A/N: Wow. I've only had this story published for a week and already it's gathered quite a bit of attention. I'm glad to see people are intrigued, even though this fanfic is essentially my own spin on a common trope that follows quite a few fics in this section. Thank you to everyone who has favourited, followed, reviewed and read this fanfic already. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Originally, I wasn't planning on updating this fic so quickly. But due to the attention it's received, I decided to 'get the ball rolling' by moving properly into The Owl House's first episode. This chapter was supposed to encompass the remainder of the events at the Conformatorium; however, the chapter got too long because of the extra scenes I added and I didn't want to overload anybody with a ton of information. So, instead of being split over two chapters, episode one is going to be split over three. I'll release the third chapter to complete the first episode as soon as I can before taking a brief break to focus on another fic of mine whose next chapter I need to finish, as real life events once again have to take priority. In the meantime, I kindly ask anyone to keep any Season 2 spoilers away from my reviews. I'm aware the exclusive peeks for the first two episodes have already been released a week early and I don't want myself or anyone who stumbles across this fanfic to be spoiled.
With that out of the way, please enjoy the second chapter. And once again... I apologise for the Hooty jokes. XD
Chapter 2: Quest for the Crown
For the blonde witch currently staring down the newcomer, it felt like time had frozen around her. With her body tensing and her breath hitching in her throat, Lizzie's mind became swarmed with so many panicked thoughts that she was convinced her head was about to explode.
'Witches don't have round ears! What is this creature? Is it a new kind of demon? How did they get past Hooty?'
A loud gasp from the stranger finally broke the tensed silence. Lizzie's attention returned to her as the girl pointed a finger at her, a hint of fascination flashing in her eyes. "Another witch!"
Lizzie paled and backed up a step, the hand holding the rag going to her chest when her breathing grew short and sharp. 'What do I do? I only know four spells!'
"Lizzie! Save me!" King took advantage of the distraction to slip from the girl's arms and onto the floor, running straight for the blonde witch and scrambling up the front of her vest. Lizzie stumbled backwards as King settled on her shoulder, his eyes narrowed at the stranger. "That monster tried to crush me!"
Before Lizzie had a chance to respond, the shorter stranger was suddenly in her face and poking at the tips of her ears. Up close, the witch saw the stranger had a bag hooked around one of her shoulders, further raising alarm bells in the older girl's mind. "Wow. You have pointy ears too."
"Don't touch those!" Lizzie yelled and swatted her arm at the girl, causing the latter to step back and recoil her arms to her chest.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"
"What are you?!" Lizzie cut the girl off and held the dustpan close to her body with a scowl, ready to fling the glass shards in it at the intruder if she had to. 'This is one of those times I wish I kept my potions on my person…' "How did you get in here?!"
"Calm down. She's with me," Eda said as she approached the trio and stood beside the stranger, finally allowing Lizzie to take notice of the older witch with a wide blink. She was no longer wearing the head scarf she'd previously left the Owl House in, but that wasn't important to Lizzie right now.
"Eda…" The blonde straightened her posture and dropped her shoulders, remembering that King had mentioned Eda's name before she'd walked in here. The younger witch glanced between Eda and the stranger multiple times as the former put a hand on the latter's closest shoulder. "You brought her here?"
"You honestly think a human can get past Hooty?" Eda snorted and roughly shoved the stranger's shoulder with enough force that she briefly lost her balance and fell forward a little. "Yeah, right."
Lizzie leaned her head back and closed her eyes with a sigh, her earlier fear vanishing in an instant. "Oh, that's a— Wait…" Her eyes shot open as she lowered her gaze to the stranger with a squint, with King's eyes widening as he stayed perched on her shoulder. "Did you just say human?"
Eda nodded and patted the human's shoulder gently this time. "This is Luz. She comes from the Human Realm."
The human, Luz, smiled slightly and waved. "Hi there."
The dustpan slipped from Lizzie's grip and clattered to the floor, spreading its contents at her feet. 'A human?! In the Boiling Isles?! She brought a human here?!'
"Uh…" Luz furrowed her brow and tilted her head as Lizzie and King gaped at her, eventually turning to Eda when neither demon nor witch spoke. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Far from it," Eda answered in a low voice as she bent down close to Luz and held the back of her hand close to her mouth. "Humans are a rare sight in the Demon Realm. Their imaginations are just running wild."
"Oh…" Luz slowly nodded in understanding.
"AH!" King became the first of the pair to react, screeching and ducking behind Lizzie's shoulder with his face buried into it. "No wonder she tried to crush me with her bony arms!"
"Eda," Lizzie's voice shook as she brought her trembling hands to her chest, her words coming out as nothing more than a quiet squeak. "why is there a human here?"
Eda righted her posture and held up her hands. "Relax. She's not going to hurt you." The older witch grinned and tapped a finger to her nose. "She's here to help us with our little situation."
Lizzie's eyes narrowed at this, while Luz slowly backed away from Eda with her shoulders hunched. "… What situation?"
"I would also like to know. It sounds ominous."
Eda held up a finger as she stepped backwards enough away from the trio to create a large amount of space between them. "Okay, just let me explain."
Placing one index finger above her head and the other index finger close to her middle, the white-haired witch alighted her fingertips with golden light and moved them in a clockwise direction, creating a golden transparent spell circle. Luz quietly gasped and put her hands close to her mouth at the sight, with King daring to peek over Lizzie's shoulder. But Lizzie's reaction remained the same, her gaze never leaving Eda as the witch completed the spell circle and then thrust her raised palms forward, conjuring up darkness inside of it that eventually blocked her from view.
'Why is Eda using her mystical projection spell?'
