With the pile of papers Philip had stacked by him, Gus sneaked back into Luz's house - through the back door - and into the living room without coming across any of his friends.
After spending about an hour with Philip, he knew it was time to return home before anyone discovered that his presence in the living room was nothing more than an illusion. He didn't want anyone to find out he was with Philip for the past hour just yet.
He placed the papers on the coffee table before he extinguished the illusion of himself. He then started picking up some of the clutter that had accumulated on the couch, on the coffee table, and on the floor.
If Philip was going to be sleeping in the house, the best logical option would be in the living room, since the basement was out of the question, and the females in the house occupied the two bedrooms. And even if having Philip staying in the living room was going to be awkward for everyone and possibly cause so much tension, it was, unfortunately, the only place as of now that made sense for him to be in.
After giving the room a thorough cleaning, Gus sat on the couch, leaned back on it, and closed his eyes with a sigh.
The boy felt torn as he asked himself if he was doing the right thing to bring Philip into the house.
Was he betraying his friends by bringing in the enemy? Was feeling bad for the witch hunter a terrible thing?
He knew Hunter was for sure going to have tons of issues with Philip staying with them. Which, of course, he couldn't blame his friend for how he felt. Every single one of them wanted to keep Hunter away from Philip, and the last thing Gus wanted was to cause Hunter any more turmoil by having his abuser near him.
But…
He couldn't shake the image of Philip, overwhelmed, struggling with the curse and whatever else that was going through that disturbed head of his.
"You are the reason why my memories have been-" Gus tried to think what Philip was going to say before he had stopped himself.
'I… can't sleep here…' Philip's vulnerable admission, as Gus remembered, had made his stomach drop when he heard it. The boy had to confess; he was surprised that Philip had opened to him like that.
Then again, if one had a major panic attack, fought off a curse from taking over one's body within addition of now having a good night sleep all while working non-stop to figure out a complex invention was surely going to make someone's defenses drop, even for just a moment.
Gus wondered what might have happened in that old house to make Philip freak out the way he did in the basement.
All he could remember from the bit he had seen of Philip, while the man lived in that house, was how happy Philip was living with Caleb, before Caleb left.
Before the Minister forced Philip to stay with him at his place.
When things got ugly…
After some time, Luz and Vee returned home. Luz and Amity decided to prepare dinner for everyone so when Camila arrived, she didn't have to worry about feeding everyone so they could face Philip as soon as they could. Meanwhile, Gus was lost in his own thoughts, dreading everyone's potential hostile reactions when he brought up about bringing Philip to stay with them.
"I'm back!" Camila announced once she stepped into the house, putting her bag on a nearby stand. "Please tell me everyone is here and breathing." She attempted to lighten the mood with a joke, though there was a hint of genuine concern in her voice.
"Don't worry, mama, we're all here," Luz reassured her as she emerged from the Kitchen with Amity in tow. "And I just put some potatoes and pizza bagels in the oven. They should be ready in just a few minutes."
"I made some lemonade," Amity added with a proud grin.
Camila smiled, grateful for the kids' efforts to help.
As Hunter, Vee, and Willow descended the stairs, Gus felt his anxiety skyrocket. But he swallowed down the tension built in his throat as he got up from the couch. He gathered the stack of paper and approached the group that had gathered in the kitchen.
It was now or never; he told himself.
"Hum… guys…?" Gus let out, avoiding eye contact the moment they looked at him with confusion. "So… well…" he rubbed the back of his neck before he hesitantly handed the stacks of paper to Hunter.
Hunter looked down at them with confusion before seeing the complex equations and recognizing the familiar handwriting on the pages.
He looked at Gus with an unreadable expression.
"How did you get these…?" he asked cautiously.
Gus admitted without hesitation, "I went to see… him."
The group's eyes widened with shock, stunned.
"You did… what?!" Hunted exclaimed in disbelief.
"What the heck, Gus?!" Luz joined in.
"Should have known one of them wasn't going to listen to me," Camila sighed to herself, placing a hand on her head. Though she had expected Luz to be the one to disobey her, not the youngest of the group.
"And… we need to bring him here," Gus said as he ignored their outbursts and continued to be firm. He forced himself to look at their shocked expressions, determined to show them he was serious. "He can't stay in that house…"
"I knew he found a way to brainwash you!" Hunter said with a bit of panic in his voice.
"He hasn't brainwashed me!" Gus tried to explain. "Something about that house has been affecting Philip. He's been working nonstop on the new portal without rest and staying in that house has taken a toll on him. When I visited, I saw the curse had already spread halfway across his face. I accidentally made him mad, and he almost lost full control again."
