Author's Note: Hey all! Welcome to my newest fanfic! You may know me from my works in the camps of SVTFOE in stories like 'Soul Bound' or 'Starco Vs The World', but now I wanna try out some new material. I'm a huge fan of the show and I thought it could be cool to put my own spin on things. It's sorta an AU, but I will be loosely following the storyline of TOH to keep things interesting. There will be added plot points along the way that are completely original, but a lot of it will be rewriting season one until I get past the ending of season one. We'll see where we go after that I guess.
Insta: starcovstheworld
Author: Chimp Enthusiast
Preface: I do not own The Owl House in any capacity, Disney does.
Also, there will be more graphic scenes in this, not sexual, but graphic nonetheless. Anyways, enjoy and feel free to favorite, follow, and leave a review! ENJOY!
Spreading The Light: Chapter One
A Chance:
"Miss Noceda, do you know why I have you here?" A bland-looking man asked. The teenager in question, Luz lifted her head from the book she was reading and asked, "Wha?" The principal sat at his desk with an annoyed look on his face. A woman stood at his side, it was none other than Luz's mother.
Mrs. Noceda asked, "Alright Mr. Hal, what did she do this time?"
This was the fourth time in the last month that she had to come down to the school to discuss such matters with the principal. Her daughter was not long for this school thing at her current pace. The longer she stayed, the more miserable she became, and thus so did everyone else around her.
It turned out that the mishap of this school day was the worst one yet. Luz had released snakes in the school during her book report. The exact circumstances of the event were unclear to all who weren't named Luz Noceda, who idly sat in the room while principal Hal continued, "Snakes, it's snakes."
Her mother looked at her with a shocked look that was answered by Luz with "Come on! The snakes were a part of the story! It's not my fault that they attacked the population of the school!"
Her mother deadpanned before responding, "Mija, you know that I love you and your creativity, but you are putting people in danger, if this continues then I will be forced to intervene." She finished that and held out a pamphlet that read 'REALITY CHECK - summer camp' and it was captioned with a picture of a child trapped in a box with the phrase 'THINK INSIDE THE BOX' written around it.
Luz looked at the pamphlet in horror and pleaded "MOM NO! I promise I won't mess up anymore, from this point on." At the very same moment, it was revealed that Luz was holding a real snake in her hand, which attacked the principal, forcing her mother to sigh and look to the ground. Luz panicked, she looked down as well before asking "That doesn't count right?"
It did though. Once the principal had wrestled off the snake, he got back to his seat and the mother was forced to do the unthinkable. She dropped the pamphlet onto the desk and spoke to the principal, loud enough so Luz could hear, "Principal Hal,"
Luz watched as the man nodded in response and took the pamphlet back from Mrs. Noceda. She began to panic. No no no, Luz thought to herself as she watched the two adults silently ruin her life. With a final click, the principal looked to the mother and spoke, "Okay, Luz Noceda is registered for the camp,"
Although Luz had already seen it coming, the words still cut into her like daggers. Her entire summer would be spent not at home, but at some terrible place where she would be forced to conform to rules. All that she knew about the place was that those who enter did not tend to leave in the same fashion. The worst of the rumors was that the showers didn't even have hot water. Luz brought her legs onto the chair and buried her face into her knees. She shuddered at the reality she was now living in. Her freedom was taken and there were no signs of that changing.
The rest of the school day went on as it would have any other day, save for the fact that it was the last day of school and Luz wasn't destroying the school. Instead, Luz trudged down the hall in her lonesome. She had no friends to vent to, nowhere to go, and no hope left.
She was always considered to be weird. She was something of a social reject at her current school. Not for lack of trying, but she did have no friends. She seemed to scare away every possible suitor, so there was little she could do to cope with her crippling loneliness.
She wasn't like the other kids here. She found herself enjoying things others found strange, like anime, fanfictions, and even edits for the shows she watched. The only solitude she could ever find was in her mother. To her credit, she was a great mom, especially considering that she was a single mother. But even then, Luz felt betrayed by her mother. She was sending her off to some random camp for the next three months knowing full well that she wouldn't fit in there either. Luz felt a single tear escape her eye as she somberly walked through the halls. She had already been excused for the day, so she had nowhere to be.
