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She met Amity Blight once upon a time, back when the sky still stopped and the stars came out to play hide and seek with the moon.
It was a lovelier time- the time when their youth ran and ran and their luck never seemed to fade. Back then, she was only fourteen, yet in sharp contrast to the Blight, Luz’s world seemed to fly farther from her grasp. There was no heavy weight on her shoulders (at first, anyway) while Amity was born with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Somehow, they found each other one summer night, and their worlds collided.
The Blight was cold and calculating. Luz was the sun herself, but she wasn’t an idiot. So they both danced around each other, making sure not to fall in each other’s grasp. A dance of fire and rain, a dance between the sun and the moon. Luz was the sun, always rising, always charging. Amity was the night, glorious in the darkness and hidden well.
Regardless, there came a time when they could no longer avoid each other. It wasn’t like Luz tried to- she was new at Hexside and even if Amity was mean at first, she wanted to understand the girl. It was Amity who finally mustered up courage and began getting closer, even when Luz found it odd that Amity’s cheeks flushed red and she usually ran away. Still, she insisted, and at some point into the school year, they danced at Grom.
It was exhilarating. Luz never thought of Amity in that way (that’s a lie, she did once in a while. The threat of going home never let her explore those feelings). They were in sync, in touch with each other's feelings. They knew the next step, and although the dance could have been used as a front for Grom, it was more than that to them.
So they got closer. Closer and closer. What began with small talk turned to long hours of conversation, and what started with meetings at school during passing period and lunch turned into sneaking out at night to laugh under a moon’s uncaring gaze. They counted stars, looked at constellations (which was different in this world- much to her dismay) and Amity was wonderful.
“You know.” It was warm, the brink of what she assumed was Summer in the Boiling Isles. “I don’t ever want to get married.”
The statement stemmed from talk of family, something Luz skirted around for Amity’s sake.
For Luz, there was not much to say. It had always been just her and her mom together, and she wouldn’t change that. Sure, it got lonely at times, especially at nights when Luz crawled into bed and felt her heart explode and the tears spilled. Her mom would be at another night shift, and Luz slept alone. But she had the reassurance of her mother cooking arroz con leche in the mornings, and that was enough to fill the hole in her heart.
Amity was different. She had the twins, who although were tricky and pranked her quite often, still had her best interest at heart. It was lonely, but not as lonely. They were always there, anyway. Her parents never held warmth, they were only cold. Controlling, calculating, perfectionists. The Blights were not children, they were clay waiting to be molded and shifted.
“Why?” Luz’s heart ached and she didn’t know why.
The concept of growing up one day and Amity being wed made her feel some type of way, but she didn’t know what.
“It’s just...exhausting. The Blights have a tradition of arranged marriage- that’s how mother and father wed. Besides, no marriage is successful.”
Luz thought of her home, where all the kids at school had divorced parents. She remembered the way Tommy from kindergarten cried because his dad left for someone younger, and she remembered Amanda from middle school who went to therapy after her mom walked out on her family. She couldn’t really list the amount of people who had parents that stuck it out on one hand. A good divorce lawyer could work wonders, she came to learn.
“I think my dad loved my mom.”
She doesn’t open up about her dad. The man was six feet under in a world so far away. There was not much to mourn, as Luz only remembered seeing a man with hazel eyes and a kind smile. She thought of him as someone who should have affected her entire being, but it was hard to miss someone she didn’t remember.
There were photos her mom poured her heart to. Some were of Luz and her dad, back when he carried her on his shoulders or when he tried showing off a toddler’s first steps. They were all grainy and devoid and Luz felt no attachment, only sadness as to what could have been. Maybe an easier life, maybe more siblings. Who knew.
Luz looked at the album often. It was hard to see the man in her life, anyways. It was fine with just her and her mom.
But she heard these stories growing up- her mom was a nursing student. Her dad was a truck driver, and they crossed paths back in community college. He pursued, chased, and romanced the young woman. They fell in love and got married and something about that story made her think the world was perfect and quaint.
