The Last Straw: An Owl House Story

Characters

 * Amity


 * Luz


 * Arrow


 * Edric


 * Emira


 * Camila


 * Alador Blight


 * Odalia Blight


 * Eda


 * Lilith


 * Willow


 * Gus
 * Boscha
 * Skara


 * Principal Bump
 * Emperor Belos


 * Vee


 * Hooty


 * Wolfy (Arrow’s palisman)


 * Jerbo


 * Viney
 * Raine Whispers
 * Haven Whispers (Raine’s adopted child)
 * Wilder Whispers (Haven’s adopted sister, Sort of looks similar to Eberwolf, but is not related to them)
 * Hunter (reformed/defected)

Summary and more
This fanfic is entirely about Amity, so it is all written in her Point Of View. It eventually shifts to many years later where Amity starts her own family. The old Blight family line of previous generations had been very rigid, focusing on only maintaining a reputation of a high class and respectable family, but that came with a huge emotional price. After Amity starts her own family, she vows to completely start a new generation of Blight family members, where their reputation is to love each other equally. Treat themselves and others with respect, No one needs to be perfect, and anyone can be friends with whoever they choose. The new generation is diverse and at harmony with many people, being known as a family where everyone has their say. Whereas dinner conversations between Amity, her twin siblings and her parents had been occupied by stone cold silence, often with either Mr or Mrs Blight leading the conversation...which was sadly only about Pressuring Amity to be perfect, get straight As, not even an A-...Conversations between Luz, Amity, and their daughter were filled with stories of great adventure, new stories, learning a new spell or triggering your magic abilities for the first time, or trying to make an abomination. Even if one of them had a bad day, they still talked about it, but in a a way that was non-confrontational, which is good for anyone. Amity still struggles with intense self doubt as a result of her upbringing, although her mental and emotional health have gotten much better with the help of her friends, twin siblings Edric and Emira, and her new family in the form of Luz Noceda and Arrow Blight (she kept the last name because she wanted to be a new generation of Blight members. Rebuild the Blights to be a better more diverse family) Part of the definition of Blight means an imperfect mark, and Arrow wanted the next generations to match that, because going against it caused her mother the emotional scars she's dealt with for years, and part of Arrow's goal is to heal those wounds, make Amity a better person for the sake of mental and emotional health, and to rebuild her identity.

After Amity is caught running away from home as a result of her parents' actions, she is confronted by both of them, angered by the fact that their daughter "ran away with that criminal Eda" Amity, who has just about had it with her parents, actively gets angry at them for the way they treated her, telling them she was forced to conform to unreasonable ideals from the time she was small, and that they only cared about their reputation rather than the family's well-being. That Willow was the only friend she had, and she was forced to leave her due to her being "a bad influence" when Willow was really quite the opposite. Amity points out that her parents themselves are the real bad influence. She singles out her mother for forcing her to dye her hair green just because DNA didn't give them another green haired child, and that to her was kicking her father to the curb. She singled him out for forcing her to "sever ties" with Willow for the sake of social standing and forcing her to be friends with the kids of some of his business associates, telling her mother that she was right about Boscha being mean, only for Mrs Blight to tell her "Good children don't squabble dear." Amity tells them that it's natural for everyone to argue, and the only "good children" who don't argue are either mindless perfectionist slaves, or someone who doesn't speak out of fear, and tells them she hates Boscha's guts. Amity tells them that she is not their perfect daughter, but the pressure of perfectionism from them has only reduced her emotional and self esteem to shreds held together by her plan to escape this cycle. She deems it "the worst 8th birthday present ever" and admits to both of them that they're friends again. Amity mentions her relationship with Luz, a human, which angers her parents. It does so even more when Amity tells them she can do magic with help. They launch into the lecture about reputation again, but are cut short by Edric and Emira, telling Mr and Mrs Blight that Amity was right. All three Blight siblings had grown tired of the way their parents treated them and renounce themselves from the family, taking Amity with them to their apartment to stay until she finds her own place to live

Amity lives with them for a few years, moves into her own dwelling with Luz, marries her, and they have a daughter, Arrow, who is on the Autism spectrum with sensory issues. Through a weird spell that added magic to her DNA, Luz grows a bile sac. After years of living and hanging out with Luz, Amity is now fluent in Spanish.

Soon after, a resistance movement brings down Emperor Belos permanently and puts Luz up as the Emperess of the Boiling isles. Through some weird phenomenon, the Boiling Isles is merged with the human realm. Since humans already know magic exists, they take it lightly, although some are still frightened by it. The new Emperess lifted the law that witches only use of one type of magic, allowing all citizens to use their powers to their fullest extent now that the seal has been lifted. Since both realms merged, Luz's mother Camila now knew where her daughter was for all this time, and apologized to her for making her go to reality check camp. Luz forgives her, knowing she only wanted the best for her, and introduces her to Amity and explains the Boiling Isles to her, and her relationship with Amity.

Boscha, as a result of her ego and bullying, sees a huge error in her ways, and Reforms herself. She slowly tries to befriend Amity, which puts them on better terms.

Even though Amity is now an adult, she still has moments of intense self doubt, and worries a lot about Arrow, and has perfectionist tendencies as a result of her upbringing, but Arrow reminds her that the idea of true perfection doesn’t exist, and that she loves her mom very much the way she is, just like Amity does with her, uplifting her spirits.

Amity's POV
I gather my things from school and attempt to sneak out from my parents' house.

