Bella POV

Damn it! The fur is popping up again! Looks like I'll be visiting the crabby old witch sooner than expected, huh? That sucks. I really wanted to spend the day working on that new spell with Prince. Whatever. It's not like it's a pain for me to get to the isles. Not with the portal key that King and the Collector gave me.

Wow, it's really been five years since the rebellion. Five years since Belos was finally killed for his crimes against witches and demons. I can't believe that it's all over now. I wonder how everyone's been since we rebuilt the isles. I know that Eda and Raine are getting married soon, and that Luz, Amity, Gus, Willow, and Hunter are all graduating from the University of Wild Magic, where Eda is now the Headmaster.

But, I haven't heard about their families. Is Aunt Odalia still a bitch? Are Edric and Emira still playing their pranks? What about Hunter? He discovered that he was a clone before things fell apart. Is he doing okay? And Willow, she was so scared of failing, so scared of not being strong enough. Did she ever learn how to deal with this? Oh! And Gus! He wanted to be the most powerful illusionist ever, and re-establish contact with the giraffes! Did he ever manage that?

" Bella! Breakfasts ready!" Mom calls. Ugh! Mom! Now? I need to visit Eda in the demon realm! She's the only one who's willing to sell my elixir in bulk for a fair price. five snails an elixir, fifty elixirs, two hundred fifty snails total. That sounds fair to me, but Mort's stubborn and charges thirty snails an elixir. Their just potions for gods sake! Potions that some of us need to not turn into a giant titan beast! Or, in Eda's case an owl beast. For Lilith it's a raven.

Of course, it never would have happened if Lilith was more responsible. I was two when I found the cursed scroll in her room. She wasn't paying attention to me, and I opened it. By the time Lilith saw me, it was too late. I was cursed.

I understand that I opened it, but who just leaves that laying around where a curious child could get ahold of it? What if it had been a knife? Or a vial of poison? There are so many things that I might've found there. So many things that could've killed me!

But no, I got a fate worse than death. I got a curse that I can never get rid of. A curse that will haunt me for eternity. Thank you so fucking much, Lily! You're such a wonderful babysitter!

" BELLA! GET DOWN HERE AND EAT!" Mom shouts. Oops, I guess I was zoning out, again. Crud, she is so gonna kill me.

" Coming, Mom!" I reply. I pick up Prince and set him on my shoulder, where the tiny devil curls up in the crook of my neck to sleep. I stroke his wooden head and sigh. My baby Prince.

I head down the stairs and sit at the table next to Phil, my new Stepdad.

" Morning, Witch." He says smiling. I laugh a bit and reply with " Good morning, human."

He grunts a bit, but doesn't say a word. We witches have always been known to be quick with a comeback. Some ignorant twat calls you a witch like it's a bad thing, then just call them a human like it's a bad thing.

" Bella. Knock it off. There are two humans in the room, Missy." She scolds. Yeah, I got magic from my Dad's side. He doesn't really use it anymore. Doesn't need to. I don't feel self-conscious about my powers anymore. He only really used magic when I still was. Well, then and during the rebellion to help us defeat Belos, but that was very different. He was more fierce, more powerful then. I was legitimately scared of him for a little while. He proved that just because he doesn't use his magic, doesn't mean that he can't.

" Yeah, yeah. I'm the only witch around, I know. See why I want to go stay with Dad yet? At least he understands that magic is a part of me, and not some terrible thing meant to be concealed, mother." I scowl.

" Bella, there might be witch hunters. If you're found out to be a witch, then they'll kill you! Do you not understand that?" Mom finally snaps.

Here we go again with the witch hunters! They're all gone! We live in a society that is very accepting of the magic and paranormal! Why can't she see that?

" DAMN IT MOM! JUST BECAUSE I RAN INTO ONE WITCH HUNTER, DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE ARE ANY MORE!" I reply angrily.

" Enough, both of you! Renee, your daughter is a badass witch, get off her case. Bella, quit disrespecting your mother, she's just trying to protect you." Phil scolds.

I sigh a bit and leave for another day of hell, leaving my breakfast on the table untouched.

" Come on, Prince. Let's go." I mutter. He turns into his staff, and I fly off to school, not caring who sees me. If people want to judge me, then they can judge. I'm a witch, and I'm very proud of it. I think my magic is cool as hell, even if Mom's scared of it.

Charlie POV

Things are a mess right now. Bella is still haunted by the memories of the rebellion. Renee hates her for refusing to give up magic, and as usual, my stupid brother is no help. He just says to leave her alone, but I think that there might be something seriously wrong with her.

