A/N: Hello there, and welcome back! I wasn't expecting to get this chapter done as quickly as I have done, but apparently I did, so... yay? XD I've noticed since last chapter that some of you were expecting Lizzie to end up with a palisman after her encounter with them, especially a bird one, presumably because of Eda. But unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case. However, I can say with certainty that that won't be the last time you'll see some of those palismen though, especially because (if any of you actually noticed this) four of the palismen I chose appear in Episode 10 of the Owl House and are under the care of the Bat Queen. The palismen will make a return with the future plans I have, but in the meantime, we are now moving on to Episode 7 of the Owl House: Lost in Language (which some of you appear to have been anticipating). As mentioned previously, Lizzie will be involved in the events of 'Plot A' surrounding Luz and Amity. While the focus of the next set of chapters will be on Luz and Amity becoming friends, I have decided to use this opportunity to once again dig into Lizzie's past and put together more puzzle pieces that should build up to the bigger picture of how she came to be in her current circumstances. This episode is the perfect point to expose a secret I've been hinting at for a while now, especially in a way that some of you might not have expected, so I hope you do eventually enjoy the twist that's going to come from it in the following chapters. Not much is going to happen in this chapter, but Chapter 20 will definitely start to kick things off.
Thank you to everyone who has been favouriting, following, reviewing, and reading this story. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. So, without further ado, here is the first chapter for 'Lost in Language'. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 19: Persistent Paranoia
Another regular day had begun for the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles, including for the residents of the Owl House. And while the others in the cottage were more than happy to go about it as normal (or at least their version of 'normal'), one particular witch found herself struggling to do just that as she sat at the table in front of the window in the kitchen with her head in her hands, with Eda standing at the head with her hands to her hips. Luz was keeping King occupied in the living room using one of her 'The Good Witch Azura' books and Hooty was thankfully staying in the front door and not attempting to eavesdrop, so Lizzie saw this as the perfect opportunity to get what she needed to off her chest without there being any disruptions.
Since the events at the night market, Lizzie had tried to brush off what she'd seen and gotten involved in as no big deal. It was why Lizzie hadn't really discussed it with either King or Eda after they'd returned home that night. But that had grown increasingly difficult with the knowledge that her so called 'relative' had hired a pair of demon hunters to capture the palismen of potential wild witches, the latter of whom had purposely hidden them, according to the demon hunters. Lizzie was vaguely aware of the justice system and what usually happened to wild witches, but the circumstances that surrounded the criminals' palismen was unknown and scarce to the public. Even still, the more she thought about it and tried to make sense of it, especially with the Emperor's Coven being involved, the more concerned she became about what she'd done. Something wasn't adding up, and if this was more serious than what she'd thought, then her being identified as the potential culprit by her stalker was inevitable and about to put her in hot water.
This is the reason why she found herself talking to Eda, who was staring at the young blonde intently until she'd finished her explanation.
"Let me get this straight," Eda started, furrowing her brow as she counted off on her fingers with each thing she verbally listed. "The captured palismen were hidden by wild witches who were arrested by the Emperor's Coven, Mister tool was the one who hired the demon hunters to do this, and until you interfered they were supposed to bring them to the Conformatorium." Lizzie gave a confirming nod without looking up from the table, prompting the Owl Lady to raise a brow. "And you decided to wait until now to tell me?"
Lizzie turned her head to Eda with a frown, ignoring the nickname the Owl Lady had given her stalker. Considering she didn't even know his name (even though she already had her suspicions on who her stalker was), she didn't bother trying to argue the matter. It wasn't important and it wasn't like Eda was one for learning names and sticking to them, Lizzie had concluded. King and Luz were the only exception to this, probably because their names were short and easier for Eda to remember.
"I didn't think it was a big deal. And the whole thing with Tibbles distracted me." She looked away and ran her fingers up her fringe, feeling her hands shaking slightly. "But now that I've been thinking about it with a clearer head, I realise I might have overstepped."
"Overstepped?" Eda held her hands out towards Lizzie with a wide blink. "That tool hired two hunters to do some dirty work for him behind his superior's back. Do you think the Emperor's Coven are gonna care about a bunch of missing palismen?"
"But don't you think it's strange, Eda?" When she didn't answer, Lizzie huffed and made to continue, with Eda choosing this moment to pull out the chair at the head and sit on it (Lizzie had taken the stool), resting one arm against the back and the other against the table. "Without their witches wielding them, palismen aren't a threat or an issue to the laws of the isles. Yet I heard my stalker imply that the Emperor's Coven were looking for them. Why would they be bothering with a random group of injured palismen unless they were up to something? Why would those witches have wanted to hide them unless they knew there was something going on?"
There was a brief silence until Eda tapped her fingers against the table, squinting ever so slightly as she glanced towards the window. "It's not common knowledge what happens to a palisman when a witch is arrested. I've always assumed they're confiscated until the witch is 'rehabilitated'."—she mimicked quotations marks with two fingers on each hand—"But what you've said is making me think otherwise…"
"See?" Lizzie hunched her shoulders and sat up on the stool, wrapping her arms round her middle. "That's why I think I've overstepped. My stalker knows how to recognise my potion vials. I never picked up the evidence after I freed the palismen, so if he finds it, he's going to know I'm the one who attacked those hunters. I've made myself a mark to the Emperor's Coven then, and that's without Tibbles probably blabbing about me to the coven guards he contacted."
Eda snorted and chuckled a bit. "You think that pig survived being crushed by his own stand?"
Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "His family name must have been 'Grimm Hammer' for a reason. Might as well give him the benefit of the doubt."
"Kid, you're blowing things out of proportion again." Eda leaned back in her seat and tapped her temple with a finger. "You've been shook up about this guy since Covention and I think it's starting to mess with your head. You need to get your mind off him, you know, take a break from letting him live rent free up there."
Lizzie tilted her head to the side. "And how do you propose I do that?"
