was so enamoured by the craftsmanship, she didn’t notice the steps had stopped, stumbling forwards and almost falling atop her guide in her haste to correct herself.

“We have arrived.” Kikimora said, pointing to a pair of wooden doors that just seemed to go on and on. They were absolutely massive, yet seemed miniscule when compared to the black wall they were set inside of. Two guards stood on either side, opening the doors for her as she was ushered inside by Kikimora. They shut just as quickly behind her, leaving her in the gigantic room.

The walls, as far as she can see, are made of that same carved black rock, though this time there’s some masonry visible. Eight gigantic pillars, four on each side, line the room, flanking it like massive sentries. There’s an utterly ridiculous chandelier suspended at the very roof, basking the entire room in an orange light.

There are no paintings or murals here, like in the castle itself. The only thing in this room, at least at the moment, seems to be her.

There’s a gigantic table in the very center of the room, as white as freshly fallen snow. Patterns of swirling amber offset the pale wood. She runs her hand along its surface. It’s smooth, incredibly so. She takes a glance at the- she counts eleven chairs placed evenly around the table’’s circumference. She notices the symbols carved into the backs of the chairs, recognising them as the symbols of the various covens.

All except one. It’s a larger seat than the others, placed opposite of the chair with the sign of the emperor’s coven on it, and it’s inlaid with a symbol she doesn’t recognise.

It’s a skull, two small horns sprout from its head.

The titan’s skull. Her eyes widen in recognition, recalling the massive head almost touching the horizon, when Eda had given her that view of the isles. 

“So that’s the emperor’s seat.” She mutters, flinching at the echo that sounds throughout the room.

A meeting room? She supposes that makes the most amount of sense, she takes a few steps back, dragging the seat next to the one with the titan’s skull back a little bit. The construction coven symbol is the one on this chair’s back, she notices.

Grabbing her bag from her waist, she empties its contents on the table. Grabbing her pen, she goes to work, sketching the room.

She’s halfway done with the pillars opposite of her, when she catches something out of the corner of her eye. Turning to look she almost falls off her chair with a yelp.

The seat next to her suddenly isn’t so empty.

“Oh, you finally noticed?” Belos mutters, a hint of amusement in his voice that gives Luz the creeps.

“How long have you been sitting there?” 

“About five minutes.”

“Oh.” Luz mutters, then-

“Were you just staring at me the whole time?”

That draws a small snort of amusement, followed by a shaking of the Emperor’s head.

“No, I was watching you draw, you seem to have quite the knack for it.”  He reaches out a hand then, grabbing one of the square papers that houses one of her glyphs. 

“Glyphs.” He says, and Luz detects equal parts wonder and something else in his voice. “I haven’t seen these in decades.” He mutters, before turning to her.

“How did you figure this out?”

Luz scoffs, slightly insulted by the unintentional jab at her. “Eda taught me, since I can’t use magic like witches normally can.”

 Belos presses his finger down gently on the pale yellow paper, following it upwards as it crumples up and absorbs itself into a little ball of light.

“I remember when this was the way most magic was cast.” He mutters, plucking the orb out of the air.

“What happened?” Luz asks.

“People happened, as they always do.” He mutters in contempt. “A spell such as this takes nothing out of the wielder. The most pathetically weak witch on the isles could level a city, given the appropriate canvas, using one of these. I put an end to their usage as one of the first commands of my rule.”

“Doesn’t that seem a bit… excessive?” She mutters. The sigh he lets out at that is one that feels like it’s carrying a lifetime of regret with it.

“Anyways, I didn’t summon you here to discuss things about that nature. There is something much more interesting that I am planning on delving into.”

“This weird bond?” Luz asks, and he shakes his head again.

“The fact that you did magic, without a bile sac.” He mutters, summoning forth the picture of her with her little snake again.

“You said that yesterday, but from what Eda told me, the whole reason that witches can even do magic is because of that bile, right?”

“That is the leading theory, yes. But that leads to a question of its own. How did you do magic then?” 

Luz’ brow scrunches up. That should be impossible, if what he’s saying is correct. Her eyes widen.

“You mean-”

He nods, and when he speaks again there’s a slight tinge of pride to his words.

“Think of it like this. You’re sat upon a carriage drawn by Thracian mares. You might be moving yes, but it is not you that is moving the carriage, you merely control the direction.” Belos explains.

“Oh, so like turning the steering wheel on a car?” 

“A what?”

“Uh, never mind.” Luz mutters “So you mean to say that instead of like, using that bile to create the magic itself, you use it to dictate what form the magic takes?”

He nods again. “And that is what makes me so curious about you, because from what I can tell, that would essentially make you the equivalent to a carriage without someone to reign the mares in. You might arrive at your destination whole, or they might run amuck and eat some unfortunate traveller.”

“Uh, horses don’t eat people?” The stare he fixes her with has her rethinking those words quite quickly.

“Oh, yeah. Boiling Isles, hehe.” 

“Indeed.”  He agrees.

“Wait.” She mutters. “If that’s true and all, how come I was able to do that in the human realm, last I checked magic isn’t a thing back home.”

“Oh but it is, there is just no way for you humans to take advantage of it.” He says. “That is why you are a special case.”

“Why, because I’m half-witch?” She frowns as she says the words.

“Not exactly. It has more to do with our relationship.”

The silence that stretches on in the wake of that is the most uncomfortable one yet, neither of them break the silence for a good while, Luz’  eyes are glued to her drawings, trying to fight the urge to look at Belos, whose eyes she can feel on her even with the mask on.

But, she knows this won’t last forever, so she takes a deep breath, and meets his gaze.

“How?”

“You seem to possess the same inherent ability I do, to draw in and manipulate magic without the use for a circle or magic bile, magic in its purest form, if you will.”

“Wait, really?”

He nods. “Yes, my forebears were able to do the same. I thought it would be a lost art when I inevitably pass on, and yet, here you are.”

“Is that why you’re so powerful?” She asks, and he inclines his head.

“Partially, I suppose.” He lifts up a finger, its tip glowing red. Luz feels the ground shake beneath her as the walls warp and the pillars curve, solid rock behaving like clay, and all of that whilst only lifting a finger. It makes Luz’ breath hitch in her throat.

Just how powerful is he?

The glow subsides, and like a coiled up spring being released, the tension just snaps, everything winding itself back to its original shape within the blink of an eye.

“I know you’re no doubt planning on running off the second you can, and I did agree to those terms, but as long as you’re staying here. I expect you in this room at four AM. We’ll try to figure out this connection, and try to find out what this magic is about.”

“Alright.” Luz supposes, when another thought pops into her mind, one that she can’t help but vocalize.

“What is this place?”

“These are the council chambers, where the leaders of the ten covens and I convene to discuss what is best for the isles.”

Luz nods, still something bothers her. “But, isn’t this room important? What if some accident happens?”

“Don’t fret about such a thing. This room has been protected against all forms of damage, be it internal or external.” Of course he didn’t mention himself as the exception, but that raised yet another question.

“Why?”

“Because it is safest, for you- and everyone else.” He stands up then. “I suppose we’re done for today, feel free to use the rest of your day how you see fit, but please. Do not leave the castle.”

With that final word Belos leaves the room, ascending up the stairs the long way. He could just teleport himself back to his room and be done with it, but he wants to simply think for a bit.

The girl was clever, almost too clever. She’d already begun questioning the reason for their training location, and whilst he was telling the truth, (anything else would have the girl calling him out, after all), he did see fit to omit some of the truth.

There were those in the isles that made him worry about her safety, who would hunt her down and string her up by her entrails if they knew just who she was. There were no doubt traitors within his ranks, ones he hadn’t snuffed out and dealt with yet.

Ones that would relay any other location. He would kill whoever they sent, of course he would, not that they’d care. But all it would take was a singular lapse in judgement, a single stray spell or an arrow loosed from outside his vision. He wouldn’t risk it, ensconced within the bowels of his castle she was safe.

Even then, he worried. It was the reason he’d told the Shade to watch over her in the first place.

It drives him mad with rage, the mere thought of those vile creatures near his blood, it makes him think back to a time when their names last flowed from his lips, when they carried with them all the love and brotherhood and joy he possessed. 

That was fifty years ago, those memories have been ripped asunder by their words, tainted and trampled into the mud by their actions, spit and pissed upon by their very existence.

Their names would pass his lips once more, and only once. When he uprooted their burrows and hunted them down like dogs, when he would see their bloodlines ripped from the soil root and stem, when those- those zealots were on their knees before him, begging and pleading for their lives. Only then he would speak their names.

And that time, it would not carry a tone of fraternity and belonging.

It would carry the promise of a screaming death, and no mercy.

--

That night Belos is up once more, he guesses it to be four in the morning, yet sleep does not come to him. It has been a month since the tumultuous dreams have ceased, but five years of forced insomnia does not wear off within a single month.

So, he finds himself in his study once more. Looking over the hundreds- if not thousands of pictures he had drawn before him.

He grabs one of them. It’s a treeline, offset by pale, dead grass and a blue sky. Their leaves are brown, not the permanent orange-red the leaves in the isles are. The human realm, he guesses.

What he wouldn’t give, to simply know .

His senses pick up a mass of activity within the castle, and he is thankful once more. As a flash of frustration that is no doubt Luz’ passes through his mind.

Already? He thinks with some degree of amusement.

--

When he arrives in the throne room, the scene before him is a humorous one.

The shade has Luz by the scruff of her hoodie, the girl hanging limp with an expression that would not be amiss on a grouchy troll, Kikimora stands to their side, looking uncharacteristically angry, a few of his coven stand on the other side, and he does not miss the fact that they are drenched . He spots charred spots in a few of their cloaks.

“What is the meaning of this?” He asks, breaking the silence. 

Luz merely crosses her arms, looking away from him. Kikimora looks startled, before explaining.

“We caught her trying to escape, she was in the lower levels, near the gate.”

The lower levels? He was impressed, to have come so far on her first attempt showed her craftyness.

It also highlighted the fact his coven was definitely not as competent as he would like. He’d have to rectify that.

“Anything else?”

Kikimora splutters, before finding her words “She set five of our guards on fire, I had to douse them in water. She also knocked over a priceless painting from your crusading days.”

He nods, pauses for a bit, thinking.

And then-

“Show her to her room, try to keep her in there this time.”

Kikimora looks affronted, before swallowing whatever response she was going to say and nodding.

“Very well, my emperor.”

--

“Well, that didn’t work.”

Understatement of the century, Luz supposes. She’d been spotted sneaking towards the exit within the first ten minutes. It was only quick thinking that had saved her from being caught immediately.

But, it had, as she had been planning on, had the desired effect. She now knew a few things.

One, whilst the guards themselves were numerous, they were pretty easy to deal with. Kikimora would be a lot more difficult, and the shade?

That was game over.

But that didn’t really matter. She’d also come to find out a few more things, mainly the layout of the castle and the routes the patrols seemed to take.

She looked at the sketch she’d drawn. It was rough and shoddy by her normal standards, but it would have to do. It also showed a fair few hallways leading out from her room.

She looked at the calendar. She’d not noticed it the first night for some reason, but right now? It was her most treasured ace in the hole.

Most of all, the date, exactly one week from now.

A wailing star.

Seven nights, seven chances.

She had seven nights to find a route. The night that star passed over the isles her plan would fall in motion.

It was the only chance she had.

Tomorrow was another day however, Saturday to be exact, and Emperor or not, she’d promised her friends to hang out, and that was what she was going to do.

--

Okay, Luz had a lot of complaints about her current stay in the castle, the whole “forced to stay” being at the top of that list. But the food?

That was not something she was going to complain about.

She wasn’t sure how healthy those pastries were that had been delivered to her doorstep, but that was something to worry about later, or well- never.

She’d cleared the gate, satchel on her hip, and was about to leave via the bridge, when a voice rang out.

“I hope this is not your second escape attempt?” She sighs, shoulders slumping as she turns around to find the visage of Belos staring back at her.

“No, I hope I can still hang out with my friends on the weekends, right?” 

“Depends, are you planning to come back here afterwards?”

“Yes.” She groans and he nods.

“Very well, but please do notify me next time.” She nods, and he sends a mental message to the shade that they are to shadow Luz throughout the day.

Something catches his eye then, from within the treeline. His eyes dart from the girl currently standing on the bridge and the quick flicker of a shape disappearing behind the tree.

And his blood freezes.

--

Aleksander Tyrwyn had always been a nobody. Orphaned at the age of seven, he had spent most of his life on the streets.

Until of course, they had found him, they had clothed and fed him and shown him the truth. They had also shown him all the corruption, and the sickening things that happened on the isles and had made it clear to him what was responsible.

Or rather, who.

“Belos.” He growled, the name itself enough to have his pupils dilating in fury and his brow creasing in barely contained rage.

He had many titles among the sheep of the isles.

He had three among his family, among the people that knew what he was.

Usurper, monster, false prophet.

A reckoning would come for him, and he would be instrumental in it. He had been given the task of spying. Thankfully even some of the bastard’s own coven could not stand his sickening being, and had provided him with routes and times to circumvent the patrols in order to spy.

How pathetic, that his own followers despise him.  

He had spotted something then, a small shape emerging from the black maw that was the castle’s gate. His eyes widened as Belos himself emerged behind the shape. He quickly extracted the images with a pair of memory tweezers. sending them off with a small teleportation spell.

No sooner had he done that, had the winds blown his hair in front of his right eye, which was odd because it had come from the opposite direction not moments prior-

He swung around, dagger at the ready.

His arm was caught with ease and his eyes widened.

“Now that’s just rude.” The emotionless gold mask of Emperor Belos muttered, towering over Aleksander who at 6’5” was definitely not a small man himself.

A second gauntleted hand emerged from within his cloak, plucking the dagger from his hand.

“Ah, I remember when these used to be the greatest thing. Cursed steel dipped in manticore venom. A single slice, and you’re as good as dead.”

He flipped the knife around, observing it as he let Aleksander go.

Maybe if he- He thought, drawing a circle.

He got 1/8th of the way done, before Belos blurred, next thing he knew he was pinned to a tree, the emperor’s gauntleted paw around his neck, squeezing painfully. The knife came down slowly then, held within an icepick grip as the Emperor brought it ever closer to his eye.

“You are going to tell me what you know, or you are going to die screaming.”

Aleksander swallowed. His family would not save him, they had told him as much when he’d accepted this mission.

He knew what to do, what every member of the Red Truth knew to do in the case they got captured.

He bit off his tongue.

He swallowed down a scream along with the tip of his tongue as he forced an ugly smirk onto his lips, blood seeped out from between his teeth, and he locked eyes with the false prothet’s emotionless guise.

“I. Win.” He used his fading strength to make sure he said the words clearly, hoping to drive a wedge of frustration into the bastard’s heart.

Instead he laughed. A deep baritone that even as the shapes began to blur together had his every instinct telling him to run.

Then, something changed. The empty black holes lit up, dual rings of bright blue looking down at him.

“I am a man of my word.” Was all Belos said.

And true to his word, Aleksander died screaming.

Chapter Text

-Day one, Saturday-

The Boiling isles were not, and in all likelihood never would be, considered a safe place to live. Monstrous creatures inhabited every inch of its soil, the oceans boiled permanently, and, even with the Emperor’s oftentimes tyrannical governance, crime ran rampant.

Hidden markets, nighttime gatherings and criminal organizations were par for the course, really, a fact of life in their world.

There were however things, all but a few were unaware of still. Secrets locked away behind enchanted walls, and punishments that made petrification sound like community service.

The Red Truth was at the top of that list. One of many names they had taken over the years, a reference to their always wearing a piece of red on their person, a nickname of sorts.

Their true name dated back to the savage ages, to when they were known throughout the land, praised and feared by all.

The Cabal of the Titan.

That was a lifetime ago, their splendour had been taken from them, stolen by that filth Belos. Their very existence had been censured. They were fugitives in a land rightfully theirs.

But their numbers were growing. More and more people were indicted into the truth every day, to join their community and learn their ways.

Soon, they would rise from the shadows, and the usurper would burn in the fires of his own lies.

Even now, within their subterranean lair, deep within the soil of the titan’s body, they were gathering forces- growing stronger and stronger.

Waiting for the right time to strike, all the while taking whatever advantage they could in this decades-long shadow war.

One such advantage, seemed to have presented itself now.

A few hours ago, something of value had been brought to the attention of the highest, the most holiest members of the Cabal, the council of faith.

Once seven, they had been reduced to five in the great betrayal. Their word was the will of their god and the law to which every member of the cabal held themselves. Within the squalor of their exile, the great church from which they governed stood out among the ramshackle and cobbled together buildings, a beautiful fortress of white stone, polished daily by the most devout of serfs.

Two images, blurry because of distance and the limitations of mere witch eyes, but still clear enough to make out two figures.

“What shall we do?” A female voice asks, clothed within black robes that bear the titan’s skeletal iconography. 

“First, we mourn.” A male voice answers, clad within the same robes as the woman

 The five of them agree. Mourn for a son who had given his life for their cause, mourn for a son they would never get to bury. They had gotten news not long after of young Aleksander’s demise, of how the emperor had tossed his lifeless corpse into the chasmous abyss surrounding his bastion of heresy.

They would carve his name into the tyrant’s flesh, along with all those that had died for the truth. That, they swore.

“Very well, I shall make preparations.” The same female voice answers, excusing herself, there was much to be done after all. There would be two days of mourning, followed by a day of celebration, his name would be carved into the white rock of the church, next to the rest of his fallen brothers and sisters. He would forever more be lauded as a hero. 

“Now then, what shall we do?”

“My informants have been so kind as to share with us the identity of this, anomalous creature. It is a Human. ”

A wave of disgust passes through those present.

“What use would the usurper have for such an insignificant pest?” One of them asks.

They would find out.

“Send out the word, have this creature brought before us. We shall see what to do then.”

--

Luz had kept her word, after having left early in the morning. She had, in fact, returned to the castle. On time, even.

The two of them were in the council chambers again, pouring over the hundreds of pictures that the emperor had brought down from his study, trying to puzzle something together out of all of this.

Well, they was a strong word. Belos had simply stood aside whilst Luz devoured the paper with vigour. Drawing after drawing she recognised, and he found himself struggling to keep up with the torrent of information the young girl threw his way.

“Oh, this one’s the backyard, there’s a few rocks there now from when we wanted to plant some vegetables, they died within a month.” She points to an image of a picket fence.

Next she points out what looks like some odd rectangular contraption. “This is mom’s car, though it’s a lot less rusty than when I last saw it.”

The image after that is one of a house, to which she comments of the paint looking new, mentioning there've been a few chips in the paint and some chunks of it having been peeled off completely.

He frowns, though she cannot see it.

Thankfully he remembers something then, and opts to ask something instead of going down this increasingly depressing train of thought he currently finds himself in.

“What about your mother?”

She looks up at him then, straining her neck to gaze up at him from where he is stood next to her chair.

“I saw you pocket the drawing of your mother’s eyes- Camilia, righ?” He says, testing the name. She chuckles at that, prompting a confused “What?” out of him.

“Nothing, it’s just, you completely butchered that pronunciation.” She breaks off into a small fit of giggles, leaving Belos in suspense for a few moments, debating between confusion and feeling insulted.

Once her laughter has died down, she fishes the drawing out of her pocket, looking at it for a bit before handing it back over to him.

He looks at the pair of eyes for a bit, before turning his gaze back to the human sitting next to him.

“You have her eyes.” He mutters, without thinking the words through. She flashes him a sad smile.

“People tell me that back home all the time.” She reaches out a hand and he silently relents the drawing back to her.

“What is she like?” He asks then, surprising himself, and seemingly Luz too, with the honestly in his voice.

The sigh the girl lets out is one that carries far too much baggage for one so young.

“She’s well- she’s mom, she’s always been there for me. Always been the shoulder I could cry on and the person I could count on.” There’s a pause, and it’s one thick with what feels like they’re in the eye of a storm.

 “She wasn’t around much, always on shift at the hospital, always busy, juggling a kid and a job. I probably didn’t make things any easier, with my always getting in trouble and the like.” There’s a sniff, and Belos realizes in abject horror that she is on the verge of breaking down.

“Y’know, I was supposed to be at camp right now, “reality check” or something. That’s what it was called, for my own good, she said. A chance to finally make a few friends. She’d probably be so disappointed to find out where I actually am."

Belos says nothing, finds himself unable to get the words out. There’s a faint, yet incessant screaming in the back of his mind to do something, anything to prevent the seemingly incoming waterworks.

He stills, because he doesn’t know what to do.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity in limbo, he finds his words again.

“I think that’s all for today.” He holds up a hand as the girl hands him the picture back, shaking his hand.

She manages a shaky nod, gathers up her satchel and walks out of the room. Just before she leaves the room however, she flashes him a smile. It’s all teeth and it almost sets his nerves at ease, but then he notices it. It’s too bright, too wide- forced and crumbling at the edges.

He has a feeling that smile encapsulates the girl in front of him a little too well.

The pang of sadness not his own leaves him with a conclusion that makes his stomach turn.

Suddenly, all the times he’s felt the loneliness, the shame, the regret, the sadness and anger- they all fall into place, like pieces of a horrifying puzzle.

-

That night, Luz doesn’t make it as far, but she finds herself adding a good chunk to her map. She now has a rough idea as to the layout of this layer of the castle.

She takes out the picture of her mother’s eyes. Younger, and with less wrinkles than she remembers, but undoubtedly her mother’s eyes.

“I love you, mami.” She mutters, before popping the light glyphs and going to sleep.

-Day two, Sunday-

Luz hadn’t been the best student in school, never able to fully keep her attention on the material being explained. The amount of tutors she’d gone through was pretty staggering, all things considered.

At Hexside, things had shifted somewhat. Everything just seemed a bit more logical to her. She found herself following along a lot more easily, even sticking her hand up to answer questions on occasion, something she’d never done unless picked out in her previous school.

Today, she made both of those experiences look like she’d just been daydreaming, Belos had decided to explain to her how to do magic, and she was hanging onto his every word, taking notes at a frightening speed whilst listening to him explain exactly how it worked.

Apparently, whilst a lot more powerful than normal magic, this “true magic”, as he’d dubbed it, was infinitely harder to master. It required an iron will and a clear picture of what one wanted to happen, lest the results would be… Unpleasant, for all parties involved.

He’d described it as coaxing the magic within and around you to take shape, focussing it via a singular point and letting it do it’s thing.

She’d tried that, multiple times.

Frustration bubbled up in her. The first step was to locate the magic, to be able to discern it from the different particles in the air. That was where she’d gotten stuck, she’d done everything he told her to, breathing exercises, trying to visualize it and all that mumbo-jumbo.

Nothing.

He did mention that expecting such a thing to come within the day was, in his own words. “Foolishly optimistic.” But Luz wasn’t planning on staying here any longer than she had to, so getting at least a basic grip on the process was preferable.

Wait a minute…

Luz flipped through her notes, making sure she’d read it well, and indeed. Just like she remembered.

There was a shortcut.  

Normally, one’s own body had to be used as a conduit, one of the harder steps he’d mentioned. 

Still, she needed to be sure.

“By the way.” He turned to her, falling silent. “I’ve noticed with my glyphs, they tend to.. Change a bit depending on what I want them to do?”

He regarded her then, before inclining his head.

“Very astute. To a normal witch, a glyph is the closest they can get to our magic. They function via the same principle, a focus point, and intent.”

Luz smiled then, drawing a light glyph on the back of her left hand. Her right went up, before coming down to smack the glyph. 

Only to be stopped a few inches from its destination, by a gauntleted hand that enclosed most of her forearm.

“Hey, lemme go?” She whined, tugging at her arm.

