Loyalty & Light Chapter 20: Young Blood, Old Souls, an owl house fanfic

A/N: Oooh boy. This chapter has been written in my brain since the beginning of this fic, having it finally published is the most nerve wracking thing. Sorry this was a severely late upload, it's exam season for me and I kinda got caught up with stuff, forgot to make an update post on Tumblr to let people know. Hope you all enjoy.

Chapter Summary: With Eda captured, Lealtad and Luz work with King to rescue her from Belos and Lilith's clutches. And Leal's willing to do whatever it takes.

Word Count: 12,181

Young Blood, Old Souls

She knew Luz wasn't asleep.

She could tell by her breathing.

Leal knew her sister enough to know how she sounded when she passed out.

She figured as much, that Luz couldn't fall asleep.

She wasn't even sure how long they were walking. Leal just kept going. Her eyes were distant, looking long past what was actually ahead of her. Home. Just let them get home. The rest comes after. There was an aching in her legs with each step, and her hands were beginning to cramp, but Leal just hoisted up her sister and kept marching on. Focus on Luz, she told herself, get her home safe then worry about Eda. Just the thought of her name alone made Leal flinch.

Eda…

Lealtad shook her head with a sniffle. No. She wouldn't think like that. Eda wasn't beyond saving. There was still hope. Her brows narrowed as she thought back to the witch standing between her and Eda. Lilith. That twisted witch. What kind of sick person would do something so horrid to their little sister? How, after all these years, could that woman chase after her sister like she hadn't just cursed her? And then have the gall act like she was her real family? After everything? Leal gripped onto her sister tightly as she grit her teeth.

As she turned onto another path, relief flooded within her as she recognized its route.

It was a path that would lead back to the Owl House!

She gave her sister another hoist up, jostling her a bit as she quietly said, "We're almost home."

A hum was all she heard against her shoulder. Luz still hadn't said a word since they left. She couldn't blame her either. Heck, when she really thought about it Lealtad herself didn't really say much either. Though, she supposed a selfish part of her just wished to hear her little sister's conversational self again. She could really use some Sunshine right about now.

Minutes later, and the Owl House was in her sightlines.

Relief flooded within her as the home stretch was literally there. Sucking a big breath, Leal picked up the pace. As soon as she reached the clearing, Hooty had stretched out to them.

"Hi Leal, hi Luz!"

"Hi Hooty," her sister softly greeted.

The bird's face contorted into concern as he bent down near them. "What's wrong?"

Hearing those two simple words… was all it took for Leal's legs to give out from under her.

The sobbing hadn't ceased even when Hooty picked her and Luz up and brought them inside. Leal wasn't sure if it was her crying, Luz crying, or both. But the echoing cries of their sobs was clear enough that someone was crying. King had emerged from a cake? There were streamers, balloons, confetti—Lealtad didn't understand what was happening. But seconds later King joined in and hugged them, with Hooty wrapping around them in a comforting embrace. Leal held on for as long as she could, soaking in the warmth of everyone around them. A warmth that was fleeting and scarce, like a candle flame.

It could all flip on a dime so easily.

Just don't let go.

Eventually, they managed to seat themselves on the couch. It was hard not to question the giant cake in front of them. When King said it was a surprise party Eda had planned, Leal was tired of crying at that point. She just stared quietly at the cake… and the strange ribbon wrapped pieces of indigo coloured cloth. There were two on the table, one that looked folded over and one that was severely smaller than the other. There was no way this woman had gifts too. Leal swallowed hard as she moved from the couch, plucking the items off the table. It was… soft, but also felt… strange. Like an aura, like something, was coursing through its fabric.

There was a tag attached to each ribbon, with writing on them. The larger one, upon further inspection, seemed to be a cloak or cape. When Leal turned the note over, her eyes widened.

To a young witch from her proud mentor.

Leal's hand wordlessly fell over to her sister's whose breath caught the second she read it. Her own attention drew to the second article of clothing, which now that she looked at it, was a bit familiar in its design. It was the wool Eda was talking about this morning. Only this wasn't made for a cloak like Luz's was. Unwrapping the ribbon, letting the cloth unfold, her breath caught as she realized what she was holding. It was a beanie. Nothing large either, if anything, just a tad shorter than her usually red-orange beanie. But that alone wasn't what made Leal's heart tug.

For Bean Head, because our promise matters.

"Dammit Eda," Leal muttered, gripping hard on the wool beanie. Despite its material, it felt nice and thin. It was hardly anything pretty to look at either. But… she still clutched on with all she could, fiercely holding it close to her chest.

"Guys," King softly said, "what happened?" There was an obvious fear in his eyes as he asked, darting from both her and Luz. Luz was too busy staring at her cloak in shock. Hooty was hovering above them, with concern all over his face. That was right. She had to swallow this for now, because there were others counting on her. What happened today… it went beyond everything else so far: she had to act. But first…

Lealtad took a deep breath.

And told them everything.

::TITLE OPENING::

To her surprise, neither King nor Hooty had much tears to shed. Hooty resigned himself to lookout, being on high alert in case of any more moves from the Emperor's Coven. King? He just sat there, staring at the floor. Leal wasn't sure what to make of the poor demon's blank gaze. She wasn't even sure if Hooty was putting on a stone front and just excusing himself outside the room. Luz on the other hand, had gone mute after she and Leal shared everything.

What was there to even say?

Leal couldn't process it.

She was just with her this morning, in this house, in this room. They were all laughing and smiling together just yesterday. But that was then. And now… she was gone. Right before Leal's eyes, taken away like an object, like some pet. All she could do was just watch. That's all she has ever been doing. If she could barely look after her sister, what part of her thought she could help Eda?

Her hand trailed down to her bag, rifling through to her enhanced elixir. She stared at it as it sat inside.

What chance was there really?

"I don't care," Luz quietly said, rising up from the couch.

"Wh-What?"

Luz's brows furrowed as in one swift motion, she donned her cloak and stood tall. The cloak just fell short around her posterior, mainly covering her back and looking more like a small cape than a cloak. But that didn't deter her sister's prideful stance or her determined expression. "I'm saving Eda!" she declared.

Leal glanced up at her sister and gawked at her.

"What?" King exclaimed. "Luz, are you serious?"

Her sister determinedly nodded. "Of course I'm serious, King." She paced herself around the living room as she went on, "Eda used her power to save me and got caught by Lilith. Now she's the Owl Beast and is being taken before the Emperor! I don't know what he's planning to do with Eda, but I'm going to rescue her."

"But he's the Emperor, he's the toughest there is!"

Luz sighed as she knelt down near King, placing her hand on his shoulder. "King, please try to understand. Eda is in this situation because of me. Because of my stupid choice. I have to make up for it."

Leal closed her eyes, shaking her head. Was she really considering this?

"But she's in her Owl Beast form! How will she even recognize you?" King argued.

"I don't know," Luz sadly replied. "But I have to try anyway."

"Well then, I'm going too," King declared.

Lealtad's eyes widened.

"King…" Luz softly said.

"Me and Eda don't always see eye-to-eye, but I do consider her family. I want her back as much as you do," he replied.

"Wait," Leal finally spoke up, rising out from her seat. "You two do realize what you're saying right?"

"Leal, don't try and—"

"Whatever you think, hermana, it's not your fault," she interjected. "Eda wouldn't see it that way either." She took a deep breath. "To me, I don't give a rat's ass about how strong the Emperor is. From what I've seen," she said as she picked her bat up and gave it a twirl, "a slugging to the head still has as much effect as always. I know I can't ask you two not to come, but I'm begging you two to listen to me for once."

At that, Luz quieted while King stared at her.

Leal sighed. "This isn't the same thing as a Slither Beast, or a Greater Basilisk, or even a Fear monster. We're talking about the actual government of the freaking Isles. Eda also wouldn't want you two sticking out your necks for something this dangerous."

Luz frowned. "But she'd be okay with you doing that?"

She shook her head. "No. But I'm supposed to look after you." Her eyes glanced to King, before flicking over to the door. "All of you. And I can't let you all go without being sure I… I can protect you."