"Did he hurt you?" Hunter asked right away with concern, fingers digging into the sheets of paper at the thought of Belos hurting his friend.
"No, he didn't," Gus assured everyone, who were now looking at him with worried looks. He decided not to tell them how Philip did try attacking him. "He had another major panic attack, and I kind of… helped him through it, but seriously, I'm afraid he's seeing things in that house and it's just making the curse unstable."
"He… has always seen things," Hunter revealed, making everyone turn to him with confusion. "Back at the castle, it was very rare, but sometimes I or others caught him speaking to someone or… I don't know, stare at something that wasn't in the room with us for a minute before I could get his attention again. So, that's normal."
Camila frowned at the boy's words.
Seeing things that were not there was far from normal…
"Gus, you have to understand," Hunter said in a serious tone. "I told you before. He uses the pity to manipulate anyone around him."
"Hunter is right, Gus," Luz mumbled, with a bit of shame and anger. "He tricked me with helping him by making me feel bad for him."
"I know, I know," Gus' hands turned into fists, trying to have patience for his friends. "Look, guys, I'm not the same naïve boy…" he said, annoyed. "I'm not stupid…"
"No one is calling you that, Gus," Willow spoke softly.
"All we're saying is Belos that he's-" Amity began before Gus cut her off.
"A manipulative genius, I know," Gus sighed, shaking his head. "But you guys didn't see what I saw when I was in his head."
"You did tell us, Gus," Vee reminded him. "You told us how he burned a witch, how he killed his brother."
"Okay, yeah, I told you guys some stuff, but… I didn't tell you everything." Gus scrubbed his face with hands, feeling exhausted. "That night, when I looked into his head, I was having trouble accessing his memories. They seemed locked and forgotten, so I kind of forced them out. I saw memories play out slowly, before… they just came crashing down at me. I saw so much guys, so much that…'' The Guy looked away; his eyes shut. "Trust me, I feel terrible for feeling bad for him. Honestly, I know I shouldn't, but… you didn't see what he went through. What made him think witches are evil, how he whole-heartedly believes he's doing the right thing…"
"Gus…" Willow looked at him with compassion.
"I accidentally admitted to him I saw some of the bad things he had gone through. He got so mad… like, he was really mad, like he literally lost control, and I think whatever I did in his head, so I could see his memories, well… I think it's messing with his head now. And if he continues the way he is now, he's going to lose control and if he does, we're never going to see our families or friends again!"
"Gus, mi niño, shhh, it's okay," Camila had gone over to him and pulled him into a hug. "Shh, relax, breathe,"
Gus leaned against her chest, not realizing that tears had been streaming down his face. The guilt and worry he's been holding was suffocating him.
He focused on his breathing, the way he had told Philip earlier on how to do it, and eventually he felt himself relax.
Camila released him as he brushed the tears away with his sleeved arm.
"Listen, mijo, don't you ever, ever, feel guilty for feeling bad for someone who has gone through something terrible, alright?" Camila grabbed his face softly, making him look up to meet her soft gaze. "Even if they are using it to trick you in some way, don't you feel guilty about what you're feeling. You have a good heart, Gus. Don't let anyone change that."
Gus bit his lower lip and looked down.
"But…"
"No, Gus, Camila is right," Willow said, going over to him and hugged him from the side. "Don't you ever change. We're sorry for making you feel bad for being you."
"Yea, we're sorry…" Hunter admitted quietly, rubbing his right arm with shame. "I know you're not trying to help Belos to spite me… I just don't want him using and hurting anyone else, especially those who I care for…"
"I know, Hunter…" Gus said, quietly. "I guess, I also want to prove to him that… we witches aren't evil…"
"Gus, it's not your job to change his mind," Luz said in a serious tone.
"I know it's not, but…" Gus just couldn't help it. At least, that's what he wanted to tell his friends. But he felt too tired to continue to defend himself and didn't want to anger them much further.
"So, let's say Gus is right, the house is making Belos unstable," Amity spoke up, trying to divert everyone to what possibly may be a problem they had to deal with. "Obviously, we don't have anywhere else that Belos can stay, except… here…"
"But... do we really want him in the living room…?" Vee asked with hesitation.
"We can put him in a closet," Luz said simply.
"No, no closets," Gus jumped in, making everyone turn to him again with confusion. Gus looked down, with a sigh. "He doesn't do well in a closet… trust me…"
"But… having him in the living room, just like that… is dangerous…" Vee said.
"Probably not while he still thinks the eternal oath was real," Amity commented thoughtfully. "Remember, one of the terms was he shouldn't hurt us."
"I guess, you're right…"
The oven's timer went off, making Luz quickly go over to the oven. She took the pizza bagels out and left the potatoes to continue baking.
