Chapter Fourteen

Word had spread quickly around Hexside that a coven head had visited and was actually fun to listen to. As such, the demand to attend Lady Feronia's next presentation had gone up quite a bit. Unfortunately for most of the student body, her midweek appearance was still closed to all but Plant track students.

But rumor had it that her final appearance at the end of the week would be open to all students.

Vivian Fleck was one of the students who was looking forward to seeing the old witch in person. Though she had decided on Illusion as her track of study, plants had been her second choice and she still kept a garden at home. Granted, that was far from the front of her mind as she practiced in the Illusion track homeroom, the walls decorated with mirrors — standing and handheld — as well as covered cages and stacks of books.

Vivian was alone this early, trembling as she struggled to conjure a single duplicate of herself. She traced a spell circle and, in a burst of illusory smoke, appeared a figure that looked like her in a cracked mirror. Literally, it looked like someone had shattered her image.

Vivian sighed and released the spell, her head aching with the effort of concentration. "Why is this so hard?" she whimpered, squeezing the bridge of her nose and tightly closing her eyes against wayward tears.

Not for the first time in the last year, she wondered if maybe she should have gone for the Plant track.

"Do you dislike yourself that much?" a voice asked.

Vivian yelped and turned to find a student familiar to all standing in the doorway, his bag slung over a shoulder as if he'd just arrived: Augustus Porter, the MC of Grom. Vivian blushed in embarrassment and ran her fingers through her red, pageboy-cut hair before pulling her hood lower over her face.

"I don't, uh, I don't dislike myself," she murmured.

"Good, I'm glad," Augustus said with a faint smile. "'Cause there's nothing I can see that is worth disliking."

Vivian scoffed, though there was no heat behind it. "Easy for you to say," she said sullenly. "You're a prodigy. Me? I'm lucky I'm passing no matter how hard I work."

"Prodigy or not, I still have to work at my magic," Augustus said, somehow sounding wise despite being a year younger than her. "And you're making great progress."

"You did see that, right?" Vivian asked, hooking a thumb at the space where her botched illusion had stood. "I suck." She sniffled as shame welled up in her chest. "Maybe I should transfer to another track. Stop embarrassing myself."

Augustus chuckled. "Y'know, I was thinking the same thing about myself not too long ago."

Vivian blinked with wide eyes. "What? Why? You're the best in our class, except maybe the Blight twins."

Augustus's eyes went distant for a moment before he looked back at her. "Well, it's kind of a long story …"

And it was. Augustus told her about the pixie incident that got his friend Willow hurt, his crisis with illusion magic, his encounter with a group of Glandus kids and a student named Mattholomule, and about the Looking-Glass Ruins. It painted a picture of a triumph of cunning against brute force, of trickery against arrogance.

Of the power of illusions.

"Wow," Vivian said in wonder. Then she remembered who she was. "You've got a gift, though. I can still barely create something recognizable, much less realistic." She cast another spell and conjured a duplicate of herself that was at least proportioned right, but the colors were way off.

And then another duplicate of her appeared beside it. Vivian gaped at how realistic it looked, while also … so different. It was her, but her hood was down to show her red hair, her posture was straighter and her stance wider. But more than that, she was smiling instead of grimacing with nerves, and her eyes were crinkled with merriment instead of fear.

She looked … pretty?

"Now you know how I see you," Augustus said simply, his cheeks just a little darker. "You've always struggled, but you keep pushing forward, and I respect that. You just need to learn to relax, take some honest joy in your work." He grinned. "Detail is important, but it's confidence that sells the act." His duplicate of her vanished. "So be confident, Vivian. Because honestly? You're doing great."

As Augustus turned away to prepare for the day, he paused and glanced back. "Oh, and call me 'Gus'," he added. "It's what friends do."

As he busied himself, Vivian looked at the open space and consciously straightened her back. She breathed deeply and let her nerves settle. Then she closed her eyes and cast the spell again, and when she opened them, a passable imitation of her stood before her. It wasn't perfect, and that made her nerves try to unravel again, but she just brushed it aside.

Confidence. She glanced at Augustus … at Gus, pensively. Confidence.

A few hours later, fifty or so Plant track students poured out of the auditorium for lunch, all of them discussing Lady Feronia's latest presentation with enthusiasm. This one had mostly been about "economy of magic" and how to use their power more efficiently; to work "smarter, not harder" in her words.

To help explain, she had asked a certain bespectacled student with a reputation for power to grow a bleeder tree with a single spell. Willow had quickly traced a circle as wide as her outstretched arms and funneled her magic into a provided sapling, and the tree had shot up in an instant. Then it had creaked and trembled and sagged a little. Willow had been sweating and breathing hard from the sudden and intense exertion, her face red with embarrassment.