"But that's just it, Leal," Luz sadly said. "You're always looking after me. This is my fault. I-I didn't listen to you and I-I couldn't keep my head down. I can't ask you to come. Everything that's happened this summer was because of me. You didn't want to come here, you didn't want to do half the things that's happened, so I can't have you cleaning up my mess." She clenched her fists and frowned. "I have to do this."

Leal blinked at her sister. That was absurd! "Luz, I'm here for you."

"No, you're here because of me," she countered. "You… You didn't need to be here. But, I made you come."

"You didn't make me do anything, Luz. No one made me look after you, no one made me go to Hexside, and certainly no one made me have fun here." Leal jerked her thumb at her chest at each point, punctuating it hard. "I did. I stayed here, with you. Not 'cause of you, but with you." She smiled at her sister. "You and me, hermana, always." With one swift motion, she pulled off her red-orange beanie and tossed it to the table. Then grabbed her new indigo beanie and tucked it onto her head. "Besides, I already promised I was gonna bash some heads and I am not backing out on that," she bitterly added. Shifting into a smile once again, she looked at the two. "I'm not leaving Eda behind. Weirdos, ¿no?"

Luz sniffed, blinking away the small tears in her eyes. "Okay. Together then." She looked to King.

"Yeah, together," he agreed.

Taking one more breath, Leal spun her beat around and rested the barrel on her shoulder. "Alright, we should move quickly. Let's stock up before we go. Draw yourself some glyphs, and I'm gonna go to our room and raid some of the extra potions I have stocked up," she ordered.

"Right," Luz nodded. "Then we've got no time to lose!"

That was right.

She couldn't let up now.

There was still a chance.

A small chance.

But a chance.

::::

Promising Hooty that they'd be back, with Eda, was a hard sell.

But the Owl House himself swore to be on guard and ready for their arrival.

"Come back with everyone, okay?" the door-bird all but shouted.

"It's a promise, Hooty," Leal told him.

There wasn't much prep from anyone else—much to Leal's displeasure—but she was well stocked. Her bat had four ice glyphs pre-placed and ready, while her bag was stocked with potions. For once, she had the common sense to leave her camera behind as well, knowing full well what dangers laid ahead. Eight fog brews, six sleeping brews, four strength potions, six stamina potions, and six healing potions. Some of which she had stocked up in her off time or during Potions in Motion, others were more recent because of her efforts earlier today during their enhanced elixir experimentation. Speaking of which: six enhanced elixirs. She kept the other six back at home in case of an emergency.

Needless to say, her bag was filled to the brim with potions. The bottles weren't as big as one would expect, and with her bag cleared out from all of her ingredients, there was much more room for her potions. Getting to town wasn't too difficult, though they suspected the Emperor's Coven to be on guard. To their surprise, it wasn't anything more than their standard patrols. It wasn't hard to lay low and keep the sides.

As they crept around the alleys, they kept their eyes peeled toward the streets. They started to notice that people were beginning to gather, seemingly, toward the direction of the Conformatorium. They managed to skirt by a couple of pillars, nearing one of the gatherings of people, and then they heard it.

"Perry Porter coming to you live from outside the Emperor's Castle. Edalyn Clawthorne, known commonly as 'Eda the Owl Lady', has been captured and has been brought before the Emperor."

The three of them slowly moved out from their hiding place, eyes locked onto the array of crystal balls. To Leal's surprise, her sister dropped all stealth and walked up to the crystal balls, joining the crowd at the rear. On the ball, a small red demon with claw-like hair and large ears, stood behind a podium. She was wearing Emperor's Coven robes.

Her voice was shrill and pitchy. "For the crime of attacking a coven leader and refusing to join a coven, Edalyn Clawthorne's body shall be petrified in stone! Today, sundown, at the Conformatorium." From the gasps and shocked expressions around them, Lealtad gathered that was not a good thing.

The screen cut back to the reporter who was wearing a sad expression. "Today is a grave day for Bonesborough."

Why? How bad was this thing?

As the ball cut out, the crowd quickly dispersed, all murmuring their shock. "Please tell me that's not as bad as it sounds," Luz requested in a defeated voice.

King, who was perched on her shoulder, narrowed his eyes in anger. "Petrification is only done to the worst criminals." The screen cut back, showing a display of stone statues, all with expressions of agony as the headline read, FIRST PETRIFICATION IN 30 YEARS. "And once the spell is complete, it can't be reversed."

And then the screen cut to a photo of Lilith, and a well of hate swarmed deep in Leal as she scowled at the crystal ball.

"Lilith," Luz hissed. "She did this. She captured her own sister. She's the worst!" she shouted, slamming her fist on the shelf. "If I—"

The rest of her sister's words came to a halt as Leal's bat came down on the ball, shattering it into pieces and shaking the whole shelf. Luz startled away from the shelf, pulling her hand back.

"Whoa! Leal?" King called out.

She took a breath. "Sorry. I… I lost myself there. Are you okay?" Luz nodded, looking down at the shattered ball. Leal clenched hard on her bat's grip. "Don't worry about Lilith, Luz. I'll handle her if it ever gets to that. Right now we just need to focus on Eda. No te preocupes. Todo va a salir bien," she flashed a small smile at her sister.

She nodded again. "You're right, but how will we get to the Conformatorium in time?"

The sound of someone whistling drew their attention over to the corner ahead of them where a Coven guard came around.

King narrowed his eyes as he leaned toward the guard. "We'll have to do something so diabolical, so criminally insane, that they'll have to send us to the Conformatorium."

It was somewhat a sound plan, since they had no other means of travelling quickly to the Conformatorium. Leal hummed. "That could literally be anything in this town. We can write fanfic about food and get tossed in there." She glanced down at the shattered glass at her feet. "Think we'll get charged for this?"

King shook his head. "That's too small time. We need something—ah ha!" he exclaimed, pointing ahead. They looked over and found a small tuft of grass alongside the sidewalk, slightly fenced off, with a sign that said, DO NOT STOP ON GRASS.

Leal sighed. "Y'know what, that kinda tracks for this place." She glanced at the guard as he continued walking then looked down at her bag and bat. "If I get captured, they'll probably confiscate my things. You can keep your glyphs on you," she said to Luz, "but my stuff's more obvious."

Luz snapped her fingers. "How about you stick off the side and follow us onto the cart! Hop on and climb the top, and you can ambush them when we arrive!"

"A distraction too, eh?" Leal smirked as she twirled her bat. "I'm in." And with a plan like this, it involved Leal putting herself out there first, which was great. No risk for them.

King and Luz hurriedly rushed over to the grass while Leal casually walked over to the guard's direction. "Um, excuse me sir." The guard turned with a hum. "But I believe those ruffians are violating some rules!" she pointed over to their direction.

Just in time, the two were standing on the grass, eyes locked onto the guard as they held up their hands with a shrug. "Whaaaa!" they exclaimed together.

The guard gasped in sheer shock. "Grass steppers!" they shouted. "Hey! That's not allowed! Clearly!" The guard immediately rushed over while Leal ducked around the corner, luckily finding the prison cart nearby.

She hurriedly rushed over and quickly scanned her surroundings, making sure no passerby was near. With the coast clear, she scaled the cart, climbing up the driver's seat then onto the roof. She laid flat against the roof, peeking her head over the rear as she watched her sister and King get shoved inside. The door slammed shut, and the guard made their way to the driver's seat, taking them away.

Leal tapped on the roof, and a tap returned back to her from below. They knew she made it up now. Holding on wasn't too difficult, especially since the ride itself wasn't moving all too quickly. For a good while, Leal worried about whether or not they'd make it in time, but then the looming presence of the Conformatorium grew near in the coming distance. They soon passed the sign pointing toward the Conformatorium's direction, and Leal flattened herself further against the roof. She delivered another tap to the door, letting them know they were arriving soon.

