The Angel of the Owl House
Season 2: The Human Realm
Chapter 7: Burden of Beasts
When Luz, Gus, and King finally returned from Titan Cradle Island (as the Bat Queen decided to call it), arriving in the Bat Queen's old den in her forest, they found themselves being met by the newly arrived Lilith and Rasiel, who were extremely worried by how late they were. Thanks to the fight with Hunter and Silver, and then the Ash Moth, they'd been delayed by almost 24 hours, and it was already early evening by the time they got back to the Boiling Isles. Lilith and Rasiel escorted them back to the Owl House immediately, where they found quite a large group waiting for them. Eda had hugged the daylights out of Luz and King, while Perry had done the same to Gus. When the kids were finally released, they found themselves being embraced by Amity and the rest of the Hexsquad too, who'd been worried when they didn't show up to school. Luz's absence had also meant it was impossible for the CATTs to come and go from Digale Island for a full day, which Luz had apologised for profusely, though everyone was too relieved that she and the others were okay to get mad at her.
After giving the kids some dinner and a chance to catch their breath, Eda told them what had happened on the Isles while they were away.
The Owl Lady had stayed up on Thursday night to welcome them back, but had fallen asleep and awoken the next day to discover they still hadn't come home. She had been worried and immediately used her scroll's parent/child tracking feature (which Luz was aware of and had consented to) to find out where Luz's scroll was, finding her in the Ash Moth Desert. A frantic Eda had wanted to call her, but feared it might alert the Ash Moth Larvae or the Ash Moth itself, so had instead called Perry to let him know what was going on, and gather the CATTs still on the Boiling Isles to mount a rescue. Eber had talked them out of going to the desert, claiming more people would just turn it into a buffet for the Moth, so they had instead been forced to anxiously watch where Luz went on the tracker.
When they saw Luz finally leave the desert and head west, they'd calmed down (though they'd also been annoyed, since Luz and Gus hadn't called them to let them know they were safe and were out of range once they left the isles), and Lilith and Rasiel had gone to the Bat Queen's forest to wait for them at the Teleportation Circle, though they'd ended up delayed by a squad of Coven Scouts guarding the forest and had only arrived shortly before Luz returned.
Luz and Gus both apologised for forgetting to call, but they were forgiven since they'd been more than a little focused on other things. They'd then finally given a full account of what happened; the battle with the Elites in the sky at night, the attack of the Ash Moth, their separation and reuniting after their adventures in the desert, and the reveal of Hunter's name, his bonding with Flapjack, and then his decision to abandon his mission like Lilith had once done. Darius had gotten a strange look on his face when he heard that part, but he'd made no comments.
When the kids had finished their story, Raine and the other CATTs leaders had congratulated them on a successful mission, before the kids' parents decided it would be best to get them all to bed for an early night; King had conked out almost right after eating, and both Luz and Gus were clearly exhausted. Perry took Gus home and escorted the rest of the Hexsquad home too, while Luz tiredly operated the Teleportation Circle so Amity could return to her family on Digale Island (with plans to ask her father to expand the range on their scrolls) and everyone else who'd been waiting all day could come or go as they needed.
The poor girl was practically asleep on her feet by the time Eda carried her up to her nest, but even as her Mom cast a spell to change her into her Pajamas and tucked her into her nest, Luz wouldn't drift off completely.
"Mom?" she whispered, not wanting to wake King; "Are you mad at me? For messing up today?"
Eda blinked in confusion; "Messing up? You didn't mess up. The crash was those EC Brats' faults, not yours."
Luz shook her head sleepily; "No, I mean for not calling. I didn't mean to forget…"
Eda smiled and leaned down to kiss the girl's hair; "Owlet, I swear I'm not mad. Sure it was silly to forget, but you had your mind on other things. And you all came home safe and sound; that's all I can ask for."
"B-But you looked upset all evening." Luz said in an impossibly small voice. Sure enough, Eda had been quiet and sullen whenever she wasn't fawning over her returned children, and it was unlike her to be so moody.
Eda winced, then said; "Owlet, I was worried and I was upset, but I wasn't upset at you, I promise. Don't worry. Now you should get some sleep; you've got to go back to your Mami tomorrow and you'll need your strength."
Luz's tired eyes searched Eda's face for signs of a lie, before finally nodding and closing her eyes. "G'Night Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, Owlet." Eda smiled, kissing her hair once again. Luz was asleep before her Mom's lips left her hair, and continued to sleep soundly as Eda sighed and frowned. "You're getting too perceptive… or I'm getting too transparent." she whispered to herself.
She stopped to kiss King on the skull too, then left her kids to sleep.
[The Next Day]
Eda was not in a great mood at all the next day. She forced a smile on her face as she helped Luz pack her things to visit her Mami (or more accurately, she haphazardly stuffed some of Luz's clothes in her satchel) and made sure to shower Luz and King with love, before sending them both through the portal to the Human Realm to spend the weekend with Camila and Vee. King had always planned on going along for the weekend, but both he and Luz were a little weirded out by how eager their Mom was to get them on their way.
As soon as the portal door shut behind the kids, Eda had flopped gracelessly onto the couch and glugged down an elixir, much to Lilith, Rasiel, and Raine's concern. Eda remained in a foul mood for the rest of Saturday, refusing to talk much and making excuses whenever the others pressed her for answers. Rasiel wrote it off as her still recovering from the fear of the previous day, and Lilith decided to stay out of it since Eda never talked to her when she got like this in the past. Only Raine continued to press Eda for answers, but found themselves being stonewalled just like Eda used to do when they asked about her curse.
Something was clearly wrong, and it wasn't until she and Raine lay down together in their nest that night that Raine was finally able to get an answer out of her. They laid their arm out beside Eda and invited her to snuggle against them, which she did quite happily, then Raine told her a little about some of their misadventures with the CATTs in the last week.
"… and then of course, Amber decided that she couldn't be out done, and decided to deliver more paperwork even faster than Katya… which she did by enchanting the paperwork to fold itself into origami throwing stars and launching them across Digale Village. No one was hurt, but Darius was not happy to see a thousand paper throwing stars embedded in his office door." Raine chuckled. "Darius called me just to whine about it! I told him I couldn't get to Digale Island to "reprimand my reprobate" until Luz gets back, and he actually insisted I take Luz out of classes to so I could get there before he threw Amber to Eber's beasts!"
Eda cackled; "Oh man, I wish I could have seen Darry-Boy's face! What happened when you didn't show up like he wanted?"
Raine smirked and summoned their scroll, showing a selfie that Katya had sent them. It showed Amber stuck in a cage of abomination goo outside Darius' office in the CATTs HQ, with a sign that read "Idiot Baby Jail" over the top. Amber was gnawing on one of the bars to try and get out while Derwin was posing beside her and Katya was grinning in the corner of the selfie.
Eda cackled even louder and wiped a tear from her eye; "Oh Raine Storm, your kids are great!"
"I'd hardly call them my kids. They're my apprentices!" Raine retorted; "Though I suppose they did sort of become like my kids over time."
"How'd you end up with those three anyway? I figured apprentices weren't your thing; you get too much performance anxiety around others… except for me of course." Eda wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Raine blushed and playfully pinched her cheek; "I'm not that bad! As for how I became their teacher… well it was originally because I was the only one who'd take them. Derwin had lost his passion for music and couldn't use Bardic Magic any more, but since he'd already joined the coven, that meant he was effectively magicless. I was the only one to help him work through it; it turned out he just felt lost in life and was looking for a purpose, so I helped him find one."
