Eda rode her staff in silent contemplation. The revelations of the previous conversation weighed more than a mountain on the shoulders of the witch.

Banished…

It could have meant so many things for Luz. Was she hurt? Did he wipe her memory? Was she even alive? That last question made Eda cringe. The idea of Luz not only being hurt by the Emperor but… anything beyond that, she couldn't stomach it. She needed answers, and she couldn't just interrogate the teen coven leader again, she had likely brought some pretty heavy heat down on herself as a result of her actions, so she needed to look elsewhere.

Before Eda realized it, she was home. Owlbert had sped up at some point because Eda wasn't doing much to control the flight. Either way, she was home now, and if she needed answers about the Emperor, there was one person she felt she could count on more than anyone else right now, Lilith.

Eda tensely walked to the demon door of her home, not even greeting Hooty, despite his typical antics. Eda's mind disallowed her to listen to him anyway. Her surroundings were mute, she had never been so focused.

It didn't take long for Eda to find her sister, as she leaned over the counter in her kitchen, drinking something, likely apple blood. Even if it had been nearly a month since she had moved in, Eda had still yet to get used to her presence, especially at the expense of her apple blood.

She didn't care right now though, she was set on money, so she could buy more later but the point was, she was more focused on the task at hand right now to care. She walked to her sister with urgency, skipped the pleasantries, ignored her sister's "Good morning," and started her inquisition by asking her question directly.

"Would he hurt her?"

A tense silence followed the bleak question, Lilith nearly spitting out her drink before gathering herself and preparing an answer.

"Edalyn, it's not… I don't… It's not that simple."

It wasn't that Eda was mad at Lilith or anything, but this was no time for stammering.

"Lilith, answer the question."

Lilith looked into Eda's eyes, hoping to find a hint of remorse, but there was none, Eda meant business. So, Lilith took a deep breath, maintained eye contact with her sister, and finally gave an answer.

"I'm afraid that the answer isn't so uplifting. You see, I've never actually seen him hurt a child, but… I know he could."

Eda's raised shoulders dropped in an instant. She figured the answer was just that, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Lilith continued.

"He said he banished her, right? Well, I'm sure that's all that happened, we have to believe that, otherwise…"

Eda picked up where Lilith left off.

"Otherwise there's no hope. Lily, I know she's out there. She just… she can't be gone. Now, I- I need to go. I need to get some answers, and there's only one place I think I can get them."

Lilith stared at her sister in silent shock, she wanted to tell her not to go, but there was no real point. She wouldn't be stopped. All Lilith could do to help now was be with her.

"Then I don't think there's much point sitting around."

Eda smiled at her sister's choice to tag along, despite the innate danger that she faced, being a traitor of the Emperor and whatnot.

"We make this fast. I don't want to stick around long. If we don't have to, I'd like to avoid talking to him, if possible." Eda said.

Lilith agreed, and she showed it with a slight nod. The two turned and faced the door. They walked toward it, Lilith summoning her staff as she walked through the living room. They walked out the front door, looked at each other one last time, and mounted their staffs with only one destination in mind, the Emperor's Castle.

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Amor Joven, young love. Camila knew it well. She knew the wonders of falling for someone. She had done it once herself too. Of course, she knew the downfalls as well. In her own case, the man she married was of course the same one that she had fallen for when she was younger as well.

She knew the hurt it caused.

He left. He left when he was needed most, leaving his daughter without a father when she was only a baby.

She was so much like him. She was so caring. No, she was nothing like him, not as he is today. That man left. She couldn't imagine that he retained any of those qualities. Luz, on the other hand, was perfect.

A better term would be "perfectly flawed", as contradictory as it sounds, it describes her perfectly. She knew Luz's heart was in the right place, but she often hurt people while trying to make others feel better, even hurting herself in some cases. Camila hated to watch that, but there was nothing she could do about it. It was Luz's choice, and it was something that she had been forced to accept over the years.

