A/N: Wow. This chapter was a mouthful. I was gonna stretch out Luz's and Amity's fight a little more than I currently have in hopes of saving Chapter 15 for the important stuff, but the word count was getting pretty long, so... I had to stop where I did. I doubt I would have been able to stop at any other place in the fight without making it awkward anyhow. I admit I did have a lot of fun with the conversation between Eda and Lilith, though. You'll probably have noticed that when you get to it. But yeah, although Chapter 14 currently doesn't have Lizzie doing much, Chapter 15 will be where the good stuff starts, especially with the little surprise I have in store... So, I hope in the meantime that Chapter 14 will hold you over. Thank you to everyone who has been favouriting, following, reading, and reviewing this fanfic. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. I don't know when I'll have Chapter 15 up, but I'll try and do it as quickly as possible. In the meanwhile, I'll get to answering some reviews since I've noticed I've had quite a few of them recently.

Regarding the questions and comments made by Mallory/Walker (assuming you are the same person; please correct me if I'm wrong), I'm glad you seem to think I've captured King's character well in the first chapter. I won't deny that it's difficult writing King, Hooty, and Eda and at times I worry I'm not keeping them in character during my original scenes. So, it's good to know I did okay with King during the first chapter. In terms of your questions: Lizzie is actually 18, meaning she was sentenced to the Conformatorium when she was 15. I did mention in past author's notes that she is an adult witch and while I have done my best to show that without outright stating her age, I realise that my wording is a little misleading in the first chapter. That was my bad and I have gone back and changed it. Regarding your other question about Eda and Lizzie: yes, that is the implication. There's more to the situation than what I've let on and I plan on expanding on this more in later chapters, but you've pretty much summed up the situation in basic terms. And as for Lizzie's parents... well, I can't say anything, I'm afraid. I have big plans for that can of worms, because there is more to Lizzie's circumstances than meets the eye. But I will say that Chapter 15 may elude to some answers for those questions... You'll have to wait and see.


Chapter 14: Petty Rivalries

The Emperor's Coven panel was being held in a large, high-ceiling, dome shaped room with purple walls. Triangular shaped spotlights shone down onto a circular area blocked off by raised and slab-like seating that rounded the interior of the room, with a semi-circle shaped stage on the lowered ground attached to a rectangle wall that split between the stands, where a long banner with the Emperor Coven's sigil hung. The room resembled a battle arena, one that was scarily similar to the coliseums built in Ancient Rome. Crowds of people were gathered amongst these stands loudly and excitedly chattering away to each other, which was why Lizzie knew Eda had chosen it as a perfect spot to hide in, despite neither of them wanting to be anywhere near the Emperor's Coven. There was no way the guards would locate Eda in here.

After wading (or in Lizzie's case, being pulled) through a range of stands to try to find their teenage human charge, Eda and Lizzie soon caught the back of Luz's signature hoody near the bottom of the left stand closest to the middle. She was staring down at the stage and sitting alone, as it seemed Willow and Gus were nowhere to be found. Lizzie assumed that was probably because the pair were making attempts to get a coven guard to sign Gus' forehead…

Luz turned to Eda with a wide blink when the Owl Lady settled beside her (after releasing Lizzie first) with drooped eyes and her arms resting on her thighs, only to then lean forward at seeing Lizzie sit in the seat next to Eda.

"What made you two change your minds?"

"None of your business…" Eda answered flatly, staring ahead at the stage.

Luz focused on Lizzie for answers, but the blonde just shook her head. She wasn't in the mood to reveal what had happened back there either. Luckily, just as Luz opened her mouth to probe the conversation further, the lights in the room dimmed out, drawing the trio's attention to the ground below.

A green mist slowly began to emerge and swirl round the middle of the stage, with a tall silhouette appearing to rise along with the mist. A spotlight flashed on above the stage as upbeat, techno-like music began to play, with the mist immediately clearing when the silhouetted stranger waved both of their hands to the sides. A smiling, wrinkle faced man was revealed once the mist cleared, dressed in a long, black gown decorated with gold along the edges of the sleeves and the cape hem of his black cape, with a blue stole draped over his shoulders. The top half of his head was in the open maw of a red imp with teal eyes, yellow sclera, two visible fangs, pointed ears and a thin, pointed tail, with its body from the neck down being perched upon the man's shoulders. It looked like the imp was trying to eat the man, and yet it remained motionless on his head and body, with the man himself showing no signs of discomfort or pain.

The moment the man was revealed, though, Lizzie immediately squirmed and placed her hands on either side of her seat, straightening her posture on impulse at recognising the announcer with a single glance.

'Principal Bump. It's been three years and yet seeing him still makes me feel intimidated…'

Eda noticed the blonde's discomfort out of the corner of her eyes and turned to her with a raised brow, just as 'Bump' twirled his right index finger and drew a green spell circle, prompting a microphone with bat wings on it to appear in a brief flash of light.

"What's got you so antsy?"

Lizzie shook her head to brush the question off. "I was in Bump's office a lot during my Hexside days. I can't help it."

The pair focused back on the stage when the music stopped and Bump addressed the audience through the microphone, holding out his arms on either side of him.

"Hello, citizens of Bonesborough!" Bump paused when brief clapping and cheers broke out amongst the spectators, resuming his speaking once it died down. "Students at Hexside are always asking me the same question." He held up a finger and made his tone a little more high-pitched to imitate said 'students'. "'Principal Bump, what's the height of magical achievement in the Boiling Isles?'" Bump grabbed the microphone and held it close to his face. "I always tell them the same answer: it's being selected to join the best of the best! And there are none better than the coven that oversees the entire coven system and carries out our leader's will: The Emperor's Coven."