"Hey Mittens."

I know that voice. It's Emira.

"Hey Em." I say, putting my hair up in a braid. The one Emira and Luz taught me to do. A French braid.

I join her and Edric at the table. My dad sits at the head of the table, mom at the foot. Both are stone faced. Mom holds up a dreaded slip of paper.

"Young lady, can you explain this?" she says sternly. It says A. A minus, but it is still an A nonetheless. I feel a fluttering in my stomach.

"It's...an A....A minus." I say nervously.

"A...minus?" she says. "You can do better than that. A Blight must always be perfect."

Suddenly, for a brief moment, the nervousness in me is replaced by hot anger. Felt in my face. Felt in my stomach. I squash it down and lower my head to prevent mom from seeing me seethe, let alone my whole family.

"You may eat." Dad says. With a lump in my throat, I eat fast. I want to cry. I am sad, but at the same time I am angry. I swallow it down, but the feeling burns in my stomach, making my chest painfully tighten with a mix of anger and fear.

Why are they doing this to me if all I do is fail them?

This needs to stop.

Some time later, mom excuses us from the table.

"Go study." She says. "This time do good."

Do good be perfect do good be perfect do good be perfect.

You're a failure

What will people say?

''You failed everyone. You have always failed everyone. Nobody likes you. You're supposed to uphold a reputation. You're a Blight. You. Are. a. DISGRACE.''

All the voices circling in my head increase to a deafening roar. The shock makes me collapse to my knees. My chest goes tight, I feel the lump in my throat once again. Anger burns in my stomach. Tears pearl at the corners of my eyes. Angry tears.

I am a disgrace

A disgrace.

A big fat disgrace.

My breathing quickens, and goes heavy. I run to my room, gather my things. Text Luz.

''I'll be over at the Owl House. Tell Eda.''

"Woah Mittens, are you okay? Emira asks. "You look like you just heard some bad news."

"Yeah." I say softly, my voice cracking slightly. " I just need to go to the Owl house. You and Ed come with. Tell Mom and dad we're away for school.

No.

''I am not okay. I am broken. Dead inside. Bleeding emotionally.''

Help me.

''I feel angry. I feel pain. So much pain.''

I try to squash it all down and maintain composure.

"We'll tell them." Edric says. "And Mittens?"

"Yes?" I say softly. wiping my eyes.

"I've never seen you in such a state like this."

Uh oh

"I think mom and dad said something about you, but.....you need help.

Something is wrong. I want to know what it is." he says.

I stifle a heavy sob.

"Amity...mom and dad clearly said something to put you in this state." Emira says.

Before I can reply, The three of us teleport to the Owl House.

I run to the room where Luz is, drop all my things near the bed, collapse onto my knees behind it, and the pressure of holding things back becomes too much for my broken body. My broken mind. My shattered spirit.

I start to cry.

Luz's POV
I head into my room to drop my things off when I hear soft angry sobbing coming from behind my bed.

It's Amity.

"What's...wrong?" I say. "Parents bothering you again?"

She comes out from behind the bed. When I look at her face, I finally know what's going on.

"Yes they are indeed bothering me." Amity says, her voice raspy. "But this time it's different."

"You look like this has been affecting you for months, hermosa. Amity, listen. It seems like what your parents are doing is damaging you more than I thought." I say.

"I know, but Luz?..." Suddenly Amity winces in pain.

"Mittens, you okay?" Emira asks.

"Curse scar." She mutters. "You can end up with it through any method, whether the wound was accidental or intentional. It bleeds like a normal wound, but after it heals...it never fades. It happens if the person is in emotional distress." she shows me the scar, dark brownish red, flickering and glowing. "It glows during times of great negative emotions."

"Hey y'all." Eda says as she enters. "Amity, you look like you've seen stuff."

"Eda, can you see how mom and dad are clearly doing something to Amity? Look at her!" Emira says.

"How'd you get that scar, kid?"

"It's a curse scar. Eda, I...I..." Amity sobs heavily. "I...t-tried to...kill myself when I was 15. With all the pressure I just thought...life wasn't worth living. After I cut my wrist, I just...stared at it and watched it drip for an hour...until I passed out."

"And we had to call Viney." Luz says. "Ed and Em found Amity passed out with blood on her bedsheets, and part of her school uniform and knew that their parents were behind her breakdown, so they forbid them from visiting because they knew it would just hurt Amity more. After they got her to the hospital, having her parents there would cause more problems. Amity needed recuperation from everything they did that day.”

"Oh my god." Eda says.

"We don't want that." Emira says. "Mom and dad have crazy expectations, and they're forcing Amity to do more things that are very time consuming...and it's clearly taxing all of her energy! They've gone too far."

Amity's POV
"What if they find us?" I say softly. "They'd kill all three of us. Once dad tried to put a sleeping spell on me so he could go into my mind and wipe my memories of Willow and Luz and I couldn't live with that. I carried myself away from him with an abomination and locked myself in my room putting up a no-magic barrier so he couldn't break in."

"That's terrible." Eda says. "I knew they were insane, but this?!"

"Yup....Once dad lost his cool and whacked me in the shin. The object went in in such a way that I bled a bit afterwards."

"If they're treating you like that, then you have to get out of there." Edric says. "Clearly mom and dad are not safe anymore."

"We need to help you confront them, then get you to a place far, far away." Willow says, entering. "I eavesdropped. Sounds like you guys need all the help you can get."