“Are you insane?!” He said, releasing her arm- before pointing a finger and erasing the circle on the back of her hand.

“What?” She muttered, rubbing her forearm, he hadn’t been all too gentle when grabbing it.

He grabbed a piece of yellow paper from off the table, slamming it down in front of her with force that made her flinch.

“Draw a glyph.” His voice was strained, as if he was holding himself back from yelling at her. She complied, quickly sketching out the signature iconography of her light glyph.

“Now, activate it.” Luz’ eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, but she pressed down gently on the piece of paper, as per usual it began to float as the glyph lit up, crumpling in on itself and forming into that familiar ball.

Belos gently, almost delicately so, plucked the glowing orb out of the sky, bringing it down to her eye level- before squeezing it into non existence between his fingertips.

“Do you understand now?” Her tone reminded her of her old teachers, it made her feel stupid and she frowned at him before hesitantly shaking her head no.

“Where’s the paper?” He asked, and from the tone alone she knew he wasn’t expecting an answer. She looked away from him, tapping her pen against the corner of her mouth as she mulled over the words...

Ice shot through her veins, and she looked back up at him with wide eyes. 

“I see you’ve figured it out?”

She had. That could have been bad . She gently cradled her left hand, looking at it in abject horror as her mind replayed the realization over and over again.

The glyph consumed whatever it was drawn on, paper, wood.

And she’d drawn one on her hand.

“What were you thinking ?” He asks her again, taking a seat opposite her on the round table. This time, however, his tone is… Different. It’s still clipped and laced with anger and exasperation, but there’s something more.

A spark of curiosity.

“You said they work the same, and I- I just can’t get myself to concentrate on “finding the magic within.” I thought this would be an effective way to y’know, do magic?”

He seems to take in those words for a bit, before speaking again.

“And you were willing to just give up your hand?! On a hunch?”

“I- I hadn’t really considered that.” 

He stares at her owlishly for a bit, before cupping his head with his hands, letting out a sigh that reminds her eerily of her mother before a fierce scolding.

“That was incredibly foolish of you.”

She shrinks in on herself.

“And stupid.” 

She flinches at that.

“And showing an utter lack of self preservation.”

Another flinch.

“But-”

She looks up at him then, he’s staring at the table, as if trying to find the words.

“You might be onto something.”

She blinks.

“Huh?”

He stands up abruptly. 

“I’ll have to do some research on the matter, we’re done for today.” And with that he sweeps out of the room in a few confident strides, leaving her confused and feeling… odd.

--

That night, there seem to be no attempts to escape. And he has a feeling it has more to do with the fact school is starting again the next day, than with the fact she might have grown to “enjoy” being in the castle.

Belos however, finds himself simultaneously frustrated, and genuinely impressed.

Using a Glyph to channel internal magic. The idea itself is absurd to his ears.

Though, not entirely baseless.

The concept behind a Glyph is simple. It consumes whatever it is drawn on to kickstart the spell, using the energy to suck in magic from the surrounding area in order to activate the spell.

Having it skip the first step, to forego the kickstarting part and instead act not unlike a wand, to channel magic from one’s body instead of being its own thing.

The concept isn’t far removed from reality. All the ingredients are there, technically, if hooked up to a magic source, there is no need for the kickstarter part, instead consuming a bit more magic in order to activate.

He almost wants to scoff, a fourteen year old girl- laden with a mere month of knowledge about the demon realm- and she completely by accident almost creates an entirely different caste of magic.

He’s not ashamed to admit, something akin to prode blossoms in his chest then.

-Day three/Monday-

School had been surprisingly fun, all things considered. Thankfully, nobody except for her three friends seemed to have noticed the escort she was accompanied by, and she went about her day with a refreshing degree of normalcy.

Boscha even avoided their little clique, though the glares the three eyed girl was sending their way every other moment made Luz pretty confident in the fact that it wouldn’t last.

But hey, small victories. 

The last class had been cancelled, and found herself with a few hours to kill before her “curfew” of sorts, so she’d asked if her friends had wanted to hang out for a bit.

Gus and Willow had declined, citing school work and a few chores they had to do. Amity, however, had all but jumped at the chance, Luz frowned a bit.

Amity had been acting… odd, lately.

But, that was something for another time. Currently, they found themselves in the clearing that had quickly become their go-to hanging spot, accompanied, as per usual, by Gwen.

The two of them spend most of the afternoon discussing theories about the newest Azura book, Gwen simply listening along whilst using a knife to whittle away at a piece of wood, carving it into the rough shape of what looks like a panther.

Though, their current discussion has taken a turn from being an actual informed debate, and has sailed into waters familiar to all fandoms.

A discussion about shipping.

“I’m telling you Luz, it makes sense she doesn’t realize Hecate has feelings for her.” Amity argues, citing various times where Azura has acted like this when confronted with such a situation.

“I don’t know Amity, seems pretty unlikely to my eyes.” Luz mutters. “I can understand not getting a few hints, but Hecate’s been acting so strangely it’s just unrealistic that she wouldn’t notice, y’know?”

Amity looks at her like she’s certifiably insane, before smacking her forehead, whilst Gwendolyn lets out an unabashed chortle at the situation.

Amity shoots her a glare, and the older witch returns it with a smile that is all teeth. Amity flushes in response and Luz is left confused as to what is happening.

“Uh, am I missing something?”

“NO!” Amity all but shouts at her, going even redder somehow, Gwen just breaks off into another bout of laughter.

--

That night Luz sneaks out again, maneuvering past a few patrols as she makes her way down to the floor below hers. She keeps to the shadows, trying to remember every nook and cranny as she takes off down the winding hallways. 

There had been remarkably little progress with this bond of theirs today. Most of the afternoon had just been Luz pointing out pictures and what they were, though there were a few things that she didn’t recognise this time around.

What looked like some sort of restaurant, a dark highway and a house she’s not familiar with. 

It’s about time for her to head back, she finds, looking at the moon as it shines through the massive windows outside, when she hears something.

Footsteps.

She’s extremely glad she’s not afraid of the dark, she finds. As she hides behind a statue once the sound of someone approaching reaches her ears.

A quick glance, and her heart skips a beat. It’s not a patrol, but Kikimora that rounds the corner, walking through the hall with a relaxed stride.

Thankfully, the red demoness does not seem to notice her, and Luz lets out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

Only for the statue she’d been hiding behind to suddenly levitate, leaving her exposed.

With a sigh, she steps out into the hallway, meeting Kikimora’s gaze as the emperor’s aide places the statue back in its original position.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll head back to my room.” She sighs and turns away, but Kikimora’s voice stops her.

“What does the Emperor want with you?” 

She turns back around.

“Huh?”

Does she not know?

Even in the dark hallway, she can see the small demon’s eyes roll.

“Come on girl, I know you understand me, what does he want with you.”

Luz’ eyes widen.

She doesn’t know . Luz realizes, and for a moment she wonders why. 

“Ask him yourself.”  She answers, and leaves the demon standing in the hallway as she makes her way back to her room.

Once there, she begins sketching furiously again, though this time she notices something, there’s something familiar about the hallway Kikimora had come from. Luz frowns as she tries to recall what exactly it is.

Definitely something to look out for tomorrow. She thinks after completing the sketch.

-Day four/Tuesday-

“I understand you came across Kikimora yesterday evening?”

“Yeah, why?”

School had been boring today, it had finished a few hours prior. Meaning she was currently back in the council chambers with Belos, working on magic once more.

“I understand she asked you a question?” 

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you answer?”

Luz shrugs. “I mean, you didn’t tell her, and the two of you seem pretty close- well, closer than with Lilith and the guards. Figured you didn’t want to tell her, so I kept my mouth shut.”

He hums in agreement. “Fair enough. I trust Kikimora, completely and utterly, but there’s an issue with her…”

“She believes your hype a bit too much?” Luz deadpans.

“I beg your pardon?”

Luz curses herself mentally. 

Damn human lingo.  

“She all but worships you, with all the “magnificent emperor” talk and all.” She clarifies, and he lets out a sigh at that.

“You are right about that, her behaviour would shift if she knew the truth, a shift that would no doubt draw the attention of those that pay attention”

Those that would relay that information to them. He’d wanted to pretend like it wouldn’t be an issue, but Saturday had quashed that hope. He might have disposed of that particular spy, but there were undoubtedly more of them, likely some among his own ranks.

Never mind the fact he didn’t know if the spy had gotten a message off before Belos had confronted him.

“I will tell her, in time.” He says, and he means it. “But that is something for another day.”

He waves his hand, and a few documents deposit themselves unceremoniously atop the white table, the dull thud they make echoing through the room.

“I’ve done some research about your idea.” She perks up at the mention.

“I think you might be onto something.” The smile that lights up her face then is all but blinding, and he manages a small- unseen smirk in return.

They spend the next few hours discussing the idea, bringing up hypothesis after hypothesis and Belos notices something.

The way she just picks up on unsaid facts, the sheer adaptability she shows, it’s down right prodigious, and that’s part of what draws his attention, the other thing.

Her eyes.

There’s a hunger in those brown eyes, a lust for knowledge, to learn more- to understand the unintelligible. It's a hunger he understands all too well, one that has plagued him since his earliest memories

For the first time since finding out that she’s related to him, by blood no less, he recognises something of himself in her.

--

Well, she’d been correct.

The hallway Kikimora had come from the other day was one she recognised. It led to a part of the castle where the tour had taken place.

She now had a complete route to take, but she knew that it would be useless to go now. There were undoubtedly guards in the woods, and the moment she activated the gate, they would all come rushing.

“Just two more days, Eda.” She mutters to herself, having snuck back to her room.

“Until?”

Belos materializes out of the shadow, as if a phantom summoned by her words, she looks at him with suspicion.

“What do you mean?”

He ignores her, taking a few strides to her left, to a gaudy painting hung on the wall.

“I take it you’ll be trying to escape in two days’ time? Coinciding all too coincidentally with the wailing star, what lucky timing.”

“Why does it matter to you, you told me yourself you agreed to the terms, if I beat you, or if I escape the castle, I get to go back to the owl house.”

He reaches out a hand, tipping the painting slightly, probably to right it back to being level. “I don’t understand why.” He turns to her, head cocked as if expecting an answer.

“Huh?”

Both his hands emerge from his cloak, gesturing at the rooms around them. 

“Look at all this, you’re in the mightiest fortress in the isles, you want for nothing, you are learning magic of a potency the owl lady couldn’t even dream to teach you, and you’re puzzling together a mystery even I couldn’t solve on my own. Why would you try to escape?”

“Why not?”

That stumps him somewhat.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m under what is essentially a curfew, I was forced to come here by you , this is essentially the world’s comfiest prison.’

“I did not know prisons in the human world just let prisoners leave when they escape?” The joke is almost said genuinely, but there’s an undertone of superiority to it that makes it clear he’s talking down to her.

“Why do you even care? ”

He reels back, as if she’d slapped him.

“I mean, I’m just some “curiosity” to you, aren’t I? Some freak that wasn’t supposed to exist and that you’re just taking an interest in because it suits you?” The way she says it- cold, distant- it drives a shard of an emotion he’s not sure he understands into his heart.

Sure, the mere existence of the girl standing opposite of him was something that by all rights shouldn’t be possible, and he does have to give it to her that it was originally just a passing interest in her and a focus more on this strange bond of theirs.

Somewhere during the week, that priority hadn’t so much shifted, as it had evened out . The bond was a mystery he was dead set on unravelling, but seeing the girl come into her own right under his tutelage-

It was breathtaking.

Belos is old , well past the normal lifespan of a witch, though he still falls well within the elongated lifespan his blood has all enjoyed. 

He finds himself wondering if all those years are truly years spent well, because he cannot say a word, does not know what to say to the headstrong girl in front of him that will convey the differing emotions budding within him.

There’s pride, annoyance, sadness, a sense of accomplishment and many, many others.

And yet he cannot express them, because he feels they wouldn’t be sincere.

She regards his stony appearance with a dangerous look in her eyes.

“That’s what I thought.” She mutters, and, in perhaps the single most teenage thing she’s done since coming here, slams the door shut in his face, leaving him staring at the wooden door.

-Day five/Wednesday

“From leader of the emperor’s coven, to a glorified errand girl.” Grumbles the raven haired witch as she steps off of her ivory staff at the edge of Bonesborough.

Eda had come home on Friday, mentioning that her plan hadn’t worked and feeling generally bummed out.

After finding out that Eda’s “master plan” had literally just been to walk up to the girl behind school and essentially steal her back, she’d facepalmed, letting out a sigh that was equal parts expected disappointment, and sheer undiluted exasperation.

When Lilith had suggested another approach, because Eda was right, the hu- Luz had been under no obligation to save her, the younger of the two sisters had stopped her, telling her that t- Luz had a plan.

Lilith had expressed her doubts, not as much out of lack of faith in the girl’s abilities, but more from a pragmatic point of view.

The castle was a bastion in every sense of the word, only one way out, through a legion of the best guards on the isles if you didn’t want to fly over the chasm, which would bring with it another host of dangers.

Eda had waved her off, saying that she needed to “have more faith” and strangely thereafter to “get a job”

Lilith had, at that point come to the horrifying realization, that she was in fact jobless.

Their parents were probably rolling in their graves. Eda probably came to that same conclusion at around the same time she did, because she had started laughing.

So, for the past few days, she’d been trying to get a job, all the while being run ragged by Eda and her constant “requests.” She knew Eda was doing it to spite her, all under the guise of “You cursed me Lily, now you can make up for cursing me.” 

So, currently she was on an Apple blood run. The sheer quantity that her younger sister consumed daily still left Lilith gobsmacked.

“Well, I guess this is it?” She mutters, standing in front of the small shop.

“Gary’s apple blood boutique” the original sign reads, though there’s a few ramshackle modifications that have turned the sign to “Gwen’s apple blood boutique.”

As she steps inside, the first thing that she notices is a familiar smell that hits her nose, followed by the fact she is being watched.

Two yellow eyes stare at her with eerie intensity from atop the counter. Belonging to some sort of, cat? The thing isn’t any bigger than a kitten, so it must be exceptionally young.

The way it looks at her, however. Makes her feel like she’s being watched by an apex predator.

The feline moves, and her eyes widen.

She was being watched by an apex predator.

More specifically, a jet black panther.

The size of a kitten.

It stalks up to her, and she crouches down onto her haunches, slowly reaching out a hand to let the pint-sized panther sniff at her hands.

It’s stockier built than any leopard she’s seen before, a deeper muzzle and eyes wizened that bely its diminutive stature.

It’s absolutely gorgeous, beautiful iridescent patterning runs across its flanks. She notices spots within the splotches littering its sides. A jaguar, not a leopard she realizes, it nuzzles into her hand with grace and tenderness that make her wonder if she’s not merely seeing things.

And then it opens its mouth.

and lets out an unabashed roar .

With a shriek that is in no way, shape, or form dignified, she falls over, landing smack dab on her butt.

When her eyes flutter open again, trying to process what just happened, a hand enters her vision.

She follows the hand, up to the person extending it, and looks straight into the bluest pair of eyes she has ever seen, set in a skin of ivory and framed by the night sky itself.

Her mouth goes dry and she realizes that she’s staring.

“Well, are you gonna take my hand or what?” The woman asks, and her cheeks flush before she takes the hand.

The woman is tall, she notices. Taller than her by a couple of inches even with her having the benefit of heels, and the amused expression on her face has Lilith forget her words again.

“Did Shadow scare you?” The woman says, in a voice thick with amusement.

“Shadow?” She asks.

Suddenly, within the mane of pure inky blackness that is the other woman’s hair, two familiar yellow eyes open up. She gently reaches over, picking the tiny cat off of her shoulder and holding it within the palm of her hands.

“Shadow.” She clarifies, holding up the cat to Lilith’s eye level.

She lets out a little snort at that, looking between the cat and it’s owner.

“Shadow, for a black cat?”

The woman chuckles in reply, offering a shrug.

“What can I say, I’m not the most creative.” She holds out her hand then. “Name’s Gwendolyn, but call me Gwen.”

Lilith accepts the hand.

“Lilith Clawthorne.”

--

She hadn’t joined Belos today for training, and quite frankly she didn’t care. She was still too pissed from the previous night’s events.

So, she’d decided to increase her productivity, drawing Glyph after Glyph on an ever diminishing stack of paper, along with a few other things she’d saved. Just in case, the day after tomorrow was going to be the day she was finally free.

-Day six/Thursday-

The following day, she makes it her mission to avoid Belos once again.

It works, for most of the day.

She comes back when the sun is about to disappear back across the horizon, and the first throes of nightfall begin to darken the isles like a blanket.

She avoids the guards, navigates her way up the winding stairways and into the hallway that houses her room.

He’s standing there, waiting for her.

Crap .

She realizes there’s no way she can avoid him now, so she just stands there for a bit, looking at him.

“I noticed you weren’t there today.”

“Yup.”

“You also failed to show up yesterday.”

“That’s right.”

There’s a pause, followed by a sigh as he turns around.

“I assume we shall meet again tomorrow night?”

“I’m counting on it.” 

day seven/Friday.

Luz has waited a full week for this.

She’s done her research, prepared her weapons, and she’s ready to make this a reality.

She stands in front of her mirror, fastening the cape Eda had given her as a gift. She straps the satchel around her neck, filled to the brim with glyphs and various other things.

Tonight was going to be one hell of a show.

Sneaking out of her room was easy, the guard rotations were pretty easy for her to understand after a full week of tracking them.

The first three hallways are easy enough. She leaves a few papers with different drawings on the floor. Out of the way of any feet, but still within the rays of light that pour through the windows. The stairs are harder, she spends a good ten minutes huddled up in a stone outcropping as she counts down the seconds till the patrol is supposed to arrive.

Right on time, the sound of synchronized footsteps echoes up the stairwell, and five guards pass her, totally unaware of the person hidden not ten feet away from them.

The moment they pass the corner, she bolts down the stairs, taking the stone steps three at a time. 

She winds down two more hallways, leaving another dozen drawings laid on the floor. Hides from two more patrols, and manages to sneak past Kikimora. This time she’s careful not to make a singular sound as the small demoness walks past her.

The end is in sight, she realizes as she turns another corner. Into a hallway unlike the others.

It’s massive, flanked on one side by five gigantic windows that allow light to absolutely pour into the hallway.

She walks forward  carefully, before stopping as she spots a shadow within the arch, leaning against the heavy oak.

There’s a figure standing in front of the door.

“I see you’ve finally arrived.” Belos’ voice thunders throughout the hallway, and she allows herself to let out a small smirk.

Time to set her plan in motion.  

Lose.

She gives no verbal reply, instead activating a few ice glyphs that shoot out in jagged formation towards him, he liquifies before they can hit, burying themselves in the stone archway.

Where has he gone?

“Well then, let’s play.” Her eyes widen, he’s behind he-

Her train of thought cuts itself short immediately, as she’s lifted up and tossed down the hallway, the impact knocks the breath out of her and she grits her teeth at the carpet burn her legs accumulate as she skids a few more feet down the hallway.

She grabs a few more glyphs, this time two plants and one fire, to her surprise the plants hit, entangling the masked man in a thorny prison, the fire spell hits its mark too, setting the thorns alight.

He merely snaps his fingers, and they simply cease to exist.

Her next gambit is a risky one, she grabs something, a massive light glyph she’d drawn onto four pieces of taped together paper.

The resulting beam of light is not all that dissimilar to a flashbang, only without the “bang.” Even as she screws her eyes shut and pulls the hood of her cape tight over her eyes, she feels the light burn into her retina’s.

When the light subsides, she blinks, hard and fast, trying to remove the spots from her vision as fast as possible.

Belos doesn’t seem to be doing too well, his hand is underneath his mask, no doubt to try and rub some vision back into his eyes.

She knows this isn’t going to be enough to stop him, certainly not enough to try and make an escape.

But she doesn’t need to.

She only needs to buy time.

She sends another wave of ice his way, this time his Staff appears from within his cloak, sending forth a ray of red energy that shatters the ice into nothing but uneven cubes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Luz notices a faint green sheen begin to appear.

Just a little longer.

A dozen more fire spells are thrown his way, this time he responds in kind, firing a blast that knocks her onto her knees.

She stays down, breathing hard, trying to give the impression of a beaten foe as her hand snakes into her satchel, pulling forth a very particular piece of paper.

“Had enough?” He asks, and Luz smirks, turning to look up at him.

The star passes by, bathing the castle in an azure light.

The castle erupts with screams, the images she’d planted earlier having the hoped for effect, manifesting into the beings she’d drawn onto them.

Slither Beasts, Basilisks and those weird apple creatures.

His focus on her falters for a second, and she quickly unfolds the crumpled up picture, slamming it down into the light.

When he looks down, he finds Luz smirking up at him, and a small piece of paper absolutely bathing in the light of the wailing star.

A picture, containing the visage of Grometheus the fearbringer.

“I win.”

He can’t react fast enough, as an inky black tentacle erupts from the paper, slamming into him. 

He goes limp, and he can feel the invasive demon sift through every fear he has, before picking out a particular one.

He tries to keep his eyes shut, but finds himself unable to.

And gazes straight into a scene that has his heart skip a beat, and a shard of ice embed itself into his soul.

Luz was in the process of sneaking past the faux-grom, when it suddenly lost any sense of form, no doubt in the process of shifting  itself.

Curiosity got the better of her, and Luz stared from a distance as the shape finally settled.

The Boiling Isles?  

She frowns, she’s pretty sure she’s looking at the isles. Is he scared of heights or something? She wonders for a second.

Then, something begins to happen, and it makes Luz’ stomach turn.

Veins are crawling up the gigantic limbs, like fleshy serpents clambering up a tree, ligaments and muscles follow, stretching themselves taut across the gargantuan limbs.

Then, the screams start, and Luz falls to her knees. It feels like she’s listening to the death cries of everyone on the isles, falling into a sickening chorus that has her shaking like a leaf.

It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real. She tells herself, like a mantra, but she can’t say it’s working.

Organs suddenly burst through the ground, sending Bonesborough plummeting into the boiling seas, the steadily increasing thrumming of a massive heart pounds against her ear drums as she sees the castle they’re currently in crumble into the abyss it resides above.

Finally, skin coils itself around the gigantic form, eyes inflate within empty sockets, and- contrasted against the ashen skin of the titan, the yellow within them glows with a malignancy that makes her feel like she’s looking into the eyes of the devil himself.

She can’t bear this anymore.  

With a quick hand, she snatches the paper from within the mass, shredding it into a thousand pieces which she stuffs back into her satchel.

The screaming in the castle has died down, no doubt the coven members have destroyed her creatures.

Run! Flee! Get away from here! Her mind screams at her.

She doesn’t, she’s too focussed on the hunched over form before her.

Belos is, well it looks like he’s having a panic attack, his chest heaves unevenly with gasps of air being dragged into his lungs by sheer force.

She notices something then, a wet droplet slowly sliding out from behind his mask, before dripping down onto the floor, where a small wet patch in the carpet has formed.

She finds herself unable to leave him here.

So, she walks up, cringing when he flinches away as she crouches down onto her haunches next to him.

He can’t stay here. She thinks, looking around. What if someone were to see him like this?

“Let’s go to my room.” She says, and he manages a shaky nod, snapping his fingers.

The world tumbles around them, Luz feels a tiny hint of pride as she doesn’t even feel nauseous, but that is quickly quashed when she looks back at Belos.

He’s grabbed the side of her bed, using it to drag himself upward, he flops down unceremoniously on her comforter, burying his head in his hands as his breathing slowly calms down.

She takes a seat opposite of him, on the small wooden desk chair.

Minutes pass, and neither says a word, until Belos finally breaks the silence, speaking in a voice that is raw with grief and horrow.