Feronia had clapped at her actions and patted her shoulder with honest reassurance, and then very slowly traced a circle half the size and twice the thickness that made her own sapling grow slower but still very rapidly, like an inflating balloon. And it had spread its branches with immutable strength.

"Experience is its own teacher," she had explained, "and there is no substitute for it. But practicing with plants, in getting results with the smallest investment of effort can pay off in dividends later in life."

When a few jeers had been called from the audience toward Willow's sagging tree, Feronia's eyes had flashed with ire and she challenged the offenders to do better. That had put them in their place, the students sinking into their seats and hiding in their cowls. "We never stop learning," Feronia had said, calmly but with unflinching clarity. "And no one should criticize another's work when they themselves cannot match it."

The rest of the lecture had gone much the same, but Willow had been less focused than before as she was drawn into her own head. It wasn't that she was hurt about being shown up — how could she hope to match a coven head with decades more experience than her, whose skills were forged in the death of the Savage Ages? — but it had made her think about Feronia's offer from a mere two days ago.

When the demonstration was finally over and Lady Feronia bowed and disappeared in a swirl of flower petals, to everyone's amazement and delight, she and Hunter followed the flow of students making their way to the cafeteria. Hunter looked at Willow from behind her with cautious eyes, carefully managing his temper. It made him grind his teeth when Feronia had called her up on stage just to show her up. Sure, it was to make a point but it was still humiliating for a student.

It was the sort of thing Belos might do, but with no good-natured meaning behind it.

"Willow?" he asked, and she turned to look at him quizzically. "Are you, uh ... alright?"

Willow smiled gratefully and took his hand to give it a firm squeeze before dropping it again in the crowded hallway. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"You're considering Feronia's offer, aren't you?" he asked warily.

"Yeah, I am," she said, not bothering to deny it.

Hunter searched his memory for what his dating books had advised. "Do you, um, wanna talk about it?"

"Yes," she said, "but with the entire group. Might as well get as many opinions as I can, right?" Hunter couldn't fault that logic. Hopefully their group would see sense and talk her out of accepting.

He should have known it wouldn't be that easy with Luz involved.

After Willow had told them about what had happened two days prior, reactions were predictably mixed. Luz, also predictably, had been over the moon about it. "Oh my gosh, Willow! Go for it! I can speak from experience that training under a powerful witch can turn out great!"

"Feronia isn't some wild witch and criminal," Hunter countered seriously. "She's a close ally of the Emperor. Becoming her protege would put a target on Willow's back." He bit his lip before continuing. "Not to mention it can't be easy being a coven head."

"Oh?" Luz asked with that cat-like smirk of hers. "And what would you know about that, Hunter?"

"It's just common sense," he replied, eyes narrowing.

Willow rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder to calm him down. Hunter looked at her and sighed, placing a hand on hers before they both remembered where they were and separated with averted gazes.

"I honestly don't know what to say," Gus said. "I mean, Luz and Hunter both have pretty good points. But the only one of us who could give real advice is the one who's actually learned under a coven head." He looked at Amity, and so did everyone else.

Amity glanced away as she seemed to weigh her words. "Lilith and I didn't exactly have a close relationship, but I did learn a lot from her." She looked up and met Willow's eyes. "But you have to remember that you're not me, and Lady Feronia is not Lilith. Your mentor-student relationship would be very different and there's no way of knowing how it will unfold." Amity ran a hand through her bangs in thought. "I guess the most important question, really, is 'do you think you would want to be the head of the Plant Coven one day'?"

Willow wrung her hands under the table as she seriously considered that. She was a gentle soul at heart and had very little personal ambition. Her greatest wish that she had proclaimed at Palisman Adoption Day had revolved around others, about gaining the strength to protect them. The only job she had ever considered was opening her own flower shop or something like it.

At the same time, Willow thought about what she could do as a coven head. She could work on the system from the inside, nudging policies and laws to better aid the citizens of the Isles. She could learn about the Emperor's Coven from a position of relative safety to help protect Luz, Eda, and King. And on a more personal note, she could learn magic from perhaps the greatest plant witch to ever live.

"It's a lot to think about," Willow said noncommittally.

"Well, whatever you choose," Luz said with a bright smile, "we'll be there to help you through it." She snickered. "Except maybe Eda. She'd still love you, but she wouldn't be caught dead supporting the coven system."

The entire group chuckled at that, though Hunter's was forced. The idea of Willow being against the coven system made him very uncomfortable, for obvious reasons. Did he respect her courage in standing up to the Emperor? Yes, he did. But he couldn't escape the fact that he himself was tightly tied to the system, one that Willow could have every reason to resent and fear.

"Hunter?"

