Chapter Twenty-Three
'Oh Titan. Please let this work,' Willow thought desperately.
It had been two days since Hunter had told her everything, and she now stood before a large building leveled above the street on the outskirts of the city proper and reached via stone steps. People entered and exited on occasion, politely moving around her as they did. It was constructed of pillars of some unseen material, probably brick, hidden under bands of vibrant ivy and separated by massive glass panes that let in sunlight. Even from the street, the greens, reds, and splashes of countless other colors could be seen from within.
The Bonesborough headquarters of the Plant Coven.
Each of the Main Nine Covens had a main office or "coven house" in each major city across the Isles to act as a local base for their operations. Willow had seen each main office in passing — and each one was built to reflect their purpose — with the Plant Coven's headquarters always striking her as the most beautiful. She knew what it looked like: a massive botanical garden.
Willow swallowed thickly and turned her head to look down the street at the terrace of a cafe. Luz, Gus, Amity, and Hunter were sitting and chatting with drinks — Luz had insisted on joining her for moral support, whereas Amity had stressed caution and staying under the radar. Gus had proposed this as a happy medium and Hunter had supported it. Gus himself looked up and noticed her, then got everyone's attention and waved. Luz had to be dragged down by Amity, while Hunter went so far as to blow her a kiss.
Willow plastered on a smile and gave a small wave before turning back to the building before her, the smile slipping away as she took a deep breath and let it out. Then she set her face into a nearly-neutral scowl and strode forward as if she had every right to be there.
When she entered the main lobby, she found trees in brick planters lining the walls to gently curl under the ceiling, and rows of sculpted bushes between them. Bare brick comprised the walls themselves like the garden of some stately manor. Stumps of trees, polished to a shine, acted as waiting chairs, and a large desk was at the far end of the lobby with people moving into the building on the right of it and leaving on the left.
Willow approached the desk with a measured pace, her heart thundering. Her childhood dream had been to join the Plant Coven, but her more recent experiences with the coven system had left a sour taste in her mouth that would make Eda proud. It left her feeling … confused, almost disoriented. But now was no time for disillusion. She had a mission of her own.
"Excuse me?" she asked the receptionist in as polite a tone as she could. Which was very polite.
"Can I help you?" the lady-demon — a tall, lithe woman with coppery skin and long dark hair that framed wide brown eyes, while a pair of antlers grew from her temples — asked just as politely.
"I have an appointment with Lady Feronia," Willow said with a sweet smile, clasping her hands before her waist. "Could you please inform her that Willow Park has arrived?"
The receptionist lifted one thin elegant eyebrow in clear disbelief, but she maintained her smile with a cool edge, nodded, and lifted a wrist bearing a bracelet strung with a communication gem to her lips. "There's a young lady, Miss Willow Park, asking for the head witch," she said with practiced patience. Her polite smile faded into surprise and she blinked at whatever was said back. "Oh, yes ma'am. Of course, I'll send her right up." She dropped her wrist and waved Willow through. "Up the stairs, Miss Park." She dug around in her desk and withdrew a wooden card emblazoned with the coven's sigil, "And this will let you into the coven head's office."
"Thank you," Willow said, taking the card and slipping it into a pocket of her dress. Now feeling a little better, she made her way to a spiral staircase and began her way up. Three flights later and she was confronted with a set of reinforced double doors that she tapped with the card she'd been given. The sigil blazed with green light and the doors parted to reveal a roof garden.
The stone roof was lined with trees that spread their limbs in a bower against any gusts of wind that may interfere with work, while glass panes would protect from boiling rain. Another wall of glass offered a stunning view of the botanical gardens spread behind the main building. And at a croak-wood desk sat Lady Feronia, now in a dress of sky blue, who looked up at her arrival with a soft smile.
"Ah, Miss Park," she greeted warmly, "it's so good to see you, Dear. Please," she gestured at a pair of chairs, carved from tree stumps like the ones in the lobby, "have a seat and we can talk."
Willow nodded and adopted as meek body language as she could as she approached and did as directed, sitting with a faint huff of relief after three flights of stairs. Lady Feronia snorted at the attempt to appear contrite and finished up some paperwork before nudging it to the side and rising with a grunt and the popping of joints to walk around the desk and sit against the front. "So, Miss Park," Feronia said, "what can I do for you?"
Willow took a moment to very carefully consider her response. The morning after her and Hunter's … eventful second date, Willow had approached Miss Kissiae to contact the head witch for a meeting. It had been lucky that Lady Feronia was so prompt in reply, because Hunter's deadline was tomorrow.
"You didn't come all this way just to turn down my offer, did you, Dear?" Feronia asked with a small smirk.
