Lucila slowly snuck in through her bedroom window, jumping off Owlbert. It was already morning, since she spent hours mastering the light spell with the Golden Guard. He wanted to make sure she got it absolutely right before they moved on. "Thanks for the ride, Owlbert," She smiled sleepily at him, nuzzling his cheek with her finger. "Go on back to Eda's room, okay?"
He hooted and flew out the window, the girl sighing in relief. She smiled to herself as she fell back first onto her bed. She learned her first spell! And now she just needed her second one so she could take the placement exam-
"Argh, no, I forgot about Luz. What am I even gonna say to her?" She pinched her nose. She had yet to tell her sister that she was now learning magic. It wasn't like she could just walk up to her and casually state that she was going to enroll at Hexside...she knew she had to say something, or else it would just get too complicated to keep it a secret. But how was she even going to start off the conversation?
"Good morning, Luci!" Luz burst into her room, the girl looking up. "Oh, you're already dressed—wait a minute..." She rubbed her chin, examining her sister. She sweated nervously, glancing away. "Why are you so tired? And did you sleep in your clothes?" She gasped as she saw the open window. "...Did you just get here?"
"What? No," Lucila waved it off with a nervous laugh. "Anyway, thanks for coming in, I'm gonna take a nap," She walked over and pushed her sister out the door.
"Oh, but we're supposed to help Eda with sales again today, remember?" Luz turned around to her.
"Right, right," Lucila rubbed a temple exhaustedly. "I'll, uh, meet you downstairs, okay?"
"Well, okay! But if you take too long, I'll send Hooty up."
"I'd be happy to, hoot hoot!" Hooty called out from outside and Lucila suddenly felt a little less tired.
"No no, don't do that! I'll be down in a minute!" She then closed the door, groaning. She had no idea how she was gonna help out today while having gotten no sleep at all...
King was trying to advertise snacks, even though they were an 8 ball, a Santa Pez, and a disgusting hot dog. "Partake of my free snack samples! Take them. I demand it as your ruler, the King of Demons," However, no one was really listening. Eda had sunglasses on, her hands behind her back. He threw down the snacks in frustration. "Why isn't anyone paying attention to me? I'm their rightful overlord. Intellectually and such," He sat down with an annoyed look. Lucila was sleeping on a chair nearby.
"Yeah..." Eda sat up, noticing a student from Hexside walking past. "Hey!" She grabbed him by the cowl and lifted him up, sniffing his clothes. "It reeks more of nerd than money today."
"Guys!" An excited Luz arrived at the table, waking up Lucila. "You will not believe what's going on!" She led them to an area where there were tables and shelves full of books. "It's a book fair! Where books come to life."
One flew down onto the floor. "Hello."
She screamed and kicked it away. "A fair without rides?" King asked skeptically.
A boy with backpacks approached him. "Who needs rides when this can take you anywhere?" He pushed the book onto King's cheek. He then threw bacon on the boy, which resulted in him getting whisked away by a large flying creature. Eda took a book.
"A, ew," She dropped it on the ground. "B, I'm bored. C, I feel like pickpocketing some dork while they browse," She then walked off and Lucila rolled her eyes at her.
"No, wait," Luz pleaded, but Eda didn't listen. "Will you give it a chance?" She asked King. Lucila was why she was even so into books in the first place, because of the stories. For as long as she could remember, she always saw her sister with a book, no matter what genre. And when Lucila gave her the first Good Witch Azura, she gained a love of books immediately. "I'll let you ride in my hoodie."
"Ooh!" King stepped forward eagerly and Lucila rubbed her chin. While she was here, she might as well find a book about wild magic that the Golden Guard might like. Being affiliated with the Emperor probably didn't leave him with many books on wild magic. So as a thank you to him, she wanted to get him a book on something to do with wild magic.
"This book fair's got everything," Luz stated as they walked around, seeing a reviewnicorn, a ghost writer, and comics that literally would attack people. "A zine-making workshop. Meet and greets. And...what's that?" She gasped as she saw a banner for a writing competition. "A writing competition?"
The two people at the stand was a three-eyed lizard, the other being a witch author. "I've always wanted to be a writer," Luz gushed at this.
"Writer? What? I thought you wanted to be a witch," King stated in confusion.
"Of course I wanna be a witch. But where I'm from, that's kinda...impossible."
"More like unrealistic to others than impossible," Lucila glanced away awkwardly.
"So my runner-up dream was to be a writer. You know, like how Luci wants to be a song writer. I've had this about 'about the author' picture since I was seven years old," Luz held up a picture of her seven-year-old self. "I know my good angle. And I have a picture for Lucila too!" She held up another photo where Lucila was wearing a space unicorn sweater at 9.
"What?! When'd you take that?" Lucila tried to snatch it, with Luz holding it away with an amused smile.
"I took it on the same day without you noticing! And it's a great one. I know any good angles. Any of them."
"Luz, I was 9!" The older girl stated, a bit embarrassed. "Why couldn't you take a later photo?"
"You were in a space unicorn phase, I couldn't help it!"
"Space unicorns?" King snickered at her.
"It was when I was still into Azura books, okay?" Lucila defended herself.
"I'm gonna enter that competition!" Luz declared to them. Before she could even step forward, she got bumped into by one of the HAS members from Hexside.