"Just do what I do: find a distraction."
The younger witch scowled and folded her arms, her thought immediately jumping to the first thing she expected Eda to do in such a situation. "I'm not drowning out my thoughts with apple blood, Eda."
Eda returned the scowl. "Excuse you. I wasn't suggesting that." She slowly turned her eyes towards the window. "Even though that is what I normally do."
"Then what do you suggest I do?"
Eda and Lizzie briefly locked eyes as the former tried to think of an answer. Yet before she had the chance to say anything, the pitter-pattering of tiny feet alongside hurried footsteps approaching the kitchen broke the silence, followed by Luz calling to the Owl Lady from the hallway.
"Eda, you have a package!"
Eda smirked and directed it towards Lizzie as she stood up from her seat, her response coming out sarcastically. "Oh look, here comes a distraction."
Lizzie rolled her eyes and huffed, looking to the doorway to see Luz jogging into the kitchen with King at her feet, with the former carrying a small, brown, wicker basket by the handles on either side of it. She could see the top was partially covered by a brown blanket tucked in at the sides and there was a tiny label attached with by a thin string when Luz reached the table, making Lizzie raise a brow when the young human placed it down for Eda and her to see.
"Who sent it?" she asked Luz, ignoring King climbing up onto the table to sit beside the basket.
"I don't know. I haven't checked the label and Hooty didn't say anything." Luz scratched her cheek with a finger. "I think it might be a gift basket."
"Ah, it must be an offering," Eda said with a grin, straightening out her posture and placing her hands to her hips. "This is one of the many perks you get as the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles: free stuff!"
Lizzie's mouth twisted upward at Eda's words and twitched with suppressed amusement. "That's a lie."
Eda narrowed her eyes at the younger witch and jabbed a finger into her own chest. "Do I need to remind you why I have one-trillion snails as a bounty? I'm respected and feared for a reason, you know."
Lizzie's eyes drooped as she turned her gaze back to the basket. "Yeah… no. During the time that I've been here, you've never received 'offerings'."—she mimicked quotation marks with two fingers on one hand—"I highly doubt someone would send you a gift basket unless they were looking to capture you."
"Is that right," Eda replied, scowling with a hand to her hip. "All right then, clever clogs. I bet you thirty snails there's an offering in there."
Lizzie briefly glanced at the older witch with a slight smirk and stood from the stool, preparing to reach across the table to pull back the blanket in the basket. "I can't bet anything, and I don't want to bet anything, but I'll hold you to that and say it's not an offering."
"Ten snails says it's baked goods!" King chimed in, licking his lips (or lack thereof) and rubbing his paws together.
Eda righted her posture and pushed back her shoulders while watching Lizzie slowly tug the blanket away with a hand, with Luz and King leaning forward to get a closer look. When the blanket was pulled away, all four residents of the Owl House were left staring at a tiny, round, pale-skinned creature with a small tuft of dark hair atop its head and its eyes closed. It let out small high-pitched chirps with calm and heavy breaths, implying it was probably sleeping. Based off its size and sounds, Lizzie suspected it was someone's baby, and that was without the addition of the fact it was curled up in a blanket in a basket.
At first, the group's brows collectively raised out of surprise at what they were seeing. But once the sight had processed for her, Lizzie let out a quiet chuckle and turned to King and Eda with a wide smile, bending her fingers back and forth towards them.
"Ha. I knew it. You collectively owe me forty snails. Hand it over."
"Hang on!" King interjected with a raised paw. "How can you be sure they didn't give it to us to eat?"
Luz held her hands out with wide eyes, naturally horrified by the revelation. "What?! You'd actually eat an innocent little baby?"
King stretched his paws out with a shrug. "Fresh meat is fresh meat."
Luz quickly turned away and covered her mouth when her cheeks puffed, looking like she was about to gag. "Nope."
Lizzie lightly flicked King in the back of his head with a huff. "We're not eating the baby."
"Yeah," Eda said in agreement, resting a hand against the basket and another to her hip. "Witches haven't done that since 1693. Bunch o' weirdos."
King frowned and rubbed a paw against the area Lizzie had flicked. "Then why else would someone deliver a baby to us?"
Lizzie's eyes fell upon the label dangling off the side of the basket, continuing to talk while reaching to break it off. "They could have abandoned the child in the hopes Eda would care for it instead."
"Pfft." Eda waved her hand dismissively and rolled her eyes. "That's the last thing I need: another mouth to feed." Out of the corner of her eyes, the Owl Lady caught Lizzie and King staring at her with a raised brow and a squint. She loudly cleared her throat and turned her head away, raising a hand to cover the side of her face with a forced smile. "But of course I'm kidding! You two are a delight."
Lizzie wasn't convinced by Eda's excuse at all, yet she brushed it off with the shake of her head and focused back on the label, reading it aloud for the benefit of the others gathered round the table. It was handwritten in black felt-tip, Lizzie noted. "'Take care of my child 'til morning. Yi Yi'?" The blonde witch scratched the side of her head. "Why does that last part sound familiar?"
"Oh, no." Eda held her thumbs above her head and turned them upside down with a frown. "I've already got my hands full with King and Hooty."
"Hey!" King shouted in objection and stomped his foot, but Eda naturally ignored him.
"And babies are awful anyways." She closed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Not happening. Send it back."
"I'm not done, Eda. There's more." Eda opened an eye as Lizzie made to continue reading, with the blonde emphasising the words she noticed were written in capital letters. "'You will be handsomely rewarded. X-O-X-O-X-O-X…'" She trailed off at reaching the name of the sender and the tiny drawing of a bat she could see in the bottom right corner of the note, causing her jaw to drop and her voice to rise in volume when her grip loosened on the label. "The Bat Queen?!"
Eda's eyes grew wide at hearing the name, with King proceeding to approach the basket and carefully stick his paw in at catching something glisten under the light from outside. "Bat Queen?"