“How much do you see?”

She gulps.

“Everything.”

He lets out a shaky breath, before clasping a hand over the front of his mask. To her surprise, he takes it off, and when he looks at her again, she’s looking into the same face she saw all those weeks ago.

Crooked nose, scarred face, full beard and thick black hair, offset by pale skin, and those unnerving black eyes offset by a pair of shining blue irises.

“You asked me, why I was lying when I mentioned all that about the titan and his plans. Remember?”

Luz nods, she does remember, and when he next speaks, she senses no lie.

His lips shake, and when he speaks it’s clear he’s forcing himself to say it, struggling to articulate every syllable.

“I’m not a messenger or a prophet. I’m trying to stop it.”

“Who?”

He looks at her.

“The titan.”

Chapter Text

Only two words, and yet they had the impact of a bomb being dropped.

“What.” Was all that Luz could muster up as a response as the words washed over her.

That couldn’t be true, could it? There was no way something like that would be right. From what Luz could gather, Belos was the reason people on the isles worshipped the titan. His ability to talk to it had been hushed in reverent tones like it was a divine act. 

“What do you mean?”

He lets out another sigh, before focusing his gaze on her again. If she’d thought looking into a pair of black holes was eerie, looking into his eyes was even worse. The look of sheer haunted tiredness made her feel genuinely bad.

“What do you know, of the savage ages?” 

Luz frowns, recalling what she’d learned at school. 

The savage ages, from what she could remember- were a time of bloodshed, when warlords and the like held sovereignty over the isles. The death toll had apparently been high enough that nobody had really complained when Belos rose to power.

“You mean, about how you crusaded across the isles, how you united them under your own banner?”

“That is the version of history told throughout the isles, yes.”

“But not the truth?”

He inclined his head. “Indeed, one of the benefits of having supreme power, is that history itself can be twisted to suit your narrative.”

The way he’d said that, with just a hint of glee, made her skin crawl. Nevertheless, she felt there was something more to all this, something that made her more eager to find out just what the truth was.

“There were seven of us.” He said. “Myself, the figurehead and leader, flanked by three brothers and three sisters. We led a crusade across the isles, we called ourselves the cabal of the Titan. We preached the “truth” as we slowly but surely conquered the isles and added city after city to our domain.”

The breath he lets out is shaky, and she about feels the temperature in the room drop, a chill setting in as the haunted look in his eyes intensified. “I was their salvation, they preached. The titan having spoken to me once, relaying to me his will.” He screws his eyes shut. “I still hear that voice sometimes, in my nightmares.”

“I was a stupid, ignorant fool.” He says, a venomous tone to his voice. “I believed every word, every honeyed lie and twisted truth. I began to assemble an army, preaching the faith of the titan and denying all others who didn’t side with me. They were with me, a “council of faith.” My closest friends, my most trusted advisors. We converted dozens, then hundreds, and on it went, until two hundred thousand witches and demons were praying to the titan daily, then it began. The crusade, those who would listen, who would forsake their “false idols” and joined us were partial to safety and comfort that in those days was a pipe dream to even the governors of entire cities”

“Those who didn’t-” He cuts himself off then, drawing in a shaky breath before continuing.

“So many atrocities, based on a lie.” The confession hangs heavy in the air, as she sees two wet tracks make their way down his cheeks, disappearing into his beard.

His gauntlets curl into fists, gripping the comforter with an intensity that makes Luz wonder when it’s going to give in, but she doesn’t comment, waiting with rapt attention for him to continue.

“Fifty years ago, we won. Bonesborough was the last bastion of resistance, and we crushed it with barely any losses to our numbers. That night, the celebrations were unparalleled. We drank rivers of strong spirits, ate enough to make our bellies ache. We laughed, we cried, we danced deep into the night. We’d finally done it.” A sad smile paints his features.

“That night, I was to make the ultimate show of faith. A gesture so grand it would mark my ascension to emperor as something that would be talked about forever.”

From the depths of his cloak, he pulls forth his staff, looking at the ramshackle design with regret clearly strewn across his face.

“Do you know what a palisman is? ”

Luz recalls what Eda had told her. “An animal companion, a friend? Something you get for graduating school?”

He nods. “Yes, but they are more than just that. The process to create one is long, arduous. And above all, dangerous.”

He meets her gaze, laying a hand on the orb atop his staff. “A Palisman, contains more than just magic, it contains a piece of your soul. ”

“That night, at the apex of the festivities, a great fire was lit. A fire, burning black. A magical flame of sacrifice, a way to present offerings to the titan. There was one sacrifice valued above all. People throwing themselves into the flames wasn’t uncommon, oftentimes accompanied by their loved ones, a way to “ask the titan’s blessings” Livestock, lumber, jewels, everything got thrown into those flames.” 

He takes off his gauntlets, revealing hands riddled with scars, pale and malformed due to a lifetime of battle. With a gentleness she has never seen before, he picks up his mask. Holding it between his hands as one would a kitten or a newborn baby.

“A sacrifice of the soul, one that was supposed to have you judged by the titan himself. Normally one only made by the most fanatical of believers. None had survived prior to me, but “ I was worthy. I would survive and rise as an Emperor.” They told me.”

He hands the mask to her then, and she gazes at the immaculately designed gold.

“It’s not solid gold, merely cast over what I could recover.”

Her eyes widen, instantly connecting the dots.

“Your palisman…”

He hums in agreement, not meeting her gaze as he starts his story anew.

“A great stag beetle, the size of my forearm.” He holds out the appendage for a bit. “Onyx, he was called. He had saved my life on so many occasions, a blur of flapping wings and crushing pincers, a companion and… a friend.”

His fist shoots out, meeting the headboard of her bed, it’s as if the massive wood wasn’t there, his fist goes through it as easily as if he was snapping a toothpick.

He chuckles, then. An ugly sound rich with anguish and regret and spite towards the world. “It’s all wonderfully ironic I suppose, a hundred times over he saved my life, and I snapped his staff and cast him into the fire as if he were nothing.”

His shoulders begin shaking once more, and the ugly laughter returns.

“And, and in the face of that, that betrayal , he ends up saving my life once again.” The laugh devolves into choked off wheezes, followed by a few coughs. When he meets her, at this point horrified gaze again. Any sense of humour has left him.

“They were right. I did survive. And I saw the truth. For the first time since I had begun my conquest, I saw the truth. And it. Horrified . Me.”

He gestures outside the room.

“This titan, this- creature we are on, is not alone. Was not alone.”

“I recall reading that, bones in the boiling seas right? About how they might indicate more, right?”

He nods. “A hundred.”

Where Luz had been wondering if the temperature in the room had dropped, there is no mistaking the chill that runs through her soul at that. The sight of the titan, restored to its unholy glory had been enough to almost make her wet herself, and there were ninety-nine more?!

He picks up on her horrified look, and nods along. “It’s a scary thought. I’ve done much, much digging over the decades. And I seem to have puzzled together what exactly had happened.”

She listens with rapt attention.

“Aeons ago, long before my ancestors were born and millenia before your own existence, there was a legion, a force of pure malice and hatred, travelling from world to world, from galaxy to galaxy, destroying all they came across. Their power extinguished stars and destroyed civilisations as if plucking cherries from a tree. A force of such potency that they stood on the precipice of the total annihilation of- of everything.”

The tip of his finger extends, glowing red, and Luz looks at what she assumes is the world they are currently in.

“Until they came here. I don’t know how or why, but the world they found themselves in was a trap. Designed to end their rampage once and for all, they stormed in, maddened by the premise of getting to rampage, to destroy more, only to be met with boiling seas and no way out, their portal sealed off behind them.”

The scene projected from his finger shifts to that of a closing portal, squinting her eyes she sees grayish figures from within the ever closing gate.

“The boiling seas were much hotter then, hot enough to ignore their armour completely, leaving them defenseless, spending their last moments screaming in agony as their meat boiled off of their bones. One by one they fell, all across the world. A hundred destroyers, reduced to a hundred corpses.”

“So, they died?” Luz asks.

“No, it’s not so easy to kill beings as powerful as this, it seems. Their magic prevented their death, not enough to keep their limbs and skin from cooking off into a primordial soup, but enough to keep their hearts beating and their minds intact.”

The girl was horrified , all that and it couldn’t even kill them permanently?

“I- if that couldn’t kill them, what can?”

“Us.”

Luz blinked.

“The titans used their magic to hold themselves together, so something made a counter. Something designed to use the magic, to siphon it away from them until they couldn’t keep up anymore and finally passed away.”

“Witches.” Luz mutters. “But what could have done that, some sort of god?”

Belos lets out a spiteful chuckle. “The thought has crossed my mind, yes. It would make sense if it was a god, it worked- it worked perfectly . The populations of witches, demons and the like grew, slowly depriving the titans of more and more magic until they died, falling apart, their carcasses littering the boiling seas.” 

Luz nods, that makes sense- and then it hits her, like a freight train of realization the horror washes over her.

“What about the people?”

“Like I said, a god’s plan.” He spits the word as if it were poison. “Monstrous, yet effective.”

“How many titans are left?”

“Just the one, their leader. One by one, ninety-nine of his underlings fell. Yet he held on. Biding his time.”

“For what?”

“For the others to die.” At her confused expression, he elaborates. “Every titan has their magic, but when they die- Where does that magic go?”

“I’d assume they just release it?”

“Yes, and release it they did. One by one, ninety-nine titans released their magic into the atmosphere, into the air. Magic ripe for the titan to use for his plan.”

And what a plan it was. Even Belos cannot deny its brilliance, he’s fortunate to have caught on when he did. The piece of his soul held within Onyx- the titan had planned to consume it. But it had fought back, slipping from the titan’s clutches and giving him instead a glimpse into what exactly the creature was planning, a fighting chance.

He’d paid a part of his soul for it, it  disappearing into the aether. But it would allow him to save them all.

She pressed him for more, and he explained.

The air around them was thick with magic, but it was magic that for some reason the titan couldn’t absorb.

It had another effect, however. With every generation, witches grew more and more powerful, and with their power came the titan’s key to salvation.

It was simple, really. When calculating how many pieces of wood it would take to boil a hundred liters of water, one could take the simple route. Find out how many pieces it takes for a litre, and multiply accordingly.

In practice however, it didn’t work like that, wind, temperature, humidity and a myriad of other factors would work adversely, meaning you needed more.

An excess.

Wild magic worked the same, when using multiple types of magic, there would always be an excess, a product that was used by neither spell yet put out all the same, an excess.

But instead of light or heat or something of the sort, it was magic.

Magic the titan could absorb.

One person, or a hundred or even ten thousand people wouldn’t be that big of an issue.

But millions?

That was why he had set up the covens, to buy himself time. They had been on a collision course to oblivion, what would have taken a few decades, he had pushed back by millenia.

Time he desperately needed to figure out a plan, and a plan he finally had.

But that was something he’d keep for himself, for the time being.

“When I came to again, I cried. My brothers and sisters thought it was because I had been enlightened. They were wrong.”

He had cried, for generations of blood on his hand, in the service of oblivion. Consigning all those people to death for a false cause. He might have never lost sleep over those atrocities, but that was because he would not allow himself to be haunted by his actions. He didn’t deserve the regret and horror, because a step beyond that laid a path that would see him making peace with the bloodshed.

And he refused to do that. Instead he carried it like a leaden cloak, always there, a constant reminder for him to push on despite everything. The mask had the same principle, in a more literal sense.

“The next morning, I dug through the ashes, I found the remains of my dear friend, and I had a mask fashioned around them, a permanent reminder.”

A reminder of all his sins. He doesn’t say it aloud, letting silence wash over the two of them. 

He does not tell her about him summoning the council, about him telling them what he’d seen, begging, pleading with them to help him. He doesn’t tell of their suddenly scornful gazes and biting words, how words like “heretic” and “traitor” passed over their lips with such conviction when the night before it had been “brother”. About how they had threatened to have him petrified, how they had told him they would muster up their legions and crush him.

He does not tell her of a blade being drawn, and one of his sisters leaping for his throat, nor does he tell her of the magical bolt that slams into her, from his hands no less. About how it burns through her armour, how it melts through her skin and burrows through her ribcage and cooks her from the inside out. 

He does not tell her of a decree he made in the wake of that attack, branding them traitors and ordering their execution, about how he hounded them and the forces loyal to them like they were rabid mutts.

He allows himself a small measure of satisfaction at that. If she hadn’t leapt for his throat, they could have done it. They could have captured and killed him. Her rashness is the crux for his entire empire’s existence.

So, he just sits there, staring at the ground, not meeting the eyes of the girl sat before him. He’s waiting on her to break the silence. Equal parts curious and filled with trepidation at the response she will give.

“So, is there anything we can do to help?”

His head snaps up, eyes wide as he looks at her. Her hands are shaking- her whole body is shaking. And yet her face conveys no signs of hesitation of lies.

Brave, especially for one so young.

Yet, he must disappoint her.

“A noble offer, but there is nothing you can do. I’d also advise you against telling this to anyone, and I do mean anyone. ” 

She nods.

“Who know?”

“Myself, Kikimora, and the shade. Now you too, I suppose.” 

“Alright, I won’t tell anyone.” She holds out a hand, and he looks at her questioningly. “Shake on it?”

He chuckles at the gesture, but supposes he can oblige her this once.

So, he stretches out his hand too, his massive, un-gauntleted hand wrapping almost entirely around her own hand.

And finds himself, once again, in a familiar darkness.

The two of them look around in confusion, and anger bubbles up in him.

He is beyond done with the cryptic messages, with the deluded hints and the feeling that he is being played with. 

“WHAT DO YOU WANT!” He roars at the black skies, a snarl on his lips as his eyes dart around with a fervour that is almost manic.

In his fury, he almost misses the prodding of a finger in his back, and when he swirls around, he finds Luz staring up at him, flinching back at the look on his face.

“What is it?” He says, after taking a few deep breaths, trying to force his tone back into a somewhat acceptable volume.

“Last time this happened, you touched me. Remember?” He blinks, recalling when his hand had brushed along her cheek as he’d yanked down her hood, he nods. And the girl’s expression becomes pensive, brow furrowing as her hand comes up to reach her chin.

Then, almost as quickly, it shifts into a wide-eyed look that just screams EUREKA!

“Ok so, two times it’s happened now, both times it’s cause we touched in the well-” She gestures at the void around them

“Not this.” Her hands reached up again, mimicking the gesture she’d offered him in the girl’s room. 

“What are you doing?” He says, looking at her questioningly.

She sighs comically, shoulders going slack before smacking her forehead. “Every time this has happened, it’s because we touched in the real world. So-” She reaches out her hand again. “I think this is what’s supposed to happen.”

He thinks about it for a bit, before smacking himself upside the head. She’d pretty much hit the nail on the head, and he’s embarrassed he’s not put the hints together before now.

So, he reaches out his own hand. Stopping just before it touches hers, and asks.

“Are you ready?”

She nods, and grabs his hand.

With the benefit of hindsight, he supposes he should’ve asked himself that question.

A small light appears then, shining through Luz’ clothes, and he can feel a familiar sensation that he cannot place.

Slowly, it drifts towards him, out of the girl’s chest and into the space between them, eliciting an awed whisper of “wow” from Luz, and a frown from him.

His other hand comes up then, and the light nestles in his palm, before sinking into it.

And suddenly, everything makes sense.

That small light was familiar, because it was his.

He has just enough time to utter a singular word. “Onyx.” Before another thing becomes clear.

Those flashes of memories, that he oh so confidently had stated weren’t his own?

They were . And as he feels his soul become whole for the first time in fifty years, he feels his memories return.

And by “return.”, he means that they slam into his mind with the force of an avalanche.

He lets go of the young girl, grasping his head between his hands as he lets out a scream, a roar of anguish that is nothing short of ursine as his legs give out and he collapses to the floor, the last thing his eyes pick up is Luz’ shocked and worried gaze meeting his own, before she disappears.

And then, the darkness sets in.

--

--Bonesborough, 50 years ago--

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it burned in one.

A saying he recalls reading, in an old human book contained within a trash slug. He’d wondered what it meant originally, before learning Rome had been a city. He’d brought it up to his brothers and sisters and they’d shared a laugh, mocking the idiocy of humans.

Now he understood what it meant.

What had been their greatest victory, something they had fought towards for years, had turned into an utter disaster.

He’d twisted the truth somewhat, leading the common populace to believe he’d been betrayed by his six most loyal confidants and their followers, that one of the traitors had died and the others had fled, taking their meager forces with them, Kikimora- one of the emperor’s closest and most trusted generals herself- harrying them and hunting them down like dogs.

In the wake of all this, tensions and emotions were running quite high indeed.

And yet, Belos himself felt empty. Sat within his own private tent, he looks at the newly fashioned golden mask in his hands, cast over what he’d been able to recover from a friend he had tossed away so recklessly.

He seemed to do that a lot, toss away lives and people like they were expendable. Until a mere two days ago, they had been expendable.

How quickly things change. He thinks bitterly, setting the mask on his bedside table. He takes a look in the mirror and frowns.

His skin has turned from its natural, somewhat pale complexion to an ashy white. The whites of his eyes have disappeared, leaving behind only darkness. A perfect visage of a walking those, he supposes. A man whose soul has been ripped asunder by his own volition and who has to live with it.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

He can't bear the sight of himself a moment longer, forcing his gaze away from his reflection as he exits his tent. The two guards stationed there salute him, but he dismisses them, telling them not to follow him as he takes a stroll.

A trillion stars illuminate the sky as he walks throughout the camp, many people not recognising him in his plainclothes, a simple pair of black trousers and a white tunic. Those that did say nothing, pretending to not see the thunderous expression on the giant man’s face as he wandered around the camp.

Slowly but surely, he wandered further and further away from the center of the camp, eventually he found himself a few miles away from camp, deep within the woods around Bonesborough.

Nobody would hear him here .

He finds a clearing, and simply stands there for a bit, taking in the many sounds of the forest as he contemplates his next move.

His hand comes to rest upon a dagger strapped at his side. He clutches it, drawing the first few inches out of its sheath.

Cursed steel and manticore venom. A single slice and it’s over . He thinks about it for a few moments before sliding it back fully into the sheath.

Too easy.

He unclips the sheath from his belt, holding it between his hands for a few moments. It had been a gift, one that signified him being a brother to them all.

He throws it into the woods, far enough that he can’t hear it clatter to the ground.

Staying here isn’t an option within his mind. The moment the truth comes out he’ll be strung up by his entrails because of all he did. He doesn’t blame them if they do, he’d done worse for an unjust cause.

Staying here isn’t an option, and killing himself is not something he considers, if only out of sheer spite towards himself. There seems to be only one more option.

Flee.

Not anywhere on the isles, or even the planet- somewhere else . 

He takes a deep breath, before reaching out with both his hands, held out in front of him with their fingers spread, and begins reciting the spell in an ancient language. The syllables feel foreign on his tongue and he curses himself for not having kept one of the gate keys for himself instead of insisting to destroy them all, it would have been much easier.

Thankfully, he manages, and soon enough, he finds a portal standing before him. He makes sure to shore up his mental defenses, casting a dozen spells in four different demonic tongues to make sure that nothing lurking between the veils of this world and the next drills its way into his mind.

He takes one last glance back, at what he hopes is the last time he sees the isles in his life, and steps into the portal.

He is met by a sickening smile and pale yellow eyes. Those eyes, he recognises. They’re the same ones that have seen the destruction of thousands of worlds, because they belonged to the creature that had destroyed them.

The Titan.

“I don’t fear you.” He says, eyes hard.

It’s a lie, and they both know it.

Something batters against the fortifications of his mind. He is thankful to have shored them up prior to stepping into the portal- they buy him enough time to conjure up a blast that stuns the titan for a bit.

A second attack doesn’t come, and he doesn’t realize it until much, much later. But the titan’s uncomforting grin as it fades back into the void is because it chooses to, not because he has driven away.

A small delay, a course chance caused by the Titan’s assault that he doesn’t notice as he continues his travels.

But that small change has him travel 36 years into the future.

--

When he exits the portal, it’s not with any form of grace or decorum. He stumbles out like a drunken hermit, his insides roiling uncomfortably as he tries to keep his dinner down.

He takes notice of where he is, after successfully winning the battle against the rising stew in his gut, only to find he has no idea as to where exactly he is.

He sees trees on either side of him, not the eternal red of the isles but a thick green, offset by dark brown trunks that tower over him.

First order of business, blend in. He casts a small illusion spell over himself, just enough to turn his skin back to its prior complexion and to hide the black pits of his eyes. His ears, he leaves a bit pointier than normal, but not as big as they otherwise would have been. He supposes his height is another point of contention, 8’6” might be good for intimidation, but he supposes it’s not the best when trying to go unnoticed.

Seven feet tall seems a lot more reasonable, and, with a flick of his wrist, he shrinks down.

Now that that’s done- wait a minute.

He looks down as he notices something, the ground underneath him is remarkably hard, a result of what seems to be him standing on rock of some description. It reminds him of the cobble roads that run through most cities in the isles, but this is different still.

He follows the stone path for a bit, wondering about how exactly they had managed to work away the seams so masterfully, when suddenly the road lights up.

More specifically, something lights the road up.

His head snaps up, and he finds himself staring at two lights.

Strange , last he’d remembered humans had no mastery of magic.

There’s a blare of a horn then, and, with horror, he realizes that it’s moving towards him at quite the pace.

“Ha-”

He can’t get the words out before an unholy screeching assaults his eardrums, and the next thing he knows, something hits him with the force of a warhammer.

He’s pretty sure he gets tossed a good twenty feet back, landing on the strange rock road before skidding a few more feet back.

Belos, great conqueror of the isles, leader of an army so vast it drank rivers dry-

Had just been hit by a car.

He hears a sound that he will later on learn to associate with a car door being thrown open, and the painful silence he is in is broken by a heavily accented female voice.

A very angry female voice.

"¿¡Que me arreglaste los frenos?! George pedazo pendejo te voy a enseñar yo a arreglar cuando te meta el pie en el cu- ¿Ay Dios estás bien?"

He drags his head up off of the cold ground, looking at a pair of concerned brown eyes, belonging to a small tanned woman who is looking at him with wide eyes.

“Are you ok?” She asks him, but before he can respond she cuts him off “ArE yOu Ok?  Really Camilia, you just hit him with a car and you ask him if he’s OK??!!” The woman paces back and forth frantically, breaking off into a language he doesn’t understand a word of.

Belos has always been a diplomat, one who could use honeyed words to sign alliances to prevent bloodshed. So, he says the first thing that pops up in his mind’s eye.

“Ow.”

Shit.

It seems to do the trick. Her attention is fully on him once more. She kneels next to him, grabbing his hand first, before pressing two fingers to his neck.

“Can you talk?”

“What?”

She ignores him. “Pulse is steady, breathing’s fine, no sign of a punctured lung, pulse is normal. Does any pain stand out?” She asks him, he shakes his head no, nothing’s broken as far as he can tell.

She frowns as she looks at the car, noticing the dent in the hood and grille. “Well, guess George is gonna be able to explain what “fixing” my brakes means when I bring it ‘round tomorrow.” When she turns back she startles for a bit, before letting out a low whistle.

“Damn, you’re tall.” She mutters, before admonishing herself. “And stupid.” She adds quickly, watching his face shift into a frown. “You just got hit by a car, you should be laying down, certainly not trying to- HEY, are you listening to me?!” She shouts as the stranger merely turns around and begins walking back down the road.

She decides in that moment, that she is going to make sure this man is checked up, to make sure he really doesn’t have any injuries or something of the sort.

Just so she can strangle him herself.

