Fawn and doe (TOH Lunar Eclipse part 12), an owl house fanfic

Fawn and doe

Summary: This is part 12 of my The Owl House 'Lunar Eclipse' AU. Please read previous parts for context.

Notes: Aah, the fluff. Aah, the angst. Aah.

TW/CW: menstruation (oh wow, really), violence against children, dysfunctional family relationships.

"Lilith?" Luz stepped into the room. There was an immediate gasp and a rustle of cloth, as if someone had abruptly woken up. Luz could barely see anything - the curtains were drawn.

"Mmhyes?" a tired sounding voice said from the darkness.

"It's almost time for dinner. Eda sent me to wake you."

"Oh... thank you, Luz... Gh - " Lilith exhaled sharply.

"You okay?" Luz's eyes were getting used to the darkness now.

There was a strangled moan.

"Cramps?"

Now there was a shaky exhalation. Luz interpreted that to mean yes.

"I'm sorry. Should I get Eda?" she asked. Her voice was soft and caring.

"No, it's..." Lilith took a steadying breath. "... alright." She sat up with great difficulty, then rubbed her forehead. The headache was back with a vengeance. Maybe she should just skip dinner all together? She wasn't particularly hungry. But then again... She was going to be in pain no matter what she did. At least if she went downstairs, she would have company.

"Can I go wake Amity or... do you need some help?"

"Go wake Amity, Luz. But thank you."

"Okay... See you downstairs."

Lilith managed to get to her feet and make her way to the bathroom somehow. She felt truly wretched and spent a long while just sitting with her aching head in her hands, her stomach and lower back grumbling, fighting hard to get her attention. She realized with a groan that she hadn't had any coffee for two whole days - that was probably a contributing factor to the stubbornness of the headache. She finished up in the bathroom, then made her way downstairs, holding onto the wall for support.

The lights in the kitchen were very bright. She had to shade her eyes.

"Whoa there, Lily," Eda said in a voice laced with concern. "What's up?"

"Bright lights," Lilith mumbled. "Please tell me you have coffee."

"Sure, yeah... Kinda late for coffee, though." Eda gave her an uncertain look.

"Might help with the headache..."

"Ah. Sure, yeah, I could put some on. Sit down, will ya? You look ready to faint."

Lilith took a seat at the table.

"Here. Hot water bottle."

Lilith held the warm package to her stomach and let out a little whine of gratitude.

"Dang, sis, you... don't look so good."

Lilith tutted, then said: "Thanks..." in a hurt voice.

"Oh come on, you know what I mean," Eda put a hand against Lilith's forehead. "You might have another fever. Maybe you should just go back to bed?"

"I'd... rather not be by myself, right now..." Lilith said in a quiet voice.

This surprised Eda quite a lot.

"Yeah, o-kay... I'll... get started on the coffee... And a second bottle."

"Thank you, Edalyn..."

Lilith sat with her eyes closed, trying to focus on the warmth in her lap. The rest of her felt so cold and angular. Maybe it had been a mistake to have a nap. She didn't usually take them and not sleeping in her own bed wasn't helping. Wasn't helping at all. But she had been so tired...

The girls came downstairs. Lilith would usually try to act less... affected around them, but right now she didn't have the energy to spare. The second hot water bottle was helping, but still.

"A-are you okay, Lilith?" Amity asked, sounding worried.

Lilith let out a breath. "I am... not feeling very well..." she said quietly.

"Don't you worry, kiddos," Eda said in a reassuringly Eda-esque tone of voice. "She needs a pick me up, a good meal and something fun to do later - so! We've got games, but there's also the ol' crystal ball and... ancient episodes of Tales from the Mausoleum. Got some movies too."

"Witch movies?! Yes please!" Luz said in a delighted voice. She went over to Eda.

Amity carefully took a seat next to Lilith.

"Hello, my dear," Lilith said with a valiant attempt at a smile. "Please don't worry. How did you sleep?"

"I slept fine." Amity scooted closer, then held out a hand. Lilith exhaled gently, then took it. Amity put her other hand on top and looked up at her mentor's face. "Can I do something?" she asked.

"No... But it means a lot to me that you would want to," she reached up with her free hand and stroked Amity's cheek with the back of two fingers. Amity leaned gently into the touch and closed her eyes.

Eda put down a cup of coffee and a mug of tea in front of Lilith. Luz laid the table and put out a pitcher of water with slices of lemon. Soon the tentacasserole stood pride of place on the table and everyone started to dig in.

Lilith drank the coffee first, then started on the tea. When she finally picked up a fork and started eating dinner, everyone else was nearly done. Slowly, she started to feel better. The headache was lifting slightly and just the act of eating actual food seemed to kick start her systems a little faster than just drinking liquids.

"Hey! Who ate all the cookies?" Luz said disappointedly as she opened a container. "There's only one left."

King looked shifty. And he hadn't really touched his dinner.

"King?" Eda inquired sternly.

"Uuh... they were just so good! I couldn't stop!" King whined, trying to get out of his high chair. "Meh! Weh!"

"You're in big trouble, mister," Eda shook her head slowly at him, her eyes narrowing.

"Here," Luz walked up next to Lilith and held the box out.

Lilith's eyebrows rose.

"You should have it," Luz smiled at her in an apologetic way.

"Doesn't someone else... want it?"

"Yeah, everyone," Eda chuckled. "But I agree, it should go to you."

Amity nodded earnestly.

"We can make more tomorrow, if we go to the store. Maybe... we could try an almond version?" Luz suggested with a gentle smile.

Lilith exhaled a little breath and closed her eyes, her eyebrows drawing together. She turned her head away and one hand rose to cover her mouth with her fingers.

Luz smiled warmly and turned her head to the side, then put the container on the table in front of Lilith and went to get the paper towels, just in case.

"Phwoar," Eda said and patted her belly. "Gimme a minute to digest this, then I'll show you the loopty-loop thing, kid."

"Yay!" Luz got to her feet and carried her plate to the sink.

Lilith gave Eda an inquiring look.

"She wants me to show her how to do a loop," Eda explained, chuckling at the look of horror that appeared on Lilith's face.

"That is not a safe flying maneuver," Lilith shook her head at Eda.

"There are no safe flying maneuvers," Eda countered, then held up a hand to stop Lilith from going full party-pooper mode. "She asked me to show her, and I will. If you don't want to watch, stay inside and help King with the dishes."

Out in the backyard, Eda summoned her staff and mounted up with one leg each side, like Luz usually sat.

"Come on, kid," she patted the space in front of her and Luz bounded forward. "Together a few times, then you try by yourself, alright?"

"Yeah, okay!"

Lilith and Amity sat on the bench by the door, watching Eda and Luz lift into the air. Lilith had her arms crossed over the water bottle and her jaw was tightly shut. As Eda and Luz flew back and forth, she began to relax. Luz whooped every time they did a loop. When they landed and Eda dismounted, she tensed again.

"Alright, you know the drill now. Both hands on the stick at all times, don't get fancy because you've got people watching."

"Got it," Luz grinned, then pushed off the ground.

"Go for it, kid."

Why did I come out here? Lilith wondered as her heart started to beat faster. But as it turned out, there was no reason for her to worry. Luz was a quick learner and had surprisingly good instincts when it came to flying. And Eda... was a good teacher. She let Luz try things out and find her own way, without interfering too much. It took a couple of tries, but Luz managed to do several loops.

"I think I got the hang of this!" Luz laughed as she completed another loop. "Woo!"

"Yeah you do! Nice work, kid!" Eda called with her hands cupped round her mouth.

"D'you think I can do a spiral as I'm looping? Zoom-swoosh-swoosh!"

"Don't get cocky, now," Eda chuckled, then turned to look at Amity and Lilith with a crooked grin and her hands on her hips. "Anyone else wanna have a go?" She nodded her head in Luz's direction.

"No, thank you," Lilith said firmly. "I'd like to keep my dinner."

Amity shook her head slowly, her eyes following Luz as she zoomed back and forth. Eda smirked at the blush on the kid's cheeks.

She's impressed, Eda thought. That's why you asked me, wasn't it, Luz? Silly girl, can't you see she practically worships the ground you walk on already?

They spent the rest of the evening in the living room. First they played a game, then they gathered around Eda's ancient crystal ball to watch a movie.

"I didn't think you had one," Lilith commented tiredly. "Why have we been sending messages with our palismans?"

Eda shrugged. "Owlbert likes a bit of a fly around the island. Besides, this ball is kinda old. Not sure if it actually can communicate with others."

"Is it like a computer?" Luz asked. "Maybe you can update the software?"

"What's a computer again?" Eda asked back. "And what's a 'soft ware'?"

"A computer is like my phone, sort of. But bigger and it can do more things. Software is... what makes it able to do things?"

"Yeah, I guess it's kinda like that."

"You can talk to people on it," Amity said, hoping Lilith would let her use hers later on. "Or, on the new versions you can."

Eda tapped the top of the ball and a grainy, black and white image appeared. She gave it a more powerful tap and the picture cleared, but remained colorless.

"Found it in a dumpster," she said with a shrug.

"Of course you did," Lilith muttered and rolled her eyes.

Eda raised her eyebrows and gave Lilith an annoyed look. "Do you want to watch a movie or not? Because this is what I got."

Lilith looked away, crossing her arms over the hot water bottle on her stomach. She had lost the game they played and felt unusually upset about it.

"Just... nothing scary, alright?" she said defensively.

"Yes, scary!" King insisted. "Big monsters! Blood! Fiery vengeance and bodies ripped limb from limb!"

"That's enough sugar for you, mister," Eda huffed. "We've got... 'Nightmare on Phlegm Street', it's a comedy, lots of snot humor."

"Ugh, pass," Lilith waved her hand.

"'10 things I loathe about you', romantic comedy."

"Ooh!" Luz's eyes lit up and she leaned forward eagerly.

Amity blushed and Lilith didn't look disgusted by the idea.

"Aaand... 'Homeward bound'. Oof, it'll make you cry."

"I vote romantic comedy," Luz said and held up a hand.

Amity shyly raised hers as well. As did Lilith.

"Majority vote!"

"Weh!" King crossed his arms. "If I can't have blood then I at least wanted snot!"

"Oh, come on King. You love this movie!" Eda chuckled.

"I'm not in the mood for cinematic brilliance, I wanted body fluids!"

"Next time, buddy," Luz reassured him.

King muttered adorably and crawled into her lap with an equally adorable harrumph.

To Amity, sitting in the sofa and watching a movie she actually wanted to see, with people she actually wanted to be with, was a strange experience. The way that everyone slowly drew closer together unconsciously, the way that the bowl of snacks wandered back and forth between their laps, the way that you could feel someone else laughing, because they were sitting so close to you - it was all... wonderful. And distracting. She lost her place in the movie several times, sometimes joining in on the laughter for a joke half a second after the others because she was thinking about how Luz's hair was tickling her arm or neck, or how the lights played across all their knees during a fireworks scene. It felt safe to sit there between Lilith and Luz. Even though she had had a very awkward conversation with her mentor earlier this evening - and she was sure everyone in the house at least knew about it - she felt safe. Nobody had mocked her. Nobody had even made a comment about it. It was all just... fine. When Luz had come to wake her before dinner, she had just asked how Amity was feeling, and that was it. Amity had been so tired after the influx of information in her brain that she had slept without dreaming, and she hadn't had time to worry about what Luz might say, the next time they talked. Turns out, she wouldn't have had to even worry about worrying about it.

If her brother and sister would have known their parents had talked to Amity about... intimacy then there would be no end to the mockery. Thinking about her family made her lose her place in the movie, too. But strangely, she didn't feel that pressing need to be alone. Just sitting there on the sofa, in silence, was... soothing enough to not make her want to leave. Luz had held her hand through most of the movie. That had given her the best clues as to when something big was happening in the story.

And sitting next to Lilith for such a long time, not talking, just being... That was wonderful too. Even though Lilith seemed to be in a lot of pain, she still laughed, or at least huffed in amusement at the silly jokes in the movie.

Maybe... it could be like this? Amity wondered in amazement. Maybe it could actually be like this? Maybe this is what it's supposed to be like? Maybe I could be part of it? Maybe I... deserve this?

'Little girls deserve all the good things'.

This is a good thing, Amity told herself. And... I... deserve... good things. She had to force her inner voice to say those words, fighting through the fear that even thinking something like that would call down the wrath of the gods. But nothing happened. Nothing changed. She was still sitting between Lilith and Luz, warm and snug, her fingers interlaced with Luz's.

"Mmh!" Luz squeaked as she stretched. "That was such a cute movie!"