Lizzie nodded repeatedly and handed the note to Eda with wide eyes of her own, giving the Owl Lady the chance to skim-read it for herself. Luz saw this as her opportunity to re-join the conversation, approaching Eda to get a look at the note for herself when King pulled out three golden coins from the basket.
"Who's the 'Bat Queen'?"
Eda smiled and closed an eye as she placed the label on the table, holding up a finger while answering the young Latina's question. "She's the wealthiest demon on the Boiling Isles. Getting in with her means you're set for life snails-wise."
Lizzie glanced down at the still slumbering infant in the basket, tilting her head to the side with a hand stroking her chin. "I never knew the Bat Queen had babies. Although, I don't know why she chose us to take care of her child. Last I checked, Eda doesn't know her personally."
"Does it matter? We've just found ourselves in the middle of a 'get-rich-quick' scheme!" Eda took a coin from King and flipped it between her fingers, catching it in her palm. "As long as we keep this lil' tot alive until morning, we get paid. Easy."
Lizzie huffed and smacked her forehead, watching Eda drop the coin in the basket again. "Of course you're only in it for the snails."
"I think it's a good idea," Luz said, smiling widely and clasping her hands together under her chin. "It'll be our greatest adventure yet: learning about love and life through a child's eyes."
Eda raised a brow and pointed towards Luz. "Sorry, Luz, but you're not joining us this time." She twirled her finger and brought forth a golden glowing spell circle (technically a 'rectangle', as Lizzie mentally noted, because that was its shape), causing at least ten books (as Lizzie counted) of varying colours and sizes to spill from it. "You have to return the books I checked out from the library. You know…" She indicated her other hand towards herself. "…since I'm wanted and all that."
Luz quickly swirled around and managed to catch the stack perfectly in between her hands, briefly stumbling to the side due to the force of the books collectively hitting the pile. "Isn't Lizzie usually your errand girl?"
"Yes. But until I can figure out how to teach you more magic, I need to keep you occupied." After making sure the Latina teen was focused on carrying the books towards the backdoor with slow and heavy steps, Eda leaned in close to King and whispered with a smug smile and her hand close to her mouth. "I don't want Luz getting a cut of the loot."
King quietly giggled, the witch and demon remaining unaware of Lizzie eavesdropping from where she was currently standing. "Hehe. Good thinking."
"I heard that," Lizzie said in a low voice, causing King and Eda to turn to her with wide blinks when she stepped closer to the basket. Trying to be mindful of the slumbering baby, the young blonde slipped her hand inside and counted through the coins until she was sure she had the right amount. "So, I'll be taking double what you owe me, thank you very much."
"You can't touch that!" King protested as he went to swat at Lizzie's hand; however, she was quick to retract it with a smirk.
"Yeah," Eda agreed, folding her arms across her chest and narrowing her eyes. "What do you even need the snails for? You live here rent free."
Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, a bet's a bet. I get forty snails I can probably use for clothing or ingredients, plus double to compensate Luz for Eda's trickery." She directed her smirk at Eda. "Unless you'd rather I expose your deceit to her face~…"
Eda's eyes drooped with slouched shoulders, her next words coming out as nothing more than a grumble. "I think I've taught you a little too well…"
Lizzie could only chuckle in response, until she was cut off by a loud thud and Luz squealing from behind her. The trio whipped round to see Luz on her front over the threshold surrounded by Eda's scattered books, with the bottom half of her body still in the kitchen and the other half outside. It didn't take much for the trio to assume she'd tripped and fallen over.
"I'm okay!" Luz called as she went to push herself up, prompting Eda to squint and cup her chin with a hand (which Lizzie remained oblivious to, due to keeping her gaze on Luz). However, if Lizzie had been looking, she could have guessed that Eda probably had an idea brewing in her head.
"Say, Lizzie," Eda began, getting the younger witch to face her again. "Luz hasn't been to the library yet, has she?" Lizzie shook her head. "Then you should go with her, just to make sure she stays out of trouble."
But, of course, Lizzie's immediate reaction was to put her hands to her hips and squint at her employer, obviously suspecting there was more to her words than what she was letting on. "Is this your way of preventing me from getting a cut too?"
"Uh…" Eda quickly moved her eyes back and forth while briefly pressing her lips together, eventually relaxing and raising her shoulders a bit. "Maybe?" Lizzie narrowed her eyes a little more, prompting Eda to raise a finger close to her face. "But I also think it'd be a good distraction. You and Luz haven't spent much time together outside of the Owl House. This could be a bonding session for you."
Lizzie's brows raised at this. "Bonding session? Luz and I don't need a—"
A loud and excited gasp interrupted the blonde, causing the latter's shoulders to slump when Luz skidded to her side with the book pile back in her arms.
"That's a great idea, Eda!" Lizzie glared at a smirking Eda until Luz faced her with wide, glistening eyes. "We could go on our own little adventure in the library! I'm curious to know what kinds of books the Demon Realm has!"
"I don't know…" Lizzie balled her hands into fists and brought them to her middle, focusing on the Owl Lady with a furrowed brow. "Do you really think it's safe for me to be wandering around Bonesborough so soon after the incident at the night market? Even with my cloak and potions, my stalker could still manage to capture me."
Eda crinkled her nose and massaged her temples with her fingers. "Lizzie, the last place those goons are going to look for you will be in a building full of books. Stop looking for excuses and just go."
"Please, Liz?" Luz pleaded with a quivering lip, batting her eyelashes to give off a 'puppy' kind of look. "Maybe we could find something to help us with our magic training."
Lizzie pressed her lips together and briefly glanced up at the ceiling with a wide blink, getting an idea from Luz's last words.
'Huh. Now that she mentions it, Eda still hasn't done any research into the magical techniques from the 'Savage Ages', has she? And although Luz has started stocking drawings of that light symbol and practiced using it in various ways, we still don't know what it is and if there are more we can find. The library has history books on that era of time, so it's possible they might contain something about that magic technique too…'
After a small moment of silence and staring at the ceiling, Lizzie sighed loudly and closed her eyes, running a hand through her fringe.
