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Chapter Text

Luz paused suddenly as she stared at the book in her hand.

She was just packing for summer camp when she stumbled upon her childhood favorite. ‘The Good Witch Azura’ sure had a colorful cover. She traced her fingers over the surface, remembering who gifted this to her. Luz hadn’t read this form of literature in awhile, it was so full of fantasy. She remembered that this book had a lot of exaggerated language, she couldn’t help but smile a little when she thought of the first time she read it. She was quite obsessed.

Luz sighed, she never got around to read the other books in the series. A bit of a shame.

She paused and looked at the bag she was just packing, it still had room. "Surely a little time being reminiscent will never hurt anybody." Luz muttered as she stuffed the book into the bag alongside her other belongings. She felt a little warm and fuzzy as she completed the motion.

When she was finished with all the packing, she hurried down the stairs. She wouldn’t want to miss the bus. She could see her mom waiting at the bus stop for her, she could also see her pacing in small steps. Those motions were stopped when she noticed her daughter walking out of the house.

"Oh baby! You finished packing!" She walked over to place a kiss on her daughter’s cheek, Luz smiled as she did so. "Oh, mija. Are you sure that you don’t want me to drive you? You know that it’s no trouble, I have the time today." Camila frowned as she placed a hand on her daughter’s arm.

Luz chuckled and shook her head. "I’m alright, mama. I took the bus hundreds of times." She replied.

Her mother reached for her cheek. "Of course I know that, but it wouldn’t hurt to spend some time with your mother before you leave, would it?" She traced a finger across Luz’s face. "Gosh, Luz. How did you grow up so fast?" Luz placed her hand on top of her mothers. Camila lowered her gaze to her daughter’s bag for a second, and recognized a familiar item.

"Oh, Luz! You’re taking this book with you?" She reached in to take the piece of writing out. "You use to love this!" She exclaimed, holding it out and started flipping through a few familiar pages.

Luz quickly snatched the book out of her mother’s hands.

She chuckled nervously. "Oh yeah! Used to! I’m much too old for it now!" She rushed to the nearest trash can, and threw the object inside as if it burned her. "I just thought I could throw it out, clean my room a little." Luz looked back at her stunned mother with a slightly strained grin.

Camila had significantly broadened her eyes at her daughter’s action, but quickly attempted to recover. "O-oh, okay. I guess it’s alright if you want to…" She looked towards where Luz threw her book with a slight grimace. "...let go of the old." The end of her sentence sounded so confused and uncertain, it made Luz regret the action just slightly. It had to be done.

Luz just nodded frantically at those words, and placed her hands on the back of her parent's shoulders. "Well, mama, the bus is coming soon! You should go back inside and get ready for work!" Luz has begun pushing the woman back to the house. As soon as Camila was rushed inside, Luz reached for the handle of the door. "Luz-" Camila’s words were interrupted by the door to her face. Luckily, the entrance to their house was not opened up once more.

Luz huffed as she got back to the sidewalk, her eyes landed on the trash bin once again. She walked over and opened the lid slowly. "Oh come on, where is it?" She scanned the inside while deciding on where to start digging first, surely it hadn’t sunk that deep. A sudden flash of brown caught her attention. She turned her head to look at the ground, where she saw the strange movement.

An…owl. With a bag on its beak.

Luz blinked and rubbed her eyes, it only made her see clearer. She even noticed something new, like how her book was resting inside the bag with the other various items. "Hey! That’s my book!" Luz started reaching for the animal. The owl in return started to hop away from her, this was getting weirder and weirder. Who in the world trained an owl to steal?

"Stop hopping away! It doesn’t make you adorable!" She exclaimed.

She followed the strange owl into the woods to an abandoned house, the floorboards on the porch creaked when she strode in. Luz vaguely listened to the fact that the door behind her slammed shut from the sudden wind. She would worry about that later, her only focus was seeking out the thief. Her neck twisted around for feathers and claws, but that only made her notice everything around her.

Luz widened her eyes as she took a second to pause and took in her surroundings. She seemed to be in a tent of some sort, and a variety of different gadgets are all around the strange place. She blinked again and again, certain that her senses are failing her, but she only started to hear the bustling noises in the background. She even began to notice that the air she was breathing in seemed different, and colder.

Luz rushed to grab and lift a part of the tent, her bewilderment grew as soon as she did.

The sky was dark, it was somehow…night time?

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed when he finally walked into the throne room, it was a full moon tonight. The emperor always expected his presence on a night such as this. However, he was in the throne room a little earlier than usual, due to another reason. A scout has informed him that the emperor expected his entrance right away, and he always knew just what that means.

Uncle’s curse was acting up again.

He closed the door and took his mask off to view the thrashing and growling a little better. His dear uncle was once again, almost unrecognizable because of his terrible terrible curse. Poor thing.

The dark liquid spilled around from his uncle’s mask and tangled cloak, it sharpened and solidified as it seemed to attack every single part of the vast throne room. Hunter dodged a few hits and looked around the battered floor and walls. Some structures had cracked and pieces had fallen, but they mostly remained in place. Nothing to worry too much about at the moment. He stepped closer, until he was sure that the emperor would hear him.

"Uncle Belos!" He called, making his presence known. Glowing blue eyes looked in his direction.

His uncle struggled a bit as he stepped, or slid, closer, practically snatching the palisman from his hands. Hunter watched while he snapped the staff in half to breathe in the shining green smoke. He automatically turned his brain off as he observed this part. He had learned long ago not to try and look away.

"Our reserves are getting shorter, would you like me to restock tonight?" He said when the emperor looked less monstrous. He stepped closer quietly to take the hand that was held out and began the process of leading his dear uncle back to the throne.

"Do it when it is absolutely necessary, for now I have a different mission for you." Hunter nodded, he knew exactly what to expect. It was a full moon after all. "Go patrol in the night market, Hunter. Report to me about anything that should be considered out of place." He spoke with authority.

Hunter grinned softly at the emperor and looked towards the ground, he tenderly let go of the hand that he'd been holding. "Of course, I’ll get to it right away." He bowed in a swift movement.

The emperor placed a hand on his shoulder as he rose. "I want to express my gratitude, Hunter.’’ He felt the grip tighten, as it always did."There is no other that I can trust with this." Hunter smiled and lowered his head.

"It is my pleasure." With that, he was given the permission to finally leave.

* * *

The air outside of the cold throne room was quite different, less chilling,  he could tell that even with a mask on. He'd better go get his staff and take off right away, he hated wasting time. His boots clicked when he walked on the marble floor, the castle echoed the sound. He looked up when he noticed a figure getting closer to him.

"Coven Head Darius, I see that you are active at this time." He greeted the man with the smallest bow. He hoped that this interaction would be curt.