Camila didn't know much about Amity, but she knew that she meant well. I mean, how could she mean bad when she looks at her like that, Camila wondered. She couldn't. Amity was clearly falling for Luz if she hadn't already. The only person who didn't know was, of course, Luz.

She is oblivious, Camila determined. It was a flaw, a charming one, but a flaw nonetheless, another one that she shared with the man that Camila knew as her husband. If things hadn't gone the way they had all those years ago…

No, she couldn't think about that.

She needed to be in the moment. That was what got her through all these years, she needed to be in the here and now, for her daughter's sake. If she knew what he turned into, it would crush her.

She watched her daughter run through her front door and trip with a forced smile. It was going to take some getting used to, but she couldn't describe how happy she was to finally have her daughter back, even if she came with certain… attachments. Amity's presence seemed to be a calming one amid the chaos of the two-resident home of the Nocedas, so maybe Luz could benefit from having her around, even if it ultimately ended as she expected it to, with heartbreak. She couldn't interfere, Luz would have to make her own mistakes in that arena.

The two teens were a pretzel of limbs just inside the dark home, Luz's clumsiness had shown up once again. So at least not everything had changed about her, even if she seemed so much more mature.

Camila helped the teens, Amity first, then Luz, and turned on the lights to their home. She watched as both Amity and Luz took in the sight. Luz took a deep breath and scanned the house, nothing was different. It was still her home, pleasant, neat, and just like she remembered.

Amity was a different story, nobody could blame her though, it being her first time in the realm and all. She stared, wide-eyed, mouth agape, taking in more human culture than she would have thought to exist in a matter of seconds. A lot of the things she saw existed in the Isles as well, but there was so much that didn't, like that box in the corner of the living room. It was grey around the sides with a large, protruding black screen, an old TV. Amity just assumed it was a decoration and moved on, despite having seen Luz somehow turn one on at Eda's shop once.

"Well, are you two just gonna stand there all day, or do you want to come in?"

Camila's voice was still new to Amity, but hearing a parent… joke… with their child was a new concept entirely.

Luz responded for the two, "No Mami, just taking it all in, and she's never been here before, so give her a break."

Camila kept the conversation rolling, "Oh, I know cariño, but maybe giving her a tour would be a more effective way of showing her, don't you think?"

Well… that's actually a good point, Luz determined, killing any argument that was about to leave her mouth. Luz nodded at her mother, turning to Amity and grabbing her shoulders.

"Let's go, this way." Luz talked directly to her friend, motioning for her to walk with Luz.

More honestly this time, Camila smiled at the two and turned to the kitchen to make the two a snack.

Luz and Amity explored the house room by room. It turned out that Amity had a lot of questions, luckily none too embarrassing to answer. It was a blessing that bathrooms were the same on the Isles because Luz would die if she had to explain a toilet to her… cru- best friend.

Amity had even asked what a doorknob did, but that was the most embarrassing thing by far. The rest of the tour was peaceful, innocent even. Amity was more curious than Luz had ever seen her, but the whole time, her focus seemed to be on finally reaching their next and last destination.

The two finally reached the last room of the tour, Luz's room. The door was closed and Luz faced it with uncertainty, for a lot of reasons. Not only had she not been inside the room in months, but it could be messy, it could embarrass her, it could-

Her fears came to a head when the door opened slowly, Amity using a doorknob for the first time ever. Light peered through the blinds on Luz's window, the room smelled different than she remembered, but the most surprising thing was that the room was clean, likely the work of her mother. It was something that she found herself truly grateful for, wondering what Amity of all people would have said if it was dirty.

Amity, for her part, was relatively quiet. She wore a similar face to when she finally saw the inside of the house, but this one was different. Amity wasn't worried or panicked, it was only wonder. She saw so many things that she had in her room, even if Luz had more of it, Azura merchandise literally everywhere she turned.

"Wow," Amity said finally.

Luz eased up a bit, finally taking a glance at Amity and spotting a soft smile, one she hadn't seen since- she couldn't remember. The smile melted all her worries away.