They passed through a pathway with a line of statues on either side. Leal's eyes immediately caught on the two Coven guards moving an empty pedestal amidst the statues. She narrowed her eyes and scowled at the title, EDALYN CLAWTHORNE. And not long after that, the banner above the Conformatorium gate said, PETRIFICATION TODAY AT SUNDOWN. "Not if I have anything to say about it," she muttered to herself. A few minutes later, the cart had made its way inside the docking bay.

"Sir," the guard shouted, "one of the Owl Lady's students has been apprehended!" the driver announced.

Leal glanced up from her spot and found Warden Wrath standing before the rear of the cart with an Emperor's Coven Scout on his left. Wrath was an intimidating sort, but as were the Coven Scouts: they knew all forms of magic after all. So taking the Scout out immediately was a priority too. Leal knew speed was key here, and she knew her sister was pretty fast too, so it all relied on Leal for making the first decisive move.

"Very good," Wrath cheerily said, "Ah, Luz the Human. How I've waited to see you again. Now I'll have my revenge and you'll have front row seats to Eda's demise." He began his approach to the cart while the Scout remained back.

Perfect.

She stood up from the cart and threw down a fog brew, jumping down with a swing of her bat and clunking Warden Wrath on the head. A cone of ice formed around his head as he fell to his knees. The doors of the cart burst open, with a branch piercing through the smoke and grabbing Wrath, pinning him to the wall. The Scout exclaimed in fear as they backed away. Leal clocked the direction of their voice and swung at it, with the sound of a crack, the flashing blue light of the ice glyph activated. She could see the head was encased in ice as the body fell to the ground, cracking on impact. Good, that one would be out for a while.

As the smoke began to clear, Leal turned away and passed Luz as she ran around the cart. Leal swiped her hand up her bat's barrel, activating her glyph and causing a ball of ice to coat around it. Just as the Coven guard hopped down from the driver's seat, they gasped as Leal swung at their head, cracking the ball of ice on impact. The body flung against the cart and landed hard on the ground. She turned back in time to see Luz restraining Warden Wrath with an ice prison.

"Where's Eda?" Luz demanded as King hopped on her shoulder.

Leal hurried up and pulled out a plant glyph, restraining the unconscious Emperor's Coven Scout with it. She began affixing her ice glyphs onto her bat, returning it to the standard four on the barrel, eyeing Warden Wrath as she did so. "Start talking or I start swinging again," she plainly ordered.

"She's in the holding cell in the dungeon!" he immediately answered.

Luz pulled out a piece of paper and pencil, shouting, "Draw me a map!"

He winced at her aggressive tone.

Leal sighed. "How about we don't free his hands?" She narrowed her eyes at the warden as she twirled her bat. "Just give us directions. Write it down," she told her sister.

Luz nodded before fixing the warden with a glare of her own.

"O-Okay," he uttered. "So after you make it out those doors…"

::::

Before they burst through the doors, Leal gave herself and Luz a stamina potion, but also made sure to top herself off with a strength potion for good measure. Through the first corridor, there were four Coven guards inside. Thanks to her haste, Leal darted straight toward them before they could process their entrance. She slammed her bat onto the ground, sending a pillar of ice toward the guards and knocking two away. Before the other two could react, she gained another foot closer and swung, knocking out the remaining guards with one spin and encasing them in ice.

"Keep moving!" she shouted, pushing on ahead.

Wrath's directions said to keep going straight until the third intersection, then take a left. Of course they were going off the assumption they could trust him, but they were out of options at the moment.

"Leal, wait up!" she heard King shout.

"Just watch the rear!" she shouted back, pressing on to the intersection. Just as she arrived, she came face to face with another Coven guard. While the guard yelped in shock, Leal advanced on them, bringing her bat overhead and knocking them clean on the head. A crackle of ice appeared, coating their head in ice, and Leal pulled her bat back. She shoulder checked the guard to the side, ignoring the sound of the ice crack against the wall as she kept running.

As they ran, two more guards turned into their hallway. Acting quickly, Leal activated an ice glyph on her bat, and charged toward them. As they yelped at her presence, she swung at the right guard and cracked her ice covered bat against his face. The other guard made a move to grab their sheathed sword, but a fast blur of green blew past Leal and sent the guard into the wall. She turned toward the sight and realized a plant vine tendril had been summoned. She followed the trail back to her sister and King, who were fast approaching her.

"We go together," Luz told her as she caught up. Not a request, but a statement.

Leal nodded. "R-Right."

They continued to march on, keeping straight. The path toward Eda's room was filled with many twists and turns, as well as plenty of guards. Thankfully, there weren't any Coven Scouts for whatever reason. Leal wasn't sure why there was one with Warden Wrath, but she took it to mean that the Emperor's Coven itself was around. Which also meant Lilith. It wasn't even a question of whether or not she could take her—Leal had a reckoning with the witch, plain and simple. She both hoped that she was here and that she wasn't.

Eda was the priority… but if that witch made herself known in their path, there'd be Hell to pay.

With their speed and element of surprise, the coven guards didn't know what hit them. With Leal's barrage of ice attacks and her strength, she made for a perfect vanguard. She fired ice glyphs off her bat and swung at anyone who got in their way. She could hear her sister using her own glyphs to restrain the guards as the moved. They had blown past over a dozen guards at this point. Nothing was stopping their pace. Turn after turn, hall through hall, they had made their way to Eda's holding room.

Another corridor through, and they were met with five guards. Three of them seemed to be managing the set of prison cells on the left hand side wall, while the other two were staring straight at them. "Hey!" one shouted, raising their sword. "It's the Owl Lady's apprentices!"

Leal dug her hand into her bag and launched a fog brew at the group. "Move!" she shouted to her sister as she rushed toward the mist. Before they could get their bearings, she swung for the nearest guard, sending him straight to the wall. She heard the sound of glyphs activating and several plant vines slithering around her, leaving her to bet Luz took down a couple. She stepped toward the next silhouette she could make out, grabbing an ice glyph from her bag as she watched the guard startle at her arrival. They went for the swing but she was quicker: slamming the glyph at their feet and completely encasing the guard in ice.

The fog was beginning to clear and Leal scanned her surroundings. One guard was left, and they locked eyes with each other. "Leal!" Luz shouted.

She turned and watched as her sister launched a glyph toward them. Without hesitation, Leal jumped back from the guard as the glyph landed at their feet, and for a split second she could see the symbol: a fire glyph. The ground burst into flames and the guard began to scream, attempting to stomp it out as they patted themself down. Seeking her opening, Leal grabbed another ice glyph and slapped it against her palm, firing out a beam of ice that put out the fire and entrapped the guard.

Taking a breath, she stepped back and scanned their surroundings. Two guards in ice and three suspended and tangled in vines. She nodded at her sister. "Nice work."

"Not done yet," Luz pointed out as she pointed forward. "Eda's just ahead."

Leal turned back down the hall and nodded once again. "Right." Just one more right and she was down this hall, with a set of double doors.

Wasting no time, they ran down the hall and made the turn. Sure enough, Warden Wrath was still good for his word here. As they arrived at the doors, the immediate obstacle of note was the chained lock around the handles which was good a sign as any that they were in the right place. Leal had half a mind to double back to the guards to search for a set of keys but her sister cut the Gordian knot and placed an ice glyph on the lock, breaking the lock and chain with crumbling ease. Leal placed her hand on Luz's shoulder. "Go."

Her eyes widened.

"Someone needs to watch our back. Go in and get her," Leal sternly said. "Just shout if you need me."

King jumped from Luz's shoulder to Leal's. "Don't worry, I'll be with her!" he declared.

Luz nodded as she placed her hand on the door. "We'll be back," she promised before pushing in.

As the door closed behind her, Leal quickly began affixing another set of four ice glyphs on her bat. A small migraine began to throb and that was all the reminder she needed. She grabbed another strength potion and downed it, tucking the empty bottle into her bag. Her migraine would last for about a minute. Her strength potions only lasted for a good five minutes or so, but her stamina potion ran for ten. About thirty seconds had passed since Luz entered the room and Leal was getting worried.

No, it would be fine.

