Luz walked away from the beach as the sky began to darken; a couple of times she turned around hoping to see King chasing her and offering to come with her, but the young Titan never did. She was very sorry to have to leave him alone again. "Do you think I'll ever be able to convince him to come to the Owl House?" she asked Matt.

The crab shrugged. "I don't know. Keep in mind that you are still a stranger to him and trusting you would still be a huge gamble from his point of view. People who have lived their lives in a single place, instinctively fearing everything else, aren't very pleasant to abandon their safe haven"

"Yes, but... I don't like the idea of leaving him there alone until he becomes an adult" Luz said. She wasn't an expert on the life cycle of Titans, but if they were that tiny at eight years old, then decades, perhaps even centuries, would have passed before they became a thirty meters tall. "Willow and Gus also didn't want to leave their safe haven when I met them, but then they did. Maybe I'll be able to convince King too. And then...". She bit his lip. "Willow and Gus told me that they weren't happy with their lives when they were in my mother's store, and I don't need much intuition to understand that King isn't happy either. A safe life isn't always a happy life"

Matt clicked his claws, then he shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you, Luz. King is the only one who can decide what to do with his life. If you want my sincere advice, behave with him as you would behave with anyone, don't treat him like a troubled kid but like any other friend, and maybe sooner or later he will find the courage to step out of his comfort zone and come with you to the Owl House. But don't pressure him about it, it will only have the opposite effect"

Luz nodded. She also agreed with the crab's words: she should respect King's wishes and not try to force him to come with her. "Do you think it would help if I brought someone else next time? Maybe if he saw Eda, Willow, Gus or anyone else, he might become more comfortable with people and consider that maybe coming with us isn't such a bad idea"

Matt thought about it for a moment. "It might work, but I don't recommend bringing too many people at once. It would scare him"

Luz thought about it, and she had to admit that the crab was right. "Well, I could just bring Eda the first time. Or maybe..."

"LUZ!"

Two familiar voices made the puppet look up an instant before a cricket carrying a spider in her legs smashed into her face; the two rolled down and Luz luckily managed to catch them in time. "Willow, Gus! What are you doing here?"

"We were looking for you, of course! Eda is very worried, and us too! We split up to look for you faster!" Gus exclaimed, then he looked over her shoulder at Matt with some irritation on his face. "Where were you?"

"Some things have happened" the crab replied hastily, but he made a strange sign with his eyes, as if to say 'we need to talk later'. Gus understood that brief signal and nodded imperceptibly; he didn't know what Matt wanted to talk to him about, but he clearly didn't want to at that moment.

Luz in the meantime had become pale as a corpse. "Is... Is Eda looking for me? Is she very angry?"

"I don't know. Surely she is scared" Willow replied. "Luz, what happened? Me, Eda and Gus were... doing something, and suddenly Lilith contacted her sister and told her to go to her house right away. We went there and found that Boscha and Skara had come to her carrying Amity unconscious, and that she had a bad head wound. Eda and Lilith healed her and then Eda and we immediately ran to look for you"

"Is Amity okay? Did she is hurt very badly?" Luz asked, afraid of the answer.

To her enormous relief Willow replied: "She's fine, don't worry. The wound was much less serious than it seemed. Lilith and Eda treated her in less than a minute. Now she's at Lilith's house"

Luz breathed out so loudly that it seemed as if she had been holding her breath until then. "So she's fine... thank goodness, I feared the worst..." she said, then she asked: "And Eda... she doesn't have feathers, right?"

"The only feathers that she have are the ones of her fairy forms. Don't worry, the Owl Beast didn't show up" Gus reassured her, and again Luz looked so relieved that she almost fell to her knees.

Willow was happy to see the puppet so relieved, but it wasn't the time to pretend nothing had happened: "Luz, seriously, what happened? Gus, Eda and I were already leaving when Amity woke up, but I heard her mumble something to Lilith about how it was you who hit her, but that it was actually just her fault… would you mind explaining us?"

Luz looked down and a couple of tears formed in her eyes. "They tricked me" she said. "Amity and her friends convinced me to skip school to go look for the Titan together, but then they left me at the beach and went to school. When they came back and revealed that they had made fun of me, I got angry and I slapped Boscha, and out of spite she tried to throw one of my books into the sea, and I dived in to save it, and... and I don't know what happened then, I had a panic attack and my body moved on its own, and I threw that book at Amity's head without meaning to"

"A panic attack? What are you...?" Willow was already about to ask, but Gus stopped her immediately; the cricket didn't understand, so the spider pointed to Matt who was shaking his head at them. She understood that they would talk about that later, so she concentrated on everything else: "It doesn't matter. I'm sorry that your friends tricked you..."

