The four girls stayed in each other's arms for almost an hour before finally breaking away and following Luz to the Owl House. The puppet seemed to have become adamant about inviting them to his house and was back to being as cheerful, smiling and funny as ever. Boscha, Skara and above all Amity could do nothing but thank in their minds that a person like Luz existed in the world, and even if their hearts were still gripped by guilt, it was enough to look at the encouraging eyes of the puppet for just one moment so that every negative emotions disappeared like snow in the sun.
Once they arrived at the Owl House, Luz had introduced them to Hooty. The three girls, already surprised by the singular appearance of the house, had widened their eyes when they saw the owl with the extendable neck and especially when he had lifted the whole house on his legs. This action had inevitably attracted the attention of Eda, who had almost fallen out of the window due to the sudden movement, who had then come out to welcome Luz and ask what the three girls were doing there. The puppet explained to her what had happened, and when he had finished the fairy brought her gaze to them. "So, you three are the ones who tricked Luz yesterday?"
Amity, Skara, and Boscha cringed under that stern gaze. "Yes. And... we're sorry" Amity replied bowing her head slightly, imitated after a couple of seconds by her two friends.
Eda stared at them intently for a time that seemed infinite, then he shrugged: "Okay. Come in, you're welcome"
The three girls raised their heads in surprise. "Really?"
"Of course. I'm a fairy, I can read people's hearts. I know when a repentance is sincere. If Luz has forgiven you, I don't see why I shouldn't do it" Eda replied with a smile, then her expression and tone they became so threatening that for a moment the sun seemed to disappear and the sky to turn black. "But if you do something like this to Luz or anyone else again, I'll make you pray to any god who was magnanimous enough to not abandon you again. All clear?"
The three girls felt a shiver down their spines. Even though every time they had seen Eda she had seemed like a kind, calm, funny, perhaps a little grumpy middle-aged lady, at that moment she reminded them a lot of a fire-breathing dragon. "All clear!" they replied in unison with a shrill voice.
Eda stared at them for a moment longer, as if she wanted to make sure they really understood, then she abandoned her threatening look and signaled them to enter. "Good. Come on, come in! Forgive the mess, I'm not used to receiving guests"
In fact the house, although very beautiful, was somewhat messy; Amity noticed that it seemed almost the opposite of Lilith's clean and tidy home. She decided to believe that much of the blame lay in the fact that Hooty had previously raised all of the Owl House, although she seriously suspected that Eda was simply not very attentive to household chores. And in any case she had no time to dwell on the order, since the Owl House was so full of wonder that her attention had no time to dwell on one thing which was immediately drawn to another; Just the fact that you could hear Hooty's breathing through the walls as if there were lungs behind it was something that made her brain go to mush. She felt like she had entered a fairytale house; Lilith's house had some magical elements inside, but few since she didn't really live there (it was rented, since before choosing her as her pupil she was a wandering fairy) and she didn't want to be recognized. Eda's house, on the other hand, seemed to overflow with magical and exotic objects: everywhere she looked there were books fluttering like birds, flickering lights showing constellations and stars, stills in which strange liquids were boiling and emitting scents and smells she had never smelled, colorful plants of a variety never seen before, stairs that turned into slides and vice versa depending on whether someone wanted to go up or down... there were so many wonders that the eyes of Amity, Boscha and Skara seemed to shine like jewels after less than ten seconds of being come in.
Mattholomule, hearing the noise, emerged from his terrarium and was somewhat surprised and confused to see the three girls, but then Willow and Gus approached him and explained the situation. The crab wasn't very convinced that it was right to forgive her, but after all the choice wasn't his, so he simply shrugged his shoulders and looked at them from afar.
