There was no magic in the world. That was the axiom by which Camila Noceda had lived her life. It wasn't the axiom she had wanted to live by. Like most people in desperate circumstances, when she was a young girl, she'd dreamed of having a fairy godmother who'd use her magic to make her a princess and deliver her into the hands of her Prince Charming. (Sometimes, she fantasized about a Princess Charming, and thought that she was sinful for doing so.)
She'd clung to fantasy. She'd clung, specifically, to the fantasy that her parents would love her no matter what, under any circumstances. When she had finally worked up the courage to admit to them that she was bisexual, she learned otherwise. No magic could change that. No magic could make homophobia disappear. No magic could make her accepted by society.
Magic wasn't real, and Camila was a fool for thinking that.
So she pretended that she'd been joking, and kept her nose to the grindstone, and went to college, and dated men, and went to nursing school, and done what society expected of her. She went on blind dates that her parents set up. Camila wasn't sure whether she believed in God or not, but either way, she lucked out they set her up with their neighbor's cousin's son Eduardo Noceda.
Eduardo wasn't a jerk. He wasn't interested in her solely for her body or because he thought she'd make a good mother. He was interested in Camila. And slowly but surely, the two of them fell in love. And then they married. Camila had said that she wasn't interested in having children at that moment, and Eduardo had respected her wishes.
It all seemed too good to be true, so she decided to test this beautiful dream that her life had become. For the second time in her life, she came out.
And he said he was okay with it. It was a surprise to him – he hadn't actually known that it was possible to be bisexual – but once she told him, he made an effort to be understanding and sympathetic. And perhaps he might have teased her a bit about her crush on Jeri Ryan, but it was the same playful teasing anyone would have done about their partner's heterosexual celebrity crush.
Around the time she turned thirty, seven years into her marriage, Camila's biological clock abruptly started ticking. It was a dreadfully inconvenient time for it. Her job kept her extremely busy working shifts at random times in the day. She didn't want to quit it, either. Nursing was exhausting, but there was no better feeling than saving someone's life. At least, that's what she thought.
But then she met Luz, and then she learned that, no, the best feeling in the universe was seeing the light that she had brought into the world. If there was magic, she postulated, then it existed within Luz. She had no idea exactly how literal her statement would become.
It was an exhausting couple of years, but worth it. The sheer stress of each shift was counterbalanced by Luz being there when she was home. She was so lucky that Eduardo's parents were willing to look after Luz so much. Eduardo didn't want to give up his job as a journalist, either, even though he would have if Camila had asked, which is why she never did.
There may not have been magic in the world, but she had her family in her life, and that, she felt, was enough.
Until it wasn't.
She still remembered every detail about the day that Eduardo died as if it was emblazoned on her mind, from the very moment she woke up to the moment when she cried herself to sleep in the late hours of the night. It was a completely senseless and pointless death. He had taken the bus to work, like he always did, and someone had ran him down with a car. In the middle of Seattle! In broad daylight!
And were the police any help? Of course they weren't. No one had bothered getting the license plate of the car, even though there'd been over a dozen witnesses. Eduardo hadn't died quickly either. He'd died in agony, choking on his own blood. Camila never told Luz that. There had been no reason to. They never found Eduardo's murderer. They probably never would.
In that moment, whatever magic had been in Camila's life disappeared. The love of her life was dead. She didn't allow herself to dwell on it for too long, though. She had a responsibility to Luz. And damn it, Camila did her best. She believed that. But there was a difference between "doing one's best" and being the most effective mother one could be. The pressures of single motherhood meant that sometimes, her work came before Luz. She didn't want that, but it happened anyway.
She'd bonded so much with Luz as a child, but as Luz entered the teenage years, a rift started appearing between them. Luz reminded Camila so much of herself when she was young, so filled with youthful idealism and enthusiasm. Luz believed in magic. And like her parents before her, it only caused the world to strike back twice as hard. There was no place for people who didn't conform, and Camila desperately wanted her daughter to find a place in the world. That's why she felt like she had no choice but to send Luz to the Reality Check Camp. The world was a ruthless place, but it was the only game in town.
Except, as it turned out, it wasn't.
Because Camila was wrong, and Luz was right. Magic was real. And not just some metaphorical "the true magic is the human heart and its capacity to love" kind of crap. Actual magic straight out of the Young Wizards or Good Witch Azura series. Instead of going to summer camp, Luz went to an alternate dimension, and became a witch.
