Squeaking door hinges fill the silence that has so far filled Luz's room at the owl house. It's Hooty, sidling into her room as quietly as he can with the goal of waking her up. He sidles up to her until he stops just above her head and peers down at her.
"Hoot morning Luz", he screams shrilly. Luz immediately startles and accidentally slams her head against Hooty's face.
"Ouch!" they both complain, "Dammit Hooty... Morning..."
Quickly, Hooty retreats back out of her room.
"I made breakfast. And we're out of griffin eggs."
Wearily, Luz falls back onto her pillow.
It is the day immediately after the Bonesborough Brawl and nearly ten hours after Emira flew Luz to the owl house, where she immediately fell asleep in her room. She didn't even have a chance to change into her sleeping clothes.
Luz doesn't remember the flight itself. She only remembers that she had promised Emira at Blight Manor that she would answer a question about her date with Amity. How much and what exactly she had told her in the end has slipped her mind.
'Amity...', Luz sighs inwardly as a few painful images of their previous evening flash back into her mind. Especially Amity's completely anguished expression towards Luz, during her last fight, has been burned crystal clear into Luz's memory.
At the moment, Luz is extremely conflicted. On the one hand she wants to continue spending time with Amity, because she means a lot to her. On the other hand, she was so obsessed with this stupid belt, that she was unreachable for any reasonable arguments. And then there is Luz' past... In less than two months she has already lost a lot of people she cared about. Eda and King petrified, Hop Pop briefly murdered, and she has now involuntarily abandoned all her new friends in Amphibia as well. Luz isn't sure she could bear to lose Amity as well...
Luz snaps out of her thoughts as she realizes she has been in a downward spiral.
'Nope, I'm not going there now. Amity is fine. She's alive. I saved her...'
With a shaky breath, she straightens up. Her eyes fall on Owlbert, who casts her a worried glance at the end of her bed. He is chirping.
"N-no, thank you. At least not yet", she tells him, "Suffice it to say, it didn't go well."
Luz runs a hand over her eyes and Owlbert jumps to her feet. He chirps again, a little higher this time. Luz smiles.
"Yeah, I could really use a bite." she says, getting up and heading down the stairs with Owlbert and into the kitchen, where they immediately spot Hooty hovering by the stove, wearing a chef's hat.
"Good morning again Hooty", Luz says with fake cheerfulness. Hooty has a wooden cooking spoon in his beak and is scraping with it through a pan full of scrambled eggs. "You really weren't lying when you said you made breakfast. Thank you. That's really thoughtful of you."
Hooty slowly puts down the spoon while Luz joins in and takes a clean plate. Luz helps herself to the scrambled eggs and sits down at the table in the middle of the room until she suddenly notices how quiet Hooty is.
She looks up from her plate after eating a few bites.
"You... were talking in your sleep...", Hooty suddenly says. He sounds just as worried as Owlbert earlier.
"You were both eavesdropping on me?", Luz asks Hooty and Owlbert, who are on the opposite side of the dining table. They exchange worried glances for a moment.
"You were screaming. It was impossible not to hear you", Hooty tells, "We had tried to wake you up, but it didn't work... You had a bad nightmare, didn't you?"
"Oh, yes. Totally. A nightmare, you're right", Luz suddenly stutters.
'I can't tell them... I can't tell anyone what happened yesterday... They're worried enough about me already. I don't want to make it worse'
But at this point, Hooty already suspects that it must have something to do with yesterday. Never before has Luz spoken in her sleep. And certainly, never screamed.
"Something happened yesterday, didn't it?", Hooty asks with a sympathetically concerned tone. Luz wastes no time in hastily changing the subject.
"Oh titan, is it that late already? Come Owlbert, I have an appointment with a healer. See you later Hooty", and Luz rushes out on the kitchen door and quite a distance away from the Owl house.
Luz runs with Owlbert in his staff form in hand for a few minutes until she comes to a stop by a thick tree, against which she leans with one hand. Her breathing is still quite shaky.
Luz leans the staff against the tree and lets her back slide down to the ground, also leaning against the tree. She feels like yelling. And like crying. And that at the same time. Her eyes are completely dry and she can't make a sound.
Owlbert moves away from the staff again, jumps down to Luz and lands on her knee. Luz notices that he is looking at her, but she can't look him in the eyes right now.
"I know what you're going to say", she speaks softly to him, "And yes, you're right, I'm not doing well. Not at all."
Owlbert doesn't make a sound. His gaze remains fixed on her eyes and the pain beneath them.
"I... I can't talk about it. Not with you, not with Hooty. I'm sorry, but I just can't."
Part of her expects objections or an argument about how it would be better after all if she opened up and trusted the people, she was close to and Owlbert would indeed be able to tell Luz all this, but instead he continues to remain quiet. He tips down her leg, spreads his wings and hugs Luz.
Luz, after a moment's hesitation, places her hand on Owlbert's and returns the gesture.
"Thank you", Luz whispers, to which Owlbert chirps.
They both sit between the trees for a while longer, saying nothing. It is a rather comfortable silence. The wind rustles among the leaves, the ocean lashes against rocks not far away... This atmosphere has an extremely calming effect on Luz. Something that she can use very well right now and seems to actually help.
Owlbert startles after a while when he hears what sounds like a distant roar. Luz giggles at this, whereupon he gives her a confused look.
"That was my stomach", she explains. She had eaten some of the scrambled eggs, but it was obviously anything but enough. Yet it was surprisingly tasty. "I feel a little guilty for just taking off like that..."
Owlbert chirps.
"True, however, I do in fact have an appointment with a healer in Bonesborough. I had promised her to teach a certain glyph. Long story", Luz explains, whereupon Owlbert nods once and changes back into his staff form. She can't help but be emotionally touched at Owlbert's acceptance, patience, and caring. Actually, the very fact that she can understand him at all is remarkable, considering that he belonged to Eda and came to Amphibia only by coincidence, together with Luz. Did Owlbert make a conscious decision to actively communicate with Luz? Does the possession status after Eda's petrification pass to Luz for some reason, which is why she can now understand him? Or is the bond Luz shared with Eda the deciding factor?
The thought of asking Owlbert this herself does not occur to Luz. Instead, she gets back up, wipes the dirt from her clothes, puts on her concealment bracelet, and takes the staff Owlbert has placed himself on again, and as she makes her way toward Bonesborough, she philosophizes about how palismen decide who can and cannot understand them, if they can influence it at all.
Not too long later, Luz arrives at the outer border of Bonesborough and the first few structures appear along the way.
She runs her hands through her jacket pockets, hoping that she hasn't lost the healer's business card.
Diane Liwin, Chief Healer
Rosewolf Avenue 42
Luz looks at the business card carefully as she tries to pull up a map of the city in her mind, because off the top of her head she has absolutely no idea where Rosewolf Avenue is supposed to be. At moments like this, she regrets never paying attention to street names. Funnily enough, this problem is not new. Even back in her hometown on Earth, Gravesfield, Luz only knew one street name, and that was the name of the street where she has lived all her life.
