"Our special place?…" Camila repeated, she stay in silence for one second until the memories returned, instinctively she brought her hand to her ears and was surprised not to remember that she no longer wore Eda's earrings, "Eda…". Getting up, Camila began to walk towards the door with the intention of going out to look for that important place for both of them, "Kids, please take care of Luz while I'm out, I'll be back soon." She opened the door, but when she left she ran into someone else, someone she didn't expect to find there.
Eda was the first to attack using one of her lighting spells, she can't be serious about this, her sister can't be this blind to the truth that she works for a tyrannical monster. Lilith block the hit with her staff, then launch a rapid counter attack that Eda had to evade as not having Owlbert with her. "Have you finally gone nuts Lilith?! Cursing me when I was a child wasn't enough? Now you have to target an innocent girl to feel strong?!" She screamed with all the venom she could on those words.
Lilith's grip on her staff tightened, those words hurt her more than anything that day, but she needed to do this. "You don't understand Edalyn! This will be the best for you and for me!" She make her staff spin, and from the rotations appear a flock of ravens made of blue magic that immediately overwhelmed her sister, Eda could be stronger, but right now she was at disadvantage.
"The best for me?! Don't make me laugh!" Spinning over herself, Eda made a giant circle of magic on the ground, from which a gigantic double of Hooty was formed and began to destroy the magic ravens "How is going to be good for me that you kidnap my apprentice again?!".
Eda tried to attack again with another lighting spell, but at that moment the worst that could happen finally happen, she was completely out of magic. The giant Hooty crumble under her feet making her hit the ground hard enough that she couldn't get up. She fought with all that she had, but finally the curse was taking over her body, this was it, she now would be a monster the rest of her life, and the worst was she couldn't apologize to Camille and Luz for not being a good companion nor mentor respectively. "Don't worry Edalyn," Lilith said as she was coming closer, summoning the strongest magic chains she could to contain Eda while she continue with her mission, "This will be only temporal, after I get you apprentice to the emperor he is going to remove your curse, he even will give you an amnesty, everything will be perfect again".
"If you really believe that…" Eda was talking while struggling to maintain her form, but her arms where already covered by feathers "You are… You are more of an idiot than I thought!" Next was her legs, now growing sharp talons "If I'm going down… I'm going to protect her until the end!". But Lilith was already on her way, apparently going to The Owl House, maybe Luz wasn't there at the moment but that didn't mean Lilith wouldn't find her later.
Eda was again facing the darkness, those shapeless shadows that always tormented her in her nightmares, but this time they began to take a form, Lilith was the one at front of theme, behind her where those people that she missed, those people that once where important to her but she cut ties with them after becoming a criminal or they simple abandon her; with Lilith there where 9 figures, between them Elon, Garrick, Camille… And behind all of them, stand her younger self, looking at her directly to the eyes, "Until the end." She said, raising a had "I will protect them this time." Responded Eda, and then she took her younger self hand "Until the end".
And then, the Owl Beast broke the bonds that contained it.
"Ca… Ca… Camille?" Said the man in front of Camila, it take her some seconds but she finally recognize him.
"Garrick?!" They both threw themselves into a strong hug worthy of friends who had not seen each other for an eternity, the big, bearded man lifting her with ease. "Garrick I'm so happy to see you again" Camila said while hugging him, then she open her eyes and notice that behind him were another two men both with their mouths hanging open contemplating who they had in front of them as if it were a spectral apparition, "Elon?! Perry?!" Letting Garrick embrace, she run and hug both of her old friends, well, at least Elon was her friend, because in Perry's words during their years studying on Hexside, they were just "Bookworm partners".
Elon was the first to react, he hug back his old friend as if she would disappear if I let her go, Perry for his part was stunned a little longer, for him it really was like seeing something that he no longer believed possible. The kids inside the barn came out to look what was happening, "Dad?!" Gus & Willow scream at the same time watching their parents outside and by doing so they drew all the adults' glances of towards them.
"There you are Augustus!" Perry said in a strict tone "Do you have an idea what time is it? I was worried when I got home and couldn't find you anywhere".
"But that, how did you know we were here?".
"Perry called us to ask if you where in our house with Willow, and after not knowing where you two were we go to the Owl House". Elon responded Gus's question before Perry could.
"Then found that you weren't there either, but fortunately that strange tube bird told us that you were with a certain Viney after we managed to make her stop talking with an illusion." Continued Garrick posing his big hand on his daughter's head and ruffling her hair.
"It was easy to find where it was after asking one of my coworkers to check in Hexside student list for that name." Perry finished adjusting his glasses.
Camila felt a like a fool for a moment, it was incredible that when she saw those children the first time she didn't notice the close similarities with her old friends, probably because of the rush and worry and rush. She also smiled to see that her own daughter on her own account had gotten close enough to these children that they were willing to get in trouble for her, not that she supported that kind of behavior, but she found it adorable. It was like those days in Hexside when she and Eda used to- "Oh titan Eda!" Camila screamed again, returning the attention to her.
