(Author's Note: Tales Of Light And Blight is being written as part of Lumity Week! This story, and all the other stories featured in this work, are part of an anthology, and unlike my other anthology stories, most of these are loosely connected to each other, with 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 able to be enjoyed in sequential order. They're not, however, connected to any of my other Owl House stories. Thanks for reading!)

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Day 4 – First Date ("The Midnight Fair")

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Luz could feel the light and warmth all around her, from the stars in the sky to the lights lining the streets, and even though she'd never walked the street at midnight before, she'd never felt safer than she did in this moment.

She could feel a soft hand gripping her own, fingers interlocked with hers, tightening their grip as she and her companion walked together. The streets were full of people, the night was cool and calm, and music and voices were everywhere.

"I don't know anything about this Midnight Fair, but it sure sounds cool, huh?" said Luz enthusiastically, as she and her companion made their way down a long, wide street lined with games and vendors and sights and sounds, and though she felt safe, her companion was still quite nervous, and even her soft smile couldn't hide the fact that she wasn't entirely sure she should be here.

"All I've heard is that it's one of the biggest events of the year in the Boiling Isles," replied Amity, stroking one hand through her hair as her other hand gripped Luz's. She was dressed in a long black cloak, with none of her familiar Hexside adornments, and she'd considered wearing a disguise, as she didn't want anyone to know she was here. "Actually, I've heard quite a bit about it from Lilith... she says it's full of criminals and degenerates, and that I'm forbidden to attend..."

Luz giggled, playfully bumping Amity as the two continued to walk together.

"That's half the fun, sneaking out to come here in secret! And what better place for our first date than this awesome fair?"

As Amity tried to force the worries from her mind, the couple was approached by a carnival barker, attempting to promote his booth. The girls looked over and saw a game that looked a lot like ring toss, though instead of tossing rings around bottles, participants instead attempted to toss live snakes around winged beasts that moved up and down.

"Ooooh, that looks kinda fun!" said Luz, tugging on her hoodie and turning to Amity. "Can we go play?"

"If ya get the snake around the whippleroar, you win a prize! If the snake EATS the whippleroar, you win a bigger prize!"

"I love prizes!" Luz cried out excitedly. She tried to pull Amity over to the booth, but Amity planted her feet into the dirt and shook her head.

"Luz, these games are all rigged, the whippleroar is trained to move out of the way when the snake is tossed at him, and I bet the snake doesn't even eat whippleroars."

Luz continued to watch the booth as a patron grabbed a snake and began to wind up to throw it, only for the snake to suddenly eat the patron whole. Amity gasped, while Luz just continued to glare at the display.

"What do you win for that?" she asked, pointing at the snake.

"C'mon, Luz, let's go..."

Amity tugged Luz away from the booth and toward the center of the fair, a large open area surrounded by booths. Luz continued to look around at all the nearby wonders, eyeing several more of the games before her eyes focused on a food cart serving up fried mystery bowls.

"I am kinda hungry," said Luz, rubbing her stomach.

Meanwhile, Amity found herself nervously looking around as well, not necessarily for something fun to do, but watching for any members of the Emperor's Coven in attendance who might report her back to Lilith. She wanted to relax and have a fun time with her new girlfriend, but she found herself worried that she'd end up in trouble. Her nervousness made her forget about everything else, including, for a few moments, Luz, who walked up to the mystery bowl cart and waved at the cook.

"Hey, so what exactly is in a fried mystery bowl anyway?" she asked curiously.

"Well, it's a mystery, that's the point!" replied the chef, a portly looking man with the head of a boar.

"I know that, but can you tell me what might be in one...?"

As Luz continued to question the chef, Amity kept her eyes peeled for the Emperor's Coven. Upon realizing that the coast, at least for now, was clear, she sighed and allowed herself to relax, just in time for Luz to walk back over with two mystery bowls in hand.

"Here ya go, Amity!" said Luz, handing her one of them.

"Uh, what's this?"

"It's a fried mystery bowl! I tried to get the chef to give me a hint of what's in it, and he was able to promise me that nothing alive is in here."

As Luz began to eat, Amity stirred her fork inside of the bowl, letting out a sigh.

"I wonder where Eda is?" she asked, turning to Luz. "You'd think someone like her would be all over a place like this... you know, setting up a booth, suckering folks out of their money?"