Amity walked around the room with a cool smile, closely examining every inch of the room, not touching anything. For a moment, only a moment, she wasn't under her parents' control, she was just enjoying life. The moment passed though, she recollected herself and put up a poker face in front of Luz, hiding the wonder she felt.

"Your room is… pleasant."

Seemed like she thought it was more than "pleasant" a second ago, Luz thought. Amity did this often though, so Luz was able to read it, like a lot of things about Amity. So, instead of calling her out on it, she ignored it and pleaded to the part of Amity that wanted to be excited.

She opened her laptop and pulled up a website that she knew would catch Amity's attention. It was YouTube, that wasn't important though, however, the video she picked was. With one final click, the trailer to a movie started to play, the Azura movie series, the first installment to be specific.

Amity couldn't do much to hide her excitement at that point, having had no idea that there were even Azura movies, to begin with. Amity watched the trailer in wonder and Luz watched Amity. Both enjoyed the spectacles, Amity having stars in her eyes as she watched her first internet video, and as a member of the famed "Azura Book Club", Amity was totally entranced in it.

When the video finished, Luz spoke in a smug voice, "So, what do you think, still just pleasant?"

Amity's response was not what Luz was expecting, but it was funny nonetheless. Amity charged Luz, grabbed her by the collar, and started frantically talking, "You. Must. Show. Me. Azura!"

Luz laughed, ignoring the mystery of how Amity could suddenly lift her.

"I planned on it, I can show you tonight."

Amity dropped Luz in an instant, finally speaking to the girl, "Really?"

"Of course, you know I wouldn't lie to you."

So, Amity squealed shortly before charging Luz again, this time taking a hug from the girl, something she wouldn't have dared to do a week ago. She was making progress.

"Luz, Amity, come here please!"

Luz was just about to sit down and show Amity some more fun Earth culture, but her mom called for the two, so she sat up and followed the sound of her voice to the kitchen, where there was a platter of sandwiches prepared for the two.

Amity followed closely behind Luz, even hiding behind her slightly. She trusted Luz, so, by extension, she trusted her mother, but she was still shy around her.

"I made you two some lunch, but we are definitely going to need to talk about what happened to you two while we eat, do we have a deal?"

Luz typically wouldn't have been bribed so easily, but it had been so long since she had eaten normal food, she couldn't imagine what it would taste like now. She crumbled under the prospect of good food.

Amity, on the other hand, wasn't as appealed by the food. She was used to… other things, like fairy pie, eyeball soup, and even griffin eggs. The square food looked too… tame to be good.

Luz looked back at the girl and stopped in her tracks. Amity wore a weary expression that Luz was only starting to get used to, it was the same one she wore when she first got into the car. She was afraid of the sandwiches.

"Amity, trust me, they're amazing. I'll let you slap me if I'm wrong."

Amity wasn't going to slap Luz.

"Luz, I'm not gonna… you know what, fine. I'll try it."

Whether it was to stop Luz from making heinous suggestions or because she was truly hungry, Amity finally picked up the square contraption and took a nibble out of the corner.

Luz watched with anticipation as Amity let the taste of the ham sandwich settle in her mouth. She sat expressionless as she experienced the new taste. Eventually, she caved.

She rapidly took bite after bite, shamelessly enjoying what she was sure to be the best food she had ever eaten. Luz's smile widened as she watched Amity actually enjoy something from Earth, truly and unabashedly, she enjoyed something, and she smiled to prove it.

"Wow, you weren't kidding, that was the best food I've ever eaten!" Amity exclaimed to the two Noceda women, the mother smiling at the sudden compliment.

"I don't doubt it, from what I hear, food is pretty terrible in the Boiling Isles."

Amity shot a glare at Luz, assuming that Luz was the one to inform her. Luz was quick to defend herself.

"Amity, I swear that wasn't me! I loved the fairy pie, I promise!"

Camila giggled at the antics, coming to her daughter's defense soon after.

"Yes, Amity, I'm sure she did. She wasn't the one to tell me those things anyway, so don't worry."