"What was it?" Eda asked, enamoured by the wistful expression on her lover's face.
"To enjoy every moment of life. That you don't need some big important mission or destiny; that there is pleasure in every breath of life. It's one of the lessons I learned from you." Raine winked.
Eda blushed and snuggled closer; "Dork. What about Amber?"
"That girl is pure chaos. She's almost too full of life, and other people didn't know how to handle all that energy. Said she was more trouble than she was worth. Luckily I was used to that from a certain someone…" they tapped Eda's nose, making her snort, "… and was able to teach her at her pace. Turns out she's also crazy loyal too, so she stuck by me even when she didn't need a teacher any more. She's also the one who directed me to Derwin and Katya."
"Reminds me a little of Luz." Eda said wistfully; "So what's Katya's story then?"
Raine frowned sadly, and Eda knew this one would be unpleasant; "Katya's an orphan and ran away from the orphanage in Manubrium. After she finished witch puberty, the guy that ran the place started creeping on her and threatened to kick her out if she didn't do what he wanted."
"That scum!" Eda growled.
"You've got that right! Instead of agreeing, Katya decided to run away. She was a Bard Track student at Glandus, so she was pretty tough already and lived on the streets for a year. She graduated and joined the Bard Coven, but the guy she'd run away from was a member of the Emperor's Coven and bad mouthed her, so she ended up doing grunt work for months, until Amber found out and told me about it. I took Katya in and reported the guy who ran the orphanage…" Raine said, their expression darkening greatly.
Eda knew that look and said; "The Emperor's Coven refused to do anything about it, right?"
Raine nodded; "They wouldn't believe Katya, who was seen as a troublemaker because of that monster, over one of their own. I even tried to talk to Lilith herself, but after you and I broke up, she wouldn't even give me the time of day."
Eda sighed; "Lily's way of having my back even then, I suppose. So what happened?"
"I took Katya in and we became a little family, with plans of rebelling against the Emperor. We had plans to go after the jerk who victimised Katya first, but one of his buddies from the EC arrested her on trumped up charges and sent her to the Conformatorium." Raine growled, before their smile returned; "Where she was saved by an Angel, a Titan, and a Wild Witch, who showed her that she deserved to be free and that there were others who were on her side."
"Well I don't know who they could be, but they sound like a band of beautiful and dashing rogues!" Eda smirked, wagging her eyebrows again. Raine laughed and kissed her lovingly.
"Oh, they were! They inspired Katya so much that when she came back, she had a real fire in her! Her motivation is what finally evolved our organisation from the BATTs to the CATTs! She brought along a lot of other escapees too, and we formed a plan to take out that creep! It was our first mission as the CATTs!" Raine said proudly.
The Owl Lady chuckled; "And the birth of Raine Storm the Rebel Leader! So, what happened to that guy?"
"We kidnapped him with help from the other orphan kids, who'd loved Katya for helping take care of them. We drugged him with Blabber Serum to make him confess his crimes, then dumped him on the doorstep of Lilith's favourite coffee shop in the capital. She found him, took one look at the evidence, and absolutely threw the book at him. He's still in a cell in the Emperor's Dungeons if what Darius told me is true." Raine explained, smiling victoriously.
Eda sighed with satisfaction; "Couldn't have happened to a more deserving jerk!" she said.
Raine nodded; "You got that right, and the new caretaker is a nice guy by all accounts too! Katya, Amber, and Derwin may not actually be my kids, but I guess they're as close as I got, before we started dating again and I became "Titi Raine". They were the only family I had after you and I broke up and my parents passed away."
Eda frowned at that; Raine's parents had passed away in an accident a year after they'd graduated Hexside, and Raine had moved in with Eda in the Owl House until they got back on their feet.
"Well, you've definitely got a big family now. We both do." Eda said, kissing Raine on the cheek.
Raine returned the favour, then said; "You've got that right. Now, care to tell your family why you've been so bummed since yesterday evening? I know you were worried about Luz and King, but we know they're okay now, so I'm confused why you still seem so upset."
Eda sighed and rolled over so she was staring up at the ceiling; "It's complicated. I'm still not good with the whole feelings thing, you know? It's just… I feel like I'm letting Luz down."
Raine blinked in surprise; "Seriously? How can you possibly think that? You're an awesome Mom! Even Camila said so, didn't she? Luz and King love you!"
"A great Mom wouldn't let her hang ups deprive her daughter of a Palisman!" Eda complained.
Suddenly, everything snapped into place for Raine. So that was what this was about; Luz needed to carve a Palisman of her own, but the only places to get Palistrom Wood without attacking the Emperor's Coven were supposedly the Bat Queen's forest and Eda's father, Dell. With the Mandragora destroying the tree in the Bat Queen's possession, Dell was now Eda's only option and she still couldn't bring herself to face him.
"Eda, just talk to Luz. She'll understand. She's not upset with you anyway!" Raine pointed out.
"I know she's not, but she should be! Luz came so, so close to dying or being captured yesterday! If that Hunter Brat hadn't saved her from the Ash Moth and then refused to capture her, Luz would have been dead or worse!" Eda cried, sitting up in frustration; "On her own, she's tough enough to go toe to toe with Belos, but if she had a real bonded Palisman, she'd be stronger than him! There'd be no one on the Isles who could hurt her! And I can get one for her so easily, but I just… ARGH!"
Eda grabbed an Elixir, chugged it, then tossed the bottle across the room, where it shattered against the wall.
"I'm keeping my kids from their grandpa and keeping Luz from getting a staff all because I don't have the guts to talk to Dad!" Eda groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I keep trying to work myself up to talk to him, especially since I'm talking to Mom again and Lily is living there, but every time I pick up the scroll or crow phone, I choke!"
Raine sat up began softly petting her mane of hair; "You know he doesn't blame you, right? He didn't blame you even back then."
"He should. I ruined his life… Carving Palismen was his passion, and I took that from him. How can I face him? Especially with the Owl Beast still inside me… what if it happens again?" Eda whispered fearfully.
The Owl Beast had been calmer since the incident in the Human Realm, but it was still there and still made attempts to take control, which Eda forced back with elixirs.
Raine wanted to argue, but they opted not to; they'd had this discussion with Eda a lot over the years, and she'd never budged. Her current self was at least willing to try, but now it was her fear and not her stubbornness holding her back. There was no argument they could make that they hadn't already tried, and which would erase Eda's worries.
Instead, they pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her softly. They then said; "It'll work out, Eda. Just give yourself time. For now, let's sleep on it; Luz and King will be back tomorrow evening and you don't want to be all down in the dumps when they see you."
Eda nodded; "You're right, Raine Storm. Maybe some rest will clear my head a little…"
The two lovers then lay back, and while Raine fell asleep easily, Eda just couldn't drift off. Luz had told her how having the Bat Queen as a staff had helped her against the Ash Moth, and Eda remembered how it had saved all their lives against the Mandragora. If only Luz could just get a staff of her own! But short of facing her father, which she still wasn't ready for no matter how much she hated herself for it, Eda had no other options.
Actually, she did have one other option…
The Emperor's Coven were the only other people with Palistrom Wood… Eda smiled to herself as she finally began to fall asleep; maybe it was time for her to indulge in some good old fashioned larceny?