"Well… I guess we should probably go get him soon… before he gets worse?" Willow suggested as Luz couldn't help but feel the anger inside her chest, rise, but unfortunately, she knew they didn't have another choice, but to bring that monster into their safe home…
In and out…
He repeated to himself as he focused on the sensation of the air moving in and out of his lungs.
In and out…
The voices haven't returned.
With eyes closed tight, he avoided looking into the room and kept his mind anchored on his breathing. It was what the boy had told him to do until he returned, and strangely, Philip obeyed.
Especially since the boy promised him a better place to sleep; a place that will prevent him from potentially having another outburst.
For a moment, he hoped he had fallen into a peaceful slumber without realizing it, but alas, he was not so lucky.
Philip continued to sit against the wall, hands on his head as he inhaled and exhaled.
He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there with a body longing to sleep. But again, he tried only focusing on the rhythm of his breathing as he was too afraid of the walls of the house dragging him towards the realm of his memories…
He heard a noise, or was it a voice?
Quickly, he returned to his breathing, as it was the only thing that seemed to be keeping him stable.
Keeping him sane…
But then, his body tensed up badly as he felt something touch his shoulder, breaking his focus.
"Hey, it's okay," a voice, that sounded like a woman, spoke up.
Philip tried yanking away from whoever dared to touch him, his breathing picking up speed.
"Guys, no, stop," the voice that sounded like the young witch boy said.
"This isn't a good idea, Gus!" another voice exclaimed. "Just look at him."
"Shh, come on, you're okay," the voice said and what he felt directed to him. "Come on, let me help you up. Is it okay if I touch you?"
Philip wanted to open his eyes, but he just couldn't trust himself to possibly see things that were not real.
He began to question if the voices were real. Especially the feminine voice that seemed to be concerned for him.
He clenched his sharp teeth as he felt something soft and warm on his right arm. He didn't pull away, nor did he fight when they were helping him stand on his wobbly legs. He slowly released his head but continued to keep his eyes closed.
"Just, continue on your breathing, Philip," the boy reminded him.
And the man did as he was told, letting the voices guide him. He was careful when he was told to watch his step, especially when he was led upstairs. He ignored the shiver that ran through his body when he felt the cool breeze of air hit him and just continued to breathe.
Though, he did notice when felt his body relax when he felt warm.
Oh… he felt his mind drift as he heard someone say, "We didn't really think things through. He's… too tall for the couch…"
Oh… he felt so tired…
"He can sleep on the ground?" he barely heard someone suggest before he let himself collapse.
The impact didn't hurt.
Instead, he felt his body ease as he disregarded the sounds around him, continuing to concentrate on his breathing.
In and out…
Just as he was told to do…
Hunter said nothing as he stared down at his 'uncle', sleeping. Never in his life had he witness such a thing.
His 'uncle' looked so… peaceful as he rested, even if half of his face was covered with the curse and horns were sticking out.
When the group had followed Gus to the basement at Belos' old childhood home, Hunter was shocked to find Belos shaking like a leaf, clutching his head as if his life depended on it.
Gus was right.
The curse had spread, and Belos wasn't looking too good.
He had done nothing as he stared at the way Camila helped Belos up on his feet, as the man refused to open his eyes.
In the past, the boy had seen his uncle in pain, filled with rage, but never had he seen him look in such a pitiful state…
But… the boy told himself that Belos might be tricking them now.
Belos was a great actor after all…
'But this time… it felt so… different…' the boy told himself.
Honestly, the boy could imagine Belos completely ashamed to look like a lost, frightened child in front of anyone. Especially now as he lay, his face slick with sweat, strands of his greasy hair adorning his features, in the living room, out cold.
The old man's current state was very out of character of him, since he would never let his guard down, especially not in front of those he deemed as enemies.
'He might be desperate,' Hunter told himself. 'He's trying to trick us…'
But… the boy asked himself, what was the reason Belos would be desperate to trick them for…?
Hunter looked away, trying his best as well to ignore the twist he was feeling in his chest by looking at Belos right now… and from the image he had of Belos when they retrieved him from the basement…
"Uh… I guess this should be okay for tonight at least," Camila said as she was walking back into the room with a blanket. She threw it over at Belos. "I'm going to make him take a shower tomorrow. He's starting to smell bad… almost like a rotten egg." She tried to lighten the mood in the room with her statement, but the majority of the kids looked like they were troubled with their enemy sleeping in the house still. "Right…" she sighed and eventually she got everyone to join her in the kitchen so they could eat dinner.
Everyone did not utter a word as they ate. Some couldn't stop the feeling that Belos was awake and was trying to eavesdrop on their conversations.
