Chapter 1
"Are you sure you have everything, Mija?" Luz's mother asked, standing next to her daughter who was in the middle of lacing up her boots.
Without looking up, the girl gave a warm smile and nodded, "Yeah mom, i'm like 90% sure i have everything. Even do i don't, it just gives me another reason to come and visit."
This made the worried mother smile, her doubts somewhat washed away with those words. Her little bird was leaving the nest, and while she was proud, a pang of worry still remains.
Luz finished the last knot on her boots before springing up, nearly tackling her mom with a bear hug.
"Te voy a extrañar, te amo mamá." Luz said as she buried her head in her mother's shoulder. Those words brought tears in her mom's eyes, before she wiped them and reciprocated the hug. "Yo tambien te amo mija."
With that, the girl drew back and grabbed her bags, giving a last wave to her mom, and left to finally return to where she belonged, with the rest of her family and friends in the Boiling Isles.
This made her smile, realizing what she was doing. She was going to live there now, no more worrying about the summer ending, no more thought of being ripped away from the people she loved. Of course she'd visit her mom often, but now she could finally call the Boiling Isles home, and nothing made her happier.
As she walked, she made a mental note of what she brought. Besides the suitcase full of clothes that were being dragged to her left, the rest of her belonging in her backpack were mostly letters from her friends.
The majority of them were from Willow and Gus, tagged with illusion spells of beasts that interested the human, as well as a few flowers that Willow had made for her.
The others were from Eda, checking in on her every so often to make sure she wasn't dead (but Luz knew she just missed her). But the ones she cherished the most were the few she got from Amity. While there were only about four of them, each was long and well written, filled to the brim with things she missed over the years in the witch's pristine handwriting.
Thinking of those letters made Luz even happier, her face only getting slightly warm. Even after 5 years, the thought of the girl still made her smile and blush like an idiot.
And today, she would finally see her again. She had been looking forward to this since she finalized the plans with her mother last week, and even now she couldn't believe it was happening.
All she could do in the moment was smile and laugh, thinking about everyone she would finally get to see once she came through that door.
While the walk there was quiet, Luz's mind raced with thoughts. ‘Is my outfit okay? What if they don't like me now? I wonder how they'll react,’ She shouted to herself, until off in the distance was the run down shack she almost immediately recognized.
She ran to it, all the while patting her pockets down until she felt something hard she had in her pocket. Pulling it out revealed a key, with an eye etched in the circle at the top of it. A parting gift, she remembered Eda saying, for when she could return. It wasn't quite the one Eda kept for herself, it could open a doorway temporarily to any area in the Boiling Isles, until it was bound to an area with a spell.
Luz slowly inserted it into the oddly pristine keyhole in the door. After she turned it, the door sprang to life, an eye appearing at the top as it slowly opened, allowing for the human to enter into her home.
Entering the door, she found herself on the outskirts of town, it in itself bustling and busy as always. The sky still had its musty copper tone to it, bringing back fond memories and nostalgia that only added to her excitement.
As Luz was busy admiring the landscape, the door closed with a thud behind her, making her jump as it seemed to vanish within itself.
Guess that's my cue to go, she thought, now making her way towards the busy town, returning the key to her pocket. Her little walk slowly turned into a jog, and the more she thought of everyone she missed, the faster her feet decided to take her.
Until, an unfortunately placed rock tripped the girl, causing her to fall flat on her face. A groan escaped her lips as she lay there, not even bothering to look up.
"..Fóllame a mí y a mi torpeza.." She mumbled as she stood up, dusting herself off.
Despite that minor setback, she was still determined to rush to Eda's stand. If, that is, she could just remember where it was.
And after a little while of walking and admiring the scenery, as well as watching out for 'evil rocks' as Luz now called them, she had made it. Now very close, she could very clearly see the sheer amount of people out and about. It was almost overwhelming. Almost.
