Somewhere in the Titan's forearm, 14 years ago.
A cry echoed through the forest as a strange light appeared seemingly from nowhere. A tall figure hidden under a gray cowl emerged from the bluish light, the soft glow reflecting off the wooden frame and dancing like wildfire along the door's polished surface.
A sharp click vanished the light along with the wooden frame, as a single gold and black eye stared blankly at the person who had summoned them. The door and its frame shrank till they disappeared into thin air as the figure started to run.
The cries continued to vibrate through the crimson forest as the strange figure dashed past ancient trees and mossy stones, followed by a group of shadows.
Something crashed into the figure, forcing them to drop their precious cargo. A large hand covered in metal caught the object of interest, revealing a bundle of cloth with a baby tugged inside. The cloaked figure tried to fight back, to reclaim what they had been tasked with protecting but several figures in white masks emerged to stand against them. A fierce fight broke out, ending in the figure's defeat.
The figure's hand swayed limply in the wind, mangled and bloody as they sought to escape sharing the same fate as the defenseless child. They managed to lose their pursuers, hiding behind the thick trunks of the red trees that rose from the carcass of their fallen god. A pair of shadowy eyes shimmered in the moonlight as they watched the child be taken away, burning a hole through the white cloaks of the monsters who had stolen the child they were meant to protect.
The child they had wronged not once but twice in such a short time.
The eyes turned to leave as the figure left the scene, leaving behind droplets of blood from where their long fingernails penetrated the pale skin of the injured appendage. A small baby blue blanket was pressed tightly to their wrist, soaking in blood and turning a deep magenta as the crimson liquid seeped deeper into the fabric. A few droplets of blood stained the small note attached to the makeshift bandage, rendering most of the text unreadable. Only the last line of the note could be read:
- to… Nozeda, our little light
A heavy sigh escaped the figure's mouth, a small trickle of blood following behind. "I'm sorry kid. I'm so sorry"
The present day, the Emperor's castle
A small figure, their head covered by a white cowl, darted through the stone brick halls, their white cape dancing behind them. The figure came across a cross road, turning left, only to quickly shake her head and change her trajectory to the right.
"Stop if Lucy, you're already late, no need to make it any worse. "
The girl's eyes darted to-and-fro beneath her brownish mask. A simple design resembling a bird, coloured in bronze. The sleek surface reflected the almost unnatural light that filled the halls, appearing almost golden. Underneath the tiny sloths that served as her eyeholes rose a small beak, coloured in lighter beige. The mask held a natural, stoic expression.
The figure continued down another turn, nearly running into a taller figure wearing a nearly identical outfit to hers. Instead of her brown and silver colors the scout wore white, gray and black and instead of a sparrow-like mask, theirs resembled a white plague doctor's mask. The standard emperors coven outfit - feared and respected by all.
Unlike her.
The girl maneuvered around the perplexed scout with practiced ease, keeping her momentum and not letting her speed slow down for even a second. She offered a small "sorry" before she disappeared behind another turn, leaving the stunned scout behind her. She continued her sprint down a few more hallways, before reaching the imposing doors of the Emperor's throne room, finally letting her speed drop down to a hasty walk. She silently caught her breath, trying to compose herself and prepared for the scolding she was about to receive.
One of the metal clad guards noticed her and slowly saluted while the other guard reluctantly followed his companions' example. Her brown mask dipped down and back up in a quick nod, giving them her acknowledgement. The guards opened the door for her in a carefully planned manner, the perfect synchrony and the slow, dramatic movement spoke of their dedication to their craft. The show was meant to introduce fear to those daring enough to enter the Emperor's presence. A testament to the Emperor's sharp mind, where every detail, every aspect of the Coven, from the uniforms of its members to the very castle they resigned in was carefully crafted to serve a purpose, often only known to the man himself.
And she had to admit it was working.
The masked girl hid a silent gulp before stepping into the room, the doors quickly shutting after her and nearly making her fall over as they scraped her back. She strode to the other end of the large hall, her pose even and stiff as her eyes focused on the individual directly in front of her. The silence of the hall felt suffocating, as only the sound of her magicless heart's raging thumps echoed in her head. Not even the gigantic form of their Titans heart, suspended above and behind the throne could draw her eyes away from the witch occupying the throne.
Her Emperor and the witch who had given her everything, saved her from certain death, had given her a place to stay and learn. The man who gave her a name, a purpose. The all powerful ruler of this hellish realm, who kept her fed, warm and safe from the crutches of the Wild witches that had brought her to this strange realm.
The witch she owned her whole life to, the witch she had pledged her eternal service to.
The most powerful being in all of the Boiling Isles.
Emperor Belos.
The man who wasn't going to be happy about her recent failure.
The large witch sat on a simplistic golden throne, his emotions unreadable behind his dark mask. The Emperor's outfit was a lot like hers, apart from the fact that it was more than five times her size and instead of a bronze bird mask, he wore a golden mask with two long antler like spikes that reached towards the ceiling. The mask held no emotion, it's dark eyes seemingly looking at everything and nothing at the same time. The very air around her Emperor seemed to stand still, as if waiting for his orders before daring to move.
As she approached the throne the Emperor suddenly raised his hand, indicating she was close enough. Lucy took a moment to fix her posture and to ease her mind before allowing her eyes to wander to the other occupants of the room. She suppressed the need to wave to the only person in the castle she called friend and instead took a moment to admire him. While she could feel herself trembling ever so slightly, Hunter seemed completely still, seemingly unaffected by the emperor's aura. However her sharp eyes could tell he was anxious under the facade, which made her feel a bit better about her own trembling form. Taking her eyes off the only other teen in the castle, she looked to the other side of the emperor and spotted a familiarly annoying red face that made her groan internally and curl her fingers tightly against her palms.
Kikimora
The Emperor gestured with his hands and his booming voice silenced any remaining thoughts she might have had regarding the foul she-demon.