"Willow." I say, my voice growing strong "Get Gus, Jerbo, Viney, and Barcus. We've got a plan."

"Will do." She says.

With my friends' help, I can free myself from my parents' vicious cycle once I have enough courage.

Flashback
I walk to my bedroom dejected. I’ve gotten another A minus.

”I expect more from you, Amity.” Mom’s stern voice rings through the hallways. “You know what that will do to our reputation.”

”I know.” I say softly. “I tried my best.”

”What I meant was straight A’s.” She says sharply. “Go study. This time for a full two-four hours. Drills produce the best results. If you don’t, you will be grounded.”

Mom doesn’t know what I’m going through.

I trudge down the hallway to my room and fall onto bed. Exhaustion overtakes my body, along with dull, tight pain in my chest. My stomach cramps. My anxiety makes everything spin.

I can’t do this anymore.

I hurt.

I am broken.

I can’t

I can’t

I don’t want to be here.

I slowly lift myself from bed, my mind consumed by a depression I have never felt before.

I lift my finger and make a spell circle, making two slicing motions and flicking my wrist. A cutting spell depending on size, can cut anything, from leaves and paper and other small things, to something as big as a tree. The slicing motions cut my wrist, blood pools and streams down my arm, making its way onto my uniform and bedcovers.

I can’t do this anymore

Let this be my last spell.

Titan, take me now. I write a note scrawled in ink then crumple it.

I stare at the cut as it soaks my uniform, drop by drip, until I fall unconscious.

Maybe it worked. But I’m still breathing.

My hearing swims in and out.

Emira’s POV
”Go check on Amity. Make sure she’s studying.” Mom says.

”Yes, mother, right away.” I say as I make my way to Amity’s room. As I open the door, I can’t believe what I see.

Amity. Passed out. Blood ever. Soaking her uniform. Part of the bedsheets. I spot a dried gash on her arm.

”....Holy sh*t.” I say. I grab Edric’s arm. “Look. Look at Amity.”

”No....” he says, examining Amity’s wound. “Em, look. A note.” He reads Amity’s scrawled handwriting.

”I can’t do this anymore. I was never meant to be the perfect girl.

This is too much.” It reads.

”Edric, we need to get Amity to Viney. Now. Call Luz and Eda. Mom and dad cannot know.” I say as I vanish the evidence.

Edric and I rush to the healers. Eda and Luz await us.

”What happened?” She asks.

”Suicide attempt. Before it happened, I heard mom and dad lecturing and threatening Amity. I heard sobbing and then silence.”

I turn to Viney.

”Do not tell our parents. They will only cause more damage.” I say.

”Understood.” She nods.

Amity’s POV
I come to, and the first faces I see are Edric and Emira. I glance at my arm. The cut is healed into a noticeable scar.

”Huh....” I whisper, my voice raspy. “Did you guys...save me?”

“Yeah.” Emira says. “Look, Amity....if you left this world, everyone would miss you so much.....”

“I would.” Says a soft voice on my right. I try to get up, but the pain in my arm prevents me from doing so.

“Luz?”

”Amity..... mi hermosa ....If you died...it would be one of the most unimaginable things to happen to me.” Luz sobs.

A small tear rolls down my cheek. “Lo siento Luz....” I say softly. “Now that I know what will happen.... I’m sorry....I’m so sorry.”

”Who made you do this?” She asks.

”I’ve not been doing well these past few weeks.” I say. “I’m sick of the way my parents treat me. They only want me to maintain their social standing. I ask if they love me, they say they do but...”

”From the way they’re treating you...they don’t.” Luz says.

”When I was young, they made me split with the only friend I had.”

”Me.” Willow says, entering. “Amity....clearly your parents can’t be trusted.”

”Amity, listen .” Eda says, joining us. “When I heard what happened earlier, we need to find a way to mentally or even physically break you out from this cycle your parents placed on you from day one. Can really mess you up, kid.”

”I already filled out a discharge form for you.” Viney says. “I made sure to make someone else the guardian. It’s Eda, although I gave her the fake name of Edith Clawson so no one got sus.”

Some time later, we’re back at the owl house.

”Hellooooooooooo everyone! Guess who’s back, it’s Amityyyyyy!”

”AAAAAAAGH! Hooty, what the f*ck, dude. You almost killed me a second time!”

”I swear to God.” Luz says. “Hooty’s gotta chill.”

”Is ‘God’ the human realm’s equivalent to Titan?” I ask.

”Yep.” Luz replies.

”Whoooooo’s ready to have FUN??!” Hooty says, his face dangerously close to mine.

”HOOTYYYYYY! STOP IT!” I shout. “ Dios mío.”

“Hooty will ya stop bothering these two?! They’ve already been through enough crap already.” Eda says, entering the kitchen.

Deep down, I know there’s hope for me.

Amity’s POV
”What’s UUUPP?” Hooty says, getting close to me again.

I sucker punch him with an abomination. “Sorry, dude. We’re busy.”

”Okay....so what should we do? Once mom and dad find out you didn’t come home, they’re gonna raise hell on all three of us.” Emira says.

”This is going to sound like a bad idea.” I say. “We’ll forge a note that I’m away on a school trip and use Eda’s fake name for a guardian name.”

”Actually....that sounds like a good idea.” Edric says.

Vee and Luz enter.

”What happened to Amity?” Vee asks.

