A/N: Hello again and welcome back to the Owlcast! And oh my god... What happened in the reviews section, guys? XD No, no, seriously. Where have you all come from? I'm not used to having so many of you commenting stuff on here. It's nice, but... wow. XD Due to the number of reviews I've had and the amount of questions and such there seems to be, I'll leave my responses at the author's notes at the bottom this time to avoid it being unnecessarily long here, so do stick around for that. But thank you so much for that. Really. Your continued support is greatly appreciated, as always.

Back to this chapter: this one isn't going to be as eventful as many of you probably want, but I will say that you're about to get a bit of an info dump surrounding 'V.S.' and finally get to see his interactions with Lizzie, which should be interesting. And also, as promised, King is about to get a little bit of character development this chapter. Because of Lizzie's presence and the fact this episode feels like a familiar parallel to episodes four and ten, I did feel that her actions during both episodes would have helped King to be a little smarter when it came to Tibbles this time. You're about to see just how strong Lizzie's and King's dynamic has become because of those two events. I'm planning on making Chapter 44 the ending chapter for episode fourteen, but I don't know when I'm going to have it out. I'm still trying to edit three of my fanfics to be imported over to AO3, so the update might take a while. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the character interactions in this chapter, alongside the relevations that'll come with it.

Chapter 43: Sycamore Still Standing

Lizzie followed closely behind Sigmund through the crowds that had since gathered in the streets the carnival had taken residence in, keeping a tight grip on her satchel strap and occasionally allowing her green eyes to wander through the seas of creatures. She didn't want to let her guard down in case Tibbles was about and knowing that she was one of two people who contributed to his downfall last time, she was certain she was at the top of his hit list and thus would be one of the first to be targeted while she was alone. She wasn't as worried about Luz and King though, so at least she had the reassurance that Willow and Gus (being as powerful as they were, as she'd witnessed first-hand) would be there to protect them if something went wrong in her absence. Yet that didn't stop her from briefly rubbing an arm against her stomach at the fluttering feeling she'd got swirling around.

'Am I nervous?' She rolled her eyes at her own question. 'Okay. That was a stupid question. Of course I should be. I've agreed to meet a witch—a wild one—without knowing anything about them aside from their palisman and initials.' She huffed quietly and returned her hand to her satchel strap, focusing her gaze on her satchel at remembering she'd kept that letter from V.S. in there and forgot to take it out. 'Still, it's possible I'm overreacting. This witch sounded genuine and friendly in their letter and was happy to lend me their palisman for a day. Seems like too much effort to go to if they were horrible, right?' Lizzie's eyes drooped as she raised her gaze ahead again. 'Not to mention they know where I live. If they were looking to attack us or steal anything, I'm sure something would have happened by now.'

By the time the crowds had started to thin in number and she had a clearer view of where they were heading, Lizzie was left blinking widely at realising Sigmund had brought her back to the entrance, immediately taking notice of Tibbles' large red tent and the black metal arch and fence that separated the carnival from the main town. Before she had a chance to open her mouth and question Sigmund about it, however, a cheery, young-sounding male voice beat her to it.

"Elisabeth Redwood," he greeted, causing Lizzie to stop in her tracks and stare ahead, while Sigmund continued to slither in the direction of the arch. Her brows raised at the figure in the brown cloak leaning against the fence on the left side of the entrance with his arms folded, his face concealed by his hood for the moment. "I apologise for the sudden invitation, but I'm grateful that you showed."

The blonde witch didn't say anything at first, instead choosing to focus on Sigmund as the snake palisman approached the figure and slithered up his leg to hide inside of his cloak. She waited until she could see Sigmund poke his head out from the figure's hood to finally get her words out, her brow furrowing and her head tilting to the side with a little squint.

"… Are you 'V.S.'?" she asked with a hint of hesitation, prompting the figure to nod and stand from the fence.

It was a stupid question to ask since Sigmund had naturally confirmed her suspicions anyways, but there was no harm in being sure, was there?

"I am," he answered and slowly strode over to the blonde witch, reaching his hands up for the sides of his hood and pulling it down just as he stopped in front of her. Lizzie found herself staring into the green, round spectacled eyes of a witch who looked to be in their early twenties and a couple of inches taller than her, sporting messy red hair that reached his neck, a fringe that swept to the left side of his forehead and, of course, the pointy ears witches were commonly known for. "Vance Sycamore," he stated with a grin, bowing low and crossing his right arm over his chest. "It's a pleasure."

Lizzie's jaw dropped the moment she heard the surname ring in her ears, blinking a couple of times to make sure she'd heard him correctly.

"Syca—?" She started to shout, but she stopped mid-word by slapping a hand over her mouth. Lizzie whipped her head towards the left and right, then she glanced behind her to be sure, with 'Vance' taking the opportunity to stand upright again. After confirming no creature or witch was within earshot, Lizzie cleared her throat and moved her hand from her mouth, lowering her voice as she attempted to speak for a second time. "You're a Sycamore?"

Pushing his glasses up his nose with a finger, Vance smiled slyly and cocked a brow at her question, answering in kind. "So, you're already aware of my family. Interesting."

