A/N: Time for more plot, and more plot, and wouldn't you know, more plot!
I hope you enjoy this chapter, and have a great day!
Vee watched as Lucia practiced some stiff katas on the grass in the backyard, a focused expression on her face, brow scrunched in concentration. "You look really constipated, sis."
Lucia huffed, ignoring the familiar term, then dropped her stance, pausing the martial arts instructional video she'd been watching before turning to respond to her sister's stand-in, "Well, excuse me if I'm out of practice."
Vee cocked a brow, "You used to do Kung Fu?"
"Karate," Lucia corrected, "And yeah, for a few months when I was a kid. I wasn't ever exactly black belt level, or anything."
The Changeling gave a hum, "Tell me more?"
Lucia plopped onto the grass, legs crossed, "Yeah, sure. Sorry, I forget you weren't around for all of that."
She pondered where to begin, "Well, I was about eleven. I had Mom sign me up at some small, local dojo that I'm pretty sure closed down by now. I was pretty good at it, Sensei said I had a natural talent."
Vee nodded along, "Sounds about right, you've pretty athletic. What changed?"
"Luz started getting picked on. And I started defending her." Lucia shrugged, "The dojo didn't like that. Said Karate was the art of self-defense, and I shouldn't be picking fights."
"So they kicked you out?"
"Nah," Lucia shook her head. "I quit. Told them they all sucked, and I was gonna keep defending my little sister. If they were going to get onto me about using what they taught me to keep someone I loved safe, then they could go to Hell and stay there."
The older Noceda crossed her arms, "I wasn't going to stick around a bunch of old, self-righteous pricks who wouldn't lift a finger to help someone else out. Yeah, I'm trying to pick my fights better, hitting kids when I'm at this age is kinda dumb, but I was on even footing with them when I was a kid, too. And now I gotta keep myself sharp and nimble when it comes to all these monsters and stuff. Something tells me they wouldn't approve of me fighting demons either."
Vee tapped at her chin, "Well, I can't argue with that."
She held out a hand and helped Lucia back up to her feet, "Come on, let's get back to business."
Lucia looked a little confused, "you sound like you'll be joining me?"
Vee beamed, "of course! You'll have to show me some stances though, 'Sensei,' I'm not very good at this."
The other girl let out an amused huff, "Alright, but don't blame me if you get hurt or pull something. I haven't exactly done any of this in a long time."
The two girls practiced their stances, and by the end of their session they almost stopped getting it all wrong.
Hunter lay on his bed, anxiously turning his hands against each other and staring at the ceiling. As much as he was pained to admit it, with Rascal gone, his room now seemed incredibly lonely.
Hunter had repaired what he could with his techno staff, mending all that had been broken when he'd torn the room apart. Many of the books had been a lost cause, but the trinkets were fixable. Since this invasion of his privacy, he'd installed a multitude of locks on his door, and a silent alarm that would alert him should anyone other than himself enter.
His collection of artifacts had been restored to their former glory, his cork board back on the wall with all the pins and papers where he liked them. His stuffed dolls had to be hand mended, much to his frustration, but a lot of work and a lot of needle wounds to his fingers later he had done a serviceable job. They only looked half mangled now.
He felt an itchiness, a tingling in the back of his mind telling him he should be doing something. Anything other than lying about and wasting his day away. He wasn't due for patrol until sundown, no meetings to attend for the foreseeable future, and he absolutely wasn't going to risk studying glyphs in his room, even with all the added security.
Despite it not being a day for glyph lessons, Hunter oddly felt the urge to go see Luz. There was always something entertaining about being around the human and his fellow students. Amity's poor attempts at flirting with her girlfriend, insisting she needed some kind of badge to show she was the best student AND girlfriend in the class.
Eda rolling her eyes at everyone so often it was surprising they didn't roll out of her skull. She had a pretty amazing funny bone, too, actually making Hunter laugh a good chunk of the time with her antics. It had been surprising, seeing the former most wanted criminal on the isles be so soft and non threatening. She was more like a snide aunt than anything else.