"No," Willow conceded, and sighed. "Though it's not quite as simple as yes or no."
"And why is that?" Feronia asked, steepling her fingers and narrowing her eyes, hopefully in thought.
"Lady Feronia," Willow said in a formal tone, "I would gladly accept your offer of apprenticeship," she took the hem of her casual dress and curtsied, "but I would also ask a favor."
Feronia was silent for a moment before she nodded ever-so-slightly. "Go on."
"I know about Hunter," Willow said without preamble. "I know he's the Golden Guard. I know he volunteered for a mission to find out where I learned wild magic and to bind me to a coven." She bit her lip and prayed one more time for this gambit to work. For trust to work. "But there is no teacher," she admitted. "I don't know how I do what I do; it just happens." She rubbed her arms with very-real nerves. "Lady Feronia, I'm asking for your help to spare Hunter's life."
Feronia looked at Willow for a long time with an unreadable expression. Then she said, "Ah, so that's the boy's true name."
Willow blinked. "That's what you got from that?" she asked blankly.
Feronia chuckled. "Oh no, Dear. I understand your situation. Just humor an old woman's curiosity." The easy smile slipped from her lips and she looked at Willow with all of the solidity of a croak tree. "You are aware of the Emperor's views on wild magic."
"They're kind of hard to ignore," Willow commented.
Feronia nodded to the point. "Show me what 'just happens.'"
Willow stood up in surprise and brushed her hair back as she thought about it. Had she ever really consciously used wild magic? As far as she could remember, it had always arisen from sheer fury or from protecting someone. She nodded to herself and brought forth all of those memories. Her built up anger and resentment over years of being bullied, her will to protect Luz from Principal Bump and Amity, to protect Gus from a goyle when they were tiny, to protect her friends from the Scarbury and Hunter from Lady Feronia.
And Willow felt it. The stirring of the Titan's power! She felt it rise up and mix with her own to amplify it. Her eyes snapped open and the plant life in the office began to writhe and grow in response. Breathing heavy, she looked up to Lady Feronia — just in time to be backhanded across the face so hard that her glasses were skewed.
And just like that, the Titan's power was flushed from her system as if it hadn't been there in the first place.
Willow stumbled backward from the sudden loss, collapsing into one of the desk chairs. Her heart was pounding as she straightened her glasses and looked up at Feronia in shock, who looked back with her expression unchanged. "Next time I'll get my walking stick," she said, utterly deadpan.
"You did that before," Willow said. "Back when you tested me." She shook her head and rubbed her hair to try and urge her brain to get back to work. "How? Why?"
"You have a gift for this lost skill," Feronia noted, and then her expression hardened. "And if you are to be my apprentice, you must learn above all else to control it. You know the Emperor's stance on wild magic. Do you think he will be lenient upon you just because you are a child or my apprentice?" She leaned forward, her eyes flashing. "Or lenient upon me for choosing to teach you?"
Willow's face went pale as she put serious thought into it. Feronia was strongly implying that Belos would have her — the longest-serving coven head on record — petrified or worse if Willow made a mistake. "He is not a merciful man," Willow whispered.
"No," Feronia agreed. "He is not." Feronia sighed deeply, the way only the truly experienced could. "Rest assured, Willow, that I will help you." Her tiny smirk returned. "In fact, I already have an idea on the how." Then it was gone. "But you must know that I will not go easy on you. I see in you power and potential that you have barely begun to tap into, and as your teacher I will draw it forth." Her eyes were hard and glistening again. "And that will not always be … pleasant."
Rather than wilt under that gaze, Willow's eyes met hers and matched them. "I can take it," she said. "For my friends, and for my home … I will endure and blossom under anything you throw at me."
Feronia laughed. "An excellent answer," she said, standing fully and placing a hand upon Willow's head, "my apprentice." Then her smile faded and she returned to her desk, rummaging around until she found something and returned to Willow. "But to be apprenticed to the head of the Plant Coven," Feronia said, "has certain … expectations." She opened her fingers to reveal a Plant Coven seal resting in her palm.
Willow felt her stomach twist at the sight of it as she thought back to the day after her talk with Hunter …
"Okay, run this by me again," Luz said warily.
"I'm going to take Lady Feronia up on her offer," Willow explained. "If she can help Hunter, that's more than enough. But I would also be close to the inside of the coven system. Maybe I could learn and somehow get that to all of you to help stop whatever Belos is planning?" Willow glanced at Hunter sitting on the far end of the couch. They had discussed this together under the Grom tree, and he had given his dubious support.
