Chapter Text
A house stands on a hill.
A warm, cozy looking house.
A house that, while obviously loved and well worn, was still neat and put-together.
It had finely painted trim, a clean, perfectly mown front lawn, a few balls and toys scattered here and there but they weren’t nearly obvious enough to draw the viewers eyes from the blossoming trees. It was a very nice and warm home, so nice that you wouldn’t have expected the inside of the house to look like a tornado had attacked it with all the vigor of a rampaging Titan.
And yet, the house was chaos.
Various dishes were strewn across the counters, forgotten because of the impromptu fashion show that caused clothing items to be tossed half-hazardly across the living room floor. Countless books, papers, and various writing supplies littered the table, all having some sort of spell, potion recipe, or rune scribble across them in a seven year old’s messy handwriting.
It had been an interesting night, to say the least.
The eldest sister was newly seven years old, and her first year at Hexside School of Witchcraft and Demonics was starting, something that she was both proud of and extremely terrified for. While she was extremely independent for her age, something she had to learn because her little sister took up so much of her parents time; not that she would ever blame her sister, she was a handful; but she had quickly learned to prepare herself for such things.
Speaking of said eldest child...
An alarm blared through the house, quickly silenced by a hand whacking the screaming alarm clock. The eldest daughter sat straight up in bed, all tiredness gone from her eyes, replaced with a quiet terror.
She scrambled out of bed, slammed her thick, round glasses onto her face, and grabbed the grey uniform that all Hexside students were expected to wear on their first day. She had looked over this in her handbook a million times. She would go the school, meet Principal Faust, and choose her track.
Her track!
She suppressed a shudder of delight and squirmed into the outfit. It fit perfectly.
MAGIC.
She stared at herself in the mirror, unable to repress the huge grin that crossed her face.
Her reflection stared back at her, bushy red hair curling around her shoulders, bright blue eyes curious behind her glasses, the grey uniform finally marking her as a part of something big. Something huge!
She was going to change the world.
She just knew it.
“You hear that?”
She whispered fiercely, pointing her finger at her reflection.
“You are going to be the bestest witch there is. You are going to be AMAZING!”
Lilith Clawthorne beamed at herself, grabbed the backpack that she had filled the night before, and raced out of her room, for once not caring that she thundered down the stairs or that she had probably woken everyone up.
SHE WAS A HEXSIDE STUDENT!
The other young girl in the house was buried under her covers, trying everything she could in her power to ignore the sounds of her sister in the room over.
She didn’t want her sister to go to school.
School sucked.
Witchling and Demon Day Care was the worst and she would bet her favorite stuffed animal that ‘Hexside’ was the exact same. Boring! The same every single day! She was expected to be nice and to play with the other kids and learn her letters and know how to talk and uSE heR wOrDs.
She stuck her tongue out and got feathers from her pillow on her tongue.
“Bleh!”
She spat, sitting up in bed and crossing her arms angrily.
This was the worst day of her life.
There was a sharp knock on the door and she looked up as her dad poked his head in.
“Come on witchlet, breakfast and then it’s time to drop your sister off.”
She scrunched up her nose at him.
“Why does she have to GOOOO?”
She moaned, falling backwards on her bed and flinging her stuffed animals into the air. Her father chuckled softly and sat down next to her.
“Oh, witchlet. We’ve been over this. She’s seven, it’s time for her to go to school, and she wants to go to school now.”
She stuck out her tongue again, this time making sure she wasn’t face first in a pillow.
“School can get eaten by a garbage slug.”
“Hey now, watch your mouth. If we’re not careful you’ll be talking like a sailor!”
She shrieked with laughter as her father scooped her up and started tickling her.
“DAAAAAAAAAD!”
She squirmed in his arms before retaliating, rolling out of his arms and onto the floor before springing up like a monkey and latching onto his back. She yelled in mock anger and whacked the back of his head with her favorite owl stuffed animal. He gasped in fake agony and fell forward, flopping onto her new, big girl bed that she had just got a few weeks ago.
She giggled in happiness and whacked his head over and over again with her stuffed animal, ignoring his muffled screams of terror...screams that were obviously being played for laughs.
“Are you two almost done?”
Came a new voice.
Eda whirled around to see her mother standing in the doorway, eyebrows raised as she took in the sight.
“You two are insane.”
She said, shaking her head sadly, but the tiny smile creeping onto her face said otherwise. Eda beamed, revealing the big gap between two of her teeth.