They were all going to be fine. She took a deep breath as she gripped at her bat, ready for her surroundings. She felt King squeeze at her shoulder.

"It's okay," he whispered, "we're gonna get home."

She smiled and reached back, patting his head. "I know, Scruffy. I'll make sure of it."

"Well," a familiar voice said, "that makes two of us." Leal gripped at her bat as she turned to the source, looking down the hall they had just turned from and finding Lilith standing before her. The witch had her staff out, walking toward them slowly as she used it like a cane. "I'm glad to have found you."

Lealtad narrowed her eyes and pushed away from the door, fully obstructing Lilith's path in the hallway. "Oh you won't be in a minute," she said through her gritted teeth. "King, go warn Luz. I'll handle her."

"But—"

"¡Vamos!" she shouted, shrugging her shoulder. He took the prompt and hopped off, moving straight toward the doors. As Lilith's eyes briefly glanced toward King, Leal immediately brought her left hand to her barrel and flicked her finger against her glyphs, sending three icicles at the witch.

"Wait!" she shouted, spinning her staff and conjuring a shield.

The ice impacted and shattered, but the opening was made as Leal tossed another fog brew straight at the witch. She could hear King struggle to push the door open but couldn't focus on that, as she was already making her charge. She swung her bat down right in the thick of the fog, where Lilith would be, but instead met her shield spell. It was still up! The collision caused her bat to spark her last ice glyph and shot out a burst of ice toward the wall.

Lilith dispersed her shield, causing Leal to stumble backward. As she regained her footing, Lilith had already cast a spell, causing all the fog to suck into her spell circle. "Stop this!" she demanded.

"No way, pendeja, I said I wasn't leaving 'til I bashed your face in!" Leal screamed, launching another swing at the woman. But apparently she was too slow, as Lilith spun her staff and summoned a gust of wind, blasting her backward. Leal landed on her butt but quickly recovered, sitting up in time for Lilith's approach.

"Please, I just want to talk," she quietly said.

"The time to talk flung off the bridge hours ago!" Leal hopped onto her feet and charged, swinging at Lilith.

The witch simply raised her staff to parry the attack, but it seemed that Leal's strength potion gave her enough leverage, as the second her bat connected Lilith was sent straight into the doors. The doors swung open as the witch tumbled through and Leal hurriedly followed in. She barely had time to process the dungeon-eseque room and the lack of Eda as she realized Lilith was sliding on a path of ice into a bundle of vines. The witch managed to find her footing in time but still got caught by two tendrils: one around her ankle and one around her wrist.

"You hurt Eda," Luz said in a low voice, emerging from the side of the doors with glyphs in her hands, "You put her in chains. And now, we're taking you down!"

Leal scowled. "Agreed."

"I just wanna talk!" she shouted, already drawing up a spell with her free hand.

"Talk to the glyph, witch!" Luz shouted, launching a swarm of glyph attacks.

Leal, in turn, rushed forward with her bat.

But it was too late, whatever spell Lilith cast had already freed her other hand. With it, she raised her staff and twirled it, shouting, "Enough!" A wave of light blue flashed and all of Luz's spells had deflected, scattering ice, fire, and vines across the stones around them. Lealtad winced from the display, halting her approach. The witch held out her palm but froze as she realized Luz was charging her. The girl jumped and tackled the woman back, causing them to fall into a bright doorway?

Thinking no time to lose, she ran after the two.

As the white blinding light faded, she emerged and found the two in a forest out of nowhere. Luz was distracted for some reason, not noticing Lilith rising to her feet. "¡Hermana!" Leal called out.

Luz turned and ducked in time to dodge Lilith's spell. She made a move to cast a glyph but nothing came out, leaving Lilith an opening to tackle Luz to the ground.

"Please, just listen to me!" she begged, holding Luz's arms.

"Listen to this!" Leal said as she ran, arching up for a swing. And for a brief second, she could see the woman's eyes widen in alarm as she moved her body before Leal swung. Instead of hitting her head, she dodged in time as the bat hit against her shoulder and sent her tumbling down the path. "What kind of monster does that to their sister? How could you even call yourself her sister! You have no right to call yourself her real family!" She turned to Luz, extending her hand and helping her to her feet. "Unlike you, I look after my little sister."

"You deserved to be petrified," Luz coldly said, "Not Eda."

Leal gripped at her bat and narrowed her eyes. "And that's putting it lightly," she muttered.

"You're right," the witch coughed, holding her stomach. She knelt down and bowed her head. "I deserve to be in Edalyn's place," she softly said.

The fragility of her voice caught Leal off guard for a second and seemed to make Luz drop hers completely. Luz gestured at Lilith as she asked, "Why did you do all this?"

Lilith hugged herself, letting out a deep sigh. "When Edalyn and I were younger, we were, the best of friends. We did everything together: studied, played, pranked—I couldn't imagine my life without her." Hearing those words made Leal's blood boil. How… just how could someone say things like this and then turn into such a terrible person? Leal watched the woman's face with disgust as she continued her tale. "But, we got older. And as we grew I realized that being in the Emperor's Coven was my dream. I wanted to work alongside the most powerful witch on the Isles and make the world a better place."

"Eda…. she wanted to be with me, and that's all I needed to hear," Lilith said with a small smile, but it quickly fell. "But there was a problem. The day we were to enlist, we learned we'd have to fight each other for the spot: and I knew Edalyn would beat me. She was younger, but worked twice as hard. She met me at my level." She sighed, shaking her head in shame. "Emperor Belos always said, 'To be great, you have to make sacrifices.' I thought about what would he do in my situation. And then… I… I found a spell that would take away her powers." Her voice fell into a hoarse whisper, "I thought it would just be for a day." She swallowed, straightening her spine.

"But when it came time to duel… Edalyn… said no." Lilith's voice croaked as tears began to well up in her eyes.

The sight made Leal feel… uncomfortable. Her stomach felt a pit dwell within but her heart also ached. Though that didn't change the glare on Leal's face.

"She… said that refused to fight me and then told me that she realized covens weren't her thing." Lilith humorously chuckled, shaking her head. "I-I barely had time to process it. And as she walked away… she… changed, in front of everyone. They all saw her and cast her away and… I didn't do anything to help." She lowered her head once again. "I made my sacrifice for the Emperor, and it was time to receive my reward."

She cast her gaze away. "I've been pursuing Edalyn because if she joined the Emperor's Coven, Emperor Belos told me he would heal her curse." She raised her head, locking eyes with the two. "But he lied to me," she sternly said. Her voice then dropped into a soft pitch as she added, "I know how to rescue Edalyn, but I can't do it alone."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Luz asked.

Lilith drew up a large spell circle, making Leal put an arm in front of Luz. "Hey, watch it—"

The spell casted and suddenly, Owlbert and his staff were resting in Lilith's palms. Leal's heart stopped for a second. He was okay. She held it out toward them and Luz quickly accepted it. "Owlbert, you're okay!" Luz exclaimed, hugging the palisman close.

The bird cooed and nuzzled against Luz's hand.

Leal smiled at the palisman. "Don't worry, pequeño búho, we're gonna get our gal."

He happily chirped at that.

Luz then placed him on her shoulder as she rose to her feet. "All right, Lilith. I don't like your whole," she pointed and gestured at the witch, "deal. But… we need your help to save Eda."

Leal blinked. "Do we, though?" she sincerely asked, rising to her feet alongside Luz. "We were doing fine before she showed up."

"Leal."

"I'm just saying," she shrugged. She shot the witch a glare. "I'd say it should be up to her real family to get her out of this," Lealtad sneered, gripping at her bat.

"Eda was there, hermana, but she got moved before I could do anything," Luz explained.

Lilith sighed, lowering her head. "I know where Edalyn was moved. I know how to get to her."

"So then tell us and scram," Leal remarked.

"But she wants to help," Luz pointed out.

"Yeah," King agreed, making Leal realize he had followed them and was near the doorway. "And we could use the help."

