Chapter Text
As payment for this service, I shall bestow on you this Blessing:
May you and your descendants, both by blood and by bond
For now and for eternity be strong and skilled In the ways of magic.
And may the house of the Clawthornes endure forever.
Luz Noceda was certain that she would remember these past few months as the best months of her life. It wasn’t just that she had found a magical fantasy world beyond even her own imagination. It wasn’t just the adventures that she occasionally had, or the antics that she wound up partaking in. It wasn’t even that she had friends for the first time, or got to go to a school that she actually liked.
No, the truth was that, most unexpectedly, Luz Noceda found a family.
It was funny, actually. When Luz offered to become Eda’s apprentice, all she was wanting to do was to learn some magic while getting out of going to that stupid summer camp. She wasn’t expecting to find a place filled with love and acceptance. She wasn’t expecting to find a place she could hopefully come to call home. Most of all, she wasn’t expecting to find a place that she felt she truly belonged .
But she had found those things. She found King, the fuzzy little wannabe tyrant that had become something of a little brother to her. She found Hooty, the strange and unusual owl-worm-thing that served as both the owl and the house of the Owl House, who was pretty decent company once you got past everything else.
And finally, she found Eda the Owl Lady, Wild Witch of Bonesborough, and her mentor. Smart, sassy, foxy-for-her-age Edalyn Clawthorne had not been who Luz was expecting her to be. She had expected her to be snarky, acerbic, and blunt, which to be fair she was. What she was not expecting was someone who was deeply caring, compassionate, and empathetic. Edalyn took her in as she was and never asked for more or tried to change her to fit her image of who she should be. Eda meant so much to her that Luz would tear through the Conformatorium and every Coven Scout in it for Eda.
Which was exactly why she was currently tearing through the Conformatorium and every Coven Scout in it.
Eda had been captured by the Emperor’s Coven, by her own sister, the traitorous hag! It was her own fault, Luz felt. If she hadn’t tried to steal that stupid hat, then she wouldn’t have been captured by stupid Lilith, and then Eda wouldn’t have wasted the last of her magic trying to save her and succumbed to her stupid curse. A curse that Lilith, her own sister, had put on her!
Luz halfway wished that Lilith would show her smug, snooty face so she could rip her a new one just like the rest of the Scouts she’d wasted on the way here. Ha! Elite fighting force her butt!
All thoughts of vengeance came to a halt when she reached the doors that Warden Wrath had marked on his map. She turned to King, who had insisted on coming with her, and tasked him with watching the door. With his “weh” of assent, Luz turned her attention to the doors. They were chained together with a padlock, which was easily dispatched with an ice glyph to shatter it. And with that last obstacle out of the way, she opened the door and stepped through.
The room inside was dim and smelled horrible, a couple of small windows high on the walls being the only sources of light and ventilation. Luz pulled a light glyph from her pocket so she could fully see and immediately wished she hadn’t. The walls were lined with what seemed to be a macabre collection of old medieval torture devices, some of which seemed to have been used given the stains and the bones. And in the middle of the room chained to a raised platform was Eda, currently transformed into the hulking, feathered form of the Owlbeast. Thankfully, she looked unharmed.
“Eda? Eda!” Luz ran forward, calling her mentor’s name, only to be knocked back by a flick of the Owlbeast’s wing. Laying on the floor and light glyph dispelled, Luz saw the Owlbeast turn towards her. The Owlbeast roared and charged, raising its claw to strike. “Eda, wait!” Luz called out, fumbling for a light glyph, finding one and illuminating it in the Owlbeast’s borrowed face right before it brought its claws down upon her. "It’s me! It’s me.” she soothed.
The Owlbeast flinched at the light, closing its eyes tightly. When they opened again, the black eyes of the Owlbeast were replaced by the gold-on-white eyes of Edalyn Clawthorne. Eda looked around daze, before they focused down on Luz before them.
“Luz!?” Eda cried out, surprised. “Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. What are you doing here?”
“It’s okay Eda.” Luz stood up, dispelling her light glyph so she could pull out a fire glyph. “I’m here to save you.”
Luz knelt down to place the fire glyph on the chains binding Eda to the platform. The glyph activated and for a brief moment a spark of flame appeared. Then, the chain glowed a bright blue, and the flame dispersed leaving the chain undamaged. Luz sat there, stunned.
“Your magic isn’t strong enough for this,” Eda spoke, pleading as she used the back of her now massive claws to try and push Luz away. “You need to leave. Now”
“But, I can’t!” Luz replied, panic and despair rising in her voice. She pushed Eda’s claw away and pulled out another fire glyph. Again there was a spark of flame. Again the chain glowed blue, unharmed. “It’s my fault you needed to save me!”
Another glyph. Another spark. Another blue glow.
“It’s my fault you were captured.”
Glyph. Spark. Glow.