"Who isn't?" Lizzie whispered, her eyes briefly trailing away to a wanted poster of Eda stuck to the side of one of the houses lying beyond the metal fence. "You're as well-known across the isles as the Owl Lady!" Her shoulders slumped. "Just more elusive."

"Is that so. Not that I'm surprised." Vance's smile widened as he placed his chin atop his knuckles, pausing to chuckle before continuing. "It's been at least four decades, yet we're still not in the emperor's favour it seems. Guy really knows how to hold a grudge."

Lizzie frowned at Vance's reaction, squinting a bit in the process.

'Well, what do you know. He sounds exactly like his letter. Though I'm surprised he wasn't aware of his family being branded as criminals, alongside reacting rather… calmly to the news.'

"You're surprisingly calm about this for someone who's just learnt their family is classed as isles-wide criminals," she eventually commented.

Vance's smile faded with a wide blink. "Am I? Hm." He straightened up and gave an open-armed shrug. "Then you'll have to forgive my lack of a reaction. I don't venture into Bonesborough much." His eyes drooped as he turned to Sigmund still lingering on his shoulder, whom he reached a finger to and stroked the top of his head at his next melancholic words. "Although, recent events changed that…"

Lizzie followed Vance's gaze to Sigmund then, her frown deepening as she realised what he was likely referring to. "Is this related to the captured palismen?"

Vance nodded without hesitation, causing the blonde witch to break eye contact and look to the satchel against her side, reaching an arm towards it and wrapping it round protectively. She had so many questions she wanted to ask this witch, considering his connections to the Bat Queen and the captured palismen, alongside the secrets he'd already divulged to her in his letter, were naturally buzzing inside her head like a group of firebees. But Lizzie knew the best course of action would be to focus on the question that was most relevant to this situation: the reason for their meeting.

"Regarding your letter…" she started quietly, bringing her gaze back to the pair of green eyes now staring back behind round spectacles. "Why would someone like you insist on wanting to speak with a nobody like me?"

There was a brief silence before Vance's brows furrowed, a quiet sigh escaping him as he lowered his head a little. "Well, Miss Redwood, to be blunt…" He paused to swallow thickly, regaining the courage to return his gaze to Lizzie's. "My family normally don't involve outsiders in our business. But I've had to make a special exception this time, as I fear you and the coven scout you're associated with might be in danger."

Lizzie leaned her head back with her eyes growing wide, naturally not expecting that answer nor Xander being brought into this.

'Me and Xander… in danger?' The recollection of what Vance had told her in his letter soon sprung to the forefront of her mind, eliciting a wide blink as she tried to process this new information. 'I mean… I suspected what was going on was shady when the emperor was mentioned as the recipient of the palismen, but… for us to be in danger?'

Aside from those two demon hunters, her own allies, and Tibbles, Lizzie was certain no one else had been aware of what had occurred between them and the demon hunters that night. So, unless the demon hunters had gone and tattled (which she thought unlikely, seeing as they were a group of criminals themselves), she couldn't understand how this had happened—

'Hang on.' She scowled at realising something. 'He knows about Xander?' Her eyes briefly locked with Sigmund then, however, causing her brows to relax. 'Although, now that I think about it, one of the palismen might have told him. Maybe 'Foxwick'.'

"I can see you're confused," Vance eventually said as he reached a hand for her closest shoulder, breaking Lizzie from her train of thought with a shake of the head. "But don't panic just yet. This is why I'm here: to confirm how much you two already know."

"How much we already know?" Lizzie repeated with the tilt of her head. "I don't understand."

"I'll explain in a moment, I assure you. For now, though…" His eyes darted to the left and right, then focused on Lizzie again after removing his hand from her shoulder and placing a finger to his lips. "We should discuss this somewhere a little more secluded. Come."

Lizzie's brows raised as she watched Vance start to walk off towards the carnival while pulling his hood back over his head, with Sigmund slithering inside the confines of his partner's cloak. After several seconds, though, she strode after him and stuck close to his side, adjusting her own cloak hood over her face with a slight tug.

'Part of me is glad I chose to do this now, and I bet once I find out what's going on, that feeling is only going to intensify…'

King couldn't even bring himself to describe how quickly his 'Luz and King' day had spiralled out of control. But if he was sure of anything in that moment, it was that Gus and Willow were the reason why.

He'd already gotten mildly irritated with the two witches this morning when they'd hogged Luz's attention with their school studies, but now they were taking control of their activities as well, to the point where they were no longer helping him win those necklaces and were constantly ignoring him. Out of everything they'd done so far, they'd only played two games to win tickets, one of which was 'skee-ball' (as Luz had called it)—where King got smacked in the head courtesy of a ball and no one noticed—and the other being darts—where King was forced to jump because he was too small to reach the counter and wound up tumbling over, all the while Luz was too busy talking to her friends—with the rest of the day in between spent with King chasing after the trio of teenagers.

