Out of all the things Clara had ever expected for the future, magic, demons, and alternate universes being revealed as real hadn't been one of them. She'd assumed the world would keep turning in its own mundane way, that she'd go to college, get a job, and live a normal, typical life.
She sure as hell hadn't been expecting to be asked out by a basilisk.
When Clara's parents had revealed to her that they'd be participating in a cultural exchange program with the Demon Realm, Clara had been shocked that such a thing was happening at all, but not surprised. Her parents were some of the most openminded individuals she knew. They'd raised her to be respectful and kind to people who were different than her, to always keep an open mind and an open heart.
And during middle school, she'd failed them comprehensively on every level.
Clara was deeply ashamed of how she'd acted then, not just to Luz, but to so many other people. She'd insulted people, spread nasty rumors, participated in a culture that not just targeted those who were different, but actively went out of its way to try to destroy them. It was fear that had caused her to do that. She was afraid of becoming the bullies' next target, of ending up like Luz. That was not an excuse, though. There was no excuse for her actions.
When Luz had asked her out, Clara had panicked. She was just starting to realize that her feelings towards girls were similar to those she had for guys, and the idea of being outed in front of everyone freaked her out to a level she'd never experienced before or since. So she'd rejected Luz in the cruelest way possible, and she'd regretted it for every minute of her life since.
She'd thought about reconciling with Luz afterwards, but Luz did not make it easy, what with her seeming decision to stalk Clara in every extracurricular activity she was involved with and her pursuit of being as weird as possible during those incidents. Yet Clara knew she should have made more of an effort. But it was so easy to not try, to pretend to herself that Luz deserved it just because she did strange things like turn her eyelids inside out during cheer auditions or bring snakes to class. (And, granted, those were quite horrifying, but she still didn't deserve the way Clara had treated her.)
Yet now the shoe was on the other foot. It was a kind of cosmic justice, in a way. Suddenly, Luz was extradimensional royalty. Her obsessions were real and had become everyone's obsessions. She was even more popular than Clara had been, even if it was an artificial popularity engendered by her title and nothing else. (But, really, had Clara been popular on her own merits instead of being captain of the cheerleading squad?) In fact, Jessica Turner, the most popular girl in school, had invited Luz to a party she was hosting, and that meant Luz had hit the big time.
Clara was happy for her. She truly was. She just wished Luz could forgive her, and, more than that, that she could ever forgive herself for what she did to Luz. But as Amity had said, it was Luz's choice. She was not obligated to accept Clara's entreaties.
In any event, Clara had more important things to worry about. Since Vee's arrival at Clara's house, xe'd become a good friend. Clara was honored to be Vee's tutor in the ways of the Human Realm. They listened to music together, watched movies, worked on homework together. Clara was pretty much tutoring Vee in history right now, and she found that in so doing, her own understanding of the subject was improving by leaps and bounds. Clara admired Vee's strength and compassion greatly. Vee was cagy about xyr past, but every detail xe'd let slip indicate that it was nothing short of ridiculously horrific. Yet xe'd overcome that suffering and was building a life for xyrself. How could Clara not admire that?
And, though she thought she'd never admit it out loud, Clara thought that Vee was quite cute. Even in xyr standard basilisk form, Clara found xyr mannerisms to be endearingly dorky. It made Clara comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time…and, yes, she'd had a lot of butterflies in her stomach when looking at Vee. All right. She admitted it. But she'd resolutely pushed those thoughts away. When Vee had, in retrospect, flirted with her, she'd forced herself to perceive those mannerisms as platonic whenever possible, and when not, as platonic gestures that came across as romantic due to cultural misinterpretation. Because Vee had a girlfriend, and though once upon a time, Clara would have had no compunctions about entering into an affair with Vee, she was trying to be a better person.
And then Vee had asked her out! Because it turned out that in the Demon Realm, it was totally fine to have more than one partner, as long as it was the knowledge and consent of all parties in the relationship. And Willow was fine with Vee dating Clara! It was like a dream come true.
In all honesty, Clara was very worried about dating Vee. She was worried about the judgment she'd receive from her peers if they found out Clara was getting involved in a polyamorous relationship. Sure, she didn't care about popularity as much as she used to, but the backlash could go beyond mere words and escalate to her being in actual danger. Not to mention the fact that Vee already had a girlfriend – Clara would be constantly competing with a witch with badass magical powers to see who could be the best girlfriend.
But Clara decided that the upsides outweighed the downsides. She would take the plunge. Besides, it was just one date. If she was too uncomfortable, she would just tell Vee, and xe'd understand. She had made it very clear that she had not yet committed to becoming Vee's girlfriend.
Vee had been very cagy about what the date would consist of. Willow, of course, had not given her any details either. All Clara knew was that she had to dress very warmly and that she'd been asked if she was afraid of heights (which she was not). Were they going to go mountain climbing? It was definitely a strange choice for a first date, but Clara had always been an athletic individual, so mountain climbing sounded fun. And there'd be plenty of opportunity to talk and get to know each other. Surely Vee must have interesting anecdotes that didn't involve getting tortured, right?
