While the kids were having fun at the seaside, Eda was left alone at the Owl House. It was almost strange for her to be there with no one around: even though she had spent practically ninety percent of her life like this, now she didn't like seeing the house so empty at all. She had truly become a family lover... a mother, as Luz had told her, and she didn't mind one bit. She couldn't stop thinking about what the puppet had said to her the day before. Being told that he wanted to call her mom had made her happier than ever; thinking about it was enough to feel a strange sensation in my stomach and my heartbeat to accelerate. Eda had never hoped to become a mother in her life, and she had never tried to replace Camila in her role as a parent, but in any case every time the puppet had defined her as a second mother she felt a great surge of affection in his heart; and when the night before she had confidently confirmed that she saw her as a mother figure in all respects she felt overwhelmed with joy. Maybe that was why he couldn't stop wondering now if he should try doing some mother-daughter activities with her.

Who knows if Lilith had ever been called that way by any of her pupils; Eda hoped so, it really was a wonderful feeling and she wouldn't mind her sister feeling it. Who knows, maybe sooner or later Amity would end up calling her that, even if just by mistake; after all, Lilith was a much better mother figure than the girl's real mother, so it wouldn't even be too wrong.

She was so immersed in such thoughts that she almost didn't notice that someone was approaching the house even though she was sitting directly next to the window, and only when Hooty came to tell her that he had a guest did she realize that there was someone at the door. She immediately went to open the door and visibly blushed when she found Raine in front of her. "Um... hello" the bard said to her, who was even more embarrassed than she was. "As I said yesterday, I came to check if you had recovered... can I come in?"

Eda swallowed hard. Her heart was already tangoing and her cheeks were on fire. After what had happened the night before, or rather after what she had heard the bard singing the night before, she wasn't sure she could handle a conversation with them; but anyway she replied: "Yes... yes, come in"

Raine nodded and went inside, and they both went to the kitchen. Neither of them said anything while Eda prepared a herbal tea and offered it to Raine, who accepted it willingly, while she instead took an entire bottle of wine and, not caring about politeness, began drinking it without even pouring the contents into a glass. Raine drank their herbal tea very slowly, and they almost seemed to hope that Eda would say something; the problem is that Eda was hoping for the same. Finally, since neither of them seemed to have any idea how to start a conversation, Eda broke the ice with the first thing that came to mind: "So... have you sorted out the Titan Trappers?"

Raine nodded, and they didn't even try to hide their happiness at finally being able to say something. "Yes. We took them to the police station and that witch did some sort of mind control on the guards so that they would think that they had arrested them. They have a long stay in prison ahead of them. They won't bother us again... although I doubt they would have done so, Odalia really terrified them". And in saying this they didn't hide a tremor.

Eda couldn't blame them. She was still half unconscious when Odalia arrived on the battlefield, but she was still able to clearly see how she had literally pulled the intestines and other organs, including the brain, from the bodies of the Titan Trappers. It had been a scene that had scared even her a little, so she could understand the fear Raine felt. If before that night she slept with one eye half open due to the presence of a witch there in Bonesborough, now she would surely sleep with both eyes wide open; Odalia had proven to be much more dangerous than anyone imagined. Aside from her rather great magical power and particular skill in using spells, she had also shown that she didn't have the slightest scruple about doing unspeakable things to anyone who went against her. The only silver lining was that she at least seemed to want to hold back as long as her children were present, but otherwise she was definitely a dangerous witch. Eda wasn't someone who was easily intimidated, but she wasn't stupid either; if there was potential danger, she kept an eye out for it. And Odalia had already proven to be manipulative, dictatorial and after the night before even sadistic. Eda was grateful that at least she didn't seem to be interested in power or that she had her family keeping her in check, because if she had let loose without constraints she could surely have effortlessly enslaved the entire region or even more.

Seeing that Eda looked very thoughtful, Raine tried to get her attention again: "Um... anyway, have you and the kids recovered?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, thanks for your concern. We're good now. I have all my powers back, Luz and I made up, and none of the kids got hurt. They went to the beach now" Eda answered.