“You’re going to need to get that fixed.”
Her mother mused, bopping Eda’s nose. She squinched up her face at her mom, sticking her tongue through the little hole.
“I like it! It makes me look tough!”
She missed the glance that her mother and father shared before her father scooped her up in his arms and raised her as if she was flying.
“Here comes the ferocious Edalyn Clawthorne, most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!”
Her father shouted, spinning her around and running out the door with her, sliding down the hall and running down the stairs.
Lilith dug into her pancakes with vigor, practically dousing them in bug syrup, knowing that food would make her brain so smart! It also tasted really, really, really good. She closed her eyes and hummed happily, kicking her feet that still couldn’t reach the ground.
It was fine.
She didn’t have to be tall, she was still really little.
But Eda was almost the same height as her, even though she was two years younger! It was a little annoying but Lilith didn’t really mind. She loved her sister more than anything else in the whole entire world!
Speaking of her sister, she could hear the ruckus upstairs that was bound to be her whining about getting out of bed.
Eda never did like the mornings, not she did.
The earlier the better!
She loved getting a jump on the day.
Suddenly her father came clomping down the stairs, Eda laughing hysterically in his arms. He placed her on the ground as they reached the landing and her younger sister launched herself towards her.
She barely had time to shove her plate away from her so it wouldn’t break when Eda was tackling her and sending her tumbling off her chair. She skidded across the floor before sitting up, Eda lying on top of her in a strangling hug.
“Lilyyyyy why do you have to goooooooooooooooo?”
She whined for the hundredth time since she had gotten the news.
Lilith smiled and sat up, pushing Eda off her, keeping the faint anger that had bubbled up at being shoved off her chair at bay.
She was going to be mature.
She was the cool, mature older sister and she could be super smart and have an answer that would make her parents so proud of her! Besides, she knew Eda hadn’t meant to be mean, just herself!
“I have to go learn. You’ll join me soon, you’ll see! And I’ll be back in a couple of hours and I’ll tell you everything about what I’ve learned!”
Eda stared at Lilith, her golden eyes searching her older sister’s for any hint of lying. Lilith stared back at her, willing her eyes to show all the love and trust that she had for her little sister.
Eda’s face slowly morphed back into a grin, her little gap showing yet again.
“Pick a super cool track!”
Lilith felt a grin spread across her own face at her younger sister’s praise.
“I will! Something cool and versatile!”
“Ver-su-what?”
Eda said, tilting her head in confusion.
“Ver-sa-tile.”
Lilith pronounced slowly, feeling a big well of smugness rise in her.
“I read it in the handbook.”
“Ooooooh.”
Eda said, rolling her eyes. Lilith huffed in annoyance and shoved her.
“Don’t do that!”
She loved the handbook! It held so much information! She had read it what felt like a million times!
Lilith glared at Eda and scrambled to her feet, adjusting her glasses importantly.
“I like it.”
“Okay you two, eat your breakfast. Then Lilith, time for school, and Eda, time for daycare.”
Eda groaned and fell backwards onto the ground as Lilith shivered with excitement and nerves. It felt like her stomach was going to explode but in a good way! In a happy birthday and holiday and dessert kind of way!
The two girls shoveled into their pancakes and bug syrup as the minutes ticked closer and closer to the time to leave.
Eda dragged her feet all the way to Hexside School of Witchcraft and Demonics. Technically they hadn’t walked far, just to her parents’ staffs and then from the staffs to the front doors, but oh did she drag her feet just as much as she could.
It was something she had heard her parents call pettiness.
She didn’t know what exactly it meant.
But it sounded super cool so she figured it was fine.
As they had neared the school Lily had ceased her excited fidgeting and gone deathly still, something that Eda knew to mean that Lily was scared.
If she was so scared of school, why didn’t she just not go?
They walked up the steps of the school, Lily clutching her parents’ hands, Eda trailing behind, still grumpy.
“Okay, make sure you pick the right track, okay?”
Her mom said, pressing a kiss to Lily’s forehead.
“Have fun!”
Her dad said.
“Make friends!”
Her mom continued.
“Study, but not too hard.”
Her dad smirked and Lily flushed.
Eda rolled her eyes and shoved her way forward.
“Don’t forget to pick a cool track.”
She said, super serious. Lily immediately mimicked the expression, pressing her forehead against her sister’s.