Once dinner was over and the dishes were washed, the kids drifted to their rooms, except for Luz, who was glaring down at Belos, who was still dead asleep.
"Come on, mija," Camila gently nudged her daughter to go upstairs. "Your girlfriend promised the oath would keep him from hurting us," she reminded her. "Also, I don't think he's going to be waking up any time soon."
Luz looked down at the ground with a mouth twisting on the side as they walked upstairs. She did her best to enjoy the rest of her evening with her friends, but unfortunately, Belos plagued everyone's thoughts, especially in their sleep.
"What's wrong, my boy?" The minister, with his dark blue eyes, looked up at 18-year-old Philip, who had some facial hair growing on his face.
Philip was standing by the doorway and was eyeing the minister – stoic as a rock in a raging sea - for a few minutes now, without uttering a word. The house was completely dark, for the exception of the lighted candle on the desk in front of the Minister.
"That girl…" Philip began calmly. "Susan… she's not a witch."
The minister raised an eyebrow at the young man's words.
"I believe Elizabeth has fallen envious of Susan throughout the past years. And simply started the rumors that Susan is a witch so she could gain Thomas' eyes for marriage," Philip explained simply. "Susan hasn't shown any signs that she is a witch after…" his eyes shifted to the side, not wanting to go into more detail knowing now that he had interrogated an innocent woman all along.
"Is that so?" The minister hummed, leaning against his chair, placing the book he had been reading down on the desk.
Philip gave the man a curt nod, his hands grasping one another behind his back.
"Then, I guess we will execute Elizabeth first thing tomorrow morning," The minister decided without a second thought.
Philip said nothing for a moment and continued standing by the doorway. His eyes shifted back to the minister without emotion.
"I don't think Elizabeth is a witch either," Philip eventually said.
"Not yet, but she's already deviating from God's path," The minister explained. "Eventually she will be lured by the devil so she can get rid of Susan. After all, she was already okay with framing Susan as a witch. I, as one of God's selective people for salvation, can tell Elizabeth will not come back to God's path. She will continue to try and ruin Susan and we cannot risk the community by keeping her alive."
Philip didn't argue with the Minister.
"You know very well the whole community will suffer a collective punishment if we don't punish or execute those who have chosen to be with the Devil," The Minister reminded the young man.
"Yes, sir. I know."
"And unfortunately, the Devil is going to want to brainwash you just like it has with your family. I'm not sure why your souls are susceptible to his influences, but we must make sure we continue to cleanse the town to keep everyone safe and keep you from… falling more from grace."
"Yes, sir…"
"But of course… the souls of everyone in the community is already at risk of being condemned thanks to that brother of yours," The Minister sighed, shaking his head. "Thankfully, you will find him one day and… execute him."
Philip's hands tightened one another behind him, eyes avoiding the Minister now, as he did his best not to show any sort of emotion that The Minister may not approve of.
"Your brother has deviated from God's path for far too long, my boy," The Minister said carefully as he watched Philip like a hawk. "He isn't going to want to return and repent. All he's doing is cursing us all for damnation," The Minister pulled himself to his feet and walked over to Philip before grabbing the young man's chin and forcing him to look at him. "You have grown to be a great man, my boy, even though it took… a lot to straighten you out," he said calmly, with a cool smile. "Even if your soul is most likely damned… you must remember that you must continue to save the rest of us from hell, no matter what... You have a mission, Philip. You must get rid of them all no matter what…"
"Yes, sir," Philip said automatically, as if he was trained to do so, feeling nothing but a black void in his chest.
"Don't worry, you're still getting used to it. You will soon not be tricked by then… soon you won't feel a thing for those wretched beings one day," The Minister patted Philip's cheek with amusement before he walked back to his desk. "Now, go get some rest," The Minister said. "We have a disgusting witch to hang soon…"
As Philip slowly opened his eyes, he was met with a white ceiling and sunlight filtering through the curtains.
He felt disoriented when he saw a couch on his right side. As he slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes, he realized he was not in his basement. He was in someone else's living room.
Then he remembered why he was there…
The witch boy had told him the night before he would take him somewhere so he could sleep.
He vaguely remembered someone guiding him out of the basement…
Philip moved, so he was sitting on the couch, trying to understand why Luz and her friends would be so foolish to have their enemy staying under the same roof as them…
Then again, the oath probably was their safeguard, and they knew he wouldn't think of breaking it any time soon.
Philip looked around and he saw the stacks of paper and writing materials on the coffee table.
Right…
He had a job to do…
He looked through the stack of paper, reviewing what he had written before he picked up a notepad and wrote something down.