She hops back in her car, mutters a quick thank you to god, and the people responsible for making this car when it starts without a hitch. She drives forwards, pulling up alongside the man.

She rolls the windows down, waiting for him to take the hint, when he speaks up again.

“I hope you’re not planning to hit me again.”

The nerve.

“No.” She grits out from behind clenched teeth, but the suggestion is an attractive sounding one, with the dismissive attitude of this ba- no name calling, you did run him over. She quickly puts on a (very fake) smile, and remembers what her family had always told her.

“Hop in, I’ll drive you to the hospital.” 

“I can assure you, I am in no need of treatment.” She resists the urge to roll her eyes, about to chalk it up to male pride, when she notices something.

She’s in second gear.

Her eyes fly back over to the man who is, very comfortably it seems, keeping pace with her going six miles an hour. Not something she expects from someone who’d just been tossed twenty feet across cement.

Maybe he is really unharmed. Still, she might not have sworn a hippocratic oath, but she can’t in good conscience leave someone she’s just ran over to walk the next ten miles into town.

So, she pulls ahead, before cutting him off. As she turns the car off and unbuckles her seatbelt, she has the sneaking suspicion that convincing the man staring questioningly at her car to come with her is going to be an arduous task.

--

Two. Hours.

It had taken her two fu- two hours to get home, most of that time had been spent trying to convince her current… guest. To come with her.

That had been a saint’s task.

Though, she supposes it was only the right thing to do. He’d been silent except when asked a question, and he was remarkably courteous when he answered. 

He also didn’t know where he was, or where he was from. She’s seen the sort before, sometimes coming into the clinic, in ragged clothing or babbling to people no longer there. The homeless, the abandoned and the destitute.

He doesn’t strike her as one of those. To her he seems like a man on the run, from himself.

It had taken her ten minutes of prying to extract his name.

“Belos” doesn’t sound like that common a name.

Doesn’t really sound like a first name, either.

She’s currently in the kitchen, trying to fix the two of them up some food before she’s off to bed. She’ll have to clear out the guest bedroom during the weekend, because she has a sneaking suspicion he’s gonna be staying for a while.

“Uh, Camilia.” the aforementioned “Belos” voice calls out from the other room, Well. That’s what she thinks he’s saying, because holy shit is he bad at pronouncing spanish.

She walks into the living room, takes one look at the scene before her-

And all but doubles over in laughter.

During the night, one thing has been a small ray of joy in the just, the shitshow that was tonight-

“Belos” was tall. Extremely so, and that had provided her with a good bit of laughter during the night.

Watching him try to cram himself into the passenger seat had nearly done her in. Witnessing him crawl back out had cracked her up to the extent that tears welled up in her eyes.

And then they’d entered her house. And he’d hit his head on the top of the doorframe.

She’d laughed at him to his face then.

But this?!

Belos was laid on her couch, her six foot long old leather couch. ix foot here being the operative word, as it meant that the guy’s legs were… basically dangling off of the couch in their entirety.

It looked absolutely ridiculous , and she didn’t know if it was the insomnia or if it was just genuinely as funny as she found it, but her sides were aching from how hard she was laughing.

His extremely unimpressed expression only made it better.

“Is there really no other option?”

She shakes her head, looking at him through the tears as she tries to get herself to stop laughing for long enough to answer.

“Y- your fault for being so tall.” She manages to wheeze out.

His expression souring even further is her only answer.

--

He supposed it was all some kind of cosmic karma, the things that had happened to him lately.

First thing he does when trying to get away from the isles, is get himself into an accident, followed by the reason for said accident to all but grab him by the ear and force him to come along with her.

And no, he was not taking responsibility for getting hit by that car. 

After that, she had proceeded to laugh at him on three separate occasions. All the while, he simply grit his teeth and endured it.

The night spent on the couch hadn’t been the most uncomfortable place he’d ever slept, but it didn’t rank high either.

The food was delicious, however.

The following morning, it seemed like the universe was back to shitting in his breakfast once again.

She’d dragged him out of bed at the crack of dawn, told him in no uncertain terms that he needed some new clothes, and had dragged him out of the house.

The ride in that awful contraption called a “car” was hell, and he would’ve probably sold what was left of his soul for a decent mount. Thankfully it didn’t come to that, as she showed him how to shift the seat backwards.

He ended up almost laying flat, but at least his head wasn’t smushed against the ceiling anymore.

His legs were still cramped, however.

-- 

Shopping had been, to put it mildly, a disaster.

Shop after shop simply didn’t have clothes that fit him. The few occasions he walked into a door and the subsequent fits of laughter didn’t help either.

Finally they’d arrived at the last shop. Camilia had explained this was specifically designed to clothe people taller or generally bigger than usual, which had soured his mood considerably more.

Why hadn’t she brought him here in the first place.

Somehow the fact that even they had nothing that fit his seven foot frame frustrated him to no end. In his frustration he noticed someone, wearing the same logo he recognised from the front of the store.

He shot a quick glance at the woman who’d driven him here, who was still browsing through different shirts, and stepped up to the man.

He cleared his throat once he’d caught up, finding the man looking over what he discerned from the label to be “track-suits”

The portly man turned around, craning his neck to look at the massive witch.

“Damn.” He hears him mutter under his breath, before finding his words. “What can I do to help you sir?”

With all the patience he has left, he manages to somehow fight back the snarl that threatens to spill from his lips, instead asking, in a polite- yet strained tone.

“Am I to understand, you don’t have my size?”

The man shrugs. “Well sorry dude, I didn’t know they made you.” 

Belos blinks.

As if somehow sensing the impending manslaughter, Camilia just- appears next to him, yanking on his sleeve and slowly dragging him away from the now thoroughly terrified retail worker.

Once outside, she hits him on the arm, an impressive feat for one so small.

“Hey, he’s just a retail worker, if you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at the higher ups, he doesn’t get paid enough to deal with shit like that.”

He grunts in annoyance, before the two of them take off back towards the car. He notices soon enough that she’s having to speed walk in order to keep up with him, so. He slows down a bit.

She shoots him a thankful glance, he pretends he doesn’t notice. And then she asks him a question, one that gives him pause.

“So, what’s your name?”

He looks at her.

“I believe I gave you my name yesterday.”

She rolls her eyes. “And I gave you my first name, not last. Or am I to believe your parents actually named you Belos?”

He wants to be offended, but can only let out a surprised guffaw of laughter at the deadpan tone she takes on. 

His answer takes a bit longer.

His first name. He’s not heard it in decades- hasn’t said it in even longer.

A boy’s name , they had told him. Belos, now that is a name worthy of an emperor they had said.

Damn them and their words.

“Ciarán.” He says after a beat, the name unfamiliar to his ears. 

To his surprise, Camilia snorts, before breaking off into another chuckle.

“Oh what is it now?”

She looks at him confusedly. “You do know what Ciarán means, right?” To his regret he realizes that- no, he does in fact not know. So he shakes his head.

Camilia cuts across him, making him realize they’re back at the woman’s car. “It means little dark one- alternatively, little dark haired one.” She smiles at him. “Your parents had a sense of humour, it seems.”

Oh. Now he gets it.

He does suppose it is pretty funny.

--

Four months go by, and he finds himself still living with Camilia. He’d originally thought he’d be gone within the week.

She’d put a dampener on that plan. She’d insisted he stay. And he had accepted, perhaps too eagerly.

They’d fallen into a routine, joking with each other whenever they could, which roughly translated to her mocking him for various things and him simply grumbling about it.

Secretly, he enjoyed it however, and he finds himself returning the teasing and the mocking more often than not.

It was- disarming to talk with someone, to not have to watch your words in fear of saying something that could be used against you. He’d not told her anything about his past, and she seemed to have accepted that quite easily.

“Either you tell me, or you don’t. It’s your business.” Was what she’d said once he’d asked her, and that had been the end of that.

Of course, he couldn’t bring himself to take advantage of her hospitality and not contribute himself. So, he’d found himself a job (a lie) and once a week he came back with a paycheck.

Magic had its uses, even in a modern world he supposed. Being able to conjure forth money at the drop of a hat was laughably easy.

Besides, two thousand a week was reasonable, right?

Well, that was something he’d worry about some other time. The two of them were currently sitting in a restaurant, nothing fancy. An italian place she’d ordered from a few times. This was the second time they’d actually been there, however.

The first time had been… interesting.

Even now, Belos couldn’t help but glare at the spot where the ceiling fan used to be.

They were in the middle of dinner, Belos was gorging himself on a “Calzone”, one of the few things that actually filled him up, when she asked him a question.

“So, is this a date?”

He almost choked on his dinner.

“I suppose?”

--one year later--

Sixteen months. That’s how long he’d been away from the isles.

Sixteen months, since a certain dominican woman had- quite literally, crashed into his life.

A full year since she’d asked him that one question.

The two of them still bicker between the two of them without pause.

He still bumped into most things, curse these low door openings.

He’s still living in her house.

Sleeping arrangements have shifted, however.

No longer does he sleep on the couch, and he hasn’t slept in the guest room for a long, long time.

Nights now are spent cuddled up to the woman who seems to have stolen his heart, without even knowing she had.

And by cuddled up, he means she clings to him like some sort of overgrown koala because he’s apparently, and he quotes, “Warm.”

Not that he’s complaining, looking at her softly snoring face in the early hours of the morning.

A few hours later he finally drags his sorry carcass out of bed, finding her missing. He’s never been a morning person, and Camilia definitely is.

As his senses return to him to the point that one might consider him alive, something she has sometimes questioned during the morning. He hears something.

Crying.

It’s muffled, but definitely there, and coming from the bathroom attached to the bedroom.

He’s up within a second. The next he almost rips the door off of its hinges, eyes wild and he vows that whoever has hurt her will die a thousand deaths.

There’s nobody in the bathroom except Camilia.

She looks at him, and his heart shatters. It’s not her usual smile, or her flirty smirk or any of the hundreds of expressions he’s catalogued. 

It’s one of fear.

“Camilia, are you okay?” He takes a step into the bathroom, when she flinches he doesn’t dare take another.

“I-I’m fine, thanks for worrying.” She tries, the tears streaking down her face make her reassurance thoroughly unconvincing.

“Camilia, what is it?” He asks again, and this time she looks at him. Holding up- some sort of stick?

His brow furrows. “What is that? Is that one of those blood tests you mention sometimes?” His eyes widen. “You’re not sick, are you?!” 

Oh shit oh shit oh shit. He fists at his hair. The next full moon is a month away, and from what she’d told him he’s going to have to travel halfway across the world to get the correct ingredients, and she’s mentioned people passing away within days in the hospital.

He starts pacing, muttering to himself furiously, all the while Camilia stares owlishly at him.

A laugh bubbles up out of her throat.

“C-Ciarán, I’m not sick.” She calls out, he looks at her once more, standing in the door opening.

“I’m pregnant.”

“Oh, you’re pregnant.” He says, before the realizations sets in.

Pregnant.

He goes white .

Camilia. Him. Pregnant.

Baby.

Child.

Oh.

The last thing he registers is a panicked cry of “Honey!” and the rapidly approaching bathroom floor as he tips over forwards.

And then, everything goes black.

Safe to say, he does not live it down.

She spends the coming three weeks laughing at his broken nose, and the moment the bandage gets removed, she bursts out laughing once again.

Apparently it hadn’t been properly set, and now it was slightly bent.

This really was his life now, wasn’t it?

-9 months later-

The smell of antiseptic seeps through the air, and Belos finds himself pondering something.

He’s never been one to cry. He remembers very few occasions where he has done so.

He remembers crying when, at the age of six, he watches his family estate burn down. He knows his family is still in there, but his legs refuse to move. He just stands there, frozen- crying.

He remembers crying into the shoulder as a small red demoness whisks him off, hiding him from the mob.

He remembers crying when he finds out that he has destroyed generations for nothing.

And now, as he holds a swaddled bundle in his arms, he finds tears make their way down his cheeks as well.

“Softie.” He hears Camilia mutter from next to him. She’s tired- oh so tired. It had been a thankfully average birth, it had still been a terrifying thirteen hours from start to finish. But it was finally over.

And in his hands, he’s got a little girl.

She’s remarkably silent for one so young, instead looking at him inquisitively.

He slowly shifts her a bit, laying her down in the crook of his arm as he slowly brings a finger closer to the small baby.

“Do, do you have a name yet?” He asks, turning to the woman next to him, she shoots him another tired smile before answering.

“I was thinking Luz- it means light.” 

He looks at the tiny swaddled infant again.

“Luz.” he tests the name, he finds he likes it- it’s oddly fitting.

Belos has also never been one for nicknames, where Camilia had called him everything from Pendejo to grouch to honey, rarely even calling him by his first name. He’d mainly stuck with Camilia, not due to any kind of aloofness or something of that sort. He just- he’d never found a word that described her better.

Beautiful was an understatement, Clever an insult to her intellect, loving felt too little. Nothing summarized her quite like Camilia did.

But, as he finds is the norm nowadays, he’s doing things he’s never done before.

“Yeah, Luz is- it’s perfect.” He says, stroking her cheek gently.

“My little light.”

--

This blissful existence lasts for a few months. Luz’ well, her simply being  is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to him. And then, something happens.

He’s sat in the kitchen, feeding the tiny girl some milk, when something batters against his psyche.

It’s a feeling he knows, one he’d hoped never to experience again.

The titan.  

He feels it, and it shakes him to the core.

It’s strong , stronger than he had ever dared fear it could have been, and it pulses and rages with the promise of a swift return.

He frowns. Something like that couldn’t be possible. It hadn’t even been five years since he’d left the isles. It would have taken it decades to regain enough strength to even attempt to make a return.

It’s then that his thoughts drift to a particular conclusion, one that he doesn’t like. At all.

He summons forth a book, one of the few  sentimental possessions he’s ever allowed himself to have, and he begins to look, hoping he’s wrong.

It’s an enchanted book, one that catalogues his closest confidantes and their whereabouts, if they’ve died or not, how old they are and such.

He sees Camilia, her age listed at thirty-one, and he smiles. A grin breaks out when he sees Luz’ entry, he holds it up to the girl resting in his arm, but sees she’s already fallen back asleep.

He’s looking for one particular entry, and when he finds it, his blood freezes.

Kikimora, one of his most trusted friends, the person closest to him. The person who’d taken him in after his family had been…

His worst fear is made a reality.

Kikimora’s old, the fact her age is in the five digits is proof enough of that. (Not that he’d ever mention it in front of her, he respected her too much.)

But he knew how old she was, they’d celebrated her birthday not two months prior to the battle at Bonesborough.

There were thirty-eight years unaccounted for. Discounting the around two years he’d been here, that would mean...

“Thirty-six years into the future.” He says, in terrified shock.

That’s why the titan had smiled at him

He’d been played for a fool.

A stupid, blind, ignorant fool .

He knows what he has to do, but he hates that he has to do it.

Though...

A smirk passes over his face.

That might just work.  

He knew the exact date he’d left the isles. Transporting himself back wouldn’t be that hard, even without a portal key.

If he could calculate, from there, the exact day that was tonight, he could simply just leave back through the portal. It would appear as if nothing had happened.

Which would leave him with thirty-eight years to try and end the titan.

Surely, that was enough.

He supposed it was the best thing he could do.

But what if it goes wrong , his mind supplies, and he- ever the pessimist- can’t help but agree.

So, that night- after tucking his little light in, he goes into the room he shares with Camilia, and with a heavy heart, he does something he only hopes she will forgive him for.

He extracts each and every single memory she has of them, before adding fake ones. Some random nondescript man that never would have held her interest, one that left her one day.

He takes the real memories, and he ever so carefully puts them between the pages of his memoir, before putting it back in the pocket dimension it usually resides in.

If he comes back, he’ll simply put them back, erasing the fake memories, and when she wakes up in the morning, she’ll be none the wiser.

But, should he die, should he fail or not be enough, she’ll at least not have to deal with the question of “why”

With a heavy heart, he leaves the house, locking the door behind him and throwing the key back through the mailbox, and walks into the woods.

He makes it about a hundred metres, before he recites the spell again. This time, he has a clear path. Somewhere to return to. It makes casting the spell much easier.

With a heavy heart, he takes one last look at the house in the distance, before stepping through the portal.

--

He has made a terrible mistake, he realizes not a moment later.

He’d gotten complacent, hadn’t put up his mental defenses or prepared any counter spells. He’s not in the veil between worlds a minute before the titan’s psyche crashes into him.

Things are different now, however.

He’s not strong enough.

The titan’s will plows through the ramshackle barriers he throws up and invades his mind. He can feel his spirit being torn asunder as the titan seems to look for something.

Finally, it seems to find it, and with horror he realizes what it’s after.

His memories.

He feels, one by one, as they are ripped from within his mind, thrown into some far off place. He can only scream in agony as the titan’s malicious laughter rings out through his head.

By the time he’s back in the isles, he’s lost a lot of memories.

Two years’ worth, to be exact. The titan had ripped through his mind, and removed everything after he’d left the isles the first time.

It had miscalculated. It hadn’t dug deep enough. He might not remember what he’s lost, he might not recall the woman he loves and her gorgeous eyes, or the toothless smile that shone like a light in even the darkest days.

But he did remember one thing.

He would destroy the titan, and that was something he swore.

And so he institutes the covens, to limit the titan’s growth.

He plays off of the betrayal, condemning the brothers and sisters he once knew as heretics.

He becomes the first emperor the isles have known.

He misses the date he was supposed to be going back to earth, wrapped up in a council meeting, unaware he’d even have to go back.

And so that morning, Camilia wakes up, and she remembers a man that had charmed her, one that had made her feel like a queen, that had buttered her up with honeyed words.

And one that had left her.

And both of them were none the wiser.

--

When he comes to again, he notices that something is shaking him. 

His eyes widen, as he notices that it’s in fact someone that is shaking him.

“Wake up, c’mon wake up!” The desperation in the gi- no, not the girl.

His daughter.

The desperation in her voice drives a dagger of guilt into his stomach, how long had he been out? A minute? An hour? 

Too long.

“I’m alright, I’m alright.” He says, holding out a hand to placate the terrified girl.

“Wha- what happened? We were in that weird dream place and suddenly I was back here and you dropped to the ground and you’ve just been laying there for like ten minutes.” The panicky tinge to her voice makes him feel even worse somehow.

“I found out what this bond of ours entails.” is what he says in reply.

Somehow, within the aether, the part of his soul that had resided within his familiar, and his wayward memories had come together again. And that piece of his soul, of him had latched itself onto the closest thing to Belos it had found.

Luz.

Five years ago was probably when it had happened. The dreams, the snippets of information- it had all been his soul calling out to him.

For the first time in fifty years, he was whole.

And then, when he opens his eyes again, he sees a sight that drives him to the brink.

His little girl, all grown up.

“My little light.” He says, tone disbelieving. As he reaches a hand towards the girl’s face.

She flinches away.

His heart breaks.

“Y-you’re free to go.” He says, unable to hide the shake in his voice.

“What?”

“You bested me, and I am a man of my word.” He says. “Go now, nobody will stop you.”

“B-but what about you- about the bond?!” She tries, and he waves her off.

“I have recovered from far worse. Please, don’t worry about me. If you wish to know about the bond, I’ll tell you another time, seek me out when you want to, go now.”

“But-”

“Go!” He says, voice harsher this time. She nods, gathering her stuff.

He tracks her with his magic, makes sure that she’s out of harm's way.

He tracks her all the way to the owl house.

And then, he breaks down.

-The following morning-

“My emperor, please. I implore you to reconsider.” Kikimora says.

He sighs, Hand clasped over his head. “I gave her my word, Kiki. I do not intend to break it.”

The scoff Kikimora lets out has his hackles rising, his other hand carves five grooves in the arm rest as he side-eyes her.

She might not be able to notice his glare, but the fact the braziers in the room suddenly burn with an uncomfortable intensity gives her pause.

A mere moment’s pause, but still.

“Sir, she harmed a dozen guards, caused unfathomable amounts of property damage, and from what I can tell she assaulted you directly! Surely you cannot allow this to go unpunished.”

“Kiki.” He warns. Hoping she takes the hint, but she is old, and she has always been raised to think of humans as lesser.

Bigotry, a parasite that festers in the shadow of tradition. He thinks bitterly

“No, I have been with you longer than anyone, I will not allow this insult, if you are not going to punish this grave insult, then I will hunt down this creature myse-”

She doesn’t get to finish her sentence, as the light in the braziers intensifies a hundred fold, the guards stationed in the room leap aside to dodge the molten metal dripping down the walls as the emperor’s magic thrumms with it’s full, indomitable might.

He leaps to his feet, eyes glowing blue behind his mask, and when he opens his mouth, he lets out a roar that has the castle’s very foundations shake.

“She is my daughter!!” The stone rattles, the tapestries rip and a few of his guards are bowled over by the force of the shout, by the sheer magical might contained within the statement.

“What…” 

He looks at Kikimora, who has gone pale, and then he looks at the twenty or so guards situated within the room.

He has made a very big mistake.

--

It’s a mere three hours later, when the news reaches the cabal.

When they learn of it, they laugh and jeer, they mock him with disgust in their voices and gleeful laughter at how “low” he has fallen in their eyes.

There is something, however, that changes, a decision that the council is unanimous in making.

The girl is no longer to be brought to them alive.

She is to die .

Chapter Text

Luz ran.

Her legs were unsteady, her lungs were burning and her head was throbbing with the feeling of an oncoming headache, and yet, she ran.

She jumped over falling logs, swerved between the trees, and trampled through the undergrowth.

Stop running, relax, calm down. Her mind screamed at her as she tore through the moonlit forest at a breakneck pace. Luz didn’t listen. She didn’t want to listen. Focusing on the pounding of her heart and the lack of air she was getting was better than focusing on the night’s events.

It was silly, really. Her exhausted mind managed to push the echo past the exhaustion and delirium. She’d been told of a religious cult, of a monstrous creature that defied imagination- the same creature she was currently running atop of . And yet, that wasn’t the thing that was plaguing her mind.

It was two blue eyes, and three spoken words.

Something had happened, whist Belos had been lying on the floor of her bedroom, motionless.

He’d changed, slowly, almost unnoticeably so. The colour of his skin had shifted from its paper white to a pale, yet undoubtedly healthier complexion.

That wasn’t what was currently gnawing at her.

When she’d finally given in to her body’s desperate pleading, catching herself on a tree as she panted with exhaustion, desperately trying to spur her lungs back into action. It had all resurfaced, and with it, things that disturbed her.

When those eyes had opened again, they way they’d looked at her- it had made a pang of recognition shoot through her, a memory she couldn’t recall, yet oh so familiar, like walking past a bakery and getting a smell of a pastry you haven’t had in years.

“My little light.” Even now, the words spoken sent a shiver up her spine. The way his hand had reached out, gently- so very gently. Like he was trying to soothe a crying infant.

A nickname she’d only ever heard her mother call her. And the way it was spoken- with such an air of, of affection and longing, like....

Like a father.

That was it, wasn’t it? The thing that had freaked her out so much. A week she’d spent in his company, and during those days she would admit, albeit begrudgingly, that he hadn’t been terrible, it had been interesting, trying to discover what they could about this supposed magic of her’s, and the connection between them.

There had, thankfully been some distance between the two of them- this strangely comfortable distance that gave her some room, that made it feel less real.

That was gone now, at least from his side it seemed- and it freaked her out.

“HIIYA LUUUZ”

“AAH” Luz screamed, bolting a solid foot in the air as she became aware of the uncomfortably close visage of Hooty. Right in front of her face.

Apparently, she’d been so lost in thought that she hadn’t even noticed the fact that the Owl House was just past the clearing in front of her.