That brought up a few questions, many of which Luz was the inquirer, but she wasn't the one who was meant to be asking questions, so, her mother made a compromise. They would go one for one. Each person gets to ask a question and they have to answer honestly, and in exchange, they get to ask a question of their own. Luz thought it was fair enough, plus, she apparently didn't have much to hide, so she wouldn't have much of an issue answering, even on Amity's behalf if she had to.

Camila was the one to go first, naturally, since she was the one who was meant to ask the questions in the first place. Her question was one she had been wondering ever since she found out where her daughter had been.

"This is important Luz, and you have to tell me the full truth. So, what happened? How did you end up in the middle of a forest with a hole in your chest, and with her of all people by your side with an identical wound?"

Well, that was a pretty big question.

"Well, mom, I don't know where to start. It's a long story about how I got there, but basically, I made someone very powerful very mad, and Amity saved me."

She wasn't lying, not quite. She omitted quite a bit of information, but she wasn't lying, that was, at a base level, exactly what happened.

Camila seemed to be put off by that answer, less than thrilled with it, but she couldn't inquire further until she answered whatever question that Luz wanted to ask.

Luz, for her part, didn't know what to ask. There was just so much she wanted to know. It didn't seem fair for her to have so many questions to ask and yet so few of them would be answered, but that was the agreement that she had come to, so she would honor it.

"How many questions do we get to ask?" Luz asked her mother.

It was a fairly simple question, but Camila actually didn't know how to respond, so she played things to her best advantage.

"I'm not sure, we'll just have to see what you want to know first."

Luz huffed, so that's how she's playing it, Luz thought. It is exactly how she would have played it too, which only made her more annoyed. What to ask? She wasn't sure, but she knew she wanted to get the most out of her seemingly limited questions, so she would ask the ones that should reveal the most.

"Who was it that you met from the Isles? Was it only one person? What were they like?"

Well, that was a pretty big question, Camila thought.

It was fair though, she had asked a fairly large question herself.

Amity continued eating another sandwich as she watched the game the Noceda's were playing, hoping she wouldn't be dragged in.

Camila was ready to give her answer.

"Three, we'll do three questions each, and yes, these counted."

Luz was unphased by the news, she had made the right choice asking bigger questions, and she knew that she needed the answer. If they were able to come to and from the Isles, maybe Luz could use the same mode of transport that they did if the time came.

Camila resumed.

"I met two people. I'll give you a choice, do you want to know about the man or the woman?"

Luz mulled over her options for a second, but she wasn't the one to answer.

"The woman," Amity stated with curiosity behind her voice.

Camila internally giggled at Amity's obvious interest in women and sighed in relief at the same time. She didn't wish to speak of the man, not to Luz at least.

"Fair enough. Well, the woman was very interesting. I met her one day on a walk home from work when I was younger, shortly before you were born actually."

So she knew about the Isles all this time? Luz felt conflicted about how to handle that news, but she chose to simply listen to her mother regaling her tale and she would deal with the implications later.

"I met her in the forest behind our house, she was a little older than me, by her appearance at least, and she was scavenging through a dumpster if you'd believe it."

Wait, that couldn't be...

"She had very large hair, mixed with orange and grey streaks, she of course had pointed ears, and she had a golden tooth."

Holy titan, she was talking about Eda.

"Wait, mom, stop. Her name wouldn't happen to be-" Luz started but was interrupted by her mother.

"Edalyn Clawthorne," the two said in unison, Camila stared at her daughter with a confused expression.

She continued, "Wait, how do you- Luz?"

"I guess you'll just have to use one of your questions…" Luz stated smugly.

Her mother eyed her incredulously.

Amity quietly giggled to herself, not letting either of the women notice her, or so she thought.

"I guess so… Amity, she's not that funny you know…" Camila joked.

"What- I wasn't- Ah nothing…" Amity stammered to herself.

Luz tilted her head in confusion at the girl. God Luz is dense.

Camila continued.

"So, Luz, how do you know Edalyn?"