[The Next Day]
Eda awoke bright and early, and in a far better mood after her talk with Raine. Now that she actually had a plan to focus on (and one that didn't involve having to face a twenty year old trauma), she felt a lot better! She actually managed to get out of bed before Raine or Rasiel, who were both infamous early risers, and began making breakfast with Hooty.
When Raine and Rasiel came down, they were surprised to find Eda so chipper. "Wow. You really worked your magic on her, eh Raine?" Rasiel smirked, making Raine blush and swat his arm.
"Oh hush! We just had a nice talk before bed." Raine retorted, before smiling at Eda; "Good morning, Edamame. Glad to see you smiling!"
Eda laughed; "What can I say? I'm excited for the day!" she said, dishing up their food.
"Oh? Something planned? It's a weekend so I'd have thought you'd open your market stall for human garbage." Rasiel said, before giving his thanks and digging into his meal.
"Nope, I've got something better in mind! Speaking of the stall though, will you run it for me today?" Eda asked the Ancient Angel as she put a plate in front of Raine and then kissed them breathless.
Rasiel chuckled; "Sure. I can't go to Digale Island without Luz, so I'll just be lazing around all day otherwise. Besides, I'm fascinated by some of the things Camila gave you to sell."
Raine, recovering from the kiss, said; "Hold on Eda, what exactly are you planning?"
"You'll see!" Eda said in a sing-song voice, which made Raine very nervous.
"I know that tone! You only talk like that when you're about to cause a lot of trouble!" Raine yelled. The first time they'd heard it was right before Eda stole Mrs Jenkinmeyer's teeth…
Eda just gave them a sultry wink over her shoulder and waltzed out of the kitchen, having already eaten while cooking. Raine hurriedly gulped down their own meal (feeling a little bad, since it tasted great) and rushed after her. They caught up with her just as Eda was stepping into the front yard and summoning Owlbert in staff mode.
"Eda, seriously! What are you going to do!?" Raine cried.
"Remember the talk we had last night? About me wanting to get Luz some Palistrom Wood so she can finally have a staff?" Eda asked.
"Of course I do." they replied, before gasping; "Oh Eda! Are you finally going to go see your Dad!?"
Eda felt almost bad wiping the smile off their face; "Nope! I'm gonna rob the Emperor's Coven!" she said with a big smile.
Raine gave her such an unamused look that Eda almost laughed. They sighed heavily; "Of course you are… why do the easy thing and talk out your problems when you can just commit a crime? You haven't changed as much as I thought you had."
Eda flinched; Raine's tone wasn't angry or disappointed, but the words did give her pause; "Look I-I'm just not ready to talk to Dad yet. I promise I'll-"
"I know, Eda." Raine put their hand up to silence her, then smiled softly; "That wasn't a criticism. I love you as you are, faults and all. And I know how hard this is for you. However, I do insist on one thing!"
"What is it?" Eda asked.
Raine grinned; "I'm coming with you!"
"You are!?" Eda asked, breaking into a wide grin; "But you haven't wanted to do something like this since you graduated!"
"I may have lost my taste for pranks, but this is more than a prank. Stealing Palistrom Wood from the Emperor's Coven is CATTs business. Not only does it weaken the Emperor, but it strengthens Luz! As leaders of the CATTs, this is a worthy mission." Raine said with a sly smile.
They were telling the truth, but Eda could tell they were also just making excuses; they wanted to come along with Eda on an adventure! The two hadn't had a real adventure together since going after Luz and King when they went to Titan Cradle Island with Rasiel, and both were eager for it.
"By the Titan, I love you!" Eda yelled, grabbing her lover and hugging them tight. "Just wait until Luz sees that her Mom and Titi got her some Palistrom Wood!"
"I'm sure she'll be ecstatic. But where are we going to steal it from? I don't actually know where the EC grows or keeps it." they replied.
Eda blinked; "Aw farts, I don't know either… I was just gonna go raiding EC precincts until I found some."
The two stared at each other with deadpan expressions, until a voice piped up; "I know where you can find some."
Eda and Raine turned towards the path leading towards Bonesborough, and found Willow stood there with Clover sitting on her shoulder. The girl had her scroll pointed at them, having taken some pictures of their cute hug and banter, while her other hand held an unfamiliar book.
"Oh, hey Flowers. You look a little different." Eda said, noting the girl's hair. Willow's hair had grown enough that it had now been tied into pigtails that hung over her shoulders, and she had a dyed green highlight on the right side of her face.
"Thanks for noticing! Amity did my hair during our sleepover. That's actually why I came over; she forgot her diary and I didn't notice until this morning. I figured I'd bring it over and Luz could return it when she gets back. But it looks like I came at just the right time." Willow said happily. "Because I know where to find Palistrom Wood, and I happen to owe Luz like a thousand favours at this point."
Willow was eternally grateful to her angel friend, who'd helped her find her confidence, rise beyond the label of Half-a-Witch Willow, stand up to her worst bully, and regain her old friendship with Amity. Even though Luz would claim they were even or that no favours were ever owed, Willow wanted to repay her best friend somehow.
Eda and Raine exchanged curious looks, then Raine said; "You know where to get Palistrom Wood?"
"That's right. In fact, until the Petrification Ceremony I was helping grow some! I'm a member of the Bonesborough Gardening Club, which was affiliated with the Emperor's Coven. They were growing a Palistrom Sapling and if I'm right, it should be big enough to harvest enough wood without killing it." Willow explained.
Eda's eyes shone; "Perfect! We can just stop by and nab some!"
"We can't steal from inside Bonesborough, Eda! It'd break the agreement with the town if a member of the CATTs stole from the Coven here!" Raine argued.
The Owl Lady pouted, but Willow just waved their concerns off; "Don't worry; I said "until the Petrification Ceremony", remember? After that happened and the truce was declared, the Emperor's Coven took all its stuff out of town. Since the sapling was provided by them for us to grow, they took it too, and I know where; our sister club, the Latissa Gardening Club!"
Now that had the CATTs grinning again. There was no truce or deal with Latissa, which was still firmly in the grip of the Emperor's Coven, so they didn't need to worry about causing problems by stealing there!
"Great job, Flowers! We'll be sure to tell Luz that you pointed us in the right direction!" Eda said, ruffling the girl's hair. "But delete those pictures, or I'll turn you into a frog."
Willow put her scroll away; "I can learn to love flies." she said teasingly, making Eda cackle.
Raine took Amity's diary from Willow and put it back in the house, then stepped out to stand beside their lover; "So, we know the destination and the objective, we just need a plan."
"I'd like to help too, if I can." Willow said.
Eda nodded, but Raine looked doubtful; "I don't know about that Willow. You've helped a lot already, and this could be dangerous."
"Please let me help, Raine!" Willow pleaded; "I haven't been able to do much to help the CATTs, while the rest of the Hexsquad has been involved in missions already!"
"Flowers has got a point. Boots went against her Mom, Goops helped Luz with the Ash Moth, and Ponytail exposed Treble. Plus Steve's kid brother is helping out a lot with construction. I say we let the girl help; there's no way this is more dangerous than the Ash Moth!" Eda reasoned.
Willow beamed at her, then shot Raine a pleading look, giving her best puppy dog eyes in hopes of convincing them. Raine wasn't moved, having grown used to the tactic from Amber, but they relented either way, if only to stop Willow from trying to tag along in secret. At least if they agreed, they could limit what she did and how much danger she got into.
