In the human realm Camila Nocada was in the kitchen making breakfast for her family, and once doubting her decision to send them away. The thought of not being able to see them, or more likely keep an eye on them made her laugh. At the same time it felt like her insides where full of broken glass. She tried to remind herself that she was worrying too much. They were safe. Her children were safe, and they'd stay that way. "Maybe I'll get Lina to go keep an eye on them," she thought to herself. That thought seemed to calm the fear and doubt that swirled inside her. After all Lina had never failed her, and of everyone she had ever met she had never failed her. It didn't take long after that for her to finish, and feeling like she owed them a nice surprise she decided to bring her girls breakfast in bed so they could talk. Maybe she'd even take the day off work, and drive them to the camp herself, if for no other reason to see it for herself and prove that her babies would be safe there. She was not ready for what she found when she entered their room. In that moment her world shattered like the plates of food she had brought with her. They were gone, and even now the window remained hanging open. A thousand things went through her mind at that moment. Did they run away? Were they kidnapped? Had someone slipped by her again? Was she about to lose more of the people that she loved? On and on she spiraled, and as she did she started taking steps back until she hit the wall and slid down it. By the time she hit the floor, it was to late. She had completely sunk into her fear and panic. She had no idea how long she sat there or how long the attack had lasted, but as she started pulling herself together she took in the room again looking for every little detail. "Ok. no signs of struggle and I hadn't heard any disturbances last night. Their bags and clothes are still here. They couldn't have been kidnapped, because if Luz was anything she was a fighter. She would not have gone quietly. They couldn't have intended to run away either though. Kim is smart. She would have made sure they brought enough with them to at least survive for a while," Camila looked around talking to herself. None of this added up. She briefly thought about contacting the police, but quickly disregarded that thought. If she was wrong, and they had been found. There would be nothing they could do to help anyway, and bring that kind of attention could cause things to go bad and fast. Stealing her nerve, and wiping the last of her tears, Camila knew what she had to do. "Don't worry, me amors. Mama is coming." With that she rushed out of the room to prepare.
In the Demon realm, a different breakfast was taking place. At first Luz and Kim had tried to stay in the spare room, but the smell of food and their growling stomachs eventually won out. It was a meager breakfast of what they were told was toast with firebee honey, a piece or two of quilboar bacon, and a couple of griphen eggs. With the exception of a quiet 'thank you' from Kim and Luz, they ate in awkward silence. When everyone was done, Kim and Luz insisted on at least washing the plates. They knew that if their mother found out they didn't even try to help out they would regret it.
Eda and King watched them before sharing their own look, before Eda started talking, "I know that none of us likes this situation, but we are stuck with it. So I'll give you a run down of what to expect out there. Firstly, and I hate this as much as you do, we are going to need to trust each other. King and I have managed on our own up to now, but with two extra mouths our supplies are going to start running thin real quick. I'm going to need you two to help out around here. I run a couple businesses, but I'm not exactly well liked around here. Which brings me to point number two, by law everyone has to eventually join a coven. It's the primary reason why I'm considered a criminal. When someone joins a coven, they get a coven brand that prevents you from accessing any of your magic that doesn't fit that coven. For example if you join the illusionists, all you can do are illusions from then on. I am what's called a wild witch, because I refuse to join and limit myself. I have my reasons, but I'm not ready to share that yet. I'll tell ya later, but… not right now," Eda looked away embarrassed. "I'm sure you two have questions. Go ahead and ask."
The twins each thought about it while they finished up, and then they sat back down at the table. Kim's hand immediately went to the poster in her pocket they had taken the night before, but it was Luz who spoke up first, "Is it safe for us out there?"
"As long as you're in the house or near by it, no one can hurt you. Between me and Hooty, there has never been a successful attack on this house. If and when you master your magic, I'd say you will be reasonable safe in the woods beyond. It's in town you should be extra cautious. If people find out you bunk here it could get complicated. No one would attack you openly for it, but everyone will give you the side eye. Some may even try to turn you over to the Emperors Coven for being around me or as a way to get to me. It's one of the reasons I offered to teach you a bit. I am a lot of things, but suffice it to say, I'm not ready to have either of you getting hurt on my conscience," Eda answered confidently.
"Whose Hooty?" asked Kim, as a loud crash could be heard as an owl faced, worm tube snaked through a window that hadn't been broken before and shot into the room.
"Hoot, Hoot, Did someone say my name?" loudly hooted Hooty.