Eda closed her eyes, breathing in the familiar scent of Lily’s rose shampoo.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
Lily whispered, grabbing Eda and pulling her into the biggest hug. Eda squeezed back, feeling hot and wet tears come to her eyes.
“I don’t want you to go.”
“I know.”
They stayed like that for a minute before the first bells began to ring. Lily pulled away, pushing Eda’s hands off her shoulders. Eda stared as her sister gave their parents a quick hug before scrambling up the steps.
“I’ll see you soon!”
She said, giving a nervous smile before turning around and sprinting up the stairs, hiding the faint tears from her family.
Lilith had barely even entered the school when she stopped dead in her tracks, mouth falling open in shock.
The first and only time she had been to Hexside had been on one of the many open house days over the summer, where there was no one there except for the teachers and the students touring. Tops twenty people.
This...this was insane.
Hundreds of students milled about, some taller than her parents, some even shorter than her. All dressed in black and another color, something related to a different magical studying track. There were so many people and so many things to look at!
She ducked as something sped by overhead. It was a demon, followed by a teen witch on a staff! He had a staff! It was amazing! There were demons and witches everywhere, in the air and on the ground, and there was even a kid sticking to a wall!
She felt very, very small.
None of the other kids had grey uniforms like her. None of the other kids even looked as young as her. Where were the kids her age? Where were the nice teachers she had talked to at the open house?
Her heart started racing and she backed up, suddenly feeling like she couldn’t breathe.
“Hey, watch it!”
She jumped as a teen shoved past her, casting her an annoyed look before hurrying down the hall. She walking around frantically, trying to find a way out of the chaos of the hall.
It was too much.
This was all too much.
Whoa, careful kid!”
She startled as an older student grabbed her arm, keeping her from walking straight into a wall. They gave her a sympathetic look. They looked so much older than her, with fluffy blonde hair in a bun and double piercings in their pointed ears, and their piercings even matched with their red bard track uniform.
“You’re new. You’re probably trying to get to Principal Faust’s office, right?”
She nodded, relief washing over her. The older student gave a slight smile and jerked their head down a different hallway.
“Come on, I’ll take you.”
The student took off striding down the hallway, winding their way through the students with ease. She sprinted after them, her backpack bouncing on her back.
“I’m Fin, by the way.”
“Lilith. Lilith Clawthorne.”
“Cool. From your outfit I’m going to assume this is your first day?”
She nodded.
“Yeah, you had that look about you. This is definitely not my first time.” Fin said, chuckling as they ducked and winded their way past students making out by the lockers and doodling graffiti.
“How old are you?”
“I am ancient.” Fin winked. “But to you mortals I look like a teen.”
Lilith giggled slightly.
“You’re a bard, right?”
“Aw yeah! Music magic for the win!”
Fin stuck a dramatic pose and Lilith grinned.
“What instrument do you use?”
She asked.
“Mainly my voice, actually. I’m a singer. But I also can play the guitar and the piano.”
Lilith nodded, tucking the information away. The bard track had never really appealed to her, but it was nice to know that it had variety.
“Seriously though, bard magic hurts. Have you ever played the guitar while fighting? Crazy!”
As they came to a stop in front of a pair of huge, foreboding doors they both fell silent. She gulped, the ease laughter that had spilled out with Fin dying in her throat. She looked up at them and found them looking at doors with trepidation of their own.
“Listen, a piece of advice.”
Fin said, getting on to one knee so that they were level with Lilith.
“Do not get on Principal Faust’s bad side. It’s hard to even be on his good side, but try to stay neutral. Slip under the radar. Kay?”
She nodded in response, fear flooding her eyes.
“Hey, hey now, none of that. It’s not so bad.”
Fin reassured her, patting her head softly.
“Do you slip under the radar?”
Lilith asked, looking up at the older student. They shrugged, piercings jingling merrily.
“Eh, most of the time. As a bard, we’re pretty inconspicuous.” They leaned down conspiratorially. “Don’t let that fool you. We kick ass.”
Lilith flushed bright red at the crass language and Fin winced.
“Oops. Sorry. Ignore I said that.”
Bells chimed yet again and Fin straightened, their eyes widening.
“I gotta run. You’ll be fine kid!”
They gave her a big thumbs up before knocking on the door and sprinting off, disappearing down the hall.
Lilith shivered as the doors swung open.
She already missed the bard.