Leal glared back at Lilith and nearly winced at the woman's pitiful gaze. Titan damn them all. "Fine," she grumbled. "But I'm not wasting a healing potion on you," she muttered, turning away.

Lilith chuckled, already casting a spell to heal herself. "It's fine, I earned some of this."

Leal stopped in her tracks and whipped her head at the witch. "Some?"

"Let's go," Luz ordered, tapping Leal on her shoulder.

"Yes, time is of the essence," Lilith pointed out, making her way to the door.

Leal bit back another remark as she followed, preparing herself for the bright white light. She nearly stepped through after Lilith until she heard King say, "Hey Luz, You... need a minute?"

She turned and watched her sister stare down the pathway behind them. She almost asked what was wrong and then it hit her.

They were in the Human Realm.

Leal's knees nearly buckled as she leaned back against the old shack's wall. "Mierda," she muttered, looking around them. A wave of exhaustion hit her and Leal wasn't sure if it was because her stamina potion wore off or if it was because reality had just smacked her.

The gentle wind breeze, the regular grass, the normal trees… it all blew past her. They were here for how long? And she didn't know they were in the human world. Her eyes turned back to the doorway. So this was the portal. Did that mean Eda gave Luz the key? She… She hadn't thought about that key in weeks. When did that happen? Just last month she was practically running back here. And now? There was only one thought that ran inside of her and it was that this place was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment: because Eda was the priority.

The rage and adrenaline of the last dozen minutes or so began to dwindle and Leal was left feeling… odd. Guilt, anger, sadness, longing, confusion: it was like a muddle of it but also not. Like, her mind couldn't be bothered to think about all of this. Not now. Not at the moment, no.

"No," Luz finally spoke, gathering Leal's attention as she turned toward them, "I'm coming." She had a look of determination as she walked.

Her sister had the right idea.

Lealtad shot a smile at her. "We'll be back."

Luz nodded. "Yeah. We will." With that, she stepped through to the portal and King followed suit.

She still lingered, taking in the scenery once again. She couldn't be bothered to check her phone, but based on the sunlight, it was already sundown. Their mom was likely home or on her way home. She was just through this forest. Their home. But… that was exactly it: her mother was here, but Leal was needed back on the Isles. The present was where she was needed. Whatever she was feeling… that could wait.

This was home.

But another one was waiting.

Eda was waiting.

This… This could wait.

Leal took one final breath, then turned toward the portal. "Let's do this." And she walked into the blinding light once again.

:::

Lilith, to her limited credit, was doing an efficient job in leading them. Though, Leal still wagered to herself they could've just had her give them directions like Wrath. The run itself was eerie: Leal could tell for them, they were still skeptical of Lilith's intentions. It wasn't like Leal didn't believe her story, but she definitely didn't accept the pity points the witch was begging for. Lilith, on the other hand, had an occasional glance back at them every so often. Leal could tell she was antsy from her.

She wasn't exactly hiding the fact that she still wanted to bash the woman's head.

Eventually, they made their way to the room, or enormous hall. It had pillars going off in practically every direction, into darkness. Each one had some sort of hooded angel statue with a sword, and every pillar was all wrapped in weird tendrils. Lealtad kept her guard up as they walked. Needless to say, this place was excessively large and spooky. As a light grew closer ahead of them, they made out it was a small circular platform.

"You can take this up to the stage where they're holding Edalyn," Lilith gestured.

Leal scoffed. "That's it? If all she was gonna do was just show the way then we could've just taken directions from her," she pointed out as she stepped onto the platform.

Luz scowled at her. "Leal," her sister chided.

"I'm not wrong, if that's all she wanted to do then there was no need to come," she fired back. "Now come on," she waved for her sister.

King hopped onto the platform but Luz turned to Lilith. "Thank you, Lilith," her sister softly said. "What will you do now?"

She lowered her head with a regretful look. "I will stay in the Emperor's coven, but I will make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

"That's good to hear," Luz smiled.

It was something, Leal thought, but held her tongue for her sister's sake.

"Wait," Luz's face contorted into worry, "why are there no guards around?"

It happened too quickly.

The same strange tendril spiralling around the pillars had emerged from the ground and yanked Lilith, then King. Before Leal could even grab a fog brew she felt a rapid constriction around her waist and suddenly, she was ripped from her spot and flying backwards. Her bat flew from her hand and fell at her sister's feet as Luz screamed out for her. The three of them were suspended in the air, dangling dozens of meters off the ground. And then, flames erupted and the darkness behind them had illuminated.

"Ah, Lilith," an eerily soft voice spoke. "You chose the wrong side."

Leal twisted her head back to look and felt her spine chill at the sight of the Emperor just sitting several meters away from them. He was atop some weird bone teeth chair, boredly resting his masked self on his right fist while he held his giant… staff(?) in his left hand. He tilted his head the other way, and something about the motion made Leal shiver. She couldn't see his eyes but she could feel his gaze lock onto hers.

"You… not yet," he softly said, "I'd rather have a word with her." He pointed down toward her sister.

And just like that, all of her fears wiped away as rage fueled inside her, causing her to writhe against her restraints. "Don't you dare touch my sister!" she yelled.

But her words fell on deaf ears as they continued to rise toward the ceiling. Soon enough, the ground opened up and the three of them were tossed upward, into the arms of Coven Scouts. Lealtad fought. She struggled against the Scout holding her arms, kicked and screamed, nearly kneecapping a Scout had they not thrown her into the cell. She almost turned around to charge at the guards but stopped when she saw what was in front of her.

Eda.

"Leal?"

"¡Mamá Búho!" she shouted with a crack in her voice as she launched herself at Eda. She enveloped her as much as she could, gripping her feathers as she buried her face into the witch's body. "It's okay, it's okay," she said as she felt Eda's large talons pat her back, "I-I'll get us out."

She grabbed at her messenger bag and quickly drank another strength potion, slamming the glass on the ground. They probably didn't confiscate her bag because they figured they'd be stoned: not yet. Leal turned toward the bars and kicked at it with all her strength, but a shock jolted her and sent her backward, into Eda's arms.

"Leal, stop," she softly said, "there's no way out."

"No!" she replied, pushing off Eda. "Luz is down there with him, an-and she needs us too! We can get out. We need to."

Eda sadly looked away from her and then shifted into anger as she locked eyes with Lilith. "You," she growled. She began to pace around Leal, putting herself in front as she neared the witch. "You hurt my girls. You cursed me. Before anything turns me to stone," she raised her claw, "I'll tear you apart!"

The look of fear struck Lilith as she raised her hands to shield herself, but King stepped in front of her.

"No, don't!" he shouted. "She was trying to help!"

Leal stepped out from behind Eda and glared at Lilith. "You did nothing. You got us stuck in here too. But worst of all, you basically set up my little sister all by herself with the damn Emperor!"

King pleadingly looked at her, and the desperation in his eyes nearly wilted her anger. "But, Leal, she tried! She betrayed the Emperor's Coven for you!" he directed at Eda.

Eda's claw lowered as she gasped, "What?"

Lilith rose up from her knees. "If I knew something like this would happen, Edalyn, I—

"No," Leal spat, stepping between Eda and Lilith, "You don't get to think that in any circumstance that was okay!"

"Leal, she still tried to help her sister!" King defended.

"A sister, doesn't curse her younger sister," she spat out. "She takes the hits for her. She looks after her. She heals her pain."

In that moment, Lilith's eyes widened. "I… know. I—"

An almost snarling-like sound erupted and everyone's gaze turned toward the statues with glowing yellow eyes. The eyes then turned green, and Leal just knew what was coming wasn't good. She dug into her bag, desperately looking for anything. But she knew it was fruitless: there wasn't a single thing inside here that could free them.

She… couldn't do anything.

Suddenly, Leal heard shouting. It was then she realized that to their left, a crowd of people were watching. And… they were chanting?

"Let Eda go!"

She had no time to process their spirit as the beam fired. She ducked and covered herself but felt a shadowed presence overtake her. She heard Lilith shout, "Edalyn!" As Leal opened her eyes she realized Eda had jumped in front of them and took the blast.

