Chapter Ten

The light of the next morning found Willow flying along the Titan's ribs, relishing in the air flowing through her hair and her orange sundress flapping in the wind. She took a deep breath of the fresh air and spurred Clover faster toward their destination. As she did, her thoughts turned to the day before …

Hunter escorted Willow from the throne room and to a set of training grounds, where Lady Feronia was observing members of the Emperor's Coven sparring with only plant magic. The results were … less than stellar. While Willow had learned so much about defending herself using her favored form of magic from school, and even more so from Lady Feronia, few outside the track or related covens tended to consider how the frequently dangerous and even violent flora of the Boiling Isles could be harnessed both aggressively and very creatively.

"You were successful, Dear?" Feronia asked.

"We were," Willow replied, resisting the urge to remove her mask to address Feronia face-to-face. "And the Emperor saw fit to grant a free day for it."

Feronia snorted and shook her head, her tresses swaying. "Yes, that sounds like him. He likes to offer nuggets of reward for successes. Failures, however … Well, just ask your friend here." She began to take a deep breath that was interrupted by a squawk of indignation. "You there! What do you think you are doing?!" The coven scout she was addressing appeared to be trying to grow an ironmaiden tree as he'd likely heard of Feronia herself doing, but his results were shriveled and pale as his female partner lashed at him with a decently-grown talon tree.

"You are dismissed for the day, Silver Belle," Feronia said in a measuredly calm voice. "Enjoy your day off." Then she set a glare and summoned her walking stick, trodding heavily to the scout poorly mimicking her and smacking him on the side of his mask. "This is pathetic for an elite force, boy! This is how you do it!" She traced a circle and a fully-formed ironmaiden tree with glossy, dark wood and spreading branches emerged, its maw opening with a roar that blew the scouts hood down and had him screaming in terror.

"Does she do that a lot?" Hunter asked in a whisper.

"No, but I don't envy that scout," Willow replied, tugging at his sleeve. "Can we go?" He nodded and escorted her from the castle just as he had earlier in the day.

They made it across the bridge and turned to each other. "I really want to kiss you right now," Hunter said ruefully, tilting his head at the sentries manning the castle walls.

"Well, Belos did give us the day off tomorrow," Willow pointed out, fiddling with her gloved hands to keep from reaching for his own. "We could have a date?"

"Our third date," Hunter noted. "Been dating for how long and we're only up to number three?" He chuckled and stepped a little bit closer. "What would you like to do?"

Willow bit her lip behind her mask as she unconsciously glanced further down the path and into the trees. Not twelve hours ago, Hunter had experienced an episode of despair that had shaken Willow to her core. She'd covered it up and supported him as best she could, trying to soothe away his fear … but she was still scared for him. He was under so much pressure and stress from Belos that- Wait …

"Why don't we visit the hot springs Luz showed us?" Willow asked.

"The what?" Hunter asked. "Oh, right!" He snapped his fingers as it came to him, and Willow giggled at the subtle show of the dork under the mask. "Let's just hope we don't have a repeat of what happened after."

"We won't know unless we try, right?" Willow asked. "So, meet at the library?"

"Why don't we meet there, actually," Hunter said. "We both know where it is. Say … an hour after sunrise?"

"It's a date," Willow had quipped before nodding to the Golden Guard in what she hoped looked like a professional way before making her way into the woods so she might hide Clover as she flew back to Bonesborough.

Willow shivered in the early morning air as she neared the hot springs. In the morning light, she caught the sight of blotches of color and lifted an eyebrow before a thought struck her and she smiled as she made her descent. She landed and motioned for Clover to return to her true form to find umbrellas set up around one of the smaller pools, an ice chest loaded with bottles of water, and a pile of towels ready for use.

And standing before it all was Hunter. Not the Golden Guard, but her Hunter. Dressed as she recalled in his form-fitting white swim shirt and yellow swim trunks. Lil Rascal twittered in greeting from atop one of the umbrellas before shuffling and settling back down. Hunter smiled invitingly and bowed with a courtly air. "Milady Willow, you grace me with your arrival."

"The pleasure is all mine," Willow replied as Clover flew over to settle next to her fellow palisman. Willow smiled wickedly and rolled her sundress up her body and over her head, tossing it aside to show her navy blue sleeveless one-piece with its sweetheart neckline and halter-style mesh. The very same swimsuit that had stunned him all those weeks ago.

Hunter blushed as he gazed upon her, the swimsuit hugging her figure and showing off her curves. He tried not to think about it often, but Willow was very shapely for her age. Her emerald eyes shone behind those adorable round spectacles, and her wicked grin showed she knew just what he was thinking … and liked it. And yet, Hunter was far more smitten by the spirit within — by Willow's kindness, her intelligence, and her patience all backed by fearsome drive and will to protect.

