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It was a decent mid-afternoon in Bonesborough. But that didn't mean it equaled a day where the residents of the owl house could sit around and relax. Luz was already off in the library once again to do more research on how to find a way home. She decided to volunteer to watch over King for the day, promising that they'll visit the playground sometime later. Why did Luz decide to volunteer? Eda didn't really know. She overheard how Amity would be reading a few books to little kids in the park so maybe Luz wanted to meet up with her friends...?
Eda didn't complain though. That gave her a few free hours to herself. More specifically, she wouldn't have to risk facing interruptions as she secretly helped formulate a plan for the rebellion.
She was still surprised that she was even offered a spot or that there was a rebellion being planned in general. But what shocked her more was that even high-ranking officials were feeling unhappy with Belos' rule and that even they finally wanted to put their foot down. Maybe not everyone working for Belos' was stuck-up nerds, after all.
So much has happened to Eda in less than twenty-four hours that not even apple blood could keep her head from spiraling across the moon. Luz mentioned that talking about your issues could make you feel better. But Eda already promised her good friend yesterday to keep this news confidential so that way Emperor Belos had less of a chance of finding out.
But she'll be fine, though. Eda is a criminal, "secret" was in her vocabulary. Not to mention, she already dragged Luz into her mess enough as it is. This is a rebellion, after all. This means Luz and everyone else in the Boiling Isles would find out eventually. And once that happens, change for the better would've already started.
Eda wasn't always a big fan of change. Especially recently. But boy, was she looking forward to this change to happen. And the fact that she's able to make these changes with the help of her friend was the icing on the cake!
Even though the house was empty, Eda still sat down in her room and began to shuffle around the papers she was given yesterday to check over. It was all so lame. But if it would eventually make everyone- including Eda's life better, it was a price she was willing to pay.
The witch was enjoying the quiet setting. She was happy she'd be able to relish this up until dinner. Or at least she thought.
"Edalyn?" she heard from the hall.
Eda quickly put the papers in her drawer and stood up.
"Lily?" she called.
It had to be her sister! Who else would use the formal version of her name so causally?
She then saw her older sister walk to the door frame, holding a bag in one hand.
"Hootcifer's recent letter said that you needed a few elixirs."
"Yep," she said as she received the bag, "thanks!"
Eda took a peek in the bag to see how many elixirs were in it. Surprisingly, her mom seemed to give out more than she needed.
"How's life over there, sis?" she asked as she carefully placed the elixirs in her vault. "Is the curse still manageable?"
"It's good over there. Mom's really trying to become better. As for the curse, every day is like taking a new baby step."
"That's good," Eda replied as she shut the vault.
"Y'know," Lilith said slyly, "I honestly thought Hootcifer wrote that down just so he could see me."
Eda snorted, "Yeah, right. You know Hooty can't hold a pen. I was the one who wrote the letter for him and proofread it before sending it out this time. Luz has been busy lately and King already wrote for Hooty four times already. I decided to give those two a break for once."
"Couldn't you just buy new elixirs?"
"Yeah," Eda admitted, "but mother would give these babies to me for free!"
"Ah," Lilith acknowledged, "so what I'm getting from this is that you wanted to see me."
Eda stopped in her tracks while a devilish smile started to grow on Lilith's lips.
"Pfft, no! I don't need my big sister around my side twenty-four-seven anymore. I'm an adult, in case you haven't noticed." she crossed her arms. This only made Lilith's smile persist, though.
"Ha! Admit it, sister. You miss me."
"Yeah, yeah," she carelessly waved off.
"And if I got to be honest, I miss you too."
"Bleh! Mushy stuff." she shuddered, "save that for mom or Hooty or something."
"I could, but I already talked to Hooty before I came in. You know, even though you two don't talk to each other that much compared to him and me, you guys still dish out some interesting conversations."
"Well," Eda bragged, "I am an interesting person. Hey, instead of standing around, wanna help me organize the old human junk lying around in my room?"
Lilith sighed, "fine."
Eda then began to give Lilith directions on where to place stuff. Once the two got a solid understanding, they worked in silence. The only thing that could be heard now is the movement of objects sliding around the floor or being gently placed inside boxes.
Quiet seems to be the theme for today. Eda thought.
Not that she was complaining though. She wouldn't say this out loud, but she does enjoy these kinds of moments with her sister.
"So, I heard you saw Rayne again." Lilith broke the silence. Eda felt her ears rise up.
"Huh?"
"Hooty said that you told him late last night that you were out with Rayne."