”Vee….” I say quietly. “My family…hurt me.”

”Really? But Luz’s mom was nice to me.”

”My family is different from yours and Luz’s. They’re…obsessed with being the most respectable, even if they ended up almost killing my beloved, and me in the process. They shaped me into the messed up person I am today. However, thanks to you guys, I can be the witch I want to become. Not what they want me to be.”

Vee nods.

”If they confront us, we’re going to stand them up on what they’ve done to us....most importantly what they’ve done to you.” Emira says. “Their actions aren’t how parents are supposed to treat children.”

Weeks pass by. I've been at the Owl House for a long time.

Eda and I are watching TV when Emira's scroll rings.

"Uh oh." she says. "Mom and dad....We're doomed."

Edric looks at it. "Don't worry. It's audio. Luz, Eda, King, Hooty, Amity. Stay quiet so mom and dad don't get suspicious."

"Edric, Emira. You have not been back...Neither has Amity." Mom says sternly.

"Amity got injured...and we're...staying at a friends' house...” Edric says.

”Injured? Did she get medical attention?” Dad says.

“Yes, but she’s fine now. Resting.”

”She was supposed to study!” Mom yells angrily.

”I have to tell you the truth.” Emira says. “You two burned out Amity. She’s exhausted. I wish you’d realize that.”

I think they’re going to confront us, but they won’t get the chance if we do it first.

”A Blight never skips studies.” Mom drones. “You were supposed to come home.”

”Well, you were supposed to realize what you did to Amity!!” Emira says suddenly angry. “You damaged our sister!! I don’t have an ounce of trust in you!!”

“A Blight never rebelled against their parents!” mom says angrily.

”YEAH?!” I say loudly. Emira hands me her scroll and I switch to video chat, showing them my wrist.

”You call yourselves a respectable family and wanted to maintain a reputation.” I say to them. “Explain this.” I show the scar on my wrist. It flickers and glows.

”Look at this.” I say angrily. “Ed and Em said I was ‘fine’ to cover this up.”

”Oh Amity...watch where you’re going.” Mom says. “Next time—“ I cut her short.

”This cut was not accidental, mother.” I say. I grab one of Eda’s daggers. “This is what happened. I am not fine.” My voice cracks.

”I wanted to die. This is what your ideals did to me.” I say, trying to hold back tears. “I have a dictionary. The real definition of Blight is imperfection. What you did to me did more damage than imaginable...I do not trust you anymore.”

”Not trust us?” Mom says. “Oh, but you can’t go living somewhere else. Not under our roof.”

”Not under our roof.” I parrot her. “I can live with Edric and Emira. They’re adults. ‘My house my rules,’ is it? Well, I’m willing to listen to them more than you. They ''supported me. They actually love me.'' They do. Oh, but not you two.”

“Amity—“ Mom begins, but I hang up.

I’m done. This is the last straw.

”You did it, Amity.” Emira says. “You showed them the mistakes they made.”

”Wow. Your parents really aren’t nice.” Vee says.

”That’s what the Blights are like, yes.” I say. “But that isn’t what I’m going to be like. The twins aren’t like that, either.”

Some time later, Luz enters.

”I brought your work home.” She says. “Principal Bump says it’s not due until three weeks later and he says it’s so you can recuperate.”

”Thanks.” I say. “But I think it’s going to take more than that to heal these wounds.”

Luz plants a kiss on my forehead. “I have faith in you, mí amor. “ she says softly. “I know you can free yourself from this. We’ll help you along the way. I promise.”

”Luz.” I reply. “ Muchas gracias. Thank you for helping me. I know that I can find a way out.”

”What language are you speaking?” Vee asks.

”Spanish.” I reply. “ Te podemos enseñar algo más tarde.”

”What did you say?” She replies.

”We can teach you more later.” I say. “I have flash cards.”

That night, we sneak out with Eda over to Edric and Emira’s apartment and use a portal to track activity from my parents’ house.

6 weeks later
That night, we sneak out with Eda over to Edric and Emira’s apartment and use a portal to track activity from my parents’ house.

”After all we’ve done for her!” Mom says angrily. “We spent years instilling in Amity that a Blight should be perfect, obedient, only associating with those of our status!”

”After all we’ve done for her!” Mom says angrily. “We spent years instilling in Amity that a Blight should be perfect, obedient, only associating with those of our status!”

“From how you’ve treated her, running away was probably the only thing she considered.” Dad says

Luz hands me a dictionary.

”Blight....an ''imperfect mark or blemish. Stands out from others.”'' I read

”Oh my God.” I say. “They’ve been wrong....My parents have been lying to me my entire life.”

If they catch me, I’ll make them realize every mistake they made.

“Looks like your roots are growing out again.” Emira says, shaking a bottle of dye. “Shall we dye it?”

“Yes.” I reply. “I’ve been opting for a change of scenery. Lilac, perhaps?”

Some time later, my hair is completely purple.

“I like this. It makes me look like myself. I haven’t looked like myself until now.”

“You’ll get in trouble with mom.” Edric says, but Emira shushes him.

“I think you look great.”

“I can’t wait to show Luz. She’ll love it.” I say.

The door opens.

“Wow…your hair…” She says. “It’s…amazing.”

“Just wanted to show the world who I really am.” I say. “Mom and dad can’t control me anymore. I’m free. I have allies. I have you.”

“Oh Amity…” She replies softly. “That’s one of the greatest things anyone’s ever said to me.”