Darius, however, seemed to have other plans. He always did. "And I see that you haven’t gone to bed yet, little prince. What might you be up to?" The man tilted his head and smiled at him as he folded his arms, as if he was greeting a friend.

Hunter frowned more than he liked under the mask at the words of his newfound company. For some odd, ridiculous reason, Hunter had always felt as if this man was attempting to fish things out of him whenever they are in proximity to one another, with the way he spoke and probed. Though he was used to impure inquiries being a part of his life, with Darius it was somehow different in a way. His line of questioning never fully spelled out his intentions.

Hunter despised the uncertain feeling with all his heart, and it partly led to a slight distaste for the coven head as well. Yes, only a slight one.

"I’ll be turning in as soon as I’m finished with some additional matters that were assigned to me, Darius." He spoke as if he didn’t want this conversation to be over already.

Darius raised an eyebrow, as if questioning his answer. He always seemed to have time to do."What additional matters do you need to attend at this time of the hour?" He asked. "Surely it can wait until the morning," he pressed.

Hunter just chuckled and shrugged. "I’m afraid that this one can’t, I better get to it now if I want to stay on the lenient side of the emperor." He stared at the man directly in the eye, in the way where he knew that Darius could feel his gaze even with the mask.

"Questioning our liege's commands isn’t exactly part of the job now, is it?" He placed his head to the side and lowered his tone purposefully, the words seemed casual enough. Second guessing the words of the wise emperor was a great offense in this castle, even for a coven head. Perhaps Hunter wasn't feeling very merciful with his words tonight, but oh well, he would behave another day.

He could tell that Darius did not have a clear answer to the sudden jab at his loyalty, and he took that as his cue. There was really no reason to linger. "Oh well, duty calls! It was nice talking to you, Darius. Goodnight!" He waved.

With that, he strode off.

Darius was left with his hand half out and his own conflicting thoughts to consider.

* * *

Hunter stretched his arms as he landed in the Night Market, he never expected too much from a full moon night. He would just deal with the usual thieves and bandits, and tried to scare some of the shadier businesses. He had once again been trying to figure out just what is so special with the full moon lately, his uncle seemed to be rather focused around this time. In his much earlier patrols, he certainly had the eyes of a hawk. That had died down with uneventful months piling up. Did the night market have some sort of event around this time? He would hate himself for not knowing if that was true, considering how many times he had been here.

He rested his staff on his shoulders and began to whistle as he walked. He noticed that some of the stalls shifted and moved as he strode through. Just the usual.

It seemed like the world had different plans today, however.

He straightened himself instantly when he saw a girl running while screaming at the top of her lungs. "Get away! Get away! This isn’t real!" She was scrambling around like a lunatic, it almost made Hunter laugh. Her eyes were closed tightly and she ran straight ahead with no sense of proper direction.

He noticed a different, more familiar figure running after the girl. A woman with gray hair and a red cloak. He knew this individual all too well.

"Damn it, kid! You’re gonna get me in trouble!" The woman seized the girl with her magic.

So the famous Owl Lady was present on a night like this as well. This was getting just slightly more intriguing.

He felt his feet moving to get closer, he didn’t want to miss all the action.

Chapter Text

When Luz saw the dark sky adorned with stars and a full moon, she didn’t really know what to think.

When she looked a bit down and saw the various creatures that look like they were from comic books walking around what seemed to be a busy market, she also didn’t know what to think.

The buildings around her did not look right, the ground did not look right, monsters were flying around on top of the sky and the buildings did not look even a little right at all. Luz was still standing outside the weird tent, it now became one of the most normal things around her. She did what she was supposed to do.

She panicked.

Luz ran back into the tent to get back the same way she got here. There was a door, wasn’t there? There had to be a door.

She searched and searched, but there was no door in sight. Luz hears a hoot from afar, and turns to see what seems to be the proper entrance of the tent. She ran towards that voice and saw the reason for her distress. The owl.

She dashed towards that damned owl. She doesn’t even care that she seemed to have knocked over some things from wherever she was. She needed to get that owl.

A hand grabbed hers before she could even touch the creature. She jolted and turned her head, staring directly into the face of a middle aged woman, dressed in a red cloak. She had long, gray, and very poofy hair. She also had various strange looking jewelry decorating her neck and chest, the most prominent being a golden oval, and some are also on the hand that is currently held firmly onto hers. There was certainly something different about this woman, something uncanny.

She had earrings too, Luz noticed. They’re on her ears, of course. Her sharp, elf-like ears.

"Well it looks like my palisman got a little carried away when he was trying to get me the goods." The woman spoke, smiling as she did so, her one golden tooth glistening. "There’s no need to get physical though, kid. Why don’t we talk a little?" Luz didn’t really hear much of what the lady said, she was busy convincing herself that this was all a dream.

She only started paying attention again when the woman lifted her other hand, pointed a finger, and drew a circle. The circle glowed, and the objects that Luz knocked on the floor returned to their original placements.

Luz just about had enough. She jerked her hand out of the crazy lady’s grasp, though Luz herself might be the crazier on here.

She turned and ran, slapping her face as she did so, trying to wake herself up.

* * *

Hunter watched as the Owl Lady seized the girl, and decided that it was time to make himself known.

"A-hem, excuse me, Miss?" He called out to the woman, who was busy putting her hand over the girl’s once rambling mouth. "Should I be concerned on why you look like you’re kidnapping someone?" He asked delicately.

The Owl Lady widened her eyes at his sudden presence.

"Oh great, the Golden Guard." She grimaced. "Titan, this is not my night."

She looked between her stall and the girl in her grasp, before staring back at him. Hunter assumed that she was planning on just what to do. It would not be very satisfying to leave a tent behind just to run away.

"Don’t worry, I’m just being a concerned passerby here." He walked closer to the pair, his hand behind his back. At this point all of the other merchants have closed off their businesses due to seeing and hearing what was going on. It was getting rather quiet.

Hunter did have some questions. Just who was this young lady? Why was she involved with the Owl Lady? Also, last time he checked the wanted criminal didn't just snatch teenagers off the streets. He believed that her reputation would be slightly different if that were the case. He squinted at the girl, who couldn't even speak at the moment due to the Owl Lady’s magic. He tried to find something, anything special or out of place.

Hunter mentally scolded himself, he doesn’t even know what he was looking fo-

Her ears.

Her ears are round, not at all sharp like any normal witch.

"Hold on a minute here," Hunter muttered and took in a sharp breath in complete disbelief. He looked at the Owl Lady briefly. "Is this a human…?" So many more questions rose in his head, he examined the girl again. How did she get here? He was so completely distracted that he didn’t even have time to dodge the hit from the woman’s staff.

