"Mom, we're heading off now!" Eda shouted out. Her older sister Lilith stood outside of the door waiting for her.

"I can hear you without the shouting you know?" Their mother responded. A hint of amusement in her voice.

"Sorry!" Eda shouted again with a short chuckle. Her mother shook her head dismissively with a smile. The kid would never change would she? Eda closed the door behind her as she walked over to Lilith's side.

"Let's go Lily."

"Alright," Lilith replied. The two of them were ready for the day ahead of them. the two of them looked onwards into the cleared dirt path through the trees. The same path they always took to get to school. They only took a couple of steps before they were interrupted by the deep voice of a large man echoing behind.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The man said sternly. His face was stoic and unfaltering from the girl's shocked expressions.

"Dad? You're still h-?" Lilith couldn't finish her sentence when all of a sudden both her and Eda felt their heads get assaulted with affectionate noogies. The man that stood there now wearing a joyful grin as he laughed wholeheartedly.

"Dad! Please!" Lilith pleaded with a small blush coming to her face. She loved her dad of course, but the way he showed his affection was always embarrassing to her. Not to mention it always made her hair a little messy afterward. Eda, however, just laughed it off. Always accepting of her father's playful affection.

"What are you doing here Dad? Don't you have a construction job?" Eda asked as her laughter faded. A drop of her joy still remaining in her voice. Their Dad just continued to smile as he brought his hands back.

"I forgot something I needed. Something important." Their father explained. "Now enough standing around you two. Off to school with you!" He said waving them off.

"Okay! Later Dad!" Eda exclaimed with a toothy grin.

"Bye Dad." Lilith bid farewell. A small smile came to her face as she brushed through her hair with her fingers in an effort to fix it.

The two of them turned away from their father and made their way down the path. He watched them as they got further away, waving to them as they kept walking. They waved back to him until the two of them disappeared into the distance.

He was a little surprised when he heard a door close behind him. He looked behind him curiously to see his wife had left the house.

"You forgot something huh? Are you sure you're not just making an excuse?" She said knowingly. A sly smile showing on her face. She looked out down the path as she wrapped her arms lovingly around her husband's arm.

"Nah. It's no excuse. Seeing the two of them smile like that. It reminds me why I do this in the first place. I needed that reminder to keep my spirits up." His expression grew into a longing smile. As a father all he ever wanted was to let his two daughters live a happy life. If he was able to he would have been there with them to protect them, but he knew better. They didn't need some old man looking after them twenty-four seven. That would only stunt their growth. Not to mention that they had each other.

"I see. That's just like you. You sappy meathead." She teased affectionately.

"Hahaha, Not that again." He said with a playful chuckle. His wife also giggled with him, before she leaned her head onto his shoulders. They both just stood there for a moment enjoying each other's company as they stared out into the distance.

The crunch of leaves reverberated through the cold wind. It sent shivers to the two. It was a lot colder than they initially expected. They kept walking forwards trying to keep warm all the while.

"Man, why is it so cold? It was so warm just a minute ago." Eda complained. The chilly air turned her breath visible. Lilith also shivered in the sudden cold wrapping her arms around herself to try and keep warm.

"I don't get it. The oracles said nothing about it being cold at all today." Lilith was pondering to herself. Never before had the oracles been wrong about the weather. If they were wrong about this. Who's to say people won't be struck by a sudden surge of boiling rain. The thought left her head however when a sudden surge of warmth flowed past her from behind. When she looked behind her she was surprised by what she saw.

"Hey, Lilith, look! I made fire!" Eda exclaimed with a hint of pride in herself. A flame sat there in her hands. Flickering and glowing brightly banishing the cold surrounding it. Lilith couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"You. You did fire magic?! But you've never even tried it before. How?" Lilith stopped herself. Of course, Eda could do it. She was practically gifted. No matter what spell, Eda would always end up being the first to get it right. If it wasn't for Eda being a constant troublemaker she would have easily become the top student. It was amazing and, honestly, she was jealous just as much as she was impressed.