Like that day more than 30 years ago, Camila was running through the dark forest being guided by Elon, she didn't remember where the tree was after so many years, but Elon knew the forest like the palm of his hand. "Just one day here and again you are running back to the arms of Eda, seems like somethings never change!" He joked while they were running to the place.
But things change, at least a little. And Camila hoped that this didn't really changed, yes she was mad with Eda for everything that happen but still, she couldn't help but feel terrible about everything she told her and how she told her, she really didn't wanted that their history ended like that and if they could talk everything she was more than willing to try. Then a guttural roar brought them to a halt. Even after years they could recognize it, the Owl Beast. "Elon stay back! If Eda transformed maybe I can calm her down, go back to the barn and bring help in case I can't do it".
Elon nodded, he didn't like the idea of leaving his old friend like this after meeting again after so many years, but if she was still the same Camille he had known since they were kids, he knew she could handle any situation.
Following what sounded like a battle, the beastly roars and the destruction they leaved behind, Camila arrived at a clearing in the forest, one that she immediately recognized. There she saw them, the massive Owl Beast fighting with fangs and claws against another witch, one that Camila couldn't immediately recognize. "Edalyn stop this! This is for your own good!" She screamed while trying and failing to contain the beast.
"Lilith?!" What happened to her? Is true she didn't saw her again after Lilith cut ties with Eda after joining the Emperors Coven, but she was almost unrecognizable without her glasses and with her hair straightened and dyed a blue almost as dark as night.
"Edalyn please!" The raven witch was too focused on her battle to notice the arrival of another person, "I'm just doing this to undo the curse I cast on you!" She screamed.
"QUE HICISTE QUE?!" Camila screamed in Spanish, a habit that she had inherited from Mrs. Noceda while living with them.
The fierce battle came to a halt, both the witch and the beast move their gazes towards the furious woman who was coming close, Lilith's mouth and staff fell as she recognized who was approaching, "Ca… Camil- But she couldn't finish her sentence, because Camila slap her so hard she hit the ground.
The Owl Beast was watching all this without doing anything, the moment Lilith hit the ground her deformed face twisted into what looked like a mocking smile and something like a laugh came out of her throat. "And you!" The beast stopped laughing and watch Camila came closer to her "Why did you ran like that Eda?! Why are you so irresponsible?!" That was what Camila wanted to say, but she didn't say it. Eda was already in enough pain thanks to her outburst from before, she just went on and embrace the gigantic beast "I'm sorry Eda," Was what came from her lips. The Owl Beast stay still, its big, black eyes staring at the nothingness, until they looked beyond both Camila and Lilith, in the center of the clearing where their tree was supposed to be now a shattered log was, the tree got destroyed at some point in their battle.
Lilith was on the ground with a hand on her cheek, Camille Nogueira was alive and in the islands, the same Camille who spent so many years with her sister until she was forced to marry the Facilier's heir, the same one who disappeared with her newborn dau- "Oh" It make sense, that girl who pretended to be a human, the one she was send to capture, the one that its her sister's apprentice, Lilith new there was something familiar when she had her on her hands. She was Camille's daughter. And for the second time on the day, Lilith knew she was a monster.
It didn't take Elon long to get back to the barn, when he got there he slammed the door open and came in screaming, "Eda has transformed! We need to go and help Camille to calm her down!".
They all stared at him in surprise, but the most surprised was the girl who until recently believed to be human who had just woken up and her friends were explaining what happened. "Eda What?!".
A large flame ball and some lightings came flying from the trees, hitting the Owl Beast on the back making her let out a roar of pain. "Eda!" The beast fell at her side, gravely wounded. She looked to the trees, and from there a big figure emerged accompanied by several coven soldiers.
"Warden Wrath?" Lilith said looking to the big demon as he prepared another fireball. "What are you doing here? This is my mission!".
Wrath just laughed at Lilith's question, "The Emperor had a feeling that someone as useless as you could not do this, so he sent me to take care of The Owl Lady and you, and then take the girl as a special delivery for the Facilier family". He looked down, where the body of the owl beast struggled to rise despite pleas from the witch trying to heal it, "Look who finally decided to reappear, Camille Facilier, the missing wife. It makes sense that both mother and daughter came home together, Naga sure will pay me very well to take you back with him".
Camila turned to see him, she hated that name with all of her being and she would die before going back to be with that man. She clenched her teeth in how furious she was to hear the name of the man who basically bought her as an accessory and wanted to use her daughter as a political tool. She was about to get up to fight but Wrath threw his fireball at Eda who was still on the floor, Camille quickly got on top of her to cover her from the impact.
But neither of them got hit, because a wall of vines raised from the ground protecting them. "Oye tu! Cretino!" Camila immediately recognized that voice, and she turned around "Leave my moms alone Warden Wrath!".
Luz was there, with Willow, Gus & Viney, she had used one plant glyph to block Wrath's attack, and she was more than ready to fight for the ones she loves.