A/N: Wow. This chapter got much longer than I was anticipating (nearly 12,000 words. Yikes). But at last we have reached the end of Episode 10 and my word... is this chapter filled with a lot of content. It was quite a challenge to write in all honesty, and there were times where I did keep re-writing sections to change how certain events were supposed to go. But after a lot of switching and editing, I think I'm finally pleased with the ending result. The only question now is whether or not you guys are also pleased with it. XD Yet, as previously mentioned, this chapter officially marks the end of Episode 10 and also of Season 1A, which I have no officially covered in its entirety. Chapter 31 will be the start of Season 1B, and the events in this last chapter will be setting up for the events to come in Episode 11. And while I know a lot of you will not be pleased with that, I hope it's some consolation that Lizzie will be involved in Plot B and not A, so you'll be getting to see her interacting with Lilith again. This once again means Lizzie will have less chance to interact with Luz, but don't worry. There will be a few episodes where Lizzie ends up sticking with Luz, so I hope you'll look forward to that.

Thank you to everyone who has been favouriting, following, reviewing and reading this fanfic. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. Just before I get into answering reviews, however, there's two things I need to say. Firstly, I've been considering changing my username. I've had it for over ten years, but I'm tempted to put it to something else given my interests have changed quite a bit over the years (even though I am still a fan of Vocaloid. That ain't going anywhere. XD). I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I'm letting you know in case I do change it to avoid anyone being confused in the future. Secondly, to commemorate this story reaching the end of Season 1A, I've set up a poll on my profile just for fun for The Owlcast. I'm interested in knowing which episode you've most enjoyed seeing Lizzie in for the season's first half, especially as we're starting to get into the bad stuff now after this chapter. XD So, feel free to vote on it if you want to (once you've read up to Chapter 30, of course). It will be staying there until I reach the end of Season 1B.

KaseyKay17: Yeah. Unfortunately, it didn't make sense for Lizzie to be with Luz in this one. As mentioned in previous notes, the section was focused more on Luz bonding with Willow and Gus and I thought Lizzie would have been an awkward third wheel. Also, given Lizzie's character, she's more prone to be focused on Eda's curse and worrying about her, and because she's an adult... well, her being present for grudgby for a school she no longer attends wouldn't make sense either. XD Still, at least this chapter is still full of surprises and Lizzie gets her own parallel with the two palismen she's currently stuck with. Hopefully, you'll enjoy that.

Gry25: Oho. As nice as that idea would have been, I think the recent episodes have shown how unlikely Belos is to be a... 'understanding person'. XD The second part of your review is more likely, given what we've experienced through Season 2B so far. That's all I'm willing to say right now, because I don't want to spoil any future chapters or the episodes that some people may not have seen yet. But I can say I have big plans for Lizzie when Season 2 comes along and... they are not good.


Chapter 30: Triggered Trauma

Lizzie was no stranger to nightmares. She suffered from them on the odd occasion, as beings of the Boiling Isles would do (without the influence of Grom, of course), and according to Eda, she'd suffered through numerous night terrors during her first year in the Owl House. Which was why she so badly wanted to believe that this was what she was currently experiencing. She wasn't in Bonesborough right now. That wasn't Eda in her cursed form sitting next to the slide in the slayground. This was all just some crazy dream that she was going to wake up from! And yet, in this instance, it didn't matter how much and how hard the young witch stood there in the middle of the street and pinched the skin of her arm: this was, unfortunately, no nightmare.

The poor witch had so many questions running through her head surrounding this situation, unsure of where to begin. But there was one question on Lizzie's mind that soon stood out from the rest.

'How did this happen…?'

This question was enough to prompt the blonde to creep forward with slow and long strides, eventually settling in front of the metal fence that bordered the entrance to the slayground. Lizzie was lucky she'd already had to deal with Eda like this once before, because compared to when she'd first laid eyes on her, she wasn't as scared to make her approach. Although, the same couldn't be said for her current palismen companions. She could feel the fox palisman trembling in her hold and burying its face into her shoulder, while from her satchel she could hear Bandit's chuckling-like hissing.

'Eda should have taken her elixir. So, how did she transform? And how in the Boiling Isles did she manage to get to Bonesborough?' Lizzie's brow furrowed at recalling the first time they dealt with Eda's curse, flitting to the night of the boiling rain. 'Although now that I think about it, we had that forcefield up the last time she transformed, didn't we? That must have been stopping her then, considering she mostly stayed in the cottage. But now…'

From where she was standing, Lizzie was at a safe enough distance that Eda had yet to notice her, especially as the cursed Owl Lady currently had her back to her as she faced the slide. But her current vantage point made it difficult for her to properly see what Eda was doing; although, she thought she could hear loud crunching and cracking plastic, further suggesting that unlike when she'd found her last night, she had fully transformed this time. She contemplated if she should get closer… until a familiar voice addressed the transformed Eda in a demanding tone, causing Lizzie's body to stiffen.

"No, bad Eda!"

Lizzie saw King stomp his way round the Owl Lady from where the slide was, scowling and balling his tiny paws into fists. But unlike when she'd last seen the little demon, she noticed he was wearing a brown cardboard box with holes for his arms to stick through, while his head and legs poked through the top and bottom. She ended up squinting at noting there was also something scribbled on the side of the box that was covering King's chest and stomach, which appeared to resemble… an armour plate? Muscles? King's doodling made it difficult for her to tell. But she at least knew it was something he'd clearly drawn on himself.

"I am your king and I control you!" King continued, staring up at the cursed witch with the expectation that his commands would be listened to. But when Eda still went about eating whatever she was eating (Lizzie assumed it was probably the slide, because that was where she was), King stomped his foot and stepped closer, daring to throw a weak punch into Eda's closest leg, which made Lizzie's jaw slack. "Hey! Listen to me!"

'Did he just hit Eda?!'

Naturally, Eda didn't react well to King's show of violence. So, the moment Lizzie heard Eda's chewing be replaced by a low and vicious growl, she put the fox palisman on the ground and darted into the slayground, getting past the fence just as the cursed Owl Lady turned to loom over King. King's angry bravado faded with the widening of his eyes, prompting him to backstep until his outfit made him trip over his own feet.

"Weh!"

The little demon collapsed onto his back and flailed his arms and legs around as Eda stepped closer to him, wriggling his body from side to side to squirm himself free from his restricting 'outfit'. He didn't get out of the box until Eda was above him and releasing her signature roar, raising her right set of claws to swipe at him. But as King closed his eyes and shielded himself with his arms crossed before his face, preparing for the inevitable, a loud thump sounded above him, followed by a high-pitched screech from Eda.

King opened an eye and peeked past his arms to see a transparent green forcefield above him, with Eda backing up with a loud screech when it suddenly flashed away.

"King!"

King blinked widely and turned to see Lizzie running towards him, prompting him to twist his body in preparation to stand up. But then the blonde witch halted and widened her eyes when Eda focused her gaze to her, revealing her fully transformed humanoid face and black gemstone, barring her eyes; only her right pupil had enlarged and turned black, while the other one still held Eda's signature gold.

'What? Why is her one eye—?'

"Watch out!" King called to the blonde witch when Eda started to walk towards Lizzie, switching her target now that the young witch had revealed herself.