She found people who accepted her for herself. Who believed in her as she was, not just the person that society wanted her to be. Her second mother Eda the Owl Lady. Her friends King, Gus, and Willow. And Amity, of course. One could never forget about Amity. And Camila tried her best to follow in their footsteps, to once more embrace the light that was in her daughter's heart instead of trying to snuff it out.
But though she tried to tell herself otherwise, though she tried to compress the thought to the very deepest levels of her subconscious, she still could not help but wonder: Why not me? Why couldn't Camila have stumbled upon the portal to the Boiling Isles as a child? Why couldn't she have found a place where she belonged, where her bisexuality would be accepted, where she could learn magic?
She was jealous. She had to admit it.
But although Camila's worldview had been turned on its head, she still believed in using her emotions in a constructive manner. She wanted magic, so she would get it. Any human could wield the magic that Luz wielded, so Camila could too. She would learn magic, just like her daughter was. She'd become the Boiling Isles' second human witch ever. She'd specialize in healing magic, and she'd continue the work she was currently doing.
So when the hospital administration told her that, no, as it turns out, despite their multiple promises to the contrary, she wouldn't be able to keep saving up her plethora of saved vacation time and she had to use it all this year, she took it all right then and there. Now she had several months' worth of paid time off from work, and she was about to spend her entire summer in an alternate dimension.
Camila had planned on spending that time traveling the world when Luz went to college. But it was time that she acknowledged a truth that was staring her in the face: Luz would never go to college. Not on Earth anyway. The instant she became an adult, Luz would move to the Boiling Isles, move in with Amity, and never look back. Okay, maybe that was too harsh. She'd return to visit Camila, and do so regularly. But that would be the only reason she'd return.
And so, Camila was starting to consider the possibility of moving to the Boiling Isles herself. Not until Luz became an adult, of course. Luz needed a human education, and that was set in stone. But once Luz left, what would be left for Camila, really?
Besides, the part of her that yearned for greater things as a child, that truly believed in magic, was screaming at her to take this opportunity. After all, how many people got a chance to live in another dimension? But still, Camila wasn't sure it would suit her. That's why she was spending her summer in the Boiling Isles – to see if she could handle living there for the rest of her life.
And that was why she had driven all the way into the forests of Oregon, to some out of the way town in the middle of nowhere whose name she couldn't even remember, where Dr. Stanford Pines, the world's leading expert on the paranormal and apparently a friend of Eda's, had his lab. Due to the recent threats against the Isles' safety emerging from Earth, the portal's output location had been moved there. It looked a lot more like a tourist trap from the outside, but if she'd been a paranormal researcher, she'd probably want to disguise her house too.
Camila hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door of the Mystery Shack, giving Luz an opening to knock herself. Typical Luz. Charging ahead without fear. That was one of the things Camila loved about her.
"Welcome to a world of mystery!" a man announced, gesturing grandly, and practically pushed them into the building. Camila blinked. Eda had given her a photograph of Pines, and the man standing before her was definitely the man in the photograph. Or so it would seem.
Instead of the rugged looking man in the tan overcoat shown in the photograph, this man was wearing a black suit, a red fez, and an eyepatch and had the smile of a con artist. Camila knew what that kind of smile looked like, because she'd seen the same kind of smile on Eda's face time and time again. But they definitely had the same facial features.
"I see that you're first timers here in the Mystery Shack!" Pines went on, and he ruffled Luz's hair. "Ah, you remind me of my niece Mabel. She's a little spitfire. Just like you are, I bet!"
Camila was decidedly not impressed with the Mystery Shack. It epitomized the words "tourist trap." Its so called "attractions" were just hastily put together pieces of different animals, not real mythological creatures (which was, to be fair, an oxymoron now that Camila thought about it). If it weren't for the fact that this was exactly the sort of person that Eda would have entrusted the portal with, she'd have probably been wondering if she was in the right place.
"Dr. Pines, you can save me the sales pitch," Camila said, using her best serious voice, the kind she used for her most recalcitrant patients. "I'm here for the portal, nothing more."
"Aw, come on, mami," Luz said, holding up a snow globe from the gift shop. "You've got admit this stuff is kind of cool in a tacky sort of way."
"Dr. Pines?" Pines asked, scratching his head. "Oh! You're here to see Ford. I'm not him; I'm his twin brother Stan. I'm just looking after the place while Soos and his family are on vacation." Camila was hugely relieved to hear this. Stan might have been interesting company, and she could definitely see how he and Eda got along, but he wasn't exactly the type of person she'd trust to look after an interdimensional portal. "SIXER! Some lady's here to see you!"