Bump held a hand out towards the area in front of the stage as an electric guitar-like instrumental began to play in the background, where three Emperor's Coven guards appeared to phase through the ground in bright blue swirls in the same poses as the ones who had been guarding the panel entrance, starting with the guard standing to the left, followed by the guard standing to the right, and lastly the guard standing in the middle.

The sight of them made Lizzie shuffle closer to Eda, with the Owl Lady showing no other reaction than to give the younger witch a quick sideways glance. Luz, on the other hand, leaned forward in her seat with a slight gape, muttering "Whoa…" under her breath.

Bump continued to speak with the audience while walking from the left side of the stage towards the right side, sweeping his arm in a wide motion as he went. "Feast your eyes on this elite force, made up of members handpicked to aid in ushering a new era of controlled magic!"

Each coven guard raised their right index fingers and drew small golden spell circles above their heads, prompting thin beams of water, light and fire to respectively shoot into the air and immediately connect. The magic exploded in a bright flash, decorating the air with varied sized balls of light in an intricate pattern. Cheers loudly erupted from the crowd at this, with Eda leaning close to Lizzie while lightly elbowing her side.

"And when does that 'elite force' get here?"

The Owl Lady loudly laughed at her own joke and slapped her knee, but Lizzie showed no reaction to anything that was going on around her right now. Her eyes were fixed on the trio of coven guards in front of the stage as they held their ball of light magic between their hands, particularly the one standing in the middle. She couldn't tell from where she was sitting, but she swore that guard's bird mask was pointed in the direction of their stand, especially in the direction of her seat. The thought made her shift from side-to-side and hunch her shoulders, yet Eda didn't appear to notice, continuing with her laughter.

All three guards rolled their hands around the magic to keep it condensed while Bump walked from the right side of the stage to the left side. "Members of the Emperor's Coven are granted access to all—yes, all—forms of magic." Bump stopped on the left side of the stage and faced the audience with a frown. "But only the best witches can ascend to these ranks and further. Someday that could be one of you!"

Bump pointed towards the first row of the stand Lizzie, Eda, and Luz were sat on, directing his finger at a young witch donning the Abominations Magic Track uniform of Hexside, who had chin-length green hair (with the top being a dark green while the sides were light green) tied into a small ponytail. Lizzie could only see the back of the student from where she was seated, but she still managed to hear the happy squeal they let out over Eda's continued laughter; the Owl Lady looked ready to topple backwards out of her seat.

'Well, look who's easily amused…'

The blonde witch's attention returned to the coven guards as they dispersed their magic with the wave of their hands and grabbed the corners of their capes. Lizzie noticed the middle guard still appeared to have their eyes on her as they mimicked their fellow members' movements and pulled their capes over their faces, becoming surrounded in a bright, light blue glow. Sweat trickled down the sides of Lizzie's face even after the trio of guards disappeared in a flurry of light blue light blown off to the side, leaving Bump alone on stage for the time being. The guard hadn't broken eye contact at all during their disappearing act, which made her rub at her chest at the sudden rise in palpitations there.

'Was that guard focusing on me or Eda?'

She was hoping it was the latter.

Having returned to the middle of the stage, Bump straightened his posture and placed his empty hand behind his back. "And speaking of ascending ranks, I'm pleased to introduce this year's mystery guest. Let's give a warm welcome to the esteemed leader of the Emperor's Coven: Lilith!"

The moment Bump spoke the name, Eda's laughter immediately stopped. Lizzie watched the Owl Lady's eyes widen with a slight gape before their attention turned to a bright flash close to the high ceiling. A glowing outlined image of a raven perched on a thin branch emerged, spreading its wings and flapping them to raise itself into the air and then swoop towards the stage, prompting the branch to disappear in a smaller flash. Bump stepped to the back of the stage as the raven turned around in the air before landing in front of him to face the audience, opening its beak and causing streaks of blue light to stretch from under its feet and rise to the front of the stands before vanishing into the air.

Lizzie squinted and pushed herself forward in her seat at just about making out a tall, slender, white and golden cloaked figure standing amongst the glowing bird, hiding their face behind a white bird face mask that had a pointed nose longer than the masks worn by the coven's guards. At first, the individual remained stoic and still. But once they'd raised their hands and caused the raven to explode into transparent orbs floating in the air, a wide and proud smile slipped onto their face, with the mask they were wearing levitating away from their face with a blue outline to reveal an aquamarine eyed witch with straight and long dark teal hair stretching to her lower back, dressed in a flowing, two-toned grey, long-sleeved gown. She appeared to be around Eda's age, but outwardly she looked to be younger than the Owl Lady.

As the orbs slowly faded from view and the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, Lizzie dared to sideways glance Eda, only for her brows to raise at seeing the witch staring slack-jawed at the newcomer, with only occasional blinks to prove she hadn't been turned into a statue. It was very rare that Lizzie ever got a glimpse of the Owl Lady being shocked by anything, so to see her this way now after her previous reactions to the panel spoke volumes.

'Does she know the leader of the Emperor's Coven?'

Lizzie got her answer when Luz (who had been preoccupied clapping at the recent display of magic) eventually took notice of Eda's reaction and lightly elbowed the Owl Lady in the ribs, repeating her internal question as if she'd just telepathically read her mind.

