A/N: ... Welp. This one turned out much longer than I was anticipating. I'm so sorry. XD Even despite what I'd cut out of the episode, it seems the extra scenes I threw in really crunched up the word count. Makes me scared to see how far Chapter 6 is gonna go... I will take this opportunity to mention that with Season 2 still airing, I am purposely taking my time with uploads anyways and being vague towards my OC and her past. This is just to prepare myself against specific revelations being made where world-building is concerned in case I have to alter the direction of things, even though for certain twists I have in mind I do already have loopholes. I do want to stick to canon as much as I can, so if Season 2 does wind up disproving anything I may have established in this fanfic, I will let you know if I've gone back and made any changes to certain sections, because I have a feeling I might do that... I'm a fan of accuracy. ^^' But, keep in mind that outside of my real life responsibilities, Season 2 is the other reason I am being a little lax with updates. I'll add that Chapter 6 might be a little more delayed than I would like, since real life responsibilities are starting to get intense. But I will post it as soon as I can.

Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, favouriting, reading and following this fanfic, and a special 'thank you' to the anonymous guest reviewer on the last chapter who posted before this update. I've been waiting for a review like yours. I am glad to know there are people out there intrigued by my OC. You don't know how happy I was when I saw it. XD I do hope you all enjoy this chapter.


Chapter 5: Stalkers vs Scammers

Whenever Lizzie made her deliveries around Bonesborough, she rarely had any hiccups with them. She followed her usual route, delivered the packages, and then moved on to the next one. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Well, let's just say the same couldn't be said now that she had an oblivious human and lazy demon to babysit.

The blonde witch couldn't take her eyes off Luz for a few seconds without something trying to eat her or (in a few cases) Luz deciding to touch something despite saying she wouldn't. One minute, the human was all fine and standing behind her, waiting for the delivery to be done. But by the next minute, just as she'd turned away, Lizzie would hear screaming or other random noises and turn back around to find at least one body part of Luz's being munched on by another creature, only to be forced to either use her magic (if it was a big creature) or physically yank the being away from the human before any proper damage was done (if it was a tiny one). And yet every time, King was miraculously nowhere to be found, often getting distracted by a stall that had some kind of food that he apparently wanted or because he'd walked off and didn't care for what was happening. It seemed that even with Luz's hood hiding her ears, it hadn't completely shielded the poor girl from being identified as 'human' in other ways.

After the most recent incident (in which poor Luz almost got swallowed whole by a mouth disguised as a doorbell of all things), Lizzie decided enough was enough and that they needed to take a break before Luz got seriously hurt or worse. The trio found a shaded space around the corner of a stone house and sat on the pavement next to the cart of the 'Not Dog' vendor, with King sitting next to the 'Not Dog' cart (for reasons that were too obvious for Lizzie), Luz beside him, and then Lizzie and her almost empty sack beside her. While King was busy munching on the 'Not Dog' he'd recently purchased (which was just an accumulation of bugs and other strange things shoved between two bread buns), Lizzie was preoccupied with Luz's left arm, which she held between her hands over her lap. The blonde witch carefully moved Luz's arm around, her eyes scanning for any sign of injury.

"Does it hurt when I do this?" She asked, prompting Luz to shake her head, observing the witch's actions with drooped eyes.

"No."

Lizzie quietly sighed at that, her eyes briefly closing. "Good."

Lizzie couldn't help giving Luz credit, though. Despite everything she'd endured during these deliveries, she'd somehow managed to come out unscathed. Physically, that is. Mentally, Lizzie could tell Luz had been shaken up by the 'near-death experiences' based on how pale her face currently looked and the slight trembling she could feel. Honestly, she couldn't help but feel really bad for the human.

She held Luz's arm still and gave it one final look before releasing it, wiping her own arm across her forehead. "I don't see any visible injuries, so you're probably fine."

'Which is lucky because I don't know any healing magic…' She did well to keep that thought to herself.

Luz raised her arm close to her face and slowly twisted it around, giving it another look just to be sure. "I still can't believe that doorbell tried to eat me."

"I did tell you not to touch anything."

Luz held her hands out to the side and shook them a bit. "I thought you meant like… an enchanted book! Not a doorbell!"

Lizzie shook her head to that. "Trust me, human: everything in this realm is dangerous, even if it doesn't look it."

"That includes me!" King declared while swiping bread crumbs from around his mouth with his paws.

Lizzie snorted and responded in a mocking tone. "Says the little demon who sleeps with toy animals~."

King's jaw tensed as he clenched his paw into a fist and shook it around. "They are minions in my army of darkness! Do not mock me, witch!"

She continued with her mocking tone. "Or else what? You're gonna set your minions on me?" She shifted to sarcasm as she placed her hands to her cheeks. "Oh, no! I'm so scared!"

King stood up and stomped his feet. "Ugh! Why must you torment me?!"

Lizzie chose to reply to the rhetorical question by sticking her tongue out, causing King to growl and look away with a loud "Hmph!". But Lizzie's teasing was soon cut short at seeing Luz lean her arms against her knees with a huff, her gaze downcast.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I wanted to believe that being the only human in a magical world made me special. But all it does is make people scream at me or want to eat me." She rested her chin on her fists. "By now, Azura was already sent on an enchanted quest. Where's mine?"

Lizzie furrowed her brow as she stared at the disheartened human sat beside her. She wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about, but she could still get the gist of it.

'This human really wants to become a witch, doesn't she?'

After a moment of silence between the trio (except from King, who plopped down and continued to grumble under his breath with his arms crossed), Lizzie reached an arm over to wrap it around Luz's shoulders, causing the young teen to flinch in surprise and raise her head.

"I know Eda's methods and ideas seem a little… unorthodox, but you two made a deal. And Eda never goes back on those." Luz's brows raised at this, prompting Lizzie to smile slightly and retract her arm after giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "You just need to give her the benefit of the doubt. She's never had to teach a human magic before, so she's just as new to this as you are."

Luz stared at Lizzie for a solid minute before pressing her lips together, her head tilting to the side. "How long have you known Eda?"