It took the four girls over half an hour just to finish the tour; only after making sure they had seen everything did they sit on a sofa in the living room and there they did what they had set out to do, that was, study together. In a short time the sofa was completely covered with books, notebooks and papers in a totally disorganized manner but in which strangely enough a certain pattern could also be found. As usual Amity was the most prepared and was the one who helped Luz the most to understand the concepts she didn't understand; Boscha also helped a little, while Skara, who as usual was not at all prepared, acted more as a spectator. But although that was a completely normal situation, anyone who had met those girls before would have immediately thought that something magical had happened. Amity was smiling in a way that very few had ever seen her: it was the same genuine smile she'd shown at the library, but it was wider, brighter, and she was making no attempt to hide it. Her posture and limbs, usually stiff and fixed, had become much more relaxed, and when she spoke or acted she seemed to pay no attention to her behavior. It was as if the girl who focused on being absolutely perfect had softened, and ironically Amity felt a hundred times better than usual... and anyone who saw her could say with absolute certainty that she now looked a hundred times prettier and happier. Anyone except Luz, who thought she was at least a thousand times prettier and happier. Skara and Boscha were also different and seemed much more relaxed, and their expression was no longer cheeky and mischievous but much more genuine; and even if they both tried not to let it show, they couldn't honestly deny that they felt happy like few times in their lives. Luz, for her part, seemed to be the same as always, or even better: it was as if the bad day the day before had never happened, and that every negative emotion had disappeared from her. Watching her while she studied with her friends, Eda could see the little sun shining with the same intensity as before; although she wanted to remain angry at the three girls for their actions, she couldn't help but thank them because with their repentance they had managed to put the pieces of that broken sun back together. It was unlikely that the sun would stay together forever, but at least now it was shining, banishing all darkness from the puppet's heart, and Eda couldn't be happier about it.
The four girls continued studying until mid-afternoon, when they then decided to have a snack together. While they ate, Skara proposed, "We should study together more often. How about coming to my house tomorrow? It's not as fancy as this one, but I assure you, there are some fun things in there!"
"Good idea. And come to me the day after tomorrow," Boscha said. "I have a very large garden, we can play football there"
Amity smiled a little sadly. She also wanted to invite her friends to her house, but she wasn't sure if her mother would accept. Well, he could always ask her... but he was afraid of the judgment he would make if he met Luz in person. After all, her mother was very particular about etiquette and Luz certainly didn't meet her standards; Amity didn't want to disappoint either her mother or Luz, so she thought maybe she could ask Lilith if she could lend her her house even just for an afternoon.
Luz seemed enthusiastic about the idea, but she said: "Er... sorry guys, but tomorrow I really can't. I have to go back to King, I promised him. But I'll be there in the next few days for sure!"
The three girls looked at her confused. "Who is King? A friend of yours?" Boscha asked her.
Luz gave herself a small slap on the forehead. "Oh, right, you guys don't know that yet! Well, remember the Titan on the beach? I met him! His name is King!"
The three girls stared. "What!?" they exclaimed in unison.
Luz giggled. "Who knows why everyone reacts like this... anyway yes, it's real! But he's not a giant, he's just a young eight-year-old Titan who uses a play of lights to project a large and imposing shadow and scare those who approach too close to his lair. That's why no one has ever found him!"
Amity, Boscha, and Skara were speechless for a moment. Then the latter shook her head: "Come on, you're kidding us"
"Yeah. That's the craziest story I've ever heard" Boscha added.
Amity looked at Luz for a moment, then she said: "This is the craziest story I've ever heard... but at the same time, I don't think you're kidding us. I believe you, Luz"
"Thanks Amity!" Luz exclaimed with a smile. "And anyway you can see for yourselves that I'm not kidding you: if I were lying my nose would grow!"
The three girls stared again. "What?" they repeated.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I assure you it's true" Willow said as she flew overhead, letting out a giggle. "She once made it grow so much that it went out of the window!"
Luz blushed and started arguing with Willow, who in return did nothing but laugh louder and louder. Amity, Boscha and Skara looked at each other confused and amazed: they thought that being a living puppet was already something rather strange, but it seemed that Luz was hiding even more absurd secrets than they expected. After a moment of confusion, however, Skara's eyes lit up: "I think I speak for everyone when I say that this is something worth seeing! Please, tell me a lie! Any lie!"
Luz shook her head vehemently: "No way! I have no intention to do so!
"Oh, come on! This seems so cool!" Skara begged her.
"It's not cool, it's horrible!" Luz replied. "I'd like to see how you would react if your nose suddenly started to grow!"
"Skara, stop it. If Luz feels uncomfortable it's not right to insist" Amity supported her.
And incredibly, even Boscha sided with her: "As much as seeing her nose sticking out of the window would make me laugh out loud, I don't think it's something I want to see. And if Luz says it's not a good thing, then we should... respect her will". And then she added at low voice: "I can't believe I just said that"
Skara let out a displeased sigh. "Mph, you're killjoys! I only asked for a little lie, what's so terrible? I just want to see this unique phenomenon!"
"Your friends are right, girl" Eda said bringing them a basket of fruit for snacks. "You should be more respectful of other people's spaces and will"
"Yes, but I don't think I asked for anything! And it seems like a funny thing" Skara protested.
Eda frowned slightly at the girl's stubbornness, but then her smile widened. "All things seem funny when others suffer them, a little less when you suffer them. You should try to put yourself in other people's shoes and look at the situation from their point of view, miss... sorry, I haven't grasped your name yet"
"I'm Skara" the girl replied.