“No,” Eda rebuked, grabbing Luz and forcing her to stand on her feet and looking her in the eye, “I’m here because of my own actions. I went against Belos’ law and for a while I was able to get away with it. But-” Eda sighed and looked away, “Well, without magic I can’t do much. I don’t regret anything, I lived freely and-” Eda paused before looking Luz in the eye again, “I got to meet you.”
“Eda…” Luz uttered in disbelief. Eda raised her claw and tenderly cupped Luz’s face.
“But if you stay here, I won’t be able to protect you.You need to leave. Now.” Eda ordered, firmly. She moved to bring her claw down, when Luz grabbed it and held it close to her chest.
“But, we’re a family!” Luz begged, voice shaking in desperation, “Us weirdos are supposed to stick together, remember?”
Eda reached into her hair and pulled out a familiar bronze key. She contemplated it for a moment before pressing the eye with her thumb. Luz turned to see the portal door rise from the floor behind her with a faint chime. The yellow, lidless eye stared ominously from its mounting. Luz, confused, stepped towards it, whereupon the door opened to reveal the green foliage of the human realm beyond.
“You have a family already. Go back to them,” Eda commanded. Luz inhaled sharply, as a heavy sense of dread came over her. “And when you’re home, use your fire magic to destroy the portal door. I don’t know why Belos wants it, but we can’t take any chances.”
Luz turned to face Eda, hoping for some sort of denial that no, she wasn’t being sent away, when she suddenly felt a cord around her shoulders and a weight upon her neck and breast. She looked down. It was the portal key. Holding it in her hand, Luz remembered her first day on the Isles, when Eda had given her the portal key and told her to run back to the Human Realm while she and King fought off Warden Wrath alone.
It had felt far less heavy back then.
Luz could not deny what was happening anymore. Her magical whirlwind of a time in the Demon Realm was over, and it was ending with the death of someone she loved.
That realization set off a tidal wave of emotions within her. She gripped the key in her hands tight as tears welled up in her eyes. She wasn’t ready for this. She was never going to be ready for this. Just like she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her Dad, despite all the time she had to prepare. She looked up at Eda, tucked the key beneath her hoodie and cape, then ran forward and threw her arms around Eda’s now feathery neck.
“I love you Eda,” Luz said, voice shaking with tears as she hoped without hope that this would only be the first time she said it to her, and not the last.
Eda stiffened in surprise, perhaps having a realization of her own, before gently nuzzling her head into Luz’s shoulder.
“I love you too, Kiddo.”
Before any more words could be shared, a klaxon began to wail as a flashing red light lit the room. Above them, an iron door in the ceiling began to open. Their time was up.
“Luz, get away!” Eda cried. She pushed Luz off the platform just as the chains binding her glowed blue and became a cage and the platform began to rise.
“No!” Luz begged as he ran back up and jumped, grabbing on to one of Eda’s claws as the platform continued upwards, desperate for just one more moment with her, “Not yet!”
As she tried to pull herself up onto the platform, her eyes met Eda’s.
“I’m sorry,” Eda apologized, before she pushed Luz away, sending her down to the floor below, “Goodbye, Luz.”
“Eda!” Luz called back vainly, watching helplessly as the platform and cage containing her beloved mentor reached the doorway in the ceiling, sealing the hole shut with a dull, final thud.
Alone on the floor, Luz felt the world fall away from her as a dense pit of sorrow and despair sank into her stomach. It was a feeling Luz knew too well, in the past accompanied by well wishers, the pungent smell of embalming fluids, and the last glimpse of her father when they closed his casket. And now it was back, returning now with the loss of another parent. Everything else faded from her leaving the sharp, brutal pain of loss, the only thought to break through was the question of how she and King were going to get their flowers to Eda’s statue every year.
Except…there was something different now. She hadn’t realized it but there was another feeling as well, as if someone had placed a shy, lonely ember in her heart. Before she could ponder it any further, she heard the clacking of heels and King commanding someone to let him go from behind her, followed by a familiar voice.
“Drat! I’m too late. At least I found you, human.”
Lilith . Of course it would be her . Luz didn’t know why she was here. She didn’t care. All she knew was the warm sensation from before was joined by a boiling, burning rage. The other feeling could wait, she had an ass to kick.
And as she turned to confront Lilith, the warm feeling in her heart remained. It remained as she fought Lilith and then listened to her story. It remained as she came face to face with the Emperor and then blew up the portal door to spite him. It remained as she rescued Eda, Lilith, and King from being petrified and when Lilith decided to split the curse with Eda. And it remained as she recorded a message to her mom detailing the day’s events in the hope that she would get to see her again.
But as Luz slept, the small ember of warmth grew to a blaze within her. Because, unbeknownst to either Luz or Eda, the declaration of love between them had set in motion ancient magics from a time beyond even the so-called Savage Ages. This ancient magic would burn away throughout the night and leave Luz Noceda forever changed. And unseen from the reflection in the mirror, a lone, yellow eye watched in nervous anticipation.
Luz was sore and tired when she woke up the next morning. Considering yesterday’s events, and how much she got thrown around by Emperor Belos, this was not surprising at all.
