The room was in pristine condition, sleek and shining bright floors, pillars and eruptions of flame pushed towards the far wall, and a gran throne at the center of it all. The emperor himself, standing broadly before his own throne, had his arms clasped tightly at the small of his back, a menacing golden mask hiding his true features from the second person in the room.

"Emperor Belos," she breathed, resting a pale hand over her chest and dropping down to her knee. Her white cloak, accented with a cool array of blues pooled at the ground, her long locks of hair pristinely falling against her back. The man before her, although his face wasn't visible, was still able to let her know that he meant business.

"Lilith," Emperor Belos nodded, stepping towards the bowing woman. "I am certain that you are aware of the desperate need to find Eda the Owl Lady?" he mused, circling the woman as if she were his prey. She nodded, maintaining her stance as he returned to his throne.

"Yes, my emperor. I am very much aware of how dire the situation is," she clarified her response, eyeing the monarch carefully. He audibly sighed, making a small show of fixing his brooch before those empty eyes landed back on her.

"Good. Then I assume you know of Eda's… student?" his voice seemed cocky and arrogant. Lilith swallowed, standing to face the emperor at a more even height distance. Emperor Belos didn't bother maintaining his posture, instead he looked at the coven leader almost lazily.

"Yes, I do, my emperor," Lilith responded, unsure as to why the human girl had been brought into the conversation. The girl- as far as Lilith was aware- had not broken any of the Isles' laws, and according to her protege, the girl was registered to begin academics at Hexside.

"I would like to meet with the human, she will know of Eda's whereabouts and other concepts that would aid me and the coven greatly," Belos explained, tilting his head towards Lilith. "Are you capable of... collecting her for me?"

If she went through with this, not only would they have Eda, but a cure for her curse. On top of that, the human girl would most likely show interest in the coven, and although she may not be of absolute power, she had potential- Amity had informed her that the girl had been capable of doing a simple light spell, easy for a witch yet still impressive for a mere human.

"Of course, my emperor. I'll bring her here as soon as I am able," Lilith bent back down to her knee, bowing her head as the emperor hummed. She looked up, watching him wave his hand to dismiss her.

She wasn't certain as to why she was having second thoughts. It was for the good of the coven- for the good of Edalyn. It would benefit others, and that was enough to push the crippling doubt to the depths of her stomach.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Eda!" Luz whined, leaning over the front table of the stand. The witch in question, was standing on said table and waving around a television remote and flaunting off the string lights hanging on her shoulders. Luz, being tired after a long night of attempting to perfect her new spell, decided to drop her attempts to receive the older woman's attention, instead looking over the trinkets in front of her.

A beaded necklace, one that you'd typically find in a dollar store of sorts. A pack of party poppers- Luz had actually attempted to pocket these a few days ago, only for Eda to place them back onto the stand, referring to them as an 'extra fun alarm clock'. Luz hadn't bothered to explain their true purpose, after all- nobody could change the stubborn woman's mind.

But Luz didn't really care all that much. She was living out her dreams, becoming a witch! The young latina had already learned her second spell, and was hard at work deciphering the Boiling Isles' runic alphabet- which was surprisingly much easier than Luz had anticipated. She was set to begin a proper education at Hexside School for Magic and Demonics in the upcoming semester, and dios was she excited.

"Did you say something, kid?" Eda finally piqued, stepping down from the table once the group of possible customers had scurried off to their next location, leaving nobody but passerbyers at the Human Collectibles stand. Luz hummed, looking up from the necklace she had subconsciously begun to string through her fingers, shifting her attention towards the pale woman at her side.

"Oh! Not really, I was just going to ask if I could go home early, a bit tired and stuff," the tanned girl chuckled. Eda shifted her gaze back to the market- golden eyes carefully checking out each visible person nearby, most likely to scope out possible customers, or searching for the Emperor's guards.

"Looks like a quiet day, so sure, kid. But next week you're not getting off of house cleaning duty," Eda deadpanned, letting out a sigh and shifting her gaze towards the back of the tent. Kin was curled up atop a chest, softly snoring as he rested. "You, get up. We have some work to do!"

"Thanks, Eda," Luz smiled, promptly walking off in a desperate attempt to avoid King's wrath- most of the time he was absolutely adorable, but he took his naps very seriously. The young latina still managed to overhear an exclamation about paying rent- most likely from Eda, but she wasn't paying too close attention to the situation ways behind her.

Luz continued to walk along the paved streets of town, the pale stones reflecting the sunlight into her eyes, a soft shine that wasn't unbearable, but was still slightly annoying. She sighed, looking to her side.

Plastered to the wall, was an array of wanted posters- a multitude of which belonged to none other than her mentor and, dare she say, second mother. Luz sighed, beginning to walk away from the wall, back towards The Owl House.