Philip tried not to imagine the witch boy giving him a 'told you so' look due to having an easier time to think things through now that he had some rest.
He hated admitting that a witch had bested him in anything.
Though…
The sound of Philip's pen came to a halt as he relieved the traumatic moment of almost losing control over his curse the day before. The memory of his hysteria and the witch boy's intervention was fresh in his mind.
His eyebrows furrowed, trying to understand why the boy helped him.
Well… the kids needed him to make the portal, he told himself, so obviously they wouldn't want him losing control.
But… the witch seemed so… especially when he…. apologized for…
'He's manipulating you…' the sinister voice hissed with amusement. 'He's pretty good at it since you actually believe a witch would want to help you…'
Philip's hand gripped the pen tightly, trying to ignore the voice in his head.
The shame hit him harder, especially for letting the curse and his head get out of control. For looking so pathetic in front of others…
He clenched his teeth as he shoved all those weak feelings deep into the back of his mind, doing his best to feel nothing, just like he had learned to do so many years ago.
As he felt the presence of another in the room, he didn't turn around.
"Good… morning." He recognized the voice as Luz's mother.
Despite her efforts at a polite greeting, Philip remained silent, preferring to focus on writing in his notepad than engaging with her.
Just because he was staying in her house didn't mean he was going to play nice with the enemy.
Camila sighed. Here she was, trying to be respectful, but then again, what did she expect from basically a supervillain?
She also assumed that maybe he felt slightly weird around her due to how... she handled him the day before.
Then again, she wondered if he actually remembered it was her who helped him into the house since he was mentally messed up when they moved him.
She then noticed he was already working on whatever he had to get done to get the portal made.
Well… she had to admit, he was at least doing his best to keep his end of the deal.
She made her way to the kitchen and retrieved the batter she had prepared the previous evening. She then pulled out a handful of eggs and started to make pancakes and scrambled eggs.
The house was eerily quiet as she focused on her task. In no time, she had cooked four pancakes, arranging two of them on a plate and serving scrambled eggs on the side. She set the table with both plates positioned across from each other, and added glasses of orange juice, a jar of jelly, some maple syrup, and butter near Belos' plate, in case he desired a sweet addition to his pancakes.
Camila carefully placed the knife and fork on each side of the plates and gave herself a nod of approval, satisfied with the presentation of the table
"Well… there's no going back now," Camila said to herself with a sigh. She had planned to talk to him, one to one, to make sure he understood what she expected from him while he stayed at her house. Without delaying the inevitable, she mustered up the courage she needed. She then entered the room where Belos was located, who appeared to stiffen at her presence.
In one swift motion, Camila gathered all the papers and notepads on the coffee table and from his hands, causing Belos to look up at her, which she could see an annoyed expression through the long strands of hair on his face.
"I'll give these back to you, but first, you're going to have breakfast with me," Camila declared.
Belos stared at her with his cold blue eyes, the left one glowing from the curse.
"I do not eat," he replied in a bitter tone.
"Well, today you do, so come to the kitchen," Camila said, firmly.
Belos continued to stare at her, now with an unreadable expression.
He knew if Camila was stubborn as Luz, he would not win this fight.
He forced himself off the couch and headed straight to the kitchen, making Camila blink.
Well… that was easier than she thought. She actually thought she was going to have to do more to convince him to join her.
She put everything back on the coffee table and joined Belos in the kitchen.
He was standing there, facing the table, while Camila sat down in one seat. "I made pancakes and scrambled eggs," she said, motioning for him to take the other seat.
Belos said nothing and sat down across from her. He barely blinked as he gazed at her with half lidded bored eyes, which made a shiver run up her spine for a second, especially since he looked creepy with the gray strands lingering on his face and the dark circles that were still deeply pronounced under his eyes.
Though… he did look better now compared to the other day.
She wondered if he wanted to talk about what he went through back at the basement but decided maybe bringing it up first wasn't a wise decision.
"I wasn't sure what you like on your pancakes, jelly or maple syrup, so feel free to try either," Camila decided to say.
Belos looked at the condiments before staring down at the pancakes.
"Or would you prefer something saltier?" she asked.
"I don't know," Belos replied.
Camila blinked in confusion.
"I never had… pancakes before," Belos said in a bored tone.
"Oh… um… Well, you can try a little bit of both?"
"I rather not," Belos responded simply.
Camila frowned at him.
She wanted to ask him if his parents taught him any manners, but then she recalled at that second Gus had told them Belos and his brother were orphans…
"You realize… that by keeping those witches in this house… you're putting both your and your daughter's souls at risk," Belos began. His eyes narrowed in her direction with the most judgmental gaze she ever received in her life.
