Chapter Text
“Do you love me, Lilith?”
“I’m the happiest girl in the Boiling Isles!”
“Yes! Yes, of course!”
“You’re my everything, Lilith. You’re all I have left…”
“Please…Lilith…I’m scare. Don’t let me-”
“No!” Lilith’s eyes shot open and sprung up in bed, sweating and panting. “Dream…just a-”
“Karate kick!” Luz kicked open the door to Lilith’s bedroom, taking a Kung-fu stance, King andnEda did the same, though Eda held her staff like a bat.
Hooty busted through the window. “You okay, Lilith?!”
“Not with everyone breaking into my room,” Lilith groaned, rubbing her temples in annoyance.
“Oh, sorry,” Luz chuckled.
“I had a feeling we could’ve handled that better.” Eda shrugged. “Anyway, what’s up with the screaming, Lilly? We thought you were being attacked!”
“Screaming? Right, I’m sorry, I…I’m so sorry.” Lilith looked at her lap as her grip on her blanket tightened. “Just…bad memories cropping up to torment me in my nightmares.”
“Oh, was it about Mom and Dad?” Eda stepped forward, uncharacteristically gentle. “I still have nightmares about those two, on bad days.”
Lilith scoffed. “I wish.”
“What’s so bad you wish you dreaming about our parents?!” Eda asked, shocked.
“Something that happened to me while you were away, is all.” Lilith turned so the three couldn’t see her grey streak and grey eye. “Something I wish I could forget.”
“Lilly-” Eda reached out to Lilith.
“Uh…guys!” Hooty backed away in fright.
“What?” Eda looked at Hooty, confused.
“E-Edalyn…” Lilith turned her face towards the group, causing them all to gasp in horror.
Lilith’s face, half of it, at least, was owl beast. The grey colored eye was black, her mouth had a fang, her hair was a mess and full of feathers.
“P-Please t-tell me you still have elixir?” Lilith asked in a shaky, terrified voice.
“Luz! King!” Eda shouted, not taking her eyes off of Lilith.
“Already on it!” Luz bolted down the hall so quickly King barely had enough time to jump onto her shoulder.
“Lilith, look at me!” Eda held Lilith’s face in her hands. “You fight it! You understand me?! Fight it!”
“I c-can’t…” Lilith’s other eye turned black.
“Damn it, hurry you two!” Eda shouted in desperation. “Lilly, please, don’t let the darkness take you!”
“I’m s-sorry, E-Edalyn…” Lilith felt herself falling, and watched as darkness seemed to devour Eda.
“Lilith! Don’t fall into the abyss! Lilith!”
Eda’s last words echoed through Lilith’s mind when her eyes suddenly shot open, looking up to see pitch black darkness. She realized she was one the ground, the surface was smooth, almost like marble. Lilith looked around and saw the world was no different then what she saw when she was first dragged into this place.
“This place is a nightmare…” Lilith stood, looking around the void. “I still can’t believe this is what Edalyn was brought to every time she turned into that thing. I robbed her of Hexside, of her love, of her life! Now I know the absolute terror of being dragged into oblivion. Titan only knows how ungodly terrified she was when it first happened. She was so young…she didn’t deserve…” she pressed the palms of her hands to eyes as tears streamed down her face. “Oh Edalyn…I deserve this! I deserved to lose everything! I deserved to lose-”
“What are you doing?”
Lilith eyes widened and she turned around to see her. She was no different from your standard resident of the Boiling Isles, pointed ears, pale skin, slightly pudgy with an adorable smile. It reminded Lilith of Luz’s friend, Willow. While she might’ve looked standard, to Lilith it meant the world.
“J-Jade?!” Lilith stepped back and covered her mouth. “What are you doing here?!”
“I said, what are doing?” Jade wasn’t truly looking at Lilith, rather something behind Liltih.
“I told you, it’s a special place,” Lilith heard herself say.
Lilith turned to see her younger self. Despite it being…well…herself, Lilith barely recognized the woman standing before her. It was in her early days in the Emperor’s Coven when she met Jade, so she still had her orange, puffy hair, and her nerdy glasses. Jade and Lilith were partners, but didn’t really start to get to know one another until they were jumped by rebels. Lilith had beaten the ones attacking her, and saved Jade from the two that were about to kill her. Jade was so grateful, and Lilith felt like a hero. It sickened Lilith knowing that those were just people fighting for their freedom, to escape the tyranny of Belos, it put a stain on what was a happy memory. They started talking more, and six months of a long friendship, they were dating. That’s what lead up to this memory.
“Please don’t make me ask again, Lil,” Jade sighed.
“Just give me a few seconds…” Lilith spawned an abomination arm, that lifted the large boulder she was standing in front it, and gently set it down beside the opening of the cave. “There!”
“A cave?” Jade tiled her head.
“Come on!” Lilith took Jade’s hand and lead her through the cave, using a fire spell to light the way.
Lilith wanted to stay put, to not follow them, she couldn’t stomach to see Jade again, but it was almost like she was forced to. She didn’t move an inch, she didn’t even feel like she was being push, but Lilith followed right behind Jade and her past self. When they reached the end, it was a beautiful view of the ocean, the moon had about halfway risen, and was reflected off the water.
