Chapter Sixteen

Willow's mouth hung open behind her Silver Belle mask as she followed Lady Feronia between rows and rows of singular plant specimens.

"Welcome, Dear, to the coven's botanical vault," Feronia said. Feronia had purposefully kept their destination for the day to herself for this very moment. She smiled at the sight of her apprentice looking around in obvious awed glee, her only regret being that she had to wear that mask with the vault's staff milling about.

The Plant Coven's botanical garden, built within the confines of a thickly forested nature preserve that they maintained alongside the Beastkeeping Coven, was designed as a repository for every species of plant in the Boiling Isles. It focused most heavily on endangered plants to keep them extant and in many cases restore their numbers and even reintroduce them to the wild, but had grown over fifty years to preserve specimens of any and all flora.

As Willow, the Silver Belle, looked around, her gaze settled upon a tree of multicolor-striped wood that swooped out of the ground and spread its thick branches that ended in knobs that burst into long twigs, covering the ceiling like a crown.

"Is that a palistrom tree?" Willow asked, stepping past her mentor for a closer look.

"It is," Feronia said. "One of the few that remain," she added bitterly.

"I've heard of the overharvesting," Willow said, her tone saddened.

"And what do you think is the cause?" Feronia asked neutrally.

"A few factors," Willow said, folding her hands behind her back. "The biggest is the recent rise in population. With so many new witchlings maturing and needing staves over the last ten or twenty years, the palistrom trees haven't been able to keep up. That isn't helped by the fact that palistrom trees are very slow to grow; even though they can live for centuries, they can take several decades to reach maturity even from a sapling and even longer to be viable for carving palismen." Her grip tightened, her frame tensing. "And when people cast aside their palismen, they take even more wood to carve new ones."

"So why not use plant magic to grow more palistrom trees?" Feronia asked, her visible eye glittering.

Willow stiffened and glanced backward before refocusing. "Because then it would result in simple, magicless trees. Palistrom trees mature so slowly because they absorb and assimilate the raw magic of the Titan from their environment in a way unlike any other species on the Isles. But it's like steeping tea leaves in hot water. If you rush such a gradual process, you're left with a useless result."

"Very good," Feronia said. "So few seem to realize this."

Willow walked slowly closer to the palistrom tree, stepping onto the ring of soil that it grew in within the stone walls of the vault filled with sunlight from the roof made up of hexagonal pieces of metal. She placed her palm against the trunk and glanced around before lowering her head and linked her magic to the magic within the tree, gasping at the subtle magic woven within each and every fiber of the centuries-old tree that came together to thrum with silent, solid power.

"Lady Feronia?" Willow asked.

"Yes, Dear?"

"There's another reason that these trees have been overharvested. Why palismen are being carved at an unprecedented rate."

"And that would be?" Feronia asked, her tone … cautious.

"Someone has been using palismen to … manage a curse. And their condition is getting worse."

"Who is this someone?" Feronia asked, her tone unchanged.

"I can't say," Willow admitted. "But the fact that they can collect so many palismen should narrow it down."

Feronia was silent as she puzzled over Willow's words. The idea that the child would lie to her briefly crossed her mind before being cast aside like weeds into a fire pit. Even past the fact that Willow would be foolish to lie to her about anything with all that she knew about the girl and could potentially report to the Emperor, her apprentice was a gentle soul who saw no need for dishonesty — anyone could see that if they bothered to look.

Which meant that someone very wealthy or very well-connected was abusing palistrom trees. And as the head of the Plant Coven, it was Feronia's duty to investigate. Covertly, of course.

Feronia's thoughts were interrupted by a staff member in the coven's leather apron emblazoned with the coven sigil clearing her throat. She looked over to find a demon resembling a tall, lean, chestnut-furred rodent with a long bushy tail — an Eichhorn demon — who was smiling apologetically and offering her a stack of forms.

Feronia took them with a nod of reluctant thanks before glancing at Willow. "Apprentice," she called, drawing her attention and motioning for her to return. She handed Willow the stack of forms. "While we check on the vault, I will coach you on how to fill these out."

Willow looked down at the stack of forms as tall as the width of her wrist and moaned pitifully before shifting them into a better writing position.

The next few hours were spent examining plant specimens, speaking with staff members and researchers, and filling in the requisite paperwork. The first two Willow very much enjoyed, several times almost losing herself in discussion with fellow plant lovers or in the examination of rare species. The paperwork was far less enjoyable, but she doggedly kept at it as a necessity of her position.

She may have accepted to help save her love, but she would do her duty to the best of her ability. As far as she was concerned, there was no other option.

"I suppose this is how Hun- the Golden Guard feels every day," she groused, thinking back to several late-night scroll chats with Hunter as he complained about the neverending chore.

