"Oh, I am trapped and helpless!" Amity gasps as the giant spider creeps closer. "Help me, someone!"
"Fear not, fair maiden!" The words reverberate off the walls of the cavern. The spider stops and looks around in confusion.
"I am the Good Witch Luzura! I defend the good, the innocent and the light!"
Luzura is wreathed in a halo of light. Her pointy hat is propped at a rakish angle over one eye. She's clearly tripped over the hem of her robe enough times already, judging by the dirt staining the white fabric. She stands in front of Amity, facing the spider, staff held high.
"Now eat this, sucka!"
With one blast of fire, the spider is gone.
"You saved me," Amity whispers. "Thank you, dearest Luzura."
"I would do anything for you, Amity," Luzura says, taking her hand and helping her to her feet.
"We cannot," Amity says, taking her hand out of Luzura's grasp. "Our love is tragically forbidden –
The door of Amity's hideout opens and she jumps, hastily stowing the drawing underneath her textbook.
"Hey, Mittens!" Edric says, grinning. "How goes the studying?"
"I-It's going well," Amity stutters. Oh, no, she's blushing. Not good.
"Really?" Emira says, dodging around Edric and leaning over the Abomination Control 101 textbook.
"Yes," Amity says hastily. "It's going quite well, I know I'll ace this next exam, but I'm trying to get a perfect score, so it's good to be prepared –"
"It's usually a bit easier to study books that aren't upside-down," Emira comments, chuckling.
Not good.
Amity turns scarlet and hastily spins the book around, momentarily revealing the paper shoved underneath it.
"Ooh, what's this?" Emira asks, tugging at one corner of it.
"Um, my notes. Just a spare piece of paper. Next Good Witch Azura novel. Give it back, it's private!"
The paper is already surrounded by a faint aura of blue, floating toward Edric's hand. He plucks it out of the air and smirks.
Not good. Not good. Not good.
"Good Witch Azura, huh?" Emira says, peering over Edric's shoulder. "Wait, is this you? And that human girl?"
Not good.
So what if she drew a comic of Luz saving her? It's not like that's suspicious.
Maybe it's suspicious. Maybe it makes it far too obvious that she's hopelessly in love with that irritating human girl.
No need to panic. She can just be ruder than usual to Luz for a few days until Ed and Em forget about it.
"Aww, your love is forbidden?"
Never mind. Panic.
She sets the paper on fire and buries her face in her hands, hoping she doesn't spontaneously combust.
Ed and Em are laughing at her.
"Mittens, do you … have a crush on the human girl?" Emira asks, leaning in, voice deliberately saccharine.
"No!" Amity shouts. "Why would I have a crush on Luz? I mean, she's pretty – not like I noticed! And smart – for a human! And kind – but that's nothing special! And I don't fall for human girls just because they're perfect – I mean, annoying!"
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with us," Edric says.
"If you tell anyone, I will kill you," Amity snarls.
Her threat isn't as effective as she'd hoped. Edric looks nonplussed, while Emira looks like she's already plotting something.
"Of course, Mittens," Emira says. "You can go back to your daydreaming."
She ushers Edric out.
Knowing her siblings, that turned out better than usual. She's probably going to hear no end of teasing about it later, but for now her secret is safe.
"Amity, I love you, regardless of anything your cruel father has to say!" Luzura says, sweeping Amity up into her strong arms.
But my father is the king. We cannot disobey him!" Amity says quietly.
"Your father's laws don't reach this far," Luzura whispers, then kisses Amity as gently as if Amity's face were fine porcelain.
Nope. She shouldn't be thinking about this. She has an exam to study for.
She banishes all thoughts of irritating humans and turns back to her textbook.
…
"I don't know about this," Willow says. "I mean, it still seems a bit dishonest."
"It's for their own good!" Emira says. "Amity already told us that she's trying to confess to Luz, but she never gets the opportunity. And Luz just doesn't realize it yet. So we're not doing anything that wouldn't have happened anyway. We're just speeding the process along."
"Okay," Willow says, shrinking back under the grins of the older students. "If we're just helping them a bit to get together, it's nothing immoral."
"Obviously we aren't doing anything immoral!" Emira says, waving a hand flippantly. "Helping young love is the most moral thing out there! Immoral? Never."
"Illegal, probably, though," Edric comments.
Willow freezes.
"I don't want to get any of us into trouble," she says quietly.
"Don't worry about Edric, he's just joking around," Emira says, shooting her twin a look of death. "We never get caught. Now, do you know where we can get about sixteen gallons of potato salad, an inflatable hedgehog, and a weather vane?"
Willow's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline.
"It's kind of a complicated plan," Emira says. "The really weird stuff like the panda costume was all Edric's idea, though. Don't worry about that part."
Willow smiles slowly and nods.
"All right, I'll help you," she says, extending a hand. The scream of the school bell echoes across the steps.
"I'm late for class!" she calls as she runs away.
"We'll talk at the Grudgby field at lunch!" Emira shouts.
All goes according to plan. One ally close to the human girl with access to the greenhouses, a few criminal contacts for the serious spells, and one baby sister who can't just tell someone how she feels.
Now she has to make sure the space in the rafters is clear for the flesh-dissolving vines.
Tuesday, really.