Luz was stunned. Kim was frozen in terror. Eda and King let out a sigh. "Hooty is a house demon and functions as a security system. He is the house. It's just something you're going to have to get used to. He's not so bad most of the time, " said King. "It's ok Hooty. This is Kim and Luz. They are staying with us for a while. Can you please go back to your post, now?'
After Hooty slunk back away and everyone recovered, Kim finally asked the question that had been bothering her as she pulled out the poster, "Last night we found this and it doesn't look like any of the wanted posters we saw. I can't get it out of my head. What is it?"
At seeing the poster Eda stopped and for a second everyone thought they saw a tear start to form in her eye, but just as soon as it was there it was gone. "Wow, Kim right? I guess I would have to tell this story eventually. Ok, so there was a time where you two probably could have gone out and not had to worry about anything beyond the random small monster attack. About fifty years ago our previous Emperor passed away. Leaving his pre-teen son Demetry Belos to take over. Ironically he and I are actually distant cousins by way of our five times great grandmother Evelyne, not that it matters anymore. While my side made our name as the best palisman carvers around, I'll explain them later, his was renowned for a unique talent. They could speak to the Titan itself, the very Island we all live on, and because of that they became our rulers. Back then though we were just kids. Probably not much younger than you two. Back then Demy was one of my best friends. He was a massive dork but he was strong, and he never let anyone he cared about get pushed around. We spent a lot of time together going up, as a matter of fact I don't want to toot my own horn but if it wasn't for me he probably wouldn't have ever met Cammy." As she said that name her eyes really did start to mist up. "Empress Cammy…" Eda let out a long sigh. "Never really got to know her very well. She and Demy had only just started dating when his father passed. Afterwards, I never really got to see him. Demy was always locked away with his tutors or being swarmed by castle staff to make this decision or that. I couldn't get close to him anymore, but Cammy never left his side. If ever there were two people who completed each other it was them. Cammy was special. An orphan of some old family of powerless witches, but despite not being able to do magic. She had a strength and power all her own. It is customary for the Emperor and Empress to wear unique masks to act as symbols to their people, or so I'm told. Demy went for a golden stag just like those that came before him, but Cammy… Cammy went another way," Eda said, lost in nostalgia and smiling despite her tears. She put the poster down on the table carefully and pointed to the mask on it. "Cammy chose a silver bear. A symbol of strength and fury, but also protection. She wasn't just an Empress; she treated everyone on the Isles as her children. She never turned anyone away, and despite the fact she wasn't allowed to actually remove her mask she turned it into her sword. She would openly walk the streets giving help or a kind word to those in need. Not a single person could consider hurting her, or so we all thought. Unlike now, joining a coven wasn't mandatory back then. It was heavily suggested, but most people chose to do it regardless because that was what their Emperor and Empress said to do. So great was their love and trust for them. It's been almost fourteen years since everything fell apart. Apparently a wild witch broke into the royal castle and attacked the Emperor, Empress, and their newborn daughters. No one but Demy knows for sure what happened that night, but he ended up scared and broken. The witch was never found. Worse though, no one has seen the Empress or their daughters ever since. Ever since Demy grew cold and distant. He made it mandatory to join the covens, saying it would "prevent anyone else from ever having to feel his kind pain again". It's one of the reasons I can't go very far from home. Despite everything else, I am a wild witch, and that alone is enough for people to hate me. Despite all my power, I live in a cage of my own making. I have my reasons for why, but they don't matter to anyone but me," Eda started getting up and walking toward her room. "You're going to have to give me a while. That story really took it out of me. King can answer more of your questions if you want or you can wait a bit. It's up to you," she said as she left.
King explained about palismens and a few other things about living on the Isles, but after that story no one really had the energy for deep or complex questions anymore.
An hour later, Eda was still laying in her nest unable to sleep, but feeling completely drained when she heard a soft knock at her door. When Eda didn't answer the door opened just a crack and she heard a voice.
"Ms. Eda? Are you awake?" asked Kim.
"Ya kid. What do you need?" Eda tiredly replied.
Kim came in alone and sat on the floor with her back to the wall. "I-I just wanted to say… we understand. I'm really sorry I asked about the poster. I didn't know it was that personal. We get it though. It's a horrible feeling when someone close to you is ripped away," Kim said solemnly, and getting Eda's full attention. "A few years ago our dad Manny passed away, and I know the look you had telling that story. I saw it on mom's and Luz's faces all the time. Unlike me, you all are too strong and stubborn to let yourself cry in front of others, but it's just you and me here. You can let it out. I don't know you well, but I promise I won't judge."