Which was impressive for Camila since many people have given her judgmental looks in the past.
Camila frowned, ready to defend the children she learned to love in the past months, and maybe put the witch hunter in his place.
She would rather punch him right now, especially for everything he has done to her daughter, but she would rather not agitate the man to avoid the curse from growing unstable.
"For one, they are children," she began.
"They are-" Belos tried to say, but Camila raised her voice to keep him from interrupting her.
"Good children who are struggling with being away from home and miss their families and friends," she added sternly. "And honestly, the only one in this house that has made me feel threatened in any way, shape and form, is you," she said, making Belos clench his jaw. "Look, Belos, I'm-"
"Philip," Belos said through his gritted teeth.
Camila wanted to tell the man she didn't care how he would rather be called, but… if she wanted him to behave, she had to be respectful.
"Alright… Philip," she corrected herself. "While you're staying in this house, I don't want you calling the kids witches unless you aren't using it as a condescending term. Got it?"
Philip stared at her for an entire minute, before he stiffly responded, "Yes, ma'am."
"And, honestly, I'm not entirely sure how things were back on earth during your time, but I get it, sometimes things that are different can be frightening, but these kids are not what you think," she tried to explain.
"They are beings from hell," Philip said coldly. "And as long as they are alive, every human soul is in danger…"
Camila stared at him, taking in the seriousness of his voice.
Philip took this chance to continue.
"Humans are in danger..." he repeated himself. "Every single human will be condemned to suffer forever if I don't eliminate the witches and demons once and for all. It is a mission I was given, one I must complete soon, even if my own soul is destroyed I have to do it for you all."
"Um…" Camila was trying to understand what he was saying. "Who… gave you… this mission…?" She decided to start with.
Philip straightened himself up.
"The minister," Philip responded with a hint of pride in his voice before his eyes turned deadly serious. "He was chosen by God to be one of the saviors of humanity and has made sure I can save all of you before it's too late. Yes, I've taken so long to do it, but I can still save everyone. I just have to go back to that cursed place and finish what I started years ago. Your daughter has been brainwashed, tainted by those sinful creatures, but she can still be saved. You, as a mother, should try to help me bring your daughter back to God's path. Do not let those witches make you fall for their lies…"
Camila couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth. She thought Philip hated witches because of envy and was just a power-hungry villain, but now, she starting to see he thought himself he was some sort of hero, trying to save humanity from 'hell'. It was reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials, where people justified the killing of innocent individuals as they believed they were doing the right thing.
She realized that sitting across from her was not just a very dangerous, but disturbed as well...
For centuries, Philip seemed to have lived by beliefs that drove him to do what he believed was best for humanity. Despite the challenges, struggles, and even the curses - a curse that was proof that he was willing to risk even his soul to do what he believed was right - he faced along the way, he persisted in his mission.
To be honest, she kind of felt bad for him as well by the way he was molded by the culture and beliefs of his time, especially since they were so… wrong…
She wondered whoever this minister was responsible into making Philip believe that what he was doing was truly good. Like heck, Philip was currently suffering from a terrible curse and is still trying hard to complete his mission like a perfect soldier.
Camila felt sick to her stomach, knowing that Philip truly saw himself as a hero. How he probably believed that every terrible deed he has done to anyone, and everything he had to endure was for the greater good.
She didn't know what to say to him.
It was hard enough to tell humans, in their current time, who were hateful towards others who were different, they were wrong about their ignorant hateful views.
How could she try to make someone who has lived for so long understand that everything he has believed in up to now was wrong?
He clearly didn't know what was right and wrong…
And the possible chance that Philip may be mentally ill based on him seeing things that weren't there just… made this more complicated as well.
Camila feared for her daughter and her friends' safety if Philip found out that the oath was a fluke.
"You should eat your breakfast before it gets cold," Camila forced the words out as she grabbed her fork and knife, doing her best to change the subject.
She needed a lot of time to think of the appropriate approach to deal with the man's twisted beliefs.
Philip frowned at the fact he didn't get through to her.
Of course, she wouldn't believe him.
She had fallen by the witches' influences, just like his brother had.
Feeling awkward, he picked up his own fork and knife, instruments he hadn't used in centuries. As he gazed down at his plate, not wanting to take a bite, but of course he had no choice…
He cut off a piece of the pancake and took a bite of it, which made him wince at the foul taste.
He struggled to keep his expression neutral as he continued to eat.
Camila, who had turned her gaze back to him, noticed his discomfort, which confused her.
She was known to make amazing pancakes…
"Are they… really that bad?" Camila asked, trying not to sound like his reaction bothered her.
Philip remained silent, quickly chewing, and swallowing before giving the eggs a chance.