"Don't call them that! They're not my friends" Luz growled, but from the tone of her voice it was clear that those words were hurting her. "They were just using me. I don't want anything to do with them anymore!"

Willow and Gus looked at each other. Luz must have been really hurt by what had happened, and she certainly had every reason to be; however from the tone in which they heard Amity speak to Lilith, it seemed that she at least regretted her actions a little, as her first words were literally asking if Luz was okay. Of course, that didn't mean she should be forgiven for doing such a bad thing, but she at least deserved the benefit of the doubt. "Luz..."

The puppet rubbed her arm in front of her eyes, clearly trying to hide her tears. "Forget it. Rather, where is Eda now? I don't know how I'll be able to look at her face after what happened..."

"Luz, come on, it wasn't your fault," Gus reassured her. "Even though you still shouldn't have skipped school to chase an imaginary Titan"

"Oh, but it's not imaginary!" Luz replied. "He's real, I met him! His name is King, but he's not a giant, he's just a young eight-year-old Titan barely tall as my knee, who uses light makeup to look imposing and who loves to play with puppets and act like a little monarch!"

Gus and Willow's eyes widened so much that Luz wouldn't have been surprised if they had fallen out of their sockets. They remained silent for some time, to the point that the puppet began to worry. "Um... guys?"

Willow flew into her face and tapped a paw on her nose. "Is this thing broken? Why isn't it already a kilometer long?"

Luz blushed. "Hey! I'm telling the truth!" she exclaimed. Once again Willow and Gus's eyes focused on her nose, which however didn't move an inch, a sign that Luz hadn't told a single lie.

"Okay, this is... unexpected" Willow murmured, trying to recover from the shock. "So… you actually met the Titan?"

"I told you, his name is King. And trust me, he's adorable" Luz replied.

Willow and Gus looked at each other, then both of them shook their heads. "Okay, I think it would be best for everyone to discuss this when we get home and Eda is with us" Willow murmured while she rubbed her temples as if she was doing her best to digest what she had just heard. "Let's go back, and then we'll figure out a way to let Eda know we found you. We could send Hooty for her, with his extendable neck he could reach her even while she is in flight"

"Yes, you're right" Luz admitted, and she started walking back towards the Owl House. But the further she went the smaller her steps became, so much so that at a certain point it almost seemed like she was no longer moving. "Um... Luz? We'd like to arrive before the sun will set tomorrow... or the day after" Gus told her.

Luz sniffed. "Yes... yes, sorry guys. I was lost in my thoughts" she said. Then her voice dropped to a whisper: "What will I tell Eda this time?"

Willow stared sternly into her eyes. "Very simple: you will tell her the whole truth" she replied, and then she frowned. "Because you will tell the truth, right?"

"O-Of course I'll tell her the truth! But... how will I tell her?" Luz murmured. "I messed up for the umpteenth time, I skipped school again, I spit on her trust again... how can I tell her?"

Gus and Willow could understand the puppet's fear. "Luz, for first, once again it wasn't your fault, and I'd be surprised if Eda didn't feel the same way as us. And secondly, just tell her" the spider told her. "When you'll see her, tell her the truth in one breath, without beating around the bush. Trust me, it's better to take the pain away immediately"

"But... but she'll get angry..." Luz whispered.

"If she has to get angry she'll get angry anyway, Luz, whether you tell it in a minute or in an hour" Gus replied. "Listen to me and get rid of the trouble; the sooner you finish, the sooner Eda will stop yelling at you. And then, as I told you, I'm sure she won't even get that angry"

Luz wasn't at all sure; from her point of view, she had been up to too much mischief for the fairy not to give her a good scolding... but ironically, what she was fearing most was looking into her disappointed and angry eyes. She would almost have preferred Eda to slap her for an hour but do all of this without ever opening her eyes, rather than simply scolding her but doing so with a look of disappointment. But she still wasn't about to try to escape her responsibilities, so she steeled herself and started walking again.

Within half an hour they finally reached the Owl House. Hooty was sleeping carefree in the doorway; Luz started to wake him up and ask him to go look for Eda, but there was no need because the sound of two immense wings filled the air and then the fairy landed in front of her in her true form. "Luz!" she exclaimed, taking her face in her hands. "I was so worried! Don't ever get me scared like that again, I don't think my heart could take it! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for..."

