When Marigolds Bloom
Hunter, the infamous Golden Guard of the Emperor's Coven, renowned magical prodigy and secret nephew to Emperor Belos himself, did not often relax. He couldn't remember the last time he had truly relaxed, always wary of rivals to his position, those envious of his close relationship to the throne, or of his uncle's sporadic fits and increasingly frequent bouts of cold temper.
The closest he got to relaxation these days was in the few hours of sleep he allowed himself between his coven duties and studying any and all forms of magic to try and find a cure for his uncle's "condition." It was the reason he had perpetual dark bags under his eyes; the reason he wore the mask before all but his uncle.
But now … now, he felt himself relax for the first time in years. He leaned his head over and onto a curtain of velvetine softness, curling himself around the warmth pressed to his side. The sun was setting over the Boiling Sea and the view was breathtaking from this cliffside. And the company made it all the more precious.
"It's beautiful," his companion whispered.
"Not as beautiful as the sight I see," he said, looking down at her.
THREE WEEKS BEFORE
"Wild magic, you say?" Belos said in his typical chilled tone, painted with the faintest hint of hatred for the practice. "And you are certain?"
"Utterly certain," said Feronia, the head of the Plant Coven. Feronia was the oldest of the coven heads, barely beating out the head of the Construction Coven in both age and years served. She was a wiry woman with a faint stoop to her shoulders, though perhaps due to her massive hairdo styled like clusters of vines and topped with a strawberry-esque cap. But those ice-blue eyes were sharp as thorns and missed little. "I have felt ripples of untamed forces through the plant life of Bonesborough."
"As you are no doubt aware, my own coven takes charge over matters of wild magic," Belos said, his grip on the armrests of his throne tightening at the mention.
"But your agents are not attuned to the Green," Feronia countered respectfully. "I can find the source of the wild magic. But I know you will want an agent to represent you. So I request that you allow me to handle the situation for the time being. Along with your right hand to ensure security."
The Golden Guard, Hunter, resisted the urge to straighten up in surprise. She was asking for his help. It made sense; he was the literal poster boy of the Emperor's Coven. And yet he was aware of Feronia's reputation. She gave off a gentle, grandmotherly air, but that coincided with an unwavering spirit and fierceness in combat as relentless as the man-eating plants in her garden. Not to mention all of the power and experience that came with being a long-term coven head. He was fairly certain there had never been another head of the Plant Coven.
"Very well," the Emperor conceded. "In light of your decades of service to the Titan, I will permit you to handle this investigation. And I will assign the Golden Guard to your right hand for the time being. Go now, both of you, and stamp out this infestation."
Feronia bowed at the waist and turned to leave, Hunter waiting for a flick of Belos's hand as express permission to leave his side and follow her. Behind his mask, Hunter cast a glance at his temporary superior. Even with her faint stoop, she was still taller than him.
"Can you really sense wild magic?" he asked as they heard and felt the doors to the throne room close behind them, his usual derisive tone when wearing the mask gone and replaced with genuine curiosity.
"I can," Feronia replied in her aged voice. "When you have worked with the flora of the Boiling Isles, the great Green as some have called it, for as long as I, you find yourself with a sense for it. And wild magic … it has a certain feel that is hard to forget."
"Right," Hunter replied, "from before the Emperor's reign."
"Yes," Feronia replied. "From before …" She trailed off as she seemed to be lost in thought. Then she shook her head gently, her grey tresses waving, and pressed onward. "I know I can find the source of the wild magic," she replied. "I just want to assure the Emperor that everything possible was done before … drastic measures."
By which she meant killing the practitioner like a weed in a garden.
"So what are we waiting for?" Hunter asked, holding out his elbow for his fellow coven head to take. "Let's get started."
"And so we're hoping that King's dad has a scroll and saw the message too," Luz explained as she, Willow, and Gus strolled down one of the larger streets of Bonesborough leading to and from the market. "Is it too much to hope that he has a scroll?"
"Nah, stranger things have happened," Gus replied lightly.
"Besides," Willow added, "now everyone knows that King is a part of the Clawthorne family." She giggled behind her hand. "And everyone got to see how Eda really feels about it."
