Amity was well into the fifth book of The Good Witch Azura novel that Luz had lent her several days ago after the incident in the Bonesborough Library. She had read the first four several times, never finding the fifth on the Boiling Isles before, and had wondered if they had been discontinued at some point. Now, having learned that they came from the human realm, she was looking at the story in an entirely new light.
The citizens of the Boiling Isles had long knew that there were other realms connected to theirs, with rumors and superstitions surrounding humans being a common interest in some circles, even in Hexside School itself. She had always thought it was a senseless pursuit before, ignoring anything that didn't further her goals of gaining prestige and magical skills, but maybe they were a little more interesting than she had initially thought. Many residents of Bonesborough had come across The Owl Lady's Human Collectibles stand in the market; which was usually composed of what many would consider junk if not outright garbage, though most witches and demons passing by saw it all as a scam. After all, what being would wear or design such strange items, and where would some trash collecting old lady get access to real human paraphernalia? But then, where would she get a real human?
After reading the last paragraph a few times, Amity placed a bookmark in her place; a scrap piece of paper she had drawn herself and Malingale holding each other on, and set it down on the desk in her room, rubbing her eyes. She would have to make sure she removed that before returning the book. The character was a new addition to the story, and Amity was torn between being suspicious of the mysterious prophet, and infatuated with them. The perfect combination, truthfully.
The book had drawn her in as it delved more into Hecate, the three faced rival to Azura that had been the central antagonist up until now, who had been given a prophecy by Malingale, and had gone to Azura for help, expecting the worst. Her tea was already cold though, and it seemed the day had mostly passed by without her notice.
A knock on her bedroom door startled Amity out of her reverie, and she quickly hid the book in the drawer of her desk. "One second!" She called.
"Are you still alive in there?" Edric called back, accompanied by whispers by Emira.
"Again?" Amity whispered, doing a quick survey of her room to make sure there was nothing left out for her to be embarrassed by. Nodding in satisfaction, she opened her door to find her twin siblings standing in the hall, her brother with his hands folded politely in front of him while her sister was holding an abomination decorated platter of cookies. "What?" She asked, angrily.
"Ugh… how long are you going to be mad at us?" Emira asked, rolling her eyes. It was clear they both wanted to enter her room, but Amity crossed her arms and stood her ground.
"When you've apologized for every book I had to pick up in the library, and trust me… there were a lot. Plus, the spells you cast during the Wailing Star are still causing havoc there."
Both of them grimaced, which was a foreign, if welcome sight on their faces. "Can we come in?" Edric asked.
"Yeah, this platter is heavier than it looks."
"I told you we should have gotten the abomibutler to do it."
"It means more if we do it ourselves."
Edric made a face. "Does it though?"
Amity took the platter and left the door open for the pair to enter. "It does." She confirmed, placing the dish on her desk. "That's a lot of cookies."
"A sign of how much we love you, little sister." Emira said with a hint of sarcasm. It was a default tone of voice for her, and tended to slip in even when being genuine. She entered the room and stood to the side to allow her brother to enter as well.
"Yeah." Edric agreed. "Is there anything we can do to make up for the library? Y'know, before mom finds out?"
"Ah." Amity let out the sound, though with little surprise behind it. "So you're bribing me to be quiet, is that it?"
Emira slapped Edric in the arm and gave him an annoyed glare. "Bribe isn't really the word I would use. We think of it more as repaying a debt before it goes into default."
Typical, Amity thought. They weren't being nice out of the goodness of their hearts or any familial loyalty, they just didn't want their antics to reach their mother's ears, which was fair. A Blight always held up their end of the deal, after all, so Amity was sure she could trust them to fulfill whatever she put them up to. "Alright. My final exam is coming up before the new semester, and you're going to help me pass."
"No problem." Edric agreed.
"And beat your old score. Fairly."
The twins' smiles faded for a moment, but they eventually nodded, if reluctantly. "Done. We'll take you up to the knee for a weekend. It'll be a great sibling camping trip." Edric said.