"Eda, do you know her?"

There was a brief pause before Eda answered slowly, her gaze never leaving 'Lilith' as she twirled her left index finger and drew a light blue spell circle, coating her cloak in a matching outline before flicking both the cape and the mask in the direction of Bump, who ended up having the items thrown onto him. "… You could say that."

Lizzie noticed that like Eda, Lilith had a gem on her clothing close to her sternum, but it was small, blue, and had an inverted-kite shape (which had now been exposed thanks to Lilith discarding her cloak). She also noticed Lilith's grey nails were claw-like, just like Eda's were.

"Thank you all," Lilith said while Bump walked off with a faint frown from the stage with Lilith's cloak and mask in his arms. She placed her hands together and strolled towards the right side of the stage. "It wasn't easy for me to rise to the top. Like most of you, I started from humble beginnings." She paused and held her right hand up, clenched into a fist. "Now I have the highest honour of enforcing our Emperor's will! So, be more! The Emperor's Coven will be awaiting you!"

Lilith crossed her left arm close to her right ear and clenched her left hand a little, prompting a glowing, light blue light to encase it. With a quick twirl, the Emperor's Coven leader cast a swirl of light and held her arms out as the light formed into the top half of the raven from earlier. The raven puffed out its chest, held its head high, and spread its wings before it suddenly exploded into an array of glowing blue orbs which slowly descended towards the ground.

Lilith remained in her current position with a smug smile towards the audience. But while the audience didn't seem bothered by anything that had just happened, Lizzie couldn't help glancing at Eda out of concern. And it turned out she was right to be concerned, because the Owl Lady was currently sat with tensed shoulders and a glare that Lizzie swore held a burning fire behind Eda's wide golden eyes, one which was clearly directed towards the witch on the stage below them.

It didn't take much for Lizzie to see that there was quite a bit of history between Eda and Lilith, and not a good one either…


The moment the panel ended and the crowds began to flood to the exit, Eda wasted no time in stomping her way out of the room and back into the main hall with clenched fists at her sides, with Lizzie and Luz speed walking after the Owl Lady to try to keep up with her. The signs were becoming more obvious to Lizzie now. It was clear seeing this 'Lilith' had struck a nerve in the Owl Lady.

"Eda, where are you going?!" Luz called as they re-entered the main hall, with Eda immediately turning to the right and continuing her walk without looking back.

"I'm heading home. I need to wash the 'con funk' off my skin."

Luz and Lizzie frowned as they watched Eda walk off, prompting the former to put her hands close to her mouth to shout after her technical mentor. "But there's still so much we haven't gotten to see! I still need to know what our coven type is!"

When Eda didn't respond or look back, Luz slouched her posture and turned her gaze to the floor, letting out a quiet sigh as she did so. At seeing the young human looking dejected, Lizzie placed a hand on Luz's closest shoulder and gave it a pat.

"I'll talk to Eda. You keep having a look around." Her frown deepened as she had a quick scan of the area around them. "And maybe look for King whilst you're at it. I haven't seen or heard him in a while…"

So much had been going on that Lizzie hadn't noticed until now that King wasn't with them. She wasn't too concerned, as the little demon was prone to running off and doing as he pleased on occasion in public spaces, at least according to Eda. But she knew it wouldn't hurt just to check in on him every now and again to make sure everything was okay. Especially in case he was up to something he shouldn't be.

Luz forced a smile and nodded to that, which the blonde witch took as her cue to pull away and dash after the Owl Lady into the crowds, leaving Luz to her own devices for the time being.

'Sorry, Luz. I don't want to leave you like that. But Eda needs to be prioritised…'

The blonde ducked her way through the crowds of people now scattered between the stands, managing to spy the back of Eda's red dress and cowl poking out amongst them. The older witch was striding quickly and doing well to keep the distance between her and her young charge, but that didn't stop her large cowl from making her stand out amongst the swarm of beings, allowing Lizzie to keep tabs on her.

"Eda!"

The blonde yelled for the older witch as loudly as she could. But Eda never looked back or stopped, instead picking up the pace in her stride to get further away from her. That was a clear indication the Owl Lady had heard her, even if her cowl was probably muffling her hearing a bit.

'Don't ignore me, Eda! You're not getting away from me that easily!'

The young witch finally caught a break when Eda rounded a pillar into an area that was devoid of Covention goers, grabbing at the corners of her cowl with both hands as she did so. Lizzie managed to shove her way through and dash round the pillar to close the distance, forcing the Owl Lady to an abrupt stop at reaching out to grip her closest wrist.

"Eda, wait!"

Eda huffed loudly and didn't turn around at realising who had grabbed her, preparing to pry her wrist free from Lizzie's grip with a forceful tug. "Leave me alone, Redwood. I just want to get out of here."

Lizzie kept up with her current grip, scowling at Eda's reply. She hadn't expected the Owl Lady to be honest with her right out of the gate, but that wasn't going to stop her from getting some answers. "Not until you talk to me."

Eda continued with her tugging, turning to the young witch with a scowl and slight annoyance lacing her tone. "There's nothing to talk about, all right? Now let me go."

Lizzie tugged back with gritted teeth, causing the two to go back and forth as they wrestled for control. "There is. You know it's irresponsible to leave Luz alone in this place without explaining why."

"She has you, King, and her little witch friends! She'll be fine!"

"And you think it's okay to leave me here to watch three kids and a demon when you assured me I'd be safe from my stalker with you around?"

"Would you stop with that and let go?"

