A/N: Hi there. XD So... funny story... This chapter was supposed to end episode three. But I ended up writing too much again where specific scenes were concerned. Which means that once again, this episode is going to wind up spanning three chapters like the rest. ^^' Sorry. But I wanted to make sure that I did this part properly. I'll admit that it is still lacking in certain places, initially because 'Plot B' lacks a lot where the transitions are concerned. But I've done my best with what I've got. I'll be honest in saying that making Lizzie suffer through this chapter was amusing to me, just because of how frustrated she gets. XD But hey... Her frustrations pay off in the end. I've gone ahead to drop a little hint towards Lizzie's past here. She'll confirm the details in Chapter 9, but I have a feeling some of you might be able to guess what's going on with the hints I've dropped. I've noticed she's definitely starting to intrigue a lot of you towards her life before she met Eda and King, but it's going to be a while before you guys get the full picture. As much as I would love to just go ahead and spill the beans on everything surrounding Lizzie, I have to keep my mouth shut. After all, I wouldn't have much of a story if I exposed everything in one go, right? XD But yeah. I will give you guys the heads up that Chapter 9 might be a little delayed because of crap hitting the fan where my adult responsibilities are concerned. I don't know how things will pan out, so I'm just taking a precaution in case I can't write the chapter out as fast as I would like.

Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, favouriting, following and reading this fanfic. Your support is greatly appreciated. And to Schwarzwald the Reader (I hope I spelt that right), thank you for the compliment. Although I am sure there are better writers on here with OC fics than myself, especially those who have dared to be more original with their plot lines. Regarding Lizzie's 'headcanon voice' though... this is a little tricky for me to explain. I technically didn't base the voice I use for her in my head off of any fictional characters. I'm not the type of writer who thinks too deeply into that stuff. It's a 'default voice' I've always had in mind for some of my female characters for as long as I can remember. I probably did hear it somewhere and I just can't remember where, but it's difficult for me to describe. If I manage to come across a voice that closely resembles what I'm talking about, I'll be sure to mention it at a later date.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter in the meantime.


Chapter 8: Silly Stakes and Heartbreak

After the trio had returned to the Owl House and dealt with the supplies they'd brought back, Eda's and King's bet quickly went underway, much to Lizzie's dismay. With King staying with his new slug companion outside the front of the Owl House, Eda was currently inside with Lizzie in the living room, with the former standing in front of the coffee table and the latter sat on the sofa opposite her. A slime ball similar to the one that Luz picked out of the slime pool was in the middle of the table, but that wasn't what Lizzie wanted to focus on right now.

A tense silence had fallen between them, yet no words needed to be spoken for Lizzie to know that Eda was annoyed by King's antics. Her eyes and mouth kept twitching at the corners, she was staring ahead like she was trying to bore holes through the poster behind Lizzie's head, and her jaw was clenched so tightly that Lizzie was worried Eda's fang was going to pierce her own chin. It was the first time the blonde witch had seen her employer like this, and she couldn't help staring at her with a furrowed brow.

'King can be a jerk sometimes, but this time he's really struck a nerve. This is going to go south quick if I don't say something now. I can't be a part of this.'

When Eda still refused to say anything, Lizzie took in a quick deep breath and slowly stood, raising her palms in surrender.

"Eda, I know you're upset, but you don't have to do this, okay?"

Eda forced a laugh and waved a hand about dismissively, speaking through gritted teeth with her face still visibly twitching in places. "Upset? I'm not upset! Why would I be upset?"

"Because you're twitching and tensing so much, it looks like you're resisting the urge to scratch a very nasty itch."

Eda harshly smacked her cheeks with both hands, ceasing her twitching and relaxing her jaw. "Pfft! I'm fine! Totally fine!"

But, naturally, Lizzie wasn't convinced. Not at all.

The young blonde huffed loudly and made her way round the table. She stood in front of Eda and put her hands on her shoulders, looking her dead in the eyes and making the Owl Lady blink out of surprise.

"You don't need to be ashamed of anything, Eda. You made a mistake. It happens. So, can you please drop this nonsense and go talk to Luz?" She briefly glanced at the hallway. Lizzie hadn't seen Luz since they'd arrived back, but she was convinced the human was probably upstairs somewhere.

Eda's response was delayed, yet after a couple of seconds she gave a wide smile.