If I am found by my parents, Luz’s energy alone is enough to make me strong.

Luz’ POV
“I want to show you something I made for you a long time ago.” She says after a brief silence.

Amity reaches into her pocket. “I found some stray palistrum wood and made you this.”

She hands me a palisman carved into an otter.

“Oh Amity. This is…amazing.” I say. “I couldn’t think of which animal to make, and you gave me the perfect one.”

“It’s yours.” She replies. “I can help you enchant it.”

“Thank you so much.” I say. I feel something rub against my leg and look down to see Amity’s palisman, a white cat named Ghost pad over to the living room couch. “Now we both have palismans. And I can cast spells more effectively.”

The otter’s eyes glow, and she hops onto Luz’ shoulder.

“Amity…bad news.” Emira says.

“What happened?” She asks.

“Mom found you. Luz too.”

This is not good.

“I don’t care. I’m gonna make a run for it. Come on, Ghost.” Amity says. “Luz, you too. I’ll handle mom and dad.”

They both nod, then run off.

Amity’s POV
They did it. My parents know what's going on.

I hear my mom hollering at me in my mind, through the replacement pendant she forced me to wear to keep me in line. I hear heavy footsteps.

“AMITY BLIGHT! Get back here this minute!”

“And you dyed your hair?! You know you’re supposed to match! It’s an infernal shade of…purple. I could let you keep it if it matched the abominations, but this is disappointing! Come back home so we can wash that right out!” She stomps towards me.

“A Blight would never leave the house without permission. We have a reputation to up—“ She begins.

I stop them short. This is the last straw. I'm done.

”You only wanted me to be perfect so others would see you as respectable. Well guess what?! It did the opposite. I was basically a slave conforming to your ridiculous and unreasonable ideals from the time I was small. What kind of a family does that?! I always asked if you loved me, you said you did, but clearly you don’t. I'm tired of being your puppet. So guess what my first act of freeing myself is?”

I grab a water bucket, soak my hair in it, and with a reverting spell, re-emerge with it now completely brown.

”This is what I’m first gonna do. You forced me to dye my hair green because ‘ohhh I want my children color coded!’

That’s just stupid. My hair’s brown because of dad. Partly that just sounds like you kicked him to the curb because of DNA. Like you were mad at him for not having a third green haired child. Then again both of you were the ones who made me sever ties with my only friend Willow in the first place and be friends with some kids I didn’t even know because their parents were just some Co-workers of dad’s business! Shady. Well guess what?! You couldn’t stop me from bonding those ties once again!”: “WHAT?! And you were supposed to socialise with the ones we picked for you! What will my associates say?! Mom shouts angrily.

”What will they say?! They’ll think you’re not who you say you are, and that is indeed true. They’re gonna be like ‘Ohhh Blight’s children abandoned her, what a shame.’ On second thought, they won’t care. Remember when I said Boscha was mean when I was 8? I was right! Ohh but you didn’t listen. ‘Good children don’t squabble, dear.’ Well good or not, you can’t avoid it! The only ones who don’t argue are either brainless perfectionist slaves or someone too scared to even speak! You made me split with Willow on my birthday! Jeez, guys, thanks for the worst eighth birthday present ever! Do you even think twice about the decisions you made for us?! I hate Boscha’s guts. She relentlessly makes fun of every student lower than her! And also, I’m friends with a human! Her name is Luz! Humans may not have a magic bile sac, but she can still do magic, just with help. And also when you saw her you almost killed her with a fucking abomaton! Sketchy. So there you have it. Perfect daughter?! More like messed up perfectionist daughter to me! Because of you, every time I make little mistakes, I mentally beat myself up. Thanks for unhealthy school and social pressures...My self esteem is nothing more than several small fibers held together by the thoughts that I’ll eventually escape this vicious, vicious cycle that has scarred me emotionally for years. Speaking of emotions, you say ‘a Blight must never show emotions, they make you weak.’ Well, I am showing mine. I am angered by the fact that this happened to me. You say this is a weakness. Well, I clearly don’t see this as a weakness now. I am expressing everything going on now, and showing you the mistakes you two made raising the three of us...makes me feel stronger than ever now that I can escape from this and put my life back together again.”

”What?!...,Amity Blight....friends with a human?!” My mom says, her face red with anger.

”Mom! Dad! You two need to stop.” The twins say. “We agree with her. We’ve had it with the way you’ve treated us, Mittens, and her girlfriend. Our friend.”

”A Blight never rebelled against their parents!” Odalia says.

”This isn’t rebellion.” I say. “This is what happens when your family doesn’t love you and expects you to be absolutely perfect for the sake of reputation. I am stating facts. You treat others like Willow and Luz as lower life forms. You deem Willow a bad influence.”

”Amity!” Mom shouts. I raise my hand. She falls silent.

”A bad influence?” I say calmly. “Willow is quite the opposite. Are you two willing to listen to yourselves talk? You’re the true bad influence. If I ever were to have children and start my own family, then I won’t allow a toxic influence like you two to ever be in their lives.... I just want to be happy. In the future I would want my children to be happy. Be themselves. Make mistakes. Be with whoever they want to be. I want to love freely, with no fear, no self doubt. So I am telling you this as a warning. Never raise kids for the sake of appearing as high-class and respectable.”

“Ungrateful child! We raised—“ mom begins.

”Enough.” Emira says. “Mittens was right.”