"Absolutely not!" Eda snapped, pacing across the Owl House's living room. "You'll have to be sealed for that to happen, Willow! Do you have any idea what that will do?"
"It will block my ability to use any other branch of magic," Willow said with exaggerated patience, "and make generalized spells more difficult." She crossed her arms. "I'm a kid, Eda, not stupid."
"You're right, you are a kid," Eda said, then her eyes hardened. "You're my kid, as much as Luz or Goops, or Boots." Willow idly noted that Eda had never given her a recurring nickname like she had Gus, Amity, or even Luz. "And this is way too dangerous!"
"Do you have any other contacts within the coven?" Amity asked from the couch. She and she alone had been calm about Willow's plan as she petted Ghost. "Because Willow is offering a solution to your lack of information."
"We have Lily's scrying potion for that," Eda commented.
"Which has already cooked to near-uselessness," Amity replied. "As much as I understand potions or oracle magic, those things slowly lose potency. And what then?"
Eda scoffed and rolled her eyes. "We'll figure something else out," she growled.
"Then what about Hunter?" Willow asked seriously.
"He made his bed, Willow," Eda said, rubbing her eyebrows. "He'll have to sleep in it."
"Eda!" Luz, King, and Gus protested in concert. And then the ground began to shake. Willow's eyebrow was twitching as green light gathered around her clenched fists, and her eyes shone with vibrant green light. "That will not happen," she said, her voice low and menacing. "Not if I can stop it." Then the glow faded and she slumped in sudden fatigue.
"Eda," King said, stepping forward to stand between her and Willow, "this is her choice." The room was deathly silent. "Remember when Luz first learned about the coven system and she said she should make up her own mind?" King may not have been there for that conversation, but Luz had told him about it later. "Well, Willow's the same. And if she thinks she can handle it," King stepped back to reach up and take Willow's finger in his tiny grip, "then the best thing we can do is trust her."
Eda visibly seethed, her arms crossed tightly as she tried to come up with a retort. Then her expression cleared and she seemed to realize something. Then she shook it off and she just looked … haunted. "You sure you can do this, Willow?"
"No," Willow admitted. "But I have to try."
Eda groaned and brushed her hands up her face and through her voluminous hair. "Of course you do. You're one of my kids." She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Alright, Willow. I don't like it, but I'm not gonna fight you on it anymore. Or kick you out of the Owl House." Something like a bitter take on her usual smirk reemerged. "But I reserve the right to complain about it and give you a hard time."
"Fair enough," Willow chuckled.
"Uh, Willow?" Gus asked, finally speaking up. "Have you talked to your dads about this?"
Willow's gaze grew distant for a moment before she returned to the present. "Yeah, I have. And it was weird. Normally, Papa's the chill one and Dad's freaking out, but this time … Papa was worried for me but Dad was thrilled I'd made such a good impression." She shivered comically. "So, so odd."
That got nervous laughter out of everyone. And then Luz raised her hand. "We're coming with you," she said, in a tone that brooked no argument. "Even if we have to be a few buildings down in a cafe or something, we're going."
Willow looked from her collection of friends to Hunter, who nodded with a smirk.
Back in the present, Willow swallowed at the sight of the seal in Feronia's hand. For years she had considered that tiny mark a symbol of growing up, but knowing Eda and seeing the darker side of the coven system … it made her irrationally nervous, even now. Then she nodded to herself and rolled her sleeve up to bear her unmarked arm. This was for Hunter, and for Luz and Eda and King — and for one other person that Eda had asked after in private — and even for the whole of the Boiling Isles.
She could do this for them all.
Feronia took Willow's wrist to still her faint shaking and lightly placed the seal upon the underside of her forearm. Willow winced as a feeling of pervasive heat emanated from the contact, the tattoo binding to her body and invading her insides. And after a few moments, the heat faded and she felt … shaken, but otherwise normal?
"Welcome, Willow Park," Lady Feronia said, "to the Plant Coven." She patted Willow's cheek in a grandmotherly gesture. "Rest assured that you will still be attending Hexside, Dear. We can work on your coven role after school and on weekends." Her gaze turned sharp. "It will take time to teach you to control that quirk of yours," and then her eyes softened somewhat into less razor blades and more bedrock, "and then I must introduce you to the Emperor as my successor."
Willow set her features and nodded sharply. Feronia narrowed her eyes before nodding back in approval. "Now then, run along and savor your last evening off for a while. I'll see you tomorrow after school in the garden out back. Good evening, Dear."
"So, her teacher is dead," Belos said approvingly.