Just looking at the house, whatever she could see past Hooty’s face encroaching ever so slowly into her field of view, made her feel at ease.

She was home.

The whole Belos situation seemed- well it didn’t feel as pressing, now, as she strode across the clearing with a spring in her step, trying to ignore the sound of Hooty slowly sinking back into the door. The storm within her mind receded to a stiff breeze. It was there still, definitely noticeable, too, but it wasn’t the only thing she could focus on.

As she opened the door, having put Hooty's little night hat back on and watching the house demon fall asleep in a second flat- she noticed something.

She wasn’t alone. The lights might not have been on, but there was a lantern on the small coffee table, bathing that corner of the room in an orange light. 

She noticed the figure sitting on the floor, hunched over a stack of papers. At the same time, they noticed her, their eyes meeting. A flash of realization passed over Luz’ face.

Lilith.

She frowns. At the same time, the raven haired witch’s eyebrows knitted together in surprise. Neither said anything, the only sounds in the room being the faint flickering of the flame and the sounds of King’s snoring on the chair.

Lilith’s here , right in front of her. The last she’s seen of her had been in the emperor’s castle a week ago, when the fact that Eda’s condition had been the handiwork of her own sister had been the biggest bombshell that had dropped in a while.

There’s a part of Luz that  wants to scream , that wants to cross the twenty foot distance surrounding them and finish what she’d started in the emperor’s castle, to rage and shout and curse and make the woman looking at her feel, to make her truly experience what her sister might have gone through.

She doesn’t, because that’s something Eda has a right to do. Eda’s been the one living with the effects of her sister’s selfishness for decades, it feels wrong to try and take that away from her just for some catharsis.

So she says nothing, and neither does Lilith.

What feels like an eternity- likely a mere minute, but still- passes. The tension thickens, neither saying a word. It’s gotten to the point that it’s almost palpable when clouds finally burst and the silence shatters.

The older witch slowly puts the quill in her hand back in the adjacent jar of ink, before bringing her hands up to her hair, and then-

“I hope my hair is safe tonight?”

Luz snorts. 

“No, tonight your hair is safe.” A lion’s share of the tension bleeds out of the room with that comment, as both of them chuckle somewhat awkwardly.

“I take it then, that you somehow managed to escape the castle.” Lilith says, trying to make conversation. The tone is light, almost emotionless, but there’s a hint of curiosity and... frustration? There, Luz frowns, before nodding.

“Yeah, I did.”

The chuckle that bubbles forth from the older witch’s lips isn’t one of happiness, and when she looks at Luz again, there’s something sharp in her expression that sets her on edge.

“How do you keep doing it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been trying to get Eda’s curse undone for decades, it took me months, years to pry a deal out of Belos, and he lied to me. You, you just walk up and ask nicely, and he just does it.” The frustration in her voice is painful to hear, her hand shakes as it reaches over the table, grabbing a glass vial of apple blood from which she takes an uncomfortably large swig.

Luz wants to bring up the fact that she actually had something the emperor could’ve used to his advantage, but something stills that logical part of her brain- it’s indignation at the accusation.

“You shouldn’t have cursed Eda to begin with.”  Luz counters, and Lilith glares at her then. She has a feeling that if they weren’t in the Owl House, she would’ve spent the next ten minutes dodging magic bolts for that comment.

After a tense few seconds, Lilith’s expression shifts, eyes downcast as they turn towards the ground. A sigh passes her lips that seems to deflate the witch completely. “You’re right. Eda paid the price for my foolishness.”

“Why even do something like that?” Luz asks. “I mean, I don’t have any siblings, and I’ve only really had friends for like- a little over a month? But I couldn’t imagine doing something like that to them.” Lilith’s gaze meets hers again, pulled away from glaring at the floor by the girl's words, and there’s a wetness building up in her eyes, tears she’s desperately fighting not to shed.

“Neither could I.” She admits, the confession hangs in the air for a few moments, before- in a voice that seems to quiver with a lifetime of regret, she elaborates- “Eda and I, we- we were always together, didn’t matter what we did or where we went, we were always together. We both wanted to join the emperor’s coven, but there was only one spot left.”

“And so you wanted to win by cheating?” Luz says, but there’s no real bite to the accusation, an undertone of curiosity has replaced it.

“Eda, she always worked so much harder than everyone else, I never would have stood a chance. So, I went to the night market the night before, the curse wasn’t even supposed to do any of that owl stuff, it was supposed to sap a bit of her powers, bring her down to my own level, it was only supposed to last for a day.”

“And what happened, did you win?”

Lilith flinches at that, before shaking her head. “She forfeited, she didn’t want to fight her sister, she turned away a- and that’s when she first transformed..” A wet laugh bursts from trembling lips. “I- I’d never even considered something like that, but that’s Eda for you.”  Luz can’t help but feel a pang of pity for the older Clawthorne. It’s not going to make her forgive the ex- leader of the emperor’s coven, not by a long shot. But it’s- strangely comforting to know that it wasn’t something done with any malicious intent.

Still, she’s not sure what she’s gonna do if the older woman breaks down crying, something she seems uncomfortably close to doing at this moment.  Maybe changing the topic would be a better idea? Surely it couldn’t be worse than having a crying Lilith Clawthorne in the living room at, what? 2, 3 AM?

“So, you’re staying at the Owl House now?”  She says, interrupting the woman about to reach for the vial of apple blood again. She nods shakily, confirming Luz’ question.

“Yeah, I’ve been sleeping on the couch, or- well, fighting over the couch with King.” Both of them look to the small demon currently curled up on the chair. “I won tonight.”

“So, what are you doing up this late?” Luz can't help but let her curiosity get the better of her now.

Lilith takes one look at the stack of papers before her, sighs deeply, and reaches over to the vial of apple blood again, Luz is beginning to worry about how much the woman seems to have drank, the glass vial is half empty at this point.

“I uh, usually work till late. These are schematics of the Emperor’s castle.” Lilith says, holding out one of the pieces of paper. Luz takes a few steps forwards, looking at the paper for a bit. She recognises the labyrinthian structure.

“Why?” She says, handing the paper back to the raven haired witch, with another sigh Lilith crumples up the paper before incinerating it into a small pile of ash with a quick fire spell.

“Eda wanted me to help break you out, something that isn't necessary anymore it seems, she brought up a good point. You did save my life, thank you for that by the way.”

“Uh, no problem?”

“And well, she’d kick me out otherwise, and I’m currently unemployed- and homeless.” There’s an attempt to make light of the situation, Lilith tries to brush it off behind a joke, but her voice is trembling

Both of them fall silent at that, and the awkward silence from earlier sets in again. Before Lilith says something that has Luz’ skin crawl.

“Is it true, are you really…. his?”

Luz’ eyes widen comically.

WHAT, HOW WHEN WHERE WHY DOES SHE KNOW!???

“Uh, wha- what are you talking about?”

“Eda told me.”

Well… crap. Tonight has been too much to deal with this discussion right now.

“C-can we talk about that another time?” She tries, and is surprised when after a bit, Lilith inclines her head.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Goodnight.”

Luz walks out of the room a little quicker than normal. Once in her room, she wastes no time curling up in her sleeping bag and hoping for sleep to come quickly.

Thankfully, it did, but it was a sleep filled with the emperor’s voice, and a thousand questions she wanted to ask.

--

The following morning, Luz finds herself awoken by the normal bustling of the Owl House. She hears Eda yelling at Hooty and King’s angry screeches that are no doubt a result from being ignored.

She unzips her sleeping bag, changing into her normal hoodie before walking downstairs. She spots Lilith sleeping on the couch, a blanket draped over her as she dozes away peacefully, unaware of the chaos a few meters away from her.

It’s almost amusing, how the impeccable Lilith snores like a lumberjack.

Still, the sounds of what seem like copper being launched at a certain house demon and the hissing in response makes her aware of one fact.

They don’t know she’s back yet.

Well, time to get it over with. She thinks, and after putting on a brave face, she steps into the doorway.

King freezes the moment his eyes land on her. With a high pitched scream of “You’re back!!!!” He hops off of the chair and slams into her legs, hugging them for all he’s worth.

She crouches down, picking up the small king of demons before hugging him back.

“I missed you too.” She mutters, and she feels King’s squeeze her a bit tighter in response, when she puts him back down he rushes off into the living room, returning moments later with her phone.

“Sorry I used up all the battery- I mean this foolish device of yours has a pitiful life expectancy, nyeh.” He says. Luz chuckles, muttering a quick “thanks” as she puts the phone back in her pocket.

Suddenly there’s a hand ruffling her head, Eda walking past her with a mug of apple blood.

“Hi kid.” she mutters before taking a sip and heading towards the front door. 

She looks at King confusedly.”uhh.”

“Wait for it.”

Eda turns around slowly. The moment her eyes land on Luz, she blinks, mouth agape.

The mug clatters to the floor, the juice spilling out over the carpet. She vaguely notices Hooty lapping up the liquid before a blur slams into her, a pair of arms wrap around her with an intensity that’s almost uncomfortable but feels so, so right. 

She returns the hug after a few moments, arms wrapping around Eda’s waist. She nuzzles deeply into the hug. Everything that’s happened just seems less important right now.

Slowly but surely, the two detach themselves, neither really wanting to let go, suddenly, Eda’s crouched down to her level, arms on her shoulders.

“You alright kid? No curses or do-hickeys I need to be worried about, right?”

Luz laughs. “Eda, you’re being fussy.”

“Cram it. I just spent a week worrying, I’m allowed this.” Luz rolls her eyes but allows the check-up.

“Lilith was there when I came back, by the way. She works pretty late.” Eda stiffens for a bit, before shaking her head.

“You sure? Lily’s never been one to stay up late, always punctual.”  Luz nods, affirming that she in fact was sure.

Eda frowns. “That’s something to ask about later, how’d you escape, by the way?” Luz beams at that.

“I didn’t just escape, I beat him.”

Eda looks at her with a look that reminds her of the looks the people at human-school used to give her, like she’s just grown a second, and possibly a third head- all whilst turning pink.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Nope.”

Next thing she knows, she’s being ushered off to the kitchen.

“I’m gonna need details, lots of details.”

--

The day was passing, quicker than he’d imagined, yet slower than he would have liked at the moment. He sat in his private study as he had for the past eight hours, sat on his wooden chair in the corner, surrounded by hundreds of drawings, each and every single one of them corresponding to a memory.

 Every once in a while, he’d tear his gaze away from one of the pictures in his hands. Each time, he noticed the sun crawling a bit further across the sky. 

His mask was laid on the table next to him. He supposed he didn’t really need it within the isolation of his private quarters.

It also made it easier to wipe away the tears.

The night’s events played through his mind on repeat, everything- all the hundreds, if not thousands of hours of speculating, and never would he ever have considered the possibility that had become a reality.

He supposes he really should’ve expected the unexpected.

After all, there was a Noceda involved.

He hears the door to his study open, slowly, meticulously. He tenses for a moment as footsteps echo throughout the candle-lit room. But he relaxed soon after. Those footsteps were familiar.

“Kiki, I recall telling people this tower is off-limits.” He says. There’s no real venom in his voice, merely a tired tone that he hopes she doesn’t inquire about any further.

He shifts the chair around, turning to see what she’s doing. She’s looking at the hundreds of drawings that are strewn across the walls, depicting a myriad of scenarios, each and every single one has his heart ache.

“Do you remember, I think it was sixty years ago, when you asked me about what it was like, living this long?”

He blinks, realizing he’s been lost in thought, before turning his head back to his right hand woman.

“You mean, after we won that battle near the armpit?”

She nods.”The rain beat the grassy field into mud, the cavalry couldn’t charge, we were outnumbered four to one.” 

That battle was one that would stick with him forever, they’d fought like beasts that night. A pack of sick and starving wolves breaking themselves upon a herd of bison. They’d been beaten down, their charges on foot pushed back half a dozen times. 

“You saved us that night.” He says, and it’s the first time in fifty years he’s spoken fondly about those vile times. “I’d never seen someone use an ice spell that effectively before.”

It was beautiful. Horrifying, but a work of art, freezing the two inches of rain-soaked mud into permafrost just as the enemy had charged at him.

Men, carried forth by their momentum suddenly found their legs snapped. The various war mounts had suffered the same fate, throwing their riders as their limbs cracked and shattered like toothpicks.

None had escaped that night. Thinking of that detail sours his mood somewhat.

“Anyways, back to the question at hand, do you remember that night?”

He does, he remembers the conversation they’d had well. He remembers prying the woman before him with questions, high on victory and thoroughly drunk.

He recalls the snippet she’d shared about herself that night.

“Y’know, age really isn’t what matters, after all. Most people stop living at some point, it’s usually long before they die anyways.”

“What do you mean by that?” He’d drunkenly asked.

“When you get to a certain age, you just- you stop paying attention to the here, the now. You think of how the blossoms used to bloom, of how you laughed and loved, about winters past instead of springs to come, and as far as I’m concerned. Living in the past, that’s not living.”

He’d never fully understood the meaning of those words- still didn’t. Truth be told, but he’d thought of them often, when wondering if there had been any way he could’ve done something different.

“Why bring that night up now?” He asks.

“Because you’ve got that same look in your eyes, I’ve seen it a thousand times before. Those are the eyes of a man mourning the life he had.” She says, with a sigh.

“I- “ He begins, but he can’t bring himself to continue, falling silent as he looks once more out the window. “I did so many things, horrible, evil things. And yet nothing haunts me like that.”

“What?”

“Leaving them.” 

“The human?” Kikimora says. The dismissive tone makes his hackles rise, but he swallows back the impulse to.. inquire further, instead he merely quirks an eyebrow.

“She has a name, you know. Luz Noceda.” 

“Is it true?” She says, ignoring him. “Is she truly… Yours?” 

“Yes.” He answers back instantly. “She’s of my own flesh and blood, my daughter.”

“Why?”

He blinks, brows furrowing as he looks down at Kiki once again, she’s meeting his gaze, an expression of genuine confusion on her face.

“What?”

“You’re the emperor, you could have married the most powerful demoness on the isles, the most beautiful witch. Anything you could have wished for would have been yours. Why a human?”

“ Careful , Kikimora, you overstep.” He growls. He can feel the magic bubbling to the surface. His fist clenches, nails digging painfully into the skin of his hand. It’s a pleasant distraction from the sheer fury that courses through him.

“I’m just asking, my liege. I do not understand it. Why seek out a human? They are without magic, they are weak, fragile, benea-”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut your mouth .” He says, and, ever the faithful servant, Kikimora does just that. He sighs, pushing himself up off of the chair. He towers over the small demoness. Looking down on her soothes him somewhat, a reminder that her babbling can easily be stopped should he choose to.

“I- I loved her, and somehow, she loved me too. You say you could have provided me with any bride I could have wished for. Can you say to me, you could have found someone who loved me? Me? Not Belos or the mighty Emperor or even the “titan’s messenger”? Me, Ciarán?”

The mention of his first name stumps her for a few seconds, before she surprises him. Her shoulders shake, and a strange sound passes from her lips as she doubles over.

It takes him a few moments to realize that she’s laughing. He just stands there, confused, unsure of what to do.

After a few moments, she seems to have regained some semblance of control over herself, as she lets the last chuckles pass through her lips, she says. “If anyone had ever told me that Emperor Belos himself would preach of love, I would have called them mad.”

He lets out a snort. “I do suppose it is out of character.”

“When did you even find the time?” He looks at her confused, before the meaning behind her words smacks him in the face.

“I’m not discussing that with you.”

“Well you’re discussing something with me. I’m too invested now, or would you like me to tell the shade? I’m sure that would be much more interesting to watch.”

He knows that he’s been beaten, and so. He obliged her, warping the stone into a makeshift chair.

“Well, where to begin?”

“At the beginning.”

And so he tells her about everything. About the titan and his decision to leave, about the woman that had almost broken his bones and saved his soul, about the bickering and the banter, the bitching and the love, about the product of that love and his decision to leave them behind, about the titan’s interference and the years he had forever lost.

At the end of his tale, he’s almost been driven to tears.

From the discreet snorting he hears, Kikimora doesn’t seem to be faring much better.

“You made a mistake, earlier today.” She says, and he cannot help but agree.

“I allowed my emotions to get the best of me.”

“They will come for her.”

“They will die before they get the opportunity.”

“She’s not safe out there.” 

“She has the Clawthorne sisters and the shade looking after her.” 

“You know it will not be enough.”

“I do.” 

“You know what you have to do.”

He sighs, but he stands up. She is right. He knows what he has to do, it is the best way to keep her safe.

“Summon the council.”

--

This was… unusual.

Alador Blight was a busy man. Whilst the abomination coven might not have the members of the potion or plant covens, he still has tens of thousands of witches he is responsible for. He was in a meeting, discussing new revolutionary discoveries about abomination magic, when he’d received the summons.

An emergency summons of the council meant things were afoot. Bad things. So, he’d rushed out of the meeting, travelling towards the castle with all haste.

They were currently sitting, all nine of them around the table. Lilith’s expulsion from the coven had been a rumor that spread like wildfire through the upper echelons of the isles.

Odalia had laughed, mocking the Clawthorne for something she had no idea of. Alador wasn’t so optimistic.

He might not have liked Lilith, but she was reliable- steadfast. He just hoped her replacement would have the same qualities.

He sighed, rubbing his temples as he came to the realization that he was going to have to find a new mentor for Amity. Lilith might not have been declared a criminal, but Odalia wouldn’t stand for a mere “commoner” teaching a Blight.

Some nights, he cursed her incessant pride.

The Emperor swept into the room then, flanked on one side by Kikimora, the right hand woman they knew was older than most of their bloodlines,

They rose in unison, all bowing as the emperor stood before his chair.

He didn’t sit down, but motioned for them all to take their places.

From within his cloak, the famous shape of his staff appeared. The orb atop it crackled with roaring red energies. They intensified and brightened until a few had to avert their eyes.

Even though his eyes burned, Alador didn’t look away. He couldn’t allow the Blight family to appear weak, even before the indomitable might of the Emperor.

When the glow subsided, hovering in the air above the white wooden table, was a projection.

Alador felt like he recognised the figure.

Tanned skin, dark brown hair, a slightly lengthened pixie cut. a two toned hoodie and white shoes, denim shorts as well.

“Do any of you recognise this person.” Belos’ voice rang out, murmurs rang throughout the room. Alador merely looked, he was sure he recognised the girl from somewhere.

Then, something caught his eyes, within the dark brown mess of a haircut, her ears poked out.

Rounded ears.

“The human.” He muttered, suddenly all eyes were on him. That’s where he’d recognised her from, she fit the description his youngest had given of her perfectly.

What would Belos want with a human?

“A human?” He could hear Quill snort derisively from the other side of the table. He mentally scolded the foolish youngster for laying his opinions down on the table like that. 

The temperature in the room dropped, and even though they couldn’t see it, the glare Belos sent Quill at the comment was felt by all of them.

“Doesn’t she study at Hexside?” Alador interjects, drawing the attention away from Quill and onto him. “My daughter has mentioned her before.” 

“A human studying magic, how… Interesting.” Cirin’s voice calls out, and loathe to admit it, he agrees. Humans had no magic of their own, that was common knowledge among all in the isles. Coincidentally it was the main reason many considered humans below them.

“Do you wish for us to bring her to you?” The gruff head of the bard coven mutters from within his bushy beard.

Wow. That’s like- the fourth time I’ve actually heard him speak. Alador thinks he'd kept a tally. When one attended as many meetings as one of the heads of the covens, oftentimes one needed to find ways to spend the boring moments, the alternative was paying attention to the droning. And that would do his sanity in.

Not because of the meeting, but having to recount them every. Single. Time. And Odalia would make him, he knew she would.

He takes a sip of the drink in front of him.

“No.” Belos’ voice rings out again. “You, and all those within your ranks, are to protect her with your lives.”

Only to spit it straight back out.

“What?” He says, pure confusion lacing every syllable.

“For once I agree with the muckhead.” Cirin’s voice calls out. He’s too shocked to register the insult, merely continuing to gawk at Belos.

“Yeah, why should we protect some mere human?” Quill adds.

One day I am going to strangle him. Alador thinks to himself, screwing his eyes shut as he groans in frustration.

A glance in the Emperor’s direction makes him wonder if he’ll even get the chance.

Two mirrored rings of pure blue run within the black holes of the golden mask, both of them boring into Quill’s soul.

“Quill.” The emperor said, and Alador wondered if he’d ever feel warmth again, the psychic frost spreading up the black walls as the emperor’s words seemed to freeze the air itself.

“The next time you make such a comment about my daughter, I wipe you, your family, your entire bloodline, even your memory, from the annals of history.”

Noone dared to speak. The weight of the words spoken without a hint of the emperor’s normal tone or decorum, there was no facade, there was only raw emotion.

That was the growl of an angry parent, seconds away from ripping apart whatever stood in their way.

No words dared leave his lips, but someone did speak up. Cirin, her expression one of apprehensive curiosity.

“Please forgive me, my liege. But did you say ``your daughter?”

“I did.” With that confirmation, it was as if a spell had been broken. Murmurs broke out in every corner, Alador merely sat there, shocked to the core.

If Quill had laid his opinions on the table, Belos had just done the same with his very heart. What was he thinking ? He had always been steps ahead of their political games. To drop such an obvious weakness that could be used against him made no sense to Alador’s mind.

“I am telling you this, because I have to. She is of my blood, my only child, and therefore the next in line to the throne of the Isles.”

He pitied the girl in that moment, he knew what life would entail for her now, people would try to get in her good graces, trying to use her to further their own goals. It was the same thing that had happened to him, when he’d been younger.

The same thing Odalia was beginning to discuss doing to their children.

“As someone with a relation to me, those who would usurp me would come after her too. From what I can gather the information might have already been leaked to them. I wish for you all to swear it upon your very family names, that you will keep her safe, no matter the cost.”

Alador in that moment realizes the emperor’s gambit. Telling them wasn’t something he felt like he should share, it was a necessity to his eyes. Those heathen “red truth” cultists, among others, would jump onto the chance to harm the Emperor, and using a child that bore no sins would cause them not even a wink of lost sleep.

Had he kept it a secret, they might have only found out when she’d been taken, or worse. This ensures that every single coven member on the Isles would be obligated to protect her.

A masterstroke, he has to admit.

As the coven leaders are dismissed one by one, each swearing upon their family names to protect the newly found princess, Alador has only one thought on his mind.

He has to speak to Amity.

--

The return trip to Blight manor had been- significantly longer. He knew Odalia would want to hear about the new developments, so he’d timed it that she would be off, no doubt meeting up with her horrid “friends” that she seemed to utterly despise from the way she talked about them, yet returned every week.

He needed her out of the house for this.

When he came back, he discarded his cloak immediately, retreating into his study before calling over a servant.

“Summon Amity for me.” He’d said, before turning back to the small stack of litigation he had assembled upon the elegantly furnished desk.

A few moments later, the sound of footsteps down the hall catch his attention, followed by the rapping of a hand upon the wooden doorframe.

“Enter.” He says, turning away from the paperwork.

His youngest daughter steps into the study, her posture is perfect, ramrod straight with her hands behind her back. Like Odalia had taught them to stand.

“You summoned me, father?”

“Yes, I am to understand you have been in contact with a human by the name of Luz Noceda, am I correct?” He enunciates the word human, and watches, to his chagrin, as Amity’s face drains of all colour. Her eyes turn to the ground.

She’s probably expecting me to forbid her from talking to the human again. They’d done it with Willow Park, Odalia had insisted that any further association with the girl would have led to a tarnishing of their reputation.

Alador had tried to argue that a child as young as her shouldn’t be expected to bear a family’s expectations just yet.