When the final bell rang, she kept her snail's pace walking through the halls. She dreaded the fact that she had to go home. She didn't have the power to face her mother right now, so she did the only thing she could. She hardly moved. The second she would get home she would likely have to begin packing, so once she finally left the school, she chose to take the long route home.
The walk was fairly pleasant to its credit. It did a lot to help make Luz feel better, but the looming fact remained, she had to go home at some point. That time can wait a little longer, Luz reasoned with herself. She saw an opening in the forest to her side, so she chose to walk in.
At this point, she was just doing everything she could so she wouldn't have to go home. She walked into the forest along a path. She decided that now was as good a time as any to get some reading in, so she pulled out her favorite book, 'The Good Witch Azura (Volume 5)', and began to read.
She walked along the path and read for a while longer. She finally decided to check her phone to see what time it was. School had ended long ago, so when she saw her phone read 5:58 pm and she noticed the sun beginning to set, she was not surprised.
She sighed, watching the sunset in the distance for a while. A breeze was beginning to pick up. It only seemed to get stronger the longer Luz observed it. It was getting far too fast for it to be normal, so Luz inspected her surroundings in search of the tornado that MUST have started the winds.
To her surprise, however, she spotted no such tornado. She instead spotted an owl sitting on a branch, observing her. She decided to walk toward the owl, which normally would have flown away by now and she spoke, "Hello little buddy, my name is Luz."
To her extreme shock, the owl responded, "Hooo" in a soft tone. She found herself very intrigued by the bird so she got even closer. With every step she expected the owl to retreat, but no such event happened.
Suddenly, faster than she could have reacted to, the owl jumped from his branch and dove at Luz. In her panic, she dropped her book, which the owl caught and flew away with. In her panicked state, she gave chase to the owl. She sprinted with every ounce of her being in hopes to catch the bird. It was only when she and the bird exited the forest, two houses away from Luz's, that she froze in place. Her mother stood in the driveway and for some reason, the owl flew atop her roof.
She took the bait. She walked toward her home as nonchalantly as she could, but her shocked expression before betrayed her. She finally made it to her home, where her mother began to scold her, "Luz Noceda," her mother yelled at her in a thick accent "Just where have you been? You know that you need to pack!"
Luz found herself unable to hide her frustration any longer. Her hands balled into fists and she yelled back, "I'M NOT GOING TO THAT DUMB CAMP!"
Her mother was thoroughly shocked at her daughter's reaction, but such disrespect would not be allowed, "YES YOU ARE! YOU EITHER GO TO YOUR ROOM AND GET PACKING OR I WILL!"
Luz stomped past her mother but just as she was about to enter her home, she heard a familiar hoot from the bird she had chased here. The large owl flew overhead and back into the direction of the forest. She found herself wordlessly sprinting in the direction of the bird, ignoring her mother's screams from behind her.
She reentered the forest while still in a chase with the bird. She kept her eyes solely locked onto it as she sprinted behind. The owl was quick but Luz was quicker, she was about to swipe the book back from the bird, but suddenly she spotted a glowing door to her right, directly in the middle of a group of trees. The owl flew directly into it and Luz did as well without second thought.
Once through whatever door she walked through, she was shocked to see a completely new setting around her. She was inside a tent by the look of things, and yet there was another door right in front of her. This door was far more normal than the last that she had seen. This one was a simple oak with lines etched all over it. The designs were beautiful, but her goal reentered her mind and she looked around for her book. She spotted light from the other side of the door, so she opened it and was revealed to a whole new world. The owl from before stood on top of a box that contained her book among many other pieces of… garbage.