His jaw was still tense as he ate the eggs.
Great, Camila mentally thought, she already had a hard time trying to decide what she can feed Luz's friends so they wouldn't miss home too much. Now she had to figure out what Belos could eat, so he doesn't starve to death.
"I can make you something else if you prefer," Camila offered.
Philip's eyebrows furrowed in response.
"No," he responded coldly. "This is fine."
"No, it's not," Camila said with a sigh. "What do you prefer to eat?" she hoped he wouldn't say blood.
"I do not eat," Philip stated firmly.
"Are you like… allergic to many things…?"
Philip fought the urge to roll his eyes and kept his gaze fixed on his plate.
"Everything tastes like ash to me."
"Um… what…?" Camila blinked at his revelation.
"When… I was cursed, everything ended up tasting like ash," Philip revealed. "So, I simply stopped eating."
Camila stared at him in shock.
"Why didn't you tell me…?" she asked.
"I told you. I don't eat."
"Well, you could at least tell me why. I thought you were being stubborn…" Now Camila felt a little guilty.
Philip said nothing, staring down at his plate before he took another bite of his pancakes, which made Camila gawk at him.
"You don't have to eat it now!" she exclaimed.
"If I don't, then you won't return the notes to me."
"Oh my God, Philip… I don't torture people…" she tried to reason with him. She rose from her seat and went over to him. "Look, you're not eating that. I'll just throw it away," she tried removing the plate from him, but Philip kept the plate firm on the table with the end of his fork.
"Alright… now you're being stubborn," Camila exaggerated.
"You shouldn't let food go to waste," Philip responded automatically, which made Camila sigh.
"Mom?"
Both adults turned to Luz, who was standing now in the kitchen, glaring daggers at Philip with Willow and Amity with their staffs in hand.
"What's going on here…?" Luz was hesitant to ask.
"Oh, Luz, I'm sorry. Did I wake you girls up?" Camila asked, feeling bad since Luz didn't have to wake up for another half hour to go to school.
"We couldn't go sleep well," Willow admitted, and Camila realized she was telling the truth based on the bags under the girls' eyes.
"Oh," Camila felt bad for them. It was natural the kids wouldn't be able to sleep because of Philip's presence. At least the first night was going to be hard.
She noticed Philip wasn't holding down the plate as hard, so she took the chance to yank it away from him, without making a mess with the leftover food.
Philip looked up at her with annoyance.
"Don't worry, I'm not throwing it away," she assured him. "I'll just eat it before I go to work, alright? But I do need you to take a shower cause, I'm sorry to say this, but you smell terrible."
Camila expected Philip to respond with anger, but instead, he looked confused for a second, before a shade of red crossed his cheeks with what she believed was from shame.
He looked away, teeth clenched, embarrassed.
He didn't dare smell himself since it was only logical he would smell bad since he hadn't had a wash for a while…
And Now Camila was feeling bad as well for calling him out like that in front of the girls, especially since Luz let out a snicker.
'But… he has hurt your daughter many times…' Camila reminded herself.
Eventually, Camila had Philip follow her upstairs, after reassuring the girls she was fine and that Philip was heaving.
Philip stopped halfway in the hallway and stared at the countless pictures of Luz hanging on the wall.
Camila could see he looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"Hum… something wrong…?" Camila asked him.
Philip turned to her with an unreadable expression.
He asked himself, how could… a mother risk the soul of their daughter by… taking so many pictures…?
Philip didn't respond to Camile, completely disturbed.
She decided to not push him any further and led him to the bathroom.
Philip looked at the showerhead with confusion.
"I guess the Boiling Isles didn't have anything like this?" Camila guessed as she showed him how to use it the showerhead. "Humans have invented a lot of things since you last been here," she said. "Gravesfield has changed a lot, too."
"Gravesfield is still standing…?" Philip asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, well… we refer to the Gravesfield that you knew as the old Gravesfield," Camila explained. "You can use this shampoo and the conditioner for your hair. Also, you can use this towel over here." She motioned to a white towel hanging on a wall. "And, I don't have much clothes, but, I guess you can use these for now." She showed him the clothes that were folded on the toilet lid. "They're probably too wide for you. You can leave your current clothes in the basket there on the side so I can wash them later." She felt Philip tensed up near her. "Or… not…"
"I can do it myself," Philip stated, a bit defensively.
"Alright, alright," Camila sighed as she stepped around Philip, so she was outside of the bathroom.
"I go to work at 7 a.m. and come back at 5 p.m., so while I'm gone, I want you to be in your best behavior with the children," she told him. "I don't want you antagonizing them in any way. It's bad enough they didn't sleep last night. Remember what I said about calling the children… witches," she reminded him with a firm tone.