Lizzie's question was answered when a black, scaly, dragon-like creature with a skull head, two intact horns, and a golden crown on its head appeared to them, standing in front of a temple-like structure depicted behind it that had two snakes on either side being held by two greens hands with their thumbs and index fingers bent together. And yet the blonde witch's focus laid on the creature's eyes as Eda cleared her throat, which were pink with yellow sclera.
'Those eyes look familiar…'
"King was once a mighty king of demons, until—"
"Hold it." King hopped off Lizzie's shoulder when the younger witch cut Eda off and stomped her way towards her, stopping in front of the projection with her hands on her hips. "Is this about King's crown?"
"Yes. May I continue?"
Lizzie smirked. "Of course." She stuck her elbow through the spell circle and caused the projection to disperse into the air with a flash. "But do it without the theatrics."
"Fine…" Eda rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, turning to Luz as the girl's body hunched and King frowned.
"Aw…"
"Killjoy!"
"As I was saying,"—Eda shot Lizzie a quick sideways scowl—"King used to be a mighty king of demons until his 'Crown of Power' was stolen by the evil Warden Wrath. The crown is currently being kept behind a magical forcefield that no one can enter through. Except for a human." Eda indicated towards Luz with a hand. "Like Luz."
Lizzie placed a hand to her stomach at feeling a sudden wave of unease wash over her. Dots were already connecting inside her head, and she didn't like where she thought this was probably going... "Wait a minute. Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"
"If Luz helps us, we can retrieve King's crown," Eda continued, completely ignoring Lizzie, and leaned close to Luz, prompting Lizzie's eyes to droop.
'Yup. She is.'
"And in return, we'll send you back to your realm." The older witch stretched out her arms and grinned. "So, what do you say? Sounds like a solid plan."
'Whoa, what?!'
Lizzie gave a wide blink as Luz gripped at her elbow and looked away, her brow creasing. "I don't know…"
"Well, kid, we're kinda your only way home. Plus," Eda picked up King from the floor and held him by his head, causing his body to dangle in the air. "you can't say 'no' to this face, can you?"
King wiggled his legs about and put his paws on his head, fighting to escape Eda's grasp. "Ah, no! Don't encourage the human!"
Luz glanced sideways at King and pressed her lips together, tightening her grip on her elbow and turning her body away. "So, what you're saying is… I don't have much choice."
Eda's brows furrowed for a few seconds before she nodded. "I suppose I am."
Luz still seemed unsure with the idea, which is why Lizzie chose to approach Eda with a faint frown. "Hey, Eda, can I talk to you in private for a second?"
She didn't give Eda a chance to answer. By the time the white-haired witch was turning to her, Lizzie was grabbing her shoulders and shoving her out of the living room, causing King to screech as he fell to the floor from Eda's loosened grip.
"Whoa! Hey! Watch where you're shoving!"
Lizzie peeked back at Luz and forced a smile as she ushered Eda from the room, leaving the young girl giving a forced blink in response. "Excuse us for a moment."
"Wait!" Lizzie heard King call out to them as they rounded the corner into the darkened hallway, yet she paid it no heed. "Don't leave me alone with her!"
The blonde witch let Eda go and allowed her to right herself, completely undeterred by her annoyance as the other witch raised her arms. "What was that for?!"
"What are you doing?" Lizzie hissed, causing Eda's brows to momentarily raise at the anger seeping into her tone.
"Since when did you get a backbone?"
Lizzie jabbed a thumb into her own chest. "I've always had one. You've just never seen it because I usually stay out of your antics."
Eda smirked slightly and tapped her chin. "You should show it more often. It's a good look for you."
"Stop changing the subject." Lizzie quickly peeked behind the doorframe, just to make sure Luz and King hadn't heard them. Instead she was met with Luz cuddling King close to her chest as he flailed his legs around and tried to push himself free, squealing and poking him on the tip of his nose.
"You're such a cute little bundle of joy!"
"No! The King of Demons is feared! Feared!"
'Good. They're too distracted.'
Letting out a sigh, the blonde righted her posture and balled her hand into a fist. She did her best to lower her voice, even though her anger was causing it to rise. "You've crossed the line this time!"
Eda's smirk was replaced with a scowl. "What are you talking about?"
"Bringing a human through the portal just to get King's crown back?! You've done some crazy things, Eda, but that's low even for you!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Eda held her hands out and waved them about. "Don't get this twisted, kid. I didn't bring Luz here."
"Then how did she find the portal?" When Eda responded with a shrug, Lizzie's eyes widened. "You don't know?!"
"Nope." Eda looked up at the ceiling and scratched at her head. "I think she might've followed Owlbert. There was a book in the human treasures he found that she took back."
"So why didn't you send her back after that?"
"A guard found me. We had to flee. That was when I got the idea."
Lizzie slouched forward and sucked in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose as she exhaled.
'This isn't something I was expecting to deal with today. Normally, I only have to put up with minor antics from Eda, King and Hooty. But this? It goes beyond minor.'
There was a tense silence between the young witch and her technical employer before the former spoke again, her voice calmer this time. "Eda, you need to send the human back to her realm. Don't lie and blackmail her into helping King."
Eda wagged her finger. "I like to think of it as more of a deal, like what you and I have."
"But our deal isn't throwing me into danger." Lizzie stepped closer to Eda and poked her finger into her chest, keeping her chin up. "You want to send a human into the heart of a prison filled with magical and demonic creatures who would jump at the chance to go after her for a paper crown." She jabbed Eda's chest again with a little more force and closed the distance between them. "What if she gets eaten or hurt? Or worse…" Eda moved her head back as Lizzie's face came inches away from hers. "… what if the warden sees her?"