Eda screamed in pain as her body writhed then stilled, with her lower half beginning to stone.

"No, no, no!" Leal shouted. The sound of stone grinding began to creak, and Leal looked down and realized the platform from below had opened up.

And Luz emerged.

Like the Good Witch herself, Luz sprang into action, launching a plant glyph at the feet of the petrification statues. Several vines erupted and entangled the machine, causing it to tilt and effectively shut it off. Eda cried out as she fell over, half stoned.

"Th-The spell wasn't completed," Lilith pointed out, "Maybe I can help her fight it!"

Leal rushed beside her as she held Eda's face. "Why did you do that!" She noticed the blue hue around her and looked to Lilith, noticing she had begun a healing spell.

"Because," Eda smiled as the stone began to recede, "you're my family." She looked to Lilith as the stone faded from her body, "And family looks after each other."

Lilith offered a small smile in return.

The cage around them suddenly disappeared and Luz was running toward them with Owlbert and Leal's bat in her hands. She tossed her bat to Leal, as she asked, "Eda! Are you okay?"

The stone managed to recede entirely as Eda got back on her feet. "As good as I'll ever be."

"Good," Leal said, digging her hand into her bag, "because we still gotta leave." The Coven Scouts guarding the stage started to creep forward, spears ready. Lilith and Luz dropped into defensive stances.

Eda then grabbed Luz by her cloak and Lilith by her clothes with her teeth, launching them upward. "Let's fly!"

Leal took the prompting and pulled out a fog brew, immediately slamming it into the ground. Hurriedly, she grabbed King and hopped onto Eda's back. "¡Vamos!" she shouted.

And with that, they zoomed out of the smoke and into the sky, dodging the airborne spears as they fled from the Conformatorium. They could hear the crowd's cheers fade into the distance as they flew back to the Owl House. As the whistling air blew past them, Leal crawled over to Luz and King and hugged them.

"We're okay," she whispered, "we're okay."

They embraced her back. "We are," Luz softly affirmed.

The flight back was relatively silent, though the landing was anything but. Eda's exhaustion must've caught up with her as she began to plummet near the front of the Owl House. As the ground was fast approaching, something faster emerged from the house itself. A blur of brown circled the open lawn and the expected impact cushioned. Hooty's head stretched out in front of them. "You're back!"

"Hooty!" they all exclaimed.

"Thanks for the save, buddy," Eda tiredly said as she climbed off.

They all hopped on Eda before she fell on her side. Hooty retracted his length and hovered above them, looking down in concern.

Luz knelt beside Eda. "Don't worry, Eda. I'll run and get you some elixir and—"

"No, human," Lilith gently said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "No amount of elixir can heal her now."

"Let me try," Leal said as she brushed past Lilith, already rifling into her bag. She pulled out the enhanced elixir.

"Wh... What's that?" Luz asked.

"An enhanced elixir," Leal explained as she popped off the cap, "My friends and I made this today. It uses both my healing potion and the standard elixir. And, if Barcus' appraisal magic is right, it should be four times more effective."

Eda blinked at her. "You… You made this for me?"

Leal didn't even bother registering her expression. She just stared at her seriously as she held the bottle out. "Eda, ¡por el amor de Titán! Drink this!" she begged.

She nodded and opened her mouth, leaving Leal to pour it in.

Leal then stepped back and grabbed her sister's hand, holding it tightly as watched.

And waited.

"No." Leal's heart froze. "I-It should work, it—"

"It's too strong," Lilith said as she knelt beside her, holding her sister's face.

Her brows narrowed. "Get away from her!" she nearly leapt at the witch but her sister and King held her back.

"Oh, sister," Lilith cried, "I should have done this a long time ago."

"Wh-What are you doing to her?" Leal shouted

Lilith didn't look back as she simply replied, "Healing her pain." She brought her forehead to Eda's, then said, "With this spell declared, let the pain be shared."

The hair and fur around the two began to float as a sudden burst of blue light erupted from beneath them. The two began to hover into the air and the gems at the centre of their chests shone a bright white. A flash. And as King and Luz finally let Leal go, the three watched Lilith and Eda descend. Eda… was back to normal.

"Eda!" she and Luz cried out, already running toward her.

The two turned toward them and Leal noticed that Eda's left eye and Lilith's right were now gray. But Leal couldn't bother to care as she and her siblings ran and hugged Eda, embracing her with all they could. Hooty joined in too, wrapping them up with a tight hug as he cried out, "I'm so happy! Hooty hoot!"

"Oookay, too happy, Hooty," Luz winced.

But Leal welcomed the pain—it meant they were okay. They were all alive and okay. They were all here. Luz and King pulled away the second Hooty freed them, but Leal held on. "You're… You're okay."

Eda chuckled. "I am. Thanks to… all of you," she said, looking toward Lilith.

A curdled feeling swelled in Leal's heart but she ignored it.

Not now.

She pulled away and looked between the two sisters. "What was that?"

"An old incantation," Eda smiled, "one my sister learned for me. Back when we were little."

Lilith's cheeks blushed as she smiled back.

But… her elixir.

All it took was a spell? Something she couldn't do? A spell that required some stupid bile sac of magic that she didn't have to save someone's life. Leal's eyes were already welling with tears but she felt Eda's arms around her again. "Your elixir… I can tell it works too. It'll help—it'll be better."

Leal shook her head against Eda's chest, which she now realized still had a blackened gem. She pulled away and sniffled. "Can you still do magic?" she softly asked as she wiped away her tears.

Eda shrugged. She drew up a spell circle but it broke, shattering with smoke in its wake. "That's a no," she sadly said, "It'll take some time to get used to this." She looked at her hands.

"I feel that I've been weakened as well," Lilith chimed in.

Leal flared a scowl at the witch. "No one cares," she griped, causing her to flinch. Eda placed her hand on Leal's shoulder, giving her a squeeze, and Leal turned away—not regretting her snark at all.

"It's okay," Luz said as she grabbed Eda's other hand. She pulled it open, and grabbed a light glyph, placing it into her palm, "I can teach you what I know, and what we don't know, we can learn together."

Leal smiled at the sight as Eda tapped the glyph with her thumb, causing the paper to ball up and turn into light. It then floated up into the sky, almost as though it were joining the stars. They all turned and watched it as Eda ruffled Luz's hair. "Thanks, kid." She pulled her into a side hug, then turned her around as they all looked to the sky. "I look forward to that."

Leal chuckled. "And the student becomes the master?" she teased.

Eda shrugged. "Had to happen eventually." She turned away. "Come on, we need to eat and rest." Hooty took the prompt and retracted into the door, opening it for them as they all walked.

All of them.

Leal stopped at the doorway and pointed her bat at Lilith. "Her too?" The witch flinched, folding her hands over each other sheepishly. Leal held her scowl.

"Leal," King and Luz tiredly said.

"Bean Head," Eda softly said, stepping back out to place herself between her and Lilith. "C'mon, she has nowhere else to go."

"Neither did you," Leal shot back, "because of your curse. Which is because of her. And do you know why she cursed you?"

Luz said, "Lealtad—"

"No! She deserves to know," Leal shouted over her shoulder. She turned back and looked to Eda. "She did it because she knew you'd kick her ass at the Emperor's Coven tryouts. She wanted to take away your powers for a day so she could win." She scoffed. "She basically decided to cripple you, 'temporarily'," she added with finger quotes, "so she could live out her dream."

Eda's face was neutral. She turned toward Lilith. "Is that true, Lily?"

Lilith sighed. "N-Not in that verbiage… but yes, it's not far off." She sank her head. "I… I'm so sorry Edalyn. H-Had I known, any of this, I swear—"

"Hindsight doesn't excuse the bullshit," Leal grumbled.

"I believe you," Eda softly said, stepping forward.

Leal blinked and so did Lilith. "What?" they both said.

"I… I still love you. I always have. Even with all the chasing," she chuckled. "I know that… we didn't have the perfect upbringing sometimes, but I know we had each other. For a good while." She shrugged. "I know you had my back as much as I had yours. And… I know you had it today. Well, later today." She snorted. "But… you always meant to, yeah?"