There was a woman that stood in front of her as well. She only saw her back, so she would have assumed, due to her grey hair, that she was older. It was only when she heard the lady yell "Trash, trash, trash, garbage… NOW THIS WILL MAKE ME RICH!" She said as she turned around. She picked up the owl and put him atop a stick, turning him around multiple times. The owl turned to wood on her staff and Luz verbally gasped. Luckily she wasn't caught though, she absolutely couldn't let that happen-
"Now THIS will make good kindling." The woman spoke emotionless as she held Luz's book over a candle, singeing it slightly on the corner. Luz found herself panicking as she sprained from behind her cover. She dove out and snatched the book from the lady and turned on her heels. She ran in the other direction, but only saw the back wall of the tent, no door.
She stood against the back wall and panted. She looked for routes of escape and only after hearing the lady say "You're not going anywhere!" did she find an exit. It was the tent, she lifted the back wall of the tent and dove under it. She was freed from the tent but had nowhere to go. She looked to the distance and spotted a giant canyon of bone. She gasped loudly before turning around and spotting the lady running in her direction. She panicked once more and began running down the hill she stood on.
The lady behind her began to… FLY! She rode her staff and flew after Luz. It didn't take her very long to catch up to the girl. She flew at the same speed as the teen and flew by her side to speak to her, "Kid, you don't know what you're doing. Slow down a minute."
It was only then that the strange lady heard Luz speak for the first time, "NO! Leave me alone! I want to go home!" The lady was shocked to hear the girl so panicked, so she decided that there was only one way to get this chase to end. "I wish I didn't have to do this, but you are being very unreasonable." the lady warned before she sped up and got in front of the teen. She suddenly formed a glowing circle with her fingers and created a giant cage around Luz.
Luz screamed upon being caught. It took the lady covering her mouth with her hand to get her to stop. Luz licked her palm and escaped her grasp. The lady simply groaned before speaking, "Do you have any idea how many germs you have! Gosh, kid just slow down for a second so I can talk to you!"
Luz finally stopped struggling. She backed herself away and sat against the back wall of her prison before responding, "I just want to go home…" Her voice was strained. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes that threatened to escape at any moment. The lady simply sighed and continued, "Okay kid, I can get you home. I just need you to do something for me first."
"Wait so you're not going to eat my flesh?" Luz said, lowering her defenses, if only slightly. The lady seemed to cringe at the girl for thinking such a thing. She continued, "No, I'm a witch, not a savage. I haven't eaten anyone in… a long time." The sentiment that was meant to comfort the teen did the opposite. She squirmed against the wall.
The lady spoke once more, "Okay kid, the name's Eda, Eda the Owl Lady. I know you're human and you've never seen this place but I promise I won't let you get hurt, alright?"
Luz looked up at Eda. That's a pretty name, she thought to herself as she began speaking, "Promise?" she spoke a tinge in her voice that tugged at even Eda's heart a bit. She answered, "I promise. You are much more valuable alive than dead to me."
Luz squirmed once more but finally stood up and walked toward the wall closest to Eda. She was cautious with every step, but when she touched the wall in front of her, she gave up her trust to the lady. Eda sensed Luz's panic subside and finally removed the cage.
Luz stood still in the moment. She felt around for any residual forces holding her back from running but found none. She was absolutely dumbfounded as to why she wasn't running away, but she simply lacked the willpower to do so anymore. She held out her hands in front of her, waiting to be cuffed.
"What are you doing?" Eda asked.
"Oh- I- I thought- nothing." Luz stammered before dropping her head in embarrassment. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Eda giving her a reassuring look before saying, "Hop on," while gesturing for her to sit on the floating staff.
She did just that. She gripped the stick tight and willed her eyes shut as she felt the staff begin to rise. She felt the staff jolt forward and nearly squealed. She instead simply gripped the stick tighter as Eda spoke, "You can open your eyes now."
Luz opened her eyes and almost had a heart attack. She wrapped her entire body around the stick when she saw just how high up they were. Eda noticed her panic and spoke once more, "Kid, you'll be alright," she spoke in a soft, motherly tone, "So do you have a name?"
Luz was surprised by the question but even more surprised that she hadn't answered it already. She spoke quietly, but Eda heard her say "Luz. My name is Luz Noceda." It was the most confident thing that she had heard Luz say. At least she knows her name, Eda thought, reminiscing on how minutes before she seemed to not even know how to speak.