King had been oddly endearing from the moment Hunter had met him as the Golden Guard, and that continued even as he got to know the short demon outside of that guise. He was like a mix between a cat and a dog, vying for attention, sleeping in a warm sunbeam, and eating absolutely everything he could fit into his mouth.
And Hooty… Well, Hunter could do without Hooty, honestly. The House Demon had no sense of personal space. He'd take Hooty over Kikimora, though, which was the only nice thing he had to say about the bird tube.
Hunter had never actually hung out with any of them outside of their lessons though, minus Luz's attempted rescue. He wondered if he'd even be allowed, or if that counted as an intrusion of some kind. Would Luz be upset to see him, and think he was taking advantage of their deal? He wasn't sure.
He didn't have much time to think about that, before a knock on the door alerted him of company. Filing visitation queries into the back of his mind for the next lesson he managed to attend, he rose from his bed, silently thanking whoever had come along to save him from his boredom.
Unlocking the vast amount of locks he'd installed, taking entirely too much time if the impatient knocking that continued was any suggestion, he threw open his door and was met with the blank mask of a common Emperor's coven patrol officer. It might have been Steve, but honestly, he could only tell about half the time with the beak masks on.
"Uh, Sir!" The Guard saluted, and now Hunter was sure it wasn't Steve. Not with that voice. "Emperor Belos is requesting your presence, sir."
Hunter nodded, dismissing the guard. He quickly threw his cloak over his shoulders, grabbing his mask with one hand and his staff in the other. He wasn't sure what his uncle wanted of him, but he'd rather be prepared.
He made to go down the path to the main hall and the throne room, when the same guard he'd just dismissed returned, "Oh, my apologies, sir, I forgot to mention, Lord Belos is waiting for you in his personal quarters, sir."
Hunter had to make a conscious effort to tighten his grip on his staff, else it clatter to the floor. He'd only ever been invited into his Uncle's quarters a handful of times, and it was never for anything good. His pulse starts to quicken, his heart hammering so hard in his chest, he could feel it pounding against his bile sac.
Something was wrong. Has he been found out? Had Kikimora managed to find some dirt to use against him?
Hunter didn't have the luxury of time to ponder that, as he changed direction and stormed through the castle, passing by countless other guards all in their blank, uniform beak masks. Not being able to see their faces filled him with anxiety. Did they also know? We're they smirking at him, behind those silver facades? Laughing at him behind his back?
He made it to his Emperor's chambers, the large wood and metal double doors protected by two high ranking guards on either side. They made to open the door for him, but Hunter raised a hand to stop them, needing a moment to compose himself. The two guards exchanged silent glances, but allowed Hunter the time he needed before they opened the door after he gave a nod of affirmation.
His Uncle's chamber's were dark, lit only by the light of the fireplace, and a few stray candles. The curtains were almost entirely drawn back, blocking out all but a sliver of natural light, causing Hunter to squint through the haze of shadows.
His Uncle wasn't hard to find, his intimidating figure stood statue still in front of the window, his eyes peeking through the cracks between curtains to gaze upon his kingdom. His empire. Hunter couldn't see Belos' expression, but from the way he held himself he guessed it to be grim.
Hunter bowed low, getting down on his knees, setting his mask and staff beside him on the floor as he lowered his head. From here, he could hear his Uncle muttering to himself, talking to someone who wasn't there. Communing with the Titan, if he was to be believed, though this had only been a recent development for his Uncle to do so aloud, usually preferring privacy when they would speak.
"You summoned me, Uncle?"
He winced at his own wording. If His Emperor was displeased with him, he should have gone for the title. He should have shown respect for his Uncle's rank and status over their familiar relationship.
However, no scoldings or harsh words came. Instead, the sound of heavy breathing, harsh gasps of air moving through old lungs, greeted his ears. The rasping was broken by a mild cough, before Belos turned to greet his Golden Guard. "Ah, Hunter. Very good of you to join me today."