There was a cracking sound and then a faint pop, and then the vending machine situated inconspicuously along the wall slid to the side. The man from the photograph, Ford Pines, exited a hidden staircase and walked over to her. "Ah, Mrs. Noceda, welcome. I apologize if my brother's bothered you in any way. Dr. Stanford Pines, at your service."
"Hello, Dr. Pines," Camila responded, and she shook his six-fingered hand. Before the Boiling Isles, that'd probably cause her to be taken aback, but now she'd seen so many odd things that polydactyly barely even made the top hundred. "Eda told me that the portal is being kept in your lab. Is that right?"
"It is indeed," Ford said. "The Boiling Isles is a fascinating dimension. You'll have quite an exceptional time there. Follow me, please, and don't touch anything."
Sulking, Luz put the snow globe back on the shelf and followed Camila and Ford down the staircase into the basement. Ford's lab turned out to be much more what Camila was expecting from a scientist of his nature, all strange machines and doodads that she was pretty sure that she'd never be able to understand. The portal door stood before them, nailed into the floor.
"So how do you know Eda?" Luz asked Ford.
"She used to be my sister-in-law," Ford said, completely casually. Camila shared a stunned look with Luz. But then again, how surprising was it? The two were probably a match made in heaven. Or, more likely, hell. "You know, now that I think about it, Stan and her might still be legally married. Well, portal door's over there. Have a good time."
He sat down at his desk and engrossed himself in his work, completely ignoring them. Camila took a few deep breaths to calm herself. By the time she was done, Luz had already opened the door and charged straight into the portal. Luz may have been casual about interdimensional travel, but Camila was not. She found it disorienting and nauseating.
But, still, there was no time like the present, so she steeled herself and walked through the door.
Once more, she found herself in the Owl House, and once more, her stomach was trying to rebel against her. She tossed her suitcases on the floor and ran to the nearest bathroom. Everything was agony. She lost track of the time that passed before Luz entered the bathroom door, placed a piece of paper with a glyph written on it on Camila, and then activated it. Instantaneously, her nausea went away.
That was the power of healing magic. That was the power that Camila wanted for herself.
"Gracias, Luz," Camila muttered. "I'm not sure why the portal affects me in that way…"
"Maybe Ford knows," Luz suggested. "You could ask him when we get back. Come on! Let's go say hi to everyone!"
Now that Camila wasn't about to double over with nausea, she saw that Luz's friends had prepared a welcome party for her. Willow, Gus, King, Amity, and her siblings, they were all there, and all looked absolutely delighted to see Luz. Camila couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy. Many had the times been when Camila feared that Luz would never find a community that accepted her. But she had.
Amity, looking much healthier and cheerful than the last time that Camila had seen her, practically bowled her over with a hug the instant Camila walked into the room. "Hi, Camila! I'm so happy that you're staying here for the summer!"
"Amity, mija, you're looking perky! I see that you turned your hair back to purple. I'm glad. It suits you better than the green." Amity beamed. "Though, of course, it's always your decision," she added hurriedly. The last thing Camila wanted was to make Amity think she was being forced into anything. Not after all the things her parents had done to her.
"Tú eres mi diosa con cabello de algodón de azúcar," Luz whispered to her girlfriend. Even though Camila was reasonably certain Amity didn't know what that meant, she still blushed anyway. It was so cute.
Camila cleared her throat. "Now, I know that Luz has voiced certain inaccurate suspicions that I'm here exclusively to ruin everyone's fun. That is not so. I know how dangerous the Boiling Isles can be, but I also trust my daughter to handle those dangers responsibly." Everyone looked highly skeptical at this last statement. Camila wasn't sure whether it was the her trusting Luz part or the Luz could be trusted part. Maybe a little bit of both. "Anyway, in the event that she does not, I'm sure her friends will be able to reel her in."
Gus gave a thumbs up to Luz. "We got your back, Luz!"
"Aw, guys!"
Camila gave them a reassuring smile. "I'm just here as a tourist, really. Of course, Luz and I will spend time together, but I'm trusting Eda to look after her while I get the full Isles experience."
"Yeah, trusting Eda…maybe not the smartest move you've ever made…" King muttered. Willow swatted him on the arm.
King was wrong. Camila trusted Eda. That is to say, she trusted her to understand that if any harm happened to Luz, Camila would inflict the same harm on Eda tenfold.