Willow's voice broke him out of his spiral and he looked at her, blinked and smiled before placing his hand on hers and weaving their fingers. Willow's cheeks pinked and she smiled back dreamily. Their trance was broken by a pointed cough that had them looking at their friends, all with various looks of acknowledgement from smug "I told you so" to cool acceptance.

"Anything else you guys wanna tell us?" Luz asked, her voice strained to keep it calm.

"Begin."

Screams echoed across the inner chamber of the castle where the petrification device was stored, freshly repaired after the damage wrought by Luz the Human. Belos narrowed his eyes at the sight of wild witches slowly being turned to stone, their screams drawing not a fleck of sympathy from his cold heart.

These heathens had chosen to defy the will of the Titan, and so they received their just reward.

As the final stretch of flesh from the collection of wilders was turned to grey stone, Belos glanced at the room's other occupant. Raine Whispers, the wayward leader of the Bard Coven, was still contained in binds of reddish magic derived from their coven mark, a standard failsafe that could be triggered by him or one of his inner circle. And while the binds usually kept them unconscious, and therefore easier to keep out of trouble, at the moment Whispers was allowed to resurface to semi-consciousness to … witness.

The bard was immobile and grunting with discomfort and sympathy for those who had been executed under the light of the triple goddess — a design shown to Belos by a vision from the Titan. Sweat rolled down Whispers's temples as they struggled in vain against their bonds.

"And so shall be the fate of all who defy the Titan …" Belos said menacingly, "... or his messenger." He took up his staff and strode to the immobilized bard, loosening the bonds on their jaw with a minor effort of will.

"This cannot go on, Belos," Whispers gasped. "The Day of Unity won't come to pass."

"I honestly cannot tell if that is blasphemy or mere ignorance," Belos said condescendingly. "Have faith, Raine. The Titan's will shall come to pass. You have seen it yourself, after all. Why delude yourself?"

"No," Raine said. "Eda will stop you." Their voice rang with the purest confidence.

"The Owl Lady," Belos sneered. "A once-powerful witch brought low by a curse of wild magic." Belos snarled the last two words. "A perfect example of the inevitability of the Titan's will." He chuckled humorlessly. "Perhaps the Titan will allow her to survive to see the world that awaits." He leaned in close, his mask mere inches from Raine's nose. "As for you … I will ensure that you see it. Though you betrayed me and our purpose, the Titan has acknowledged your service to the coven system. You will live, Raine Whispers." He leaned back again.

"How long that lasts afterward … is entirely up to you."

With that, Belos strengthened the bindings again and Raine screamed in pain before being dragged back to unconsciousness. He turned without another thought to leave. As he did, he thought about his nephew.

Perhaps it was nearing time he … checked in.

"Is it just me, or was Luz kind of … calm about our little reveal?" Hunter asked.

Willow giggled. "Calm for her, at least," she agreed. School had let out about an hour ago, and Hunter had offered to walk Willow home rather than fly, the better to spend more time together. "I have a sinking feeling she's going to want the entire story soon."

"Assuming she hasn't already guessed it," Hunter said wryly, bringing another giggle from Willow that he silently revelled in.

The couple were walking hand-in-hand through the streets of Bonesborough, taking something of a scenic route through the marketplace and admiring the wares of the various merchants. Hunter made a point to closely watch Willow as surreptitiously as he could, taking note of anything that seemed to particularly catch her eye. His books had said that gift-giving was a tried-and-true way to a woman's heart, and he hoped he could make her happy.

As the pair continued to wander through the streets, they inevitably made it to the market square that had been overtaken in recent weeks by propaganda for the Emperor and his coven. Hunter noted that Willow's grip on his hand tightened a bit in response, and she drew a little closer to his side. Normally he would have been thrilled by that, but not now. She was scared, and that could never make him happy.

When they arrived at the square proper, they found the recently-erected statue of Emperor Belos that seemed to glare down at them with his hand outstretched to order their capture. Hunter's expression was neutral as he looked at it, painfully so. And Willow noticed.

"Hunter? Are you alright?"

"Huh?" he asked. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Willow tilted her head in puzzlement. She considered herself a decent judge of mood, and Hunter's had been a mystery to her. She was about to actually ask what he had been thinking, when he stiffened and turned them both away from the statue. "Don't look now," he whispered, "but a pair of coven guards just got really interested in us." He placed a hand on her lower back and gently guided her toward one of the main streets.

"Are they gone?" Willow asked, her voice trembling a little.

He cast a quick glance backward. "No, they're following us," he said through gritted teeth. "Hide Clover. We probably don't want to know what the coven does with palismen." He winced when he said that, as if suddenly sick, and Willow coaxed Clover into her cowl as Hunter did the same for Lil Rascal.

Willow was thinking furiously as they walked. And then an idea sparked and her cheeks pinked. "Hunter, do you trust me?" she asked.