He was on the floor and half of his glove was missing, his hand burned as it quickly turned into an angry red. He felt it start to swell and blister. It certainly hurt, but it was definitely bearable. His staff was mercilessly knocked out of his hand, what a complete disaster. He isn’t even surprised, he blamed his own reflexes. He didn't think the Owl Lady would suddenly turn violent, it was his first time seeing her provoking him this way. A night full of surprises.

He was also a bit baffled by is the Owl Lady’s own reaction, she winced when she looked at his injury. She seemed to be a little startled by what she’d done, quite strange if you ask him.

She stared some more before stepping away from him. "Sorry, but it seems like it’s my time to go." The gray haired witch drew a spell circle. He felt himself being tied up instantly by a rope from her stall, Hunter didn’t struggle. He just watched as all of her things were collected, including the really annoyed and angry looking girl. At least he's not the only one subdued by the Owl Lady tonight.

"It seems like business is blooming for you, then. Owl Lady." He frowned a bit, but smiled nonetheless under the mask as he spoke those words.

The Owl Lady paused. "I’ll have you to thank, after all." She chuckled dryly as she got further away.

"Whatever do you mean?" He asked cautiously, tilting his head in a playful manner. He was genuinely curious.

The Owl Lady definitely analyzed a bit at his behavior. "You’ve been turning a blind eye, haven’t you?" She decided to elaborate. "I’ve seen you here every now and then, there’s no way you haven’t noticed me at all." She hopped on her staff, while trying to keep the girl in place. "I sometimes wonder why you haven’t even made an attempt to capture me." She stated flatly.

Her staff started lifting into the air, Hunter just stared at her seemingly neutral face.

"Don’t you worry," she called out. "I won’t mention it to anyone. Take it as an apology." She officially flew off, getting smaller and smaller in the night sky.

Hunter waited for her to disappear, and let out a rather heavy sigh. He got up from where he was down on the ground, and wiggled free of the ropes that he untied within the minute they were on him. Seriously, he would have expected that a criminal who has been wanted for years wouldn’t do such a sloppy job. He dusted off his clothing and collected his staff once again, he held it with the hand that hasn’t been burned. Now, back to the situation at hand.

Just what was he going to do about all of this?

Chapter Text

Eda didn’t expect this night to play out like this. How could she?

She should have never forgotten about how the Golden Guard goes on his monthly patrols. She didn’t mean to burn him so hard, she was just afraid that he’ll capture the human kid. However, it didn’t seem like he even made an effort. What’s with that, anyway? Wasn’t he supposed to be the emperor’s lapdog? Also, she had a human now. A human.

Eda tried not to focus on the girl that was clinging to dear life on her staff, but it’s a little hard when she was twitching so much. Eda wondered why she hadn’t said or scream a word yet.

Oh wait, her silencing spell.

She quickly turned around to unzip the girl’s mouth, she watched her take in a sharp new breath. Eda just keeps messing up tonight, doesn’t she?

"Hey, kid. How are you?" She greeted her slightly awkwardly. "Sorry about that, it was a bit of a situation." Eda explained, but the girl doesn’t seem to be taking in anything she was saying right now.

"I-you," she stammered. "Where on earth am I?" The teenager exclaimed. Reasonable response.

"Well," Eda started. "You’re not really anywhere on Earth, that’s for sure."

"Then where am I? Who are you? H-how are we flying?"

"You’re on the Boiling Isles, kid, welcome." She started answering. "I’m Eda, Eda the Owl Lady. We’re able to fly because of Owlbert, my palisman. He was the one that led you here, wasn’t he?" She gestured to the flying owl, hoping that the cute animal could lighten up the mood.

The girl didn’t seem at all pleased with her answers. "I-I have to be going crazy, this can’t be real." She closed her eyes shut.

Eda frowned. "Sorry kid, but this is it. You’ll have to work with what you got." She tried to be gentle with her words. "Why don’t you start by telling me your name?"

The girl seemed numb and defeated as she reopened her eyes. "I’m Luz. Luz Noceda." She answered politely, and Eda was glad enough to have a name tied to the girl. It sounded like a good name, even though she never heard of it in her life.

"Well, Luz. You can crash at my place if you wanna, plenty of space." Eda offered. "It’s…probably your only option right now." She hesitantly stated.

Luz nodded. "Thank you." She said simply, and it sounded completely ungenuine. She still looked like she was processing.

Eda was just glad that she was at least trying. "Well kid, we have a while before we get there, why don’t you look around?" She pointed down.

* * *

Luz looked around the craziness that she had fallen into down below. There are weird creatures flying around and unusual lights. The buildings were definitely different and the air screams wilderness and danger. On top of that, the whole place looks like it was built on top of bones. Everything appeared so bizarre.

However, a part of her softened, despite being exposed to so many things.

Because even she had to admit that this place looks beautiful during the night.

* * *

Hunter was once again walking across the long hallway of the castle.

He had permission to turn in tonight before giving his report tomorrow morning, he needed to be done writing it tonight, along with some other unfinished paperwork. As he walked, he had the time to think.

Tonight had been…eventful.

A human. What in the Titan’s name was he going to do about a human? He still didn't know how she even got here, he didn’t know that there was still a way. He paused and reflected for a second, the human girl was running and screaming before being contained by the Owl Lady. It didn’t seem like she was fully aware of where she was. So it was possible that she got here by complete accident? How would she even achieve that? It seemed most likely that it had something to do with the Owl Lady, since she was the one running to contain the human. If that were to be true, then he would have to keep a more watchful eye.

He sighed heavily, this was getting a little out of hand, isn’t it? On top of that, the Owl Lady was aware of his little inaction. He hoped that she doesn’t start getting any crazy ideas.

What would happen if there was a portal? That would be so chaotic. However, a strange part of him was excited. He wanted to know, he wanted to figure this strange puzzle out. He hoped that if he ever did, it shocked him. He hoped that it was something unheard of, something obscenely new. There were so many mysteries undiscovered in the Boiling Isles, maybe this would fall into one of them. Learning something new was always a rapture.

Hunter forced himself to push that insane part of him down, he could not think like that right now.

He walked faster towards his room, but he landed into someone at a turn. He quickly took a step back to see who it was.

"Golden Guard?" Titan, why was this man still awake? In front of him stood the witch he encountered earlier tonight. Did this person have nothing better to do other than walk around the castle to have conversations with random people he came across?

"Coven Head Darius, apologies. I wasn’t paying attention." Hunter said. "I was just about to return to my ro-"

"What happened to your hand?" He was rudely interrupted. Darius’s eyes were deeply glued onto his half-exposed hand, he frowned at it hard.

Hunter lifted the hand Darius was focused on. It looked slightly more red than before, and it never did stop hurting. He hadn't paid too much mind. He silently held it behind his back. "I ran into some trouble out there, that’s all." He stated. "It has been taken care of, nothing to be concerned about." Hunter waved his other hand dismissively, and chuckled without a care.

