Amity, Braxas, and Mattholomule were well into Latissa's city center now, having floated rather quickly down the river and away from their pursuers. Mattholomule was still complaining about his foot however, while unsurprisingly the demon toddler was napping against Amity's chest while she held him. She had always been wary of people getting physically too close, and had built up a cold exterior to keep people away, but ever since she had started volunteering at the library, and reading to the witchling class every week, they had started to grow on her. She was certainly glad that Braxas had taken the opportunity to sleep, and wished she could as well. She desperately wanted to tuck herself into her bed again, maybe after finally getting that bath she had attempted to soak in earlier.
The small wooden boat bumped into the river bank, jolting Amity alert again and bringing out another pained scream from Mattholomule. She regretfully jostled Braxas awake and climbed out of the boat and onto shore, before helping Braxas and a limping Mattholomule out as well. "C'mon. My scroll says there should be a Healer's Coven shop near here." She said, reluctantly putting his arm around her shoulders to help him along.
"Thanks, Blight." Mattholomule said. "I'm sorry I tried to trick you into a date today. My brother told me…"
"Don't mention it." Amity growled.
"I just want to…"
"Seriously." She growled again, glaring at him with rage in her eyes. "Do. Not. Mention. This. To anyone. As far as anyone on this Titan is concerned, you and I never met." Mattholomule clamped his mouth shut and looked away with a frown. "Look, I'm a Blight. We don't… associate…" she struggled to find the least stabbing words to use, but her mind was blank. They were the same words she had used over and over since her parents had made them clear years before. "We don't associate with weak witches, alright?" She said quickly, and focused forward again.
Mattholomule bit his lip, but nodded. After struggling down an impressively long road with demons of every kind fraternizing with witches, Braxas was pointing at a sign on a shop that read 'Divine Interventions'. "Look, Ms Amity!" The brick building was built in among a series of tendons that somehow still seemed to have a hint of life in them, unlike the surrounding buildings. They pulsed and tensed slightly, despite the Titan being dead for eons, and a soft glow emanated from an internal string of lights that drew attention to the shop.
"That's great, Braxas." Amity said, doubling her effort to pull Mattholomule along. Braxas pushed the door open for them and she dragged her companion inside. The smell of burning incense assaulted the trio the moment they passed through the door, and Amity looked about for anyone taking care of the shop.
The inside was surprisingly small, but heavily decorated with crystals, potions, and bowls of still steaming fluids on a number of clothed tables. There were Healing and Potion Coven banners strewn about, one covering a healing cot for patients to lie on, while others covered the backs of chairs or hung crookedly on walls. Amity helped Mattholomule onto the cot, and continued eyeing the room suspiciously. "Wait here. There's something not right about this place." She said, noting a disturbing lack of the Emperor's banner on the walls, unlike most of the other businesses they had seen in the city. "Hello?!" She called, her voice cracking. She just wanted this night to be over and not have to deal with any more demon hunters or gangs or butchers.
Braxas reached out for Amity's hand, and she gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze as a curtain was pushed aside and a witch in her late twenties poked her head out. She had short, disheveled green hair and light brown skin that shone with a golden gleam. Bright blue eyes that could set even the most gruff of demons at ease with a glance seemed to glow in the dim light of the room, and she wore a white bandana around her head, tied with a thin golden cord. She looked physically fit, her arms showing defined muscle outside of the tank top shirt she wore, though her blue loose fitting pants were out of fashion for most witches of the day. "Ms Amity!" Braxas gasped. "It's Azura! Like in your room!"
"Sorry, kids. We were just about to close." The woman said. "You'll have to get your herbs tomorrow."
Amity blinked a few times, her eyes growing wide at Braxas' suggestion. "Uh, no. I mean, we're not here for… our friend is hurt." She said, pointing with her free hand at Mattholomule that managed a wave despite his painful wincing. "He was stabbed in the foot."
The woman crossed her arms in annoyance before being pushed aside by another woman exiting the curtained off back room. This one had long, flowing auburn hair with her bangs drawn back and braided into a single line that followed the rest of her hair. Her pale skin and hazel eyes had likely seen the same amount of years as the first woman, but seemed to have a bit more wisdom behind them. She was dressed in a brown and white gown that reached her ankles, and was kept far more tidy than her companion. "Well we'd best have a look then. Please, come back with me." She said, holding the curtain to the side and holding a hand toward Mattholomule to hold for assistance.
The boy looked at Amity for a moment, as though looking for permission. When she nodded at him, he took the woman's hand and followed her into the back room. Amity moved to follow, but was stopped by the first woman in white and blue. "Not so fast, cupcake. She works best in private."
Amity's look of bewilderment instantly turned to one of annoyance to match the witch blocking her path. "Why's that? Have some super secret healing magic you don't want me to see? Something the Emperor's Coven would like to know about?" She gestured at the various banners in the room.