"Good of you to finally grace us with your presence..." The Emperor's tone was even and calm, hiding his emotions like he usually did. But she could just about make out the tiny hint of disappointment underneath that might have gone unnoticed by anyone less familiar with the mighty Emperor. "...Lucy"
She did her hardest to suppress the bone chilling shiver that went down her spine as the Emperor let the tiniest amount of anger edge his tone at the mention of her name.
The girl quickly swallowed her nerves and forced her mind to focus. She took a deep breath of the horrible feeling air that surrounded them, before addressing her Emperor. "I apologize for the delay, your highness. I needed to make sure my squad was treated and resting after today's…attack"
She looked at Belos for any signs of judgment or disapproval but found none. The man simply nodded and gestured for her to continue with his gigantic armoured hand.
Feeling more confident, she began her report. "The mission started well and everything went according to plan, until we reached the main compound. We had a small…set back when we faced more resistance than our briefing let us to believe." She stole a glance at Kikimora, whose innocent act wasn't fooling anyone. Even Belos seemed slightly irritated at her little display but kept his mouth shut. Kikimora's habit of sabotaging others to make herself look better wasn't exactly a secret but Lucy didn't think she would have stood so low as to give her misinformation when it came to their long planned raid on a rebel outpost - that could have ended really badly for her and her subordinates.
She cringed as her mind corrected her. It had ended badly for 3 of her subordinates.
Lucy dropped her gaze and continued, letting the slight anger dissipate. "I mistakenly thought that we still had the advantage, but then a stray wild witch managed to take us by surprise. We did our best but we - I wasn't able to regroup our forces in time. By the time we recovered from the surprise attack the wild witch, along with all of the resistance members, were long gone."
She took a deep breath before ending her report. "We finished our raid on the compound but found nothing of interest, apart from a few maps and notes that will be useless by the time the news of our raid reaches the resistance."
She suddenly fell to her knee, her right arm going over her heart and the golden sigil keeping her cape in place. "I failed you, Emperor Belos. I'm sorry. My team followed my orders and as such had no role in the failure. I shall accept their punishment in their place."
The offer seemed to surprise the Emperor, if she read the small change in his posture correctly. Kikimora didn't hide her surprise as well, as she seemed to have a glint of annoyance and something akin to mild intrigue in her eyes. Hunter looked slightly startled and would have probably said something if it wasn't for his uncle's presence. It didn't take long for Kikimora to recover from the shock of her unexpected proposal.
"I'm sorry?" The gleeful voice of Kikimora called out. "Your miscalculation caused five weeks of careful planning to go to waste, lost us 3 scouts, not to mention that now the resistance will be expecting similar raids and will be on the lookout, significantly complicating our future plans." The small she-demon took a step towards Lucy. "And all of that because you insisted on leading the raid party."
The demon sneered at the girl. "If we had someone competent take charge, we wouldn't have ended with this mess, would we, Bronze Hunt-"
"If my memory serves me right, it was my decision to put her in charge."
Kikimora stammered but didn't push the issue further, bowing her head before awkwardly, seemingly at a loss for words. Hunter, who looked like he was about to retort at Kikimora's accusations, also quickly let go of any words he might have had. Belos stood over Kikimora, his empty dark eyes piercing her small body. The aura around him darkened, feeling almost painful.
"And If I remember correctly, it was your job to handle the information gathering duties. Duties that you clearly neglected, by letting the presence of a wild witch pass by you unnoticed."
Belos stared down the small demon a bit longer before moving away, giving Kikimora a chance to return to her earlier position with a few shaky steps. He turned his attention back to Lucy, his demeanor noticeably calmer. The giant of a man seemed to ponder her words for a moment before waving for her to rise. In the blink of an eye the man disappeared and reappeared in front of her, placing a giant hand on her smaller figure. She almost let out a small yelp at the sudden touch, but managed to hold it in and instead looked up at her Emperor, feeling the tiniest amount of pride radiate from his empty eyes.
"As for you Bronze Huntress, your offer is noble but unnecessary. They may have been following your orders but it was still their duty to follow them through. Especially Captain Wolf. Despite your rank, she is still your senior officer after all and should have corrected any missteps that might have occurred during the mission." The Emperor let his words sink in before continuing.
"Perhaps I was foolish to let the captain of Kikimora's squad accompany you. It seems its members have a hard time concentrating on details when Kikimora is not the one leading the operation." Kikimora paled at the hidden accusation but couldn't find the words to counter him. Instead the demon turned her gaze at Luzy, her single visible eye staring at her accusingly, as if the whole thing had been the girl's fault. Belos ignored the demon, though Lucy could tell he was fully aware of her childish display but instead kept his attention on the young girl in front of him.
"A good leader knows when she has made a mistake, a great leader learns from it." The man stepped away from the girl.
"I'll see that you are all punished for today's failure, but I'll let your squad know about your humble offer. Just as you have a lot to learn, so do they, and what better way than to learn it together?" His golden mask turned towards Kikimora for a second, indicating that her little tricks had crossed a line and she would be punished as well. Lucy smirked under the mask, thinking the short demon had it coming.
The Emperor then turned back to the girl. "Rest now, my little sparrow. I'll have your squad take over Hunter's assignment later this day as an extra punishment, while I figure out what I shall do with all of you. "
Hunter seemed to finally have had enough as the golden clad teen moved closer to Lucy, as if he was preparing to say something. The teen however reluctantly let the words die in his throat after Lucy quickly looked at him and shook her head. The blonde looked unsure but relented, knowing there was no point in arguing against both Belos and Lucy. He clearly didn't like the idea of sending her on another mission when she just got back from one and Lucy appreciated the blonde's thoughtfulness. The older teen settled for a small nod, silently wishing her good luck. She caught the gesture and sent a small nod back, letting him know she could handle it. This silent way of conversation was something they had developed after spending so much time together, both in and out of uniform. Some coven members even considered them part oracle's due to their unique way of knowing each other's thoughts without words.