The man in front of him was expressionless, but also seemed like he was deep in thought. "You should get it taken care of." He did not seem happy at all, and Hunter did not have it in him tonight to ponder why. He hated being analyzed like this, he wanted out of this situation.

"Of course I will. Now, I’ll get back to my quarters." Hunter fled.

He was so very tired.

Chapter Text

Luz woke up to a different room, one that was definitely not her usual bedroom.

Oh right, summer camp. She should hurry out of bed, there might be things that she needed to do. She had gotten up slowly and tiredly, closing her eyes to yawn. It's really quiet, was everyone up already? Why wasn’t she woken up by anybody? From her past experience, there was always a need to get up sooner in order to get ready in time.

Luz followed the light to the nearest window, and looked outside through half opened eyes.

One look was enough to wake her up more than any form of caffeine. The outside world was definitely not what she was used to seeing. Memories started hitting her like a train wreck. This wasn’t camp, this wasn’t even anywhere on Earth. She was in a whole different realm, it wasn’t a dream.

She backed away from the window quickly, still not accepting reality. In that process, she seems to have stepped on something. Something slimy, wet and absolutely gross. Luz screamed, taking her foot off of what seemed to be an actual eyeball. The eyeball turned to look at her, making her get goosebumps all over her body.

Luz wobbled and slowly fell on her knees. She felt as if she had aged ten years, or more.

The door to wherever the heck she was busted open. "What? What is it? Who’s dying?" A gray haired woman inquired. Eda, the absolutely crazy lady that brought her to her house. It’s all coming back to her hard. Her eyes became wide open and dilated, she ran a hand through her messy bed hair. How was she able to sleep?

"I’m still here, it wasn’t a dream at all." Luz whispered.

Eda calmed down after seeing no real danger. "Geez, kid. You gave me a fright. Heh, I thought we gone over this last night, it’s okay." She placed a hand on Luz’s tense shoulder. "Come have some breakfast, I was just about to wake you." Luz followed with an airy head, not seeing a better option.

She followed Eda to the kitchen of the house, where she stared at the questionably made food. Was it just her or does everything in this place have eyes? The food on her plate will remain untouched, she didn’t have much of an appetite anyway. She simply sat down and decided to ask a few questions, that might make her feel a little less insane.

"So, how does this world work? Who runs the government? How do I get back to Earth?" Luz asked all of her most basic concerns, hoping to receive good answers.

Eda bit into her food. "Slow down kid, one thing at a time." She puts up a hand, chuckling.

She proceeded to speak while chewing on her food. "The demon realm runs on magic, obviously, and the big guy who’s in charge is Emperor Belos. I don’t have much to say about him, you’ll have to ask King if you want the whole 'lore' or whatever." She held up her fingers.

Luz grimaced, of course there was an emperor of all things here. Everything she had encountered so far seems like it came straight out of a crazy fantasy story. That was pretty ironic, considering how she even ended up here.

As she processed this she realized that the question that she cared about the most still has no answer. "What about how I’ll go back? You have to know, didn’t I get here through your tent?" She pressed.

Eda made a face, looking like a child caught in the act of stealing out the cookie jar. Luz didn’t like the sweat that gathered up on her head. "Now here’s the tricky part, kid." She lined her fingers together, Luz tensed up immediately. Eda held up a hand. "Don’t worry, you can go back." Luz sagged down in relief.

"Just not in the next few days."

Luz’s eyes twitched. "What do you mean, that I can’t go back in the next few days?" She forced the words out through gritted teeth. This whole situation was testing her usually high patience.

Eda didn’t like the look of the triggered girl. She slowly placed a hand on the teenager’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "Don’t worry, kid. I’ll explain everything, top to bottom." She promised.

* * *

"I just, can never understand him." Darius placed a gloved hand on his forehead. "Is he really that loyal? Can he ever be converted?" He sighed. "I know nothing about him! He is always way too suspicious of me!" He leaned back onto the couch.

Eber laughed at his frustration. "You’re always so riled up over the golden boy." He began sharpening his nails on the wooden table. It was ruining the surface at a tremendous rate, Darius couldn't bring himself to care today. It was not his table.

Darius huffed, defeated. "How can I not be? He is just so similar to..." He trailed off, suddenly caught in a web full of memories. He shook his head and closed his eyes.

* * *

"...and this concludes the report, my liege." Hunter didn’t lift up his head just yet. He didn’t always need permission, but he felt as if he should today. The emperor had ordered him to remove his mask, and that had made him feel rather exposed. The silence in the throne room was always louder without him breathing through his mask. His hand ached a bit from his position on the floor. He had to throw out the damaged gloves from last night, what a waste.

Belos looked through the papers that he had written, examining every passage. "You are certain that you left nothing out? Not a single detail?" He questioned.

Hunter could feel the strong gaze looking down at him, many trembled and cowered away under this pressure before. He braced himself before meeting the eyes of the emperor. "I am positive." He stated firmly, not daring to move his eyes.

"Rise." With that, Hunter lifted himself from the ground. He walked towards the emperor’s extended hand. After the usual exchange of words he was allowed to take his leave.

The rest of the day was nothing different than usual, he did his usual tasks. However, he could tell that his mind and body was not at ease at all. The castle always had a way to intimidate people, even when the halls were empty he still felt as if he was being watched. It all made his skin crawl, especially with the extra fatigue.

But hey, what could he do about it? Things must go on, it’s his mission to make sure they do.

Chapter Text

The Gateway Of Sun and Moon

[ANCIENT RELIC<FAILED TO RELOCATE]

This particular magical opening was said to have appeared even before the Savage Ages. It is a doorway that is able to be folded and carried, and easy to disguise. Those who have claimed to see it all agreed that the magic it emits was unfamiliar and dangerously powerful. The door opens and closes under unpredictable circumstances.

It was said to have been an entryway to impossible places, but no study has been made to support this claim.

"That’s it? That tells me nothing! This is the shortest and most vague page of information I have ever seen!" Luz waved her hands to the furry skull creature named King, exasperated. She was seated on the couch in the living room of what they called the Owl House, trying to learn more ways about how to get home. The small passage inside this dusty book was not very helpful.

Eda chimed in. "That book is way too old, I don’t think you should rely on it that much. And the portal isn’t exactly unpredictable, it just only opens to the human realm on the full moon. Like I said." She stated again while she sorted through her trinkets on the floor.

The full moon, Eda told her that before, and she was very upset. That was a whole month away from now, a whole month away from home. Luz felt herself frowning again as she thought of her mom, she had no way to even reach her. Hopefully she believed that her daughter was just busy at summer camp.