The little demon scrambled to his feet as Lizzie froze at seeing Eda gain on her before she had a chance to process what was happening. The fox palisman whimpered and hid behind Lizzie's legs when the cursed Owl Lady got right up in the young witch's face, their noses almost an inch apart. Lizzie knew she had to do something, especially when she heard Bandit loudly screeching from inside her satchel, but her gaze refused to leave Eda's left eye, her thoughts propelling to the night before when she'd seen Eda's face looking partially transformed then too. It caused her body to tremble, preventing her from raising her index finger to cast a spell even though she wanted to.

'C'mon, Elisabeth, do something! Why are you hesitating?!'

Lizzie felt her eyes water at the stench being blown into her face from Eda's heavy breathing, making her lip curl while the pair stared each other down. Try as she might, she suddenly couldn't feel her limbs, meaning she was forced to endure the rotten smell of rotting flesh while she was unable to bring herself to move. She was expecting Eda to try to attack her, yet by the time she saw King reach her side from the corner of her eyes, the cursed witch relaxed her stance and took a couple of sniffs at her face, causing Lizzie's brows to raise.

'Huh?'

After a few seconds, Eda pulled away and walked off in the direction of a set of swings attached to the tower (which Lizzie had failed to notice upon seeing the slayground the first time), leaving Lizzie and King speechlessly stood there watching her go with wide blinks. Not a single glance or threatening motion was sent their way. Lizzie had been investigated and left alone without any trouble.

By the time Eda had stopped by the tower and sat on her back legs to reach her front claws for one of the swings, Lizzie finally found the will to turn to King and speak, with the fox palisman slowly edging its way out from behind the older witch.

"… What just happened?"

"Well, Eda's only part transformed, right?" King answered with the tilt of his head. "I guess that means she's still conscious enough to be calm as well as suggestible."

Lizzie slowly nodded to this, observing Eda ripping the swing free and wincing with a closed eye when she took a huge bite out of it. She could see where King was coming from, considering she could recall the few times she'd seen Eda partially transformed but still acting like she normally would.

'Yeah. I guess that makes sense. I mean, this transformation is a little further along than the past ones, but still…'

It took a few seconds, though, before the coin dropped for the young witch, her eyes briefly widening at remembering where she was and what was going on. "Hey, wait a minute!" She faced King with a scowl, putting a hand to her hip when her tone turned stern. "What happened to making sure Eda took her elixir?"

King's gaze broke away when he saw the fox palisman step round to Lizzie's side and sit down, which he proceeded to point a claw at. "What about you?! Why are you with one of your minions?!"

Lizzie's eyes drooped at King's obvious deflection, not even bothering to glance the fox's way. "I asked you first. Don't try and change the topic."

"… Uh…" King rubbed his paws together and lowered his tail, avoiding eye contact with the older witch when attempting to formulate his answer. It wasn't until he chanced a glance after a moment of silence to see Lizzie's eyes narrow that he dared to speak, tilting his head to the side and forcing a smile. "Would you believe me if I told you that I went into her room and found her like this before chasing her all the way out here…?"

Lizzie sideways glanced the box outfit by the slide, her mind already formulating an idea of what happened because of the things she'd heard Eda and King say.

"Maybe the first part…" She narrowed her eyes further back at King. "But considering Eda told me about your little usurper issue, I can tell you're lying with the second part." She jabbed a finger towards the little demon. "You brought her here to get back at that kid, didn't you?" King turned his gaze to his feet and rubbed a paw at the back of his head, nodding to confirm his answer to Lizzie's question. Lizzie's shoulders slumped at this. "King."

"I couldn't help myself!" He nearly shouted as he stomped his foot and scowled, clenching his jaw. "That snotty heathen made me feel so weak! And because Eda seemed to listen to me when I was ordering her around, I thought I could use her for her strength." King's voice went quiet when he sighed heavily. "But I should have known better after what happened last time."

"Yes, you should have," Lizzie agreed, holding out her hands towards the cursed Owl Lady. "Eda is dangerous like this, King! She could have seriously hurt someone! And Titan knows what would happen if the demon hunters caught on to her presence in Bonesborough!"

"I know, I know. I messed up again." King dared to raise his gaze to Lizzie again, his eyes glistening as if he was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Lizzie."

Lizzie furrowed her brow and sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair as she gave herself a moment of respite.

'I get why he did it. I just wish King wouldn't always jump to the violent route with everything…'

When King didn't respond and blinked at the misty look in his eyes so he didn't break down crying, Lizzie crouched so that she and King were closer to eye level, resting her elbows on her knees.

"You know, they say a king is supposed to have certain qualities, and while you're not 'King of the Slayground' right now, nor the former 'King of Demons' that you once were, you've displayed three of those qualities already." She held up three of her fingers, only to put them down again with each item she verbally listed off. "A king protects his realm—you've helped us to protect the Owl House during the mess with Eda's curse, with your knowledge on demons and the time you lured Eda into our trap; a king creates and inspires creativity in others—you've definitely influenced Luz in this department, if her constant readings of that fantasy book around the cottage and how often she chats and draws with you is any indication; and a king also blesses the lives of others…" She gave a smile. "That last one doesn't need explaining, because I can safely say our lives wouldn't be blessed if you weren't in them."

King turned his head away a bit to dab his arm against his eyes and kicked a foot at the ground, clearly unconvinced by Lizzie's words. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I'm not." Lizzie placed her hands on his shoulders, prompting King's gaze to return to hers. "That kid may have taken your throne here, but if they ever got dethroned, they'd no longer be a ruler of anything. Whereas you—" She gave the tip of his nose a light poke with a widened smile, causing King to blink once and let out a small giggle at the contact. "—will always be 'King of the Owl House'. So, try not to worry about it, okay?"

A small smile spread across King's face at this as he moved his paws to his chest, prompting his cheeks to flush a faint pink. "Okay."

"Feeling better now?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Lizzie pulled away and gave King's head a quick rub, causing the little demon to briefly close his eyes until she retracted. "Now then,"—her eyes glanced over at Eda still munching away on the swing set, prompting them to droop at the sight—"what do we do about Eda?"

King tilted his head with a blink. "Didn't you say you were going to get Eda more elixir?"

"I did…" She trailed off to focus on her satchel, eventually sighing when her gaze locked with the beady eyes of Bandit peeking at her from under the flap. "…but I got a little side-tracked." She bowed her head a bit. "I haven't bought any and there's no way I'm going to have time to go and get some either, even if Eda stays calm."

"Hm…" King tapped his foot against the ground and his chin with a claw, falling into thought for a moment while giving the surrounding area a quick search. When he caught sight of the top of the slide, King gaped at this and clenched his paw into a fist, smacking it against his other paw. "That's it!" Lizzie turned to King and followed his gaze when he pointed to the top of the slide, where Lizzie could see a purple bag slouched over. "I brought a bottle of elixir in case Eda got out of control! We can use that to turn her back to normal!"

Lizzie let out a loud sigh and placed a hand to her chest, relief immediately flooding her system to the point of her shoulders slouching. "Oh, thank the Titan!"

'At least King did something right!'