”Amity has a point.” Edric says. “If you keep doing this to us....then we were never meant to be part of this family.”

Mom and dad stand silent, unable to comprehend how all three of their kids managed to call them out on everything they did.

I snap my fingers, turning my hair lilac again.

”Come on, Amity. Until you find a good place to live with Luz, you can stay at our apartment.” Edric says.

For the first time, I am free. I can't wait to tell Eda, Vee and Luz. I even recorded it.

“Thank you.” I say. “You guys saved me.”

“And you also saved us.” Luz says, teleporting towards me. We join hands and walk off into the distance. “But deep down I know our battles with life aren’t over yet.”

Luz’ POV
Amity and I trek through the forest, where I spot the destroyed and dilapidated doorway that used to be the portal to the human realm.

Things have changed.

Ever since I confronted mom through that pseudo portal.

Ever since I met Vee.

Ever since I made that not very good promise to mom to stay with her forever.

And never come back. I can’t do that. I have family here. Amity. Eda. Lilith. Hooty. King.

“Hey kid. You okay?” Eda asks.

“Just thinking about life.” I reply. Suddenly imges appear in my head, and I hear a voice that causes me to clap my hands over my ears.

''You must be the kid I saw in one of Eda’s photos. I need you to help me. I am trapped. Also look for a Bat mask.''

“What happened?” Eda says, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“I heard a voice….in my head.” I say.

“What did the voice say?” Eda says.

“It said…something about me being in one of the photos you took. It also said it was trapped in something, and mentioned a Bat mask.”

“It’s…my old friend Raine Whispers. Head of the Bard coven. Also I don’t know how the hell they got the ability to send mental messages like that. Maybe it’s a hidden power or something.”

“Maybe. But we need to save them. First we need to find a way to sneak into the emperor’s castle.” I say

“Kikimora was the one who trapped Raine. She did it by activating their coven mark. Also Kikimora is a fucking coward, so scaring her with a fire spell might be enough for us to subdue her and force her to release Raine. If Belos tries to initiate the day of unity, we might be able to stop him. If the realms get merged, and if something weird happens to you…”

“I’ll be fine.” I say. “Now let’s go.”

We walk through town and spot two coven guards, and I use my palisman Shelby to activate an invisibility spell. Once we reach the castle, I spot Kikimora walking past the branch prison Raine is encased in and wait.

“Once the day of unity approaches, I will kill the golden guard and gain all the power!” She says under her breath.

I drop my cover and lunge towards her.

“HEY! What are you doing??” she yells. I conjure a fire spell and move it dangerously close to her face.

“Release Raine or I burn you to bits.” I growl. She cowers and nervously forms a spell circle. The thorn prison glows, then disintegrates.

Raine’s POV
The darkness I’ve been enveloped in disappears, and the light flooding in overwhelms me, and I stumble forwards, and I feel someone grab me.

“You…” I say. “You’re one of Eda’s kids. Luz, is it?”

“Yes.” She replies. “We need to get you out of here. Once we’re out, alert your fellow Bards and reassemble the BATs once again. Tell them Luz unbound you.”

I nod, and hand her a mask. “Take this. It’s your reward for saving me. Since one of the tracks you’re in at Hexside is Bard, I’ll teach you a few things.”

“Come back home with us.” she says. “You look like you need a place to stay.” We run out of the castle and fly back to the Owl house using Luz’ and Eda’s palisman. “Wow…”I say. “That house looks amazing.” “That’s just the beginning.” Eda says. “There’s more surprises.”

”HEY!! Hoot hoot!” I hear a loud voice, then I am face-to-face with…a bird tube?

”GAAH! Who even are you?!’ I say.

”Oh that’s just Hooty. He’s part of the Owl house.” Eda says.

”These are my friends Willow, Gus, and my girlfriend Amity.” Luz says.

”I like your hair. Purple looks good on you.” I reply, facing her.

”And also who is this little cutie-patootie?” I say. “The little one with the skull for a head.”

“I’m not cute.” It says. “I’m King.”

”King.” I say. “Interesting name. You’re still adorable to me though.”

He grumbles, and lets me hold him. “Fine, but only once. Also my name is King Clawthorne.”

Clawthorne. King Clawthorne? Question is how did King end up taking Eda’s name? Turns out I have more to learn than I thought. A prepubescent demon, a human girl in the Bard track, a bird tube, so many things I’ve seen today. Maybe Eda can help me find out what has happened over the past 3 years.

”So, how’s everything been going?” I ask.

”Well about the curse…” Eda says. “I made peace with the Owl Beast, except I have to eat dead animals.”

”Hold on…” I say. “You made peace with a curse?”

”Yeah. Basically the Owl Beast is an entity living in my head. On the plus side I can turn into a Harpy.”

”HARPY?!” I say. I literally can’t believe I’m hearing this.

Eda pauses. “Hold on. This might take a while.” She goes silent, then her body changes, her eyes change, and she grows taller and sprouts huge wings.

”See, I told you I could make peace with it!” she says excitedly. “Honestly this is awesome!”

”Wow…” I say. “Good to see that you’re yourself again.”

”We need a plan.” Luz says. “But it would involve a lot of people in order to bring down Belos. We’ll need you and Eda since you’re the true rebels, and we’ll also need Amity to help me trick him and bring down Kikimora. If anyone who was previously aligned with Belos makes the decision to defect to the other side, take them in. Also I might need the rest of the BATs.”