He’d lost that argument, and looking at the girl before him. He wishes he’d fought harder.

It’s the same with the twins, never impolite or brash, but…

When was the last time he’d been called anything but “father”? Father was polite, it was proper, it was expected. It was a title .

Not something one would call their actual father.

He supposes their distance can only be blamed on himself, but that is something to regret another time. Amity’s eyes are still downcast towards the floor, and he sighs.

“Please look at me.” He reminds her, sparing her the lecture Odalia would no doubt have given her had she done the same in her mother’s presence.

When her eyes rise up to meet his again, he is surprised to find tears welling up in them.

“Fret not, you are still allowed to keep associating with her, I merely wish to know something.”

Amity looks at him like he’s a stranger, before stumbling over her words, no doubt trying to form an “adequate” reply.

“She’s uh, strange. But nice, and sweet- very sweet, she cares a lot for people, and tries to do right by them.”

There’s two things that Alador notices in that moment.

One, she sounds like the complete opposite of the Emperor.

Two, his daughter is blushing .

He looks at her, confused for a few seconds, before he connects the dots.

His daughter has a crush on the emperor’s daughter.

All this time Odalia had been trying to maneuver their daughter into the upper echelons of the isles, and Amity ended up developing a crush on Belos’ daughter. Odalia is going to lose it when she hears of this, but she’s not going to be able to do anything. Her pride will not allow her distaste for such things to shine through.

And he’s got front row seats for when it happens.

The mere thought...

He cannot subdue the giggle that dares exit his lips, and he feels tears of mirth well up in his eyes as his daughter looks at him like he’s gone insane.

“Father?” She asks slowly, he just waves her off.

“You- you’re dismissed.” He says, and with a quick nod she leaves the room. 

Alador doesn’t stop chuckling for a few minutes. All the while, one thought passes through his mind, again and again.

“ This will certainly be interesting.”

Chapter Text

The news had spread like wildfire.

There had been no massive fanfare. The closest to an official statement made had been at the council, and yet it had made its way up the grapevine with a simply ridiculous haste.

It hadn’t even been a day, and yet everywhere on the isles the hushed whispers spoke of the same development.

“I heard Belos got her as a gift from the titan.”

“She’s one of the emperor’s experiments.”

“He’s playing some kind of trick.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Within twenty-four hours, hundreds of versions of the exact same story had made the rounds. All of them congregating back to one thing.

The Emperor had a child.

A human, no less. The story varied. Some said he had snatched her away in the night, some claimed he had bartered with dark forces to produce an heir, a few fools even claimed their mighty leader had loved a human woman once upon a time.

It didn’t matter, because it all led back to one person.

Luz Noceda.

The name was familiar to some. A human that had wandered into the Isles. Most people wrote her off as a curiosity and nothing more. When news of her tutelage under the owl lady spread, some scorned her. By the time of her enrollment at Hexside had spread, everyone had all but forgotten about the human.

By the end of the day, she was the single most talked about person on the isles.

--

When principal Hieronymus Bump found out, he had simply been going about his day. Sunday shopping was one of his few pleasures in life, just taking his time, conversing with the various stall owners and buying fresh produce.

A perfect way to calm his nerves before another week of dealing with all those entitled little shi- the next generation of witches as he guided them through school.

He’d just paid a few hundred snails for one of his favourite treats, a jar of crab apples, this time of year they were deliciously crunchy- less likely to pinch him too, when someone had come up to him.

He recognised the man, Perry Porter, the father of one Augustus “Gus” Porter, a gifted young illusion track witch. A renowned reporter for the foremost news channel on the Isles.

He frowned a bit as he saw the microphone in the man’s hand, and spotted the camera crew following the reporter, straight towards him.

“Ah mister Porter, how are you.” He asked, taking in the man’s near frantic expression.

“I’m doing fine, thank you. Are you available for a quick interview?” Bump looked around, trying to find- and coming up short on- an excuse to politely decline the offer.

“I suppose, I’m just here doing some shopping. How may I help you.” He says, and he supposes a ten minute delay isn’t all that bad.

The microphone is all but thrust in his face.

“How do you feel, having the privilege of having the princess of the Isles attending your school.” 

Did- did he hear that right?

He gave Frenwin a quick whack, furiously muttering a quick “Are you messing with me again?” Under his breath before turning back to the camera.

“Unfortunately I have no idea as to what you mean, last I heard we still had an Emperor. And unless he abdicated earlier today I imagine we still do.”

The way Perry looks at him, makes him feel like he’s missed something, a few seconds pass. I could’ve been home by now . He thinks, before Perry finds his words again.

“Do you mean, you were unaware.”

“Of what?”

Perry turns back to the camera. “Reliable sources have informed us of a shocking development. Earlier today, during a council meeting between the leaders of all covens the information that our Emperor Belos has a daughter was revealed.” He turns back to Bump again, holding out his microphone to the elderly principal. “The girl in question is currently enrolled at the Hexside school of magic and demonics.”

Bump doesn’t answer. What date is it today? This has to be a joke, right? Belos having- a child of all things, it’s too absurd for words. But- Porter wasn’t known for going in without proper sources, and he was curious as to who it apparently was.

“I can’t say I’ve heard anything of the sort prior to just now, who exactly is our newly discovered princess.”

“It has been brought to our attention, that the long lost princess is none other than Luz Noceda, a human who found her way into the isles a mere month prior.” He turns back to the camera. “This news, however, begs the question- did she really find her way into the isles on her own, or was this planned by our Emperor himself.

Bump stops paying attention to anything past the word Luz. 

Luz .

The owl lady’s protege, the girl interested in studying all magic tracks, the one he’d nearly expelled on one- two occasions? 

The Emperor’s daughter…

He needs a drink.

--

When Boscha heard of the news, she’d just come back from a day out in Bonesborough with her friends. 

No sooner had the girl entered her family’s mansion, had a voice called out from deeper within the massive structure’s bowels. With a sigh and a quick response of “Coming!” She’d shrugged off her jacket and made her way to where she knew her parents would be.

The living room, which was probably the most useless room in the entire house, and that included her dad’s billiards room. The last time the three of them had been in that room together for any length of time Boscha was pretty sure had been when she’d still been in a high chair.

When she entered the room, her parents were both sat on the expensive leather sofa that they often boasted about so much. 

“Boscha, please take a seat.” Her father said, not even looking up from his newspaper. Her mother is watching her like a hawk as she walks over and plops herself down in one of the black recliners.

“You share classes with Luz Noceda, correct?” Her father says. Putting down his paper, Boscha looks confusedly into her father’s three eyes.

“Yeah, the round eared freak that hangs out with half-a-witch Willow, why?” Her eyes light up in excitement. “Please tell me she got expelled.”

Wouldn’t that be hilarious? The human that had caused Amity Blight to go soft, kicked out of Hexside. Oh, how they’d laugh.

“No, she didn’t”. Is all her mother says.

“It’s been brought to my attention, that your relation with Amity has… deteriorated somewhat, is that correct?” Boscha stiffens at her father’s accusation.

“I- it’s not my fault she just decided to ditch us in favour of that- that human.”

From the way her parents’ expression clouds, she reckons that’s not the right thing to say.

“That just means that the Blight girl has, once again- picked up on something sooner than you have.” Boscha can’t hide the flinch at her father’s words. “You are to mingle with her to the best of your ability, I do not care if you have to grovel, you are going to make this Luz like you.” Her father says, looking to her mother, who nods in confirmation.

“B-but why?” 

“Because, Boscha, that human is our Emperor’s daughter.”

--

Gwen had been having a pretty easy day. It was Sunday, so she was about to close for the day. The joys of only having to work for half a day once a week. She needed only for those two weirdos in cloaks to pick a bottle and get out and she could start cleaning up.

She didn't even know why the two were so insistent on the whole “mysterious cloaked figure” schtick. She already knew that the two of them were wild witches. Had known from the moment they’d first stepped into her store a few days ago, actually, but whatever floats their boat, she supposes.

The scream of her bell alerts her to the fact that she’s got another customer, and she barely manages to hide the widening of her eyes when she sees none other than Principal Bump speed walking towards her.

“Well well well, if it isn’t good o-”

He slams his hand down on the counter, cutting her off and depositing what at first glance seems like a few hundred snails, and just says.

“Give me a bottle of your strongest stuff.”

Gwendolyn blinks.

The man looks, well he looks like his age is about to catch up to him, his eyes (were those even his?) darting around frantically, his hands clammy and beads of sweat dripping down his face.

She quirks an eyebrow, a lazy smile on her face. “You sure about that? Might not make it to retirement if your liver gives up on you.”

He brushes her off, scoffing at the concern. “Nonsense, my doctor said the same about my colon, and I’m still kicking. I find going to the toilet much easier now.”

“TMI.” She says, barely suppressing a shudder of disgust as she walks into the back room.

It’s lined wall to wall with slobbering, snarling demonic apple creatures. The cages rattle as she walks past the small ones to one of the cages sat on the floor.

These apple creatures that produced the isle’s apple blood came in a myriad of sizes. The small ones, only the size of honey melons, were the ones that provided the juice boxes most witches brought with them to school. She has four dozen of them lined on the walls.

These creatures have an interesting biology. As they grow, they seem to ferment, for lack of a better term. Their blood becomes more and more alcoholic as they age. The alcohol does affect the critters themselves, to a considerable effect. Problem is? They’re all angry drunks.

The watermelon sized ones on the ground are around the size where they become alcoholic. The room to her right has a few bigger ones, pumpkin sized at the smallest. The percentage in those was high enough that their blood actually burned. During the savage ages some warlords had actually used the technique to burn down villages.

But, that’s not what she’s looking for.

Stacked up against the far wall, are two even bigger ones, barely able to fit into a wheelbarrow, she reckons. Those were always a pain to drain. But she’s not there for them, either.

She places her hand on the wall, fingers splayed as she mutters a quick enchantment, breaking the illusion spell and revealing the door. A further two spells unlock it, and she steps into the cold dark room.

Instantly she hears gnashing against bars, and she sighs. This is going to be a pain. The massive creature was taller than her, easily the size of a small carriage. Getting a fire near this bastard would probably just erase the neighborhood. 

WIth how obnoxious her neighbors tend to be, she’s given it more than a passing thought.

He’d all but snatched the bottle out of her hands when she returned back with the vial of what essentially amounted to liquid death, downing the vial in a single go.

“What’s got you in such a tizzy, by the way?” She can’t help but ask. Maybe they’d lost the grudgeby game to glandis again? 

“Well, I just found out that I almost expelled our emperor’s daughter… twice.”

She shrugs, noticing from the corner of her eye how the two “totally not suspicious looking” guys stiffen. “I suppose that comes with the whole “headmaster” thing, right?”

And then the words finally fully hit home.

“Uh, Bump. I think old age might finally be catching up to you.” She says, digging a finger into her ear. Had she gotten something stuck in there? “I could’ve sworn you just said something about ol’ tall and grumpy having a kid?”

“You didn’t mishear.” He sighs, burying his head in his hands. “Porter approached me about it about ten minutes ago, something about it being revealed at the last council of covens.”

She says nothing, well, she wants to say something but her mind is still stuck in what appears to be an infinite loop of What the fuck?! Eventually however, after doing a stunning impression of a goldfish for about ten seconds, she finds her words again.

“Well, don’t leave me hanging here, who is it?” She can’t help but ask.

“Luz Noceda.” Bump says, before excusing himself to take his leave. From the way he stumbles out of her shop she reckons he’s gonna be having an especially crappy Monday. Well, it’s his own fault, she supposes.

Luz Noceda…. Belos’ daughter. 

“Heh, didn’t know he had it in him.” She chuckles. This is going to be a shitshow of biblical proportions, and it’s going to be something she is going to take full advantage of.

The thought makes her lose her composure for a bit, breaking off into a fit of giggles that has her clutching her sides.

She’s in the process of wiping a few mirthful tears from her eyes, when she notices two people standing in front of her.

“Can I help you?” She asks, they don’t say anything for a bit, seemingly content to just- stand there for a bit, acting as supposedly intimidating pieces of decór.

“Y’know, kinda rude to just- have your hood up whilst indoors.” She mutters, crossing her arms.

In unison, both reach for their hoods, pulling them up over their heads and revealing two identical faces, two pairs of tusks jutting out from thick lips, burning red eyes and buzz cuts.

  Great, the Grimsby twins, bastards are responsible for the deaths of at least twenty people in Bonesborough alone. She can’t help but sigh, before shooting them a convincing- yet very fake smile. “Thank you, now what can I help you with?”

“Did we hear that right?” The one she’s labelled twin number one says, and she can’t help but quirk an eyebrow.

“What, exactly?”

Number two seems to take offense to that, slamming a hand down on her nicely furnished countertop. “DON’T PLAY DUMB YOU BITCH, DID BUMP JUST SAY THAT BASTARD’S GOT A KID?!”

She merely quirks an eyebrow. “I just polished that countertop.” With a deep sigh, she turns to number one. “Next time he scuffs my shop, he’s losing a limb, just for clarity’s sake. And yes, apparently Belos has a daughter, why?”

Number two takes a step forward, but number one stops him before he can make a mistake he won’t live to regret. 

“I’d like to apologize for my brother’s behaviour, I am Jaco and this is Willis.”

Jaco and Willis- yeah, she was gonna stick with one and two.

 “Do you have any idea as to where this “Luz” might be?”

She shrugs. “Kid usually hangs out in that little clearing two hills over after school, she’ll probably be there again tomorrow. Why?”

“No reason.” The next thing she knows the thudding of what appears to be a very heavy sack of snails is heard, as number one deposits a bag on her counter. “On an unrelated note, would it be possible to buy one of those apple creatures?”

She snatches the bag off of the table, weighing it in her hand, before a smirk passes over her lips.

“I don’t see why that can’t be arranged.

--

The following day.

Breakfasts in the Blight household were usually a quiet occurrence. The servants would have breakfast on the table at 8. Amity usually woke up first, eating alone before heading off to school, the twins woke up, ate, and headed off to school together, usually about ten minutes after Amity left.

Usually it wasn’t until half an hour after the children were out of the house that Alador and Odalia would head down to break their own fast.

Alador had gotten up earlier, and when Odalia had come down for breakfast, he’d already finished his coffee and eaten his toast, face buried in the newspaper as Odalia took a seat and buttered a few scones.

He’d been reading some quite interesting articles about a stock increase in furs because the woods around the pelvis were becoming less safe, when she’d spoken up.

“So, how was the council meeting yesterday?”

He takes a bit to respond, mostly because he spends those few seconds wiping the grin off of his face, before neatly folding up the newspaper and looking at his wife.

“It was, well, quite interesting.” He knows she doesn’t know about the human yet. She’d come home late yesterday and hadn’t mentioned it at all.

“Well?” She says, after a few seconds.

“Did you notice anything about Amity, lately?”

She scoffs. “Besides that shameful display at the Covention? Absolutely pitiful, the nerve of that Clawthorne wench. Though, I suppose it's only fitting she’s been discharged from her position in the Emperor’s Coven, she never was a good fit for such an important position, I mean look at her family, her sister’s the most wanted criminal on the isles.” 

“Was.” he mutters, and the glare she shoots him has him rolling his eyes, he pours himself another mug of coffee, taking a sip before replying.

“I didn’t mean her school, dear. I meant her social life.”

That makes Odalia frown. “Cithara did mention that Amity has been rather… distant from Boscha lately, why?”

“Well.” He says. “I know from a reliable source, that our youngest daughter has developed a crush.”

Odalia groans. “Why doesn’t she just listen? None of the rabble in her year is good enough, Hexside itself is going down hill if you ask me. Letting a human into the school is disgraceful.” The derision in her voice at the mention of the “human” makes Alador’s lips inadvertently quirk up.

“Well, who is he? The commoner our daughter has decided to make a fool out of us with.”

“She.” Alador corrects her gently.

Odalia goes very, very, very stil, and Alador’s able to count the veins in her forehead pop up one by one as she goes purple.

3… 2… 1… 

 “What.” She all but growls. “I thought we’d talked her out of those, those vile delusions when she first came to us with that “I like girls” stuff. How dare she drag our good name through the mud. Last time you talked me out of sending her to that therapist, but this time I am going to- which girl has she decided to mock us with, is it that Park girl?”

“No, from what I have been able to gather. The huma-”

“THE HUMAN?! I AM GOING TO HAVE HER DISOWNED, HOW DARE SHE, AFTER ALL WE DID FOR HER, SHE GOES OFF AND- A HUMAN?”

He can practically see the steam coming out of her ears, and thinks to himself that this tirade has gone on long enough. So, he places a hand over his wife’s. She looks at him, thunder in her eyes and he has to fight back a flinch.

He suddenly remembers why he doesn’t win arguments against her, Odalia is absolutely terrifying when angry. And he’s about to make her even madder.

He wonders, for a few seconds, if he’s made the right call- before remembering that not telling her now will lead to his daughter getting disowned.

“Dear, calm yourself. Something interesting came up at the council yesterday.”

She growls, actually growls at him, and he pulls his hand back before she can take a bite out of him. “Honey I’d love to know what you and that bunch of old fa-

“Apparently, our esteemed Emperor has an heir.” He says, and Odalia stares at him for a few seconds, mouth agape and eyes bulging.

“What?”

He nods. “It was quite the shock, but Belos himself informed us of the fact that, there is someone of his blood in the isles, a child no less. Hidden in plain view, if you would”

He can see the gears turning in his wife’s head, and knowing her as long as he has, he can with a 90% certainty guess the next thing she’s going to ask.

“How old?”

Bingo.

“Fourteen years old, why?”

She waves him off, suddenly the very picture of self confident smugness. “And this is why you aren’t in charge of the household, this is perfect. Don’t you see? Amity is to cut off contact with this- this human and ignore those vile urges, if we can get her to seduce this heir we might be able to ascend into the royal family. Do I perchance know this child of Belos’? She asks.

“Yes.” He says, taking another sip of his coffee. “You spoke about the child quite recently, my dear. Our esteemed Emperor’s child goes by the name of Luz Noceda.”

He watches as his wife rests her chin on her entwined hands, eyebrows scrunched deep in thought as she seems to be trying to recall the name. It takes about a minute before he sees her connect the dots.

Her eyes go wide, and she jumps up from the table, startling a maid as she yells out.

“THE HUMAN?”

“The human girl , yes.” He says, looking at his wife’s dumbstruck expression. “It seems our daughter was a few steps ahead of us when it comes to that, don’t you think?”

Odalia slowly sinks down into her chair, looking as if she’s just seen Blight manor burn to the ground. Her hands come up, rubbing circles on her temple as she stares in mortified shock at the Ramsberry jam scones on the expensive marble plate.

“B-but.” She begins, before falling silent again, and Alador is really fighting back a laugh that will no doubt mean him sleeping on the couch for the coming month.

“She-” Odalia turns pale, flushes green for a bit, before turning white as a ghost again.

And then she stands up.

Well, there goes her four hundred year old family heirloom. Alador muses, watching the plate sail through the air. It shatters against the wall, the scones slowly sliding down, leaving trails of purple-red as they slowly join the shards of marble.

“I’ll be in my study.” She manages to growl out through gritted teeth.

He’s silent as she storms off, he’s silent as he hears her storm up the stairs. He hears the door to her study slam shut and he can faintly hear the incensed roar from upstairs, followed by the rinkling of breaking glass.

And he just doubled over laughing. He’s barely able to keep himself seated, grabbing onto the table as if his life depends on it as he cackles till his sides hurt and his lungs ache. He spends another ten minutes descending into fits of giggles every time his mind wanders back to the expressions his wife had made.

“Uh, sir.” He freezes, side eying the maid he hadn’t even heard enter the room. With a quick cough and a straightening of his shirt, he looks at her.  He’d been so lost in his mirth that he hadn’t even noticed her enter. 

“Yes, what is it?” He manages, flashing her a smile that he hopes is reassuring.

“A-are you okay?”

He blinks, before waving the maid off. “Yes yes, I am fine, thank you for your concern.”

“Very well. I cleaned up the scones- and the plates. Shall I take my leave?”

“Yes, you are free to take your leave.” He freezes however, just as she’s about to walk through the door. “Adalind, could you please come here.” The maid goes stiff as a board, walking up to him with fear in her eyes.

He fishes out a small pouch of snails, depositing it in the maid’s hand.

“Don’t tell my wife.”

--

Luz had, despite everything, been quite excited for school. Especially now that she wasn’t at the castle anymore, but back at the Owl House.

She’d gotten up early, as she usually did, gotten ready, ate some breakfast and packed her books, depositing her spare glyphs from her escape from Belos' castle that saturday in a cabinet. She wouldn’t want to grab her bag for lunch and accidentally blow up a classroom. 

All in all, today was gonna be a good day.

That was, until she actually got to school. Eda had barely flown off, before she saw Boscha walking towards her.

She sighed. Well, at least it’ll be over with soon . Though, Boscha did look, apprehensive? Her thumbs were twiddled, her face was pale and she was looking back and forth frantically.

“Hey.” She said, once there was only a measly ten feet between them.

“Hey?” Luz said back confusedly. Was there something wrong?

She didn’t immediately respond, kicking at the dirt for a bit before, after taking a deep breath and looking at Luz.

Boscha opened her mouth, and by now the triclopean girl was shaking. “L-look Luz, I- I just wanted to let you know, I’m sorry, and I’ll never bother you or your friends again, p- please don’t be mad at me?”

Luz blinked, the bully was absolutely terrified. What had happened?

“Okaayyy?” She said, unsure of what else to say. And a blinding smile passes over the pink haired girl’s face.

“Thank you, your highness.” She says, taking a bow before running off again.

Luz’ mind freezes.

Your highness?

--

Luz was barely keeping it together. 

Everywhere she went, people just- they looked at her like they were scared. Everyone was polite, the teachers constantly checked up on her, everyone gave her a wide berth at school or addressed her with “your highness” as she walked past them.

Every time she heard the words, she wanted to curl into a ball and cry. After two hours and Willow finding the girl hyperventilating in the toilets, she and Amity had begun running interference. All the while, Gus kept prying her for information about humans and things to that extent. 

Even with the fact that she had three people currently trying to help her, the sights before her made her want to just- crawl into a hole somewhere.

The looks, the distance, the murmurs when they thought she wasn’t able to hear them.

It was like she was back home, like she was back to being Luz the weirdo, Luz the outcast.

She hated it.

Gus had filled her in, had explained that apparently on Sunday, the Emperor had called together the covens and revealed the truth of her parentage. The thought itself makes her sick. Now everyone on the isles knew that she was his daughter.

Nobody would ever look at her the same.

That thought- that realisation, is enough to drive her to tears. Luckily nobody’s around but her friends and school’s almost out.

Amity and Willow discreetly escort her out to the grudgeby field.

“I- I hate this.” Is all she manages to choke out, one the two of them deposit her on the bleachers. Willow rubs her shoulders as she sobs into her hands.

“We’re here for you Luz.” Amity tries, and Luz shoots her a tear filled smile before breaking back down. Gus excuses himself, saying he’s gonna just file them absent for the day.

“Why would he do this?” She asks, and the two witches exchange a look before Willow speaks up.

“Maybe he wanted to, to tell people?” Luz scoffs. “I really doubt that, it’s just like back home, everyone’s looking at me like- like I’m some sort of freak.” 

“That’s not true, you know it’s not Luz.” Amity says.

“Yeah, you’re right.” She scoffs. “They’re scared . They think just because my father’s the Emperor that I’m just gonna call him down on them or something. Like I’m suddenly gonna be the stuck up princess that always gets what she wants with a snap of her fingers.” She lets out a broken laugh. “Either that, or they treat me like I’m made of glass, like the lightest touch is going to break me, they pamper me and try to stay in my “good graces” whatever that means.”