Lilith choked on her tears as she rapidly nodded. "Yes," she practically cried out. "I-I kept climbing and climbing in hopes… I-I thought he would really do it. I thought…"

"I know," Eda sighed. She stepped forward once again, holding out her arms. "And it's okay. I'd just like to hug my sister now."

Lilith didn't hesitate to step in and embrace her.

It was… heartwarming.

But the fire within Leal's heart didn't diminish. She couldn't fight the glare she had, so she turned away. Luz, King, and Hooty were smiling at the sight. So she just sighed and stepped inside. "I'm gonna go take a shower before I help with dinner," she said as she walked across the living room.

"Leal wait!" Luz shouted, walking after her.

Leal bit back her groan. "Sunshine, not now."

She shook her head. "No, it's not about Lilith." She took a breath. "It's about what happened with Emperor Belos." At that, the rest of the Owl House family came in and were hanging off the side, now invested in their conversation.

Leal's eyes widened. Right. She was alone with the Emperor. "Dios mío, Luz, d-did he hurt you?"

"No, I think he was toying with me a bit, but… I made him regret that." Luz smirked. "You were right, hermana, a good slugging to the head works on anyone." She pulled out a small chipped golden piece from her pocket and Leal realized what it was.

"Is that…"

"Yup."

"You hit the Emperor with my bat?"

Luz chuckled as she handed it to Leal. "Well, not really. I just slammed it and your ice glyph shot up and hit him. But still!" She smiled. "That means he's not invincible."

Eda whistled. "Damn, kiddo, that's impressive."

"Yeah it is," Leal grinned as she inspected the chipped mask piece. "Looks like he's gotta learn a thing or two before messes with the Owl House family, again, huh?"

"That's right!" King shouted.

"Yeah! Hoot hoot!" Hooty exclaimed.

Luz's smile fell a bit. "Yeah."

"Ugh, Hooty, ya mind closing up?" Eda groaned. "You're letting a draft in."

"Got it! I'll keep a look out too!" he said before slamming himself shut.

Eda chuckled. "Oh yeah, speaking of doors," Leal watched as Luz froze, "Luz, you still got that key?"

Leal's brow furrowed at Luz's frozen state.

"Luz?" Eda called out.

"¿Hermana?"

Luz's eyes began to well up. "Lo siento, lo siento," her voice quietly muttered.

Leal dropped her bat and placed her hands on Luz's shoulders. "Hey, Sunshine, talk to me?"

Luz raised her head up, eyes now filled with tears, as she cried, "¡Lo siento, hermana!" She sniffled. "L-Leal… I'm… I'm so sorry."

"Why?"

Luz swallowed another cry as Eda appeared from behind, rubbing her back. King grabbed her shin, looking up at her worriedly. But Luz's eyes were still locked on Leal's.

"I… I destroyed the portal.."

"¿Que?"

"I… I destroyed the portal door." She pulled out the key and tapped the eye. And… nothing.

Lealtad blinked. "No, no hay manera," she said with a laugh, swiping the key from Luz. She tapped at it again. And again. And again and again. "¡Me estás jodiendo!" she cried out, dropping the key to the floor. Her knees gave out not long after. Luz fell with her and Leal grabbed for her, hugging her sister with all she could.

She couldn't cry.

No, she swallowed that pain.

She gripped at her sister with all she could and said nothing.

She could hear her sister's apologies repeat and repeat in Spanish. King asked something about the key and the door, and maybe Eda said something about not knowing anything, but Leal couldn't hear.

She couldn't hear anything.

Home couldn't wait anymore.

::::

In spite of the situation, Eda insisted on dinner. She whipped up some leftovers in the fridge—just some grilled griffin meat. She said that they couldn't just go to bed without being rested in every sense, full stomach and all. But Leal barely ate. She figured she just wanted Luz to be more comfortable to talk. And then she told them.

In another light, it probably was the most epic thing of all time.

The stuff she and her sister watched about all the time in their anime. The things that Luz read about in her books. But in reality… it was nothing short of a tragedy.

Luz fought off the Emperor and managed to get a hit in. But then he propositioned their safety in exchange for the portal door. Some nonsense about the Titan's will and how he doesn't plan on invasion or whatever bullshit. And then how Luz made the call: it was their world or their lives. And she chose.

Luz chose.

Dinner died down after that. Eda offered Lilith a place to stay indefinitely—since there was plenty of room—and handled the dishes. Lealtad just went to the bathroom to wash her face. Again, and again, and again.

Nope.

This was reality.

She laughed, looking at herself in the mirror. The effects of the stamina potion wearied her fatigue awhile back, but Leal knew this was just her exhaustion from… everything. Taking a breath, she emerged from the bathroom and made her way to their room. The door was open, and she could hear her sister.

"—nd I don't know when or how I'm gonna see you again." Lealtad turned into the doorway and found her sister ready in her camping bag, with King soundly sleeping at her feet already and a small light orb hovering above her head. She put down her phone and looked at their family photo. Leal smiled at the sight as she leaned against the door frame. Luz picked up her phone again, and as Leal assumed, revealed she was making a video recording. "But I will find my way home to you. I promise. Deja una luz puesta para mí. Te quiero." She stopped the video and put down her phone, turning around.

Her eyes widened.

Leal chuckled. "Nothing for me to say?"

Luz lowered her head. "I-I wasn't sure if you—"

She wasted no time moving over and kneeling in front of her sister. "I will always love you, Sunshine. It's you and me, always." She let out a big sigh. "Today… was terrifying."

Luz nodded. "Yeah."

"But it was worth it," Leal added. At her sister's raised brow, she elaborated. "For Eda, King, Hooty. I don't regret it. Earlier this afternoon I-I told you that I chose to come here. And I-I know I wasn't entirely open to this freaky place when we got here—"

"Which was understandable," her sister mused.

Leal chuckled. "Yeah, well… I always just… told myself that none of it mattered because, we'd always be coming back home at the end of summer." Luz's eyes widened. "Of course, this past month, I… I honestly just forgot about home sometimes. And now?" Her voice trembled. "I-It's… it's not your fault hermana." She gulped.

The feeling she felt after saying those words… she didn't like that.

Leal moved to grab her sister's hands. "Belos did this. And I know you don't want to hear this too but so did Lilith." Luz blinked at her. "What happened today wasn't your fault. Okay? Believe me."

Believe it.

She had too.

Luz shook her head. "I… I just… you made a new elixir for Eda today. You were in the bathroom but, Lilith was starting to stress and tried to use her magic, and feathers started to sprout, and Eda gave her your enhanced elixir." Leal felt a bit disgusted knowing Lilith got to use it as well but held her tongue. "She said she felt calmer. Eda said she felt similar before Lilith used her spell. Your new elixir also helps soothe them an-and that was what you decided to do today. I broke into the Emperor's Castle and it just… maybe your elixir could've helped before I…" she trailed off, biting her lip.

"Maybe." Luz's eyes shot up in shock and Leal bit her lip, shaking her head. "I-I mean… we don't know. Just like we didn't know coming here, would be… terrifying, fun, and… good for you. For us." Leal squeezed her sister's hands. "We… We can't dwell on that, hermana. Because… we gotta focus on the now."

That was right.

The new now.

Those feelings… they could wait too.

"I just… I feel like I'm always making choices without you," her sister softly said.

Lealtad still found it in her to smile. "I guess that's a part of growing up, huh?" That was truth there. She chuckled. "You're right though. We will find a way back to our mom. That's a guarantee. Just like today we knew we'd save Eda. We can do it, Sunshine."

Luz sniffled, now smiling at her. "Together?"

"Sí," she nodded. "Together."

Luz launched at her with another hug and Leal returned it, soaking in her sister's warmth. Because she was still her sister. That was what mattered. That was what she should care about. She was okay. They were okay. Everything else… would eventually be okay. "Get some rest," she managed to say. "I think we can skip school tomorrow, to… adjust."