"Yes, Emperor Belos," the Golden Guard replied. "It seems that one Susan Snout had been the one to teach the girl. She informed me of her mentor's name — and the fact that she mysteriously disappeared — just two nights ago, and I worked to scour the records to find her. According to the hidden records, Snout was petrified eight years ago on counts of practicing wild magic, particularly mixing plant and potions magic. Just the kind of person to try and influence a young witchling."
Belos drummed his armored fingers on the arm of his throne, the Titan's bile sac beating steadily above him. "And the girl is bound to a coven?" he asked.
"Lady Feronia bound her personally," the Golden Guard reported. "If you will forgive me, Uncle, I feel that the Plant Coven will benefit from such a strong developing witch. As will the Day of Unity."
"Indeed," Belos hummed. "Well done, Hunter. Well done, indeed. With your mission complete, you are to officially withdraw from Hexside school; it will only get in the way of your duties."
"Yes, Uncle," the Golden Guard said firmly.
"If that is all, you are dismissed," Belos said, lifting his fingers in a faint salute. His right hand rose and bowed before taking his leave. When the door boomed shut, Belos rose and began pacing, hoping for a sign from the Titan. Something about this situation seemed … off. He looked up at the beating bile sac and hummed in consideration before making for the door to the portal room.
He would need to send his delegation for Titan's Blood soon.
"And you are certain of this?" Principal Bump said as he straightened a sheaf of papers that comprised Hunter's official withdrawal from Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. "I will not lie, young man, your grades have bolstered our Plant track quite a bit."
"Orders are orders," Hunter replied. "Though, I think I'm gonna miss it here."
Bump sighed. "And I'm sure your friends will miss seeing you every day, as well." He rose and shook Hunter's hand. "Good luck, Hunter Strong."
Hunter chuckled humorlessly. "That's not my last name. I have no last name, actually."
"Yes, I thought as much," Bump drolled. Hunter nodded and turned to leave, then stopped in his tracks.
"Oh, before I leave there is one other thing." He removed an envelope emblazoned with the Emperor's sigil from his pocket and handed it to Bump. "I believe I promised coven funds when this all began. Enjoy." With that, he finally left the office.
Bump narrowed his eyes suspiciously before curiosity got the better of him and he opened the envelope to reveal a check reading for …
…
… Oh …
Hunter smirked as he plodded down the steps to leave the school at the sound of Bump actually cheering and laughing, audible even from where he was. He had a mental image of students all over the school whispering about it.
"He sounds happy," a voice came from the trees lining the cobblestones to the school. Hunter paused and watched as Willow melted out of the shadows cast by the trees, followed by Luz, Amity, Gus, Ium, Amelia, and the Troublemakers.
"Willow," Hunter said in surprise, pink rising in his cheeks. "Everyone," he greeted, then frowned. "What are you all doing here? Isn't class in session?"
"Yep," Luz chirped, and everyone else nodded, shrugged, or flicked their wrist. "But we all wanted to say bye." She put a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes with a grin as she pointed at him with as much sass as could be. "You thought you could escape a proper goodbye, huh?"
Hunter snorted. "Goodbye, then," he said, waving to them all.
"Nope, not good enough," Luz said. Then she leapt forward and wrapped Hunter in a bone-crushing hug that had him grunting with surprise. "No matter where you go, you'll always be a Hexolio!"
"A what?" Hunter asked as she let him go. Luz simply grinned wider and stepped aside for Gus.
"Gotta admit, I'm gonna miss having another guy in the group," he joked.
"Oh yeah," Hunter smirked, "being surrounded by stunning girls must be tiresome after a while." Gus laughed and they bumped fists, as Luz had shown them guys in the Human Realm did to show affection. Then came Amity.
"Hunter," Amity said neutrally.
"Amity," he replied just the same. They stared at each other before Amity smiled and stepped close for a small hug of her own. Hunter blinked in surprise before returning it lightly. Amity stepped back to make way for Amelia and Ium.
"Class is going to be boring without you," Amelia commented wryly.
"A true shame," Ium agreed.
"I'll miss you guys, too," Hunter said and they all traded high-fives, also taught by Luz.
Then came the Troublemakers. "Don't be a stranger," Viney said with a firm punch to the shoulder. "Luz told us all about your jerk of an uncle making you drop out, but visit sometime, eh?"
"I'll try," Hunter said.
Barcus yipped and hugged Hunter, who returned it with a fond smile. Barcus was a sweet guy that you couldn't help but like.
"Good luck, Hunter," Jerbo said, offering a hand to shake that Hunter returned.
"I better not hear about you making moves on Willow," Hunter warned, half-teasingly.
"Uh, heh, don't worry," Jerbo said, blushing as he looked to the side over Hunter's shoulder. Hunter looked back to find Amelia looked away with pink staining her cheeks and blinked in surprise.