'Eda's right. I need to stop thinking about him. Helping Luz out with her magic training is a good place to start.'
"Fine," Lizzie groaned as she lowered her head. "I'll go with Luz."
Luz let out a happy squeal and twirled round on the spot despite the books in her hands, prompting Eda to grin and rub her hands together.
"Glad that's been resolved. Now then,"—she turned her gaze to the sleeping baby in the basket and reached out for the blanket with the wriggle of her fingers, which Lizzie took a step back at with a frown—"let's get a better look at this little darling."
"Wait, Eda, don't."
But she'd spoken up too late. The words left her mouth seconds after Eda yanked the blanket away, exposing the baby's bat-like wings curled around its tiny body. Lizzie froze and watched the baby bat twitch and shiver at realising the former warmth it had was taken away, with the blonde witch waiting for the negative reaction to come. And sure enough, after a few seconds of silence, it did.
The baby bat swiftly stretched its wings out to the sides of its body and opened its mouth, exposing two tiny fangs and releasing a high-pitched and deafening screech. Suddenly, the kitchen began to shake, violently rattling and smashing various objects and forcing King to fall backwards onto the table with a startled cry. Eda's hands raised to cover her ears in attempt to block out the screeching, her head turning to where Luz and Lizzie were supposed to be standing when she tried to shout over the noise.
"You know what?! Maybe we could use help from—"
Eda fell silent when she saw Lizzie and Luz weren't in the kitchen anymore, managing to catch the back door to the kitchen slamming shut amidst the screeching and the shaking. The older witch's shoulders dropped as King righted himself and put his paws over the sides of his head, her eyes drooping at processing the scale of the situation she and King had been left in because of her greed.
"… Dang it!"
Meanwhile, Lizzie and Luz stood on the other side of the kitchen door outside of the cottage, with the former staring into the kitchen through the window while the latter attempted to do the same by leaning round her stack of books. The baby bat's screeching was so loud that even with the door closed, the pair could still hear it loud and clear from outside, despite the fact the volume had been muffled considerably by the cottage's walls. It was so loud, in fact, that Lizzie could see and hear the window rattling in its frame.
'Yikes…'
Luz gave the witch a sideways glance with a furrowed brow. "They're gonna be okay, right?"
Lizzie didn't answer at first, choosing to keep her eyes on the window at seeing the baby bat lunge from the basket and collide with a gaping Eda's face. The young witch cringed and closed an eye at witnessing her employer stumble backwards and drop to the floor out of sight, eventually prompting her to answer.
"… Probably not." She faced Luz and jabbed a thumb in the direction of the door with a raised brow. "But would you rather go back in there to calm down a screeching baby bat?" Luz immediately shook her head at this, causing Lizzie to nod in response. "Then they're on their own."
Lizzie started walking away from the Owl House to head round to the front but stopped the moment Luz spoke up from behind her.
"Uh… Don't you need your cloak and satchel?"
Lizzie gently patted her hands against her left shoulder and the front part of her head when Luz's words had sunken in, quickly catching on that she wasn't wearing either of those items when she couldn't feel her satchel strap or her cloak hood.
"…" 'Ah. Right.'
Luckily, Lizzie already had a plan in mind about how to collect her belongings without stepping back into the shaking mess the inside of the Owl House was probably becoming. Clearing her throat, Lizzie faced the cottage and put both of her hands at either side of her mouth, shouting at the top of her lungs and making Luz wince.
"HOOTY!"
It took a few seconds before the cottage's house demon could be seen stretching his neck round to the back of the building, appearing with his usual jovial smile and voice.
"You hooted?"
The blonde witch smiled and turned her gaze to the second floor, specifically at the small window that belonged to the bedroom she and Luz currently shared. "I need you to do me a favour…"
Lizzie had come to understand since moving into the Owl House that Hooty being around was both a curse and a blessing. Sure, he had an annoying 'in-your-face' kind of personality, but outside of acting as a strong security system against intruders, the blonde acknowledged that Hooty had other uses. In this case, one of those uses included utilising the house demon's capabilities to do things she didn't want to do, with another being exploiting Hooty's need to be helpful in the hopes of winning the approval of the cottage's inhabitants. Through this, Hooty helped Lizzie avoid having to step back inside the cottage and weave her way through the chaos to retrieve her cloak and satchel from her room, allowing her and Luz to continue their merry way to Bonesborough once the former checked everything was in order. The entire walk to the town Luz had stuck to carrying all ten books on her own, even though Lizzie could clearly tell by her trembling arms and occasional staggering that she was struggling. She enquired with Luz if she wanted any help, but when Luz insisted she was fine and could handle herself, Lizzie didn't push any further. Luz was lying and she knew it, but she wasn't about to force the young human into doing anything she didn't want to do. However, that didn't mean she didn't plan on stepping in if Luz was close to falling over again. The last thing they needed was the girl sustaining any injuries (even if Lizzie had gotten better at using that one healing spell for bruises).
Upon entering Bonesborough, Lizzie noted there was an immediate and noticeable change to her inner being that she didn't like in the slightest. The moment she stepped inside the town's walls, her heart began to pound, her palms grew clammy, and she felt that deep sense of dread gnaw away at her gut like King going through all the food he could find in Eda's cupboards. She felt unsettled, finding her eyes constantly darting between every single creature who passed them by, as if expecting them to pounce on her at any given moment. Luckily, because she was walking a little behind Luz, the latter hadn't noticed her discomfort, and Lizzie wanted to keep it that way. She knew what this feeling was. It was something she'd felt ever since her stalker had first reared his head, and while it hadn't been so bad because of Eda's advice, what happened at Covention and the night market ultimately had her going back to square one. It annoyed Lizzie so much, she wanted to slap herself in attempt to pull herself together, but instead opted to stick close to Luz's side and keep her gaze on the path ahead. She needed to distract herself, she thought. She needed to take her mind off her problems, she concluded, just like Eda had advised.