It had been so long since she had been to the snow covered knee, and Amity smiled awkwardly. The last time the entire family had gone anywhere, it wound up being a business deal selling a home defence system to a shady little porcine demon with a squeaky voice. "That sounds… fun. I've been doing some reading on fire spells that I'd like to learn, and I got this training wand to practice with." She said, taking the slender wooden wand and her Magic 101 textbook from the edge of her desk. The indicator at the base showed it was fully charged.
"Isn't it time you try without the training wand?" Emira asked, plucking the tool from Amity's hands.
Amity bit her bottom lip, and snatched the wand back. Learning new spells had always been difficult for her, which was likely the cause of her initial reaction to Luz calling herself a witch. To overcome not even having a bile sac though, and still cast even a glimmer of light… Amity felt herself blushing at her own… admiration? Luz was working as hard as she was, maybe even harder, and she respected that.
"I'm sorry, Mittens." Emira said, likely mistaking the redness in Amity's face for embarrassment.
"Yeah, don't worry. We'll get you ready in no time." Edric said with a nod. "Now, enjoy the cookie bribe. Dad's in his workshop and mom was hitting the market. Apparently there was some kind of chaos going on there today and she wanted to see if she could drum up any new contracts, so you're free and clear until dinner."
"Thanks, you guys." She replied, putting the wand and text book back down on her desk. All three of them looked up at the sound of the door chime ringing, and the far off groan of the abomibutler tromping to the door to answer it. Amity looked at her siblings, questioningly. "Were you two expecting anyone?"
"Mmmm… nope." They said in unison, and the trio began making their way downstairs. The Abomibutler was still holding the door when they reached the ground floor, and a tall figure was standing in the doorframe. It looked like a homeless male witch, with torn green overalls and shreds of a white shirt hanging around his waist. A pair of pointed clogs adorned their socked feet, and a crumpled pink cone hat rested on his head. In between were muscles that looked as though they were chiselled from stone, and glistening from a morning dew. He appeared to have just been in a fist fight, with minor bruising and scrapes, and even a small gash on his left arm. Amity pushed herself to the front of the crowd as she heard her brother and sister gasp.
"Uhm, who are you?" She asked, crossing her arms. "And how did you get past the security at the gate?"
Emira stepped forward, pushing Amity to the side. "Don't mind her. Please, come in!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Edric said. "Who… who exactly are you looking for?" He continued, his voice cracking.
The well cut witch eyed each of them before turning their attention to Amity. He reached out and grabbed her arm. "Amity! I need your help!"
She stared at the man in utter confusion. "Who are you?! Let go of me!" She ordered, wrenching her arm free and backing away. Edric and Emira both seemed to forget their smittenness, and conjured up glowing blue tethers of energy that bound the man's wrists to the door.
"Ugh, this is like, the worst day ever." The man said, hanging his head. "First, that loser human crawls into the Treasure Shack and takes everyone for doing pranks around town, then she destroys the treasure shack after falling off Dead Man's Curve, and now I'm stuck in this guy's… rockin' hot body." He said, looking down and flexing his pectorals. "Bap, bap, bap. Okay, I guess it's not all bad."
Amity shook her head. "Wait, Luz fell off Dead Man's Curve? Is she okay?"
"Bap…" they said once more with a twitch of their chest. "Wait, that's what you're focusing on?"
Amity couldn't shake her look of confusion. "Boscha?!"
"Hello!? Of course it's me. Seriously, how long have we known each other and you don't recognize me?"
Two of the Emperor's Guard then poked their heads through the doorway as well, recognizable by their black uniforms with grey gloves and pointed masks. "Hey Amity." They said, sounding strangely embarrassed.
Behind them stood Amelia, looking off to the side, but without the shrewd look in her eyes that she normally had. "It's true. All of it, or whatever."
Amity held up a hand to her siblings. "Let them go." She said, and after a few moments of the twins glancing at each other, the tethers of energy faded and the well muscled witch rubbed their wrists uncomfortably. "I think you'd better start from the beginning; and maybe put a shirt on."