The darts game ended up being the last straw for King. After collapsing onto his front into the dust and the dirt and peeking up to see Luz still standing with her back to him while leaning against the counter, he picked himself up and dusted himself off with his paws, turning to walk off with his shoulders slumped, his eyes drooped, and his arms dangling close to his feet. He had no idea where he was heading, but right now he didn't care. He just needed a moment to mope.

"I don't know what I was expecting," he muttered through a small sigh, keeping his gaze on his feet as he dragged them across the hardened dirt. "This is just like the magic lessons all over again."

King walked a little further away before eventually slowing to a stop in front of a tall and rectangular blue booth with dark blue curtains drawn across the arched window, his pink eyes locking with the parchment poster for the carnival pinned under its counter. It depicted a drawing of a trio made up of one demon with horns and two witches (a girl and a boy) holding hands with open-mouthed smiles in between 'Carnival' written in bold red and dark green caption 'Best with friends' underneath it.

"I guess I was fooling myself: she's never gonna pay attention to me," King commented glumly, already turning away and preparing to keep walking on. "I should look for Lizzie. I know she won't ignore me."

"Oh, my!" a familiar, posh, male voice exclaimed from the booth, causing King to stop and raise his head with a wide blink. "I'm sensing a troubled soul nearby!"

King's head whipped back towards the booth, only to blink widely for a second time when he saw no one there. He glanced left and right to confirm this before frowning and turning to face the booth properly, his eyes narrowing.

"Who's there? Are you my conscience?"

A light-hearted chuckle responded to King's question, prompting the demon to focus on the booth again when it sounded like it was coming from that direction.

"Of course not, dear fellow!" The curtains suddenly parted, revealing a familiar-looking bespectacled pig dressed in purple robes lined with yellow over a yellow vest, a pointy hat with purple and yellow stripes with a lone eye depicted upon it, and a bushy, brown moustache under his snout standing inside the booth. The 'stranger' smiled widely and held up a hand. "It is in fact I, Obvioso, the all-seeing psychic!"

King took a few steps towards the booth and squinted, giving the newcomer a quick look from head to toe. "Wait a sec. Don't I know you from somewhere?"

'Obvioso' chortled and shook his head, relaxing his stance as he did so. "I am quite sure you don't, my little friend."

"Are you sure?" King questioned and moved closer, scratching a claw at his chin while stretching himself up on his toes to get a better look. "I can't put my claw on it, but something about you is so…"

When King trailed off, 'Obvioso' held out his arms and tilted his head to the side with a slight shrug. "…obvious?" he finished, causing King to gasp loudly and flatten himself to the floor again.

"Yes!" King cried, his pink eyes glistening with the wag of his tail and clenching of his paws. "That's what I was gonna say! You really are psychic!"

"Why would I say I am if I wasn't?" 'Obvioso' responded, only to furrow his brow and lean against the booth's counter, a hand cupping one of his cheeks. "After all, it was how I could sense there was something bothering you. Care to share?"

King's excitement instantly died upon hearing this, his tail drooping. "Well, Obvioso," he paused to sigh and cross his arms. "Today was supposed to be me hanging out with my friend Luz. But she keeps getting distracted by her school friends." His shoulders slumped. "I just want Luz to include me a little more. I feel like she keeps ignoring me."

"Hm…" 'Obvioso' hummed in thought and tapped a finger against his chin, his eyes turning upwards. "You know, I think I have just the thing to make your problems disappear. Literally." King looked up with a cocked brow as he watched 'Obvioso' stick his hand behind the curtains of the booth, only to bring out an oval-shaped and purple spray bottle with a transparent body, which had a glowing, light purple liquid inside of it. "Here."

King blinked widely as 'Obvioso' placed the spray bottle between his paws, prompting his brows to furrow as he stared up at the robed pig. "What is it?"

"The answer to all your problems," 'Obvioso' answered with a smile, standing up straight and holding out his hands on either side of him. "That concoction will make anything you spray it on disappear. And when you want to bring them back,"—he patted his palms against both of his cheeks twice—"just do this twice."

"Really?" King questioned, his brow furrowing further as he glanced down at the bottle in his grasp. "It's that simple?"

"Indeed!" 'Obvioso' grinned and gave an open-armed shrug. "It's temporary and there's no harm done! Your friends will be none the wiser!" 'Obvioso' saw King's grip tighten around the spray bottle, causing him to raise a brow. "Is something wrong, friend?"

"Sorta," King mumbled as he rubbed his claws against the glass of the spray bottle, focusing his pink eyes on his tiny reflection in the liquid. "It's just… the last time I played around with something like this, I put my friends in danger. Maybe I should think about this."

"But do you really need to?" 'Obvioso' goaded, causing King to look up at him as he put on his widest grin yet and tilted his head. "A psychic doesn't lie! Surely, you can trust my word, can't you?"

But then King released a gasp and straightened out, his pupils shrinking as the imaginary lightbulb flicked on above his head. "That's it!"

"What's 'it'?" 'Obvioso' enquired as his grin dropped and his head straightened up.

"Lizzie knows about potions!" King declared with a semblance of a smile, his tail briefly swishing back and forth. "She can tell me about this stuff like she did with Eda's elixir! I'll know then if it's a good idea to use it!"