"You wouldn't happen to know where that is, would you?", Luz asks Owlbert. He just chirps indifferently, whereupon Luz chuckles. "Yes, I remember how much Eda avoided healers... She always brewed potions herself when she could, and her own healing spells were always the best too."
Owlbert chirps sadly.
"I miss her too... Come, let's move on. Best we go to the marketplace and ask someone there for directions", Luz suggests and Owlbert chirps warningly. "I know, but the marketplace is unfortunately on the way to all the places I know where we could ask someone."
Luz had told Owlbert earlier that Eda's statue is in the middle of the marketplace, but he himself hasn't had a chance to see it and mourn it since he and Luz got back. And as much as he personally would like to get there, he knows that the human he is accompanying is anything but stable and thinks it would be a better idea to avoid the marketplace. But Luz is determined.
Both of them make their way through the narrow, empty streets until, after a short time, they arrive at the crowded and lively place. Many witches and demons walk around between many different stalls, selling and buying all kinds of possible and impossible stuff. And in the middle between all the people, living their daily life, stands out a meter high statue. The petrified Eda, the Owl Lady, in her cursed form.
Luz has to hold on to the wall of a house as she catches sight of her again. Owlbert looks back and forth between Eda and Luz and notices that it seems increasingly difficult for her to keep her composure. Repeatedly, Luz looks from Eda down to the ground. It hurts both of their hearts to see her like this.
Owlbert flutters to Luz's sleeve, grabbing it in his beak, forcing Luz to move on. They both scurry past the statue, but Luz manages to glimpse at the plaque on the statue that she changed the first time she was here, and looks to see if anyone has erased it again.
She suddenly stops as if stuck to the ground and stares at the plaque
Edalyn Clawthorne, the Owl Lady
A Symbol of Love, Hope and the Chance for a Better World
Your sacrifice will not be forgotten
We miss you deeply, little witchlet
A true inspiration for us all
I wish we had more time together. Miss you
Tears of joy spring from Luz' eyes. Many people had written more loving dedications to Eda under Luz' text, and even though someone apparently tried to remove Luz' text, the attempt was probably abandoned. Instead, only more people came.
She squeezes Owlbert close to her.
"She was not forgotten... There are still people who miss her...", Luz says through happy tears. Owlbert also seems to be emotionally moved.
Luz looks up at Eda, right into her face. And smiles.
She puts her hand on one of Eda's. Then the second. And on top of it she lays her head. Next to her, she notices Owlbert hugging Eda's other arm with his little wings. It is just as if the rest of the world does not exist right now and fades away past her.
She and Owlbert remain in this pose for a while, until they eventually decide to move on. Owlbert hops on Luz's shoulder while she carries the rest of the staff. The two make their original way through the crowded marketplace. In the middle of it, however, Luz turns back and waves a sad farewell to Eda with a smile before disappearing with Owlbert behind a building into a side street.
"I guess it wasn't a bad idea to walk through the marketplace after all, was it?", Luz asks Owlbert, who seems to agree. Still, he gives an additional questioning chirp.
"We'll be right there"
Luz had not yet revealed to him exactly where they were going. After all, to ask anyone for directions, there would have been more than enough opportunities in the marketplace. She seems to be looking for someone special.
A familiar sign on a nondescript house facade appears, reading 'Mr. Elixir'. Luz walks faster and faster towards the open sales window, where a witch with shoulder-length brown hair, gray funnel and a mint-green top is standing with his back bent down opposite of her.
"Morton!", Luz calls out, at which the witch jumps up.
"Luz?!", he asks happily in disbelief before turning around and giving her a confused look. "Oh, sorry... I just thought you were someone I knew."
After a moment's thought, as well as a careful look around, she takes off her concealment bracelet, and the illusion, still showing a red demon with goat legs and small horns on her head, suddenly dissolves and the real Luz appears. Morton is very happy to see her.
"Oh Titan, it's really you", he exclaims joyfully. Luz puts the bracelet back on.
"Yeah... I've been... somewhere else in the meantime", Luz explains roughly.
"I think it's really great that you're alright. I was afraid you were... you know..."
"I'm alright. Say, could you help me with something?"
"Sure. What do you need?", Morton asks, at which point Luz pulls out the healer's card.
"Do you know where this is? My location skills aren't very well developed", Luz says, slightly embarrassed. Morton considers for a moment.
"Yes, of course. That's Chief Healer Liwin's clinic. I always supply her with various potions and poisons after closing time", he tells.
"Poisons?"
"Sure. Believe it or not, some diseases can really only be fought by poisoning the body. Bleeding weasels, for example."
"Don't you mean more like 'measles'?"
"No."
There is a moment of startled silence between the two.
"Anyway... Can you tell me where her clinic is?"
Morton leans out the window and points to the left with an outstretched arm.
"See that big building back there?", Luz's gaze follows his arm.
"The library?"
"Yeah right", he confirms, "If you're standing right in front of the main entrance, turn further left and follow the street until you come to a blue brick wall. At one point you can just walk through it and the clinic is right behind it."
"Thank you so much, Morton", Luz says gratefully.
"It was my pleasure. And it was very nice to see you again. I hope you'll come by again sometime."
"I'm sure I will. Thanks again"
Luz says goodbye and storms off towards the library. Luz feels unusually energetic right now, as if the whole world belongs to her and she can accomplish absolutely anything. Smiling, she runs through the streets, feeling faster than ever before. She feels great.
She runs past all kinds of witches and demons, guards and students, buildings blur beside her and people look after her in wonder. Not even a minute later, Luz arrives at the blue brick wall Morton described.
"Superspeed, nice...", Luz comments casually. Owlbert chirps. "Really? Oh wow, I would have really liked to see that from the outside..."
Luz slowly feels her way along the wall and sure enough, in one spot, a small opening hidden by an illusion, just rough enough for Luz to stick her hand in. Without hesitation, she does just that and part of the wall next to her seems to blur. She goes straight over to it.
Normally, people would approach such a wall rather cautiously, perhaps reaching a hand in first. Luz, however, sticks her head right in before the rest of her body follows.
Luz had expected this to be followed by a path leading to the clinic after Morton's description, but nope. Luz now stands directly in a well-lit, white, sterile-smelling room. Luz must think directly of the anteroom of her dentist on earth. White walls, scattered wooden elements on the walls, strange paintings on the walls and the smell of disinfectant in the air.
'Disinfectant? Here?', Confused, Luz turns around and the passageway she just passed through now appears to be a simple doorway. Luz leans back so that only her head is sticking out again outside and she sees the blue wall.
"An illusion. For our protection and that of our patients", speaks a voice from in front of her. Luz brings her head back in and suddenly notices a witch with short, red wine-colored hair and a white uniform peering at her with a curious raised eyebrow.
"Why protection?", Luz asks, making the witch seem a little taken aback, "And why does it smell so... much cleaner in here?"
"As it seems to me, you don't know where you are right now...", the witch remarks.
"Um... Chief Healer Liwin's clinic? She had given me this card and told me to stop by today...", Luz explains and pulls out the card. The witch takes it and relief fills her face.