King wasted no time in hurrying off to the slide to grab the elixir, which Lizzie took as her cue to stand up. She stayed where she was to keep her eye on Eda as King gripped tightly at the sides of the bottom of the slide and went to walk up it, even despite his feet constantly slipping back with every step. Luckily for King and Lizzie, the cursed Owl Lady had finished with the swing set and was currently occupied sniffing around underneath the tower and its little bridge, too busy being nosy to care about what they were doing. That didn't stop Lizzie from being on guard, though. After all, Eda had quickly turned on King the moment he lashed out at her. Anything could set her off if they weren't careful.

'It's so strange seeing her like this.' Lizzie folded her arms across her middle and dared to take slow steps as she walked round the other side of the slayground equipment, her gaze fixated on Eda while the cursed witch sniffed at the rope wall, releasing a loud snort before moving on. 'The last time King and I dealt with her in her full transformation, she was so ferocious and aggressive. Now she's acting like a curious animal lingering in the wild.' The young witch temporarily broke her gaze away to check on King, who had since scrambled to the top of the slide and was sticking his head inside the bag while digging his paws through it for the elixir. 'At least this makes it easier for us to fix things. Although I will be having a very stern talk with Eda when she turns back, because I'm certain she didn't take her elixir like she said she would…'

By the time King removed his head from the bag with the glowing elixir vial clutched in his paws, Eda had come out from underneath the bridge and was walking round the rope ladder. She did pause when the little demon held the vial above his head and cackled like he'd just yanked a prize out of the bag, her mismatched eyes following King dashing to the top of the rope wall.

"Lizzie, I've got it!" Lizzie jogged after King from the ground with the fox palisman sticking close to her feet, approaching the rope wall just as he reached the edge of the platform. King dug his heels into the platform to try to bring himself to a halt, preparing to move his arms behind him with the intent of tossing the elixir at the young witch, with Lizzie stopping to stand close to where Eda was while leaving a bit of space between them. "Here, catch—"

But unfortunately for King, one of his heels missed the edge of the platform and fell forward through the gap in the rope. Lizzie's eyes widened the moment she saw this and was ready to call out to King in alarm. Yet she never got the chance to, because right as she opened her mouth with a warning lingering on the tip of her tongue, King dropped forward, going straight over the edge so fast his grip on the elixir became non-existent.

"Weh!"

Lizzie felt as if time had slowed down, her joints seizing up at the elixir vial flying through the air while poor King crashed face first against the net, his left ankle entangled in a bit of rope his foot had managed to slip under. Her pulse pounded in her ears at witnessing the glowing vial flip over in mid-air so its neck was facing away from the ground, heading straight for Eda's face with the cursed witch gaping and leaning away ready to back up.

The blonde witch immediately knew what was about to happen before it even happened, yet that didn't stop the loud gasp from leaving her mouth at watching the moment the elixir vial disappeared into Eda's open maw with a loud pop. The Owl Lady instinctively pressed her lips together and puffed her cheeks out at feeling the object hit her tongue, blinking repeatedly while trying to process what the heck had just landed in her mouth. The lack of chewing and glass shattering noises suggested to Lizzie that the vial was still intact inside Eda's mouth.

'The elixir hasn't spilled! It's still stuck inside the vial!'

Meanwhile, King twisted his body round and stretched his paws up to his ankle to try to untangle himself from the rope wall, grunting a little as he waved his paws around. He only stopped when he caught Lizzie standing as still as a statue out of the corner of his eyes, his brow furrowing at seeing the colour drain from her face and leave her looking as pale as Eda. He opened his mouth with a question about her current state on the tip of his tongue. But he soon closed his mouth again when Lizzie pointed straight towards Eda at anticipating what he was probably about to ask, his eyes widening at the sight of her puffed cheeks and clenched jaw.

A tense silence fell between the trio that was so deafening, not even a pin drop would have been heard. Both King and Lizzie kept their gazes fixed on Eda's throat, with King's eyes close to bulging from their sockets and Lizzie swallowing quietly at the sweat she could feel gradually forming on her forehead, her breath hitching in her throat.

'Don't swallow. Don't swallow. Please don't swallow—'

A single loud gulp rendered Lizzie's mental pleads useless. The sight of Eda's throat contracting caused the young witch and demon to cry out simultaneously, their shoulders raising when Eda's lips pursed together and she spat out a small, brown, blurred object, the action making the fox palisman hop behind Lizzie's legs to avoid getting struck. Lizzie's and King's eyes trailed after it until it bounced once against the ground close to the rope wall and then rolled to a stop, eventually revealing itself to be the cork from the elixir vial.

'Oh, Titan…'

Lizzie and King slowly turned their heads to one another, their wide-eyed gazes locking in intense silence while they tried to process the situation. After a moment or two, though, King became the one to break it, forcing a smile that was unnaturally wide and shrugging his shoulders.

"Heh heh," King forced out a laugh, his voice going up an octave. "At least without the cork there's still the chance it'll spill into her gut…"

Lizzie took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of the nose, the urge to yell out of frustration beginning to rise with the slight flushing of her cheeks. However, she was interrupted by shrill shrieking coming from the corner of the slayground where a small building with a wooden roof housed an arched entranceway with a small set of stairs leading to the upper streets of Bonesborough, prompting her and King to whip their heads towards the steps out of alarm, with the fox palisman and Eda doing the same with the addition of twitching ears.

A carriage decorated with horns on the front and back of its roof with a green stripe across its side and 'Animal Control' painted on in yellow lettering was being pulled to the top of the stairs by a large, purple worm-like creature with black eyes, four black stick-like legs, two horns on its head and a human-like face with red slits for eyes in its mouth and surrounded by five teeth (three fangs at the top and two at the bottom), wearing a red collar attached with string. The noise in question was coming from a round, orange creature with tiny black pupils and two pairs of buckteeth in its maw, trapped in a small round wooden cage atop the carriage. It fell silent the moment the carriage pulled round and stopped when its back faced the steps, with Lizzie and King both gasping due to being in a position where they could see the carriage pull up.

"Oh, no! Animal Control!" King cried and smacked his paws to his cheeks. "Someone must have called them to come for Eda!"

And it was only about to get worse, because it didn't take long for Lizzie to notice the driver sat at the front along with one companion beside him and another at the back of the carriage climb off to gather round the side, the trio dressed in matching brown robes and dark brown cowls with the addition of yellow and white striped sleeveless vests on the upper halves of their bodies.

'Oh, Titan, no… The demon hunters.'

The tall, red-eyed leader with the black eyepatch, the female witch with short purple hair and the short, grumpy-faced looking creature; she immediately recognised them from that morning when she, Eda, Luz and King had gone to Mr Elixir for Eda's elixir as they'd hauled that poor captured creature on a wooden cart through the streets. And that feeling only intensified as they began to descend the steps and come up to the slayground.

'What are the odds they ended up becoming members of Animal Control?!'

The fox palisman whimpered and lowered its ears when the trio of hunters emerged from the shadows hiding the steps from view, wasting no time in dashing off to hide in the shadows underneath a long green bench nearby while Lizzie watched it go with a furrowed brow. She couldn't blame it. After all, they were wearing the same robes its captors were. Meanwhile, Bandit hissed at them from inside Lizzie's satchel, while Eda growled and turned herself fully to face them as they approached, hunching her back as she did so.

'This is bad.' Lizzie's gaze flitted between King and Eda as the latter stalked toward the steps while the former wriggled around to try to free himself, with the young witch biting her lip. 'King's stuck and Eda feels threatened. What do I do?'