"Alright, you can help. But you've got to listen to whatever Eda and I say, alright?"
"Got it! You won't regret this!" Willow beamed.
Eda slapped her on the back with a wide smile; "Then mount up; we'll get to Latissa first, then start planning!"
Eda, Raine, and Willow then each summoned and got on their staves, and began the short flight to the Titan's Right Armpit and the port town of Latissa. When they arrived, Willow lead them directly to the Latissa Gardening Club, which was held in a large greenhouse on the end of a stone pier. It was a lot larger and grander than the club in Bonesborough, and was guarded by the Emperor's Coven.
As they found a hiding place nearby to scope the place out, Willow explained the reason for the difference between this club and the Bonesborough one; the presence of Amber Pustules. The town and its surrounding areas were coated in Amber Pustules, which looked like disgusting mounds of pus and flesh, but were actually a kind of fungus. The stuff had a few uses in potions and would be worth a fortune if it wasn't so abundant, but Willow knew that in the right humidity and climate, the spores would rapidly spread and could grow on anything that didn't move, though with magic it'd grow on even living things. In fact, a full time job in Latissa was clearing away the Amber Pustules that grew over important parts of the town, which was taken care of by the Gardening Club. The increased importance meant increased funding as well as more security.
Still, a few scouts were no match for the three of them!
"We can bust in and take the wood easily!" Eda grinned; "I say we run Plan Slitherbeast!"
Raine frowned; that plan was one of Eda's old Grudgby plays and was basically "Everyone charge in and take no prisoners". It might have been a good enough plan, if it weren't for three small problems…
"First, if we're reckless we could destroy the wood. Second, you and I going full throttle could put Willow in danger. And third, if we use up our magic by going too hard, too fast, we'll need to rely on Willow to save us AND have to wait for Luz to come back to recharge." Raine said; "We need something with a touch more finesse."
Eda pouted; "Fine, fine. What's your plan?"
"We run Plan Bait and Switch." Raine replied. They looked to Willow and said; "One of us will "attack" the club to draw the attention of the guards, then the other will sneak in while everyone's distracted and steal the wood. In our Grudgby Days, it usually involved Eda running wild on the pitch with an illusion of the ball, while I, Lilith, or one of the others snuck around with the real ball to score a goal."
Willow looked impressed; "Clever plan! Maybe I can make it better; I'm a member of the sister club, remember? I could go in and ask to look at the plants I helped cultivate; they shouldn't have a problem with that. Then I can find the wood and message you with where it is! Then while Eda is rampaging, you won't need to search around. It'll be a lot faster!"
"Great idea, Flowers. See Raine, told you it was a good idea to bring her along! These Hexsquad kids are sharp!" Eda grinned, ruffling Willow's hair.
Raine nodded; "Yes, it is a good idea. And it shouldn't expose you to any danger since you're not doing anything wrong. But one minor correction; Eda will be the one doing the sneaking in while I make the distraction."
"What!? But you're the sneaky one!" Eda protested.
"I'm also the one who can hold back. If you're the distraction, it'll be the same problem as if you just attacked the place for real; you don't know how to hold back and we can't afford to waste your magic." Raine explained, poking a finger at the pearlescent Bile Monitor on her chest.
The Owl Lady pouted but couldn't really argue with her lover's assessment, so just crossed her arms with a huff; "Fine! I'll do the stealing. I do have more experience with it than you do."
Raine rolled their eyes, making Willow giggle, before they both nodded in agreement and got started on the plan. Eda hopped on Owlbert and flew just above the water as close as she could get to the stone pier, using it as cover to sneak around to the back and wait for Willow's message and Raine's signal. Raine remained hiding behind the Amber Pustules on the coast, which was the closest cover they could get to the front door, and Willow hid Clover in her satchel of gardening tools (which she'd summoned as soon as the plan was decided on) and walked down the pier to the entrance of the Gardening Club.
The Emperor's Coven Guards flanking the entrance crossed their spears as soon as they saw her.
"Halt. Entrance is for Latissa Gardening Club Members, Plant Coven Members, and Emperor's Coven Personnel only." one of them said gruffly.
Willow smiled politely and curtseyed; "I'm sorry, but I'm a member of the Bonesborough Gardening Club. I was hoping to visit our sister club and see the plants I helped grow before those awful rebels came to town."
The Guards exchanged looks, then one of them went inside the club while the other stayed outside to keep an eye on Willow; "My partner will check with the gardeners. In the mean time, how are things in Bonesborough? We've heard the rebels are running wild all over the place."
"It's not so bad. The Council is feigning neutrality to keep the rebels from causing too much trouble, but we're all looking forward to the return of the Emperor's Coven." Willow lied easily.
The Guard sighed; "Sorry to say kid, but it might be a while. Last I heard, the Coven was giving up on Bonesborough until after the Day of Unity. Head Witch Mason is even supposed to be visiting the town soon to tear down the old Precinct there. If you and your family are in any kind of trouble, it might be better to high tail it out of town; we won't be coming to the rescue for a while."
Willow hummed; so the EC was leaving Bonesborough alone for now? That could be useful information, and so could the idea of Mason coming to town. She'd have to pass that along to the others later. A moment later, the club doors opened and the other guard returned, along with a Spider Biped Demon dressed in gardening clothes.
"Oh, Miss Park! I had a feeling it might be you." they chittered, making a pleased hand gesture since their spider-like face couldn't smile.
"Madam Lilneral! It's nice to see you again! I thought you ran the club up in Manubrium now!" Willow smiled, shaking her hand.
"I did, but the Plant Coven took it over and kicked us all out. I would have returned to Bonesborough, but those rebels scare me so I came here instead." she said. Madam Lilneral was a member of the Gardening Coven, which was one of the smaller offshoots from the Plant Coven, who preferred growing plants with their own hands rather than magic.
"Please come on in." she said.
Willow nodded politely to the guards, who nodded back as the one who'd stayed outside with her said; "Hang in there, Kid!"
Lilneral escorted Willow into the greenhouse, giving her a short tour along the way. The entrance hall was filled with lockers and shelves of tools, as well as special airtight suits that had to be worn when clearing away the Amber Pustules so the spores didn't get on the gardeners. There was also a door leading to a shower room for decontamination, and another that led to a small cafe and break room. However, past the entrance hall and its off-shoots was the rest of the greenhouse, which was a single massive room with multiple levels, similar to the Hexside Atrium. Plants of all kinds were being grown in large planters and soil beds all over the place, and Witches and Demons of all kinds were running about, dressed in the same muddy brown pants, grey shirts, and green aprons and gloves as Lilneral. Some also had large sun hats, which were surprisingly necessary as the morning sun was magnified by the greenhouse walls, making it rather hot and muggy inside the club.
Despite the humidity, Willow felt right at home amongst all the plants and practically skipped around behind Lilneral, who took special care to show the eager girl everything. There were Silk Spider Lilies, Ornery Oaks, Curious Chrysanthemums, and all manner of weird and wonderful flowers, trees, and other plants. It was like the Hexside plant track home room and the Bonesborough Gardening Club multiplied by each other! However, as Willow happily looked around, she did not forget her mission; she was looking for the Palistrom Sapling.
However, after an almost hour long tour (in which she had to send text messages to Eda and Raine so they wouldn't worry), Willow had seen not a single leaf nor scrap of bark from the tree, nor could she see signs of it anywhere! It likely wasn't that big, but a blue barked tree should still stand out fairly strongly amidst the greens, reds, and yellows of the other plants.