This decision quickly proved to be right for the young witch when she spied the tiny creature from the Conformatorium passing them by from the other side of the street they were walking down, just about making out her tiny form from underneath the large, red covered book she was carrying flat against her palms. The sight had Lizzie blinking widely and gaping slightly as her eyes followed her along, her mind immediately flitting to the incident she recalled the creature causing at Covention with the Construction Coven...
'Geez. Compared to Luz carrying ten books, she looks like she hasn't broken a sweat. Is that construction coven glyph still working?'
Unfortunately for Luz, she didn't see the tiny creature in her path until the latter's book brushed against the side of her leg, causing the Latina girl to wobble and catch herself on her other foot.
"Whoa!"
Luz twirled on the spot on one foot to regain her balance, but it didn't last long before she started to fall forward. Luckily for the human teen, Lizzie was quick to act, reaching out and grabbing Luz's hood to gently pull her upright again.
"Okay. That's it." Lizzie stepped to Luz's side and swiped five books off the pile Luz was holding, taking them into both of her hands. "No more objections. I'm carrying half of these."
Luz pouted as she watched Lizzie walk on ahead, eventually moving to catch up so they were side-by-side. "I was doing fine until I was knocked into."
"I don't care. We might be close to the library now, but I'm not having you fall over again. Once is enough."
Luz's shoulders slumped, yet it wasn't long before she straightened out and moved the topic of conversation along. "Have you ever been to this library before?"
And Lizzie was more than happy to answer, quietly sighing at the change in topic beforehand. "Oh, sure. Tons of times. I frequented the library for knowledge on the magic I couldn't learn at Hexside." The blonde briefly glanced at her shoes, a hint of sadness entering her voice. "Those visits stopped when I started living with Eda. Now I only go there whenever she needs books returned or checked out."
Luz frowned and gave Lizzie a sideways glance. "Why'd you stop?" Lizzie stared at Luz with drooped eyes, prompting the young Latina's eyes to widen when the answer clicked. "Oh, right. Witch criminal."
"Uh-huh." Lizzie pursed her lips. "Can't exactly live a normal life with the law on your back." The blonde's eyes locked with one of Eda's torn and faded wanted posters on a nearby wall as they passed it. "Even if I'm not on the same pedestal Eda is."
Luz puffed her cheeks out at this, facing forward despite only just being able to see over the stack of books in her hands. If it wasn't for the fact she needed to return these books in good condition, she would have thrown them as far as she could. "It's not fair you and Eda are treated like criminals just because you don't want to join a coven. You should be allowed to have the choice to not join one. Thinking about it really grinds my gears, especially because back home, we're allowed to not do something if we don't want to, like joining or creating a club."
Lizzie's brows furrowed at this, her voice growing quiet as she brought the books she was carrying closer to her front. "Well, to tell you the truth, being covenless isn't considered a big deal as a crime on its own, especially when you're a teenager."
Luz's brows raised as she turned her head to Lizzie. "Really?"
"Yup." Lizzie kept her gaze ahead while tightening her grip on the book at the bottom of her pile. She did quickly dart her eyes round the street to make sure they were alone before she responded, though. "You probably remember from Covention that Willow pointed out I was of 'coven-choosing age', which is considered to be around eighteen years old." Luz nodded. "Adult witches are typically expected to have joined a coven by that age, which is why teenagers often get away with being indecisive. As long as they attend events like Covention and are purposely looking into other magic tracks in school to decide which path they want to go down, teenagers aren't judged for not knowing which coven they want to go into. Eda and I are only being penalised about it now because of our age, but the initial reasons we're considered 'criminals' to the law didn't start out with that. Not joining a coven kind of 'added on'." Luz gasped and momentarily stumbled backwards at hearing this, but she was quick to put a foot down to stop herself from falling over. Her reaction prompted Lizzie to stop and look back at her with a tilted head. "What?"
"You've broken actual laws?"
"Law," Lizzie corrected. "I've broken one law. Eda, on the other hand, has broken tons. That's why her bounty is so high."
Luz shook her head with wide eyes as she moved to stand beside Lizzie once more. "No, no! I can believe Eda breaking the law, but you? I can't see you as an actual criminal."
Lizzie huffed and closed her eyes. "Well, it's like Eda said: in the eyes of the law, I'm seen as one. But what I did isn't exactly 'criminal' behaviour."
"Was it because of your potions? I recall you saying they were 'part' of the reason you were at the Owl House. And that you weren't supposed to be mixing your magic with potions to begin with."
Lizzie nodded and opened her eyes. "It was. Mixing magic is forbidden by law and it's something I'd been doing for years. Even then, despite what the law said, it was harmless because I was young and never hurt anybody." She furrowed her brow, her voice growing quiet. "At least until the incident…"
"Incident?" Lizzie's brows raised at realising what she'd said when Luz parroted it back, prompting her to immediately look away and press her lips together. "What incident?"
'Whoops. Let my guard down for a second.'
Thankfully for Lizzie, she found her gaze locking with a familiar gigantic building a small distance ahead of them, granting her an excuse to distract Luz and forget the initial topic of conversation. "Oh, look! We're here!"
From the corners of her eyes, Lizzie saw Luz's head whip towards the direction she was looking, causing her to sigh quietly in relief at watching the human gasp loudly and move her book pile to the side to get a better look at the building. The library's exterior was shaped in a square-like fashion, possessing a wall-like structure similar to a castle with rectangle windows with rounded tops. The entrance to the library was hidden behind a pair of large wooden doors outlining a pair of smaller ones underneath an arched canopy raised high by sloped steps, overshadowed by the tall tower behind it with the circular stained-glass window decorated with various colours and an intricate pattern of a shooting star. For Luz, the sight was another reminder of her fantasy books springing to life before her eyes. For Lizzie, the sight was just another reminder of days she couldn't get back.