She hastily pushed her way into the crowd, pushing past many witches in order to traverse. It seemed like every few seconds she would have to mutter an 'excuse me' or 'sorry', feeling terrible for bumping into people. Unlike the rest of the crowd, who only ignored her apologies or simply grunted.
"...20 snails, take it or leave it. I have plenty of witches who would gladly pay double, so think of this as a special, one time offer." ‘That voice sounds familiar,’ Luz thought, finally pushing to an empty spot within the crowd. Looking around, she soon spotted he source of the sound.
There, at her stand, was Eda, haggling with another witch over a pair of dice. The customer, or as Eda would say, 'the victim', pulled the requested 20 snails from their satchel before departing, leaving the Owl Lady with a smirk on her face.
Luz gasped, a bright smile sat of her face, as she got closer to her stand. "Eda!" she called out, catching the much older witch's attention.
"Kid? Is that you?" She said in disbelief, pocketing her profits.
"Eda!!" The human called out once again, this time throwing herself into the stand as she ran towards it. She latched onto Eda, nearly knocking the witch onto the floor.
The Owl Lady gave a hug back, though awkward, was sincere. She had a warm smile on her face, happy to see her student. "Since when have you been back?"
"Not that long ago, actually. Sorry i didn't warn you, I kinda wanted to surprise you." Luz pulled back from the hug, rubbing the back of her neck, now looking at her mentor. She looked just about the same, though her heterochromatic eyes held a little more of an aged look in them.
And with a glance down at the gem she bore on her chest, the girl smiled. It was a perfect gold, shimmering in the blistering light. Even now, she still couldn't break the habit of checking every now and again.
"Well it's great to have you back, kid. Just be sure to see King soon. Don't tell him i said this but, he's really missed you." Eda glances off to the side, a small smile on her face.
Luz have a nod, "Of course, i gotta see my wittle demon king. Besides, i wanna unpack all my stuff before i head out to meet anyone."
With a flick of her wrist, the Owl Lady swept up the contents of her stand into a blanket, her staff racing towards her as she finished. It, of course, went past her only to hit Luz in the head. But, she just brushed it off with a laugh and passed it back to it's owner. And after doing a double check, Eda motions for the human to climb on her staff, taking off as she seats herself down.
"So, how long you stayin this time? Few weeks, a month?"
"Actually, after a lot of negotiating, my mom said i could, uh, live here."
We nearly had a crash landing, the staff shaking beneath us as she tried to regain balance. Eventually, the witch did, letting out a sigh. Luz was shaking, gripping onto Eda for support. I am not used to this, she thought.
"Are you serious kid?! This is great!" She exclaimed, throwing her free hand in the air. The human, after calming down from having a near heart attack, felt a familiar sense of belonging in those words.
"Yep! And we can finally continue my magic lessons." a smile appeared on her face, a fire boiling inside of her. She had waited so long, and even prepared spell glyphs in her suitcase, as well as plenty of paper.
"Kid, before you do any of that, take a few weeks to readjust. Go talk to your nerdy friends again, they're gonna go nuts when they see you're finally back."
‘Has it really been that long?’ Luz pondered on this. It's been about 5 years now, hell, they weren't even if school anymore. She knew from the letters that Willow and Gus were working hard on what they loved to do, though they refused to join covens. And Amity..
Then it hit her. She barely knew what her old friend did, if she decided to join a coven, nothing! They barely talked, and when they did, it was mostly just about simple thing. ‘Oh cramity, i should have asked!’
She could guess that she joined the emperors coven, after all, she did say it was her future when she first came here. Her, if not all her friends, were busy living their lives.
This made Luz frown, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought about her friends without her. Those thoughts raced though her head as she came to the conclusion that they didn't have time for her. She might have came back too late.
"Hehe, i highly doubt they'd have time to see me anyways. And i'll be fine, I just want to get back to learning!" Luz tried to say with excitement, but she knew Eda wasn't buying it. So, she glanced down at the ground that zoomed under her feet, avoiding any eye contact from the older witch. Eda, of course did noticed her change in mood as she steered the staff closer and closer home.