"Yeah, she's never gonna live that down," Luz laughed.
Before the conversation could continue on, a wall of earth wreathed in faint orange light rose up to block their way. At the sound of slow clapping, the trio turned to find another group of student-age witchlings, a brunette girl, a dark-skinned boy, and a felid male demon. A trio very familiar to Gus and somewhat familiar to Luz.
"Oh great," Gus groused, "it's them."
"Hey Gus," Bria said in a perky voice, "so good to see you. Nice to know you got away from the cursed graveyard."
"Didn't try to steal anything," Gus countered sternly, arms crossed. "It's amazing what clean living can do."
"Sure it is," Bria replied in that falsely sweet tone, crossing her arms as well. "You remember Gavin and Angmar," she said rhetorically, before glancing at Luz, "and I remember the human." She looked at Willow. "And you are?"
"Willow Park," Willow said, hands on her hips in a somewhat maternal fashion.
"Nice to meet you," Bria said with a smile. "You seem like a nice girl, so why don't you and the human run along? We just have to have a chat with Gus real quick."
Willow and Luz glanced at each other in silent communication as Gus summoned his staff and chameleon palisman. Gus had told them about the little adventure of his at the Looking-Glass Graveyard. Luz had felt guilty about encouraging him to go, but Gus had held no hard feelings, knowing full-well that Luz was trying to help him and had no way of knowing what would happen. Both girls nodded and widened their stances, the human taking up her glyphs.
"Not gonna happen," Luz said. "After all, we all love our friends … and I'm all about proving jerks wrong."
"And I don't like bullies," Willow said, as she summoned her own staff, her dear palisman Clover sitting on top and buzzing with the urge to protect. "Bring it on."
As Gus traced a spell circle that left Gavin stumbling with blindness before he could conjure an Abomination and Luz fired off bursts of flame at Bria, who defended with ramparts of earth, Willow spun her staff to trace her own circle. Without conscious thought, she funneled her protective instincts and her subtle anger at these three bullies into the spell, her eyes glowing solid emerald green as thick, thorny vines burst from the ground and converged on Angmar like striking serpents.
"It's happening!" Feronia turned her head to the north and began to run at a remarkable speed for her age. Hunter whipped out his artificial staff as he rapidly caught up, sweeping the elderly witch onto it before rising higher into the air to survey the streets below. "Smart boy," Feronia cackled with approval, before her eyes narrowed and her lips pinched in concentration.
They hadn't been in the air a full minute when they caught the sound of muffled impacts and cries of pain and strain amongst screams of general panic. Something was going down and there was little doubt that it was related to the source of wild magic. The Guard circled them around toward the sounds of fighting until the two coven heads came across a scene of typical Boiling Isles devastation and landed on a convenient rooftop to observe.
At first glance, it looked like a school rivalry had boiled over into open conflict. The rivalry between Hexside and Glandus was well-known in the area, and each side of this incident were students from either of them. And say what you would about their reputations, but the Hexside group were winning.
Hunter blinked behind his mask at the sight of the human, Luz, using a large glyph in the dirt to send a wave of ice spikes at a girl from Glandus's Construction track that met her own surge of stone barbs and visibly overpowered them and forced the other girl to leap out of their path with a frightened cry.
A dark-skinned boy from Hexside was spinning out blue-tinted illusions of himself with a witch's staff that circled another dark-skinned boy, this one in the orchid uniform of Abominations. Thick mist seemed to obscure the latter's vision — probably a sustained illusion — and the first kid's illusions jeered and heckled him, only to be dispersed by waves of Abomination clay. But the effort of summoning and directing so much muck was taking a clear toll, and the Glandus kid didn't have much time.
But the most eye-catching was the conflict between two Plant students, one a chubby girl and the other a felid demon. The cat-boy was clearly terrified as he frantically cycled through spell circles, each one bringing to bear a different form of aggressive flora. Hunter identified four-eyed predator flowers, "weeping" bristles whose short, dripping barbs could paralyze with a single scratch, and blazing bushes that set their oily branches on fire and flung bursts of flames at interlopers.
And through it all, the Hexside girl countered with hacking trumpets whose flowers spat acid, ballista shrubs that shot huge spikes at adversaries, and waves upon waves of groping vines. But more than that, she even turned the Glandus student's creations against him, forcing him even further onto the defensive.