“Lil, this is beautiful!” Jade’s eyes were practically sparkling in amazement.
“I used to come here all the time with…” Lilith paused, frowning. “We’d come here whenever Mom and Dad were getting particularly violent. I’d just hold Eda in my arms as she cried, singing lullabies and using the beautiful view to help her fall asleep.”
“Belos will cure her, Lil.” Jade placed a comforting hand on Lilith’s shoulders.
“Yeah, I know.” Lilith smiled.
Lilith cringed. They both were ignorant of the lie.
“Why did you want to bring me out here?” Jade asked.
“Well, we’ve been going out for a while now and thought you earned it,” Lilith explained, sheepishly.
“Do you love me, Lilith?” Jade asked, suddenly.
“What?!” Lilith looked Jade, shocked.
“Well, do you?”
“I-I mean we’ve been g-going out for a while, and I-I guess I should’ve said this a long time ago but…yes,” Lilith sighed. “Yes Jade, I love you.”
Jade smiled, warmly. “I love you too…”
“Lilith!”
Lilith stepped back when she realized Jade hadn’t finished her sentence.
“Lilith!” Eda’s voiced echoed as the scene vanished and Lilith was pulled back into darkness.
“Lilith!”
Lilith gasped as she opened her eyes to see Luz, King, Hooty and Eda all looking over her.
“Oh thank the Titan,” Eda sighed in relief. “Man, is that how you guys felt whenever I did that?”
Luz and King just wordlessly nodded.
“Damn…this is going to take some getting used to,” Eda said. “You okay, Lilith?”
“No…no, I’m not.” Lilith shook her head.
"What's up? Are you hurt?" Eda reached for Lilith, but the latter pulled her arm away.
“No. I just…need some time alone, please.” Lilith laid back in bed, and turned her back towards the group, huddling into the fetal position.
“Okay, we’ll be down the stairs if you need anything,” Luz said.
“Thank you,” Lilith whispered, quietly.
Luz, Eda, and King left Lilith’s room, leaving only Lilith and Hooty.
“Welp! Later!” Hooty pulled his head out the window, Lilith sighed.
Luz gently closed the door. “Man, what do you think she saw?”
“While trapped in the owl beast, the worst moments of your life are replayed over and over and over and over and-” Eda cut herself off. “You get the idea, real traumatic stuff.”
“Oh, so I guess we should-” Luz was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.
Luz looked to King and Eda, who shrugged. “Hooty! Who is it!”
“It’s the violent one!” Hooty called.
“Amity,” Luz, Eda, and King said at the same time.
They headed down the stairs to see Amity standing in the door way, flier in hand.
“H-Hey Luz…” Amity tried to act confident, leaning against the doorframe. “What’s up?”
“Uh…not much, you?”
“Yeah, just got the perfect place for us to talk about…whatever it is you wanted to talk about,” Amity said, giving into the gay panic. “I mean, I’m sure you’d know a better place, I’m not Little Miss Perfect, anymore. So the places I pick probably wouldn’t be all that perfect especially when compared to what you would choose anyway another Coventions here. You know, it’d be like the place we’re I first thought you were pretty-AMAZING! I thought you were pretty amazing! Not to say you aren’t pretty it’s just that…” Amity began to sweat, dropping flier to pull at her collar. “Man, is it hot in here or what? Hehe…”
“Wait, another Covention?” Eda took the dropped flier. “I thought these were annual.”
“Well, since Lilith has been disgraced, the Emperor’s Coven decided to host another Covention with a new mysterious guest,” Amity said.
“Wow, that sounds pretty cool!” Luz exclaimed, then she turned to Eda and King. “How do you guys feel about another Covention?”
“I’m all Coventioned out,” Eda said. “Plus I need to stay here and watch Lilith.”
“And I just don’t want to go!” King answered, bluntly.
“Well then, I guess it’s just you and mean then, Luz!” Amity smiled, nervously. “It’ll be like a date!” She hadn’t been paying attention to what she had been saying, because when she realized what she said alarm bells went off in her head. “I mean…a-a thing that isn’t a date!”
“Alright, let’s go!” Luz took Amity’s hand and lead her out of the owl house.
“Bye!” King waved.
“Don’t get captured and executed!” Eda warned.
“So, what do you want to do at the Covention, Amity?” Luz asked, stopping when Amity didn’t answer. “Amity?”
Amity was too busy looking at Luz’s hand holding her’s. While they had held hands before, now they’re fingers were interlocking.
Oh my Titan she is holding my hand in the couple way! Amity’s panicked gay thoughts ran through her head. Straight Hair, Straight A’s, Straight For-WHY DO I KEEP THINKING OF A SONG I NEVER HEARD?!
“Amity!” Luz shouted, bringing Amity back to her senses. “You good?”
“What? Yeah! Right as rain!” Amity gave Luz a thumbs up. “As for your question, Willow, Gus and the others are going to meet us there.”
“Others?” Luz cocked an eyebrow.
“You haven’t met them,” Amity answered.
“New friend?!” Luz smiled wide, and took off, practically dragging Amity behind her.