The very first thing Eda did when she got to the playground after the first hour of Daycare was kick a ball right at another kid’s face.
He dodged it and whirled around in anger, starting to cry.
Eda sprinted off, a vicious thrill running through her as she reached the swings and scrambled on, preparing an excuse.
But the thrill very quickly wore off, leaving her with the same, empty, hollow feeling that had been haunting her all day.
The feeling that she was alone.
For the first time ever.
And, in the way that only kids could, her peers knew something was up.
Well, there was the obvious disappearance of her red-headed sister who always played with her, but it was as if the other kids had circled in on her sudden weakness.
Like vultures.
“HEY CARROT HEAD!”
She whirled around, anger immediately flaring up and making her ball up her fists. A smug blue haired girl, Misha, sauntered towards her, a short blonde boy about four following in her wake. Both were dressed in pristine, clean outfits and Eda imagined smearing mud all over them.
“Where’s your sister?”
Misha said, smirking at Eda.
“None of your business.”
Eda sniffed, all the times that Lily had told her not to interact ringing in her head.
“Wow, she really abandoned you?”
“No. She’s at school.”
Misha tilted her head.
“Really? The nerd is in school? Who would have guessed?”
Misha, at the ripe age of six, had discovered sarcasm and was using it to her full extent.
“Go away!”
Eda snapped, turning away and running across to the other side of the playground. Misha and her lackey ran after her, intent on causing trouble to the orange-haired girl who always did reckless things.
“Did youw thither weave you becauthe you’we weiwd?”
The little boy asked, his lisp making him sound like the biggest idiot Eda had ever heard. But his words hit home in her heart and she whirled around.
“NO!”
Eda burst out, clenching her fists and making a face.
“Oooooh okay.”
Misha said, her voice obviously meaning that she didn’t really think Eda was telling the truth.
It was almost like Lily was there with her, reminding her not to fight, not to give in to the anger, to let herself take the blame and the insults.
“Your sister always was a little dorky weirdo.”
NO
NO
NO
“I bet she’s one of those Hexside weirdos. WEIRDO WEIRDO WEIRDO!”
Well who cares what Lily said.
Eda launched herself forward and tackled Misha to the ground.
Lilith gulped as the huge doors swung open and an eerie voice called for her to enter.
She crept forward, heart beating a million times a minute as she walked into the dark room. There was the sound of a finger snapping and she yelped as lights suddenly blared to life around her.
A tall, imposing demon with long, wide horns, terrifying pointy teeth, and a flaming tail glared down at her.
She whimpered in terror.
“Name?”
He snarled.
“Lilith. Lilith Clawthorne.”
Principal Faust nodded once before turning around and slamming a drawer open. Lilith flinched and backed up as fast as she could.
“Age?”
“Seven.”
She said as he rummaged through a pile of papers, flinging them across the room and almost hitting her.
“Great. 1 st or 2 nd grade?”
“1 st grade, sir.”
He tossed her a packet of papers and she caught it, practically falling over under the weight.
“Note for you, Clawthorne.”
He leaned forward and she shivered as he stopped mere inches from her face.
“Don’t. Break. The. Rules.”
He tilted his head creepily before straightening and whirling around to whack the wall.
“BUMP! Take care of this new student!”
“Yes sir!”
Another witch came hurrying into the room, this one a younger man with a demon...palisman? on top of his head and whisps of black hair falling out. He was dressed in simple robes and had a kind, understanding face. Lilith immediately liked him a million times better than Principal Faust.
“Hello.”
The man said, holding his hand out. Lilith shook it and he gave her a sympathetic smile.
“I’m Vice Principal Bump. Come on, let’s go choose your track and get you to class.”
She nodded excitedly and he led her out of Principal Faust’s office.
“Where are the other kids my age?”
She asked as they walked down the corridors.
“Well, if you came in the main entrance then you saw most of the middle and high schoolers. That’s where their lockers and classes are. You are with the rest of the elementary students, over here.”
He stopped in front of a door.
“This is, according to your schedule, your classroom. There are multiple different 1 st grade classrooms but this is the one you’ll stay in until 2 nd grade. You don’t get really sorted into different tracks until middle school, but what track would you like to choose?”
Lilith closed her eyes.
She had thought about this so much.
So, so much.
And she had ended up deciding with the most versatile track. The one that she was pretty adapt at. One that she knew she could succeed at. Maybe the one that her mom didn’t like very much, but she was so good at it she would be amazing! They’d all see!
