The time has finally come, the guards stormed into my block and prepared me for transport. I knew that I didn't have a lot of my natural magic left but it should be enough to get out of the cuffs, now I have to wait for the right moment to strike. At first, I follow them without any signs of resistance, even trying to bargain, in order to make them less alert. From my studies of the conformatorium, I perfectly know which parts of the building are the most vulnerable and least guarded. When we are passing through one of those isolated corridors I decide that it is time for action.
Breaking the cuffs into pieces certainly shocked the guards. Without a second thought, I grab a few glyphs I had prepared and start immobilizing my enemies. Luz was always quite effective with those so hopefully, they will be enough for me as well. For the most part, it was more than enough, unfortunately, one of the guards managed to get to the alarm and activate it, meaning there was a lot of fighting ahead of me. I use the moment of silence to re-group and prepare new glyphs to defend myself against incoming adversaries.
Soon enough new waves of guards come in while I'm trying to hold my position, if it is supposed to be my last stand, then be it. Slowly, I'm beginning to get overwhelmed by the number of guards attacking me. I have to admit, plant glyphs are effective but not as effective as some more advanced spells. A few spells managed to get through my defense but luckily I didn't get hurt yet. Not that it matters right now, if they arrest me once again it's over anyway.
Suddenly, time around me seemed to slow down followed by a huge blast of light. All the guards dropped down and I was left there standing alone. When the remnants of the spell wore off and all the guards were lying unconscious on the floor Lilith marched in.
"Hello Edalyn, causing troubles as always?"
"Lilith, came to finish the job?"
"Luckily for you, I didn't, considering the state you are in magic-wise it wouldn't be much of a job anyway."
"Then what are you doing here?" I asked.
"If it hasn't occurred to you yet sister, I'm helping you escape. I may not approve of your methods but I'm definitely not looking forward to your petrification."
"How kind of you, and here I thought you didn't have a heart."
"Don't push it Edalyn. You've got a chance, use it, don't make me regret that. It will be easier for both of us if you stop fighting and lay low."
"You know I can't Lily, how am I supposed to lay low, when your wonderful coven is out there, abusing its power all the time."
"Edalyn, just do what I say for once."
"Said coven leader to an enemy of the state and became a traitor." This mysterious voice surprised both me and Lilith, we turned our heads around and faced Kikimora with reinforcements.
"Uh, Lily, I think it's time for some magic, don't you think?" I said, prompting Lilith to act. And so she quickly drew a spell circle in the air and we were out of the conformatorium in the forest. I had no idea Lily knew teleportation spells, they were too hard even for me... I'm kinda jealous honestly but for now, I can't do any magic so not the biggest issue. Regardless of how high-level teleportation is Lilith wasn't even exhausted. For now, she was mainly freaking out.
"Oh Titan, she saw me, I can't go back. What will I do now? I have nowhere to go. I will- I-"
She sounded as if she was going through a heart attack or something. I partially understood her, if she was to go back there, she would become a nice stone statue right next to me.
"Hey, Lily, breathe. Come on, look at me, one, two, three." I tried to calm her down a little.
"But- everything I worked for, all my accomplishments, erased. I'm finished in the coven, if I'm caught I will be petrified. No, I just- just-"Here she was, panicking once again.
"Take it slowly sis, you can crash in the Owl House or what's left of it. We will move it somewhere safer, everything will be fine." As much of a pain as Lilith was for all these years, I couldn't abandon her now, she risked everything to save me, she lost everything to save me. Not that I want to say that it is too little too late, but I can at least directly repay with help.
Firstly, I have to take care of Lilith, then I have to find a way to break King and Hooty out of prison, move the house, and improve its defenses. A lot of things to do, and without magic, it will be even harder. I help Lilith with a few more breathing exercises. She calmed down a little, at least she isn't mumbling to herself all the time. We have to move no matter what, I can already hear the guards in the conformatorium preparing a search party.
