alexc1209: In regards to Aurelie finding out King is Titan, it'll be irrelevant to her either way. She'll just treat him like another young one.
Guest: Well she did watch Hunter grow up and care for him since he was little. As for Odalia, if Aurelie had enough strength she'll probably try to scratch that shameless harridan's eyes out if she tries anything against her boys. However, don't expect Aurelie to be in the factory on the Day of Unity, big things are coming.
KG and Panda39: As of right now, Oziel doesn't know anything's wrong persay. Only that he and the cousin he looks up to are having outside sleepovers and exploring a whole new place – after having lived in a gilded cage for most of his young life. I have plans for what happens when it comes crashing down but he takes after his mother and uncle a lot more than you think.
Gry26: The students and the staff will be in for a big surprise.
Hunter and Oziel had been at Hexside's closed theater for less than a couple of days. They'd been surviving on Hex mix, some food scraps and the occasional snacks Flapjack or Munchkin brought them. At nightfall, they slept back stage in a makeshift sleeping bag. Little Oziel was a very heavy sleeper, in regards to the temperature, during warm seasons he had a tendency to subconsciously to push or kick off the bed covering whereas in colder conditions, he sleeps semi curled up wrapping himself in his covers. Sleeping next to his older cousin, the little boy snuggled closer for warmth. Hunter slept fitfully due to recurring nightmares.
The older boy was often playful, haughty and smug, and showing it in his exaggerated, expressive movements, poses, and facial expressions whilst displaying a protective, gentle side with his little cousin. However, since the discoveries he and Luz found in Belos' memories, Hunter often curled in on himself, with his shoulders hunched and his hands tucked against his chest, he smiled noticeably less, and in moments where he's under a lot of stress, he started pulling on his own hair.
Oziel was enjoying his time exploring Hexside with its secret passageways, the games, and seeing all the interesting things the bigger kids got to do and blending in with the younger children, no one even knew he was the Prince. Even if he doesn't like how some of the different looking kids were called 'demons' instead of cryptids. Although he did sorta sometimes miss his parents and everyone else back in the castle, but at least he had Munchkin, Hunter and Flapjack with him. Maybe they could go back and visit the Owl Lady with the Luz girl again?
Yet his big cousin was kinda jumpy nowadays and was already telling Oziel not to go anywhere without telling him, at night they had to stay together and not to let any coven scouts see him. When Oziel asked how Mommy will find them, Hunter said they'll think of something.
Then, one afternoon Flapjack returned to the Paranoratorium in a hurry. Hunter had told Oziel to hide backstage while he checked it out. He needn't have worried, it was the youngest member of his Flyer derby team: Gus Porter.
Gus held up his chameleon staff defensively. "What are you doing here, Golden Guard?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Hunter chuckled darkly, "But rest assured, Gus, I—"
Both hear clattering sounds as Gus looks behind Hunter, confused. Behind Hunter, was a puzzled Oziel and Munchkin on his shoulder, a few packets of Hex Mix and several books. Hunter blushed with embarrassment attempting to hide the sight with his cape.
Gus frowned, this was strange and what was Hunter doing with the young Prince?
"I'll ask you one more time. What are you doing here, Hunter?" Gus questioned, "And why isn't Oziel with his mother?"
Hunter does not speak until Flapjack flies across him and pulls at hair strand, making his hood come off.
"OWOWOWOW- OKAY, FINE!"
"Truth is, my living situation has been compromised. Maybe. So I just need a place to crash. Temporarily! Hexside... was the only place I could think of."
"How do you explain what your preschool aged cousin is doing with you?" Gus inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"We're waiting for Mommy to find us!" Oziel piped up, making Hunter pull him back and cover his mouth.
"Oziel!"
"You mean you haven't heard?" Gus pointed out awkwardly. "She ran off."
"Aurelie's out of the castle? Hunter inquired, relieved then tried to put on a cool façade.. Well, he is Oziel's mother and all."
"How... vague of you. Do you know where Luz is, by any chance?"
Hunter was surprised. "She's... not with the Owl Lady?"
Just then, Bump's voice rings out from the speakers. "Students, please join me in the gym for an important announcement. "
"I'm not sure what you're going through…" Gus said skeptically, then summons his lunch bag and handed it to Hunter. "But that much Hex Mix can't be good for your stomach."
Hunter looks inside the bag to find an orange, an apple and a sandwich. Gus then ran off as Hunter watches him go. Oziel then reached in for the apple to share with Munchkin. Before his cousin could stop him, the little boy went to follow Gus.