“I’d like to choose potions, please.”
Vice Principal Bump smiled and waved his hand. She grinned as a wave of magic washed over her and her grey uniform turned gold and black. She suppressed the squeal of delight that threatened to overtake her.
“Go on. You’re a couple of minutes late but the first day of class is always chaotic, especially for the 1 st graders. I bet only a few of them are even in there right now.”
Okay.
This was fine.
She could do this.
She took a step forward and grabbed the doorknob.
“Have fun.”
Vice Principal Bump said, giving her an encouraging pat on the head.
She took a deep breath and swung the door open, stepping inside.
Eda tackled Misha to the ground and yanked her stupid little prissy pigtails as hard as she could. She shrieked in pain and Eda shoved her face into the ground, making sure that her dumb face got all muddy and messed up.
“ONLY I CAN CALL MY SISTER NAMES!”
She shrieked, scooping up handfuls of mud and hitting Misha over and over with her dirty and gross hands. Suddenly the little boy, she didn’t know his name, was trying to push her off now, his shrieks and wails of protest joining with Misha’s screams of pain and rage.
Eda scrambled off Misha and shoved the boy away from them, giving him a glare to say that this wasn’t his fight. The boy paled under her fierce gaze. She was a year older than him, after all, and she had just attacked Misha.
The boy sprinted off, presumably to get an adult, but Eda threw a ball of mud at him and sent him tumbling to the ground. He wailed in pain but she just turned back around to Misha, who was sitting up now.
“YOU MEANIE!”
She screamed, getting to her feet and lunging towards Eda, who dodged easily and pushed Misha onto the ground again.
“EAT THIS!”
Eda grabbed a nearby ball and threw it hard at Misha’s face. It whacked her right in the nose and blood started to drip onto Misha’s lip.
She stared up at Eda, crying and Eda felt kind of bad.
Maybe she had gone a little too hard.
Maybe Misha didn’t need to be hurt that much.
Suddenly she was falling backwards, Misha on top of her now, pulling at her own bright orange hair.
Pain shot through her head like a thousand tiny needles.
Eda screamed and failed at Misha, hissing like an angry cat.
She kicked Misha in the knee and punched her in the nose again, getting blood on her knuckles. Misha wailed in pain and Eda flung her off, scrambling to her feet and standing over the other girl.
The other kids were screaming and crying now, running to go get the adults who were already sprinting towards them. Eda knew she had a few seconds before she would be pulled away from Misha, but she could have the last laugh.
She ran forward and pounced on Misha again, pinning her onto the ground with her left arm and drawing a shaky spell circle with her right. She had only just been able to do this, Lilith had taught her in secret after she had poured over her new schoolbooks.
Eda closed her eyes and focused every feeling she had on her anger and loneliness and sadness and rage and channeled it into Misha, who screamed.
She opened her eyes to find Misha had turned into a tiny, little, chicken.
Eda grinned evilly as the chicken squawked up at her, its feathers the same blue color as Misha’s hair.
“EDALYN CLAWTHORNE!”
A hand grabbed her arm and Eda snarled as one of the many aids began dragging her away from the scene. Misha was slowly getting to her feet, de-transformed by one of the aids, blood dripping down her nose, an expression of pure rage and pain on her face.
Misha never went back to that daycare ever again.
A middle aged witch with long brown and silver hair in a braid turned as she walked into the classroom. A smile spread across her face and she strode towards Lilith.
“Oh, hello! Took you a little bit to find us, didn’t it?”
Lilith nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak.
“Well, I’m Ms. Rose, it’s very nice to have you join us. What’s your name?”
“Lilith. Lilith Clawthorne.”
Ms. Rose checked something off on a piece of paper and gestured for Lilith to go and find a seat with the other kids in the classroom. The tables were round and scattered throughout the classroom. Bright posters talking about letters, spells, runes, and encouraging slogans were hanging from almost every single wall space.
The teacher’s desk was clean and neat, with nice stacks of paper and different books piled nicely in the corners. She had a jar of colored pens right next to a tiny bubbling cauldron. An adorable little silver ferret perched on Ms. Rose’s shoulder, purring slightly.
Lilith perked up.
She had never seen a ferret palisman before.
She placed her bag down on the table nearest the teacher’s desk and sat down, looking around at the other students nervously.
It was just now that the realization that her sister wasn’t there to sit next to her. Wasn’t there to be her barrier between her and the outside world.