Lizzie's scowl deepened, her tone becoming stern. "No. You don't get to walk off scot free after forcing me to spill my guts. What's wrong?"

Eda's scowl deepened in turn. "Nothing. I'm just sick of this brainwashing malarkey and want to go home."

"Hogwash," Lizzie hissed and tightened her grip on Eda's wrist, causing the older witch to blink widely and lower her hand a bit. "You were fine until the leader of the Emperor's Coven showed up."

Eda rolled her eyes at this, raising her voice a little. "Well, of course I would be! I've had two close calls already. I can't risk a third."

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid…" Lizzie growled, causing Eda's eyes to widen at taking in the aggressive look on the younger blonde's face. "I saw the look on your face back at the panel. If you were so worried about getting caught, you would have left the moment you heard her name." Eda didn't respond or react, prompting Lizzie to relax her face a bit and calm her tone. "I don't want to know your life story, Eda. I just want to know if there's more to this than what you're telling me."

The two witches stared each other down in a deafening silence for what felt like forever before Eda finally broke it with a loud huff, her expression softening a little.

"Fine. You're right." Lizzie loosened her grip on Eda's wrist, allowing the Owl Lady to pull it away and rub at it with her other hand. "But I really can't stay here any longer with her around. She's been ordered to capture me and if she sees me, my cover's blown."

Lizzie held out her hands on either side of her and frowned. "See? Was that so hard to say?" Eda narrowed her eyes at that, which the younger witch took as her cue to drop the sarcasm and fold her arms. "Look, I get it. But I don't feel safe staying here on my own with Luz and King." She briefly turned her gaze to the floor, recalling the coven guard from the panel she suspected was staring at her. "Having the Emperor's Coven here is making me uncomfortable…"

"I hear ya." Eda reached out to give Lizzie a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I wasn't expecting them to be here either."

"So, what should we do? We can't both go."

Eda pulled away and shrugged, shaking her head. "We've got no choice. We'll have to take Luz and King back with us."

Lizzie rubbed at her arm then, glancing behind her with drooped eyes. "But Luz will be crushed. She really wanted to explore the rest of Covention."

"I know. But we can't leave her here unsupervised, especially with the Emperor's Coven running around." Eda began to back up then, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder towards the front of the building. "So, you go find Luz and King and meet me outside the—"

"Sister?"

The surprised familiar voice of Lilith sounded from behind Lizzie, causing the Owl Lady's body to stiffen as she cut herself off. Lizzie turned around to see Lilith (looking to be the same as she had been from the panel without her cloak and mask) standing in front of the 'History Coven' stand with paper and a pencil in hand, surrounded by four Hexside students from the Bard, Plant, Construction, and Beast Keeping Magic Tracks.

"Aw, nuts," Eda grumbled under her breath, watching with a glare and clenched fists as Lilith finished writing on the piece of paper before handing the paper and pencil to the Construction Track student and shooing the group away with the flick of her hands and a wide smile.

"That'll be all for today, children."

As the students made to walk off without complaint and Lilith bid them farewell with a brief wave, Lizzie gaped at finally processing the first thing Lilith had said to Eda.

'Wait… She called Eda 'sister'…' The metaphorical lightbulb flicked on at her sudden realisation, prompting the young witch to slowly turn to Eda with her gape widening ever so slightly. 'Oh my gosh. That would have never been my first guess!'

And yet Lizzie was beginning to see the similarities between them that indicated their relation: their theme with birds, their proud attitudes, their show of power, their claw-like nails, even the streaks of hair that hung in front of their ears. Yes, they were little things, and Lizzie had never given them much mind before now. But knowing what she did at the moment had changed everything.

Lizzie's jaw twitched with the urge to screech, but all she could manage was a hushed question. "You're sisters?"

Eda managed a stiff nod, causing Lizzie to cover her hands over her mouth. But when she saw Eda narrow her eyes, the blonde faced Lilith again, who was now strolling towards them with a smug-looking smile and her hands placed together in front of her chest, her next words coming out mockingly.

"It's been so long since I've last seen you." Lizzie backed up to Eda's side as Lilith stopped in front of them, giving the Owl Lady a brief look over. "My, my, what are you wearing? You look like you're a trash collector." Her smile widened into a smirk. "Oh, right. You are."

The blonde witch had only seen Lilith interacting with Eda for a few seconds, and yet already she felt she was beginning to understand why the Owl Lady was glaring at her the same way she had been back at the panel, with the addition of her jaw clenching. But seeing Eda being put down like this didn't sit well with Lizzie. In fact, it reminded her of the altercation between her and the warden of the Conformatorium, prompting the blonde to clasp her wrist against her front when she felt it tremble slightly.

'It's not my place to pry, but… I can't just stand here and do nothing.'

Which is why, as Eda straightened herself out and opened her mouth to say a retort, Lizzie shuffled closer to the Owl Lady and gave Lilith a quick glance up and down, pursing her lips.

"Huh. You're one to talk." Lizzie's sarcastic response had Eda staring at the younger witch with a wide blink, while Lilith's smile dropped as she raised a brow at the blonde addressing her.

"Excuse me?"

Lizzie pointed at her attire. "You're supposed to be the leader of the Emperor's Coven, but you certainly don't look the part. If it hadn't been for Bump's introduction, I would have assumed you were a funeral director." Lizzie allowed a sly smile to slip. "Which is fitting considering you were boring me to death with that whole spiel back there."