I mean, Belos possessed her. Spoke through her and used her as a puppet. She was also petrified, turned into a literal puppet by the Collector, and trapped in her Titan Beast form. I can't even imagine what she must be feeling right now. I've never dealt with anything like this. I don't know how to help her.

I wish that I could just use a healing spell to fix her broken mind, but that wouldn't work. I joined the Beast Keeping Coven though. Most of my magic was sealed off by the sigil. Besides, I doubt that any healing spell could fix her mind. She's broken.

Alador POV

Charlie is being too impatient with Bella. She was only twelve when Belos possessed her. The poor child needs time and support to learn how to deal with this. I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying that must have felt. On top of that, she still has her Emperor's Coven sigil. I wonder if she even realizes that I could remove it from her wrist. Maybe then she'd feel safer in the human realm. I would certainly hope so anyways. I hate the idea of my sweet-tempered niece in pain. From what I've been told, she suffers from severe night terrors and flashbacks.

She's said that she often feels trapped in the past, and can feel Belos in her body still, hear his voice in her head swearing revenge on witch kind for killing him. The poor child must be so tired of feeling so scared all the time. I know that I would be.

" Dad, have your heard from Bella yet? She hasn't messaged me back." Amity says sadly. I sigh and shake my head, wishing that I could comfort her. Bella has always been a very close friend to Amity, despite their three year age gap.

" I'm sorry, Mittens. Your cousin is just busy right now, dear. Between finishing high school and looking into colleges in the human realm, she's been very busy. On top of that, she's still in therapy for her nightmares." I tell her honestly. If Amity can't handle the truth at twenty years old, then she'll never be ready for it.

Amity POV

Bella's been dealing with so much since the rebellion ended. I remember the night she was possessed so clearly. She looked so scared when she finally woke up.

-Flashback-

It's the dead of night. We're chasing Belos through the woods with Charlie and Camilla by our sides. We saw Luz chasing Bella this way somewhere, but she wasn't acting right. My cousin looked like she was in some sort of trance. Like someone was controlling her. But... that isn't possible, is it? No, it can't be. She's a powerful witch. She may not have a palisman yet, but she's strong enough that she doesn't need a staff to perform powerful spells. We find Luz, but she's not moving. She's just staring straight ahead, as though she's afraid. I run to her side and gasp in terror. My cousin is standing there with shining blue eyes and green muck covering parts of her skin. No, it isn't her anymore. Now, it's just Belos there. Belos in control of her body. " Hello, Witches. And a human? Ha! What are you doing with these demons, dear?" He says coldly. I can see Bella trying to fight him off. " LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE, YOU MONSTER!" Charlie shouts furiously. I watch as he uses a fire spell, but Belos easily sidesteps it. " Careful there. If your spells land, it will only hurt her." Belos warns. " Ah, Luz. It's lovely to see you again, dear. I must thank you for helping me find the Collector. You would never believe how long I was searching for them." He says to her. Wait... what? No, she wouldn't, would she? No Luz is a good person. She'd never help Belos. She hates him almost as much as I do. I know she does. " What the hell do you want with her?" Camila asks furiously. " I want nothing with her. But, you should already know that witches are nothing more than demon scum. They plague the world with their devilish ways, and if left unchecked they will destroy all of human kind. Just look at your daughter. She's already fallen under their spell, and now she is already lost to you." Belos scowls through her. I summon Ghost to me and growl. " Careful, Amity. You're not going to hurt me any, but your cousin will not be so lucky. But, by all means. Do it. Attack. You'll just watch her bleed." He warns. No, please don't let this be real. Don't let him take her from me. Titan! Help us! Help her! I watch as Vee proceeds to suck the magic out of them, being careful not to take too much so she won't get hurt. Ha! Thank titan for basilisks! Suddenly, Belos attacks her, and she's launched across the meadow. I attack them both, praying that somehow she'll be okay. I watch as Willow, Gus, Hunter, Luz, and Charlie join the fight for her freedom until we finally push him out of her. But Bella isn't moving. Why isn't she moving?! " Flapjack! Help her! Don't let Bella die, under any circumstances." Hunter orders. Wait... what is he doing? I know that they were close friends. I know that he loves her, but is he really willing to sacrifice his palisman to keep her alive? Flapjack nestles himself over her heart, and fuses himself with my cousin. She's going to be okay, isn't she?
-Flashback end-

Hunter was of course hurt by the loss of Flapjack, but he saved her life. He made sure that Bella wouldn't leave us behind. That she'd live to see another day. Nobody asks him why he did it anymore. I think we're all too afraid of upsetting him. Except Bella. She doesn't know what happened. She doesn't remember what happened while she was possessed. She knows that it happened, though. How else would she have gotten her scars. Those bright red scars, that make her look like a corpse. Like someone abused and then murdered her.