Lizzie leaned back a bit with a blink, completely taken off guard by Luz's question. Yet the blonde was soon looking off to the town around them at concluding the question would have popped up sooner or later, resting her arms on her thighs. "Three years."

Luz gaped at this, almost as if she had some sort of epiphany that Lizzie remained oblivious to. But the reaction was brief as she sat up. "And does that include how long you've worked for her?"

"It does."

"Huh…" Luz trailed off with a frown and looked away, placing a hand to her cheek. The witch and human sat in silence for a moment before Luz chose to speak again, after her eyes locked with Lizzie's satchel against her side from under her cloak. "You said that Eda wasn't your teacher."

"I did."

"So…" Luz's frown deepened. "who was it that taught you to use magic?"

"Oh?" Lizzie smirked at the question, immediately recognising why Luz was probably asking. "Is someone already losing faith in their current teacher~?"

Luz's eyes widened, prompting her to raise her hands and wave them about. "No, no! I'm not doubting Eda! I just—"

Lizzie cut Luz off with a snort and lightly flicked the young human in the forehead with a finger, making Luz lean away. "I was just kidding. I know you're only curious." She ignored Luz's pout and rubbing motion to her forehead as she pulled back. "It's not common practice for witches to be apprentices to other witches. I learnt magic the same way every other witch did, which was mostly through my parents."

Luz pointed at Lizzie's satchel. "Like your potions?"

A loud "Ha!" sounded from King, causing Luz and Lizzie to turn to him when he made his way over to stand between them. "No way!" The little demon jabbed a claw in Lizzie's direction. "Lizzie's potions are the reason she's with us in the first place."

"Part of the reason, King," Lizzie corrected with drooped eyes, a hand subconsciously patting her satchel.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaat…?" Luz said as her mouth fell open, only to narrow her eyes after a few seconds. "They're not supposed to explode or release flashes?"

"Well, they are. Just not with magic. You're not supposed to mix magic with the ingredients because it can create dangerous concoctions that strengthen its effects. Which is obviously what I do."

Luz gasped and shuffled close to the older blonde. "That was your magic in those potions?!"

"Yes."

"Whoa…" Lizzie moved back a bit to make some space when Luz's eyes went wide and her hands went close to her mouth. "Do you think you could teach me how to do that?"

Lizzie cleared her throat and turned to collect the sack from the ground, taking that as their cue to continue with their deliveries. 'Good to see the human back in high spirits.' "We'll see. You still have to learn magic first."

King climbed onto Lizzie's shoulder as she went to stand up, with Luz copying Lizzie soon after. "Whew! Time to head home! I can finally have that nap!"

"Not yet, King." Lizzie reached into her satchel and took out the note with the address on it, preparing to walk off with Luz after giving it a quick glimpse. She kept the sack dangling at her side instead of throwing it over her shoulder. "We still have one more delivery to make."

"We do?" King tilted his body and held onto the sides of Lizzie's head for support so he could look at the paper. "Didn't we go through all of Eda's regulars?"

"Yes. But she's accepted an outside referral from someone new."

"Since when did Eda accept 'outside referrals'?"

"Since now, she said."

King rolled his eyes as Lizzie returned the note to her satchel. "Typical Eda; always looking for a chance to be a snail-grubber."

Lizzie raised a hand to pat King on the head with a light chuckle, just as the trio entered a busy and bustling street. "Don't worry. We don't have far to go. We'll deliver this last package and then head home."

King turned to Lizzie in preparation to respond, but he stopped short when he saw something move from the right corner of his vision. The little demon whipped his head to the side and focused on the crowd as Luz made a comment in his place, his eyes catching sight of a familiar black uniformed figure dipping in and out of the crowd level with them.

"I'm glad." Luz rubbed at her left arm, allowing her shoulders to drop. "It's been a rough day. I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible."

"I don't blame you. Frankly, I'm surprised you're not traumatised yet."

"So am I."

King let out a quiet gasp and leapt to Lizzie's other shoulder, placing a paw close to his mouth and lowering his voice. "Psst! Redwood!" When Lizzie gave King a sideways glance, he slyly pointed to the right with a furrowed brow. "Guard at 3o'clock!"

Lizzie's eyes widened at this, her head turning slightly to follow King's claw without making it obvious. Sure enough, she could see the familiar uniform of the guard bobbing between various people in the crowd, catching their gaze locked in their direction. 'Oh, snap.'

The blonde witch swallowed thickly and grabbed onto Luz's closest wrist tightly, picking the pace up in her walking while causing the young human to stumble at the slight pull.

"W-Whoa! Lizzie—?!"

"Sssh!" Lizzie shushed Luz and placed a finger to her lips, tilting her head a couple of times to the right to subtly gesture towards the guard.

"Huh?" Luz furrowed her brows at this, but when she followed Lizzie's gesture and saw the familiar bird-like mask of the guard, her shoulders stiffened as she quickly looked away. "Uh-oh."

"Yup," Lizzie muttered. "Uh-oh."

"Do you think they want revenge for what we did at the Conformatorium?"

King answered as he adjusted his position on Lizzie's shoulder, so he was holding onto the back of her cloak. "Nah. They're always patrolling the streets for troublemakers." He scowled and shook his fist. "That's how those fiends took my crown!"

Luz gulped and held her throat, prompting Lizzie to step in. "It's fine." She focused her gaze towards the trio's left, spying a narrow alleyway coming into view a good distance ahead. "We just need to lose them in the crowd before we reach that alleyway. That's where the delivery needs to be taken to."

"Then you might want to pick it up. We have a persistent stalker on our tails."

At King's almost yelled remark, Lizzie dared to peek over her shoulder, only to grit her teeth and just about fight off the urge to growl. The guard had moved so they were behind the trio, and while they were still a fair distance away and blocked off by quite a few people, they had also increased their pace to try to match theirs. They were definitely coming after them.

Lizzie's breathing quickened as she began to jog, feeling her pulse pounding in her ears when she faced forward again. "This isn't going to work." She glanced between Luz and King, with the former holding onto her hood and jogging a little to keep up and the latter clinging to her for dear life. "If we start running, we'll draw attention to ourselves. But if we stay at this pace, that guard is going to catch us."

