Amity's Lament
Summary: While practicing with Raine, Amity wonders about her ex-mother after having one of her attacks.
(SC)
Amity thought this was the perfect time to practice with her harp; Camila was taking Boscha to see her moms while Luz and her mom were doing something in the human realm.
She barely began playing when a dull pain went through her wrist, causing her to wince. She magically suspended her harp in the air, took off her bracelet, and rubbed her wrist.
"I thought your soul stone dulled the pain because you shared it with Luz?" Raine asked, walking up to the tri-track student.
Blinking, Amity looked up and smiled an empty smile. "Yeah, but with Luz in the human realm."
Amity didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't need to. Raine nodded, summoned their violin, and sat beside their soon-to-be niece.
"But what are you doing here, O'pa Raine?" the tri-track student asked curiously.
Raine chuckled as they tuned their violin. "I was here to see Eda about something. Hooty told me she was napping, and that's a beast even I'm not brave enough to fight."
Amity nodded and grimaced. She had a bad memory when someone tried to wake her aunt when she was having one of her "deep" naps, as the Familia called them.
So, she put her bracelet on and grabbed her harp. Amity waited a few minutes for Raine to finish. She frowned when she noticed the slight grimace on the older bard's face.
"Are you okay, O'pa Raine?" Amity asked in concern.
Raine looked at Amity with a small, reassuring smile. Amity's frown deepened when she noticed Raine's hands were shaking ever-so-slightly.
"I'm fine," the older bard assured. "I just been burning things on both ends, and it's starting to catch up with me."
Amity continued to look at her family member with concern, and Raine continued to smile at her. She sighed after a second but made a note to talk to Eda when she was up.
Raine was finished with their tuning and grabbed their bow.
Now that the two were ready, Raine started by playing their masterpiece. Amity nodded as she got beat for the sing and soon joined in.
Raine smiled as they listened to the niece of their fiancee; despite only playing together a few times, she was in perfect sync with the older bard.
Odalia really must have been a fool not to see the great child she had, was Raine's thought as they returned their attention to their performance.
Amity suddenly let out a loud yell and dropped her harp. Raine snapped their head in the witchling's direction and gasped when they saw her grasping her bad wrist.
"Amity!" Raine yelled urgently, "Are you okay."
Amity clenched her jaw, breathed through her teeth, and didn't look at Raine. The older bard could see how much pain the young witch was going through and quickly acted. They began playing their violin, and bard magic flowed from it.
The bard's magic covered Amity, and slowly, her breathing evened out. The painful expression softened as she gave herself to the magic in the music. It took two minutes, but Raine's magic eventually soothed Amity's pain.
Amity sighed and leaned back against the house. Raine stopped playing and put their violin away.
"How are you doing?" they asked after a moment.
"Better," the tri-track student replied weakly but smiled at Raine gratefully. "Thanks, O'pa."
Raine returned the gesture, and both silently decided a break was in order. It was nearly five minutes before something happened.
Raine saw Amity move from the corner of their eye and turned their head. They frowned as they saw Amity looking at her right wrist with a thoughtful expression.
"Everything okay, Amity?" the older bard asked.
Amity didn't answer right away. She stared at her wrist for a few seconds, then sighed faintly.
"...It's stupid," she muttered discouragingly.
Raine smiled softly and grabbed Amity by the shoulder. She looked into the eyes of her fourth parental figure and saw nothing but warmth.
"Amity," they reassured the witchling. "Nothing you say is stupid. Your words matter…You matter."
Amity smiled as warmth filled her. She was truly blessed with such a great family. It filled her with joy that she was loved by so many.
She sighed and looked back at her wrist. Raine waited patiently for their sort of niece.
"It just… every time it happens, I can't help but wonder why," Amity explained, voice quiet. "Why did Odalia do it? Why risk it all to use one of the most dangerous spells to curse me so I would obey her again? It just doesn't make a lot of sense."
Raine frowned as they remembered what they told about the incident. Odalia risked her entire life to steal a spell, only to use it in the most trivial way. It didn't make a lot of sense when one thinks about it.
"But, the more I think about it, the more Odalia's action makes little sense," Amity said, bringing Raine's attention back to her. "She had so much going for her and still wasn't enough. She always wanted more, to make the Blight name as big as the titan's head. Titan! She wasn't a Blight by blood and treated the name like it was hers and hers alone. I didn't even know her birth name until Hunter said it."
Raine looked up at the sky and frowned as they thought about something.
"...Golddaggers," they muttered softly, "I haven't heard that name since I moved to Bonesborough."
Amity was a little surprised by this and gawked slightly at the bard. "Did you know them?"
Raine looked at their future niece and smiled. "Only through word of mouth."
The bard could see Amity wanted to know more from the look in her eyes.
"The Golddaggers is a high-class family around the part of the Knees I grew up in. But, unlike most families in their standing, the Golddaggers were humble. They also came from a long line of plant witches and teachers. There were even rumors that Terra Snapdragon studied under a Golddagger."
Amity stared at Raine for a few seconds, then looked at her wrist. Hearing about her ex-mother's birth family and how humble they seemed made her more confused than ever.
Raine saw this and offered up a suggestion. "Hey, about we head over there, and you talk to them. I bet they would like to meet their family."
Raine stood up and offered their hand to Amity with a smile. Amity looked at her hand and then at Raine. She didn't even think twice; she grabbed Raine's hand, and the older bard helped Amity to her feet.
(G Corner)
And with this, we begin the "Golddagger" story Arc. What secrets will Amity learn on this short but important trip? Well, just stay tuned to find out.