We walk deeper into the forest and Lily starts to regain her senses. She finally overcame the worst part of her panic attack. At least I hope so, I think that the fact that she started thinking clearly is a good sign. She handed me Owlbert and took out her own staff.
"Here, take it, it will be easier to escape while flying."
"Sure thing, just don't fall off your staff, I will need your magic to move the Owl House, let's fly then."
We both got on our staffs and flew towards Bonesborough. Honestly, I missed Owlbert during those weeks in a cell. It would be so perfect if King was here, darn it, even Hooty. And then there was Luz, I can't forget about her. I have to notify her when we will be all set up and safe.
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"Mom, we need to talk."
My mom looked at me, not even surprised by my words. "We indeed do. What's going on Luz?"
"Well, Amity made me realize I shouldn't avoid talking, so..."
"I'm here for you Luz."
"The main issue is that you weren't here for me when I needed it. Did it ever cross your mind why I left? I was alone, had no friends, you were the only person I could depend on and here you were, trying to send me off to a camp for weird kids."
"I-"
"You wanted to know what's bugging me, here you go. On the Boiling Isles, I was free for the first time, no one judged me for who I was, and I even made some friends, but now I'm stuck here, back in this cursed realm."
"Luz, I had no idea... I'm so sorry..."
"I know you are, but it hurts nonetheless."
"Please, tell me what to do to help you then."
"I'm not even sure, just accept who I am and that I won't change, I will try to be more open as well..."
"Of course Luz, I'm aware it won't fix the rift between us immediately, but I'm glad that you are willing to give me a chance. Come here, let me hug you, like good old times."
I slowly stepped toward my mom and embraced her. It really was like good all times, good all times when dad was still with us and everything seemed easier...
"You know what Mom, maybe let's make it like good new times, and try to leave some of the past in the past."
"Of course cariño, of course."
We stood there, hugging, until I smelled burning enchiladas. My mom rushed to turn off the oven and save as many as possible, luckily they didn't burn too badly but the smell was in the whole house now. It was so intense that even Amity came downstairs to check what was happening.
"Amity, it's good to see you, dinner is ready if you are interested." My mom said while putting the food on separate plates. We sat together and ate. I was joyous that I could sit with my mom and not feel guilty. There was still a ton of work ahead of us but we were off to a good start. The enchiladas were delightful, and the variety of foods is one of the only things I missed on the Boiling Isles.
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This human food turn out to be more delicious than I thought, especially compared to the exquisite meals served in my home, for most of the time they taste like cardboard. I was still finishing my portion when Luz went upstairs to shower. I was left alone at the table with Camila and she was glaring at me.
"Amity, I already grabbed the concept of other realms and magic, but tell me, how did you and Luz meet?"
This caught me off guard. I'm not sure how much she already knows, should I lie or tell the truth? I'm not sure what Camila's reaction will be when she learns that I tried to arrest Luz so many times...
"Well, let's say we had a rough start to our acquaintance."
"How rough?"
"Uh... Fighting to the death kinda rough. Well maybe not to the death but close."
"Wait, what?!"
"yeah... there is a lot to explain."
"Then please explain it to me." Camila said, I couldn't decipher what she meant by that, whether she is genuinely interested or on the verge of killing me. Probably a little of both.
Feels like I'm already committed to it, so why not provide her with the full story? She listened carefully as I summarized everything that happened since I met Luz for the first time. Camila's expression was changing constantly, fluctuating between an 'I will kill you' look and some kind of compassionate look. I took the liberty to skip over my family issues and the unfortunate situation with Tamara since I figured they were irrelevant to the question.
When I finished Camila seemed to be mostly intrigued by the whole story and here I thought I was good at reading people's emotions...
"I have to admit, I didn't expect such a convoluted story." She said.
"You probably think I'm a terrible person, considering everything..."
"Hold on Amity, I have to stop you right there. You are by no means a terrible person, for instance, you showed it today through healing Luz, though it's still kind of surprising to me how you did it. Your actions now are what matter the most, yes, you may have done some questionable choices in the past but what's important is that you are trying to make up for them."