The two continued to fly through the air for a few more minutes. The two didn't speak another word until they got to their destination. Luz, who had been helped back onto the staff at some point, spotted a large cottage that was enveloped in the forest. She stared in awe at the most insane-looking abode she had ever seen. It was just her kind of place.
Eda noticed her interest and once they were lowered to the ground, she said "Okay, Luz, this is my home. It is formally known as the Owl House." Luz remained speechless at the marvelous architecture just in front of her. "Wow" was all she could manage.
Eda turned with a smile on her face in the direction of the home and began walking to the door. On the door was a large owl face, it was made out of gold and it was - speaking?
Luz nearly jumped out of her skin once she first heard the owl speak. Eda paid no mind to her though. She instead spoke to the door, who was muttering some nonsensical riddles, "We have no time for this Hooty. Let us in."
The door spoke back in a nasally and annoying tone, "Ugh, fine. You never like to have any fun."
At that, the door swung open. It revealed a sight that Luz never thought she would live to see. The house was magnificent, yet homey, it was perfect. "Woah" was all she could manage. Eda, who had been in the house a thousand times by now, shrugged it off and began to explain the house's origin, "It's really is something huh? I made it myself. It's a shame that only two people live here."
The realization hit her like a truck, "Two?" was all she could manage. At the very moment, Eda smiled at her and called out "KING! COME HERE WE HAVE A VISITOR!"
Immediately following Eda's calls, Luz could hear terrifying thumps coming from the hallway. Each one became louder as the beast grew closer. Luz found herself hiding behind Eda and Eda seemed to find that funny for some reason.
The beast spoke, "WHO DARES ENTER THIS HOUSE?!" Luz found herself the most scared she'd ever been in the moment. The only thing that kept her from peeing her pants was the appearance of the beast. He walked around the corner of the hallway and immediately caught Luz's eye line, she squealed when she saw him. He was tiny and adorable. He looked like a tiny dog with a foxtail and a bony mask.
Luz's squeaks continued as she lunged at the animal. She hugged him tight and spoke in a cutesy voice, "Who's my widdle fewwa?"
The animal was repulsed by Luz's embrace, he instead tried to escape in his panic. He squirmed in her arms before saying, "I don't know who your little fella is!"
Eda was in an all-out explosion of laughter at this. Being merciful, she pulled Luz from King and watched as she flailed her arms in an attempt to get back to him, "King, this is Luz. She is gonna be helping us with our… problem."
"Oh really? Great!" King said enthusiastically.
Luz stood at Eda's side now, thoroughly confused now that her mind was finally starting to catch up with her. She intended to voice her confusion, but was interrupted by an enthusiastic Eda, who seemed to be fully aware of her confusion, "Luz, we need you to do something for us, and in exchange, we will let you go home."
Luz nodded, wanting more than anything to be safe at home once again. Her mind seemingly forgot that she would meet no such fate if she was to go home she would meet no such fate. Eda, satisfied with the nod as a response, gave her a quick "Let's go," before grabbing her arm and pulling her along.
Luz didn't object, seeing as she had no possible way of getting out of whatever they were making her do. Luz was calmer now though, perhaps these people would be safer than other people, right? Her mental questioning was interrupted when she allowed herself to take in her surroundings. When was she brought onto the staff again? Where was she? Who are these people?" The questions burned in her mind, but instead of inquiring about those subjects, she chose to ask about what they were up to instead.
"Where are we going?" Luz asked in the calmest voice she could manage. Eda, who was holding King in her lap, quickly responded "Somewhere cool."
If she was being honest, Luz would admit that the whole place around her looked cool. There were all sorts of mythical creatures she had only seen in her dreams before, like the griffin that flew by her side. It immediately began puking up spiders, to which Luz remarked "I knew it" under her breath.
The journey was short, for the mode of transport was steady as well as swift. Their surroundings moved by in a beautiful blur. Luz belonged here, the things that she had viewed as cool for her whole childhood were all around her. The very same things that got her here in the first place. Maybe it wasn't so bad here after all. She met two awesome people already and maybe she could find a way to stay.