"Oh kid, don't think like that. They miss you to death. Heck, the other day, your two dork friends from school came by to ask if you'd be back anytime soon. I told them i didn't know, and they looked like kicked puppy's.
"The point is, you need to go see them. Especially that Amity girl, when she comes over to train with Lily, you're all she asks about."
Eda finished by glancing off to the house they were approaching. Good thing too, because Luz's face was red as could be. Just the thought of that teal haired witch even mentioning her sent butterflies through her stomach.
The wind that blew across their face died down as they slowly came down to the ground. Luz stared at the Owl House in all its glory, admiring how little it changed.
She took a moment to take a deep breath, I'll visit my friends in the morning. For now, I need some time to relax here.
———
It was now around midnight, and all was quiet. The Owl House did not have a waking soul in it, well, maybe besides Hooty who stared creepily off into the woods.
But past Eda's house, through town of Boneburrow, slightly hidden in the forest, lie a grand manor. Home to the Blights, all of which were gently sleeping. Well, all but one.
The youngest child sat in her windowsill, her golden eyes glowing in the moonlight she admired. Her brownish-red hair hung just above her shoulders, the ends still stained with a lighter teal color.
After a deep sigh, she slipped away from her window and drew a small spell. What appeared in her hands were three letters. Two of them were for her twin siblings, and the other was meant for her parents.
Her mind went back to earlier, her mother had called her out for a talk. For almost an hour, Amity sat there being lectured about her behavior. Along with that, her mother began insisting she dye her hair again, no matter how much the younger witch fought.
She looked down at the letters, her grip tightening on them.
They all were just about the same, not counting the spite she included in the parental one. And for her siblings, she had written down the number to a second scroll she kept hidden from her parents, for the day she decided to go through with her plan, knowing the one she used had a tracker installed onto it.
It may have taken a lot to get ahold of, but she needed it to stay in touch with her siblings. She couldn't imagine not having her brother and sister.
Carefully and quietly, she snuck through the silent halls of the manor, slipping the papers underneath the doors of the recipients before heading back to her room, hopefully for the last time.
Hanging on her door was a small bag, her old school one for that matter. She dumped it out onto her bed before going to her drawers, grabbing all her favorite clothes. It wasn't much, considering she could only get things she actually liked when she went out alone.
But it was enough for Amity.
With her bags packed, she double-checked her mental list before giving her room one last look. While this wasn't exactly her "safe haven", it was nice to have when she wasn't allowed to leave the house. Maybe she could sneak back in one day and get more of her belongings.
She slowly snaked towards the window, gently opening it. But just as she was about to jump out to freedom, she stopped herself. ‘There is no way i'll survive if i don't get more money, she pondered’, knowing she only had about 20 snails to her name at the moment. ‘But i'm sure my parents wouldn't mind if i took some snails with me.’
The thought of what her parents would do if they found out was enough to almost scare Amity into staying, but she knew it had to be done.
With a new objective in mind, she quickly, and quietly, left the room. Her eyes scanned around the house for any sign of what she was searching for, but with no luck.
That is, until she found her mother's bag sitting on the kitchen table. Amity wasn't dumb, however, and carefully drew a spell with her right hand. The bag glowed, and around it appeared a circle barrier with a now small hole in it.
Carefully, she reached through the hole, silently thanking her mother's genetics for her quite tiny hands. With a little digging around, she felt the wallet within, and slowly drew it out.
In it was quite a hefty amount of cash, but it certainly was nowhere near what they actually had stored somewhere around the manor. But Amity shook that thought off as she took around 500 snails from the bag and pocketed it, right before putting it back into the bag and sealing the barrier spell around it.
Had Amity, aka 'Little Miss Perfect' ever done something as risky like this? Hell no, and it certainly showed. Her palms were drenched with sweat and shoulders tensed. One could say she looked like a frightened cat at the moment.