"Yes, Darius mentioned something like that to me when he returned to camp last night. He also told me that Luz expressed a desire to turn those arthropods into humans, is that true?". At Eda's agreement, Raine smiled: "She's a really good girl. You're raising her really well"

"I hope so" Eda replied. She was silent for a moment, then she decided to reveal: "Yesterday she told me that she would like to call me mom"

Raine almost spat out the herbal tea they were drinking. They immediately thought that that was extremely sweet, but they stopped themselves from saying it right away because they weren't sure how Eda would react; however, seeing that she was smiling and with dreamy eyes, they understood that they must be happy about it. "That's really nice. Are you okay with that? I mean... sorry to say it, but you haven't exactly always been the kids type... not that I don't think you'd be a great mom..."

"I'm happy about it" Eda interrupted them. "I know, I'm not exactly the person you would expect these words from, but... I really like that she considers me on par with a mother"

Raine smiled back at her. "Well... you'll be a perfect mother, don't worry" they told her. "Luz is a sweet, adorable, intelligent and judicious girl. Having you as a fairy godmother certainly did her good... I'm sure having you as a mother will do her even better"

Eda blushed. "Thank you, Raine"

The bard nodded, then a thought struck them: "Um... now that I think about it, why does Luz only call you mother now? I mean, she's a living puppet, so I always took it for granted that you created her with magic, but then she would have always called you mom... so I assume she was born another way...?"

"She was born from a piece of Palistrom wood carved by a human woman named Camila. I just gave her a little push to start moving" Eda answered them. "That Camila is Luz's real mother, not me. At most I was the midwife who assisted her in the birth, even if it wasn't exactly a classic birth"

"Oh, I see..." Raine murmured, trying to put the pieces together. They had to admit that Luz was quite confusing: even being able to reconstruct the way she was born required effort on their part. "So... where is Camila now? Does she live far away, and did she entrust Luz to you for this, or...?". The dark veil that passed over Eda's face immediately made them understand everything. "Oh, I... gosh, I'm sorry... I hope Luz didn't feel too bad..."

"A loss is terrible for everyone... and what's worse is that Luz feels responsible for the fact that Camila is no longer here" Eda told them, and Raine's eyes widened at those words. "To put it simply, she accidentally started a long series of completely fortuitous coincidences that led to her and Camila finding themselves at sea along with her adopted sister Vee and many of their friends... and there they met Belos"

The cup fell from Raine's hand and spilled onto the table; normally the bard would have quickly apologized and grabbed a rag to clean up, but at that moment they were completely frozen. They were looking at Eda with their mouth wide open and their eyes bulging. "Luz… met Belos…?"

Raine had been lucky enough to never encounter the terrible sea monster despite all their travels, but they had heard enough stories to be aware of how horrible he was and above all his cruelty. Throughout the world, meeting Belos was considered a fate worse than death; every creature that lived in the sky, on earth and in the water feared him, so much so that many of them would have preferred to commit suicide rather than let themselves be caught by him. Raine felt their heart ache at the thought of Luz meeting him in person; even if she had survived, it must have been a traumatic experience for her. And if her real mother really wasn't there anymore...

Eda confirmed her suspicions: "She was the only one to survive, along with the spider and the cricket. Everyone else was devoured in front of her eyes, including her mother. And ever since then, Luz blames herself for that what happened, even if it was just bad luck"

Raine felt a lump form in their throat. Okay, that was definitely not something they'd expected... and they'd almost prefer never know. Luz had met Belos, watched her mother and friends get eaten, and on top of that she blamed herself for everything? If the puppet had been present there Raine would have immediately hugged her tightly. "Poor girl..." they murmured. "How can she still smile after such a tragedy?"

"Luz is strong. She's recovering... step by step" Eda answered them. "Believe me, when I found her after the disaster... she wasn't smiling at all"

Raine felt a bitter taste in their mouth and clenched their fists. They remained silent for a moment, then they said: "Eda... trust my words... you are an extraordinary mother. Because only an extraordinary mother could have given that girl the will to live again after having suffered things like that"

Eda felt a little proud of those words, but it still wasn't enough to improve her mood which had become somewhat dark. She tried to think of something else: "Let's forget it. Rather, I'm surprised that you didn't know anything about it: Luz told me that she had tried to ask Darius if he could give her back her family..."

"Darius doesn't tell me the secrets of his other masters. Even if it doesn't seem like it, he knows how to respect other people's privacy" Raine replied. "And also he's been acting a bit evasive for a couple of days. Last night he came back quite late, and he didn't tell me where he'd been, and again today he went off on his own without telling me where he was going. Which worries me, because I can see in his eyes that there's something seriously bothering him. Do you know anything about it?"