Eda loudly snorted before turning away with a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. Meanwhile Lilith pressed her lips together for a few seconds with a slight squint. She was clearly annoyed at Lizzie's remark but was doing well to keep herself together to avoid making a scene.

"And… who are you?"

Lizzie never had a chance to answer, because Eda was soon puffing her chest out and grinning, hooking an arm around the younger witch's shoulders. "She's someone with common sense, Lily. You didn't think you were the only one who had adoring fans, did you?"

"An adoring fan?" Lilith repeated with emphasis, her gaze briefly flitting to Lizzie again before she crinkled her nose. "Come now, Edalyn. No one would want to idolise a wanted criminal."

'Edalyn?' Lizzie faintly frowned at the mentioned name, giving Eda a sideways glance as the Owl Lady stood straight with a raised brow. 'Does that mean 'Eda' is actually a nickname she uses?' Her eyes drooped. 'Well, that explains why she's insistent on giving me nicknames… And Lilith, apparently.'

"Oh, yeah? Watch this." Eda lightly slapped Lizzie on the back of the shoulder with an amused smile, turning to her with a wink. "You know, Lilith's clothing isn't the only embarrassing thing about her. When we were kids, she was so excited to see the Emperor's Coven that she peed a little."

Lizzie closed her mouth to muffle the urge to laugh, causing her to snort and her cheeks to flush a bit as Lilith stared at Eda wide eyed. The teal-haired witch briefly turned her head to the side and placed a fist close to her mouth at feeling her face heat up, attempting to calm herself down with a sharp intake of breath. That only made it harder for Lizzie to hold back her laughter, prompting her to puff her cheeks out while Eda observed her sister with a smirk after straightening herself out.

'I was hoping she was joking, but the look on this witch's face says otherwise…'

Lilith eventually managed to recompose herself after a minute or so by loudly clearing her throat, bringing back a stoic expression and acting like nothing had happened. Yet it wasn't until the older witch turned her gaze to Lizzie's hands that the younger witch's laughter was silenced for good.

"Ah, that explains it." Before Lizzie could even think of bringing her hands underneath her cloak, Lilith moved fast and clutched both of her wrists with her own hands, holding her arms so the undersides were visible. "You're also a covenless degenerate. No wonder you and Edalyn seem overly chummy."

Eda suddenly snarled and stepped forward to swat at her sister's hands, forcing Lilith to let go and watch the Owl Lady protectively pull Lizzie closer to her side, making the younger blonde blink widely. "Hey, keep your mitts off her!"

Lilith stepped back and tilted her head with a sly smile. "Why so protective, sister? Are you scared I'm going to steal away your only adoring fan?"

"Pfft!" Eda waved Lilith off with a hand and a glare. "In your dreams."

Lilith rolled her eyes and focused on Lizzie with a quiet huff. "I don't know what my sister has been telling you, child, but given you look of coven-choosing age, you'd do well not to listen to the nonsense dear Edalyn is spouting. She only thinks she's smarter than everyone else because she's covenless, but that isn't true." Lilith clenched her one hand into a fist with her chin up while putting the other behind her back with a wide smile, prompting Eda's glare to deepen. "After all, while she runs from the law, I'm mentoring the next generation of powerful witches into the world. Compared to her, my words naturally carry more weight."

"Yeah. The weight of your ego." Eda's comment forced Lizzie to turn her head away with a small chuckle, with the Owl Lady releasing the younger witch and standing in front of her with a fist held to her chest. "I happen to be teaching magic to students of my own, including the 'covenless degenerate' standing behind me." Lizzie's laughter stopped at this, her head whipping towards Eda when the older witch put her hands to her hips. "And I bet they could wipe the floor with any of your prissy little blue bloods if given the chance!"

'Wait, what?'

Lizzie approached Eda's side and grabbed at her shoulder with both hands, beginning to stutter as the gravity of the situation dawned on her. "Eda, stop—"

"Is that a challenge?" Lilith interrupted Lizzie in a low tone, narrowing her eyes and moving forward to close the distance between her and Eda; they were both the same height, making it easy for the two witches to stare each other down at eye level.

Eda narrowed her eyes right back, moving her face closer to her sister's with a forceful jab against the other witch's chest. "Oh, it's a promise."

Lizzie's shoulders hunched as her eyes darted between the two sisters giving each other death glares, subconsciously wiping at her forehead at feeling her skin growing moist.

'Oh, Titan. Can this day get any worse?!'

And, as if on cue to answer Lizzie's rhetorical question, the silence was suddenly broken by a familiar head of pixie cut purplish-brown hair popping in the middle of the trio of witches and yelling in a panic. "Eda, Lizzie, I need your help!

Lizzie (while releasing Eda), Eda (with her arm across her chest), and Lilith all recoiled back with wide eyes and gapes at being startled, only for the former two to slouch and close their mouths at seeing it was Luz. Luz didn't give either of them time to answer, instead spilling her words out in a panicked and breathy rant while moving her arms around in an animated fashion.

"I-accidentally-challenged-Amity-to-a-witch's-duel-using-an-everlasting-oath-without-realising-what-that-meant-and-now-I-think-she's-going-to-kill-me-all-the-way-dead!"

Luz finished her rambles by collapsing to her knees and drooping forward, prompting Lizzie to smack her palm against her forehead. She hadn't heard most of what Luz said, but based on how scared she sounded, she could easily guess that she was in big trouble.

