After going to watch the abomination wrestling match and talking with Luz about visiting all the covens, Amity knew which one she wanted to do next. It was one she had always wanted to visit, and had missed an opportunity to tour when her ankle was broken.
The Emperor's Coven, otherwise known as her goal since childhood. She had given up on getting a tour of any of their facilities, since normally they wouldn't let non members inside. She'd missed her only chance, until now.
Now she had an in, since Edric was interning there. Yes, he was based out of the jail instead of the Emperor's Castle, but it was still one of their facilities. Amity had always wanted to see inside, to see what happened there. If she was going to explore other covens, she might as well take some time to learn more about the Emperor's Coven too, she told herself. For research.
When she talked to Luz about visiting, they decided that Luz shouldn't go. After what happened with Lilith and Eda, the jail was the last place she should try to take a tour of. It was just too risky. Luz would look around for other coven activities they could do, so it was fine if Amity went alone to this one.
That was the easier conversation, compared to the one Amity faced this morning. She was sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast. She made sure to get up earlier than usual, so she could snag Ed before he left for the day. He had spent the whole weekend stewing in a dense cloud of irritation, which Em said was because of the internship, so Amity had put off talking to him until there was no time left.
That was what led to her waiting for him to pass by the kitchen. Em had already come and gone, snagging a piece of toast and expressing how unexcited she was for the second week of her internship.
When Ed finally appeared, about ten minutes later than Amity expected him, he was already dressed in his coven uniform. He carried the mask, dangling it from his fingers carelessly. Amity had already finished eating.
"You're up early." Ed commented when he saw her. He went over to the counter to take the already prepared toast, jamming it in his mouth.
"You're the one who's late." Amity quipped back, with one eyebrow raised.
Ed rolled his eyes, taking a bite out of his toast. "Yeah yeah I know." He took an apple from the bowl on the counter then sat down at the table. "How much do I have to pay you to take my place today?" He asked in a dead serious tone.
The corner of Amity's mouth lifted in a small smile. "I would do it for free." She meant that.
"If only you didn't have to go to school." Ed chuckled, though it sounded insincere. He finished his toast, moving on to the apple.
This was a good chance to ask that question, as the topic was similar. "Speaking of your internship," Amity tried to segue smoothly. "Do you think I could come by for a tour this afternoon?"
"Hmm." Ed mulled it over, placing his elbow on the table. "I'm fine with that, but I'll have to ask Frederick if it's okay. He'll probably say no." He said with a grimace. "Just come at 4:00, I'll meet you out front."
Even with the uncertainty of approval, that was a win. "Thanks Ed!" Amity grinned, rising from her chair. "I'll be right on time." She picked up her plate to wash it.
"A few minutes late is fine too." He shrugged, not seeming to care. "I'll come out to get you."
Amity finished washing her plate, then placed it in the rack to dry. "See you then." She moved to leave the kitchen, having succeeded in her goal. Ed waved halfheartedly as she left, continuing to eat his apple.
Amity went upstairs to get ready for school, excited for the day to come.
After school, Amity wandered around town until it was time to meet Ed at the jail. She was both excited and nervous to finally see inside the Emperor's Coven facilities. There was still a chance that Ed wouldn't be able to take her inside, but based on how he talked about it that morning it would probably happen regardless. He didn't have much respect for the rules.
Amity kept checking the clock on her scroll, waiting for the time to come. When there were about ten minutes left, she walked towards the jail. She knew exactly where it was and how to get there. Even though Ed said it was fine to be late, by her standards it was absolutely not fine.
When Amity was close enough to see the building, she could also see Edric waiting on the street corner. He was slouching, with his mask on the ground and hood down. When he saw Amity approaching, he waved her over.
"Hey." Ed greeted her as she stopped in front of him. "So, I asked Frederick. And he said no."
That was bad news. "Oh." Amity's spirit fell, her excitement quickly draining.
Ed held up a hand, signaling for her to wait. "Don't worry though, I'm taking you in anyway." This turned Amity's mood back around, though she wasn't sure if that was a good idea.
"If they already said I can't come in, won't they kick me out?" She asked, doubting that they would even let her in.
Ed's smirk grew. "As I said, don't worry. I have a plan." He spun a finger in the air to create a magic circle, triggering an illusion spell.
When it activated, it looked like nothing happened at first. "Was that supposed to do something?" Amity raised one eyebrow.
"Look down." Ed smirked as he layered in another illusion spell. Confused, Amity did as he said. Her confusion only grew when she realized that she couldn't see her hands, or her body for that matter. Instead, only the ground was visible below her.
"This is impressive." Amity had to admit as she held her arm up to her face to see if it was fully invisible. All she could see was a slight waver of the light as it passed through, which wasn't bad at all for an invisibility spell. A moment later Ed layered in a third spell, and the wavering vanished.
"Why thank you." Ed took a fake bow, flourishing with one hand. "I accept tips." When Amity didn't laugh, he continued a moment later. "Make sure to stay close to me, since I can't see you either, and try to stay quiet."