'Obvioso's' eyes widened at this, prompting him to wave his hands about and shake his head. "Now, now, let's not get too hasty—"

Before 'Obvioso' could finish, however, King was already turning on his heels and running off away from the booth, shoving the spray bottle into his fanny pack and then zipping it back up again.

"Thanks, Mister Obvioso!"

"Wait!" 'Obvioso' called after King with an outstretched hand, but it was futile when King didn't stop running. His shoulders slumped as he watched the little demon disappear into the crowds gathered, eventually huffing. He reached up a hand to rip away the moustache from his face, his eyes drooping when 'Obvioso' was finally exposed as 'Tibbles' in disguise. "Ugh!" he groaned and lightly smacked a fist against the booth's counter. "I was so sure targeting Bone-boy was going to work. But now he's gone to tattle on me to the Owl Lady's companion, and she'll blow my plan out of the water just like last time!" He tapped his fingers against the counter repeatedly, his brow furrowing with thought. "What am I going to do now?"

"King?!" Luz's approaching voice caused Tibbles' ears to twitch and his head to straighten up.

"Oh dear!" he exclaimed quietly, being quick to step back behind the curtains of the booth and draw them together at the sound of hurried footsteps heading towards him from the right, leaving a tiny gap so he could peek without being seen.

"King!" Luz called out to the little demon again as she, Gus and Willow slowed to a stop in front of the booth, lowering her raised hands from her face with a furrowed brow while her gaze wandered around the area. "I can't see him anywhere."

"Neither can I," Gus replied with a small sigh, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck with drooped eyes. "Where do you think he could have run off to?"

"I thought I just saw him heading towards the House of Mirrors," Willow answered with a shrug. "Maybe we should try there."

"That's a good idea, Willow!" Luz said with a smile, beckoning for her friends to follow her with a hand. "The sooner we find the little guy, the sooner we can get back to winning those tickets for him! C'mon!"

Tibbles silently watched the trio of teenagers run off with a sly smirk slipping onto his face.

"Hm…" Tibbles stepped out from behind the curtains and reached a hand into his robes. "Now that I think about it, it was silly of me to target the Owl Lady and Bone-boy. After all…" He fished around in his robes until he pulled out a second spray bottle, his next words spoken lowly. "…those three did destroy centuries of Grimm Hammer history with their previous stunt." Tibbles sloshed the liquid around with a deep chuckle, an idea already forming in his head. "I'm sure they'll make nice additions to my group of tiny terror performers~!"

Because of how busy the carnival was, Lizzie knew there was nowhere private for her and Vance to talk where they wouldn't be overheard, and Vance seemed to be thinking the same thing. So, as the two witches stuck side by side (with Vance keeping his hands in the pockets of his trousers and Lizzie holding onto her satchel strap), they instead focused on walking through areas where they were less creatures around to overhear them, knowing full well that there would be no coven guards around thanks to the carnival workers keeping them at bay. Sigmund stayed inside of Vance's hood as the older witch kept his gaze ahead with a furrowed brow, speaking to Lizzie in a low voice while she kept her own gaze fixed on his face.

"My family were forced to go into hiding around the time the emperor came into power because we know things about him that others don't," he explained, causing Lizzie's brows to raise with a slight gape. "This includes the reason why he's after palismen, along with the problems surrounding the basilisks, like the one you and the coven scout ran into."

"What?" Lizzie questioned with the slight raise of her voice, quickly looking around to make sure no one nearby had heard her before moving closer to Vance's side, her next words a whisper. "You know about the basilisks being revived?!"

Vance nodded and adjusted his glasses with a hand, which he then gestured to Sigmund with a smile and the snake palisman poking his head from out of the confines of his hood. "The palismen you saved belong to my family. Sigmund was returned to me, but the rest have stayed under the protection of the Bat Queen. They told me about your basilisk friend."

Lizzie swallowed thickly and rubbed a hand against her throat, looking away and at her feet the moment she felt the sweat starting to stick to her forehead. The basilisk's words from before echoed within the confines of her head, causing a sense of dread to wash over her as if she had a knot twinging in her stomach.

'Luz also mentioned she'd had to deal with a Greater Basilisk at Hexside disguised as a school inspector from the Emperor's Coven on the same day, which turned out to be the one that attacked Glandus, like those demon hunters claimed. But if the emperor is connected to this, like Vance claims, does that mean he's the one who…?'

She shuddered and shook her head to prevent herself from finishing that thought, remaining unaware of Vance silently watching her with a sideways glance. However, her eyes widened when she recalled something else upon processing the rest of Vance's words, forcing her to a sudden stop. Vance slowed down and paused a little bit ahead of Lizzie, peeking back at her over his shoulder when she spoke with a quiet squeak.