"Well, she usually has a booth here, but she's staying home tonight. I think it's because her potions aren't working like they used to and she doesn't want to flip out and turn into a monster in front of all these people."

"Oh yeah, you told me about that..."

The two girls continued to talk, walking over to a nearby bench and sitting down. Luz was voraciously devouring her mystery bowl, while Amity hadn't taken a bite yet, still stirring it with her fork after sitting down.

"Have you had any luck figuring out what's wrong?" asked Amity.

"Nope, and we've tried lots of things," Luz replied, recalling some of her and Eda's recent adventures as the two tried numerous ways to reverse the curse or find a new, stronger potion recipe. "I've been thinking about signing up for the potions track to find a way to help her."

"Luz, that's really kind of you," Amity said with a smile, remembering that Luz's kindness was one of the main reasons she fell in love with the human girl so quickly. She finally took a bite from her mystery bowl, but upon tasting what she'd just eaten, she winced and groaned, barely managing to swallow it down.

"Well, she did help me get into Hexside in the first place, and she has been helping me with magic, so it's the least I can do. But I dunno... I told her about my plan and she told me not to worry about her. She said I should pick the track that's most fun for me, and not take potions just to help her out."

"Really? That's... that's really unselfish of her," said Amity, sounding a bit surprised. "Lilith's been talking about Eda... says all she cares about is herself, but... from what you've told me, she sounds like she cares a lot about other people, and I don't think you'd be so loyal to her if she wasn't a good person."

Luz could see that Amity looked a bit guilty to have misjudged Eda, and she reached across the table and put a hand on hers.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I misjudged Eda at first too," said Luz. "Just like I misjudged you and you misjudged me. The important thing is getting to know someone... hey, since we're dating, I bet you'll have a lot more chances to spend time with her!"

"I... I don't know..." said Amity, looking unsure.

"It's Lilith, right?"

"I'm not worried about us, because Lilith doesn't see you as a threat, but if she knew I was spending time with Eda-"

"Hey... for just one night, can you do me a favor and not worry about Lilith? Not one little bit? I want you to have as much fun as I'm having, so stop worrying about Lilith and what she might think, and start thinking about yourself and about us! And have fun! I know you want to..."

Luz looked at Amity, a kitten-like expression on her face as she tried to persuade the witch girl to let go of her inhibitions and enjoy herself. Amity couldn't resist how cute her girlfriend was being, and she giggled and nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, let's do it!" shouted Luz excitedly, before slurping up the last of her mystery bowl and looking down at Amity's, which had barely been touched. "Oh, are you gonna eat that?"

"No, it... tastes kinda gross," said Amity. Luz grabbed the mystery bowl and started to slurp it up, only to spit all of it back out immediately.

"Wow, that does taste gross!" shrieked Luz. She looked down and could see Tiny Nose, who was now drenched from head to toe. "Oh, umm... sorry! Amity, let's go!"

The two girls ran away from Tiny Nose, who chased them for a few seconds before giving up and trudging over to a caricature booth to have her picture drawn. They made their way to a spinning ride and decided to climb aboard.

"Luz, I gotta warn you, I get nauseous on these kinds of rides..."

"It's okay, you barely ate any of that mystery bowl, it's me who's gotta worry about throwing up!"

The ride began, and unlike the rides in Luz's world, which had safety and manufacturing regulations to deal with, this ride took the girls on a ferocious spin that pushed the limits of human endurance. They shrieked wildly, holding on tightly to one another, fearing for their lives as the ride went up and down and side to side, defying not only the laws of safety, but the laws of physics as well. Finally, it stopped, and the two girls staggered off, holding onto one another. Neither one of them felt nauseous, but their hearts were racing, and they looked at each other after catching their breath.

"Luz...?"

"...I wanna ride it again!" Luz shouted, grabbing Amity and laughing as she pulled her back onto the ride for another go.

"Wait, wait, LUUUUUUUUUZ!"

After another shrieking, death-defying ride on the spinning machine of death, the two girls made their way to what looked like a cotton candy booth, though the cotton candy was being made from the hair of a strange looking creature that looked like a cross between and elf and a Troll doll, that regrew itself as soon as it was pulled off.

"I'm starting to see why Lilith doesn't want me here," said Amity, watching as Luz accepted two of the strange confection from the vendor.

"Okay, you don't have to eat this if you don't want to, I know it looks gross," said Luz.

"...give me one," said Amity, taking one of the cotton candy spools away from Luz and grabbing a big clump before eating it whole. "That's really good...!"