"T-That's pretty amazing Eda!" Lilith praised. She held back her feelings of jealousy and inadequacy. Showing Eda a proud smile. As the sister, she should be. She had to be supportive of her little sister. No matter how she felt.

"Hehe. Yeah! I know I am!" Eda boasted with a prideful grin. However, her expression fell to one of disappointment when the fire flickered away into a single ember. "Oh, what. come on."

"Well, that was your first time casting that. Sustaining a spell is different from casting it." Lilith explained as she read it straight out of a manual.

"Yeah I know that, but something felt off," Eda said, a little confused.

"Off? Like how?" Lilith asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Never mind. Not important." Eda dismissed with a shrug. Lilith looked at Eda a little perplexed but ultimately decided to shrug it off as Eda did.

"Hmm. If you say so."

They walked silently for a couple more minutes. The school became visible in the distance. After seeing the school Lilith remembered something she was actually thinking about since yesterday.

"Hey, Eda. I was thinking about joining the Grudgby team. What do you think about joining in with me?" Lilith turned her head to face Eda, but she froze when she saw that Eda was nowhere in sight. "Eda?"

Suddenly Lilith felt an overpowering dread fall over her. Eda was gone. She looked all around her stricken with panic. Did Eda run off ahead? No. She would have seen her. What was going on?

"Eda! Where are you?!" Lilith needed to find her sister. There was nothing else that mattered at the moment. She looked around desperately trying to find her, but when she saw nothing the only thing she could think to do was run back down the way they came. She turned away from the school and took off. The wind blowing gently with blistering cold and fogging up her glasses.

"Eda!" As Lilith ran forward she stopped immediately when she suddenly felt something cold and wet touch her face. It was snowing. Snowflakes fell from the sky gracefully. The floor was covered in an inch of snow, and the trees were now a brilliant white. Blanketed by the snow. The speed at which it piled up didn't go unnoticed by Lilith. It was unnatural, but that wasn't important. Eda was the priority.

"Eda! Where are you!?" Lilith shouted out, but there was no response. How could she have just disappeared? It made no sense. No matter how much she yelled out. No matter how long she ran Eda was nowhere to be seen.

The snow just got deeper and deeper. The wind blew harder. A powdery fog began to form all around her as the snows gentle fall turned into a raging snowstorm. For some reason, there was nothing but an expanse of snow stretching to the horizon. There were no more trees and civilization was no longer within reach. It was nothing more than a barren field of deep snow, and a perpetual fog.

"Eda!"

Lilith squinted her eyes as the snow blew harsher than she ever imagined it would. She tried to block the wind with her hand, but it just wasn't enough. She couldn't see anything anymore. She could barely even move properly as well. Lilith tried to shout out her sister's name again, but she ended up tripping in the snow. She landed with an 'oof' as she hit the floor face-first into the snow.

She writhed on the floor. For some reason she couldn't bring herself to stand up. She was pelted with just too much guilt all at once. She felt like she deserved to stay there, cold and alone. It was her fault her sister was gone.

She tried to push herself up. Only to fall back onto the floor on her side. Her body tensed up as she held her legs up to her chest. She felt so stupid, so pathetic. She just laid there as tears welled up inside her eye's

"Eda..." She whispered weakly

She stayed like that whimpering to herself. Unaware of the massive beast that loomed over her. Large dark eyes stared down at her filled with feral rage. Orange feathers covered a majority of the beast. Large wings sprawled outwards intimidatingly. It hissed and growled as it's claw dug into the snow.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I didn't know. I'm sorry. Please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Lilith muttered to herself grief-stricken as tears ran down her face. She never should have done it. She felt so jealous. So inadequate. She thought there was no other way. Even without cheating Eda would easily outmatch her. She thought, maybe just this once she could follow Eda's example to get what she wanted more than anything. Now there was nothing but a deep-seated regret.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Lilith sat on the edge of her bed unable to sleep at all. She felt empty. Her heart ached with guilt. She just couldn't muster up the will to do anything. That was until she caught the voice of her father through her slightly ajar door.