King peeked back at the guard and tilted his head, his pink eyes watching them weaving in between groups of people to avoid pushing them out of the way. "You know, if Eda was here, she'd just use her staff and zoom us away."

Lizzie growled, making the little demon flinch as she snapped. "Yeah, well, she's not. If you're gonna suggest ideas, at least make them useful." When King didn't respond, she quickly looked his way to see him frozen on her shoulder, acting like she'd just slapped him across the face. It took a few seconds before she processed what she'd said, prompting her to lower her head and focus ahead when she did, her voice quiet. "I-I'm sorry."

But surprisingly, King didn't respond negatively. In fact, despite the situation, he briefly released a paw from Lizzie's cloak to pat her on the back of the head, probably because he'd noticed the poor blonde was shaking terribly. "No, no, you're right. I forget you don't have to deal with these situations much." He had another brief glance behind him, just to make sure the guard wasn't getting any closer to them. "Maybe we should just forget the package and get out of here. I'm sure Eda would understand."

"We can't, King. We're nowhere near any exits. And for all we know, there could be more guards waiting for an ambush."

"Then what else can we do?"

Lizzie felt her satchel hit against her side as she slipped between two groups of beings in front of them, prompting her mouth to fall open with a gasp when an idea popped into her head. It was a reckless one, but it wasn't like she had anything better.

"Create a diversion." Lizzie shoved the sack into Luz's closest hand and yanked the human towards the left, manoeuvring them through the crowds to stand near the alleyway even as Luz let out a startled cry.

"W-Wait, what?!"

Lizzie grabbed Luz by the shoulders and positioned her close to the wall. "I'm going to break one of my vials to distract the guard. When I do,"—she pointed towards the alleyway, with Luz following her finger—"you'll have five seconds to run into that alleyway. Wait there with King until I get back, okay?"

"With me?" King questioned. But Lizzie ignored him and reached her hand over to grip him by the scruff of the neck, lifting the little demon from her shoulders over to Luz's. "Nyeh!"

Luz gripped at the sack with both hands and furrowed her brow as Lizzie stepped away and opened her satchel. "B-But what if you get caught?" The young teen looked to the street, seeing the guard gaining on them as they shoved through a small group, forcing them to disperse. "If we stick together, maybe we could—"

"It's not worth the risk, human." Lizzie cut Luz off with an even tone, but internally she felt like her heart had slithered up into her throat. "I'm usually fine on my own, but I have you and King to think about now."

Despite her clammy palms, the blonde gripped at the vial containing her light potion as tightly as she could, waiting for the guard to get closer and remaining oblivious to Luz pressing her lips together and lowering her head a little. Lizzie took large backward strides as the guard emerged from the last of the bustling crowd of people and charged headfirst towards them, raising the vial above her head and glancing towards the human and demon duo to shout. "Get ready!"

"Halt!" The guard yelled in a deepened voice, reaching for his sword handle as Lizzie sucked in a quick breath to calm her trembling hand.

'You can do this. You have to.'

Once her breath was released, Lizzie threw the vial down and whipped her body around to avoid the flash, with Luz doing the same and shielding her eyes with her arms seconds before the vial smashed against the ground. "Go!"

The guard had been close to freeing his weapon from his waist once he was in range of Lizzie, yet with the release of the blinding flash he was forced to skid to a stop and cover his hands over his eyes, crying out along with anyone else who was nearby. During the brief commotion, Luz dashed as fast as she could and slipped into the alleyway Lizzie had directed her to. Meanwhile, Lizzie had started running on ahead through the street, already coming up with a vague plan in her head.

'I'll lure the guard as far away from the human and King as I can. And then faking a disappearing act should be enough to confuse him.'

Once the light potion wore off, the guard dropped his hands and blinked multiple times to get his bearings, shaking his head in the process. "What was tha—?" He interrupted himself at catching the back of Lizzie's cloak moving ahead of him, causing him to scowl and resume his earlier chase by breaking out into a run. "Hey! You there! Stop!"

Luz pressed her back flat against the wall and held King close to her chest as the pair watched Lizzie fleeing down the street with the guard in pursuit, subconsciously holding her breath until the blonde witch and guard were out of sight. The human slumped against the wall and loudly exhaled, bringing the sack close to her chest. "I can't believe that worked."

"Neither can I," King agreed, continuing to stare at the area Lizzie had last been seen in as he jumped out of Luz's arms and landed beside her feet. "Looks like Lizzie shares Eda's quick thinking." His eyes drooped. "Well, when she isn't panicking."

Luz raised her head and focused on the shaded and narrow alleyway they were now standing in, balling her hands into fists around the top of the sack. "… Hey, King? Lizzie's gonna be okay, right?"

The little demon faced Luz with a small shrug. "She did well against the warden. She can outrun one of his tiny minions."

Luz slowly nodded to that, her grip tightening on the sack in her hands. "Good to know." The young teen started walking further into the alley, causing King's brows to raise.

"Luz, where are you going?"

Luz answered without looking back, squaring her shoulders. "To deliver the last package."

At seeing Luz wasn't going to stop, King tried to catch up to her by breaking out into a run. "But what about Lizzie?!" He pointed back from where they'd come from at reaching Luz's side, his eyes wide. "She said to wait until she came back!"

Luz looked down at King with a forced smile, even daring to pat the little demon on top of his head. "It'll be fine, King! It's the least we can do for her."

King grabbed at Luz's ankle with both paws and dug his feet into the ground to tug her back, but his strength was no match for the human, so he ended up being dragged along. "You can't just go walking in there! She doesn't know who this client is!"

"True." She made her smile wider. "But the sooner we deliver the package, the sooner we can go home. And the sooner you can return to napping."

King's brows raised at this, prompting him to let Luz go and blink once. "Hm. I never thought about it like that." The little demon hurried after the human at seeing the teen was going on without him, slowing to match her pace once he was caught up. "All right! I'm in!"

"Great!" Luz stared ahead as the pair approached a stone archway covered by a tattered, brown tarp spilt down the middle. "Besides, this world isn't what I thought it was."—She and King each reached out to pull one half of the tarp aside—"So, we shouldn't—"

Luz cut herself off with a gasp and froze on the spot at what she saw on the other side, causing her grip to loosen on the sack and land on the floor at her feet. With streams of bright sunlight parting the clouds, a large, stone castle decorated with golden banners and flags atop its five spires came into view, with a single path leading to two wooden doors that acted as the castle's entrance, highlighted by the purple bushes that littered it on either side.