On the day of the date, Willow had gotten Clara's parents out of the way by bringing them to the Demon Realm and introducing them to her fathers. Clara was grateful to her for that. She'd bite the bullet and tell her parents if she became Vee's girlfriend, but she didn't want to bother with such a difficult conversation until she knew it was worth having. Vee had been gone all day as well, presumably planning for the date. It would be weird living in the house with her datemate if the two of them started dating, wouldn't it? But, hell, everything had been weird in Clara's life since Luz revealed magic and this wouldn't be any different.
The doorbell rang, and Clara bit her nails nervously. She'd never been so nervous on a date before! And, of course, being one of the most popular girls in school, she'd gone on many, mostly with boys, but also one or two girls after she realized she was bi. But she steeled herself and opened the door. If it was someone delivering a package, she'd be very cross.
A smoking hot human boy was standing in front of the door. Or at least it appeared that way to an outside observer. Clara, however, knew differently. This was Vee. Whenever xe wasn't in school or the MacKinnon residence, Vee went out in human form. It was seemingly random whether xe did so in a male or female form; Vee didn't really seem to care very much about the differences between the two. Clara didn't really care much about Vee's exterior either; it was xyr heart that mattered to her. If, you know, xe had one. She didn't know much about basilisk anatomy.
Vee had a bouquet of roses in xyr hands, and looked every more nervous than Clara was, and Clara didn't think such a thing was possible. Xe looked amazing, wearing a fancy tuxedo that, if it had been bought instead of magically conjured, would have likely cost hundreds of dollars. Clara suddenly felt like she looked ridiculous in the heaviest winter clothing she could find in her closet. (Which wasn't all that heavy, given that the Seattle area wasn't known for its very cold winters.)
"Um…did I get the dress code wrong?" Clara asked with a self-deprecating smile, after she brought the roses inside and put them in a vase.
"No!" Vee assured her. "No, no, I'm not going to need to dress warm, only you. Uh, I hope I didn't go too far…I just wanted to look really special for you, because you're a special girl."
Clara grinned at xyr. "Well, mission accomplished! You look great. You always do."
"Even when I'm a basilisk?" Vee said, trying for a teasing tone, but actually manifesting a fair bit of insecurity in the statement.
"I'll tell you a secret, Vee," Clara said. "You especially look great when you're a basilisk." Vee gave her a gigantic grin and blushed. It was so cute. "So are you basilisks…like, immune to cold?"
"No, but the creature I'll be transforming into is," Vee explained. "You really aren't scared of heights, though? You weren't just saying that? Because if you are, I need to come up with a new plan."
Clara assured xyr that, no, she was definitely not scared of heights. It was true. In fact, being high up gave her a thrill. There was no better feeling, in her opinion, to look down upon a landscape or a street or something else and have it look so small. It made her feel powerful. "I'm really looking forward to this," Clara said. "I'm glad you asked me out. Truth be told, I was kind of nervous because…well, it's just so different. But…I'm definitely willing to give it a shot."
Vee let out an excited sound that sent a torrent of joy running through Clara's heart. Oh, yeah. She had it bad. Vee led Clara out into the street, took a deep breath, and then Clara's heart nearly stopped, because her friend had just shapeshifted into a dragon. A frigging dragon!
"WOW!" Clara said, her voice sounding somewhat hysterical. "Wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW! Oh my God, Vee, you're a dragon! Dragons are real!"
They're also total dicks, Vee complained, and Clara jumped up into the air, because Vee had telepathically projected the sentence into her mind. They're constantly going on about how much better they are than us. Like, please.
You can read my mind? Clara thought nervously, and then, completely unwillingly, certain thoughts of a, shall we say, suggestive nature popped into her head, despite her best attempts to stop thinking about it.
Oh, the telepathy only works one way, if that's what you're wondering, Vee said, and Clara breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't quite comfortable enough with Vee to have xyr reading her mind, and she probably never would be, frankly. Hop on!
Clara hesitated for just a second, and then she climbed on Vee's back, certainly not a thing she'd ever be envisioning doing (at least not until much, much later). Vee flapped xyr wings, and soon enough, the two of them were in the sky. Oh, man, they were flying! Clara was flying on the back of a dragon! "Um, hey, do you mind if I take some pictures to put on social media? I won't mention it's a date; as far as anyone else is concerned, we're just friends. But, honestly, this is so cool."
Sure, go ahead, Vee said. Clara snapped a few pictures of herself and Vee. She was sure a lot of people would just dismiss it as being photoshopped, but who cared? She had documented evidence that she was riding a dragon.
Clara watched as the ground got smaller and smaller. The houses looked so tiny that they looked like she could just grab onto them, though she'd assuredly fail and fall off Vee's back if she did so. And it was definitely very cold in the sky. She was glad she'd followed Vee's advice about the dress code. "So where are we going?" she asked Vee. She didn't much care about the answer; she could go anywhere and be satisfied, but she was curious.
Portland, Vee responded, and Clara couldn't help but blink.
"Why Portland?" Clara asked.
Well, I know you like books. It was true. Clara did enjoy reading a lot, especially science fiction books. Portland has the world's largest independent bookstore, according to the internet. I thought you'd want to see it. Wow. Clara had wondered what it was like to go to Powell's Books before, but she'd never thought she'd have an opportunity to go before now. This was already shaping up to be the best date she'd ever had, and it had barely even begun!