Any hope of just being Luz has just been thrown out the window- had its kneecaps broken and was shot afterwards. All because that idiot in the castle needed to what- act like a proud father or something?

The next time Luz sees him, she is going to kick his ass. 

She stands up, drawing identical gasps of “Luz” from the witches sitting on either side of her as she storms off down the bleachers.

“Luz, where are you going?” Amity calls out, Luz turns to her a bit. “You guys head back, I- I’ve just gotta clear my head for a bit.”

Amity moves off to follow the brunette, but a hand closes around her wrist, yanking her back.

“Willow, let go of me, we gotta go after her.” The plant witch shakes her head. “Just- give her some space?”

Amity looks at the plant witch like she’s gone insane. “Willow, what are you talking about? She nearly broke down thrice today. Don’t you think it’s a little dumb just, letting her go like this?”

Willow sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “She’s scared people are gonna treat her differently, she asked us to just let her be for a bit. Let’s just respect that wish of hers, alright?”

Amity wants to argue, but Willow’s right. Luz needs some space right now and going after her is probably not the best call.

She still doesn’t like it.

--

Luz finds herself wandering around Bonesborough half an hour later. To her disappointment, the news seems to have spread here, too.

People look at her, some bow, to her abject horror, and even more try to keep as far away from her as possible. 

She tries to buy a drink from a nearby stall, and she has to sneak the snails into the register when the shop owner all but thrusts the juice box into her hand, with a forced smile and a chipper “it’s on the house.”

She’s sat on the fountain, hugging her knees and sipping away at the juice box, when suddenly someone sits down next to her.

She looks up, finding a pair of amused light blue eyes looking down at her.

“So, I heard you’re royalty now?” Gwen says, leaning down against the fountain.

With a sigh, she puts down the juice box, hugging her knees tighter. “You gonna treat me differently too now?”

To her surprise, Gwendolyn scoffs, before running a hand through her hair. “If anything’s gonna make me treat you differently, it’s this. ” Gwendolyn picks up the mostly empty juice box. “I mean seriously kid, talk about consumer loyalty, Garthin stuffs those boxes of his full with so many potions I’m surprised nobody’s died yet.

Luz lets out a giggle. Before her expression becomes a bit guarded again.

“You really mean it?” Gwen shrugs in response. “Kid, nothing’s changed for me, just because you’re the masked man’s kid doesn’t change anything.”

“I- I honestly don’t get it? Everyone treats me like I’m either made of glass, or about to shoot them, it’s infuriating.” she rants. Gwendolyn hums along for a bit, taking out a knife and cleaning her nails with it.

“It sounds like you need to let off some steam, wanna head out to the clearing? I’ve got nothing better to do anyways.”

The girl nods, managing a slight smile, before standing up. “Wanna go right now?”

“Sure.” Gwen says, standing up. Luz walks off, and Gwen follows right after.

Out of the corner of her eye, the raven haired witch spots two massive cloaked figures, carrying a box between the two of them.

They’re looking at her.

She nods.

--

The kid apparently really needed to let off some steam, Gwendolyn observed.

First thing she’d done was incinerate a pile of helpless leaves, freezing the fire afterwards before it could become a problem. Next she’d summoned forth a stick, and was currently using it to beat an innocent shrub into submission.

Gwen took the time to observe the human.

She really looked nothing like Belos.

The way she spoke, the way she acted, the way she just- there was no resemblance as far as she could tell. And yet, the girl herself had confirmed it. She was apparently the Emperor’s kid.

That was going to complicate her- well, everything .

Out of the corner of her eyes, she spots movement in the treeline. Two masked figures.

She takes one last look at the girl, before standing up off the rock she’d been sitting on with a sigh, placing the silver knife she’d been using to clean her nails in its sheath.

A job is a job. She thinks, before calling out to the teenager.

“Hey kid, I’ll be right back, gotta get something from town. Mind waiting here for a bit.”

Luz looks up from where she’s all but de-leafed the shrub just long enough to nod at her, before resuming her bushwhacking.

Heh.

Gwendolyn takes one last look at the girl before leaving the clearing.

--

“She’s gone.”

“Alright, now what?”

“Really, didn’t ‘ya listen to a word I said?”

“I did, I- I just forgot.”

Jaco can’t help but facepalm, before sighing and looking at his brother again.

“Okay, here’s what’s gonna happen.” He kicks the covered box between them, resulting in a cacophony of screeching to cry out from within it. “We uncover this ‘ere box, then we get it to notice her, then we open the box. The thing will rip her apart.”

An ugly smirk passes over Willis’ face, and the two of them share an ugly laugh. The thought of getting revenge on that bastard Belos for labelling them “wild” witches and making them fugitives is too good a prospect to stay mad for long.

“Let’s just hope this thing works well enough, cost us three thousand snails.” Willis grumbles. Jaco cuts him off with a bark of laughter.

“Wha? You think I’m gonna let her get away with threatening you? After we’re done here, we’ll go right back to Bonesborough and kill her. Get our money back too.”

The smirk on Willis’ face turns into a pure demonic one. “This is why you’re the smart one.” They both share another chuckle, before turning back to the box.

“So, who’s gonna do it?” He asks.

“Well, you said I’m the smart one Willis, and the smart one makes the plans. I say you do it.”

Willis grumbles, before sighing and carefully lifting the fabric up off of the cage.

Instantly it notices them, slamming itself against the bars as it tries to get to them, legs scraping against wood as a maw filled with thousands of teeth gnashes at them.

“How’re we gonna get it to notice her?” Willis asks.

Jaco spots a small pile of rocks. “With those.” He says, scooping them up.

“What’re you planning?” Willis asks as Jaco deposits half the pile in his hands.

 “Watch this.” He grabs a rock, tossing it up and down in his hand a few times before chucking it over the cage in the direction of the Emperor’s spawn.

The critter follows it, before turning back to them.

“It didn’t work.” Willis says.

“Shut up and throw.” Jaco growls, throwing another rock. This time, when the critter follows, its eyes seem to notice the girl beating the shrub with terrifying intensity. It turns back towards them again, this time slower, though.

It happens a few more times. The last time the creature doesn’t turn back to them, fully intent on ripping the girl in the distance apart. 

It’s then, that Willis realizes something.

“Uhh, Jaco, the lock’s still pointed our way.”

“Fuck.” Jaco groans smacking his forehead with his hand, he reaches into a pocket, fishing out the key. 

“Okay, we’re gonna sneak over there, slowly, and after I unlock the cage, we’ll shift it around. With the amount of bashing that thing’s doing, it’ll jump out soon enough. Sound good?”

“Aight.”

And so, the two of them sneak up, slowly, ever so slowly, careful not to make any sound.

They reach the cage without it noticing them. Thankfully, Jaco moves the key into the lock, glaring down at the girl in the clearing.

“Soon your daddy’s gonna know what it’s like to lose everything.” He can’t help but growl vindictively.

The key turns-

A flash of silver streaks through the sky, shattering the lock and burying itself in the dirt.

With a startled yelp the two brothers jump back, landing on their asses as they look at the dagger.

“What the fu-” Willis says, before Jaco slams his hands over his brother’s mouth.

Slowly, the cage shifts, as the creature inside turns around. The lock shattered on the ground and the cage unlocked.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the cage door opens, a creaking sound accompanying it that drives a spear of ice into their hearts.

A thousand eyes lock onto them, the moment the cage fully opens.

--

Run, hide, get away.

He can’t run, not with a missing leg.

Hide, get away.

Hiding won't do him any good, it’ll smell him.

Get away.

That’s what he’s trying, but it’s getting harder and harder, with the blood loss and all.

Willis can’t help but growl furiously as he catches himself on a tree, trying to catch his breath after hopping a few hundred meters into the woods.

At least he can’t hear the screams anymore.

The thing had only been the size of a watermelon, yet it had bitten his leg clean in half at the knee.

Jaco had tried to intervene… It hadn’t gone well. The last he recalls were his brother’s panicked and agony ridden words.

“RUN, HIDE, GET AWAY!” 

After that it had only been screams, screams and sounds no man should ever hear. The crunching of bone, the sounds of flesh being torn from flesh and the painful sobbing and pleading for mercy even when knowing you’d get none.

“I’m trying brother, I’m trying.” He says, sliding down against the tree. The world’s going fuzzy. He knows he’s got to get help quick, or he’s a goner, but he’s in the middle of the woods.

Suddenly, out of the shadows a figure steps into the light. He tries to get up, tries to make sure he’ll at least go down fighting, but he can't find the strength.

“I’m sorry brother.” Is all he says, as he recognises who the masked figure is.

The emperor’s shade. He’s heard the horror stories, he knows what this creature in front of him is capable of. He’s fucked.

A hand appears from within the cloak, and he stiffens, watching as it reaches up and up towards the owl mask.

His jaw drops.

“You, you threw that knife,” He growls.

“Yup, me.” Gwendolyn responds, a lazy smirk on her lips. She looks at his leg, letting out a low whistle. “Man I’m even more impressed now that they found anything of Gary. That thing messed you up.”

“You, you bitch, I’ll fucking kill you-” He says, lunging for her. He doesn’t reach, falling into the dirt before the assassin.

“Need a hand?” She says, before adding in a dry tone. “I’d suppose a leg would be handier.”

“Shut the fuck up!” He roars, tears in his eyes. 

“Okay.”

He blinks, looking up at the woman in confusion.

She’s got two fingers in her mouth.

He holds out a hand.

“Please, wait no-”

A shrill whistle echoes throughout the forest. 

In the distance, he can hear the skittering of many legs approach. He looks at the woman in the white cloak, using the adrenaline from hearing death approach to drag himself up to his knees.

“Please, please don’t, I’m begging you.” He says, meeting her eyes.

There’s no mercy to be found anywhere in them. She shoots him a sly wink, before her foot lashes out, knocking him backwards against the tree.

All he can do is whimper.

“If it’s any consolation.” The shade says, “This is a quicker death than Belos would have given you.” She breaks off into a chuckle, stepping back and fading into the shadows.

Willis lays there, terrified, for a few moments. He’s already emptied his bowels, and he can see the blood from his leg turn the ground to mud.

Maybe he can still make it?

He looks to his right, and he spots Bonesborough in the distance.

Maybe, just maybe.

He looks to his left.

All he sees is teeth and a drooling maw.

--

Luz is beginning to feel sorry for the bush at this point, she’s been beating at it for a good ten minutes now. With a sigh she throws down the stick.

She so wishes Gwendolyn was back.

As if she’d heard the girl’s thoughts. Gwendolyn steps back into the clearing.

“Hey kid, sorry to ask, but I’ve got some heavy lifting that needs doing, you reckon you can help me?”

Luz stills for a moment, before nodding eagerly.

“Yeah sure, I’m coming!” She grabs her bag and rushes off to meet Gwendolyn, the two of them taking off back towards town.

“What were you doing in town anyways?” She asks, after a bit.

 Gwen shrugs.

“Forgot to feed the critters.”

Chapter Text

“My liège?”

“...”

“My liège?”

“What is it, Kikimora?” Belos said with a sigh, turning away from the various documents to look at his head of staff and right hand woman sat beside him.

In all his years, he’d faced things that would scar lesser beings for life, had looked into abyss after abyss and dared it to look back, and had led his armies throughout countless battles without pause or mercy.

Currently, sat at the council table in the bowels of the castle, he was fighting a battle unlike any he had faced before- a losing battle, no less.

Mainly between him and his ever growing urge to hunt down each and every single person that had a connection to the people who had written him these, these things.

The inquiries as to the newfound princess’ legitimacy were easy, only needing a quick affirmation sent in reply.

The threats were expected, though thoroughly infuriating. He made a quick mental note to have the Shade look in these people and… Deal with them accordingly.

Those he could deal with, those he had expected.

The proposals, however?

He took one look at the infuriatingly massive pile of papers before him, and had half a mind to just incinerate the whole lot.

He’d denied at least four dozen already, and he guessed there were at least three dozen more to sort through.

Cirin had all but shoved her eldest at him, and, whilst he enjoyed Cirin’s presence, he’d rather jump into the boiling seas than allow that union.

The leader of the plant coven was one of the oldest, and most would argue the most beautiful of the council members, a refined satyr with a crown of flowers alway braided throughout her hair and up the spiralling horns atop her head. It was no wonder why people often said that she truly was a “rose” of the isles.

Her son was nothing but a thorn. Arrogant, conceited, stuck-up, everything Belos wouldn’t even allow within fifty feet of his daughter if he had a say about it.

But, that was for later. 

Right now he was waiting for Kikimora to tell him whatever it was she’d disturbed him for.

“The shade has returned.”

The words have barely left her mouth before the doors fly open, and the familiar masked form steps into the room, coming to a halt besides the two others.

“I see you finally saw fit to join us once again?” Kikimora asks, and Belos can’t help but sigh at the hostile tone. The two of them have never really gotten along.

Surprisingly, no response is said, instead the shade merely grabs the front of their mask, taking it off to reveal...

“Ah, what a surprise.” Kikimora deadpans. “A shadow clone.” Where the shade’s face should be, there is an imitation that looks to have been poured from ink, swirling liquid forming the contours of a feminine face as a mimicry of hair pours down across the ghastly visage.

“She doesn’t even have the common curtsey to show up in person, the ne-”

“Y’know I can hear you through this clone, right?” A voice calls out, cutting off Kikimora.

Both of them turn to the hooded figure standing between them, watching as it begins to… change. 

Colours begin to swirl within the inky mass. The murky liquid that makes up the shade’s face solidifies into pale skin. The curtains of pouring darkness curl into hair much of the same pigment. The eyes- formerly pure black, close once, and when they open again, a pair of pale blue eyes is looking at them.

“I’ll never get used to teleporting like that.” Gwendolyn mutters with a slight shudder, taking a seat opposite Kikimora on the other side of the Emperor’s side, absentmindedly twirling a knife between her fingers.

“Must you always arrive with such unnecessary theatrics, Gwendolyn?” Kikimora sighs.

“Ah, always a pain in my backside Kikimora, tell me. Did someone mistake you for an infant again?, I remember last time you got a lollipop, what’d they give you-”

“They gave me nothing, dear Gwendolyn. Pray tell me. How’s the scar?” Kikimora shoots back. The raven haired witch recoils, hand flying into her hair, before a growl escapes her lips.

Belos knows there’s a good 80% chance Gwendolyn is going to leap across the table at Kiki if he doesn’t intervene, so he opts to prevent any bloodshed.

“Gwendolyn, why are you here?” That seems to snap her out of her anger, instead opting to give him a mock hurt look.

She places a hand over her heart. “And here I thought you missed my sparkling conversation skills? I mean I guess you could talk to that clone. Wouldn’t recommend it, I tried too, but it’s always “My purpose is to obey, I serve you, etc. etc.” Not the most interesting dialogue partner.”

Belos’ eye roll is almost palpable.

“You still didn’t answer my question.” He mutters turning to the raven haired witch that is regarding him with an air of- amusement?

“So, you got a kid huh?” He sighs, but nods. “I gotta say, she is nothing like you, it’s kinda polarizing honestly.”

“How would you know?” He inquired.

“Huh?”

“As I recall, your mission was to protect and observe, not interact.” Kikimora says. The raven haired woman stiffens at the subtle accusation, before rolling her eyes again.

“I did just that, sent my shade after her, not my fault she barged into my shop.” Gwendolyn explains.

“Ah yes, your “shop” Tell me how is that gross misuse of the royal treasury holding up?” Kikimora “asks” and Gwendolyn actually growls at the red demoness before digging into her pocket and pulling out…

A bag?

She tosses it onto the table right in front of Kikimora, and the sound it makes indicates money. Kikimora takes a peek into the bag. “Where did you get this?”

“My “useless” shop sells something basically everyone in the isles wants, and I’ve made it my business to let people know I don't care all that much who you are, as long as you pay. After a while, the less upstanding members of society come flocking.” She points at the bag.

“That there, I got from the Grimsby brothers, you know the two that attacked the convoy a few months ago.”

“They killed five of our men doing so.” Kikimora growls, putting down the bag with more force than necessary. “Did you steal it from them?”

“Nope.”

“Well, how’d you get this then?”

“They paid for one of those apple critters.” Gwen explained, giving her knife another twirl.

“Why?”

“To use on the princess.”

“ What. ” Belos thunders, standing up and shooting a glare that promises a painful death to Gwendolyn if she doesn’t answer him soon.

“What? They’re both dead. Killed ‘em a few hours ago.”

“You allowed them to buy something, with the purpose of harming my daughter?!” Belos says, voice dangerously monotone.

“I also gave them the location she’d be in earlier today, you know that little clearing a few hills over from Bonesborough.”

Belos’ eyes light up a bright blue as he extends a hand toward the assassin. It burns with red magicks.

“You purposefully endangered my child?” He growls out, and Gwendolyn lets out a sigh before meeting his gaze with her own, equally cold one.

“Listen, they wanted to go after your kid, because you decided to just- what? Throw the fact that there’s someone with your blood just running around into the open?!” Belos cannot help but flinch at that. “I gave them a time, I gave them a place, I made sure that I was there to intercept them. Otherwise I might not have been able to intervene.” She bites back with an equally dangerous tone.

“I… see.” Belos mutters, seating himself again, head in his hands. “Did she see anything?”

“Nothing. She didn’t even hear the screams.” Gwen admits.

“Good, that- that’s good.”  Belos says, letting out a sigh of relief. “Tell me more, how’d you come to interact with my daughter?”

“She just came in one day, wanted to buy some stuff. Two days later she’d apparently pulled a prank on one of her fellow students, kid seemed really upset about something.” She shoots him a knowing glance. “Felt sorry for her, so I brought up this quiet little clearing where nobody would notice if she… let off some steam. One thing led to another and I gotta say, she’s a ray of sunshine if ever there was one.” She actually giggles at that. “Brought her friends too, Willow’s really polite, Gus is just adorable and Amity’s well… Amity’s so unlike her parents it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

The corners of his mouth quirk up into a smile as he momentarily succumbs to just being a father proud about his child making friends, before it sets back into a frown with the realization of an unexpected complication.

“Kikimora.” He says, turning to his right hand and advisor. “I want you to do something for me. Head to Bonesborough, double the patrols. I do not want something like this to be able to happen again.”

She frowns, but doesn’t object. Leaving the room with a quick “Of course, my liege.”

Once the doors shut behind her, he lets out a sigh that seems to deflate his very being. Not even two days and already an assassination attempt on his little light. The thought itself sickens him to his core.

“How was she doing?” He asks, after a while, and Gwen shoots him a look.

“What do you think ?”

The bite in her tone surprises him somewhat, but he doesn’t comment, instead letting out another sigh before answering. “I understand if it was all a bit… Sudden-”

He doesn’t get to finish, Gwendolyn cutting him off.

“Damn right it was sudden, you should have at least discussed it with her first before pulling something like that.”

“Look, if the information had gotten out otherwise she would’ve been without anyone to back her up. This way she has a safety blanket, people who will want to protect her, people who will report anything suspicious, it was the best course of action.”

Gwendolyn pinches the bridge of her nose in response. “You put an army at her back and painted a target on her head, do you have any idea as to how things are gonna change for her now? You just flipped her whole life upside down with this choice, and she had no say in it whatsoever, you made the logical choice, not the best one.”

He frowned. “I don’t quite follow.”

She sighs. “Remember the kids I mentioned earlier? They’re her best friends… ever.”

“And?”

“She’s only been here a month. She’s fourteen.”

Oh.

Gwendolyn begins spinning with the knife again, looking at it intensely as she talks.

“The kid’s good, I gotta hand it to her, but I notice. Whenever she brings up “back home” her smiles get a little… fragile, her laugh becomes a bit more forced. She talks about it- on occasion, though usually she brushes it off with a comment or something to that extent, but man if she isn’t one of the loneliest kids I’ve ever seen.” She stabs the armrest of her chair with the knife, frustration clearly etched across her face. 

“The kid’s had basically nobody but her mother for fourteen years.”

He flinches at that, and when he gazes back to the raven haired woman, the look she shoots him would probably have killed lesser men.

“And you just put her in that same situation again.” Belos’ blood freezes, preventing him from saying anything in return, and she takes the opportunity to really twist the knife.

“She’s never gonna be just “Luz Noceda” anymore, she’s always gonna be treated as your kid, and that means she’s always gonna be treated differently, not fitting in- an outcast. Sure people aren’t gonna bully her anymore, but still.”

He just wished the titan would rise and smite him in that moment. He gazes back to the pile of proposals laid on the table in front of him. He grabs one, sighing as he rips it in twain before burying his head in his hands again.

“What’re those, by the way?” Gwendolyn asks, pointing at the stack of papers in front of him. Wordlessly he hands her one, before going back to lamenting about how big a mistake he’s made.

The bark of laughter that follows does not set his nerves at ease, nor does the sound of tearing paper. He looks back, frowning as he sees her tearing the proposal into itty bitty pieces.

She gives him a shit-eating grin, she knows something he doesn’t. With an unnecessary twirl she chucks the confetti into the air, using it as makeshift confetti.

“Hey, might as well get some use out of these.”

He’s really not in the mood for more of these games.

“Spit it out, Gwendolyn.”

“Amity Blight.”

He freezes.

Oh no. 

“Do you mean that the youngest Blight girl likes my daughter?”

Gwen nods. “You’re officially the second to last person to know, but yeah, it’s actually kinda.. Hilariously obvious. She gets all blushy and- oh my god the stuttering, it’s absolutely adorable.” He quickly suppressed the fact that Gwendolyn is actually gushing about something, in favour of something else.

“And do you think that there might be a possibility of something coming out of that?”

She nods. “Definitely, kid’s about as oblivious as you are, but she’s catching on- slowly, really slowly, but yeah.”

Well, he supposes that’s one problem less. Though it still concerns him, the Blight family- more specifically, Odalia- have always been obsessive about status. It wouldn’t surprise him if they tried to worm themselves into his good graces because of this development.

“Are you sure Odalia’s got nothing to do with this?” He asks.

She just laughs in response. “Oh, definitely not. Odalia did find out about all of this earlier today though.” She lets out a low whistle. “Was not happy about it. But, as we both know, she’s too obsessed with her family’s standing.”

“And you know this… how?”

Gwen shrugs. “I have my sources.”

He shoots her a look.

She rolls her eyes. “I’ve got a few of the maids on my payroll, same as with all other noble families, easiest way to get information.”

He nods, and then with a voice that almost manages to hide the barest of trembles, he says. 

“I suppose you’d like the full story.”

She nods.

It’s about an hour, maybe two, later when he finishes, and Gwendolyn is speechless. She reaches out a hand, intent on clasping him on the shoulder, but refrains at the last second. 

“I uh, I should probably head back.” She says, cursing herself mentally for not knowing what to say.

“Well then, head back into town.” He says, snapping his fingers and reducing the pile of proposals into ash with a satisfying woosh .

“Alright.” With that Gwen pulls her hood back over her head, puts her mask back on and moves out of the room. Belos’ voice stops her just as she moves to push open the massive doors.

“Thank you, for keeping her safe.”

“It’s my job. Besides, I’ve grown to quite like the kid. She’s a lot more fun to hang around with than you are, that’s for sure.”

With that she pushes through the doors, stepping out of the room.

--

Back in Bonesborough, Gwendolyn plops down on her bed the moment she teleports back into her humble apartment.

It’s small, cozy and right above her shop. Perfect for someone like her, who preferred to have some place to retreat to, a place to just- be alone.