They named her Luz because for a long time, they were lost. She was their own blessing, their light on a stray night. One time, her dad said that if he was ever lost on a drive from home, he’d look at the moon and think of Luz and find a light.
Luz didn’t remember that, she was probably at best four. For all she knew, her mom had romanticized her dad’s existence.
“It’s different.”
“I guess. Mom and dad met when they were young and got married.” She reached for a clasp of grass. “But I think he loved her.”
“How do you fall in love with someone you’re arranged to marry?” Amity laid against the grass, eyeing Luz. “I don’t want what my parents have.”
She thought of Amity older, taller and none the wiser. She imagined her with long, green hair, or maybe she’d let the dye go and her brown would come to light. Maybe she’d be taller (no, she definitely would be) and she’d be one of the most powerful witches. She imagined her with a man by her side, in a loveless marriage. She imagined that and felt a pang in her heart.
She didn’t know what hurt most; the idea of them growing up and being forced to look at the real world or the idea of Amity ending up with someone else. She didn’t want to think of that.
So instead, she spoke.
“We’re fourteen, Amity! There’s so much time left!”
Luz wasn’t an idiot. Time was slipping by faster and faster, yet she liked to imagine they had time left. Maybe she could figure out what she felt for Amity and maybe it would end up as a long-term relationship and life would be perfect.
Not tonight.
They stayed that night, quiet and gone. The stars twinkled and shone, and Luz held her breath as Amity reached for her hand. Their fingers intertwined and they stayed that way, under the night sky, until Amity slept and Luz carried her home.
Two months later, all that was left of Luz Noceda was a bundle of signed letters saying goodbye and the memories of counting skies.
She met Luz Noceda once upon a time, only when the sky spun and the stars refused to come out to play hide and seek with the moon.
Somedays, she thought of Luz as a figment of her imagination. Luz wasn’t real- she couldn’t be. Luz was gone and the world began spinning and life moved on. Amity moved on, after a while, anyway. The world kept spinning and Amity couldn’t be stuck on a human girl.
The letter Luz left her remained untouched inside her locked drawers. Amity didn’t have as much privacy as she once did when she was fourteen (which seemed to be a cruel joke). She had to get better at hiding things, seeing as her mom suddenly had even more interest in her life.
Amity was twenty-one and successful. She was the only Hexside student bestowed the honor of joining the Emperor’s Coven, much like she dreamt of. Yet her mom still found a way inside her room with dresses on dresses layered on her bed, and letters from eligible suitors on her nightstand.
Her siblings left years ago- they’d waited to turn just the right age and bailed without bidding farewell. They did talk to Amity occasionally and urged her to leave, too.
She couldn't leave. This life, regardless of how she slept at night, was hers. She worked on it, perfected her dreams and became the Blight. She was going to be the greatest of all time, even if she felt like screaming into her pillow.
A life like her siblings was odd. It required her to adapt, and the world on her shoulders left her so exhausted she didn’t want that. Day after day, she stayed. They stopped insisting.
She didn’t see them as much.
She missed them.
She missed Willow, too. She hadn’t heard from her since graduation, when Amity cut ties with them all. She even missed Gus, who grew on her after some time. She missed the strange owl lady, who one day packed her things and never came back.
Amity remembered that day- she’d gotten the letter from Luz and ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and she ran, heart racing alongside her. It had to be a cruel prank. Ignoring the soreness from her feet and the leaves and twigs sticking from her leggings, Amity made it to the Owl House.
The Owl House was no more. There was no house, no trace of its existence. It was as if the house never existed, and Amity didn’t know what to make of it.
She missed Luz.
Trailing down the stairs, Amity eyed her reflection. She was the pinnacle of excellence- her green hair was still intact and her amber eyes sparkled. She was like a doll, all dressed up with no place to go. Her makeup was perfectly laid, and the teal dress her mother picked was desirable. Her hair was up in a bun, and there were even flowers decorating it. The ball gown made her look like a princess, and Amity wished she could feel like one someday.