"No way." She lightly shoved Lizzie in the shoulder to force her to let go. "This is the perfect opportunity to knock that little pipsqueak down a peg and get a laugh out of it. And as a bonus,"—She pointed to the slime ball on the table—"you'll learn a new spell! Everybody wins!"

"You mean you win…" Lizzie grumbled while facing the table and collecting the slime ball into her palm. Most of the slime had dripped off, revealing a brown, shell-like covered item that felt as hard as a rock. "I don't want to be involved in this. Plus,"—She held out the item towards Eda with a raised brow—"how am I supposed to learn a new spell using a slime ball?"

"Because that's not a slime ball. That's a seed."

Lizzie blinked and glanced at the seed, her body relaxing. Now that she'd gotten a closer look at it underneath all that gunk, she could see it was a seed. "… It is?"

'Does that mean Luz also has a seed in her pocket right now? … Huh.'

"Yup. And you know what that means." Eda grinned and placed a hand on Lizzie's shoulder, jabbing a finger into her chest. "You're learning plant magic."

Lizzie squinted. "But… you don't know plant magic."

"I don't." Eda's grin widened slightly. "Which is why it's going to be so humiliating for King when you learn a new spell outside of what I know. That'll prove how great of a teacher I am!"

There was a brief pause as Lizzie processed Eda's words.

"… Hang on." Lizzie held up her other hand while placing the seed down on the coffee table. "So, your plan is to teach me a spell that you don't know, without following the educational system, because you want to win a silly bet?"

"Exactly! So, good luck!" The Owl Lady roughly patted Lizzie's shoulder before pulling away and heading to the front door, causing the younger blonde witch's brows to raise. "If you need me (you probably won't), I'll be watching King fail with 'Prince Jr'." She snorted and laughed. "Ha! I don't know where he keeps getting these names from..."

"Hold it!" Lizzie grabbed Eda's closest wrist before she reached the front door, her voice beginning to crack. "I can't do this on my own! Plant magic is difficult to master! And I don't know how all plants work!"

Eda faced Lizzie slightly and forced a smile. "Sure you do!" She tapped her temple with a finger. "Just picture a plant shoot sprouting from the seed and you'll be fine!"

The Owl Lady turned around to leave again, but she stopped at feeling Lizzie's grip on her wrist tighten and tremble.

"Eda…"

Lizzie's pleading tone broke through to the older witch, finally prompting her to drop her façade. Eda let out a heavy sigh and faced Lizzie properly, gently prying the younger witch's hand from her wrist.

"Kid, you're putting yourself under too much pressure. If I didn't think you could do it, I wouldn't be giving you the spell to learn."

"But—"

Lizzie was cut off by Eda putting her hand over her mouth. The Owl Lady gave her a stern frown.

"Most teachers hold their student's hand every step of the way. They try to tell them how they think it should be done. But you taught yourself two basic spells and learnt two more with little guidance. You don't need me to baby you."

Lizzie's eyes drooped, yet she stayed silent. Eda took that as her cue to remove her hand and lead the younger witch towards the sofa. "The beauty of learning magic is figuring it out on your own." She ruffled Lizzie's hair after stopping by the table. "So, have fun with it! Don't worry about what's going on between me and King. Whether you learn the spell by the end of today or not, we both know that little goofball isn't going to win anyway."

Lizzie could only watch with slumped shoulders as Eda headed for the door and opened it wide. The Owl Lady gave the blonde a wide smile and wave before departing. "You've got this, kid! No pressure!"

After the door swung closed, Lizzie took in a deep breath and smoothed her hair back, also fixing her slightly askew hat while she was at it.

"Well, there's no sugar coating it: I guess I'm doing this. Even if I'd rather not…"

Lizzie plopped onto the sofa and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her thighs, with her hands underneath her chin. She eyed the seed on the table as if she was about to interrogate it like a criminal, continuing to talk aloud to herself.

"Let's see… When I learnt the light spell, it was because I observed the varying brightness in the stars. When I learnt the levitation spell, I imagined I was floating. So, it stands to reason that if I want to learn a plant spell, I need to do what Eda said: picture a plant shoot emerging from the seed."

Lizzie scooped the seed into her left palm and sat up straight, holding her right index finger over it in preparation. But before casting a spell circle, she tried to imagine the visuals of what she expected to happen, that being of a thin green stalk splitting open the seed and growing in height. She knew she wasn't going to form a complete plant right away, but if she could at least manage to trigger the growth from the seed, it would indicate she was on the right track.

