Author's note: Thought I'd get started on this but keep in mind I also want to show some character development and other paths to some of my ocs as well. In this case, Oziel showing off his adventurous side by exploring more of what's outside the palace.
Too true, guest reviewer. It's bad enough antisemitism is still a problem even today. Scariest part? Had we been born decades earlier and in Europe, my entire family and I could've easily have been among the deceased just for having a blind cousin and two family members on the autism spectrum. I read many books with topics of all the horrors of World War II in Europe enough to chill me to the bone and weep. Poor Sophie aka Aurelie has seen human beings turn on each other and systematically torment/murder her people, is it any wonder she preferred to take her chances in an enigmatic world full of magic?
alexc1209 – It might take a while, but eventually Sophie/Aurelie'll figure it out.
KG, I'm afraid Luz won't discover why Sophie/Aurelie didn't want to return to Earth until Hollow Mind, then will inform both Eda and the others about it. Also my heroine was only seeing snippets here and there of Phillip's true personality in the time since she'd married him Malak has only been able to give her clues. When my oc uncovers the truth, believe me it'll be terror time.
Oh. Incidentally if any of you are wondering on voice headcanons for my ocs, I'd pick Terri Hawkes (voice of Princess Sissi, Usagi Tsukino aka Sailor Moon, Lydia Lopez) for young Sophie. As Aurelie maybe either Barbara Radecki (Dic dub for Michiru Kaiou aka Sailor Neptune) or Diane Pershing (Poison Ivy). Richard McGonagle (Viking Lava monster in Samurai Jack) for Malak. And little Oziel I pick E.G. Daily (Tommy Pickles).
That outta the way, enjoy the chapter.
It was a beautiful morning, Oziel woke up and dressed on his own. Even if during the Coven day parade celebration, he'd been brought out for the populace to get a glimpse of him and his parents' faces, today his grounding was officially over.
He wondered if his parents and Hunter remembered it. Oziel took a small music box Aurelie had custom made for him a while back that played a little melody his mother enjoyed singing. But he didn't know the words.
And he walked out of his bedroom, hurrying down hallways to the throne room where he saw his cousin approaching the big doors, which opened. Out came seven of the nine Coven heads.
"Good. You're all here." Hunter began, "We can get started- Hey! Ugh! Wha-" Only for Hettie Cutburn to bump into him without even looking in Hunter's direction. Adrian Gray Vernworth, merely cast a condescending smile and glance back. "Where are you- Ugh!"
Seeing as the Coven Heads weren't paying Hunter any mind, Oziel tries his luck with them. "Wind, please!" he requested holding up his music box.
Hettie only pats his head without looking. After all she did tend to his birth. The others ignore the little boy even as he tried to call them by their names. Oziel gently tugged at Adrian's tail, only for the Illusionist to lightly smack his hand and rebuke the little boy like one would a baby.
Oziel hurried after the rest, Mason then gently picks up the toddler under his armpits and places him next to Hunter. Raine stops for a moment, and smiled indulgently before kneeling, taking the box and winding it for Oziel.
"Thank you, Raine." Oziel beamed.
"Not now, little sprout." Terra walked up and begins to lead Raine away. "Raine is busy." She cast a lofty glance to the youngsters.
They all brush past Hunter without even acknowledging him. "I said wait! Come back here!" the teenage boy was disappointed.
"Aunt Aurelie! Darius! Eberwolf! Why is everyone leaving? We are scheduled to have a recruitment meeting." Hunter protested.
Inside the throne room, the two remaining coven heads pored over a table full of maps and scrolls. Aurelie was without her veil, overlooking a large tome and making notes.
"Good morning, boys." Aurelie straightened up.
"Mommy!" Oziel hugged his mother in greeting.
Darius sighed and turned around to face Hunter. "Good morning to you too, little prince. We've decided to reschedule the meeting, so go play arts and crafts or... whatever it is you do." Darius then 'noticed' something. "Oh. Looks like you've already started." He used his abomination goo to grab Hunter's cloak and brought it to himself, much to the boy's chagrin.
Aurelie pursed her lips, she knew Darius probably missed his old friend and wasn't entirely impressed with Hunter but this was no reason to disdain him.
"Darry! Doggie!" Oziel had set his music box down, running to hug Darius around his leg, and then throwing his arms around Eberwolf.