 "So this is the only way?" She asked one more time, Eda nodded.

The little demon that she met only about two days ago shrugged. "Even if you went to the biggest library in Bonesborough you would still get the same thing, Eda already studied on this before." He closed the book and placed it back onto the shelf. "Most witches even see this portal as just some folk tale by now, if they even heard of it at all." King danced his fingers around the bookshelf, before pulling out another one.

"Wanna hear the tale of how our emperor rosed to the throne?" King waved the book in her face excitedly, enjoying the thrill of telling stories to the newcomer. “It has pictures!’’ Luz just smiled a bit at the little guy and nodded. As she waited for King to flip to the right page, she looked back at the folded portal door.

She traced over the suitcase. It appeared to be made out of wood, and had intricate sun and moon carvings. One part of it bothered her a little.

"Why is there a key-hole?"

Eda blinked at the question, and stopped to think a bit. "Not sure, kid. It opens fine without it." She seemed sorry that she couldn’t provide a better answer, and started contemplating on the question herself.

 Luz just took the information and looked back at the book in King’s lap.

* * *

"Kikimora! Hey!" Hunter pointed a finger gun at the short demon in front of him.

"Do not test me today, Golden Guard. I don’t have time to chit-chat." The short demon crossed her arms as soon as she saw him and looked up at him with a nasty stare.

Hunter got down on one knee to her level, and shrugged. "Oh come on, we don’t see eachother so often, different departments and all. What is wrong with catching up?" He asked casually.

 When Hunter first saw Kikimora, which was quite a few years ago, he was really quite intrigued. He saw her carry paperwork to the emperor, and was questioned on the accuracy of the information numerous times. She answered those concerns without faltering, and was allowed to leave. He respected her integrity. It was her first time, too. Hunter later on saw her in the castle hallway, leaning on the wall, taking deep breaths. Her well-kept act in front of the emperor had crumbled down, and he was even more interested in what she might be able to bring to the table. 

 He spoke with the emperor again later that day, and commented on her efficiency. She was promoted after some weeks.

Hunter didn’t exactly favor her, he thought of her the same as plenty of the other Coven Heads, manageable. He believed that it was ideal to not be on the bad side of any coven members, even if it seemed way too far-fetched.

"There is nothing to catch up on, Golden Guard. We have nothing to share." Kikimora scoffed at his suggestion.

Hunter piped up a little. "Well I actually do, I have been reading a few books at the castle library, they have been quite entertaining." It was true, he has been studying a few things. "How lucky we are, to be able to access the biggest library in the Boiling Isles this freely, getting information that other witches might never have the chance to." He commented, he knew that even if he spoke of nonsense, Kikimora never walked away before he had finished. He believed that she did it out of precaution, he knew that she was slightly wary of him.

She scoffed at him, and folded her arms. "If that is all you have to say, then I’ll be leaving." Hunter nodded and stood back up, content enough.

"Sure thing, I’ve wasted enough of our time. I should really learn to hustle, that being said, bye!" With that, he skipped off without a care, the click of his heels once again echoed through the lengthy halls. The day was long, and everyone in the coven was as busy as always.

Kikimora watched as he got smaller into the distance, she lingered longer than she should have. "...He is out of place." She muttered quietly as she hurried off, she is assigned to give information to the newest recruits.

* * *

 "Willow!" Augustus stormed to the table where his friend was seated for lunch. "Have you heard?" He flopped onto the spot across the girl and made an exaggerated look.

 His friend in question just calmly tilted her head. "Nope, what is it?" She asked with a hint of curiosity. Somehow Augustus always has a lot of interesting news, probably because his dad was a reporter. The boy himself also didn’t miss out on a lot of gossip that went around.

"Last night! At the Night Market!" He dug through his backpack and came up with a few pictures. Willow is a little more eager to find out where exactly this was going. "The Golden Guard and the Owl Lady was in some sort of dispute, it made most of the stalls close so much earlier." He then proceeded to slap the photos on the table.

"And guess what? There was a human!" Augustus exclaimed.

The pictures mostly depicted a scene of gray-haired women with a girl in her arms, and a masked figure across them that is undeniably the famous coven member that she had seen on many posters. Such a strange combination of people, how did they all get involved with each other? Willow narrowed her eyes as she studied the images a little harder, this is definitely not something that you see everyday. 

Sure enough, she noticed that the girl that is held by the Owl Lady has ears that don't resemble any witch she’s ever seen. 

Chapter Text

 Darius glanced briefly at that one person among the cloaked figures. He was behaving normally, or at least it seemed that way.

 The Golden Guard was talking to Kikimora, the one who managed all the artifacts and many other irreplaceable relics around the castle. Darius never did learn how they had gotten familiar, since they weren't in particularly similar systems. Eberwolf was not present today, and Darius found that this means his mind wandered more than he liked.

 The young soldier sometimes chuckled under his mask when he talked to the little demon, while she feigned deep annoyance. Darius simply could not understand how the guard could be so friendly with someone so unpleasant to deal with, but be so cheerfully distanced while he is in the presence of all the other coven heads. It peeved him just slightly.

 “This conversation is meaningless and has wasted my time enough, I will seek ways to occupy myself while I wait for the emperor.” Kikimora huffed as she stepped away, and the Golden Guard waved his hand goodbye with mirthful laughter. Darius silently gritted his teeth. He supposed that it cannot be helped right now, he needed to focus on something else. 

 Just as he decided to do that, another far more dangerous figure approached the guard that Darius was just listening in on. It forced him not to keep his attention away.

 “Greetings to you, Golden Guard.”

 “Greetings to you as well, Coven Head Snapdragon. How may I help you?”

 “Well, I was just wondering, since you are the emperor’s right hand man,” The Golden Guard twitched at those words. “Surely you know what this meeting is about?”

 Darius could almost sense the annoyance coming out of the boy at the woman’s prying words. He knew that the Golden Guard never really let any of that show, but Darius thought that he could at least assume a little with how often he observed the young soldier. Besides, who wouldn’t get annoyed at Snapdragon?

 “Oh please, don’t flatter me so much. You should be informed that the emperor is a fair man, he would not be the type to give out information unevenly!” He waved his hand, as if she made a preposterous assumption. “Are we not all waiting to be addressed? Why do you assume that I would be the one with cards hidden away?” His accusing tone was no less blatant, and the sheer wildness of it all made Darius slightly shudder. The Golden Guard was mindful with his boldness, sure, but it was still ruffling to behold.

 It seemed that Snapdragon had sensed the fruitlessness of her quest. “Very well, then. I suppose that we will all wait for the emperor to enlighten us.” Her smile stayed in place, but her almost glaring eyes made her displeasure known. No one in the coven likes a risk in vain.