Before she could pay much more thought into the subject, they arrived at their destination. Luz opened her eyes, releasing her grip on Eda as she viewed the structure in front of her. It was dark. It was a giant, tall, dark castle-like building that was covered by clouds and innate darkness. It sent a chill up Luz's spine. It was time for answers.
"Ok, that's enough… Where are we?!" Luz yelled in a panic.
Eda, who only watched amused as the human girl panicked at every turn, decided that maybe she could be nice for a change, "Fine kid, we're breaking into a prison to steal something."
This did nothing to help Luz calm down, in fact, it did more to make her panic even more. "That sounds like a TERRIBLE IDEA," Luz yelled before continuing shortly after, "Please Eda, I just want to go home." She let that last part out with a slight whimper. Even the likes of Eda couldn't help but feel bad at the utterly pathetic display in front of her.
King, for his own part, was more confused than anything with the human's emotions. Something in the back of his head told him to jump into her arms for some reason. And even more odd was the fact that he actually went through with it. WHAT AM I DOING, King thought to himself, AND WHY DO I NOT HATE IT?
Luz was surprised by the animal's sudden affection, but it helped calm her down a little, so she welcomed it. Eda took this as her opportunity to reassure her and finally get on with things, "Kid, remember what I told you, we won't let you get hurt. This is just really important to us and we need a human to get it done." It was the most genuine thing that Eda had said thus far, and the maternal tone that Eda said it with only further comforted Luz. Despite every fiber of her being telling her to turn back, she couldn't, she wanted to help these nice people.
"Ok, I'll do it.I trust you." Luz finished.
They looked on in the direction of the massive castle and even marveled, if only for a moment. Eda had told Luz that they were going to 'sneak in' and 'steal something', and it was far from the first time that Luz had done such a thing, albeit in very harmless ways, but she had experience nonetheless.
They began their approach, Eda let Luz get onto her flying staff once more and they flew up to the top. Once they landed, the two secured the area while King barked some orders, which nobody followed.
Once they had assured themselves that the area they resided in was safe, Eda began to explain the plan, "Okay, Luz, the giant building we're in is called the Conformatorium, it is a place used by the Emperor's Coven to hold whoever doesn't abide by their stupid rules. We, the rambunctious three that we are, are going to go deep inside and into a chamber that is only accessible to humans, that's where you come in."
It took Luz a moment to understand what Eda meant, but one thing stuck out above everything else, "Eda, did you just say… Coven? WAIT ARE YOU A WITCH?! ARE YOU GONNA EAT ME?!"
"Luz, I don't eat people," Eda stated flatly.
"Oh yeah…" Luz remembered.
"She did eat a ki-" King uttered, but was stopped by Eda, who whacked him on the head with her owl-adorned staff.
Luz didn't seem to notice though, she had one more question to ask first, "Wait, why can only a human go into the chamber?"
"Luz, it's magic, it never makes sense." Luz couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but what difference did it make. When Eda signaled 'follow me', Luz followed, regardless of her worries.
The group found themselves inside a large room, which was covered from floor to ceiling in various cells with various 'criminals' inside. Luz was overwhelmed by the large room, she found herself walking toward a random group of cells to inspect the people Eda had told her broke the "stupid rules", so she could make her own judgment.
Eda and King were in the middle of the giant room, picking away at a lock in the middle of the room, presumably leading to the aforementioned chamber that Luz was expected to enter.
Luz made it over to a wall of cells. Inside was a strange assortment of people. They appeared to be relatively harmless, but Luz was going to suspend her disbelief until she knew for sure.
Upon reaching the cell, a woman holding a book turned and spoke to her, "What are you in for kid?"
Luz was quick to respond in a tone that surprised even her. She spoke incredibly happy as she said "Well I'm not 'in for' anything actually. I'm just here to steal something. What are… you in for, if you don't mind me asking?"
The prisoner was someone with an identical skin tone to Luz stood tall. She had two small fangs coming from her top lip, with black hair that had one large grey streak through it. She appeared to be surprised at Luz's answer, but in no negative manner. She allowed a small smile to don her face as she spoke, "Not at all. I asked you so it's only fair. We are all weird."