As Lucy was dismissed she quickly bowed and made her way outside the throne room, where she immediately let out a relief breath once the doors closed behind with a resounding Slam. Her hands were shaking ever so slightly, but that was to be expected when faced with a being as terrifying as Belos. She might have been the Emperor's foster child, but that didn't mean she was safe from his wrath. The two guards seemed oblivious to her existence, not even bothering to salute her as she left. As she turned down the hall and left their sight, she could make out their whispered conversation, mentally face palming herself at their idea of discreteness.
"How do you think he punished her? She didn't tremble enough for someone who had been sent to the Knee."
"He didn't, just like he never will. That little brat could burn the castle down and Belos would still think of her as his little Sparrow."
"It's not like she hasn't tried. Honestly I don't see why we still keep that thing around."
"Maybe she's like a pet? Demons keep lesser demons as pets, why couldn't a witch keep a human as one?"
The two guards continued to brainstorm about the reasons for her stay and If it wasn't for her already depleted stamina and glyph reserves she would have skewered them both with an icicle and left them there for Belos to find.
But not killing...just left them she clarified in her mind.
Lucy continued down the hall, only slightly bothered by the encounter. While not hostile, she wasn't exactly friends with any of the other coven members. Well, apart from Hunter. And steve. But mostly Hunter. Most of them seemed to think of her as a failure, someone who didn't deserve the title Belos himself had given her. Or a freak with round ears and a heart without a bile sac. No matter how many times she succeeded, no matter how many palismans she brought in or how many wild witches she apprehended, no one apart from a few coven heads, Hunter and Belos seemed to appreciate her efforts. And with today's failure (which wasn't even her fault since Kikimora all but admitted to having purposely given her misinformation and ordering captain Wolf to sabotage her efforts) she was sure things weren't going to be any easier for her.
The image of three coven scouts laying motionless on the ground with cuts and burn marks hovered at the edge of her mind but she quickly pushed it aside. They were soldiers - she was their commander. They knew the risks and she wasn't going to let it bring her down. If anything it only made her more determined to catch the traitors that dared to oppress the Emperor and pay them back for what they did to her underlings.
As she rounded a corner, her thoughts about guilt and revenge were quickly snuffed out as she almost bumped into someone, managing to stop herself at the very last second. The other woman didn't seem to notice her, as she was busy writing in her notes.
"Coven head Lilyth" Lucy spoke, letting a small amount of joy edge her tone as she held up her hand in a salute. The witch ignored her and Lucy's hand fell limp to her side. Walking after the woman was another member of the coven and while his outfit hid his identity, it wasn't hard to figure out who would be fillingly trailing after Lilyth during their free time. Steve, someone she almost considered a friend, looked at her guiltily and offered her a small wave. Lucy returned the gesture, shaking her head as if to say "it's okay". After the man hurried after her commander Lucy continued her own leisurely pace down the halls before she finally reached the end of a long hallway. Here, in the far end of the castle stood her room. The neatly hand carved and elegantly finished wooden door was newer than the one's that lead in regular scout's rooms and the entire hallway was kept in a better shape overall, compared to the grimm state of the lesser scouts or even captains quarters. One of the perks of being the emperor's foster child.
Lucy stared at the nameplate embedded onto the stone, a small smile on her face: Bronze Huntress - Commander of the Emperor's Coven.
Her smile turned slightly bitter as she opened the door and quickly shut it before removing her cloak together with her mask and hanging them up on the wall on her right. She took a quick look at the large mirror that stood on the other side, frowning when she noticed just how tired she looked.
Staring back at her with tired hazel eyes was a young teenager with long, spiky brown hair that was commed slightly to her right, with sharp bangs framing her round face. She brushed aside a few loose hairs, but more and more seemed to take their place and quickly gave up. The back of her neck was covered in long hair that fell just past her elbows. Her wide, bloodshot eyes were shadowed and stood over impressive eye bags that could have rivaled Hunters. A few nicks and cuts were scattered around her tan face, with a small scar separating her left eyebrow in two. She thought the scar made her look rather...for the lack of a better word, badass, but wouldn't admit it out loud.
Her eyes wandered to her uniform, as she admired how her caramel skin was complemented by her coppery brown tunic, silver leg wear and silver boots. An undershirt with slightly darker brown peeked from under her tunic and hid her slender arms. She smiled fondly at her attire. It was the one of the many things that separated her from the regular scouts, marking her as someone special, someone important. The design was simple, being an almost direct color swap from Hunter's Golden guard outfit, but she was still proud of the design.
It was her own design after all, approved by both Darius and Belos themselves.
Her smile fell once she noticed the cuts and burns that covered her once pristine wear. Her fingers traced the cuts and bruises that accompanied her torn clothes. A bath and a change of clothes sounded nice but knowing that she was about to leave for another mission quickly made her abandon that idea.
Darius is not going to be happy about the state these are in...
A sudden thought popped into her head and she contemplated if Hunter would have been willing to fix these for her. She knew he had been getting lessons from the abomination head and had even seen a sewing kit along with a guide book that he had hidden under his pillow during her last visit.
She shook her head as a small smile tugged at her lips. If Hunter didn't want her to know about his little hobby she wouldn't say anything about it. Knowing him he was probably waiting till he was talented enough to showcase his new skills and wanted to keep it as a surprise till then. The girl shook those thoughts out of head and focused on the present and what she could do before her next mission. Hazel eyes gazed at her room as she thought of a way to kill time, letting her eyes take in the many sights and oddities of her room. It wasn't anything special, but it was cozy.
It was home.
Unlike Hunter's room, her room's silvery floor and walls had been covered with beige paint and a soft purple carpet took up most of the floor. It was also almost two times bigger than her friend's room, something that seemed to bother the older teen whenever he visited. (though he never admitted it) The back wall that housed the triangle shaped window was slightly lighter than the rest of the walls and a few cracks could be seen in the ancient stone. The walls were lined with trinkets, posters, maps and even a few weapons that she had needed to beg Belos for. They were mostly for decoration - she had her own space in the castle's armory for her real weaponry after all.