Eda shook her head. "Last night I said goodbye to him while he was accompanying Hunter to his inn. You should ask that guy, he's the last one who saw him". She smirked: "He's at the beach with Luz and the others, by the way; if all went well, he'll be busy swapping spit with Willow now. And I hope Luz is doing the same with Amity"

"Why? Wait... Willow and Hunter have an affair? And Luz and Amity too?" Raine exclaimed in surprise.

"No, at least not yet. But Luz realized she had a crush on Amity and she... well, she kissed her last night, so I'd be surprised if they didn't go all out today. And Willow always had an interest in Hunter for a while, so seeing her best friend confess, maybe she will have the courage to do the same too" Eda replied, and she couldn't hide a tender expression. "I really hope they were able to confess well. They deserve that happiness"

"Yeah" Raine nodded. "Nothing is better than being loved by someone"

Silence fell between the two again, then Eda took another long drink from the bottle of alcohol and sighed: "Raine... you remember what you sang while you were under hypnosis, right?"

She didn't need an answer: Raine's attitude fully demonstrated that they remembered every detail. They had proven it since the night before actually. "Um... yes" they admitted. "Listen, I..."

Eda didn't let them continue: "So those are really your feelings, hm?"

Raine bit their lip, but they answered truthfully: "Yes, they are"

Eda looked down. "I didn't imagine that you... suffered like this"

"Eda, I don't want you to feel obligated to..." Raine said quickly.

"But I should have imagined it" Eda interrupted them again, and she looked them in the eyes: "I should have because I have suffered the same way for all these years"

Raine fell silent. It took them a moment to process what she had just said. "You mean..."

"I also feel a terrible pain in my heart every time you are not here with me, Raine. And I feel it even more when you are here, but we are not together in... that sense" Eda told them; she was clutching her shoulders as if she were very cold, but she didn't seem willing to stop: "And... and I too... I would really like to make amends for the past... and move forward..."

Raine was happy to hear her say those words, but they already knew that wasn't all. "So, what is the problem...?"

"It's my father's missing eye that's the problem!" Eda exclaimed, and she did it in a voice so loud that it almost sounded like a scream. Raine tried to say something else, but the fairy drank the wine that was still in the bottle in one gulp, and then she threw it on the ground, smashing it. "His missing eye, his half-atrophied arms, and all his other wounds! The scars will remain forever, and he will never again be able to see properly or walk without a limp, or even move his fingers properly! I still haven't had the courage to look him in the face after what happened because of our... our..."

Raine stood up and put their hands on her shoulders. They could feel her trembling slightly. "Eda... breathe" they whispered to her.

The fairy seemed more relaxed at that contact, but she still passed a hand over her eyes to dry a couple of tears. "Do you know why I find it so easy to understand Luz, or at least enough to act the right way when she's upset? Because no one understands a person who feels responsible for hurting someone more than someone who is in the same situation as them" she said in a mellifluous voice. "Raine... I know what you want from me, I want it too... but fairies and humans are not meant to love each other. When that happens... someone always gets hurt. What if next time it's Luz's turn... ?"

"Eda... it won't happen" Raine tried to tell her. "I promise you it won't happen..."

"Raine, please, stop it. Don't make promises you can't be sure you will keep, you know I hate it almost more than lies" Eda said moving away from them. "Raine... the two of us can't be together. Not without living in fear of endangering everyone around us. We've already taken the risk once and it turned out badly. I really want to marry you and call you husband... but I can't. It would be madness. These things have never ended well, ever. The last time a fairy and a human got married, the monster who took Luz's real mother away from her was born"

"Since when do you care about what happened to others in the past?" Raine asked her.

"Since what happened to others in the past was about to happen to us too! Since my father lost an eye and half of his mobility! I may be eccentric and enterprising, Raine, but I'm not stupid!" Eda trembled and put a hand on her face. "And I don't want... I don't want anyone else to get hurt... I don't want next time to be you... or Lilith... or Luz..."