The decision was soon made for her when the trio of hunters stopped in front of the steps and chose to take in the current scene before them, with Eda stepping in front of Lizzie and widening her stance with a high-pitched roar. The leader of the trio narrowed his good eye between King and Eda for a moment, failing to see Lizzie due to the latter blocking her from view. After a moment of silent staring and seeing Eda bare her teeth his way, though, the leader spoke in a deep, gruff voice.

"Yup. This creature matches the description the parents gave, all right." He turned to his two companions on his left and gave a stiff nod, pointing two fingers towards the cursed witch. "Let's bag it."

'Oh, no!' Lizzie gaped at the declaration as the two other demon hunters nodded and went to spread out in front of the steps, with Lizzie immediately recognising the danger their technical guardian was about to get in. 'If they capture Eda, we'll never get her back!'

When the two scowling demon hunters were stood a good distance apart and going down on one knee, Lizzie dashed forward towards the cursed Owl Lady as fast as her legs would allow when she released another growl of warning, shouting at the top of her lungs to get their attention. She felt her hood drop as she moved, but she chose not to acknowledge it for the time being. It wasn't as important as Eda's life, after all.

"Wait! Stop!" The pair on the ground looked up and blinked widely along with their leader when they spotted Lizzie run in front of Eda and stand before her, holding her palms out above her head. Her presence even caused the cursed Owl Lady to fall quiet and blink. However, as Lizzie went to make her case and take on a wide stance, she failed to see the grumpy-looking demon hunter squint at her wrists. "You can't capture her! There's been a misunderstanding—"

"Wait a second!" The grumpy-looking demon hunter interrupted Lizzie and pointed towards her wrists, his brows raising. "That witch doesn't have a coven seal!"

Lizzie frowned as she lowered her hands and flipped her wrists over to take a look at the undersides of her arms, only peeking back at the demon hunters when she heard the purple haired witch gasp.

"She must be a criminal!" she said with a hint of excitement entering her posh-sounding accent, her head turning to the demon hunter with the eye patch with what Lizzie thought was a glint in her eyes. "If we capture her, we can get a bounty for turning her in! We can finally quit this embarrassing job if it's a high one!"

Lizzie took a step back with her mouth falling open, her jaw twitching as her eyes focused on the leader of the group, seeing him staring at her with a hand rubbing at his chin. "Whoa, whoa, hang on! Let's not get ahead of ourselves!"

"Hm…" The leader hummed in thought and gave Lizzie a quick look up and down, eventually smirking in a way that Lizzie swore held a hint of malice by how they twisted. "It would make up for those children beating us to a pulp…"

'I don't like where this is going…'

And with that thought in mind, Lizzie didn't even wait to hear the leader's verdict. Releasing a small growl, she took a step forward and held out her right index finger, pressing her brows together as tightly as she could to appear menacing.

"I'd like to see you try!" Lizzie hissed and drew a spell circle with her alighted fingertip, deciding she was going to unleash a spew of flames to buy her some time to free King and get Eda out of there.

But when she started to draw the spell circle, the usual perfect curve she formed wobbled and thinned out, popping and disappearing the second the two ends touched to make the circle. The demon hunters each raised a brow and exchanged glances, while Lizzie briefly blinked to process what had just happened. It wasn't until she felt a faint wave of weariness wash over her and make her body sway a little from side to side that she realised her lack of sleep was to blame, prompting her shoulders to slump at the smirks the demon hunters directed at her as she found herself quoting her technical employer whenever she was in sticky situations like this.

"… Aw, nuts!"

The two demon hunters took that as their cue to each draw a small green spell circle with their left and right index fingers respectively, placing them to the ground and conjuring curved glowing lines that stretched round and connected. Before Lizzie could think to reach a hand into her satchel to grab one of her potion vials, she was left watching with wide eyes as the glowing lines and curves eventually formed a large glowing circle that encompassed the area both Eda and Lizzie were standing in, her eyes following thin lines that stretched over the pair like a net-like dome.

Without warning, the dome shrunk and trapped itself around the cursed witch and her young employee, causing Lizzie and Bandit to shriek loudly at finding herself pushed into Eda's side, feeling her arms getting pinned against her front in an awkwardly bent position. Eda let out a high-pitched squeal at being forced into a ball and having her legs and arms restrained at strangely bent angles, making Lizzie cringe due to how close the pair were and how loud it was in her ears.

"Ugh!" Lizzie grunted and glared towards the leader of the group, attempting to twist her arms round to move them from their current position and failing. "What are you doing?! This can't be legal!"

With Lizzie and Eda secured and the former being ignored for the time being, the leader turned to his two companions and jabbed a thumb in the direction of the carriage. "You know the drill."

The two demon hunters nodded, stood and headed up the steps towards the carriage so they could open the doors up, leaving the leader to step forward and raise a hand in preparation to cast another spell.

"Oh, no!" King cried out with a gasp at witnessing this, his pupils shrinking as the leader drew a green spell circle with his right index finger, bringing forth a brief flash to encase Lizzie and Eda in a bright green glow. "No, no, no!"

Lizzie, Eda and King wriggled their bodies from side to side when the former pair were lifted from the ground and levitated in the air, attempting to escape their restraints while the leader of the demon hunters moved them away from the slayground and towards the carriage at the top of the steps, walking after them as he did so. But it didn't matter how much the trio thrashed around. They were stuck tight. Had it not been for her arms' awkward positions, she could have gotten into her satchel for one of her potions.

"Let us go!" Lizzie yelled, even though she wasn't facing any of the demon hunters at this moment in time. "I'm sure this is technically unlawful kidnapping!"

The blonde witch thought she heard the leader snort somewhere behind them. "Not if you're a wanted criminal and a rogue beast. Save your pleas for when we take you to the precinct… after we have this dangerous creature put down."

'Put down?!'

Lizzie gritted her teeth at feeling herself get turned round mid-air upon gaining closer to the carriage, allowing her wide-eyed gaze to lock with the upside-down shrunk pupils of King, who had since stopped moving around and had managed to entangle more of the rope wall around his middle. The little demon swore he saw a hint of fear in Lizzie's eyes the further away she and Eda got from the slayground, one that looked strangely familiar akin to something he'd seen in the past, as if her life was flashing before her eyes. He reached his paws towards her and shouted the names of his companions out of desperation to stop them from being taken, to no avail.

"Lizzie! Eda!"

The fox palisman shuffled out of hiding the moment its beady eyes observed Lizzie and Eda disappearing into the shadows of the carriage, flinching and briefly squeezing its eyes shut at the loud slam the doors to the vehicle made when they were closed. With its ears drooping and tail hanging, the fox palisman watched the demon hunters file back onto the carriage and prepare to leave, all the while King was widely flailing his arms and legs to try to free himself from his bonds, also to no avail.

It wasn't until the carriage started moving again that the fox palisman found the courage to dart in the direction of King, showing no hesitation in standing on its hind legs and steadying its front paws against the rope wall. King stopped squirming when the rope wall's movement was obstructed, blinking widely at seeing the fox palisman bare its teeth and bite at the sections of the rope trapping him. It took three bites before King found himself dropping to the floor, yelping when the back of his head and upper-back collided with the ground, leaving him in a curled position for a few seconds until he straightened out and brought himself to sit.

