*** thirteen years before the events of"A Lying Witch and a Warden" ***
The pleasant winds above Bonesborough blew through Lilith Clawthorn's hair as she flew through the starry sky on her Staff.
The witch in question sighed contently as she hovered along. She likes nights as this was the only time she could let her metaphorical hair down and be herself.
Not having to worry about her fellow Coven Members judging her if she even let herself loose for one single moment. Or having to worry about the office politics that were going on between the Coven heads.
The stresses of presenting herself as the best and the most perfect witch in the Boiling Isles on occasion got to her. However, she had worked far too hard to get to the tipping point of being leader of the Emperor's Coven to let something like stress or a need to be herself get between that.
Sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.
Lilith looked around and noted that she was near the edge of Bonesborough.
Near Edalyn's house…
She frowned for a brief moment as she pondered about her role in the isolation that was now forced upon her sister.
"The greater good," Lilith muttered to herself. A sense of bitterness and guilt came over her.
It was then that Lilith's pondering was disturbed by a very bright flash from her peripheral vision followed by a very peculiar sound.
It was the sound of wailing.
Lilith whipped her head around in the direction the sound was coming from.
Much to her displeasure it was most likely coming from the woods that bordered Edalyn's owl house.
Woods that were filled with dangerous plants and wild creatures.
Despite her status as a powerful witch, not even Lilith wanted to be at the mercy of those woods.
She silently prayed that the wailing was from some kind of dying creature.
But she knew it wasn't.
Looking back at Edalyn's house she noted some figures moving about in the window.
Lilith supposed that she wasn't the only one that had noted the wailing in the woods.
Only the infernal house demon that had foiled her attempts to capture Edalyn was seemingly fast asleep.
Deciding now is not the time to deal with her sister, Lilith quickly moved towards the woods before she was spotted.
"now let's see..where is th-"
She scanned the woods from above as she flew over them, the wailing echoing about as did so. Slowly the sounds began to sound ever so much clearer.
"Yes, that must be it," Lilith spoke to herself.
Now certain that it was coming from the woods, Lilith swooped down to where the sound was coming from.
She gently landed on the ground before forming a ball of light within her palm to aid her in her search in the dark woods.
The thick mist that covered the woods did make things more difficult than they ought.
A cold chill crawled down Lilith's back as she walked through the woods. She covered herself in the cloak she was wearing, though this did not seem to deter the cold whatsoever.
"This better not be one of Edalyn's silly pranks." Lilith grumbled to herself as she wrapped herself even tighter in her cloak. Almost regretting going after this wailing thing.
A loud wail sounded once more.
This time Lilith noted that the wailing sounded rather… witchlike.
Alright it was not a thing. That was at least something that made this expedition somewhat worth it.
It was then that the smell of ashes filled her nose.
And soon enough she came across some trees that were freshly damages bits of bark and lumber having been completely blasted away.
Could it have been wild witches or some hooligans that caused this?
She continued to follow the carnage, tightly clutching her staff in case the perpetrator was still close by. The wailing grew louder and louder as well, indication a connection between the two things.
Then a loud crack sounded from beneath Lilith's feet.
Lilith went stiff as a board momentarily before regaining her composure. She looked down and her eyes widened upon seeing a creatures' charred skeleton before her.
"Oh my Titan…" Lilith spoke in a whisper. She knelt down to examine the skeleton, she noted that it was still warm to the touch, it must've been been burned really recently.
Could this have been because of that flash from before?
Another wail caused Lilith to look up from the skeleton she had been examining.
She saw a large olive tree standing before her and then noted that the sound was coming from within the tree.
Lilith carefully approached and moved away some plants and noted the inside the tree was hollow.
With a single opening, and inside that opening.
Was a baby.
Lilith pressed a hand to her mouth as she stared at the tucked away infant.
She laid down her staff for a moment and pulled the baby out the tree, then she noted that the baby in her arms had round ears.
"A human?" Lilith pondered while the baby in her arms began to calm down. Giving her a moment to get a look at its unusual looking eyes.
The left eye was Blue, while the right eye was Amber.
"How would human get here? Lilith asked more herself than the baby in her arms. "Especially one so young…"
She frowned as held the child up, wondering to herself what she was going to do next.
She couldn't leave it here, unless she wanted an innocent infant to end up as a meal for some feral demon or animal.
She could wait until a parent arrived.
She then once again looked down at the skeleton by her feet. Taking in the grim reality that if whatever happened here could deskin a creature from these woods, there was no way a human would have survived intact.