'It'll be fine. When you first cast the light and levitation spells, they started out weak. But you got better with practice. As long as you pull something off, it's a sign you can cast the spell.'

Lizzie fidgeted a bit in her seat, seeing her index finger trembling slightly. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? The blonde witch sucked in a deep breath through her nose and slowly released it through her mouth, ceasing her finger's trembling.

'Remember what Eda said: no pressure. Don't think about her. Don't think about King. Don't think about the bet. Just think about the plant shoot.'

Lizzie stayed still for another minute to make sure she was calm and focused on her task before she bent her finger, bringing forth the green glow to its tip. While Eda's spell circles were mainly gold with other colours occasionally in the mix, Lizzie noticed hers always stayed green regardless of which spell she used. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't too bothered by it either. It didn't matter, really.

With her gaze fixed on the seed, Lizzie traced her fingertip in the air and started to form the tiny spell circle, her face already growing moist with sweat. Her eyes stared at the circle's first point, watching in silence as the second point gradually closed in and went to connect with it, completing the circle. Yet as the two points touched, the circle wobbled and broke apart, disappearing with a dim flash. That was Lizzie's indicator the spell had failed.

"Darn." Lizzie huffed as she shuffled in her seat and flexed her other fingers. "But that's to be expected. It's my first try. Let me do it again."

Lizzie closed her eyes and spent the next thirty seconds keeping the image of the plant sprout at the forefront of her mind. When she opened her eyes again, she drew the tiny spell circle above the seed without breaking eye contact. However, her results didn't come out any different. The circle wobbled and fell apart the moment the points touched. The blonde witch clenched her empty hand into a shaking fist, but relaxed it after a few seconds with a quick intake of breath.

"No, no. It's fine. Maybe I'm just not focusing hard enough. I'll try again."

She placed the seed on the table, this time closing her eyes for one minute before casting the spell circle again.

Nothing happened.

Her eye twitched. She tried again after closing her eyes for two minutes.

Still nothing. Her eye twitched again.

Two minutes became three. Then four. Then five. With each delay, she would close her eyes, imagine the process, and redraw the spell circle. But the outcome never changed.

By the time Lizzie had had enough, she'd lost count of how many times she'd attempted this useless task. The young witch growled and cut off her magic, jumping to her feet with a stomp.

"Ugh!" Lizzie grabbed her hat with both hands and pulled it over her ears, scrunching up her face. "What am I doing wrong?! I know plant magic is supposed to be difficult, but I didn't think it was this bad." Her head lowered, prompting her to release her hat and rub at her cheeks. "No, no. Calm down. It's fine. You can figure this out. You've got to be missing something."

The blonde took a couple of deep breaths and allowed her body to slump, tapping at her chin. "Okay. Looking back, maybe I was jumping the gun a bit. Plant magic isn't as simple as something like fire or water. No plant is exactly the same as another. So, it might help if I find out what kind of plant is inside the seed."

The blonde caught the small pile of books stacked on the round table by the window out of the corner of her eyes. It took a few seconds before the metaphorical cogs inside her mind began to turn, her gaze briefly flitting between the seed and the books a couple of times.

"Hm. I wonder if Eda happens to have a book on plants lying around…"

Lizzie wouldn't have put it past the Owl Lady to not have one. For one thing, Eda was a notorious hoarder whose house was filled with junk from all places within and outside the Demon Realm. And for another, she was a potionist too, and Lizzie knew plants were commonly part of the ingredients and recipes used to create a variety of potions. The probability of Eda having a book on plants was high.

Deciding to start with the living room, Lizzie skimmed through the books on the table and then searched through the shelves encompassing the cottage's fireplace. But she didn't find anything helpful, with the bright green covered book she found on the shelves—which she was convinced was probably what she was looking for—turning out to be a potion recipe book. This led Lizzie to extend her search to the kitchen, knowing Eda had messy habits and very rarely attempted to tidy anything up. Yet another search had the young witch coming up with nothing.

Her next stop was the second floor after grabbing the seed from the table (she figured she'd need it for reference), where she went about scouring through Eda's cupboards. She knew if she came up short here, Eda's room would be the last place she'd have to check once she'd gotten her permission. But she dreaded the thought of not finding anything and resorting to have to go to the library. The thought caused butterflies to swirl in her stomach (metaphorical butterflies, of course; although she was hoping she hadn't accidentally swallowed any. That tended to happen a lot of the time to the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles).