It took them about an hour to fly to Portland. If Clara had to guess, she'd say that dragons flew at roughly the same speed as an airplane. It was a heady feeling, seeing the ground fly past at such a high speed. Clara couldn't help but grin the whole flight. She was thankful, though, that they hadn't ran into any fighter jets. She wasn't sure how Vee would explain xyrself to the air force.
Vee landed in a field outside of the city and then shapeshifted back into the male human form xe'd been in before. Clara called for a Lyft and refused to answer the driver's questions about what they were doing out there in the middle of nowhere. She left a big tip, just in case he was tempted to blab online about it.
Portland wasn't really all that different from Seattle when all was said and done. It had the same atmosphere to it. But Clara's eyes weren't on the scenery. She only had eyes for the basilisk beside her. No one gave them a second glance as the two of them walked into the bookstore. As far as the Portlandites were concerned, they were just two ordinary teenagers out on an ordinary date. If only they knew the truth!
Clara and Vee wandered the stacks for a long time. Clara spent a lot of time gushing about books she liked when she spotted them on the shelves. In return, Vee told her about the books xe liked back in the Demon Realm. Clara was amused to find out that there was a whole genre of paranormal romance novels in the Demon Realm too, except they mostly focused on romances with humans, and were quite inaccurate apparently, as Clara had to explain when Vee interrogated her about the gills, retractable tail, and ovipositor she was very glad she did not possess.
In the end, Vee bought no less than seven books there, along with three ones for Clara, and magically sent them back to the MacKinnon residence. Clara protested – Vee was the one who had asked Clara on the date; surely Clara should be the one paying – but Vee was adamant about it. She was pretty sure Vee was only trying so hard because xe feared that if xe didn't go all out, Clara wouldn't want to be xyr girlfriend. Well, that was definitely something that had to be addressed.
Clara was having a super awesome time. It had been ages since she'd had such a good time on a date, if ever. And if being Vee's girlfriend meant she'd get to have more of these awesome dates with xyr, then Clara was ready to take the plunge.
After finishing with Powell's, they walked half a mile to the Lan Su Chinese Garden, a walled garden taking up a full city block, displaying a number of very rare plants. Clara had a sneaking suspicion that Willow had helped with planning this part of the date. There was just something fundamentally relaxing about the atmosphere. Clara just felt comfortable with Vee beside her…and Vee must have felt the same way, because as soon as no one was around, xe shapeshifted back into xyr original form. The two of them were on a covered walkway over the pond in the center of the garden, and the two of them just reveled in each other's company.
Then xe looked over at Clara and looked embarrassed. "I…uh, I guess you don't want to see me in this form? You're not into basilisks, right?"
"I think I'm into you, Vee," Clara admitted. Under ordinary circumstances, yes, she'd probably be a bit disgusted by the basilisk form, but she knew it was Vee, and that made it amazing. "I don't really care what you look like on the outside."
"You're just saying that," Vee pouted. "You think I'm hideous!"
Clara reached out and kissed Vee on the cheek. Vee made a joyful squealing sound. "If I thought you were hideous, would I do that?" Vee threw xyr arms around Clara with a hug so intense that she was struggling to breathe a few seconds later. "Too tight!"
"I'm so sorry!" Vee said, xyr eyes wide.
"No, don't be sorry," Clara said. "Just be careful next time." Clara looked Vee straight in the eyes. She'd made a point to often do eye contact with Vee, ever since she realized that stereotypes were making her peers reluctant to do the same. "Vee, this has been amazing. And…I want to do this again. So…I kind of think I want to be your girlfriend. And you're going to be my…datemate? Am I saying it right?"
Vee nodded. "But there are a lot of terms for it. Datemate, joyfriend, partner, beloved – just as long as you avoid anything gendered, I'm good. Oh my TITAN! I can't believe you want to be my girlfriend. I have to…I have to tell Willow. Do you mind?" Xe winced, suddenly looking afraid that mentioning Willow would make Clara angry.
"Go right ahead," Clara said. Vee eagerly took out the scroll that seemed to be her world's equivalent to a cell phone and sent a text message saying "CLARA'S MY GF!" A few seconds later, Willow sent back a row of thumbs up emojis.
Clara cleared her throat. "Just to be clear, Vee…I'm not sure how or when or if I'm going to tell anyone about this. I probably will end up making it public, if only because it'll go public sooner or later whether I like it or not, but please keep it a secret in the meantime."
Vee nodded slowly, looking somewhat disappointed, but accepting. "Can I tell my friends, though?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," Clara said. She trusted them to keep the secret, even Luz. Despite Luz's enduring hatred for Clara, she knew she wouldn't screw over Vee that way.
The two of them walked over to a bench. Vee shapeshifted back into a human form, just because xe really wasn't able to sit comfortably there in xyr basilisk form. "I can't believe I have two amazing girlfriends," Vee said, xyr voice filled with wonderment. "I never even thought I'd survive to adulthood." Clara couldn't help but flinch. "And look at me now!"
Clara had never wanted to kill anyone before, but she suddenly yearned to bring Emperor Belos back from the dead just so she could kill him all over again for daring to harm her amazing Vee. "Yeah, look at you now," Clara said lightly. "A strong, beautiful basilisk who deserves the universe. Would you mind if I called you my beloved? Datemate sounds…clunky to me, sorry."