Amity nodded, then upon realizing he couldn't see her said, "Will do."
"Let's head in then." Ed picked his mask up off the ground, dusting it off before putting it over his face and lifting his hood. He walked towards the entrance to the jail and Amity followed behind. A couple Emperor's Coven members were leaving, but they passed by Ed without a word. Amity made sure to stay out of their paths.
When they reached the entrance, Ed held the door open long enough to let Amity pass without suspicion. She looked around the lobby once she was inside. There were a few desks with coven members behind them, likely for processing incoming arrests and transfers. They looked cool and interesting; she wanted to pause and watch them.
Ed hadn't stopped, clearly underestimating Amity's desire to see everything the coven had to offer. He walked over to a side door, pulling it open. Amity had to stop looking around the room to follow him, barely making the door before it swung shut behind him. It was hard to know if she was going to make it without drawing suspicion, since she couldn't see her own body.
The hallway ahead was empty. "Don't leave me behind." Amity hissed into Ed's ear, quietly as not to be heard by others.
"Make sure to keep up." He replied, matching her volume. They walked past a set of closed doors, not stopping at any of them. "These are offices, I don't know who works here and I don't care."
Amity was looking for more detail than that from her tour guide, but another coven member was passing by so she couldn't ask. She stayed directly behind Ed to avoid being walked into by accident.
After the doors, they reached a hallway intersection. Ed turned right, so Amity followed. This hallway was short, leading to a door. "This is the dispatcher's office. He gives me all the worst jobs."
"Ooh." So the coven members were deployed from here, that was so cool. Ed was being sassier than usual, likely since he clearly didn't like being placed here. Amity wasn't bothered by it. "Can we go inside?"
Ed shook his head. "It would be suspicious, so no." That was disappointing, but there was no time to dwell on it since Ed started walking back towards the intersection. Amity gave the dispatcher door one last lingering look, before following.
They turned right again at the hallway intersection, again walking down a hallway. There were two doors at the end of this one. Ed opened the one on the right, holding it so Amity could enter with him. The room on the other side had a small kitchen area and a couch, perhaps a break room or something like that.
Luckily there were no coven members inside. "This is my favorite room, the staff lounge." Ed gestured around the room. "Though I spend almost no time here."
Amity wandered over to one of the couches; Emperor's Coven members took breaks here. She had always dreamed of seeing places like this, it felt unreal to be standing in it. She sat down, in the same spot a coven member had sat, and couldn't help but grin.
Ed didn't seem as enthused. "Let's keep moving." He said, walking back to the door. Reluctantly, Amity stood to follow him.
He held the door open so she could leave, then crossed over to the other door. "This is the training area." He said before opening it. "Where Frederick tortures me." Amity chuckled at that as he held the door open and the pair went inside.
Her eyes widened when she saw the room on the other side. It was huge, way larger than she had expected. A few coven members were there, training with various weapons and types of magic. One of the coven members had looked over when they entered, and he called out to Ed.
"Edric, did you find what you were looking for?" The coven member yelled from across the room. He was wearing a mask like all the others, so Amity couldn't see his face.
"That's Frederick." Ed muttered to Amity, then raised his voice to reply. "I found it, thanks!" He then muttered again, just as quietly as before. "Told him I lost something so he wouldn't ask too many questions."
Amity would've loved a chance to ask Frederick some questions of her own, but unfortunately she wouldn't be able to. She also wanted to look more around this room, but again Ed was hurrying her along.
They left the training room and walked back to the intersection, where they turned down the last hallway. There were once again two doors at the end of it.
"These are the locker rooms. Nothing really to see here." Ed gestured at each door. "And that's everything."
"I can't believe you get to come here every day." Even though she didn't get to see everything she wanted, it was still amazing for Amity to be there.
"You get used to it." Ed quipped with a roll of his eyes, which was barely visible behind the mask, before turning around to walk back towards the intersection. "Let's get out of here."
Amity trailed behind him, not eager to leave so soon. She didn't have a choice though, so she followed Ed out of the Emperor's Coven wing. They passed through the lobby again, and then exited the building.
Once they made it back to the corner where they started, Ed dropped the invisibility spell. Amity knew because she could once again see her own hands.
"Thanks again for the tour." Amity said, glad she was able to do it despite the hiccups.
"No problem." Ed had taken his mask back off and had a sort of half smile. "Now run along sprout, I'll be home later."
"See you later." Amity waved goodbye before they parted ways. She headed towards home and Ed walked off in the opposite direction.
While she walked, she thought about the tour. Despite the limitations, she had loved seeing all of the different places within the coven. She still wanted to join the Emperor's Coven someday, still hoped that could happen.
It wasn't certain of course, which was why she was exploring other covens in the first place.
Despite liking the Emperor's Coven so much, Amity knew she should keep an open mind about the rest.
She wondered if Luz found more information on which coven they should visit next. Amity was interested in seeing where they would go and what she would learn on this journey.