That only left Willow. She stepped forward and reached to finger the cowl of Hunter's Hexisde uniform before trailing her fingers over his shoulder and the green sleeve of the Plant track. "I'm going to miss seeing you in this," she whispered.
"I'm going to miss seeing you," Hunter replied with a sad smile.
Willow smiled and blushed. "It may not be every day like we're used to," she admitted, taking his hand to weave their fingers, "but we'll see each other soon enough." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms gently around Hunter, resting her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. Hunter returned the gesture with his arms around her lower back and his head on top of hers. They stayed like that for a while, just soaking in each others' warmth and sheer presence before they were to be separated for who knew how long.
Then Lil Rascal popped out of Hunter's cowl and twittered at everyone, which brought Clover out of Willow's hood. The bee hovered and buzzed around Hunter's head, trilling her own temporary goodbye.
"Yeah, I'm sure I'll see you soon, Bug," he groused, scratching her head. "But not at the castle," he added in a whisper. Clover buzzed in agreement and perched on Willow's shoulder.
"I don't want you to go," Willow whispered.
"I have to," Hunter said with genuine regret. He moved back a little and placed his hand against Willow's cheek, and she leaned into the contact. "I'll make it back here as often as I can. I swear to the Titan."
Without a cloud in the sky, a peal of thunder rumbled in the distance.
"See?" Hunter asked with a smile. "Now it's set in stone."
Willow giggled and stepped up to draw him into a sweet kiss, which he returned with fervor.
"Okay, knock it off, you two," Viney said dryly.
"Yeah, save some for the wedding night," Amelia added, and the pair separated with red faces. Though their fingers stayed intertwined.
Hunter nodded once more to everyone before looking at Gus. "Hey, Porter, a little cover?" Gus blinked, but shrugged, traced a spell circle, and began wheeling it — spinning it between his pointer fingers for a sustained spell — with an illusory fog rising up to block sightlines all around them. Everyone looked at Hunter with confusion as he stepped away, lifting his arm to keep in touch with Willow for as long as possible before they separated. Without thought, Willow stepped forward, but Amity and Luz's hands on her shoulders kept her in place.
"Remember, you never saw this," Hunter said to them all. With Lil Rascal perched on his shoulder, Hunter withdrew a metallic rod from his belt that extended and ratcheted into the familiar staff of the Golden Guard. The focus gem flared with red magic and he clapped the staff to the cobbles, a flash of light rising to obscure his form before fading away to reveal the Golden Guard himself in all his glory.
"And try to stay out of trouble," he added, arm outstretched for drama. "The Emperor is not a merciful man …" The moment hung in the air before, "Byyyeeeee …!" He'd mounted his staff and flown away in a streak of red light. Luz grinned and blew a faint raspberry in reply.
Everyone else, save Willow and Jerbo, stood gobsmacked. Gus was so surprised that he let the fog illusion dissipate. "Was that …?"
"The Golden Guard, yes it was," Luz said, grinning like the cat that got the canary.
"You're saying Willow and the Golden Guard …?" Amelia asked blankly. She giggled, a blush rising on her cheeks. "Is he a good kisser?"
"Amelia!" Willow protested with a giggle of her own.
"You don't seem surprised, Jerbo," Viney noted.
"I might have figured it out," Jerbo admitted. "He asked me not to tell."
"Okay," Amity said pointedly, "why don't we all discuss this further after class?"
"Typical Little Miss Perfect," Ium noted with a laugh before doing as suggested. Everyone made their way back to the school to take tardies and go about their day, knowing that they all had personally met the leader of the Emperor's Coven.
Except for Willow, who was focused on the boy behind the mask … and where she would be going after school.
And the plan is set in motion! Thank you to all who have followed the story this far - I appreciate each and every one of you!
*Yes, Feronia slapping the wild magic out of Willow was a plot point, not just a gag! Woo! I'm so happy to have that come back up.
*As far as I can tell, Eda really hasn't given Willow a consistent nickname like Gus's "Goops," Amity's "Boots," or even Luz's "Kid." Make of that what you will.
*I imagine Amity playing devil's advocate for Willow's plan because she has faith in Willow and because she herself is not unfamiliar with the practice. And we get to see King being Eda's morality pet again!
One last piece of news: this story has almost reached its conclusion! Bittersweet feelings about that. But rest assured that a sequel exploring the aftermath is certainly in progress! There will be one more full chapter and a short flashback/epilogue ... and then on to the next adventure!
At any rate, I hope all of you enjoyed this as much as everything else! Leave a review - I love hearing your thoughts! May your inspirations flow freely!