At the same time, Willow bit her lip at the lean muscle displayed by Hunter's swim shirt. He clearly worked out, which was obviously part of his training as the Golden Guard, and his muscles — particularly his upper arms, chest, and abs — were appealingly defined without being intimidating. His sharp jawline complimented his physique, while his hooked nose gave him a noble air and those uniquely magenta eyes flashed with roguish charm. But beyond that, Willow's knees quivered that the intellect behind those eyes, at his confident swagger that stopped just shy of arrogance, and the tenderness she had felt from him so often.

Hunter stepped to the side and bowed at the waist, one arm outstretched as if to offer the hot spring to her. "After you," he said with a grin.

"Why thank you," Willow said primly. She stepped forward and removed her sandals before slipping into the simmering water with a drawn out sigh. She blinked and ran her fingers along the sides, over the ridge that made a perfect seat for the water to rise to the level of their shoulders. As Hunter slipped in and sat beside her with a groan of relief, Willow looked at him with a smile. "Did you change the shape of the pool?"

"I might have made a few adjustments," Hunter said.

Willow giggled and kissed his cheek before curling into his side with a hand on his chest to enjoy the heat. Hunter leaned his jaw onto her head and wrapped his arm around her waist. They stayed like that in companionable silence until Willow spoke up.

"Hunter?" she asked. He hummed in response. "Do you … like your job?" She felt him tense at the question.

"Why do you ask?" The words were barely a whisper.

"Because you've never once spoken a good word about your job," she said bluntly. When Hunter didn't speak, she decided to continue. "Hunter, I know you're smart. You're clever, determined, and committed." She smiled and shifted to kiss his cheek again on that last word before returning to her previous position. "But you're sixteen. And you don't ever seem to have any freedom to just … be sixteen." She lightly ran her nails over his chest. "So … do you like your job?"

"No," Hunter said, his tone dark. "I hate it." He chuckled humorlessly. "I've been thinking that a lot lately. I hate being so busy all the time. I hate my missions. I hate not being able to spend time with my friends." He took her hand in his and squeezed. "Or with you."

"If you hate it so much," Willow asked, "why don't you just quit?"

Hunter looked at her as if she'd spoken another language. "Quit?"

"Resign?" Willow tried.

"The Emperor's Coven doesn't take resignations," Hunter said tersely. "And even if they did, Belos wouldn't accept mine. He says sometimes that the Titan has big plans for me." He was silent for a moment before adding, "And I wouldn't have anywhere else to go."

"You would have me," Willow said.

"… What?"

"You would have me," Willow repeated, her voice firm and unyielding. "And you would have Luz, and Eda, and King. And all of our friends." She placed her open hand against his cheek and smiled as he leaned into the touch. "Even if my dads wouldn't let you stay with us, I know Eda would let you stay at the Owl House." She drew their joined hands to her heart. "You could learn about glyphs with Luz, join Hexside again …" Her eyes were glistening. "We could be together just like it was before."

Hunter's heart was thundering. That sounded so good. To be a regular teen and not the face of a coven. To live in the insane, chaotic, warmth of the Owl House instead of the cold of the castle that had been pressing down on him even harder since the failed palismen mission. To attend Hexside and spend time with his friends as he studied magic. To … to spend as much time as he could with his dear, protective Willow.

His syphara …

"I can't," Hunter said, the words tearing at his heart. "My uncle needs me. And he won't let me go."

Willow winced, but nodded. "I can understand that," she said. "But will you at least think about it?" Her eyes widened as she let go of his hand and placed it with the other on his other cheek, locking her eyes on his and pouring every shred of emotion she could into his gaze. "For me?"

Hunter tried to resist, he really did. But looking into those wide, hopeful, emerald eyes, eyes that shone with love and compassion, that wanted nothing more than for him to be happy … how could he deny her anything?

"Okay," he breathed. "I'll think about it."

"Thank you, Hunter," Willow smiled and placed a kiss on his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, his heart soaring with the words.

And then they both felt it, that familiar force that drew them together. They traded another soft kiss. And then another. And another. And more, faster and longer. Soon enough, the heat that had nothing to do with the hot spring and everything to do with their hearts was rising and taking hold. It had been weeks since they could be together like this, and the lovers were making up for it.

Willow rose up onto her knees and straddled Hunter's lap, her hands shifting to the back of his neck to hold him close. Hunter's hands slipped down her back and into the water to settle at her hips before he gripped tight. This only spurred Willow on and they locked lips again, the kisses hot and open-mouthed.