"Wait…" The colour slowly drained from Lizzie's face as her green eyes locked with Vance's, slowly raising a shaky finger to point at the older witch like she'd just witnessed him commit a murder. "The demon hunters said the palismen came from captured witches, and you just said those palismen belonged to your family…"

"You're starting to understand now, aren't you?" he asked, prompting Lizzie to nod stiffly with a small intake of breath through her mouth. His frown deepened as he returned his gaze ahead again, his hand returning to his pockets under his cloak when it balled into a fist. "Our knowledge is the reason why we're hunted by the Emperor's Coven and why we were forced to hide our palismen. He doesn't take too kindly to those whom he deems a threat, after all."

"So…" Lizzie paused and hunched her shoulders at the question lingering on the tip of her tongue, eventually prompting herself to continue after balling her hands into fists. "…does that mean your family are in the Conformatorium right now?" The moment she saw Sigmund hiss and lower his head with drooped eyes and Vance slowly nod, she felt her breath hitch in her throat, a hand going to her chest at the dull pang of an ache that struck it. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's a price we have to pay," Vance mumbled and waved Lizzie off with a hand, even though the blonde swore she could see his green eyes glistening behind his spectacles.

"But that's why you wanted to speak with me, isn't it?" she asked quietly as the colour slowly returned to her face, reaching up her arm to wipe away the sweat from her forehead. "Because you wanted to make sure I didn't know enough to get me put in there too." She rolled her eyes. "Even though I'll still end up in there anyway for different reasons…"

"Precisely."

Vance waited until Lizzie had resumed her walk and reached him before joining her again, turning to her just as she turned her gaze to her feet and sighed heavily. She decided to purposely push the previous topic away to avoid Vance having to reflect on his family's current circumstances.

"Well, to be honest, I knew very little about the situation with the palismen outside of what you've told me. And the basilisk only told us that someone had revived her and her kind, but not who."

"What about the coven scout?" Vance enquired with his brow relaxing, his head tilting to the side. "Wasn't he the one who hired the demon hunters?"

Lizzie clenched her jaw and nodded slightly. "Unfortunately." She raised her head and deepened her frown at locking eyes with Vance. "But I don't think he knows anything either. He was…" She paused and turned her eyes to the sky for a few seconds, attempting to find the right words. "…sort of forced into the task by someone else."

"Forced?" Vance repeated with a cocked brow. "Who was it?"

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. But I doubt they would have known what the emperor wants with them." She bit her lip as her next words came out with a hint of a crack in her voice. "Still, would you say that's enough to put the both of us in danger?"

"Hm…" Vance hummed and turned his head skyward, raising a hand to stroke at his chin with a squint. "I wouldn't say so." He lowered his head again and took his hand away from his face, turning to Lizzie once more with a furrowed brow. "Although, you might not want to speak to that basilisk about what happened to her. The less you know, the better."

Lizzie blinked widely at this and leaned her head back a bit. "You're assuming I'm going to be talking to her again?"

Vance smiled widely and sideways glanced Sigmund, who tilted his head to the side with a blink. "Well, I was told you were delivering magic-infused potions to her."

Lizzie pouted at Sigmund then, pursing her lips to boot. "You're a lot more chatty than I thought."

Sigmund only cocked his head in response, prompting Vance to chuckle and pat his palisman on the head.

'Still, that's a relief.' Lizzie briefly looked away and sighed heavily, wiped a hand across her forehead. 'Looks like Xander and I are in the clear.' But then she scowled and sideways glanced Vance when a sudden thought occurred to her. 'I do have to wonder what he was doing here in the first place, though. He said he doesn't usually come to Bonesborough these days, yet there's no way he came just to speak to me. He couldn't have known I was here, after all—'

"Lizzie!"

King's high-pitched voice cut through the blonde witch's train of thought like a knife, bringing her and Vance to a halt. The two witches glanced behind them with a simultaneous 'hm?' to see the little demon charging towards Lizzie with his eyes squeezed shut and his arms held out in front of him, a sight that prompted Lizzie to fully turn around.

"King?"

"Nyeh!" King cried out the moment he reached the blonde witch's feet and clung to her closest shin with both paws, his glistening pink eyes looking up at her. "I've finally found you! I need your help with—!" He paused and turned to look at Vance the moment he caught the taller witch within his peripheral vision, prompting his head to tilt with a wide blink. Several seconds of staring later, he focused back on Lizzie and jabbed a claw in Vance's direction. "… Who's the nerd?"

"King!" Lizzie scolded. But she was soon relaxing her expression when Vance released a loud laugh and wrapped an arm round his middle.

"No, no! He's not wrong!" Vance reassured while waving his other hand about, a bright smile on his face. The red-headed witch looked down at King and gestured a hand towards his glasses. "It was the glasses, wasn't it? They give me a goofy look, I know!"

Lizzie blinked widely and gaped slightly at Vance's reaction, naturally shocked by how he was taking this situation. King, meanwhile, perked up at Vance's reaction.

"Huh," he said, looking between Vance and Lizzie with his jaw seeming to morph into the semblance of a smile. "He's the first person not to get mad at me for saying that. I like this guy!"

Lizzie loudly cleared her throat and gestured her hands towards Vance, keeping eye contact with King. "King, this is Vance. The wild witch who owns Sigmund." She then turned to Vance and gestured towards King. "Vance, this is King. He's a demon—"

"Ahem," King loudly interrupted, causing Lizzie's eyes to droop and her nose to crinkle upon realising why he'd done it.