I nod. “Duly noted. I’ll send you in with a map to my hideout and if Darius and Eberwolf try to hunt you down, use Bard magic, but I’ll need to teach you the ropes first.”

”We’re so going to win this thing.” Amity says.

”Into here.” I say as we fly through town and find the old building used as the BATs’ base. “If you spot any suspicious persons, attack.”

”Intruders?” I hear a small voice. Amber.

”No.” I say. “It’s me, Raine. I was freed by the Owl Lady and the Otter girl Luz Noceda.”

”Otter girl?!” Luz snorts. “That’s the first time anyone’s given me a moniker that I could be proud of for once.”

”Now we just need to sneak back into the castle.” I say. “Eda stole us some coven guard uniforms. I’ll hide in the shadows and use my Bard magic behind the scenes, Goops will use his illusions to distract the guards, and Willow will use her magic to ensnare them with vines.”

”Goops…” Gus says exasperated. “Raine, really?! I’ve been trying to shed that name for years.”

”Well that was the name Eda gave to me.” I say. “Tell that to her.”

”Alright guys.” Luz says. “It’s go time.”

"Do you have the portal key?" Eda asks.

"Yes." Amity replies. "Once Hunter found out it was empty, he chucked it. I found it and repaired it, along with the titan blood found on my glove. I tested it for a second by opening a portal to the human realm and then closing it. It works again."

"Good." Luz says. "Now I just need to find my mom and bring her here. I'll tell her in advance now that I can send messages again." She fumbles for her phone in her pocket and find a scroll instead.

"Uh, what happened to my phone?" She asks.

"Simple. I enchanted it so that when you entered the human realm, it would turn into a regular phone. Since you're in the Boiling Isles, right now it's a scroll."

"Interesting." Luz replies. "By the way, do you have the portal?"

"Yes. Here it is." Amity replies, handing me an object that looks like a very thick book. "Now I need you guys to come with me, and if anything weird happens, just tug me by the waist, okay?" Luz says.

Amity and I both nod.

"Willow, Gus, you two hide. Once I come back I'll give Gus whatever stuff I hid in my bedroom closet."

"Yes! More human collectibles!" Gus says excitedly, pumping his fists.

"Oh, by the way," I say. "I heard from one of my fellow BATs that we have another new member, besides Luz."

"Who is it?" Eda asks.

I spot the curtains in my hideout open, and a young woman with dark hair with a lighter tuft, dark brown skin, and a gold earring on one ear emerges wearing a dark red jacket, carries a guitar in one hand.

"Skara..." Amity says softly. "You joined the BATs?"

"Yes." She replies. "It was after I stopped being friends with Boscha and witnessed one of the emperor's guards torture my cousin for no reason at all. I stopped being friends with Boscha because after I told her about the attack, she didn't care an ounce about it at all. I honed my use of Bard magic through tutoring sessions, then after I joined the Bard coven, and heard your story about being captured, I joined as a substitute leader."

"Well now you and Luz are my second in-commands." I say. "Welcome to operation Libertion of the Boiling Isles from the Emperor's reign at last."

Skara's POV
We sneak back into the castle, where Gus and Willow use illusion glamours to disguise six of us. Eda and Raine step out into the open where they are nearly apprehended by a coven guard.

"Halt!" he says. "The head of the Bard coven...I don't remember you being freed. The last time I saw you, you were covered in thorns and comatose!"

"Well, that's all behind us now!" Raine says, landing a kick to the guard's stomach, where he collapses unconcious. Raine conjures their violin and plunges all of the guards into a sleeping spell.

"That's all of them." I say. "Except what are we gonna do when Belos finds out?"

"Simple." Raine replies. "He's naturally powerless. When he's not in that weird cursed state, Luz and I can subdue him. She uses glyphs, I use my violin to put him in a sleep spell like we did with the guards."

"I'll hold Kikimora off." Amity says, her lavender braid swishing behind her. "I'll use Ghost since palisman magic is hella powerful. Also Raine?"

"Yes?" they reply.

"I have a little surprise for you back at my siblings' apartment. It has two parts. You get to see it, then you get to so whatever you want to make it truly yours."

Raine's face lights up. "Awesome. Now let's liberate the Isles once and for all!"

"If Belos tries to kill Ghost, no matter how hard he tries, he can't since I enchanted her with an unbreakable spell, whixh means he can't extract any esscence!"

Raine grins. "You're a genius. We should've done that to all the other palismans so they couldn't be used for Belos' curse."

"I've been waiting for all of you." says a voice from behind two huge doors. A figure emerges. It's Belos, but he looks exhausted and sicker than last time, with a jagged scar across his face.

"You." Eda says angrily. "You were the one who lied to Lilith about treating my curse. You lied to me about everything and were responsible for robbing the citizens of the Boiling Isles of freedom to use all magic with your stupid coven system!"

"Ahhhh, but I was simply creating order." Belos says.

Amity's POV
I growl. "Abomination, rise."

A humanoid creature made of clay rises up from the ground. I flick my wrist, and it throws Belos to the ground, giving his withered face yet another scar.

I hear footsteps, and turn around to see three people in front of me.

''Edric, Emira, and Hunter. All come to join the fight.''

Edric sneaks into the shadows and casts an illusion of himself battered and bloody. Belos attemps to attack it, but the illusion disappears.

"You tricked me." he growls. "How could I have not known? And how did the head of the Bard coven escape?"