"Not at all! That's totally cool! You're totally cool!" For a few seconds, Clara was tempted to kiss Vee on the lips, but she resisted the temptation. Better to wait for the second date.
The two of them just sat there on the bench, reveling in the tranquil atmosphere. Then they decided to return back home. They repeated the process they'd gotten into the city with and soon enough, they were taking to the skies once more. Clara was becoming really fond of flying. Just one of the many benefits of having a basilisk beloved!
Unfortunately, her good mood soured the instant the two of them walked back into the house, because her parents were home…and they looked really pissed. "Care to explain where you've been, Clara?" Naomi said, her voice cold.
Vee stepped in front of her, back in xyr original form. "It's my fault! It's totally my fault! Hurt me, not her! I can take it! I once got all my limbs chopped off and didn't scream once!"
Xyr comments, technically speaking, did help, because instead of looking pissed, Clara's parents were now horrified and disgusted by xyr casual mention of being tortured. "Sweetheart, we're not going to hurt Clara or you or anyone," Naomi assured xyr. "That's not…that's not what people do. What good people do. We're upset, but there's nothing either of you could do that would ever persuade us otherwise."
Jack pointed to the roses that were still in a vase on the counter! Ugh! Clara hadn't even thought of hiding the incriminating evidence! "You lied to us, Clara. You told us you were on a platonic outing with Vee, and you were clearly on a date."
"It's not what you think!" Clara said frantically. "Willow is totally okay with it! In the Demon Realm, it's okay to have more than one partner!"
Jack blinked a couple of times. "Oh, no, Clara, that's not what we're unhappy about. It's the fact that you put yourself at risk. I mean, riding a dragon? I've seen the pictures on your Facebook. What would have happened if you had fallen off? Or gotten shot down by a fighter jet? We could have lost you!"
Clara had never thought of it that way, but now that her father had mentioned it, she felt deeply ashamed for not realizing something that was so obvious. She had sneaked off to another state without even telling anyone! "I'm so sorry, dad. I just didn't think you'd understand."
Naomi wrapped up Clara in a hug. "Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to worry about that. Actually, your father and I once had another partner in our own relationship." Clara's mouth dropped open in astonishment. Never in a million years would she ever have suspected that. "It was many years before you were born. We were in college. Her name was Samantha. But…we drifted apart, and she took a job in another state and we haven't seen her since. We didn't tell you because it wasn't relevant until now."
"What you have to understand about polyamory, Clara, is that it's like any other relationship," Jack explained. "It's not a panacea. It's going to have difficulties, and you're going to need to communicate with your partners."
"Oh, I just have Vee," Clara clarified. "Xe's dating me and Willow, but I'm not dating Willow."
Naomi turned to face Vee. "You're going to have to put in extra work, because you have two partners, each with their own unique needs. But the rewards are great if you can get it to work."
"I'm sorry about all this, Mrs. MacKinnon," Vee said.
Naomi gave xyr a gentle smile. "It's not your fault, dear. You're a newcomer to this world. And presumably you assumed that Clara would not have failed to tell her parents about all this."
Jack put a hand on her arm. "All right, Naomi. I think Clara gets the message. We're fine with your relationship, but you can't lie to us about it, Clara. And you're not allowed to leave the state without permission."
"County," Naomi said instantly. "Let's keep that limited to you can't leave the county without permission. I'm not having you gallivant all over Washington."
Clara and Vee both nodded. Clara was willing to accept that restriction. There were plenty of things her beloved could do with her that didn't involve leaving King County. Their dates would be more sedate later. She wondered if she would be expected to have dates with Vee and Willow, or whether she'd just have them with Vee alone. A question, she decided, to be decided at another time.
Naomi's face softened. "Good. I'm really pleased that you're finding happiness here, Vee, and I'm sure the two of you are going to be more sensible about this stuff in the future." She pointed at Clara. "Also, you're grounded for the rest of the weekend."
"Aw, come on, mom!" Clara said, only perfunctorily. She knew she deserved it, but what was she supposed to do, roll over and take it?
"Hey, it's not so bad!" Vee assured her. "It's not like they're shoving red hot pokers into all your orifices at the same time!"
Clara just gaped at xyr. "I…you…holy God. Okay, Vee, when you put it like that, sure, Mom, you can ground me all you like."
"GROUP HUG!" Vee shouted, and quickly engulfed everyone into a slimy yet quite enjoyable hug. Yeah, Clara could get used to this.
Camila had been in a damn good mood recently. Her partner and girlfriend were back in town, and she was savoring each and every second she had with them. When she became Eda and Raine's girlfriend, she knew that their responsibilities to the Demon Realm came first. Eda was exceptionally busy as prime minister, and Raine had their own responsibilities as the leader of the Bard Coven. True, it was more of a guild than anything else now, but it still took up a lot of their time.
And now, Eda was even busier than normal, what with the seemingly endless process of normalizing diplomatic relations with every single nation on Earth. Not for the first time, Camila wished she'd given into her darker impulses and just beaten Odalia to death in her prison cell like she had occasionally fantasized about doing when Amity related a particularly disturbing detail about Odalia's abuse of her. But still, Eda was doing an excellent job. Certainly, Camila's first reaction to learning that the notoriously flighty Eda had been chosen as prime minister was alarm, but there was no doubt Eda had come into her own in the position and then some.