"Ha!" Eda laughed and lightly swatted Lizzie's hand away, snorting a bit as she put a hand near her mouth. "He's not a problem. He's easily intimidated when confronted by someone stronger." The older witch flipped her hair with a hand and grinned. "I should know."
"Be serious, Eda!"
"Besides, he's not going to see her."
Lizzie squinted at this. "What do you mean?"
"Because…" Eda placed both of her hands on Lizzie's shoulders. "you're going to help me keep the warden distracted."
Lizzie's reaction was delayed at first, but once Eda's words had sunk in, the blonde witch's body went stiff, like she'd been hit with an ice spell. She tried to speak, but her lips trembled so much only one word escaped as a quiet squeak. "Me…?"
"Who else is it going to be?"—Eda pointed a thumb in the direction of the living room—"King? Of course it's you!"
Without missing a beat, Lizzie shook her head and turned her back to Eda, gripping at both of her arms as she hugged them close to her body. "No, no, no! Absolutely not!"
"Why not?"
"Because this wasn't part of our deal." Lizzie hung her head and closed her eyes, feeling her body shaking within her hold. "We agreed I wouldn't be involved in your criminal activities."
Eda crossed her arms. "But it's not criminal activity."
"Well, they don't see it that way…" Lizzie closed her eyes tighter when her voice broke, pulling her chin further into her chest. Her shaking had started to ease off, but her knees were still close to knocking together. She felt as if she was about to collapse on the spot.
Silence took over for the second time between the two witches, prompting Eda to furrow her brow as she gazed at Lizzie's back. After it felt like a minute had gone by, the white-haired witch slowly approached the blonde, her tone 'matter of fact'.
"Look. I wouldn't be asking you if it wasn't important."
"You didn't ask…" Lizzie mumbled as she raised her head and opened her eyes when she felt Eda put her hand on her back.
"But it is important." Eda led Lizzie to the doorway of the living room, with the pair stopping just off to the side of the door frame. They could see King was free from Luz's hold now, but that she'd sat with him on the floor and was rubbing his belly, which King was kicking his right leg out at. "Since losing that dumb crown, the little sad sack hasn't been the same. You know how unlucky we are, so you understand where I'm coming from."
"Of course I understand." Lizzie turned her gaze to the dustpan and rag she'd dropped on the floor, her grip on her arms tightening at recalling King's kneeling figure despairing over the broken vial. A hand moved to her stomach. "Though I can't shake the feeling that this is too dangerous, even for you."
Eda turned Lizzie round to face her and frowned, holding the younger witch by the arms. "Even someone as powerful and capable as me needs a hand from time to time." The white-haired witch looked at the floor, with Lizzie mirroring Eda's frown when she detected the slight wobbling of nerves entering her tone. "If it was just King I had to worry about, I could handle this by myself. But we need the human to penetrate the barrier and she can't fight back. Put her and King together and it's a disaster waiting to happen."
"But I'm not any better, Eda," Lizzie replied quietly as she lowered her head to stare at her hands. The words she was about to say were already leaving a bitter taste on her tongue, yet the blonde witch swallowed and forced them as a mutter. "I'm a coward."
"I'd say you have a good head on your shoulders." Eda tightened her grip and raised her gaze, prompting the pair to lock eyes. "You have a knack for doing whatever it takes to avoid sticky situations, and that's something I want you to focus towards Luz."
"The human?"
"She's going to need more than me and King watching her back. Who else is perfect for that aside from you?" Eda smiled slightly and let Lizzie go. "I mean, you've spent the last three years honing that talent, and you rarely go anywhere!"
Lizzie pressed her lips together and gave the living room a sideways glance, seeing King was still receiving belly scratches from Luz. 'She isn't wrong. The whole reason I make those potions in the first place is in case Eda or I wind up stuck and need to make a quick getaway. They're good for distractions, and it allows me to store my magic as a backup in case I run out of it on hand. When she's on her own or with King, Eda can escape any problem without help. But now she's stuck with a human who can't defend herself and knows nothing about our realm. She's too impressionable, meaning she's more likely to need Eda to bail her out. That could cause problems…'
Lizzie focused back on Eda, her hand reaching for her own chest. 'Eda acts so vain sometimes. And yet deep down she cares enough about others that she puts it all on the line. It's a wonder her kindness hasn't gotten her captured.'
"I can't say I'm pleased that you're lying to the human, but…" The blonde witch closed her eyes and huffed. "do you promise to send her back to the Human Realm once we've got the crown?"
Eda placed a hand over her chest and nodded. "You have my word as a fellow outlaw."
Lizzie rubbed a hand against her forehead as her eyes drooped. "Then let me clean up my mess and get my stuff together before we head out."
Eda's smile widened at Lizzie's response. She reached out to pat the younger witch's shoulder. "I knew I could count on you."
"Don't push it, Owl Lady," Lizzie grumbled and watched Eda pull away with a chuckle.
"Let me know when you're done," Eda said as she returned to the living room, leaving Lizzie to groan and pull her palms down her face.
'Ugh! I can't believe I just agreed to that!'
She dared to peek between her fingers to see Eda interacting with Luz, who had since let King return to standing. Said demon was currently in front of the table, holding and petting a yellow item that Lizzie had been told was a 'duck' (whatever that was…). Two blue towels patterned with hearts and ducks were lying in the middle of the living room where King stood, leading Lizzie to assume King had dropped them after leaving the bathroom and encountering Luz and Eda earlier.
"Soon, Mr. Ducky, we shall drink the fear of those who stole my power!"
'On the bright side, King's good mood is back. I just hope it stays that way…'
"Sorry about that, human. When Lizzie's ready, we'll leave."
Luz tilted her head at the white-haired witch. "Where are we going?"
Eda grinned and put her hands together. "I can't say yet. But it's somewhere super fun."