"Whoo!" He wiped a paw against his forehead and turned to look at the fox palisman when it dropped onto all-fours once more. "Thanks."

Eda's high-pitched screech resounded throughout the area, causing the fox palisman to jump a bit and whip its head towards the steps again. King's brow furrowed as he followed the palisman's gaze, his head lowering a little.

"This is all my fault! If I hadn't brought Eda here, she and Lizzie wouldn't be stuck with Animal Control… What do I do now?"

A gentle nudge against his cheek prompted King to raise his gaze, only for his brows to raise at seeing the fox palisman lower the upper half of its body, jerking its head towards its back with a soft bark. It took a few seconds of staring for King to register what the palisman was trying to tell him.

"Oh!" He straightened out his back and pushed himself up a bit with his paws. "You want me to get on your back?" The fox palisman barked out of confirmation and swished its tail, causing King to get to his feet and frown. "Yes! I can catch up to Eda and Lizzie this way!"

The little demon wasted no time in climbing onto the fox's back and allowing it to stand up again, only to deepen his frown and point a claw at the steps, his next words spoken with a commanding tone.

"Onward, my noble ally! To Lizzie and Eda!"

The fox palisman reared on its hind legs and kicking its front paws out at the air before dropping to the ground again and bounding forward, causing King to let out a startled cry and hold onto its side as the two left the slayground, following the cursed Owl Lady's incessant roars.


Meanwhile, trapped inside the carriage, poor Lizzie was struggling to fend off the pounding headache that had risen from being tied up to the panicked beast who was supposed to be her technical employer.

The blonde witch was sitting on the ground inside the net with her eyes squeezed shut, her body leaned as far towards the closest wall of the carriage as she could get it. She was attempting to tug hard against Eda's strength while the Owl Lady writhed around wildly inside the net, whose constant roars and screeches were rattling inside her head so much, she thought her eardrums were going to pop. Add that to the fact she was trying really hard not to look at the carriage walls and tiny barred windows on the metal doors and you've got yourself a witch who looked about ready to explode.

'Oh, Titan… It's happening again. It's happening again.'

Had it not been for the cursed Owl Lady's screeching and the momentary movement she felt from her satchel, Lizzie could have easily mistaken what was happening for her reliving the night of her arrest if she kept her eyes shut. The sound of the carriage wheels rolling over the streets of Bonesborough, the occasional bumps that were felt from the road which rocked her about as she was being brought to the one place where people like her were locked away in and were not allowed to leave unless they conformed; it was an almost identical experience. And that was why she wasn't surprised when her breathing became shallow and rapid, her chest suddenly restricting as if someone had taken a grip on her heart and bile sac and was squeezing it tight.

However, she did get a temporary distraction in the form of something furry brushing against the backs of her hands, finally prompting her to open her eyes to the sight of Bandit clinging onto her arm, nibbling away at the net surrounding her and Eda.

"Bandit…?" Lizzie said in a voice barely above a whisper, blinking a couple of times to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

It wasn't until Bandit had managed to chew through enough of the net to cause it to snap apart that Lizzie was able to process what she was seeing was real, especially when the pair of them fell forward and the side of her head collided with the carriage wall with a harsh thud, making her wince. Eda tumbled over onto her back and proceeded to screech further, rolling on the floor and kicking her legs out to shove the net off her.

Lizzie had wanted to rejoice at the fact she was now free of her binds, and yet she couldn't, because she still felt as though her lungs had been robbed of oxygen, the sharp pain in her chest suddenly getting worse. With Bandit having landed on his front on the ground, the ferret palisman watched with a wide blink as the gasping witch shuffled herself into the nearest corner of the carriage and hugged her arms against her chest, her body trembling violently and her eyes looking on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

'W-What's happening?! Why can't I calm down?!'

The logical part of her brain was screaming at her to grab her explosive potion from her satchel and blow the doors open to escape, but her body refused to obey, as if the two had been disconnected and it wasn't responding. Her head wouldn't stop pounding, her chest wouldn't stop hurting, her breathing wouldn't settle or stop getting caught within the confines of her throat.

"Help…" Lizzie attempted to speak, but her words left her mouth as a squeaky wheeze, her voice cracking. Her gaze immediately went to the cursed witch still writhing around on the floor and roaring to free herself from the net, prompting her voice to raise a little in volume as she pleaded to the only person she could think of in this situation. "Eda, please, help me!"

Lizzie felt Bandit climb up her vest and onto her left shoulder at feeling tears welling in her eyes, briefly hearing him whine while he rubbed the top of his head against her closest cheek. Unfortunately, despite the palisman's efforts, it did nothing to change how she felt. Eda was going to be sent somewhere to be 'put down' and she was going to wind up behind bars, under the intimidating glare hidden behind the yellow-buttoned eyes of Warden Wrath's mask. She was never going to see Luz again, or King, or Eda, or even Hooty. And her parents—Oh, Titan, her parents. She couldn't bear the thought of the distressed looks they'd have on their faces, just like on that night when the guards hauled her out of the house…

Before she knew it, the sounds from both Bandit and Eda grew fainter and fainter, gradually getting further and further away in the sense she'd stuck her head under water. The blonde hid her face against her front and squeezed her eyes shut again, forcing the tears to stream down her face.

"I-I can't breathe…! Why can't I breathe…?!" She continued breathlessly, pausing for a moment when she thought she couldn't hear any noise from Eda anymore. But she brushed it off when her ears started to ring, the constant reminder that she was going to be sent to the Conformatorium refusing to stop lingering on her mind. "Don't let them take me away…! Please don't let them take me…"

Her last words trailed off as a breathless whimper when a strangled sob finally escaped her, forcing poor Bandit to back up a bit from her face and stare at her with a quiet whine (not that Lizzie could hear it). Lizzie reached her hands to her forehead and rocked back and forth when the pain in her chest intensified, with her head feeling heavy and lowering like it was ready to snap from her neck. She was certain she was about to collapse…

…and then a familiar, panicked voice broke through the deafening silence, halting the ringing in her ears and restoring her hearing to normal.

"Lizzie?!"

Lizzie's eyes shot open just as she felt a large hand place itself on her other shoulder and got a tight grip. With tears flooding down her face, the young witch managed to lift her head towards the voice and lower her arms to her lap, being met with the sight of the furrowed brow belonging to the humanoid beast face of the Owl Lady. Lizzie's eyes went wide when her teary gaze met the golden eyes of Eda, whose right eye was no longer pitch black and exposed her usual pupil.

"E-Eda…?" Lizzie croaked out, wondering for a moment if she was seeing and hearing things. But then she felt Eda's enlarged hand reach for the side of her face and gently cup her cheek, with the Owl Lady shushing her in a soothing voice.

"Sssh. It's okay, kid," she reassured, brushing a strand of Lizzie's hair behind her ear with a claw. "I'm here. Just take deep breaths, all right?"

The blonde did as she was told and sucked in a deep breath through her nose, counting to five in her head before releasing it through her mouth. She did this a few more times, feeling an occasional nudge from Bandit's nose as he encouraged her to keep going. She couldn't help noticing that the ferret palisman had reacted rather quickly to her distress, like it was something he was used to seeing, perhaps?