Fugitive. Escapee. That's what she was.
However, she was determined to find her son and her nephew – at this rate she might as well call him her adoptive child. She didn't care if Hunter was a grimwalker or not, he was still a frightened young man she raised and cared for as if he were her own child.
She knew Belos wanted her brought back alive. She heard the coven scouts' conversation, it didn't matter if she had to be roughed up, he wanted her dragged into the throne room even if unconscious or barely breathing.
But right now she had to fetch the boys and bring them to safety. Aurelie arrived to Hexside and walked in, she noticed something off. Where was everyone?
Inside the gym, the students are gathered into a crowd. Oziel had followed Gus at a respectful distance with Munchkin. Upon the stage is the illusion teacher, Principal Bump and a mysterious figure.
Principal Bump "Uh, students, teachers, let me introduce the esteemed-"
"Please, Principal Bump, I deserve no accolades." The hooded figure stepped forward and lowered his hood to reveal fairly tall and thin man with light skin, pointed ears, cornflower blue eyes, thick eyebrows, and curled, dark turquoise hair. He had a long, prehensile dark teal tail with a tan fur tuft at the end. On his left ear, he wore a small golden mirror. "Hello everyone, my name is Adrian Graye, Head Witch of the Illusionist Coven."
The students gasped and began to mutter worriedly at the presence of a coven head in Hexside. Oziel frowned and squinted at the Head Illusionist.
"Unfortunately, I'm not here with good news." Adrian said, "The Emperor's Coven has plans to stop multitrack studies, by inducting every Hexside student into a coven, before the Day of Unity."
Everyone gasped in shock. Especially Viney, Barcus and Jerbo.
"Mother Titan!" swore Matholomule, tearing off his newly colored sleeves and crossing his arms grumpily.
"Don't worry. No one's magic is going to be sealed away." Principal Bump reassured the students, "Head Witch Graye supports us, and has come to help."
Upon hearing this, Mattholomule picked up his sleeves, put them on, and crossed his arms again, embarrassed. A teacher then came up to Amity's brother, Edric, and took him by the shoulder.
"Before any Coven Scouts come by, I'm going to make illusions of sigils on your wrists." Adrian explained, "They'll be temporary, and harmless."
A hesitant Edric is then led onto the stage. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, I just started the other tracks. Are you sure this is safe?"
Adrian placated, "Don't worry, once a scout sees the fake sigil, they'll move on, and you can continue your studies in peace."
Edric, still concerned, rolled up his sleeve and showed his wrist.
"Now hold still." Adrian draws a spell circle in the air and aims it towards Edric's wrist.
"Wait a sec, there's something bothering me about this…" Oziel said to Munchkin with a frown.
Gus squinted suspiciously, and sees a bright cyan reflecting light on Adrian's hand. This allows Gus to figure out this was a trap. He gasped. "Stop!"
Everyone looked at him.
"Don't trust him! He's hiding behind an illusion!" warned Gus.
Oziel's sea green eyes widened. "I know!" He yelled out loud, "You're NOT Mister Gray! He said he wouldn't be caught dead with cowlicks or the cheesecloth suit!"
Surprised, the students looked back at "Adrian" as did Principal Bump and the teachers.
Gus takes advantage of this to draw a huge spell circle, and aimed it towards the stage. The illusion dispelled and Adrian is revealed to be a Scout Captain in disguise. Edric fearfully shielded his wrist as the illusion teacher and Bump step forward protectively him. The illusion teacher and the captain draw spell circles simultaneously, when suddenly, a voice interrupted.
"Cut! Ugh, just... just cut."
Both the teacher and the Coven Scout call off their spell circles in surprise. Then from the bleachers in the gym, Coven Scouts start to appear in puffs of cyan smoke, much to the shock and disturbance of the students. Some Coven Scouts also appeared on stage too, a few handling the lights, and a few handling vocals. The true Adrian then appeared, in a director's seat, right in the middle of the stage.
He wore a light blue, tan furred vest over a teal jumpsuit with gold details and light blue shoes. A small mirror rested in the center of his vest, and he had a sky-blue bead at the end of his tail. Additionally, he wore a set of dark teal finger-less gloves. He was holding a cup of coffee and looked like he was about to laugh – revealing notable fangs. "All right, couple of notes. Tom," he walks over to a Coven Scout. "That Adrian illusion was lacking a certain, hmm? You get me?"
The scout, Tom, shrugs in confusion. Oziel hadn't been exaggerating about the Illusion covenhead. Adrian Gray Vernworth was a haughty, spiteful man, and he didn't like the slimy way Mr. Gray would sometimes talk to Mommy or how he treated the young prince like a baby.