Before he says anything more, I attack him with abomination goo. He attempts to stop it with flesh magic, but is put in a sleep spell by Skara and her harp.

"Nice work, everyone." Raine says. "If he manages to defeat the sleep spell, we have reinforcements. It's him against us."

“I found something.” Hunter says. “It looks like a strange plant with jewelry all over it, and it has a note tied to the bottom.”

Belos’ body twitches, then he heaves himself up, only to collapse on his knees.

“NO!” he says. “That’s one of my prized possessions!”

“Sorry.” Raine says sarcastically. “Right now we’re doing research.”

“And besides, you were a pretty trashy ruler anyway.” says a person from the crowd of bystanders watching us.

“You forced us into covens against our will.” says a demon hunter.

“And muted the music of our hearts.” Raine says.

Luz takes a fire glyph to the stone, and it starts to glow.

“I wonder what happens when you use a glyph on it.”

She covers the plant with a piece of paper. The glow becomes brighter until the rock explodes.

The whole world changes around us. The second I open my eyes, everything outside of us looks different.

“I know we’re still in the isles,” I say. “But everything looks different. The sky changed color.”

Luz bolts away. The team and I venture outside, where raindrops start to fall slowly.

“The rain isn’t boiling.” I say. “What happened?”

I spot Luz run into a thicket and emerge with an older woman.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“Amity, this is my mother.” she replies. “Mom, this is my girlfriend Amity.”

“Oh…nice to meet you.” she says, disbelief in her voice. “I’m Camila.”

“I know that rock exploded,” Luz says. “But why do I feel weird? Like my chest is heavy.”

She closes her eyes and does a spell circle, grabs a pair of bongos, and plays a succession of beats, The world vibrates and trees shake around us.

“Luz…” I say. “You’ve got magic. The explosion somehow altered your biochemistry or something. It gave you a magic bile sac, and the chest tightness thing is normal. It’ll go away gradually in 2 weeks or so.”

Luz jumps up and down rapidly, and shoots vines everywhere, which sprout into several different varieties of flowers. “This is amazing.”

“It can’t be!” Belos screams. “NO! You couldn’t have possibly defeated me!”

“Oh but we did.” Raine says triumphantly. Belos attempts to grab the fragments of the exploding rock, but I take a glimpse at the note attached.

''This rock will merge two realms together but giving each one some traits of the other. It can only be put back together safely by the one it deems worthy. '' “I am a messager to the titan!” Belos says. “I was worthy all along!” He picks up the rock, but it glows again, and this time, the forces point towards Belos, blasting him into a pile of ash.

I turn towards the rest of the team. "Well, Belos is dead. What do you think should happen next?"

"I think I'll make both of these worlds a better place." she says. "The covens can still remain, but if I ever become empress, them joining one is optional. If you wanted to, you could join multiple. Now for the coven marks, I just have to find a way to deactivate them. For those who want to use all magic, you can, but you need to use it wisely."

"That's a great idea." I say.

"All hail empress Luz! The liberation of magic has happened at last!" Eda says excitedly.

"Now that I can lead the Isles, I think we're in for a bright future. Students in every magic school can choose multiple tracks if they want to. If anything happens, we need to stay hopeful." Luz says.

Eda's POV
3 years later

"Hah! Wild card!" I say triumphantly as my pair of card gobbles up Owlbert's set. "I win! Again."

"Isn't that your sixth win?" King says. "Maybe you should let someone else win for a change."

"It's too easy not to do that when you're reigning champion." I say, remembering when I beat Tibbles at a match that cosr him his entire supply. The glory lasted days for me.

I place the cards back into their box when Hooty flies right in my face.

"HOOT HOOT! You have guests! It's your childhood sweetheart the head of the Bard coven, and a slobbery little kid!!" Hooty says, heading towrds me at nearly breakneck speed.

"Okay, okay!" I say, annoyed. "You didn't need to get all up close about it!"

I walk towards the front entrance. Raine stands in front of me holding a small child who appears to be younger than a toddler. She has furry pointed ears and is chewing on a rubber toy covered in tooth marks.

"You had a kid?" I say. "Gotta tell ya, she is kind of cute."

"Oh, she is." Raine says. "Just so you know, she has teeth growing, so you might want to keep her away from King, Hooty, or any valuable objects. She drools like crazy. Her name is Haven, by the way."

Raine enters the house and sets the child down, where she crawls onto the worn down hole covered couch.

"So, how are things?" I ask

"Everything is going well, although sometimes balancing a kid and work keeps me busy." Raine replies.

I hear a scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHH! OW OW OW! Unhand me!"

"Oh no, Haven!" Raine says, rushing over to her. "Don't bite King's tail! No biting!" They turn towards me. "I am so sorry."

"Okay, maybe 'cute' was an understatement."

How am I going to be able to handle a little monster for an hour?

I spot a slip of paper in Raine's back.

"Good thing they left a note." I say. In the bag are bottles, cleaning supplies, diapers, blankets, and several rubber toys.

"Is this yours?" I say, facing Haven. She grabs the toy and starts gnawing on it.

"Looks like it is." I say.

I hear a knock at the door and the figure standing in front of me is Luz, and her new palisman.

She spots Haven, and her eyes light up as she scoops her up in both arms and smothers her in kisses.

" ¡Ay que lindo! She's beautiful."

Luz sets Haven down on the floor where she crawls over to the couch and climbs onto it.