"Ugh! What are these basement-dwellers doing out in natural sunlight?" King asked in slight disgust.
Tiny Nose ran up to them. "Um, we're in line for John de Plume, most famous writer on the Boiling Isles, famed author of the Realm Warrior series," She said in annoyance, probably because of his disdain. They watched the author sign the girl's book. "I'm gonna have him read my story. And marry me."
"Um, good luck with that, I guess?" Lucila murmured, unsure what to make of that.
A demon held up his pig child. "John, will you sign my child?"
"I'll sign anything," He then let out a laugh.
"Such power," King looked on in awe, impressed. "Such command he holds over his minions. I must have the same. Luz the human, I, too, shall enter the competition!"
"Really?" She asked in surprise and then gasped. "We could work together! It'll be perfect. We're best friends, so we'll make the best team."
"Team! Yes!" He cheered at this. "My name goes first on the cover."
"And I'll be your supervisor, you know, help you have a solid foundation on the story and stuff like that," Lucila offered them.
"Yes!" Luz pointed at her, hugging her sister. "This is gonna be great."
The two walked off and Lucila went to go find a book for her teacher.
Meanwhile, Eda was browsing around, tossing books away. "Boring. Boring." One of them hit a kid on the head. She grabbed a pink one with a mirror. "Boring." But then she noticed something and gasped from the reflection. "Another wrinkle. The curse is quickening."
"You. Blacky." She flinched as she heard a familiar voice, dropping the book immediately. She hid behind a 'read or...die' banner, peeking underneath it. She looked up ahead to see her sister, standing next to a Coven Scout.
"Lilith," She growled out.
"Do you have the item we discussed?" Lilith questioned a cat demon.
"Oh, yes! Right here," He handed out a map from a drawer and she smiled, opening it. It glowed as soon as she looked at it.
"This is excellent! A map to the Bloom of Eternal Youth. I think the Emperor will be very pleased."
"Ma'am, shouldn't we be searching for the Owl Lady to join the coven?" The Coven Scout asked her curiously. "Remember that whole plan?"
She simply scoffed at the question. "My sister's curse has left her frail. She'll still be here when we get back." Eda growled upon hearing this. She was definitely not weak; she was still the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. "This comes first. It's for the Emperor, after all."
"Yeah!" The Scout knocked all the books off the table. "All hail the Emperor!"
"Very good, Steve," Lilith patted him on the head.
"Shoulder pats for Steve," He congratulated himself as they walked away. Eda then came out of hiding from behind a table.
"Hey bub, what'd you sell my prissy sister?" She smirked in interest as she leaned on the table.
"Oh, it's a map to the Bloom of Eternal Youth, a rare flower that only grows once a millennia. Like the name says, it gives eternal youth to whomever holds it," He explained to her.
"Interesting," She grinned, rubbing her chin. "So Lilith wants to nab this power for the Emperor, huh? Well, won't she be surprised when I get there first and get it for myself?" She then let out a laugh. "That'll show her who's frail."
The cat demon smirked, scratching his cheek. "Yes. Well, uh, we'll see, won't we?" He opened up a drawer, where there were dozens of scrolls inside. "Can't go without a map, of course," He took out a scroll and gave it to her. She took it and opened it up, smirking as she glanced over her shoulder.
Back at the Owl House, Luz put down a cork board as they were in her room. Lucila came in with scones and tea for them. "Now, let's write down some ideas that we wanna see in the story."
"I can write anything?" King asked in awe.
"Yeah. We're brainstorming," Luz handed him some flashcards along with a pen. "Every idea is a good idea. Lucila taught me that."
"That wasn't exactly what I said," Lucila shook her head with a raised brow. What she really said was that not every single idea was a good one, but sometimes good ideas could save an otherwise not-so-strong outline.
As they were brainstorming, King was humming. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. Done," He pinned violence to the board.
"Aw, is that all you wanna see?" Luz smiled a little and he thought about it. He took another card and wrote blood.
"Whoa! Okay, already getting into controversial territory," Lucila laughed awkwardly, Luz humming a bit in thought.
She pinned down some of her own ideas. "Romance. Magic. Heartbreak with shimmer tears. And the main character is, of course..." She sang a bit like from a choir. "Luzura! I know, it's kinda cliché, but what's wrong with cliché?"
"Well, nothing, but you gotta add in something a little more to break away from the cliché, you know?" Lucila suggested to her.
King added in the basis for his own contribution. "And my main character's the King, er, the Ruler of Demons! While Lucila's character is the Ruby Witch Lucate!" She blinked at this, but decided not to argue. "With this totally original, all-star cast, victory will be ours!"
Luz threw down a crocodile-like typewriter onto a table. She looked over her shoulder with a smile at her sister and King. "Now for the easy part."
As they were writing with an outline of a three-act structure, Luz put up a drawing and she high-fived king. She wrote down a four-step plot, King nodding in agreement. Luz then drew lips and eyelashes to a circle, the two smiling at each other. They decided to name the book Luzura's Awakening. Papers were strewn everywhere while King read a page.
"Luzura's tears fell on the frozen prince, bringing him back to life. Eh, it just feels a little unrealistic."