"Wow, I didn't expect such a level of support and understanding. Thank you. I feel a lot better now that I shared everything."
"No problem Amity, since you are staying here probably for a long while, feel free to come and talk anytime you want. You went through a lot even though you are still so young..."
"Thanks, that's extremely kind of you, but I think Luz will need this support more, I probably shouldn't intervene with your family matters, regardless, I think she really missed home even if she doesn't want to admit it. Or I may be wrong..."
"You really care about Luz, don't you?"
"Of course, I do, as a friend of course. It's just... She helped me a lot, if it wasn't for her I would still be stuck in the emperor's coven."
"Don't worry, everything will be fine, I still have some questions I want to ask you, but let's leave it for tomorrow, shall we? It's getting late."
"Of course, I will go upstairs, check how Luz is doing, and thank you for listening."
"Anytime, goodnight Amity."
"Goodnight."
As I expected Luz was in her room, she was reading something on her compu-thing. I can't remember all those weird names for human technologies. When I entered she turned around and said;
"Oh, Ami, you're finally here."
"Were you waiting for me? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing at all, I saw you were talking with my mom and I didn't mean to interrupt you, by the way, what were you talking about if I may ask?"
"I was telling her how we met, all the ups and downs if we can put it that way."
"Woah. I thought you went for something more light-hearted. Not that it's bad, not at all. So, how did she react."
"Surprisingly understanding, and how did your talk with Camila went?"
"Well... overall, positively, we made a step in the right direction but there is still a lot we need to work on."
"I'm glad to hear it, maybe you will lighten up a little bit then."
"Was I that moody?"
"Surely moodier than on the Boiling Isles, it's good to see the old you back."
I felt my cheeks getting warmer, wait, did I just blush? Why did I just blush? It wasn't anything sweet, just a random conversation. What's happening to me lately? Luz's presence has a weird influence on me... Or maybe it's the change of the realm, who knows.
For the rest of the evening, Luz was showing me the beauty of the Internet. By the way, what a weird name. Here I thought that Penstagram was something advanced, but it pales in comparison. I would have never thought that there is a possibility to access so much information without going to the library. Humans even have their own version of Penstagram but it's just a tiny fraction of the Internet in its eternity. Even though I missed my home on the Boiling Isles, well not my literal home but at least I missed Ed and Em, I think I will like it here, the human realm doesn't seem too bad.
That was at least until I went to shower and wanted to brush my teeth. I asked Luz for a toothbrush and she gave me this weird thick thing. She told me that I have to press a button to activate it. What toothbrush needs an activation button? I stood there confused, looking at Luz, trying to obtain further explanation.
"Look, you press the button and it starts working."
Oh, Titan, it started buzzing.
"There is no way, I'm putting this demon contraption in my mouth, toothbrushes don't behave like that, what kind of magic is this?"
"Come on Ami, it's tech, believe me, it won't hurt you. As far as I'm concerned there are no demons or other demonic artifacts in the human realm. Well, maybe there are, but definitely not in this house."
I reluctantly took the machine into my hand. The buzzing felt weird but maybe Luz is right... I don't think she would try to hurt me. Slowly, I put the toothbrush closer to my teeth, and to my surprise, it isn't as bad as I thought. Maybe I can work with that. Surely I'm not the biggest fan of this cleaning technique but for now, I'm stuck with it. When I'm finally done I come back to Luz's room and for the remainder of the evening we explore her Azura merchandise collection. And here I thought I was the biggest Azura fan... In my defense, I will say that on the Boiling Isles, there was no such thing as Azura merchandise, and honestly I wish there was.
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Here we go, chapter 16 is done. I hope you enjoyed it, I don't think there is a lot I want to add. The story is progressing and new events are awaiting. If you have any questions/feedback, don't be afraid to use the comments. That's all for now, see you in the next one.