"Impressive," Hunter commented.
"It's her, the bespectacled one," Feronia said. "I'm not certain how, but she is using wild magic. It colors her power and amplifies it." The old witch smiled just a bit. "She is clearly strong, to handle such a thing." Feronia prepared to trace a spell, but Hunter lifted a hand to stall her.
"Wait, I want to see how this ends."
Feronia lifted an eyebrow in bemusement before shrugging and letting the magic dissipate. Then she snapped her fingers to produce a chair of twigs that bloomed into comfortable-looking flowers. "Might as well rest my old bones during the show."
Willow brushed the sweat from her forehead as she studied the work of her and her friends.
Luz had trapped Bria in a collection of ice spikes that trapped her hands and feet to keep her from casting spells, leaving her struggling and straining against them. Gavin had passed out from exhaustion and was splayed out and snoring; it really was kind of sad that he had been suckered by Gus's strategy so well. And Angmar … well, Willow felt a little bad. He was lying prone as well, his face twisted with discomfort and his arms scratched up. He'd been caught by one of his own weeping bristles and taken lengthy incisions from no less than eight barbs, the paralytic venom working quickly and leaving him unable to move.
"Woo, we did it, baby!" Luz cheered, a little roughed up but none the worse for wear. "Hexside's the best side on the west side!" She wiggled her hips in a victory dance that made Willow laugh while Gus just leaned on his staff.
"I know you Glandus kids are all about strength and stuff," he commented between pants, "so maybe you should think twice before messing with my friends."
Bria seemed unable to form a sharp enough retort and just grimaced at him, her expression like she'd bitten into a piece of rotten fruit. Gavin being basically passed out and Angmar crippled with temporary paralysis meant they couldn't reply even if they'd wanted to.
"Uh, guys?" Luz said, her victory dance over and the thrill of success fading to caution. "Maybe we should get out of here before the Emperor's Coven shows up?" Both witchlings nodded and Luz passed them each an invisibility glyph. As one, they all took deep breaths and clapped the papers to their bodies to vanish without a trace.
Unbeknownst to them, Feronia and Hunter had seen everything.
"And you're certain that it was the one with glasses that was using wild magic?" Hunter asked.
"Without question," Feronia answered.
"But how?" Hunter asked, as much to himself as the elderly witch. "Where did she learn it? Who could have taught her?"
"Apt questions," Feronia commented. "I take it you wish to find out?"
"If someone is teaching more witchlings wild magic, then the Emperor will want to find the root and tear it out," Hunter said. He was silent for a moment, considering his choices and possible actions, before speaking again. "Lady Feronia, I would appreciate you stepping away from this. I have an idea on how to root this out. And I'll need to act alone."
Feronia chuckled. "You think a few plays on words will secure my cooperation?" she asked wryly. "Well, I am willing to let it pass. Shall we make our report to the Emperor? I'm certain he will want to know of your so-called plan."
"You wish for an undercover assignment?" Belos asked, his typical cold and menacing tone somehow rife with skepticism.
"Yes, Emperor Belos," Hunter said, kneeling before his uncle. Considering the potential weight of his request, he was careful to use Belos's title and not his affectation. In Hunter's experience, it was better to appeal to his uncle's ego than his familial ties when on coven business. "I believe that if I can earn the girl's trust, I can persuade her to tell me who taught her wild magic. Not to mention that Feronia herself commented on her strength. If I can get her bound to a coven, that will support the Day of Unity."
Belos's grip tightened on his armrests before he relaxed again. He was silent for several long moments before replying. "Very well. You will be permitted to act as you see fit. But you will act on your own, with no support from the coven. I will appoint a temporary field commander for the coven, but you will not fall behind in your paperwork."
"Understood," Hunter replied.
"And in case you have neglected to consider it," Belos spoke up, lifting a finger to stall his nephew's departure, "how exactly will you be masquerading as a typical witchling during your cover? Considering your … condition." There was something like concern in his uncle's tone, and it gave a few flickers of warmth in his heart.