"I can't tell you how many movies I've seen in like that story where the princess' healing tear fell on the thief who was dying," Lucila shook her head. Not that she hated it, but she felt that it was a bit overdone.
"I see what you're saying. But in your version, Ruler just destroys anything," Luz looked up, a bit concerned. "And that Lucate just stabs her enemy slash lover, Ruler's right-hand man Huntley."
"Wait, you gave me a love interest?!" Lucila panicked a bit, looking over her shoulder. "Okay, here's an interesting question that I have...Why exactly?" She was honestly baffled by this; she was fine being in the story, but she didn't expect a love story either.
"Everyone loves an enemies to lovers trope," Luz smiled a bit at her. "So I thought some romantic tension could help the scene, but with Lucate revealing that she loved Huntley all along instead."
"Hey, there's more to life than shipping," King argued to her.
"Don't you dare insult shipping in my presence!" Luz glared down at him.
"Heeey, maybe don't say stuff like that to her," Lucila whispered to King, and she would've argued that Lucate didn't need a love interest, considering that the character was based on her. She felt like it was Luz's subtle way of saying that Lucila needed a boyfriend when...she didn't really know if she needed a boyfriend. It wasn't like she was actively seeking romance right now, she had her focus on other things. But Luz wouldn't probably change her mind on it.
"Apprentice, money maker, living room!" Eda called out from downstairs.
"We'll be back. We'll figure this out. Okay, writing buddy?" Luz stood up and walked out, followed by her sister.
"Hopefully this will be quick so we can talk about this whole Huntley thing," Lucila told her. "Maybe he doesn't HAVE to be a love interest, maybe they could just be friends possibly."
"We're keeping the love story!" Luz argued back, earning an annoyed grunt from the older Noceda.
King glanced up at the typewriter. He felt like some of his ideas weren't being considered, and he wanted to change some stuff definitely. "My turn to write!"
Eda looked down at the map. "Hey," Luz greeted her and she closed it. "What's up, boss lady?"
"I'm popping out for a few days to an undisclosed place to do undisclosed things. Lucila is in charge."
"Great," Luz agreed immediately.
"Waaait, is this stuff illeg-"
"No questions!" Eda pointed at them and Lucila rolled her eyes.
"Okay."
"But what are we supposed to do for fo-"
"I said no questions!" Eda interrupted Lucila as she pulled up her cowl and closed the door behind her.
"I give up," Lucila rubbed a temple; she'd figure this out later...She yawned a bit, walking towards the stairs as she was still kind of tired. One of her scratch papers for spell homework fell from her pocket and onto the floor right in front of Luz. She blinked as she looked down at it.
"Hey, that's the light glyph..."
Lucila froze in her tracks with wide eyes, whipping around to Luz. "Why do you have this, Lucila?" She asked curiously.
"That's, um…" She bit her lip, unsure of how to explain it. "My drawing on...on a symbol...that I'm working on...for Will. You know how he is about getting our image out there for the Wildbats," She chuckled nervously.
"Hmm…" Luz then gasped sharply in realization. "You're finally learning magic?!"
Lucila sighed in defeat and the girl squealed. "Okay, yes, I'm trying to get into Hexside…"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Luz pouted at her.
"Because you would've made it a big deal, and I know that it is, but I didn't want to bring attention to it…"
"Yeah, I would've done that…" She rubbed her arm sheepishly. "I get it, hermana. Do you have a teacher?! I can totally help! Unless you already have one."
"Um...dum..." She sweated, unsure of how to answer. Obviously she couldn't say the truth! But she also needed a believable answer, as much as she hated lying to Luz enough already.
"No, wait, don't tell me who it is! The mystery makes it even better," Luz gushed and Lucila sighed in relief.
Luz hummed as they returned to her room. "Well, King, it's just us and you for a while." She gasped and Lucila blinked in shock. This is because Luzura's Awakening had been thrown out in favor of Ruler's Reach, King still typing away.
"Hey, guys. Great news," He greeted them.
"Ohhh, King, you didn't..." Lucila pinched her nose wearily.
"What have you done?!" Luz asked in disbelief as they took a look around.
"I just made a few tiny edits, and this baby is humming!"
The younger girl took a page and Lucila looked over her shoulder. "Luzura dies?! And Lucate finds another wizard, dumping Huntley?!"
"Ooh, still not leaning towards that," The older girl winced a bit, finding it a bit awkward. Well, she still wasn't a fan of the whole 'haters to lovers' thing, but ending Luz's preferred ship was just as bad, even if Lucila was against it.
"I know, right? What twists!"
"King..." Luz pinched her forehead. "I know you're trying to help, but I think you're crossing a line."
"Yeah, into greatness! Don't you want us to win?"
"If this is how you wanna win, then maybe you should submit the story on your own," Luz said disappointedly, leaving the room.
"What?" He asked in confusion and Lucila sighed at him.
"As much as I wasn't in love with Lucate's arc, this meant a lot to Luz, King. And you just ruined the story. I hope you're happy," She left, closing the door behind her.
"Bah! What do they know?" King glared at the exit.
"What the heck, man?" Even the typewriter seemed to agree with the girls. "Learn to collaborate."
"Hush, you! I'll prove to all three of you my story is superior," The little demon declared, shaking a fist.