In the far corner of the room, opposite of the wall that housed the window, stood a wardrobe made from gray wood with silvery accents. Next to it was her bed, tucked into the opposite corner. A nightstand stood next to her bed, standing against the window, holding her diary and a few of her books, the rest sitting at the large bookshelf that took up the entire wall next to the wardrobe.
The most intriguing and arguably the most valuable thing in the room was the carved wooden egg that sat in a makeshift nest at her desk just in front of the window. The one little secret that no one, not even Hunter knew about…
The one thing that helped her when her guilt threatened to overwhelm her.
Brown hair shook wildly as a slap echoed in the small space. The mark left her cheek red and throbbing with slight pain, but she ignored it. She couldn't think about that now, she had to prepare for her mission.
Push the guilt aside and focus on the goal. That was what her adopted father figure had taught her
Her eyes finally landed on her nightstand, where she picked a book she had been reading for the last few days and dropped drown on her bed, letting the soft material cradle her aching back. It was a simple looking thing, with a neatly hand-carved wooden frame with dark purple bed sheets and a set of differently colored pillows. But it was her safe space. Somewhere where she could alloy herself to get sucked into magical adventures and read stories of fiction without fear of being reprimanded.
She gazed at the small white clock by the window. She had an hour or so before she would be summoned. She had time to finish the book she milled.
She glanced at the sketch of the emperor she had made and hung on top of her bed with other easily recognisable sketches and the bitter memory of the failure of her month long campaign today made her left out a soft sight as she immersed herself in the world of Azura.
If only I could make it up to you somehow my Emperor…
Just when she thought that her day couldn't get any worse she was taught a valuable lesson: Never underestimate her bad luck.
Covered in dust, sand, leaves, slime and other fluids she rather not think about, Lucy waltzed through the streets of Bonesborough, her sway looking more and more like a drunkard. The rest of her squads wavered ahead of her, looking just as miserable. One of them had to be carried by two others, as the conformatorium escapee's strange attack had left them weak and disoriented. While they succeeded in their mission they were less than representable and thus decided to take the long route back to the castle.
In Front of her Lucy watched the covered bars of their transport wagon with pride and guilt. On one hand she had succeeded in recapturing the escapee and that should ease things with Belos for a bit, but on the other hand she didn't like not knowing what was going to happen to the poor creature. While it had attacked them, it was only after one of her men burned its hair(fur?) with a ill-timed fire spell. By the time they had subdued it and thrown it into the cage it looked borderline miserable.
It even sounded like it begged us to stop and looked like it was about to cry…
Luz shook the thoughts out of her head. She was given orders, she followed them. All that mattered was that Belos would be pleased. As her loyalty slowly overtook her quilt her lips turned into a small smile and she allowed her eyes to roam the streets.
Demons of all sizes, witches old and young and few of her fellow coven members were milling about their day to day lives. The colorful people and the buzzing sounds of the market place made for a chaotic yet homely atmosphere. The earlier guilt disappeared completely as it was replaced by a sense of purpose.
This is what she was fighting for. This is why their goal was so important. She wouldn't let her guilt drag them down.
As Lucy continued taking in the signs of her home her eyes suddenly narrowed behind her mask when she noticed something: a loud commotion seemed to gather people around a peculiar stand. Looking at the far ahead backs of her squad mates she signed and decided to investigate.
Not like they're gonna miss me anyway.
Lucy marched through the masses. While she didn't necessarily love her job at times, she enjoyed the way people hurried out of her way (out of respect for the Emperor's Coven she mulled) making her life just a little easier at times. As she approached the stand she could make out the voice of a woman whose yelling slowly overtook the rest of the vendors.
When she finally got close enough and got a brief glance at the merchant, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine as she instinctively readied her muscles for a fight. There, standing just a few stands away from her stood the infamous Owl Lady. The most wanted criminal of the Isles and an opponent she had no chance against, especially in her current condition. The witch had attempted to disguise themselves by hiding their notorious hair under a colourful bandana, but even a toddler could see right through the "disguise". The wild witch seemed occupied with a wooden box that showed weird shadowy figures inside of it as some demons questioned the strange device. Lucy got as close as she braved, contemplating whether or not she should do something about the criminal or not. While it was technically Liliths' responsibility to bring her in, she was still a wanted criminal and a high profile target, and as such fell under her jurisdiction too.
She kept looking for a moment, deciding to leave it for another day. She was too tired and without back up she would have just embarrassed herself. Lucy made a mental note to inform Lilith about the location, scanning the various items littering the stall for anything noteworthy. Her sharp eyes quickly went over all items she could see, and she quickly frowned. Most of the things on display were just thrash, such as the bucket of "human rocks" or the discarded human foot" , making her question the Owl Lady's reputation as the Isle's human expert, but once she reached the highest shelves she spotted something that made her do a double take.
A brown book peeked at her from the top of the shelfs. Worn and tattered but that wasn't what she was interested in. It was the cover that hooked her in.
"Español para tontos" with something that looked like a flag with three coloured lines.
She didn't understand the words but something about them felt familiar to her. An unknown feeling flustered in her chest.
She had been searching for any leads about her human origins, the Emperor had even helped her with it, being human himself, but she had never seen a book written in her supposed mother tongue. Spanish Belos had informed her, after having the young girl go through hundreds of his ancient texts in the hopes they would find something that she might have recognised. The only one that seemed to spark any hint of recognisition was Spanish and the two of them had been overjoyed about the discovery. And while Belos himself didn't speak it, he was somewhat familiar with the country it originated from, letting her hear stories of her home country. Still, there wasn't too much he could tell her, and despite knowing the name of the language her parents might have spoken in, not knowing the language itself had left a feeling of emptiness inside her.