In fact, Camila was honestly quite surprised about how badly Odalia's gambit had gone. There was certainly a great deal of hatred and fear directed against members of the Demon Realm – against her personally – but it wasn't quite the unmitigated disaster she'd been expecting either. Humanity, she was coming to realize, was sick of being trapped in stasis. It had been stagnating, and this was just the kick in the pants it needed to achieve its true potential.
Camila could only speculate about the amazing things that humanity and the species of the Demon Realm could accomplish when working together. Could they cure cancer? Terraform Mars with plant life? The sky seemed to be the limit, and probably not even that from a strictly literal perspective. And to think, none of it would have ever happened if not for Luz. It made Camila's heart sing just to think of it.
She was simultaneously looking forward to and dreading the baseball game where she'd come out publicly as polyamorous and in a relationship with Eda and Raine. Looking forward to it because it would be nice to just have it done with (not to mention, it was a date with her partners, which was always nice). But she was also dreading it because, well, Camila was a very private person. It wasn't exactly the business of the world who she was involved with, either one. But, unfortunately, it was unavoidable; they'd find out eventually, so it was best to make sure it happened on her terms.
In the meantime, she had invited Luz with her for an afternoon with just the two of them. She had a few errands to run, and then they were going to see a movie together and then get ice cream. Luz had been spending so much time with her friends recently that Camila worried they hadn't gotten enough one on one time. Certainly it was a welcome reversal from Luz's life from before the Boiling Isles, but a small part of her missed the days when it was just the two of them against the world.
By the looks of it, Luz had missed that time together as well, because she was even more exuberant than usual. It was nice to see Luz being perky. Camila feared that the guilt of what was happening with the world, combined with the fear of having to live with Camila's parents, was starting to put undue pressure on Luz. At least Luz had been going to her therapy sessions with Dr. Henderson on a regular basis and was full of praise for them. That was a relief.
Camila's thoughts were abruptly disrupted when the two of them rounded the corner into another isle of their local grocery store and came face to face with Marcus Hal, Luz's middle school principal. Luz let out a squeak of fright, and Camila squeezed her hand reassuringly.
Camila did not have a very good opinion of Hal, and that was putting it mildly. On quite a few occasions, Camila had been summoned to Hal's office – often taking her away from her job – to be regaled with the latest tale of what a troublemaker Luz was, and how she was wasting her potential with ridiculous antics and wild flights of fancy. And Camila, to her everlasting shame, had believed him. She'd never even considered that there was a second side to the story. She'd brushed off Luz's defense of her actions. She'd thought she was doing the right thing.
She was wrong.
Camila had assumed that Hal was a good principal, but that was because she had never seen what a good one looked like. Principal Dandridge, of Luz's elementary school, had been a relatively good man, but overworked and apathetic. And the principals at Camila's own schools were either racist, saw her as a good for nothing delinquent, or, more likely, both.
It wasn't until Camila had met Principal Bump that she realized what a good principal looked like. Despite Bump's alarmingly cavalier approach to his students' personal safety at times, the man was committed to ensuring that his students had the best education possible. He was not willing to put his students into any danger that he himself wasn't also willing to face (though this was not an especially high bar). More importantly, he believed in fairness and justice; he'd ensured Luz could use her glyphs as a disability accommodation and fired anyone who wouldn't fall in line. He was the example of what a principal could be. (Okay, sure, he'd also tried to dissect Luz, but it was Camila's understanding that the whole incident had been a misunderstanding.)
Hal, Camila realized far too late, despised anyone who was different. He certainly despised Luz, because that was what the precious social order mandated. He refused to do anything about the rampant bullying Luz had received. He was a disgrace to educators anywhere.
But his treachery went beyond that. After the snake incident (which Camila did concede was one of the few incidents that was as problematic as Hal had described), Hal had pretty much forced Camila to send Luz to Reality Check Camp or be expelled. Of course, Luz never went to Reality Check Camp, and Camila never figured that out until Luz told her because the camp sent Camila fake letters to cover for Luz's disappearance.
If they were capable of that, Camila wondered over the last year, what else were they capable of? So she hired a private investigator to look into them, and she discovered not too much to her surprise, but to her definite horror, that Reality Check Camp was nothing less than a conversion camp. Moreover, she learned that Luz was not the only student Hal had sent there. How many other students hadn't been lucky enough to stumble into an alternate dimension and undergone great suffering there? The accounts of the students being sent there were certainly disturbing in the extreme. Camila sometimes had nightmares about them, about those things being done to Luz.
Unfortunately, the police wouldn't respond to her allegations, so Camila released the evidence she found on the internet. Hal had been forced to resign with the public outcry, and she had recently learned that Reality Check Camp had closed its doors. Every day, Camila thanked her lucky stars that her precious daughter had not ended there. Luz would have been shattered by the mistaken belief that Camila did not approve of her sexuality.
At first, Camila tried her best to ignore Hal and gather the items they'd come to get. But she had to just take one look at the worried look on Luz's face to realize that this was a bad strategy. "Is there something I can do for you, Marcus?" Camila asked coolly, staring Hal straight in the face.
Hal sneered at her. It was jarring to see such hatred on the face of a man she had unfortunately trusted once. "I hope you're happy now," he spat at her.