"I have to do this!" Lilith's father exclaimed determined. Lilith, growing curious, decided to peek through the door and listen in.

"You can't! your daughter needs you! You can't just leave!" Lilith's mother pleaded for him to not leave. She grabbed at his arm holding on tightly trying to keep him from going.

"That's exactly why I have to go. If I don't, what hope do we have to fix this." He said a scary bit of anger and determination flowing through.

"You don't have to. The elixir can keep it at bay. There's no need to do this."

"And how long will the elixir work? It's only a temporary fix. I have to find a permanent solution. I'll start with the Emperor, and if he refuses to help, I'll find some other way. "

"The Emperor!? No! You can't! we can't just ask something of him out of nowhere! Do you know what he could do to you?" She reeled back at what her husband just told her. That was insane!

"I'm well aware. But, I don't care. I'll do whatever I have to. Whatever I can to see my family smile again..." His voice came out filled with a sadness Lilith never heard from him before. It shocked her. His voice was shaky like he was just barely holding himself together.

"You... You're not gonna change your mind. Are you?" His wife relented. She knew how stubborn he was. If he had his mind set on something.

"I'm afraid not." He said quietly. His wife's face fell into a deep melancholy.

"What about the children? Are you just going to leave? Without saying goodbye?" She pointed out. He sighed before turning his head towards the two separate rooms where his daughters resided. It didn't escape his notice that a quick blur of orange rushed away from the slightly ajar crack of one of the doors. Lilith's.

"You're right." He sighed remorsefully. As much as he didn't like it. He still had to tell them. He wanted to let them know he wouldn't be gone forever. " I'll tell them."

With a hesitant step, he began to slowly walk over to Lilith's door. His wife stood back, exhausted, and melancholy. He reached out his arm and pushed on the door gently opening it with a creak. He stuck his head in first to see Lilith laying on her bed on top of her covers. Her hands rested in front of her a mere inch away from her face, and her legs tucked in slightly towards her stomach.

"Lilith? You were listening? Weren't you?" He asked all too aware. It took a while, but eventually, Lilith replied back with a quiet and shaky affirmation.

"Mm-hm."

It broke his heart hearing her sound so somber. He sighed lightly before going over closer to Lilith and sitting down at the edge of her bed. He clasped his hands together nervously as he looked over his shoulders to where Lilith laid.

"Lilith, you know why I'm going right?"

"Mm-hm."

"Well, I... I just want to let you know. I may not know when I'm coming back, but I know that when I do all this will be behind us. I will find a way to bring your sister back to normal."

Lilith didn't respond; she just sat there looking away from her father's gaze. She tried to keep her emotions at bay. However, they only got stronger as time went on. Her guilt pilling back on

"You remember what I told you a long time ago?"

Lilith tensed up at the mention of that. She knew what he was going to say, and she didn't like that.

"I know this is hard but, please I want you to look out for your sister. You have to protect her. Your Edalyn's elder sister. I want you to be there for her since I can't."

Lilith quivered underneath those words. How could she protect her if she was the cause? It was all her fault. She was stupid and selfish. How could she have even thought for a single second that was a good idea? It crushed her. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to throw away this guilt. But there was no way she could admit to such a thing. Tears welled up as she feared being abandoned to the streets. She feared they would all hate her. Just as she did herself.

"I'm sorry." Lilith choked out. It made her father reel back shocked.

"This isn't your fault Lilith. There was no way any of us could have seen this coming. This was just a..." He stopped speaking when he clearly heard Lilith start to whimper. Like she was trying to hold herself back. Obviously speaking any further on the subject would just upset her more. So he refrained from saying anything else.

He sighed remorsefully before he reached behind himself. He placed his hand onto the side of Lilith's head affectionately. Trying to give her some level of comfort.