"I know, right?!"

Amity devoured the whole thing in less than a minute, barely faster than Luz, then started giggling as she pulled her over to another attraction. This was a "guess the dragon's weight" booth, on which a plump green dragon the size of a small car sat next to a giant scale. Luz studied the dragon carefully as Amity walked up to the man running the booth.

"1,798 snablecks," said Amity matter-of-factly, before crossing her arms over her chest with a confident smile.

"Amity?" Luz stammered, blinking at her girlfriend. "I'm not sure-"

"You're... exactly right...!"

"I know," said the witch girl with a smirk, looking over at Luz. "Luz, you want a dragon?"

Luz gasped, her eyes growing wide with excitement, imagining the possibilities for a moment before her shoulders slumped and she groaned, letting out a loud sigh.

"Ehhhhh, I better not... I dunno how Eda would react and King would probably make it eat someone. Thanks anyway, though!"

"It's okay," said Amity, turning to the man. "Just send the dragon to Hexside, compliments of an anonymous donor. I'm sure the students on the Beastkeeping Track could use another one, and Luz, you can visit him whenever you want."

"Yay!" exclaimed Luz, wrapping her arms tightly around Amity. "Maybe we should go back to that snake tossing game and I can try to win you a prize!"

A snake crawled in front of Amity and Luz. It was the same one from the game before, still with a lump in its stomach the size and shape of the man who'd tried to toss it. Amity sighed and traced a circle in the air, casting a spell that forced the snake to cough up the man and slither rapidly away.

"Oh... oh thank you, that was an ungodly nightmare!" shouted the grateful man, coughing and gasping for breath. Amity looked over at Luz, who shuddered a bit and recoiled slightly.

"You know what, maybe I'll just buy you another cotton candy..." said Luz with a nervous giggle.

The two girls continued to enjoy their night at the fair, laughing and screaming as they ran from booth to booth, ride to ride, vendor to vendor, having the time of their lives together. They managed to find a few games that didn't involve the risk of being eaten, and Luz managed to win Amity a beautiful bracelet that matched the color of her hair, while Amity spent half an hour playing an obviously rigged claw machine game in an effort to win a stuffed animal for Luz.

"Sorry I couldn't win you that prize, Luz," sighed Amity.

"It's okay, listening to you cuss out that machine for the last 30 minutes was prize enough!' said Luz, blushing and giggling. Amity blushed in response, and Luz leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I think we should check out more of the vendors, let's go this way!"

The two girls ducked down an alley, until they were in a more secluded part of the fair. Cloaked patrons and shady vendors mingled in this area, and there were a couple of booths set up closely resembling the one Luz helped Eda run... complete with human trinkets and artifacts.

"Check it out, I bet this is where Eda sets up when she's here..." said Luz, walking with Amity over to a large booth where a wide array of items was on display. Luz could feel Amity's hand gripping hers a lot more tightly as they approached, and she looked down at her friend, wondering why she was suddenly so nervous. "Amity...?"

"Luz... I think this is the contraband section of the fair," whispered Amity, pointing to some of the selections available from the booth. "I'm not sure we should be here."

"Hey, you promised me you weren't gonna worry about Lilith."

"This isn't about Lilith, this stuff is just plain illegal!"

Luz perused some of the items available at the booth... there was nothing that seemed especially scandalous. The thing she noticed most was a selection of reference books on humans, books from the more boring sections of the libraries and bookstores she enjoyed back home.

"You mean those books?"

"Yes!" whispered Amity.

"May I help you...?" asked the vendor, a fair-skinned woman clad in a dark blue cloak. "We've got a fine selection of human artifacts here... and I can see that one of you happens to be a human."

"Yep, just me and my girlfriend out on a date!" said Luz with a smile. "I'm Luz Noceda and I'm indeed a human, and I was wondering if you had anything interesting for sale?"

As Amity reached up and placed her hand on her forehead, the cloaked woman pulled down several of the books and displayed them on the table.

"Amity, see anything you like?" asked Luz, pulling her friend's hand down from her face.

"What? Luz, you know I can't-"

"Oh, this one's kind of interesting I guess..." said Luz, pointing to a book about human art and literature. "Looks like an art history book from about ten years ago?"

"Ah yes, you're interested in that I see? Humans draw such strange things, especially considering they can't use magic on their own."