"I'm with my daughter, it's a lovely day out, my partners are in town, and I have a job I'm actually enjoying very much, much to my surprise," Camila responded, her voice even. "So I'm actually quite happy, Marcus, thank you for asking." Luz cracked a smile. It wasn't Camila's way to give bullies the time of day, usually, but she figured a little trash talking might be good for Luz's morale.
Hal strode over to Luz. Camila put herself in front of her protectively. "This is your fault. If you'd just gone to Reality Check Camp like you were supposed to, you'd be normal right now, and this invasion wouldn't have happened. That's what your mother wanted for you."
Camila's eyes widened with fury. "You are gravely mistaken, Marcus. I was under the mistaken impression – because you lied to me – that the camp would teach my daughter better study habits and improve her social skills. Not try to brainwash her into becoming straight!"
Hal scoffed. "Her lesbianism is a choice, and it was the wrong one. She was always a deviant when she was in my school. Never learned her lessons."
"I'm bisexual, you son of a bitch!" Luz spat at him. Normally, Camila would reprimand her for her strong language, but given that she was very tempted to use much, much worse language against Hal, she'd have been a hypocrite if she did so.
"Your conduct as Luz's principal was shameful," Camila said. "She was being bullied and you did absolutely nothing to stop it."
"She deserved it," Hal said, as if commenting on the weather, and Camila saw red and suddenly she was pulling a summoning ritual out of her purse. It took all her self control not to pick out the one for her gun. As much as the bastard probably deserved to be shot, Camila was not a killer. So instead, she summoned a chancla to her hand and smacked him across the face with it.
Hal pulled out a pistol from a shoulder holster and Camila kneed him in the balls, causing him to fumble and drop it. The gun went off and shot a hole through one of the freezer doors, causing the glass to shatter. Camila repeatedly smacked Hal with the chancla, fury lining each and every one of her features. She did not hold back. Blood flowed onto the floor.
"Mami, stop it!" Luz shouted. "He's not worth it!"
"Like hell he's not!" Camila shouted back. "He was going to shoot you! He ruined your life, ruined our relationship! For God's sake, he had me send you to a fucking conversion camp, Luz!" Luz flinched. It was the first time Camila could remember that she had used such language in her earshot.
Camila walked over to the pistol and scooped it up. Hal backed away from her frantically, putting up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It was your fault!" she screamed at him. "YOURS! NOT MINE! YOURS!" Hal had manipulated her, deceived her. He'd turned Luz against her, and, even worse, vice versa. He deserved to die and far, far worse.
"I did the right thing," Hal shouted at her, his anger clearly getting in the way of his survival instincts. "She has brought the literal forces of hell onto this world!" Camila pointed the gun at Hal's head and turned off the safety.
"CAMILA MARIANNA NOCEDA!" Luz shouted, and Camila turned to look at her. Instantaneously, a wave of shame crashed through her. What was she doing? Was she really going to kill this man in cold blood? "Is this what Papi would want?"
It wasn't. Eduardo had been a kind, gentle man without a violent bone in his body. Camila removed the magazine from the pistol, making sure that there wasn't a bullet still in the chamber, because one could never be too sure, and tossed it back at Hal, striking him on the head. "You are very, very lucky that you caught me in a forgiving mood today," Camila hissed at him. "All right, Luz. Let's see what else we've got on the list, shall we?"
"FREEZE!" a voice called out as two police officers, their guns drawn, stormed into the aisle and pointed their weapons at them. "HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD NOW!"
Well, at least Camila had a good lawyer.
Out of all the things Raine had been expecting to do in the Human Realm, bailing their girlfriend out of jail had not been one of them. Well, Camila, anyway. Having to bail Eda out of jail wouldn't have surprised them in the slightest.
When they heard that Camila had been arrested for assaulting Luz's principal, Raine's first thought was that she'd been framed or possibly mentally controlled into doing it. But Camila informed them that, no, she'd attacked Hal of her own free will. Camila was deeply ashamed of her actions. It was not the example she wanted to set to Luz. She had just freaked out because she saw Hal as the cause of all of Luz's pain when she was in middle school, and thought, somehow, that hurting him would make things better. Raine did understand how she could feel that way, even if they didn't agree with that logic one iota.
However, Hal wasn't the cause of Luz's suffering, at least not the sole cause. Had he made things worse than they'd otherwise been? Unquestionably. But a great many people were at fault for what Luz went through in middle school. And in the end, it was human society that was truly to blame, for emphasizing conformity and placing a stigma upon anyone who departed from the norm. Pinning everything on one man sounded very tempting, especially when said man outright committed fraud to send Luz to Reality Check Camp. But in the end, it just wasn't true.
"I am so sorry, Luz," Camila said when Raine brought her back to her house. "I was acting like a fool. I was acting like I did when I was a teenager."
Luz looked like she was about to burst out laughing. "You beat up people when you were a teenager, mami? Somehow I can't see it."
"No, it's true," Camila said, a mix of pride and shame in her tone. "I was a real delinquent back in the day. I suppose that's why I cracked down so hard upon you, Luz. I didn't want you to follow in my footsteps. I see now I was too harsh on you…though, once more, snakes and fireworks were not acceptable, Luz."
Luz rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's not like you haven't said that a thousand times before." Camila just ruffled her hair affectionately. "I'm sorry, I just don't believe any of this. It's so far fetched!"