Camila had initially been extremely distrustful of the wanted criminal who Luz had come to think of as another mother. She did have to concede, with the benefit of hindsight, that some of that distrust was motivated by jealousy that Luz had so effortlessly connected with a complete stranger when she'd been struggling to do so with her own mother. But still, what responsible mother wouldn't be freaking out a little when she learned that her daughter had been in the care of the most wanted criminal of an entire dimension?
And Eda had certainly done herself no favors by putting Luz in harm's way on a seemingly regular basis. Nor had Camila been particularly amused when she discovered that Luz now knew how to pick locks with expert skill and casually referred to people as "easy marks for fleecing."
And yet, Eda had taken in Luz. She didn't have to. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to just toss her back into the portal, out of sight, out of mind. But Eda had taken on responsibility for feeding, clothing, and sheltering Luz. She'd taught her magic. She'd helped her become a stronger, more confident person. It would be ludicrous to suggest that Luz's life was not better because of Eda. And, most importantly of all, she loved Luz as her own daughter.
Sometimes, the urge to look for blame is so instinctual that one fails to realize that sometimes, no one is to blame. Camila wasn't to blame for wanting Luz to be successful and sending her to summer camp. Luz wasn't to blame for grabbing onto the one and only opportunity she would ever have to have the life she always wanted. And Eda wasn't to blame for doing her best to help Luz excel, even if it wasn't always good enough.
"So where is Eda?" Camila wondered.
Eda's ex-husband had a saying: Sometimes, a man had to steal an animatronic badger to stay in this crazy game called life. Human sayings were confusing enough, but Stan's sayings were even more confusing than average. Eda still had no clue what a badger even was, nor what made one animatronic, or, indeed, what animatronic was. But the thrust of the statement was this: One couldn't let one's skills atrophy.
Eda had been a brilliant criminal, and now she was a brilliant politician. That was both her bragging and objective fact. No one else could have brought the Boiling Isles into an age of democracy that looked like it would hold for the foreseeable future, at least according to the members of the Oracle Coven. And much to her surprise, being a politician and being a criminal were, in fact, quite similar occupations. They both required a good understanding of the psychology of one's targets, a willingness to use force when necessary, and a complete disregard for basic morality at times.
But still, Eda missed the days when she was fleecing rubes instead of fleecing voters, selling human garbage instead of selling the administration's budget, breaking into buildings instead of breaking into new fields of sociological advancement.
If she had to admit it – and she never would, except maybe to Raine – she was bored. Being a politician involved a lot more meetings than she thought it would. At least, being the kind of politician she wanted to be did, instead of the kind of politician that Belos was. It meant that she had to listen to reports about topics she could not give a shit about. It meant that every action she did was scrutinized and reported on in the press.
Which is why, at the exact moment Camila was asking about her whereabouts, Eda was breaking into the royal palace.
Well, maybe breaking in was the wrong word, legally. She was the prime minister after all. Actually, now that Eda thought about it, she wasn't sure. Technically speaking, King owned the royal palace, not her; she just acted like she owned the place. But technicalities aside, she was climbing up the side of the building and not waltzing through the front door, so, yeah, she'd go with breaking in.
It had been difficult to figure out how to get in using only criminal methods. As prime minister, she could have waltzed into the Royal Archives and gotten a complete blueprint of the palace with the snap of her fingers. But today, she wasn't Prime Minister Clawthorne, she was Eda the Owl Lady. She'd ended up having to seduce one of the guards, and she felt bad about that, because she felt like she was cheating on Raine, even though the only thing she'd actually done was give some flirtatious compliments and insinuate that a date might be in her future.
Anyway, Sheela hadn't gotten any attention recently, and it was child's play to convince her to tell her all about her ever-so-important job. Wasn't she so brave for keeping watch on the king from all his many enemies? Incidentally, if one of these enemies were trying to get into the palace, where would be the easiest place to enter? Oh, I do apologize if I'm going too far, I was just overwhelmed by the beauty of the eyes on your hands. You know. That sort of thing.
The royal palace was warded against magic, but as it turned out, it only was warded against the kind of magic that witches used. Glyph magic? Not so much. And ever since the defeat of Emperor Belos, Eda had made it her business to train herself in using as many glyphs as possible, even after she managed to get her magic back.