'Dammit, King.'

"I mean, he's the King of Demons," she corrected through gritted teeth. "He also lives with the Owl Lady."

"A 'king of demons', huh?" Vance repeated with a slight smirk, prompting the red-headed witch to give a low bow and wrap his arm round his middle. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, your royal highness."

"Ooooh!" King clapped his paws together as Vance righted himself, with Lizzie being forced to bite her lip at the theatrics Vance was purposely putting on. "Someone who knows how to properly greet a king! Now I really like this guy!"

"Anyway," Lizzie said with forced emphasis and a deepened scowl, gesturing for King to continue with the slight rolling of her hand. "You were saying something about needing my help?" But then the blonde witch gave the area around them a quick look over. "Although, I don't know why you came to me. Couldn't Luz, Gus and Willow have helped you?"

King raised his shoulders and took two steps away from Lizzie. "Yeah, see… that's kinda the problem." When Lizzie relaxed her expression and raised a brow, he turned his eyes to the floor, his tail drooping. "Luz got distracted by her cool new friends and she's been making me feel left out, even though she said it was supposed to be our day. So, I wandered off to clear my head."

"Oh, King…" Lizzie mumbled through a quiet sigh, her brows knitting together at the headache she could slowly feel coming on.

She noticed Vance silently watching them with his arms crossed out of the corner of her eyes, but she didn't say anything. Lizzie naturally assumed he was just staying quiet to be polite, especially because this was clearly something between them.

'This is just like the incident with Eda's magic lessons all over again.'

"And then a psychic named 'Obvioso' spoke to me," King continued, bringing Lizzie out of her thoughts with a wide blink just as she saw the little demon fiddling with the zip of his fanny pack. "He gave me some glowing liquid that he said would make my problems literally disappear. But after what happened with Eda's elixir…" He briefly trailed off and rubbed a paw against the back of his neck as he returned his gaze to Lizzie's. "…I wanted you to check it for me. Just so I don't cause any trouble like last time."

Lizzie found herself gaping at the last thing King said, taking a few seconds to process them before placing a hand to her chest. She knew she probably should have been more concerned with the whole 'Obvioso' thing, but she had to admit she hadn't expected that last thing from King.

"Wait, really?" she questioned, prompting King to nod stiffly.

"You helped me with Eda's elixir and it looks like some sort of potion, which you know a lot about." King shrugged and unzipped the fanny pack, sticking a paw in and rummaging it round. "Makes sense I should check it with you, right?"

Lizzie couldn't suppress the slight smile that slipped onto her face at this, the events of that horrible night during the boiling rain immediately springing to mind.

'Would you look at that. King's learning from his mistakes. He still shouldn't have trusted a random stranger, and one that claims to be a psychic yet has access to potions, but it's a positive step in the right direction.'

At seeing King pull out the spray bottle with glowing liquid from his fanny pack, Lizzie crouched and took it in both hands and stared intently at it, continuing to listen to King's explanation while turning the bottle between her palms to examine it closely.

"Obvioso said it would make anything it sprayed disappear. And then to bring it back, I'm supposed to do this." Lizzie briefly glanced up to see King pat his cheeks with both of his paws twice, causing her to squint a bit.

"You have to pat your cheeks twice?"

"Uh-huh."

'Yeah. That's all I needed to hear.'

Lizzie pursed her lips and held the bottle upright in one hand, using the other to pat King on the head, something which King's eyes widened a little at. "Well, King, you did the right thing in coming to me."

"I did?"

"Mhm. Because you've been scammed by a troublesome carnie." King's jaw slacked when Lizzie gestured her other hand towards the glowing liquid. "This doesn't sound or look like any store-sold potion I'm aware of, even though its appeareance gives off the impression it is because of its light colour. Based off what you've said, I think this concoction contains magic, which probably means it's homemade."

"How can you tell?"

"Because of the cheek tapping thing," Lizzie answered and tapped a finger against her own cheek. "Potions usually bring about their effects by being poured or through breaking the vial they're in, allowing them to be used by anybody." She frowned and shook the bottle about a bit. "But if this Obvioso is saying you need to use a different method, then I suspect it has their magic in there, meaning you can't use this the same way they can."

King gasped loudly and covered his mouth with his paws, looking like the emperor had just announced he was about to be petrified. "So, if I'd tried to use that stuff on Gus and Willow… I would have made them disappear forever?"

Lizzie narrowed her eyes. "You were going to do what?"

King held his paws out and waved them around, his eyes growing wide. "I-It wasn't going to be forever! It was just until Luz and I won the necklaces!"

Lizzie crossed her arms and scowled, her next words spoken sternly. "How could you think that was a good idea?!" But when she saw King retract his paws to his chest and slump his shoulders, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Oh, well. The important thing is that you actually thought about your actions this time."

"Yeah…" King said as his jaw morphed into a smile and placed a paw to the back of his head. "I didn't think Luz would have listened to me because of last time. But I knew you would. You heard me out before, after all."