Soon enough, they broke apart to catch their breaths, rubbing their noses together with drunken grins. Hunter leaned up to place a searing kiss on Willow's neck, drawing a gasp and a moan from her. Then she drew away and shifted her hands to his jaw, lifting him back to her lips to kiss the scar on his cheek before they resumed their frenzied kissing and hands kept roaming.

Soon enough, Willow prodded Hunter's lips with her tongue and he grunted in surprise before accepting and reciprocating. The heat of the water was nothing to them compared to each other … but it did make things more slick, and Hunter's hands slipped past Willow's waist to cup her backside. Willow squeaked into a kiss and broke away, arching her back in shock, while Hunter let her go as if burned.

"Oh thorns, I'm sorry, I didn't-!" Hunter's apology was cut off by Willow's fingers placed over his lips. Willow looked down at Hunter with a gaze that he could only describe as smoldering, her eyes lidded and dark as she breathed as heavily as he did.

"I think we should slow down," Willow said breathily, biting her lip.

"Y-Yeah," Hunter agreed, entranced by that look as his eyes lidded too and his lips curled into a crooked grin. "We've got all day, right?"

"Right," Willow sighed as she sank back into the water. She shifted and turned around to press her back to his chest, melting into the contact as Hunter wrapped his arms around her waist and she placed her hands on his forearms. She leaned her head back to settle in the crook of Hunter's neck and he smirked and placed a gentle kiss on the corner of her jaw before nestling his cheek into her hair.

"Luz had an idea on how we could spend more time together," Willow said, her voice languid and satisfied.

"Oh?" Hunter asked.

"She made the … excellent point that the Bonesborough Library has the biggest archive and collection on the Isles." She sighed and turned her head to kiss his cheek right back. "With all of the research you've been doing, it would make perfect sense for you to search the library."

"A study date, then?" Hunter asked, his lips tickling the skin of her cheek.

"Not exactly," Willow giggled. "Amity has a secret room for … privacy."

"Hmm …" Hunter groaned. "Maybe the Golden Guard will have to make an undercover visit to check out the archives."

"Maybe?" Willow asked lowly.

"As soon as possible," Hunter growled, and Willow shuddered and drew even closer. "I love you, Willow Park," Hunter whispered.

"And I love you, Hunter."

'I hate this town,' Bria thought venomously.

Bonesborough. The civil hub of Glandus High's rval, Hexside School. The place where the failed quest for the galderstones had begun. And the place where she and her allies had been beaten by Gus and his friends. She gnashed her teeth at the memory of that fight, made even worse by the fact that she herself had been beaten by a human.

The others had taken lessons from that fight. Gavin's raw power with his Abominations had been exhausted by Gus's midirecting strategy, which had recently tempered Gavin's thinking to be more tactical. Angmar, on the other hand, had been overpowered by that plant girl, Willow, who had shown not only greater strength but greater knowledge; since then, he'd been hitting the books pretty hard.

But Bria had faced off with the human armed only with those pieces of paper — wild magic, she was certain — and her construction magic had been outmaneuvered. The human had pulled a slew of spells from up her sleeves, sometimes literally, and Bria had been so surprised it had thrown her off her game.

Soon enough, she and her friends were left immobile for the Emperor's Coven to arrest and escort home for "disturbing the peace." And after her dad had been done chewing her out and grounding her for losing to Hexside students, she, Gavin, and Angmar had faced the jeers and taunts of the student body.

Bria shook her head to clear those thoughts and redoubled her pace. For one, Bria Ashlar didn't let setbacks block her for long! For two, today wasn't about all of that. It was about getting her group back together from their little pet projects.

Angmar's had come first. He'd come to the cafeteria one day a few weeks after the fight and had been going on and on about this Silver Belle, the teen apprentice to the elderly Plant Coven head. Ever since then, he'd spent all of his spare time trying to figure out who the Belle was instead of practicing his plant magic or researching ways for them to rise in the hierarchy. She'd hoped he would grow out of that phase, but time seemed to only make it worse.

And when she'd finally had enough and prepared to have Gavin back her up to get Angmar's head back on straight, he'd found his own distraction; ironically, also centered on a coven head's apprentice. Granted, at least Gavin had been training his magic, but he was completely focused on humiliating the Amethyst Artisan rather than any of the Glanus higher ups.

Bria grumbled to herself about unreliable friends until someone shouted, "Hey Icicle!" Bria blinked and turned her head toward the voice to find a girl her age in a Potions track uniform, an icy-eyed triclops with fuchsia hair and a cocky sneer that was very common at Glandus High. A crab palisman sat perched on her shoulder, its beady eyes glittering at her. "How's it feel to get schooled by a human?!"