'Liar…'
Lizzie kept that thought to herself. As much as she wanted to tell Luz the truth, she guessed that Eda had made up the whole charade for two reasons: one, to prevent the human from uncovering too much about the Boiling Isles, and two, to give her more incentive to help them by making her believe it was a mystical item of power. Considering she and Eda both knew the crown was useless and only cared about it because King did, it made sense that Luz would likely think the same as them and refuse to help.
Lizzie went to face the dustpan and rag and crouched to collect them, only to pause and raise her brows at noticing the glass shards from the broken vial were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, what happened to the mess?"
A loud burp was the response Lizzie got to her question, prompting all four heads to turn to the opened front door of the cottage. Hooty tilted his head and grinned, his cheeks flushing a faint pink.
"Hoot! Excuse me!"
Silence fell around the room as the reality of what just happened slowly sunk in, and whereas the trio in the living room were probably questioning how Hooty managed to get around undetected, only one thought left Lizzie's mind as she smacked her palm to her forehead.
'Dammit, Hooty!'
Surrounded by a towering, stone wall and arching bones in the landscape that resembled sharp fangs in the dark and blackened sky, a single, tall tower stood on the outskirts of Bonesborough, hidden from the town's residents at the centre. It had only one access point for those looking to enter, which was a large gate on a bridge; a bridge that only went one way for anyone who was unfortunate enough to be brought this far. Although she was concealed from view behind a corner of a smaller stone wall that encompassed the bridge, Lizzie could still see the ominous structure clearly enough, even as a streak of lightning struck the sky and highlighted it in all of its creepy glory. She pulled the hood of the black cloak she was wearing further over her head with one hand as the thunder rumbled and echoed around the area, her other one gripping tightly at the strap of the black satchel that was slung over her shoulder.
'I am so regretting my decision to come here.'
Lizzie was stood between Luz (who was peeking round the corner of the wall with King clinging to the back of her head) and Eda (who was facing away from everything with one hand to her hip and the other gripping her staff). The young human recoiled behind the wall at the thunder, voice shaking slightly as she spoke up.
"Where… where are we?"
"The Conformatorium," Eda answered flatly and rolled her eyes as Luz turned to look at the wall upon noticing one of Eda's wanted posters was stuck there. "It's a place for those considered"—Eda raised her hand to mimic air quotes with her fingers—"'unsuitable for society'…"
Luz tore the wanted poster off and held it close to her face. "Whoa. These guys really have the hots for you, don't they?"
Eda smirked at this and closed an eye as she leaned against her staff, raising a finger. "They do. But they can't catch us because we're too slippery!"
King climbed to the top of Luz's head. "I'm a squirmy little fella, especially covered in grease— Weh!"
The demon missed a step and slid off Luz's head onto the ground, making Lizzie chuckle. Luz squinted at the poster again and brought it closer to her face.
"Hey…" She turned to Lizzie with a blink. "How come you're not on there?"
As Lizzie opened her mouth to reply, Eda stood upright and placed an elbow on her shoulder, speaking for her. "Lizzie's my secret weapon. She rarely comes with us unless I feel her talents will give us an edge."
Lizzie directed a scowl at Eda and shoved her elbow away. "It's more accurate to say that I like to stay away from mischief. I'm only here today to make sure you get back to your realm in one piece."
"Oh?" Luz frowned as she rolled up the wanted poster and put it away in her own bag. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Lizzie pursed her lips for a few seconds before looking away. She wanted to say something else first, but quickly realised it could put the human off from helping them if she spooked her too much. "… Let's just say it's best you don't find out."
Luz gulped loudly and gripped a hand to her throat, turning to Eda and King while rubbing at it. Out of the corner of her eyes, Lizzie thought she saw the colour drain a little from her face. '… Yup. I'm glad I didn't say it.'
"So… what was the plan again?"
King (now on his feet again) pointed towards the tower concealed behind the circular wall. "You and I are gonna sneak up to the top of the tower. That's where they're keeping my crown."
Eda wrapped an arm around Lizzie's shoulders and pulled the younger witch to her side. "And Lizzie and I are gonna make sure the warden's distracted with her bag of tricks!"
Lizzie's eyes drooped, her arm moving to wrap around her satchel concealed by her cloak. "Please stop calling it that."
Eda shrugged and straightened herself out, letting Lizzie go. "I don't think I will."
Luz's mouth morphed into a wide smile as she let out a gasp and cupped her cheeks with her hands. "Can I wear a disguise?! I've been waiting to use this!"
Before Eda, Lizzie, or King had a chance to answer, Luz was already pulling her hood over her head and used her fingers to flick up two cat-like ears attached to the top, crouching slightly. "Meow, meow!"
The two witches and accompanying demon blinked simultaneously at this display before the latter spoke first. "That's hideous." He looked up at Eda and Lizzie. "But it works."
"Agreed," Lizzie mumbled. "It's perfect."
"You'll fit right in, kid," Eda commented and prepared to raise her staff. "All right, let's get this show on the road."
Lizzie and King were already aware of what Eda was about to do, so they were both quick to move when the Owl Lady raised her staff in both hands. Once King was standing closer to Luz and Lizzie had backed up close to the wall out of the way, Eda slammed the tip of her staff down against the ground, causing a bright golden light to spark from its tip. A golden glowing circle slowly grew and stretched out underneath Eda, Luz, and King until it was large enough, prompting Eda to smile and step back to admire her handywork while Luz was left staring at it with wide eyes. Lizzie and King were indifferent as they observed the spell circle, obviously knowing what it was and its purpose already.
"Hang on tight, kid," Eda said to Luz, prompting the latter to look at her with a forced blink.
"Why— Whoa!"