"Oh, yes! Sorry, I have such a short memory. Wait... Skara? Aren't you the one Luz says always cheats on tests?" Eda asked.
Skara turned red as a tomato, and behind her Boscha giggled. "Me? Ah ah, no, absolutely, you're confusing me with someone else! I've never cheated on tests in my life, I've always studied and gotten my grades only thanks to my hard work and... AAAAGH! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?"
As Skara spoke there was a small flash of light that dazzled her for a second, and when she regained her sight she realized that her nose had grown so much that it was longer than her entire body, and had branched out in several places and leaves and flowers had blossomed in every corner, making it very similar to the branch of a tree; even a nest with some birds had appeared in the middle of it. Amity and Boscha had froze and jumped back, and Luz was a little surprised too, though not as scared as the others. "What happened to my nose!?" Skara shouted.
"Perhaps you didn't tell the truth" Eda replied by crossing her arms and giggling, keeping the tone well on 'perhaps'.
Skara, who until then hadn't had the courage to move a single muscle, hastened to say: "Yes, yes, it's true! I lied, I always copied from Boscha during the tests! Please, give me my little nose back!"
Eda laughed even harder, then she raised her hand and poked Skara's forehead, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards; and as soon as she did, the girl realized that her nose had returned to normal, and that instead the tree branch had remained suspended in mid-air. "Keep calm, girl. It's just another experiment from that illusionist spider" Eda said, pointing to the window.
Everyone looked in the direction indicated and saw that Gus was there with a mirror next to him. "I present to you my latest invention!" he said proudly. "I placed mirrors in specific points of the house so, through a play of lights, I can project the image of what's outside inside as if it were real!" and as he said this he slightly moved the mirror next to him, and the tree branch disappeared from the living room.
The four girls looked beyond the window and saw that outside there was a cherry tree of which one of the branches had exactly the same shape as the one that had previously appeared. Luz's eyes lit up: "Wow, Gus! You're a genius at illusion!" she exclaimed, making the spider blush, and even Amity and Boscha couldn't stop themselves from clapping.
Skara was not of the same opinion. "Don't ever do that again! I almost had a heart attack!"
"Then you don't ask Luz" Gus retorted.
Skara blushed visibly when she realized that what had happened to her was practically what she had asked the puppet to do moments before, and she lowered her head in shame. "You're right... sorry, Luz, I was inappropriate"
"Inappropriate to say the least. Learn that not everyone finds what you find funny, especially if they are the ones who suffer it, and respect their opinions" Eda scolded her. "Oh, and while you're at it, also learn not to cheat on tests. And above all, learn not to tell lies. Remember, Luz is my pupil, but that doesn't stop me from disciplining other kids, and telling lies is the worst habit a kid can have. You better take it off yourself before I take action, because next time I'll really make your nose grow"
Skara swallowed and instinctively put a hand in front of her nose as if to protect it. Luz giggled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I accept your apology. Just... don't ask me again, okay?"
"Okay!" Skara nodded hastily as she felt a shiver run down her spine. She was glad the puppet didn't take it out on her, but she was too shaken by what had just happened to rejoice.
"Going back to the previous discussion, what is this Titan like?" Amity asked to change the subject, or at least take Skara's attention away from her nose. "I mean... is he really small?"
"Oh, yes! But he already has powers, he can spit sound waves" Luz replied. "And he loves stuffed animals. He acts like a little monarch. Trust me, he's adorable... but also terribly lonely. That's why I decided to go back and visit him"
Amity found that explanation incredibly endearing. In fact, going back to someone in need was exactly what he expected Luz would do. "Could we, well... come with you? I confess that I would like to see him..."
"Well, it would be nice, but I ask you to wait a little. I thought I would let him get used to people a little before bringing so many people" Luz replied. "I wanted to bring Gus and Willow first. You know, since they're little, he'll be less likely to feel threatened..."
"Right, about the size of the illusionist spider friend and the strong cricket... I have a surprise for you, Luz" Eda said suddenly.
Willow and Gus's eyes lit up. "Have you complete our amulets!?"
"Hey, what are you talking about?" Luz asked confused.
Eda winked at her. "Luz, my dear... have you ever wondered what your arthropod friends would look like if they had human form?"
It was obvious that Eda would in turn forgive Amity and the others, since she knows for sure that they are sorry, so if Luz agrees to forgive her, Eda has no reason not to. Although she still didn't hold back from showing her protective side