Luz brought her hands to her chest and stared at the beautiful structure with wide eyes, captivated so much by what she was seeing that she could only mumble two words. "… So pretty."

The young human made her way towards the doors with her gaze fixed on the castle the whole way. And while King was doing the same as he stuck close to Luz, he couldn't help narrowing his eyes at the structure before him. He knew the Boiling Isles was filled with mystical and wonderful things, but something like this in the middle of Bonesborough? That was unheard of.

The pair stopped in front of the doors, with Luz pressing a golden doorbell to her left. It rung once before the doors slowly parted open with a loud creak, exposing nothing but darkness on the other side. King rubbed his paws together and peeked over his shoulder back the way they'd come, feeling the fur on his body stand on end. He was suddenly regretting not listening to Lizzie and wishing she was here right now.

"Y-You know what, Luz? Let's just kick the package inside and get outta here! Big houses usually belong to big wack jobs—" As King turned back around, he cut himself off at seeing Luz walk straight ahead and enter the castle like it was nothing, calling out as she did so.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

"Luz, wait!"

King ran after her as fast as his little legs could manage, yet the moment he crossed over the threshold, the two doors swung back and slammed shut behind him.


Meanwhile, back in the main parts of Bonesborough, Lizzie was still running for her life through the open streets with the guard hot on her trail. And despite at first thinking she was doing the right thing by making herself the sole distraction… she'd quickly come to regret it. The blonde witch had avoided looking back during the chase because—as Eda always said—it can apparently slow you down whilst on foot and make you an easier target. Yet she hadn't needed to turn around to know the guard was still there. The angry shouts and cries of the people behind her as they were being shoved out of the way was more than enough of an indication; apparently the guard wasn't trying to be discreet anymore. He was full-on chasing her like a bull charging after its target.

'What was I thinking?! This was a bad idea! I'm not fit for this! Where's Eda and her staff when I need her?!'

The blonde witch gripped tightly onto her satchel strap as she ducked and weaved through the residents of Bonesborough without slowing, her breathing quick and sharp. She was doing her best to ignore the aches and pains in her limbs, but the pumping of the adrenaline through her body was doing little to numb it.

'I can't keep up with this pace. I need to find somewhere to lose him.'

After darting to the right to avoid someone pushing a cart filled to the brim with hay and straw, Lizzie caught sight of a narrow alleyway just ahead of her, causing a wide grin to appear on her face. She knew that alleyway was short and led to a dead-end, meaning her trick was bound to work.

'Aha!'

Lizzie slowed her breathing and pushed herself to run the remainder of the way to the alleyway's entrance, raising her right index finger just as the guard let out a loud and triumphant laugh from nearby.

"Ha! I've got you now!"

The blonde witch darted around the corner with her fingertip glowing a light green, immediately skidding to a halt as she began drawing a spell circle underneath her. In the next few seconds of it being completed, Lizzie's body was encased in a faint green glow outline. She slowly rose into the air and moved her glowing finger upwards to increase her height, subconsciously holding her breath at the guard's hurried footsteps getting closer and closer to the alley. By the time the young witch had managed to levitate a good distance away from the ground, the guard revealed himself by leaping into view and taking on a wide stance at the entrance, holding out his weapon.

"You're under a— Wha…?"

Lizzie bent her finger to stop herself from rising as she got close to the guttering of the roof closest to her, deciding she was too far out of sight now for the guard to properly notice her if he glanced up. She hovered and covered her mouth with her other hand to muffle a snort at watching the guard blink widely and turn his head between the two walls of the alley multiple times, eventually using his arm to rub at his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Her fear at the situation was momentarily suppressed by the confusion of the guard.

"Where'd she go?! She was right here!"

'Okay. I can see why Eda gets a kick out of little things like this. This is actually kinda funny.'

After another quick glance at the alley, the guard lowered his weapon and returned it to his waist, already beginning to turn around and walk back the way he'd originally come from. "Great. There goes my chance of getting a little extra out of this."

Lizzie waited until she heard the footsteps begin to die away, then moved her finger downward to lower her body towards the ground again, letting out a sigh and wiping her forehead with the back of her other hand.

'There we go. Another crisis averted.'

However, just as Lizzie's feet touched the ground and the glow around her and her finger vanished, a cold and muffled male voice spoke from the street close to the alley.

"There you are. What happened?"

Lizzie's hands flew to her mouth, her body flinching and stiffening at the brief chill that shot down her spine, like someone had jabbed their finger into her back and dragged it down in one quick swoop; his voice sounded terrifyingly familiar. Her train of thought was broken when she heard the guard responding, breaking her from her momentary shock to turn to the corner of the wall.

"I-I'm sorry. I was stalking the witch and her two accomplices like you'd asked, but then she created a bright flash and sped off. She disappeared into thin air down that alley."

With a frown, Lizzie approached the corner of the wall with a slight shuffle. She pressed her back against the wall and leaned forward to peek around the stone, clenching her hands into fists so tight she could feel her pulse thumping through her palms. At first, the young blonde only spied the back of the guard's uniform, but eventually she spied a light grey, bird-like mask and white, pointed cowl of the person standing in front of him, her eyes widening at the golden triangle that was attached to the centre of the latter. Lizzie quickly pulled back and pushed her hands against her mouth to stop herself from screeching, the feeling of nausea slowly creeping up her throat like a spider as she shoved her back further into the wall. She knew that uniform.

'A member of the Emperor's Coven?!'

Despite her shock and confusion, however, Lizzie swallowed her nerves (literally) and closed her eyes, continuing to listen as the Emperor's Coven guard spoke calmly. The street outside the alley wasn't as busy now, so it was easy for the blonde witch to hear everything going on between the two guards.

"A bright flash, you say? How'd she manage that?"

"I-I couldn't see. It looked like she threw something at the ground. There were glass shards everywhere." There was a short pause before Lizzie heard the guard sigh. "I'm really sorry, sir. I got too caught up in trying to arrest her."