After he was finished, he went to Grimgrub's Pub, slamming the door open. "Hey, you scum!" He shouted to all of the customers. "Which one of you wants to read my literary masterpiece?" He held up a final draft of the book. "Anyone brave enough?"
They all groaned and then he was kicked out. He landed in a puddle of mud, his book being thrown at his head. He groaned, slowly sitting up. Someone stepped in front of him.
"I'll read your story." His draft was taken as he looked up, seeing the same lizard from the book fair that was next to John de Plume. He opened one of his eyes and sped-read through the story, his eyes glowing. He then smiled and closed the book when he was done. "You wrote this?"
"Yep, that's me!" King jerked a thumb to himself. "Only me," He wiped the mud off his face.
"Let me get you a fruit punch," The lizard offered him.
"Ooh, I love punching!" The duo walked into the pub. The lizard snapped his fingers, summoning a fruit punch in front of King with an umbrella and a bendy straw.
"I'm Piniet of Piniet Publishing House," He introduced himself. "And your name is...King?"
"It's more of a rank than a name," King explained to him.
"I loved your story. So much better than the submissions we got for the competition. I want to buy it and publish it for everyone to read. I'll make you as famous as...John de Plume," He gestured to the witch, who was enjoying the attention he was getting from his fans—even from an abomination! Two girls then squealed as he fell back, sitting on them like a chair.
"I've always wanted a people chair. I'm in," King agreed eagerly. "This'll be the first step in my reclamation of power!"
Piniet held up a scroll. "Then all you have to do is sign here," He revealed it to be a contract, laying it down. King dipped his paw into his fruit punch, using that to sign. The paper glowed after he did so.
"You're ominous. And I like it," King commented to Piniet.
"Get ready to be famous, Mr. King." He held out his hand and they shook to seal the deal.
Little goblins got to work on maintaining a furnace as a blacksmith wielded Ruler's Reach: Enter the Bad Boy. Copies of it were given to the Book Nook, where Mattholomule threw it onto a living carpet. "Ow! Geez..." He walked into the store to deliver the books.
"It's the perfect blend of heart and heartlessness," The reviewnicorn stated to people at his stand. "Like two authors mashed into one."
Soon enough, King had become the most popular author in the Boiling isles, with people grabbing copies so fast it felt like whiplash. One person even took the cardboard cutout of King home with them...
King was walking down the street, wearing a jacket, red sunglasses, and a scarf. He looked up at stores selling his book. "Spend money on a thing I wrote!" A sign advertised. "Spend money on my thing I wrote." He then looked at the crowd nearby, who gasped once they saw him. They ran over excitedly, throwing him up into the air.
"Whoo-hoo!"
"Yeah!"
"Mr. King!" Tiny Nose appeared in front of him. "Mr. King, I love your writing. Pwease wead my stowy," She held it out to him and he just laughed.
"Oh, my," He took a pen from someone. "Always good to meet minions. I mean fans," He signed it and threw it onto her face.
"You're my inspiration..."
Eda followed the map she was given, looking up to see a statue covered in vines. She walked up and removed them to reveal a minotaur statue...which in hindsight, looked a little tacky to her. "Okay, from the Minitaur, I head due north," She murmured to herself. "And with luck, I'll get to the Bloom of Eternal Youth before Lilith." She laughed with a snort. "Ah, who's frail now, emperor dorks?" She hid the map in her hair and then heard a branch snapping. She gasped in alarm. "Someone's following me," She made a sword out of magic, glancing around. She hid behind a tree, watching as the person came into view. She created a fire ball and attacked.
"Spicy toss!"
The person was revealed to be Lilith, wearing her cloak and her hair a mess. She screamed in alarm, Eda sliding to a stop. "Lilith?"
"Edalyn?"
Eda dropped her weapons and Lilith crossed her arms in disdain. "And of course you would be here just to be a nuisance. Why don't you go home and rest? Wouldn't want you breaking a hip."
"Sorry, sister," Eda placed her hands on her hips. "I'm stronger than you think. I'm here to save the Bloom of Eternal Youth from the likes of you." There was a small pause before she ran right past Lilith. "And I'm gonna get there before you~!"
Lilith gasped sharply, taking off after her. "No you won't!"
Luz was in the middle of writing more on Lucate and Huntley's relationship (which Lucila was still not a fan of), when she stopped on the word suddenly.
"Hey, Luz. Lucila!" King greeted them. They gave looks of disdain at the open door to Luz's room. "Guess who won the writing competition and became a blockbuster writer superstar?" Lucila gave a deadpan look, taking out a scroll. She opened it up and showed a picture of him being worshipped. Of course they knew about his success; his books and name were everywhere in town. "You're right. It's me. Me!" He slid to a stop near the girls, who ignored him. "Do you wanna touch my scarf?" He held it out to them. "A fan crocheted it out of their own hair. It smells so bad!"
The two still ignored him, Lucila putting away her scroll. She then took a seat nearby, going back to her songbook.
"My publisher is throwing a huge party for my book, Ruler's Reach," He held out two red envelopes, leaving them on the table. "And, I, uh...I'd like for you guys to be there."
Lucila glanced away awkwardly. In favor of not upsetting Luz, she'd rather not go. It'd just make her feel uncomfortable since King pretty much leeched off of Luz's ideas and used them in the book—which she had read at Luz's insistence...