'After the incident with my stalker the other day, I'd rather not have to run into them again so soon…'

After spending quite a bit of time jumping from cupboard to cupboard, Lizzie finally found what she was looking for hidden underneath a dusty traffic cone: a dark green leatherbound book titled 'The Boiling Isles' Guide to Plants: What They Are and Where to Find Them'.

"Aha!"

Lizzie took the book into her empty hand and blew the dust clean off, moving herself out of the cupboard to sit on the floor of the hallway. She opened the book flat and placed the seed beside it, getting a look at the first couple of pages to see what she was dealing with. However, she was soon gaping the moment she did because she quickly discovered two things that she had not been expecting.

The first thing was that the contents page of the book listed over 100 common plant types in the Boiling Isles. And the second thing was that the book contained illustrations of the plants, but only showed what the plants looked like after they bloomed. There were no depictions or descriptions of their seeds at all.

"Are you kidding me?!" Lizzie shrieked, her gaze darting between the contents of the book and the seed. "Am I going to have to memorise all those plants and go through them until I find the right type that matches the one in the seed?"

It sounded absolutely ludicrous. No sane witch in their right mind would have gone through all the hassle of repeatedly casting a spell blind until they found the right plant. But Lizzie realised she was in too deep now. She was a resident of the Owl House after all. Nothing was ever easy or not ludicrous here.

The blonde witch smacked her forehead and shuffled closer to the book, preparing to cast the spell using the first plant in the book. "… I can't believe I'm about to do this."


Just outside of the Owl House, Eda was sitting around in a white, wooden chair she'd dragged from inside, having placed it next to a small, round wooden table she'd also taken from inside. There was a large glass jug filled with purple liquid on top of the table, which also had a worm, black spider, and green eyeball swimming around in it. Holding a black mug with '#1 Bad Girl' printed in white bold on the side, Eda leaned back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other as she went to take a swig of her beverage, all the while keeping her gaze on King, who was stood a good distance away from her on the opposite side of the cottage.

The little demon had a brown box of dog biscuits shaped like bones under his right arm, which he'd previously taken from the kitchen to use in his training of the trash slug baby he'd named 'Prince Jr'. Said Prince Jr was currently beside its caretaker on the ground, moving its head back and forth as King waved around a dog biscuit just out of its reach while giving it praise in an overexaggerated tone.

"Aw! Who's a good Prince Jr?! Who's a good guy?!"

"Hey, 'Mr Wiggles'~!" Eda called out to King in a mocking tone, getting the little demon's attention; however, that didn't stop him waving the biscuit. "You're not going to train that trash slug waving food in its face."

King glared, taking on a defensive tone while remaining oblivious to Prince Jr still fixated on the biscuit. "It's called positive reinforcement. It works wonders!"

King paused when he felt the biscuit slip from his grasp, only to look down to see Prince Jr shove the treat into its mouth with its feelers and swallow it whole in one gulp. After a few seconds, Prince Jr suddenly grew a little bigger, now looking to be twice its original size and reaching the top of King's legs in terms of height. King squinted and pointed a claw at his 'pet' with a triumphant laugh.

"Aha! See?! Now," He reached into the box and pulled out another biscuit. "watch this!" Prince Jr raised its body to get closer to the biscuit, prompting King to repeatedly jab it in Eda's direction while barking orders. "Prince Jr, attack Eda! Knock over her drink! Mess up her hair!"

Prince Jr did none of that, instead swaying its body in time with King's movements and keeping its gaze locked on the treat. Eda also remained unfazed by King's yells, taking another sip of her drink before responding in a deadpan manner.

"Oh no. Please stop. Not my hair."

King straightened himself out and put his paws to his hips, giving Prince Jr the chance to slither close to the little demon and sneakily pull the biscuit free from his paw without him noticing. "Fine. Don't take me seriously. But I'd like to remind you that there's been no sign of your apprentice in forever. She's probably not loyal to you anymore."

Eda snorted loudly as she pulled her mug away and put it on the table. "Ha ha ha. You wish, pipsqueak."

King continued while looking at the front door of the cottage, still oblivious to Prince Jr engulfing the dog biscuit like it was nothing. "And your charge has been awfully quiet too. I hope she isn't struggling."