"Wait, what? Is that it?" Luz asked with a confused expression on her face.
"Well no, a lot of people in here have actually done dangerous things, but even more of us are just weird in our own ways. For example, I write fanfictions about foods falling in love!" The prisoner explained enthusiastically.
"So you're in here just because you don't fit in?" Luz asked with genuine disdain.
The woman spoke once more, "Yeah *sigh*, it's fine though, we deserve to be in here."
"What? No, you don't!" Luz yelled, offended at the woman's lack of hope.
"Why not? It makes everything better out there if they don't have to deal with us."
"That's not true. We shouldn't be stuck in prison just because we don't fit in!" Luz exclaimed.
The woman's smile reappeared, noticing the girl's word choice when she said "we." She responded, "Well what are we gonna do to get out of here. We're still stuck, even if we don't deserve to be."
There were levers outside of each cell, which clearly opened the cells. That's just too easy, Luz thought to herself. Without any trace of insecurity, she used all of her strength to try and lift the lever, but there was no budging. The lever remained in the exact same position as if she hadn't used every ounce of her strength to try and lift it. "NO MY WEAK LITTLE NERD ARMS!" Luz screamed.
The smile left the woman's face. It was soon replaced with a frown and a quick warning for Luz to "HIDE!" so the incoming Warden wouldn't see her. Luz, with a lack of a better option, hid inside of a nearby cell. She could see Eda use some kind of spell to conceal herself in the middle of the room, although if someone were to look too closely, they would easily be spotted.
Luckily for them, the warden only came to the same wall Luz was at. He walked from a door adjacent to the cells and into the room. He walked into the room, each footstep thundering louder than the last. He stood tall over anyone in the room. His shadow was even more menacing, it seemed to cover more than it should naturally be able to.
Luz cowered into the corner of the cell she was in as the warden spoke in a deep, gruff voice, "I can hear you!" It was enough to panic Luz into throwing on her cat hoodie. She trembled as the man advance toward her cell. He punched the bars in between her and him and they bent so far inward that Luz could easily escape if she wanted to. The warden noticed his own mistake and he pretended to walk away in an attempt to bait Luz into trying to escape. She wasn't that naive, she didn't move at first, she waited for the warden to come back, "Ah, a smart one I see. If I were a human, I wouldn't dare to try to escape either. You're all just as weak as the last. You don't deserve to walk the same streets as the people of Bonesborough. You pathetic. Little. Worm."
That was the tipping point, not for Luz, but Eda. She sprung into action to save Luz from the feared warden, "Get away from her you pretentious little mudball." She slammed her wooden staff into the back of the warden's head, sending him reeling. He fell face-first into the ground due to the sneak attack.
He got up quickly. He scanned the room angrily as he searched for the person that dared to attack him. He spotted no such person as he received another hit to the back of the head. "ENOUGH!" He thundered.
Eda stopped for a moment, glaring at the monster who terrorized poor Luz. The aforementioned child was currently using the opportunity to escape her prison. The warden turned to face her, but Eda stopped him once more, "You really don't get it, do you?" Eda asked as she smacked him across the face with her bare palm this time.
He turned back to Eda, he had enough of this. He took his mask off, revealing a terrifying sight. His face was limited to only a large, toothy mouth. He had red skin and he was clearly not a friendly person. Most surprising though was when he breathed fire in the direction of Eda and his arms began to transform. His right arm took the shape of a hammer while the other remained a slew of strings, attacking Eda from every angle. She dodged with all of her energy until she found an opening. It wasn't hard to find one, she saw him misstep and drew a circle in the air, summoning icy magic that enveloped the monster for a moment. He quickly broke out, but the pause gave her a moment to regain her footing, so she initiated her attack once more. She drew another glyph, this one creating a thorny plant that attacked him, coming from the staff.
He dodged it for the most part. Luz was not so lucky, she got his by a stray thorn of the plant. It grazed her cheek, drawing blood as it cut deeper than she would have liked. She winced as she grabbed her cheek, noticing the blood. If there was any doubt that this was real, it was gone now.