The woman bent at the waist to look Amity in the eye and whispered with a grin. "Actually, it's because you're covered in abomination goo, you smell like you've been swimming in the river, and Rowena needs a clean room to work."
Amity could feel her face turn red in embarrassment, and she averted her eyes. It still seemed odd that there weren't any banners with Emperor Belos' seal on them despite all of the other coven sigils in the room, but she would have to put her suspicions to rest for now. "How long will this take?" She asked, both out of an ounce of concern for her companion, and not being comfortable in the room.
Braxas, on the other hand, had let go of Amity and shyly approached the woman. "Are you Azura?" He asked, snapping Amity's attention back to him.
"Who?" The woman asked, clearly having never heard of the fictional character. "Kid, my name is Brook. I don't know any Azura."
"Can you not remember because you don't have your crown?" Braxas asked, and Brook raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. Braxas pulled what looked like a bracelet sized gold ring at first from his pocket and held it up to Brook. "Here!"
Amity reflexively reached out and snatched it out of Braxas's clawed hands, recognizing it instantly as the gold crown from her Azura figurine that he had been looking at in her room. "How did you get this?!" She shouted at the toddler, her temper flaring up. Braxas stepped away from her, his tiny chin quivering.
"Whoa, whoa…" Brook said, pinching the bridge of her nose impatiently. "Where are your parents? I really don't have the energy for this tonight. Wha?" Braxas had grasped her leg, facing Amity with a hint of fear and on the verge of crying.
Amity looked down at the tiny crown in her hand and frowned. "They're… busy." She said, kneeling down to face Braxas again. While reading The Good Witch Azura book series, she had found herself wishing for heroic adventures in a world so similar but unlike her own, but now that she was forced into one, she was messing it up. She was wet, and cold, and missing her bed in the manor with abomination servants, and her reminders of comfort like her study room at the library and her Otabin doll and Azura figurine, and now watching Braxas be so afraid of her for her actions, she thought back to that morning when she had crushed the rodent demon's cupcake. Despite all her magical skills she had tried so hard to master, she was no hero. "Braxas, I'm sorry." She admitted. The word felt foreign in her mouth. Uncomfortable. "Here, you can have it."
She offered the crown back to Braxas, coming to the realization that this young demon was going through the same night she was. Cautiously, Braxas took the crown back and held it to his chest for a moment before turning around and looking up at Brook again, offering the tiny plastic piece up with both hands. Brook scrunched up her face in irritation. "Look, I don't want your toy."
"But you're supposed to wear your crown!" Braxas replied. "Maybe you'd be nicer like Azura if you had it instead of that." He added, pointing up at the bandana. Amity grimaced, fully expecting to be thrown out after that comment.
Brook looked from Braxas to Amity and let out a loud breath. "Is this how you're going to pay for your friend's healing? A toy?"
"Don't worry about it." Rowena said, ushering Mattholomule through the curtain again with a smile. "Didn't even require a healing glyph. One stitch." Amity glared at Mattholomule. One stitch? For all the whining, he needed one stitch!? Mattholomule looked away, blushing in embarrassment, likely feeling like he had just lived up to her accusation of being a weak witch. "Oh, don't be embarrassed." She said, putting a friendly hand on the boy's shoulder and kneeling down to whisper in his ear. "She's not into you... or boys."
Amity's face bloomed like a rose, flashing a deep red as confusion, then understanding seemed to slowly creep its way over Mattholomule's features. "Oh."
"Okay, Rowena… I think you've embarrassed the kids enough. If you're not going to charge them for anything, then they need to go. We need to get to bed. From the sounds of things up river, we're going to be busy in the morning." Brook said, planting a quick kiss on Rowena's lips before turning to leave.
"But Ms. Azura! Your crown!" Braxas said, standing forward as though to chase her down, his tiny claws still holding the plastic ring out.
"Keep it, kid." Brook replied, stopping for a moment. "Mine's in the back." She added, giving a wink to Amity.
Amity reached forward to gently pull Braxas back to her. "Thank you." She said to the two women.
"Scram!" came Brook's voice from the back room, and Rowena smiled.
"Don't mind her. She's always been closed off, she just needed someone to sneak into her heart." Rowena whispered, playfully cupping a hand to the side of her mouth while looking back at the curtain behind her.
"I heard that!"
Rowena laughed, and smiled at the three kids. "Be careful out there, alright?" Amity and Mattholomule nodded in unison as Braxas continued to play with the crown.
"So where to now?" Mattholomule asked once they were outside of the Divine Interventions shop. He was walking normally now, and with the exception of still having a hole in his shoe, appeared to have never been injured. "How are we going to get your… thing fixed?" He asked, referring to the crystal heart of the abominamobile.