Luz slid the envelopes onto the ground, King turning to Lucila. She glanced up at him and ignored him like before. "All right, fine," He put his glasses back on. "Be that way, I guess," He then left, the two staring after him. Luz let out a sigh, Lucila standing up and walking over to her.
"Girls, you don't need him," The typewriter spook up.
"But I don't wanna be mad at him, either," Luz confessed to them.
"Are you sure, Luz? Because he did become famous, while tampering with your story," Lucila reminded her.
"Yeah..." She looked down at the invitations and picked them up. "But he's still our friend, you know? And we gotta at least show some support."
The girl smiled, a little proud of her sister for her decision. "I'll go with you, but only if you stop writing about Lucate and Huntley."
"What?! Noooo...but they're so complex..." Luz whined at her, earning a laugh from the oldest Noceda.
"No, I'm just kidding, I wouldn't do that to you," She waved a hand. "But you do have to promise that you'll write about them in private where I don't have to hear about it." It wasn't that she hated the ship, it was just that Lucate was based off her, and she wasn't entirely sure about her character falling in love with a villain being the best subplot...
"Deal!"
At the library, a long line was formed just to meet King. He was standing next to Piniet, signing books at the counter. "Your fans are dying to know when Ruler's Reach 2 comes out!" A fan called out from the line.
"That's between me and my publisher. Right, Piniet?" King nudged Piniet a bit.
"Yes. Oh, pardon me. I need a few moments of King's time," He walked off, with King glancing back at the line. He waved at them, and they squealed in response.
"Where's John de Plume at?" King asked curiously as they walked into the hall. "I wanted to compare sunglasses!"
"Oh, he's taking a break to finish his latest masterpiece," Piniet shrugged off the question. "Fame can really box you in, you know? Speaking of, how's your second book coming along?"
"Coming along...or finished?!" King held out the draft for the sequel. "Bam! Ha ha! Ruler's Reach 2. Now with more swears!"
"Ah, splendid," Piniet took it and then sped-read through it. "Oh, you cad," He smiled down at King. "Not only are you a great writer but a practical joker as well."
"That's true. Wait, what?" King looked up in confusion.
"This is truly awful. Looking forward to the real draft," He handed it back and then walked off with a smile.
"Truly awful?" King started panicking. "But I'm a best-selling writer. How?" He looked up and saw the two sisters walking in, both of them feeling a bit uncomfortable being here. "Luz and Lucila! I can't write or have any structure without them," He ran up to the duo. "Luz, Lucila, girls, I'm so glad you could make it."
"Hey, King," Luz greeted him first. "I didn't want to be angry at your success. You're our friend. So, congratulations."
"Still don't like the way you went about it, but that doesn't mean I won't be supportive," Lucila crossed her arms.
"Great to hear. Cause I really need your help with my next book."
The two glanced at each other in confusion. "Huh?"
"Apparently, I can't write my daring works of genius without rebelling against your gushy fantasy slop or Lucila's tight-A format."
"Excuse me?" Luz's cheeks turned red.
"King say what now?" Lucila asked furiously, clenching her fists.
"We make a great team. So, here's a pen. Writey, writey. Clock's a-ticking," He held out some pens, waving the draft to them. Luz took it and then dropped it onto the ground. This for some reason got the attention of everyone else as they gasped.
"I'm not writing for you after you made fun of all my ideas."
"Que te pasa?! You're so wrapped up in fame that you're not even King anymore," Lucila gestured to him angrily.
"Hey! What the heck?" He argued to them.
"Congratulations on all your hard-earned success," With that, Luz left.
"Yeah. You really earned it...or did you?" Lucila followed after her and he stared after them.
"What am I gonna do? I can't write without them." Unbeknownst to him, Piniet had heard the entire thing...
Eda was in the lead, with Lilith chasing after her, and they didn't notice someone following them. "Ha! Doesn't this remind you of how we used to race to the kitchen, Lily?" Eda glanced over her shoulder and saw that her older sister wasn't following her anymore. "Lily?" She heard muffling, looking up. She gasped as she saw Lilith being held by a crab-spider, trapped in webs. "Lily!" Eda spun a circle to create a fire spell, blasting it away. The crab-spider flew away screaming while Lilith landed safely in a bush.
Eda walked over and picked her up. "Alley-oop!" The webs slid off her and she sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Edalyn. I wasn't certain that you'd save me."
"Stow it!" Eda argued back. "Oh, we might fight, but you're still my sister." Lilith smiled at her. "Besides, if anyone's putting you down, it's gonna be me," She nudged her and then slapped her hard on the back. Lilith just chuckled and then gasped once she saw something. "Is that-"
Eda pushed past her a bit, seeing a pink glowing flower up ahead. "The Bloom of Eternal Youth! ...Alright, back off," Eda pushed her sister onto the ground. "That baby's mine!"
Lilith grunted at her. "Why are you always like this?"
"because, Lilith, you think I'm just some tired, old biddy," Eda revealed to her. "Ah, but I'm more than that," She cut off the flower, holding it in her hand. "And with the Bloom of Eternal Youth's power, I'll show you!" The flower suddenly disappeared from her hand and she looked back to the stem in alarm. "What the..."