"Severine!" Adrian addressed a female scout, "That was really... poor, work. You're on thin ice."
Severine whimpers and hung her head.
"Captain," Adrian walked over to the captain, who was pretending to be him, "the read of your last line was just a little... mm."
The Guard Captain admitted. "I don't know what that means."
Adrian handed him the cup of coffee and winked. "You'll figure it out. Especially since…" he teleports right in front of a stunned Oziel and Munchkin, making them yelp. "The Royal Tot was more observant than a group of grown scouts!" the coven-head said this with gritted teeth.
"I'm not a baby!" Oziel protests. Munchkin also irritably glared up at the coven head.
"I'm inclined to disagree." Adrian sneered back, flicking the little boy backwards into some scouts.
Oziel was indignant. "Hey!"
Adrian then teleported beside Gus and grabbed his right arm. "And you." he snarled, "Well, you just ruined any chance we had of making this, something."
"You were gonna trick us into getting sigils!" Gus snapped, attempting to escape Adrian's tight grip unsuccessfully.
A Coven Scout then handed Adrian a glove with a coven sigil on it, which he wears.
"Uh, yeah. I work for Belos. Kind of my job." Adrian sneered back, "But let's make sure you can never use your little illusion tricks again..." He said sinisterly as the brand on the glove changed from illusion to abomination, "Shall we?"
"What?!" Oziel couldn't believe his ears. Can he do that?
Everyone gasped, horrified. A clearly frightened Gus attempted to escape Adrian's grip again as the branding glove slowly reaches to his wrist.
"No, no, stay back! I said, stay... BACK!"
The word 'back' echoed, Gus' eyes began to glow an electric blue. He projected a big illusion, but this one kept shifting locations in cyan blue color, confusing everyone.
By then scouts had been starting to surround the students, but the unexpected illusion caused by Gus changed things. Aurelie, who had begun making her way to the gym was not exempt either.
"Oziel! Hunter!" she cried.
"Mommy?" Oziel glanced around in mild confusion.
The students took their chances to run. Everyone scattering in different directions. Adrian looks at Gus, astonished. "How are you doing this?!" He growled.
Gus tries to escape his grip again. Just then, Hunter passed through the illusion and pushed Adrian out of the way, taking Gus with him as they both disappeared. The scouts with Oziel and Munchkin also vanished out of the coven head's sight, so he did not see if they had a good hold on the young prince.
Adrian recovered with a grim disposition, then used his mirror earring to draw a spell circle with it and steadied the illusion. It brought him and a few other scouts, however, into the Looking Glass Ruins.
The Guard Captain approached. "Head Witch. It looks like the whole school is covered in a giant..."
"...Illusion. Hmm." Adrian said, looking over his new surroundings with a critical eye. He walked over and examined a statue, using his earring like magnifying glass for a moment. When he touches it, however, it simply passes through his hand. He then smirked. "Find that boy, the one who... did... this."
"This is a complicated spell. I-If we could have some direction..."
"Am I the only one who knows how to do their job? Just figure.. it out! The Prince is in our hands, so that's one thing in your favor." Adrian then went back to examining the statue, "Would you look at this? The detail is just so... pow!"
"I hate working for this guy." The guard captain grumbled.
The gym had kept changing into different places so fast it almost made both Oziel and Munchkin dizzy. Finally the locations stopped shifting until the scouts and the little prince were in the middle of a forest.
"How'd we get here?" Oziel glanced around. Munchkin quickly hid until he resembled a tuft of tawny brown hair on Oziel's head, the scouts were none the wiser.
"Hey, isn't this Prince Oziel?" one of them inquired.
The scout holding Oziel gently sent him down and kneeled to his eye level, "What are you doing out of the palace, little guy?"
"Following Hunter." Oziel responded, "Where's Mommy?"
"Looking for you." one of the other scouts answered, "Your father sent out a search party for you both and the Golden Guard, he's been worried sick."
"Daddy's looking for us?" Oziel mumbled. Then he remembered something. Something that didn't sit right with him. "Mr. Gray wasn't gonna really brand Gus so he can't do Illusions ever again, was he?"
"Every witch has to be in a coven before the Day of Unity by order of the Emperor."
Oziel became very uncomfortable, not knowing the sigils would mean death. "But he shouldn't have to get branded, if he doesn't want to…"
"It's just the way it is."
"Pssh! Don't tell the kid that," One of the scouts elbowed the other one. If they tell too much, then they might frighten the Prince into actually running away. "No kid wants to hear the hard truth about their parent."