Amity growled as she walked past him. "I don't know!" Her fists were balled up, and dark bags had formed under her eyes. "Come on, Braxas!" She shouted, louder than intended. She was going to walk to the Hookworm station, call her parents, and suffer the consequences of having to ride with them all the way home and probably never get to see Hexside or the Library, or maybe even the surface of the Boiling Isles again, simply because she had decided to be a good friend to too many people in one night. Braxas had to run to keep up to her, and his shorter legs were growing tired quickly.
Mattholomule shrugged and followed as well, begrudgingly taking Braxas's hand to help him. "Slow down! We can't keep up!"
"I don't care anymore!" Amity shouted, stopping to face him. She shoved a pointed finger in his face and continued. "I could have said no to Boscha, but I didn't. I could have let the security deal with you, but I didn't. I could have just ignored the door and relaxed tonight, but no. Now I know why my parents told me not to associate with weaklings! You. Are. Nothing. But. Trouble!"
Mattholomule had his eyes closed and was pulling away, expecting her to throw a punch or shoot a fire bolt, or turn him into abomination goo. Instead, she simply lowered her arm again in a mechanical motion, pushing down all her anger in an attempt to think of some way out of this night. She started walking again, taking in a series of breaths in an attempt to clear her head when her eye caught sight of a pinprick of light in the sky, and four armored, muscular figures flying on staves surrounding it.
"There they are!" The voice of the Demon Hunter leader was unmistakable now, and Amity reached back to snag Mattholomule by his shirt collar and Braxas by a hand. "I want that gem, girl!" Came another shout as the hunters descended.
"Come on! In there!" Amity commanded, guiding the pair down an alley and up a set of wooden stairs. They weaved around a group of witches that were loitering in the alley, sharing laughs and drinks while playing short pieces of music on various instruments. The moment she opened the door at the top of the stairwell, she could hear cheering, laughing, and loud music being played inside. It was a Bard Coventicle, though one unlike she had ever visited before. The ones she knew of were clean, and strict, with classical instruments where her family would attend and they were forced to be quiet and watch dance recitals and learn the fundamentals of Bard magic. This was smokey, and boisterous, and crowded, and Amity had led her companions and herself onto the stage from the back exit.
The music that was being led by a young witch stopped suddenly upon their appearance. She had black hair in a ponytail, sea green eyes and sharp, pronounced fangs. Soft, brass colored skin contrasted against her well fitted suit, and a tambourine continued to jingle in her hands for a moment as she was the last to notice the three children. "Whoa! Who do we have here?"
Amity swallowed. She felt uncomfortable being in front of so many people without being presentable. Her hair had come out of its top knot, her clothes were still damp from jumping into the river, and apparently she smelled funny, if Brook was right. She could feel her ears and cheeks warming with embarrassment, and she silently cursed her father's thin skinned lineage. "Uh, hi. We're just trying to get through." She said meekly.
"Nuh uh." The lead singer said. "No one leaves without leaving behind a song." She said, then turned to the crowd with a wide smile. "Right, everyone?!"
"What?"
"I said, no one leaves the building without leaving a song behind."
"Look, we're having a really rough night, and if we could just…"
"I get you, kid. But rules are rules, right?"
Amity cast a sideways glance at Mattholomule, who shook his head. "Hey, the last time I talked to anyone, I got stabbed."
She rolled her eyes and faced the young woman again. "Uh, we're not on the Bard track though…"
"Then I suggest you get comfy, fire-honey." She whispered, then turned to the crowd with upraised arms. "They say they aren't in the Bard Coven! Does that matter?!"
"NO!" Came the resounding answer from the crowd.
"Listen, fire-honey, it doesn't matter what Coven you're in. It's about where your heart is."
Amity was holding her breath again, trying her best to not react violently. She could hear arguing from the doorway they had come through, and it was clear that the Demon Hunters were trying to get in as well. "Fine." She breathed, pointing to an occupied piano on the back of the stage. "I'll leave you with a song." She pulled up the sleeves of her shirt, and marched over to the pianist, hooking her thumb over her shoulder, signalling for him to let her sit. The short, blue skinned demon with curled blonde hair and seven clawed fingers on each hand slid aside, dramatically offering his place. Mattholomule and Braxas shuffled to the opposite side of the stage from where they had come in while Amity stretched her fingers and then touched the ivory keys.
"Don't play anything boring!" A mouse eared, white haired girl shouted from the crowd. Amity growled, shooting her a glance. Despite her growing exhaustion, she found her posture, and her fingers found their place. First one key, then another, as she watched her fingers start to find a melody.