 “And it would truly be all of us.” The Golden Guard gave the coven head one last nod of politeness before walking away in his usual stride.

 The young soldier was just like that, he handled his business and then proceeded with no issues. It was one of the reasons why he had kept his position and remained favored. He gave no less and no more unless something interests him to a degree, and Darius knew that he himself had hardly qualified as an entertaining individual to linger on for long. 

Darius was to remain simple business, and he blamed himself for falling into that role.

* * *

 “Why do we have to do this again?’’ Luz said as she wiped the dust off of a very cursed looking ruby necklace. Eda had told her to not stare at it directly for too long, it might make her a little too dizzy.

 “Like I said before, this brings the most snails onto the table. A lot of rich freaks love collecting these dangerous, freaky little ornaments.’’ Eda cracked her neck and started toying with a ring that she picked up from the table. “I do also sell human things for those who want them, but it’s kinda hard with the portal closing every month.’’ She shrugged, and started digging through another bag of her belongings.

 Luz picked up another little artifact, as she thought about a few things. There was a question that had been weighing on her mind.

 “Hey, Eda, remember that night I got here?’’ She heedfully asked.

 “Yeah, what about it?’’ Eda didn’t care to look up from her work.

 “There was that guy, remember? He was wearing a mask and cloak, what was your deal with him?’’ Luz finally asked. She remembered that person, he looked like he was somewhat important, judging from how the people around reacted at the time. As Luz traced back her memories of panic, she recalled another important detail. “Didn’t you burn his hand?’’

 Eda hesitated for a bit before answering. “You mean the Golden Guard, he’s from the Emperor’s Coven.’’ She simply said, the movements of her hands never ceased.

 “The coven that runs this place? Don’t tell me they’re on to you.’’ Luz frowned in alarm at the implications of this reality. 

 “Oh, it’s nothing that I can’t handle.” Eda waved her hand to soothe the girl, little good it did. “I don’t really know how to feel about the emperor’s coven, but I do know that they have way too many restrictions.’’ She explained before looking down. “I didn’t mean to burn that guy’s hand, I just thought he was gonna to try and snatch you.’’ Her words sounded slightly guilty, and her face looked a little confused.

  Luz pursed her lips. “So, what is your deal with this ‘Golden Guard’ person anyway?’’

 “Well, I don’t hate the guy. He definitely doesn’t have it out for me, either.’’ Eda frowned as she thought about it a little harder. “I don’t really know what his deal is, really.’’ She started packing things in little weirdly shaped boxes.

 “You know, my sister works in the emperor’s coven. Pretty high up, too.’’ The Owl Lady mentioned absentmindedly. 

 “Your sister?’’ Luz asked incredulously, her eyes bulging out. “She’s in that coven?’’ She was trying hard to picture any sister of Eda’s joining something seemingly so restricting. Seriously, this lady is a trouble magnet. They must be polar opposites with how they ended up on the opposite side of the spectrum.

 “Yeah, she keeps trying to get me to join. But it’s just not for me, I’m not much of a rule follower.’’ Eda rested one hand on her cheek.

 “Huh,” Luz wondered. “Maybe they know each other.’’ She started mindlessly working again, deciding to stray away from more overwhelming revelations. Whatever trouble Eda had with the magic government was not any of her business, as long as no one shows up to kill them. The Boiling Isles was hardly a place she needed to know everything about, and at this point the information had come to a dead end anyway.

 “They probably do, but hey, I don’t talk to them on a daily basis to know everything that goes on in the coven.’’ Eda sighed, and the conversation had closed up there.

Chapter Text

 “Is there not anything I can do around here?” Luz called out, face still planted on the wooden table. Boredom was solking her fast today, since there isn’t work to be done. Usually she just goes along with whatever King’s doing, but he was fast asleep at this time. Perhaps she should have found something to do consistently around here. She felt like she’s just been moping for the last two weeks.

 Hey, it was hardly her fault. She was literally in a different realm. Eda had better be right about the portal, she needed to get back home. As quick as possible.

 “Well, no offense, kid.” The gray-haired woman set her coffee back down on the table. “But you can at least try to explore around here, instead of just hanging around the house.” She gestured towards the half opened front door, the wind blew in slightly. “There is so much to see out there, just take a walk!” 

 Luz frowned opposingly, Eda must have been kidding. “There are literal creatures that crave flesh out there, I’m not gonna try to die before getting back home!” She knew it all too well, her first night here was already enough of a warning to her. Why would she be up to taking risks?

 “Oh please, don’t be so paranoid.” Eda chuckled and pulled Luz close from the shoulder. “Potential danger, daring attempts, that is how we learn! Magic is all around us, waiting to be sought for!” 

 “Just the other day, I saw an orange one eyed serpent swallow up a whole tree. You call that magical?” 

 “That was magic in its finest form, kid.”

 Eda nodded at her own words, before guiding Luz towards the door slowly. “Look, just give it a try.” Looking around briefly, the witch called out for her palisman. She whispered into the owl’s ears briefly and grabbed it as it transformed into a wooden staff. Luz did not like where this was going.

 “Here, take Owlbert. He’ll protect you just fine.” She shoved the staff into the girl’s arms, pushing her out of the house in the meantime. The teenager scrambled as her feet touched the ground outside.

 “How would he, Eda, I don’t know any spe-” With that, the door was shut in Luz’s face. The only thing she heard after was the Owl Lady telling her to be back in time for dinner. She groaned hard, frustrated at her own careless act of expressing boredom. Perhaps keeping her mouth shut around the crazy witch lady was something that should have been more obvious to her.

 She turned around, and began walking down the forest road, clenching to the owl staff as she did so. Hopefully a quick walk around would do no harm. 

* * *

 Where was she? 

 Where in the magic existing-demon breathing-sky decaying demon realm was she?

 Did she really just got herself lost? Around here?

 “Owlbert, can you hear me? I need to get back.” She called to the still wooden palisman in her hands. “You must know the way, right?” Luz swayed the staff around, attempting to get a reaction. No response whatsoever. Great, the owl was just as bad as his master.

 The forest around her looked just like any other part of the forest that she has already walked through. The problem was that she had no idea which path she even took, and they are all too similar. She was really so focused on not being attacked by some random monster that she lost complete track of where she was heading. What was wrong with her?

 She looked back at the path once again, the various trees and rock just made her even more frustrated. None of this scenery stood out on her journey.

 However, it seemed as if she had no choice but to go back and-

 “Why, hello there!”

 Luz let out a piercing scream and fell to the dirt.

 “Oh, heh.” Two hands lifted her up by the shoulders before she could properly react. “Did not mean to do that.” It allowed Luz to have a clear view of the owner of such a peppy and familiar voice. The one standing before her was not a complete stranger, but perhaps it would have been better if it was. She hadn’t exactly been meeting a lot of new people while she was here, so it could only be one person.