"What? Yes," he replied without thinking.

That was enough for Willow and she placed her own arm behind his waist to guide him into an alleyway off the main street. She whispered something to Clover and then pushed Hunter up against one of the alley walls and jerked him down by his collar to crash his lips into hers.

Hunter grunted in surprise before losing himself in the feel of Willow up against him and her lips against his, eyes fluttering shut. He unthinkingly placed his hands on her hips and pulled her even closer, eliciting a surprised squeak from Willow in return and had her wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck as their kiss naturally deepened.

Both teens distantly registered the coven guards coming across them and backpedaling in the face of a semi-public display of affection, and Clover and Rascal trembled with mirth at the sight of them stumbling over each other to leave the lovers in peace. How were these goons any part of an "elite force," again?

When the guards had been gone for a few long moments, Clover buzzed and Lil Rascal twittered, but it seemed their partners' affections had overwhelmed their senses. Even the palismen were getting uncomfortable as hands started to roam and voices started to moan. Clover trilled in resignation and jabbed Willow's shoulder with her stinger — and that definitely broke the metaphorical spell. Willow yelped and jerked away from Hunter, who looked a bit punch-drunk. Both witchlings were breathing heavily as they tried to sort through what had just happened.

"Uh, they're gone," Willow said belatedly, adjusting her glasses and running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah," Hunter said dazedly, rubbing the back of his head. Both were silent for a little bit as they slowly wrapped their minds around their most recent "adventure." "What, uh … what happened to 'taking it slow'?" Hunter asked awkwardly, flashing a poor imitation of his cocky smirk.

"I hoped it would throw them off," Willow explained, her face burning with mortification. Had she seriously thought it would be a good idea to use her and Hunter's feelings for each other as a ploy to escape coven officials? What could have made her think that was a good idea?!

"Well, I mean, it did work," Hunter noted.

Willow groaned and hid her face in her cowl. Clover nuzzled the hood to comfort her and Willow nuzzled right back even though her hood stayed firmly in place.

Hunter grimaced and once again cursed his lack of well-adjustment as he struggled for a way to help the girl he had such strong feelings for. Lil Rascal fluttered to his shoulder and quietly tweeted in his ear. "You sure?" he asked warily. Was he seriously accepting love advice from a palisman? Then again, he had no better ideas.

Hunter placed his hands on Willow's, slowly and gently prying her hood up enough to see her eyes. "That was really clever, Willow," he said honestly. Red began to creep up his neck to paint his cheeks. "And I don't mind the ... results, either." He let his smile grow into a wicked smirk as an eyebrow quirked. "In fact, if you wanna hide from coven guards more often, I wouldn't argue."

Willow clapped a hand to her lips to stifle her giggles. "That's not funny, Hunter!"

"Then why are you laughing?" he chuckled, and the two dissolved into a fit of mutual laughter. They fell into each others' arms like the pull of gravity and held each other close until they settled down, Willow pressing her face into his chest. "Really, though … was that, uh, just an act?"

Willow shook her head against his chest. "Not all of it," she admitted quietly. "I … really liked it."

"Yeah," Hunter said, coughing with nerves. "M-Me too." They drew apart and looked into each others' eyes, adrenaline from the situation and their laughter still running high and egging on their attraction.

Then Clover buzzed with agitation and they all noticed the rapidly fading light. "I should get home," Willow noted.

"Right," Hunter agreed. "Sounds good." He hesitated for a second before offering his elbow for her to take. "Milady," he said with over-the-top suaveness.

"Getting closer, but still no," Willow giggled, taking the proffered elbow and placing her other hand on it. And as the couple made their way toward the Parks' apartment, their palismen on their shoulders, they were both thinking about their first official date only two days away.

And chapter fourteen! Hope it was up to the established level!

*Vivian Fleck is my adaptation of a Hexside student briefly seen in "Something Ventured, Someone Framed." She was the girl in the Illusion track homeroom who accidentally made her own face disappear. I just wanted to have a scene with Gus and that part spun itself.

*Bleeder trees, which made their debut in chapter 11, are my take on the Boiling Isles equivalent of cedar trees. Their bark peels off in strips like cedars, but reveals blood red sap underneath, hence the name. Depending on which side you take the sap from, it can be highly toxic or have healing properties - inspired by legends of gorgon blood and which side of the neck you take from.

*The Belos-Raine segment just came out of nowhere as I was writing. I think it came out delightfully dark.

*The "fake out-make out" scene just came to me in a bout of mindless fluff. I really like how it turned out - it makes me chuckle even as I reread it. I hope it came off as cute and not cliche.

At any rate, I hope this was enjoyable! And there is more to come! May your inspiration never waver.