"How is the Golden Guard, by the way?" Feronia asked as she traced a small spell circle that severed a length of copper-colored vine to examine.

"He's fine," Willow said from her perch on a table. Then she blinked behind her mask and shuffled her papers as nerves tried to rise up. "Actually, he might be getting an assignment to examine the archives of the Bonesborough library pretty soon."

"Oh?"

"Yes." Willow paused, twiddling her pen. "On a completely unrelated note, you wouldn't happen to need any work done at the library … would you, Lady Feronia?"

"As a matter of fact, I believe I do," Feronia said amusedly. "There are some journals dating back to the Savage Ages that hold descriptions of lost plants. I had hoped some of the coven's agents could search out the recorded locations for any possible survivors." Which was true. Feronia had been meaning to do this for some time after the head librarian had informed her of these journals. "If you could go by and pick them up from Malphas, I would appreciate it." She looked sideways at Willow.

"Of course, I hear the Forbidden Stacks are an utter mess. Locating the texts may take some time." Her faint smile turned from amused to downright smug. "I do hope you realize that you would be in for a long wait. How ever might you entertain yourself?"

"It's a library," Willow said airily. "I'm sure I'll manage."

"I'm sure you will, Dear."

"Yes, Emperor Belos," a scout lieutenant said. "We will not fail."

"Dismissed," Belos ordered to be met with a dozen salutes and bows. As the line of scouts filed out of the throne room for their mission, Belos glanced to the side to find his nephew still at his side. "Something on your mind, boy?"

"I've been giving the issue of remaining wild witches some thought, Uncle," he said calmly.

"And what conclusions have you drawn?" Belos asked.

"You have a team of scouts and scholars combing the castle archives for old sites like the one you ordered the Silver Belle and I to raid."

"And?"

"Perhaps we can attack that problem from another front," Hunter said. "I would request permission to investigate the archives of the Bonesborough Library."

"Bonesborough, you say?" Belos commented.

"They have the largest collection in the Boiling Isles," Hunter reasoned, "built up over hundreds of years. It even survived the Savage Ages. If any place has information on sites of wild magic hidden in plain sight, it has to be there."

Belos remained silent as he examined that line of thought, until he said, "A logical point." He stood from his throne and turned to face his masked nephew. "And you volunteer to take up this venture. Alone?"

"Undercover," Hunter said, facing Belos as well. "If the Emperor's Coven is seen descending upon the library, well … wild witches could have spies anywhere. A lone teenager visiting the library won't stand out at all."

"Ah, another undercover assignment," Belos commented.

'Oh, Hunter. Even with the mask you wear your heart on your sleeve.' It was clear that this assignment was meant as a smokescreen. There was little enough for his nephew in Bonesborough … aside from Ms. Park.

"Your request is-"

Belos choked on the words as a metaphysical weight fell upon him like a weighted cloak. He leaned upon his staff, his breathing becoming heavier.

"Uncle …?" Hunter asked, seemingly torn between fleeing from his curse and reaching out to offer aid.

IT MUST BE DONE.

The voice was not loud, merely much. Like the howl of fierce winds, the roar of distant storm clouds, the crumbling of mountains.

LET HIM GO.

"-Is granted," Belos bit out, his head throbbing from the simple touch of the Titan's words. He groaned and clutched his head as the beat of the Titan's bile sac sped up.

"What just happened?" Hunter asked.

"It has nothing to do with the curse," Belos hissed. "Your request is granted, Golden Guard. This shall be your top priority." He gripped his staff as he buried his frustrations. "You have three days."

"Yes, Emperor Belos," the Golden Guard said, saluting crisply. "I will not fail."

As he made his way down the steps and out the door, Belos looked up at the bile sac that had slowed back to its calm pace. "I don't understand," Belos said, addressing the massive organ and removing his mask. "He is becoming more fixated upon that girl. He flaunts his restrictions when he thinks I don't watch. And-" he ground his teeth, "he is hiding something else. I can feel it."

The Titan's voice remained silent.

"What would you have me do?"

Silence.

Belos sighed and replaced his mask before making his way back to the secret stairwell that led to the portal chamber. Kikimora had secured Titan's Blood, and he was experimenting with how to incorporate it into the repaired door.

Silent or not, the Titan's will would be fulfilled.

Willow sighed with relief as she entered her home, wincing at the pain in her hand and wrist. There had been a lot of paperwork to fill out at the botanical vault, and it had grown with each section they had visited. They'd been there for three hours after she'd started, and every moment had been used to finish it off.