Luz smiled, thrilled that she was able to waste one of her mother's questions on such an easy question.

"Well, Mami, it's part of the answer to your last question actually, she kept me safe. I lived with her on the Isles and she did everything for me, kind of like a second… never mind. But she kept me safe, that's what matters."

Well, that one kind of hurt. Even if Luz never actually said it, Camila knew it, Eda was like a second mother to Luz. In only a few months, a woman that she had only met once had spent every day with her daughter and even earned the right of being considered a second mother.

"Well that's… that's good Mija. I'm glad she kept you safe. I just-" Camila finished with a sigh, she couldn't be mad, but God did it hurt to have her daughter feel like that about someone else.

Luz responded quickly, "Yeah, I'm sorry, it just kind of came out, I-"

She paused.

"I don't know if I want to ask anything else right now…"

"Me neither, Mija, maybe we can finish this later?"

Luz nodded, her mother taking the signal and walking out of the room.

Amity sat awkwardly at the table, wanting to console her friend, but at the same time knowing that it wasn't her place to do so. Luz looked a little hurt, but she definitely wouldn't want to talk about it, Amity knew that.

Luz was surprisingly the one to break the silence in the room.

"So, still up for that movie?"

Amity wasn't sure how to answer that. She didn't care about the movie, at least not enough to be selfish about, but what else could she do. Saying no would just make things worse.

"I mean, only if you want to. I understand if you'd rather-" Amity started, Luz interrupting her before she could finish.

Luz threw on a fake smile and started, "No, I mean let's just relax. We can watch it right now, plus, we don't have anything better to do right now, so why not?"

Amity wore a slight smirk, hoping it would make Luz feel better as she answered, "Yeah, sure, what do you need me to do?"

Luz smirked in return, she continued, "I just need you to go sit on that couch and get comfortable."

That made Amity smile. She wanted to help, but Luz's insistence was adorable, so she listened, sitting down on the couch in what she viewed as a comfortable position, with good posture and a straight back.

Luz didn't take long to come back to the room. She held a DVD box and a bowl of popcorn, which Amity mistook for cooked fairies, a common mistake in all honesty.

Luz began fidgeting with the DVD player by the TV in the corner while Amity remained rigidly sat on the couch. It didn't take long for the device to accept the disc, after this happened, Luz sat down next to Amity and waited for the menus to come up.

As per usual with DVDs, there were ads for other movies that you had to sit through, so she had a minute to talk to Amity before the movie started.

"So, that didn't go too well, huh?"

Amity turned from the TV to face Luz, she had been watching the ads intently, but still heard the question and promptly responded.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I probably could have helped."

Luz was quick to shut that down, "No, don't worry about it, I'm glad you didn't get tied into it, it just would've given my mom a reason not to like you, and I don't really want that, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," Amity responded. She had wished that things went better down on the Isles between her parents and her crush, but that was the past, and she wouldn't… well she wouldn't be seeing her parents… for a very long time, so she had to move past it.

"Well, either way, I'm glad things are finally slowing down for a minute, it was just getting too crazy." Luz determined.

Amity agreed, which she showed with a silent nod before she continued, "Yeah, it's been a pretty long day."

Luz nodded back as well, it was at that moment that the title menu finally came up, giving Luz the opportunity to start the movie, she did so immediately.

"You ready?" Luz asked her friend, who perked up as the music started to play, signaling the beginning of the movie, inside, she hid more excitement than she had felt since her platonic dance at Grom.

"Of course," Amity said.

The movie played uninterrupted for an hour and a half. The movie was just a cinematic adaptation of the first book, but it was still amazing.

Amity was about to ask Luz for the hundredth time what was going to happen next, but Luz was asleep, leaning against her no less. Amity's face flushed red.

Camila watched from the hallway as the flustered teen panicked and finally spoke up, "You know, if you're ever going to ask her out, you might need to stop panicking every time she touches you…"

If Amity could have been more embarrassed, she wouldn't know it, the mother of the girl she had been pining after… just joked about her pining. This was the worst. Amity was speechless, Camila wasn't.