Hunter raised his eyes to meet his Uncle's, and was surprised by the soft smile on his aged face, but didn't allow his guard to drop. His Uncle had hidden his displeasure before, waiting for Hunter himself to slip up, and Hunter wasn't making the same mistake twice.
Seeing the mask and staff beside his nephew, Belos uttered out kindly, "You won't be needing those for now, dear Hunter."
Belos held out a hand, gesturing for Hunter's staff. The young man had no choice but to pass it over to his emperor, suppressing a flinch as he did so. "How may I serve you today, my Emperor?" Hunter asked, keeping his head low, almost expecting a blow from his own weapon to greet him in response.
Instead, Belos walked away, towards the fireplace. "Can't a man simply spend some time with his nephew?" He asked, his voice almost failing him as he began to choke on his words.
Belos then took the end of the staff, the Wing carved into it, and used it as a crook, taking an iron kettle he had placed over the fire and lifting it up and away from the heat. Hunter then watched as he paced to the other side of his room, to a small table, where he placed the kettle on a pot holder, before turning back to Hunter, becoming him to join him.
Hunter rose to his feet slowly, and stepped towards his Uncle, confusion sounding in each of his footfalls. On the table, lit by candlelight, was a wide spread of breads, cheeses, meats and fruit, as well as two plates, cutlery, and tea cups.
Internally, Hunter breathed a sigh of relief. His Uncle clearly wanted Hunter to join him for lunch. Belos smiled softly, "Please, sit. I feel we've put a family gathering off for too long."
Hunter did so, calmly taking a seat at the table, feeling a small smile creep up onto his face. His Uncle suspected nothing. He'd been worried about being found out for no reason.
His smile went down a notch as his Uncle joined him, less sitting into his own seat and more falling into it. The effort of merely standing left him exhausted. In the candlelight, Hunter could see the gash upon Belos' face, the one caused by his curse that made a man into mud, had grown since he'd last seen it, and had fracture lines that ebbed out, branching across his face.
It was another reminder of Hunter's failure to secure more palismans, and his own decision to keep one for himself. Guilt over his incompetence and selfishness filled him, and fearful it would show on his face he quickly took a small loaf of bread and shoved it into his face.
"Ifts gwud." He said through a mouthful of food and a forced smile. Belos simply chuckled, piling a few meager pieces from the selection for himself.
Together they ate, Hunter cleaning off his own plate, but Belos barely touching his own, leaving more than enough left on the table to feed another small family. Seeing how little his uncle was able to put down only served as another reminder of how poor his health was, and how sharply it was declining.
Belos patted at his lips with a napkin, before setting it aside. "You seem awfully quiet today, Hunter." He commented, giving the younger man a pointed look, "is there anything on your mind?"
Hunter quickly shook his head, but his Uncle wasn't having any of that today, "It's my appearance, isn't it?"
Hunter avoided his gaze, "I'll find a cure for you, Uncle. I just need a little more time-"
"A cure won't fix me, Hunter." Belos cut in, his voice calm. "We both know I'm dying."
Hunter slammed his hand down on the table, "Not if I have anything to say about it, you won't." He insisted.
Belos merely looked amused at his outcry, "Everyone dies eventually, my dear boy. You, me, even the Titan, though it still speaks beyond it's grave."
Belos reached out to the tea kettle, and poured it's contents into his teacup, then into Hunter's cup as well. "Indulge me for a while longer?" He asked, but his voice left no room for the contrary.
Hunter moodily took a sip from his teacup, not bothering to add any milk or sugar. The warm, bitter tea flowed down his throat, washing out the taste of their meal.
"I'm very grateful to have someone like you in my life, Hunter." Belos spoke, taking a sip of his own tea. He had to reach for his napkin again as a little dribbled down the side of his lip, patting it away before it could drip down his chin.
Hunter nursed his drink, the words his Uncle gave to him filling him with farm more warmth and comfort than any bitter tea could. Then Belos continued. "You, and Kikimora. It's because of your dedication to me and my cause- The Titan's cause, that I'll live to see the Day of Unity. The fruits of our labor, everything we've worked towards, will be done soon."