Eventually, Lizzie's breathing mellowed and went silent, the tight pain in her chest slowly dulling until it had released its grip on her organs entirely. Her headache still lingered, but at least it no longer felt like someone was bashing her skull in. Eda kept her hand on Lizzie's face until the younger witch breathed a sigh and dabbed at her watery eyes with the backs of her hands, which Bandit took as a sign to shuffle away.

"There we go. You all right?" Lizzie gave a stiff nod and a small sniffle, prompting Eda to lightly pat the side of her face and then retract her hand to put it back on the floor. "Good. In that case…" She glanced down at her front and tilted her head at the blonde witch. "…you wanna clue me in on what's going on?"

Lizzie found herself chuckling and lowering her hands to her lap, giving the doors to the carriage a sideways stare. "I would. But I think we should probably get out of here first."

Right as Lizzie said that, however, the carriage came to a screeching halt, flinging Lizzie, Bandit and Eda towards the right a bit with startled cries (or in Bandit's case, barking) and forcing them onto their sides on the floor. Yet before any of them could comprehend what was happening, King's voice shouted from the front of the carriage.

"Hey, you! Let my friends go!"

"King?" Lizzie and Eda said simultaneously, turning to look at one another with frowns and blinks.

There was no way for them to see what was going on due to the front of the carriage lacking any windows, so all the trio could do was sit themselves up and listen. What followed next was an amused snort from the voice Lizzie recognised to be the leader of the demon hunters.

"Or else what, little man?"

There was a brief pause before King answered boldly, with Lizzie picturing him doing some sort of confident pose likely involving his head held high, a wide stance and his paw to his chest.

"Or else I will unleash my squeak of rage!"

"His squeak of rage?" Eda repeated, her frown deepening when laughter erupted from the demon hunters, which was expected. "What is that little goofball thinking?"

Eda's question was answered when the sound of something wriggling around inside a lock came from behind them, prompting the pair to glance over their shoulders just as a loud click followed and the doors creaked open. The fox palisman was seen standing in the doorway with its tail wagging, prompting Lizzie's eyes to droop when it barked upon seeing her.

"I think he's trying to give us a distraction."

'Which for King isn't actually bad. Good for him.'

The fox palisman turned round and leapt onto the floor to give Lizzie and Eda enough room to exit the carriage, with Lizzie picking up Bandit just as she heard King yell over the laughter.

"That's it! I'll make you regret mocking the mighty King of Demons!"

Lizzie stood and started making her way to the carriage doors; however, she stopped at hearing King grunt and stomp his legs against the ground, a sound that made Eda snort and have a wide grin spread across her face.

"Oh, man. Here it comes…"

"Nyeh… Nyeh…"

What followed next was a loud shrill noise that both Lizzie and Eda knew was from King, and while the fox palisman and Bandit couldn't help wincing and lowering their ears due to the high frequency being uncomfortable for them, Eda immediately burst out into loud laughter and threw her head back, occasionally snorting in between.

"Ha, ha! So tiny, so angry! Ha, ha, ha!" She was interrupted by an involuntary growl, but she was soon back to laughing again as if nothing had happened. "He always sounds just like a teakettle!"

Eda's laughter only stopped when she was cut off by a sudden gasp, her eyes opening wide. What happened next was so fast that Eda couldn't comprehend it, nor could Lizzie believe her eyes. The Owl Lady's body and facial features shrunk back to normal within a blink of an eye, forcing Eda to fall onto her bottom and rock forward with a small grunt. Lizzie blinked multiple times as Eda's once feathery and furry body was instantly replaced by her usual two-toned bushy hair draping over her front, only to gape when the Owl Lady used two fingers on either hand to flip the wild strands back over her head again, exposing her signature red dress and her gem restored to its usual gold.

"Ugh…" Eda groaned and rubbed her fingers against her temples, closing an eye for a moment as she tried to pull herself together. "That hurt more than usual…"

"Eda!" Bandit leapt out of Lizzie's arms when she cried out in relief and moved forward, wrapping her arms around the Owl Lady's shoulders and pulling her in for a hug, which the witch stiffened at. "You're back to normal!"

"Yeah…" Eda agreed as she slowly raised a hand to pat Lizzie once on the back, her eyes drooping when she jabbed a thumb towards the front of the carriage. "Can we celebrate after the jailbreak?"

Lizzie felt the heat rise to her face at being reminded of the current situation, to which she loudly cleared her throat and pulled away to allow Eda to get to her feet. "Ah, yeah… Sorry."

'Still… it's a little weird that King and I are the reason she changed back. Unless the elixir finally worked…'

As much as she wanted to dwell on it, though, she knew now wasn't the right time. They had to move.

The trio of Eda, Lizzie and Bandit were quick to step out of the carriage and follow the fox palisman further down the street just as the leader addressed King again, doing so with a little bite in his tone compared to before.

"Quit wasting our time and get out of the way, little man! We've got a job to do!"

The two witches and palismen were silent at the sound of slapping reins, followed by the sight of King dashing off to the left to avoid the carriage when it jerked forward. The little demon watched the carriage carry on by until he saw the doors to the back swinging back and forth on their hinges, prompting him to immediately look away to the end of the street. The moment his little pink eyes spotted Eda back to normal and Lizzie standing beside her, King's eyes widened and welled with tears.

"Eda! Lizzie!" King called out to them in a cheery tone and flung his arms above his head, wasting no time in running over to them and wrapping an arm each around their ankles. "You're okay!"

"Glad to see I was missed," Eda replied sarcastically, only to scowl as she reached down to take King under the arms, hoisting him up into her own. "But that doesn't excuse you from getting out of telling me what went down, which I'm assuming is your fault…"

King forced a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Ha, ha…" He rubbed a paw at the back of his head. "Maybe…"

Eda merely shook her head to this and huffed. "Well, just be glad I'm currently too tired to get an answer out of you now." She tucked King under her arm and poked the tip of his nose with a finger. "But that doesn't mean I won't be getting it out of you tomorrow. For now though…" Eda yawned and turned round, starting to walk up the street from the direction they'd just come in. "let's bounce before they realise we escaped. Mama needs a nap."

Lizzie smiled a little and chuckled as she briefly watched Eda walk off with King, eventually turning to the two palismen standing behind her.

'As much as I'm relieved that Eda's okay and that we need to get home so I can process everything, there's still one last piece of business I need to take care of…'

She crouched to give both the fox palisman and Bandit two gentle pats on the head, with the latter merely reacting with closed eyes instead of pushing her away, much to her surprise.

"Thanks for the help," she whispered, her smile fading when she glanced at Bandit for a moment. "I can't stick around after that mess. So, you'll have to find Xander on your own. Sorry." Bandit responded with a slight nod out of understanding, prompting Lizzie to switch her gaze to the fox palisman with a faint frown. "And I'm sorry to have to ask this, but would you mind making sure Bandit gets to the precinct before you go?" The fox palisman nodded and barked in confirmation, making Lizzie smile and reach a finger out to stroke under its chin. "Thanks. You're a star."

The fox palisman wagged its tail and closed its eyes at this until Lizzie pulled away, silently watching as the blonde swirled round on her heels after giving the two palismen a small wave.

"You two take care now."