A shadow loomed over her and then laughter was heard. She looked up to see the same cat demon who gave them the maps. Lilith joined her side, glaring up at him.
Lucila and Luz walked around the library, looking up at a banner of him. Luz sighed at it. "They got his good angle."
"Unfortunately..." Even Lucila couldn't be mad at that picture. "The nerve of him," She growled a bit.
Footsteps were heard, and then two big lizard men stood in front of them. "Uh, can we help you?"
"Hey, whatever this is, we don't know you, and Eda's not here," Lucila stood in front of Luz protectively. They just stepped away, however, revealing Piniet.
"Perhaps you can help. I hear you're an aspiring writer, and that your sister there knows about a good foundation."
Luz chuckled nervously, Lucila raising a brow at him.
Everyone was now at the covention center, waiting for the sequel to be announced. "We love you, King."
"King! King! King!"
"I can't wait for the sequel," A boy confessed, hugging his book. He turned to one of Willow's classmates.
"If it's disappointing in any way, I will spend every day of my life trashing it!" She declared dramatically.
King moved away the curtain backstage, panicking even more. "Oh, boy. Oh, man. Aw, jeez," He paced around anxiously. "Hemming, hawing," He murmured to himself, looking up at the lizard. "Piniet, I gotta come clean. We can't announce book two. I can't write without...without..."
"With your writing partners?" Piniet finished for him, and he looked up in confusion, wondering how he knew that. Piniet smirked down at him and then opened up the dressing room. Lucila and Luz turned around to see them, as they were both trapped in a big purple cube.
"King!" They exclaimed at him.
"Luz! Lucila!" He ran up to the two.
"He tricked us into going into this shrinking cube thing," Lucila glared, pointing at the lizard. "Is he your publisher? He's crazy!"
Piniet clenched a fist and the box shrunk a bit, causing them to fall onto the ground. Luz sat up, giving King a pleading look. "You gotta get us out!"
"What are you doing with them?!" King whipped around to Piniet. "Let them go!"
"You wrote Ruler's Reach together," Piniet walked up to him, placing a hand on the box. "So if you don't want them crushed, you'll write together again." They just stared up at him. "Oh, don't give me that look. Some of the best books were written in literal crunch time." He squeezed his fist, and the box shrunk again, the girls screaming.
"That's a toxic mentality that contributes to burnout and unrealistic expectations!" Luz argued to him.
"I'm right there with her!" Lucila jerked a thumb to her sister.
"King, do something," She pleaded with him.
King grunted in anger at the treatment they were getting. "Set them free now!"
"Not until I get my best-seller. You'll recall you are under contract," He pulled out the paper King signed with fruit punch.
"Aw no! Don't you know that you never sign contracts without reading the fine print?!" Lucila called out. A hole opened from the cube, and King was thrown in. He hit the wall and they glanced back in concern as he slid down. Papers and a pen were thrown into the cube as well.
"Make your deadline or you'll never be able to hold a pen again," Piniet threatened him. "Just like..." He held up a cube...to reveal that it was John de Plume in cube form!
"Help me!" He cried out.
"No!" King held his head in a panic. Piniet opened up a briefcase where over a dozen of authors were cube-shaped just like de Plume. Lucila gave a look of horror as they cried for help.
"Help us!"
"Get us out of here!" The briefcase was then closed.
"You're despicable!" Lucila growled out.
"It's called rising to success! I'll leave you to it," Piniet then went to the door, looking back towards them. "Looking forward to your next volume..."
He then left and the box shrunk again, all of them gasping. "We're not getting out of here until we write a book," King held up the supplies. "And that'll take forever!" He threw them around, starting to freak out. "We're cube meat!"
"Well, I have my story," Luz offered, holding her draft.
"But it's all hugging and crying. I can't put my name on that!" King denied to her.
"King..." Luz stood up as much as she could. "That is why we are in here! Because YOU can't compromise!" She turned around and her back faced him. He took the same position, Lucila squeezed in between the both of them. "All I wanted was to write a dumb story with my friend."
"...Luz, you're living your dream. You're becoming a witch. And Lucila gets to do whatever she wants. But this celebrity is as close as I'll ever get to my dream," He confessed to them. "It all went to my head, and I hurt you guys. I'm sorry."
The two sisters glanced at each other.
"Hey," Luz spoke up, turning around and placing her arms around them both. "Being with you is one of my favorite parts of this dream."
"Yeah. And besides, all that matters is that we're having fun, right?" Lucila added in with a small smile. Then the moment was ruined by the box as it shrunk, hitting both girls on the head.
"I have a plan. But we need to work together this time," Luz told him and he glanced at the draft.
"Just tell me what to do."
The two Clawthornes glared up at the cat vendor from earlier. "I know you must be confused," He spoke up to them. "The Bloom of Eternal Youth, dead?" He opened up his mouth, showing fangs as he loomed over the stone. "What if I told you the Bloom never existed at all?" The two glanced at each other, a bit annoyed now. "And now that I have led you to my nest, I'll suck all the life out of you to satisfy my unending hunger!"
"He scammed us. Can you believe he scammed us?" Lilith asked Eda, seeming to ignore the threat.
"I thought there was a 50/50 chance going in," She confessed to her sister. "Hard not to admire the tenacity, though." He blinked at their conversation, baffled.