Hunter hummed, setting his teacup on it's saucer. "And what will you do with the time you have left?"
"Find a successor, of course." Belos answered simply. "The Empire will need someone to helm it, even after I have finished the Titan's great plan."
Hunter nodded, looking down into his cup and seeing his reflection in the dark tea looking back up at him. "Do you have someone in mind?"
Belos smiled, "A few. I will need someone capable of leading. Someone I can count on. Who shows strength even through adversity, and is able to rise to any challenge. Perhaps one of my Coven Leaders, though even they lack the right… initiative I'm looking for." He seemed to give Hunter a knowing look.
Hunter nodded slowly, brow furrowed as he tried to think of who his Uncle could have in mind for the position. He brought the teacup back to his lips, only to nearly choke when it hit him.
His Uncle was and wasn't talking about him. If Belos had already decided, he would have been blunt, so it wasn't him. Instead, it was whoever he made the Head of the Emperor's Coven. It was then that Kikimora's underhanded tactics and increasingly hairbrained schemes and rising paranoia started to make sense.
The race to the crown was a competition, one he hadn't realized he was a part of until just now.
If he managed to overtake Kikimora, and gain complete control of the Emperor's Coven, he'd be made the next Emperor. If he failed, Kikimora would be the Empress. Everything was on the line, and there were no limits on what they were expected to do to the other to gain that position of power.
Hunter gulped, realizing he'd been very lucky to not wake up to a literal knife in his back. The extra locks had been a very good idea.
Belos' eyes sparkled with humor as he realized that his nephew had finally figured it out, and he rose from his seat on weak legs, leaning against the table until he could find his strength. "Enough of this for now, Hunter. We still have plenty of work to do before the day of Unity, and we merge with the Human Realm…"
Hunter nodded, rising to his feet as well, and walked beside his Uncle as he escorted the older man back to where he'd been when Hunter arrived, right beside his window and gazing out out the Kingdom beneath them.
"You know, I've been to the Human Realm before," Belos started, "Have I ever told you that before?"
Hunter shook his head softly. Belos had. He had many times, but the worse his curse became, the more it seemed to take a toll on his mind. His short term memories just weren't sticking like they used to, and Hunter found it easier to just let his Uncle talk, and tell him what Hunter already knew.
Together they watched the empire from afar, Belos telling his story about the rain, the oceans, and the quiet of the human realm. Hunter only half listened, far too preoccupied with the heavy weight of the crown he now knew he had to earn on his shoulders and his mind.
Vee hummed cheerfully, drawing a picture in her room of her new family all together. Camila, Lucia, Amelia, and… Luz. Each of the women were labeled underneath, except for the last one, which Vee lingered on. It was her drawing. And even though she'd drawn Luz's form, she'd been going by Vee when alone with Lucia and Amelia for a while now, that it felt a little weird to label herself as Luz.
When had that sunk into her brain? To think that she'd be uncomfortable wearing someone else's skin and name?
Frowning, she set the picture aside, leaving the final figure unmarked. She'd figure it out later, it was getting late, after all. Stifling a yawn, She stood up and got into her pajamas, and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
Camila passed by as Vee did so, poking her head into the bathroom, "I'm going to bed now, mija. Is your sister around?"
Vee nodded, mouth full of toothpaste that foamed up and dripped down her chin. "Hmhm! She's in her room, mami." She made sure to call Camila that instead of mom after Lucia had pointed out a few of her slip ups. Luz called Camila mom too, but not all the time, so it made sense for Vee to mix it up as well.
Camila nodded, blowing her a goodnight kiss, then went to check on her eldest, down a door. Camila knocked gently, but received no answer. Worried, the Latina mother cracked her daughter's door open to make sure she hadn't snuck out, and sighed in relief. "She's just sleeping. Must have had a rough day at school."
Vee said nothing to the contrary, still within earshot of her mother figure. Instead she finished up her nightly routine, headed back to her room and shut the door gently behind her, just in time to hear her phone go off.