Eda just looked at Kim. "Kiddo it's not the same. You lost someone precious to you, forever. All I lost was someone I barely knew and someone I thought I knew, and he's not dead. Just dead to me. I appreciate what you're trying to do but I'm fine," Eda reassured.
Kim just laughed sadly, "You are a great liar Ms. Eda. So great you managed to lie to yourself. I know the look of someone who blames themselves for bad things happening to others. I may not know everything that's happened and I don't need to in order to be here for you." Kim got up and gave Eda a hug, and for just a second Eda thought she saw Camila in this young girl. As impossible as that was, it made her feel better if only a little. As Kim was walking away, she heard Eda get up behind her and follow.
At her confused look Eda just smiled, "I've rested long enough, and I did promise you two some magic lessons. The sooner the better. Maybe you two can help me make some potions for tomorrow while you're at it." With that they both left Eda's room to get to work.
Down stairs in the kitchen, Eda and Kim found King showing Luz some pictures of creatures that live out in the wilder areas around them and how to defeat them.
Kim lit up at seeing King's stack of books and immediately started asking if she could read some later. Eda didn't miss the content smile on Luz's face as she saw her sister geek out over the books.
"Ok break time King. So take a nap for a bit and recharge. I'm sure they will have more questions for you later. In the meantime I've got potions to make for tomorrow and potion making is a wildly useful skill to have. You can do a lot of things with potions that are either impossible or impractical to do otherwise. Best of all, most common potions don't need much or any actual magic to make. Making them a great place to start," declared Eda.
There were a few hiccups in the beginning mostly do to Luz getting over excited and stirring too quickly or quite measuring correctly, but after an hour Eda was mostly just overseeing their work as each twin made a different brew.
Eda looked on impressed, "Honestly, you two have quite the talent for this. Usually it takes a lot longer to get the hang of this kind of stuff."
Luz laughed, "This really isn't all that different from home ec. back home, except instead of cake we are making… snake oil?"
"Well no one wants an unoiled snake," pointed out Eda.
Between the three of them it only took a few hours to do what was going to take Eda all day to make, and after that Luz surprised Eda with a new potion that she claimed might 'put some pep in her step. After trying it Eda realized Luz had made magic espresso completely on her own. It bummed Luz out that it was already a known brew, but took pride in figuring it out completely on her own. Kim on the other hand managed to make one of the more difficult brews in Eda's book, a powerful sleep aid that could be sold for a premium. After testing it on King, Eda found it to be perfectly made. While Kim seemed to be a bit stiff when it came to following a recipe to the letter, her brews always came out perfect. Luz was the exact opposite, she was a master at improvisation. A quarter of Luz's brews came out unstable or unusable, but just as many came out quicker or more potent than they would normally. Eda had to admit to herself the twins had only been there a day and Eda was already starting to appreciate what they could offer. "Maybe this whole situation isn't going to be as rough as I thought," thought Eda.
Riding the high of their first successful potions class Eda took Luz and Kim into the front room to start their first actual casting class. After seeing Eda make a light orb for the first time Luz had the great idea of recording her doing another on her phone so that Eda didn't have to exhaust herself performing it repeatedly. Due to that Eda had a chance to better point out errors they were making as they tried to make the light orbs themselves. To Eda's surprise once again Kim could replicate the spell in short order and even alter its size quite easily. Luz on the other hand had some issues. Her orbs came out unstable and seemed to quickly exhaust her, but after watching her video frame by frame Luz made a discovery, a glyph that would have been imperceptible otherwise. After practicing with it instead Luz found a whole different way to cast that didn't drain her at all and was just as stable as Kim's orbs. All in all an impressive showing from both of them according to Eda. By this point it had gotten kind of late to everyone's surprise. Over a small dinner the three continued to talk and laugh. They even shared little nothing stories of better times with each other, and for the first time in a long time everyone remembered what it felt like to hang out with friends. That night everyone fell asleep peacefully weather from exhaustion or relief, it wasn't clear, but everyone was looking forward to what new surprises tomorrow would bring.
So this chapter ended up being alot shorter than I expected and I had a really hard time trying to depict Eda and Camila's relationship. It's very much a "I know of you, but I don't really know you" kind of thing. And yes if anyone was getting Princess Diana vibes, that was kinda the idea. Also I feel that this helps explain how people can be blindly devoted to someone like the current Emperor Belos and not seem dumb or naive. Don't worry Luz and Eda will get a scene eventually too where they have a heart to heart to really start bonding, but this was Kim's moment.
Hopefully I haven't scared anyone off. I've actually put alot of thought into how to develop this story and while things are different they are more similar than one might think. Context is key. Till next time have a nice day.