It was another day on the Isles, and the town of Bonesborough was bustling as usual. Amity Blight was strolling through the market district to pick up ingredients to make dinner tonight for her siblings and parents. She had it all. Being the leader of the Emperor's Coven, current head of the Blight family, and former C.E.O. of Blight Industries. The latter due to giving complete control of the company over to Belos. Though she has a room at the emperor's castle, she preferred sleeping and dining at her family manor. Her chaperone, carrying the bags, was one of her abominations. It took extra care not to spill any of itself onto the ingredients and spoil them.
"You little brats!" A deep voice said, and Amity turned to see a stocky hog-like demon run after two girls with red hair. One was deeper colored and curly, and the other was brighter and wild. They could not have been older than four or even six. "You think you can steal from me!" The girls ran with the sounds of innocent laughter — recalling bittersweet memories of when Amity used to play with Willow as a kid — as the demon chased after them with a butcher's knife. But Amity noticed something was off about the kids, but she could not put her finger on it.
"Gotcha!" The demon shouted as he grabbed at the children, only for them to poof into smoke. "What the—" That is what Amity was sensing. The children were illusions. And they were well-casted ones to have easily fooled even someone like her.
Amity then heard young-sounding laughter coming from nearby and went to investigate. Down an alley, behind a dumpster, were the same redheaded girls. But unlike with the illusions; the real girls had ragged, filthy clothes on.
The younger child pulled out a sausage from the sleeve of her shirt, probably what they stole from the butcher. "Let's eat." She said as they split the meat in half and devoured it like it was the best thing they ever had. Upon closer inspection, Amity blinked upon realizing just how malnourished these girls were.
"Excuse me," Amity said, getting the girls' attention.
The one with the curlier hair gasped. "It's you!" She recognized the woman. "Y… you're Amity Blight. Leader of the Emperor's Coven."
"Run for it!" The younger child shouted, about to take off.
"Wait, I just want to talk." Amity quickly answered. "I saw your illusion earlier."
She stopped and looked at the woman. "You did?"
"I did. It was quite impressive. Even I was convinced it was real."
"Really?" The older girl beamed, looking at the Coven Leader with amazement.
"Yes, really. Now, I just have some questions for you both," Amity told them, kneeling. "First, where did you learn how to cast such a spell as you did?"
"Oh, we saw someone else do it and replicated it together."
"We didn't know if it was gonna work." The younger girl added.
Amity then looked at the young one. "Second question, why did you steal from that demon?"
"We were hungry." She innocently answered. "We haven't eaten in days."
It was alarming and brought up memories of her childhood. If she learned that these two were being abused, she would use all her power to make sure their parents pay for it. And speaking of which… "Where are your parents?"
The girls looked away, saddened. "We don't have any." The eldest one answered.
Amity was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"We don't have parents. It's only Edalyn and me." They are orphans. That explains why they had to steal, but what kind of person would leave children at this age all alone?
"What are your names?"
"I'm Lilith, Lilith Clawthorne." Lilith then gestured to Edalyn. "And this is my sister, Edalyn Clawthorne."
"Call me, Eda," Edalyn said.
Clawthorne. Now things were beginning to click inside Amity's head. There once was a witch named Gwendolyn Clawthorne; a talented and powerful woman who would have eventually become the head of the Beast Keeping Coven. However, she openly spoke out against Emperor Belos and called his regime into question. She was eventually taken into custody by the Golden Guard of that time and petrified about two years ago. Perfectly lining up with the girls' ages. If Lilith's display of magic is anything to go by, they inherited their mother's power. This power could prove beneficial to the Coven.
"Alright then, Lilith, Eda." Amity began. "I have a proposition for you both."
"What is it?" Lilith asked.
"How would you two like to come back home with me for supper? I brought more food than usual today, and it would be a shame if it went to waste."
"Y… you mean it?" Lilith's eyes grew big, almost looking like she was about to cry.
"Yes, I do."
The next thing Amity knew, the redheaded children were hugging her. "Thank you! Thank you!" "Thank you so much! We would be honored." Eda and Lilith both said. The three of them completely unaware of what this kind gesture will soon grow to become.
"Again," Amity ordered her now teenage daughters once more. Fourteen-year-old Eda grumbled to herself as she and sixteen-year-old Lilith entered the staff combat stances and began performing the basics once more. Their aunt and uncle watched their redheaded nieces from the living room sofa. The eight-year-old King napped on Emira's lap. And Eda's adorable — recently made — owl palisman, Owlbert, was perched on Edric's shoulder.
After warming up with basic circular motions, Eda moved on to more advanced techniques, showing off her focus and coordination. As commended by Principal Bump; the younger sister has grown to be a prodigy when it comes to the magical arts and always made it look easier than it is. She would have easily been one of the best students at Hexside Academy if she put more effort into being a witch than slacking off.
While Lilith's able to do the necessary moves — having practiced them as much as anyone else in her class — she lacked the speed and the finesse to keep up with Eda. Lilith's a prodigy in her own right, with her natural talent coming from her mind, but she has always been slower to grasp magic. Though, grade-wise, she is leagues above Eda, garnering favor amongst all her teachers, and is Hexside's second-best student. First place belonging to her academic rival, Penelope Porter of the Bard Track.
They noticed the critiquing look on their mother's face. Eda began picking up the pace, and Lilith decided to follow. She still was not there with Eda yet and decided to go faster. And faster. And faster. And… Whack! She ended up hitting herself in the head, knocking her glasses off as she fell onto her bottom.
"Lily!" Eda shouted, stopping her performance. She dropped her staff and knelt to her sister. "You alright?"
