Thanks for the reviews. No deep lore this time. Just kids being kids and babysitter/parent interactions. School is tomorrow, currently freaking out. Anxiety is maxed out. So peace.

Boscha was all alone.

Not like she was bothered by that. She's used to it. Her dominating personality just didn't attract many friends. Not her fault that every other kid was weak. 'Oh boo hoo, the mean three-eyed girl pushed me and I fell on some poop.' Pfft, as if she'd cry about that.

Still, she never had a real friend before...

Boscha was all alone at the playground. She just arrived and in the usual fashion, her mother Trisha was nearby, reading a book. It had a tie on the cover and the title was about colour and shades.

"O-oh my...!" Her mom gasped, her face turning red.

What was that woman reading? Boscha had no idea.

The little girl tapped her foot, slowly losing her patience. She had been waiting for 5 minutes which, from the perspective of a 6-year-old, was too long.

Did she get stood up? Was this what being stood up meant?

If it was... Boscha felt really sucky.

Thankfully, her doubts were quickly destroyed the moment she saw a dark-skinned girl by the playground gate.

"Boscha! Hi!" Luz screamed, waving happily. Behind her, a pompous goth lady walked with her, with skin paler than snow.

"Princess, please don't run! You might trip and hurt yourself!" The lady shrieked.

In response, little Luz gave an apologetic smile. "Hehe, sorry, Miss Lilith."

"Remember; the schedule states that you are only allowed out for an hour. Considering the travel speed, I'd reduce that to 45 minutes."

"Uh-huh."

"Do not run, do not jump! If you must go anywhere quickly, walk briskly just like you trained."

"Mmm."

"Above all else, don't put yourself in danger! Do you understand?!"

Luz fiddled with her fingers. "Yes, Miss Lilith..."

Lilith breathed in and out, her shoulders relaxing. "Thank you, Princess. I know it's a bit constricting but I'm just trying to keep you safe. Your father will have my head if anything happened to you..." She said, quietly muttering the last part.

"Can I please go and play now?" Luz pleaded. "Pretty please?"

"Hgh, alright. You may go." Lilith replied, waving her off.

"Yay!" Luz cheered, running off.

"Princess!" Lilith worriedly chastised, though it fell to deaf ears. Now alone, she sighed and head to the playground's designated waiting and lookout spots — a park bench.

Meanwhile, Luz hurriedly ran towards her only friend (so far), Boscha. Both girls looked happy to see one another. "Boscha!"

"Luz! Took you long enough!" Boscha scolded with a pout.

"Sorry..."

"It's fine. I already forgive you."

"Aww, thanks Boscha!" Luz said, immediately hugging her. The three-eyed girl blushed, pushing her friend off.

"Yeah, yeah. Now, come on! Let's go play by the swings first!" Boscha exclaimed.

With a smile, Luz followed from behind. "Okay!"

At the swings, the girls each took turns pushing each other. Their legs were too short and so, neither could swing by themselves. Luz was able to swing up really high since Boscha was naturally strong but the same couldn't be said otherwise.

And yet, Boscha didn't mind. She enjoyed her company more than the swings.

But she did have a question in mind. "Hey, Luz?"

"Grr...!" Luz grunted, struggling to push Boscha on the swing. In the end, she gave up. "Hah, sorry... I just have weak kid arms."

"Oh, that's okay. I just wanted to ask; who's that pale lady watching you? Is she your mom?"

Luz turned around, seeing the said pale lady watching from the sidelines. Her posture was straight, her hands crossed under her belly and she was staring at her fiercely. Luz was sure she didn't even blink.

She turned back, almost laughing. "Miss Lilith? She's not my mom! I don't even look like her!"

Boscha raised a brow, though not her middle one. "Well, who is she then?"

"She's my babysitter."

"Babysitter?" Boscha echoed. "But you're not a baby!"

Luz frowned. "I know but dad says I can't go out without adult supervision."

Boscha tilted her head and blinked. "What's 'supervision'?"

"I think it's seeing through walls."

"Adults can see through walls?!" Boscha turned around, looking at Trisha. "Mom! Can adults see through walls?!"

"W-what?" Trisha stuttered, startled by her daughter's yell. She even almost dropped her book.

However, Boscha didn't wait for a response and instead, instantly shifted back to Luz. "Yeah, I don't think that's what it means."

The disguised human nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Still, I don't think my dad trusts me that much. At the castle, it's always Miss Kikimora or Miss Lilith that's watching me when he's not around."

"Maybe he's just worried about you?" Boscha guessed. For some reason, the idea reminded her of her own parent. Though, she shook it off.

Luz cringed. "I know that but Miss Kikimora and Miss Lilith are both so serious! I had to go to safety lessons and everything. It's just classes and more classes and it's so boring now…!"

Suddenly, Luz had a brilliant idea. "Hey, what if you come with me to my place? We can have a sleepover!"

"What's a sleepover?" Little Boscha asked.

"It's when friends hang out but after dinner!" She answered. "Movies have it all the time!"

Boscha grinned at the thought. "That sounds fun! I'll ask my mom later."

"Neat!" Luz chirped. She then attempted to push Boscha on the swings a second time and just like before, she didn't get far.

"..."

"..."

"... Wanna go play at the slide?"

"Yeah."

So... This was the Emperor's daughter.

With how little interaction Lilith had with the little girl, she was honestly surprised. Not at the fact that the emperor had a child with a human woman. No, she was way past that. The fact that Luz was nothing like her father.

Emperor Belos was cruel, cunning and ruthless. He was a master strategist and an unparalleled witch of incredible power and skill. Challenging him in any way was akin to accepting a death sentence. He would show no mercy to his enemies.

