Just outside the forest…
Luz searched for Gwendolyn, despite her father's and Eda's warnings.
The woman was dusting off her clothes and trying to remove the leaves from her dress. Such a sweet-hearted woman… somewhat high strung but everyone in the family had that, her own dad has told her that.
"Trust me when I say her head isn't screwed on straight. Though madness does run in our family, Gwendolyn is a new level of crazy."
"Sometimes family members have a falling out and there's nothing to be done about it."
Wait, where did that come from?
Luz tried to shrug that away as she approached the woman.
She had a lot of Eda's features, and also can see bits of her own father too.
"Um hi." Luz greeted the woman, "Sorry that Eda ejected you like that."
"Oh, no, no, Dear. Don't fuss. I do not blame Eda for her actions, it was the beast that caused the rift in our family. Not the entire family, just... well you know." Gwen answered.
"Actually, I know how you feel. There's a rift in my family, too. My mom, she's really scared of this place and… wants to keep me in the human realm forever. But I want to show her that humans can live here, that we can survive." Luz admitted with sadness in her voice.
That's when the idea popped into her head.
"What if… there is a way to solve both our problems?" She suggested, showing a bit of an Eda look to her, "What if I can help you find proof and you can help me cure Eda?"
"Really? Okay, that sounds good. What do we need to do?" Luz wondered.
"I have been studying at the feet of a master, someone who understands this type of thing. But in order to complete the ritual that would save Eda, we need to speak with the final objective and collect the final piece of the puzzle."
Luz nodded and followed Gwen.
At the Castle…
Emperor Belos breathed as Parfait brought him his tea, helping to soothe his nerves after a run-in with his wayward family member.
"Philip, there is one in every family. Sadly, there are many in ours, but Madness is truly in the bloodline." The advisor sighed.
"True indeed. I see my dead brother everywhere I go, smiling at me and giving me comfort, though never talking." Belos admitted, "But Gwendolyn… ugh Gwendolyn…."
"What the heck was that?! A monster is infecting my daughter and you give her a rock?" She snarled at the pair, "And you, you know these things better than anyone in the realm-."
"Don't you dare question my competence, Clawthorne? You may have married into the family, and a very, very distant member of my blood, a single drop, but that doesn't mean I will tolerate your rudeness." Belos sneered at the woman, "This is beyond your knowledge and beyond your meager magic-."
"You are calling me meager-!"
"It's not our fight. I can't help her, you can't help her, the only one who can is Eda. Only she has the power to-."
"There must be a cure! Tell me, you must know! You are the Healing Coven!" Gwendolyn demanded.
"There is none, this curse is beyond our knowledge. But there is a way to keep the Beast at bay. The Potion Coven creates elixirs for the emperor-."
"At bay, oh, no, no, no! I want that thing out of my daughter Cut it out if you have to!" She sneered as Eda gasped in horror.
"She'll die if you try, Gwen!"
"She speaks of me~!" A chipper voice sang.
"Ugh…" Belos groaned in anguish, "I need more."
The guard brought out two pieces of gum.
"Lemon or strawberry?"
"Both!"
Belos then shoved them into his mouth out of pure stress.
"Great, she's here…" Eda moaned as the tornado appeared and then dispersed to reveal an old woman witch with a hawk palisman.
"Gwendolyn…" They both groaned.
"Oh, it is welcoming to see you all again." She happily greeted them as Luz was certain that she could hear her father chewing even more.
"Such a pleasure."
Anyone could tell that his words were a big fat lie. Belos was already beginning to root a bit.
"What do you want now, Gwendolyn?" Eda groaned with annoyance.
"Edalyn, sweet little Witchlet, don't use my name in such a way. I am your mother after all." She reminded.
"MOTHER!?" Luz and Lilith gasped for different reasons.
"Luzura, this is Gwendolyn Clawthorne, a member of the royal family and extremely distant blood relative, only a drop in her bloodline." Belos introduced, "Gwendolyn, this is my daughter, Luzura."
"Oh, she's a cute little thing. I'm still surprised you are able to have your own considering the beast-."
"Don't go there." He warned.
"Oh, Edalyn when I heard what happened…. Oh, I should go out and find that cult. Give them a piece of my mind. Belos should have done something sooner." Gwen scoffed as the scouts looked a tad nervous.
"Get the Avian Advisor, quickly." The captain whispered to one of the scouts.
"You know, Mother. I was in danger too." Lilith voiced appearing in front of everyone.
"Oh, that's good to know, but I really need to check on your sister." The madam dismissed, saddening Lilith.
"And you don't have the right to complain since that mess was your fault." Belos reminded, adding insult to injury.
"Dad." Luz scolded again, but Gwendolyn wasn't paying attention.
"Edalyn after years of searching, training, and studying under the feet of the masters, I have finally finished my quest. Edalyn, I have found the cure to your beast." She declared with great certainty.
"Gwendolyn, for the final time, there is no-." Belos sighed.
"And I can certainly help you with your beast problem."
"I don't have a problem with my beast-."
"Ugh, that woman… She's going to one day do something that cannot be undone in her fruitless pursuit." Belos groaned as the coven scouts showed sympathy, for many know what it's like to have a difficult family member.
"Try not to fret. I am certain that she will not do anything to cause too much havoc. But let's push her aside from your mind for now. After all, we must be ready for the Gathering of Kings soon."
In a secret cave…
Gwendolyn and Luz approached Master Wortlop and kneeled before him.
"Lady Gwendolyn of Clawthorne, Princess Luzura, the Heart of the Boiling Ilse, I am honored to be in the presence of two of the royal family." Master Wortlop greeted humbly, "Destiny has brought you for a great purpose."
"Eda says that there is no true destiny and my dad tells me that Fate is for Fools." Luz voiced, causing the master to chuckle.
"True, as witches we are Defiers of Fate. No, we make our own Fate and the Fate of others. So, wise, so true. I can see your mind is as sharp as the emperor's. But we will see how his blood serves you… when you complete the final test."
"I have brought what you have asked me." Gwendolyn smiled as she presented the relics.
"Excellent, now that leaves the final relic. For your final search, you must find the Hyperon of the Titan's Eyes. With its power, I can cultivate a cure for your daughter. Without it, she will be lost."
"The Hyperon of the Titan's Eyes… that will be difficult to get, but I will retrieve it, even from the grasp of Emperor Belos," Gwen assured.
"My dad? Wait, why do you have to take it from him?" Luz questioned.
"I await for your return. Now, I must ask you to leave, while I meditate…"