The warden's attacks were unrelenting, he continued to attack, just as energetic as he was at the beginning. Eda was beginning to slow down. She finally made a mistake. She made an effort to cast a fire spell, but the warden only absorbed it and he pushed her staff out of her hands. She wasn't useless without it, but she was far less powerful. She could still take care of him on her own, right?
She dialed up spell after spell, punch after punch, and dodge after a dodge. To her credit, she was holding her own against the feared 'Warden Wraths' and things were going well enough. Luz was sitting and watching when all of the sudden, Wraths landed a hit directly on her face, causing her to spit out blood.
That was enough to push Luz into action. She sprung up from the floor and slid on the ground, picking up the owl staff. She held it with pride as she sprinted toward the warden. She swung it into the back of his head with all of her nerd strength. The strike landed true and she heard a loud *THWACK* coming from the back of his head.
To her horror, he was not hurt. He swung his head in her direction and took a single step, closing the distance between the two. She cowered as she laid on the floor, closing her eyes as the man raised his arm, priming himself to strike true. He reached the height of his arc and just as he began to swing down, he was attacked with great force.
There was a massive hole in the center of his chest. Through the hole was a now visible Eda. She stood in place, holding her staff confidently as she panted, gasping for air. The body slumped over. Eda dropped her staff and much to Luz's surprise, she was attacked with a hug.
Eda wrapped her arms around Luz with more force than she had ever felt, but she really didn't mind. In truth, she really needed a hug after how long of a day she was having, the people she met, the places she went, and the fun she had.
She gladly reciprocated the embrace and smiled in the arms of the witch. King stood in confusion as he watched the two hug. He insisted "Well are we going to get back to the mission?"
"Not a chance," Eda stated flatly.
"Wait, but… I… We… -" Luz stuttered, but her message was clear. Why did we come here if we're just gonna turn back now, Luz questioned in her own mind, assuming her words came out just as smoothly.
"Yeah, in hindsight, it was really never a good idea to come here. We were just going to pick up some dumb crown for King here." Eda shamefully spoke.
Luz broke from the hug, spotting an ashamed Eda and a saddened King. She wanted to be mad but found it to be impossible. She instead felt bad herself, but her attempts to get them to go through with their mission were in vain. She wouldn't leave here without something though.
Eda noticed her obvious need to do something but didn't understand. It was like a gear shifted into place in Luz's head when she jolted up from her knees and sprinted to the doors of the cells. She tried once more to lift the lever that held back these people from being herself- themselves. She actually was doing it. The lever was moving. She was freeing the people to do what they wanted.
The cells opened and the people inside shuddered. They were afraid to go out and be themselves, look where it got them the first time. Luz, having known the same fear herself, knew how they felt. She needed to be the one to help them get over it, "Guys, I know that you are afraid. I was too, but there are better things out there. You shouldn't care so much what other people think, because those who want the best for you," she glanced back at Eda before continuing, "they'll stick by your side no matter what."
"Ok, corny, but maybe you're right. We were gonna leave anyway, but thanks... I guess." the woman spoke.
Luz halfheartedly nodded as she walked over to Eda. She got onto the staff and unenthusiastically put her arms around Eda's waist for support. They lifted off and began heading home.
Once they finally got out of range of the prison, Eda felt the need to reassure the girl for some reason. She told Luz, "I know you don't think that it was worth it, but even if they don't know what kind of gift you gave them, some of them might get to live out happier lives. I know you will."
Luz's expression didn't change much, but she hugged Eda tightly, pressing her teary-eyed head into her back. She would be lying if she said it didn't help, but she still felt like she could have done more.
The group arrived at the Owl House. They made their way off of the staff and looked onto the house. Eda looked with optimism, King looked with hunger, and Luz looked with longing. She had spent so long being misunderstood. When she inevitably came home, she would have to go straight to summer camp and have her personality sapped from her.
Hooty opened the door without a word, most likely due to Eda's death glare. The trio walked into the house and the living room. There was a glum air, but she had to go home, right?