Seeing Luz, the one that carried his blood, play around by the swing set with another girl of her age was incredibly jarring. For one, Luz actually had a friend somehow despite never leaving the castle. And two, the little girl seemed so... normal.

Emperor Belos had always stood out to her as someone so above the populace, otherworldly or even godlike. In contrast with Luz who was so normal that had Lilith met her without prior knowledge, she wouldn't even have batted an eye.

Even after almost a month, the raven lady still couldn't wrap her head around it.

"Mom! Can adults see through walls?!" the little three-eyed girl yelled.

Next to Lilith sitting on the bench, a two-eyed lady was left startled, her book almost falling from her grasp. "W-what?"

The little girl — Lilith assumed her to be the lady's daughter — didn't repeat herself and went back to Luz. The mother sighed, the blush still apparent. She was so immersed in the book that she barely paid attention to her surroundings.

In that brief moment, however, the raven lady was able to eye on the book's cover.

Lilith raised a brow. "Interesting choice of literature..."

"Eep!" the two-eyed lady gasped. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't think anyone would notice..."

"Still, I'd refrain from reading that in public. It sends a bad message."

"Right! That, uh, makes sense. I'll just put this away..." She muttered, putting the book in her bag.

The two sat quietly as they watched the children play. They started with the swings and now have moved on to the slide. It was made of grey smooth stone and as far as Lilith remembered, existed even before she was born. It still had its iconic demon face carved to the side.

Watching the two kids play on it brought a sense of unease. Lilith was sure that thing was cursed.

"So..." the lady drawled out. "How is Emperor Belos's daughter these days?"

Lilith blinked. Upon processing those words, her face turned two shades paler, gawking in shock. Was the secret spilled? And so quickly at that. But how? Every precaution was taken and every possible leak patched. Those of the Emperor's Coven that knew even took a magical oath.

If word got out, the emperor would have her head.

Lilith began sweating in panic. "N-n-no! Emperor Belos has no daughter! I-I don't know what you are implying, y-you—!"

The lady giggled, waving her hand. "It's fine. Lord Albert already told me about it."

The head of the Potions Coven? "L-Lord Albert?!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Trisha, his former assistant. Sorry about the book earlier. It was a gift, I swear." She then turned back to the kids, feeling grateful to see her daughter smile. She even managed to ignore the creepy-looking slide. "Honestly, it shook me to the core when he told me too. It took all of my willpower to not break down that night, hohoho!"

"I-I see..."

"Still, you look stressed. They're just kids playing at a playground. You should relax a little."

Lilith straightened herself, maintaining her image. "His highness's daughter's life is my responsibility. I can't afford to lower my guard." Lilith then glanced at Trisha. "It's not the same as any other child."

"Hm... I guess you're right. But it's not like anyone else knows that, right?" She nudged her head at the kids' general direction. "As far as the world knows, Luz is just a normal child."

"But she's not."

Trisha smiled. "She is. Who her father is doesn't change that."

Lilith glared at the single parent. What she just said could be seen as treasonous and would've been to, if Luz's status was public. After all, you can't just send a random person to prison with zero grounds, not without the risk of revealing the secret.

"You know, someday she might replace Emperor Belos. The firstborn of a dynasty. It's a lot of pressure for someone so young. Let her have her fun." Trisha exclaimed, then slowly looking sad. "She won't have it for much longer."

For some reason, Lilith felt that remark to be a bit more personal than she thought. She trained her whole life to join the Emperor's Coven and now, to climb to the very top of it too. She had put so much work to reach this point while Luz was simply born in it. It was her birthright.

Lilith wasn't jealous. Far from it. But she realized that while she could leave anytime she wanted, Luz couldn't. She would always be the daughter of Emperor Belos and princess of the Boiling Isles, whether she wanted to or not.

Just like a curse.

Unconsciously, Lilith gripped her dress tightly.

Back at the playground, Boscha called out from the sandbox, having done with the slide. Oh-so little Luz was sitting next to her. "Mom! Can I have my bucket?"

Trisha created a small magic circle and from her bag, a toy bucket and trowel flew out and floated towards her daughter. Boscha gleefully grabbed it and began shoving in the sand. "Be careful of any poop! They can melt through your arms!"

"Yeah, mom…"

Snapped out of her thoughts, Lilith loosened her grip. There was some truth in her words but she couldn't accept all of it. As unfortunate as it may sound, Luz was still the princess. At the very least, she deserved the best protection and education the Emperor's Coven could offer.

"I understand what you're trying to say. I disagree with it but I understand." Lilith exclaimed, appreciative of hearing that. "I… will try not to burden her."

"Well, that's fine. Just remember; witches are a lot more complicated than potions. Hoh, Lord Albert would be fuming if he heard me say that!" Trisha replied with a chuckle. Curiously, she tilted her head. "Say, I never got your name."

"It's Lilith." She answered.

Lilith? Trisha tapped her chin thoughtfully. The name sounded familiar but she just couldn't place her finger on it. Something about an owl beast? After a few seconds of thinking, she shrugged. Maybe it wasn't important. "Lilith, huh... I'll remember that."

After several minutes of silently watching — well, Lilith did. Trisha covertly pulled out her book again and placed a newspaper around it — the two little girls finally finished their sandcastle. It wasn't much to look at since sand didn't stand up very well but at least they didn't find any poop.

"Hey, Luz? Why don't you make that light spell of yours and place it on the tower? It'll make it look nice." Boscha suggested.

Luz gasped, followed by a squeal. "Great idea! Let me just…"

The disguised human girl pointed her finger. Without a pause, the pale raven lady scrambled off the bench and leapt straight towards her boss's kid, screaming in a bloody panic.

Thankfully, no explosions this time, courtesy of a gold hairband.