"Lizzie?" Eda waved King off with a hand. "She doesn't need my help. She's probably working hard."

But then Eda's gaze locked with the front door. Her brow furrowed as she muttered to herself, wriggling her thumb just underneath her chin. "Although now that I think about it… those two have been unusually quiet." Ignoring King and Prince Jr for now, Eda uncrossed her legs and stood from her chair, strolling towards the cottage. "I'd better check on them."

King watched Eda go inside the cottage before facing Prince Jr with a frown, who blinked back with a vacant stare. "We've got a lot of work to do, Prince Jr! Let us go forth and continue your training!" He pulled out another biscuit from the box and ran towards the forest as fast as his little legs would allow, with the treat held above his head. "To me, my loyal soldier! Onward we go!"

Prince Jr showed no hesitation in slithering after its caretaker, its gaze once again fixed on the treat King waved about in the air.


When Eda stepped inside the cottage and closed the door behind her, she quickly discovered that the living room was empty. There was no sign of Lizzie or Luz anywhere. However, the Owl Lady did notice after a quick scan of the room that some of the books she'd left lying around had been moved.

"What the…?" Eda trailed off and shook her head, deciding this wasn't the time to be questioning her slightly askew books.

She walked through the living room and into the hallway, heading towards the kitchen while calling out for her charge and apprentice. "Lizzie! Luz!"

Eda poked her head into the kitchen and had a brief look around, yet it was soon obvious that no one was there. The Owl Lady huffed and strode upstairs, heading to the second-floor bedroom as her next destination. But she'd barely taken one step into the hallway before she heard Lizzie's muffled yell of frustration come from ahead of her.

"AGH! That was the last plant in the book! How did it still not work after all of that?!"

Eda immediately saw Lizzie on her knees in the hallway with her body hunched over to hide her face in the floor, her hands placed on her head. Just in front of her was a closed leatherbound book that Eda recognised to be the one she kept for plants, along with the seed settled beside it.

Eda placed a hand to her hip as she stared down at the defeated younger witch on the floor. "What happened here?"

Lizzie's head shot up when Eda spoke, allowing Eda to see the dishevelled state her young charge was in as she looked her way. Lizzie's hair was sticking up in places and her face was beginning to look pale, which the Owl Lady took as a sign that she'd been using quite a bit of her magic up in the time she'd left her.

Lizzie straightened up before answering with drooped eyes. "… Failure."

Eda responded with a tilt of her head, which Lizzie took as her cue to elaborate. She grabbed the book from the ground and lazily waved it about. "I couldn't cast the spell through memorisation alone. So, I thought finding out what kind of plant it was would give me a boost." Lizzie let the book drop from her hand and land flat on the floor with a loud thud. "But I was wrong. The book gave me no information on seeds and after going through all 100 plants, I still can't cast it."

Eda's brows raised. "100? You tried to cast the spell 100 times?"

"Over 100. You didn't count the many tries I already had before I found the book. Also, they were tiny spell circles. I've not used that much."

"Oh boy…" Eda mumbled as she watched Lizzie collect the seed into her hand and stand up while using her other hand to smooth back her hair. "Kid, are you sure your lack of progress isn't because you're secretly stressing over this bet?"

"Pfft!" Lizzie waved her question off with a hand. "I don't even care about that silly bet anymore. But I won't lie that I'm starting to dislike plant magic. And plants."

"I'm wondering if I should have gone with an easier spell..."

"So am I," Lizzie grumbled and scowled. But her expression soon relaxed when Eda glanced towards the bedroom further down the hallway while rubbing at her chin.

"By the way, have you seen Luz?"

"No." She followed Eda's gaze and rubbed at the back of her neck. "I've assumed until now that she's been in the bedroom. But it's been strangely quiet since I've come up here..."

"Hm…" Eda walked past Lizzie and strode to the bedroom door, knocking once with her knuckles before pushing it open halfway. "Luz?"

The Owl Lady poked her head around the door and gave the room a quick scan, with Lizzie staying silent and watching from where she was stood. Yet she didn't need to look into the room to know that Luz probably wasn't in there. The silence that followed Eda's call spoke volumes.

'Oh no… Don't tell me…'

"And she's not in here," Eda said as she pulled the door closed and made her way back to the younger witch, causing Lizzie's brow to raise.