The Emperor's Coven guard huffed. "Forget it. That information is more than enough for me to go off. Here." Lizzie heard the brief rattling of coins as if they were being tossed. "Take this, as promised."

"W-Wow! Thank you so much!"

"And remember to keep this between us, all right? This is personal business."

"O-Of course!"

"Much obliged. Now, off you go. You have duties to return to."

"Yes, sir!"

Lizzie's breathing hitched in her throat as the conversation died down, hearing both pairs of footsteps departing the scene back in the direction she'd come from; one pair that was dashing off with a spring in their step, and the other slowly walking away with occasional thuds. At one point, Lizzie thought she heard the latter footsteps pause for a few seconds, causing the witch's lips to quiver. But they quickly resumed, eventually disappearing into the hustle and bustle of Bonesborough's streets.

And yet even after their departure, Lizzie remained frozen to the spot. Her knees were shaking so much that they were close to knocking together. She couldn't bring herself to move from the safety of her hiding place, even with the threat gone. Her mind was struggling to process everything she'd just seen and heard. What had started out as a funny little distraction had turned into something much bigger, and she was struggling to comprehend any of it.

'What was that? Who was that? Why did he send a guard to stalk us? And why do I feel like I know that coven guard's voice?'

Lizzie couldn't remember the last time she'd had a voice bring such fear into her very being. It was the same kind of fear she'd gotten when they were at the Conformatorium yesterday, like it was instinctual of her to be afraid of this person. And yet it had happened without her seeing his face and instead only hearing his voice. Naturally, that was raising questions in her head.

Eventually Lizzie sucked in a deep breath through her nose and slowly released it through her mouth, managing to calm herself down and force her body to fall still.

'As confusing as that was, I can't linger here any longer. I need to find King and the human and get out of here.'

She counted to five in her head before daring to peek round the wall and scan the street for any signs of the two guards. When it looked like the coast was clear, the blonde witch straightened herself out and darted from the alley, heading back in the direction she'd originally come from.

'King was right. I'll ditch this last delivery and return to the Owl House. I'm sure Eda will understand.'

It didn't take long for Lizzie to find her way back to the spot she'd left Luz and King in, spending the entire jog checking her surroundings to make sure no other guards were about and stalking her. But as the blonde witch rounded the corner into the alley, she wasn't prepared for a white and purple blur to zoom past her with quickened footsteps.

"Whoa!"

Lizzie threw her body to the side to avoid a collision, stumbling to a stop as she glanced behind her. The 'blur' was soon revealed to be Luz, who had halted and turned around the second she'd heard Lizzie's voice. She wasn't holding the sack in her hands anymore, instead clutching a rolled-up piece of parchment in her left hand.

"Oh, sorry, Lizzie! Didn't see you there! Glad you're okay, though!"

"Luz, wait for me!" Lizzie turned to the alleyway at hearing King's yell, spying the little demon running towards them while waving his arms above his head. King eventually caught up to the girls and stopped by Lizzie's feet, speaking in between gasps for breath. "Huff! Argh! Huff! Curse these… Huff! …tiny legs!"

At seeing King didn't have the sack either, Lizzie focused back on Luz and stared at the parchment for a few seconds, then up at Luz's face, repeating this action at least three times before choosing to speak. "Human, where's the package?"

Luz smiled and waved her free hand about. "It's cool! King and I delivered it!"

Lizzie raised a brow at this, delaying her response for a moment to try to process Luz's words. "… You what?"

"We delivered it! And…" Luz trailed off and let out a high-pitched squeal, holding the parchment above her head with a wide grin. "…the client gave me a magical quest!"

"…" Lizzie blinked once, then twice, then thrice, waiting for any indication that Luz was joking, or that she was dreaming, or that she'd accidentally hit her head and was now conjuring up crazy scenarios. But she didn't get it. Instead she got King taking a step toward Luz with a scowl.

"Luz, listen—"

"Tell me later, King! I need to go pack for this quest!"

Luz swirled on her heels and darted off to the right side of the street, prompting Lizzie to drop her shoulders and face King once the human was out of sight, holding her hands out in the direction Luz ran off in.

"What is going on?!"

"Less explaining, more chasing," was all King said as he clambered up Lizzie's body to reach her shoulders. "I'll tell you after we stop Luz from running into another creature's stomach."

Lizzie groaned and smacked her forehead with a hand, but still sped after Luz with King gripping onto her vest for support. "I left you two alone for a few minutes!"

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have done that."


Until now, Lizzie didn't know how fast humans typically were. Yet after spending the entire trip to the Owl House chasing Luz… she was beginning to re-evaluate her current knowledge on them in general. The witch had no idea how Luz had managed it, but the young teen (with Lizzie and King hot on her trail) succeeded in finding her own way out of Bonesborough while avoiding getting into any more trouble, following the winding path back to the cottage without breaking her stride once. By the time the trio were approaching Hooty and the door, Luz was still going at the same speed she had been the whole way, while Lizzie was staggering and barely jogging with sweat dripping from her face, her body hunching forward so much she looked close to collapsing on her front.

Hooty greeted the group with an open-mouthed smile as Luz approached first. "Hoot! Welcome—" He was cut off when Luz swung the door open and charged inside without acknowledging him, causing a loud thump as it collided with the wall. "Ouch! Rude!"

Lizzie came to a stop in the doorway and gripped at the doorframe with both hands to steady herself. With drooped eyes and heaving breaths, she watched Luz disappear into the hallway and head in the direction of the stairs, eventually lowering her head with a groan.

"Ugh. Huff! Where did all that energy come from?! Huff! She hasn't eaten anything today! Huff!"

King shrugged and jumped off Lizzie's shoulder, allowing the blonde witch to stumble inside while gripping at her chest. "Beats me! Could be young and naïve confidence!"

The blonde witch moved over to the sofa and plopped herself down on the closest cushion, leaning back and allowing her body to sink into the leather with a long breathless exhale. "Okay, King. Explain."