Vee went back over to her desk, picking the clamshell flip phone up, a cheap replacement for "losing" her old phone at "camp," and answered it, pressing it to her ear, "Yeah?"
"Vee," Lucia's voice came out the other end. "There is a monster out here like you said, and it's made of hands. Why are all of these things so gross, like all of the time?!"
Vee chortled, "One moment, let me get the book."
Earlier in the night, Vee had sensed Luz's presence for a split second, just long enough for her to conclude another small portal had opened connecting this world and the Boiling Isles. She told Lucia and Amelia about it's general location, and the two had raced off to make sure nothing had come through, but not before Amelia used her newfound illusion skills to cast an image of a sleeping Lucia in her bed, just in case Camila came snooping around.
Amelia wasn't at the level where she could reliably make an illusion to fill in for Lucia and have it act like her yet, so sleeping was all she could do. Vee counted her blessings that it had worked, or else she'd have had to be the one to try and explain to Camila where her daughter actually was, and she wasn't ready for that talk yet.
Grabbing the Beast Keeping 101 book from her stack of mostly untouched Azura novels, Vee flipped through it, looking for something that matched the description. She'd insisted that if she couldn't tag along, she'd at least be able to help this way.
"Anytime, Vee!" Lucia cried out through the phone, sounding obviously winded.
"Okay, about how big would you say it is?" Vee asked, finding a few entries about beasts that resembled hands.
"Small car-ish?" Lucia grunted, and a sound of a crash came through the speaker.
Vee flipped through a few more pages, then smiled, "Found it. It's a Lesser Hand Drake, from the sound of it. Encase it in ice to slow it down, they're cold blooded and don't do well in icy climates. Then just hit it with your bat until it's dead."
"A Hand Drake?" Lucia asked, groaning, "What the fuck is a Hand Drake?!"
"Well, it's a subspecies of Hand Dragons. They lack the wings to be a proper dragon, which are also made of hands." Vee elaborated, reading from the book, despite that likely being a rhetorical question.
"Why would anyone choose to stay on the Boiling Isles with these things around?" Lucia asked testily, the sound of a car alarm joining the noise in the background.
"Just be careful, Hand Drakes can be very dangerous. Don't let it make shadow puppets, those will try to consume your soul." Vee warned, getting a small grunt from Lucia as a reply before the line went dead, the older girl having hung up to pay attention to her fight.
Vee hummed as she set the phone aside again, and climbed into bed. She didn't worry too much about the other girl's safety, Amelia was really strong, and Lucia was too cool of a big sister to lose to a dumb old wingless dragon covered in fingers.
There was something in the air today that spelled trouble, Eda thought to herself as she made her way through the Bonesborough Markets. Something that made her hair stand on end, which was quite the task seeing how much of it she had.
Glancing around, she could see small groups of people milling about, talking quickly in hushed whispers. Every so often someone would glance over their shoulder suspiciously, clearly not wanting to be overheard.
The streets also seemed to be crawling with Coven guards today, many of them putting up new posters, patrolling the streets, or just harassing passerbys as they went about their day. Everyone seemed to be on edge.
The giant looming statue of Emperor dearest certainly wasn't helping with the foreboding mood, if you asked Eda.
"You know, something seems different today…" King muttered beside her, tapping at his chin with a claw. "Hmmm.. Is the fair in town, or something?"
His eyes widened, "Eda, if it is we have to go! I wanna ride the Scarris Wheel!"
Eda chuckled, reaching down to pat her literal bone headed compatriot on the head, "I'm pretty sure it's not in town today, King, but I promise if it is, we'll go."
"Wheee!" King cheered, an adorable skip added to his step that he was quick to suppress as soon as he realized he was doing it.
Eda was glad she decided to bring King along with her today, his antics always did cheer her up, which she needed when things seemed so gloomy lately. She could use the extra hands, anyway, full potion flasks weren't light, after all, and she needed enough elixir to last through whatever apocalypse the town was worrying over right now.