"Again?"

"Yup." Eda walked straight past Lizzie and headed for the stairs, with the blonde witch close behind her. "Let's check with Hooty. I want to make sure she hasn't snuck off again."

The two witches returned to the living room with Eda in the lead. But instead of opening the front door as gently as she did before, Eda shoved it open all the way without a care, causing poor Hooty to cry out in pain as his beak slammed into the wall of the cottage.

"Ow!"

Lizzie winced and inhaled through her teeth from behind Eda, yet she stayed silent while the older witch leaned round to look the house demon in the eyes, ignoring the faint scowl he wore.

"Hooty, have you seen Luz?"

"I heard her tiny mouse feet walking close by."—Hooty closed his eyes—"Although that might have actually been some mice." He opened them again and tilted his head up. "Anyway, I heard someone start moving in that direction."

Lizzie and Eda stepped round the door and watched as Hooty hooted repeatedly and jerked his head ever so slightly to his left. Lizzie raised a brow, while Eda placed a hand to her hip and frowned, keeping her other hand clutching the door.

"… Is Hooty trying to point?"

"Hooty, if this is one of your games, we don't have time for this."

Hooty stopped and scrunched up his face, now annoyed. "Just look at the weathervane!"

Eda and Lizzie walked backwards a few steps from under the canopy with their gazes focused on the roof, only stopping once they were able to see the weathervane with the brown owl symbol on top of it. The black metal arrow was pointed south from the cottage, causing Eda's frown to deepen.

"South? But the only thing that way is…" Eda trailed off and let out a loud gasp as a look of horror fell on her face, causing Lizzie to flinch. "No…"

"Eda?"

But Eda didn't answer her. The Owl Lady slowly backed up a couple of steps before whirling round and charging off away from the cottage.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

Lizzie watched Eda's retreating back with wide eyes, yet after processing the situation she was soon running after the older witch with the seed clutched tightly in her hand. She had no idea what was wrong, but she knew she couldn't leave Eda on her own while she was like this.

"Eda, wait! What's wrong?!"


Lizzie was shocked at how fast Eda was. The Owl Lady was notorious for being lazy and putting in minimal effort unless it was connected to her pride somehow. Although, there were exceptions to this when it involved her or King, and apparently that sentiment now extended to Luz. The blonde witch still had no idea where Eda was charging off to among the forests of the Boiling Isles, but despite that she refused to leave her alone during a time where she was clearly distressed and Luz was, probably, in danger again. Although, if it wasn't for the fact she'd used up a bit of her magic earlier, she could have kept up better with the Owl Lady; a thought Lizzie had while she occasionally wobbled and breathed heavily during her pursuit.

Luckily for Lizzie, it didn't take long before the two witches reached the destination Eda was charging towards. Unluckily for Lizzie, it happened to be the last place she'd expected. The moment Lizzie caught sight of the familiar giant wooden gates and stone wall that hid a certain school from view (even though they were currently open for some reason), she stumbled to a stop just in front of them and froze in her tracks. Eda, on the other hand, dashed on through and up the narrow stone path that led inside and to the school's steps without hesitation, remaining oblivious to Lizzie's apparent distress in her panic.

Hexside School of Magic and Demonics—one of many local magic schools residing in the forests surrounding Bonesborough for witches, demons, and other magical folk, and the only school that Lizzie used to attend. Funded by the Emperor's Coven and built upon the bones of its rival school 'Glandus High', the school's wide, stone structure appeared to resemble a castle. The front entrance was raised high from the ground with sloping steps leading to the wooden double doors hidden underneath its canopy, supported by two tall columns on either side and residing under a bell tower. Two towers stood on both sides of the entrance with two smaller rectangular structures attached to them and a large dome like roof and structure at the back of the main building. The courtyard was surrounded by red trees lining either side of the pathway, split off from the remainder of the forest that laid beyond its walls.

'Hexside… I had no idea Eda's home was so close to this place.'

Lizzie's legs wobbled a little as she wrapped her arms close to her chest, doing her best to stay stood in front of the gates looming over her. As much as she wanted to follow Eda, her heavy breathing kept her rooted to the spot for two reasons. The first reason was that she knew she couldn't step past the gate without getting into trouble. She'd be instantly recognised and thrown off the grounds, so staying put was the better option. The second reason was the negative memories pouring into her head like water spilling from a jug. She'd forgotten just how horrible her school life had been and how her brain had gone and pushed most of those memories aside to protect her. But now the floodgates had opened, and her mind was screaming at her to run away.