Eventually, she decided to just ask; "Madam Lilneral, what happened to the Palistrom Sapling we were growing in Bonesborough? I thought it had been brought here, but I don't see it."
The woman's pincers began to click irritably; "The Plant Coven took it." she said with a huff; "We'd barely gotten the poor thing replanted when the Coven came in and said that all Palistrom Trees were being taken to the Headquarters of the Plant Coven by order of the Emperor. Head Witch Snapdragon came and took it personally, saying only she was trusted to cultivate them now. Every sapling on the isles is likely in her possession now."
Willow's eyes widened; Terra Snapdragon was not a popular woman, even in her own coven. She was without a doubt the best plant user on the Isles, but she also had a reputation for cruelty and sadism. If she had the saplings, then their mission had just gotten a lot tougher!
The girl sent a subtle message to the adults, telling them that the sapling wasn't there and they needed to abort. Raine responded by calling Willow, using Bardic magic to change their voice and impersonate her Papa, telling her to come home. This gave her an excuse to politely leave, saying her farewells to Lilneral before casually walking. As soon as she was outside the club, she called Clover to her and flew away to the outskirts of Latissa, where Raine and Eda soon met her. Once they reunited, Willow reported what she'd been told and both adults cringed.
"Oh great, we've got to deal with Sadistic Snapdragon! That crazy plant lady is a real piece of work!" Eda complained.
"You don't know the half of it! Aside from Belos, I'd say Terra Snapdragon is the evillest person on the Boiling Isles! She's a monster!" Raine shuddered, rubbing their arms as a chill coursed through them; "The Plant Coven was seen as the most peaceful and pleasant of the Main Nine Covens before she took over! Now it's considered one of the most stressful and dangerous!"
Stories of Terra Snapdragon's antics were common, especially amongst the Rebels and the Hexside plant track, as Professor Phil was sure to warn all students about her before they take his class and set themselves up for the Plant Coven. Most plant track students ended up joining other covens under the purview of the Plant Coven instead, so only the desperate and the deranged still joined the main Coven itself, making it a perfect seedbed for monsters, tended to by those too terrified to try and leave.
Raine was unlucky enough to be one of the people Terra had taken an interest in, being one of her "Little Sprouts", which were basically her pets that she particularly enjoyed playing with. Those that earned her favour were lucky… those that didn't experienced hell. Raine had avoided being under her direct control since they were in a different coven, but now that they were a rebel? If Terra ever got her hands on them, it would be a living hell.
"Should we abandon the plan?" Willow asked fearfully, really not wanting to mess with Snapdragon.
Raine looked to Eda; "We still have another option. We can just go talk to your Dad."
Eda bit her lip, but as scared as Raine and Willow were of Terra, Eda was just as scared of facing her father.
She shook her head; "No. I'm getting that wood and kicking Snapdragon's decrepit backside! You two don't need to follow me; I'd originally planned to get the wood alone anyway."
Eda then began to march off, before Raine and Willow followed her.
"Eda, you can't go on your own! What if you run out of magic?" Willow argued.
"Whatever happens, happens. I'll blast my way in, grab a log, then burn the place to the ground!" Eda said, not slowing her pace.
Raine grabbed her hand to try and stop her. Unfortunately Eda was stronger and she pulled her hand away, accidentally pulling her Lover's hand off entirely. Willow shrieked, forgetting it was a symptom of the curse, and Eda cursed.
"Sorry Raine Storm." she said, putting their hand back on, "But I need to do this! Ever since Luz saved me at the Petrification Ceremony, I've been next to useless! I want to help my daughter, no matter what!"
Raine kissed her on the cheek with a sympathetic smile; "I understand, Edamame. I'm not going to stop you, I already told you that. But I AM going to stop you going without me! We're partners, right?"
Eda blinked; "But I thought you were terrified of Snapdragon!"
"Oh I am! I can't imagine anyone sane who wouldn't be! But that just means I can't leave you to face her alone. We're in this together." Raine promised.
"I-I'm in too!" Willow declared.
Eda had been supportive of Willow joining them before, but now she joined Raine in being doubtful; "That's nice of you Flowers, but this might be a little beyond you. Snapdragon won't hold back against a kid."
"I don't care! I faced down Odalia and the Mandragora under Hexside! No old hag is gonna be worse than those two!" Willow said stubbornly, "Besides, my plant magic is even stronger now thanks to Clover! I can use her to help counter Snapdragon's magic!"
The adults exchanged looks; a strong plant witch would be helpful, especially one who wasn't as limited in how they could use their magic. Willow saw them considering it and added; "Plus with me there, you can use the same plan!"
"I don't think being a member of a Gardening Club will be enough to get you into the Plant Coven Headquarters." Raine pointed out.
"No, but being the top student in the Hexside plant track might! If I tell them I'm interested in joining, they're sure to let me in! I've heard how hard it is for them to get recruits, so they won't turn down someone like me!" Willow said confidently.
Willow was right; the Plant Coven would jump at the chance to recruit someone like her, especially once she showed off her magic. There were full grown adult witches who couldn't match her talent with plants! Raine was sure she'd end up one of Terra's "Little Sprouts" in an instant if they met! But that was incredibly dangerous.
"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Willow?" Eda asked, switching to the real name to show how serious she was; "It'll be a lot more dangerous and if something goes wrong, we might not be able to reach you fast enough."
Willow nodded, frightened but determined; "You heard me at Palisman Adoption Day, Eda! I want to be strong and wise to protect everyone I love, and defeat anyone who gets in my way! So I'll help protect everyone on the Isles by supporting the CATTs, and I'll protect my best friend by getting her a Palisman! Right Clover?"
The Bee Palisman buzzed around her head and nestled on top of her hair, looking proud. Eda and Raine grinned; "Alright then!" the latter said, "We're off to the Plant Coven HQ! Next stop, the Navel Woods!"
The three of them got on their staves and once again took to the skies, now flying southward towards the Navel Woods. This was a large stretch of woodland in the Titan's abdomen, only a short ways north of the Hips. Unlike the Forearm Forest, the Navel Woods were an almost idyllic country woodland, that was easy to pass through and had plenty of green foliage. Thanks to it being the home of the Plant Coven, it was the healthiest greenery on the Isles, and also the safest; no carnivorous plants lived there, having been removed to keep the crucial roads between the north and south of the Titan clear and safe. A side road in the middle of the woods led into the deepest part, where the Plant Coven Headquarters could be found; a place known as Spriggan Manor.
Spriggan Manor was a very old, sprawling estate almost the same size as the Emperor's Castle, and was made entirely of trees that had been carefully cultivated and woven together as they grew in order to become an elaborate country estate. It had been built before the Deadwardian Era by a Spriggan; a tree-like species of Biped Demon that had immigrated from one of the Demon Realm's non-Titan landmasses (since Spriggans weren't native to the Titans like other Demon species). The Spriggan was very old and powerful, and extraordinarily wealthy, filling his mansion with treasures. When he passed away, the plants that served as a defence mechanism for the manor ensured no one could get in and claim those treasures, until a powerful cabal of Plant Witches came along to conquer it. One of the lesser members of the last generation of the cabal teamed up with Belos during his unification of the Isles and ousted the rest, who were destroyed by Belos' forces. As a reward, the traitorous member was made the first Head Witch of the Plant Coven, and Spriggan Manor was made into the Plant Coven's HQ.
