Normal

In a quick second, Amity found herself back in her own living room of her apartment. The familiar surrounding didn't ease her. How she is back in her own life, instead of being a bystander of another one. Now, things can go back to normal as if nothing happened. She couldn't hold back her tears.

"Amity, Amity," her husband was trying to get her attention. "Are you hurt?"

Hunter was pulling at the tangled vines to release his wife. A faint no was her answer. When Hunter was done, he was finally was the purple cat sweat suit she had on and asked by instinct, "What are you wearing?"

Amity didn't answer. She slumped onto the couch and continued to weep. Hunter took a seat right beside her and asked, "Are you in love with her?"

"No!" she snapped. "I only wanted to thank her for her kindness and say goodbye, but now, I look like I'm obsessed and ended up stealing from her."

Amity held up a small crystal ball with a white stand and purple bows. Hunter took it from her to examine it. It displayed a wedding with a human woman in a white tuxedo and purple-haired Amity in a wedding dress. It showed them at the altar kissing and how the human lifted purple Amity in her arms. Their happiness oozed out of the pictures.

"Why did you take this?" Hunter asked.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't have time to put it back." Amity explained.

"You could talk to her again," Hunter offered.

Amity sat up, wiped her face, and leveled her breathing. Hunter can't see the full picture: he never does. "How can I face her knowing all of this? That she could have made me happy this whole time. But it's not fair, because I never met her and I don't know her. Now, I have to live with never seeing her in person ever again."

"No," Hunter interjected.

He was fighting tears himself when he suggested, "We can search here and find her."

Amity didn't believe what her husband just recommended. She asked back, "But, what about…"

"Our marriage?" Hunter interrupted her.

He held up the little crystal ball and said, "We didn't look like this at our wedding. Do you remember when we got married?"

Amity couldn't believe he was questioning her now, but she didn't have an answer. They were cordial colleagues who always tried to one-up each other. Their professional relationship was heavily exaggerated by other coven members. His wife answered, "I never saw my parents that happy and proud of me before."

The honesty surprised Hunter. He added in, "And Belos approved of it."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes to comprehend what they just admitted to. Hunter was mindlessly going through the wedding pictures and stopped at a wide shot of the wedding party. He zoomed into it recognizing a few faces including himself. He decided to break the uncomfortable silence by saying, "I'll help you find her."

Panic numbed her limbs. "If we can find her, she could be dead or still in the human realm. And what if she rejects us? What happens then?" Amity stammered.

Hunter's face briefly showed his fright, before he collected himself. He asked in rebuttal, "Do you want to pretend like this never happened and resume things like normal?"

They both knew that she didn't want that. Guilt-ridden Amity apologized to her husband he responded, "Don't apologize. I never thought living like that was accessible. I'll sleep in the spare room from now on."

Loud knocking interrupted Amity's research. She was in no condition for guests and wanted to go back to sleep. However, it didn't sound like guests. "I know you're in there, Mittens!" a loud voice shook the apartment.

She should have seen this visit coming and it's a lot easier to get it over with. Amity opened the door for her two older siblings, Edric and Emira. They stared at her in horror. Amity smiled and greeted them, "Hey, it's been a while huh?"

"Have you been crying?" Emira softly asked.

"What's wrong?" Edric matched her tone.

Amity just received news that Eda, the Owl Lady, and her entire house were missing and presumed dead. It worsened her fears that Luz was probably dead too, but how can she explain that to them? They have no idea who Luz is and why she's relevant.

She let her older siblings in and they took their seats. They were well overdue for an update. Amity sensed their concern and wanted to diffuse the situation. "It's been hard readjusting after spending days in between realms," she used her cover story.

She and Hunter decided not to tell anyone about the other timeline until they know what to do with Emperor Belos. It didn't look like the twins don't believe her. "That's it? You look and sound horrible," replied Emira.

"I probably caught something," Amity lied again.

Both groaned. "Is it the Golden Guard?" Edric darkly asked.

"No, he's been very supportive of this," Amity defended him.