'Drat. It's all coming back: the bullying, the jeers, the incident...'

She didn't need to see Principal Bump's face to recall the way he'd sternly stood over her in his office that day, with that look of disappointment flashing across his eyes. Thankfully, the logical part of her brain soon kicked in and offered Lizzie the chance to remember why she was standing before her former school building in the first place, forcing her trembling to stop and her eyes to widen slightly.

'Luz. That's right. Eda came here because she thought this is where Luz is.' Lizzie shook her head and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to return her focus. 'I'm here for Luz and Eda. This isn't the time to be thinking about that.'

The blonde witch frowned then, scratching at her chin with a blink. 'But wait. Why would Luz even be here? How would she have possibly found this place?'

Lizzie became distracted when she heard Eda's cry echo from behind Hexside's building.

"WHY?! SCHOOL!"

'Uh oh…'

Lizzie silently waited until she saw Eda slowly walking back towards her, her demeanour appearing to have shifted drastically from earlier. Her body was hunched, her arms dangled close to the ground, and her face had a sunken look to it. She hadn't realised just how long she'd been wrapped up in her thoughts for.

The sight of the defeated Owl Lady allowed the blonde witch to shake away her negative thoughts and jog to her side when she past the gates, concern immediately taking over.

"Eda, what's the matter?"

"It's over, kid," Eda answered quietly, continuing to walk without bothering to even give Lizzie a glance. Even in her tone, Lizzie could hear the disappointment.

"What do you mean?"

"Luz has run off to check out Hexside."

"She has?" Lizzie questioned with raised brows, peeking back over her shoulder with a wide blink. The poor witch had so many questions circling her head right now, but the main one eventually left her mouth. "How'd she manage that?"

"Impersonating some witch's abomination, I think. She was covered in purple gunk."

'Wow… Luz is smarter than she's given credit for. But at least she wasn't in danger.'

"But it doesn't matter. The goofball was right: I can't teach."

Lizzie reached out for Eda's shoulder, but the Owl Lady soon shrugged her hand off.

"Don't." Lizzie retracted her hand to her side. "I deserve it. I've been too lax with Luz's lessons, even if it is hard trying to teach a human magic. And with everything that's gone on lately, I realise I should have never been lax with you either."

Lizzie came to a stop then, her eyes widening slightly. She hadn't expected that last part, which is why she couldn't stop herself from questioning it. "What?"

Eda came to a standstill and faced the younger witch, lowering her head and gaze to the ground. "I'm a wanted criminal, Lizzie. Since taking you in three years ago, I haven't done anything to prepare you against the Emperor's goons coming after me. I convinced myself you were fine. You don't leave the Owl House much, and you have me and Hooty protecting you, but…"

The Owl Lady trailed off, her gaze locking with her golden gem as she placed a hand over it. Lizzie thought she wanted to say something, but the older witch quickly shook her head to rid herself of the thought before looking up. "But with Luz in the mix… it's just made things harder. You're not prepared and it's my fault."

"Eda—"

Lizzie was cut off when Eda placed both of her hands round the one that held the seed. "Forget about learning the spell, kiddo. I'll let King have this win. Pressure's off."

The blonde witch furrowed her brow, silently watching Eda release her and resume walking off. The urge to speak up lingered, the words of comfort and encouragement she wanted to offer dancing on the tip of her tongue. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. It was like some unknown force was squeezing her tongue and keeping her silent. So instead, she allowed Eda to gradually get further and further away until she could no longer see her beyond the forest.

Looking at the seed in her palm, Lizzie loudly huffed and shook her head.

'I knew this wasn't going to end well.' She started walking in the direction Eda left in, scanning the ground close to the tree trunks for somewhere to bury the seed. 'I've never seen Eda look so defeated before. I didn't know King had struck such a nerve in her. I just wish there was something I could do…'

Lizzie kept walking for a while, initially heading in the direction of the Owl House as she went. But eventually she gave up and stopped by a small gathering of trees, where a fresh mound of healthy-looking soil lay. The blonde witch crouched before it and placed the seed atop it for the moment, resting her arms on her thighs and wriggling her thumbs about.