Arriving at the stand she most frequented and least cheated, she gave a friendly call for the owner, "Morton! Mama needs her golden juice, I hope you have my stock in stock!"
The dweeb must have been handling something under the counter, because it rattled with a thunk and an "ouch!", followed by Morton's head popping out from under, nursing a new bruise on his temple. The young potion maker winced as he rubbed at his wound, and looked a bit surprised to see the Clawthorne woman, "O-oh, Eda, I didn't think you'd be coming by today."
"Why's that, Chuckles?" She asked, leaning against the countertop and getting all up in Morton's personal space.
"Well, your sister stopped by here yesterday, and all. I figured you two wouldn't be needing anymore elixir for a while if she was buying." He explained, backing off a little to keep Eda out of his face.
"Lily? Oh, she moved out weeks ago, so we aren't buying for two anymore," Eda shrugged, "Suppose it slipped my mind, seeing as between the last huge order I made and the curse being split between the two of us, it just took a while to burn through it all. Sorry if that's putting you out of business, but I'm personally glad I don't have to guzzle this gunk as often as I used to."
Morton gave a nervous laugh, "Don't worry about it, Eda. I'm doing fine, and with how much you used to buy, you practically helped put my kids through college."
Eda raised a brow, "Morton, you don't have kids. Last I checked you didn't have a partner, either. Pretty sure you still got that V-card, too, but I don't judge. Face to face, that is." She elbowed him playfully, but Morton just looked embarrassed at the shot at his personal life.
Eda quickly paid for her order, reluctantly parting with her hard-earned(stealing was hard work!) snails for two small crates worth of elixir, and a lollipop for King since he'd been such a good boy. As she passed it to him, she caught sight of the people around town again, and decided she wanted the scoop. "Hey, Morty? You've been in the markets all day, right? What's up with everyone today?"
Morton looked around at the crowd of people, then leaned conspiratorially towards Eda, "Well, The Day of Unity is 'approaching,' And it has everyone on edge."
Eda nodded, expecting more information but ended up not getting it, "Wait, that's it? We've known that for months, did Belos finally, I don't know, settle on a date or something?"
Morton shook his head, "No, that's just it. He's still playing it really close to the chest. No date, just that it's happening soon. No word on what it even is supposed to be, either. Some people think it's the upcoming Anniversary celebration of the Emperor's fiftieth year of ruling, some think it's some kind of uplifting, and the Titan will take them to the next world."
He looked down anxiously, "Some just think it's a day where the Emperor will get rid of any of his undesirables for good. And with the Guards all out in force lately, it's making a lot of people scared, which just makes the guards more testy and quick to aggression."
Eda hummed, "Sounds like we might be getting a few riots soon, then. Thanks for the info, I'll keep King and my other kid off the streets for a bit." She slipped a handful more snails his way with a wink, and Morton smiled at the rare generosity from the Owl Lady.
"You keep yourself safe too, kiddo."
"Will do, Eda." He nodded, then deciding to follow Eda's footsteps closed down his shop for the day, and probably for the next few, to avoid getting caught in any of the violence that Eda was sniffing out.
The Owl Lady breathed out a long, irritated sigh. This was just perfect. Emperor Chucklefuck had really screwed things up this time, and it was making all the commoners nervous. When everyone was suspicious and looking over their shoulders, it made them twice as hard to pickpocket, which affected Eda's livelihood, and she wasn't going to stand for that.
Eda was familiar enough with the idea of a Death cult, they popped up from time to time on the Isles, and on Earth, and it got everyone nervous whenever they made a splash, sometimes literally. If these people were afraid for their lives, and wondering what possibly could be awaiting them on the Day of Unity, it wasn't a far cry to imagine the idea Belos was starting his own death cult with the intent to drag the whole Isles with him was in the forefront of everyone's minds.
If the common folk started fearing for their lives, it was going to mean a lot of fights were going to break out. Small rebellions, in-fighting among the Emperor's Coven guards who didn't want to raise their staves to friends and family that were in a panic over whatever was going on.