She didn't know if it was the exhaustion or the trauma from today that made her act like this. Perhaps the fear of her possible punishment. Or maybe the small voice that yearned for a chance of getting away from the people who shunned her, who belittled her every chance they got. It could have also been her homesickness imploding at the mention of her supposed home realm. Whatever the reason, she found herself drawn to the book.
She needed to learn more. She had to get that book.
But first she needed a way to get the book without outing herself as the Bronze Huntress. While she hadn't met the witch herself, she was sure the Wild Witch was aware of her…reputation. And Lucy couldn't afford a fight right now, not with the state she was in. And going without her coven attire was out of the question too. She couldn't out herself as a human, not without causing a scene and revealing the secret Belos had his hardest to keep: the Emperor of boiling Isles was hiding a human child in his castle. While everyone in the coven knew about it, it was regarded as a rumor by the regular folk. And Belos seemed happy to keep it that way.
She glanced at her signature outfit, more elaborate and colorful than regular scout's. She did consider swiping some clothes and disguising herself as a regular teen witch and hiding her ears in a wig or something, but quickly let the idea go. She was too tired to go rummaging for a chance of clothes and she couldn't just demand a random civilian to give up their clothes.
Well, technically she could but she didn't want to make things weird.
Just then a look of realization crossed her face, as if a light ball had appeared over her. She did know other people could ask that, while making it just slightly less weird.
Moving carefully so as to not arouse suspicion, the girl slipped out of the market square and tracked down a scout party. After a brief search she found one nearby and used her natural charm (known as outranking them), before she reappeared in the square, clad in a regular scout uniform. She had kept her own mask tucked under her shirt for safekeeping and as a backup in case she had to prove her rank. For some reason Belos had denied her the usual coven sigil, stating that as a human the sigil would only be a decoration and thus not necessary. He did however give her a metallic bracelet that was placed in the sigil's usual spot and worked as her ID. Sometimes however it wasn't enough, especially with some of the more stubborn captains who seemed to treat it as a cheap piece of jewelry.
Oh, how she enjoyed seeing their terrified faces when sending them back to the training camp when she eventually arrived with Hunter or Lilith in tow.
As she slowly approached the wild witch's stand and more of the crowd noticed her they began to move away, until she was the only one there. It was slightly concerning how even a single scout managed to clear out the entire square with their mere presence but she pushed the thoughts aside. Perhaps they just wanted to offer the scout more space, showing their respect for the emperor's coven? The older witch didn't seem to notice the suddenly quiet atmosphere, until her pet(demon, child?) cleared their throat and pointed a claw at the scout.
The woman was still holding the weird wooden box with a black screen. She looked slightly irritated at the interruption, but changed to a more curious look once she finally noticed the change in atmosphere and the lack of customers. The infamous Owl lady's golden eyes scanned the market until her eyes fell on the lonely figure directly in front of her stall, just a few paces back. The black skull demon/thing seemed tense while the Owl Lady looked more suspicious and weirdly annoyed...as if she was simply dealing with an annoying customer, instead of a member of the Isle's elite soldiers.
The disguised scout moved forward, eyeing the wild witch in front of her warily but keeping her movement as unthreatening as she could. Even without magic of her own she could make out the dimm light of a spell circle behind the witch's back. Carefully reaching into her pocket she slowly found what she was looking for and deposited it onto the table. The demon thing jumped back while the Wild witch simply eyed the newcomer. To her relief Lucy saw the hidden spell circle disappear as the Owl lady posed her arms in front of her chest, a mix of annoyance, curiosity and suspicion in her golden eyes.
Lucy took a deep breath, attempting to steel her nerves.
Oh titan, oh titan…what am I doing…this is too dangerous she's the…am I really going to risk angering both Belos and the most infamous wild witch on the same day…
"How much for that book?" Her voice was perfectly calm, her tone carefully crafted to show nothing unless she filled it, similarly to how Belos used his own voice as a weapon of manipulation. She had perfected the art of hiding her emotions, masking them with whatever suited the moment and only letting them out once she removed the literal and figural mask she wore. The only person who managed to crack that mask was the Emperor, as the only person who seemed to withstand his terrifying aura seemed to be Hunter, his distant relative. Though thanks to today, she learned that even Hunter wasn't as immune to it as she thought.
Compared to the terror that was the Emperor, the witch in front of her was nothing.
The woman seemed to squint her eyes at the girl but kept her pose uncaring. She eyed her, the pouch of snails in front of her and glanced around the market before scoffing and responding in a sarcastic and tired tone: "Get a move on Scout. You're scaring the other idi-customers."
That was…rude. Understandable, but rude.
Lucy tried to open her mouth to retort but the Owl lady quickly made a spell circle that knocked her backwards with enough force to launch her at the stall on the opposite side. Her back screamed at the sudden impact but she kept her voice down, only letting out a small yelp of pain.
"And tell the rest of your friends that the Owl Lady doesn't do business with the Emperor's lackeys!"
Lucy massaged her back and muttered "if only I had any". Before she could force herself to stand up a sudden shout got her attention.
"Hey! Watch it Eda the Owl Lady."
Lucy turned around to see a group of coven scouts and a captain heading towards the stall of the wild witch. They didn't seem to pay her any mind and she silently thanked the titan for it. As the scouts and the rude merchant began to exchange words Lucy slowly stood up and started limping to the opposite side of the square. After a few steps however she halted midstep and stole a look at the book on the top shelf.
She knew she was being stupid, she knew this wasn't going to end well. But she had to get that book. This day had gone so poorly, she needed something to cheer her up…even if it meant risking a fight with the Owl Lady.
Taking a big breath, she made sure that the scouts and the witch were busy with each other before slapping a piece of paper on herself. The paper glowed for a second before the girl disappeared from view, leaving behind nothing but neat silent footsteps and footprints on the sandy road. Holding her breath the disguised girl silently half-run, half-limped to the stall, slipped to the side, took a breath and reapplied the invincibility glyph. She then proceeded to carefully slip past the guards, the witch and her weird skull dog. Her back ached but she forced herself to ignore it. When she reached the high shelves, she took out another piece of paper from her pocket and smacked it at the ground just under her feet, keeping her eyes on the group bickering just a few arm lengths away from her. The piece of paper started glowing a bluish white before forming a small stool made from ice that allowed the girl to reach the top row and pick up the book she wanted.