"'Cute'? 'Cute?!'" King sounded highly offended. "It is a cinematic masterpiece with a compelling story and relatable characters and anyone who thinks differently is wrong and a bad person!"

"Oof, someone's cranky." Eda glanced up at the clock. "No wonder. It's past your bedtime. Time for night night, King."

"No! I'm not tired!" King protested. "Weh!"

"Aww, precious baby boy..." Luz cooed. "I know what'll get you ready for beddy-byes." She got to her feet with King still in her arms. "Los pollitos dicen, pío, pío, pío. Cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frío. La gallina busca el maiz y el trigo." She sang it quietly as she slowly walked toward the stairs. "Las da la comida y les presta abrigo. Baja sus dos alas, acurrucaditos, hasta el otro día duermen los pollitos..."

"Weh..." King mumbled. He fought to keep his eyes open, but the soothing melody lulled him to sleep.

"Aww, look at him..." Luz cooed, turning around to show the rest how King had curled up in her arms. "I'll be right back..." She went up the stairs, humming the little melody again.

It had surprised Amity to hear Luz sing - now she was feeling a bunch of things she couldn't quite name. Her ears were tingling from the Spanish - how could the language sound even better in a song? And there was a cold feeling somewhere deep, deep inside her that made her feel very alone. But there was also a warm feeling, more near her outside, that was good and nice, but it couldn't heat up the... ice cube inside her. She felt confused by the strange lack of conflict between all the feelings. They all existed at the same time, somehow. It wasn't overwhelming. It just was.

"Maybe you inspired that, Lily," Eda chuckled as she got to her feet. She began picking up snack bowls and glasses.

Lilith felt her cheeks grow warm and glanced down at Amity. The girl was wearing a complicated facial expression.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Lilith asked, gently putting her hand on Amity's arm.

"Hm?" Amity blinked as if she had been deep in thought, then looked up at Lilith. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you were alright," Lilith smiled down at Amity with a little worry wrinkle between her eyebrows.

"Uh... yeah. Just... ice cube."

"'Ice cube'?" Lilith's eyebrows rose.

Amity's cheeks went a bit pink and she shook her head quickly. "Never mind."

Luz came down the stairs again, looking pleased.

"He's such a widdle sweetie," she hummed happily.

"You've got a good singing voice, kid," Eda said as she went past her with the dishes, heading toward the kitchen.

"Thank you!" Luz beamed, then turned toward the sofa. "And so do you, Lilith."

Lilith's cheeks flushed a deep pink as Eda laughed all the way to the kitchen.

"Kinda couldn't help overhearing, you were in the next bed over," Luz explained with a smile and a good-natured shrug. "It was a cute song too."

Lilith cleared her throat awkwardly, then swallowed. "That's... kind of you to say." She glanced at Amity again and saw a slightly different, but still complicated, expression on her face. "Did... you hear our conversation?"

"No," Luz shook her head slowly. "I just woke up because someone was singing. I thought maybe... Amity had had a nightmare or something. I don't know. Made me happy? So I fell back asleep." She shrugged again and smiled.

Now Amity's face flushed a deep scarlet and her shoulders rose. She didn't dare look up at Lilith in case she could somehow see the immense desire for her to sing her to sleep written across her forehead.

They both heard me, Lilith thought, trying to remain calm. At least they didn't hear what we talked about beforehand...

Luz looked between Amity and Lilith, feeling her heart sink slightly; both of them looked embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"Whoa what's with the doom and gloom?" Eda said from the doorway. She stood there with her hands on her hips and a furrowed brow. "So what if they heard you singing to me, it was a sweet gesture, Lily."

"Oh, she was singing to you - aaaaawww..." Luz looked between Eda and Lilith, her hands clasping in front of her chest. "That's so cute! Oh my gosh!"

"Right?" Eda chuckled. "She's a big softie, really."

"Edalyn," Lilith said in a tired, warning voice.

"What? It's true. And I don't mean anything bad by it. You don't have to be such a hard-ass here, Lily. This is a sanctuary of silliness, softness and stuff. And cookies."

"Yeah!" Luz hugged Eda round the middle. Eda ruffled Luz's hair.

Despite being annoyed, Lilith found herself reluctantly smiling, her cheeks still flushed.

"There she is," Eda chuckled. "How's the cramps, hm? You don't look so green around the gills anymore."

The little smile on Lilith's face froze. She felt like everyone was looking at her, even though only Eda's eyes were on her at present.

"Fine," Lilith said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, would you relax?" Eda rolled her eyes. "If the four of us can't have an open conversation about this, then what's the fucking point?"

"Swear jar," Luz said, looking up at Eda with a frown.

"Gonna have to be an I.O.U, I've run out of coins," Eda muttered, patting her pockets.

"And if people don't want to talk about how they're feeling in front of a bunch of other people, that's completely fine," Luz said, putting her hands on her hips. "It takes a while to get used to the idea that you don't have to hide stuff like cramps, you know? Can we not put extra pressure on each other about it?" She gave Eda a look that, again, made Lilith feel that the girl was wise beyond her years.

Amity looked between Eda and Lilith, feeling uncomfortable and a little confused. Lilith glanced at Amity, then let her shoulders down.

Lead by example, Lilith, she told herself. Be consistent.

"My cramps are... better than they were before dinner," she admitted slowly.

"Can I make you a cup of tea?" Luz asked in a kind and gentle voice.

"I'll do it," Eda huffed, looking around at the rest of them with a grumpy scowl. She picked up the last couple of plates, then headed toward the kitchen again.

"Thank... you..." Lilith said, a little too late. She closed her eyes and took a breath, then slowly rubbed her lower back with both hands. Her hot water bottles had gone lukewarm and ineffective about halfway through the movie. She hadn't wanted to disrupt things, when everyone were actually enjoying themselves. The pain had been and was currently a dull ache that sometimes spiked. The couch moved as Luz resumed her seat.

"She forgets not everyone is as... open minded as she is," Luz said in an apologetic tone.

Lilith let out a little huff of bitter amusement, then bit back a hiss at the jab of pain the sudden contraction of her stomach muscles had caused. Her nails dug into her skin and her hands squeezed down instinctively, she bit her lip to keep from whimpering out loud. The pain spike made her feel foolish.

"You really don't have to hide it, though," Luz said in a careful voice. "Want me to go reheat the bottles for you?"

Lilith nodded. When the worst of the cramp had passed, she held up the currently unhelpful water bottles. Luz took them and headed toward the kitchen.

"I'll be right back."

"Are you okay?" Amity asked in a tiny voice.

Lilith let out a weary sigh.

"I will be, soon," she answered. "And tomorrow will be less..." she shook her head slowly. "Intense."

I hope, she added in her own mind.

"Please don't worry about me," she added gently.

Amity's lower lip drew up a moment and she looked down at her hands in her lap. She was worried. She couldn't just... turn that off. And she wanted to do something to help, but she didn't know how. Eda and Luz were helping...

Lilith saw Amity's ears droop.

Oh dear, she thought, feeling suddenly guilty.

"Is something the matter?" she asked in a gentle voice.

"... I can't... not worry," Amity said very, very quietly.

She... thought I meant literally to not worry, oh, sweet child...

"I didn't mean that you're not... allowed to worry about... me, I... just meant that..." Lilith shook her head, trying to think of how to put herself. "You don't have to."

"I know I don't have to, I just... do," Amity looked up at her with such an earnest expression, it made Lilith's heart ache. "I... wish I could do something to help."

Lilith let out a soft breath and turned her head to the side. She reached out and covered Amity's hand with her own, gently stroking her bandaged wrist with her thumb.

"You have a kind heart, my dear," Lilith said in a soft voice. "That is very helpful."

"It is?" Amity's eyebrows rose.

"Yes," Lilith gave her a little smile. "I'm not used to... being able to say when I'm in pain. You caring about how I feel makes it... easier to try. I would like for us to be able to tell each other things like that. Confide in one another."

Amity felt incredibly touched at her mentor's words. She smiled and nodded up at Lilith and Lilith's heart swelled with affection for the girl.

"Some more tea and heat and I'll be right as rain. I don't feel quite ready for bed yet. Do you think the others would like to play another game? I think I saw Abomi-Nation in the cupboard."

"Maybe I should..." Amity trailed off. "The test. I... missed the test." Her face drained of color.

"... Test?" Lilith felt confused.

"The test! My abominations studies test! It was today!" Her hands rose to cover her mouth, her eyes staring ahead of her in horror. "I - I've never missed a test..."

"Never?" Lilith's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You've... never been sick on a test day?"

"Yes, but... I still took them..." Amity shook her head slowly. "What - what happens? What - do I fail?"

"No - students who are... legitimately absent - if they're ill or there's a family emergency, for example - they can take them when they return to school."

"Am I legitimately absent?!" Amity turned to look at Lilith. She looked distressed.

"If your parents have reported you as ill, yes. And even if they haven't - don't worry. I will talk to Mr Ott. You can take the test next week, when you have recovered from being drained."

Amity looked down at her hands, then drew a quick spell circle. It fizzled out when it was almost complete. She made a tiny, miserable whimper.

"It's alright, my dear," Lilith said soothingly. "It was almost complete. I'm sure you'll be able to cast tomorrow."

"You're sure I can take the test next week?" Amity looked up, an expression of deep worry on her face.

"Yes," Lilith gently placed her hand on Amity's shoulder. "It will be a different one compared to the one your classmates took."

"Mr Ott thinks I would cheat?!"

"No, no. It's standard procedure, my dear."

Amity's agitated breathing slowed down at the sight of the calm, warm and confident smile on her mentor's lips.

"There is nothing to worry about. Your excellent grade point average will not be affected."

"Okay..." Amity breathed out powerfully and closed her eyes.

"So," Lilith gave Amity's shoulder a little squeeze. "How about another game?"

Amity nodded gratefully.

"Edalyn?" Lilith looked at her sister with raised eyebrows. Eda was standing by the open window and had absentmindedly been rubbing the right side of her tummy and grimacing. Now she looked up, surprised to find Lilith in the doorway to her bedroom.

"Oh, hey."

"Is something the matter?"

"Huh?"

Lilith pointed to Eda's stomach and Eda looked down.

"Just ovulation pains, not a big deal," she muttered, shaking her head. "The twins are gonna be here tomorrow."

"Oh. Right." The events of the day had swept them from her mind. Now it all came seeping back, like a spilled, ice cold drink soaking into a rug.

"Maybe you can take the girls to your place, so they don't have to... see them."

Lilith let out a little breath, then nodded. "Yes, let's... ask the girls what they want to do."

"Whatever they say, d'you think you'll be able to get Ingalill out of here before the brats arrive?"

Lilith's eyebrows rose again. She looked down at her hands holding the water bottle to her stomach. Her right thumb stroked the back of her left hand.

"I'm not sure. I don't... want to go into town still drained."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Eda looked out over the forest again.

They were silent for a while, then Eda scratched her neck.

"Have you given the whole apprentice thing any more thought?"

"Not... actively."

"Well, what's stopping you?"

Lilith shook her head slowly, stroking the back of her hand again.

"I don't know."

"You don't think she'd want to," Eda stated with a sigh. "I'm telling you, she's gonna say yes."

Lilith drew in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.

"It's such a big decision. For her. For me."

"Thought you were pretty certain about it."

"I... am. It's just... is it right for her?"

"Who the heck knows, really?" Eda said with a shrug. "She can change her mind, go back to her family. Choose a different career path, down the line."

Lilith gave a sad smile, then let out a sigh.

"I... don't think I could handle her saying no, Edalyn," she admitted reluctantly.

"She's not gonna say no," Eda scoffed, looking at Lilith in disbelief. "She loves you."

Lilith let out a breath and closed her eyes.

"You think so?"

"Uh, yeah. She's practically got 'adopt me' written across her forehead, Lily."

Lilith made a little squeak; Eda's words had made her heart creak.

"If she were to say yes, I would become her legal guardian," she said softly. "The school would call me for parent-teacher conferences."

"'Parent'," Eda repeated with a snicker, nudging Lilith with her elbow.

Lilith drew in an unsteady breath.

"Parent..." she whispered into the still night air. "In all but name."

A little while later, Eda and Lilith knocked on Luz's door.

"Uhh... come in?" came from inside.

Eda opened the door and let Lilith go ahead of her. Luz was sitting on her bed and Amity sat up on the mattress on the floor, looking uncertain. Both of them were wearing mismatched, oversized clothes as impromptu pajamas.

"What's... up?" Luz asked.