Clover poked up from her usual collared dress that she'd changed back into at the Bonesborough coven house before Lady Feronia had let her go home. The palisman trilled and nuzzled her cheek, and Willow giggled as she stroked Clover's back. She took a breath and smiled at the smell of her papa's cooking.

"Willow? Is that you?" her dad called.

"I'm home," she called back.

"Good, we've got a surprise! Come on into the kitchen."

Willow arched her eyebrows and did so … and gasped at what awaited her.

Along with her dads sitting at the table were two other people, a man and a woman. The man was tall and reedy, with large orange eyes and close-cropped dark hair, dressed in button-up shirt and slacks. The woman was plump, much like Willow, with wheat-brown hair, purple eyes, caramel skin, and prominent dimples when she smiled, dressed in a white floral dress.

"Aunt Jenny?" Willow asked. "Uncle Alex?"

"Willow!" Jenny cried as she rose from her chair and rushed to hug her niece. "Oh, my little Salix! It is so good to see you!"

"Sweetie, let the girl breathe," Alex snorted as he drew close and ruffled Willow's hair. "How's everything, Willow?"

"Everything's fine," Willow said as she extricated herself from her aunt's embrace. "I'm just … stunned you're both here."

"Well, of course," Jenny said, holding Willow at arms length by the shoulders so she could look her niece up and down. "It's not every day we find out Gilbert's little girl has a boyfriend, after all."

"You know about him?" Willow asked with a blush.

"Your dad let it slip on his last call today," Alex explained. "Once Jenny found out, it was all I could do to keep her from flying up here then and there."

Willow smiled at the thought. Her dad's sisters — all five of them and all older — lived across the Boiling Isles. Jenny and Alex Dawn lived further south, down on the Thigh. So the fact that they had flown halfway across the Isles to ask her about Hunter was as sweet as it was overbearing.

"So, what's he like?" Jenny asked, eyes bright.

"Why don't we get dinner served first?" Eun suggested, adjusting his glasses. "We can talk over good food."

"An excellent idea, Eun," Alex said.

Soon enough, the meal of schvine roast, squish gourd casserole, and grilled aspara-guts was served and Jenny had barely taken a bite before resuming her questioning with even greater fervor. "So, Willow," she said with a nearly manic grin, "what's his name? Where did you meet? Is he going to Hexside? How long has this been going on? What-?"

"Hold on," Willow said, giggling as she held up her hands in mock-surrender, her fork still clenched in her thumb. She cleared her throat and looked up in thought. "Okay, in order …" She took a deep breath. "His name is Hunter." She blushed at the mere thought of their … Oh, it really was a love story, wasn't it?

"We met in class at Hexside when he still attended there. He was homeschooled before then and joined the Plant track, but his uncle withdrew him after a few weeks." Her smile faded a little at the thought. Oh what she wouldn't give to have him at Hexside again. No, scratch that … What she wouldn't give just to be able to see him as often as they'd had before, no matter where it was.

"We first confessed our feelings after about two weeks," she giggled. "And went on our first date a week after that." She poked at her food a little. "Even after he was taken out of Hexside, we agreed to stay together. It's … hard, sometimes. He has a job, and I have an apprenticeship. But we've been making it work."

"That's wonderful to hear," Jenny said, her earlier energy abated in the face of such a sweet story.

"You have an apprenticeship?" Alex asked, eyes arched. "Gilbert didn't mention that."

"Oh!" Gilbert said, his dark face tinted with pink. He glanced at Willow who faintly shook her head. "I, m- I thought Willow would like to break the news herself."

"News?" Jenny asked, then looked at Willow again. "Is your apprenticeship with someone well-known?" She laughed and hugged her niece from the side. "Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. With your talents, anyone would be a fool not to try and get credit for training you."

The Parks all let out their pent-up breaths at the dodged question.

"So who is your mentor?" Alex asked.

And the tension swelled again. Eun and Gilbert looked to Willow for guidance. It was her secret to tell.

"Someone high up in the Plant Coven," Willow said, being vague about the truth. "But they've asked that I don't talk about it."

"Oh, that's no fun," Jenny pouted, but she dropped the subject. "So, what is this Hunter boy like?" she asked.

Willow brightened up as she spoke about Hunter, telling her aunt and uncle about his sharp mind, his aloof facade that masked the soul of a scholarly dork, his bravery when he protected her from the Scarbury — which led to regaling them about the Scarbury attack and her and her friends driving it off, the full details making Gilbert pale with nervousness only to be calmed by Eun — his talent at magic … everything she could bring up without connecting him to the Emperor's Coven.

As they spoke, a tiny voice in the back of Willow's mind whispered to talk to Lady Feronia about what she was allowed to tell her family about her apprenticeship.

"C'mon, c'mon …!"