She picked a time when she was sure that Sheela wasn't on duty – she'd happily volunteered the information when she thought she was scheduling a date – and used an illusion glyph to make herself look like Sheela. That had gotten her into the grounds. But Sheela wasn't authorized to enter the palace, only to patrol the grounds. So Eda had withdrawn the illusion, then used an invisibility glyph to get herself to a part of the palace's exterior not often watched by the guards, and then transformed herself into what she called the Harpy Beast.
She wasn't sure exactly how she had acquired the Harpy Beast. It had happened in a dream, and the details were fuzzy. But somehow, she managed to achieve a symbiosis with her curse that allowed her to shapeshift into a harpy-like beast at will, without it draining any of her magic or turning her into the Owl Beast. And, yes, she could fly up to the window, but that ran the risk of being noticed.
Eda risked a glance at the grounds, but no one was looking above them. It was pathetic, really, how sloppy these guards were, and alarming to boot. They had major security threats to worry about, and Eda had circumvented the palace's security with some pretty words and cool glyphs. Once this endeavor was over, she vowed, she'd order Lilith to completely overhaul security protocols. She may have been a master criminal, but even one with half a brain could have gotten in.
Eda shifted back to her regular form and walked over to the safe on the wall. She had ordered a guard to change its combination and not tell her what it was. There wasn't a glyph that Eda knew that allowed for safecracking, but she didn't need magic for that. Instead, she removed a set of lockpicks that Stan had given her as a gift for formalizing their divorce a few months prior and broke in the human way.
She grabbed the items in the safe – a watch, a couple of file folders, and a potion bottle – and stuffed them into her bag. She went over to the window once more, and that was when Lilith stepped out from behind a curtain.
"Aha!" Lilith shouted, pointing a finger accusingly. "Caught in the act, you miscreant. Now you will experience the full power of – Edalyn?!" She blinked as she appeared to notice her sister for the first time. "Why the hell are you breaking into your own office?"
Eda laughed. "How the hell am I breaking into my own office? It's my own office. I work here." Actually, she worked in the Owl House, because she found the opulent surroundings of her quarters to be stifling, but she was entitled to work there if she wanted to.
"I…well, yes, legally, but…Eda, what is going on here?"
"Maybe I should be asking you that question," Eda shot back. "It was so easy to get into here. I could practically have done it in my sleep."
Lilith put her head up high. "You really think that Sheela was naïve enough to fall for your lies? The minute she realized you were suspicious, she came to me, and I decided to catch you in the act." Eda was impressed. Sheela was definitely going to get a raise later. "I mean, I didn't know it was you. I just…Eda, why?"
"I'm bored, that's why!" Eda shot back. "I used to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted! Now my every move's in the papers, and I can't say a damn word without thinking about the political implications!"
Lilith did not look remotely sympathetic. "Edalyn, I know democracy is difficult, but it is an ideal worth pursuing. The alternative is being like Belos. Being accountable to the people is exhausting, but necessary."
"If you want the job so much, then why don't you take it," Eda spat.
Lilith blinked. "Edalyn, I've asked to do just that on multiple occasions, but you've said no."
"Oh. Right. And I'm saying no again!"
The truth of the matter was that as much as Eda may have complained about Lilith, she was tremendously impressed by her political acumen. The two of them had made an unstoppable team. Lilith excelled at behind the scenes work, at handling detailed tasks, and handling crises in the short term. But she sucked at dealing with the public, at handling the big picture, and at long term thinking. That was what Eda did. They were two halves of an extraordinarily impressive whole.
"Look, I'm just as frustrated by this as you are," Lilith said, her voice filled with genuine sympathy. "Titan knows, the system isn't perfect. I had to watch Valefar walk again today."
Valefar gave demons a bad name, and since they were already known as the manifestations of darkness and terror in the human realm, that was a considerable accomplishment indeed. Everyone knew that he'd been linked to so many murders, he could probably bathe in their blood on a regular basis, and probably did now that Eda thought about it. And that wasn't even getting into the love potion manufacturing and smuggling apparatus that formed the core of his criminal enterprises.
Eda had a natural sympathy for criminals and probably ended up pardoning more of them than she should have, but Valefar was just pure evil. But he was also as cunning as he was evil, and no matter how hard the Law Enforcement Coven tried to bring him down, he always managed to evade their grasp using one legal technicality or another.
"But we are doing great things," Lilith went on. "You are doing great things. You've brought freedom and justice to this kingdom. The coven system is gone. Witches are mixing magic and creating new and innovative spells that are saving lives. We're at peace with all our neighbors. And it's all because of you. So, yes, it might be boring, but in the long term, it will be worth it."
