The following days were calmer. Luz had carefully observed Eda and realized that, even though she still hadn't given any definitive answers, she had become a little more sure about her feelings for Raine. Now she went to visit them personally at least once every three days, and Raine did the same hoping not to cross her halfway. When they were together, they both seemed more relaxed and calm than before, especially the fairy; Luz didn't want to take credit for it, but she couldn't help but look at Eda with an air of superiority every time they locked eyes, and for once the fairy didn't scold her about it and blushed and smiled amusedly, an instant before telling her to leave her and go play with her friends or have fun with her girlfriend, an order which Luz promptly obeyed while laughing heartily.

In this way, the days passed quickly; and finally the day everyone was waiting for came, that is, the one in which Amity would turn exactly fourteen and a half years old and would finally become a witch in all respects. Needless to say, her friends took her almost by force after school to the Owl House where they had thrown her a party complete with a cake on which was written in icing: 'Happy fourteen and a half birthday, girl!'. They had obviously had a blast, and Amity had been really happy with all the attention she had received.

When evening arrived, they all put on the clothes they had received as a gift from Raine and headed towards the Blight Manor. "So, Amity?" Luz told her as she walked with her, keeping her arm wrapped around her neck and rubbing her head against hers, resulting in the cumbersome hat on her head continually falling off in front of her eyes. "Are you ready for the big event?"

"Come on, Luz, you're tickling me!" Amity laughed as she tried to break free of her grip, even though it was obvious she wasn't putting any effort into it. "Anyway, yes, I'm ready... I can't wait to do it, actually"

"I can see that. Tell me, how do you feel about the thought that you'll soon be able to do a lot of amazing magic?" Luz asked her again.

"Well... my chest is very itchy" Amity replied. When she saw the puppet's confused expression she burst out laughing. "My chest has been itching for a couple of days because my magic is awakening"

"Ooooh... it's all clear now" Luz said. "Please remember that you will have to show yourself to me in witch form as soon as you are transformed!"

"I already promised you I will" Amity reminded her.

"Yes, but I still want to reiterate it! You have to come to me first, understand? I want to be the first to be able to admire such a divine spectacle!" Luz replied, resulting in Amity blushing and peppering her with kisses as a reward for those words.

"Hey, hold back, girls" Gus told them. "Luz, Amity should start working on her concentration now. Having you constantly teasing her isn't going to help her"

"What are you saying, Gus? What Luz is doing helps Amity concentrate. Look, now she's completely focused on one thing" Willow said, giggling. "The problem is, that one thing is Luz herself. If there were magic instead of her, Amity would be fine"

Everyone burst out laughing. Amity was also laughing genuinely: even though she was very nervous about what would happen soon, her friends and above all Luz's constant presence had allowed her to forget about it for the whole day. She also felt decidedly confident; she was ready, she was convinced of it. She had no reason to be afraid.

"Just to know, what exactly is going to happen?" Willow asked her. "I mean... will it be some sort of ascension, the sky will be torn apart and magical stuff like that, or will everything be much calmer?"

"Well... nothing too dramatic" Amity replied. "According to mom, there will be magical ripples in the fabric of reality, as it will be like activating an explosive on another plane of existence, but no one will notice anything in this plane"

"Oh well... if it's that simple, then will you make it at home?" Gus asked her.

"No, we will go to Mirkwood. There is a large amount of dark magic there and the negative forces are powerful, it will be easier for me to juggle to complete the magical balancing" Amity answered him. "But don't worry, thanks to Ghost we will get there in less than ten minutes. The process shouldn't take more than half an hour, so after an hour maximum we will be back"

"Can't we come with you?" Luz asked. She didn't like having to part with Amity at such a crucial moment.

Amity scratched her head. "Luz, I don't think my mother would approve of a spectator, and besides... I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, you are able to move thanks to magic... I'm not sure how being around a large amount of dark magic would do afflict your body"

Luz couldn't help but agree with her: after all, she was only alive thanks to the magic of Eda and the Palistrom wood that existed within her, so getting close to someone who would generate an explosion on the magical plane couldn't have been such a brilliant idea. It would have been like going near a burning tree and playing with luck as to whether she wouldn't get burned. But that knowledge didn't stop her from protesting: "But Amity...!"