"I'm sorry Lilith, I'll come back soon, okay. I love you." With that, he gently patted Lilith's head before taking his hand away. He got up from the bed slowly, and then he was gone.

Lilith wasn't able to take it anymore. What he said was wrong. It was her fault. She mulled over that fact. It shouldn't have been Eda. She should have been the one this happened to! She cast that curse! She should have been punished! Not Eda! She lay down in her bed softly crying away her regret.

The air slowly got cold around her. Until it turned blistering cold. The window in her room blasted open startling her from her self pity. She stood up from her bed and quickly ran over to the window. Snow piled into her room from the outside as she attempted to futilely close it. As she struggled to close the window she noticed someone outside. It was her Father.

His back faced her as he stood in the cold snow. Lilith just looked at him agape.

"Dad?"

There was no response. perhaps he couldn't hear her from the loud howling of the snow? She kept calling out to him, but he never responded. He just stood there as the snow got thicker, and the fog got denser. The view of him slowly fading away, until there was nothing but a silhouette.

"Dad! Wait! Please Don't go! Dad!"

Then the silhouette vanished into the fog. Lilith just kept shouting out to him regardless. desperately trying to call him back. No matter how long, or how loud she cried for him. there was nothing but the snowy fog.

He never came back.

"Lilith! Lilith! Wake up!"

Lilith's eyes shot open as she quickly sat up from her slumber. Her covers falling to the side. She was breathing heavily as her heart beated insistently. Covered in a cold stress-induced sweat, and wet cheeks.

"Lilith. Are you okay?" A voice asked. Lilith couldn't see who it was through the haze of her moist eyes. She felt lingering feelings from what she just experienced. It was there, but it was muted just a bit. She wiped away the moistness from her eyes and cheek so she could see who was speaking to her.

It was Steve. His mask was cracked in the forehead area. It showed a large bandage that was wrapped around his head through the hole the crack made.

"Steve? Wh..." Lilith cleared her thought trying to clear away the croaking in her voice before continuing. "What are you doing in here?"

"Okay. I know you said no guards should come in to wake you, but I heard you speaking. It sounded like you were in distress so I kind of just barged in to make sure you were okay." Suddenly Steve placed his two hands together and bowed his head down to beg for forgiveness. " I'm sorry!" Steve said, trying to repent for breaking Lilith's order.

"What? Oh... yes. That's fine. Just, go leave me be. I have to ready myself for the day." Lilith said a tinge of melancholy still showing through. She stood up from her bed, her long solid black sleeping dress brushing against the floor.

"Yes of course. Again, I'm sorry for going against your orders." Steve apologized standing in the same position. He was about to turn around to leave but sudden light pressure on his head caught him off guard.

"It's okay," Lilith stated kindly. Her hand gently placed onto the back of his head affirmingly. "Thank you, Steve."

Steve was shocked. Lilith wasn't going to scold him? Instead, she thanked him? Maybe It had something to do with whatever was happening in her dream she may have had. He didn't want to bring it up but seeing Lilith crying for the first time in his life was quite the shocker as well. It was possible she was just not in the mood to scold him, or maybe it was something else? He didn't really want to think about it.

"I'll...I'll be on my way then," Steve said. Right as he said that Lilith took her hand off of his head. He turned around and headed out the way he came in. Closing the door behind him. He stood outside awe-struck. That was until he pumped his hand downward uttering an excited whisper. Excited that Lilith would thank him for what he did. "Yes."

Lilith let out a prolonged sigh as she ran her hand down her face. She wasn't exactly feeling the best at the moment. She could remember everything from that dream. The lingering feelings she felt when she woke up hazy and confused. Those unpleasant memories. She had that dream again. A dream she hadn't had in so long. She honestly thought she would never see it again but, obviously, she was wrong. She just couldn't get over the fact that after so long of not having that dream, It came back again. Why?

Lilith looked down at her bedside table and picked up the glasses that lay at the edge. She unfolded them then slid them onto her face. Her vision became clear. She had to get ready. No matter how she was feeling she just had to push past it and prepare to teach Luz some more.