"Pardon me- Luz, was it?" a voice cut into her thoughts. Luz jumped, letting out a quick yelp as she shifted to meet the gaze of the one who spoke- it took a second, the woman was absolutely familiar- Libby? Lucy? "My name is Lilith, you may know me as… Edalyn's sister,"

Several alarm bells suddenly went off in Luz's head. She and Eda had ran from the Covention after the sisters' little fight, not to mention Lilith seemed to be after Eda when they had encountered one another during the body swap incident.

"Uh, sorry- I was just going home," Luz awkwardly smiled, beginning to push past the witch. Ay, dios mio. ¿Que voy a hacer? she thought to herself, swallowing back a nervous lump when Lilith continued to pursue her.

"Please, Luz. I- we need you. You could help save Edalyn, help end her curse," Lilith extended her arm, and the young latina froze in place. Was she really capable in helping Eda? The most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles who by herself, was unable to remove it herself?

In a way, it was what Luz had always wanted. To be a hero, to save someone. But was this a scam or a plan? Could she trust Lilith? Luz's mind wandered towards Amity, the brilliant young witch who still managed to inspire Luz even through their rocky beginnings. If Amity could pour her trust into Lilith- could it be that bad?

"Well… what do I need to do?" Luz mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. But she assumed Lilith heard it clearly, as she dropped her arm and moved closer to the human girl.

"I need you to come with me," Lilith responded, drawing a pale blue circle into the wall with the head of her staff. The white raven was sleek in design, intricately carved, and Luz wasn't hesitant to admit how impressively it showed off Lilith's power and regality.

But, actually going with Lilith? If it was for the good of Eda's health, it very much could be worth it, but Luz still remembered what her mother would always tell her about going someplace with a stranger- Mija, no te vayas con los desconocidos, algo peligroso puede pasar.

On the other hand, Lilith was Eda's sister. So going with her couldn't hurt, right? Luz nodded, following the pale woman through the newly created portal- she may have to ask her about it later, it would definitely be a handy glyph to know.

They stepped out into a stern room, lined with ominous lighting and golden trim- could this be the fantasy adventure she had truly wanted? More than just boring old lessons- but actual, rich, adventure? Along the distant wall, she could make out a line of guards, most likely protecting the riches in the room. Luz's attention to the room's decals was suddenly pulled towards the rising person from- was that a throne?

"Thank you, Lilith. You are dismissed," the man grunted, gesturing for the woman to leave the room. She appeared hesitant, as if she was unsure as to whether she truly wanted to exit, but ultimately followed the indirect order and left the chamber.

"You are a human, no?" the man- who at this point she assumed was the emperor- spoke. He was tall, wearing white robes embellished with some type of glyph on the brooch. The centerpiece that really completed the entire 'almighty emperor figure' was the headpiece. Words couldn't even describe how intimidating he looked. She awkwardly nodded.

"You said I could help Eda, right? So why don't we do that and then I can go home!" Luz quipped, unnerved by his blank stare- the eyes of the mask seemed so hollow, yet so full of judgement and disappointment.

"I did not say that, but it is possible that my coven leader, Lilith, may have," he sighed, standing up and carefully approaching the girl. Luz took a step backwards, something that seemingly ticked off the emperor. Aye- ¿que fue el nombre de ello? She couldn't quite remember. What did he mean? Was that not the reason she was here?

"You are a human, capable of doing magic without further… assistance. How is this?" he spat, reaching a hand out towards her chin. Luz panicked, shoving his arm away from her. This was getting uncomfortable, she should have trusted her gut, now she was stuck with the Emperor of the Boiling Isles with probably no way to escape- "I asked you a question,"

"Uhm, well- I just kind of did?" Luz managed to nervously chuckle out. He audibly growled, gesturing for one of his guards to approach. "What? Wait- I'm sure we can find a compromise of sorts? You see as you mentioned I'm human so-"

Luz was cut off with a startled squeak as the guard latched onto her forearm, sending her tumbling forwards. The latina collected herself, gulping when she looked up to see the emperor towering over her.

"I have asked you a question, one of many to come. I expect you to answer with the truth. Here, I'll give you a small example of what will happen when you refute my words," the emperor spat, turning towards the guard who was holding her.

Luz really, really did not like where this seemed to be going. She could comply, probably make a mistake, and get Eda in way more trouble than before- which was not going to do her 'hero' fantasy any good- or she could be a stubborn teenager.

The Emperor's guard swiftly drew a spell circle through the air, a small concentrated flame erupting from the pale blue light. Luz squeaked, eyes wide and scared as he pressed the flame into her wrist.