Bria leveled her worst glare at the Hexside student — she must have heard about the fight like so many others had — and deliberately turned her head away. She had a different Hexside student to find: Matty. Granted, Matty probably wouldn't be eager to help her, but she didn't have many other people that she could ask for support. Gavin and Angmar hadn't listened to her alone, but maybe two heads would be better than one.

"Titan," the girl said, loudly, to a companion in a red Bard track uniform with gray and silver hair and a nightingale palisman on her shoulder, "how weak must she be to lose to the Luz-er?"

Bria's step's halted and her eyes widened, the pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

Weak …

Bria spun on her heel and plastered a sweet smile on her face, crinkling her eyes and clasping her hands beside her face to complete the look. "Why don't you say that after I build you a coffin?" In a flash, she traced a spell circle with each hand, the magic coating her hands as her smile melted into a rictus of fury. "'Cause you're gonna need it!"

Hunter held the door to a sweet shop open for Willow, poorly hiding a smirk as she delightedly munched on a bag of shock-lot chips, pieces of sweet, warm-brown confection that sparked your tastebuds with bits of lightning. She giggled and kissed his cheek, a stray spark making him yelp and laugh, which made her laugh.

They'd left the hot springs after a few hours, both thoroughly relaxed. Willow remained dressed in the orange sundress she used to cover her swimsuit, while Hunter had magicked up a pair of pants and a jacket for himself. Their palismen had taken the opportunity to switch rides, with Lil Rascal perched on Willow's bare shoulder and Clover riding in Hunter's hair.

"Don't get comfortable, Bug," Hunter groused, even as he curled an arm around Willow's waist and drew her close to his side. Clover trilled in response and shimmied even deeper into Hunter's hair.

"Too late," Willow translated with a laugh and a small handful of more shock-lot chips.

Hunter opened his mouth to reply when the building in front of them exploded outward. Hunter's training and protective instincts acted together and he spun in front of Willow to shield her and Lil Rascal with his back, ducking his head to protect Clover, too. He hissed as shards of rock peppered his back and legs, but refused to budge. When he was certain it was relatively safe, he glanced over his shoulder to find a girl in a Glandus High uniform for the Construction track being hurled through the hole in the building out onto the street and to a painful stop. From that same opening came Boscha, covered in dust and bruises, but otherwise fine.

"Man, you suck," Boscha sneered at the girl, a quick spell circle bringing a flaming grudgby ball to her hand. "It almost makes this not-fun."

The Glandus girl struggled to her feet and prepared her own spells, and that let Willow and Hunter see and recognize her. Violet hair cut to her chin and held back with a hair clip, amber eyes, freckles … 'Bria,' Willow recalled from that day weeks past and Gus's story.

"Willow, stay out of sight," Hunter said, gently pulling her to a storefront doorway and passing Clover to her. "I'll be right back." And then he rushed to a nearby alleyway.

Willow prayed to the Titan that Hunter would be alright before returning her attention to the battle. Boscha was hurling burning grudgby ball after grudgby ball at Bria, the Glandus girl barely able to form barricades in time to stop them — and each one shattering under Boscha's offense. And all the while, Boscha was grinning like a madwoman while Bria was clearly terrified.

Willow felt her protective instincts rise up, spurred even further by her memories of Boscha's years of bullying her. But Lady Feronia's lessons on control asserted themselves and, just barely, she forced her to think her actions through. While she was certain that she could turn the tide, it would mean she would have to get involved. And when the Emperor's Coven guards or even scouts arrived, she would be processed alongside Boscha and Bria no matter her intentions.

Besides, Hunter had said to stay hidden. And while she was certainly capable of thinking and acting for herself … she trusted him. He had a plan.

No sooner had she thought so than red lightning flashed to strike the ground before the battling witches, the light clearing to reveal the Golden Guard in a three-point crouch with his trademark mechanized staff ready for battle.

"Greetings, ladies," the Golden Guard said cheerily, and Willow covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Holy Titan," Boscha said blankly, her cheeks turning darker pink, "it's you."

"Oh no," Bria muttered.

The Golden Guard swung his staff and ropes materialized to bind both girls from their shoulders to their hips, their hands covered to prevent use of magic. For added effect he clapped the butt of his staff to the cobblestones and red magic flared around its focus gem, similar auras of magic appeared around Boscha and Bria and lifted them into the air.

"Now, what's this all about?" the Golden Guard asked.

"This Glandus chick attacked me first," Boscha snapped with a wide grin.