Lizzie felt the heat rise to her cheeks at that, but she was soon smiling and giving King a gentle pat on the back. "Still, I'm proud of you, King. I'm glad you know you can come to me when you have a problem."

King's smile widened at this as he puffed out his chest and straightened up, a little giggle being the only response he gave to her words. However, King's moment of pride was interrupted when the pair spied Vance crouching beside Lizzie, his brow furrowed as he rested his elbows against his thighs.

"King, about this… 'Obvioso' fellow," he started, raising two fingers on each hand and bending them to imitate quotation marks. "What did he look like?"

"Hm…" King hummed and tilted his head up, placing his paws under his chin. "Well, he was dressed like those 'wizards' Eda's always complaining about." He pointed at Lizzie and waggled his finger around. "You know, like that weird old guy in jim-jams who turned out to be a puppet for that octopus demon?"

"Adegast," Lizzie stated with a nod.

"Yeah, him!" King gently patted his paws together and faced the two witches crouched in front of him. "He was about my size and looked like a pig with glasses." He jerked his head towards Vance. "Glasses like this guy's, actually."

That was all Lizzie and Vance needed to hear before the two witches gasped loudly and turned to one another with wide eyes, speaking the different variations of the culprit's name in sync.

"Tibbles!"

"Tibblet‐Tibblie!"

Lizzie was the first to break out of her shock, however, a faint frown forming at realising Vance had spoken the name as well. "Wait, you know Tibbles?"

"Unfortunately," Vance responded lowly, his gaze turning towards the spray bottle still in Lizzie's grasp while clenching his hands. "That pig is the reason why my family wound up in the Conformatorium. He sold them out." Lizzie smacked a hand to her mouth at this revelation. "That's why I'm here. He probably invited me to try to get me sent to the Conformatorium too."

"Wait, Obvioso is Tibbles?!" King shrieked, causing him to stare down at his outstretched paws with a gape. "Does that mean he tried to trick me?!"

"It is, King," Lizzie answered with a growl, her grip tightening on the spray bottle as she thought back to their initial meeting today. "Tibbles tried to give Eda a 'special beverage' when we came into the carnival. I have a feeling this is it."

"And considering that pig's former stand dabbled with potions, I wouldn't be surprised if it was him," Vance remarked with a hiss, his eyes briefly shifting to King as the little demon glanced back and forth between him and Lizzie. "But why would Tibblet-Tibblie want to target this 'Luz's' friends?"

"Revenge, that's why." Lizzie scrunched her face up and opened up her satchel with a hand, shoving the spray bottle inside. "I might have stolen from him, but Luz, Gus and Willow were the ones who accidentally crushed his stand. I knew this whole thing was just so he could get back at them!"

King moved closer to Lizzie's lap and reached out to grip at her wrists with glistening pink eyes, staring at her as if what he was about to say next determined the end of the world as they knew it.

"Lizzie, I think Luz and her friends could be in serious trouble!" His jaw quivered a bit, his eyes welling with tears when his voice began to crack. "I told Obvioso that I was going to have you look at the stuff he gave me! He must have realised I'd ruined his plan and so now he's going to go after them himself!"

"Hey," Lizzie said gently, already moving to scoop King up under his arms and lift him to her shoulder. "Don't worry about that now. Our main priority is finding them, finding Eda and then getting out of here." She stood up with King held against her shoulder, allowing the little demon to escape her grip and cling to the back of her left shoulder while Vance got to his feet as well. "Do you remember where you last saw them, King?"

King quickly wiped at his eyes with his arms as he went to respond. "I left them by the darts game. But they're probably not there now."

"Then let's head to his tent," Vance suggested as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a finger, a scowl making itself present. "I have a feeling that whatever tricks that pig is up to, it's going to involve his 'Tent of Tiny Terrors'."

Lizzie and King stared at Vance with wide blinks, with the former being the one to speak once she stopped acting like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "You want to help?"

Vance gave an open-armed shrug and smiled widely. "I might as well. We share a common enemy, Miss Redwood. Why not become allies if only for a short period of time?"

Several seconds passed before Lizzie nodded slowly in agreement, knowing that there was no point in arguing with him. Vance was right. They could use all the help they could get against this crafty pig.

"Thank you," she said, only to face forward again and start running, her hands gripping tightly onto her satchel strap. Vance followed closely beside her, with Sigmund retreating into his owner's hood to avoid falling off. "Hold on tight, King!"

King nodded and did as he was told, gripping onto Lizzie's satchel strap as she and Vance charged ahead. Lizzie's eyes briefly made contact with her satchel, though, as she listened to the distinct sloshing of the glowing liquid inside the spray bottle, prompting a faint frown to appear as Vance's words from a moment ago echoed inside her head.

"Hey, Vance?" Lizzie sideways glanced the older witch when she addressed him, waiting until he mirrored her gaze before continuing. "Why do you think this has something to do with Tibbles' tent?"

The red-headed witch's response was delayed. Yet he was soon looking ahead with a deep frown, his answer nothing more than a breathless whisper.