"Good for you for showing me the card. Otherwise... Well, better you don't know. Welcome to the clinic of Chief Healer Diane Liwin. This clinic is for all those who have been rejected by the system. I am her assistant. Call me Alsa."
"An underground clinic? Cool...", Luz exclaims excitedly.
"Precisely. Officially, this place doesn't exist and where better to hide than right in front of everyone...", Alsa explains.
"Makes sense, I guess"
Owlbert chirps uncertainly in confirmation.
"Chief Healer Liwin has another patient right now, but she'll see you in a minute" Alsa explains.
"Um, thanks... I can't really wrap my head around the underground part yet... Are you guys like rebels? And if so, against what exactly? Against Emperor Belos, the coven system, or the system in general?", Luz asks. Assistant Alsa has meanwhile sat down behind a table right next to the entrance.
"Is there a difference?" she asks sarcastically.
"Not really."
"Exactly. This clinic is actually relatively new. It's only a few weeks old, so we hardly have any patients yet. Building an underground resistance like this takes time", Alsa tells her.
"Why are you actually telling me all this so directly? Aren't you afraid I might be a spy or something?", Luz asks, to which Alsa chuckles in amusement.
"Heh, no. The hole where you stuck your hand in earlier that unlocks the entrance only works for people who don't have the Emperor's Coven seal. It's a very powerful spell, built in by the founder of this resistance. A bard. Never met them. All I know is that they got caught not too long ago."
"Alsa, are you talking our patients ear off again? This one seems to only have two of them anyway...", Chief Healer Liwin jokingly remarks as she walks into the antechamber where Luz and Alsa are talking, accompanied by what appears to be a male witch.
"Oh no. Just a little talk", Alsa replies.
Liwin walks with the witch past both of them to the door and tells him to be more careful in the future who he pisses off. He thanks her and leaves before Liwin turns to Luz.
"I'm so glad you were able to make it here", she remarks.
"I happened to be in the area...", Luz tells her.
"Of course. If you would follow me..."
Healer Liwin leads Luz to a room, which is far in the back of the clinic. She opens a door for Luz, who is astonished when she enters. In contrast to the anteroom, where everything was sterile white, this room can almost be called an indoor garden. Many potted plants hang down from the rather high room and the walls are also partially covered with various plants. Occasionally, cabinets still hang on the walls, but the only part where you can see that is the tiled floor.
"Not bad, right? This is where I grow my plants for medicine", Healer Liwin tells her. She creates a green circle and vines on one wall form into an oblong table and a chair.
"Healing and plant magic?", Luz asks in amazement. Healer Liwin smirks.
"Not only that. I also built this entire building here", she tells Luz.
"Wow... Call me impressed."
"Thank you."
"I suppose you want me to explain to you now, how the healing glyph works", Luz guesses. But to her surprise, she declines.
"No. If you don't mind, I'd like to examine you first".
Luz is a little surprised by this.
"W-why? There's nothing wrong with me...", Luz answers.
"The sudden drops of sweat on your forehead say otherwise. Also, I see your concealment bracelet.", Luz slaps her hand on her bracelet immediately after.
"H-How?"
"Even before I opened this clinic, I practiced healing for a large part of my life and saw a fair amount of stuff. It's not uncommon for people to hide their injuries with simple concealment stones. Often, it's violence in relationships, not letting their employer see their injuries, or something like that... But when I look at yours right now, it doesn't seem to be an ordinary stone. It looks like a very high-quality customized stone..."
Luz's mouth drops open in amazement.
"... ... Well, the last one is correct...", Luz confirms. "But also, only that. I have no injuries"
"But?", Healer Liwin inquires. Luz hesitates. "Kid, I didn't become a healer to judge people. And I won't tell your parents or teachers either, if that's your concern..."
"Not even to the Emperor's Coven?"
"This clinic stands against Belos, which is what Alsa told you earlier, if I heard that correctly", Liwin says.
"Okay, okay...", Luz now says, admitting defeat. Her gut tells her that she can trust Healer Liwin. She takes her hand off the bracelet and slips it off her hand, whereupon the illusion fizzles out and instead of the red demon, a brown-haired human girl now sits there.
"Ou-kay... I didn't expect that...", Chief Healer Liwin admits in surprise, "You are Luz... the human..."
Luz nods in confirmation.
"Wow... Well, I'll hold on to that secret of yours."
"Thank you."
"But I still insist on being permitted to examine you".
"I don't think that's a good idea", Luz indicates.
"You don't think I'm competent enough to diagnose a human?"
"No, no... After all, I saw what you did for my friend yesterday... The thing is... The last time someone did a diagnostic spell on me, it crashed an airship..."
"That sounds like just another reason to perform a diagnostic spell...", Liwin says confidently.
"But I don't want you to get hurt."
"I'll be fine... Come, lie down on the table please"
Luz realizes that it's no use trying to talk her out of it. She might as well go along with it and maybe learn something about herself.
Luz lies down on the table that Chief Healer Liwin has previously created from plants. Before casting the diagnosis spell, however, she casts another plant spell to tie her legs to the ground and create a support for herself so that she doesn't fall over or fly away in case of doubt.
Chief Healer Liwin begins to cast the diagnostic spell and Luz squints her eyes. As Luz expected, a massive blast wave forms on her, devastating the entire room and knocking Liwin to the floor with enormous force, despite her plant-based safety precautions. Afterwards Luz jumps up from the table and wants to help Liwin get up, when suddenly her Assistant Alsa comes rushing into the room.
"Liwin! Is everything all right?", she has just finished asking, when she notices the chaos in the room. Many of the plants on the walls are ripped off, the cupboards are lying broken on the floor and many of the floor tiles are cracked. "Oh my... What happened?", Alsa asks in shock.
"Urgh... Good question... Our friend here... seems to have a repulsion mutation, as is common in blood sheep.", Chief Healer Liwin says tensely as Luz helps her up. Alsa looks at Luz in confusion.
"You are human... Interesting. My daughter had once told of a human at Hexside... Wait, blood sheep? The ones you get witch's wool from?"
"Exactly", Liwin exclaims.
"Wait, you've seen something like that before?", Luz asks in amazement.
"No. But you have similar properties with a magic repelling cloak made out of witch's' wool", Liwin explains.
"And what does that mean?", Luz asks.
"It means that even without a cloak, you should be immune to external spells... I'm surprised you've never figured that out yourself..."
"I'm still a little confused right now...", Luz states, to which Chief Healer Liwin rolls her eyes. She creates a fireball and throws it at Luz, which dissipates just before it hits her, before smacking her lightly in the face.
"You. No damage from magic. You no need cloak. But still damage from non-magic."
"Thanks, I guess... I think I understand now", Luz says while rubbing her cheek.
"But I wonder one thing: what if I were hanging down from somewhere tied by my arms with vines? Would they dissolve then? And what if I pull on a vine that I created myself? Or what if I create a pillar of ice-"
"Okay kid, I'm going to have to stop you right there," Chief Healer Liwin interrupts Luz, "These all sound like things you'll be happy to try yourself later... But I'd like to continue now. Oh, by the way, Alsa, you can leave now."