King climbed up onto the sofa beside Lizzie and curled up, resting his chin on his paws. "Luz wanted to deliver the last package to help you out. When we went to the address on the note, we met some weird old wizard in jim-jams claiming to be Eda's client. He lives in a castle at the other end of that alley."

Lizzie didn't say anything aloud, choosing this time to catch her breath first. And yet King's words already had the blonde frowning at the ceiling. 'A wizard? Living in a castle? Oh no…'

"He gave Luz a map and insisted she was some chosen one who'll free the Boiling Isles of an ancient evil by finding some magic staff." King snorted and rolled his eyes, flicking his tail. "Sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

'And it just gets worse.'

Lizzie had lived long enough on the Boiling Isles to know what was true and what was not. And this whole 'chosen one' nonsense? Definitely not true.

"I'm regretting not keeping you two with me…" Lizzie muttered and sat up, lowering her cloak hood and deepening her frown as she faced King. "Was this so called 'wizard' wearing sandals?"

King tilted his head slightly and squinted, waiting a few seconds to think back to the wizard's attire before answering. "He was."

Lizzie's shoulders slumped. "Yup. It's a scam." The blonde witch stood and jogged out of the living room, making her way to the stairs. "I need to talk to her."

"You do that…" King let out a loud yawn and closed his eyes, smacking his lips together and burying his chin further into the cushion. "I'll be waiting right here."

Considering Luz had mentioned something about 'packing' prior to their leave of Bonesborough, Lizzie headed straight for their room with the expectation she would find Luz in there. And sure enough, she did.

As she stepped into the bedroom, Lizzie spied Luz sitting on the side that had been designated for her, immediately noticing the difference compared to this morning. The teen's 'sleep cocoon' had been rolled up and placed upright next to the large, locked chest, with Luz sat cross-legged in the spot where it had formerly been laid out. The parchment she was given was resting in her lap, and she was surrounded by a small assortment of items that included a couple of full potion bottles, Luz's book, a plastic sword Lizzie knew was from the Human Realm sheathed inside a scabbard, and a white cloth that had a block of cheese and loaf of bread on it.

Lizzie paused in front of the door to stare at everything Luz had gathered, her eyes drooping at the sight. 'I should have intervened sooner.'

"Hey, Lizzie!" The witch focused on Luz when she addressed her, seeing the young human grinning from ear-to-ear with eyes wide as she made to approach her. "You'll never guess what—"

"I already know," Lizzie interjected with the dismissed waving of her hand. "King told me."

"That's great! You can help me decide what kind of Chosen One I should be!" Luz reached out for her book and held it up beside the right side of her face so Lizzie could see the front cover. "Should I be like Azura, full of optimism and goodness?"—She passed the book in front of her face to hold it on her left side, drooping her eyes and raising one of her brows—"Or should I be a bad girl with black nail polish and a withdrawn attitude?" Luz turned the book sideways and gripped both ends of the cover, putting on an overexaggerated deep voice while opening and closing the book like it was a mouth. "'I act like I don't care, but I secretly do!'"

Luz moved the book close to Lizzie, only for the latter to place her hand on top of it and gently lower it. "Human, you don't seriously believe that wizard, do you?"

Luz blinked and furrowed her brows. "Of course I do."

"Well, you shouldn't!" Lizzie bent forward so she and Luz were on eye level, scowling. "You completely ignored the first warning Eda gave." The witch smacked her one hand against her other palm in time with her next words. "Never befriend a man in sandals!" She held her arms out. "That wizard was wearing sandals!"

"He was? Huh." Luz glanced at the ceiling and scratched at her chin. "I guess I was too distracted by his sparkling robes and that baby fox in his beard…"

"I told you to wait for me, and this is why." Lizzie snatched the parchment from the floor and righted herself, unrolling it to reveal the 'map' King had been referring to. One quick skim showed Lizzie that it wasn't real, as although the drawings depicted looked similar to what was sometimes found on the Boiling Isles—such as woodlands, mountains, bridges, and waterfalls—some of the location names sounded like they could have been ripped from the book Luz read. "I-I mean, look at these names: 'Felinia', 'Pixie Village'?" She lowered the 'map' and crinkled her nose. "These don't exist here!"

Luz gripped at her elbow and raised her brows, her voice going quiet as she spoke. "I was only trying to help..."

"Yeah, well, you're not at the stage where you can do that yet." Lizzie started to count off on her fingers. "You've been here for less than a day and already you've escaped being eaten multiple times, getting stalked by a guard, and then getting scammed by some phoney wizard."

"Did somebody say 'wizard'?"

Lizzie and Luz turned to the doorway to see Eda (now dressed in her clothes from yesterday) poking her head into the room, leaning against the doorframe. In her left hand was a large, blue skinned hand with only part of its arm still attached just past the wrist, where a single bone was exposed (where she was gripping it). Eda glanced between Lizzie, Luz, and then the items on the floor before standing upright and approaching the pair with a raised brow, dangling the monster arm at her side. "Wait, what's going on?"

Lizzie placed a hand to her hip and pointed at Luz. "Your outside referral turned out to be a wizard, and he's convinced the human she's some kind of 'Chosen One'."

"Wait…" A smile slowly creeped onto Eda's face as she glanced between Lizzie and Luz, her jaw twitching as she suppressed the urge to laugh. "H-He told Luz she was a…"

Eda trailed off when a snicker escaped her, prompting her to bring both her hand and the monster's hand to cover her mouth to try to suppress the snort that followed. But that was all it took. Within the next few seconds, Eda broke out into hysterical laughter and wrapped her arms round her middle, falling to the floor on her back. Luz's cheeks flushed a light pink out of embarrassment as she watched Eda continue laughing and kick her legs out, slowly raising her book in front of her nose and looking elsewhere. But Lizzie wasn't amused at all by the situation, scowling and shouting down at her technical employer while waving the 'map' she was still holding above her head.

"Eda! This isn't funny! He gave her a map and everything!"

Eda eventually calmed down and stopped kicking out, leaving the monster hand on the floor as she brought herself to sit up and take a deep breath. The Owl Lady wiped her palm under one of her eyes before standing and holding out her hand. "Okay, okay. Give me the map."