Angmar drummed his claws on his arm as he waited outside a back entrance to the Plant Coven's house in Latissa. The moon hung in the sky and painted the ground in silver-blue light that reminded him of the Silver Belle's mask, a thought that eased his nerves the faintest bit.

After tonight, he would be that much closer to having her.

The lock to the coven house clicked and the double doors swung inward to let Angmar in, the felid demon tracing a light spell to guide his way. He glanced around at the various exotic plants that surrounded him, harvested from all corners of the Boiling Isles. A few of the motile ones hissed or snarled at the sudden light from his spell and tried to take a bite out of him, but he nimbly avoided their attacks.

Soon enough, he made it to the entrance of the greenhouse area to find an imp dressed in the uniform of a coven administrator. He was a squat fellow with a wide, toad-like head and face, a hood drawn up but not covering his bat-like ears. Stubby, backward-bending legs supported his frame, and his eyes glittered with the prospect of a bargain.

"Angmar, isn't it?" the imp asked, his voice surprisingly deep.

"That's me," Angmar confirmed.

"You brought what I requested?"

Angmar dug into the pockets of his cowl to remove a small cloth bag filled with seeds of Glandus High's maleficarum flower, a rare plant whose seeds could be ground into a hallucinogenic powder. He'd had to brownnose his teacher for days to be allowed to use the greenhouse alone while the flower bloomed considering recreational use of the seeds was strictly illegal, but what he would get from this imp was worth it.

Angmar tossed the bag to the imp, who caught it carefully and opened the drawstring to remove one of the seeds, a black ball the size of a thumbnail. He sniffed it and shuddered before returning it and tucking the bag into his own uniform.

"Marvelous," the imp crooned.

"And now your end," Angmar growled.

The imp nodded and removed a leather folder of papers that he handed to Angmar. He thumbed through them, his eyes widening in glee. "And this is real?" he asked.

"I would think you would ask before I handed it to you," the imp noted.

"But it's real," Angmar snapped.

"It is," the imp confirmed. "Though you don't have to take my word for it. Just follow the schedule and you'll see for yourself."

The imp turned to leave, but Angmar spoke up, "Hey, quick small question." The imp stopped and glanced back. "I saw a maleficarum flower on the way in here. Why ask me to bring those seeds?"

"The Plant Coven keeps a much closer eye on its stock than a school does, boy," the imp explained before taking his leave. "Close the door on your way out."

Angmar fled the coven house and made his way through a few back allies before hitting the main streets to soon arrive at his house. He unlocked the exterior entrance to the basement and slipped inside before casting another light spell as he shuffled through the papers he'd been given.

"Finally," Angmar breathed.

This was what he needed! A schedule of Lady Feronia's visits to the various coven houses! This schedule was relegated to the higher-ups of the coven as a security measure, so that imp had to have been high-ranking in the coven house or the assistant to someone who was.

It looked like Lady Feronia kept to the Bonesborough coven house most often, which wasn't all that surprising considering the coven heads' apartments were outside the city. But according to this, she'd be visiting the coven house of the port city of Haunch next week.

Perfect …

Chapter sixteen!

*Willow's exposition about palistrom trees is based upon my own headcanons. As you can see, I've given the palistrom shortage a lot of thought.

*Feronia's ignorance of Belos feeding upon palismen is rooted in the idea that he keeps that information very close to the chest, as a potential weakness to exploit. **Remember, this Plant head witch is different from canon's Terra.

*"Eichhorn" is a very old German word meaning squirrel.

*Alex and Jenny are based upon my oldest Owl House fic, "Switching the Tracks." I created them during the s1 mid-hiatus, when we only knew Willow had two parents - LONG before we knew she had two dads. **I had a reader ask if I could reincorporate them somehow since they adore the characters, and I realized that having established Gilbert as having five older sister ... yes, I could! And I was already planning on having relatives visit to grill Willow, so here they are! ***Jenny's pet name for Willow, Salix, is the scientific name for willow trees.

*The imp is visually based upon Hexside's bard student with the wide, fanged mouth, squat body, and huge pointed ears. He's the first teen Hunter speaks to in "Any Sport in a Storm." The Plant coven member here is the same species of demon.

*The maleficarum flower is named after the book "Malleus Maleficarum" - Hammer of Witches - published in 1486 as a guide to identifying and exterminating witches. **For the record, despite popular belief, the book was NOT sanctioned by the Catholic Church - in point of fact, it was deemed both heretical and incredibly unethical. But people love a death-dealing manual and it became very popular anyway.

I really hope you enjoyed this feel-good chapter! As always, leave a review on your thoughts - they keep my motivation high! And may your own projects be fruitful!