"All right," Alsa says and leaves the room. And Luz sits back down on the table, her legs crossed.
"More tests?", Luz asks.
"No. Normally I would have wanted to examine your bile-sac now, but as a human you don't have one. Which brings me to the question, though, how is it possible that you're the most wanted person in the Isles? You don't come across as a criminal to me."
"Are you just asking me that in your role as a healer or for the resistance?", Luz inquires skeptically.
"Both.", Liwin answers glibly, which makes Luz crack a smile.
"Honestly? No idea. Maybe he's just resentful because I challenged him to a fight and broke a piece off his mask-"
"You fought that old witch?", Liwin asks incredulously.
"Uh-huh", Luz confirms, at which point Liwin begins to ponder.
"You definitely have some serious balls, and you were lucky enough to survive..."
"Hey!", Luz interrupts with an offended tone.
"-It's hard to imagine him seeing you as a threat to his power... Do you think you might have something he wants?"
"He's welcome to have my mental strength. There's not much of that left anyway", Luz jokes. Liwin, on the other hand, is not amused.
"Be serious, kid."
"Okay. Sorry... ... The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that he knows about is, on the one hand, my skills with glyphs, which no one else in the Isles has the ability to do, and that I know how to get into the human realm. Even though I don't know where exactly the portal door is right now."
"You're stuck here? Sorry to hear... But now that I think about it, both seem like pretty good reasons why he wants you so badly, and even alive for that matter. We could use that."
A cold shiver runs down Luz's spine as Liwin finishes her last sentence.
"I don't know if I like what you're alluding to right now...", Luz says, "I tend not to be a fan of being used".
"Yes, I admit my choice of words was misleading. I apologize. ... However, there is something I would like to ask of you"
"And what is that?", Luz asks skeptically.
"Help us. Help us depose Belos and free the Isles," Liwin pleads while Luz seriously considers, "I know you're practically still a child and I wouldn't let you fight on the front lines and risk losing your life... But we currently have hardly any members and it feels like every day more and more of us are discovered and locked up in the Conformatorium-"
As Chief Healer Liwin goes on and on listing arguments, a memory of her encounter with the Titan suddenly shoots into Luz's mind.
"HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO, TWO HUMANS FOUND A RIFT BETWEEN THE REALMS AND STRANDED THEMSELVES IN THE DEMON REALM"
"There were more humans in the Demon Realm before me?"
"INDEED. TWO HUMANS OF THE SAME BLOOD. ONE PEACEFUL AND KIND, THE OTHER FULL OF HATE AND CONTEMPT. THE DESPISING ONE LEARNED MY LANGUAGE AND CONTACTED ME. HE WANTED TO LEARN MAGIC SO I GRANTED HIM THIS WISH. MY GIFT WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR HIM AND HE WANTED MORE. LIKE A PARASITE, IT ATTACHED TO ME AND ULTIMATELY ABSORBED ME"
'Two humans...', Luz thinks to herself before falling into disbelief, 'Never! No way is it possible that Belos is a human! That's hundreds of years, no human can live that long... ... I've seen Belos doing magic. Humans can't... Maybe he is a descendant? Only partially human, like me... ... I don't like that idea any more than the alternative.'
"I'm in," Luz suddenly says with determination, but also a touch of horror at what she has just realized. She's desperate to talk about it with someone. Someone she trusts and knows better than Liwin.
"Really?", Liwin asks, to which Luz nods, "Great. Um... There's a meeting in a few days. Alsa will tell you where it is."
"Okay. Can we just gradually get to what I came here for in the first place? I actually have a date with someone else in a few minutes...", Luz lies.
"But of course."
Luz takes out the regeneration glyph and, with the help of a short demonstration on herself, explains to her exactly how it works. Liwin understands the subject quite quickly. An advantage for Luz, who just wants to leave.
Since there are no further questions on the part of Liwin, Luz picks up her staff and puts her concealment bracelet back on before she is accompanied by her to the entrance of the clinic.
"Thank you again Luz. I'll pass this on to as many clinics as I can", Chief Healer Liwin says while keeping a hand on Luz's shoulder.
"Glad I could help", Luz says, after which Liwin turns to Alsa.
"One card for her", Liwin orders Alsa, who gives Luz a new business card. Luz flips the card around and looks at Alsa in confusion.
"There's nothing on it", Luz observes.
"The address will appear in a few days. A necessary precaution", Alsa explains as a new person suddenly enters the clinic. A witch, similar age to Liwin, with neck-length gray hair sticking out, a dark purple dress and her palisman is a hawk.
"Good day, Diane", she greets Liwin.
"Gwendolyn, good to see you. I'll be right with you", Liwin replies before turning back to Luz. Luz, on the other hand, is just completely taken in by the sheer mass of the new witch's palisman. Liwin taps Luz on the shoulder again to bring her back to the present.
"Are you alright?"
"Oh, yeah... Um, come on Owlbert. Let's leave", Luz says to him. Unbeknownst to Luz though, the newly arrived witch turns to her with a skeptical questioning look as she has just left the clinic and heads after her.
Luz is only a few seconds in the air on Owlbert when she hears a scream of rage.
"HEY!", Luz hears echoing through the air from behind her. She turns around and sees the witch, who had just entered the clinic, flying towards Luz on her hawk with a determined expression and at high speed.
"eek", Luz shrieks, realizing she's after her for some reason. She tips her staff forward and plunges almost vertically downward into a dive.
'Shiii... Does she know who I am? Did I give myself away?'
The wind whizzes loudly past her ears as she navigates the narrow streets of Bonesborough at high speed with no destination, in an attempt to shake off her pursuer. She doesn't catch the fact that Owlbert is trying to tell her something.
Witches and demons duck as Luz races over their heads, her hair tangled and her field of vision narrowing.
"Freeze, you thief!", the witch shouts in rage, which Luz has so far been unable to seem to shake off.
'Thief?', Luz thinks to herself as she takes a tight turn into an even narrower alley, barely dodging protruding balconies at breakneck speed. Fear and a rising pulse shoot into Luz's head as she sees what was already a narrow alley narrowing even further.
Flying almost completely through the alley, Luz risks slowing slightly and turning around to face the back. Her pursuer is nowhere to be seen.
Luz exhales in relief and regrets it only seconds later as the witch slowly floats down from above at the end of the alley. Luz gulps.
The witch rushes towards Luz, but unfortunately the alley is too narrow to turn around on the spot. Consequently, Luz pulls her staff up and shoots out from between protruding roof tiles, the enraged witch immediately behind her.
'Why is she calling me a thief? I've never met her before...', Luz wonders. Owlbert tries again to tell Luz something, but once again she can't hear him due to the wind flying around her ears.