"Amity, I think you'd like this one," said Luz, showing the book to Amity. The book was full of pictures of and stories about elves and water nymphs, and though the stories the humans told within weren't accurate to the reality of the Boiling Isles, the art was detailed and beautiful, and several of the designs caught Amity's eye as Luz turned her head to look while she flipped the pages.

"That's... that's beautiful," whispered Amity, who couldn't look away even though she knew books like this were highly forbidden on the Boiling Isles.

"Amity, why are books like these banned here?" Luz whispered back to her. Amity briefly turned and took Luz aside for a moment to explain.

"Books like these are banned because the Emperor's Coven doesn't want people here knowing too much about humans... especially not about their dreams and fantasies. I think it might be because if people here knew what humans knew about us, they'd be able to discover more points where the two worlds overlap, which is highly classified information."

"But... I'm a human and I talk about my dreams and fantasies all the time," said Luz. "Why hasn't the Emperor done anything about me yet?"

"He doesn't see you as a threat, and besides, it's easy to dismiss you as a liar," replied Amity. "I know you're telling the truth about everything, but if you stood up on a street corner and started blabbing everything you know about your world, the Emperor's Coven would start to discredit you... and if they couldn't do that, you'd probably disappear."

Luz gasped, and Amity gripped her hand reassuringly.

"You don't have to worry... I told you, they don't see you as a threat, and you haven't started making yourself one, so you'll be fine. Besides, if there was a plot to do anything to you, I'd tell you. I promise."

"Amity..." said Luz, smiling warmly at her girlfriend. "Wouldn't that be like... I dunno, treason?"

"Not if I didn't get caught," she said with a smirk. "But do me a favor and don't go yelling about the human world in the town square, okay?"

Luz nodded, and turned back to the booth with Amity.

"Amity... I know you want this book," said Luz.

"I can't," Amity replied, looking longingly at it as she flipped through more of the pages. "If I got caught with something like this-"

"You have a secret library!"

"That Ed and Em know about!"

"Would they rat you out?"

"...they hate the Emperor's Coven," said Amity. "And even if they didn't, they'd never do anything to get me in trouble, not that much trouble anyway."

"Then let me buy it for you! Eda gives me some of her profits! Not a whole lot, but I've got just enough shells left to buy you this book!"

"I can't, Luz..."

Luz sighed.

"Okay, fine... I guess we should probably go then. Besides, I think the fair's almost over."

"It is," said Amity. "And we don't want to miss the big fireworks display. I've only gotten to see it from Blight Manor... but it's too far away to see it very well."

"Then let's find some front row seats!"

Amity led the way as the two made their way back through the alley toward the main section of the fair. As Amity poked her head out from the alley, however, she saw something... or rather, someone, that made her blood run cold.

Oh no... Lilith!

Lilith, the leader of the Emperor's Coven, was approaching the alley, leading several guards behind her. She hadn't seen Amity, but the witch girl had to duck out of the alley quickly to avoid being spotted, and when she turned, Luz wasn't there.

"Luz?!"

Amity looked back toward the alley and could see Lilith leading several guards toward the booths. She quickly turned back around and began looking for her girlfriend, calling out quietly to her.

"Luz, where are you?!"

Amity dove behind some boxes just in time to avoid Lilith seeing her, as the leader of the Emperor's Coven and her entourage made her way toward the booth where Luz and Amity had been shopping just moments before.

"I'm here on behalf of the Emperor's Coven to check for contraband," said Lilith, eyeing the vendor up and down.

"You'll find nothing of the sort here, ma'am," replied the vendor, who'd been able to use magic to conceal the booth's contraband items in just a few seconds.

"We'll see about that," said Lilith, gesturing to her guards. "Inspect everything."

Amity crouched behind the boxes, shaking violently, fearing that at any moment, Lilith would push the boxes away and find her. She turned, looking for an escape route, and instead saw the one person she'd been looking for.

"L-"

Amity barely had time to cry out her girlfriend's name in surprise before Luz's hand gently but firmly covered up her mouth, muffling any further exclamations. Amity could see that Luz was as frightened as she was, but as she tried to push Luz's hand away and ask what she was still doing here, Luz pulled something from her hoodie.

It was the book from before. Luz had gone back and bought it while Amity was scoping out the alleyway.

Luz, you bought the book? I told you not to buy me the book! Amity shouted, still with Luz's hand over her mouth. Finally, she reached up and yanked Luz's hand down, whispering furiously at her. "Luz, are you crazy?!"