Eda stopped when she saw that the puppet didn't even have the courage to raise her head. Luz trembled slightly, then she murmured in a voice so faint that the fairy almost didn't hear her: "I'm sorry, Eda... I disappointed you again"

"Disappointed?" Eda knelt down to bring herself to her height and tried to grab Luz's chin to lift her head and look her in the eyes, but the puppet moved away. The fairy suspected that at that moment she was too ashamed to even look at her face. "Hey, come on, kiddo..."

"I didn't go to school... again" Luz revealed in a broken voice. "I behaved badly again. I promised to be diligent and I didn't. I wish I could blame Amity or the others, but that's not the case; I decided to listen to them, they didn't force me. All they need to do was just to suggest me to skip school and I ended up accepting. I..."

The tears were already pouring down Luz's face. Eda tried to touch her face again, at least to be able to caress her, but the puppet moved away again. It was as if she didn't think herself worthy of that kindness. Realizing that she wouldn't get much with actions, Eda chose to turn to words. "Luz, please calm down now. Why don't you honestly tell me everything that happened to you?"

Luz sniffed. "Amity and her friends suggested that I go to the beach and look for the Titan that is said to be roaming around here... and I did! I knew I was doing the wrong thing by skipping school, but I done anyway! But it was all a scam... in reality they left me on the beach and then left, and came back when school was over. I got angry and... and instead of just leaving, I slapped Boscha, even though I was technically aiming for Amity... Matt was with me, he told me to stop, that I shouldn't do it, but I ignored him... and Boscha then threw one of the my books in the sea, and I dived to retrieve it, and... and... I don't know how to explain it, something happened... I... I panicked... and I unintentionally pulled the book in Amity's face and..."

"Hey, hey, slow down!" Eda exclaimed as she saw that the puppet seemed to be one step away from hyperventilating. "You don't need to go that fast. Take your time, okay?"

But Luz didn't even seem to hear her. "I'm sorry, Eda! I made you worry and scared... and I didn't behave well... you're right if you're angry... and if you're disappointed..."

"Luz" Eda spoke in a much firmer and more decisive tone. "Stop now"

The puppet fell silent, but seeing how she was trembling, Eda imagined that she actually expected her to have silenced her for the sole purpose of scolding her. Moving faster than before she grabbed her chin, and this time Luz wasn't able to move away; delicately the fairy raised her face, showing her cheeks streaked with tears and her eyes, which although still crying had their lids closed. "Luz, please, look at me"

The puppet let out a small whimper, then she slowly opened her eyelids. Finally their eyes met. "Luz, I could never be disappointed in you" Eda told her. "How could I ever be? You are a girl with so many flaws, yet you work hard every day to improve yourself. Do you expect me to be disappointed in you just for one small mistake?"

"B-But I made the same mistakes again. I skipped school, I went where I wasn't supposed to, I trusted the wrong people, I used violence" Luz whispered. "This is not a small mistake..."

"Yes, Luz, it is. It's a small mistake, like so many people make in life. And the fact that you make it could never disappoint me" Eda replied. "Luz, you are still a kid. Your mind and body are those of a fourteen year old. This is the age where you make the most mistakes, all kids make them. Do you think other kids' parents are disappointed in them why do they make mistakes every now and then? Do you think that when they go to their mothers and fathers and confess to them that they have made a mistake, they declare themselves disappointed in them? If they did, they would be truly terrible parents. A child can never disappoint a parent. It might make them angry, but it certainly doesn't disappoint them"

Luz didn't say anything, but Eda could clearly see that she was relieved by those words. "And you...? Are you angry?"

Eda shrugged. "Angry? No. Well, maybe I'm a little annoyed because you skipped school, and in fact I'll give you a punishment, also because it's right that you have one. But I'm absolutely not angry, and I'm even less disappointed in you"

Luz was silent for a moment, and she looked at her somewhat inquisitively. She seemed to be wondering if Eda was just telling her those things to cheer her up or if she was really thinking them. But when she realized that there was no trace of falsehood in the fairy's eyes, she threw herself into her arms and hugged her tightly. "Y-You're too good to me, Eda" she whispered. "You're really too good..."

"No, I'm just fair, kiddo. There's no goodness involved here" Eda told her. "Come on, let's go back inside. You're covered in salt, you really need to clean yourself up"

In the original book, when Pinocchio returns home he is punished a little by the fairy for having disobeyed her and not going to school, since she doesn't open the door for him and leaves him out all night, but then she forgives him. Obviously, however, Eda would never have done things like this with Luz, since she knows in this case the blame for what happened is not hers (even if Luz could still have behaved differently), and therefore forgives her immediately.