When Luz realizes after another while that she can't escape her, she thinks of a new strategy. Luz rummages around in her jacket pocket looking for an invisibility glyph. Unfortunately, she loses a few other glyphs, which drop out of her pocket without her noticing. She finds a copy of the modified invisibility glyph that only works when she keeps her eyes closed. She has to land for it, but at least she is not limited in time compared to the alternative. Luz flies down towards the ground, flying a few tight turns around buildings until she finally jumps off the staff, closes her eyes, applies the glyph to herself, and just hears something fly past her. Her heartbeat is still pounding in her ears, but she really wants to make sure she's really gone before she opens her eyes again.
Luz can hear footsteps approaching.
"Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I don't know you're hiding here somewhere?"
The witch stands almost directly in front of Luz, shouting into an empty intersection of two alleys between buildings. Luz puts her hand over her nose and mouth.
'Don't make any noise', Luz warns herself as the witch continues.
"You know, ages ago I joined the Beast keeper coven. I will, if I have to, turn every beast in the Isles on you! You won't be safe anywhere! You'll have nowhere to hide...", she threatens. Luz hears a magic circle being drawn. "Gotcha!"
Luz eyes snap open, the invisibility spell dissipates and Luz sees a purple aura around her, leading into the allay Luz just came flying out of. And the angry witch is looking right at her.
Hastily, Luz throws an ice glyph between her and herself. A wall of ice forms, Luz jumps on her staff and flies up and away as fast as she can.
'Urgh, I could run really fast before, why can't I fly any faster now?', Luz asks herself in frustration. 'Hooty! He can help'
Luz darts off back towards the Owl House. She takes another look at the ground, making direct eye contact with the witch who has been chasing her so far.
"Hooty Hooty Hooty Hooty Hooty," Luz keeps repeating rather rapidly as she approaches the Owl House at high speed. Hooty himself is whirring around near the front door, trying to have a conversation with a bug, when he sees and hears Luz arriving. He bolts toward her, but Luz flies past him, opens the front door, and slams it shut again behind him.
"Someone's after me", Luz exclaims after Hooty pokes his head through the small window located right next to the door. Luz, terrified, has pressed herself backward against the door with all her body weight. Hooty squeezes out the window again and sees that someone has apparently followed Luz and is approaching the house. He pokes his head into the house again for a moment.
"I'll take care of it", Hooty says with an oddly serious tone.
"Thank you, Hooty", Luz says before taking a relieved breath and taking off her bracelet and putting it in one of her jacket pockets.
She remains in this position for a short while as Owlbert shifts from his staff posture back into his palisman form. He chirps, causing Luz to widen her eyes in shock.
"THAT'S EDA'S MOM?"
Luz turns around and yanks open the door before screaming "HOOTY! STOP!"
Luz sees the witch just landed not far from the house and Hooty, who came shooting out of the ground right behind her and was about to envelop her completely. The older witch looks up at Hooty with a raised eyebrow.
"All right, you're the boss. HOOT!", he says clearly audible before retreating into the ground all the way to the front door where Luz is standing, feeling incredibly nervous and with Owlbert sitting on her shoulder.
The witch approaches Luz straight on, though currently more confused than angry, in comparison to before. Her gaze remains serious though, and as she crosses her arms, Luz' gaze falls on her muscular, scarred arms. Currently, she looks rather intimidating.
"Y-You're Eda's mom...", Luz remarks in a shaky voice.
"At least you know the name of the woman you stole the palisman from, and apparently the house as well..."
"I didn't-", Luz tries to explain herself, but she doesn't get a chance.
"Seems like you don't have any respect for those who have passed away. I would be surprised if you would... You are a criminal, after all. And a human on top of that-"
"I LOVED EDA", Luz shouts at her accusations through angry tears, "AND THERE IS NO DAMN DAY THAT IT DOESN'T BREAK MY HEART THAT SHE IS NO LONGER HERE!"
The witch is surprised at this sudden emotional outburst. And only now she also notices that Owlbert is sitting on Luz' shoulder, trying to comfort the girl. Guilt spreads through the witch's mind.
"I... I'm sorry. That... I shouldn't have said that, it's not right.", the witch says in a low voice, "I'm a mother and I'm yelling at a child... I'm so, so sorry. ... May- may I come in? To talk?"
Luz is seriously considering refusing the request right now.
'She's been chasing me, accusing me of being a thief and accusing me of bad things like that and now she just wants to have a nice chat? My ass...', Luz thinks to herself dismissively, 'But at the same time, she's Eda's mom... Probably the closest and only other person who was still close to Eda...'
Luz sighs and invites the witch into the house. The two sit down in the living room and the witch looks around the house with a nostalgic look.
"Still exactly as I remember it... The living room I mean", the witch begins to say, immediately after sitting down. Luz sits down as far away from her as possible. "I need to apologize again for the horrible, horrible things I've said. Since the loss of my daughters... I'm not really myself anymore... My name is Gwendolyn, by the way. But you're welcome to call me Gwen if you like."
"I'm Luz... But you probably already know that. After all, the posters are everywhere"
"By the way, where is a red friend anyway?", Gwen asks. Luz chuckles and takes out her bracelet and puts it on.
"That was me", Luz reveals.
"Oh, how fascinating...", Gwen admits.
"You're not here just for small talk, are you?", Luz inquires skeptically. Gwen sighs.
"No. It... I didn't think it would be this hard to be here. Ever since I found out about the petrification ceremony, I've been meaning to come here and take care of Edalyn's things... But I couldn't. The pain was still too great, the wound too fresh."
"I know what you mean"
"May I ask what relationship you had towards my little witchlet?", Gwen asks.
"I am- was Eda's apprentice. She had taken me in a few months ago when I accidentally ended up in the demon realm. At first, she promised me I could learn magic from her in exchange for some work. And later we became closer. She, King and I were like our own little family".
"King? You mean the puppy?", Gwen asks. Luz gives her a look that is both amused and confused.
"No. King is a demon. In fact, even the king of demons... That's what he's always called himself", a sad smile graces Luz's face. Owlbert smears his face against Luz's before chirping. "Alright buddy. I'll be here when you're back", Luz replies before he spreads his wings and flies out the window.
"Your relationship with Edalyn must have been really important to you. It's extremely rare for someone to have the ability to talk to a palisman that isn't their own", Gwen notes. Luz chuckles briefly.
"Yes, Owlbert and I have spent virtually every second together since... you know."
"I see. ... May I ask, were you with Edalyn when she...", Gwen starts to ask, but can't bring the words past her lips. Sadness fills Luz's face. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to".
"No, no, it's fine. ... I was probably the last one to talk to Eda. She wanted me to go back to the human realm and destroy the portal. I told her I loved her just before she went up somewhere in that magic cage. ... I couldn't help her"
"I'm sure you did everything in your power", Gwen tries to comfort her.
"That's what everyone said. But I know I could have helped her. I know I could. If only that stupid-", Luz takes one quick breath, "Nevermind."
"No, please, go on. I'm listening", Gwen assures her with a genuine smile, but Luz hesitates.
