Chapter Text
14 years ago, it was the coldest eve in the human realm, as it was the hottest morn on the boiling isles.
Eda Clawthorne, the most powerful witch on the isles, was strolling through the heat. She could narrowly avoid melting by casting a protective bubble, ensuring she would be the only one about. This meant items left behind, perfect for her to loot and sell back to the townsfolk at Sunday markets.
Unfortunate for her, the land was sparse and clean, almost as if the things that had been left had melted themselves. She had started her way back home, eyes hardly alert when something shiny ensnared her vision. A briefcase dawned with gold decoration and a protruding oval. She gasped, running over quickly. “Finally, something I can sell-” she mumbled, cutting off as she began to lift it.
It was irrationally heavy.
“Must be some good stuff in there too.” she smiled in innocence, attempting to hoist it over her shoulder but ultimately failing. She rolled her eyes, assuming she may have to unload something from it for it to be carriable. The latch almost seemed frozen, and she nearly chipped a nail trying to crack it open. But eventually, it gave way, and she yelped before being thrown backward.
The briefcase screeched and cried, warping and rippling like a pond as it turned into a closed door. As Eda regained her strength, she witnessed the protruding oval blink, opening to reveal a yellow eye. It glared at the ground, and following its eyes, she found a key. She struggled to rise, picking up the glittering object as the eerie watcher followed her, more likely the keys , every move. The lock on the knob fit it perfectly, and she held her breath as she turned the handle.
The door flew open, blasting cold air in Eda’s face and sending snowflakes flying through. It opened to what appeared to be the middle of the woods, dark and unsettling compared to the comforting warm colors of home. And there was a presence. Eda looked down.
Just inside the door was a baby, tucked in a basket unmoving. Frozen tears frosted its face and Eda hardly thought before picking it up quickly.
She should’ve known.
If only she’d known.
The baby's heart had been frozen, and with the less than a millisecond of contact the young one had with the boiling air, its heart had thawed so quickly it exploded. When Eda sensed no heartbeat, she panicked and called her staff to her immediately, tucking the baby in a sling around her back and flying off with high speed. No healer would take the child of an outlaw. She knew one man, a clockmaker, who could help, and she hopped with all her might the child would make it.
She’d always longed for an heir, someone to care for,
But that was Fourteen years ago, and today? Well, today was that baby's 14th birthday.
“Big one-four everybody! Are we ready to celebrate? 3-2-1- Happy birthday to Luz, Happy birthday to Luz, Happy birthday dear luz- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”