Chapter 3

The next morning, Amity woke up before Luz and smiled before getting up and checking on Mila and Solana, finding both girls still asleep, the bedcovers kicked off of the bed. Going up to them quietly, she gently tucked them back in. Mila woke up with a start and whimpered a little. "Shh, it's just me, mija," she said soothingly. "Go back to sleep. It's still early in the morning."

Mila settled back down and closed her eyes while Solana stirred a little, but settled back down. Ghost and String Bean went up to the girls and curled up on the bed beside Mila, making Amity smile. "Let them sleep," she said to the two palismans, who nodded.

Getting her coffee, Amity began researching about adopting the two girls, printing out papers that explained the process to adopt. She read them over. As soon as she noticed it was time for the courts to open, she made a few calls.

Luz woke up and yawned, seeing Amity wasn't there and noticing it was ten o'clock in the morning. "Oh, man, guess I needed the extra sleep," she said before getting up and going to check on Mila and Solana. She found both of them sitting on the couch bed and they turned to see her come in. "Good morning, mijas," Luz said, smiling at them. "How long have you been up?"

"A little while," Solana said.

Amity came into the living room. "Ah, I thought I heard you guys," she said. "Who's up for some breakfast?"

Luz breathed in deeply and smiled. "Pancakes with blueberries?" She said.

"Yes," the purple-haired woman said.

Mila perked up. "Pancakes?" She asked hopefully.

Amity smiled. "Yup, enough for everyone," she said.

"For real?" Solana asked, looking hopeful.

"Yes," the purple-haired woman said, gently squeezing the girl's shoulder. "Come on, before it gets cold."

The two girls were stunned to see the breakfast and eagerly ate up, to which Amity smiled. "Figured a good breakfast would cheer you two up," she said.

Just then, a knock came at the door and Luz went to see who it was, gasping as she saw the person on the other side. "Eda!" She said happily, hugging the lady who was like a second mom to her.

"Hey, kiddo!" The Owl Lady said, smiling at her. "Hope it's a good time to pop in for a visit."

"Of course!" Luz said. "Come in."

She led Eda into the house and when the two little girls saw Eda, they were uncertain. Mila hid behind Solana, who hid behind Amity. The purple-haired woman smiled. "It's okay, girls," she said. "Eda won't hurt you."

"Is she...a witch too?" Mila asked in a tiny voice.

Eda smiled at the girls. "Who are these two little ones?" She asked Luz and Amity.

"These are Mila and Solana," Amity said. "I found them hiding in the basement downstairs. They'd been there for a good while."

The Owl Lady was surprised. "In the basement? They must be tough kids to have been forced to live there."

"They escaped from an orphanage because no one would adopt them," Luz explained.

Eda was stunned. "What? Who on The Boiling Isles would not give two cute kids a home?" She asked.

"Not everyone is as nice as you, Eda," Amity said softly.

The Owl Lady chuckled. "You didn't think so when we first met," she said teasingly.

Luz giggled as Amity blushed in embarrassment. "To be fair, Eda, a lot of people had only heard the scary stories about you," the brown-haired woman said.

Eda smirked. "I recall a certain teenager was terrified of me too, thinking I would eat her," she said, playfully poking Luz's sides, to which the young woman squeaked and playfully batted away the witch's hand.

Solana grew curious at seeing Eda acting so playful and bravely stepped towards her, Mila following behind her. Seeing this, the Owl Lady smiled and kneeled down so that she wasn't towering over the kids. "Hi, kids," she said, smiling.

Luz smiled. "Eda took me in when I first went to the Boiling Isles," she said. "She taught me everything I know about magic."

"You were a good student, Luz," Eda said. "Even if you and King always got into mischief sometimes."

"And Hooty too," Amity said, shaking her head fondly.

Luz giggled. "Oh, you know he was just trying to help," she said.

Mila saw Eda's eyes were two different colors and looked curious. "How come your eyes are two different colors?" She asked.

The Owl Lady smiled. "Well, I used to have just one eye color," she said. "But due to a fight, I was given the ability to transform into an owl beast and I wasn't able to control it. But thankfully, my sister found a way to help me and as a result, I gained two different eye colors. She did too."

"You could turn into an owl?" Solana asked, amazed.

"I could," Eda said. "I haven't done so in a long time as it's not only tiring, but I only go in that form for battle. Thankfully, the last battle with an enemy happened long ago and things have been peaceful since."

Mila went up to Eda and reached up, lightly touching her hair. Eda smiled and picked up the little girl, holding her protectively. "Are you and Amity going to adopt these two cuties, Luz?" She asked.

"We're working on that," Luz said with a smile.

"I made some calls this morning and got us an appointment to discuss the steps to adopting them," Amity said.

Solana looked at her. "You...You mean it?" She asked. "You're...going to adopt us?"

"Yes," the purple-haired woman said, smiling.

Eda grinned. "Does that mean I'll be Grandma Eda?" She asked.

Luz giggled. "Yup," she said.

Mila looked curious. "Grandma Eda?" She asked.

Eda smiled at her. "That's right, kiddo," she said. "Oh, I can't wait to tell Lilith. She'll be excited to be a great-aunt."

"We'll have to arrange some time where you girls can meet the whole family," Luz said to Mila and Solana. "My own mama is happy to be your grandmother too."

"And my dad will be thrilled to be your grandfather," Amity said, smiling.

"You should bring them to The Boiling Isles after the adoption goes through," Eda said as Solana came up to her and Eda scooped her up too, being mindful that her hook hand didn't hurt the girl. "Hooty would be thrilled to meet them. King too."

"We definitely have to plan a trip there to introduce the girls to everyone," Luz agreed.

"Are they all nice like Grandma Eda?" Mila asked.

"Most of them are," Amity said reassuringly.

Eda was tickled that the girl called her 'Grandma Eda'. "Don't worry, no one will dare to mess with the granddaughters of the Owl Lady," she said, hugging the girls.

Solana giggled and hugged her back. "You're really cool, Grandma Eda," she said.

Luz and Amity smiled at each other. "We have to adopt them now," Luz said.

"Eda won't let us hear the end of it if we don't," Amity joked before both women laughed in amusement.

"You two better adopt them," Eda said, smiling but also serious.

"We will," Luz promised.

Mila and Solana hugged Eda again, who hugged both her new granddaughters, eager to spoil them to pieces.

Looks like Eda's adopted the two girls as her granddaughters. Next up: Luz and Amity go to adopt the girls.

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GoldGuardian2418