Philip had the nerve to look at her with half-lidded eyes, as if bored with her.
"I may just be a human, Philip, with no magic or powers, but I'm a mother, and trust me, you don't want to make a mother mad," she warned him.
"Understood, ma'am," Philip simply responded.
Camila sighed. She knew Philip wasn't taking her seriously.
"Well, I'll be gone when you finish, so… I'll see you later today," she said as she closed the door for him.
Philip locked the door and stood before the mirror. He glared at his reflection, at the way the left side of his face was consumed by the curse and how the horns were sticking out.
The left eye just looked so… expressionless as it just glowed blue.
He pulled himself away from his terrible form and in no time, he took off his clothes and went into the tub after turning on the showerhead.
He shut his eyes as he felt the hot water strike down on his cold body. He ignored the way half of his flesh was deformed by the green substance of the curse.
After letting his body warm up and relax from the hot water for a while, he finally began to lather his hair with the shampoo that Camila instructed him to use as he wondered how much Gravesfield had changed.
Then, all the sudden, he froze as he realized something.
If Gravesfield was still standing, then… the Titan's blood he had concealed in a flash and hid beneath the floorboards in the Minister's home may still be there…
He quickly washed off the shampoo on his hair and washed off the dirt and grime that had accumulated on his body before he rinsed off.
He twisted the faucets to stop the water from coming out and dried himself off. He didn't spend a second as he put on the simple large black shirt and sweatpants that Camila lent him as he walked out, finding all the kids gathered in the hallway, as if they were waiting for him.
"Oh titan, what are you wearing…?" Amity let out in pure shock at the way Belos was dressed and how his hair was soaking wet. Luz recognized the black shirt Belos was swimming in as one of the bigger shirts her mom loved using since it was very comfortable. She also recognized the navy sweatpants, that were a bit too short for him.
Belos ignored them as he walked over to the youngest of them all.
"I want you to accompany me to town," Philip said simply, making the boy blink with confusion.
Gus wasn't going to lie. He expected Philip to avoid him for a while, at least look embarrassed by how things went down the day before, by how the panic attack messed him up. But by Philip's cold expression, he seemed as if… nothing happened between them.
Which seemed very strange to the boy…
He could see why his friends believed Philip was faking things to get closer to them so he could manipulate them…
But Gus knew Philip was most likely trying to just forget it just like he had tried to with many past traumas.
Hunter stepped in front of him right away.
"He's not going anywhere with you," Hunter declared, defensive towards Philip.
"This doesn't concern you, boy," Philip said with a sneer. "Now, move aside. I have business with Gus."
"It does concern us," Luz added too with anger. "What do you want from him?" She tried to interrogate him.
Philip looked at all the children with half lid eyes.
He really didn't have time for them and was growing tired of their attitudes.
"I had hidden titan's blood somewhere in Gravesfield before I left for the Boiling Isles," he said. He was met with a mixture of surprise and skepticism by the group before he continued. "And I can't go looking for it the way I am. I need the boy to use his magic to alter my appearance."
"Oh, now you're okay with someone using magic on you?" Hunter scoffed.
Philip let out a growl of annoyance at the boy's direction.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go out," Gus spoke up before adding in due to Philip narrowing his eyes at him. "At least, not yet…"
"And let's be honest, it has been many years since you hid it. I doubt it will still be there," Amity said.
"But what if it is?" Willow pointed out. "And what if it's the only titan's blood we can get?"
Luz felt anxiety grip her chest at the thought of there not being any titan's blood on planet earth.
"Take him with you guys," Luz decided, making her friends look at her with confusion that she was okay with them going with him. "I wish I could go, but Vee and I have school and we can't skip any more classes."
"I'm not sure if Cami- I mean, mom is going to want them outside with him…" Vee let out.
"But we have no other choice," Luz argued before glaring at Philip. "You better not be pulling a fast one on us or else."
Philip rolled his eyes.
"You guys should probably go around noon, when there aren't so many people out and about," Luz suggested to her friends.
"I guess we should take the bus," Amity said as Philip decided to walk back to the bathroom to wash his old garments, since he decided he didn't want to be around the kids more than it was necessary.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Gus admitted to Hunter as he watched Philip shut the door and heard the running water again.
"Yeah, me too," Hunter agreed. "We can't trust him…"
Gus didn't say anything more, as he didn't want to tell Hunter that he was more worried that Philip may lose control again when he sees how much the human world has changed since he left centuries ago…
News!
I'm going to stop posting this story on this website and just going to focus updating it on archive of our own : o. So, just wanted to let others know this so they can move to the other website if they want to continue reading it~