Luz stumbled backwards a bit when the glowing platform moved underneath her and King, lifting the human and demon into the air and carrying them towards the tower. Lizzie's eyes never left them as she stepped closer to Eda's side.
"Are you sure it's safe for the human to go with King? Maybe one of us should have stayed with her instead."
"She'll be fine. As long as she doesn't accidentally wander into any cells…"
Lizzie shook her head yet didn't say anything when she saw Eda positioned her staff in front of her. The owl palisman perched on top sprung to life as the bottom of the staff was tapped against the ground again, its eyes flashing yellow and its wings spreading out. With the flick of her wrist, the Owl Lady released her staff and made it levitate, watching as her palisman's wings flapped to make the staff fly. The staff flew away from the pair a little before looping round and approaching their direction again, prompting Eda to smile widely and reach out for Lizzie's closest arm.
"Up we go, kiddo!"
Eda allowed herself to fall backwards and pulled Lizzie with her right as the staff began to pass behind them, causing Lizzie to cry out in surprise when their bottoms came into contact with it. Now sitting sideways on the floating staff with Eda at the head, Lizzie gripped tightly at the wood with both hands as they swooped upwards from the ground and into the air, her cloak fluttering in the wind alongside Eda's untamed hair. It wasn't the first time she'd ever ridden on a staff, especially Eda's, but it was a rare occurrence, which is why she kept her gaze on her surroundings and avoided looking down for now. Yet that didn't stop her grip from tightening so much that her knuckles turned white.
'I am definitely having regrets.'
During their ascent, Lizzie spied Luz dangling by her hands from the windowsill of one of the lower floor windows of the tower, with King clinging onto her ankles for dear life. The platform they'd formerly been on was gone.
"See you guys at the top!" Eda shouted to the pair in passing, causing Lizzie's eyes to widen.
"Wait a minute." Her nostrils flared as she stared at Eda. "Why did you send King and the human in on their own when you could have just flown them to the top on your staff?"
Eda's brows raised, a forced blink following. "Huh…" She placed a hand to her chin and tilted her head up a bit. "I never thought to do that."
'Are you kidding me?!'
But Lizzie kept that remark to herself, growling instead. "Then coming with you was pointless, after all!"
"Not entirely. The warden could still be a problem."
"But how would he be a problem if all you've got to do is bring them to the contraband room, grab the crown, and then fly straight back out again?"
There was a brief pause before Eda shrugged her shoulders, causing Lizzie to gape and blink at her. "Oh, well. It's too late to turn back now."
"… Ugh." The blonde witch groaned and lowered her head. "I give up. You're impossible."
Eda chuckled and shook her head, keeping her gaze forward. "That's the word on the street, kid. You knew that the day you decided to come with me."
The pair slowed down when Eda's staff tilted upright and began to circle the tower. They kept a good distance from the structure as they gradually rose after doing a complete circle between each floor, just enough that they wouldn't be spotted easily. Eda kept quickly glancing through every window they passed to keep an eye out for the warden, but Lizzie found herself unable to peel her gaze away. Although she couldn't see properly into the tower, she still caught glimpses of the spirals of black bars of each cell going up to the top amidst the dim lighting. Thankfully, she couldn't see any of the prisoners lingering behind those bars, yet that didn't stop the thoughts of how miserable and downtrodden they probably looked…
'The outside really does the Conformatorium justice. This place is so creepy and ominous, but at the same time it's probably so depressing on the inside.'
The blonde witch fidgeted and shuffled closer to the Owl Lady, quietly swallowing at the thudding of her pulse in her throat. Eda peeked back at feeling the weight shift.
"You doing okay back there?"
Lizzie held her throat with a hand and tried to massage it with her fingers, cringing at the sweat she could feel greasing up her skin. "I feel like my heart and bile sac are in my throat."
Eda raised a brow. "Are you getting airsick again?"
"No. It's not that." Lizzie narrowed her eyes slightly. "Also, that was one time. It's not my fault you were going too fast."
Eda pulled at the front of the staff to force it to come to a standstill, with the owl's wings lingering outward. "Then what is it?"
Lizzie crossed her legs and focused on the tower ahead of them. From their current vantage point, they were facing a window into a darkened room. And while they couldn't see what or who was in there, Lizzie thought she could make out the outline of an object close to the window that resembled a torture rack, prompting her to rub at her arm at the brief chill that passed through her.
"I never thought I'd ever lay my eyes on the place I should have ended up in."
"Oh…" Eda followed Lizzie's gaze. "I forgot you didn't even make it as far as Bonesborough."
"And that was your fault."
Eda laughed and slapped her thigh, throwing her head back as she did so. "You bet it was!"
Lizzie gave a small smile at that, but it was quick to fade as she looked towards the bottom of the tower. "I had no idea what I was getting myself into back then. But now I can see they weren't rumours at all. The Conformatorium is as bad as everyone said it was…"
"Exactly as advertised."
"Have you ever been locked up in there?"
"The Conformatorium?" Eda waved Lizzie's question off with a hand. "Definitely not. I've been caught before, sure, but I've never been brought to this dump."
The blonde let out a loud sigh and dropped her shoulders, raising her head and giving Eda a sideways glance. "Then I guess I'm lucky."
Eda looked to Lizzie with furrowed brows. "Why?"
"Because if it hadn't been for you, I would have become a prisoner of the Conformatorium and not sitting out here." A faint smile graced Lizzie's face. "So… thank you, Eda."
"For what?"
"For technically rescuing me from a fate very few escape from." Her smile widened a little. "I never did thank you properly for that."
Eda couldn't stop her mouth from falling open at the comment, brief shock flashing across her face. But upon realising she'd let her vulnerability slip, the Owl Lady snickered and looked away.