A more whimsical smile than Eda was used to flitted across Lilith's face. "Besides, I don't think the next few months will be particularly boring, what with my niece arriving today."
"TODAY?!" Eda shouted, horror flowing through her. She had genuinely thought that the Nocedas weren't supposed to arrive for another week. "You've got to be shitting me!"
And now that smile was the usual slightly mocking one that Lilith often gave. "I assure you, I am doing no such thing. In fact, as we speak, Camila and Luz are in the Owl House, being welcomed back to the Isles, and doubtlessly wondering where its prime minister is."
"I got to go!" Eda said frantically. "I swear to you, Lily, I really thought they were coming next week! I never would have missed this for anything!" Without another word, she switched into harpy mode and jumped out the window, letting her wings carry her over to the Owl House.
"How's my favorite bunch of peeps?" Eda said, opening the door of the Owl House and striking a triumphant pose. Thankfully, she'd had the presence of mind to switch back to her normal form before she went in. She didn't want Camila freaking out over it.
Almost instantaneously, Luz practically knocked her over with a hug. Titan, that girl was getting strong. Was she working out now? "Where were you, mom?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips, and glaring at her. She had a heck of a glare, Eda had to admit.
"Working on important government business," Eda lied. "Sorry about that. Meetings, am I right? They always take way longer than you think."
She turned around and then she was looking into the face of the beautiful woman who was Camila Noceda, and she could not think of a thing to say. Her mind was completely coming up blank! This never happened to her!
When she had first met Camila in the flesh on Earth a few days after Luz had told Camila about her time in the Isles, Eda had been highly impressed with the fearsome nature of Luz's mother. Camila had been justly indignant about the danger that Luz had incurred by spending time with Eda and had taken her to task most thoroughly. It was honestly one of the scariest experiences that Eda had ever had, and she'd dueled one on one with the emperor!
Camila was fierce, and she was tough, and she was beautiful. Titan, she was so beautiful. Every time Eda looked at her, it was as if her mouth had dried out and she felt like she couldn't say a damn word, and she also wanted to say every word in her head. Mostly, this amounted to an apparent compromise of her saying the dumbest things in her head.
By the time Camila had left the Isles during her first stay there, Eda was frantically trying to convince herself that she didn't have a crush. By the time Eda left Earth when she went to visit over Thanksgiving, she realized that it was completely futile.
Eda Clawthorne had a crush on Camila Noceda.
And that would be complicated enough. But a new complication emerged when it turned out that Raine had a crush on her. And…well, Eda kind of also had a crush on them back! Or maybe she didn't! It was confusing! She'd definitely had a crush back when they were teens, thinking they were in love, not knowing that they'd both be driven apart by forces ultimately not under their control.
And Raine was just the sweetest witch who ever lived, and they were also really good looking, and they also made her heart melt! Ugh! The heart was the worst. Being prime minister was tough enough without having to deal with a stupid love triangle that only existed inside her head. And it wasn't as if she had anyone who could give her advice – King was clueless when it came to love, Lilith would just use the opportunity to mock her forever, and Hooty? Forget it. Stan would have been happy to give her advice, but his advice sucked and she wasn't that desperate yet.
As the months went on, Eda convinced herself that her infatuation with Camila was doomed to failure. Camila was a beautiful woman – she could have any man or woman she wanted eating out of the palm of her hand. Why would she be interested in someone like Eda, who looked like she was twenty years older than her, even if they were practically the same age in actuality? No, it was completely hopeless, Eda told herself.
So the next time that Raine worked up the courage to ask Eda out, she said yes. And it was a beautiful experience. There were sparks between them in spades. They were so kind and gorgeous, and Eda's heart just soared every time she looked at them. She was in love, she knew. So they became partners, and Eda was happy and she didn't need anything else. She told herself that every day.
But now…she was in front of the human that she still had a crush on, damn it, and she didn't know what to say.
"Is it normal for Eda to be silent this long?" Camila asked Luz, genuinely concerned.
"No," Luz said, sounding amused. "It's not." Oh, Titan, this was bad. If Luz even suspected, she was going to have to face months of teasing, or, worse, efforts by Luz to be her wingwoman. Eda shuddered to think of the damage that Luz would inflict in the process of concocting harebrained schemes to get her mothers together.
"Sorry, just lost in thought there," Eda said. What could she say to change the subject? Aha! "Valefar, one of the most notorious love potion smugglers out there, managed to wiggle away from justice again. It's really got us frustrated."