"And a good morning to you too, small one." Darius nodded at Oziel then smirked as the little boy greeted the Beast keeping Coven head, "Five years old, and the smaller prince still calls you…" Darius chuckled, "Doggie."
Eberwolf rolled his eyes, but doesn't do much else. Darius took a look at Hunter's hand sewn sigil and laughed. "This is impressively bad. Wait, is this the old Golden Guard sigil?"
Aurelie stopped for a moment and looked over at the cape still in Darius' gloved hands. It WAS the same symbol she'd seen on the Golden Guard she'd seen when she'd first met Belos.
Hunter answered. "Of course it is! And this is no way to treat the emperor's-"
"Nephew?" Darius said icily.
Hunter scowls indignantly at Darius.
"I knew your predecessor. He was my mentor. One of the strongest witches I've ever known." Darius remembered with fondness.
"What was he like?" Oziel asked innocently.
""He was respectful and mysterious. He was also the one who guided me to the palace to first meet the Emperor face to face," Aurelie begins to recall gently.
Darius had listened intently to her words, then looked at Hunter with judgmental eyes. "But you... Hmm."
"But Belos says I don't need magic to serve the coven." Hunter replied, looking down at his feet.
"And I say you don't deserve to wear that patch." said Darius snippily as he and Eberwolf begin to make their way out.
Aurelie shook her head, "Oh Darius, don't tease him. Hunter is sixteen and he still yearns to prove himself, instead of just standing by. But so long as you're all here, I've errands to run outside the castle. Perhaps I could call up-"
Hunter then pipes up, "Aunt, I could look after Oziel, it wouldn't be the first time."
Aurelie and the two coven heads look at him.
"Hunter, are you sure?" Aurelie questioned, she wanted to make sure Hunter wouldn't be overwhelmed.
"Oh let him, it will be good for the younger one to get some fresh air." Darius said nonchalantly, ruffling Oziel's hair until it looked scruffy. "It would be a good time to assume some form of responsibility."
"But Oziel surely, mustn't stray too far from the palace…"
Oziel frowned at his mother's words, then brightened at what Darius said next.
"Children cannot be locked away from the world forever. You know that well." Darius said, giving Aurelie a meaningful glance.
Aurelie knew he was referring to her in some ways, she may Empress but she and her child still lived in a gilded cage. She nods and acquiesced. "Alright, Hunter, dear, I'm just a phone crow away if you need any help. And Oziel, you be a good boy, sviti."
"We'll be back in time for supper." Hunter nods.
"Bye Mommy." Oziel waved.
Darius walked away together with Eberwolf, still holding Hunter's cloak in his hand. Feeling insecure, Hunter turned around and called after Darius. "Wait. What should I do? How do I... earn the patch?"
The abomination coven head was exasperated. "Ugh, sweet mother of Titan. I- I don't know. Find new recruits for the Emperor's Coven? The best and the brightest witches in all the land. Then maybe, you can get this back."
Hunter became determined. "I'll do it."
"Of course you will." Darius said, "You're very good at doing exactly what you're told."
"Hey, what about me?" Oziel questioned.
"Try to stay out of mischief!" Darius scolded. "I'm still frankly alarmed at your lack of self-preservation."
The doors slam shut. Eberwolf grunted something at Darius, who shook his head sternly.
"No… that would be inappropriate." The abomination coven head responded, then became solemn. "Some lines you just cannot cross." Even if a part of you badly wants to. He thought morosely.
In the meantime, Willow was training relentlessly with her bumblebee palisman Clover as she has found something new she can be good at – Flyer Derby. She had been playing the sport ever since the Grudgby match with the Banshees.
On Hexside's Club Fair day, she opened up a stand to recruit new members. While trying to attract people, her old teacher, Professor Hermonculus, appears, and declared that he didn't think Willow's club was worth investing in. He planned on shutting down the club unless Willow stepped down, as he doesn't think quitters make good leaders.
Gus retorted that he is just mad that Willow dropped his class and asks to give her a chance. Hermonculus agrees, and says that if Willow can put together a team and win against his team in a Flyer Derby match after school, he will consider approving her club. This worries Willow, as she doesn't know where to find enough decent players in such a short time.
