[Art by Ireland is Viney on Amino]
A/N: I did some small edits to previous chapters to make it so Y/n hasn't fallen yet, to make it a bit more interesting >:) Enjoy the chapter!
Y/n's POV
I fought as well as I could against the coven scouts, we all did. They only slightly outnumbered us and I'm certain we could have taken them if not for having just played an excruciating game of Flyer Derby. Oh, and I was dealing with the fact I'd been betrayed. Again.
I'm usually always on my guard, but between wanting to make Willow happy and our last confusing encounter I messed everything up and gave that idiot a second chance. A first chance was out of my control, but this one was my choice, and I made the wrong decision. It won't happen again.
Defeated looks sit sadly on my friend's faces as we slump in our cage. I'd been in the police precinct before, but usually they didn't have a guard watching us, and I didn't want to get my friends in any further trouble with a risky escape plan.
In an attempt to lift everyone's spirits, I begin singing a witches' drinking song. "100 jugs of Apple Blood on the wall! 100 jugs of Apple Blood!" Most of my teammates turn to me in confusion, and I see a smile pull at Gus's face. I have to rush the word Apple Blood to make it fit the tune, so I keep tripping over it as I count down the jugs. Before I know it, most of my team is hiding their smiles behind their hands and even the guard is tapping his foot.
But I can only get to the 82nd jug of Apple Blood before I get interrupted by Hunter walking into the room, his presence immediately bringing the mood down. Not to mention the fact he's collected all our palismen in his arms. My teammates retreat to the back of the cell while I move to the front, hands squeezing the bars like a lifeline.
Hunter leans the palismen against the wall, just out of my reach. Anger boils within me at the sight of my palisman, P/n, between them. I debate using my magic to bring them closer, but decide it's better to wait until we're actively escaping. For now, the most I can do is annoy Hunter, which I am conveniently an expert at.
Before I can open my mouth for a quick remark, Hunter speaks. "Look, I'm sorry about the whole cell thing," he says, not sounding sorry in the slightest, "but did you really have to punch Steve, Skara?" I smirk at Skara who hides her look of small triumph in the shadows of the cell.
"I get it," Steve says. "Emotions are running high. Ice pack for Steve."
While Hunter's distracted by the guard, I aim for his head and spit right at it. Of course, he takes this moment to turn, moving out of the way, instead landing on Steve.
"You hit Steve!" he exclaims. "We just talked about this!"
"I wouldn't have if you hadn't moved," I retort. "Now stay still this time." I make a horrible gurgling noise for show and Hunter shivers while the rest of my team laughs. Good, I just need to keep morale high before we plan our escape.
Hunter shakes his head, crossing his arms. "I don't get it, you're joining the best coven there is! You can keep all your magic, you get free room and board, you can even play Flyer Derby on your day off." He ponders for a moment. "Well, this year's day off has already past, but next year's only 52 weeks away!" Titan, he looks far too cheery about that horrible schedule, I'm starting to see where those eyebags came from.
"We don't care!" Skara yells, leaning against Viney. "We don't want this!"
"You will eventually. Trust me, I'm your friend now!" The remark turns my stomach, especially considering how sincere he looked. If he actually believes this, I have a lot more on my plate than I originally thought. My vision clouds with anger, but before I can do anything, Gus speaks.
"Friends don't stab each other in the back."
"Sure they do!" Hunter smiles. "The Coven Heads do it all the time back at the castle." I roll my eyes and groan in defeat, flopping onto the floor.
"You'd be a delight at parties," I grumble. Hunter sneers at me before turning his gaze to Willow.
"Captain! You're on my side, right?" I turn my head to check on my friend. Willow's been quiet this whole time, curled up facing the wall. I tried talking to her earlier, but Gus said she needed some space. I could hear the defeat in her voice as she spoke, "I... thought I could be good at this."
Hunter's face twists in confusion, his shoulders dropping ever so slightly. I sit up as Willow continues.
"But we're here because I made a bad call. I'm just a half-a-witch Willow." Her voice cracks on the last phrase, and guilt hits me like a ton of bricks.
"Willow," I reach an arm out to her shoulder, and she flinches at the gesture. "None of that's true. You're one of the strongest, most determined witches I've ever met. Besides, it's my fault we're- ". Before I can finish, a swirl of Abomination magic roars through the cage, curling around our bodies and soaking us through the floor.