"Love potions?" Luz said. "That doesn't sound so bad."
Everyone goggled at her, and justly so in Eda's opinion. It was only Luz's genuine ignorance that didn't make that statement an utterly horrible one. "This stuff isn't used for pranks here," Eda said sternly. "These potions are magical date rape drugs, Luz. They're all kinds of illegal."
"Yeah, seriously," Willow said. "What kind of place even is the human realm, that you just shrug off that kind of stuff there?"
"Um, sorry," Luz said. "It's just, I don't know, in books and movies and TV shows, it was always the sort of thing that was used for whacky hijinks…"
Eda pointed a finger at Luz's face. "Someone offers you that stuff, you kick them in the groin and run." Luz nodded, looking appropriately chastened.
Camila cast a concerned look at her. "That's not likely to happen, is it?"
"No way," Eda said in her most reassuring tone. "And certainly not while I'm around. Hexside has wards against that sort of thing anyway – the magic in love potions just doesn't work there. I swear to the Titan, Luz, you're safe here."
Camila crossed her arms and clenched her fists, and Eda could see her visibly refraining from trying to take back her promise, to whisking Luz away from the Isles for her own protection. It was impressive, both the protective instincts that made her want to do it, and the maternal instincts that made her override that want. If Luz was taken away from the Boiling Isles after holding onto the hope that she'd have the whole summer there for so long, it'd break her.
Right now, a huge part of her wanted to just confess her feelings to Camila right this moment and get the inevitable rejection over with. Because she was sure that rejection was inevitable. There was no proof that Camila liked her that way. And even if she did, Eda knew that humans had an obsession with monogamy, and that Camila would never want to "stand between" Eda and Raine. It couldn't happen.
But what if it could?
Contrary to popular belief, Raine was not as inept when it came to emotional matters as they appeared. They knew how they'd acquired that reputation. Everyone knew what a stuttering mess they often became when it came to Eda. But Raine had always been good at figuring out their emotions. It was getting the courage to turn their feelings into action that was the problem.
Emotion was at the core of bard magic. One didn't become a bard without being knowledgeable at that field. Bard magic was about making people feel things, whether it be joy or sadness or lust or any one of a thousand different emotions. If Raine didn't understand emotions, they never would have become the head of the Bard Coven at all.
Their time with Eda, finally partners once more, the two of them against the world, had been sensational. There was no doubt about it. It had given Raine some of the happiest moments of their life. But it still wasn't quite what they had wanted. There was still a piece missing. Their relationship felt…incomplete. There was always a phantom presence missing, and that presence was named Camila Noceda.
Eda's crush on the human was extremely transparent, even if Raine had done her the courtesy of pretending that it was not. For pity's sake, she'd cleaned the damn Owl House in preparation for her arrival, and Eda would do anything at all to avoid cleaning. In fact, it was so obvious to them that they'd refrained from asking Eda out again after she'd dodged their first attempt at King's coronation. But as time went on, Eda just kept on refusing to make any moves towards courting Camila. So Raine assumed that Eda had simply given up and they'd made their move.
Polyamory was quite common in the Isles, if not necessarily overwhelmingly so. Maybe a quarter of the relationships in the Isles, it was estimated, were polyamorous. Raine's own mothers and father had been in one of those relationships, and it had worked out quite well for them. Raine had never thought about doing so themself, but they weren't necessarily against the idea either.
So Raine was determined to convince Eda to make a move on Camila. Maybe Camila would say no. Maybe she'd say yes. But either way, Eda would know, and the unasked question of what if wouldn't be hanging over their relationship.
"So…about Camila," Raine said delicately to Eda once the party was over. Camila had left early to get an early night's sleep in her hotel before her first full day in the isles, and they'd just missed her. Luz was asleep in her room, and according to Eda, Luz was such a heavy sleeper that she could sleep through Hooty singing opera. Oh, shit, now that image was in their head and would doubtlessly feature in their nightmares that night.
Eda leaned casually against a wall, and nearly fell over. "Uh, yeah. Camila. She's some dame, isn't she? I mean, you know, we're just friends, obviously."
Aha. The perfect opening. "Eda, if you wanted to be more than friends with her, I wouldn't mind."
Eda blinked, looking genuinely shocked. "Really?"
"Really," Raine said, completely sincerely. "I know that you like her. She's obviously very important to you."
Eda sulked. "It doesn't matter. Humans, they've got this thing about poly relationships. It's against their stupid moral code. She'd never want to be with me if I was with you – and I won't give you up to date her, either."