Hunter's been a little too eager to track down the human witch for her. As if it is one big mystery game to solve. It's just another topic that she can't discuss with them. "Guys I'm telling you that everything going to be okay. Both of us have a lot on our plate," she vaguely explained.

Her halfhearted smile wasn't easing their worry. It was the worse possible time for the Golden Guard to rush through the front door in full uniform and mask holding a manila folder. "Amity, I have new development with…" he trailed off.

Hunter was too excited to notice that his in-laws were here too. They exchanged delayed and awkward welcomes. "I thought Amity was off work. Can this wait?" Emira asked.

"It's not work and it will only take a second. It's about the witch we're looking for." Hunter talked through his mask.

Amity perked up. She needed to hide her anticipation; it must be crucial if it couldn't wait until after work. "It's fine. What is it?" Amity giddily asked.

"A trio of bandits attacked a coven head yesterday and this was found on the scene," Hunter stated.

He pulled an evidence bag of a small strip of paper. It looked just like the light glyph, but with a different symbol. Edric and Emira were not impressed. "It's just a piece of paper," Edric said.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Emira asked.

Amity carefully took the bag with both hands, trying not to activate the glyph. She gawked at it with disbelief. "It's not just a piece of paper. It's a spell. It also means that…" she stopped herself.

She started to tear up and the twins rushed to her side asking what was wrong. It also means that there is another Luz, alive and here in the Boiling Isles. The little paper eliminates the two worst-case scenarios by simply existing. They were confused by her sudden giggle and asked with a deranged smile, "Bandits?"

The Golden Guard only nodded.

"How is this a spell?" Edric asked annoyed.

He grabbed the bag before Amity had time to react. The touch made the glyph light up and began to sprout vines in all directions. Thick green vines and flowers were sprawled out all over the room and spiraled around the four family members that locked them in their places. None of them had a second to grasp what happened before Amity started to laugh hysterically.

Amity received a text from the Golden Guard to investigate an ongoing attack on the plant coven head. She immediately put on her Emperor Coven uniform, grabbed her staff, and flew straight to the site. There was chaos; witches were running around screaming as big explosions and smoke caused mass shock and confusion.

"It's the Golden Wife!" a mocking voice said.

The first thing she did was clear the smoke. Two witches on their palismans were glaring while circling her. Both of them were wearing hooded cloaks, one navy and one dark green, and matching masks that covered half of their faces. Even with their identities hidden, Amity could tell neither of them was Luz.

"Hi Honey," Hunter's voice sounded off.

The Golden Guard flew in front of her and pumped a fist in the air. "Let's get snag them together!" the Golden Guard said with a peppy voice.

It was obviously an illusion and she didn't have time for this. Instead of engaging, Amity flew into the illusion and beelined for the building's entrance. Dodging vines that tried to grab her staff and feet. She found herself in a large room with a high ceiling. Near the top Amity saw another bandit with a bright red cloak.

The Red Bandit was distracted from drawing on the wall. Amity used the opportunity to creep closer to her. It was a woman who looked similar to the human witch. When the Red Bandit glanced at Amity, she froze in place. In the small space between the hood and mask, Amity could see Luz's eyes and curly hair.

"H-hi," Amity stammered.

Luz took off and flew out of the window. Watching that made Amity's heart drop. Out of options, she went after her. Luz was fast. In moments, they were already outside the city and in the forest. Amity had to catch Luz in a purple bubble.

Amity saw Luz frantically look in various directions to verify that she is trapped. She held up both of her hands as she approached and said, "Hey! Hey! It's okay! I'm not going to do anything. I just want to talk."

Amity tried to sound sincere, but she was also out of breath. Luz only glared back. Amity's mind was scrambling trying to think of a way to prove that she was not lying. While Luz pulled a potion out of her cloak, tossed it, and unleashed a cloud of smoke into the bubble. When the smoke cleared, Luz was gone.

But, how? Amity repeatedly thought to herself. She pulled apart the bubble and floated around in the negative space. Defeated, she slumped to the ground and groaned into her hands.

Note: One of the two bad endings was prevented - A. Leaf