Well, she’s not quite alone. A small weight deposits itself on her stomach, and she looks up with a lazy smile, Shadow’s made himself comfortable on his favourite pillow, her. She brings up a hand, giving the kitten sized jaguar a scratch under the chin before putting it back under her head. She simply lays there for a bit, looking at the ceiling, as she processes everything.

Her shadow clone’s making sure the kid’s alright. In the back of her mind she can see what it sees. The benefits of forbidden magic, she supposes. Allows her to be in multiple places at once.

Heading over to the emperor’s castle had probably been a good call. It had also put things into perspective for her.

Belos definitely was’t handling everything as well as he would’ve liked. And, even though she loves giving him shit sometimes, she’s worried. 

She supposes it’s a testament to his mental fortitude. Going through all that would have broken weaker men. Then again, she’s only heard him tell of what exactly the titan was, and that had been enough to give her nightmares. And he’s experienced it first hand, so she shouldn’t be all that surprised.

She’s still plenty annoyed at him, because damn her, she’s grown fond of the kid, and seeing her like that wasn’t something she liked seeing. 

She supposes the logic behind Belos’ actions is sound. Even she cannot protect the girl at all times. 

Still makes her want to smack him, because damn it, she knows what it’s like to go through that. To have every decision made for you and be the last to know. It sucks, and it makes you feel like you don’t matter an-

She stops herself before she can go on, before her mind wanders too far. There’s some dark thoughts that way and she’s not in the mood to revisit them anytime soon, or ever .

So, she just hopes Luz gives him a piece of her mind, when they finally meet, and leaves it at that, her eyes fluttering shut.

When she comes to, it's night, and the sky is pitch black outside.

Her stomach decides to growl unhelpfully at that very moment. She takes a look out the window, sighing when she spots the bird’s nest in the corner empty.

She shoots an accusing glare at Shadow. She just knows that her familiar has something to do with that particular disappearance. The fact it refuses to meet her gaze cements that fact even further.

“Well, there goes that snack.” She sighs, pushing herself up. Shadow grumbles a bit as she finds her sleeping spot disturbed, but Gwen just scoops her up and places the disgruntled feline in the queen sized bed.

It hisses at her, no doubt offended at her daring to move just when the kitty had gotten comfy, but she just rolls her eyes, stepping into the living room/kitchen. 

She looks in the cupboard, sighing when she finds nothing to eat besides cat food. The fridge brooks very similar results. She takes a swig of a half-empty jar of apple blood. It’s the strong stuff- the really strong stuff she finds- it burns as it pours down her gullet and she, by pure force of will, stops herself from coughing her lungs up.

She quickly puts down a bowl of food for Shadow, before taking another look at the fridge.

“Well, guess I’m eating out tonight.” She mutters, slamming the fridge shut. She takes a quick look at herself in the mirror tucked away in the corner.

Yeah, going out in her full assassin regalia would definitely raise some questions. With a sigh, she heads back into the bedroom, tossing off her clothes and depositing them on her bed. She makes sure to toss her cloak atop the now asleep cat, sticking out her tongue at it as it hisses at her.

She ends up grabbing a pair of faded leather jeans and a plain blue shirt, tossing on a jacket and grabbing a pouch of snails before leaving.

As she recalls there’s a shop she might be able to buy some food at just around the corner. Unfortunately, it’s closed. She supposes it’s only fair enough, it being well past eight by now Across the street, however, she sees lights. A smile lights up her face.

A bar. Greasy food, something to drink, and the chance to chat with some unsavoury figures.

Sounds like a good night, all things considered.

But, as luck would have it, at the moment that she walks through those doors, and all eyes are on her for those few seconds, before everyone goes about their day again, she sees a lone figure sitting at the bar.

Her hair isn’t as straight as she remembers, and, from the way she’s knocking back that sludge with a vengeance, there’s not much of her normal demeanor visible, but it’s definitely her.

Lilith Clawthorne.

Tonight just got really interesting.  

With a swagger to her step, she walks up behind the slumped over witch, timing it so she arrives at the stool next to Lilith’s the moment she downs her next shot.

“An-” Lilith begins, shoving the glass back over towards the bartender.

“Make that two, on me.” Gwendolyn says, sliding onto the stool right next to Lilith. The ex-leader of the Emperor’s coven looks at her, shocked, before relaxing as she realizes just who it is.

“Oh, hello.” She says, turning back to look at the counter as the bartender slides two shots across the polished wood towards them.

“Well, cheers.” Lilith says, and the two clink their glasses together before downing them. Gwendolyn about hacks up a lung as the thick, murky liquid burns its way down her throat.

“Bloody hell, what is that stuff?” She says, looking at the bartender. 

“Shrieker draught.” The large yellow demon responds. She makes a mental note never to order anything by that name again, before next to her Lilith calls out “another” once again.

“Uh, how many has she had?”

The bartender doesn’t answer immediately, pouring another shot full of the greasy brown liquid into a glass and sliding it towards the raven haired witch, who catches and downs it in one motion. 

“Eight.”

“Okay, mind fixing us up two plates of something, just as long as it’s greasy I won't mind.” She shoots a look at Lilith, who seems to be swaying atop her stool. “I don’t think she’ll be all that fussed either.”

“Sure.” The demon says, turning around. Before he can walk away, she catches his hand, causing him to turn back to her.

She fishes out a small pocket of snails, depositing it in her hand.

“Cut her off for the night, no more alcohol. Alright?” The yellow demon looks between the two of them, before nodding, turning back to head into the kitchen.

She takes one look at the bar, before turning back to the other witch sat next to her.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Drinking.” Lilith mutters, a definite slur to her words.

“Okaaaay.” Not very helpful, but that’s probably her fault for asking such a vague question.

“I mean, this doesn’t really seem like your type of place.” She waves at the dinghy bar. “I mean, food’s probably bad, people are definitely worse, doesn’t seem like your scene, not gonna lie.”

She actually gets a bark of laughter out of Lilith at that. “Ye’ s’pose so.”

“So, I’ll ask again, why are you here?”

“I just, I needed to get away from the owl house for a bit, from Eda and the hu- Luz.”

The atmosphere becomes tense. Gwendolyn’s not sure what to do with what she’s just been told, and Lilith is busy glaring at the countertop.

Thankfully, the two plates of what look to be very greasy, very unhealthy food get shoved in front of them at that point, so they busy themselves with devouring that instead of continuing their conversation.

Alas, things don’t always go as planned.

She hears a pair of footsteps coming closer, and a massive hand comes to rest upon her shoulder. She resists the urge to just stab whoever it is that’s just put a hand on her, instead turning around to look at who exactly it is.

Yup, just as I imagined. 

There’s two of them, dressed in what she assumes are clothes? Might honestly be rags. The one with his paw on her shoulder is a witch, shooting her a smile that makes her notice he’s missing about half his teeth. The one behind that is a pale looking demon that’s got a grin a little too wide plastered on its feline face.

“What are two beautiful ladies like you doing in a place like this all alone? You never know who you might encounter.” 

She shoots him the fakest smile she has, batting her eyelashes a few times, before dropping the act. “Yeah, not interested.” She turns back, slapping his hand off of her shoulder.

He seemed to take exception to that.

His paw grabs her shoulder again, roughly this time, as he spins her around.“Hey, I was talking to yo-”

She’s got her knife halfway out of its sheath, fully intent on stabbing the bastard the moment he’s got her fully spun around, when a blue glow envelops the entire bar. Next she knows she’s staring at a massive hole blown in the front where the door used to be.

She vaguely makes out the battered and bruised hecklers slowly peeling off of the wall, before falling into a miserable heap on the dirt road.

“Oops, that’s a bit too much power.”

She whirls around, wide eyed and spots the cause of what the fuck just happened.

Lilith’s got her staff out. The ivory raven’s eyes are still glowing blue with vestiges of blue fire, and she can practically smell the magic in the air. Her hair’s still slightly floating from the sheer power of that blast and Gwen feels her throat go dry.

Once she tears her eyes away from Lilith, however, she also notices that now everyone’s looking at them, and they do not look happy.

“Uh, Lilith?” Gwendolyn says, taking a step back.

“Yeah?” 

“I think we’d better get out of here.”

“I think I agree.”

Gwendolyn lives a measly three minutes’ walk from the bar.

It takes them an hour to lose the mob. First they just book it down the street. After that, Lilith decides to use her staff to fly them out of trouble. Unfortunately, she is still very much drunk, and so the two of them end up falling off and landing on some random person’s roof.

The mob finds them soon after that, and they both are forced to parkour their way across the rooftops in order to dodge the barrage of fireballs, razor sharp leaves and various other spells thrown their way. Gwen’s not going down there, because killing them all would probably put a dampener on her alibi, and Lilith’s not firing back because no doubt the woman realizes she’s not fully in control of her magic and probably doesn’t want to blow up a city block.

Thankfully, eventually they lose them, hidden against the wall of a dark alley as the angry horde passes them by.

Not the worst way she’s spent an evening . Gwen supposes, not by a long shot.

“What did we just do?” Lilith asks, horrified.

“I think we just spent two hours running from a mob.” Gwen says in reply, and it’s as if her saying it makes it all the more real, because the two of them share a look.

And they burst out laughing.

Gwen’s holding her sides, slowly sliding down the stone wall as breathless chuckles escape her. Lilith’s not doing that much better, barely holding herself up, it seems.

“Well, I gotta say, at least it wasn’t boring?” Gwen says, wiping away a tear, Lilith nods, before she goes pale.

“Oh my god, I just pulled an “Eda” oh I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

“An Eda?” 

Lilith rolls her eyes. “Edalyn Clawthorne, my sister. Pulling an Eda is what we used to call wanton destruction of property, followed by a high speed chase.”

“Y’know, I can kinda see the appeal.” Gwen says.

“I suppose it has its upsides.” The shorter witch mutters, before she pins Gwendolyn in place with a glare. “Don’t tell Eda.”

Gwen holds up her hands in mock surrender. “My lips are sealed.”

“Thank you.”

The skies rumble above them, and they both look up. The stars are all but blocked out, clouds having rolled in unnoticed during their chase, it seems.

“Well, shit. Looks like it’s about to rain.” Gwen mutters

“Yeah, I’d better get back.” Lilith agrees, moving to walk out of the alley before Gwendolyn grabs her wrist.

“None of that. Last time you tried to fly, we ended up crashing into a house. You’re not flying anywhere.”

“Well, what else do you suggest, I’m never gonna make it in time on foot.” Lilith replies, crossing her arms with a quite adorable huff.

Shit, she has a point. Gwendolyn has to admit that, and then her mouth opens without her say-so, and she doesn’t know if it’s because she’s genuinely had a really good night or if that shrieker draught has hit her harder than expected, but-

“You can, uh- come over to my place?”

Lilith freezes , mouth slightly agape as she looks at the taller witch.

“On the couch.” Gwendolyn quickly adds.

“Oh, uh- yeah of course.” Lilith mutters.

Wait what did she- oh my god, she’s blushing . Gwendolyn curses her observation skills in that moment, because damn it, she’d rather have stayed ignorant of that particular fact.

Well, ignoring- or well, choosing to ignore that particular fact, she leads the thoroughly pink ex-coven leader to her humble apartment, quickly stuffing her emperor’s coven garb under her bed before the other woman notices, and quickly guides the still inebriated woman over to her couch.

“You uh, can sleep here tonight. I’ll grab a blanket.” Gwendolyn says, as Lilith all but throws herself onto the couch.

“Thnk yu.” The other woman mutters, sound muffled because she’s face down on the couch, which elicits a giggle from the assassin.

She steps into her room, quickly grabbing a blanket and shooing Shadow off of her bed, before stepping back into the living room.

Lilith’s out cold, snoring away on her couch. With a sigh, she deposits the blanket over the snoring witch, before stepping back into her own room.

She quickly tosses off all her clothes, slipping into her pajamas and crawling underneath the covers.

She actually thought I was offering to sleep with her Gwendolyn thinks, tossing and turning a bit. She was clearly drunk, even if I wanted to, there’s a thing called consent.

And that particular train of thought, led to another realisation.

Lilith’s not half bad looking, personally Gwen had always found the slicked back hair and the “stick-up-my-ass” attitude to be a bit eh, but like that?

Hair slightly curly, laughing and yelling insults as a bunch of drunk criminals chase them throughout Bonesborough?

Plump lips, full cheeks, those eyes?

Had Lilith been sober, she probably would have made the other offer….

Gwendolyn groans, smacking a palm across her faces as she feels her cheeks heat up at the realization.

“Ah, shit.”

Chapter Text

Luz took her time getting home, after coming back from Gwendolyn’s shop. The two of them had spent half an hour stacking boxes before the older witch had mentioned having another appointment, shooing the girl out the door with a quick ruffle of her hair and an invitation to come by any time.

Luz had avoided people wherever she could, using the alleyways and going through the emptier parts of town Gus had shown her a while back, rushing through the cobble laden streets with her hoodie pulled up over her head and her eyes down. Thankfully, nobody really paid enough attention to realize just who she was. 

Once out of Bonesborough, she slowed down again, pulling off her hoodie the moment she entered the treeline. From there she just… Wandered around the woods for a bit, sketching a few birds shrieking at each other on a log, picking up a few rocks and chucking them at nearby trees, just.. keeping herself busy. 

Letting out her frustration at the whole situation had definitely helped. She probably went a bit nuts on that bush though… At least she didn’t feel like screaming and punching someone anymore. She just wants to lay down and sleep for like- a week.

Thankfully, Hooty doesn’t bother her as she walks up to the familiar sight of the Owl House, his stretched form is coiled around the house, no doubt trying to pester Eda as she’s cooking dinner.

The door opens with that all-too familiar sound as she steps into the Owl house, and she’s not inside but ten seconds before something very familiar latches itself onto her legs.

“Luz, you’re back!” King screeches in that tone of his, tail wagging so fast that it looks like it’s vibrating as he snuggles into her legs, and, for a few seconds, everything is forgotten as she scoops the king of demons up.

“Aww, aren’t you just the cutest little thing?” She coos, as King valiantly- yet uselessly tries to pry himself from out of her grasp.

“NO, LET ME GO- YOUR KING DEMANDS IT.”

“But you’re just so adorable, I just wanna squish you.” Luz squeezes him even tighter, before letting him go.

“Uh, thank you minion, now. Hand it over.” King demands, Luz rolls her eyes, fishing out her phone from her pocket and handing it to the tiny demon.

“YES, All the videos I can watch, nyeh!” King squeaks out, running over to and plopping himself down on the couch.

“Hey uh King, where’s Eda?” 

“In the kitchen.” King mutters, not looking up from what Luz guess is probably another video of a pair of cats playing.

Luz leaves the room as King’s commentary of “Yes, kill each other for my amusement!” begins to ring out, and she walks into another quite familiar scene.

Namely, Eda having a battle with the vegetables, the ones she’s brought to life, again . And by battle, she means that Eda is currently using Owlbert as a makeshift club and is using him to batter a squash into submission, whilst cussing the vegetable out.

“Get.”

Thwack.

“In.”

Thwack.

“The.”

Thwack.

“Damn.”

Thwack.

“Pot.”

With a wet squelch, the Squash gives in, laying on the floor before being swept up and dumped into the pot of boiling water. Eda’s gaze shifts to a pair of Onions huddled in the corner, holding Owlbert like a bat as she approaches the quivering vegetables.

“Hi Eda, I’m home.” Luz calls out from the doorway. The older witch’s head snaps to her apprentice, throwing Owlbert across her shoulders as she shoots the girl a lazy grin.

“Hey kid, how was school.”

Luz stiffens. “School was…. fine.”

The smile drops off of Eda’s face, and she takes a few steps forward.

“Kid, everything alright.”

“I-uh.” She begins, before noticing something out of the corner of her eye, past Eda.

“Eda, the onions!” 

“Ah crap.” 

The next half hour is spent chasing after a group of runaway vegetables, in which a window, a chair, what’s left of Eda’s dignity and a copper pan end up paying the ultimate price. Hooty and King end up joining in halfway through the whole experience- to the onions’ avail. King might have his heart in the right place but clumsy doesn’t even begin to describe him. He ends up getting flung through the window, courtesy of Eda and one mean swing from Owlbert. Hooty on the other hand…. Well, he just wanted to be involved, which ended up with Eda stuffing a pan down his gullet and kicking him out of the kitchen.

After that, it had been the two of them again, and things had been slightly better for a bit, (save for the incident both of them agree never to speak of again). They eventually manage to round up all the onions, tossing them into the pot.

After that, the two of them take a well deserved rest. Eda grabs her favourite mug and pours herself a drink, tossing Luz a packet of juice as they sit at the kitchen table, listening to the soft sputtering of their hard work as it cooks down into a stew.

Luz is about to reach into her bag to grab her notebook, when Eda fixes her a stare.

“So, kid. Spill.”

Oh. Yeah… In all the excitement she’d all but forgotten about earlier today. She kinda preferred it that way, but. Eda would find out sooner or later, might as well get it over with now.

Didn’t have to be right this second, though. So she took a big sip out of her juice box before sighing, fixing Eda with a look.

“Well…. They know.”

“About what?”

“Well… Boscha called me “your highness” this morning.”

Eda frowns.

“Boscha, you mean the girl you turned into a nightlight?”

Luz can’t help but rub the back of her neck at that. “Yeahhhh.”

Eda lets out an amused giggle, before she stills. With a slowness that makes the hairs on Luz’ neck stand up, she turns towards the girl fully, setting the mug she’d been drinking out of down with more force than necessary.

“What happened.” The tone in her voice is one that brooks no room for arguing.

“Well.” She begins, voice trembling faintly with what she reckons are the vestiges of a myriad of emotions. Anger, sadness, nervousness, regret, among others. “Apparently there was a council meeting, yesterday? And he told everyone, about us- about me . About how I’m his kid and apparently now the entire isles know?” With a sigh that seems to deflate her entire being, her eyes turn to the table, frowning slightly.

She hears a small crackle, and the smell of ozone hits her nose. Her brow furrows, and she takes a look out the window. Weird, it’s not raining.

She looks back to Eda, and her eyes grow to the size of dinner plates. The air around her mentor has taken an orange glow, crackling wildly, as if the only thing that’s stopping it from lashing out is Eda’s temper, and from the look in her eyes, it is one that is fraying dangerously.

“Watch the house.” She says, standing up and drawing a small magical circle. Owlbert flies into her awaiting hand as she pivots on a foot and moves to storm out of the house. Luz has to scramble over the table in order to reach Eda in time, and even then she’s only barely able to latch onto the Owl Lady’s arm as she’s already halfway out the door. Eda seems to snap out of her furious daze somewhat, shaking her hand in a half-hearted attempt to dislodge the brunette.

“Luz, what are you doing?” She says, voice filled with confusion as Luz tries to drag her back into the house.

“Eda come back inside, you’re not going to fight the emperor over this.” That seems to throw Eda for a loop, allowing Luz to drag the taller woman back into the house, slamming the door behind them and putting herself between it and the now very confused witch.

“Okay, is there something I’m not understanding here, why are you acting so calm about this?” Eda asks.

“I’m not.” Luz mutters. “Trust me- I’m really not, but getting angry isn’t gonna change anything Eda, it’s only gonna get you and King and Lilith in trouble if you go out there and try to fight him.”

“Try to?” Eda snorts. “I’d kick his ass.” Luz keeps her mouth shut at that, because she honestly doesn’t know if Eda could do that.

“Anyways, I’d rather you didn’t try to fight him Eda, please?” 

With a sigh, the Older witch agrees. “Yeah yeah, whatever.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sits back down on her chair, throwing one leg over the other as she crosses her arms.

“Well, this explains a lot.”

“Huh?”

With a sigh, Eda draws a small circle in the air, suddenly. A portal opens above the table, and what looks like dozens of gifts fall onto the table. Luz swears she hears the table creak under all the weight. She spots clothes, a few pans, what looks like the entire Azura book range , A- was that a kitchen sink? She spots some shoes, food, and a whole lot more.

“Went into town earlier today, everyone just kept giving me gifts. And here I thought they were just happy for me . Pfft, figures.”

Luz blinks. Looking at the massive pile before looking back at Eda. “Eda, you shouldn’t have accepted these.”

“Why not? They’re not even for me. Apparently.”

“Eda, this is called taking advantage of people’s kindness.” She sputters, waving at the gigantic pile of gifts.

“Careful kiddo with the whole “taking advantage of kindness” thing, I might start asking for rent.”

“How would I even pay for that?”

Eda shrugs. “Who knows, maybe ask your dad for an allowance?”

Both of them chuckle at that, before Luz’ expression sobers.

“Y’know, this is just to try and get into my good graces, or- well, Belos’ good graces.” the older witch can’t help but humm in agreement there.

“Yup. Seems like you’ve become quite the popular kid overnight.”

And if that were the half of it, Luz would’ve honestly not have been all that bothered. If anything it would’ve been a nice change of pace. But nope, all they were interested in was the title, and not even that- the opportunity to make merry with the title.

“I hate it.” She admits. “Feels like I’m back, y’know at home? Back to being an outsider, only this time people aren’t even honest with me. Back home, I at least had that.”

And how sad a statement that was, preferring the honesty of the cutting remarks and mocking jeers over the false joy and undeserved popularity.

“You’re not, though.”

Luz looks up, meeting Eda’s gaze.

“Kid, do you really think I care about your dad being a big shot? And I’m not the only one. Last I checked, you’ve got quite the menagerie of people who seem to enjoy being around you.”

Eda was right there, she supposed. Amity, King, Willow, Gus. All friends she wouldn’t have even dared dream about back in the human world, and they weren’t the only ones. Viney, Jerbo, Barcus, Ed and Em- she supposed Hooty counted, too.

“But what if they start treating me differently?” 

“I dunno kid, you told those other kids about this whole situation earlier, right?”

Oh yeah, she had. “Yeah.”

“And, did they act differently?”

Luz feels a smile blossom at that. “No.”

“Well, there you have it kid.” The stove chooses that exact time to start whistling- Luz is pretty sure she recognises the tune. It means dinner’s done. Eda gets up, ruffling Luz’ hair as she goes to get the pot off of the stove. Luz rushes over to the cabinets, grabbing the plates and cutlery and setting the table.

Dinner is a loud affair, filled with jokes and bickering. Luz really has missed this. It really makes the whole situation earlier today feel less bad. Though, she does frown a bit when she notices Lilith’s place is empty.

“Eda, where’s your sister?”

The owl lady shrugs, putting down her plate, she’d been using it as a cup instead of just using her spoon because Eda had never cared about table manners, and probably never would.

“She said she was heading into town just before you joined, and mentioned coming back late.” Eda frowns a bit. “Good that she’s getting out of the house for a change, all that lazing about all day had me worried.”

“Oh, ok.” 

The rest of the night is one Luz will remember fondly, Eda regales them with story after story, King interjecting to tell his own “totally true” stories as well. Hooty is surprisingly tolerable. After that, Eda manages to finagle the four of them into a game of Hexes hold ‘em. Hooty was swiftly banned for eating his cards, and King had stormed off with a huff, convinced that they were “cheating” somehow.

(They weren’t, King just has a terrible poker face.)

After that it had just been Luz and Eda, and to everyone’s surprise, Luz had won. After a few more rounds, (and Luz winning every single one of them), Eda had called it a night, shooing Luz upstairs as well.

Luz didn’t complain, settling into her sleeping bag with the biggest smile on her face. All in all, it had been a pretty bad day, but it hadn’t been all bad.

As Luz’ eyes fluttered shut, weighed down by exhaustion, one thought passed through her mind.

She felt like she was home.

--

Belos felt… Nothing.

He supposes he should specify. His emotions are still all there, he just doesn’t feel any of those, those pangs of emotion. The bond he’d seemed to share with his daughter is broken.