"Just call it a hunch, Miss Redwood."

A/N:

Okay. Firstly, a lot of you have been asking specific questions about Lizzie, Xander, Lizzie's parents and so on that you naturally want the answers to. And to that I must unfortunately say… I can't tell you, not even vaguely. Reason being that's the whole point of this story. You're supposed to be asking those questions and reading on to find out whether it happens or not. That's how you stay hooked, after all. Even if I don't tell you when or where it's gonna happen, it is still spoilers. And if I do tell you, I highly doubt the interest in the story will be the same. I know my updates are longer than most writers and that I tend to spread episodes over multiple chapters rather than shoving them into one, but I have to because you won't be able to process my OC content properly, alongside any other changes. It'd be too many words at once, on top of the fact that I am writer who likes to make sure my characters and content are fleshed out properly. I promise you will get your answers to your questions eventually, but I can only ask you to please be patient until then.

Regarding Lizzie's healing potion and Xander's scar, however, I can answer that. Lizzie can't use it to heal Xander's scar because Xander's scar is over three years old and Lizzie's healing potion can only properly heal skin wounds recently inflicted. This is something I have tried to emphasise with Luz's injuries and the basilisk's in past chapters, which is why Lizzie never attempted to use it on Xander during their last meeting. I intended for Xander to keep that scar because it's supposed to act as a physical representation of the consequences inflicted on both Lizzie and Xander and help them both develop as characters. You've started to see this with Lizzie especially, but Xander's won't be kicking in just yet. You'll see it soon, though; his development and his scar.

To the guests who have been offering suggestions for ideas (barring Gry26 because they're already aware of this from previous responses): while I do appreciate you putting these forward, I must preface this by saying, as politely as I can, to not expect me to use any of them going forward. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to stop doing it, because I really do enjoy reading them. It's nice to see how invested some of you are in my characters and putting forward ideas based on how you've interpreted what I've written. It's honestly nice. However, I'm not like other writers who tend to ask for suggestions and ideas. When I write a story, I already have an outline of what matters I will address and when they will be addressed, which is the case for this story. So, by all means, please don't be discouraged in sending me ideas, because I will still comment on them, of course. But I have to say this just to make sure no one thinks I'm purposely ignoring them or you get disappointed if I don't end up using said suggestion or idea. That being said, I will respond to the ideas below:

Heaven's Light: I will say this idea is interesting, but I do already have plans to address this matter in later chapters that play out a bit differently. I was originally going to have this occur during episode thirteen, but because of the situation and the other things that are going to happen in upcoming episodes, I felt it best to address it at a different time, which is why in Chapter 41, it's revealed Lizzie and Luz had this conversation 'outside of the story' so to speak. That's all I can say on that. But again, it was a nice idea.

Gry26: Oh, wow. Um… I'll be honest, I can't really comment much on these ideas because… you've actually guessed one of the episode's ideas I have correctly. XD I'm not kidding. You actually hit one of them on the head, so if I do say anything, I will end up spoiling everybody. Not your fault, of course, but I am legitimately shocked at how closely you got it. So, all I can say for the moment is that two of the episodes will address the issues you've mentioned, while one is going to play out exactly as you've typed. I won't say which is which, but once we get into Episode 15, you'll probably figure it out. Still, well done. XD

Heart: I've already answered part of your question above regarding the burn scar and Lizzie's potion, but as for the rest of it, I'm not too familiar with the anime version of RWBY. And while the idea is neat, I wouldn't have been able to do it for two reasons: one, while I know other writers have taken inspiration for their OCs from other franchises and such, I try to avoid that for the sole purpose of making my character and storylines as original as possible, and two… I would have been breaking FF's guidelines sticking song lyrics in my fic. XD Still though, it's not a bad idea.

Guest: While that does sound like a good idea, I'm afraid it's very unlikely. Xander is very low in rankings and mainly stationed in Bonesborough, as stated in previous chapters. He has no reason nor any way of ever winding up close to the Golden Guard. Fair enough, he is a fairly talented witch, but I'd argue he isn't on Hunter's level. However, these two will have interactions in Season 2, that I can promise you. But again, this is definitely a neat idea, and had Xander been a little closer to Hunter in rank, I could see this happening.

And then last but not least, Sonicsonicsonic: I appreciate the feedback, and I understand that you have a right to share your thoughts and opinions and you're not going to agree with everything I've had my OC do or say, and the same goes with the canon characters. That's totally fair. However, as I mentioned in my PM responses, it would be greatly appreciated if you'd also include the things you've liked as well, especially in relation to my OC content. I'm assuming you do like this story, since you've read through all 42 chapters in three days somehow (or at least, I think you've read further than Chapter 36, even though you haven't said anything else), so it would be nice to see what you like about it too. I'm all for critiques, but it's not good for a writer's self-esteem and confidence when every single review is just focusing on the negatives, you know? Pros, cons, and suggestions for improvement: that's usually how constructive criticism is structured. But again, thank you for taking the time to give feedback, and also for commenting on the chapters when some of the episodes end. I think you're one of the few who has decided to do that. XD