But while she was still speaking suddenly two arms wrapped around her and held her tightly; Raine hugged her and rested their forehead on hers. Eda was surprised by that unexpected contact, but then her arms moved of their own accord and wrapped around the bard's body, and held them even tighter to hers. They remained in that position for some time, then Raine said to her: "Eda... I'm scared too, more than you think. And that's why I understand your fears. Every time I think back to that moment, I'm terrified, and the memory of your father's bloody and sore face fills me with guilt. Dell was always a good man to me; he wasn't my father, but that doesn't mean I didn't see him very similarly, just like Luz he sees you as his mother even if you're not. Seeing him in that state... was traumatizing for me too, even if not to your level. I would really like to go back and fix it, and just the thought of moving forward and starting over is enough to make me tremble. But despite this I still want to try". They took her face in their hands and looked her straight in the eyes: "What existed between us... was something too beautiful, and I want to relive it. And this desire of mine is stronger than my fear. I don't want to die with regret. I prefer to spend my life with you aware of the risks we will take rather than have a longer and safer life but without you. And... it's true, I can't promise you that everything will be fine... but I can do this: I promise you that Luz won't get hurt. Not her, not any of the other kids who live in this house. I won't let it happen"

Eda stood still listening to them, then a faint smile formed on her lips. "You always had a knack for saying the right thing at the right time, Rainestorm..." she whispered with a half chuckle. "You know... Luz's potential girlfriend told her something very similar last night. And just like Luz, even though I know you have no real power to keep this promise of yours... I can't help but believe you"

Raine blushed slightly at being called the same nickname Eda had given them when they were young, but they tried to remain lucid: "Well... because it's the truth, and you know it. These things have nothing to do with rationality, are simply... true. They don't follow logic, like magic; they simply come from the heart"

"Magic follows a logic, it has its rules. And it comes from the heart because that's where the magical source is" Eda replied with a laugh, wiping away a tear. She looked Raine in the eyes again, and her arms moved up to tighten around Raine's neck.

"Don't do it" her rationality was screaming at her.

"Just do it" her heart was telling her.

It wasn't difficult to figure out which of the two she chose to listen.

Her lips were on Raine's, and she felt like she was being quenched after years of not receiving even a drop of water. The bard opened their eyes in surprise, but that didn't last even a second; the next instant they were reciprocating with the same intensity. Their bodies rubbed even more forcefully against each other and their tongues chased each other continuously. Both of their hearts were dancing, and they seemed to want to break their chests now that they were so close to touch each other. Without lifting their lips from each other in the slightest, Eda abandoned her human form and transformed back into a fairy, and she also wrapped her wings around Raine; then she lifted them off the ground without even a little effort and walked until she reached her bedroom. It was there that Raine interrupted that contact for a moment and looked at her seriously: "Eda... are you sure?" they asked. "I've desired this moment for a long time, but I don't want you to end up regretting it. If you're not sure, let's stop now before it's too late"

"It's already too late" Eda replied. Even if she had wanted to stop she would no longer have been able to: by now her brain had been thrown into oblivion and her actions were completely governed by her heart. "Just for today... just for today let's forget about everything and let ourselves be governed by this feeling. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, what I will decide to do, whether we will get back together or not, whether we will have the courage to take that risk... but only for today, let's forget about these problems and live in the absolute present. The kids won't be back until tonight; there's no one here who we'll risk hurting... or who will bother us". And with that she kissed Raine again; this was enough for the bard, who in turn, forgetting all rationality, dragged her into the bed.

That day strange things happened near the Owl House; not that it wasn't normally a strange place already, but that day the magic contained within it seemed to go completely out of control. If someone had passed by there they would have seen the surrounding trees rise up and walk on their roots, the flowers dance and intertwine with each other, merging into new varieties and colours, the grass grow at an unnatural pace, dry out, crumble and then be replaced by other shoots, mushrooms on which eyes and mouths appeared and began to sing, insects that began to fly all together, forgetting all the rivalries between species as if they had just obtained an excessive amount of joy and love. Fortunately, the Owl House was located in a less frequented area, and therefore no one witnessed that strange sight. The only one who was not affected by all those strange phenomena was Hooty, who remained practically immune to them and continued to doze in the doorway, complaining only from time to time because some ivies were wrapping themselves on the walls and ruining the stucco, but since such plants were also covered with flowers of a thousand colors that continually bloomed, he ended up accepting the situation quite passively.

Only towards evening did the situation calm down, as quickly as it had begun; everything returned to normal, and there seemed to be almost no sign that anything had happened. After about ten minutes, the door to the Owl House finally opened and Raine walked out, followed by Eda. They both looked like two people who had run a marathon. "Wait, let's do this" the fairy said snapping her fingers, and immediately all the sweat disappeared from them and the hair returned to its previous hairstyle. "At least this way you will avoid embarrassing questions when you return to your friends"

"Well, I'll still have to make up an excuse for being missing all day" Raine said with a weak laugh, then their gaze turned serious: "So… what happened today… doesn't mean anything?"