"The twins are going to be here tomorrow," Eda said, taking a seat on the edge of Luz's bed. She gestured for Lilith to take a seat in the squashy armchair by the window. Lilith sat down gingerly, trying not to wince. "And... we were wondering how you'd like to handle it."

"How... do you mean?" Luz's eyebrows drew together.

"You don't have to be here, is what I mean. You don't have to see them. Either of you. I'm not planning on actually bringing them into the house, but you never know."

"I could take you to my place," Lilith offered gently. "Then take you back here in the evening, since the twins will spend the better part of Sunday working in my garden."

Luz and Amity looked at each other.

Luz didn't feel like seeing either Ed or Em so soon. When she thought of them, it made her both sad and angry in a way that made her feel very uncomfortable. It was an 'all up in your face' kind of mishmash of feelings. And she felt sorry for them, too. It was confusing.

Amity's chest went cold and tight when she thought about her brother and sister. She had kept them at arm's length for so long, but now they were somehow further away and right up close at the same time. She was distantly angry at them, and ashamed of them. And disappointed in them.

"I don't want to see them," Amity said in a quiet, firm voice.

"Me neither," Luz agreed.

"Alright." Eda nodded, then looked at Lilith. "It's decided. You good?" She ruffled Luz's hair affectionately. "If you're not, we'll be up for a while."

Lilith settled into bed, exhausted in both mind and body. She wanted to sleep, and hoped that the morning wouldn't bring an absurd amount of pain. Eda entered the room and put something down between the nest and the camp bed.

"So you can have some just when you wake up," she said with a half grin. "The tea will be out of your system by then."

Lilith looked down. There was a bottle of blue potion on the floor. She let out a breath of relief of such depth, it surprised the both of them.

"Thank you, Edalyn," Lilith gave Eda a tiny, grateful smile.

"Yeah, no worries."

"I think I will take Ingalill into town tomorrow morning," Lilith said, rolling over to her side and adjusting the hot water bottles.

"You sure?" Eda's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"I'd rather she be in the confirmatorium. I have no doubt your stasis spell will last, I would just prefer to have her... not around the girls."

"You'll get no argument from me on that point," Eda muttered as she settled down in her nest. She looked up into the ceiling, clasping her hands over her ribcage. If Lilith said she could handle it, she would handle it. Even though Eda knew that, worry bit her solar plexus. But she wasn't stupid enough to say anything. "Drop her off, then come back and pick up the girls?"

"Yes."

"Hey, do me a favor while you're there?"

"Yes?"

"Could you get Luz's bag back?"

Lilith's eyebrows rose.

"It... should have come into evidence by now, I suppose. Yes, I... yes. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, sis. It's like the only thing she has from home."

The brave girl hadn't said anything about it, but it must surely mean a lot to her. The memory of Luz's bag standing by some boots appeared in Lilith's mind.

She's not the only girl living out of one small bag. And now she doesn't even have that.

"I will get it," Lilith said with a little nod.

Lilith woke slowly, gently coaxed awake by birdsong. It took a moment for her to remember where she was. And to her immense surprise, she wasn't in a tremendous amount of pain. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but certainly less than she had expected. She reached out for the potion by her bedside and drank the single dose down, then lay back and found a position on her side with her legs pulled up that seemed to not provoke her uterus very much. The clock on the wall told her it was barely seven. She didn't want to wake her gently snoring sister to ask for help with reheating the hot water bottles, so she just lay there and waited for the potion to take effect. A creak in the corridor told her someone else had woken early. After a minute, there was another creak. One of the girls must have gone to the bathroom.

She longed for a bath, and as soon as she felt the pain in her body start to fade, she got up and shuffled toward the bathroom. Before bed last night, she had hand washed her dress, leggings and socks; now she found them mostly dry. Good. Ironing them would dry it all out completely. She would try to have her morning routine, now that she knew where Eda kept things. It would have to be adapted to the circumstances, but she was determined to make it work. She moved her clothes out of the bathroom, then ran herself a bath.

After a long soak, she got out, dried herself quickly, put on underwear, then rewrapped herself in a towel, then took a seat on the edge of the bathtub, armed with the hairbrush and the spray bottle. She brushed her hair until it lay shiny and straight all over, then applied her makeup with a well practiced hand. For the first time in a few days, she felt properly put together. She drew an experimental spell circle and smiled as the basic telekinesis spell brought her a hairpin. She would have to be careful, she knew. Only cast when absolutely necessary. Morton's warning of possibly not being able to return to full strength had really scared her. She would get back to it. She would. She had to.

She shook her head to keep it from spiraling into worry and improbable scenarios; she would be just fine. She always bounced back. At least, she had when she was younger.

When she opened the bathroom door, she found a slightly desperate looking Luz on the other side.

"Oh my gosh, finally," Luz groaned with relief.

"My apologies, I didn't know you were waiting," Lilith said, stepping aside for the girl.

"It's okay!" Luz assured her with a strained sort of smile. "Only been waiting like two minutes or something, so it's fine, fine, but please excuse me!"

"Of course."

Lilith gathered her clothes, then headed downstairs. Eda had shown her the more or less unused ironing stand the night before, so she set it up, then went to boil some water for the iron and her water bottles. She was just hanging up her crisply ironed dress and starting in on her leggings and socks when Luz appeared at the kitchen stairs.

"Oh wow, that's so neat!" Luz said with a bright smile.

"Thank you," Lilith smiled back in a pleased way.

"What you thinking for breakfast? I'm in a waffely kind of mood today."

"Waffles sound delightful."

"Great! Want to help me make them? Or maybe you don't want to get your dress all dirty."

"I usually wait to get dressed until after breakfast. I can put an apron over this robe."

"Okiday. I'll get started, you join in when you're done with your ironing."

It was a joy to watch the girl potter around the kitchen. She moved so confidently, so comfortably in the room, setting the table, taking out ingredients and heating the waffle iron on the old stove.

"How did you learn to do all these cooking things?" Lilith inquired when she saw Luz crack an egg one handed.

"My mom taught me some. My granny, too. And for the things I didn't know, there's always YouTube."

"There's what?"

"It's a thing on my phone. A... sort of library. Of videos of all sorts of things." Luz pulled out her phone and brought up the YouTube app. "See? You can learn just about anything."

"That must be very handy," Lilith commented, impressed by human ingenuity.

"It is," Luz smiled up at her. "Could you put some butter on the iron?"

"Certainly." Lilith shifted her grip on the hot water bottle, then picked up a butter knife.

"Oh, hey, where did I put that scarf - ah! Here," Luz grabbed the scarf from the back of a chair, then held it out to Lilith.

Lilith looked at it, then slowly said: "I'm... not cold."

Luz smiled and put her head to the side. "For the hot water bottle. So you can have your hands free. You can be an open face sandwich-Lilith."

"Oh. Oh I see. That... would be more practical, perhaps."

"If you hold the bottle I can tie it on."

"... Alright."

Luz stepped behind Lilith and gently reached around her to grab the other end of the scarf, then pulled it back.

Lilith grimaced at the unfamiliar pressure on her stomach and let out a tense little breath. Luz was very much in her personal space. Luz noticed Lilith going rigid and carefully slackened the tension on the scarf.

"Too tight?"

"A little," Lilith squeaked, then cleared her throat and put her hands on the bottle.

Luz tied the scarf as carefully as she could, then stepped back.

"There! Feels kinda funny, doesn't it?"

Lilith looked down. When it was all covered up in the scarf like that, it almost looked like she was... pregnant. She shut her eyes at the guilty sting in her heart and firmly closed that door in her mind. She needed her wits about her today.

"Very... practical, thank you."

Luz smiled at Lilith in an uncertain way. She had tried to be helpful, but maybe Lilith's tummy was really sensitive to pressure? The sandwich thing worked really well for Luz herself, but maybe it didn't for others?

Lilith shook her head slightly, then picked up the butter and put some on the griddle.

"Are you okay?" Luz asked carefully.

"Hm? Uh... yes. Yes. I'm alright." Lilith looked at Luz and noted the worry in the girl's eyes. She relaxed and gave her a little smile. "I'm fine."

Luz breathed out, then matched the smile. "Okay. We need more butter."

"Yes, chef."

Lilith almost had to close her eyes at the brilliance of the smile that her words conjured.

She really is a tiny ball of sunshine, she thought as she laughed out of sheer unexpected joy. She was so happy for Eda's sake. And for Amity's sake. And her own.

"Fetch Warden Wrath and have him meet me at intake," Lilith said to one of the guards waiting for her at the landing area in front of the Conformatorium. She dismounted from her staff imperiously, letting the limp, still blanket wrapped and unconscious Ingalill fall to the ground with a thump.

"At once, coven leader!" the left guard saluted, then turned on their heel and marched off at speed.

"You," Lilith turned to the remaining guard. "Carry this wretch for me. I'd prefer not to contaminate myself further."

"Yes, madam Clawthorne!" the guard saluted, then waved their hand, lifting Ingalill into the air. "How did you catch her, madam Clawthorne? I heard you tracked her to Shincity and fought through a pub full of ne'er do wells to apprehend her!"

"Don't put your faith in rumors," Lilith said coldly. "Keep up." She strode forward, waving away her staff, but she kept the cloak she had borrowed from Eda on. The Conformatorium was dank and cold - as it should be. Criminals didn't deserve to be comfortable. They should know they were being punished.

Her heels echoed through the long stone corridors as she made her way to the ground floor. The guard levitating Ingalill could barely keep step with her. Lilith wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. The potion she had taken this morning wouldn't last forever. And Lilith knew she had to get back to Eda's house, pick the girls up before the twins arrived and then fly all the way home before she would be able to take another dose.

"Ah, I see you caught your prey," Warden Wrath said in a pleased tone. They met at the door to the intake chamber.

"I did," Lilith responded, her face impassive.

"You bring great honor to the Coven this day, Madam Clawthorne," Warden Wrath bowed his head a moment, gesturing for Lilith to go ahead of him into the next room. "And the price on her head will be a nice little bonus, I have no doubt."

"Send it to my usual account."

"At once, Madam Clawthorne."

"Has the evidence from the cave arrived safely?"

"I believe it's being processed as we speak."

"Good. I wish to see it. Immediately."

Warden Wrath hesitated for a fraction of a second, but rallied. "Of course, Madam Clawthorne. Spedruk, see to the prisoner."

"Yes, sir!" The guard saluted, then approached the desk with Ingalill in tow.

"Right this way, Madam Clawthorne." Warden Wrath gestured back out the door.

The floor below was busy. Guards and members of the Emperor's Coven moved back and forth, carrying boxes and items from several wagons. Heads turned and whispers rose as Lilith appeared at the top of the stairs. The people from the Coven stopped what they were doing and saluted.

"As you were," Lilith said. Her Coven members resumed their work. Lilith walked up to the desk where a four armed witch held several clipboards and a quill pen.

"Madam Clawthorne, how may I be of assistance?" the witch asked, looking up from their work.

"I am looking for a small shoulder bag. Cloth, yellow. Has it arrived?"

"Let me have a look."

As she waited, Lilith turned to look at the bustle. Across the courtyard stood a group of people in extravagant dress.

"What is the Council doing here?" she asked Warden Wrath with a frown.

"They also asked to inspect the impounded goods," Warden Wrath said in an quiet voice.

"Oh? Why?" Lilith's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I wouldn't presume to know, Madam Clawthorne."

Lilith let out a derisive huff. Mr Blight had some nerve. And no brains at all. The likelihood of Luz's phone being in the evidence was minuscule at best, but the man must be desperate at this point, and even more desperate to try something like this with so many witnesses around. Lilith knew for a fact that Luz had the phone on her; she had showed her the video library earlier this morning. But all the same, Lilith didn't want Mr Blight to get his hands on Luz's bag. It was a small thing, but knowing Mr Blight, he would try anything to get the upper hand. Lilith knew Luz would never trade the phone for the bag, but she didn't want to give Mr Blight any sort of leverage over the girl. And Luz most certainly deserved to have her bag back.

"Not as of yet, Madam Clawthorne. It must be in the last cart," the four armed witch said, lowering their clipboard.

"Thank you," Lilith said curtly, then started walking toward the wagons. As she approached, she saw a man stop a guard and take something from a box in their arms. There was a brief flash of yellow. Lilith sped up.

"That is the property of the Emperor's Coven," she said in an icy tone.

Mr Blight froze, then turned around slowly, the bag clutched in his hands. The other council members turned as well, greeting Lilith. She forced herself to at least nod at them.

"Madam Clawthorne, how nice to see you," Mr Blight said with a stiff smile. "May I offer you my sincerest congratulations on the arrest of the ringleader of this massive smuggling operation."