"Would you look at that. Bringing you here was the right decision."
Lizzie's smile faded with a blink. "Huh?"
Eda faced the younger witch slightly with a smirk. "You didn't think I planned this whole operation just for King, did you? Sure, you're here to help with the distraction. But I thought that after getting a good look at this place, you'd start to feel better about your chosen path." The blonde stared at Eda as if she'd just been slapped in the face, making the older witch's smirk widen. "I bet you're not regretting your 'stupid mistake' now, huh?"
'Eda…'
Lizzie's lips quivered as her face scrunched up, looking to be on the verge of bursting into tears. Yet the blonde held the urge back with a sharp intake of breath through her nose, only to scowl and smack Eda in the shoulder with a hand. "You're awful!"
The Owl Lady burst out into laughter and wrapped her arms around her middle, leaning back on her staff so far she looked close to falling off. But just as Eda began to calm down and righted herself, the sound of a wooden door slamming against stone caught her attention. Lizzie and Eda whipped their heads to the window before them as high-pitched and muffled screaming filled the dark room, prompting the latter to scowl at the former and place a finger to her lips, with Lizzie responding with a nod. She knew that was her cue to stay quiet. They were far enough away from the window to not be seen, but she knew any noises made would still expose them.
Large footsteps stomped into the room as the hunched, muscular outline of a tall humanoid figure was faintly highlighted in view of the window, along with the continued squeals of a tiny creature Lizzie swore she could see squirming around in their giant hand. A deep and menacing voice left the larger being as they held the terrified creature up to their face, making the blonde's shoulders stiffen at the chill that ran down her spine and Eda's jaw clench.
"This should make you think twice the next time you refuse to conform."
The being raised its other hand balled into a fist and thrust it forward for a quick punch, releasing the creature as soon as it connected with its face. Lizzie's hands flew to her mouth to muffle her startled gasp as the tiny creature screeched and went shooting across the room out of view. A loud bang and crack followed and cut the screeching off, causing Lizzie to turn away and close her eyes with trembling hands. She didn't need to see it to know what had happened. The sounds were enough of a clue.
Meanwhile, Eda's eye twitched at the sounds made, but was soon turning away herself once it was over. Lizzie swore she heard Eda quietly snarl as the white-haired witch lightly tapped the side of her staff, prompting the owl's wings to start flapping again and the pair to resume their flight. But instead of flying forward, Lizzie noticed at grabbing the staff with her hands again that they were ascending to the top at a quickened pace. She glanced towards the ground with a blink.
"What are you doing?"
"It looks like I was wrong again, Redwood," Eda answered, speaking in her usual playful tone. "We don't need to distract the warden, after all."
Lizzie's eyes went wide, her head shooting up with a small gasp. "That was Warden Wrath?!"
Eda nodded without looking back. "It's probably a good thing someone else took the fall for us. That guy really loves to take his anger out on anything he can."
The colour drained from Lizzie's face at the realisation they'd technically dodged a bullet back there. 'Yikes. I didn't even get a proper look at him and yet his voice was more than enough to give me chills…'
The blonde sucked in a deep breath and moved closer to Eda, her response coming out as a quiet squeak. "And yet you were ready to pit me in a fight against that monster."
The Owl Lady grinned as she peeked back at Lizzie, lifting a hand from her staff to brush her knuckles against the younger witch's shoulder. "Don't look so worried, kid. We would have been fine. He's no match for the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles!" She looked away again. "But at least this way you have more ammo to spare for a real emergency."
"Yeah…" Lizzie pulled at her bag strap to move her satchel into her lap, briefly locking gazes with it as the faint rattling of bottles came from inside of it.
'Looks like I won't need Eda to restock my ingredients, after all.'
"All right. Let's go find the human and King. Hopefully they made it to the top without any trouble."
It didn't take long for Eda and Lizzie to reach the top of the tower from there; however, they didn't dismount from Eda's staff just yet. After locating a window and making sure there were no guards around, the pair flew inside and floated through bare stone and high ceiling hallways in search of King and Luz on their way to the contraband room. Luckily for them, each hallway they entered was silent and devoid of any guards, meaning they were safe to traverse with little stealth. In passing, Lizzie caught glimpses of faded and torn banners lined between windows. They displayed a familiar glyph depicting a triangle with bird wings spread out at the top and another set of bird wings drawn in at the bottom, with a sword on top of that and then a small circular shield on its blade.
'The symbol of the Emperor's Coven…' Lizzie's eyes drooped as she turned her gaze from the new set of banners, focusing on Eda instead. 'I'm not surprised to see it. Everyone who works here is under their jurisdiction.'
After manoeuvring through three hallways, Lizzie and Eda finally caught sight of the backs of Luz and King as they turned into their fourth hallway. Eda smiled as she and Lizzie gained on them, slowing her staff down so they were floating beside Luz. However, upon getting closer, Lizzie frowned a bit at seeing Luz's head was lowered, walking hunched forward with her brows pressed together and her gaze focused on her feet, as if she was in deep thought about something.
'Huh?'
"Hey, good news," Eda started, causing Luz and King to stop walking. Eda's staff finally came to a halt at this, allowing Lizzie to slide off while Eda leapt off. "We just checked, and it turns out the warden's distracted tormenting some tiny creature." Eda held out her hand as her staff flipped upright, catching and twirling it once around her fingers out of habit. "We're okay to proceed without worrying about him coming around."
Luz didn't say anything or even look up at either Eda or Lizzie. Instead the young teen walked straight past the two witches without any form of acknowledgement, causing Lizzie and Eda to watch her go with a raised brow, with the latter putting a hand to her hip. When Luz was far enough ahead to be out of earshot, Lizzie turned to King still standing with them.