Eda shook her head. "What we did today means nothing. But... I can promise you that I will think carefully about what we said to each other and... I will try to evaluate the options sensibly"

Raine smiled at her. "That's enough for me" they said. "I will always love you, Eda. Entrusting our hearts to each other is dangerous... but I already belong to you. I will always belong to you. Never doubt that"

"I've never done it" Eda replied. "And don't ever doubt that my heart belongs to you... even if I don't know what I will decide to do"

They both looked at each other, and they seemed almost ready to give each other another kiss, but a familiar voice greeted them: "Eda, we're back! Hi, Raine, it's good to see you too!"

The two turned to see Luz running towards them with her usual wide smile, followed by Willow, Gus, Matt and King. "What are you doing here? Wait..." the puppet's gaze became inquisitive. "Were you two here alone?"

"There was Hooty, technically" Eda reminded her, and the owl cooed a couple of times as if to confirm her words, but which the fairy knew was his way of secretly telling her: "I understand, I'll cover you"

"I just came to make sure you were all okay" Raine explained to her. "You know, after last night..."

"Why do you have one of Eda's feather in your hair!?" Luz almost screamed.

Raine noticed too late that one of the fairy's feathers was on their head, and Eda bit her lip trying to come up with a plausible excuse, but luckily Hooty came to her aid by saying: "It was all my fault, hoot hoot! Eda had prepared some hot herbal tea for Raine, but I came in because I was chasing an insect, I hit the cup and it flew towards them, so Eda transformed and stood on top of them to protect them! Poor woman, she got burned for because of me! Luckily she healed immediately thanks to magic!"

"Um... yeah, that's exactly what happened! Thanks, Hooty!" Eda hurriedly said, looking at the owl with great gratitude, and then she quickly changed the topic: "Rather, how was your day at the beach?"

Luz's inquisitive gaze immediately disappeared, replaced by a sunny expression. "It was wonderful! I got together with Amity!"

"Oh... oh! This is wonderful!" Eda exclaimed happily, clapping her hands. "Then we have to celebrate! We need a nice dinner..."

"But Willow was rejected by Hunter" Luz added with a bit of sadness in her voice, even though the aforementioned Willow was still saying not to worry about it.

"Uh... well, then we need a nice dinner both to celebrate and as consolation! So, go and change, I'll get to the stove so you can tell me everything later!" Eda said, and the kids obeyed her and ran into the house; when they were finally alone again, the fairy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank your idiot friend for me" she said to Raine.

The bard scratched their head. "Yes... maybe Darius would have been better off keeping his mouth shut... or at least being a little less explicit" they admitted with a bit of shame. "Well... I'll scold him again tonight, although I doubt he'll listen to me. See you tomorrow, Eda"

"See you tomorrow, Raine" Eda replied. They both seemed to still have a million things to say to each other, but despite this the bard turned and left, and the fairy went back into the house and closed the door behind her.

"Sir, for the last time, we must censor the explicit scene!"

"Why? It's perfect! Those two were phenomenal!"

"For starters, you filmed them with a hidden camera and without their consent!"

"I wanted them to act as realistically as possible. What's the problem?"

"Second, this is an all-ages cartoon! We can't show sex scenes!"

"Let me get this straight, assassination attempts are fine, traumatizing minors is fine, turning people into monsters is fine, but when passion and nudity are involved, then have we to stop? We don't need to censor acts that if carried out in reality would get us convicted of crimes against humanity, but when it comes to the ultimate expression of love and union do we have to hide everything?"

"Yes, exactly!"

"What kind of fucking logic is this?"

"I don't know, sir, but that's how it works! If we show a sex scene the religious extremists and the good family lobbies will throw the whole crew down!"

"Pathetic... this world is really falling apart. I grew up watching Piccolo tear off his own hands to regrow them and Lamù walking around with just a bra! Those were the cartoons of my generation, unlike all these modern rules!"

"Yes, in fact look what a psycho you have become..."

"Excuse me, what did you say?"

"Nothing, sir! Anyway, like I told you, we can't show that scene!"

"Ugh! All right, put in the censorship! Represent the carnal intercourse in the ways these pathetic parents want, put in flowers that bloom and trees that dance and shit like that! Look what someone has to do nowadays to bring an animated series ahead..."