"Why the sudden interest?" Lilith countered. She knew she was treading a very fine line, but this was her territory. Mr Blight had no official authority here.

"The Council of Nine is very appreciative of all you do, Madam Clawthorne," Mr Blight said in a ever so slightly condescending tone of voice. It enraged Lilith further when Mr Blight changed his grip on the bag - he was trying to open it - in front of everyone. The nerve of him! She quickly waved a finger.

"Tampering with evidence in broad daylight, Mr Blight?" Lilith asked coldly as the bag soared over to her. There was a series of gasps and 'I say!'s from the rest of the council. Mr Blight's pale cheeks flushed.

"May I have a word in private, Madam Clawthorne?" Mr Blight asked. He sounded perfectly pleasant, but his eyes bored into Lilith's.

"You are welcome to book an appointment through my secretary," Lilith said with all the warmth of a mid-winter morning. "Council members." She nodded at the other people again, then turned on her heel and walked away, forcing herself to keep the pace down. She did not want it to come off as if she was running away from them.

Back inside the conformatorium, Lilith shook off Warden Wrath, telling him she needed to finish her report in her office in the coven headquarters, away from distractions. His stance changed from tense to relieved then, and bowed as she walked toward the front courtyard. Once she was alone, she slowed down, trying to breathe away the anger burning in the pit of her stomach. She resisted the very strong urge to rub her back, even though it would hardly be noticeable under her thick cloak. When she got home she would be able to have another bath, with her oils. She much preferred them to the scent of stone and decay of this place. But there was something pleasant in the air. Something that certainly didn't belong here -

"Madam Clawthorne, I do believe I asked for a word in private. And I will have one."

Lilith stopped and looked over her shoulder, thinking quickly. He wouldn't dare to try anything here.

"And I told you to talk to my secretary," Lilith countered in an icy tone, then resumed walking.

"Do not walk away from me!" Mr Blight growled from behind Lilith. Before she could react, a hand was around her wrist.

"Have you lost your damn mind?!" Lilith snapped, wrenching her arm away. She stared at Mr Blight in shocked disgust - he was blotchily purple in the face.

"What is it going to take?!" he demanded in a hiss, his nostrils flaring.

"You have nothing I want," Lilith said in a frigid, disdainful voice.

"Everybody has a price!"

"You need to stop this," Lilith held up a hand. "It's - "

"You want the girl?! Take the girl!" Mr Blight said quickly.

Lilith felt as if she had just plunged through thick ice and into freezing water.

"... What..." she breathed, trying and failing to process what had just come flying out of Mr Blight's mouth.

"Take her! And give me what is mine!"

Lilith looked the desperate man up and down - she had known he was an arrogant, self-serving bastard from the moment she met him at six years old, but this - offering his daughter, his flesh and blood as payment to save his own skin - it was physically sickening. The sound of a door slamming shut echoed in her mind.

"You... disgust me..." she managed after a moment, her voice shaking with revulsion.

Mr Blight's eyes widened and he drew in a breath, perhaps realizing how fatally badly he had tipped his hand.

"But there must be something," he demanded in a pleading tone.

Lilith straightened her back and looked down her nose at Mr Blight, fury burning in her aching stomach.

"Cut your losses, Alador. And for pity's sake, have some dignity." Lilith's eyes snapped to the end of the corridor. A few guards walked past, carrying boxes. "You two," she said in a louder voice - Mr Blight whipped around, startled. "Escort Mr Blight back outside, he needs some air."

"Uh - yes coven leader!" a guard saluted one handed, then hurried toward them.

"Blights do not lose," Mr Blight growled under his breath, straightening his clothes angrily. "I will have what is mine."

"Do give my best to your wife," Lilith said with a cold, hard little smile. She waited for the guards to get Mr Blight and watched them out of sight before she turned her back. She wouldn't put it past Mr Blight to hex her from behind. The man was obviously capable of anything.

Once she was airborne, she allowed herself to relax and slump over.

"To my sister's house, take the long way," she said to Sapphire. "We must not be followed."

When she finally landed in front of the Owl House, her legs were unsteady. Her hands and feet felt numb. She hadn't used any magic, but she felt drained all over again. She leaned on Sapphire and took a few deep breaths, trying to gather herself.

"There you are!" came from over on Lilith's right. "What took you so long? It's almost - uuh... you alright there, Lily?"

Eda hurried over as Lilith forced herself to straighten up.

"Her father..." Lilith began, but trailed off with a defeated sigh.

"... Amity's father?" Eda asked, trying to catch Lilith's eye. Lilith nodded. "Her father what? Was he there?"

"Yes, he... tried to take Luz's bag - he must have thought the phone would be in there, I don't know how he knew about the bag."

"The twins must have told him, I mean - who else could it be? Wasn't me."

"Edalyn, he - " Lilith was interrupted by the front door opening. Luz and Amity stepped out.

"Can we get going?" Luz asked with a worried glance at Amity - Lilith looked at the girl; she was pale as milk.

I don't know what time it is - I must be very late, Lilith chided herself.

Luz spotted the yellow bag slung over Lilith's shoulder and gasped.

"Is that my bag?!" she exclaimed delightedly and rushed forward, embracing Lilith and hugging her hard - Lilith hadn't had time to react, and drew in a surprised and confused breath, completely stunned. "Oh, thank you, Lilith!" Luz squeaked. "I never thought I'd see it again!"

Lilith glanced at Eda - she looked a little surprised, but smiled all the same. Lilith's eyes then flicked to Amity - the girl wore an expression of relief which made Lilith relax a tad in the very tight embrace.

"You're... welcome," she said a little stiffly. She patted Luz's shoulder awkwardly, hoping the hug would be over soon.

"Nothing like a Luz hug," Eda chuckled. "Surprised me too, the first few times. You'll get used to 'em."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Luz gave Lilith a final squeeze, then stepped back and held her clasped hands to her chest. Lilith held out the bag to her and she grasped the shoulder strap and swung it onto her hip with a practiced movement. "Welcome back, old friend!"

"Thanks, sis," Eda said in Lilith's ear while the two of them watched Luz show off the bag to Amity, as if it was something brand new.

The joy on Luz's face softened the blow of the incident from half an hour ago to Lilith, or at least made it feel more worth it. Despite that, Amity's father's words weighed heavily on her heart. She needed time to think what to do about it.

"We... should get going," Lilith said with a little sigh. She knew it would be a bad idea for her to fly all three of them, but it still hurt her pride to say the next few words. "But I'm afraid I shouldn't... be the one to steer."

"A-are you alright?" Amity asked, looking her mentor up and down quickly.

"My little errand tired me out... more than I thought it would," Lilith forced a smile. She saw one of Eda's eyebrows raise in question, but ignored it.

Amity took a breath in through her nose, then nodded in a determined way. She took a step toward Lilith.

"See you this evening, kids, I gotta get going to pick up the brats. Be good, no - "

" - no loud parties, no bringing the house to life," Luz filled in for Eda with a little smile.

"That's right," Eda chuckled and ruffled Luz's hair as she walked past. "And you got this, kiddo." She gave Amity a wink and a crooked grin.

Lilith found it much easier to smile after that and held out her staff toward Amity, who grasped it with a solemn look in her eye.

"Please get behind me," she said as she mounted up.

"Okay!" Luz hopped on and put her arms around Amity's waist, then turned to look at Lilith with rosy cheeks.

Lilith took a breath, then bent to gather her long skirt. It would not be safe to ride sidesaddle at the moment, not with three people on the staff.

"Can I put my hands on your shoulders?" she asked Luz as she sat down awkwardly.

"Yeah, no problem!"

"Everybody ready?" Amity asked. Lilith noticed her cheeks were bright red, but the rest of her face was very pale.

"Yup!"

"Yes." Lilith reached a little further forward and gave Amity's shoulder a gentle squeeze, then smiled as she felt some of the tension leave the girl.

"Sapphire... up, please. Gently."

To Amity's immense relief, the staff rose steadily into the air. Once they were above the treetops, she turned slowly, pointing the palisman toward town.

Eda found the twins standing morosely by the sign to the inn. She waved her hand and the dispel spell she had been weaving for the last minute or so flowed over the immediate area without setting off anything; the twins were clean.

"Come with me," she said with a pleased frown. At least the brats had been smart enough to not cast something over themselves, if they'd even regained their magic. And neither had their parents.

The twins exchanged a muted look, then began to move toward her.

They walked in silence to the Owl House.

"You, wash the windows," Eda said and pointed to Ed. "You, with me." Now she pointed at Em. The twins looked up, eyes wide with surprise. "Hop to it!" Eda waved her finger and a bucket of soapy water and a rag appeared; it soared into Ed's arms. She strode off to the other side of the house. After a few seconds, Em appeared around the corner. "You ever chop wood before?"

"... No?"

Eda wrenched the axe free from the old stump she used as a chopping block, put a log on top, then swung the axe. The two halves plonked onto the ground. There was a sudden splash from the other side of the house, then came the sound of fast approaching footsteps.

"Em?!"

"I'm fine, Ed!" Em held up her hands, glancing nervously at Eda. "It was just the wood."

Eda looked between them with an expression of disgust on her face. The brat must have thought Eda had hit his sister. She slowly raised a hand and pointed to the other side of the house. The boy hesitated; he was flushed and panting rather hard for only having run around the corner. He lowered his eyes to the ground, then shuffled off reluctantly.

Eda rolled her lips over her teeth, then picked up the axe and handed it, hilt first, to Em.

"Show me," she said gruffly.

Em grabbed the handle and almost dropped it when Eda let go of the head. Eda huffed with amusement, then picked up a log and put it on the stump and stepped back.

"Go on."

Em hefted the axe uncertainly.

"Don't have all day, missy."

Em got into position, then swung the tool experimentally a few times, getting her hand in. With a loud 'TOCK!' the blade buried itself deeply into the stump. The log on top wobbled and rolled to the side. Eda waved a hand and it leapt back up.

"Again."

A second swing, a second 'TOCK!'. Now the color rose in the brat's pinched up face.

"Again."

On the third attempt, Em managed to hit the log, slightly off center. The axe dug deep, but the wood didn't split all the way.

"Good," Eda nodded. Em glanced up at her in astonishment. "Lift the whole thing and whack it down til it splits, repeat. Once you finish these, put them in neat piles under the awning over there, stack 'em the same way." Eda pointed to the large pile of rough logs, then to the space under the awning. "Only chop wood, not yourself." With that, she turned and walked into the house.

Em stood and stared after Rosemary.

She really expects me to chop all that? She thought miserably, looking at the substantial pile of wood. Her empty stomach rumbled as the reality of this particular part of her punishment set in. Ed was on the other side of the house... She put down the satchel she had slung over her shoulder, then rubbed her itching eyes. She didn't want to cry. She never wanted to cry. Crying was weak. At least this time, nobody was around to see it.

Lilith did not like being in the air while not being in control; she did not like it one bit. The internal fight she had with herself and her sense of balance was draining her already dwindling energy reserves. With every gust of wind came the instinct to shift her weight to compensate. With Luz in between her and Amity, she wasn't even in direct contact with the one who was actually steering, which made her feel somehow untethered from the world. She knew Amity would do her level best to fly them home safely, and tried to tell herself that. Her mind understood it, but her body fought back by making her feel nauseated. She wanted nothing more than to be on the ground again. And preferably in her master bathroom, in the soothing warm water, wrapped in the silence of her inner sanctum.

The warmth of Luz's body so close to hers was both very comforting and very distracting to Amity. Luz was completely relaxed and followed her every movement with ease. Again, it made Amity wonder what dancing with her would feel like...

Focus on flying! She blinked rapidly, trying to banish the vision of Luz in a beautiful, strapless dark purple dress. Or would she prefer a tuxedo? Focus, focus, focus!

When they finally touched down in the back garden, Amity breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

They entered the house through the kitchen.

"Hey, Amity, do you... want to do some reading?" Luz asked as she closed the door after herself. "Or should we wait until after lunch?"

"Lunch," Lilith said, stopping in her tracks. She closed her eyes and took a breath. Of course, the girls needed to eat. She tried to remember if she had anything edible in the house, quickly gave up, then went to look in the fridge.

"Food would be good," Amity said. Now that she was in Lilith's house, she didn't feel so tense. She knew her family couldn't just show up there unannounced.

Luz appeared at Lilith's elbow.

"Ooh, how about omelets?" she asked, looking up at Lilith with a smile.

Lilith let out a defeated breath; the best she could do with eggs were scrambling them without burning them.

"Please have anything you like, I..." she grabbed onto the fridge door for support as the world suddenly swayed underneath her feet. "Need some rest..."