"That damn Titan, dragged me away out of my fight with Belos and threw me into yet another world. 'For my own safety', he said. Bullshit. He's the only reason I couldn't save Eda, or King, or even Lilith.", Gwen's face straight up froze at what Luz is telling her rather rapidly, "And what's on top of that now, I, that I got these soo incredibly awesome powers from the Titan and I'm supposed to stop Belos, who I assume is the descendant of someone from my world from hundreds of years ago, but I don't have the slightest idea how these powers work and I just feel soo incredibly useless and out of place that I just wanna hide in my room all day and rot in a corner..."
Gwen is completely speechless and it's hard for her to understand and even believe everything Luz is telling her. What she does understand, however, is that there is a girl sitting in front of her, a child who is completely overwhelmed with the whole world right now.
She carefully slides closer to Luz on the couch, who shows no signs that she dislikes it. However, as she wants to put a hand on her shoulder, Luz nudges her hand away using her shoulder and shoots up from her seat.
"I'm sorry. I can't do this", Luz turns and runs up the stairs to her room. Gwen's hand reached out to her, but then decided not to stop her.
Gwen sighs in defeat and Hooty pokes his head through the small window into the living room.
"She's not well. And hasn't been the whole time she's been back", he explains with concern filling his voice.
"Hooty, you probably know her better than I do… Did she tell the truth? About her relationship with Edalyn, the Titan and-"
"Yes.", Hooty interrupts her, "Luz is most likely the kindest, most honest and caring soul in all of the Isles."
"Hmm... She definitely needs help though. That's obvious"
Suddenly, there's a loud knock at the door. Hooty and Gwen both look towards it in surprise. Gwen gets up to open it and standing in front of her is a girl probably the same age with pink hair and Owlbert fluttering in place next to her head.
"Where is my Luz?"
A little earlier at Blight Manor...
"Mittens!", Emira yells as she flings open Amity's bedroom door and storms into her room, "You fucked up".
Not surprisingly, Amity wakes up immediately. Instead of getting up, however, she turns onto her side with great effort and tucks her head under her large pillow, growling in annoyance.
"Go away!", Amity mutters. Too bad for her that Emira is determined to talk to her, so she sits down on Amity's bed.
Blindly, Amity reaches behind her in an attempt to push Emira off her bed, however, her hand falls on a large metal object lying right next to her. Now she is curious.
Amity pulls her head out from under the pillow, her hair a complete mess, and she sees the champion belt lying next to her, which, fully stretched out, is almost as long as Amity is tall.
"Luz... Where is-", Amity looks rapidly all over the floor and tries to stand up, however, her legs immediately give out. Emira is fortunately quick enough to catch her.
"Hey, don't strain yourself.", Emira holds Amity's hands and sets her back on her bed.
"Ooohh, my head... I feel all sore everywhere...", Amity's gaze wanders around her room and lands on the belt again and then back to her sister, "What did you mean by 'I fucked up'?", she asks in confusion before continuing, "I competed in Brawl, won every fight, impressed Luz, and have the belt lying here...", concern spreads across her sister's face. "What? Why are you looking like that? And where is Luz?"
"I flew her home last night. She was a mess after she carried you home", Emira tells her, to which Amity blushes, but not in the cute way, "Apparently you collapsed yesterday and she carried you the rest of the way"
"Oh no."
"And the belt... Doesn't technically belong to you"
"But... but then why do I have it?", Emira hesitates just long enough for Amity to come up with the answer herself, "Oh no... I remember... Warden Wrath...", Amity's face pales and she looks her sister right back in her eyes.
"When I brought Luz home, she told me a little bit about yesterday. Not everything, but enough", Emira says partially reproachfully, partially pityingly, when suddenly their brother appears at the door.
"Noooooo... Em, you said you'd wait for me until we gave Mittens the lecture," he complains.
"Stop complaining! Come over here and sit down", Emira instructs him. She immediately turns back to Amity and wants to talk again, but Edric beats her to it.
"Have you asked her yet why she was willing to almost get herself killed in front of her date?"
"EDRIC!", Emira yells, to which Amity's face only turns paler and concern and guilt fills her mind.
"What?" he asks in his defense, "That's what happened."
"Yeah, but you don't have to be so upfront about it!"
"It's fine", Amity suddenly interjects as she presses one of her pillows to her face and slumps backwards, "You're right... How could I have completely forgotten how crappy I'd been to Luz..."
Ghost jumps on the bed and lies down on the pillow covering Amity's face. "Thanks Ghost."
"Meow.", Ghost makes herself comfortable and purrs contentedly. Amity, on the other hand, sighs in defeat. Edric turns his attention to the belt.
"The Champions belt is fancy though...", he comments trying to pick it up, whereupon Emira slaps him gently on the fingers.
"Keep off", she says, "it's not yours".
"Do you think I should give this to Luz? As an apology?", Amity asks muffled through the pillow.
"That's a question only you can answer, Sis. You know Luz better than we do", Edric says.
"Apparently not", Amity grunts.
"On the flight Luz had called the belt 'stupid' and 'I hate it'. Maybe this wouldn't be the best idea", Emira thinks. Amity takes the pillow off her face and carefully places it next to her so as not to disturb Ghost.
"You guys are not helpful", Amity complains.
"But we are truly the best at this," Edric and Emira announce simultaneously with a cheerful high-five. Amity rolls her eyes.
"But if you really want a useful tip", Emira begins, "talk to her as soon as you can. Maybe not right now, you should gather your strength first."
"Mhm", Amity merely hums in response, though with a heavy heart. The twins stand up and are about to leave their sister's room again when Amity pulls out her scroll and sees the time.
"Wait... I've been asleep all day? Are mom and dad on another trip? Mom would never allow me to sleep longer than sunrise otherwise..."
"Oh, right, um... Dad's working on something in his lab... aaand Mom went to the knee to supervise the construction of the new factory", Edric explains, and he and Emira leave their room, closing the door behind them.
Amity's gaze remains at the door for a while before she slumps back on her bed, grunting in frustration. Ghost gets up from her spot and smacks her face against Amity's, purring. She looks thoughtfully at her palisman.
"I can't tell right now if you're making fun of me or if you really want to help..."
"Meow."
"Of course," Amity sighs in defeat and turns to her scroll, hovering not far above her face.
'Oh, wait... No, Luz doesn't have a scroll of her own. Totally forgot... The owl lady must have had a crystal ball- ... but I don't know the number', Amity thinks to herself and growls. "What do you think I should do now? I'm at a complete loss as to what to do now and it's killing me...", Amity asks Ghost.
"Meeeow", Ghost replies with a tone like it's the most obvious thing in the whole world.
"You saw how wobbly my legs were. How could I possibly walk to Luz in that state?"
"Mrrrrr", Ghost growls reproachfully.
"That's rude. Don't tell me I'm just making excuses..."
Instead of responding to that, though, Ghost repeatedly places a paw on Amity's forehead before jumping off the bed.
It takes Amity a few seconds to understand what her palisman was trying to tell her. Joltingly, she sits up straight and almost jumps up from the bed, stomping towards Ghost.
"You seriously think I'm too stupid to-", Amity began to accuse Ghost, who is sitting outside her bedroom door, sounding pissed off, as she suddenly freezes on the spot and looks directly down at herself, especially at her legs. Ghost grins smugly at her.