She felt very, very scared.
Eda had been by her side at everything since she was four and Eda was two and she had joined Lilith’s daycare. She had never done something like this without her younger sister.
None of the other students sat next to her.
They all sat at other tables, further in the back, away from the teacher.
Not that Lilith realized they were avoiding the teacher.
She thought they were avoiding her.
“You look clean.”
She jerked her head up to see a boy on the other side of the table, dressed in the abomination track outfit and having the most perfect dreadlocks she had ever seen on a person. His outfit, while being the exact same as hers except for the color, was perfectly ironed and cleaner than any other student she had seen yet.
“Clean?”
“The rest of them seem like grubby little thieves.”
The boy said, putting his backpack down and sitting next to her.
“I mean, sure?”
She said, a little confused.
“I hate dirt. It’s gross and slimy and gets everywhere.”
The boy said, his formal tone slipping a little bit as he complained.
“Okay, clean freak. I’m Lilith.”
“Darius.”
Both kids nodded at each other before facing front as Ms. Rose clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
“EDALYN CLAWTHORNE WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?”
She was thinking that she didn’t really like it when her parents yelled at her.
She was also thinking that Misha had completely deserved it.
“Eda, why did you attack her?”
Her father asked, kneeling down so that he was at eye level with her.
“She was mean to me.”
“Eda...”
“She called Lily a weirdo!”
Her mother shook her head sadly and Eda clenched her fists. Why wouldn’t they understand? Misha had been mean so she had been mean back! What was the problem?
“Eda, sometimes, when someone is mean to you, you need to just ignore it.”
“IT’S INJUSTICE!”
She didn’t see the confused glance her mother and father gave each other.
“What?”
“Injustice! Lily taught it to me!”
Her father sighed and stood back to his full height.
“I don’t care that it’s injustice, you still shouldn’t have hurt her. Lilith wasn’t even here to hear the insults, it doesn’t matter. You need to learn to ignore it.”
Eda scowled but her father flicked her nose and she fought to suppress the smile that tried to burst out of her.
“You are going to go and apologize to the girl you hurt.”
Eda shook her head furiously.
“NO!”
“Eda....”
“NO NO NO NO NO!”
She shrieked, jumping off the chair and making a beeline for the door. Her mother lunged and caught her, swinging her up into the air so that she dangled at eye level almost like a kitten.
“Edalyn Clawthorne. You will go out there, walk right up that girl and her family, and apologize for hitting and transforming her with magic. Do you understand?”
She scowled, her ears drooping.
“Fine.”
Her mother put her down on the ground and Eda marched out the door, closely followed by both her parents. Stupid parents.
She didn’t need to go apologize! She’d done what anyone would do in that situation! Any sane witch would absolutely go and attack her, she had done nothing wrong!
Stupid parents.
Stupid Misha.
Stupid Lily for abandoning her.
Stupid stupid stupid.
She stomped across the playground, her gaze fixed on Misha, who was standing with a taller witch who looked like her father.
“Misha!”
She shouted, causing both of them to turn around. She stopped in front of the girl and crossed her arms, casting one last glance at her parents.
“I’m sorry I hit you.”
Misha opened her mouth to respond but her father cut in.
“Yes, thank you very much. Misha, let’s go now.”
The father started to lead his daughter away but Misha yanked her arm out of his grip and stormed back over to Eda and leaned right in her face.
“Next time I see you, I will end you.”
She hissed. Eda raised her eyebrows.
“Try me.”
The two glared at each before Eda’s mother caught her arm and Misha’s father caught hers. The two girls were dragged away from each other, Eda glaring daggers at the other girl.
“Good job Eda.”
Her mother said, giving her a smile.
“Dang that girl was a brat.”
“Dell!”
Her father ran his fingers through his hair sheepishly.
“I mean, she was.”
“Oh, no wonder Eda acts like this.”
“Acts like what?”
Both adults turned to look down at her. She gave them her best pleading smile.
“Nothing, witchlet. Come on, let’s go home so we can talk about your punishment.”
“Ugh. And then get Lily!?”
Her mother gave her a smile.
“Yes, then we’ll get Lily.”
Lilith had reached the part of the day that she had been absolutely dreading.
Lunch.
Where she knew absolutely no one.
