Chapter Text
Luz didn't plan on straying too far. After all, she didn't want to get in trouble for running out of her Mama's sight. But when the owl disappeared, retreating into the wooded area behind her home, she ran after hastily.
But when the disheveled foundation of an old, abandoned shack came into view, Luz steered back, hesitating. It had been overtaken by the environment surrounding it, vines climbing alongside the beams of the front porch, dry paint chipping away the side and turning the wooden paneling to an ashy gray. She looked back behind her, from where she had just come, pulled by indecision.
Maybe she'd already gone too far. She didn't want her Mama to worry.
Turning back towards the shack, she tested her weight on the first step of the porch. The weak wooden plank whined under her foot, nearly giving away and splitting into two. Luz reached for the splintered railing, pushing herself forward, despite the fear of the unknown. She couldn't lose her Azura book to an oblivious, fleeing bird.
She willed herself forward by sheer courage and determination.
Besides, The Good Witch Azura would never back down in the face of uncertainty or danger. Why would she?
She squeezed her eyes shut tight, tensing as she braved through the darkness inside the shack. Maybe she'd watched too many movies, or she often let her imagination get the better of her, but she entered with her small fists raised, as if bracing for a confrontation or ambush of some kind.
“Eat this, sucka!” She announced, referencing to Azura’s one-liner, only to find she was alone, and the interior of the shack was empty.
Well, almost empty.
Strangely, the inside was different from the outside. This was a tented area, and even stranger, collections of unusual trinkets, used goods, and other things that seemingly didn't go together lined the perimeter - old television remotes, torn couch cushions, a tennis racket, and what appeared to be, a bicycle wheel with no bicycle.
Luz nearly forgot why she'd come to begin with, letting her curiosity guide her for a moment, picking up an animal plushie from one of the shelves.
A chitter made her look up, remembering why she came here. The owl had descended, peeking through the curtain by the end of the tent, the lump of a garbage bag in its beak.
“Hey!” Luz called after, but the bird flew out of sight as she dove onto her stomach, falling short. She grumbled, pounding her fists on the dirt ground in frustration.
“I already told you.” A stark, irritated voice said, catching Luz by surprise. “Thirty snails for the… uhhh… accordion bracelet.”
Luz pulled herself up onto her knees, inching closer, reaching for the curtain. The daylight bled into the dark room, making Luz squint. But when her vision adjusted, a woman stood with her back towards her, talking to another person from the other side of a table. In her hand, she held a thick ringed toy, one that Luz knew to be a slinky.
She gasped, backing away almost immediately. She hadn't expected her to be so close. Regaining her resilience, Luz took another glance through, this time slowly. The owl dropped the garbage bag onto the table by the woman's side, spilling out its contents. Luz's eyes widened at the sight of The Good Witch Azura book, determined. Nervously, yet boldly, she pushed forward, crawling towards the table to hide, passing by the woman's legs.
Sticking her head above the skirt of the tablecloth, Luz hesitated. The exchange between the woman and the customer continued on, unsuspecting of Luz's presence. And as her small hand rose steadily, reaching for her book, she held her breath. Her arm stretched further, fingertips just shy of touching the hardcover…
But then something corrupted the book, illuminating it in a vivid hue. Luz gasped as it began to tremor and quake, disrupted by the energy field around it, hurtling up and away from Luz's reach, landing into the woman's long-fingernailed grip effortlessly.
Magic! That was… magic!
“Not so fast, ya sneaky, five-fingered -” She exclaimed, jaded and mean.
Luz looked up, screaming, because the stranger was looking right back at her; piercing, fierce eyes. She leaned forward, towering over Luz. Her face scrunched in a snarl, revealing a gold tooth.
Luz stumbled backward, tripping on uneven ground and falling.
The woman stopped at a gasp, eyebrows raised. Her golden eyes widened, mouth hung open.
“Human…” She mumbled.
With a second, long look, Luz froze. She stared, and for a moment, so did the woman, as if startled by one another's presence. But in doing so, Luz realized the woman wasn't quite right herself either; Her muted orange hair was cut askew, but that couldn't hide the strangeness of her pointed ears.
Luz leaped back up to her feet quickly, hurrying back the way she came, through the curtain and through the shack’s door.
“Mama! Mama!” She called out. The door was shining, lighting the way, but before Luz could make it, it folded inwards on itself, sealing away her escape.
“Wait! Kid!” The woman's voice followed, and Luz yelped, lifting the tarp of the back of the tent, blindly running out into the openness. She stumbled into the shadows of an alleyway, only looking back once to find the woman was gone.
Luz steadied her pace, though didn't slow, heart pounding in her chest.
She needed to find her Mama.
But then she remembered what her Mama once told her, a memory from when she once found herself lost in a shopping mall.
“Mija, if you get lost, stay put. I will find you.”