"We could save you some?" Luz suggested gently.

"Thank you, yes, please." Lilith knew she needed to eat something, but at the moment it would not be a good idea. "I'll... be in my room."

"Do you need help up the stairs?" Luz whispered as she reached for the eggs and milk.

Lilith felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Her pride said no, but her body said yes.

"Yes, please," she admitted with a sigh.

"Okay," Luz said brightly and put the food down on the counter.

"I could take you," Amity offered. She looked up at her mentor with a worried expression.

"Great! I'll get started on the food and stuff."

Lilith smiled down at Amity, then the two of them left the kitchen.

"You flew very well today, my dear," Lilith said as they moved through the long corridors.

"Thanks. And thanks for getting Luz's bag."

Lilith drew in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. This was not the time to talk to the girl about her father.

After I've had some rest, Lilith promised.

"I'm glad I could help."

They made their way up the stairs, Lilith holding onto the banister and Amity's shoulder.

"Do you need anything else?" Amity asked as they approached Lilith's room.

"No thank you, my dear," Lilith smiled tiredly. "I'm going to take a long bath and... maybe even have a little nap."

Amity smiled back. "Would it be okay if Luz and I went into the library?"

"Of course. You have free reign. If you go into the garden, please come back inside before it gets dark."

"Can we... pick some plums?"

"Certainly you may." Lilith smiled as they stopped by her door. "Thank you, my dear..." She stroked Amity's cheek gently. "You're such a sweet girl."

Amity smiled back, blushing faintly.

It was so very tempting to take a drop of Orcilae, but Lilith knew full well she shouldn't. Instead, she poured herself a dose of Vosker's and drank it down slowly while the bathtub filled with water and the air filled with the scent of lavender and honeysuckle.

She sank into the warmth with a heartfelt sigh. Pain she hadn't even been aware of left her and she relaxed into the fragrant embrace of the hot water. For a blissful few minutes, her mind was still, her thoughts chased away by the sheer physical relief of not having to support her own weight.

After quite some time, Lilith got out of the tub. The sum total of pain in her body had been lowered by several factors and she felt pleasantly warm and surprisingly relaxed. She put on a clean nightdress and crept into bed. She wished she had thought to bring a hot water bottle, but she didn't have the energy to go get one. She thought a moment about calling for one of the girls, like Eda would, but doubted they would hear her all the way in the library in any case. She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. Sleep was usually an elusive beast, but for once, it came when called.

Once the sun started to set, Eda let the brats into the house to use the bathroom and have something to drink. She had flown into town to pick up some groceries and had just finished putting it all away.

"Let me see your hands," she demanded of Em, who reluctantly held them up for inspection. The boy had just gone up to the bathroom. Em's palms had quite a few blisters. But Eda hadn't heard her complaining. "Got a salve for those. Wash your hands. Carefully."

She bent to rummage in a cupboard. When she stood up again, she was met with a suspicious expression barely covering confusion and surprise.

"Why are you helping me?" Em asked. Her voice was hoarse and thin.

"Not a habit of mine to just let kids walk around being hurt," Eda huffed as she unscrewed the lid. She reached out for the brat's arm to pull the sleeve back - Em hadn't expected it and both of them froze at the sight of her bare forearm. There was a large, vivid, hand shaped bruise there, the fingers wrapping around the middle of her arm. Eda let out a tense, tired breath. She wasn't surprised. "Sit," she said, pointing to a kitchen chair.

There was a bowl full of fruit on the table. The sight of it made Em's stomach feel emptier still. Without a word, she sat down. She forced her eyes away from the tempting view and onto the stone floor. Nobody had said anything, but Em knew she wasn't supposed to show anyone her arm. Her cheeks burned with several kinds of unfamiliar shame.

Eda took a seat in front of Em.

"Your dad?" she asked sternly.

Em didn't answer. She was certain she shouldn't talk about it.

"He's not allowed to do that sort of thing, as I'm sure you know."

"Weren't you the one who said we deserved to be punished?" Em mumbled in a tight, defiant voice.

"You do deserve to be punished; what you and your brother did was unbelievably stupid, selfish and cruel. But no kid deserves that." Eda nodded at Em's arm. "Here." She held out her left hand toward Em and dipped the fingers of her right into the ointment.

Reluctantly, Em held out her arm and Rosemary began to apply the salve to her palms and fingers. Em had expected rough treatment, like when her mom had scrubbed her face when she and Ed had gotten into her make up box when they were little, but Rosemary's touch was... light but firm.

"This works on bruises, too," Eda commented. "Sped Luz's recovery up by a lot." There was more than a hint of acidity in her voice. To her surprise, Em hung her head a bit, as if in shame. But Eda knew the brat could act. Whether she was actually sorry or not, Eda felt obliged to offer the help - the blisters weren't fake.

"Are they... okay?" Em asked after a few moments of tense silence.

Eda gave a huff, then started to smear the ointment over Em's arm. "What do you think?"

Em's head lowered some more.

"Would you... give her the bag?" she asked after Eda was done treating her arm.

"What bag?"

Em got to her feet and went outside. When she returned, she was carrying a small satchel.

"Some clothes," she said as explanation. "And her... drawing things."

Eda eyed the satchel suspiciously. But anything sinister would have been canceled out by her dispel spell earlier. And the brats wouldn't be stupid enough to try that sneezing powder thing twice.

"Your parents asked you to bring it?" Eda asked in a guarded manner.

"... No." Em glanced at the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table again and swallowed, then looked back at the ground.

Eda noticed Em's darting eyes and looked at the bowl, then let out a tired sigh.

"When was the last time you ate?" she asked, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

"We ate before we came here," Em said quickly.

Eda gave her an unamused smile. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter. When?"

"... Last night," Em mumbled.

Eda tutted and looked away. She waved a finger and a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese soared over from the counter and slid to a halt next to Em. The fruit bowl inched closer to her as well.

"Eat something," she said as she got to her feet.

The creak of the stairs made her look up. From this angle, Eda could see the darker shadow under Ed's eye. The boy stared back at her a moment, then looked away.

Well, shit... Eda thought to herself.

"Come here, you," she beckoned Ed over and picked up the salve. The boy hadn't moved.

"It's okay, Ed," Em said quietly.

At his sister's words, Ed descended the stairs and stopped in front of Eda.

"Chin up," she said gruffly. "Turn your head left."

Ed reluctantly did as he was told. He didn't meet her eye. Eda frowned at the remnants of makeup on his cheek. He must have washed his face in the bathroom and forgotten he was wearing it. She wondered who had put it on, but didn't ask. She had thought the puffiness to his face had maybe been from crying a whole bunch, but now that she'd gotten a closer look at him, it was clear to her what must have happened; his father had punched him in the face.

"Wash that off and put some of this on. Don't get it in your eye." She held out the jar. Ed stared at it a moment, then looked at his sister.

"It'll... help."

"Get on with it," Eda said impatiently, tilting the jar in Ed's direction.

Ed took it carefully, then backed up and returned upstairs. Eda looked after him, then turned to find Em still at the table. The food remained untouched. The girl glanced up at her.

"Waiting for Ed," she mumbled.

Eda grunted in acknowledgement, then stepped outside to inspect the brats' work. To her surprise, the pile of logs was gone. She turned around to find the firewood stacked almost to the roof of the awning.

"Quick study, that one," she muttered, impressed despite herself.

"It's so nice to have my windows clean!" Hooty exclaimed as Eda walked round to the front. "Thank you for bringing me another friend! He didn't say much either, but he was a good listener. Can I see him again?"

"Yeah, they'll be coming round every Saturday for a while."

"Oh, yay! I think he's my newest bestest friend!"

Luz and Amity spent the afternoon exploring the large house. Many of the rooms had dust covers over the furniture. When they grew hungry, they went to pick some plums in the garden.

"This place is so cool," Luz sighed as they sat down on some stairs close to the kitchen door. She picked up a plum and sank her teeth into it. "Scho much to schee!"

"What's... your house like?" Amity asked.

"It's nothing fancy, really, could probably fit in Lilith's library!" Luz giggled. "But the kitchen is big and I love my room. It's very cozy, if I do say so myself. I've got a whole shelf full of manga and books, and I have lots of blankets and pillows and a wardrobe just for costumes."

"Costumes?"

"Yeah, from Halloween and from plays in school - you're not supposed to keep them, but..." she shrugged and gave Amity a sneaky grin. "I love dressing up. Mom and I used to play all sorts of dress up games when I was little."

Amity's eyebrows rose.

"That... sounds really nice," she forced herself to smile, then picked up a plum and held it in her hands.

"Hey, we could play dress up sometime? Cosplay?" Luz tried with a worried little smile.

"Aren't we a little to old for that?" Amity let out an amused breath, despite the sadness that bloomed inside her.

"Nope!" Luz smiled more widely. "I mean, you don't need to dress up to play pretend, it just makes it more fun. Oh my gosh, we should totally cosplay as characters from the Azura series! Or Guardians of Goretack! Ooh, you wanna go as Fredonia?"

"But she's so... buff? I'm not..." Amity looked down at her slim body. "Buff."

"So? If you wanna cosplay Fredonia, then cosplay Fredonia - people who say you can't go as a character with a different body type than yours - well they're just plain wrong. And they can go jump in a lake."

Amity couldn't help but imagine herself in armor, holding Fredonia's claymore.

"Swords are heavy, though..." she said, getting lost in the possibilities.

"Not if you make them out of foam!" Luz said gleefully. "Are we doing this?! Are we making costumes?!" She was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement.

"I - I don't know how?" Amity said, smiling uncertainly.

"It's so much fun - I'll show you - oh man I wish I had my glue gun! Eee! Eda has a bunch of human stuff, I'm sure we could use some of it - ooh!" She froze, staring into the distance. "Or maybe - maybe we could get real armor? This place has like, actual blacksmiths and stuff, right?!"

"Uhh... sure? But that's really expensive."

"Oh well never mind then. Eh!" Luz shrugged in a good-natured way. "It's more fun to make your own anyway. And cardboard and foam is a lot lighter than metal and leather and stuff. If you go as Fredonia, I'm gonna go as Timtams!"

Amity's cheeks flushed at the mental image of Luz dressed in Timtam's signature one pauldron armor, holding their enchanted ivory... bow.

It was almost eight in the evening now. Amity and Luz had talked about it and decided Amity should go check on Lilith. If she was feeling ill, they could ask to use her palisman to send a message to Eda.

Amity cradled the hot water bottle to her chest as she made her way upstairs, trying to ease the steadily rising unease inside it. Maybe Lilith was a lot worse off than she had said earlier? Maybe it had been too much for her to take that Ingalill woman to the confirmatorium by herself?

I should have gone with her, Amity thought guiltily. I could have flown her most of the way and then waited outside somewhere, or something...

She arrived at Lilith's door and raised a hand to knock. After a moment, there was a soft: 'Come,' from inside.

Amity opened the door and stepped into the room. The setting sun painted the right wall a warm orange shade.

"I... brought you a hot water bottle," she said apologetically. "It's... almost eight."

"Oh my goodness - I didn't intend to sleep so long," Lilith said, blinking at Amity in bleary-eyed surprise. Her face contorted into a grimace of pain and Amity hurried forward, holding out the water bottle. "Th-thank you, my sweet girl," Lilith managed. She put the warm bundle under the duvet and let out a long sigh of relief. Amity's shoulders lowered when she saw the agonized expression fade from her mentor's face. "Could you... fetch me the bottle of Vosker's from the bathroom, please? I left it on the sink."

Amity nodded quickly and went to get the potion.

Lilith rubbed her tired eyes, trying to shake the cobwebs from her mind. She felt better than when she had gone to sleep. She took a few deep, calm breaths. She should tell Amity what her father had said now, while it was just the two of them. And... while it was just the two of them... she might as well ask her burning question.

Amity returned to the room and approached the bed.

"Thank you, my dear. Please... have a seat," Lilith patted the bed with a tense little smile.

Amity was very surprised to be asked to sit down on Lilith's bed of all places, but took a seat on the edge and handed her the potion. Lilith poured herself a dose and drank it before continuing.

"I would like to talk to you about... two things, while we're alone. I need to tell you something and there is something I wanted to ask you..."

Lilith's serious tone made Amity tense up.

"O-kay?" she said uncertainly.

Lilith reached out for Amity's hands and Amity took them slowly, her heartbeat picking up.

"I ran into your father at the confirmatorium," Lilith began in as calm a voice as she could manage.

"What..." Amity breathed. Her fingers began to tingle.