Hunter had decided the best place to find recruits would be at Hexside. He was disguised in the uniform of a Potions Track student, dressed Oziel in smaller uniform. The younger boy is delighted to see the little red bird again, even if he is with his cousin.
Yet, Oziel is completely curious and fascinated with just about everything in this new place. Having lived most of your early life in the Emperor's castle would do that even to a young child. There was just so much to see and do!
"Wow! Look at all the neat stuff!" Oziel said about to walk over to a stand, only to be gently pulled back by his cousin.
"Not now, we'll get a snack later." Hunter said to him. "You stay close, and no running off without telling me."
Hunter then tried to recruit the students there to join the Emperor's Coven. However, no one is interested at all.
At one point, Hunter accidentally stepped on Viney's pet griffin, Puddles', tail. She turns around and screeched at him.
"It's okay, Puddles." The griffin's owner Viney attempted to calm it, "No, he didn't mean it. No, no, no, no! No, Puddles, no!"
In the chaos, Hunter let go of Oziel's hand, shoving the little boy under a table and trying to keep the Griffin's attention away from his little cousin.
"Here!"
Somewhere in the process Oziel gets separated from Hunter this allows him to go exploring.
His first stop is the gym. Where he'd accidentally stepped on a red button. As he examines it, the ground rumbles, and the floor opens to an underground arena, connected by a ramp and two walls of weapons coming up from the floor.
However Oziel was just disappointed it didn't show a passage way to someplace fun.
In the meantime, Hunter is riding on his palisman staff, trying to escape from Puddles chasing after him. Puddles bites on one of Hunter's shoe and tears it off. "Hey!"
He noticed Puddles coming straight at him. He makes a nosedive towards her and snatches his shoe from Puddles' beak, then makes a few spins and whizzes past Willow. Willow watched Hunter in astonishment. She ties up Puddles with vines, then calls out to Hunter.
"Hey, you!"
Hunter notices Willow calling out for him. He then sees Willow's vines coming towards him and tried to escape on his staff, but Willow promptly ties him up and brings him back to her. Hunter looks at her with a terrified expression as she approaches him and stares down at him.
Willow held up a pamphlet. "Wanna join my Flyer Derby team?"
After looking around the gym, Oziel had somehow ended up walking on one of the bookshelves. He accidentally steps onto someone's pile of books – that belonging to a shocked Mattholomule.
"Whoa!" Oziel quickly jumps on a step ladder hanging on.
But Mattholomule slips, the bookshelf falls away from him and crashed into the next bookshelf. This causes a domino effect to kick-in: each bookshelf crashing into the next. And onward it goes. Bookshelf after bookshelf. Thousands of volumes flinging off shelves and scattering across the floor and one falling shelf and almost hitting the librarian.
Oops. Oziel slid down the ladder and walks out as the librarian glared at a sheepish Mattholomule.
The little boy then reaches what looks like a giant greenhouse. Some of the plants were kind of scary looking, then he found one area outside near the forest. Where some of those funny looking things Hunter brought back that Daddy said he'd pay to make them stronger. Oziel thought he heard something scurry about. Briefly, there was a glimpse of something scurry into a knothole.
"Hey, I thought I'd saw something." Oziel wondered. His stomach growled a bit. Oziel then remembered he ought to go back to Hunter, and began to make his way back to the school building.
At that moment something crashed against his calf, making Oziel jump. To his surprise, what he saw were some small furry creatures. These don't look anything like the creatures that lived in the isles he'd seen in books.
They were four inches tall and covered with short, silky fur all over their bodies, ending in a tuft of colorful hair on their heads and wide ears like those of cat or fennec fox.
"You don't look like anything else around here." Oziel comments, curiously kneeling down to their eye level.
The little creatures shook their heads fervently while making high-pitched chattering sounds. Oziel didn't know they were confirming his words. He reached inside his pockets and pulled out an apple blood muffin, breaking it in to pieces. "You hungry?" he asked. "here you go. It's a muffin. It's food."
Each of the little things grabbed the biscuit and gobbled it right down.
"You guys are hungrier than me." muses Oziel. "My Mommy and Daddy don't even let me have muffins before bed."
The little creatures were relieved. Now that they knew the child was not going to hurt them. Things were already bad enough with the palistrom trees disappearing and these awful things now with the scouts.