But this place was no shopping mall.
And these weren't any ordinary people.
The streets pulsed with routine and noise; wooden wheelbarrows creaked against cobblestone, feet shuffled back and forth, voices melding together into a cacophony of mundane activity.
And the more Luz's eyes darted around, the more terrifying the crowd of faces seemingly became, more obscure and strange.
People of different shapes and sizes; fangs, horns, monstrous features. She moved slowly, anxiously, but nearly missed colliding with one of them. Their reptilian eyes glared back at her. Luz veered away from their path, but in avoiding one, she'd been struck from behind by another solid body.
Luz caught herself roughly on the cobblestone, looking up. A big figure shadowed her from the sun above, creating a looming silhouette. She squinted, holding a hand up to her eyes, and the figure turned around. Their masked face pointed out; a white cloak draped around their giant form.
“Mama - Mamaaa!!” Her cries echoed, and the stranger stepped back, momentarily stunned. It caught the attention of the public townspeople, drawing in a distant, weary crowd. Collective gasps and murmurs gathered. One tusked creature turned to another, sharing a whisper.
“Their ears…”
“Is that a… human?”
“It can't be…”
Luz tried to crawl away slowly, pushing herself away from the nearing monsters, only to find she was surrounded on all sides. More masked guards in cloaks closed in, marching of feet, spears drawn.
“Halt,” One of them ordered gruffly. “State your business here, human, or else-”
“At ease!” A striking voice announced from somewhere in the outskirts of the crowd. And when it did, the crowd broke away, yielding a path in her presence. The murmurs and whispers ceased; Even Luz watched silently, curiously. The guards stood, withdrawing their spears, obeying.
She held a staff in her long, dark-nailed grip, her heels clicking on the stone street, approaching Luz with precise demeanor. And when she finally kneeled down to Luz's height, her seafoam green eyes narrowed.
She lowered her staff towards Luz, lightly tapping the side of her face, turning her head, revealing her round ears. Luz whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut, and for a moment, the town remained still with awe, held in a collective breath.
The woman's eyes widened, and she stood up again.
“Summon the caravan.” She spoke finally. “We must send it to the Emperor.”
“Yes, head witch.” One of the guards replied.
Luz was lifted by her biceps, a guard on each side of her. Her feet hung in the air, free to kick and scream.
“¡No! No - detener! Detener!” She cried. “I… I wanna go home!”
Luz's foot swung high, coming into contact with one of the guards’ abdomens. It was a powerful kick, one induced from adrenaline rather than genuine strength. He groaned, falling to a hand and knee, surprising the other guard, who unknowingly released Luz. She ran, and other guards intersected their spears, in an attempt to block her path, but Luz, as small as she was, ducked, tumbling through the gap, pushing through the waists of the townspeople, who all yelped and startled.
Another hand latched onto her denim overalls from behind, a forceful, tight grasp. Luz was yanked back, hoisted upwards again, meeting the green eyes of the same woman.
“Don't make this harder than it needs to be, human.” She hissed.
Unfortunately for her, Luz only continued to scream and violently kick. She grabbed the woman by her long, dark hair and tugged. She yelped, her staff clamoring to the ground in the tussle, before the guards could pry Luz's hands away.
Luz was thrust into the darkness of the caravan, the slamming of the door shutting out the daylight.
As the caravan jerked to a start, Luz’s screams from inside amplified, calling out from the opening of a barred window.
“Mama! Mamaaaa!!”
But it was no use. Her Mama wouldn't hear her.
Luz sank to the ground of the caravan, collapsing in defeat and hopelessness.
…
Lilith pushed the door to the throne room open, brushing away a strand of disorderly hair from her face. It wasn't the first time she'd come back to the Emperor's castle with injuries. Though, this time it wasn't from a trip to the Owl House.
Her fingertips reached up at a pulsing sting along her cheekbone. She winced against the unsuspecting, raw scratches, letting out an agitated grumble.
That little brat.
In any other given circumstances, it would have been comedic - after all, Lilith, the most powerful witch in all of the Emperor's Coven; and she'd just been bruised, scratched, and bitten by a relentless, insignificant child.
“Ah, Lilith.” A voice cooed from the height of the throne in front of her. “Back so soon?”
She finally noticed his presence, dropping to a knee, bowing her head.
“Emperor Belos,” She declared to the floor. “Forgive me, but… we were… unable to complete our mission-” She began, not really knowing how to explain herself. Luckily, she didn't have to; his voice chimed in.
“You mean to tell me you cannot seem to apprehend your sister in the name of the Emperor's Coven?” His voice remained calm, despite the severity of the offense.
Lilith's head rose, startled.
“No!” She defended quickly, rising to her feet. “No, I…” She retried, fixing the strain in her voice. “There was a small… setback.”
She paused, awaiting the Emperor's response. A long silence pursued, and her hand squeezed her staff. It strained under the tension.