It was then that Lilith felt a pair of tiny hands touch her face.
"O-oh!" she said in surprise before the baby began grasping at Lilith's loose hair strands.
Then it grabbed her pointed ears and began pulling at them.
Lilith felt a look of worry form on her face. While she didn't mind the presence of children and knew how to deal with them. She never had to deal with a baby.
What if she did something wrong? What if she hurt this child?
A giggle from the child pulled Lilith from her brief existential doubt. She looked at its dual colored eyes that almost seemed to shine in the darkness.
Lilith smiled a wistful smile at the child. She knew the demon realm was no place for a human, especially not an infant human. It was far too hostile and dangerous for humans.
Perhaps it would be less cruel to just end this infant's suffering. But Lilith was not heartless, she could not in good conscience harm a child like that.
It was then that she noted another light shining through the woods.
"Edalyn," Lilith hissed.
She briefly considered leaving the child for Edalyn to find, but then immediately blew that idea off.
No way she was going to let her irresponsible, and more importantly criminal little sister be in charge over an infant.
That could only lead to tragedy.
With a deep sigh Lilith put the baby down, removed her cloak and used her very limited knowledge of child rearing to make it into a makeshift baby sling before putting the baby into it.
The baby almost immediately relaxed as it rested against her chest.
"Don't get used to that," Lilith chided as she grabbed her staff. "I'm bringing you to an orphanage as soon as I can. Then people who are qualified with children can decide what happens with you."
"Gah," The baby cooed as it began mouthing on the jewel on Lilith's chest.
Lilith couldn't help but smile as she mounted her staff and flew up into the sky.
It was then that Eda walked into the clearing, having watched Lilith's interaction with the baby.
"You better take good care of that kid, Lily."
Lilith flew silently through the sky. The baby was stirring in her custom made baby sling.
"What am I supposed to do with you?" Lilith asked the child. "I doubt the orphanages are open at this time of night."
The baby curiously turned its head to the side.
"Guess that means you're with me for the night," Lilith sighed. "I can take care of a baby for the night."
The baby giggled before it once more buried itself into Lilith's chest.
"You are quite the cute one aren't you, little one?"
Lilith immediately stopped in her tracks when she realised what she said.
"No! I mustn't, I'll get attached," Lilith shook her head. "I can not combine my Coven duties with maternal duties. It will just end in sadness for the both of us."
She grimaced as she felt the child drool on her chest.
"Yes, the orphanage will be the best option for the both of us."
Soon enough the emperor's castle came into sight.
Lilith let out a sharp sigh as she wondered how she was going to explain why she had this child with her. Would they see her as soft hearted if she explained the situation to them.
She landed on the castle grounds and was almost immediately met by a coven scout. One of the rookies if Lilith was correct.
"Madame Clawthorne," the coven scout greeted.
"Greetings Steve," Lilith nodded politely.
"Where have you been? The Emperor is requesting your presence."
"I-I was scouting the woods at the edge of Bonesborough when I noted a sudden burst of magic happening there." Lilith explained before motioning to the baby wrapped to her chest. "I ran into some complications."
"Cute kiddo," Steve poked the baby a few times in the belly. "You keeping it?"
"No." Lilith replied. "I'll be bringing this child to the local orphanage as soon as I'm able to."
"Probably for the best, knowing how brutal this place can get." Steve shrugged. "Well I'm sure the Emperor won't mind you being late when he sees this little guy."
"I sure hope so…" Lilith spoke through gritted.
"Aww c'mon our emperor is a nice guy," Steve reassured his superior. "I gotta go back to guard duty so good luck."
"Thanks…" Lilith spoke as Steve walked back to his post.
Leaving Lilith with her new objective to head towards the throne.
As she walked through the castle she felt her face flush red as people stared at her and the baby she still had attached to her.
She couldn't wait until she was safely back in her quarters.
It was then that she reached the door to the throne room and anxiety ran through her body.
She took a few deep breaths before slowly opening the door to the throne room and was met by dozens of coven scouts and their great leader.
Emperor Belos.
Lilith walked deeper into the room, her gaze focused on the Emperor before she knelt down in front of him.
"I am at your service Emperor Belos."
"I am glad you could make it, Lilith," his tone light and airy. "I heard you were exploring the woods for the last hour."
She gulped, surprised at how quickly news spread amongst these scouts.
"Yes, my emperor," Lilith answered. "There seemed to have occurred some magic anomaly while I happened to pass by. I felt it appropriate to see what the cause was."