However Lucy had forgotten about one major flaw in her plan. Ice was slippery.
The girl went to step down from her makeshift stool, but a sudden bang, caused by the squad captain mashing the weird box Eda was holding earlier, made her grab the shelf in effort to keep herself from falling. Predictively, she stumbled down with it. She managed to right herself before landing on her already aching back, though another heavy book that had fallen on her face made up for the lack of back pain. Somehow she managed to hold her breath and keep her from being seen, but the suspicious face of the famous wild witch standing over her almost made her gasp. Feeling her need for air rise, she quickly rolled and sprang into an upright position, not bothering to keep the white beaked mask from falling from her face. As soon as she was up, she ran straight towards the back of the tent, hoping to escape by slipping under the tent. She could make out the annoyed voice of the Owl Lady behind her, as she started accusing the guards of breaking her "precious junk". From the corner of her eyes she could see the witch reach for something on her neck before pointing it towards her. Lucy quickened her pace and took a much needed breath of air, her disguise falling along with the girl as she stumbled over a loose piece of something (a cable of sorts?) and was sent rolling for the seventh time that day. The bright light made her eyes sting but thankfully the wooden planks didn't scratch her knees as badly as the rough dirt did.
Wait…planks?
She was sure that the tent had a dirt floor.
Tangled in white cloth, Lucy craned her neck to look behind her and was med with the inside of the Eda's tent, with a very annoyed Eda pointing (but thankfully not looking) at her with a strange, pointy item.
And then she wasn't.
The girl blinked slowly as the Owl Lady and her tent disappeared from her view, replaced by a bright flash of light. A strange sound echoed in her ears, until it vanished along with the near blinding light, leaving behind an open door frame that led to a broken down shack. The familiar feeling of panic started seeping in and she tried her best to control her rapidly beating heart.
The distraught girl spent a few moments getting her breathing under control, before she panicky untangled herself from her borrowed coven outfit and sat down, facing the doorway she had presumably come through. Taking in her surroundings she did a double take when she couldn't recognize them. The soft green of the tent was replaced by light wooden planks and cobwebs, along with two broken windows, rusty nails and twisted and fallen planks.
She blinked once.
Twice
Thrice
Her hands shot to her eyes as she started to rub her eyes roughly, in an effort to clear her vision. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't escape reality. She wasn't in a tent in the Bonesborough marketplace. She was in a shack in the middle of the woods.
Woods?
Her head turned around fast enough to give her whiplash and sure enough she could make out a path and a forest. Though the trees were something she hadn't ever seen before.
Green leaves? And…no red moss?
Her breathing quickened, turning erratic. Her vision was blurry. She desperately clawed her way into the shack, ignoring the hissing that came from somewhere beneath her, hoping it would hide her from the strange world around her.
How How How…WHERE…this isn't possible…what…
Panic attacks like these weren't rare, but usually she had Hunter to help with her. At the mention of her blonde friend a memory of her talk with him a few days earlier made its way onto her consciousness.
"Where do you think she gets all that human junk anyway?"
"It's all fake…it's not like she has a way to travel between worlds. My uncle would have told us if something like that actually existed and used it to show you around."
"Maybe you're right, Hunter. But still…do you really think she could make all that up?"
"She's a con artist and a criminal…I wouldn't trust a word that came from that witch's foul mouth."
Her breath hitched and she could feel cold sweat start to form. As her panic started to take over she tried to fight back, tried to regain control. Her hazel eyes shut before flying open wider than usual. She began looking around frantically, before finally reaching for something tucked under her rapidly moving tunic. As her fingers closed over the familiar surface she eagerly pulled it out and placed it over her distressed face.
Her mask. Her disguise. Her confidence.
Whenever she put it on she felt like a different person. She felt braver,more confident, stronger. She wasn't Lucy the human reject - she was the Bronze Huntress, a leading member of the emperor's coven. The mask had been a gift from her emperor, something to hide her weak self behind. Something to shield herself from the dangers of the outside world. Something to rally behind in her quest for peace and removal of wild magic.
No one had ever seen her without it, apart from Belos and and Hunter. Not even Lilith, her supposed tutor, had gotten to see her without it.
Couldn't see her without it...
As the familiar confidence began to flood into her, she forced her mind to slow down enough to remember the breathing exercises she had developed with Hunter's help.
Breathe in ...1… 2 …3 …4… 5… Breath out
She did the exercise a few more times and willed her eyes open. Hidden by the mask, her hazel eyes were burning with determination. She quickly gathered her thoughts and began to strategize a plan just how she had been taught by the coven, as Lucy was slowly replaced by her more confident alter ego, the Bronze Huntress of the emperor's coven.
Step 1. Confirm your whereabouts.
The Huntress took a final breath of air before carefully examining her surroundings. She was still in what she could only describe as a long forgotten wooden shack. She couldn't spot anything noteworthy, apart from the amount of dust and grime. It seemed like nobody had been here in a while, which suited the young scout just fine. The less people she had to deal with the lower the chances of her doing something stupid.
She peered outside and examined the strange world she stumbled upon. It didn't take long for her to confirm that she truly couldn't recognize the fauna outside. Everything from the trees, to the grass and the sky seemed wrong. Even the air felt more dusty, unclean compared to the magic infused air of the isles. It was also slightly colder and less humid, which she didn't actually mind.
Drawing a shaky breath but keeping her nerves in check she made a mental note of everything she just saw and tried to pinpoint where she could have ended up. She tried her hardest but couldn't come up with anything from the isles that would match her current location. Thinking more broadly she thought of the Owl Lady and her tent. Hunter's words seemed to echo in her mind and the more she thought about them the less crazy they sounded. As the wind slowly picked up she made her way back inside, closing the crooked door in an effort to block out the surprisingly cold wind.