He held his weary head against a supporting fist, an impatient sigh escaping him.
“Well,” The Emperor initiated, disinterested. “What is it?”
The doors behind Lilith opened once again, this time, with multiple guards hauling a captive in a spellbound cube.
“A human. Found in the streets of Bonesborough.”
The Emperor lifted his head, and Lilith knew she'd stolen his attention now. If his face wasn't masked, she would imagine his expression speechless.
The guards lowered the luminescent cube to the ground, and the lifeforce inside kicked at one of the prism’s walls, causing a disturbance of ripples.
The Emperor stood from his throne steadily, his cloak catching on the steps of the stairs as he strode.
“I'd be cautious.” Lilith warned. “It gave a good fight. Took out a few of our guards on the way here.”
The Emperor ceased by the prism, and when he spoke again, it was with an address that echoed throughout the throne room.
“Everyone, out. Leave the human here.”
The guards shared a moment of confusion, looking amongst their group before turning back towards the doors they came. Lilith turned to leave as well, but found herself pausing. She peered over her shoulder, as if to let her curiosity get the better of her.
What could Emperor Belos possibly want with a human child?
“You too, Lilith.” He prompted, head titled slightly so.
Lilith nodded, shoving away her doubt. There was no point in questioning his motives. Besides, Emperor Belos had always been frustratingly secretive and hard to figure out.
“Uh - yes.” She sputtered, shaking herself from the thought. “Right.”
…
A thunderous gavel resounded on the solid ground, radiating a crimson hue outwards. The prism walls melted away, dissipating into twinkling remnants of dying magic.
Luz's eyes opened slowly, scanning her surroundings in terrifying wonder. Specs of light focused into view - flickering flames in torches lining the perimeter. The room felt as if it could swallow her whole in its captivating, dizzying size.
A rhythmic pounding reverberated, and Luz covered her ears against the harsh, continuous noise. It appeared to be coming from above the throne itself; a lively organ of the room, palpitating.
“My oh my,” A voice purred, and Luz adjusted her gaze upward, at the tall, intimidating entity. Their eyes were hollow, filled with darkness. Crooked antlers sprouted from his head. “It appears it is true.” And the comment was more to themselves as it was for Luz.
The entity stepped closer, causing her to shift away.
“You are a long way from home, human.” He noted.
Long way from home?
Where was she?
Who was this entity?
Whatever it was, Luz didn't care to know; she just wanted her Mama, wanted to go home.
“How did you manage to get here?” The entity asked, but Luz couldn't answer. Her lip trembled instead, only mustering a sob.
He crouched down to Luz's size, face to face. She flinched, shielding herself with her hands. The entity laughed dryly.
“Do not be afraid, child.” He said softly, reaching up and peeling away at what Luz once thought to be his face. But in doing so, revealed the entity’s true eyes, slim, pale face, and long, unkept hair; nothing more than a strangely ordinary man. And when he spoke, his mouth was visible. “See? Not so scary now, is it?”
His hand stretched out to her to take, to help her up, but Luz only leaned further away, frightened by the outward motion.
“Hmph…” He surmised, knuckle to his chin in thought, but the subtle sound of light, careful footsteps made him stop prematurely, taken by surprise. His eyes narrowed, shifting to the side.
“Hunter?” He began, an eyebrow lifting in peculiarity. “What are you doing here?”
Luz peered bravely over his shoulder, her eyes meeting with another pair of eager, yet timid eyes. They were young, just like her, a boy around her age. A strand of his light, blonde hair overarched into his face.
“S-sir, I…” Hunter's voice shook, tying his unsteady hands together, cradling them into his chest. “Didn't mean to…”
“It is alright, Hunter.” The man said, rising back to his feet. “This is our guest.” Luz watched as he rested a palm on the boy's back, reassuring. When Hunter looked up at him, hesitant and uncertain, he nodded back moderately.
Hunter neared closer, crouching. Luz stared as he lifted his own hand, patiently and friendly. He offered a subtle, gentle, trusting smile, and the knots in her stomach lessened for a moment.
“I'm Hunter. This is my uncle, Emperor Belos.” Hunter said, and Luz's gaze followed Hunter’s, up at the man who stood stiffly, immovable, and though Hunter may have offered a smile, he did not.
Emperor?
“What's your name?” Hunter asked.
“Luz…” She stammered, holding out her own hand. Hunter took it, pulling her up with an unexpected strength that sent Luz reeling forward.
“C’mon,” He beamed, tugging her along excitedly, leading Luz towards another corridor. “I wanna show you something!”
But Luz's unease still lingered, glancing back. The man stood with his back to her, readjusting his mask, concealing his real face from view again, like a secret to be kept.
Luz's mind whirred.
What was this place?
Who was Emperor Belos?
Could he be trusted?