"I know, I know, but you wanted it so bad-"

Lilith turned and looked down at the boxes, and the two girls ceased their argument and grabbed tightly onto each other, holding each other for dear life as Lilith walked toward them.

"Hmm..." mused the coven leader, narrowing her eyes. "I wonder what's in here?"

Lilith lifted up her staff, and the boxes began to levitate. Luz and Amity looked at each other, knowing they risked imminent exposure. Amity looked and could see a nearby fence with a broken board, through which the two could make their escape if they ran for it immediately. She looked at Luz and pointed at the fence. Luz nodded.

Okay, Amity... let's go right... now!

The two girls ran for it just as Lilith lifted up the boxes. She didn't see their faces, but she did notice their legs as they crawled through the fence.

"After them!" shouted Lilith, just as Luz and Amity managed to squeeze through.

The two girls ran as fast as their legs would take them, Luz still clinging tightly to the contraband book as she and Amity ducked through another alley, Lilith's guards in hot pursuit. Fortunately for the girls, it was still quite crowded, even as people began gathering in the midway for the fireworks display, and the guards had trouble pushing past all of those people.

"In here!" Luz said, pointing to a building adjacent to several large rides. Amity followed her, and the two ran in, closing and barring the door behind them before making a run for the other side of the room.

"Luz, what were you thinking? Why did you buy me that book when I asked you not to?"

"I just wanted you to be happy... I thought it would make you happy!"

"Luz, just being at the fair with you made me happy! Now we're running for our lives! I should burn that book...!"

Before Luz could protest, the door at the other end of the building flew open, having been blasted down by one of Lilith's spells.

"I know you two are in here! Stop, in the name of the Emperor's Coven!"

Luz and Amity managed to flee through the opposite side door, and were now surrounded by fair rides. They decided to hop on one that looked like a flying saucer, called the Vomitron. The ride was dark, dark enough to conceal their faces as they slipped inside, but the door remained open, and Lilith came in just as the ride began.

"Ma'am, you're gonna have to get to the side, this thing goes awful fast," said the operator, in a booth at the center of the ride.

"Why can't you just stop this thing?" shouted Lilith, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness.

"But that wouldn't be fair to the other riders!"

"I am the leader of the Emperor's Coven, and by order of Emperor Bellows-"

As the ride accelerated to its maximum speed, Lilith found herself slammed hard against the side wall by centrifugal forces, while Luz and Amity, who whose weight was just low enough that the G forces didn't affect their movement, slipped out the door just before it closed. Lilith saw their backsides as they exited, and tried to give chase, but was pinned to the wall, unable even to lift her staff.

"Curse this... infernal... ride...!" she shouted, as the joyful shrieks of other riders emanated around her. "Silence, all of you!"

Meanwhile, Luz and Amity were stumbling away, gasping for breath and hoping they'd seen the last of their pursuer. They ran together into an alleyway, watching as Lilith's guards searched the area.

"Do you think we lost her?" asked Luz, looking over at Amity.

"She's usually pretty persistent... we'd better get further away."

They made their way into another area of the fair, a sort of makeshift food court consisting of benches surrounded by food stalls. The area was deserted, as all the fair goers were making their way to the midway to watch the fireworks, giving Luz and Amity some alone time together.

"Whew... I think we lost her now," said Luz, looking over at Amity... whose expression was a mix of hurt and anger. "Amity, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that you put us both in danger, buying that... that book!" shouted Amity. She tore it away from Luz and slammed it down onto the table, putting her finger in the air to trace a fire spell. "I've got no choice, I'm getting rid of it."

"Amity, wait...!" shouted Luz, watching as Amity prepared to burn the book.

"I'll reimburse you for the shells-"

"You think I care about the shells? Amity, I'm sorry...! You're right... you told me no but I still bought the book... I should've listened to you..."

Luz's eyes were filling with tears as Amity stood with fire spell at the ready. She looked at Luz and her expression softened, but the hurt was still evident in her voice as she spoke.

"Luz, when I tell you not to do something for me, and it's because of the coven, you need to listen to me. For your sake and mine. If I got caught with this book, I'd get a slap on the wrist. If you got caught with it..."

Luz could see what Amity was getting at, and felt even more guilt at worrying her girlfriend... but tried to reassure her.

"But I told you, I'm willing to take those risks, just like you! You protect me, I protect you, that's what love is about, right?"