She had the right to be like this too, after all, she was running away. She wouldn't get to see her sibling every day, her parent would surely send people looking for her, as well as the stresses of finding something to support her financially. After all, a few hundred snails would only go so far. And the thought of what her parents would do to her if she was caught was something she knew she couldn't think about, unless she wanted to have a panic attack.
It was all too much for her, but she knew it was too late for regrets now, she was in too deep. Yet her mind continued to race, still plaguing herself with self doubt and worry.
She was so caught up in her own head, she didn't even notice the two figures behind her.
"Mittens, you're still here?" was said in a worried whisper, making Amity freeze. But the moment she recognized the nickname, she calmed down some and turned to her two siblings, Emira and Edric.
She let off a little sigh before speaking in a hushed voice, "What are you two doing up so late?"
"We could say the same for you, but we did read the letters you left us." Emira shot back, her tone calm, but very sincere.
"And we couldn't just let you leave without saying goodbye." Edric said as they both put a hand on each of Amity's shoulders.
Feeling the presence of her twins was nice, but knowing they couldn't be there while she did this made tears well in her eyes. And in a moment of anxiety enduced panic, she wrapped her arms around her siblings as tight as she could, quietly sobbing into them. She didn't want to let go.
The twins only responded by reciprocating the action, gently patting her back as an attempt to calm her down.
"It'll be okay mittens, we'll call you every day. And if you need anything, just know you can count on us."
After Emira said this, all the youngest Blight could do was hug tighter, tears still falling down her face.
And in a wavering tone, she responded, "Promise?"
"Promise"
———
After a few more goodbyes from her siblings, they all went back to their rooms. There, she grabbed the bag she had left sitting by the open window. When she went near it, a cool breeze blew through her hair, giving her a small sense of comfort as she drew a spell.
Quite a large spell circle appeared two stories below her, right in a patch of dirt. From it, an abomination hand appeared, slowly stretching itself to Amity's window. From there she jumped onto it, letting it lower herself down to the ground.
When she was back onto land, she gave one last look at the manor before looking at the old, pink hairband on her wrist.
While the house only reminded her of what she was forced to be, the circular accessory she bore reminded her of who she wanted to be. It also gave some very pleasant memories of her old crush, Luz. And while it made her happy, it only lasted for a fleeting minute.
She quickly grabbed the hair tie and pulled all of her hair into a messy ponytail, revealing the undercut she had just beneath it. Her parent never approved of this, so she always had her hair let loose. But now, she was free. Well, almost.
After putting her hair up, she made a run to the back walls of the estate. There, after scanning it, she found the loose bricks she used as footholds whenever she needed to get out. And after getting a good grip on one of them, she hoisted herself over the wall, landing with whatever grace she had left.
As much as she panicked about this whole situation, she felt a slight bit of exhilaration from breaking almost every rule her parents had set for her. It was not only terrifying, but made adrenaline rush through her.
So, with this newfound energy, even at 3 in the morning, she ran through the woods. This might not have been the best idea, considering she was only wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts, which in retrospect wasn't the best of choices. But now that she was going, she felt branches scrape her legs and arms, which didn't stop her in the slightest.
When she did stop, however, was when she needed to catch her breath. So she slowed down and leaned on a nearby tree, panting. Her once newfound adrenaline was gone, and it was replaced with heavy eyelids and a yawn or two.
Thankfully, she spotted an old shallow cave, but even calling it a cave was generous. It was more like a small divot in the hillside she was near. I guess this will be fine for now.
A few more deep breaths later, and walked over to the 'cave' and sat down. There she took the backpack off and set it down. She laid onto it, using it as a makeshift pillow.
All she could do was curl up in a ball, thanking herself for leaving when it was warm. Her eyelids grew heavier by the second, so she slowly let her eyes shut, sleep overcoming her.