"He was trying to take Luz's bag from the evidence collected at the cave. I got it off him. He wanted a word, but I told him to make an appointment if he wanted to speak to me. Then I left. A few minutes later he intercepted me in a corridor. And he tried... to bribe me. For the phone."

Amity stared at Lilith. She could see her father do all those things.

"I'm - I'm sorry," she said weakly. She could feel the shame and embarrassment crawl up her back like some kind of damp, two headed, clingy swamp creature.

Lilith took a breath and exhaled slowly.

"He tried to bribe me... with you, Amity." Lilith held Amity's gaze. She saw the girl's beautiful golden eyes widen and heard her gasp with shock.

Amity's chest had gone suddenly cold and tight. She felt as if something - some part of her had just been viciously ripped away. There was a high pitched tone ringing in her ears.

"It was an unthinkable, terrible thing to say. An idea that should never enter the mind of a parent. He dishonored himself greatly by doing so." Lilith nodded slowly, gently squeezing Amity's hands. "Himself, not you, my dear." She tried to catch Amity's unfocused gaze and saw the tears build up and spill over her cheeks without even the flicker of an eyelid.

... What's the point? Amity thought dully. Everything she had done, every award she had won, every top grade she had earned, every trophy and ribbon and diploma - all because it was expected of her, because she wanted to make her parents proud so she could earn her place, and... he would just... give her away... Her achievements didn't matter - even with all she had done, everything she had sacrificed on his insistence - despite her very best efforts, she hadn't been able to earn a place in his heart. She was still disposable. Still unimportant. Worthless...

"I'm... worthless," Amity whispered.

Lilith inhaled sharply, her eyes widening. She let go of Amity's hands, desperate to reach the girl. She leaned forward and grabbed Amity by the cheeks.

"No!" she said fiercely - the girl's eyes flicked toward hers and she leapt at the opportunity. "He is a fucking idiot - he is worthless, he is selfish and proud and stupid - and an utter fool for not seeing you, for not appreciating the - the privilege of being a parent. He did wrong, he closed the door. He did. Not because the little girl deserved to have the door closed on her. It was his choice. It wasn't. The little girl's. Fault."

"Li... little girls deh-serve all the gh-good things?" Amity managed, wanting to believe Lilith.

"Yes, yes; little girls deserve all the good things!" Lilith smiled with desperate relief, stroking Amity's wet cheeks with her thumbs. "Daddies are supposed to take care of their little girls. And when they don't...?"

"It's... it's never, e-ever... the little girl's f-fault...?" Amity swallowed hard, her eyes now focused on Lilith's.

"That's right," Lilith smiled and nodded, inhaling and exhaling shakily. "That's right..." She felt Amity lean into her left hand. "Oh, come here..."

Amity put her arms around Lilith and just... held on. Her breathing was a little unsteady, but instead of being consumed by a raging storm or swallowed by the family wound, Amity felt as if she was being drained of it all. Lilith had just told her something that might have destroyed her, but it hadn't... It had hurt, oh how it had hurt - it still hurt, but... She knew it wouldn't be the end of her. There was a tomorrow. There was an after...

Lilith's heart beat hard in her chest, fiercely proud of the girl for being able to come back from the brink. She stroked Amity's hair and felt more and more tension leave her as the minutes wore on.

"I'm sorry for swearing," Lilith whispered gently.

Amity breathed out forcefully and then hugged Lilith tight, tight, tight. She had never heard anyone call her father a fucking idiot before. It meant... so much. After a moment, she relaxed her grip and sniffed.

"You... owe the swear jar a snail," she whispered with a little smile.

"I do," Lilith said with a breath of relieved laughter. "I will not forget."

"Amity," Lilith said after they had both calmed a bit. They had extracted themselves from the lengthy hug and Amity had gone to fetch them some tissues. "There was something I wanted to ask you. But before I do, I want you to know that I'm not asking you because of what happened today - I've been thinking about this... for a while. And I want you to know that whatever your answer is, it doesn't change anything about you staying here, do you understand? You don't have to say yes, to stay here."

Amity nodded uncertainly, her heart beat picking up. Lilith held out her hands again, palms up. Amity took them slowly.

"Amity Guinevere Esmeralda Blight... Would you do me the honor, of becoming my Apprentice?" Lilith asked, smiling nervously. "Officially," she added after a moment, shaking her head. Her eyebrows rose and drew together.

Amity's mouth dropped open and she blinked at her mentor, stunned.

"Oh shoot, I forgot the box," Lilith said quickly. "I'm sorry, my dear, hang on." She reached for her bedside table and took a small velvet box from it. She looked at Amity, then opened the box. Inside, on a pale blue, silk background, was a small broach with the Clawthorne family crest. Lilith waited with baited breath, her heart and mind racing.

Amity started to nod. Slowly at first, then faster.

"Yeh - yes... Yes. Yes, of course, yeah..." she panted. She closed her eyes and smiled, exhaling powerfully, her shoulders dropping.

Lilith squeezed her hand, beaming at Amity, feeling so wonderfully relieved.

"That makes me so happy to hear, little one," she said with a soft sigh, then she drew in an unsteady breath. "I would like... to do it, the old way. Only if you agree, of course."

"... With... a ceremony?" Amity's eyebrows rose high on her forehead.

"Yes," Lilith smiled warmly. "You don't have to decide now - "

"Yes," Amity said quickly, sitting up straighter. "Yes, ceremony, but..." Now her face fell. "My parents... I doubt they'd agree..."

"Luckily, any witch over the age of fourteen may enter into an Apprenticeship without their parents' consent."

"But... I'm thirteen."

"For a few more weeks." Lilith smiled and wrinkled her nose.

"... You know when my birthday is?"

"Yes I do," she said with a warm smile. "May I?" She held up the little box.

Amity smiled, blushed and nodded, then scooted a little closer so Lilith could reach.

"Where would you like it?"

"Here," Amity pointed to the spot right next to her top student badge and Lilith carefully attached the little broach there. It made her feel doubly happy to hear Amity wanted to display it like that. "Can we do it... on my birthday?"

Lilith closed her eyes and exhaled softly. "Yes, if you like." She looked up and met Amity's gaze.

"Can Luz come?"

"You can invite anyone you want, my dear." Lilith smoothed down Amity's cowl over her shoulders.

"Who... is going to lead the ceremony?"

"I was thinking... of asking Principal Bump."

"The principal?" Amity asked in surprise.

"He has done it before," Lilith gave her a gentle smile.

"People would ask... why."

"Yes, it's... not as common as it once was, to take someone as your Apprentice, in the official sense. If anyone asks... you could say that my faith in you is strong enough that I chose to announce you as my successor long before you even left school. Which sounds impressive, and it also has the benefit... of being one hundred percent true." Lilith smiled at Amity proudly.

"It is?" Amity breathed, stunned.

"It most certainly is, my dear." Lilith nodded and lifted her hand to stroke Amity's cheek. "It is what I will tell people, when they ask."

Amity closed her eyes and exhaled powerfully again. The enormity of Lilith's words - she couldn't process them properly - they were too big, too good, too kind. Her chest felt as if it was full of bright, pink light.

"I would be... your legal guardian. Until you reach the age of seventeen, or you choose to leave my care. Which you would be able to do at any time." Now Lilith gave Amity a serious look.

"... Why would I ever want to leave?" Amity asked with such sincerity that Lilith felt the tears rise before she could fight back. She exhaled shakily, then sniffed and drew in a deep breath.

"I just wanted you to be aware that you could leave, if you wanted to," Lilith swallowed and felt the tears start to roll down her cheeks. "And you don't have to become my successor; I never want to force you into anything ever again. It's your choice. And if you choose to leave or you choose a different path, my door will always remain open for you. I will always careabout you."

"You really think I could lead a coven?"

"Yes. Ab-so-lutely."

Something inside Amity... let go. She moved forward slowly, slipping her arms around Lilith's back again. Lilith welcomed the embrace, her heart threatening to explode under the strain.

Amity couldn't quite believe it... Lilith was so kind to her. No one else had given her so much freedom, so much choice. So much power over her own fate. Or showed so much faith in her. She felt so grateful, so cared for - this was everything she had ever dreamed of and more...

I'm never, ever going to want to leave, Amity thought fiercely as she hugged her soon to be legal guardian. Never, ever, ever...

When Lilith and Amity approached the kitchen, they heard unfamiliar music. They found Luz standing by the stove, swaying with the beat and singing along softly. She looked up as they entered.

"Hi!" she greeted brightly. She bent to open the oven and took out a large, cast iron frying pan. The wonderful smell in the air intensified. "Excited for you to try this! I know we had omelets for lunch, but this frittata recipe is so good."

"It smells wonderful," Lilith said with a tired smile. "Thank you for cooking again, Luz, you didn't have to do that."

"It's okay! I made some soup, too, if you weren't feeling up for solid food."

"That's... too kind of you," Lilith said in a slightly choked voice.

"It was Amity's idea," Luz smiled and turned to look at Amity. There was something... different about her now.

Lilith looked down at the girl next to her, her heart swelling. She put her hand on Amity's shoulder and Amity looked up at her.

"We... were worried about you," she said with a soft little smile.

Lilith tutted and lifted a hand to her heart, incredibly touched.

"May I - kiss you on the forehead?" she asked Amity in a whisper. Amity's cheeks went pink, but she smiled and nodded. Lilith bent slowly and planted a gentle kiss just by Amity's hairline. "Thank you for thinking of me," she said as she stroked her shoulder and stood back up. "And you too, Luz."

Luz stood with her hands on her cheeks, a wide, goofy smile on her lips.

"You guys are too cute!" she cooed.

The music stopped and some kind of animal noise came from Luz's phone.

"That's everything ready, sit, sit!"

Lilith took a seat and Amity helped Luz put everything on the table.

"Oh, that's a nice pin," Luz said as she sat down. She leaned forward to look at it.

"Lilith gave it to me," Amity said with a semi-vacant, happy expression. She looked up at Lilith, who nodded at her with a warm smile. "She... asked me to be her Apprentice."

"Oh yay!" Luz said in delighted surprise. "Congratulations! Right?" Amity nodded at her. "I... thought you already were her apprentice, though?"

"She was," Lilith said with a gentle smile. "But..." she gave Amity an encouraging look.

"This is the old kind of apprenticeship, when... when..." Amity's voice faltered. "You become part of your Mentor's h-household. Lilith is going to be my... legal guardian..."

Luz's mouth went from a perfect circle of surprise into an excited and happy grin that went from ear to ear. She looked between Amity and Lilith, her lower lip starting to tremble. She sniffed loudly and nodded at the both of them, then reached out for their hands. Lilith and Amity took them and Luz brought them all together on the table top.

"You're home, querida," Luz said in a shaky voice. "I'm so happy for both of you!" She squeezed all their hands together. "Oh my gosh, this is the best news I've ever heard I need to make a special cake - !" Luz's voice vanished in an overwhelmed squeak.

"Would you... want to come to the ceremony?" Amity asked.

"There's a ceremony?!" Luz squeaked, beside herself. "Oh my gosh of course, of course I'll be there! Do I bring f-flowers?" She lifted her shoulder and quickly wiped her cheek on her hoodie, beaming through her tears.

Lilith smiled warmly and put a calming hand on top of Luz's.

"It is traditional for guests of the Apprentice to bring something to remember them by. A small gift of some kind. Sometimes an apprentice would be moving to another city. So perhaps something for Amity's room?"

"My room...?" Amity said, sounding stunned. Of course if she lived with Lilith she would have to sleep in a room, but to call it hers? She still couldn't wrap her mind around all this.

"Yes," Lilith exhaled happily and felt the heat in her cheeks rise. "Your room. You can pick any room - except for the one right next to mine."

"I... like the one I've been sleeping in."

"Then... it's your room. I'll empty out the shelves and closets to make room for your things."

"I really like the books. Can they stay?"

"Certainly they can..." Lilith smiled tearfully at Amity.

"And... Otavin?"

Lilith nodded. "We could repaint, if you like."

"No, I like it... just the way it is."

After dinner, Amity went up to her room to grab some clean clothes for tomorrow.

My room, she thought. Her cheeks hurt from all the smiling she had done in the last hour.

When she returned downstairs, she found Luz and Lilith in the garden. Sapphire was sitting on Lilith's shoulder, receiving a jolly good scratch.

"She's such a pretty bird," Luz said with a smile.

"She is," Lilith smiled back, taking Sapphire onto her wrist and transferring her back onto the staff. "Have a seat, girls. I'll be flying us to Eda's place."

"Oh, good," Amity said with relief. She was relieved both because she didn't have to steer, and because Lilith was feeling well enough to fly herself.