Ms. Rose walked them to the cafeteria and Lilith through she might burst from sensory overload. It smelled terrible and the noise was a million times worse than the hallway. Lilith shrank backwards and bumped into the kid, Darius, who she had sat with in the classroom.
“Watch it.”
He said, pushing past her and hurrying after the rest of the class.
She bit her lip and ran after him, not wanting to be left behind, alone in the huge room filled to the brim with students of all ages.
It didn’t help that teachers were constantly shouting for order and no one was obeying.
She hurried after Darius, sliding in line next to him as they waited for the food.
“How old are you?”
She asked.
“Six.”
“I’m seven.”
She said, feeling a little flicker of pride as she straightened to stand taller. Darius scoffed and whacked her head jokingly with his hand.
“You’re still short.”
“I AM NOT!”
She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him. Darius laughed and grabbed his plate of food, wandering off to sit with the rest of the class. She took her own plate of food and followed him.
Suddenly someone slammed into her and sent her tumbling to the ground. Her food splattered all over her clothes and her glasses slammed into the ground, a sharp cracking sound letting her know that they were absolutely ruined. She winced and turned over, tears coming to her eyes.
A much older student was looking down at her, anger written across her face.
“Watch it, shrimp!”
She said, smirking and kicking Lilith’s tray just out of reach of her hands. Lilith sat up and felt her tears start to trickle down her face.
“Aww, is the little baby crying?”
“Aww, is the 6 th grader trying to pretend she has power?”
The 6 th grader’s face paled as she looked at someone standing out of Lilith’s blurry view.
“Sorry, sorry.”
She stammered, turning on her heel and hurrying off to go sit with her friends at a different table.
Lilith groped around for her glasses when suddenly they were placed on her face, fixed and cleaned. She looked up to see Fin standing next to Darius, both of them looking at her in concern.
“You good kid?”
She nodded, scrambling to her feet. Fin grinned and waved their hand, Lilith’s clothes immediately drying.
“Avoid the middle schoolers until you’re a little older. They have the Tiny Demon complex, where they think they’re superior to everybody else. Spoiler alert, they’re not.”
Lilith sniffed and rubbed the tears off her face.
“Why’d you help?”
Fin chuckled and leaned against the nearest table.
“Well, what’s the point of being tall and cool if you can’t help the underdog, amirite?”
Darius stepped forward now and handed her a napkin.
“Just in case.”
Fin waved their hand and an apple and bag of Hex Mix appeared out of thin air.
“Here, eat this.”
Lilith caught the food and Fin winked.
“Piece of advice, kid. Find something you’re good at.”
Lilith frowned.
“Find something that people are going to know you for and stick with that. Make a name for yourself and people won’t bug you so much.” Fin frowned. “Well, unless you become known for being an asshole or something.”
They slapped their hands over their mouth and groaned.
“I can’t stop cussing I’m sorry. Anyway, find your thing.”
“What are you known for?”
Darius asked, a bit of annoyance and disbelief creeping into his voice. Fin flashed a smile and struck a pose.
“I am one of the top bard students AND I have been major characters in multiple musicals. They may have been the villainous and/or comedic characters, but they were still leads!”
Lilith laughed softly and Fin took a bow, their eyes flashing with mirth.
“HEY, FIN! STOP HANGING WITH THE FIRST GRADERS AND GET BACK OVER HERE!”
Fin turned as another teen ran up to them, her short brown bob bouncing as she did so.
“Hey Flora. Yeah, I’m coming.”
They said, waving their hand before turning back to Lilith and Darius.
“Look, just be careful, okay?”
Lilith nodded and Fin gave her a thumbs up before walking off with the other teen. She barely caught the beginning of their conversation as they did so.
“No, ‘Bad Girl Historian’ is a stupid name and no one is ever going to call you that.”
“I dunno...”
Huh. Eda would have really liked them.
Lilith grabbed Darius’s arm, ignoring his shudder of protest, and dragged him over to the nearest table. She sat down and dug into her food, Darius sitting down across from her and biting into his own food. They ate in silence, a contrast from the rest of the cafeteria.
“So...potions?”
“Yup.”
“Cool.”
Lilith missed Eda.
“Do you have any siblings?”
Daruis shook his head, dreadlocks bouncing.
“Oh. I do.”
He nodded and they continued eating.
When lunch was over they went outside for recess, something that was only for the 5 th and under grades. Lilith was immediately distracted by a bug and proceeded to stare at it for the entirety of the recess, examining all the cool things it could do. Darius thought she was a weirdo and sat on the swings for the entirety of recess.