When she had first found The Good Witch Azura books in the Bonesborough Market, she had simply been passing through with her dad when the cover had caught her eye. A simple booth of an oddities collector. She had been a bit younger then, and her growing loneliness after having been forced to abandon her best friend may have sparked some amount of guilt in Alador to warrant purchasing two of the books that the collector had said had washed up on the beach. They were poor quality, but readable, and Amity had dived into the exploits of a witch and her many adventures in some strange world that she could only imagine. One of extravagant colors, and heroic deeds, and oft times ridiculous, flowery language and sometimes even moments of romance.
With those books she had managed to purchase other strangeness, like music she had never heard anywhere else. Music that felt like it was speaking to her specifically, and while she couldn't recognize many of the instruments and the exotic sounds they made, she would practice them at home when her mother was away and not insisting she practice something more… classically Boiling Isles. While Amity was certain she would never be allowed to have followed the Bard Track, and not that she had so much interest in music and dance to make it a life long ambition, dabbling in music had always had a calming effect.
"Well, I don't know where I'm goin', but I sure know where I've been." She sang quietly, still finding the proper keys. "Hanging on the promises of the songs of yesterday; Well I've made up my mind." She continued, and the faint sound of the tambourine started to ring, matching her rhythm. Then a drum brush started to tap with the beat. "I'm not wasting no more time, 'cause here I go."
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted three of the Demon Hunters appear at the door across the stage, and she turned, missing the next key. She could feel the heat spread in her face at the mistake and her eyes went wide, but the woman with the tambourine smiled and nodded for her to continue.
Amity closed her eyes to drown out the distractions, and played on as someone with a string instrument behind her joined in. "You know I'm looking for an answer, but I never seem to find what I'm searching for and ooooooh Lord, I pray you give me strength to carry on… 'cause I know what it means, oh to walk along the lonely street of dreams." She pushed her worries and hardships of the night down into her chest, threatening to choke on the lump forming as her hands began to find their confidence. "Hey, hey, Here I go again on my own."
"Here she goes, here she goes now." The crowd began to sing a moment behind her, waving their hands back and forth above their heads.
"Goin' down the only road I've ever known."
"OooOOoooo…"
"Like a drifter I was boooorn to walk alone." She sang, drawing out words of the lyrics like she had always wanted to.
"OoooOOOoooo…"
"And I've made up my mind. Oh, I'm not wasting no more time. Here I go…" All of the other instruments but the piano and the tambourine went deathly silent, giving Amity a chance to play to her own pace again as she pushed into another verse. "I guess… I'm just… another heart in need of rescue." The other instruments slowly began to play again, but Amity was no longer paying much attention to what was going on around her anymore. She could hear clapping, both from the crowd and even from Mattholomule and Braxas. "Waiting on love's sweet, sweet charity. I'm gonna hold on for the rest of my days. You know why? Cause I know what it means. Oh, to walk along the lonely… lonely street of dreams!"
Amity stood up suddenly, knocking the piano bench over from where it had been positioned, her fingers stabbing at the keys and tears beginning to run from the outer corners of her eyes. She continued singing despite an awful aching in her chest that reminded her of the last few years of feeling so alone, and being put on a path that she was no longer so sure she wanted. The sound around her began to dull as her heartbeat pounded in her ears until finally she lifted her hands from the keys and opened her eyes and could only hear silence.
She froze, suddenly terrified of what she had just done to warrant a quiet crowd before they all erupted in deafening cheers. The tambourine player approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "That was… amazing. I've never heard music quite like that. Listen, whatever you're going through right now, whatever is keeping your song quiet, I suggest you get rid of it."
Amity tried to speak, choked and cleared her throat, and tried again. "I… I can't really do that." She said, thinking about home and her parents, and future.
The woman nodded and smiled. "Hey, I get it. You're just a kid. But if you find an opportunity to open your heart, take it, okay?" Amity didn't acknowledge her words, but looked down at her feet and slumped. She was searching for some kind of response despite the crowd still roaring when a large meaty green palm landed on her other shoulder. She looked up to see the Demon Hunter with murder in his single uncovered right eye. There was a fresh scar that ran across his left eye, likely from when the cable whipped across it earlier that night on the road.
"I'll take that crystal now, girl." He said, his voice deep and menacing up this close.
The crowd hushed, and the single 'PLINK' of a string could be heard over the silence. The Demon Hunter and his crew suddenly froze in place, confused as red wisps of magic formed like a glowing cord around each of them. "Go, kid." The tambourine player said. Amity slid out from the Demon Hunter's grasp and collected with Mattholomule on the other side of the stage. The woman stood to look the Demon Hunter in the eye with a smile. "No one leaves, without leaving a song. Those are the rules."
Amity and Mattholomule started down the stairs off of the stage and past the crowd to the front of the building before Amity began to panic. "Where's Braxas?!"