"No, no, it's true!" Camila said. "Oh, and I can prove it! Hang on; I've got an album of pictures of me when I was younger somewhere in the closet; I'll go grab it."
Camila left the room. Raine walked over to the couch and leaned back on it. "How have you been feeling lately, Luz?"
Luz shrugged. "I've been fine, more or less. I mean, I'm trying not to freak out over everything. It's not easy. There are so many changes in my life. I just want things to slow down for a while, you know?"
Raine knew all too well. There'd been a lot of changes in their own life recently too. Certainly some of them had been quite good, such as their relationship with Eda and then, later, adding Camila to it. But life under the Belos regime, while unfair and unjust, had been regimented. Structured. Now Raine was free to lead the bard coven in whatsoever direction they chose and it was…frightening, honestly. They had free reign, and they were terrified that they'd screw up.
"Aha!" Camila called out from upstairs and then came down with a dusty looking photo album. "I knew it was lying around here somewhere! Man, this thing is so dusty. I don't think I've trotted it out since…well, since Eduardo's funeral." There was a solemn silence for a few moments. "Anyway, I offer to you now proof positive that I, Camila Noceda, once at the very least had the dress sense of a punk!"
She triumphantly set the photo album on the coffee table and flipped through the pages until she came to a photograph of a roughly 18 year old Camila, wearing a dark green jacket, white shoes, a purple and white striped shirt, and very dark blue jeans. Her hair was long, going down to her shoulders, and she wore a beanie on her head. She was posing with a red baseball bat. It was striking how much she looked like Luz; Raine could have easily mistaken her for Luz's older sister.
Raine looked over at Luz and was startled to find her staring at the picture with an expression of abject horror on her face. "Lucia," she whispered. "You're Lucia."
"I'm…sorry?" Camila said, sounding just as confused as Raine was.
"Nothing," Luz said quickly. It sometimes amazed Raine that someone who spent so much time with Eda was just absolutely horrible at lying.
Camila put her hands on her hips. "It didn't sound like nothing, mija. Who is Lucia?"
Luz looked around her frantically for a few seconds, and then seemed to deflate. "My inner self." Raine raised an eyebrow. Of course, all witches had an inner self, though very few of them actually bothered communicating with them. It was rare indeed for an inner self to assert her own identity. And, to the best of Raine's knowledge, humans didn't have one. Luz must have developed an inner self with her exposure to the Isles' ambient magic.
"I don't quite follow you," Camila said, still sounding bewildered.
"My id," Luz explained. "She's very…um, protective of me, shall we say? Violently so. She and I have had a couple of run-ins in the past. She's also got some massive self-worth problems…well, I have them, anyway, and so does she."
"Luz is not insane," Raine hastened to assure Camila. "What she's describing is a perfectly normal phenomenon for witches."
Luz looked relieved Raine was taking her side. "Yeah. I mean, I guess I must have seen this picture of you after Dad died and subconsciously chose this version of you to be my defender. To be my older sister, in a way." Camila actually looked quite flattered to hear that. "Uh, not that I'm saying you're violent and paranoid and all that. Just that, you know, my subconscious thought this was how an older sister would act."
Camila kissed Luz on the forehead. "I'm very proud of you for having the courage to tell me that. I know you probably feared I'd think you were mad. I assure you, I don't."
"I told Dustin," Luz offered. Raine recalled that Dustin was Luz's therapist. It may not have been entirely their place, but Raine was starting to think that perhaps Camila could use Dustin's help as well. "I was going to tell you…when I was more comfortable."
Camila sighed. "I understand why you felt like you couldn't trust me with this…but, if I'm going to be honest here, it still hurts. I attacked Hal because I thought it was his fault I lost your trust…but in the end, it was mine. I chose to take his side over my own daughter's, just because he was an adult and you were a child."
Luz gave Camila a tight hug. "Mami, don't think that way. It's in the past. I forgive you. Aren't you the one who's always telling me to stop blaming myself for everything? How's about you take your own advice?"
Raine let out a sharp laugh. "She's got you there, Camila! Bested by your own logic!"
"Lucia helped me through the worst moments of my life…so I suppose you could say that you helped me through them too," Luz offered. "Even when you weren't there for me, a part of you still was. I never hated you for not taking my side. I just…got used to it." Camila winced.
It was, perhaps, time to change the subject. "Anyway, are you excited about going to the baseball game tonight? Luz filled me in on the rules of the game. I'm…pretty sure I understand everything. And I suppose if there's something I don't understand, you can explain it to me."
Camila gave a grin. "I actually am! Truth be told, it's going to be nice to show the world just how wonderful my partners are. I think it's…fitting in a way that it's there. Eduardo, as you know, was absolutely obsessed with baseball. He had season tickets every year, attended every home game as his work and family responsibilities permitted, of course. Making the announcement there feels like…I'm honoring him in a way."
Raine was relieved to hear it. Truth be told, they felt insecure about Eduardo sometimes. Camila was just full of praise for her husband and it made Raine feel sometimes like they were muscling in on a spot that rightfully belonged to another. It was nice to hear that Camila felt like Eduardo would approve of their relationship.