Once inside she recounted the events that led to her being there: A light, a door frame, and then a place she had never seen before. She didn't want to admit but the theory of being trapped in another dimension seemed more and more likely. She was a human after all, it's not like she didn't know the human realm existed. Pushing that terrifying and admittedly exciting) thought aside she thought of her next step.
Step 2. Check inventory and take stock of your supplies.
With slightly shaking hands the huntress searched through her cloak and her pockets, depositing all that she found on the floor in front of her. After one last check in case she missed something ,she looked at her haul and frowned. Five glyph cards, a stack of paper and a pencil, an eraser, a brown sketchbook, 175 snails, her scroll, her portable crystal ball that she used instead of the traditional crow, her survival knife, emergency rations, her bronze guard mask, a water holster and finally the spanish book she had "borrowed" from the Owl Lady. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. She tapped one of the light glyphs, hoping that the familiar sight would ease her nerves but instead of a ball of light the paper crumbled and turned to ash. She frowned but didn't panic just yet. The girl reached for her scroll and opened it, hoping to contact Hunter but found that she had no signal(magic?). She tried the crystal ball but was med with the same result.
As much as she hated to admit it, she was pretty sure they wouldn't have worked anyway but it was still worth a try. The idea of her being stuck on…earth seemed more and more plausible and she was unwillingly beginning to accept that fact.
Step 3. Make a plan.
She was on earth. She didn't like it but there wasn't anything she could do about it so she soldiered on. She looked around the empty shack and decided that it would work as her temporary base. It wasn't cozy or comfortable by any means but the privacy and security it offered far dwarfed her need for a comfy bed.
She survived basic training after all - a few weeks up at the knee and sleeping in cold caves with slitherbeasts made sure she could handle sleeping on a wooden floor.
She had enough food and water to last for a few days before she would need to search for more, so she didn't need to worry about that. The air was warm enough so she wouldn't need firewood. (not that she saw a place to set the said wood anyway). That only left her with a single question:
How do I get back?
Thinking about the whole situation left her with only one choice. She would need to wait for the Owl Lady to return to the human realm and hope that she wouldn't miss her chance. She also had to hope that the portal would appear in the same place it had, but she just had to trust fate on that one.
She groaned as she let herself lay down on the hardwood floor. Her back was still hurting from the push the Owl Lady had given her and the floor wasn't doing her any favors. The girl reached for the wooden mask on her face and reluctantly took it off, removing her cloak next and using it as a rather poor imitation of a blanket, as the thin cape didn't do much to keep her warm. As she settled on her side, almost comfortably, she carefully reached an arm to rub her back and winched as it ached at her touch. Her old "injury" hadn't bothered her for a while but the sudden push from the wild witch seemed to have aggravated it more than she realized.
Still she couldn't stay mad at the criminal. She hadn't known about it and the push wasn't meant to hurt her. If the witch had wanted to actually hurt her she would have thrown her across the square or used an offensive spell. No, the witch had only wanted to make her leave, which the young teen admittedly appreciated. ¨¨
Titan knows, she and the most of Emperor's coven would have much preferred to just blast her to pieces and only refrained from doing so because of Lilith.
The though that a wild witch cared more about a regular scout than they cared for their own made her uneasy, but she didn't get to linger on that long as the exhaustion slowly caught up with her and she drifted off to a restless sleep, the day's worth of fighting and the stress of the last few weeks quickly wearing her down.
Back in the boiling isles, a certain blonde paced around their room, each step filled with seemingly more worry. While Hunter would normally be thrilled at the thought of a day off and the chance to spend the entire day with his books and sewing equipment, today he hadn't even touched any of his study books nor the sewing kit he had received from Darius after he had torn another one of his cloaks during a mission. The young man was grateful for the coven head's thoughtfulness, but his snide comments made it hard to think of them as nothing more than illearobote insults. He glanced at the hand carved clock that Luz had gotten for him as a gift for his acceptance to the emperor's coven and frowned.
"Late. Too late".
While Hunter knew from first hand experience that missions could stretch far longer than they were supposed to, it wasn't normal for the rest of the squad to return without their leader.
Especially with the leader's clothes in hand.
Hunter scoffed at the would-be scouts who had left their commander behind and had tried to take all the glory of the escapee's capture, even though the creature themselves admitted that the one with the "scary" mask had done most of the work.
Well admitting was a strong word…more like gasping out in pained breaths once the guards were done with her. He hadn't been there but it sounded like the creature got what it deserved.
He signed and smiled slightly when he remembered how his uncle had reacted to the news of his precious adopted daughter's disappearance. It felt good to see the slightest bit of anger in the normally stoic emperor's posture and the unhidden anger in his normally level voice as he lashed out at the scout group. His smile fell as he thought that they should have been punished more harshly. 40 weeks of hard manual labor in the knee was nowhere enough to repay for the way they had abandoned Lucy - but he had no choice to accept the punishment given to them.
Groaning in frustration, Hunter todded his armor and left his cozy room to investigate. The scouts he encountered on his trip all moved to hug the wall as the normally cheery guard was seemingly trembling with silent rage. News traveled fast and every scout who valued their position knew it was twice to stay out of Hunter's way when it came to his best friend's well being.
A tense moment came when Hunter almost rammed into Lilith, the head of the emperor's coven. And while she did technically outrank him, even the feared white Crow moved aside after an intense, albeit short standoff. As he felt Lilith moving further away he heard multiple scouts let out a collective breath. Hunter ignored his underlings and kept his pace swift. He passed by a tired looking Darius and in a rare show of understanding the abomination witch stepped aside and held his tongue, settling for a dismissive glare.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, with the only thing keeping him company being the occasional scout milling about and the faces plastered on the colorful tapestries that filled with the otherwise empty halls.