Oziel looked carefully, "No collars, you're probably wild. But that's a no brainer otherwise you wouldn't be out here."
However there was another feature to them that Oziel was soon to discover. Such when he tripped over the foot to one of the abomatons much to the boy's frustration. He took an acorn hit the robotic guard with it, but this made A harmonic-vibration.
To his surprise, the little critters scattered speedily all over the contraption. Unscrewing bolts, nail, pulling wires and just about disassembling everything.
Oziel was impressed. "Wow! that's a neat trick."
He went to pick up the exhausted little creatures. One of the little furries had tan fur and a tuft of coppery brown hair on it's head. This took a particular liking to the little boy.
Oziel spend the next twenty five minutes playing and talking to the little things until he heard the crunching of footsteps. Some of the other furries hid in small tunnels under the tree roots.
The one Oziel was holding hid himself by hiding his full body until only his hair tuft could be seen.
Oziel also gasped, was he found out?
"And how did you get out of primary class?" One of the teachers rebuked.
Oziel is promptly picked up and carried away, his new little friend crouched on his head was equally puzzled.
Eventually, three new members joined Willow's team: Gus, Skara, and Viney. Originally, upon looking at the new members' skillset and attitude, Hunter was initially unimpressed until Willow took him to the playing field, where the new members are now demonstrating their positive attitude and skills after warming up. Willow informed Hunter about the members' strong suits, explaining that all the members including her had all been misjudged before in their lives. Willow then proceeded to ask Hunter if he still thinks they are pathetic, and he shakes his head, ashamed. After that, Willow asks everyone to paint their faces.
Before the game starts, Hunter calls Darius and informs him that he had found potential new recruits for the Emperor's Coven, much to Darius' annoyance.
As it turns out Oziel was mistaken for another younger student. Afterwards while most of his "class" was napping as the teacher fixed up snacks, Oziel decided it was time to find his cousin.
It didn't take long for Hunter to notice Oziel was nowhere in sight. He'd nearly panicked, only to see the five year old run up to the stands and watch the game.
The game soon begins, and after an exhilarating and action-packed battle, Hunter managed to score the final point for the team, securing the win. Professor Hermonculus begrudgingly walked up to register Willow's club, and asked her for her team's name. Willow realizes right then that she hasn't thought about the name, and Hunter comes up with the name 'Emerald Entrails' on the spot, as their team color is green and there's more to them than people think. The other members like the name and chants it, and Willow proceeds to take a selfie with every team member.
"So who's the little kid? Your baby brother?" Skara took a guess with a warm grin.
"My cousin," Hunter ruffled Oziel's hair.
"He's cute." Viney smiled at him.
"What's your name, kiddo?" Gus asked Oziel.
"Oziel!"
"Like the prince?" Willow surmised.
"I am the prince!" Oziel grinned.
Hunter added, "Yeah, I'll explain everything and more when we play next time... as a part of the Emperor's Coven!"
The rest of Hunter's flyer derby team members were stupefied.
"The what?!" Gus demanded.
"Yeah, Oziel is my Uncle and Aunt's son and my name isn't Caleb. It's Hunter!" Hunter confirmed. "And I'm the Emperor's right-hand man. The Golden Guard!"
Willow giggled nervously. "...Y-Y-Y-You can't be serious? You're not the one Luz... told us about, right?"
"Yes, I am!" Hunter nods at the cardinal palisman which flies upwards and transforms into a staff. Hunter grabs it and waves, transforming his outfit into the Golden Guard outfit changing Oziel's into his trademark clothes and fixing up his hair. Hunter then puts on his mask.
"Yeah, this would usually look cooler with the cloak, but... I don't have it at the moment. Long story." Hunter explained.
The team members gasp. Multiple Coven Scouts had appeared and began to surround them.
"Hey, I thought I could go exploring with just my cousin for today!" Oziel protested indignantly.
Hunter was surprised. "Whoa there, scouts. I didn't give you orders to come here."
One of the guards Steve answered, "Darius sent us to collect your recruits."
"Ah, okay. Very good. Then there won't be any delay in branding you with coven sigils and taking you away from your friends and family forever. Hooray!"