Lizzie handed it over without complaint, watching as Eda held it with both hands and scrutinised it with creased brows and a squint. After a moment of staring at the scroll, the Owl Lady smirked and relaxed her expression. "Yep. This map is bunk. You were scammed."

Luz stood up and stared at Eda with a wide blink. "What?"

Eda tapped the map with the back of her hand. "There's no such thing as a 'Celestial Staff' on the Boiling Isles. If that was the case, I would have stolen it ages ago." The Owl Lady crossed her arms and faced Lizzie with a raised brow. "And I'm surprised you didn't get her out of there. I'm always telling you not to trust men in casual drapery."

Lizzie opened her mouth to object, but Luz quickly stepped in front of her and held her arms up. "It's not Lizzie's fault." The young girl brought her arms to her middle and held her elbows, while Lizzie blinked out of surprise. "She was distracting a guard and told me to stay with King until she came back." She lowered her head and dropped her arms to her sides, her gaze downcast as her voice fell quiet. "But I didn't listen…"

Lizzie and Eda frowned and exchanged glances before the latter forced a small smile and held the 'map' out to Luz, who took it into both hands and stared at it with drooped eyes. "Ah, don't look so glum." The Owl Lady reached out to ruffle Luz's hair. "You'll get the hang of things eventually. It took Lizzie a while before I let her out on her first delivery alone."

"Don't remind me," Lizzie grumbled, with her focus switching to Luz when the young human scrunched her face up and flicked Eda's hand away from her head.

"Can I have some time alone?"

Lizzie and Eda raised their brows at Luz's question, neither witch saying a word when Luz turned her head away from them and kept her gaze on the floor. Yet after a moment of staring, the Owl Lady shrugged her shoulders and made to leave, collecting the monster arm from the floor. Lizzie didn't move at first, though, her brow furrowing as she continued to stare at Luz's sullen face. But when it looked like Luz wasn't going to say anything more, Lizzie sighed quietly and turned around, following Eda out and closing the door behind her.

Lizzie ran a hand through her fringe and peeked back at the door, a faint frown forming. But her focus soon switched when she felt the large hand of the monster arm place itself on her closest shoulder, prompting her to see Eda standing at her side.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to think things through. It's a tough pill to swallow when you're not used to your environment." The Owl Lady lifted the monster arm and waved it once, adjusting the fingers so that the index finger was pointing at the younger witch in an accusing manner. "But back to you. What's this about you distracting a guard?"

Lizzie huffed and removed her cloak from around herself, folding it up over her arms and holding it at her front. "While we were heading to the address you gave me, King spotted a guard following us. We tried to outrun him, but he was too persistent. I didn't want to put King and the human in harm's way, so I made them hide until I lured the guard away to confuse him."

"Why didn't you just leave Bonesborough?"

"I wanted to be sure it wasn't a trap. Although…" Lizzie briefly bit her lip and shuffled her feet a little. "…it was probably a good thing we didn't leave yet."

Eda narrowed her eyes at this, slinging the monster arm over her shoulder. "Why's that?"

Lizzie gave the door to the shared bedroom a quick sideways glance before stepping around the Owl Lady, lowering her voice and hugging her cloak to her chest. "Let's discuss this downstairs."

'It's better the human doesn't hear this…'


Once Eda and Lizzie had returned to the living room and the former had seated herself beside King on the sofa (who was currently hugging the sofa's lone pillow with his eyes closed), the latter explained everything she'd seen and heard after fleeing from the guard in Bonesborough and getting him off her trail. And while at first Eda had been indifferent, sitting with her arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other, her eyes soon went wide by the end of Lizzie's explanation, nearly launching herself out of her seat when she straightened out.

"The Emperor's Coven?"

Lizzie nodded, rubbing at her arms with both hands at recalling the voice of the man hiding behind the light grey bird mask. "It wasn't anyone important. Just a low-ranking guard. But from what was said, it sounded like that other guard was hired by him to follow us."

"That's odd." Eda held her chin and leaned back into the sofa, resting her elbow on her other arm with furrowed brows. "If I was there, their involvement would make sense. I'm a big mark for the Emperor's Coven, after all." She focused on Lizzie. "But your only crime is being covenless. You're a nobody and not a known accomplice to me like King is. Unless they're trying to get to me, I don't understand why you became a target."

"That's what I thought, too." Lizzie moved over to the green sofa that faced the red one on its left, tucking her skirt underneath her before sitting down with her hands in her lap. "But the Emperor's Coven guard was really focused on me. He seemed unfazed when it was mentioned I'd used a potion to create a bright flash, you were never mentioned once, and he bribed the other guard with snails to keep the incident between them because it was 'personal'."

"Hm…" The Owl Lady hummed and stroked her chin as she closed her eyes. "Then it's safe to say this isn't related to the Emperor's Coven. Going off their interaction and my personal experience, I think this guard was acting on his own goals; he was pursuing you because he probably knows you."

Lizzie turned her gaze to her skirt and gripped at the hem, shuddering at the mild chill that streaked down her spine. "I think you're right." Eda opened an eye. "When I first heard his voice, it was eerily familiar. I felt like I'd heard it somewhere before, like I know him."

"And do you?"

"That's the thing…" Lizzie raised her head and furrowed her brow, her grip tightening on her skirt. "I don't know if I do. I can't place a name or a face to that voice. And because he was wearing his mask, I couldn't see what he looked like to help me. Yet I'm sure I've heard that voice before."

Eda shrugged her shoulders. "Well, there's nothing I can do about that. You've never shared personal details about your life and I've never bothered to ask. But I don't think it's anything you need to be concerned with."

Lizzie raised a brow, her next response coming out heavily sarcastic. "Forgive me for my scepticism, but I heavily disagree." When Eda chuckled, the blonde witch narrowed her eyes and dropped the act. "Someone from my past is stalking me, Eda! And they're in the Emperor's Coven! This isn't a laughing matter! This could lead them to you and the Owl House!"

"Kid, you're taking this way out of proportion."

Lizzie crossed her arms. "Am I? Then enlighten me."