Yesterday was an eventful day now that she thought about it. She had spent so much time with Luz teaching her about many different magics. She taught her fundamentals about the Coven system and even some basic history. She gave Luz those six books she gathered as self-studying material. As much as she thought having a tutor was great, Lilith also believed self-study was also an important part of learning. Honestly, Luz's Unending appetite for knowledge was so tiring, but It was also admirable. The fact she was already showing talent in magic after only the first lesson was astounding to her. It reminded her a lot of... Eda.

Lilith walked into her bathroom nearby and leaned onto the counter with her outstretched hands. She stared into the mirror looking into her reflection. Her hair was poofy and messy like it always was when she woke up. She placed her hand on her forehead and pushed upwards to see more clearly underneath her black hair. Her orange roots showing themselves once again. She sighed deeply knowing that this was going to be a pain to deal with. Before anything else though she grabbed at her brush ready to get started with fixing up her hair.

After that was all dealt with Lilith looked into the mirror once again. It was perfect. Just like it always was. However, She didn't feel any satisfaction in it like she usually did. She just felt empty. She looked away from the mirror and stared into the room that lay outside the bathroom. It was silent and desolate. There was no one else but her here.

Lilith walked outside the bathroom and changed out of her sleeping wear into her usual attire. She didn't have any time to dawdle. She had to go to the Emperor. Today she planned to show Luz around the castle. To get her as familiar with it all as she could. She had another busy day ahead of her so she had to go attend to her duties post haste. So she opened up the door and headed out to go get the emperor from her room as they agreed upon. All the while she didn't realize she never took her glasses off.

Camila sat silently in a recliner chair looking into a framed photo she was holding. She stared at it wistfully as a painful grip bore at her heart. It was a picture of Luz playing in the sand at a beach when she was younger. Camila remembered that day. The three of them were out there for summer. She remembered how fun it was to swim. She remembered those silly sand castles he helped Luz with. There were just so many memories that came to her from this one photo. It was hard to discern from them all.

It's been more than a day and a half since Luz ran away. The police still haven't come up with anything, and there was no word from anyone else. It crushed her. Why would she have just run off like that? Where would she have even gone?

Camila thought back to the last time they spoke and cringed. She regretted what she said to her. There could have been some other way to handle it, but she just let her emotions get to her. She just panicked with all those thoughts coming to her. She didn't know how to even process it all. That smoke smell. The tattoo on her hand. It just made her panic so much.

Then there was that one thing Luz told her. The thought of Luz throwing some magical fireball was preposterous. The more Camila thought about it the more she wanted to believe that was true, but how could she. She just hoped wherever Luz was she was safe. She couldn't lose someone else in her life.

She stood up from the recliner to make her way to the kitchen and stopped when she passed the door to Luz's room. It remained closed just as she remembered it. She stared at the door for a couple of seconds. Until a sudden surge of wistful nostalgia came over her. So she decided to open that door and enter the room beyond.

It was just the way she remembered it. The computer that sat on Luz's desk. The myriad of posters she had. It was all there. That was at least what she thought, but she then realized there was actually a large space of empty wall. It was strange. Luz always had at least something covering up the wall. She always said she didn't really like to have empty spaces on her wall.

She walked over to that empty space examining it thoroughly. She could have sworn there was a poster there at one point. Where did it go? As she was pondering that fact she just so happened to notice the poster that sat next to the empty space. It was Luz's prized Azura poster. Skewed slightly off-center like it was hastily placed there. She looked down to see one corner of the poster was curling away from the wall with a loose strand of tape attached to it.

The strangest thing she realized while looking was the faint scent of ash. Camila grabbed at the corner and carefully pulled away at the corner. She was careful not to damage it as she peeled away the tape that stuck to the wall. When she was done she took the poster off the wall and gasped in shock at what she saw. A large black stain on the wall. From it emanated the faint smell of ash.