The two palismen observed Lizzie turning away and jogging to catch up with Eda and King before they took that as their cue to run off towards a nearby alleyway, with Lizzie briefly peeking back to see the fox palisman leading the way for Bandit. Once the two had disappeared though, she faced Eda again and joined her at her left side after slowing to a walk, only to have the Owl Lady squint at her and quickly look over her shoulder.

"Wait a second. Wasn't that ferret palisman—?"

Lizzie cut Eda off with the raise of her hand and a smirk, tilting her head to the side as she went to answer. "I'll explain later. I'm too tired to explain and you're probably too tired to hear it."

'Even so, I hope Bandit gets back to Xander okay.'


Police Precinct 128, also known as the 'Bonesborough Precinct' by the Boiling Isles' resident Owl Lady—a white building with high arched or square windows and black spiky roofs owned and run by the Emperor's Coven, as evidenced by the coven's sigil above the entrance and on one side of its walls. Looking like a bunch of buildings mashed together with various sections of its structure varying in squares and rectangles of differing lengths and size, it was the only police station located on the edge of the town of Bonesborough and where most coven scouts for the Emperor's Coven could be found, including a certain blonde-haired, green-eyed witch.

Sat at the bottom of the set of steps that led to the building's two wooden double doors hidden underneath a high-arch, Xander could be seen still in uniform and his gloved hands supporting either side of his face, his elbows resting on his knees. He was currently alone, as most of the coven scouts were inside the precinct at the moment, which was a lucky break for him, seeing as he didn't want anyone to notice him in his current state. His mask had been partially lifted away from his mouth and cheeks, the latter of which was stained with fresh tears, despite no sounds coming from him. He'd lost track of how long he'd been like this, but he was sure it hadn't been for very long as his search for his palisman had only just come to an end.

The young coven scout raised his head to allow his glistening green eyes to take in the sky high above the monster-structured town, which had since started to darken somewhat in certain places. His shift had ended a few minutes ago, so he knew he was going to have to leave the precinct lest he get in trouble for loitering around.

And then… he heard it in the distance: the chirp-like bark he'd come to recognise by heart.

A gasp escaped Xander as he lowered his head towards the noise, his watery eyes widening the moment he saw the black furred ferret bounding towards him like his little life depended on it.

"Bandit!" Xander's mouth morphed into a happy grin when he called the palisman's name, wasting no time in holding his arms out to receive his furry partner the closer he got.

Bandit leapt into his witch's arms without hesitation and snuggled up to Xander's chest with his eyes closed, prompting Xander to let out a happy laugh and hug him close, fresh tears loosening as he did so, this time for a completely different reason. Xander welcomed the warmth that flooded his chest from having his palisman in his hold again, sniffling before he continued gushing over his return.

"I've been looking all over Bonesborough for you! I was so worried!" When Bandit responded with another bark, Xander pulled away and took the ferret under his front legs, his brow furrowing behind the mask as he twisted Bandit's body to the side a little to get a look at his back. "Are you okay?! He told me Brutus hurt you— Huh?"

Xander blinked widely at seeing that Bandit's back was fine and didn't have any teeth marks on it, causing the coven scout to turn the ferret to face him again. "Wait, where are they? You're supposed to be covered in them…"

When Xander trailed off, Bandit spoke to him using his giggly-like squeak, appearing to be offering some sort of explanation. Upon finishing though, Xander gaped, his jaw slacking so much it could have easily hit the floor. "Eh?! Elisabeth did what?!" Bandit answered Xander with more squeaking and a jerking motion of the head towards his back, eventually causing the young blonde to slump his shoulders and crinkle his nose, his voice breathless. "She… She healed you?"

Bandit nodded to confirm everything he'd said, leaving Xander staring at his palisman in a statue-like state, physically unable to say anything at first. After a moment of silence, though, Xander lowered his head and released a low chuckle, his next words coming out low as well with a hint of a crack.

"Of course she did…"

Xander allowed Bandit to slip from his hold and scurry up to his right shoulder to give his cheek a light nudge. The blonde witch pushed his mask close to his face again and stared off in the direction his partner had just come from, his eyes drooping. "I should be mad at you, Elisabeth. Once again, you've stuck your nose in where it doesn't belong. But I suppose this time…" Xander returned his gaze to Bandit and let a faint and rare smile slip onto his face, a gloved finger reaching up to stroke him under the chin. "…I can make an exception."


The walk back to the Owl House had been a silent one, outside of the surrounding noises that usually accompanied the forest on the town's outskirts. No one said a word as they stuck together and followed the path side by side, with King dangling under Eda's arm and the two witches themselves slumped forward with their eyes drooped, looking ready to collapse at any time. Naturally, the trio were all physically and mentally exhausted from the day's events, with Eda and Lizzie really beginning to feel the effects of the curse and her lack of sleep respectively taking its toll. But that hadn't stopped Lizzie's thoughts from attempting to process certain things that had stood out for her today, namely what had happened back in the carriage. As much as Lizzie had wanted to berate herself for forgetting the reason she went to Bonesborough to begin with, she was easily able to reason that Eda had had enough elixirs to last her another day and that she could make up for it tomorrow, leading to a tangent that was naturally bugging Lizzie since she'd first seen it.

'How in the Boiling Isles did Eda start to revert back to normal without her elixir? I don't know if it's my brain struggling to process the situation clearly, but I just can't think of a single reason that happened.'

Luckily for Lizzie, a distraction was about to come her way the moment the Owl House came into view, followed by Hooty preparing to open his mouth to talk to them, which Eda proceeded to shut down immediately by shoving the door open with a hand. King took this opportunity to slip out of Eda's hold and onto the ground, with the three stepping over the threshold together and then immediately stopping in the doorway when their gazes fell on the red sofa.

Luz was apparently back and kneeling on the right side of the sofa, with Owlbert off Eda's staff and standing opposite her… with a pink plaster with a star pattern on his head?

'… Huh?!'

Lizzie blinked multiple times and straightened out to rub at her eyes, questioning for a moment if her exhaustion was catching up to her. Because of all the commotion, she'd completely forgotten that Eda never had her staff with her. Lucky for Lizzie, Eda provided the answer when she addressed the palisman by name, causing Luz to flinch and whip her head to the door along with Owlbert.

"Owlbert? What are you doing off the staff?"

'Yup. I'm not imagining things.'

Eda placed her hands to her hips as Owlbert flapped his wings and flew over to his witch's shoulder, responding to her with a small, high-pitched hoot. Lizzie had no idea what Owlbert had just said, but at least they had Eda there to act as a translator when she repeated what he said with a raised brow.

"Luz took you to Bonesborough for some ice cream?"

Owlbert nodded, prompting Lizzie to squint and look towards Luz still kneeling on the sofa. "What happened to your plans with Gus and Willow?"

She might have been tired, but she wasn't too tired to remember what Luz was supposed to have been doing today.

"Heh, heh…" Luz forced a laugh and rubbed at the back of her neck with a hand, her smile going unusually wide. "I… changed my mind. Grudgby doesn't sound like my kind of thing, after all."

Lizzie's shoulders slumped as she and Eda exchanged knowing glances, with Lizzie deciding to keep her thoughts to herself while Eda vocalised hers with a slight scowl.