Willow had always wanted to visit it and see its collection of rare plants and gardening-related treasures, as it was said that there was a full living encyclopedia of every breed of plant in the Demon Realm inside, as well as urban legends of plants from the Human and even Divine Realms being in the collection! Raine had visited the place before; Coven Head meetings rotated which HQ they were held at, and they'd had to attend with Scooter a few times, leading to them being thoroughly disturbed by Terra Snapdragon and having to deal with the uncanny feeling of being watched. Lastly, Eda had visited the place once to try and steal Goldwort years ago, but her plan had failed and she'd never returned, nor had she cause to; all the treasures she'd cared about had been sent off to the Emperor's Castle or given as rewards to some noble or another, and she wasn't interested in fancy plants. Even the best ones weren't worth the effort of sneaking into Sadistic Snapdragon's little garden.
Raine directed them all to land in the trees a good kilometre away from the entrance to the grounds, and they hid amongst the trees.
"We can't afford to get closer than this yet. Terra has Spying Spores all over the woods from this point on, so the moment we pass one, she'll know we're here." Raine warned.
"So how do we get closer? Can we just whip out the weed killer?" Eda asked.
Willow shook her head; "Spying Spores are a breed created by Terra Snapdragon. They're supposed to be the only way for a plant witch to use something like scrying magic! If you kill the spores, they're creator will know and the only person I know who can make them is Terra herself."
Eda scowled; "That's a no to the weed killer then… Do we wear disguises? Maybe we could illusion ourselves to look like Harvey and Gilbert?"
Willow giggled at the idea of the two impersonating her Dads, but that wouldn't work. When they sprung their plan, the Plant Coven would immediately know Willow was an accomplice and she would be in danger; they needed to make the timing of the attack and visit look like a coincidence, at least until Willow was far away.
"I only brought us down here to drop off Willow. It's a cloudy enough day, so you and I will go above the clouds then fly down directly onto the roof of the manor. Terra once told me that the spores don't come into the estate grounds, and coming in from above the clouds will keep the guards from seeing us." Raine explained. "Then when Willow finds the wood and pings us her location, I'll launch the fake attack while you come in from the other side to snag the wood. Willow, try to run away in the confusion; only fight if you've got no choice. Even take pot shots at Eda and I if it'll keep your cover, but do try not to hit us."
Willow nodded obediently, and Raine patted her shoulder while Eda ruffled her hair, before using a spell to make herself and Raine invisible as they soared up to the clouds so they wouldn't be seen. Willow watched them go for a moment, then backtracked a little to the path. Once she found it, she pasted a pleasant smile on her face and began to skip down the path towards the estate's front gates, acting like an excited young girl. Like the manor itself, the estate's walls and gates were made from plants, specifically Porcelain Yew Bushes (bushes with leaves that were as hard and tough as ceramic plates, which fit together to make tough walls) and Iron Vines respectively.
Like the Gardening Club, the estate's entrance was guarded by two men, though they were Plant Coven Members. They wore a uniform similar to the Coven Scouts, only with green cloaks made from leaves, and wooden masks and armour, the former of which was a smooth face mask with a flower carved into it, but no eye holes. Each Plant Scout had a different flower to identify them, and they wielded long halberds instead of spears. They did not react to Willow as she approached, though she noticed their masks had a Petunia and a Daisy on them.
"Um, excuse me?" Willow began politely, "My name is Willow Park, Top Student in the plant track at Hexside. I wanted to visit the Plant Coven and see if I can join!"
The two slowly looked at each other, their bodies creaking like old wooden furniture, then after a minute of silent communication, they looked back at Willow.
"Recruits are welcome." The Petunia Scout said in a deep, slow voice.
"Follow the path to the manor door. Do not stray." The Daisy Scout said in the same tone.
They tapped their halberds on the ground and the Iron Vine gates swung open, allowing Willow passage. She thanked the Scouts and skipped inside, pretending to not be totally unnerved. Something was very wrong with those Plant Scouts, and as she skipped down the path, she noticed the same problem with ALL the Plant Scouts. They roamed around the grounds (which were all immaculate lawns of green and red grass) throwing what looked like birdseed down on the ground. The purpose for this became clear when a bird landed to eat some birdseed, only for the grass to roar up, forming a bestial head, and chomp the bird down in one gulp before disappearing back into regular grass.
"That's… probably fine." Willow told herself, "Happy thoughts Willow! Stick to the path!"
She then steadfastly ignored everything but the path in front of her, until she reached the large front doors of the manor. Trees of all different kinds were carved into their surfaces, and a large knocker shaped like a seed was attached to each one. Willow grabbed one and knocked hard, before the door opened and revealed a witch dressed in a maid's uniform. The uniform was pink and the skirt looked like the petals of a peony, while the witch who wore it was pale faced and looked surprised and nervous.
"Y-Yes, how can I help you, Young Miss?" they asked. Their tone was fearful, and their voice was distinctly masculine, much to Willow's surprise.
"Um, yes; I'm here because I'm interested in joining the Plant Coven and wanted to take a look before I made a decision." Willow replied.
The Maid grew even paler and leaned down to whisper; "Get out of here, little girl! You do not want to join this Coven! Leave before-"
"Peony, who is that guest?"
The sudden voice called out from a landing overlooking the manor foyer, making the maid (Peony), freeze and turn ashen. The voice sounded like a young woman's, and when Willow looked up to the source, she found a girl only a bit older than her, being a similar age to Viney and Emira… at least in looks. The girl was extremely pretty, with golden blonde hair and a very elaborate and lacy yellow dress, the kind that looked more at home on a ceramic doll than a person. She appeared to be a Macaque Demon with some witch ancestry, so while she had some Macaque-like features, her face was that of a beautiful witch. Her fur was the same yellow as her hair, and she had a long tail that peeked out from a hole in the back of her dress, but most of her other monkey-esque features were hidden by her dress.
"M-Miss Hanu! This guest has yet to introduce herself. I was just welcoming her to the manor." Peony said hastily, bowing.
The woman, Hanu, narrowed her eyes dangerously and Peony gulped and instead curtseyed, making Willow frown. So it seemed Peony really was a man, but was being made to play the role of a woman? That was unusual… things like that were rare in the Demon Realm, but it did suit the disturbed reputation of Terra Snapdragon.
Seeing the "correct" gesture from Peony, Hanu giggled girlishly and conjured a vine from the ceiling and used it to slide daintily down to the ground floor of the foyer, where she gave a polite curtsey to Willow. She shooed Peony away, and he hurried off to attend to his duties.
"Forgive our poor first impression; some of the maids can be so dreadfully slow. He's new, but he'll learn." Hanu smiled, "My name is Manuella Hanu, one of Lady Snapdragon's personal Aides. Please call me Hanu, I much prefer it. Might I know your name?"
"Willow Park." the nervous girl replied.
"Willow! What a wonderfully appropriate name! People with plant names are well loved here! We do cultivate plants after all!" Hanu tittered, "Now what can we do for you, Willow?"
Willow gulped and repeated what she'd told the scouts and Peony, making Hanu's face light up even more.
"The top student of the plant track at Hexside! Marvellous! Truly Marvellous! And you're interested in joining our little garden? What a wonderful idea! Please, let me show you around! I'm afraid Lady Snapdragon is out at the moment, but I'm sure she'd love for you to see what you're "getting into" as they say!" Hanu giggled. She went to Willow's side and linked arms with her; "Right this way!"