'Of course…'

After a few seconds of silence, Lilith turned her gaze to Eda with a smug smile, prompting Eda to glare at her sister in return even as she spoke. "So, I assume this is one of your other students?" Eda didn't say anything, keeping her eyes on Lilith as the witch crouched down to get a closer look at Luz, her smile dimming down into an amused one. "And look at those ears!" She held up a finger to point at them, prompting Luz to flinch and cover them with both hands. "Is she human? Where did you even find one of these?"

Lizzie growled at that and bent down, gently grabbing Luz by the shoulders. She pulled Luz to her feet and stepped back to keep her as far away from Lilith as possible, holding her against her front by her shoulders. "Her. She's not a thing."

She couldn't help herself with that remark. Despite having referred to Luz by her species name instead of her actual name in the beginning to keep herself from getting attached to the teenager, Lizzie had never once treated or spoken about Luz like she was an object. But she knew the same couldn't be said for all inhabitants in the Boiling Isles, especially those of the upper classes and high ranks, which is why it rubbed her the wrong way with Lilith.

Lilith shrugged her shoulders and stood up again, her smile never faltering. "It doesn't matter what she is." Lizzie's eye twitched, but she held her tongue. "It seems she's met my strongest protégé and has challenged her to a witch's duel, which aligns perfectly with our current challenge." Lilith twirled her left index finger and brought forth a light blue spell circle. In response, Lizzie saw Eda's wanted posters (which had been scattered about the room inside the building as well as outside) became engulfed by light blue flames and vanished, with Lilith continuing to speak all the while. "For today, Edalyn, you won't have to hide from the law. Because I want to see just how good a teacher you really are."

Eda balled her hands into fists and snarled at Lilith as the last of the posters disappeared in blue flames, prompting the other witch to turn away with her hands placed together in front of her chest.

"I'll see you at the hall in an hour. Best of luck."

Lizzie, Eda, and Luz remained in tense silence as they watched Lilith make her leave of the area, none of the trio daring to speak until the leader of the Emperor's Coven was completely out of sight. But at least now Lizzie could confirm one thing: Eda hadn't been lying.

Without missing a beat, Lizzie whirled Luz round to face her and caused the young girl to shriek when her grip tightened on her shoulders.

"Luz," Lizzie began sternly, causing Luz to whimper and shrink back at the frown the older blonde gave her. "what did you do?"

Luz wrung her hands together and glanced down at the floor as she prepared to answer, thickly swallowing before she did so. Lizzie could see beads of sweat gathering on her forehead. "I…" She squeezed her eyes shut and answered quietly. "I challenged Amity to a witch's duel and we sealed it with an everlasting oath."

"An everlasting oath?!" Lizzie shrieked. She brought Luz closer so their foreheads were almost touching, forcing the Latina to look her dead in the eyes. "Please tell me you didn't seal it with anything stupid."

Luz bowed her head a little after a moment of silent staring, mumbling her next words with a hand gripping at her elbow. "If Amity wins, I have to give up learning magic."

It took all of Lizzie's willpower not to screech the Covention down right there and then. The blonde witch slowly released Luz and took a couple of steps away, sharply inhaling while stretching the skin on her face with her fingers.

'Why does this always happen when I leave Luz unattended?!'

Luz's brow furrowed while watching Lizzie trying to keep calm, rubbing at the nape of her neck with her hand. "Is it really that bad?"

"Of course it is," Lizzie answered, crossing her arms over her middle and pacing a little on the spot. "Once an everlasting oath is sealed, it has to be honoured. It was bad enough when Eda got all competitive with her sister, but at least then I could have taken your place. But with the oath in place, you have to do it, unless you want to be stuck unable to learn magic for the rest of your life."

Luz gasped when Lizzie mentioned 'sister', prompting her gaze to turn to Eda (who was currently scowling and silently watching the events unfolding before her). "Wait. Lilith's your sister?" Eda nodded, prompting Luz to cover her mouth with her hands and stare at her mentor wide eyed. "That explains so much!"

"Luz, focus," Lizzie snapped as she came to a stop, causing the younger girl to flinch at her aggressive tone. "We have other things to be worrying about right now."

It was at this moment that Eda finally chose to step in between Luz and Lizzie with her hands raised, her expression relaxing. "Now, now. We don't need to panic."

"Don't need to panic?" Lizzie replied with a partially raised voice, facing Eda and harshly poking her in the chest. "Don't you realise how serious this is?! Your student is about to be pitted against a student witch trained under the leader of the Emperor's Coven! Putting the oath aside, she isn't going to make it out of that fight alive!" Lizzie held up a finger. "She only knows one spell and hasn't mastered it properly. She doesn't stand a chance!"

"Yes, I realise that. I was originally banking on using you against Lilith's student. But given the situation we're in now," Eda placed a hand to her chin and glanced towards Luz, who was busy staring down at her fidgeting feet. "we're gonna need drastic measures."

Lizzie folded her arms. "And what drastic measures are you referring to? Because you don't have time to teach Luz any new spells. She'll need to find more of those symbol-thingies."

"Which is why I have 'Plan B'." Eda placed her hands to her hips and smiled widely. "Cheating."

Luz and Lizzie stared at the Owl Lady with raised brows for a solid five seconds, awaiting some sort of signal for Eda to indicate she was joking. But when it never came, the pair spoke simultaneously. "… Huh?"

"It's quite simple, really." Eda jabbed a finger into her cowl. "I have a whole bunch of magic traps shoved in here. If we plant them on the field and Luz leads Amity to 'em…"—she loudly clapped her hands together—"BLAM! The witch won't know what hit her and no one will know it was all a ruse! Great plan, right?"