'Considering what I've had to deal with today, I can tell we have two more liars in this room…'

"I might be tired, but I can still smell a horrible lie from a mile away." Luz gulped at this and closed an eye, only to see Eda turn towards the hallway and scratch at the side of her head. "Luckily for you two, I'm too tired to care right now." Luz sighed heavily and lowered her head as Eda headed out of the room with Owlbert still perched on her shoulder. "I'm gonna go lie down…"

Lizzie and King silently watched Eda go until she disappeared into the hall, with the former shaking her head.

'Oh well. I suppose I can discuss today's events with her and about what I found in the logbook once she's slept her exhaustion away.'

Once she was gone, the pair headed straight for the sofa where Luz was, with Lizzie plopping down and slouching against the back on the farthest seat, while King scrambled up to plonk himself in the middle seat between the blonde witch and Latina human. Luz gave Lizzie a pitying smile and tilt of the head.

"You look like you've had a rough day too."

Lizzie raised her head to the ceiling with a loud snort. "Oho, you have no idea." The witch shot a sideways glance towards King sat beside her. "But hopefully a certain someone has now learnt his lesson and won't mess with Eda's curse again, right?"

King looked up at the older witch briefly before nodding and averting his gaze, tapping his claws together in his lap. "Yeah…"

He remained oblivious to Luz's brows raising with a wide blink. "Eda's curse was acting up again?"

"Yup," Lizzie answered, sighing heavily as she pushed herself to sit up straight. "But you don't need to worry. She's fine now."

"Which reminds me," King said, returning his gaze to Lizzie's with a furrowed brow and his paws on his knees. "how did Eda change back to normal without her elixir? Did the one we gave her finally kick in?"

And at that… Lizzie mimicked King's expression, her thoughts once again lingering on the very thing she'd been pondering before entering the cottage. She found herself dwelling on the recollections of Eda's transformed humanoid face with both of her original eyes intact, and then the way she'd turned back to normal after hearing King's 'squeak of rage'. She wanted to believe the elixir had managed to enter her system without the cork there to keep it contained in the bottle, but then again…

'It was strange how she responded to both me and King. The whole point of the elixir is to physically help the taker suppress the curse from manifesting. But mentally… it has no effect on the taker's conscience.' She subconsciously stroked at her chin and turned her eyes to her lap. 'The last time we confronted Eda in that form, she didn't recognise King and I at all. And yet this time she responded to my distress and King's usual noises like it was second nature, as if she did recognise it.' Her frown deepened. 'That doesn't make much sense. King's noises I understand. But why would she have recognised what happened to me in the carriage? That's the first time I've ever—'

"Liz?" Luz's voice broke Lizzie out of her trance with a wide blink, along with the sight of the younger girl leaning over King and poking her closest cheek. "Are you still with us?"

"You looked like you were spacing out there for a second," King added, prompting Lizzie to shake her head and blink a couple of times to resume her focus on her surroundings.

"Sorry. But to answer your questions, King,"—she tilted her head at the little demon with a crooked smile—"I have no idea. Maybe the elixir finally spilled into her gut, like you said."

"Huh…" King looked up at the ceiling and tapped a claw against his chin for a second, only to nod and puff his chest out a bit. "Looks like the mighty King of Demons was right after all! Everything went according to my plan!"

Lizzie rolled her eyes and gave the little demon a light shove in the shoulder with her hand, smirking with her sarcastic response. "Sure."

'It's best I don't speak with these two about it for now. I did promise Eda I wouldn't say anything.'

Luz took that as her cue to return to kneeling on the other side of the sofa, with Lizzie folding her arms as she switched her attention to her with the widening of her smirk.

"So, Luz, you gonna fill us in on what happened willingly or am I going to have to find a way to force it out of you?"

Luz grinned and adjusted herself so her legs dangled over the sofa, sitting properly in her seat with her cheeks flushing a faint pink. "As long as you don't tell Eda."

Lizzie placed her thumb and index fingers together close to her mouth and ran them across her lips, her smirk dimming to a smile. "My lips are sealed."

"Mine too!" King replied with the swish of his tail, causing Luz to laugh and nod to show she understood.

"Well—"

And as Luz started to delve into her adventures for the day, Lizzie took one last peek over her shoulder at the entrance to the hallway, a single thought breaching her mind before she switched her focus elsewhere.

'I just hope Eda's all right now.'


On the top floor of the Owl House, Eda stumbled into her bedroom with one arm wrapped across her middle, holding a fist close to her mouth as a sharp cough shook through her chest and up to her throat. Owlbert flew from Eda's shoulder over to her dresser when the Owl Lady continued to cough and fumble her way to it, perching atop the mirror with his gaze fixated on his witch at her coughing fit.

Upon reaching the dresser, Eda gripped both sides and threw her head forward with one final gagging cough, forcing loose an empty cork-less elixir vial from her throat that rolled to a stop in front of the mirror. The grey-haired witch's eyes went wide as her golden eyes locked with her fearful reflection in the vial's glass, her grip on the dresser tightening.

"The elixir…" She gasped. "It's no longer working on the curse." Eda released the dresser and brought her shaking hands close to her chest. "This is bad."

Owlbert hooted at Eda and flapped his wings a bit, causing Eda to raise her head to him with a wide blink. "What? No way." She scowled and smacked a hand against the dresser, causing Owlbert to flinch. "I'm not telling them about this!"

Owlbert cocked his head to the side and hooted again, to which Eda responded by jabbing a finger his way. "Especially not Lizzie. Don't you remember how she reacted last night?"

Owlbert shuffled from side to side on top of the mirror and frowned with a low hoot.

"I know what I said to her, but the kid's got a lot on her plate right now, especially after the state I found her in earlier." Eda rubbed a hand against her throat, her eyes drooping at the recollection she had with a mumble. "I haven't seen her so distressed since the night of the crash…"

Owlbert's frown deepened. He hooted a little louder and sterner this time, prompting Eda to straighten out and turn her head away with her arms folded, her chin raising a little.

"That doesn't mean she already knows! She hasn't spoken to me about what she's found in that book yet!"

Owlbert hooted loudly again and raised his wings above his head, making Eda huff and massage the front of her forehead with her fingers.

"Yeah. She's not as easy to fool as Luz and King. Redwood's always had a sixth sense for when things go belly up. Even if I don't tell her now, she'll probably work out what's going on eventually…" Eda rolled her eyes a bit toward the ceiling. "And I suppose it would be helpful to have another pair of eyes to watch over me and cover my tracks from Luz and the goofball…"

Owlbert quietly chirped and tucked his wings to his sides again, with Eda releasing an exasperated sigh and pulling herself away from the dresser to head to her nest.

"All right, all right. You win." Eda twirled on her heels and allowed her body to fall back limply, spreading her arms out just as she felt her back hit the mass of twigs that comprised her bed within her man-made human shaped hole amongst her treasures and clutter. "I'll confide in Lizzie about it tomorrow."

Owlbert hooted happily and flew over to land beside her head, making Eda chuckle and smile faintly as she reached one of her nails up to stroke Owlbert's feathery chest, which he closed his eyes and ruffled his feathers at.

"Good thing you're adorable enough to get through to me, Owlbert."

Owlbert answered with another tiny hoot and his beak morphed into a hint of a smile, glad to know his words had gotten through to her.