"Hm. Really?" Eda said as she tried to hide her awkwardness by continuing to put stuff away inside boxes. But then again, why was she feeling awkward?
"It's nice to see you still having contact with your childhood friend. Is he doing well?"
"Oh, yeah! He sure is enjoying having such a high role in a type of magic he always thrived in."
Eda was starting to have a bad feeling about where this conversation was going.
Whatever you do, no eye contact! She mentally noted. Lilith seemed to get an idea of what was going on in her sister's head though; as she slid herself to sit across from Eda now.
"Anyway, of what business did you have with Rayne?"
"We just wanted to catch up." Eda simply told her.
"Fair," she accepted, "I'm surprised though. Of all the occurrences I've had with Rayne in coven parties over the years, I got the impression that you guys lost contact. At least for a while, anyway."
"Wait," Eda paused and finally looked up, "Rayne talked about me?"
"Well, yeah. You are my sister and he was your closest little friend." she shrugged. But then a mischievous grin popped onto her lips again.
"Wait," Lilith paused this time, "do you care what Rayne has spoken about you since the early days?"
"Absolutely not!" Eda quickly refused and looked down again.
"Sister, who are you trying to fool?"
"No one."
"I knew about your guys' chemistry back then. So what would make me become unaware of it now? I'm surprised there still is chemistry going on considering this meet-up seemed so sudden."
"I have no clue what you're rambling about."
"Admit it, sister. You like them. You like them then and even after all these years, your heart still flutters around them."
"As a friend!" Eda retorted.
"Sure," Lilith scoffed, "and Adrien from the beast keeping track in seventh grade did not have a crush on his ladybug."
"That's different!"
"You guys kissed last night?" she asked.
Eda could barely stand this anymore. How did her quiet afternoon come down to this? She hated that Lilith saw inside of her and began to think of a few ways to kill Hooty later for giving her sister information to use against her.
At this point, Lilith already dug Eda deep in a hole. She decided that there's no point in denying anything anymore.
"Yes," she huffed.
"Oohohohoo!" Lilith clapped, causing Eda's eyes to roll. Although, even she was beginning to feel a smile creep on her lips now. Maybe that's why she told Hooty that she met with Rayne last night as soon as she got home. She felt so excited to see them that someone had to know. Even if it was Hooty.
"But, uh... you guys didn't... y'know," Lilith gestured.
"What? No!" Eda felt her cheeks burn up. "It wasn't even like an actual kiss either. It was just a peck!"
"Oh, okay," Lilith exhaled in relief, "just making sure. I mean, I know we aren't really spring chickens anymore but it can still happen. I don't feel like delivering our parents the brunt of the news that they're gonna be grandparents all of a sudden. Especially now that Dad has heart problems."
"Oh, Lily. I'm still a spring chicken in heart!"
"Yes, you told me before, Edalyn," she said.
"Maybe Rayne got a scent of that and that is why he's still fallen for me."
"Have you guys ever considered doing... y'know? Or- actually! Have you ever thought of... escalating the relationship into... that?"
"Lilith, it's just us two. You can say 'sex' like other grown witches and no one would give a damn. And jeez, your life must be pretty lame if you're this nosy. Hooty definitely influenced you from all that time you guys spent together."
"I-it's just a question! Girl talk, if you will. Just like the good ol' days!" Lilith protested.
"Do you and mom just not gossip?"
"No... but that's because there's nothing really to gossip about at home!"
"Ha! My house is more interesting!" Eda boasted.
"Whatever."
"But to answer your question and to help your horny, nosy self sleep at night, not gonna lie, I kind of hope that one day our relationship will escalate to that level. We just started talking again yesterday and knowing Rayne especially, they would want to take things slow and I'm okay with that."
"...ew. Well, if you guys ever begin to 'love' each other, just remember to be safe about it."
"You asked. And what are you, my mother or my mentally teenage sister?"
"I'm just saying," Lilith put her hands up.
"Mhm,"
"Anyway," Lilith stood up, "I should make my way back to mom's now. I promised I'd help her grill tonight and I'm pretty sure we'll start preparing the dishes soon. It was nice talking to you, Edalyn."
"Lily, wait," Eda ran up and grabbed her arm, "thanks for talking with me. This was actually fun to some extent."
"No problem," Lilith nodded.
Eda then walked her out and sat back in her room again, taking out the stacks of papers she hid earlier.
If these papers let me see Rayne, Eda thought, then looking over these is definitely worth the price to pay!