 Golden mask, white cloak, and a winged magic staff. The Golden Guard. Someone who was part of the coven that was out to get Eda, and he had seen Luz at the Night Market. He also knew that she definitely did not belong here. This was absolutely carving out to be the trouble that she was afraid of running into. A walk was a terrible idea!

 Luz quickly stepped away from the guy waving his hands back and forth in front of her eyes. She held out the palisman in front of her, trying to look at least slightly more menacing.

 “S-stay away!” She ordered.

 Surprisingly, it worked? The Golden Guard nodded at her words, and took three steps back. His hands were behind his back, still holding his own staff. He grew silent, seemingly waiting for her. She could not make out an expression at all behind the mask he wore.

 After what felt like a whole minute, he tilted his head slightly. “What’s next?” His voice almost made her jump. 

 She had to give him some credit, it was a good question. What was next? Did she really succeed in trying to hold him at gunpoint? No matter what, she was going to make the most of it.

 “I-uh, what are you doing here?!” Luz questioned back at him loudly, she had no idea where this was going.

 The Golden Guard leaned back and scoffed. “Oh, please. Did you think I was following you? I was just patrolling the area!” He waved a hand, as if to calm her. She struggles to stay calm at all when his movements are becoming more animated. “You do know that you’re getting awful close to the markets and buildings, right?” He tilted his head in that annoying manner once again.

 Luz did not know, not at all, just how far had she walked?

 Her hesitant expression must have shown clearly, for her new found company came to his own conclusion. Unlucky for her, it was the right one.

 “Oh, are you lost?” The words came right out of his mouth so fast.

 Now that the brutal truth was out in the air, there was no trying to hide anything. Luz must be looking so obvious right now. The guy chuckled lightly and shook his head as if the situation was even a little humorous.

 “I thought so! Quite dangerous, going so far away if you did not know the area. You’re not very close to the Owl Lady’s chambers right now.” Luz looked down frustratingly, unhappy with her transparency.

 “Yes, I am lost, and what are you going to do about it?” She glared at him as hard as she could.

 The Golden Guard shrugged innocently. “Why, be the Good Samaritan and guide the way for you, what else?” He spoke as if it was the obvious answer.

 Now Luz was just completely dumbfounded by his words, he showed up out of nowhere and just decided to help?  The soldier must be fooling her, it seemed like it would fit his spontaneous personality tremendously. However, at the same time, a small glimmer of hope ignited in her. Eda did say that this guy was not so bad.

 “Help me get back? Really?” She stared at the strange individual, the words came out of her mouth slowly.

 He nodded. “Yeah, of course, but first!” Before she knew it, he closed their distance at the speed of light and grabbed her by the shoulder. Her legs moved on their own as he led her over a few bushes and rocks. The maniac with crazy speed only stopped until a certain view was before them. She could see the bustling of some sort of civilization. Various impossible looking creatures decorated the bricked floor, while some of the buildings appeared to be steaming. Also, what is with this place with eyes?

 He lets go of her and gestures wildly over the shuffling scenery.

 “Why don’t I show you around Bonesborough?”

 Luz had decided then and there that this realm was surely filled with absolute lunatics.

Chapter Text

She’s here. Like, actually here.

 Hunter didn’t have to track her down or anything, the human just emerged from the woods. Pretty magical for someone with no magic in her veins at all. It was also quite amusing that she had gotten herself lost, hadn’t she already arrived for two weeks? That was plenty of time to get familiar with a new place, or a new realm. Although, perhaps she would be too skittish to run around with no guidance. He already saw how she behaved at the Night Market, still incredibly amusing to look back on.

All these thoughts ran through his head while he dragged the girl to the path that led further into the streets of Bonesborough, he chatted the whole time. She allowed herself to be led, despite sporting an awfully disgruntled expression. Not one for fun, he supposed, but he still had to try.

“Look at all the things you can explore!” He waved with enthusiasm as they walked the paved floor, he no longer had to drag her as she followed along. “There’s so many shops and markets to see in this area.” It was true, and it was also a busy day with many witches and demons going about. Hunter had to keep a close eye on the girl if he didn’t want her to get lost even further. Bonesborough could be really scattered, even if it was not the most populated part of the Boiling Isles. If it was her first time in town, then she could see it all if she wanted to.

“And over there, that’s where the Owl Lady usually sets up her stall.” Hunter pointed at an area in the square. The wanted criminal does regularly do business there, and only moved her booth when she wished to make an appearance at the Night Market. He really couldn’t care less about her trades, but perhaps his little companion here would be absorbed and wanted to know more. The human had to be on friendly terms with the Owl Lady, or else she would not be carrying her palisman with her.

 But alas, the young lady didn’t seem to care much about the details of her associate’s business, as she avoided every creature and darted away from loud noises. “That’s great, uh, when can you take me back to Eda?” She hugged the staff in her arms and stayed close to him while they paraded the streets.

 “Don’t be so meek, human. Aren’t you even a little bit curious?” Hunter chuckled at her rigidness, but it was really starting to put a damper on his usually high spirit. He didn’t typically tolerate mundanity in his close company, and this human was boring. 

  It might have been that she would prefer to take the lead in the conversation. “Tell me about your realm, how different is it from here?” Hunter asked with a laid-back tone, while suppressing his true curiosity. He really did want to know.

   The human turned very suddenly and gave him a rather diligent answer, but it was a confusing one. “For starters, everyone there usually only has two arms, two legs, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, and a pair of normal ears.” Her voice grew bolder as the words went out. “That’s it. No more and no less.” Alright, weird start, but alright. At least she was open to talk now.

 And she kept going. “And the animals are normal too, not magical creatures that usually want you dead. I read a book from Eda, and can you believe how many of the things here are predators?” Her incredulous expression grew in her rant, and left no room for interruption.

 “The buildings also don’t move around or have eyes on them. Seriously, how are they functional? Who would want to live in something that’s alive?” Hunter would stop her babbling, if she wasn’t finally becoming interesting. “Don’t they eat you up, if they have organs? Is everything just explained with magic?” She waved her hand in aggravation, as if every building and establishment here had deeply offended her.

 Hunter had realized at one point that she stopped, and that he should make a comment. He was really caught up in her little web of words. “Well, hopefully it’s not as boring as you’re selling it to be.” He shrugged basically, she really didn’t tell him much about what her realm consisted of, just what it lacked.

 The human glanced at him for the first time since the start of her little talk, his words seemed to have made her focused. Her eyes were glassy, and she didn’t even seem to be looking at him specifically, just using him as a focus point. She had a sour expression, almost like a cranky old woman.