"Whoa…" Luz said as her mouth stretched into a wide smile, causing Lizzie to chuckle and walk forward with the expectation Luz would follow, which she did.
"I had a feeling you'd be impressed."
"Am I! This place looks huge! The public library back home doesn't compare to this!"
"That's probably because the library in Bonesborough houses more than just books from different genres. It also acts as the archive of the town and the Boiling Isles."
Luz stuck close to Lizzie as the pair headed up the steps and walked inside through the smaller doors of the entrance, her wide-eyed gaze already wandering the moment her hazel eyes locked with the reflective floors, rows of book-filled shelves on either side and the high ceiling of the library's interior highlighted under the flickering flames placed along the walls. Lizzie led the way towards a semi-circled desk close to the entrance that was placed along the right in front of some shelves, where a male member of staff with pointed ears, nose and short grey hair donning grey robes and a black cowl pinned in the middle by a golden open book emblem atop a long-sleeved red shirt and a pair of long brown trousers stood. Squinted eyes hidden behind round spectacles caught the young witch and human entering the building in a matter of seconds, prompting him to raise his left index finger and twirl it once in the direction of the books they were both carrying.
Lizzie didn't stop walking when she saw Luz's pile become the first to be surrounded by a glowing green outline, instead watching as the books levitated and started to float away from Luz's hands one by one. Luz had been too busy looking around the library's interior when this happened, so she didn't realise what was happening until she felt the pile in her arms slowly grow lighter.
"Huh?" Luz halted and stepped back, releasing the books while watching with a slight gape as the last of the books floated over towards the library's reception desk.
"It's all right, Luz," Lizzie responded to Luz's confusion out of reassurance as she peeked back at her over her shoulder, letting her own pile go when it became outlined with the same green glow and followed Luz's pile over towards the desk. "That's supposed to happen."
Lizzie faced forward again and continued walking as the younger human briefly jogged to join her at her side, focusing on the male staff member behind the desk when he twirled his index finger again to bring forth a glowing red spell circle. As the pair closed in on the desk, the books floated towards the spell circle, with the staff member speaking up before each book passed through.
"Late," he said about the first book, his expression unchanged when he observed the book floating through the transparent part of the spell circle. Glowing, red, capital lettering that spelled 'LATE' flashed up above the spell circle with a loud beep as this was done before it and the book both suddenly disappeared into thin air. "Late," he then stated about the second book that followed, with the same process repeating.
This continued for the remainder of the books until the last book with a burgundy cover got close to the spell circle. The spell circle shrunk and vanished, prompting the staff member to grab the book in his hand by the time Lizzie and Luz stopped in front of the desk. His brows knitted together as he squinted at the cover and ran a finger down it, rubbing his index finger and thumb together while examining whatever was on his fingertips. "Coffee, grass and bloodstains?" The staff member turned to Lizzie with a heavy sigh. "These are Eda's, aren't they?"
Lizzie forced out a laugh and rubbed a hand against the back of her head. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I don't know how those stains got on them."
But that was a lie. Lizzie knew exactly how those stains got on that book. Considering Eda's strange late night eating habits (which she now understood was due to the curse) being amplified by the coffee she sometimes drank, it was no longer a mystery as to why Eda's books wound up with stains like those.
"And I see that amongst the returned books, 'Basic Healing Spells for Dummies' has yet to make an appearance…"
Lizzie loudly cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah. I don't know what happened to that one either. She thinks she may have lost it."
Obviously another lie; Lizzie knew where that book was and that Eda didn't plan on returning it anytime soon.
The staff member crinkled his nose and shook his head, putting the book down behind the counter and proceeding to draw another small spell circle. "I'll add them to her tab."
While the staff member collected a pencil from behind the desk with his other hand, a small, rolled up scroll flashed into existence in front of his face. Luz watched with a slight gape when the scroll unravelled all the way down to the desk, with the staff member writing something at the bottom (which they couldn't see because they were facing the back of the scroll).
"Whoa."
"Yeah," Lizzie whispered as she straightened herself and her hat out, her eyes briefly darting to the wooden, blue picture frame placed on the desk, its front also facing away from them. "This is why Eda's library card got revoked…"
"By the way," the staff member began, pausing in his scribbling to point the back of the pencil towards a framed poster on the pillar behind him. The poster depicted a dark, starry sky background with tree silhouettes, one or two fluffy looking clouds, and a star with a gaping mouth and closed eyes cutting a green arched path through the other objects in the poster. "we'll be closing the library early today for the Wailing Star meteor shower. So, if you have business here today, I'd recommend getting it done as quickly as you can."
Lizzie blinked widely at the poster and raised her brows, obviously understanding what the staff member was talking about. "That's today? Huh."
Luz, on the other hand, let out a quiet "Oooooh," and leaned forward against the desk with her hands to get a look at the poster, eventually turning to the staff member as the scroll rolled up and disappeared into thin air. "What's that about?"
The staff member's eyes narrowed in response to the question, indicating with a hand to the shelves and bookcases littered about the open area as he spoke in a 'matter-of-fact' tone. "You're in a library. Read a book."
Luz raised a brow at this, yet Lizzie rolled her eyes and placed her hands on the younger girl's shoulders, already leading her away in the direction of the history section. "Come on, Luz. We have books we came to look for anyway."
Luz tilted her gaze up to Lizzie with a blink as she was led away, doing nothing to fight against the other's grip on her shoulders. "What's his problem?"
"Nothing. He just doesn't like answering questions."
"Can you tell me what the 'Wailing Star' meteor shower is then? You sounded like you knew what he was talking about."
Lizzie finally released Luz and allowed the Latina girl to walk beside her, continuing to lead her towards the history section while wandering through the maze of bookcases haphazardly scattered around them. "It's a glowing and wailing star that passes over the Boiling Isles periodically. Everything usually closes early when it does because it's been known to amplify magic during its passage."