They lifted smoothly off the ground and rose into the evening sky. Luz sat in the front and Amity had her arms wrapped around her. Lilith sat in the back, sidesaddle. She rested one hand on Amity's shoulder and flew them sedately toward the Owl House.

"Welcome back, guys," Eda said when she opened the door. "Did ya have dinner already?"

"Yup!" Luz nodded and bent to pick King up. "Hello my little guy!"

"I don't like it when you leave!" King whined.

"Edalyn?" Lilith said with a smile. Eda looked up, then her eyebrows rose in surprise - she still wasn't used to Lilith actually smiling at her in a friendly way. "Backyard?"

"Sure. Do we need... a drink?" Eda looked at the kids heading into the kitchen. They looked to be in good spirits.

"Yes."

"Al-righty." Eda suspected what might have happened and decided to make it a fun drink.

They sat down on the rickety lawn furniture and Eda poured them a small amount of bright pink liquid.

"So what's the - " Eda began, but Lilith interrupted her.

"I asked her."

"And she said yes?" Eda smirked.

"Yes, she did."

"Told you she would." Eda's smile widened and she pointed smugly at Lilith. "Congratulations, 'parent in all but name'-to be. Officially." She held up her glass and Lilith raised hers to clink it.

When they had both taken a celebratory sip, Lilith let out a long breath.

"That was the wonderful news," she said softly.

"Uh-oh?"

"Yes... uh-oh indeed."

"I've got some not great news too, but you go first."

"Oh?" Lilith looked at her sister in concerned surprise, then down into her drink. "Mr Blight, after I got Luz's bag away from him - he intercepted me in a corridor a little later and he..." Lilith shook her head.

"And he what?" Eda inquired, looking sternly at Lilith. She remembered Lilith trailing off earlier in the day, when the girls came out of the house. Now the tension rose in her shoulders.

"He offered me a bribe, Eda."

"That's... not too surprising." Eda gave Lilith a strange look, then breathed out. "Mrs Blight already did."

"She didn't offer me Amity..."

"... Holy shit," Eda said after a moment of stunned silence. "I knew for a solid fact he was an asshole, but fuck... Did you tell Amity?"

"Yes. Before I asked her. I wanted her to know all the facts... So she could make an informed decision."

"How'd she take it?"

Lilith closed her eyes and let out a long, troubled sigh. "She was devastated."

"Yeah, no wonder... Doesn't seem devastated now, though."

"I think she's very hurt," Lilith said quietly. "I know... she's very hurt. But... she didn't..." She shook her head slowly. "Spin out of control. I... managed to reach her."

"Dang, sis," Eda said, sounding impressed.

"I called her father a fucking idiot." Lilith let out a huff of amusement.

Eda frowned at that, her eyes growing harder. "Good."

Lilith raised her eyebrows.

"He hit the twins." Eda said it tonelessly.

Lilith stared at her.

"How did... Did they tell you?"

Eda shook her head. "I had Em chop wood." She gestured to the large stacks of wood under the awning. "Treated her blistered hands afterward, because, you know, hurt kid... She had a big bruise on her arm. So I put some salve on that, too. When the boy came downstairs, he'd washed his face. Half washed off the makeup hiding his black eye."

"His eye?" Lilith's face went from disbelief to horror.

"Yeah. Gave him the salve to put some on himself, didn't... want to get all up in his face."

"No..."

"They hadn't been fed. Em said not since last night. Gave them some sandwiches and stuff."

"Children should never be deprived of food as punishment," Lilith exhaled sharply. "Or struck, obviously!"

Eda huffed. "You're telling me."

"I'll... check on them, tomorrow."

"Good."

"At least there's plums to eat, if nothing else."

"Do you have any elderton salve?"

"I'm not sure."

"Take some with you."

"I will."

They both looked into the distance.

"What do we do... if there are more bruises? Tomorrow. Or later." Lilith sounded deeply troubled.

Eda let out a sigh. "I don't know, what can we do?"

Lilith shook her head slowly.

"It makes me wonder if he ever struck Amity..."

"Has she said anything?"

"No." Lilith closed her eyes and rubbed at her lower back, then put her hand over her stomach.

"And when was the last time you took a potion?"

"Barely two hours ago - it's fine."

"Did you make the appointment yet?"

"No, but I will," Lilith gave Eda a sincere look.

"Well alright then. As for the bruises... I mean, it's their parents. Parents don't generally change, unless something makes them. And threats don't seem to change the Blights."

"They're too used to being able to do anything they please," Lilith let out a weary sigh. "Alador seemed almost unhinged..." Her brows furrowed. If the man had been unstable enough to strike his children before she took the bag away from him, how unstable would he be now?

Eda noticed Lilith tensing up. "What?" she asked.

"... It's a strange feeling to worry about the people who endangered the life of my child, the same people who have tormented her for years... I genuinely fear what their father might do next."

Eda grunted in acknowledgement. "He was never not an asshole."

"Very true."

"Hey, do you have a recipe for that favorite cake of yours?" Luz asked. "The one your aunt makes?"

"No," Amity shook her head and smiled, touched that Luz remembered. "Any cake would be fine - you don't have to make a cake at all - "

"Of course I do!" Luz beamed. "We need to celebrate! How about, ooh, how about chocolate cake with orange, and salted nuts on top?"

"Wow that... sounds delicious." Amity's mouth watered at the thought.

"Right?" Luz started to take out ingredients from cupboards and things. "Ooh, and I could make that frosting, ah, what's it called - I've got it written down somewhere!" She dashed to her bag and started to dig through it. "It makes the cake look all shiny and spiffy, been wanting to try it with orange like, forever, eee! It's gonna be so good!"

"What can I do?"

"Oh! Take out the eggs and see if you can find some really small bowls that could go in the oven?"

"Okay."

Luz took out all her notepads - she knew she had written it down in one of them, but wasn't sure which one. She lifted the bag to put it on the ground. It was only then she noticed it was heavier than it should be when it was empty. Distracted from the hunt for the frosting recipe, she let the bag thump down onto the table. It made a strange crunching sound. She looked inside, saw nothing but the usual lint, then felt along the bottom. It felt somehow gritty. Like gravel had gotten into the lining somehow. Well, they had been in a cave so it wasn't that strange. Maybe there was a rip somewhere? She turned the bag upside down to inspect the bottom. She felt the weight of it slip, and what sounded like a whole bunch of rocks fell onto the table and floor.

"Oh whoops, dang it," she muttered, then looked down at the... red... gravel?

Amity looked over at what Luz was doing. Her eyes focused on the sparkling red shards skittering across the floor. The hair on the back of her neck and arms stood on end and a cold shiver crawled up her back and lanced through her brain. Time seemed to slow and she knew, knew instantly what her father had done. The lingering shame from what Lilith had told her her father had said earlier, vanished. The niggling guilt about not going back with her mother and siblings the day before yesterday, flash-boiled away. How could he be so stupid? How could he be so arrogant? She saw Luz's hand reach down toward the shards and lightning seemed to strike the base of her spine. Everything Luz had done for her. Everything Lilith had done for her, and had promised to do for her - it would all vanish, it would all be lost if Luz touched the shimmering shards.

"Don't touch that!" Amity lunged forward, pushing Luz's hand out of the way - the instant her fingers nudged the broken pieces, there was a flash of light, a ripping, tinkling sound and something wrapped tightly around her wrist. She gasped and gritted her teeth at the new pressure on her already injured arm.

"Amity?! What - "

"Don't touch it, don't touch me!" Amity grunted, holding her arm close to her chest. The broken pieces of the Trediouz statue had reformed itself around her wrist. The newly made bracer pulsed and glowed a dull, ominous red. She could feel the sinister magical energy radiate out from it in waves. It made her feel sick to her stomach.

"What's happening?!" Luz took a step closer and Amity took a step back. "What is that?"

"What is going on in here?!" Eda demanded as she and Lilith came into the room at speed. "That was definitely a get over here immediately tone of voice! Ugh - what is that - " Eda wiped her face as if she had just walked into a slime covered cobweb.

"Amity?!" Lilith's eyes widened. She looked between the girls, saw the contents of Luz's bag on the table - that red thing around Amity's wrist - she sensed the foul magic like a bad odor to the mind - it made the bile rise in her throat. She made the connection and quickly grabbed Eda's shoulder when she tried to reach for Amity. "Don't!"

Amity looked up and met her mentor's gaze - and knew she understood. That gave her a single moment of relief.

"He's coming," she said quietly. "I need to get out of here."

Lilith stared at her for a moment, then closed her eyes and took a breath. She snapped her fingers and her staff appeared in her hands. She wanted to say 'I'm coming with you' but knew Amity would refuse. There was no time for arguments. A whole squadron of guards might be setting out to this location this very second.

"... Come back safe, little one," Lilith said with a calm she certainly did not feel. She tossed the staff to Amity who caught it one handed. It felt like she had just thrown her heart away.

"I am going to close the door on him," Amity said darkly. She knew that if she looked up at Luz now, she would have to explain. And that would take too long. She needed to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. Lilith had understood. She would explain. Without another word, Amity turned and waved her hand - the door to the backyard flew open and she slipped quickly outside, ignoring Luz's confused cry of objection. She mounted up and kicked off the ground with defiant determination. It didn't matter where she went, as long as it was away from here. She aimed toward the Great Frog constellation, then lay down flat against the stick and gripped it tight - at least with her right hand; she was quickly losing feeling in her left.

"Sapphire! Away, as fast as you can!"

Her eyes watered from the speed and her ears filled with the roaring of the wind. It was all she could do to hold on.

She felt the bracelet tighten more and more as time wore on. It began to pull at her, trying to get her to turn around.

He's calling to it!

She had no idea how far she had flown, or for how long. She was cold and the fingers gripping the staff were tingling. She needed to slow down - it was dangerous to fly at full speed at night. And where was she even going? She had just thought to get away - but now what? Should she... hide? How long could she run? She should get the bracelet off but she didn't know how. It would probably take - her thoughts were interrupted as her arm suddenly swung out to the side, nearly yanking her off the staff. She gasped in alarm and leaned in the other direction to compensate, veering right. Suddenly the force pulling her left let go and she spun through the air, losing altitude quickly.

If that happens again while I'm in the air, it'll make me crash! She shook her head and steered unsteadily toward the dark ground. Below her were forests and tilled fields. In the far distance, she saw the lights of a house. Should she go there? Who lived there? Maybe they could help get the bracelet off?

What do I do? I need a plan - what would Azura do? No - what would Lilith do? What would Eda do? What would Luz do?

Finally! Alador smiled in triumph. Finally he would be able to lance this bothersome boil. He landed on the unkempt country lane and conjured his abomination and some lights with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Abomination, fetch." He held up the glowing amulet and pointed straight ahead. The abomination lumbered ahead of him and he followed, straightening his jacket. This was a very rural area and it certainly smelled like it. But that was fortunate; far away from civilized society like this, there would be wild animals. Rogue demons. Outlaw witches. And plenty of places to bury a body or two. The other Miss Clawthorne would be no match for him. He would simply threaten to harm the human until she surrendered, then get rid of them both.

"A Blight never loses," he chuckled to himself. He could just imagine Lilith's face when the guard informed her of the tragic death of her cousin and the human. The Blight family would of course send their condolences and beautiful flowers for the funerals. Certainly they would. It would be unthinkable not to.

The abomination lumbered toward a copse of trees and stomped into the bushes. There was a cut off scream, then the abomination emerged.

"Abomination, ta - !" Alador froze. The wide eyes staring back at him from behind his abomination's massive hand, were his wives'. "Drop her!"

Amity fell to the ground, the white staff she had been clutching clattered down next to her.

"Where is the human?!" Alador demanded. Disappointment and rage filled his veins with fire.

"Far - away," Amity panted. Slowly, she got to her feet, glaring up at her father.

This surprised Alador. "You will take me to it, now!"

"Take this off me first."

Alador looked down at the proffered wrist. The red crystal glinted in the light. He narrowed his eyes and raised his chin.

"I am very disappointed in you, Amity," he said in a disdainful voice. "Not only have you associated with a human, you have turned against your own family. I will have no more of this atrocious behaviour."

"How dare you..." Amity's voice shook with indignation. "How dare you?!"

Alador looked his daughter up and down, affronted. But before he could speak, Amity continued.

"If anyone's behaviour has been atrocious, it's yours, dad! You let Ed and Em get away with everything, you planted the Trediouz shards in Luz's bag so you could find her - you were going to kill her, weren't you?! You nearly killed me!"