 “I guess it can be boring for a lot of people, if you don’t know what to look for.” The girl  concurred quietly, eyes laying on the floor once again. “But it’s home. I have to go back.” She stated as if she wanted the world to agree with her, and tell her that she made the most equitable declaration in the world.

 He hummed. It was very peculiar that she confessed these things to him, an individual she barely knew. She needed to learn not to give out information so carelessly. But the human proved to be more interesting than he originally thought, he liked her funny changes. Perhaps next time he could get more out of her, when she decided to be less jumpy.

 “Well then, I won’t hold you off any longer.” He announced decisively. “Let’s get you back to the Owl Lady. I have my duties to attend to as well, this was a nice break.” The human snapped her head back towards him, and looked surprised at his sudden change in objectives. 

<                          

 “Just before I lead you back on your way,” Hunter pointed to her left. “If you keep walking in that direction, you’ll find the Bonesborough library. Hexside is also near that district.” He gestured carelessly at the air. “Maybe you’d want to visit, if you’re looking for something to do.”

 The human looked at him, she seemed quite perplexed. “What’s Hexside?”

 “A magic school, plenty of events surround it. Might be fun to look around.” He reached for her wrist, slowly leading her away from the center of the square. “Let’s move along if you wish to return before dark.”

 Hunter kept his promise that day, and sent the human back to the Owl House. 

Chapter Text

Willow can’t help but wonder about the human. It had been a few weeks, and Augustus had wilted with the fact that there wasn’t much new information about the mysterious otherworldly visitor.

“I really want to study the human, anything to learn about a human would be so cool.” He rested his head on the cafeteria table and dejectedly played with his food.

He had been so excited to show her those photos, but the fact that there was no new information about this interesting development was bumming him out. She supposed that this human was discreet, then.

“C’mon, Augustus” She chided, “You know that you can’t dwell on it forever, the human might not ever be seen again.”

“Oh please, you were interested too!” He sat up. “This is a whole human in the Boiling Isles of all places!”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned a million times by now.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “And while it is fascinating, I’m not gonna spend all my time thinking about just one thing.” Augustus pouted and placed his head on both his hands. He was always very intrigued with humankind, he tried to study everything there was to know about them. There were unfortunately not too many books or archives that focused too much on them, though.

Willow grinned at him as another thought popped into her head. “Especially since it’s almost Flyer Derby season, don’t you want to get an early start and start practicing after school?” She suggested, and watched as her friend’s eyes lit up.

“Oh my Titan, yes! I can’t believe that I almost forgot!” He exclaimed giddily. The sport had turned into one of their favorite pastimes during the last break they had, it started after Willow told him how much she admired her fathers for excelling at it.

She was glad that she managed to distract her friend, and even happier that they were on a subject that they were both excited about. They chatted relentlessly about their favorite sport, and all the strategies and techniques they planned on doing.

They would have filled the entire lunch period with this endless talk, but a figure loomed over them at one point in their conversation. Someone inched closer, and seemed to have been waiting patiently in hopes of getting recognized. Willow tensed up at their new company.

“Oh, Amity.” She acknowledged simply.

“Sorry to interrupt, really, just curious about what you both were talking about!” Amity smiled awkwardly in front of their table as she feigned casualness. “Something about Flyer Derby?” The purple haired witch seemed frozen in place as she gripped her food tray, her leaning stance made her seem rather uncomfortable.

Willow did not know how long they just stared at each other, as she pondered the reason for this interaction.

“Uh, we were just excited about the upcoming season, and wanted to get a head start on practicing today.” Augustus clearly didn’t share her problem of not knowing exactly what to say.

“That sounds like fun, c-can I watch? I’d love to learn more.” Though the words were not spoken very confidently, they sounded rather hopeful.

Willow and Augustus looked at each other, contemplating. He was clearly looking for some kind of permission from her, knowing her strange relationship with Amity right now.

She just turned and smiled in her usual friendly way, or, at least that was what she was aiming for. “Sure thing, Amity. The field is open for anyone, after all.” Willow knew that she needed to be tactful, making unwanted enemies wasn’t what she needed at that moment.

Amity’s golden eyes had lit up at her words, she nodded profusely. “Alright, I’ll be there! Thanks, Willow!” Her eyes stayed on then for a while even as she was walking away, Amity nodded eagerly one more time and waved her whole arm as she scattered off. The whole time, Willow kept her smile.

She berated herself for feeling this exhausted just from a short conversation with Amity. It was ridiculous, how she was still so tense even after they managed to talk things through. If one could call it that.

Willow was usually much, much better at communicating, but whenever she interacted with Amity it was as if she automatically became a different person. She would become superficial, only polite on the surface. She knew that Amity most likely did not know any wiser, so it just continued.

Amity was trying to be a better person, a better witch. That was great, that was splendid for the world. Go, her!

Willow just wished that it did not involve her, whatever reconciliation she had in mind could wait after she’s had her education. She could go find another nice witch to be friends with without making it seem like Willow was her only ticket to redemption.

“You good, Willow?” Augustus chimed besides her, concern evident in his young face.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Augustus. I just need to get used to talking with her, that’s all.” She uselessly said.

“You know that you don’t have to, if it makes you feel weird.” Willow smiled at that, he was always such a good friend, and so much more understanding than a lot of their peers.

“I know, Augustus. It just seems a little silly to dwell on things like that. I don’t want to be a petty jerk.” It was true, living in the past just makes you a weaker person.

Augustus appeared very unhappy with her response. “Hey, you’ll never be that! And whatever feelings you have are valid, you just need to try and accept them more.” She blinked, slightly surprised by her friend’s insistence.

She shook her head and sighed fondly, reaching over to pat her friend on the shoulder. “Thanks, Augustus. I’m very lucky to have you as a friend.”

“Me too, Willow.” He beamed.

Just seconds after their appreciation session, the bell rang loudly around their cafeteria, and the students around had started to rise from their seats.

* * *

“Library, library.” Luz muttered to herself while walking around the square. “Seriously, he could not have been less vague.” She groaned and stumped the ground a little harder each time she walked.

The Golden Guard had pointed at a road that led to a library, but she honestly was starting to realize her terrible sense of direction in this realm because she could not even begin to comprehend where they were when he did that. Like she’d said before, these buildings freak her out.

She kept on walking and walking, before the path was less crowded and more open space surrounded her.

This was it, the last place they talked before he had sent her back. So that meant-

She turned her head towards a broader path, where she was briefly introduced to. She begun walking down that route slowly.

“Yes, there it is!”

The now visible building somehow made her rejoice.

“Take that, Golden Guard! I’m never getting lost again!” She knew that she probably shouldn’t be spiting the guy that helped her, but she still blamed him for giving just the bare minimum of directions.

Either way, she was at the library of Hexside.