"It amplifies magic?" Luz's eyes lit up as she balled her hands into fists. "Maybe I could try using my symbols during the meteor shower to strengthen my magic."
Lizzie snorted and ruffled Luz's hair, causing the younger girl's shoulders to stiffen out of surprise. "Trust me, Luz, you don't want to do anything during the Wailing Star. The effects it causes during the brief time it passes over have led to random and unpredictable things happening. No one knows what's going to happen, because it's different every time. That's why places like the library have to close up. It can affect anything and everything."
Luz opened her mouth to respond yet became distracted by the trio of crystal balls laid out on a nearby table as the pair passed by a green banner with 'REFERENCE' printed on it in bold, white capital lettering. There were creatures seated in front of them, but Luz wasn't focused on them. Instead she was focused on what the crystal balls were showing. One depicted a tiny witch hovering on a staff with a bird palisman with the words 'How to fly' arched over them in blue letters. Another one showed a ginger cat playing the piano. And the third and final crystal ball displayed a buffering loading screen while making static noises, prompting its user to smack the side of it with a hand to try to get it to work.
Luz briefly slowed down to observe these crystal balls, unable to pull her gaze away no matter how hard she tried. Yet she was soon shaking her head with repeated blinks at hearing Lizzie get ahead of her, prompting the young Latina to jog after the older blonde to join her at her side again.
"So, Liz, about the books we need to find: where do we start?"
Lizzie kept her eyes on the banners as she continued to walk, answering Luz while searching for the section they needed. "Well, going off my own experiences in the library, it's doubtful we'll find your magic technique in the magic section. It's not common knowledge and since it's linked to the 'Savage Ages', I have a suspicion the Emperor has removed any vital information about it. So, our only option is to try the history section and hope there are any books that vaguely mention it."
"The Emperor?" Luz repeated with a frown, recalling the little information she'd gleamed from Gus back at Covention. "You mean the leader of the Boiling Isles and the Emperor's Coven?"
"Uh-huh."
"Why would he do that?"
Lizzie huffed and quickly glanced at Luz from over her shoulder, her eyes drooping. She made sure to lower her voice to avoid attracting unwanted attention. "Because he thinks it's bad, probably. He put the coven system in place to deter witches from mixing magic, at least according to Eda's suspicions. He calls it 'wild magic', so any witch caught dabbling with multiple magic types is automatically seen as a 'wild witch'. I assume your technique is considered 'wild magic' too, which is why we've never encountered it before now."
Luz dared to glance down at her hand when this was said, her frown deepening ever so slightly. "But it's just a different method. Why wouldn't he let anyone learn how to use it?"
"Maybe we'll find out soon. But if I was to guess based on what's happened to you, it probably allows anyone access to other types of magic. He likely doesn't want that."
Before Luz could even think to speak up and converse with Lizzie on the topic further, a familiar voice from nearby was heard addressing someone sternly, causing the pair to stop walking.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ah! We've been caught!" Luz shrieked and dropped to the floor, crouching with her arms over her head. "Pretend to be a book!"
The sound of children giggling quickly followed, prompting Lizzie to smack a hand against her forehead while turning her gaze in the direction it had come from. "Luz, that wasn't directed at us."
Luz raised her head with a wide blink and followed Lizzie's gaze to their right, the sight she saw causing her brows to raise. "Huh?"
A short distance away from where the two were stood was an arched entryway with four fang-like hanging from the top of it to resemble a monster-like mouth, accompanied by an arched blue sign that read 'Kid's Corner'. On the other side of the entryway was a small room with a marble floor and white walls, filled with bookcases of varying shapes and sizes and a semi-circle window whose theme matched that of the entryway. It was in front of this window where a small group of children Lizzie assumed were around toddler-age sat on top of a black cat shaped rug with yellow eyes, dressed in Hexside uniforms. It didn't take much for Lizzie to realise that the children were being read to, as she could see a green sign propped up to their right with an intricate golden rectangle pattern depicting a pink rabbit-like creature with blue dot eyes, bushy black eyebrows and brown shorts while holding a book and thread needle. The title (written in black lettering with the first letter being a decorated initial matching the style of the golden border) read 'Otabin the Bookmaker', which Lizzie recognised to be a children's book.
But it was the older student seated on the chair the children were gathered around who caught Lizzie's and Luz's attention, with the former raising a brow at recognising the Abomination Magic Track uniform and short two-toned green hair with brown roots that belonged to the golden eyed teen. She was holding an opened book with writing and various images on the pages towards the children in one hand, while her other one was clenched into a fist at her side, her back as straight as a board.
'Is that Amity Blight?'
Her internal question was soon answered when Amity's brows furrowed and her mouth morphed into a wide smile, speaking up in an enthusiastic tone to match what the characters were saying on the page that was opened.
"'We're your friends and we want to help, said the Tin Boy with a yelp.'" Amity's voice briefly returned to normal as she read the narrator parts, smiling as she gestured towards the pages she was showing the children. "'Otabin smiled and paced the floor,'"—she gaped, widened her eyes, and placed a hand to her cheek as she changed her voice to a deeper tone to match the character, slowly shaking her head—"'I've never had real friends before.'"
Luz turned to Lizzie with a raised brow, clearly just as confused and shocked as she was. "Uh… Am I seeing things or is that Amity reading to kids over there?"
Lizzie slowly shook her head, turning her attention back to Luz and tuning out whatever else was going on after she switched her focus with the rubbing of her eyes to check her vision. "No. That's the little Blight, all right."
Luz looked at Amity again and fixed her gaze on her, her jaw slacking a bit. "She seems so nice and smiley. I don't think I've seen her like this before."
"Probably because when we've seen her, she looks like a sourpuss," Lizzie replied with a snort, preparing to continue on her way. "But we should be fine as long as we keep our distance. Let's just grab the books we need and get out of here."