Luz was mature enough to be left home for the evening while Raine, Camila, and Eda went to the game. Well, she was old enough, anyway. Anyway, with Willow around to supervise, Raine was reasonably sure that she wouldn't get up to any shenanigans, and that was good enough for them. So Raine, Camila, and Eda went in Camila's car and drove up to Seattle.
It wasn't until Raine got inside the car that they started freaking out. Not about the car; they were used to that by now. They were freaking out about the fact that they were going to reveal their relationship to the world in front of a crowd of people. Raine's old stage fright was returning to the surface. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, encanto," Camila said gently to them from the driver's seat, no doubt knowing what was going on inside their head just like that.
"Yeah, Rainestorm, it's gonna be fine," Eda assured them. "I'll be there the whole time. You don't have to say a word. Cammy and I are gonna do all the talking. You just gotta stand there and look cute. I think you can do that pretty well, don't you?"
Raine would describe themself as dignified and refined, but they knew that their girlfriends thought of them as cute and wouldn't be dissuaded no matter what, so they didn't even bother putting up even a token protest. Instead, they just enjoyed the view. In particular, they found the view from the bridge between Mercer Island and Seattle to be enthralling; there was a large mountain in the distance, and it just looked absolutely stunning. Raine wished they'd thought to bring their scroll so they could take photos.
They found a parking lot to park their car in and walked the rest of the way to T-Mobile Park. (What was a T-Mobile and why was the stadium named after it, Raine wondered?) It was not that much of a surprise to the triad to find a horde of journalists waiting for them, especially since Eda had contacted them anonymously and let slip the three of them would be there.
It was, in fact, the first time Eda had gone out in public in the Human World as herself. She'd been in various demesnes of the leaders of the countries she was trying to establish diplomatic relations with, but that was hardly classified as public. And she'd used illusions to make herself look human to avoid attention when out with Raine and Camila previously; she'd only dropped it in the Puget Sound Parapsychological Library because she knew no one would care there. So naturally, there was a lot of interest. Raine had drummed into Eda's skull that she needed to be elegant, refined, and, well, basically Lilith-like.
"Hey, hey, my human peeps, how's it hanging?!" Eda called out to slight bewilderment from everyone around. Raine, with a superb effort of will, did not do a face palm. "I'm Eda Clawthorne, prime minister of the Boiling Isles, but you can call me Eda the Owl Lady."
She gestured over at Raine. "This is my amazing partner Raine Whispers!" Raine tensed, but managed to muster enough courage to give a wave. There were so many people…and that was just the people in front of them! There were a gigantic number of people watching this right now! Enormous! They could barely quantify how many people there were!
Camila squeezed Raine's hand gently. "You're doing so well, encanto," she whispered under her breath at a volume that only Raine's sensitive ears could hear.
"And this is my equally amazing girlfriend Camila Noceda!" Eda said, giving the same gesture at Camila. Camila gave a polite nod to the crowd.
"Now, you might be wondering what's up with that," Camila said, her voice remarkably steady. "Well, in the Demon Realm, it's not uncommon for people to have more than one partner. We've all chosen to be in a relationship with one another. We are in a closed polycule, which means we're not going to be adding anyone else to the relationship. We'll take a few questions, but we really want to get settled before the game starts."
Raine's blood went cold as a reporter from the news network that Odalia was often speaking on stepped forward. "Miss Noceda, can you tell us why you decided to become the Owl Lady's concubine?"
Camila gave the reporter a cool glance. Raine was terrified for a second she'd start attacking people like she did to Hal, but she didn't even seem to care very much. "First of all, it's Mrs. Noceda. Even though I'm a widow, it doesn't mean I've forsaken my husband. Second of all, I am not Eda's concubine. I am her girlfriend."
"But don't you think that this erodes respect for traditional marriage further?" the reporter questioned.
"No," Camila said simply. "We're done with questions. And while perhaps strictly speaking, as queen mother of the Boiling Isles, I should maintain a policy of neutrality, I have to admit that as a Seattleite, I have no choice but to say…go Mariners!"
Camila walked into the stadium with her head held high and Eda and Raine followed suit. "You handled that like a boss!" Eda praised. "Oh, man, this is gonna be awesome!"
It certainly had the potential to be, Raine knew. In fact, this game was going to be very special. It was the game that would decide whether or not the Mariners would make the post season playoffs, a feat that they hadn't accomplished in 20 years. If they succeeded in the playoffs, the Mariners would play in the World Series. They were the only major league team that had never even attended a World Series, so this game was a big deal to say the least.
Raine was surprised that Eda had been able to snag them box seats, but she had apparently acquired them perfectly legitimately. They had been a gift from the mayor of Seattle, who apparently had some vested political interest in making sure there were good relations between Seattle and the Demon Realm. Raine was fuzzy on the details, as they were with most political matters.
The room that they were going to be watching the game from wasn't anything particularly special, but it was still fancier than the cold, hard seats that most of the people at the game had to watch from. It had a dining table, a minifridge to store drinks in, several comfortable armchairs, and several more chairs with an excellent view of the field.
But when they got inside, hardly any of that registered to Raine, because they were a lot more concerned with the room's sole occupant, who was casually sipping tea from a cup while sitting in one of the armchairs.
"Hello, Camila," Odalia Blight said in a syrupy sweet tone. "It's so lovely to finally make your acquaintance."