Amity knelt to her eldest daughter, and Edric and Emira got up to join her, waking King in the process. "What? What's going on?" The little demon drowsily protested, then noticed everyone was gathered around Lilith and ran over to join them.
Lilith rubbed her stinging forehead. Fortunately, it was not bleeding but still hurt. "Let me see," Amity said as she moved Lilith's hand away and examined the noticeable red mark. "It's just a bruise." With the twirl of her finger, a healing spell was cast, and it was gone. "You'll be alright."
"Thanks, mother," Lilith said as she searched for her glasses. As she got older, Lilith felt more comfortable referring to their mother with a formal title. Though, she has happened to accidentally call her "mom" on more than one occasion.
"Found your glasses," King said as he handed Lilith her undamaged glasses.
"Thank you, King." Lilith put them back on before Edric and Emira helped her to her feet.
"I think that will be enough training; for now," Amity said, standing up.
"No, I can still keep going."
"You need a break. Save some of that energy for school today." Amity turned to Eda. "Resume basic stance, Edalyn."
"Why do I even have to go over them again?" Eda protested, rising to her feet. "Lily and I know all of this like the back of our hands."
"Even the most talented of witches need to practice the basics to keep their skills sharp. If you would simply take your training seriously, you would know that."
"Why do you keep getting on my case about that? It's my power; I should do whatever I want with it."
"Edalyn…" Lilith said in surprise at her sister's tone. King, who was not a fan of family drama, decided to go back to sleep on the couch.
"It's because of that attitude of yours," Amity answered. Though the High Priestess is very loving and supportive of her daughters, finding ways to take time out of her busy schedule to help them hone their abilities. She is, however, just like any mentor is with their pupils and is unafraid to be firm with either of them. More so towards Eda, who has started to develop negligent behavior as a teenager and has recently gotten worse. "You think because you have natural talent in magic that you don't have to put in the effort like everyone else. But that's not how it works, especially if you want to get into the Emperor's Coven."
"She has a point; joining the Emperor's Coven isn't something to take lightly," Emira added to the conversation. "We've been groomed to join since we were kids. And even then, there wasn't a guarantee that we would make it in. Ed and I didn't get in, and we've tried multiple times."
"She just has yours and Lily's best interests at heart," Edric added. "Heck, Mittens almost worked herself to death to get Belos's approval."
Amity grumbled at the sound of her embarrassing nickname but let it go with a sigh. "Edalyn, I know how powerful you are, but you continue to hold yourself back by not caring about anything other than what you want." Eda's only reason for joining the Coven — ever since she first developed her magical abilities as a child — is to live a simple, happy life. One where she does not have to put too much effort into anything. "You need to grow up and see the bigger picture for once."
"I don't need any more lectures today!" Eda snapped as she walked past her mother. Hoot. Owlbert flew from Edric's shoulder and followed close behind her.
"Ugh, what now?" King groaned, his eyes widening as he saw Eda march to the front door.
Amity tried to stop her. "And where do you think you're going, young lady?"
"I'm going to Hexside early. I'd rather be yelled at by adults all day there." She stormed out of the Manor. Wumpth! Slamming the door behind her.
"Edalyn, wait!" Lilith shouted as she got up and followed her outside.
"Oh, they're going to Hexside!" King perked up and chased after them on all fours. "Wait for me!" His only reason for going is to get his hands on all the thrown-away cafeteria food — no sense in letting it go to waste.
"That could've gone better," Edric said. "But at least we'll know where she is." Amity let out a sigh, rubbing her temples. "You alright, Mittens?"
"Ed, Em, I want you to be honest with me." Amity looked at her younger siblings. "Am I doing this right?"
"Doing what right?" Emira asked.
"Being a mother. This was so much easier when they were little, and all I had to worry about was healing scraped knees and tucking them in at night. Ever since Eda turned fourteen, she's been acting out more, and her behavior's only gotten worse. I don't remember Lilith being this bad."
Emira laughed as she brushed back her green hair. "It's called being a teenager. Even if we don't wanna admit it, we all went through something like this. Eda still loves you; it's just… things for her just feel complicated."
"And look at the bright side; you're still a better mom to them than ours ever was." Edric complimented. Being just like Odalia was Amity's greatest fear. The last time the Blight siblings ever saw their parents was when Amity officially adopted Eda and Lilith. She remembered how furious her mother was and how she tried to use her "authority" as a mother to force her to give up the children. The authority of a retired C.E.O. means nothing to the head of the powerful Coven on the Isles. So, she and Alador did the next best thing and severed ties with their children before moving out. Nothing makes Amity happier than knowing she is far from being a parent like Odalia.
Meow. Midnight came to life and flew from her master's staff and onto her shoulders, rubbing against her cheek while purring. Amity smiled and petted the feline with her finger. "You're right; I'm probably reading too much into it. When did you two get so wise?"
"Maybe we've been this wise the entire time, and you just didn't notice." Edric joked.
Piak, piak, piak. "Huh?" Amity and her sibling turned to what sounded like pecking on their living room window. Piak, piak, piak. Amity walked over to investigate. Ca-caw! "A Messenger Crow?"
Amity unlocked the window, and the bird flew inside, perching itself above the fireplace and opening its beak. "Hello, High Priestess Blight." The familiar voice of Kikmora echoed. "I'm sending this message regarding your adopted daughters and the Emperor's Coven tryouts tomorrow." For a reason she could not understand, Amity had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
I wrote this chapter up yesterday, but I wanted to wait until after "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" aired before posting. Please favorite, follow and leave a review; feedback is appreciated.