After half an hour of near running, Hunter finally reached the throne room and settled in a salute in front of the two door guards. The guards tensed but nodded before saluting themselves and opening the door. The way the two seemed strangely stiff and avoided eye contact was suspicious but he couldn't linger on that. He made a mental note to have a little talk with them later. His focus quickly shifted when he found Belos standing in front of the throne, with Kikimora nowhere to be seen. The Emperor's shoulders seemed to ease slightly when he felt Hunter's presence and Hunter let his face set into a more neutral expression instead of the scowl he had. He had half expected this uncle to to dismiss him immediately but to his mild surprise the man gestured the young scout to move closer.
As Hunter reached his uncle and Belos didn't make a move to start the conversation, Hunter took the lead.
"She hasn't come back has she?"
Belos shook his head. Hunter noted that it wasn't the usual dramatic shake that he gave when insulting someone during the coven head meetings, or when he was trying to make a point of disapproving something. This one was softer, more personal. It made sense. He might have been his nephew, but Lucy was Belos' foster child. The child his uncle had saved from certain death from the hands of a Wild witch and taken care of as his own. They may have not known how she came to the Isles but Belos made sure she was well taken care of.
Hunter tensed but didn't push it further. He knew better than to push the man known as Emperor Belos.
"Have you heard of her, Hunter?"
The question caught him off guard. "No…I'm sorry. I haven't heard of her since she left for her mission earlier today and we exchanged a few notes regarding the escaped creature's...capabilities."
Hunter winched as instead of voicing his disappointment in him, his uncle stayed silent. He waved his hand and the doors to the chamber flew open and to Hunter's surprise he saw Kikimora of all people, covered in bruises and weird bluish substance that seemed to let out steam, walk in. Behind her a group of coven scouts and captains stepped into the grand hall, all looking less than happy about being summoned there. The Emperor suddenly appeared beside Hunter, his usual terrifying presence hitting him full force. The cold sweat on his brow made him glad he had chosen to wear his mask. He might have been his uncle, but the Emperor was one terrifying man.
Hunter dropped to his knee and felt a firm yet oddly comforting hand on his shoulder, stopping him from reaching the floor. He akwardly rose back up and eyed the Emperor curiously. He found the man standing up at his full formidable height, his head held high and his deep black eyes staring at into the very souls of the scouts in front of him. He could have swore he saw a hint of blue inside them, but didn't focus on that. Even Kikimora seemed to cover under his majesty's gaze
Everyone in the hall seemed to hold their breath and Hunter couldn't help but awe at his uncle's presence.
"Kikimora." That single word managed to make the already air feel more threatening.
The red, knee tall devil eyed the menacing figure before gulping discreetly and beginning her report: "The Bronze Huntress was last seen at the boneburough marketplace, as reported by captain Galaman of district 128." The demon woman nodded towards one of the captains who looked like they just came from the infirmary, shaking in their metal boots. Kikimora's eyes narrowed as she continued the report. "She was reportedly seen with the Owl Lady, disguised as a lower scout."
Hunter narrowed his eyes and felt his anger increasing rapidly. Everyone in the hall had a look of nervousness or downright fear in their eyes as they waited for Belos' reaction. Apart from him and Kikimora that was. And Hunter had to give it to the red she devil, Kikimora managed to maintain her composure under the scrutinizing eyes of his uncle. The tension came to an abrupt end when the emperor's reaction weren't the one they expected.
"Little sparrow finally grew her wings!"
Hunter's brows furrowed in confusion and judging from the rest of the scouts it seemed like they were just as lost. Kikimora's single visible eye seemed comically wide.
The emperor disappeared before claiming his place on the throne, motioning for Hunter to approach. He followed orders and once again knelt before his majesty, this time completing the gesture.
"You are excused from any and all missions for the time being. Please use your time wisely and wait for further orders."
Hunter's eyes opened in surprise and he was about to voice his complaints but his uncle beat him to it.
"Lucy is a smart little lady. I'm sure you want to be the first to join her once she reveals her hand and whatever ploy she has managed to create this time."
Hunter's gaze softened as he slowly took in his uncle's words but he still had questions. This time it was the over enthusiastic voice of Kikimora that beat him. "Are you saying that the Bronze Huntresses disappearance was part of your incredible pla–"
"I'm saying that my little sparrow has made a move on her own. And judging from her company, we might be in for quite the show."
Hunter felt a hint of glee as the emperor's self titled right hand woman's jaw closed with a satisfying clack.
The Emperor turned his attention back to his nephew. "I expect the bronze Huntress to make her move in the following day's. Until then I want you to keep yourself available till we know exactly what she's planning. You are excused"
Hunter gave a nod along with a "Yes, my Emperor." and turned to leave, watching with satisfaction as the emperor made a snide comment about Kkimora's lack of trust and sent her away without further orders, presumably to finish…what ever she was doing before.
As the throne room's doors closed behind him Hunter let his smile fall as his thoughts drifted to his younger friend.
What have you gotten yourself this time Lucy…
Not sure what to but here, but let's go with some basic info.
As you already figured out, this is an AU where Luz was raised by Belos in the demon realm, after a mysterious figure caused her to be trapped there. Luminity end goal, with a few shifts and lot's of drama on the way. Mostly follows cannon events and storyline (shocking, I know), but I do have many ideas and twists to keep it (hopefully) interesting, espicially with Luz's new perspective as a Coven member. Hunter will also have a big part in this story and he'll appear much more than in cannon.
I'll try to update this every couple of weeks, some updates will take longer, but I got all of seasons 1-3 at least partially planned.
Please excuse any spelling mistakes that you find, English is not my first language and I have a have a bit of a hard time with rereading and spotting mistakes, partly because I'm bored and partly because I'm impatient and tend to just glide over everything.
Spoilers I suppose: Lucy will get her real name in time, It just didn't make sense to call her Luz when it was Belos who named her. Her true name will also be an important part of the plot, so don't fret, Lucy sounds just as weird to you as it does to me.