As the scouts discussed amongst themselves, Oziel looked at Munchkin, who was just as unsettled. They had enough of this. It was time they find Hunter and Gus.
"I've really got to go!" Oziel piped up thinking fast.
"You mean now?" One of the scouts said incredulously.
"I mean it. When you've got to go, you've got to go."
Thankfully the place changed from a forest to the school hallways. And at one corner was the bathroom.
"Make it fast."
Oziel scowled. "Nu-uh! You'll look!"
They acquiesced. However, Oziel and Munchkin had an escape plan of their very own. Before long, water begun to pour out of the bathroom sink and cover the floor.
Bewildered, the scouts burst in. "What's going on here?" they shouted.
The guards waded through the knee deep water. Oziel and Munchkin sniggered as watched them. They were hiding on top of the utility closet.
One scout hurried to turn off the water. Munchkin pulled a string. Bam! The door closed. The guard was locked in!
There was one darkened bathroom stall was slightly open. The scouts ran towards it, clearly thinking they saw Oziel hiding in there. He grabbed something. "Gotcha!" He thought it was the little boy. But it was just a dummy made out of towels and a mop!
Oziel with Munchkin on his shoulder jumped from the top of the utility closet and slammed the main bathroom door behind him.
"Hey!" the scouts shouted. "Let us out!" But they were stuck inside.
"That'll keep 'em busy!" Oziel said as he hurried out into the hallway.
He thought he caught a glimpse of his mother running through what looked like the carnival calling out for him and Hunter.
"Mommy's here!" Oziel gasped.
Aurelie hurried through the carnival stalls, catching brief glimpses of students and scouts scattering. She thought she heard Oziel's voice somewhere.
She turned one corner and nearly bumped right into a coven scout wearing a shirt with the name Steve. She breathed a sigh of relief. He was one of the scouts that was assigned as her personal guard, and was trustworthy.
He looked at her, taking his mask off to reveal a pinkish complexion, pointed ears, turquoise eyes, thick eyebrows, dark purple hair and a short bone-white horn sticking out of the right side of his forehead.
"Aurelie? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be hiding better!" Steve's voice took on a stern note.
"I don't intend to leave without my boys."
"Boys?" Steve frowned a little.
"My son, Oziel and his cousin, Hunter." Aurelie insisted. "Surely, you wish to look in on your younger brother."
Steve nods a little too quickly, "Yeah, got it one! Maybe we can look together?" He smiled at Aurelie, staring right into her eyes. "But seriously! The emperor's going crazy looking for you. Well... as crazy as he can manage."
Wait, something felt off. She decided to find out, time to put her own acting skills to good use.
"I'm afraid my marriage is a facade." Aurelie said morosely, "Belos was not who I thought he was."
However before she could make another move, more coven scouts arrive and have her surrounded.
"Nothing personal, Aurelie. The emperor wants both you and your boys back without delay." Steve's face wavers before the Illusion coven heads face takes its place. He smiles coyly at her.
Aurelie stood very still, her expression quiet and shocked. But she wasn't giving up.
Meanwhile, Gus's left eye was still glowing. He and Hunter found themselves in an illusion of Bonesborough yet Gus has no idea how to undo the Illusion, having never made one so big before.
Hunter was worried, he'd lost sight of Oziel somewhere in the chaos and was anxious to find him before the scouts did. Gus inquired why Hunter stopped Adrian ray from giving him a sigil. The older boy replied that he owed him for the food. However, when they first met Hunter tried to get him to join a coven yet now he's trying to keep him from one?
They ran into Coven Scouts, who tell Hunter that Belos is looking for him, Oziel and Aurelie deeply frightening him. The boys fight them off and hide in a room that replicated Gus' bedroom.
Hunter starts to hyperventilate and go through a panic attack, but Gus shows him the breathing exercise Willow taught him when he was younger, helping him settle down, and he explains that he used to think people had an ulterior motive before meeting Willow, Luz, and the others.
"Hunter! Gus!" Oziel had just missed the two boys as they'd ran into an open door.
He had to get run again and not let the scouts find him. This time he'd bumped into something. One of the teachers that was on stage with the other scouts and Mr. Gray.
"How did you get out here?" she asked him, not recognizing Oziel as the Prince.
"But my Mommy and cousin!"
"We'll find them." The illusionist teacher reassured.
Meanwhile, Hunter and Gus walked into the school. Gus touched a water fountain and gets gum stuck on his hand; he groaned in disgust. However, this meant something else as well. "Yes! Yeah, we made it through the illusion! High five!"