"I've actually given that some thought," he replied, and removed his artificial staff to unfold into its full height. The focus gem at the top flared with red light before the staff's appearance was covered by an illusion. An illusion of a more common wooden staff capped with a red cardinal palisman. "Show them what they expect to see and they won't look twice," Hunter explained.
"Very well," Belos intoned. "Good luck, Hunter."
Hunter nodded and left to gather what he would need to start this mission. When he was finished, he had gathered his books on plant magic, as well as some treatises on wild magic that he recalled might have information on the phenomenon he had seen coming from that girl, the human's friend. As he locked his chamber door and braced a foot against the window sill to take off, he gave two sharp whistles.
Down from a ledge and into Hunter's open hand came the figure the human had dubbed Little Rascal, the cardinal palisman that had inexplicably chosen Hunter as his new partner. Against his believed better judgement, he had chosen not to turn the bird in for Belos to consume. He had chosen to hide and protect the palisman — his palisman — from destruction.
And now he would have a chance to bond with Little Rascal outside the brief times he could get away from the castle and let the cardinal stretch his wings.
"A bird in the hand, right?" Hunter snickered before tucking Lil Rascal into his cloak. "Remember, remain hidden while we're close. I'll let you know when it's safe to come out." With Little Rascal's affirming chirp, Hunter hopped on his artificial staff and streaked toward his destination.
Willow hummed a lullaby from her childhood as she watered her plants for the night. She'd heard at some point that singing to one's plants helped them develop more healthily, and while she had never found research to support that idea … It was a nice thought. And it didn't cost her anything to bring music to her plants.
As she poured the water for her last plant, Clover dive bombed through the last few drops with a playful trill before circling back and landing on Willow's head. She laughed at her palisman's antics before scooping her up off her hair and into her cupped hands. Why Clover had chosen her head as her favorite place to be Willow still didn't know, but she didn't mind either.
"You did great up against those Glandus kids today," Willow said, scratching Clover's back with her finger. Clover trilled and shook herself with delight and hopped onto Willow's desk. Then she started waggling her abdomen. Willow was not ashamed to admit she had squealed with delight at first seeing Clover dance, and it still made her giggle at the sheer adorableness.
Willow's smile faded a bit at the thought of what had happened today. She was happy that she had done so well and that none of her friends had gotten hurt, but she was concerned at how little she felt about the Glandus kids had been hurt. Not that she wanted them dead or even seriously harmed, of course! But Willow had accepted that she was a gentle soul who didn't like to cause pain. So what did it mean that she was so unconcerned with three kids being frozen, exhausted, and temporarily paralyzed?
Clover trilled and flew up back onto Willow's head before her eyes glowed with faint golden light. 'You are a protector at heart, Willow,' Clover's voice said in her mind. 'Those who threatened you and yours will recover, and that is enough. Do not worry yourself about the details.'
Willow considered Clover's words closely before nodding with a resolute smile. "Thanks, Clover," she said, reaching up to resume scratching her abdomen. Suddenly tired, Willow began gathering her things for her evening workout and bath before bed. And as she did, she wondered what crazy antics her and her friends would get up to tomorrow.
This story just came to mind and I had to write it! Hunter snuck into my upper favorites with his appearance in "Hunting Palismen" and I've seen some clever and creative interpretations of him. But it's hard to believe I haven't seen him shipped with Willow (except for one story that published this morning) and so I plan to help that along. And I honestly think they could have an interesting dynamic.
I also just love Clover, Willow's palisman that was introduced in the same episode! As in on-par with how cute Little Rascal is! They'll be featured in this work as well, if it wasn't clear before. ^For the record, I imagine Clover being voiced by Willa Holland, the voice of Aqua from Kingdom Hearts: BBS and onward. To me, it fits her caring but strong nature.
Feronia was named after a Roman/Etruscan minor goddess of harvest. Appropriate for a plant witch, I think.
As an added note, the idea of the collective flora of the Boiling Isles being called "the Green" is borrowed from DC comics, an idea usually tied to Swamp Thing or, occasionally, Poison Ivy.
Hope you all like the start. There will be more chapters to follow as my muse dictates. If you saw something you like or have an idea for interactions, leave a review! I love to hear from you all! May your inspiration flow freely!