"I'm... standing... What the...?"
"Meow", Ghost explains. She knows Amity isn't stupid. Quite the opposite, in fact. However, her own mind sometimes prevents her from doing what is necessary.
"You... clever, sneaky cat.", Amity says through gritted teeth, leaning down to Ghost and petting her as she purrs contentedly with herself. "But I should get out of these clothes and take a shower for now".
A while later, as Amity is just getting out of the shower, she hears Ghost scratching excitedly at the door from outside. She does this every time Amity is in the bathroom for more than ten minutes. But just only there.
Accordingly, she doesn't hurry much and takes her time getting dressed. She puts on a cozy black hoodie and comfortable pants that remind light blue jeans. All this while Ghost continues to scratch at the door.
Barefoot and holding her dirty old clothes, some covered with her own bloodstains, she opens the door.
She stares at the floor, startled, when she sees not only Ghost sitting in front of her with a frightened look, but Owlbert crouching on her head with the same help-seeking expression.
A bad sign.
The worst sign.
Amity runs to her room, tossing her dirty clothes in uncharitably before flying, still barefoot, on Ghost with Owlbert at top speed from Blight Manor, over dense woods and over Bonesborough directly to the Owl House.
She knocks frantically on the door, as Hooty seems to be in the house via a small window next to the front door. To Amity's surprise, an elderly but well-built woman opens the door. However, there is only one question on her mind right now.
"Where is my Luz?" she asks, thoroughly worried.
Fortunately, Amity doesn't have to explain much and the woman knows exactly as to what she is talking about and why she is there. Without much communication between her, Amity and even Hooty, she leads her to the stairs and points to Luz's room.
Amity thanks her and goes up the stairs alone, without Ghost or Owlbert.
She knocks on Luz's door.
No answer.
"Luz? ... It's me. Amity..."
No answer.
She holds her ear against the door. She hears distant, muffled sobs.
"Can I come in?"
The sobs pause briefly, but still there is no answer.
After waiting for roughly a minute, Amity sits down on the floor in front of the door.
Amity searches desperately for words, for anything. She doesn't know what exactly happened. She doesn't know if anything has happened to her or if anything is wrong with her. Neither physically nor psychologically. But probably the latter is the case.
"... ... I... um... Owlbert came to me. He... was worried about you..."
Silence.
Suddenly, the door slowly opens.
Amity gets back up and pokes her head through the door, which opens ever so slightly into the room. She discovers a thorny vine leading from the door handle into the darkness that has swallowed Luz's room.
'I didn't think this room could be this dark', she thought to herself as she closed the door behind her.
Amity squints her eyes trying to spot Luz somewhere within the dark room. She remembers that the vine originates on the right side of the room. From there, Amity focuses on that only.
After a short time, Amity sees a very faint glow from the plant glyph that Luz used to create the vine to open the door. Unfortunately, this minimal glow disappears rather quickly.
Amity sighs and creates a small purple flame in her hand to be able to see her immediate surroundings.
Amity has made it halfway across the room when the flame suddenly goes out unexpectedly. Amity tries again and although she knows the flame is there, she cannot see the surrounding area. Fortunately, Amity was able to see where Luz was, just before the flame went out.
Amity managed to blindly find her way to Luz without stubbing her toes or stepping on anything either.
"May... I sit with you?", Amity asks thinking she's standing right next to Luz.
She hears a soft "Mhm" in response and sits down on the floor with her back to the wall and the presumption that Luz is sitting somewhere next to her.
"You... aren't wearing shoes?", Luz suddenly asks in a low voice just after Amity sits down.
"N-No. When Owlbert came to me, I was barefoot. I left on the spot", Amity answers softly.
"Why?", Luz asks after another pause filled with silence.
"I care about you", Amity replies without even a second thought.
"I'm not sure I believe you anymore".
Hearing this from Luz breaks Amity's heart.
"What?", Amity asks in an incredibly soft, broken voice and being on the verge of tears herself. It takes a while for Luz to respond.
"Last night, right before you passed out, you had asked me to be your girlfriend", Luz recounts as Amity swallows, "And, after the date yesterday, I seriously thought you were bullshitting me! ... I saw you getting hurt. Over and over again. And each time it got worse. I saw Wrath completely shatter your leg and how terrified you looked at me... I asked you to stop, begged you even... But the belt was more important to you..."
"...", Amity doesn't know what to say to that since it's all true.
"Wrath almost killed you, Amity. If I hadn't been there, you would be dead, do you realize that?"
"...", Amity continues to be at a loss for words. But yes, she understands. Even if she can't communicate this to Luz right now.
"When I was back in Amphibia, I saw Hop Pop die after getting stabbed by Sasha in his back. I lost Eda and King. I... I don't know what I would do, if... if I lost y- ... if I lost you t- too...", Luz leans to the right and buries her face in Amity's hoodie and hugs her. Tears are flowing.
While being hugged tightly by Luz, Amity merely stares distraught into the darkness, still close to tears herself. Again, silence fills the room for minutes, only interrupted by occasional sobs from Luz.
"I failed you. I am sorry. I really care about you and I didn't realize what I was doing to you. I really thought I could handle it, but your judgment was better. I should have stopped when you advised me to... I will listen to you more in the future... So, if you still want to spend time with me..."
Amity notices Luz taking her head off her shoulder and she feels Luz's alarmed gaze.
"How can you say that? Of course I want to spend more time with you...", Luz says stunned and through tears. "I just don't want to lose you!", Luz almost screams.
"I don't want to lose you either... ", Amity replies to her.
Suddenly Amity hears paper being crumpled up and the darkness that used to completely fill the room disappears and the familiar warm sunshine from outside fills Luz's room. Amity looks at Luz's hands, which are holding disintegrating paper, when Luz suddenly throws herself into her arms. The two girls share an emotional embrace.
"How did you do that? With the light?", Amity asks as the hug dissolves again after a while.
"I accidentally drew a light glyph wrong. Instead of emitting light, it's absorbing it.", Luz explains as she wipes the tears from her face, "I don't know if I should call it the light absorption glyph or the darkness glyph yet though..."
"Heh... Only you can accidentally create a new spell," Amity jokes as her eyes are still watery as well. She and Luz are now sitting across from each other on the floor, holding hands.
"Hmm, I guess you're right...", Luz confirms. "Amity?"
"Yes?"
"Can you promise me something?"
"Anything."
"Please don't put your own life in danger anymore."
"Only if you do the same.", Amity smiles at Luz, while Luz herself grins rather sheepishly. Amity's smile disappears. "What did you do?"
"What would you do if I told you I joined a resistance against Belos?", Luz asks slightly sheepishly. Amity doesn't have to think about this question for significantly long.
"I'll join with you, of course", Amity replies with an almost eerie calm in her voice. For Luz, however, Amity answers a little too quickly, as she now sits facing her with widened eyes. "This way, we can both make sure that we don't go too far or take too many risks. Besides, my mother would freak out if she finds out, since she works for Belos. Would be funny."