"… No, it's not," Lizzie replied, massaging her temples with both hands. "You've gone from endangering Luz to endangering Amity. It's reckless and, frankly, immoral."

Eda shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like we've got much choice. Whether it's to stop Luz getting pummelled,"—Luz squeaked and pulled her hood over her head at this—"or to stop those snobs from winning, cheating is the only way out of this now."

"It's not." Lizzie scowled and placed her hands on her hips. "This is going to turn out exactly like it did with King, Eda. We can't go through with this. Luz has to forfeit."

Luz's eyes widened as she gripped at the sides of her hood. "But I don't want to forfeit! If I do, I'll have to give up learning magic!"

Lizzie sighed and shook her head, having expected the teenager to disagree with her opinion. "I'm sorry, Luz, but it's not worth putting your life or Amity's on the line."

Luz lowered her head and stared at the ground with a quivering lip, deciding not to say anything more. At seeing this, Eda bent down close to Luz and whispered behind the back of her hand, giving the teen a wink.

"I'll handle this, Luz. You just prepare for bloodshed."

Lizzie raised a brow at watching Eda and Luz converse, unable to hear what they were saying. Meanwhile, Luz's face scrunched up a bit at Eda's words. "… Wait, whose blood?"

The Owl Lady forced a smile and gave Luz a rough pat on the back. "Anyone's guess!"

Eda missed Luz's quiet gulp after she'd pulled away, with Lizzie catching sight of Luz gripping at her throat before the Owl Lady approached the younger blonde and grabbed her shoulders, moving her off to the side so they could talk privately.

"Look," Eda began once she'd let Lizzie go. "I get that this isn't really ideal—"

"That's not the word I'd use…" Lizzie interrupted through gritted teeth, prompting Eda to continue with a frown.

"But you know how much Luz wants to learn magic. And now that she's finally started making progress, don't you think it's unfair that she's going to end up having that taken away?"

"Yes. But," Lizzie waggled a finger close to Eda's face. "that was her own fault. She jumped the gun and is facing serious consequences. It was going to happen sometime, Eda. Plus, we both know you only want Luz to do this so you can stick it to Lilith."

There was a brief pause Eda's shoulders slumped, prompting her to hold her hands palm-up in surrender. "Fine. You got me there." Lizzie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the older witch. "That doesn't change the fact I'm right, does it?"

"But what if Luz or Amity get seriously hurt? Are you honestly prepared to hold two injured teenagers on your conscience?"

Eda peeked over her shoulder to glance at Luz, furrowing her brow at seeing the young Latina girl standing still with her legs shaking to the point of her knees almost knocking together. "… Not really. However," Eda lowered her voice as she faced Lizzie again. "I have a secret proposal."

Lizzie huffed and unfolded her arms, lowering her voice to match Eda's volume. "I'm listening."

"Knowing how Luz is, I don't think she's completely on board with the whole 'cheating' idea. So, we can just play along for now. And if at any time Luz looks close to endangering herself or Amity…" Eda gently poked Lizzie's chest. "…you can jump to the rescue."

Lizzie raised a brow. "That means Luz will have to forfeit."

"I know. But at least that way, neither Luz nor Amity will get hurt." Eda shrugged her shoulders. "And I can still 'stick it' to Lilith by showing off your potion skills."

Lizzie rolled her eyes to that, briefly glancing over at Luz to see her staring at them with a tilted head. She assumed the girl couldn't hear what they were saying. "I still don't think this is a good idea. But it's not like I can stop either of you…"

"It'll be fine! Luz is scrappy enough to get herself out of trouble. Watch." The Owl Lady swirled round to face Luz and spread her legs apart, throwing her arms back and forward to pretend to cast a stream of magic. "Think fast, Luz!"

Luz shrieked and dived to the floor to curl up into a foetal position, causing Lizzie to groan and hide her face in her palms.

"Oh, Titan. This is going to go horribly wrong…"


The hour that followed was one of the most agonising moments Lizzie had ever found herself in. Because Eda's wanted posters had been removed for the remainder of the day, Eda was able to cast aside her cowl and go about 'training Luz' in a secluded area of the Covention without fearing anyone turning her in. However, as a safety precaution, Lizzie had continued to wear her cloak and keep her hood up. Although she wasn't worthy enough of a criminal to have a wanted poster and bounty over her head, her worries surrounding her stalker and the brief conversation with Lilith earlier had left Lizzie shaken. She didn't want to risk exposing herself for whatever reason, especially with Lilith being aware that she held connections to her sister.

Despite their safety plan being in place and Eda's reassurances that her magic traps would work, Lizzie hated watching Luz trying and failing not only to properly dodge the pretend attacks Eda threw at her, but also to do more with her symbols when casting her light spell. The whole thing still perplexed Lizzie, as she had never encountered these symbols before in her own spell circles or the spell circles of other witches. And on top of that, despite Luz being able to imitate spell circles by increasing the size of the spell through drawing, it didn't seem like she could get very creative with the spell's attack. Each time she activated the spell, she could only summon an orb of light. She couldn't summon light in any other form, meaning she was very restricted in the types of attacks she could unleash in the witch's duel. Lizzie knew this put Luz at a heavy disadvantage more so than her being human or only knowing one spell, which meant the odds of her winning without Eda's cheating was very unlikely. This only increased Lizzie's worries for the human.