"Hey, what's wrong with the human?"
King raised his arms and shrugged. "Beats me! She's been all gloomy since we left the cells."
Lizzie folded her arms and returned her gaze to Luz, who she noticed had stopped in front of a tall and heavy looking door that stretched all the way to the high ceiling, labelled with 'Contraband' in bold, capital letters. 'Gloomy, huh…'
Upon taking notice of the door, King's tail started wagging, his little paws curling into tiny fists. "There it is! My crown is close! I can sense it!"
Eda and Lizzie watched the little demon dash towards the door on two legs, holding his arms out. He started to scratch at the door with his claws, but quickly stopped at realising they weren't even making a dent. King's eyes eventually locked with something big and round above him on his right. "Aha! A doorknob!"
King crouched and then leapt upwards with a grunt, reaching his arms out to wrap them around the doorknob and pull himself on top of it. Lizzie and Eda moved to stand on either side of Luz as King yanked at the doorknob, prompting the latter to smile a little out of amusement at the grunts of effort he made.
"Heh. He gets so cute when he's worked up."
Lizzie peeked over her shoulder at the hallway behind them, focusing on the entrance. Aside from the occasional noises King made as he wrestled with the door, the young witch realised that the area was quiet, causing her eyes to narrow.
'You know… now that I think about it… we haven't seen any guards at all since entering the top floor of the tower. You'd think a prison would have frequent security.'
A tug on her cloak brought Lizzie out of her thoughts with a blink, her head turning to be met with Luz staring up at her, her brows knitted together. "Um… Lizzie?"
Lizzie caught Eda covering her mouth and muffling her chuckling out of the corner of her eyes, yet she kept her focus on Luz and loudly cleared her throat. "It's Elisabeth."
Luz blinked a couple of times. "Oh, is it? Sorry."
Lizzie waved Luz off with a hand. "Don't worry about it. You were saying?"
Luz grabbed the strap of her bag and fiddled with it, twitching her feet. "Are you like Eda?"
Lizzie's brows raised at the question along with Eda's, the pair briefly exchanging glances as the former answered. "What do you mean?"
"Like…" Luz twirled her hand around, as if trying to think of the word she was looking for. "… a witch criminal?"
The blonde tapped a finger to her chin and quickly looked up to the ceiling with a squint. She knew what she wanted to say but taking into account that Luz was a human without any knowledge on their world, she tried to think of a way to phrase it that she would understand. "Well…"
"In the eyes of the law, we are," Eda answered, prompting Lizzie and Luz to turn to her with forced blinks. "but I'd say we aren't. Or at least Lizzie isn't." Eda faced away from the two girls while rubbing the back of her neck. "I've done some things that are… morally questionable. As for Lizzie…"
"I'd say I haven't done anything worth getting locked up for."
"So," Luz looked to Lizzie with the tilt of her head. "you're just like everyone else here? They want you locked up because you're being yourself?"
Lizzie nodded. "I guess so."
Luz pursed her lips, her grip tightening on her bag strap. "But that's not fair. None of you have actually done anything wrong. Why do they think it's so bad to be different?"
Lizzie and Eda didn't have time to process Luz's question before something dropped to the floor with a small thud and rolled to a stop at their feet, catching the trio's attention when they realised it was the doorknob from the contraband room door. King let out a triumphant cackle and jumped once from excitement, continuing to chuckle as he shoved the door partially open and ran inside. Eda went to follow him, beckoning Luz and Lizzie along with a hand.
"C'mon. If we don't hurry up, he's gonna—"
"Ow!"
King's cry of pain followed after a brief electrical zap sounded from inside the room before Luz and Lizzie had even taken one step, interrupting Eda and making the Owl Lady huff as she continued walking and completed her sentence. "… hurt himself."
Lizzie stayed back and allowed Luz to go ahead of her, giving the hallway behind her another quick glance. When she was sure she couldn't see anyone, she stepped after the trio into the contraband room, taking the opportunity to get a good look at the room's interior in case they needed to make a hasty exit. The contraband room was a spacious, square, and green area with high windows along the left wall and the banners of the Emperor's Coven's glyph decorating the back and right walls, all of which were ripped in some way. Slightly raised flooring and accompanying steps lined the outer parts of the room, while a bright, circular, yellow barrier rested right in its centre. Lizzie assumed that's where the contraband was kept, especially upon seeing King sitting directly in front of it and rubbing his head. Once again, they were alone, as Lizzie couldn't hear or see any movement in this room other than from their little band of 'outlaws'.
'This seems almost too convenient. But considering no magical or demonic beings can penetrate the barrier, I suppose it's possible they don't see the point in guarding the place…'
"King, you doofus," Lizzie said as she joined Eda and Luz where they were standing next to King, directing her hands towards the latter of the pair. "Did you forget why we have a human with us?"
"… Oh, yeah," King mumbled and slowly got to his feet, turning to look at Luz as she eyed the magical barrier up and down.
"So, uh… what am I supposed to do?"
"Just walk through to the other side," Eda explained, getting down on one knee beside King and placing a hand to his shoulder. "Don't worry about it zapping you. It only affects beings like us."
Luz closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling as she inhaled and exhaled. The trio with her didn't say a word and watched her in silence, acknowledging that she was mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. Upon opening her eyes, Luz approached the barrier without a break in her stride and raised her left hand, continuing forward even as her palm came into contact with the light. Lizzie's jaw dropped at witnessing Luz slowly phase through until she'd completely disappeared from sight, causing the young witch to rub at her eyes and blink. But she definitely wasn't seeing things, as even afterwards she found Luz was still out of sight.