Willow was practically dragged out of the foyer of the manor and into the nearby hall as Hanu started giving her a very enthusiastic tour of the place. The inside was largely like the outside, with everything being made from plants of some kind, and all in a very expensive and extravagant looking style. It was all very old-fashioned, but Willow found herself loving it. The ground floor was filled with rooms that had been enchanted to mimic specific biomes with the intention of growing plants from those biomes. There was a muggy swampy room to mimic the Swampy Toes, a snowy room to mimic the Knee and the Snowy Rib Cage, and even a desert room to mimic the two different Palm deserts. That one had Fire Melon Cacti growing in it, making Willow think of the adventure her friends had just gone on. Not that she had to worry about it exploding; several of the more dangerous species had strange rings of green magic floating around them, keeping them docile.
However as she enjoyed the tour of the plants, Willow found herself disturbed by the actual Coven's members. The gardening seemed to be done by the Plant Scouts, while each Biome Room was overseen by another of Terra's attendants like Hanu (though none seemed to be present at the moment), but the rest of the Coven's members seemed to be dressed up as servants. The maids all wore uniforms based on different flowers, with the skirts matching the petals of the flower and the colour of the outfit matching too. Then there also butlers that wore green suits with tree emblems stitched onto their backs and a crest on their left breast that was shaped like a tree leaf, with each butler having a unique tree theme. Strangely though, whether a person was a maid or a butler seemed to be random; there were muscular men dressed as maids and dainty women dressed as butlers and vice versa. Gender identity, appearance, race, species; there was no indicator as to why some were butlers and some were maids, but given their expressions, it wasn't their choice. It left Willow with an eerie feeling, like the whole coven was playing some kind of bizarre game of dress up.
Excluding that disturbing fact, the place really was a paradise of plants! There were even the fabled plants from the Human Realm to look at, after which Hanu gave Willow a knowing look and said; "You attend Hexside with the Angel, don't you?"
Willow was thrown by the question, but didn't bother lying; "Yes, we share a few Gen-Ed classes, though we're in different tracks."
"Then you might be interested in this! Come this way!" Hanu said excitedly, not actually giving Willow a choice by pulling her along. She dragged her towards a large greenhouse that was attached to the back of the manor's ground floor, and which was absolutely thrumming with green magic. The door into it was chained shut with at least five different kinds of vines and ivy that knotted together over the door handle, but Hanu stroked it and the knot came undone and the vines and ivy moved aside, allowing her to open the door and let Willow inside.
The bespectacled girl gasped at what she saw; there were several long planters and a few small pots on pedestals, and each one had climate enchantments placed around them to maintain the extremely rare and valuable plants contained within. These were all plants so important that they'd been kept in this secure greenhouse rather than in the proper biome rooms elsewhere in the house. Among these extremely valuable plants was a row of Palistrom Trees; most of which were barely more than saplings. One stood out however, as it was almost a full tree! It was certainly big enough to harvest wood from it!
Hanu noticed Willow staring at it and smiled; "You're looking at all the Palistrom Wood on the Isles. We're growing more, but it's a slow process. The Gardening Clubs we entrusted them to did a lousy job… well, except Bonesborough and Latissa." Hanu said, somewhat annoyed as she nodded to the maturest tree; "They did a good job… too bad Bonesborough is full of rebels now, huh? It must be hard going to school there."
"It's not so bad. The people of Bonesborough are keeping the rebels at bay." Willow lied.
That made Hanu giggle girlishly; "How wonderful! Some flowers really can thrive even when weeds try to strangle them! But enough about these silly old trees; I wanted to show you this!"
She dragged Willow towards the centre of the room, where a very ornate white and gold pedestal stood, holding up a small golden pot of soil. Growing inside the pot was a flower Willow was quite familiar with thanks to Luz; it was a green, rose-like flower that appeared to be made entirely from crystal, and had a gem-like texture when touched despite being as soft and malleable as any other rose. The stem and leaves were clear crystal with green veins of chlorophyll running through them, and it had sharp, white crystal thorns along the stem.
"A flower from the Divine Realm!" Willow gasped; "The rumours were true! You really do have one!"
Hanu nodded proudly; "I'm the Overseer of this garden of legendary plants and have been since Lady Snapdragon recruited me five years ago! That flower, which we've taken to calling an Angelic Crystal Bloom, was naught but a seed buried in dirt before I arrived! Cultivating it and making it grow was why Lady Snapdragon put me in charge!"
"It's amazing. Luz had to teach the plant track at school how to cultivate Divine Realm flowers, and it's hard work. You need to carefully blend magic in just the right way for each flower." Willow said, saying a bit more than she'd intended due to her fascination. "How did you even find the seed?"
"Well, this is a little secret between us, but we actually got it from Hexside!" Hanu whispered with a wink; "There was another angel who went there almost twenty years ago! You might have heard of her; her name was Cassiel."
Willow gulped; Luz had told her about Cassiel, though according to Bump, she hadn't actually been a student at Hexside, just a visitor. So she must have left some plants behind…
"I don't know what happened to her; she apparently disappeared 15 years ago after a fake angel tried to kill the Emperor!" Hanu scowled, then perked up again; "Without her, most of the plants she made withered and died, but this one seed remained! But you know how to cultivate more, right?"
Willow nodded; "I do. I can make a few with magic; watch."
She drew a spell circle and carefully focused her mind, causing another of the green crystal roses to appear in her hand. "Luz told me that this flower is called Rosen Emeralia."
Hanu gasped with delight; "Marvellous, just marvellous! Oh, you'll be welcomed as one of Lady Snapdragon's elite aides for certain! She'll put you in charge of a new garden for Divine Realm Plants! It'll be wonderful! Oh, I cannot wait to see her reaction to this! Tell me, do you think you could convince the Angel to show you how to grow more angelic plants? We'd love to have a full set!"
"I can try." Willow forced a smile. She wanted to alert Eda and Raine to the location of the Palistrom Wood, but Hanu was so focused on her that she couldn't do so without being caught. So instead, Willow came up with an idea.
"Hanu, could we take a selfie with the Palistrom Tree? My friends at the Bonesborough Gardening Club would love to see how well it's doing after all our hard work! Especially compared to the other saplings." Willow asked, showing her scroll.
The Monkey Girl grinned widely and nodded; "Of course! A gardener's plants are like their children! It's only natural they'd want to see them thriving… and better than other people's kids!"
Relieved, Willow stood with Hanu in front of the tree and smiled as she held up her scroll to take the selfie, making sure that the door (and its security) were in the picture so Eda could recognise it. She then took the selfie and immediately posted it on Penstagram, hoping Eda and Raine would see it.
As she was posting the picture and Hanu was gushing over how cute they both looked, Willow almost flinched as she noticed something extra in the background of the picture. A face was peering in through the glass door of the greenhouse, smiling into the camera. It was a face Willow recognised, and she immediately turned around to see its owner had now joined them.
Terra Snapdragon.
The woman smiled down at Willow, brushing some of her long green hair away from her face so she could get a proper look. "Well well well, what do we have here? A new flower in the garden. But is it a nice flower, or a nasty weed?" Terra said, leaning down so her face was inches from Willow's; "Hmm, I definitely sense some strong plant magic. Delightful."
She straightened up and turned to Hanu, who smiled brightly and curtseyed, before looking at Willow and urging her to mimic the gesture, which she did.