"Luz, I'm afraid you need to step aside this time" Willow pointed out. "Amity is right, approaching her at a time like that would be dangerous. And besides, jokes aside, I don't think having you around while she needs total concentration is a good idea. Knowing you, you'd do something adorable and make her lose her focus"

"Hey! I can stop being adorable!" Luz protested, but as she did so she pouted and puffed out her wooden cheeks, looking very much like an offended squirrel, and Amity couldn't help but 'ooooh' at the sight.

"See?" Willow said in a strange voice, as if she didn't know whether to laugh or be serious. "Come on, Luz, don't throw a tantrum. You two will only be separated for an hour at most. Then she'll come back and you can have your witch girlfriend take you on her magic broom"

Seeing so much opposition, Luz finally lowered her head and gave up in defeat. Amity gave her a kiss on the cheek to cheer her up: "Come on, Luz, it's only for an hour. Then you have my word that I will kiss you in witch form"

Luz was a little happier at those words and forced herself to smile, but despite that the worry did not abandon her heart. It was as if a part of her didn't want to be separated from Amity... and she didn't think it was just a selfish desire. She felt like something was telling her that something bad was going to happen very soon... even if she couldn't figure out what. She had a really bad feeling.

Finally they came to the Blight Manor, and they gathered in the garden. Soon they were all there: Amity, Luz, Willow, Gus, Matt, Boscha, Skara, Cat, Amelia, the Blight twins, Hunter, Lilith, Eda, King, even Raine and their companions. "Isn't Darius here?" Luz asked noticing the djinn's absence.

"Since knowing him he would definitely say something inappropriate, I asked him to wait at the camp. He will come to congratulate Amity as soon as it's all over... and as soon as her mother has left her side" Raine replied with a little embarrassment in the voice.

"Good, because if I hear that djinn talking out of turn in front of the kids again I swear I'll tear him to pieces" Odalia said as she walked out of the Blight Manor.

As soon as they saw her, Amity, Edric and Emira's eyes widened. "Wow, Mom, you look great!" Amity exclaimed.

Odalia wore a finely embroidered midnight-black dress that reflected the light of the moon and stars, creating shades that made it appear as if she were actually wearing a piece of the sky. The dress fell to her feet, and opened slightly, revealing two black high-heeled shoes. On her head she wore a pointed black hat whose base was made up of silver tips that adorned her head like a crown, and on her wrists she had beautiful golden bracelets; around her neck she had her usual necklace ending in a beautiful pink jewel. "Do you like it? I haven't worn this outfit in a while. Given the occasion, I thought it was appropriate" she said. "You and your friends also dressed well, I see... unlike your two siblings"

Amity giggled and blushed slightly, while Edric and Emira protested: "Hey! We wore what Mittens brought us, it's not our fault if she has no aesthetic sense! And they don't look so bad on us"

And indeed it was true: even if they didn't compare to their friends' outfits, theirs were still quite beautiful. Edric was wearing gray lumberjack trousers and closed shoes suitable for walking in a forest, and a yellow sleeveless t-shirt with a campfire embroidered on it and two large glasses without lenses; he seemed a real explorer, and in fact it was precisely an explorer that those clothes had belonged to. Emira, on the other hand, had a simple sports uniform made up of very short trousers and a purple shirt with blue sleeves; given the comfort of those clothes they probably belonged to an athlete, and in fact she had left her hair loose instead of tying it in her usual ponytail precisely with the aim of appearing more athletic than she actually was (indeed, it almost seemed that the mere thought of doing sports causes acne). All in all, they were pretty cool outfits.

Odalia raised her hand and called back Ghost, who already flew in the form of a magic broom into her palm. "Let's not waste time. Let's go, it's not long until the hour!"

Amity nodded. According to what her mother had explained to her, the awakening of her magic would occur at midnight; as cliché as it sounded, it was inevitable since all witches became witches at that time. At that moment it was still half past eleven, but going to Mirkwood a little early was certainly not a bad thing. "Okay" she said, jumping on the broom. "Bye, guys. See you soon"

"Yeah... good luck, Amity" Luz waved, and then, because she just couldn't shake the fact that something was going to go wrong, she added, "And be careful"

"Of course, Luz. See you later!" Amity waved, and she and Odalia zoomed off into the sky. The puppet continued to wave her hand, but the smile on her face faded a little anyway.

While this was happening, Gus noticed the absence of a member of the Blight family; not that he was surprised given the person in question, but nevertheless he whispered to Edric: "Did your father stay in the house?"