Sure, Eda could make a fortune off the looting afterwards, but she wasn't cold enough to pry the goods out of freshly dead hands. She'd have to wait at least until after the chaps were buried, and even then who was she going to sell the stuff to if her usual customers were all dead?
She didn't have to stand for this. "Come on, King, we're going to go find some answers."
"Sure thing, Eda!" He chirped behind her, still oblivious to the doom and gloom around him as he carried his share of the elixirs. "Uh, answers about what again?"
Eda didn't respond, instead setting her box of elixir's on top of King's already hefty load, then grabbing the nearest Coven guard by the front of their cloak, "You. Who's in charge here?"
The guard brushed her off irritably, ignoring the witch and stalking away. Eda flipped them off as they went, a human expression she was fond of because of how rude it was seen as, even if she wasn't entirely sure of it's meaning. She'd asked Luz, but the kid had clammed up, which just made Eda know it was a good one.
Being ignored by one guard didn't stop Eda, who stalked off, followed dutifully by King who swayed a bit under the weight of his load, until she could get her mitts on another guard. "Where's your boss, you piece of s- Steve?"
The guard trembled in her grip, spilling the posters he'd been carrying on the ground, "O-oh, Owl Lady! What do you need?"
Eda sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. She couldn't punch this one, Luz and Lilith liked this guy, for whatever reason. "I'm looking for whoever your commanding officer, or whatever you call them, is. I have a bone to pick. A big, meaty bone."
"I like meaty bones, fresh from my enemies," King added with as much menace as he could, causing Eda to snort.
Steve pointed behind her, and Eda turned to see a figure as annoying as he was familiar, the Golden Guard. "Ugh, him. Thanks a lot, now get out of here."
She released her grip on him, and he stumbled away, tripping over himself in his attempt to put as much distance between the Owl Lady on a warpath, and picking up his posters.
Eda marched up to the Golden Guard, who had his back to her, giving out orders, and was ignorant of her presence. She was going to fix that, "Hey, Dweebus, I need a word."
The masked figure turned to her, surprise to see her here evident in his body language. "Eda?"
She narrowed her eyes at his familiar tone and use of her name, and the Golden Guard hastily corrected himself. "I- uh, mean, Eda the Owl Lady, what do you want?"
"What's the Day of Unity about?" She cut to the chase, crossing her arms, burrowing her gaze through his eye holes in an attempt to make him sweat.
He copied her pose, "That's on a need to know basis, ma'am, and I'm afraid you don't need to know. Now, if you'll excuse me," He made to leave, but Eda reached out and tugged on his cape, yanking the young man back over to her.
"You can either tell me now, or I can beat it out of you later, scrawny." She warned. "Now, tell me what it is, and when it's happening."
The Golden Guard smacked her hand aside and off of him, "I don't need to tell a powerless witch anything. What are you going to do, scold me? Put me in the time out corner?"
King looked at him like he was a mad man, "Wait, you're not afraid she'll do that?"
"Of course not, I'm not her child, Kin- kid," The masked man stomped his foot, almost slipping up on his identity again.
Eda leaned in real close, "You're not gonna tell me, huh?"
The Golden Guard took a step back, "That's right. I have a duty to stay quiet, this is very important for the Emperor. Nothing can afford to go wrong, so the events of the Day of Unity are not to be revealed to the public. Not even the date."
"Well, you also have a duty to keep the peace. And these people don't look too happy with the job you're doing." Eda warned, gesturing to the market goers.
It was then that the Golden Guard realized that all eyes were on them. Eda hadn't exactly been keeping her voice down, and Hunter had likewise raised his own to meet hers. Every eye not covered by an Emperor's coven mask was watching their interaction, all ears peeled to get answers to the questions they all were too afraid to ask.