"Good entrance," Lilith admitted with a playful smile. "But that outfit? Ha!"
"Oh, look at his little shoes," Eda mocked and they started laughing as he covered himself up with the cape.
"Stop it," Lilith told her playfully.
"Well, maybe you've never been led into a lethal trap before, but the response should be 'Ah! No. Spare us'," He argued back, not at all feeling amused.
The two smirked at each other. "Ah, sure. Spare us," Eda slowly got closer and he gave a slightly worried look.
"Woe to us, whose fates are sealed," Lilith summoned her staff.
"T-That's right! Witches, cower," He whimpered in fear as they loomed over him. "Cower?" He then gulped, unaware that he was in for a brutal beating.
Piniet was playing with the cube-shaped authors when they fell over. "Oh, dang."
"Hey, Piniet!" King called out from the dressing room. "We're done."
He opened the door, seeing that the three had little to no room left in the box. "Faster than I expected."
"That's the miracle of teamwork!"
Piniet opened up a hole in the box and Luz held up her draft. He read through about half of it when he stopped, and the box shrunk once more. "This is much more...gushy than your last book," He pointed out to them. "Huntley and Lucate themselves are just...dull."
"Mm," Lucila grunted in annoyance while Luz looked like she wanted to punch him.
"Skip to the finale, because it is quite a payoff," King told him, and he did as told. They waited in anticipation and then he finally stopped as he got to the last page. He held it out for them to see the light spell drawn on it.
"What is this all about?" He demanded them.
"Light spell!" Luz held out her hand and tapped the symbol. A flash of light occurred, temporarily blinding him.
"Ah! I just realized I should've said enlightening," King scolded himself. "Skip to the finale, you'll find it enlightening."
"King! The contract!" They shouted at him and they saw the scroll hanging from Piniet's pocket.
"Pretentious scarf, go!" He used it like a lasso, grabbing Piniet and throwing him over to the box. Luz grabbed the contract and then ripped it apart with her teeth. Because the contract was now null and void, the box set them free.
Piniet recollected himself, glaring at the trio. "I made you a star!" He threw the scarf off. "And this is how you repay me?"
"No. This is," King held up the briefcase, setting free all of the other authors.
"How's this for edits?"
"I'm self-publishing."
They started attacking him, the three running off. They bumped into the two giant lizard men, and Piniet threw off all the cube people. He glared at them.
"You're making this harder than it needs to be!" He stomped over to them. "And believe me, I am being very patient."
Lucila stood in front of the two protectively. "Trust me, buddy, you DON'T wanna step any further than this."
Piniet stepped on one of the cube people. Lucila slowly reached into her pocket, which had a light glyph in it, narrowing her eyes.
"But let's..." He took out an ink pen and it then turned into a giant axe. "Cut to the finish."
The girl bit her lip nervously, but stood her ground in front of her sister and King. Suddenly the door burst open, knocking down the giant lizard.
"Huh?" They turned around to see Tiny Nose running in.
"King, I am your biggest fan!" She ran over one of the guards, standing in front of King. "And I fought my way back here for you...to read my story?" She held out her draft to him.
"I'm sorry," He waved a hand. "My lawyer advised me not to look at unsolicited work."
"You have a lawyer?" Lucila whispered in surprise.
"But..." She gave a disappointed look. "But-"
"Ugh!" Piniet took her story from her. "If I read this will you go, so I can annihilate them in peace?" He pointed his axe towards the trio.
"Of course!"
He put down the axe, adjusted his glasses, and then read it. They all waited, with the three glancing at each other. Luz then glanced up at one of the giant lizards, who just shrugged at her. Piniet closed it, and when he did...he actually got teary-eyed. He sniffled a bit.
"It's beautiful...You...you must let me publish this! I can make you a star!" He declared to Tiny Nose.
"Really?" She asked happily.
"Wait a minute. What about King?" King spoke up in dismay.
"Ugh!" Piniet removed the jacket from him. "You're old news. She, on the other hand, is the future," He placed the jacket and sunglasses on her while the cube-people escaped even though they didn't have a way to go back to normal.
"Whoo-hoo!"
"Freedom!"
"Hey!" King protested at Piniet's decision.
"King," Luz held him back. "We're good, then?"
"Yes. Quite," Piniet waved them off, Luz picking King up and leaving. She squeezed between the two lizards and Lucila stopped them.
"Wait right here. I'm not letting him off that easy after all he did."
She stepped forward and then punching noises were heard. The two lizards winced while Luz covered King's eyes, cringing. After a few seconds, Lucila walked past the guards, who scrambled away in fear. "Okay, we can go now," She smiled sweetly at the two, guiding them away. Piniet was now tied up into a neat little bow, with some bruises on him.
The cat salesman landed in front of the Clawthornes after they finished beating him up. "Well, we wrecked this chump," Eda smirked down at him, crossing her arms. "But I guess the Bloom of Eternal Youth isn't real." She then sighed, a bit dismayed, but it didn't seem to bother her.
"Well, if it makes any difference, I don't consider you to be a tired, old biddy," Lilith confessed to her sister.
"Really?" Eda wondered in surprise, a bit smug.
"If you were, you'd be much easier to catch."
"Oh great," The Owl Lady started off in expectation. "You're gonna cart me away to the coven now, are you?"