“Sweetheart, look!” Her mom boasted. She aged gracefully, even with the nasty attitude the woman had. Maybe it was magic and money- who knew.
Amity carefully walked towards her mom, glancing at the glass of wine in her mother’s gloved hand. Next to her was a man in a dashing suit, but Amity didn’t feel any type of way.
She liked girls, ironically enough.
“This is-” And the words became muffled because Amity knew the drill. This man, whoever he was, came from a family of richness. They’d join business or whatever and their fortune would increase by millions. He didn’t care about her- he cared about the worth of the Blight name.
He’d probably dance with her once, and Amity would try her hardest to not think of Luz, and they’d talk the night away. Nothing would come from it, because Amity was cold and cruel and the man would leave in a hurry.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Amity began. “The name’s Amity.”
“I’ve heard so much about you.”
Her mom gave her a look and she knew it was time to dance. She allowed herself to be swept away into the dance floor. She’d steal a couple of breaths for a minute, and then she’d let herself melt and become nothing.
Someday, she realized, she’d be nothing. All her memories of Luz would leave her and she’d be absolutely nothing. No friends, a loveless marriage. Someday, she’d be forced to have a child to carry the Blight name.
Amity didn’t like that, but she knew it’d happen.
At some point in the night, she stumbled in her heels. Laughing at the incident, the girl waved at the suitor and said she’d be back fairly quickly to change. He nodded and waited by talking to another snob.
Amity ran. She made her way to her room, heaving and locking the door behind her. Finally, she let herself melt into her bed.
Her life had become everything fourteen year-old Amity stayed up pondering on. Regardless of her success and ambition, she failed in other aspects of her life. Now, she was forced to wed someone she could care less about, and she could only stall the process a little.
One day, she’d walk the aisle and into the arms of someone who could care less about her.
The movement of curtains made her raise her head, shocked just a little. She stood up from her self-pity, hand raised ready to call for her staff. Whoever this was, was not welcomed.
The curtains opened and the window shook and in came a cloaked figure, hood removed.
Luz Noceda landed in her room and Amity Blight blinked.
“Amity?”
Her heart stopped. Luz was taller, had grown out with muscle and her hair was longer and wilder. There was something in her eyes she couldn’t identify, and the world went cold. There was a bruise on her cheek and a scratch on her eyebrow. She gazed at Amity, a small smile breaking on her face.
“Luz.”
They stood there, worlds apart. Luz looked as if she had been dragged through hell and back, and Amity was everything but. They stared at each other, taking in the sight of one another before Amity began.
“Well, it’s nice to know you’re alive.”
“Bad news for a lot of people.”
Gone was the fourteen year old Amity fell for. This Luz was different, but Amity didn’t know how.
“Luz,” She began softly. “Why are you here?”
In that moment, Luz sauntered forward, hand stretched out.
“It’s a long story, Amity. I’ve been on the run for years-”
“On the run?”
“Ever since Eda died-”
“Eda’s dead?”
“And the emperor is after me and I haven’t been home and oh my god please leave with me, I talked to Em-”
“You talked to my sister?”
“And I found a way home- the human realm! I miss my mom and I wanna go back and-”
“Luz. Stop.” Amity pulled away, dusting her dress. “You’re not making sense.”
“I don’t have time to make sense. Leave with me, please.”
She dreamt of Luz arriving, whisking her away into another world. She dreamt of a lifetime with Luz, a life where they spent mornings gardening and nights dancing on the sidewalk. She dreamt of forming a family with Luz, and Luz would be hers and she’d be Luz’s.
But not like this.
“Luz, to what? Where are we running?”
She built a loveless life and even if she was scared, it was Luz. So before Luz could launch into another explanation, Amity reached for her staff and grabbed Luz’s arm.
“Lead the way.”
They ran.
She always imagined seeing Luz would make her feel some way. She imagined flowery language, an unchangeable anguish, lingering heartache and a moment where her heart crushed. She imagined everything but this, and she even gave up on the idea of meeting Luz Noceda once again.
