A True Witch (Part 1)

New and Expected

"And why did you bring her here?"

"Because we're going with her to the hideout."

Her mom paused, stood up, and walked over to the maps.

"No." She said plainly, not even looking at them.

"Mother!"

"Superstar, we aren't leaving. Especially not to a fake hideout."

"But it isn't fake!"

"Even so, we aren't going anywhere. We have it good. We aren't risking that on some he said-she said. Your mom looked and got captured, now you say we should. Stick with your opinions."

"It isn't he said-she said! It is somebody who comes from the hideout! We didn't have that, mom didn't have that! She went looking without anyone from there and was just relying on being found first!"

"Oh no it's your mom's fault she got captured?" Boscha's mother scoffed.

"With all due respect, Ann," Luz interjected, surprising her by saying her name, "I went to where the Collector had been hiding out a few days ago and talked to your wife, Lynn. She didn't tell me much, just where to find my little brother, her name, that she knew Eda, your name, and that she's Boscha's mom. We didn't talk that long. But she also told me to tell you and Boscha that she's okay and that she loves you. I won't try to speak for her, but with how much she sounded like she cared about you, I think if she knew you were offered a chance to go to the place she was looking for, she'd want you to go."

Ann looked like she had frozen. It made sense, she had heard what must have been the first news of how her wife is doing in five months. She wasn't even there when she got taken, and now this stranger says they talked to her. Luz was a bit worried about how they'd react next, mainly that she'd accuse her of lying, and an uneasy look from Boscha didn't help. Then, Ann's expression changed to a small smile. She chuckled softly, wiped away a single tear, and moved to Boscha and Luz. She clapped a hand on Luz's shoulder and nodded at her.

"Alright. I trust you. If my superstar is with you on this and my love trusted you to get a message to me, then I trust you." Ann turned to Boscha, "Pack up everything necessary. Potions, snacks, your staff, and whatnot."

"Oh, yeah snacks are a good idea. It's a long flight." Luz agreed.

"And once we're ready to go, human," Ann said, turning back to Luz, "You're leading us to this hideout. I'm still fairly suspicious of this whole schtick, so remember that if I so much as get a hint of a feeling you're being anything less than honest I will end you. I may be limited to potion magic, but I have enough experience that I don't need any magic to kill you in more ways than you could count on your fingers."

Luz nervously gulped and nodded.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. We just need to head out to where Eda and I were supposed to meet back up and we'll be on our way."

Ann nodded and went to help Boscha pack up. After just a few minutes, they were ready to go. They walked out and began walking away, but just before the door closed Ann tossed an explosive potion over her shoulder and into their little hideout and, just as the door sealed, there was a muffled sound of an explosion. Ann could see Luz's surprised expression and just shrugged.

"Don't want there to be any trace, what can I say?" She explained.

The group walked back through Bonesborough, Boscha and Ann easily navigating the terrain, but still following Luz to know where to go. After around ten minutes, Luz saw enough familiar stuff that she knew when she got back to the place her and Eda landed.

"Alright, Eda should get back here any-"

Luz was cut off by a whoosh of wind and Eda landing in front of her, between where she and Boscha and Ann stood.