Hunter confusingly raised his hand to Gus, which he slapped, causing him to grunt. Then Willow is seen walking through the halls and stops as she notices the boys.
"Willow! You're okay!" Gus was relieved.
"Augustus! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Willow then noticed Hunter. "Whoa, what is he doing here?"
"Oh, don't worry. It's cool. He helped me escape from Graye." Gus then whispers. "I think he and his cousin ran away from the Emperor's Coven. Also, he hasn't showered. In a while. Be nice."
Willow squinted her eyes a little. "Interesting... Anyway, let's find the others before these illusions get any more..." she squeaked.
Hunter looks at Willow suspiciously.
"Okay, let's get moving." said Gus.
Hunter then summoned his staff and teleported in front of the two. "Who are you?"
Gus stood in front of Willow, "What are you doing? Willow's on our side!"
"That's not the captain." Hunter insisted.
Willow gaped, "You're scaring me, Hunter!"
Hunter looked to Gus, "Have you ever seen her play Flyer Derby? There's no way she'd be afraid of me."
What he said made sense, Gus starts to back away from her.
"Oh, again? CUT!"
"Willow" revealed to be Severine in disguise.
"Severine!" Adrian's voice snapped.
Severine squeaked in surprise.
"You had your chance, and you blew it! Not that I'm surprised."
"But I-I followed all your notes." Severine stammered.
"Well, he was still able to see through your shoddy performance. So maybe you should've figured out the note inside the note." Adrian said conceitedly.
Severine walks away, whining. Then the Illusionist coven head turned to the boy with a growl. "And you two, are making my job very difficult-!"
Aurelie had somehow broken free and shoved Adrian away.
"And you were always a shameless Paskudnik, Graye!" she retorted.
The woman took both Hunter and Gus' hands to run, but just as they were about to turn the corner, they are halted in their tracks by Belos. The ice cold blue eyes glared down at them.
"Belos..." Hunter stopped first in fear.
Graye kicked Hunter to the ground, grabbed Gus by the arms and held Hunter down with his foot.
"Hunter!" Aurelie spun to fight Adrian, who snapped his fingers with a smirk.
Belos turned out to be an illusion hiding two scouts.
"I command you to stop!" Hunter yelled.
The scouts stopped advancing on him for a moment. "Technically, he is our superior." One of them said.
"He's also my nephew and I'm his legal guardian!" Aurelie stomped forward to the scouts, "You will do as I command, leave them alone!"
The scouts saw her coming towards them, like an unmasked angel in her majesty. Beyond her beauty, it was her eyes that weakened them, a look of such strength that it filled them with a sacred terror. Imagining laying a hand on her seemed an intolerable sacrilege.
"Well, right now he's just a runaway, and our dearest Emperor wants him and his beautiful wife back. So tie him up."
The two pick up Hunter, who proceeded to kick the scout and headbutt the burlier of the two scouts.
"Just put him-"
"Out of his misery? Got it!" The scout began to draw a spell circle.
Aurelie actually shrieked, frighted for his life. "NO!"
The other scout quickly finished. "To sleep, dude! To sleep!"
"Oh, yeah. Right, right." He summoned a flute and played a tune that emitted very light blue smoke that knocked out the teenager.
"Hunter!" Aurelie cried.
"Nothing personal." One scouts said to her.
As Gray and some scouts took Gus away, Aurelie didn't see from a corner several students pop out. They were alarmed at the sight of an unconscious Hunter.
Providing a distraction, One female student took a scrub brush and shoves it across the floor, right under one the bigger scouts' unsuspecting foot. His feet fly out from under him and he smashed against his skinnier comrade. Aurelie pulls their capes over their heads and hurries to Hunter's side, allowing the students to take him to safety.
Some of the other kids glance over. A stocky girl and a curly haired one, look at her with great admiration . . . some of the other students seemed to think she's crazy. Aurelie quickly shoos them away as the scouts regain their bearings.
Once the students rushed away with an unconscious Hunter, Aurelie gave her captors a cold glower.
In the Healing homeroom, Oziel and Munchkin felt a little overwhelmed being among the students and staff that were processing what was happening out there.
Then when some of the big kids came back, they were carrying Hunter.
"Hunter!" Oziel ran towards his motionless cousin.
"You know this boy?" Principal Bump was surprised.
They were in for quite an explanation.
To be continued…
Author's note: Thought I'd make this a two parter as I work on the next part until then. Don't forget to send you suggestions via PM and guest reviews.