The first thing that Luz's senses registered was how strangely cold it felt- for flame she definitely would have assumed it to be hotter, perhaps things were different in the Boiling Isles? That thought was chased away when her pain receptors finally caught up with what was happening.

Luz let out a startled scream, all of this somehow taking place within a mere few seconds- seconds that managed to feel like minutes- long, agonizing minutes. The guard let go, and Luz immediately began to cradle her wrist close to her chest. The skin had already broken, black and charred bits flaked to the ground, all while blood slowly seeped from the wound.

"Do you understand the terms?" the emperor's deep voice growled.

"I… understand," Luz quipped, already fighting the tears threatening to spill. Would Azura cry? No- she wouldn't. But she felt so weak and vulnerable, she wanted Eda- and King's reluctant cuddles.

"Good," his voice seemed satisfied, almost amused. Was it the pain he had caused? Was it that he would get what he wanted?

To say that Luz was scared was an understatement. First of all, her wrist had absolutely refused to stop stinging or throbbing, and it hurt worse than when her mom decided to ship her off to camp and- Aye, mami Luz's thoughts turned morbid. Was her mom okay all alone? What if something bad happened and Luz didn't know?

It hurt to think about everything that could go so horribly wrong, in the current moment or in the foreseeable future.

At the current moment, Luz wanted to focus on getting out of here. The emperor still looked at her- or at least she assumed he was, it was hard to tell with the intricate mask he wore. The guard who had… her eyes looked down at her still bleeding wrist.

"Now, how exactly do you perform magic?" the emperor repeated. Luz bit her lip- would this knowledge ultimately harm her or Eda? It wasn't like it was a major secret, in fact Willow, Gus, and Amity knew of her methods, even the twins did. So explaining it couldn't do much harm, could it?

"I just… draw the glyphs for the spell. Tap tap, it's casted," Luz hummed, sweat rolling down her back. The emperor grunted, looking towards the guard. The young latina began to panic- would he harm her again? She didn't want to see what else he could do, didn't want to feel it.

"Gather a pen and parchment. I would like to see this magic for myself," he barked. Luz breathed a sigh of relief as the guard scurried out of the chambers, returning shortly with what the emperor had asked for. The guard handed them to Luz, and she sucked in another deep breath.

One big circle. Outline the circle- little triangle man with a triangle hat and two stitches to hold it all together… the image flowed from memory, soon reappearing on the parchment in her shaking hand. A small amount of blood dripped from her arm, but it was far enough away from the glyph that Luz ignored how terrified that made her feel.

With a swift tap, the orb of light was sent floating towards the ceiling, the emperor and his guards watching it in astonishment.

"Impressive. Where did you learn these glyphs?" the emperor breathed, a strange deterrence from his previous stern exterior. Luz hesitated, but quickly jumped back into compliance when the guard took a step towards her.

"They're everywhere. You just have to look closely," Luz squeaked out. The emperor exchanged a look with the guard, but didn't give any further instructions- to Luz's relief. With only a pen in her hand, the latina felt slightly awkward but still brought her injured wrist back to her chest.

"Very well. Now, I'm aware that you train under Eda the Owl Lady, no?" the emperor tilted his head expectantly. This was where things got bad- she couldn't sell out Eda, no way would she ever want to do that- but what would become of her if she continued to refuse. Luz's legs wavered, the girl slowly nodding. "Could you tell me of where she lives?"

"Uh, it's a house?" Indirect answers. "It's a bit messy but it's nice. My room used to be a spare room so there's a lot of random things in-"

The emperor grunted, his hand gesture cutting Luz off as the guard approached again, pushing her to her knees. His hand held her head in place- she couldn't see and- dios she was scared. Quiero mi mama she softly thought to herself.

The anticipation almost hurt as much as what she knew what was to come- pain, something bad, was she being tortured? Answers hit her when the guard harshly stomped down on one of her shins. Luz screamed, the influx of tears spilling like a broken dam. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt. Pain pulsed from the impact spot, her leg throbbed, her wrist bled, she didn't like this, this wasn't helping Eda.

The guard's hold on her slipped, and Luz crashed into the ground, unbothered to attempt to stand. Instead, she curled into a fetal position, arms tucked into her chest while her knees pressed into her belly.

"Please, stop," she whispered through the pain. The emperor huffed, brushing the guard away. He stepped away from his throne, bending onto one knee next to Luz. His cold fingers brushed away the stray hairs that had glued themselves onto her face with sweat, sending a shiver down the latina's spine.

"We will continue this later in the evening, I have matters to attend to. I doubt you'll bother with… an escape attempt," he looked down, nudging Luz with his foot. When she didn't move, he exited the chamber, flanked by his guards.