But Edric shook his head. "No, recently he's been out late. He's been back after midnight for a couple of days. Who knows what he's doing out there, the pubs and inns are closed at that time"

Unknown to Edric, however, his father had found another source of entertainment than what normal men could have: a source that took the form of a certain djinn who now often invited him to keep him company even until late, they didn't risk finding themselves without beer since he could make as much as he wanted. "... and so I said to him: 'Sorry man, but your plan is to build a road at sea level. I don't know if you've noticed, but if you cross it at high tide you find yourself a squid in the wagon!'. He was so embarrassed his head looked like it was going to explode!" Darius was telling him.

Alador chuckled at the djinn's tale. The two were sitting in the now deserted BATTs camp, enjoying two large pints of beer around a fire. "Did you really tell him that?"

"Yes, but... I censored all the unkind words in between" Darius responded with a big laugh, and he took a sip of his mug; he was already about to fill it with magic again, but then he had a better idea: "Hey, listen here... Raine hides a couple of bottles of fine wine from some vines on high mountains in a western country. How about I go look for them and then duplicate them, so we can have a drink without them knowing?"

Alador nodded with a smile. "I like the idea. I'm in"

Darius wasted no time and got up to go to Raine's tent to look for the bottles in question. Alador was alone for a moment and found himself looking at the starry sky. He had to admit that the djinn was indeed relaxing company, and was distracting him quite well during that fateful night... but that distraction quickly vanished when he noticed something moving at great speed in the sky and heading towards the nearby Mirkwood. Yep, it was almost time...

Alador trembled slightly and clasped his hands nervously, sweating on his forehead. It was about to happen. What his wife had waited decades for was about to be accomplished. And Amity would be the key to that success...

"Yes, and in your opinion will this make her happy?"

"I'm giving Amity greater happiness than she already has"

"I can't keep quiet and back down anymore, not when you're putting our daughter in danger..."

"She's MY daughter!"

He put a hand in front of his face as the conversation he'd had with his wife that evening rang in his ears. He had tried. He had tried to reason with his wife and had failed. He had tried to stand up to her, but she had broken him in a matter of moments. He had never had a hope. He had never been fit to be a father... he wasn't the kind of person willing to sacrifice himself for anyone. He was just a coward.

"Keep this in mind: as you always said, Amity is my problem, not yours. Remember this and never dare to rebel against me again"

He just had to mind his own business, like he always had. Just one night, and then it would all be over. And then, he might be wrong, and his daughter wouldn't be as upset as he thought. After all, he barely knew her; it was possible that she had a more callous heart than he imagined, and that she would have been happy to accept the task that her mother would have entrusted to her. After all, Odalia wasn't a risk taker, so it was possible that she had actually prepared Amity for that.

But it also had to be said that Odalia wasn't even a person who listened to others much... and who understood concepts like empathy.

Alador shrugged. He had to ignore all that. It wasn't his job to meddle. He had no right to do so, he had always held back for fourteen years. He had already destroyed his chance. He just had to mind his own business...

Or maybe not?

Perhaps fate was providing him with another opportunity. He had already destroyed his chance at a united family, but did he still have a chance to do the right thing? A single true fatherly act towards his youngest daughter...

A father protected his children, always. Alador had never done this for fourteen years, at least towards Amity.

But he could do it at that moment...

He put his hands in his hair. It had to stay there. He shouldn't have interfered. That wasn't anything that concerned him.

He had to stay there.

He should have stayed there...

With a start he stood up and let out a couple of deep breaths. He stared at the tent in front of him, where Darius had entered; he was sweating profusely by now. That was the only choice that fate put before him: he could ignore the problem he had always had, or go into the tent and talk about it with someone who could help him.

Finally he made his decision.

He rushed into the tent almost running and found the djinn busy rummaging through Raine's things; as soon as he saw him he grabbed him by the shoulder and exclaimed: "Darius!"

The djinn turned towards him with a surprised look, and he seemed somewhat embarrassed. "Um... buddy, look, don't feel bad, I'm not saying I'd mind... but I think you should at least actually divorce your wife first..."

"What?" Alador realized too late that his action could be very misunderstood. "No, it's not that! I'm not interested in you in that sense!"

"Oh, thank goodness, you saved me the shame" Darius replied. "Well... I'm not saying you're ugly but..."

"Darius! Now's not the time!" Alador almost screamed, and the djinn became serious as he heard his trembling voice. "Listen to me, please! I should have told you about this sooner, I was an idiot! The town is in danger... Amity is in danger!"

The show is about to begin...

By the way, Edric and Emira's clothes are the ones they wear when they remove the concealment stones