Hunter's words made Oziel feel a chill in the pit of his stomach, from his hiding spot in Oziel's coat, his new little friend gulped. Gus, Willow and Viney look at the Coven Scouts angrily while Skara starts bawling.
An hour later, in the Police Precinct 128 in Bonesborough, the team members are locked up in a cell. Hunter had taken away their staff and leans them on a wall outside the cell.
"Okay, listen, I'm sorry about this whole cell thing, but did you really have to punch Steve, Skara?"
Steve is sitting on a stool, his helmet dented as he presses an ice pack onto the side of his head. "I get it. Emotions are running high." The guard gave thumbs up. "Ice pack for Steve."
Oziel wasn't in a bright mood either, he hadn't said a word since they left Hexside. Did Hunter truly mean the scouts were gonna take all the big kids with him away from their families and friends forever? None of this made sense to him.
"Well, I don't get it. You're joining the best coven there is." Hunter was saying, "You can keep all your magic, you get free room and board, you can even play Flyer Derby on your day off! Well, this year's day has already passed, but next year's only 52 weeks away!"
Skara spat. "We don't care! None of us want this!"
"You will eventually. Trust me, I'm your friend now."
"Friends don't stab each other in the back." Gus retorted.
"Sure they do. The Coven Heads do it all the time back at the castle." Hunter replied then looked towards Willow. "Captain, you're on my side, right?"
However Willow facing the wall with her head lowered. "I... thought I... could be good at this." she muttered.
Hunter's smile vanished.
"But we're here because... I made a bad call." Willow muttered sadly, "I'm just... half-a-witch Willow."
"Hunter, do they hafta leave their mommies and daddies and friends?" Oziel piped up uncertainly.
"They'll be fine." Hunter dismissed, more to reassure himself than to his cousin.
An abomination goo suddenly appears, wraps the team members up and vanishes altogether, for they were teleported onto Darius' flying ship. Their palismen are sent up by a Coven Scout in a cage. Hunter flung the door open and runs outside, Oziel followed after to watch.
"Darius, I did it! I found recruits!"
Darius was far from thrilled. "Yep, and you're making me work on my day off."
"But Hunter, you can't let them take the big kids away from their families, it's not right! Isn't it kidnapping?" Oziel begins to protest. This whole situation made him and his new friend very uncomfortable.
Darius raised his eyebrows at the little child, who appeared to be more perceptive and empathic for his young age.
"Only if no one knows where they're going." Hunter brushed off. "But we do!"
"And I'll see the young prince home, his mother will be wanting to see him." Darius created a small circle, causing his abomination goo to take Oziel. "Take this and quit bugging me."
Darius summoned Hunter's cloak and flung it at him. Hunter looked down at his sigil and touches it.
"I can... wear this proudly now." He looked up at Darius, "Right?"
"Can you?" Darius questioned.
Hunter looks at Darius uncertainly, not knowing what he means.
"See you at the castle, Golden Guard." Darius flies off in his ship.
"Meet you back home, Oziel." Hunter waved.
"See you later…" Oziel squeaked with a small wave of his own.
On the ship, Darius is scrolling on his scroll looking at Penstagram. An abomination is seen controlling the ship. The cage containing the morose palismen is put beside Darius. Skara tries to reach out to it, but Darius promptly slaps her away with abomination goo.
"Nope." Darius scolded, not even bothering to look up.
Oziel had been watching everything. He didn't like this situation one bit, the big kids palismans looked so sad to be away from their owners and shouldn't have to be in the cage. The furry little creature he'd befriended clambered out and looked around.
Thinking if he should try it, Oziel began approaching the cage. Maybe he and his friend could try and pick the lock…
"And you, away from the edge." Darius uses abomination goo to pull Oziel away from the edge of the ship.
Willow tries to bring the cage over using a Plant spell.
"Nuh-uh." Darius destroys the leaves with an abomination goo hand and slaps Willow's head with it. He set aside his scroll and stood up looking down at the four students. "You're gonna need to be a little more clever than that."
"Darius!" Hunter suddenly teleports himself next to Darius, startling him.
"Now!" Willow cried.
All team members jump off the ship. Shocked, Darius, Hunter and Oziel rush over and look down, only to see the team members disappear in a puff of smoke. Darius immediately glances back growling "An illusion."
"Land the ship!"
The team members are revealed to be up on the ship frame's beam, they jumped down and Willow said. "Land the ship."