No. No, no, no no no. Luz was not going to continue with this, she was done with this, Eda would notice she wasn't home, right? But Eda was busy with the stand today…

For the first time in weeks, she let herself wonder if the Boiling Isles truly was a good place for her. Sure, Luz had the most fun she had ever had in her life here, but she had also experienced the most pain. Her friends… Gus and Willow, and Amity. They cared about her, and she cared about them. But Luz couldn't stay forever, when camp 'ended' her mom would expect her to come home…

Her mom. Camilia Noceda. Ay, dios- Luz missed their warm embraces, the late night empanadas and the small sips of margarita her mom would allow her to have- just a bit, just a little sneak peak- Luz always hated the bitter taste of alcohol, but the way her mom would snort at Luz's disgusted face made her take that little sip.

Luz wanted to go home.

She hugged her knees tighter, continuing to cry as her leg continued to pulse with pain, and her wrist continued to burn. If she tried anything risky, there'd only be more pain and she, Luz Noceda, could not handle that. Pain was just… too much, too overloading, too real.

If she could just escape into her own little fantasy world, everything would be fine. Everything was supposed to be fine, the Boiling Isles was supposed to be her escape from reality. Maybe a reality check would have been good for her, fantasy only seemed to want to harm Luz at this point. Was there even anything good that could come out of this?

Everything hurt. Why was life just so cruel? Why were people so cruel? Luz let out another choked sob, alone in a world that kept growing more unfamiliar by the day.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Miss Lilith, what's wrong?" Amity raised an eyebrow as the second spell circle her mentor had casted that day sizzled into silence. She had seemed out of it since Amity had arrived for her private lesson, and for somebody as focused and determined as Lilith, something bad had to have happened in order to lead to her evident discomfort. Lilith, ignoring the question, attempted the spell again, this time achieving a success in her feat.

After a moment under Amity's scrutinizing glare, Lilith sighed.

"All is well, Amity. I've just got plenty to think about, is all," Lilith pushed the question further away, continuing to demonstrate the spell. Amity followed along, nodding in response.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Amity put her training wand gently onto the wooden table in the center of the room. She ran a finger through her short hair, sighing softly as she turned back towards Lilith.

"Lilith. I have never seen you so unfocused, something's bothering you," Amity pressed. "You don't have to tell me, but if it's affecting your ability to cast spells, I'm… I'm okay with waiting a few days to continue our lessons,"

"I just had a small task this morning and I'm debating whether it was the right decision to follow through," Lilith breathed, pushing back a stray lock of hair.

"What… was the task?" Amity piqued. If it unsettled Lilith of all people, what's to say it wasn't dangerous? Or harmful- Amity pushed away those intruding thoughts. She trusted Lilith, and she trusted the Emperor's Coven. Everything would be fine.

"Emperor Belos informed me that Edalyn's apprentice could have information that would help out the coven immensely," Lilith let out a shaky breath. "So I asked the girl to come with me, and I brought her here,"

"Luz is here?" Amity jumped. What could Luz possibly know of that could help a power-rich coven? Yes, Luz was able to cast spells, but basic spells at that. Lilith seemed to catch on, resting an arm on the young girl's shoulder.

"She knows much of Eda herself, and that knowledge can help us," the woman's eyes shifted towards the ground. "The Emperor has a summit now, I suppose that the human will need assistance in getting back to Edalyn,"

The words were unspoken, but still there. Do you want to come with me while I go get Luz? Amity nodded, lifting her wand from the table where it had previously rested, placing it into her bag and following Lilith out the door.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How long had it been? Long enough. Luz's leg continued to throb with no promise of relenting anytime soon. Though, she did note that the bleeding on her wrist had slowed down noticeably. So that had to be something, right?

Would Eda be mad at her when she got back? If she got back… Luz swallowed, another silent sob wracking through her curled up body. Home felt so distant, beforehand it had always just been a question of when she wanted to return home, but now for the first time, she wondered if going home would even be possible anymore.

Luz could die here, there was a real chance of not coming home, and how would that affect her mom? Friends back home- there were none, but friends like Willow, Gus, and Amity? Would they notice or frankly care? Luz squeezed her eyes shut, too exhausted to look around the room with terrified eyes, anticipating any pain or waiting for the room to change to her bedroom where she'd wake up and realize this was all a dream.

But this was no dream, the pain was all too real, the emotions and thrill as well. Luz tucked her head deeper into her knees, attempting to curl into as small of a ball as possible. Mom would probably be mad that she had run away instead of going to camp, but she would never intentionally harm Luz. Going home could be her best bet but… her dreams. Were they worth it? Were they worth this?

There were footsteps in the distance, and Luz inwardly began to panic. Did she answer? Did she refuse? Did she cry? She didn't want any more pain to come her way, that was too much for her, she was only fourteen. Luz continued to cry, tears slipping down her cheek and onto the sleek floors.

"Luz-"