Yet they were running against the pavement and it was raining and suddenly Amity fell into Luz’s grasp. They made it down the block, Luz raising what she realized was Eda’s staff as she grabbed onto Amity. The world spun, quite literally, and suddenly she could not breathe.
“Luz, wait.”
She heard footsteps and hollers. Surely, they were guards, ready to take them both back. Luz in prison and Amity in another prison.
Amity’s head was aching. Something felt so wrong and horrible and ugly.
“Amity, we have to go.”
“Luz. I can’t.”
They stopped, the night behind them. The moon watched in anticipation and the stars came to watch. The green haired witch let go of the human’s hand, instead folding her arms over her should. Call it insanity, but Amity could not leave. This was her life, regardless if her fourteen year old self would have raced to the human realm with Luz.
“Amity, please.”
She didn’t budge.
Luz couldn’t talk her down.
At that moment, Luz knew. She didn’t say anything either, instead turning and raising her staff and a portal appeared. Luz gave Amity one last glance before she jumped in, and Luz Noceda was no more.
The light was gone.
All that was left of Amity Blight that night was a torn teal dress and teardrops on a handwritten letter from her youth.
They meet again, someday when the world takes a breath and the stars slowly make their way back.
Amity was in white and her world was dark. She was dressed up again, in all her glory. Her hair was curled, her eyeliner was done and her lips were the prettiest shade of red she had seen. She was beautiful and stunning, and even if the white dress that clung to her body was spectacular, it was disgusting.
She was to wed tonight, in a hall full of people she could care less about.
It had only been two months since Luz left her, or Amity left her. Someone left someone and she wasn’t quite sure where the blame was at. Still, she focused on looking like the perfect bride these two months. Gushing over wedding venues, gasping at wedding magazines, making a binder- it was easier to swallow if she imagined doing it with Luz.
Luz was gone. For good.
There was nothing left to do.
In the hours before she was to become nothing, she imagined Luz again. The way she stuck her tongue when she was hard at work, the way she laughed at her own puns, the way she worked herself over and over, the way she was kind and loving but still stood up for herself and others. The way they danced at night, the way they spent afternoons reading and the mornings after sleepovers learning to cook. Grom. Laughter. The times their hands touched. Warm, brown eyes. Butterflies.
These memories would be gone when she said, “I do.”
All the things she’d seen would be gone soon.
It was fine, her and her husband would be wonderful together. They would stick together, and although she knew there wa sno love, it’d be just them. So she’d bet all she had on them, and in this lifetime, they’d stick together.
It was a good lie.
She’d be the idiot with the painted face in the corner, regardless of the power she held. She could kill her husband, theoretically, and get away with it. Then she’d flee to the human world. And Luz-
As if.
In this lifetime, she’d be married and it’d be okay.
It would be.
It had to be.
None of her siblings were present in the ceremony. She walked with her father, who seemed to never be present in her life. Her husband was waiting at the end, and Amity swallowed. They’d be there soon, together.
There was no friendly face in the crowd. Amity was okay with that- she couldn’t live with this being considered a good thing.
Whatever.
She sauntered towards the other side. The ceremony went as practiced and Amity felt herself drift. She ignored her husband, eyes lingering to the doorway. They held hands as practiced but Amity felt numb.
She could run.
No.
The temptation was still there. She could run. She would run.
It only took the sight of a familiar purple cloak to get her to run. Luz was there, standing by the doorway. She wasn’t objecting, only watching.
In this lifetime, she’d spent it with Luz. They’d stick together and she’d feel loved. They’d be better, and their life would be amazing. She wouldn’t miss this lifetime.
That was enough for her to breathe. She let go of him, the memories of Luz fueling her to run. The way down felt like an eternity, and through the gasps and shocked faces of those around her, she ran.
She only stopped when their eyes met.
“You’re late.”
All that was of Amity Blight and Luz Noceda was a portal of light and white trailing behind them.