Viney squashes the abomination and takes control of the ship.
"Wait!" Darius shouted.
Viney pulls down a lever and crashes the ship into the sea, destroying it. The team members then jump off the ship with their staffs and try to escape, but Darius blocks their path with an abomination.
"Did you really think you could get away with endangering a Coven Head and the Empress' child?" Darius stepped up from the ship's remains unharmed. "Do you have any idea what I'm capable of?!" He snarled.
He transformed his right arm into a scythe. Willow tries to attack him with vines, but he sliced them off easily. Willow then tries to form a shield with vines, but Darius slices it open easily too. He then raises his scythe arm, preparing to attack Willow. Willow braces herself for the attack while shielding other team members behind her.
"WAIT!" Hunter suddenly rushes forwards and puts himself between Darius and the team members.
"Hunter! Darry!" Oziel had already jumped out of the ship and was ready to intervene for his cousin as he did the one other time he snuck out.
"Stay!" Both Hunter and Darius shouted, pointing at him.
Oziel paused, taken aback. His face clearly saying, 'What did I do?'
Darius sternly ordered, "Out of my way, little prince."
"No! I was mistaken. These four are insolent agitators who aren't fit for the Emperor's Coven. Hunter refused, he look down. And I'm unfit to wear the sigil of the Golden Guard." He takes off his cloak and dropped it to the ground and turned to Willow. You can go.
Willow raised her staff. She is on the verge of tears.
"Please, captain." Hunter softly pleaded.
Willow lowers her staff. "Let's move, team. We need to find a replacement. After all, it'll be 52 weeks before Caleb's next day off."
She and the other team members begin to walk away uncertainly.
Darius looked to Hunter incredulously. "You... befriended them? And then you disobeyed me to protect them?!" He raised his scythe arm.
Expecting an attack, Oziel yelped, Hunter shut his eyes and recoiled in fear. Instead, Darius transformed his hand back and pats his head.
"I'm impressed. I had you all wrong." Darius actually smirked.
Hunter and Oziel were a little confused.
"You're what? Sixteen? It's about time you made connections outside the castle." Darius addressed Hunter. He then summoned a scroll and dropped in into Hunter's hands.
Hunter opened it up and sees the sign-up page of Penstagram.
"You mean you're not mad?" Oziel questioned, hugging his little friend.
Darius merely shrugged, "I was just gonna drop them off at Hexside. We have more than enough recruits, in my opinion."
"Are you... gonna tell Belos about this?"
Darius smiled warmly. "Are you going to tell him about your secret palisman? Or the fact that your cousin wandered off intending to bring back a small wild animal?"
Hunter gasped and reached his hand towards the little red bird who chirped. Oziel became a little sheepish, petting the furry creature he'd befriended.
"Magic or not, I think you'll make your predecessors proud." Darius threw Hunter's cloak back at him and fixes the sewing work using magic. "But you could still use a sewing lesson."
"Does this mean I can keep him…?" Oziel asked holding up the furry animal standing on his palms. Then he paused for a moment considering something. "Well, if he wants to." He looked to his new little friend. "Do you? If you wanna go back home I understand."
"Uh-uh." The little furry shook his head with a small smile.
Hunter was bemused. Darius watched the exchange between Oziel and the little animal he'd found contemplatively. The little boy actually wanted to make sure his potential pet would be happy before doing anything else. Much like Hunter, he truly exceeded his expectations too. There may be hope yet that the prince will turn to be different than his father.
Darius answered Oziel. "Of course you know that you're going to have to properly take care of him. That's still for your mother to decide."
Miles away, Aurelie stood on something enormous. At long last after much searching, she has found the right scroll.
"Für eine Zeit wie diese..." she murmured in german.
To be continued…
Author's note: And there you have it. While Hunter had his first flyer derby match, Oziel had gone exploring then made some little friends. Oh, incidentally they're based off the cute little furry animals seen in the Talespin episode 'The sound and the furry'.
And as you remember, Aurelie knew Darius when he first became a coven head – like Hunter, he too had misjudged her until he saw what she's like. His words were reminding her that no one wants to cooped up forever, another reason he's also surprised with Oziel's behavior.
Gotta get started on the next chapter, it's gonna be a different one than you expect.