"Only because you forced my hand," Alador glared down at his youngest, and up until a few weeks ago, nearly adequate (read: perfect) daughter. "I've tried so hard to put you on the right path, Amity - "

"Am I being a bother, dad?" Amity's face showed a scowl of disgust.

"Yes you are," Alador sneered down at her. "Take me. To the human. That is an order, Amity."

"Take this off me first!" Amity thrust her wrist toward her father. "Or do you want a one handed child?!"

Alador's eyes flicked down and noticed the blue tint to the skin on Amity's hand. It would be hard to explain a missing limb. He held out his amulet and drew a spell circle over it.

The crystal crawled over Amity's hand and into the waiting silver container. The pain shot up to her shoulder, cold and hard and crushing. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming out - she knew her father was watching her for any sign of weakness. She could taste blood.

"Why - do you have that?" Amity demanded through gritted teeth. When her father's eyes moved to the amulet, it gave her a moment to collect herself.

"It was your grandfather's. Now - take me, to that human."

"Why should I?"

"Why?!" Alador's face twitched - he had had enough of this defiant behavior! "Because I fucking said so, you insolent little bitch!"Before he could stop himself, he had landed a slap on Amity's face that felled her to the ground. "Look at what you made me do!" Alador hissed, furious. "Now you will take me - to that human!" He bent down and yanked Amity to her feet. "And you are going to watch as I end its miserable life - then we are going to go home, you will get cleaned up, you will put on proper clothes and you will be-HAVE!" He shook her by the shoulder, his face close enough to hers for Amity to feel the hot spittle land on her cheek.

"No," Amity slurred. She was dizzy. Her face hurt. One of her eyes was... not working properly. It was like she was wearing sunglasses with just one lens in. She was reeling from the shock of being struck. He had never hit her before. She had never seen him this angry before. But she didn't feel afraid. It was surprising, but true.

"Excuse me?!" Alador hissed.

"I sah-aid... no."

She struggled feebly in his grip and he glared down at her in astonishment. That Lilith and the human combined had turned his least bothersome child into this - this defiant little upstart!

"You - you're going to le-eave her 'lone," Amity panted, grimacing up at her father through a veil of tears, snot and blood. "You're going to leave Lilith alone. You're going to - "

"I will not be told what to do by my own daughter! Take me to the human, or I will take you out of school!"

Amity glowered up at her father, defiance blazing in her eyes.

"Let me go, leave all of us alone, or I will - I will post everything you've just said to Penstagram!" She raised her right hand - Alador's eyes flicked to the scroll and saw her finger pressing the button to post.

"What?!" he demanded, his eyes going wide.

"Let me go - or you will be ruined! Tonight! Everyone will know you have a Trediouz artefact and that it's been in the family for generations! And they will know you were planning to kill a girl - and that you - that you hit your child!"

Alador stared at his daughter, his mind frozen, his hand gripping her shoulder ever tighter.

"Boscha has notifications turned on for me, she is going to repen this immediately and then - it'll be all over the Isles! Within minutes!"

"Don't you dare!" Alador growled. "I won't - kill the human, I just want her device!"

"Ten."

"What are you doing?"

"Nine."

"Stop it."

"Eight."

"I said, stop it!"

"Seven!"

Alador's hand drew back automatically, but Amity's eyes remained locked onto his.

"Three!" she countered.

"What the - "

"Two!"

"FINE!" Alador pushed her away. "I let you go! Now give me that!"

Amity regained her balance, slowly wiped her face on her sleeve, then drew a spell circle and put her hand through it.

"You promise that the Blight family will leave Luz and all members of the Clawthorne family alone. Forever."

Alador stared at his daughter's outstretched left hand, then glanced at her right. She was still holding her finger on the button.

"If... you delete that - and! Remove the recording from the human's device! Tonight!" Alador said quickly.

Amity thought a moment, then gave her father an unamused smile.

"Deal."

They shook hands. The pink spell circle glowed brightly, sealing the everlasting oath.

Amity canceled the upload and deleted the recording. Afterward Alador looked her up and down coldly. He knew what would happen if Amity didn't keep her part of the agreement. It had cost him a great deal, but it was finally over. The human no longer had any power over him. Nor did Lilith. Despite everything Amity had done to upset the balance, she had displayed tenacity and had managed to broker a deal with Alador himself - which he had to admit was impressive, especially for a thirteen year old girl.

"You... are most certainly my daughter," he said stiffly.

Amity mounted up, then looked at the man in front of her. She had thought of him as her father all her life. Now... she just saw a sweaty faced man in rumpled, expensive clothes. A stranger. But he had always been a stranger, hadn't he? She had never known him. And he had certainly never known her.

"I don't think I ever was." She felt... something break away as she said those words. For a moment, it hurt, but then... Then there was relief. She looked up at the face she had never truly seen before and saw the impact of her words. There was shock in his expression. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She gave him a second, then said: "Goodbye... Alador."

As she soared away into the darkness, she felt free. She felt as if she had left a ton of weight behind her on the ground. Her shoulders lowered, the knot in her stomach loosened and her uninjured hand unclenched on the staff.

"Can you find her, Sapphire?" Amity asked quietly. She felt the staff want to turn against the steady breeze, and let it. "Please, take us there."

As she flew, a sort of numbness in her chest set in. The cold air helped to dry the steady stream of tears from her eyes. Eventually they stopped.

Memories floated up to the surface. Her father bouncing her on his knee, calling her a clever little Blight. Her mother bringing her soup when she was sick. Ed blowing bubbles for her to chase in the garden. Em letting her sleep in her bed after a nightmare. Then she had a thought that had never occurred to her - how many times had those things actually happened? How many times had her father really bounced her on his knee? A few, maybe. How many times had her mother brought her soup? Amity searched her memory, but could only remember one time. The bubbles in the garden... A few times for that as well. Em had let her sleep in her bed on several occasions.

Had she really held on to only a handful of good memories? Had she only ever had a handful of good memories with her family? She felt stupid, suddenly. For weighing those few, bright moments against all the darker ones. No wonder they hurt. The contrast between them and the others was so... sharp. Yet she kept on returning to them, comparing everything else to them. Wanting every moment with her family to be like them. It struck her that in those moments... her father had held her. Her mother had listened to her. Her brother and sister had seen her. Held. Heard. Seen...

Then she thought of Lilith. How many bright memories did she have with her? More than a handful. More than she could even hold in her arms.

Long after Amity had gotten cold, she caught a glimpse of a warm, orange light among the trees. She smiled in relief and leaned forward to bring the stick down. She landed in front of the house and just looked at it for a moment. The door demon had his eyes closed, but opened them when Amity's shoe scraped against the ground.

"Oh, hoot! Hoot, hoot!" Hooty screeched. "She's back! Hoot!"

After half a second, the door was flung open.

"Amity!" Luz rocketed toward her, a look of utter relief on her face. She embraced Amity tightly. "You're hurt!"

Amity saw Lilith hurry toward her; she was wearing an extremely worried, guilty expression.

"Little one, I'm so sorry, oh look at you!" she rushed forward and carefully took Amity's dirty cheeks in her hands. "Are you alright? Where does it hurt?" she studied Amity's face and gasped and removed her right hand from the left side of it, where a large, purple bruise was visible under the grime. "Oh, I am going to flay him!"

"Come on, let's get her inside," Eda said from the door. "Luz! You can hug more later."

They moved inside and Eda went to get some supplies.

"What happened?" Lilith asked breathlessly, wrapping two blankets around Amity's shivering shoulders.

"I made him promise to leave us alone," Amity said hoarsely. She was so relieved to be somewhere warm.

"... How?" Luz asked. She was holding Amity's uninjured hand tightly.

"I recorded him... Threatened to post it to Penstagram. He admitted he owned the Trediouz artefact. Admitted he... was going to kill you." She looked into Luz's scared eyes. They widened further at her words and her mouth opened in a silent gasp. Lilith froze beside her. "He thought I was you. He... was so angry. He hit me. He's never hit me before. Then I threatened him. We made the everlasting oath." Amity smiled in a dazed way. Luz and Lilith exchanged a worried look. "I made a deal with him - he leaves us alone forever and I delete the recording of him, and remove the recording from your phone, tonight. That was the deal."

"But... that doesn't destroy the file - the video," Luz said carefully.

"I know that," Amity smiled crookedly at Luz. "But he doesn't."

"Hah! Clever girl!" Eda chuckled as she sat down on the table in front of Amity.

"You gave me the idea," Amity looked at Luz and squeezed her hand.

"Lemme see that arm. Oh, yikes..." Eda's smile faded quickly as she looked down at Amity's busted hand and wrist. "Luz, would ya get some ice?"

"Yeah, sure! Should I get something else?"

"Bowl of warm water," Lilith said quickly. "And put the kettle on, please."

"Okay!"

"I closed the door on him," Amity said hoarsely, looking up into Lilith's worried eyes. "I closed the door on him..."

"Yes you did..." Lilith stroked Amity's left cheek. "Oh, my sweet girl, I'm so sorry - I didn't check the bag, I didn't think he'd had time to tamper with it - it was my fault - "

"No," Amity said with an angry pout. Suddenly she felt like crying. "He did the bad thing..." She leaned her head on Lilith's chest and sniffed. "Not you..."

Lilith exchanged a desperate look with Eda and Eda gave her a 'go on' nod and Lilith carefully put her arms around Amity. When Amity drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it, relaxing against Lilith's chest, Lilith couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She hugged Amity to her and leaned her cheek on the top of Amity's head, trying to keep her breath steady, but failing miserably.

Luz returned with the ice and the warm water and the three of them worked together to clean Amity up. After a few minutes she was as clean as they could make her and all her injuries had been disinfected and bandaged. She still sat leaning against Lilith, and Lilith held her tenderly, tears trickling down her face. She was clutching a bag of frozen berries to Amity's cheek. Luz held her free hand in both of hers, her head on Amity's shoulder.

"I'll... go move the camp bed," Eda said quietly as she stood up and stretched her sore back. Her knees clicked. Lilith looked up at her, confused. "So you can sleep in the same room."

Lilith tutted and let out a breath. "Thank you, Edalyn..."

"Yeah, no worries. That's okay, right, Luz?"

"Yeah, of course," Luz nodded earnestly. "Or you could take my bed?"

"Both of you stay with her tonight," Eda gave them a tired grin, then turned and headed toward the stairs.

Amity ended up falling asleep on the couch; Lilith didn't have the heart to wake her. She picked her up and smiled warmly when the girl's eyelids flickered open half way up the stairs.

"You... can put me down..." Amity mumbled.

"It's alright, little one. I've got you." She would gladly carry the brave girl for miles and miles. She didn't care what it would cost her.

In Luz's room, Lilith set Amity down. She kept her back turned as the girls changed, then changed herself. Once she was done, she bent to tuck Amity in.

"I'll be right over there," she said softly, pointing to the camp bed in the corner. "Wake me if there's anything. Goodnight, my dear." She stroked Amity's cheek. "And goodnight to you too, Luz."

"Goodnight."

"Lilith?" Amity said quietly.

Lilith halted in the act of rising, then sank back down on her knees.

"Yes?"

"Could you... sing? To me?"

Lilith's eyebrows rose, then they drew together and she breathed out gently.

"Certainly I could..." She thought a moment of asking Amity to close her eyes, but decided against it. If Amity could be brave enough to ask, she could be brave enough to be seen. She took a breath, then tucked a strand of hair behind Amity's ear. Amity blinked slowly and Lilith smiled and kept stroking her hair.

"The moon shines bright... stars shimmer all night. In the meadow lies the fawn, sleepy from play. The kit in the den, the kitten in pen. Witchling in bed and filly in shed. Sleepy little darlings, snuggle in tight. Rest your hearts now, dream, it is night. The sun will rise and tickle your nose, but now it is time, to slumber and doze..."

Lilith stayed to make sure Amity was asleep before carefully getting up and moving over to her own bed. She discovered a hot water bottle under the patched duvet and smiled. She got as comfortable as she could on the lumpy mattress, then let out a long breath.

I'm so proud of you, little one, she thought as she closed her eyes. So very, very proud of my little fawn.

Notes:

This is the second to last part. I'm working on the last part. When I say "last part" I mean the end of this particular arc of Lunar Eclipse - I will not be able to leave this AU alone, I don't think. There are some IRL things going on and more coming up soon that are going to take a whole shitload of time and energy ( they already are and that's mostly why this part has taken so long to finish). I will make a twitter post about what's going on when I'm ready to share. Part 13 is probably going to be a while.

Thank you everyone for leaving such wonderful comments on this story - working on it has helped me deal with a lot of stuff.

Please tell me what you thought about this part of the series.