"Not now. Because I want to give oyu a chance to join on your own," Lilith gave her a pleading look and Eda flinched in surprise. "Join me in the Emperor's Coven, Edalyn," She held out her hand. "He could even...heal your curse."
Eda looked down at her hand, reaching out and pushing it away gently. "No. I'll heal it on my own terms. I don't wanna owe him anything. Catch you later, sis."
"Not if I catch you first."
The two gave each other sad smiles at their situation. Eda then grabbed her staff and took off. "I'll see you around." Lilith glanced away, sighing to herself.
"...You're welcome for the chance to bond," The weakened salesman stated from the ground. She spun a spell circle and hurt him with a fire spell, not only for ruining the moment, but for unneeded speaking.
Eda returned to the Owl House, jumping and landing safely. She entered her home to find Luz, King, and Lucila all asleep. "Hey, kids," She greeted as she stepped inside. "Woof," She dropped her staff and cracked her back. "That was a rough couple days."
"Yeah, I'll say," Luz agreed, sitting up so Eda could sit between them.
"Mm-hm..." Lucila then gasped sharply as she remembered that it was nighttime. "Gonna go to my room, bye!" She stood up and ran to the stairs immediately. They all stared at her in confusion.
"Your sister's been acting weird these past couple of weeks," Eda pointed out.
"That's because she's learning magic too! I'm surprised she changed her mind, but now we can talk about magic!" Luz smiled at her.
"Huh," Eda looked a bit suspicious over how Lucila learned the spell when she hadn't been overlooking Luz's lessons. But then she shrugged it off. "Well, nothing a bit of apple blood and a good book can't mend."
"Books?" Luz scratched her cheek.
"Nope. I don't know nothing about that," King denied, shaking his head.
"We hate books. Wow, look at the time," Luz pointed to her empty arm.
"What's a book? Good night!"
The two ran off in opposite directions, Eda glancing around in confusion. She saw a book on the table, picking it up. "Huh?" She was holding Ruler's Reach in her hand, and she turned to see the back cover of King. She gasped at this. "What the...?"
"Girl, you do not wanna know," The typewriter spoke up.
The Golden Guard watched his student make a bunch of light orbs around them, looking impressed. He wanted her to practice a little bit before they moved onto the next spell. However...he couldn't help but think of Ruler's Reach, and particularly two people from it. He had gotten a little curious and snatched a copy. However, he felt that it was too coincidental, and he wondered if she knew about it.
"So...Huntley and Lucate, huh?"
She flinched, feeling like a deer in headlights. She had no idea how he learned those names, or even if he knew the real meaning behind the whole subplot from the book. If he did, they'd be getting into some uncomfortable things very quickly.
Just pretend you don't know, just pretend you don't know.
"Um...w-what?" She laughed nervously.
"Oh, nothing. Just something I read from a book that's now obscure," He shrugged and she raised a brow. Was that meant to be a joke? Or was it just wishful thinking? She then cleared her throat; if she asked, she'd be implying that she read it.
"Speaking of books, I actually found you one from the book fair that was in town!" She took out her bag and reached into it, pulling out 'Bones to Earth: A Study of Wild Magic.' He stared at her and she rubbed her neck awkwardly. "J-Just a thank you for teaching me the light spell. I don't know if you'll want it, but-"
"No! I mean," He shook it off, as he felt...his heart beating a little. "It's okay. This book...I've been wanting to read it for a while, so...you know, thanks. I mean it."
They stared at each other as she felt a bit flushed and they both looked away briefly.
"A-Anyway, what spell are we learning next?" She stammered to him.
"The plant spell seems easier to draw, but make no mistake, I'm only doing that one next because you're...passable in progress," He told her and she crossed her arms.
"You just don't wanna admit that I've mastered the light spell, even though you played a part too," She pointed out and he paused. "Why don't you want to acknowledge your success? I figure you'd be at least bragging by now."
"...Where I come from, success is the only way to go. If not, it costs you. Trust me, you don't need to know," He glanced away and she blinked. She looked towards the paper silently.
"I see..." She really didn't want to pry since it wasn't her business, but...the way he answered it just didn't feel right to her. It felt off with the possible interpretation that she was getting...in that there was punishment amped up to 11 when it came to him and the Emperor. But then again, she really couldn't tell since there wasn't anything to prove or disprove her theory. "Golden Guard?"
"What?" He asked nonchalantly while looking for the plant glyph symbol.
"I just wanted to say that...all things considered, I think you're great no matter what you do," He slowly looked up at her as she rubbed her arm. "I was hopeless at drawing until you came along, and you've got the patience to deal with me. So...you know, you shouldn't bring yourself down around me. I won't judge."
He clenched the book slightly at her words. Until her, no one had ever said anything like that to him before...
"A-Anyway, pay attention," He instructed her while stammering. She stood up and took a seat next to him, and she couldn't tell, but...behind his mask, he actually looked a bit happy. He pointed to a few pictures, the girl smiling as she found his reading nice to listen to... "For the plant spell, you've got to really be in tune with the environment. Witches back in the day would use their surroundings to learn spells, so you're gonna practice being in tune with what's around you."
"Let me guess, along with the pile of homework?"
"Exactly!" He pointed at her and she shook her head in amusement at his answer.