"You know, if it wasn't Luz, she would have found out a long time ago, but she is… she's oblivious."

Amity wasn't sure what happened, but she found herself able to respond somehow, "Yeah, but she's the best…"

Camila smiled at the response and gave one of her own, "I'm glad you think that but I have to warn you, she can be a lot- she's tried dating once before, and it- it didn't go well."

It was a revelation to be sure, but it didn't deter Amity, not even a little bit.

"We've been through a lot. I know that if I just- if I wasn't such a coward, things would go better. I would never hurt her."

Camila was shocked by the response, but found herself pleased by it nonetheless, "Well, we'll just have to see, now won't we?"

At that, she held out a blanket for Amity to use, which she gladly accepted.

"I'm gonna do it. I just- I'm gonna do it." Amity pleaded to Camila once more as she exited the room. She stopped at the edge of the hallway, turned to face Amity once more, and finished the conversation, "No time better than the present."

Amity took that to heart. She promised herself that she would tell Luz. She had to.

The movie went on for the next hour before it ended. Amity never fell asleep, but she never moved Luz either, in fact, she had leaned against Luz as well, finding unbelievable comfort in her warmth.

Even after the movie ended, Amity stayed put, eventually drifting off to sleep with the girl of her dreams in her arms. This is where she belonged.

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After a long and arduous journey, they had finally arrived at the castle. Lilith and Eda stood at the foot of the East wall. Lilith had lived in the castle for a long while, and after a while, Lilith came to know the layout very well, down to the minute of when patrollers would come and go.

It was an invaluable piece of intellect in a time like this. She knew exactly when to move, exactly where to go, and exactly how to do so. They climbed the East tower, descended the stairs, masterfully avoided all of the guards, and finally ended up in the vents, exactly as planned.

Lilith's company was invaluable, but Eda's determination saved them several times, with her ability to dispatch the occasional mistimed guard and wipe their memory with only slightly more difficulty than usual. Before the pain-sharing spell with Lilith, she would have been able to do these things with ease, but nowadays, her magic was often too unfocused to use, not now, she was more focused than she had been in her entire life, and that came with its perks.

So, there they were, in the vents directly above the throne room, all they had to do now was wait and listen as Kikimora walked into the room.

Her footsteps, while small, were loud in the echo-filled room, providing an ominous air about the place. Belos sat where he usually did, on his throne, motionless as his right-hand woman entered the room.

After a tortuously long walk, Kikimora finally arrived at the foot of the throne, within earshot of the sisters, who listened with intent above the room, waiting for the time to strike.

"My liege, I come with interesting news, I'm not sure whether it is good or bad." The woman spoke with an unsettlingly high voice.

Belos responded in his unnaturally deep tone, "What is it, you know that I have preparations to tend to, the day of unity is fast approaching and you dare impede on my time!"

Kikimora was surprisingly not even slightly afraid of the man's vail threats, responding in short, "We have the test results back from Hieronymus and her origins are quite shocking."

Bump's tone descended quite a bit, his interest clearly piqued by the findings of the small witch, "Bump? I'm supposed to trust his word? What did he find anyway?"

"The human. She is of your blood. She is your daughter." Kikimora's words rang around the room. Eda's eyes opened wide at the revelation, Lilith was equally shocked.

There was a contemplating silence that passed soon after. Eda didn't know what to think, she couldn't leave now, but this news was groundbreaking, what would come next would be more important, however.

Belos continued, "This is- good news. As soon as we find the key to the portal, we shall have her back, and we will raise her as one of our own."

Eda had heard enough. She was right about to leave, but Kikimora spoke up one last time, "What of the boy?"

"He is powerful, yes, but we have no use of him. Once we get her back, we will dispose of him, I sense a great spark in that girl, something that he lacks." Belos finished.

Even Lilith was angered by that, despite hating the kid, nobody deserved a father like that. He was going to kill his own son at the drop of a hat. They couldn't attack now, not with the new news. They would go home, to plan.