When their hour was up, the trio returned to the hall where the Emperor's Coven panel had been held. But instead of entering through the entrance that led to the stands, they had to go through the one that gave them access to the stage and its surrounding area below. This room was the only one that resembled a fighting arena and had enough space for a duel to be conducted without causing too much damage, so it was understandable as to why Lilith had chosen it as the place for their match. However, as Lizzie and Eda approached the stage with Luz dragging her feet behind them, their eyes flitted to the stands surrounding them, where they saw crowds of creatures eagerly awaiting the conflict that was to come. Lizzie clicked her tongue, while Eda narrowed her eyes at the sea of citizens gathered.

"Looks like your sister wants to make a spectacle of you. I don't recall you agreeing to an audience being present."

"She's always been a show-off." Lizzie followed Eda's gaze to the ground as they stopped a small distance away from the stage, where she could see the slightly raised mounds scattered evenly in front of the stage. Eda had warned her and Luz prior to entering what the traps were and what Luz was supposed to do with them. "Which is why I hope our little plan is going to put that snob in her place…"

Lilith was stood at the front of the stage with the young green-haired Abominations Track student who Lizzie recognised from the audience of the Emperor's Coven panel standing off to her left with her arms crossed, staring the audience down with a smug smile and eyes as golden as Eda's. The front of her hair, which was stretched back across her head because of her ponytail, exposed brown roots that contrasted against the two-toned green of the rest of her hair, leading Lizzie to suspect it was probably dyed. And yet, the blonde witch couldn't help squinting at the younger witch.

'Wait. She's supposed to be 'Amity', right? She looks familiar.'

"Beloved citizens," Lilith's announcement brought Lizzie out of her brief train of thought with a forced blink, prompting her focus to switch to the older witch as she smiled and held her hands out on either side of her. "The Emperor's Coven is proud to present an impromptu demonstration of the kind of witch we seek to join our ranks every year." Lilith turned to Amity and reached out a hand to gently place on her shoulder, indicating for the younger witch to step forward. "Allow me to introduce 'Amity Blight'."

The moment the surname rung in Lizzie's ears, the blonde's jaw dropped so wide it could have easily hit the floor, with Amity's smile widening into a smirk as the crowd loudly clapped and cheered for her.

"Blight?!" Lizzie shrieked, turning to Luz with wide eyes. "She's that Amity?!"

Luz's brows raised. "You know Amity?"

"Who doesn't?!" Lizzie held her hands out towards her. "She's a Blight. The Blight family are one of the wealthiest and strongest witches in the Boiling Isles."

"… Is that bad?"

"What do you think?"

Luz never responded to Lizzie's sarcastic retort, because their attention was drawn back to Lilith when the older witch dropped her smile and pointed towards where they were standing.

"Who will be facing…"—Eda took that as her cue to step to her right to reveal Luz from behind her, pointing her hands towards her with a wide smile on her face—"… some human girl."

Luz hunched her shoulders and looked at the spectators leering at her from above, cowering and sweating under their hushed whispers and judging eyes. Lizzie furrowed her brow at the fear she could see on Luz's face. It was obvious that Luz was beginning to have regrets.

The older witch stepped forward and gave the shorter teen a comforting pat on the shoulder, speaking quietly. "Luz, it's not too late to back out. If you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to do this, everlasting oath or not."

Luz looked Lizzie in the eyes and pressed her lips together, appearing to be considering the offer presented to her. But her train of thought was soon interrupted by the golden bell with an eyeball ringer and monster-like mouth on it hung on the front of one of the stands, which both rung and screeched to indicate the start of the match. Luz gulped thickly at this, knowing that there was no turning back now.

As soon as Amity stepped off the stage and began her walk towards the middle of the arena, Luz slowly did the same after Eda gave her a rough pat on the back.

"Break a leg, kiddo."

Eda and Lizzie moved back to stand close to the wall as they watched Luz approach Amity with her hands clasped together and a worried look on her face, all the while Amity's smirk never left her face. When the two teenagers were standing within speaking distance with a bit of space between them, Amity cracked her knuckles against her other hand. Lizzie couldn't see Luz's front from where she was standing, but she did catch the young Latina's awkward wave at her opponent.

The battle had barely started and yet Lizzie already felt her heart leaping to her throat at Amity immediately drawing a large, purple spell circle on the ground between her and Luz, already forcing Luz backwards to create as much distance as she could between them. As Amity bent her fingers and pointed them downwards at the crackling glowing streaks of light forming inside the spell circle, Lizzie gripped tightly at her satchel strap until her knuckles turned white. Eda saw Lizzie's discomfort with the situation and lightly poked her in the ribs with her elbow. "Oh, relax! She's still a kid! Her abomination probably won't be that big!"

Eda's words were tested when Amity spoke up in a commanding tone and raised her arms above her head. "Abomination, rise!"

Starting with the head, a humanoid creature made entirely of purple gunk squeezed its way through the spell circle, possessing three, tiny glowing yellow pupils inside three dark holes, a tiny hole for a nose, and a gaping mouth that showed an empty void. But whereas Eda had clearly expected an abomination that was going to be the same size as Luz and Amity, they were treated to an abomination stomping its way out of the spell circle that was as tall as the stands towering around them.

The two witches and Luz stared at Amity's creation with slack-jaws and wide eyes, with the colour draining from Luz's and Lizzie's faces. This would have been the part where Lizzie would call Eda out on her earlier words and make her eat them. But she found herself only able to say two words that pretty much summed up her shock over the situation.

"Dear Titan…"