He had cleaned the seat off before sitting down and swinging.
The rest of the day went smoothly until the last few minutes of class.
“Now, for those of you who get a hundred on this assignment will be given a gold star, marking you as the top of the class.”
Ms. Rose said, smiling as she showed off the bright, shiny star.
Lilith wanted it.
She wanted it bad.
She was going to get that star.
She looked over to see Darius staring at the star with the exact same expression of wanting.
“Mine.”
She hissed. He turned to look at her, anger bubbling across his face.
“I want it.”
He said, crossing his arms.
She wrinkled her nose and he glared at her as Ms. Rose handed out the papers that had the instructions for all the assignments.
She grabbed hers and scrambled to her feet, hefting her backpack onto her shoulders, making to sprint out the door.
“Lilith, please wait a moment.”
She skidded to a stop and turned to look at Ms. Rose, who gestured for her to stand next to her desk.
“I wanted to say that your writing and rune work is extremely advanced for your age. I wouldn’t be surprised if you turn out to be one of the brightest students in my class.”
There was an odd weight lifting off Lilith’s shoulders at Ms. Rose’s words. She was bright. She was good at this.
“I’m excited to see what you can do.”
Lilith nodded enthusiastically, excitement bubbling through her. She was going to get that gold star. She was going to be the best student in the class. She was not going to let Ms. Rose down. She was going to be the absolute best at this.
“YES! Of course!”
She burst out, nodding again before Ms. Rose laughed and gestured for her to go. She hurried out the door, running straight into Darius.
“Ow.”
He said, crossing his arms and glaring at her. She blinked a couple of times and then shrugged.
“She said that I’m one of the brightest students.”
Darius rolled his eyes and poked her.
“Sure she did, glasses.”
She stuck out her tongue at the stupid nickname and they started walking down the hallway to where the parents were going to pick them up.
“I’m going to get that star.”
“I’d love to see you try.”
He sniffed, sticking his nose up in the air. She laughed as they rounded the corner and found themself standing in the entrance hall, kids, teens, and parents milling about, ready to pick up their kids.
“LILY!”
She whirled around to find an orange-headed blur sprinting towards her. She shrieked with laughter as she caught Eda and whirled her around in a circle, relishing the feeling of being back with her sister.
Her other half.
“I missed you so much.”
She mumbled into her sister’s hair. Eda giggled and bounced up and down on her toes, bumping into Lilith’s chin as she did so.
“Oh, sweat flea. Ready to go?”
She released Eda as her parents hurried up to her.
“Yes! I am going to get the gold star and I am going to be the best student ever.”
She said, beaming up at them. Her parents gave each other a look before her father ruffled her bright red hair and gestured for her to join them in walking towards the door. She followed them before pausing and turning around to search for Darius.
She spotted him talking to a tall woman who must have been his mother.
“HEY CLEAN FREAK!”
She called towards him. He turned and crossed his arms.
“What, glasses?”
“I’m going to get that gold star.”
“No you’re not!”
She waved at him and sprinted after her family, Eda reaching out to grab her hand so they could run together. Darius rolled his eyes as she left, muttering about stuck up girl who had to be perfect.
“COME ON LILY!”
Eda said, tugging on her arm even harder.
“Let’s go home!”
Lilith cast a smile back at the school as she followed her family. Sure. She’d go home. But she would be tomorrow, ready to learn and study and get that gold star.
She couldn’t wait.
Multiple things happened over the course of that year.
Lilith and Darius became frenemies for the sole reason that they were constantly competing for the top spot in the class. Neither of them were willing to admit that they actually considered the other a good friend. Their only friend, really.
Eda went back to Daycare but Misha never returned, as stated earlier. Eda hated that Lilith was busy almost every night with her homework and developed quite a grudge against school for that reason. She dreaded the day she would have to start.
Dell and Gwen Clawthorne were worried for both of their children. Eda never made any more friends at Daycare, and while Lilith was thriving in school, they felt that she was putting too much more stock in her homework. Not that they realized that the only time they told her good job was when she showed them her A’s and A+’s.
Lilith only really ran into Fin one more time that year, when Darius had been pushed around by a fourth grader and shoved into a trashcan during lunch. She ran across the room and found Fin, who came and gave the fourth grader a stern lecture.
Lilith ended up completing first grade at the top of her class.
She was very proud.