Raine's heart soared. It was so lovely to hear Eda be so committed to their relationship, especially after years of inability to communicate their needs had led to the dissolution of the relationship the first time. The two of them were in a much better state now. "I think that maybe you should ask her instead of just assuming. Don't underestimate yourself. You're a beautiful woman, and she knows that you have a heart of gold…even if you spend so much time hiding it."
They leaned in and kissed Eda on the lips, marveling at how soft they were. "I guarantee you, even if she isn't interested, she'd be flattered and understanding."
"Would you want to date her?" Eda asked.
Raine tilted their head. "I don't know. I've never met her before."
"Maybe it's time to change that," Eda suggested.
Eda was right, and that was why, the next morning, Raine found themself knocking on the door of Camila's hotel room. Eda had offered her accommodations in the Royal Palace, but Camila had refused. She wanted the authentic Boiling Isles experience, she said, not the VIP treatment. And staying at the Owl House was out, since she wanted to give Luz space. So Eda had recommended a quiet inn that she used to stay at during her fugitive days. The owners were renowned for their discretion. No one would learn that a human was staying there.
The door opened and a stunningly beautiful woman wearing pajamas answered the door. For a moment, Raine wondered if they had come to the right place. Surely this chocolate haired goddess could not be the Camila Noceda? But there was no mistaking the round ears that were the surefire mark of a human.
"Can I help you?" Camila said. She didn't look like she recognized them at all, which made sense now that Raine thought about it.
"Hi, I'm Raine Whispers," Raine said, holding out their hand for her to shake. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Camila."
Raine was honestly quite impressed with themself. They felt so flustered just looking at Camila's stunning brown eyes that they were amazed that they'd come up with anything coherent at all.
"Is there a reason a total stranger is standing here with an outstretched hand?" Camila said irritably. Ah. That explained it. Those sentences had not actually successfully made their way out of their mouth.
Raine cleared their throat, and then said, for real. "Raine! I, uh, I'm Raine. Raine Whispers. I'm Eda's partner." They winced. The last thing that they wanted was to ram that association into her head. "I just wanted to say hi. Because, you know, we missed each other yesterday."
"Right," Camila said, sounding still slightly wary, but also polite. "You're Amity's tutor, right?"
"Yes!" Raine said with enthusiasm. Amity was one of their top pupils, and they relished any opportunity to brag about their progress. "Amity's quite the exceptional student. The…unique studying techniques that Luz passed onto definitely played a role in that success, in my opinion."
A proud smile came upon Camila's face. Raine would give a lot to see that smile more often. "Amity is capable of so many incredible things. If only her parents had been able to see that." She shook her head with dismay. "But why ruin a perfectly pleasant conversation by talking about those people? I really appreciate you taking the time to come to see me, especially so early in the morning."
Raine cast a spell to summon the gift that they had procured in a bookstore shortly before coming to the hotel. Camila's smile grew. She was a human, and just seeing a spell circle, something that any witch on the isles saw every day of her life, must have filled her with awe. "I bought you a gift to celebrate your arrival on the Isles," they said, and handed it to her.
Camila looked at the book, which was entitled Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical, Anatomy of the Witch Body. "Is…there a reason why you're giving me an anatomy textbook of all things?"
Raine blinked. Was that something she considered too forward? Ah, crap, it probably was now that they came to think about. "Um, it's just that, well, I've heard that you're a healer, and interested in studying healing magic, and this is one of the fundamental works in that field."
"Oh!" Camila said with a self-deprecating giggle. "Silly me. For a moment, I almost thought that you were flirting with me. But that'd be ridiculous."
"Ridiculous…" Raine echoed. They tried to make themself say something more, something that would clear up the misunderstanding, that would indicate that they were indeed flirting with her, but no more words would come out of their damnably disobedient mouth.
Camila put the book on her bedside table. "Thank you for the gift! I really do appreciate it. It'd be very helpful for me to learn more about the physical differences between witches and humans." An idea seemed to occur to her. "Say, if you have some time before your job, maybe you and I could get breakfast? You have breakfast here, right?"
Raine could only nod. In fact, they did not have time before work, but screw it, they'd just come in late. They were the head of the Bard Coven, and only Eda could fire them.
"Great!" Camila said. "Just give me a few minutes to freshen up, okay?"
As Raine walked down the hallway in a daze, they reflected that they now had one thing in common with Eda: A huge, massive crush on Camila Noceda.
And they wouldn't have it any other way.