When it releases us, we're dropped on the floor, and it's clear we're no longer in the precinct. I take in my surroundings as quickly as possible, looks like we're on some sort of flying ship. Before us stands Darius, the Abomination Coven Head, a dark-skinned witch with bright purple abomination slime where his hair should be. I've heard about him, but he's far more disconcerting in person. Is he bald underneath all that magic, or is it permanently stuck to his head? Is it alive?
I try to stand up, but I'm still disoriented after our little abomination road trip. I opt to checking on my friends instead, who are just as confused as me.
"Darius!" Hunter calls from bellow the ship. Judging from how far away his voice is, we must be pretty high up. "I did it! I found new recruits!"
"Yep, and you're making me work on my day off." He drawls from the side of the ship. "Take this and quit bugging me." He summons something and chucks it off the ship, but it's gone too quick for me to catch a glimpse of it. I ignore the rest of their conversation, and glance around the ship, taking in my surroundings to plan the best escape.
A cage full of our palismen floats onto the ship beside us. "P/n!" I gasp, but as I reach out for the cage my hand gets slapped away with Abomination magic.
"Hands off, or they'll suffer a much worse fate than a cage." Darius looks incredibly bored as he sits down on the other side of the ship. A guard takes the wheel, and we ascend into the air, causing our team to move closer to one another.
We sit in silence for a bit, staring longingly at our palismen, who shake in their cage. The wind stings my face, throwing my hair wildly around my eyes.
"Y/n?" Willow whispers. I turn back to see her fiddling with her hands. Not a great sign. "What did you mean, that this was all your fault?" I swallow nervously. Great, I just had to say that. But there's no way I'm not coming clean to my friends.
"I..." I look down at my hands, avoiding the gazes of the team. "I knew Hunter was the Golden Guard." I hear gasps from all around me. This opening up stuff is difficult, how does Luz do it all the time? "I met him at Eclipse Lake, when we were trying to find the cure for Luz. He was horrible, but... he saved my life." I risk a glance up, bracing myself for hateful stares. But my friends only look at me with confusion and compassion.
"Go on," Willow prompts. I take a deep breath.
"I was knocked out and the cave was about to come down on top of us, but he got me out of there. He stayed with me 'til I woke up, then he just... let me go. I thought maybe when he joined the team it was his attempt at redemption. I was still wary, of course, but, ugh, I don't know, a part of me wanted to believe there was some good in him. The good I saw at Eclipse Lake. And..."
The team was silent, letting me continue. "And Willow looked so happy." The girl winced at my words. I pulled my gaze to hers. "Willow, you're an incredible witch. You deserve to be the captain of the team, you deserve the respect of the teachers and everyone on the Boiling Isles. I didn't wanna ruin it for you. I put you all in danger because I thought if anything happened, I could take it. But that was stupid, and I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry."
Everyone's still for a moment, taking in all that I've said. Suddenly, Willow opens her arms.
"Hug?" she asks. My shoulders sag, knowing I'm forgiven for my rash decisions. I open my mouth to counter it, not feeling deserving, but Gus puts a finger to his lips.
"It's okay, N/n. Sure, it was dumb, and you should have told us, but we would have done the same thing in your position."
"Just tell us next time," adds Viney.
"Then we can work this out together," Skara agrees. I feel tears well in my eyes as the rest of the team opens their arms.
"Hug," I reply. We all wrap ourselves together, and I savour the close contact. I squeeze the best team ever tighter.
♡♡♡
What's this? I'm alive??
Yeah so I've been through a lot recently and haven't had much time to update, but I swear this is the billionth time I've rewritten this chapter to make it perfect haha.
Also, I've said time and time again this will have slow updates, so please stop begging for updates! I really really appreciate all of your support, especially to new wave of people coming in after the new episode, but people saying "PLEASE UPDATE PLEASE" makes me feel worse.
That being said, THANK YOU FOR 39.5K READS WHAT??? You're all so amazing and I love reading all of your comments. I'm going back to school in a week so don't expect consistent updates, but thank you all again for your overwhelming support, it means the world and more :)
That's it for now. Make sure to do something nice for yourself today, and stay hydrated! <3