"It's about more than saving each other, Luz... it's about not taking stupid risks in the first place so we don't have to."

Luz let out a long sigh. Amity was right, as usual... buying the book had been a stupid risk, trying to fight those kidnappers by herself had been a stupid risk, coming to save Eda and the twins from that monster had been a stupid risk... and the more stupid risks she took for herself, the more stupid risks she was taking for Amity.

"Okay," said Luz, looking sad but accepting Amity's decision as she looked up at her girlfriend. "I'm sorry... do what you have to do."

Amity looked down at the book... and at the picture on the cover. It showed a beautiful elf woman, with pointed ears... a woman that looked a lot like her, or at least an older version of her. She reached down and flipped through the book to look at it one last time... another painting, of that same beautiful elf woman comforted by her human lover, a dark-skinned woman who looked a lot like an older Luz. She looked back up at Luz, and then at the book, and read the caption.

"Mystical Rendezvous, by Elaine LeClerque, 1958," read Amity.

"According to the caption, this piece caused quite a stir when it was first painted," said Luz, reading the text accompanying the picture. "The artist is from Biloxi, Mississippi..."

"Is that a human place?" asked Amity.

"Well, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention in eighth grade American history class, but 1958 in Mississippi wasn't a very... safe time and place to draw a woman romancing another woman, let alone with one of them looking like this," said Luz, pointing to the dark skin on the depicted human. "The human world's got its problems too... honestly, probably way more problems than the Boiling Isles."

As Amity continued to look at the picture, she slowly lowered her hand, dispelling the flame she'd been conjuring.

"It's... beautiful. She's... beautiful," said Amity, tracing her hand along the page. "This is a beautiful book, Luz. ...and I think I'm going to keep it."

"You don't have to," said Luz, reaching over and touching Amity's hand with hers.

"I know," Amity replied, smiling as she closed the book and clenched Luz's hand. "C'mon... let's go catch those fireworks."

As the two stood up, Luz looked over at Amity, her face still contorted with guilt.

"Amity, I'm sorry... I won't take any more stupid risks, not if they could get you hurt."

"Luz..." sighed Amity, shaking her head. "I know you. Taking stupid risks is part of who you are, and when I agreed to start dating you, that's what I signed up for. I won't tell you you shouldn't try to be more careful, but... don't go changing everything about who you are for my sake. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Apology accepted," replied Luz, leaning over and smooching Amity's cheek.

The two girls went back to the midway, but as they did, Amity caught Lilith out of the corner of her eye, stumbling out of the alley leading to the Vomitron ride accompanied by her entourage of guards. They hid for just a moment, though Lilith no longer looked to be in any condition to chase down any criminals. She was clutching her stomach with a furious look on her face. As her guards attended to her, she snapped at all of them, but was interrupted in mid-rant by the contents of her stomach spewing out of her onto the grassy ground below. The two girls couldn't help but giggle as they watched the very undignified display, and though Amity felt a twinge of guilt at taking pleasure in seeing her beloved mentor throwing up all over the place, she knew Lilith had been through much worse and would be just fine.

I think it's time for you to go to bed, thought Amity, watching as Lilith cried out in frustration before trudging toward the exit of the fair with one of her guards patting her encouragingly on the shoulder. You've had a bit too much fun for one evening.

Luz and Amity managed to squeeze their way through the crowds to a choice spot near where the fireworks were being launched. The first of the fireworks soared up into the air, sending a loud shower of brilliant, colorful sparks into the sky.

"This picture looks nothing like me!" shouted Tiny Nose, holding up a painting of a normal looking human woman with dyed blue hair, glasses, and lots of tattoos. She waved the painting around like a weapon, chasing the caricature artist around the midway, even as he tried to lose her in the crowd.

"I'm glad we got to come here today," said Luz, leaning tenderly on Amity's shoulder. "I'm glad I got to come here with you."

"Same here," Amity replied, one hand clutching her new book while the other hand clutched Luz's, holding on tightly. "This was the best night of my life."

Luz gasped softly, her expression softening into a grateful smile as a tear slid down her cheek. Amity nuzzled the tear away, and as more fireworks burst into the air above the young couple, she pressed her lips against Luz's, enjoying a warm, sweet kiss with the girl she loved.

I think it was the best night of mine too... thought Luz, closing her eyes as Amity's lips continued to press against her own.