"Oh, like you're totally innocent," Bria fired back. "You couldn't keep your mouth shut, you-!"

Both girls were cut off by gags appearing around their mouths.

"I think I've got a pretty good idea of what happened," the Golden Guard said blandly. "But you're both under arrest for property damage, assault, and disturbing the peace." As if on cue, a group of coven guards led by a scout arrived on the scene. "What took you so long?" the Golden Guard asked with heat behind his words.

"Apologies, Commander," the scout said with a salute. "We were held up by a char-oh stand."

The mask hid it, but Hunter's eyes flicked to the blackened sweet treats clutched in each of their hands. "I'm sure." He flicked his staff and sent the two girls soaring into the arms of some of the guards, their gags unraveling to let them yelp in surprise as they landed. "Process these two and call their parents. Oh," he pointed at the crab latched onto Boscha's shoulder, the triclops having conspicuously refrained from using her staff, "leave her palisman be. It wasn't involved here." With that, he clapped his staff to the cobbles again and disappeared in a flash of red.

Willow watched with a hollow feeling in her chest as Boscha and Bria — two despicable girls who showed few if any redeemable traits — were processed by the scout and guards. Part of her wondered if she should be happy, but really she wasn't. She just felt sad.

"Hey, Willow," a voice said, and Willow looked to find Skara standing beside her, facing the events on the street with her nightingale palisman, Ella, perched on her wrist.

"Hi, Skara," Willow said, a little awkwardly. Ever since the grudgby match weeks ago, Willow wasn't sure how to feel about Skara. On one hand, she'd been complacent in Boscha and Amity bullying her for years, even if she'd rarely taken part herself. On the other, she'd been the first to voice good sportsmanship after the event and had been openly nice to her ever since. It was kind of confusing.

"Isn't that Strong's palisman?" Skara asked, then her eyes brightened. "Are you guys on a date?"

Willow blushed and prepared to answer when Hunter's voice rang out. "Willow!" The girls looked back to find Hunter jogging toward them, only stopping when he'd wrapped Willow in a hug. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Hunter," Willow sighed with a smile, running the backs of her fingers along his cheek.

"Good," Hunter replied.

"You guys are so cute," Skara commented. The nightingale twittered and Skara petted her back, prompting Lil Rascal and Clover to pipe up in greeting. Skara refocused on the situation her best friend was in and her eyes dulled again. "Look, if you're sticking around for me, I'll be fine. The van Aken family is almost as rich as the Blights; she won't have much trouble." The couple nodded with faint smiles and left arm-in-arm, waving goodbye to Skara as they did.

So distracted, no one noticed Boscha's hard gaze on them, particularly focused on Hunter. As one could imagine, the triclops kind of demon — which Boscha's grandfather had been and she had inherited much from — possessed greater vision than most other demons, much less witches. Their third eye granted them greater clarity of perception than nearly any other creature on the Boiling Isles, which allowed them to not only see in low light, but to judge distances and proportions, and to perceive fast-moving objects with frightening accuracy — one of the reasons Boscha was so good a grudgby.

And right now, Boscha was certainly judging proportions. She was comparing Hunter "Strong's" height and build to the Golden Guard. As the scout placed cuffs on her wrists, Boscha's mind was moving in overtime.

It couldn't be … could it?

Chapter ten everyone; double digits! And still going strong!

*Bria's last name, Ashlar, is a form of masonry - a nod to her being in the Construction Coven. Ashlar masonry is a very old style that uses stones cut into shapes to fit together with very little mortar.

*Shock-lot is my idea of the Boiling Isles version of chocolate. Char-os are churros.

*I've given Boacha's species a lot of thought and - after consulting some friends - came to the head canon (and canon for this fic!) that she's a hybrid between a witch and biped demon - as we've seen in-canon with Hooty's file labeled "Hybrids." In this, her grandfather was a full-fledged Triclops that I assume has more inhuman traits than Boscha does, and she inherited her pink skin and three eyes from him.

*The idea of Boscha's third eye granting her better visual prowess comes both from mythology/folklore and science. The concept of the metaphysical or spiritual "third eye" appears in lots of cultures as an expression of enlightenment or spiritual perception. As for science, one eye grants us sight, a second grants depth perception ... so what would a third eye grant? Even greater perception!

Once again, a huge shout out and thank you to my various friends on Discord - particularly Therma and EldrichRaven - who continue to encourage, inspire, and motivate for this work. Not to mention allowing me to bounce ideas off of them. You all are AMAZING!

As always, if you liked what you read, leave a review! I don't think I need to tell you that they make me happy. May your inspiration continue to flow!