"Whether I'd studied more about plant magic or not, I don't think I have a natural talent for it. Which isn't a bad thing, I suppose. All witches have their weaknesses, and I guess mine is plants."

Using her hands, Lizzie dug her fingers deep into the soil, parting it and removing chunks to create a small hole the seed could fall into. "I could argue that watching the life of a plant might help. But that would take forever. I don't have the patience unless I'm dedicated. Plus, there are different types of plants. Simply memorising the act of one won't apply to the others. Nature's supposed to be unique."

As she finished covering up the hole with the seed inside, Lizzie smiled sadly and raised her right hand to bring forth her glowing index finger, going ahead to draw a tiny spell circle above where she'd buried the seed. "I mean, it was silly of me to imagine a plant shoot sprouting from a seed when I—"

The spell circle Lizzie drew connected and remained stable this time, causing the blonde to stop talking when she saw the soil mound to suddenly twist into a thin spiral and rise upwards through the circle's transparent insides.

"Whoa!"

Lizzie cried out and fell backwards onto her bottom, staring with wide eyes and a gape as the soil hardened and created a cylindrical shape stemming from the ground, knocking the seed off to the side somewhere with a slight bounce. The earth structure only rose a tiny way off the ground before it stopped completely, resembling a twig that had been stuck in the dirt.

Even after the spell circle dispersed and left the tiny earthen structure in its place, Lizzie didn't move. She sat as still as a statue, struggling to comprehend what she'd just done. She blinked once, twice, thrice, and when nothing changed she rubbed at her eyes just to be sure (using her arms, of course. Her hands were covered in soil). Regardless of what she did, though, her creation stayed where it was.

She'd just made that.

"Holy Titan…"

Lizzie slowly leaned forward and raised a finger to give the little structure a light poke, which was her way of double checking to see if it was real. She felt the hardened mud against her fingertip. It was there.

"Did I… just learn a new spell?"

Yet that veil of disbelief still hung around her. Surely, she was mistaken, right? There's no way she could have done this. She must have been dreaming. However, there was a way she could check to make sure she wasn't dreaming: repeat the process again. And that's exactly what she did.

The blonde witch stood and moved a small distance from the gathering of trees, finding an open area where she could put her theory to the test. Like before she crouched down and held her glowing finger at the ready, briefly closing her eyes to imagine the process she wanted to happen with her desired spell. Only this time, she wasn't picturing a plant shoot emerging from a seed. She imagined the ground forming into a hardened structure shooting up from the soil, growing as high as the trees of the forest. She kept that mental picture at the forefront of her mind for thirty seconds before finally opening her eyes, immediately drawing a spell circle in the dirt as big as her palm.

The spell circle stayed intact when its two points met, prompting Lizzie to feel the ground beneath start to rumble a little. The blonde leapt up and stepped back as her mental creation came to life, causing her to witness a round column of hardened soil rise from the ground from the middle of the spell circle. It stretched as high as the treetops before coming to a complete halt, with the rumbling ceasing at the same time. Lizzie stared at her handywork with a wide gape and her hands close to her mouth, realising that she'd proven herself wrong.

She wasn't dreaming.

She'd learnt a new spell.

"… I just learnt a new spell."

Lizzie pulled her hands away and turned her gaze to her dirty palms, with a wide smile creeping onto her face. She repeated her earlier statement a little louder and with more confidence.

"I just learnt a new spell."

There was a brief pause and then… Lizzie let out a loud and triumphant laugh. She threw her hands above her head and hopped happily on the spot, with the familiar feeling of euphoria pumping through her body. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so proud of herself. Was it when she first learnt to lift herself a small way off the floor? Or when she'd managed to conjure up a tiny ball of light in her palm? Was it a little further back than that, when she'd created her first official magic potion using her fire spell? Or when she'd taught herself to make a flame and weak stream of water? She wasn't sure. But she couldn't deny she wasn't filled with joy right now at her accomplishment, as little as it might have been to others.

'I did it! I learnt another spell! And an earth spell, no less! It wasn't the plant spell, but Eda's advice still worked in some form!'

Lizzie stopped jumping around and froze upon remembering the Owl Lady, causing her to gasp loudly and lower her arms.

"Eda! I almost forgot!"

Quickly dusting off her hands, Lizzie darted in the direction towards the Owl House as fast as her legs would allow.

"I need to tell her about this!"