"...", Luz just continues to stare at her.
"You look all funny. Don't you think I'm serious?"
"I have no doubts that you're serious. It's just a little... unexpected, considering you're not really known as a rule breaker"
"Things have changed. I hope you're okay with that..."
"Well, I have to admit, I like your more chaotic side", Luz tells her with a smugly grin, but red puffy eyes, which has the opposite effect.
"How long have you actually been up here alone now?", Amity asks and the mood shifts once again.
"I'm not sure... I had been talking to Gwen and Hooty about Eda... I don't know when that was..."
"Gwen? The older woman who let me into the house?", Amity asks.
"Mhm," Luz nods, "That's Eda's mom. She chased me around Bonesborough because she thought I stole Owlbert."
"What? Oh... Oh"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing.", Amity blushes briefly before changing the subject with extreme subtlety, "What were you saying?"
"It's okay for you to admit that she's good looking. I mean, that biceps game... Ridiculous", Luz says without blushing, but utmost respect. Amity doesn't comment on this. "But I had told her about the titan and that I basically have absolutely no idea what to do with these powers or how to control them..."
Amity ponders for a moment.
"Maybe I can help," Amity says. If Luz' full attention wasn't already on Amity, this would be a sentence that would make Luz sit up and pay close attention.
"How so?"
"I don't know," Amity tells her, "But we can figure it out together."
"Uhh, I like that idea. A titan powers boot camp.", Luz suggests.
"Exactly," Amity agrees energetically.
"Tomorrow morning, we will meet back here and start training," Luz exclaims.
"Tomorrow is school".
"Tomorrow afternoon, we will meet back here and start training," Luz corrects herself, which makes Amity giggle.
"I could stay over if you want and we'll go to school together tomorrow", Amity suggests.
"I like that idea. But you don't have your uniform here. And no shoes."
"There's a spare uniform downstairs in the living room. Left it here when I visited Hooty and I didn't want to fly all the way back hom- I mean, to the Manor after a weekend once."
"But you still don't have any shoes here", Luz notes.
"That's true, unfortunately," Amity agrees, "But don't worry. I'm not leaving yet. I'll stay as long as you need me", she grips Luz's hands tighter. She squeezes them exactly three times which Luz doesn't seem to notice.
"Awesome. ... Are you hungry? I could use something to eat"
Amity stands up and gives Luz her hand to help her up as well. When they opened Luz' room door, they were surprised to find Ghost and Owlbert waiting impatiently for the two girls and now happily pouncing on them.
Shortly after the joyful reunion, the four of them go down the stairs to the living room.
"Huh? Where's Gwen?", Luz asks, "Did she already leave again?"
Owlbert chirps in reply.
"Well?", Amity asks curiously.
"She's in Eda's room taking care of her belongings", Luz explains. "Would it be okay with you if you waited in the kitchen and I went to have a little talk with Gwen? It won't take long..."
"That's perfectly fine. I'll wait", Amity replies, whereupon Luz heads back up the stairs with Owlbert. She walks past her room and down a longer hallway where there are pictures, portraits, and a single mirror hanging on the wall, and continues to walk to Eda's room.
Luz listens at the door to reassure herself that Gwen is indeed inside. Luz knocks.
"Gwen? May I come in?", Luz asks. Only seconds later, Gwen opens the door.
"It gladdens my heart to see you feeling better, sweetheart. What can I do for you?", she asks.
"Heh... Actually, I was going to ask you the exact same thing...", Luz looks past Gwen and sees that there are a few boxes on the floor in the middle of the room.
"I'm just going to start packing up some of Edalyn's personal items.", Gwen explains, "But don't worry, I won't completely clean out the room," Gwen explains in a sad voice.
"You're not?"
"When she got cursed, I had sworn to cure her of it. I failed. Now I merely want to have something to bury"
"That's a nice thought"
"Thank you. For my Lilith, Dell and I have already held a small ceremony after getting permission to receive her petrified form and place it at the family mansion. For Edalyn, however...", Gwen sighs in exhaustion.
"She has been placed in the marketplace in Bonesborough..."
"I know. Along with that stupid plaque that says something about dangers and submission and crap. I'm glad someone sabotaged that."
"That was me", Luz tells her, to which Gwen smiles.
"From what I've learned about you today, I had a feeling it might have been you... I should be thanking you. Without that beautiful tribute, I might never have had the determination I needed to join the resistance against Belos."
"I suppose one of the other messages on the plaque was from you, wasn't it?"
"Yes, that's right..."
"Um... This is perhaps extremely inappropriate now, but... Did you know that it was Lilith who cursed Eda?", Luz asks, expecting the worst reaction.
"What?", Gwen asks, feeling disheartened.
"She had told me to convince me that Belos betrayed her and wanted her to help rescue Eda", Luz recounts. Gwen, meanwhile, is surprisingly calm.
"Oh, sweet flea...", Gwen sighs, "It doesn't matter anymore. They're gone... Thank you Luz for telling me about that. But if you don't mind, I'd like to keep packing..."
"All right. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything", Luz says goodbye and is almost ready to close the doors behind her when Gwen stops herself again for a moment.
"Luz, hold on a second please.", she asks her.
"Yes, Gwen?"
"Thank you for looking after Owlbert and the house. It means a lot to me"
Luz doesn't know how to answer that and instead lets a friendly smile do the talking for her. She waves goodbye to her, closes the door behind her and joins Amity in the kitchen.
At the same time in a castle in the middle of the Isles...
"Thank you very much, coven head Osran. Your service will be appreciated by the titan", Emperor Belos says. He sits on his throne, above which beats the mechanical heart. It is calm and steady.
Besides himself, there is only one other person in the room. A small purple demon with four arms. His hair consists of a white claw and he wears a white moustache that winds once around his head. He wears a dark-indigo hood over a gray robe. Until now he has knelt before Belos, but now he stands up, nods affirmatively, and silently leaves the room.
A short time later, a new person enters the room.
"You summoned me, Uncle?"
It's Hunter. He is wearing his Golden Guard uniform, complete with golden mask and white cape. He kneels where the coven head knelt before.
"Say, Hunter, how are your studies coming along?"
"I'm making good progress. For example, I found out that-"
"Enough. As you know, I granted your wish to study wild magic only because you did an excellent job of replenishing the Palisman reserves. That day, I was proud of you."
"Yes, uncle. Thank you, uncle."
"I have a new assignment for you. You will be sent to find Galdorstones for me."
"I heard about them... I won't let you down, uncle."
"Very well. One more thing... I have recently been informed that we will soon be receiving a very important visitor. I expect you to assist Kikimora with the preparations. Coven head Osran will brief you on the details."
"May I ask who it is?"
"You may not. And I expect that any information you receive from Osran will be kept secret. No one outside the palace may know about it"
"Yes, uncle. Is there anything else?"
"Yes. Should you fail me, not only will you cease your studies, your... study object will also be destroyed immediately. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Uncle.", Hunter confirms, standing up and leaving the room.