The blonde witch walked ahead without glancing back, yet after getting a small distance away she realised she couldn't hear Luz's footsteps behind her. Lizzie stopped and swirled around to see where Luz was, only for her brows to raise when she couldn't find any sign of the human anywhere. Lizzie had a quick glance from side-to-side to search for her before she caught the back of Luz's hoody heading towards the children's area. It was around this time that Amity had closed the book and finished reading, with the children having stood up to clap and cheer.
'Uh oh.'
Lizzie jogged after Luz and managed to catch up before the young Latina tried to sneak into the room, grabbing her by the hoody and pulling her behind the nearby wall out of sight. Luz cried out at the action and whipped round to face Lizzie when she let her go, staring at her with a wide blink.
"What was that for?"
"What are you doing?"
Luz pointed towards the entryway behind her. "I was going to talk to Amity."
"And why would you want to do that?"
"Because I want to be her friend."
"…"
Lizzie stared at Luz as if she'd grown a second head, trying to take a moment to process what had been said. But no matter how many times the blonde repeated Luz's words, they just didn't make sense to her.
'Oh, Titan…'
The blonde witch scowled and folded her arms. "Luz, the last time you were left alone with Amity, you wound up almost getting killed by her in a witch's duel. Why would you want to befriend the witch who belittled you in front of a stadium full of people?"
"Well, Azura can befriend anybody, and I strive to be like her." Luz shrugged her shoulders and rubbed a hand against the back of her head with a small smile. "So, I figured it was worth a shot."
Lizzie briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, eventually opening them when she pinched her nose. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but that's not how it works in the real world, Luz. Especially with the Blights."
"What do you mean?"
"I wasn't kidding when I said that Amity came from one of the wealthiest and strongest families in the Boiling Isles, you know. The Blight family have an influential reputation because of their riches and status, and that's without their skills in magic. They've gotten away with a lot and ruined lives because of it." Lizzie leaned forward and placed both of her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "Trust me. The Blights are bad news. You don't want to get mixed up with them."
Luz's brows furrowed as she turned her gaze down towards her shoes, gripping at her elbow with a quiet sigh. She looked like she wanted to say something but looked like she was mentally debating with herself about whether she should say it or not. Lizzie loosened her grip when she felt the girl's shoulders hunch, especially at hearing how brittle Luz's tone sounded when she finally spoke, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
"Back at Hexside… I got Amity into trouble while pretending to be Willow's abomination. I've felt guilty about it ever since." She raised her gaze and reached her hands up to Lizzie's wrists, with the blonde raising a brow at Luz's confession. "But Amity and I came onto good terms at Covention and seeing her like this makes me think I can make it up to her, maybe even become her friend with a bit of work."
"Luz—"
Luz didn't let Lizzie finish. She carefully pried her hands from her shoulders and stared up at the older blonde with a quivering lip. "Please let me try. I promise I won't make another everlasting oath with Amity! I've learnt my lesson!"
Lizzie recoiled and placed a hand to her chest when she felt a small pang of an ache coming on, prompting her to scratch at her vest and stare at Luz in silence for a moment. She couldn't pinpoint why, but something about Luz's persistence to befriend her technical rival struck a cord within her.
'Luz is naïve. From the little I know of the Blights, they're not the 'forgiving' type. I doubt Amity will want anything to do with Luz.' Her eyes drooped when Luz clasped her hands together under her chin, her fingers digging into her vest. 'But knowing Luz, I doubt she'll just accept it. And considering Amity did end her everlasting oath with her despite everything, maybe Luz won't get into too much trouble. Amity might snap at her, yet I don't think she'll do anything else to jeopardise Luz's magic studies.'
It was only once Luz had widened her eyes like she was going to cry that Lizzie finally found herself caving, her body slouching as her fingers reached for her temples.
"All right, all right. If you want to try to befriend Amity that badly, I won't stop you."
Luz's mouth morphed into a wide grin with a happy gasp, which was quickly followed by a squeal. The young Latina leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Lizzie, causing the latter to freeze up with repeated quick blinks. "Yay! Thank you, Liz!"
It took Lizzie a moment before she could process what was happening, but when she felt her face beginning to heat up, the blonde cleared her throat and spoke sternly to the young human. "But it's only while I look for information about your magic symbols. Once I'm done, we're getting out of here. Okay?"
Luz nodded stiffly and released the older witch, giving her a quick salute with a bright smile. "Okay!" Lizzie made no move to stop Luz this time as she watched the young human swirl round and poke her head round the side of the wall, seemingly checking to see if the coast was clear before she went in there. When Luz was sure everything was safe, she shot Lizzie another smile from over her shoulder with a whisper to follow. "I'll meet you back here. See you in a bit!"
Lizzie waited until Luz pushed her back against the wall and quickly slipped out of sight before she groaned and grabbed at her hair, giving it a brief and hard tug while tilting her head up to the ceiling.
'I swear that girl is making me go soft…' She eventually released her hair and straightened herself out, deciding to make her leave when she heard the tiny footsteps and cheerful laughter of the toddlers heading her way. 'Oh, well. I'm sure she'll be all right. At least I can be reassured she won't get into any trouble while I'm helping her out.'
As Lizzie walked away and headed in the direction of the history section, she failed to notice two pairs of golden eyes watching her retreating back from behind a nearby bookcase, revealed to belong to one female and one male with pointed ears and dark green hair (the boy's was styled short with a raised fringe, while the girl's fringe was swept towards the right and tied up in a braided ponytail), the both of them dressed in the Illusionist Magic Track uniform of Hexside and looking almost identical. They both appeared to be a couple of years younger than Lizzie, with the boy possessing a mole under his right eye while the girl had one under her left eye. The pair waited until Lizzie was out of sight to share a sideways glance, a sly smirk slipping onto each of their faces.