Luz chuckled. "Of course that's what you're thinking about," she teased.

"Hey, someone here's gotta learn magic!" she joked, lightly bumping her sister with her shoulder before standing up. "I'm gonna go check on Eda. She might need help cleaning the dishes."

Luz furrowed a brow. "I think she's just about done?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to help." She patted her sister's head. "Don't wait up, Sunshine." And with that, she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

She knew Eda finished washing the dishes.

She also knew that she was in one of the storage rooms, making space for Lilith. And that the two were talking.

What she needed… was air. And space.

Hooty would see her through the front, so Leal—as quietly as she could—crept out through the backdoor and made her way to the trees.

"Leal?"

She jumped, turning to see Hooty had wrapped around the house to check. Of course he'd know. "I-I…" he blinked at her in concern. "I just need a moment alone," she all but begged in a meek voice.

Hooty's eyes widened. "I'll make sure no one bothers you," he said, for once, quietly.

Leal's heart warmed by the gesture. "Gracias, casa del búho." With that, Hooty retraced himself as Leal found a spot underneath the trees. She leaned up against it and sat down. She couldn't bring her camera because she told her sister she was helping Eda and that'd be suspicious. So all she had was her phone.

She pulled up her photo gallery.

She scrolled past the photos of the last two months and looked at June. Then May. April. March. February. January. 2018. 2017. She kept going and going. The tears didn't stop streaming down her cheeks as the sight of her mother's face kept scrolling by. She eventually found her way to their messages. She nearly screamed at herself for the fact that her last few messages were lies and half-truths. That she couldn't pour more honesty and love and gratitude into each one. She wished that she wrote more, that she never stopped writing every day.

Desperation reached her as she typed into the message box and sent her confession.

Fave Bebé [11:09 PM]: I miss you.

Fave Bebé [11:10 PM]: I miss you.

But all she could see was one symbol next to each one: an error symbol.

Lealtad gripped at her phone. She felt like she could crush it with her bare hands with the rage she felt.

So that was it?

One world for another.

Just like that.

The second she started to feel another home… the other was lost. She didn't even realize she was in the Human Realm today. And now? She could never go back to it. Leal's lip quivered as she continued to scroll back up on her messages. It wasn't that she didn't mean what she said to her sister earlier. She just… she didn't know if she wanted to mean it. And… that thought frightened her more than anything else.

She could only ask… why?

Why did her sister get into these situations?

Why did she feel angry at Luz?

Why did she feel guilty for not knowing where they were earlier?

Why… did she have to trade?

Why… Why couldn't she just have both?

For once?

Lealtad fought back her next round of tears as she ignored these thoughts. She just… she wished she said more back at the start of June, when their mom said goodbye. She should've. Her father… that should've been her reminder to never stop. To always say more. Because she never knew when.

Her finger froze as she reached the message logs for June 30th.

She nearly scrolled past it, but it was just one sentence.

Mami [3:06 PM]: Live your truth, mija, because I'll always be here to love you.

And then the sobbing began. She curled into herself, hugging her phone close as she cried and cried into the night.

"T-Te echo de menos… Mamá," she softly cried.

A/N: I knew that with Eda and Leal's relationship, I wanted it to be more subtle but also profound than Luz's. Not to say it's any more special or that Eda and Luz's is less. Just different. And different is the whole crux of the show. Leal didn't want to fall in love with this world, but she slowly did. The moment she realizes she didn't even notice they were in the human world is a showing of how much she's immersed herself in the Boiling Isles. Luz's journey of tackling fantasy with reality is something I've aimed to contrast with Leal, by tackling reality with fantasy.

I knew from the start of L&L that Eda would be the mother figure they all see her as, but Lealtad's realization of that would be later than most. And as stated in my last A/N, the extent of that realization is stronger when factoring Leal's void of her father. We're not nearly done with the Manny flashbacks and history, but from the brief instances you've seen and that Leal's recollected, I hope it's quite noticeable how much Leal is able to see her father within Eda. With this, I hoped to give a more subtle explanation as to WHY Luz became so quickly taken with Eda as well. Sure, it's because she's Luz, but also—I'd like to think canonically as well—with how young she was when she lost Manny, she didn't have her father for much of her conscious life as a child. But from what she can recollect, a lot of those feelings/attachments resurface with Eda's personality. Not to say that Eda's 1:1 Manny, instead that there are aspects that made her comparable in a sense that allowed Luz to latch onto subconsciously. Though in Lealtad's case here, while it IS subconscious she's also a bit aware of who she's comparing it to.

Surprisingly, for the longest time, no one noticed Leal's beanie in the cover art being the same colour as Luz's cloak. Or that Luz's cloak is noticeably shorter than canon (that wasn't something I had yogurthoops just do by accident). Even after mentioning Leal's red-orange beanie colour more than a dozen times throughout the story it's just been there: not at all the same colour. There's no real benefit to this in lore, of course. It basically only protects her head. But that's not the sentiment here, right? As stated in Adventures in the Elements, she can be pretty sentimentally attached to objects and Eda's just thrown her literal hat in the ring. Ha ha! And on that note of sentiment, Luz's video at the end is still the same as canon.

Along with other things of canon, cutting out King's expo dump on Belos was something I thought wasn't a big deal because it didn't really fit the flow of the chapter. Canonically it's a bit weird that after hearing about what happened to Eda, King just decides to deliver exposition for Luz's sake when it's clear Luz couldn't be bothered to care. In L&L canon, it's been kind of hinted that the Nocedas have grasped the world's system and history a fair amount already—through school and otherwise—so there's no need to really inform them much about Belos' character. Me wanting to add MORE to Lilith's story and ad libbing it was purely based off the fact that I wanted to add more personality to the Lilith's storytelling. Among other events, Belos pulling Leal out and onto the platform with everyone else happens because of what Lilith did in the previous chapter. He mainly assumes Luz to be the focus of Eda's teachings, as even Lilith thinks so too, so of course he puts her in a one-on-one discussion.

On the note of Lilith, I hope you all can handle the fact that she's going to be on the shit list for a good while. Much like how some had to cringe through Lealtad giving Amity a hard time, Lilith is going to be put through some… similar grievances by Leal. I can promise it won't ALWAYS be antagonistic, but there will definitely be a lot of snide comments. But to make a big disclaimer: Aunty Lily is one of my favourite characters in TOH, so trust me when I say I'm coming from a place of love when I talk about her character. But goddamn, no matter how you slice it, putting a curse on your younger sibling just to win at something is ALL kinds of messed up. I do wish the show went deeper to her and Eda's reconciliation however. No promises for a better outcome here in terms of character development by the way, she really is only with us for like… FOUR episodes before she leaves with Gwendolyn so there's not much time for me to fill the gap of the two healing. Even though I REALLY want to.

Finally, the hiatus. I hope you all gathered by now that my schedule is going to be even busier than usual. For that, I cannot even guarantee a return within a year (or two). I just want to make it known—as I have CONSTANTLY stated on my Tumblr—the whole story is planned out. I have the basic plot structures of EVERY episode to the end of the series figured out. Some are more fleshed out than others. What this means is that it'll take time. But, I love feedback too. So I'll leave it up to you guys: would you all prefer if I have the next twenty chapters ready or just the first ten? By that I mean, would you prefer I do what I did for this season: essentially I upload chapters 21 to 30, have a hiatus, then 31 to 41? OR, would you prefer I do all 21 to 41? Keep in mind two things: this will STILL follow a biweekly format AND that if you choose 21 to 41, you will have to wait WAY longer than usual for the next season.

I'll check the consensus of everyone's thoughts on Ao3, FFN, and Tumblr. Then I'll make a Tumblr post stating what the consensus seemed to be. I'll also probably wait a good while before making that post, as I think it'll be fair to give new readers time to catch up and offer some insight into the conversation. Likely into the new year I'll have a post announcing how it's gonna go.

Review Responses:

OMAC001: Thanks, glad you liked it!

Stay safe, and stay lovely y'all.

Until next time,

- Bleh