'It's true. The human phased through that barrier like she was walking straight into light. I've never seen anything like it…'
As Eda stood up and waited silently along with King for Luz to return, Lizzie peeked back at the door to the room with her hands on her hips. There was still no sign of any guards present, and while Lizzie wanted to believe Eda was that great of a con artist, the palpitations she could feel pounding in her chest were telling her otherwise. Something didn't feel right.
"Hey, Eda? Are you normally able to slip in and out of places without encountering any guards?"
"Hm?" Eda tilted her head and blinked. "What's with that question?"
Lizzie faced the older witch with a hand to her chest. "I don't know. I just… feel like this is all too convenient. We haven't seen any guards patrolling. King broke that handle off way too easily…" She rubbed at her chest with a hand. "Something just doesn't feel right."
"Quit being a worrywart!" King piped up and jabbed a claw into his chest, holding his chin up and his back straight. "I opened the door with my natural demon strength! And once I get my crown back, I'll be even stronger!"
"Please," Eda replied and rolled her eyes. "You have the natural strength of a new-born."
King whipped around and scowled, looking ready to yell a retort at the Owl Lady. But he was stopped in his tracks when a cardboard box full of random items tumbled through the barrier and crashed on its side, causing its contents to spill out onto the floor. Luz emerged just behind it, frowning and narrowing her eyes as she held up a golden, paper crown in her hands with a red circle and the words 'Burger Queen' printed on the front.
"… Is this it?"
"My crown!" King dashed over to Luz after his excited cry with his arms in the air, making grabbing motions with his paws. The young teen handed King the crown without complaint, placing a hand to her hip as she watched the little demon look up and place the item on his head. "Yes… Yes!" King clenched his paws and stretched his arms out, taking on a wide stance with a straightened posture. "I can feel my lost power returning!"
Eda and Lizzie exchanged glances and small smiles as King frantically searched the room before his gaze landed on a stuffed toy rabbit with button eyes sticking out of the overturned cardboard box. He scowled and pointed at it. "You there, nightmare critter!" King bent at the knees slightly and stomped his way towards the toy, collecting it into his arms. "I shall call you 'François' and you will join my army of darkness!"
Lizzie flinched when she felt Eda lightly elbow her in the ribs, causing her eyes to droop at the sight of the older witch smirking at her. "What did I tell you? It was worth it, wasn't it?"
The blonde sighed and watched as King giggled while excitedly stomping around on the spot, her smile widening as he held 'François' above his head. She felt a warm feeling spread throughout her chest, knowing it was because she was glad to see King so happy. "Yes. I'll concede to you this time."
"Ahem." Eda and Lizzie turned to Luz at hearing the girl clear her throat, seeing her holding out her hands towards King. "That crown's worthless, isn't it?"
Their smiles fell at remembering they'd technically lied to Luz about the crown, prompting Eda to hesitate. "Uh…"
Lizzie had expected Luz to work out the ruse eventually, since the item in question was from her realm. So, this wasn't a surprise to her. The Owl Lady looked to Lizzie for help, but all Lizzie did was shake her head and jab her thumb towards the human teenager with them.
"Tell her, Eda."
Eda forced a smile and focused back on Luz, stretching her arms out with the tilt of her head. "Yeah, it is." Luz frowned and crossed her arms, clearly not impressed and waiting for an explanation from the lying witch. At seeing this, Eda finally dropped her act and stopped smiling. She slumped and let out a long and heavy sigh that made Luz's expression soften. "Look at us, Luz." Eda held out her hand towards Lizzie beside her. "King, Lizzie and I don't have much here. We only have each other to rely on. So, while that crown might be worthless to some, it's important to King because it makes him happy. Which makes it important to us too."
Lizzie nodded to this and held her arm with a hand, glancing over at King with a small huff of her own. "I thought it was a dumb idea at first. But this is the first time I've seen that little furball so happy in days. He really loves that thing, so getting it back in the end was worth it."
"It was." Eda grinned and pulled Lizzie to her side, causing the blonde to squeak in surprise as the Owl Lady hooked an arm around her neck. "See, Luz?" She winked at the young teen. "Us weirdos have to stick together."
Luz briefly gaped as she looked between the witches, taken aback by their sentiments for a moment. But when Eda let Lizzie go and stepped away, she blushed and gave a wide smile.
"We owe you one, kid," Eda started, placing her staff upright and her other hand to her hip. But it was around this time that Lizzie's ears twitched at hearing thudding footsteps approaching from behind, prompting her to instinctively whip her head back as Eda continued talking. "Now, let's get going before the warden finds us and loses his head."
The moment Lizzie's green eyes fell upon a familiar tall, hunched, muscular silhouette of a certain warden looming over the Owl Lady, the blonde felt her entire body seize up. It was as if she'd been set up to be petrified, her body now as still as the stone of a statue. She opened her mouth to shout a warning to the oblivious Eda as the silhouette raised his right hand while it morphed into the shape of a sickle, but all that came out were strangled and breathless noises. Her breath was caught in her throat, allowing the warden's deep and menacing voice to announce his presence on her behalf.
"Too late."
The warden swung his right arm forward in a blur just as Eda's smile dropped and her eyes widened slightly. But by then it was already too late. Before anyone in the room could process what was happening, the warden's sickle had made a clean cut through Eda's neck, sending her head flying from her body and straight into a horrified Luz's hands as the young girl gasped loudly and stepped back out of shock.
Silence briefly fell around them as Lizzie stared at Eda's head's opened eyes and stuck out tongue in Luz's hands, with her own eyes so wide they looked close to bulging from their sockets. She remained a frozen observer even as Luz let out a glass-shattering scream and held the Owl Lady's head as far away from her as she could. Everything had happened so quickly that her mind just couldn't register what she'd just witnessed. And yet, there was no denying it…
Eda had been decapitated.