Eda lowered her voice, "If it's your job to keep the peace, then do so by giving these people some Titan damned peace of mind. You may love your Emperor, scrawny, but not all of us do, and all of this vagueness is putting us on edge. If you don't tell me what I want to know…"
She trailed off, baring her teeth, but knowing she couldn't actually make him talk. She hadn't even brought Owlbert today, she had nothing up her sleeve to make him give them what she wanted. Sighing, she settled on the next best thing, "Then, I don't know, reassure them. The people are afraid, and they don't need any more reasons to be when they already have a tyrant breathing down their necks."
The Golden Guard didn't respond to her, instead lingering silently in thought. Eda couldn't tell if he was pondering her words, or if he was just making faces at her behind his mask. After a moment, he raised his hand and Eda was seized from behind by two guards.
"Eda!" King cried, dropping the crates in his arms to latch on to one of the Guard's legs, beating on it with an ineffective fist.
"You have a point, Owl Lady," The Golden Guard mused, "I should be doing a better job at keeping any rebellions at bay."
Eda kicked and jerked, and even tried to bite one of the guards holding her, when the Golden Guard gave another signal and she was released. "I'll say a little something, and then you'll go on your merry way. Obstructing a member of the Emperor's Coven and keeping them from their duty is an offense, I'd hate to have to take you in for it today."
Eda muttered a variety of curses under her breath, the only thing keeping her from yelling them at the man was King's delicate ears and his habit of adding them to his vocabulary. The only reason she wasn't swinging for the masked moron's head was that he'd agreed to do what she asked.
Turning to address the crowd, the Golden Guard held out his hands and spoke loud and clear, "Citizens of Bonesborough, if I may have your attention."
Everyone was already eavesdropping anyway, but now they didn't have to poorly hide it. "Sometime soon, the Day of Unity will be upon us! It has come to my attention that this has many of you worried, for yourself, your friends, and your families."
The Golden Guard took a moment to pause, gulping behind his mask. Public speaking really wasn't his thing, but he pressed forward anyway, "I would like to assure you that our beloved Emperor Belos has only your futures and wellbeing in mind for that day. I can not share the details, but everything he does is for the betterment of all Witch and Demonkind."
Eda rolled her eyes, elbowing the guard beside her who's hands still lingered on her arm to keep her in place.
"Until that day arrives, I want you all to continue your lives. Enjoy the markets, your jobs, your schooling. You have nothing to fear from your Emperor, you have only to gain from what is in store. With that said, please disperse, and stay out of your local Coven Guard's way as they perform their duties. That will be all, and have a pleasant day."
He really laid in on thick with that last bit, Eda could practically hear him dying from saying it. Turning back, The Golden Guard stalked over towards her, and seethed, "There, happy now? Any more complaints you'd like to issue while I'm here?"
"Yeah, could you ditch the mask, I can never tell if you're making faces at me or not while under it." Eda snapped back, not missing a beat.
The Golden Guard gave her a disappointed look, "I assure you, the thought never once crossed my mind."
"Before now, that is." His silence after that statement left Eda wondering if he was sticking his tongue out at her now. He then signaled the guards again, and one grabbed Eda and King, "Take them to the town's borders, I'm tired of seeing them here."
Eda growled as she was dragged, King wailing and struggling as he was scooped up like a baby in one Guard's arms, their parcels scooped up in the other. The pair was dragged to the edge of town and tossed aside like garbage. Cursing under her breath, Eda gathered the crates and the bottles that had survived the fall, and trudged back home, King at her heels.
She hoped that speech did what she hoped it would. They didn't need anymore chaos in the streets.
A/N: Let's talk about Belos.
Belos in this fic kinda ignores most of what's been revealed about him in canon in the last few episodes of season 2A. Too much is left open for theories, so rather than pick a theory that might be wrong, I chose to go with something I know is wrong that's original instead. I felt that gave me a bit more freedom for what I could write for him.
I particularly liked taking his lines from episode 9(which again, isn't canon for this fic, as we cut off at 8), and warping it into a line about his failing health, repeating stories as his mind fails him.
Also, if there are hand dragons, there have to be hand drakes, come on, it's simple math. Would Hand Wyrms just be one long finger? Beware the shadow puppets. They can be defeated by leaving a comment, though!