"And were you succesful in finding the causation?"
"No," Lilith Closed her eyes for a brief moment. "But I did find a survivor amongst the carnage."
She pulled the baby from her sling and showed it to the emperor.
"A child." Belos stared at the infant as in recognition.
"It's a human, my emperor." Lilith clarified.
There was a shift in Belos' behaviour, an expression not a lot of people ever saw of him.
Surprise.
"A human…" Belos repeated as he stood up from his throne and moved towards Lilith to examine this child.
"I was planning on bringing it to the orphanage as soon as I…," Lilith tried to explain her plan regarding the child before stopping with talking as Belos approached her.
He bowed down to look the child in the eye. To which the baby responded with a gurgle and laugh.
Lilith looked at Belos' masked face from the corner of her eye as he looked at the baby and recognized the expression in his blue glowing eyes.
Satisfaction.
"My Emperor?" Lilith simply asked.
"Yes. It is that this human stays within these castle walls. The Titan has told me this child will have a big part in the Titan's plan." Belos announced.
Lilith furrowed her brow for a brief moment.
"Lilith, since you are the one that found this child, I am putting you in charge of keeping him safe and making sure he's taken care of."
Lilith looked at her Emperor with wide eyes before shifting to a look of determination.
"I understand, I will not fail."
Lilith paced around her room as she wondered how she was going to cope with her newfound role of caretaker for a child.
She had requested some Coven Scouts to get her baby stuff, though it being as late as it was, the things they were able to get were limited at the moment.
It was then that a foul stench entered her nose. She looked in the direction of the child who could only give her a sheepish look in return.
"I suppose I do need to figure out what you even are…" Lilith said as she grabbed the baby and placed him on the changing table the scouts had haphazardly placed in the room.
Lilith would request a room fit for child rearing first thing in the morning.
Then she removed the dirty diaper. She noted the diaper was made from cloth and not the material diapers were made of in The Demon Realm.
"Guess humans are behind in diaper technology," She said as she formed a ring around the dirty diaper with her finger causing it to incinerate.
Then she took a look at the baby and noted that it was a boy before cleaning him up.
"Just my luck," Lilith grinned as she put a new diaper on the child. "I thought Soluna could've been a cute name for you."
The boy looked up at Lilith with interest before yawning.
"You can say that again," Lilith agreed as she too yawned before plopping down on her bed with the baby in her arms. "You still need a name though…"
The baby laid his head down on Lilith's chest.
"Hmmm…" She plucked at the material on her bed. "I found you in an Olive tree, perhaps I can name you after that…"
She thought for a moment as her fingers went through the baby's auburn locks.
"Olive tree… Olive tree…Olive.. Olive... Oliverrr… Olivier?"
The baby looked up from Lilith's chest and tilted his head.
Lilith smiled "Yeah; Olivier, that does sound like a nice name. Olivier Clawthorn.
She closed her eyes and contently exhaled from her nose. Despite her anxiety regarding parenthood, she was glad she got to keep the child.
She knew wouldn't have been able to give this child away to an orphanage, she'd spent the rest of her life worrying about what happened to this human if she did.
Something compelled her to take the boy with her. Almost like some kind of primal instinct was forcing her to care for this child.
Lilith opened her eyes and smiled when she saw the baby's face in front of her, once again resting on her chest.
She'd make sure this precious child would have a happy life. She'd make sure this boy would have what she never had.
If the Emperor trusted her, then everything should go perfectly fine.
This particular story will be an AU is based on my friend's, MetroXLR99, Son of Edalyne story.
With the main difference being That instead of Eda, Lilith is the one that becomes a mother to a human child.
This first chapter is rather derivative of chapter 1 of "Son Edalyn"
This was intentional as this chapter is supposed to be a parallel to that chapter.
I wanted to showcase how in some ways Lilith and Eda are similar and in other ways they aren't.
For example, Unlike Eda, Lilith was initially not intending on keeping Olivier. (I'd imagine she worries she'd be a bad mom.)
The only reason she decided to keep is because Belos essentially forced it upon her. (Though deep down she wanted an excuse to keep him.)
Due to the consequences that come about with having Olivier be raised by Lilith, Son of Lilith will end up going into a whole different direction storywise compared to Son of Edalyne. So you won't have to worry about this story being a Son of Edalyn rehash with just Lilith Put in place of Eda.
The next chapters will be more original.
Hopefully you enjoy them. (Also this my first time posting on this site, so if I do something wrong feel free to PM me.)