Now in the living room, Luz sat on the couch, still examining the inside of the awesome house. Eda began to speak, "Well, Luz, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you come along. I know you want to go home and it wasn't right to put you in danger." It was far and away from the most serious that King had ever seen Eda, so he remained confused, "I just want my crown, but NOOO King doesn't get what he wants!"
Luz acknowledged Eda's apologies, "No, it's fine, even if it sucked in the end, that was the most fun I've had in as long as I remember." How she remained so positive was a mystery to both King and Eda, but even more odd was her next action. She pulled her backpack from behind her and pulled out a doll from inside.
"I've always imagined a world like this, but I never thought I'd get to see it. I know it's not much, but I hope this helps." Luz said as she pulled the crown off of the doll and handed it to King, who in turn responded "This will… suffice."
That brought a smile to Luz's face, even with the cut across her cheek, her smile was brighter than anything Eda had seen during her entire life in the Boiling Aisles. It was infectious. She felt a soft smile gracing her face as the girl completed her kind act.
Eda felt that now was better than any other time, so she pulled a key out of her pocket and twisted it in the air. Instantly, a door appeared out of thin air and opened itself. There was a blinding light coming from the door, but she knew that the destination behind it was not as bright.
She felt her determination falter once more at the thought of having to go home. She looked up toward Eda, who, to her surprise, wore a conflicted expression. She wore one as well. She stepped forward toward the portal, but as she was about to put a foot through, King ran in front of her, blocking her path.
"Don't go!" King said.
Nobody spoke. What could they say? In truth, she didn't want to go, but could she really consider staying? Could she go against her mother's orders? Could she allow herself a chance to be something more?
"I don't want to, but-" Luz tried to answer.
King interrupted, "But what? Even Eda doesn't want you to go!"
"Wait what?" Luz questioned.
Eda was shocked, in an attempt to clear her name she said "What? I never said that!"
"You also didn't deny it." King reasoned.
"Whatever," Eda said as she turned her back to the two.
"Well, either way, I can't intrude or anything, my mother wants me to go to a summer thing back home and I can't go against her word," Luz added, mostly reminding herself more than the others.
"First of all, I have no idea what that means, but would she even know if you stayed here instead of going the whatever 'summer thingy' you have to go to?" Eda asked, still trying to act like she didn't care in vain.
"Yeah! You'd love it here!" King added.
"I'm sure I would King, but how could I do that to my mother?" Luz asked sincerely.
"Eda, she could make us food," King whispered to Eda.
While that part was enticing to Eda, she understood Luz's worries more than she could know. She was always a rebellious child when she was younger and everyone told her she had to change. She needed to pay it forward to Luz, "Kid, I used to be just like you ya know," Eda paused for a moment while Luz leaned in, obviously interested thoroughly in what she had to say, "You don't get many chances like this, especially not on Earth. If you did want to stay, you could do more, I know you love it here, I saw how you looked at everything on our way to the Conformatorium."
"Really? What are you saying? If I stayed, could I become a witch like you?" Luz asked with piqued interest.
"Well honestly, I don't know. There's never been a human witch, you wanna know why?" Eda asked, setting up Luz to answer.
She did, "Because nobody ever tried," she added with confidence and finality.
"You know, I think it's about time that changed," Eda said with a smirk.
Luz breathed in and looked toward the open doorway, then to the rest of the room. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, to give herself a chance to be herself. She had a new confidence about her, it didn't come from spite toward her mother or immature wonder, but hope.
"Okay. I want to stay, if you'll have me that is."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my newest fic. I wanted to take a more mature approach to it as opposed to the Disney version. I know we love their version as well, but I felt like adding more compelling motives behind actions and more realistic interactions would serve to make an interesting story. I must say, I enjoyed writing this, but long chapters like this are what I plan to make for each one, and that means they'll take longer to get out. I hope you guys don't mind sacrificing quantity for quality, because I really prefer the latter. Anyways, I look forward to writing the next chapter and I hope you liked the first one. Please feel free to favorite and follow, and please review, it only serves to help me make the story better.
~ Chimp Enthusiast