Thinking of yesterday made her remember the portal, and how it was now a smoking pile of wood. Her one way home was now gone and with it her plan of getting home before the end of camp. Still, she felt a bit of pride of being able to get a one-up on the Emperor, and it was kinda funny in hindsight to see him standing there like a grumpy child who just had their toy taken away. But still, the fact that she couldn't go home now stung .
Anyways, that was yesterday, and this is today. It’s morning now and she had a routine to keep. Time to get up.
Getting out of her sleeping bag was a struggle, and it wasn’t because of the usual reason of King having curled up behind her knees. It felt like overnight someone had taken her limbs and stretched them out like taffy. She was also having trouble getting them to do what she wanted, as they'd either move too far or not far enough. She must have hit her head during her fight as her head felt like someone had filled it full of goop. Her sight and hearing were also funny, everything seemed brighter and louder than they did before and it was really overwhelming her.
Also, King really needed a bath. He smelled terrible. Then again, after yesterday, she probably did too.
What was also annoying was that her clothes felt tight . She was so tired last night that she forwent changing clothes and just decided to sleep in her day clothes. This was apparently a mistake as she could now feel how her leggings now only reached her knees and how her hoodie no longer covered her midriff. Apparently her clothes somehow shrank during the night, which was upsetting. She really liked this hoodie. Oh well, it was bound to happen someday. She just wished it wasn't today .
Eventually, and with a bit of difficulty, she just managed to get to her feet. But only just. She felt like that foal that Mom had helped deliver last spring, all wobbly and uncoordinated. She also felt..taller? Like, her point of reference for everything had shifted slightly upward. Did she miss having a growth spurt? She shook those thoughts away and focused on getting to the door.
Walking also proved to be a challenge. She was almost immediately sent back down to the floor when she tripped over her sleeping bag, dislodging King who simply let out a small "weh" of discontent before going back to sleep. She let out a sigh of relief that she was able to keep on her feet before tripping over herself and falling over. Thankfully, she was close enough to the door to catch herself on it. But then she had difficulty grabbing the handle as her hand kept overshooting the handle.
She was definitely gonna have to talk to Eda about this. She’d definitely hit her head. That or she was just that tired. Her mouth felt funny, like it was filled with too many teeth, and she thought she felt something poking her lip? Ugh, she was gonna need braces again. And, did she really not notice how long her hair had gotten? She’d also have to ask Eda to cut her hair. Or Amity. That might be nice.
After struggling to walk to the door and open it, she made her way to the bathroom. She had to double back slightly as she accidentally walked past it, which was weird, but something she chalked up to some strange morning funk she might have. That or Hooty moved it again. Regardless, after another fight with the bathroom door, she managed to make it into the bathroom. Hu-zzah.
By now, she was beginning to consider just doing her usual morning routine and then going back to sleep. Given the events of the past several days, she more than deserved it. And so, with a new day plan of doing absolutely nothing, Luz splashed her face and looked in the mirror, expecting to see her human-y face just as she had every other time.
The golden eyes of a witch looked back at her.
Suddenly wide awake, Luz yelped and jumped back, tripping over herself and falling to the floor with a crash. Heart pounding and thoughts racing, she slowly got back up to her feet and then took a moment to examine the figure in the mirror.
They were a tall teenage witch, with a round, caramel face with an uncanny resemblance to her own. However, unlike her, their eyes were gold instead of brown, and from their lips poked a pair of sharp fangs, and instead of her straightened pixie cut, there flowed a mane of lose, brown curls of a length she hadn’t had since that one convention she went to. She also couldn't help but notice that the witch was also wearing the same outfit as her, although it was obviously too small on her.
But what disturbed her most of all was how they moved. They matched her every move, even down to the slightest detail. It was too good, Luz considered, to be some sort of shapeshifting demon trapped in the mirror waiting to steal her soul. Maybe someone had messed with the mirror? That wasn’t too far-fetched, as Luz recalled the many versions of herself from the mirror maze at the Carnival. But, something else was amiss, something she wasn’t catching. Contemplating what it was, she moved to adjust her hair and get it off her ears so she could maybe think clearer without the sensation bugging her.
Luz froze, and so did her reflection.
Her hair was a lot longer than it was when she remembered it being yesterday, much longer than it would have grown naturally. She pulled some of it forward into her field of vision to see the same lock of curly brown hair in her hands as her reflection was holding.
Numbly, her hands went to her ears and where her reflection’s hands met the tips of its pointed ears, she felt a point on hers. She felt her ears flick at the sensation.
Her reflection’s flicked too.
Finally, she carefully drew her tongue across her front teeth and where on her reflection her tongue met fangs, so too did her own.
Luz felt her world unravel as she slowly slid down to the floor. Thousands of reasons and excuses came through her head, each one trying to deny the current situation. Panic began to boil from within her as the denials rang hollow and the truth became clear.
She had turned into a witch.
She had turned into a witch.
The panic boiled over, and Luz did the only thing she could think of.
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”