"Look," Eda shuffled across the sofa to the end closest to Lizzie and gave her knee a gentle pat. "if the guard was a higher rank in the Emperor's Coven, you'd have something to be afraid of. But this guy is a low-ranking tool who had to hire someone else to get dirt on you, while also going behind the backs of his superiors." The Owl Lady smirked and puffed out her chest. "Low ranking guards don't have much freedom, so I bet he's stuck in Bonesborough and isn't allowed to leave unless he's given permission. You're not a priority to the Emperor and his goons. He has no reason to abandon his post."

Lizzie tilted her head a little bit. "So, what you're saying is… you don't think this guard is a threat because he can only get me while I'm in Bonesborough."

"Exactly." Eda gave Lizzie's shoulder a light knock with her knuckles. "You rarely go to Bonesborough unless it's related to my potions business. The likelihood of you two crossing paths again is very slim. That's why you have nothing to worry about."

Lizzie let out a relieved sigh and leaned back against the sofa, rubbing a hand across her forehead. "You make a good point. Doesn't mean I shouldn't be cautious, though."

"Be cautious by all means, just don't let it get to your head." Eda turned to King at that, who was still snoozing away on the pillow at the other end of the red sofa. "And speaking of letting things get to your head…" The Owl Lady reached out to give the little demon a gentle nudge. "Hey, King. Wake up."

King groaned and opened an eye. "Ugh. C'mon! I earned this nap!"

"What was the name of the wizard client who gave Luz that map?"

King yawned and wagged his tail a little. "I don't know. 'Adegast' or something…"

"Adegast…" Eda repeated the name as a mumble, tapping at her chin. "I don't know him all that well, and I'm worried about this itch he's managed to scratch in the human."

King's nose twitched. "Yeah. I didn't trust him all that much either."

Lizzie's shoulders slumped. "Then why didn't you get her out of there?!"

"Three words: nap and scones."

Lizzie smacked her forehead as she shook it. 'What is it with the demons in this house and food?'

"Also, Luz said something about delivering the package because it's the least we can do for you."

The blonde witch blinked widely at that as King closed his eye and buried his face back into the pillow. "Wait, she said that?"

"Yes." He flicked one of his paws her way. "Now, less talky, more nappy."

"But why would she—?" Lizzie cut herself off when she recalled what she'd said prior to causing the distraction, prompting her eyes to widen and her hand to slap over her mouth. "… Oh, no."

Eda gave Lizzie a sideways glance. "What?"

"Before I went through with the distraction, the human tried to persuade me to let her help, but I told her it was too risky and that I'd be fine on my own. She must have thought I was implying she was a burden, and that possibly intensified when I was berating her earlier." Lizzie covered her face with her hands and ducked it down. "Oh, I feel terrible!"

"Don't feel too bad." Eda sighed and glanced to the ceiling, looking in the direction of where the stairs were. "I probably didn't help her feel any better by laughing." She jabbed a thumb towards King. "And King didn't do anything to stop her getting into that situation, either. We each hold some blame."

The blonde witch pulled her hands away and stood up, brushing the creases from her skirt before jogging out of the room. "I'd better go apologise and check if she's okay."

Lizzie made her way out of the living room and up the stairs to the bedroom on the second floor, all the while rubbing at her chest with a hand to ease the slight ache she could feel.

'I wasn't thinking straight during that whole mess, but that's no excuse for what I said. She was already feeling down in the dumps because of her interactions with the people of Bonesborough. I probably made things worse…'

The blonde huffed as she came to a stop in front of the bedroom door, raising a hand to knock it three times while gripping and turning the handle.

'I'll need to think of a way to make it up to her.'

As Lizzie opened the door halfway, she spoke and poked her head inside. "Hey, human—"

The young witch froze in the doorway when she saw the room was empty. There was no sign of Luz anywhere. Her bag and the items she'd had scattered on the floor were missing. All that was left in the room now was her sleeping cocoon (placed where Lizzie had last seen it), the pile of pillows Luz had been using to sleep on underneath the window, her book poster, and the framed picture of her and the human woman on top of the chest, outside of Lizzie's own items on her side. The window to the room was also wide open, swinging slightly on its hinges when a quick gust of wind blew past.

It didn't take much staring for Lizzie to piece together what had happened.

'… Uh-oh.'

"Eda!" Lizzie leaned off the door and turned to shout as loud as she could down the hall, hoping the older witch heard her. "She's gone!"

A few seconds after her shout, Lizzie heard a pair of footsteps hurrying up the stairs, eventually seeing Eda dashing towards her with wide eyes.

"She's what?!" Lizzie stepped aside to allow Eda to stand in the doorway, watching her shoulders slump after she had a quick skim of the room. "Aw, nuts!"

Eda stomped her way to the window and stuck her head out, yelling to Hooty as Lizzie followed her. "Hooty, where did Luz go?!"

Lizzie eventually saw Hooty stretch his neck from the front door all the way up to the back from the left side, answering as he did so. "Hoot hoot! If you want the answer that you seek, solve my riddle within a week—" He was interrupted by Eda banging her fist against the wall beside the window, prompting Lizzie to wince at the loud crack she heard. "Ow!" Hooty scowled and briefly glanced towards Bonesborough. "Okay, okay! She went to the forest towards Bonesborough! Sheesh!"

Eda groaned and pinched her nose as Hooty retracted himself back to the front of the house. "She must have decided to go on that made-up quest."

Lizzie bit her lip and frowned when the Owl Lady pulled herself back inside the room. "Then what do we do?"

Eda faced Lizzie with a raised brow. "We?"

Lizzie nodded, looking off to the side and rubbing at the back of her neck. "If I hadn't prioritised that package, the human wouldn't be in this situation. I can't leave you to bail her out."

When Eda didn't answer straight away, the blonde dared to look back, only to see the Owl Lady smirking faintly with her arms folded. Lizzie squinted. "What?"

"Nothing~," Eda replied in a playful tone, turning to walk out of the room with Lizzie close behind. "I just never thought I'd see the day you'd leave the Owl House willingly."

Lizzie rolled her eyes but decided not to comment. "But back to the human…"

"Right." Eda scowled as they hurried downstairs. "If we're gonna find Luz, we're gonna have to retrace her steps."

Lizzie gulped and placed a hand to her throat. "You mean…?"

"Yup. We're paying Adegast a little visit…"