"Good day, Lady Snapdragon! I didn't know you'd returned!" Hanu said politely.
"I only just got back. Whatever my spores detected in the woods appears to be gone now, and I naturally sensed this little seedling walking down my garden path, so I thought I'd come and see." Terra said, eyes never leaving Willow's. "Who is this little seedling?"
"Lady Snapdragon, allow me to introduce Miss Willow Park, the Top Plant Student at Hexside! She's interested in joining us!" Hanu explained.
Terra's eyebrow rose; "Is that so? Given your excitement, Sprout, am I to assume she's quite impressive?"
"Definitely, Lady Snapdragon! Look at this!" Hanu held up the Rosen Emeralia Willow had grown; "She made this with just her magic! The Angel has taught her and several other Hexside students how to grow Divine Realm plants!"
Terra's eyes gleamed; "How wonderful! That is truly a great achievement! Perhaps you'd have a place in my Coven after all! You could become one of my Sprouts… assuming you aren't better suited to being a Scout or Servant."
"Thank you for the compliment, Lady Snapdragon." Willow said, trying to hide her nerves.
"Not at all! Am I right that this was the last stop on the tour?" Terra asked.
Hanu nodded, so Terra clapped her hands; "Delightful; then let us have some tea and discuss your future in my Coven, little seedling. Hanu, please inform the servants that I want refreshments brought up to my parlour, then feel free to join us; you've done good work yourself today."
"Thank you, Lady Snapdragon! I'll see it done at once." Hanu beamed. She curtseyed again, then gave Willow a wink as she hurried off to complete her task, leaving Willow alone with Terra Snapdragon.
The poor girl's heart was beating a mile a minute, and she could sense Clover shuddering in fear in her bag. If Terra noticed, she didn't let on and instead gestured for Willow to follow her. Terra led Willow to a staircase that led up to the Manor's third floor, chatting idly as she went.
"The first floor is obviously where we keep our precious plants. The second floor is where my aides and attendants live; they are the elites of the coven, like dear Hanu. My own chambers are on the third floor; the finer the plant, the higher it grows after all!" Terra explained. "Perhaps you'll have chambers in the upper floors too, if you prove to be as amazing as dear Hanu thinks you are. I'll confess to being impressed so far."
"Thank you, Lady Snapdragon. If I may, do the rest of the coven members live here too?" Willow asked.
"Of course! I like to keep my lovelies close to hand. The scouts and servants live in the sub-levels below the manor. They've yet to bloom enough to deserve a room in the sun. Seeds thrive better beneath the ground." Terra replied. It seemed she really did think of people as plants…
They soon arrived in Terra's parlour, which took the form of a greenhouse built on top of the manor, with a spiral staircase leading up into it. The room had a great 360 degree view of the entire estate and was the highest spot in the manor. It was also full of the most dangerous plants on the Boiling Isles, all of which were being kept docile by rings of Terra's green magic. Willow looked at them nervously as Terra escorted her to a fancy table set up in the middle of the room, then as she was seated on a comfy pink stool, Willow looked out the windows and tried to spot Raine or Eda. There was nowhere on the rooftops of the manor that couldn't be seen from the parlour, so either Raine and Eda had made themselves invisible, or they'd found a different place to hide, much to Willow's relief.
Terra, sitting in the only full chair; a high-backed armchair, smiled at Willow and asked; "So, how do you like the Plant Coven thus far?"
"Oh, it's amazing! I love it! Though I'm a little confused by the hierarchy here." Willow said, deciding to see if she could probe the woman for information. It was clear a lot of the members were unhappy, and if Willow could learn the full truth, it might help the CATTs even further!
Terra chortled; "No need to be coy, seedling. You're wondering about the scouts and servants! Well, all people have their place in life, just as all plants have their place in nature. I just help my coven members find the place that suits them best, while ripping out the nasty weeds that don't belong at all! Most Witches and Demons don't appreciate my methods, but as you can see from my lovely manor, they are quite effective!"
Terra cast a spell, causing a trio of mandrakes to hop out of their pots nearby and run over to a basin of water to wash the dirt off of themselves, before they hurried over and jumped onto the table between Terra and Willow. A second spell had the three mandrakes shrivelling up; their fat, baby-like plant bodies shrinking until they looked like a Plant Scout, a Maid, and Hanu respectively. The Plant Scout Mandrake then stepped forward.
"My scouts are members who are strong in magic but not so much in mind. The kind that really can't be trusted to think for themselves. The special masks I give them have little roots on the inside that creep into the wearer's brain and stimulate it a bit, making them a lot more useful." Terra explained with a casual smile while Willow's skin crawled. The masks didn't make the wearers smarter, it just made them into obedient puppets of Terra!
The Maid Mandrake then stepped forward as Terra continued; "Those who are smart enough to do as they're told, but not very magically powerful are my servants. I give them a purpose, serving as the roots and foundations that live in the dirt so the truly beautiful may grow in the sun. I simply dress them as maids and butlers because I enjoy the aesthetic. The Snapdragons are a noble family after all."
Willow nodded slowly; so the members who weren't very strong magically basically got turned into slaves… no wonder Peony had looked so frightened earlier! They were probably petrified of becoming brainwashed Scouts or worse, meeting whatever fate Terra had in mind for "weeds".
"Um, if I may ask; why are some of them maids and some of them butlers? I couldn't see any rhyme or reason to it." Willow asked.
"I simply picked which plant I thought would suit them best. If they suited a flower, I made them a maid. If they suited a tree, I made them a butler. I don't see the need to divide them by gender; in plant life, both male and female are just parts of a single whole! They don't pointlessly divide themselves into different creatures like we beasts do… they are more refined." Terra laughed.
She then stroked her chin as she peered at Willow; "You though… you'd be a difficult one to place. You definitely give me a flower vibe, but your name is too perfect! If I made you a butler, you'd keep your name. Decisions decisions… though, if you really are powerful enough to be a Top Student, you probably wouldn't suit the life of a servant anyway. Speaking of which…"
The Hanu Mandrake now stepped forward and Terra said; "The elites of my coven, my Little Sprouts, are both intelligent and powerful! They rise above the dirt that others wallow in and begin to bloom! They are all my personal aides, like Dear Hanu. They are the people I take a personal interest in, and often the ones I go out of my way to recruit. Sadly not all work out; some join other covens, and one even became a rebel… a shame, I had such high hopes for that one." Terra said, shaking her head wistfully.
Willow gulped; Terra had to be talking about Raine! She wondered what Terra had in mind for her "Sprouts" that ended up in other covens…
Before she could get the courage to ask, Hanu finally arrived, followed by a pair of maids (Jasmine and Daffodil) who were carrying trays of tea and snacks. Hanu happily took a seat and the maids prepared to serve the tea, before Terra stopped them and excused them to go back to their other duties so she could serve the tea herself. This put Willow immediately on guard; she wouldn't put it past the old crone to try and spike her drink with something! Her fears seemed to be reinforced when Terra handed the cup to Willow and watched her carefully.
"Please, do try it. It's my own special blend! I grew the tea leaves myself." Terra said, smiling a little too widely.
Willow's mind raced; she couldn't cast a spell without it being obvious and drawing the ire of Terra and Hanu, but she also couldn't just drink the tea! Who knows what Terra put in it!? Refusing to drink could also land her in trouble too! She needed a way of casting a spell without it being obvious!