Amity jumped onto her bed and crouched low as she glared at her mosted hated of her enemies. “Good Witch Azura, this is the last time we face each other. After this dual, no one shall remember your name while they all love the great, Evilyn!”

Luz, in a white coat and with a wooden pole the two had painted similarly white, held said staff towards ‘Evilyn’. “I fear you know not that which you speak of! A memory spell? Only the most evil of villains would even consider such a plan.”

Amity, clad in a black cloak, raised a hand to her chest as she stood straight and imperiously. “You do know my name, right?”

“I do,” Luz said as she pulled out a few of her sigil cards, “and so I know I must stop you!”

Amity dove to the side as Luz slammed down one of her cards. An ice pillar immediately sprung up and punched the air where Amity had been just a moment ago. ‘Evilin’ wasn’t going to be stopped so easily. She raised a hand up and for a moment struggled as she began her spell. She’d decided that if she was going to be stuck at home for the last few weeks that she’d at least try to be productive with it, but she hadn’t quite perfected her new spell.

That’s why, when she finished the circle, it immediately went off and filled the room with a small hurricane. Amity immediately grabbed the side of her bed while Luz was caught entirely off guard and spun around three times before finally managing to jam her staff between the back of one of the book cases and Amity’s nightstand. There she stayed until the wind died down, where she promptly fell straight to the floor as her arms turned to jello.

Amity rushed over to the other girl once she got her bearings.. “Hey, you okay?”

Luz groaned as she pushed herself up. “I know Evilyn is prone to some chaos magic, but I think I’d like some warning before you decide to replicate that part of her character.”

Amity giggled as Luz stared at her. The human’s heart did a few flips at the sound before she sighed. This had been their first real chance to hang out since Amity’s heart had stopped and she missed this. Just relaxing with her cru- Best friend! Best friend. Why had it gotten so much harder to correct that recently?

Amity looked up as they both noticed the sound of paper coming down around them. There were maybe two dozen sigil cards that were still riding the last of the winds and the serious girl snatched one of them out of the air. “Do you always need to bring so many of these with you?”

“And I’ll be taking that!”

The two young girls looked up as Emira snatched the sigil card from Amity’s hand and promptly ripped it in two. Luz let out a brief shout of annoyance before Amity got up properly and glared at her sister. “You didn’t have to take it. I was just going to help Luz pick them up.”

Emira rolled her eyes for a moment before putting a hand on her hip. “Oh, and what would mom and dad have assumed?”

Amity’s eyes glanced away for a moment before the serious girl turned her back to Emira. She didn’t know much about whatever had happened to put her out of commission for a while but she knew it had something to do with Luz’s magic. In fact, the only clue she had outside of her parents forcing her to swear she wouldn’t cast spells with the cards was her having managed to create a light with one of the cards. Then everything got… fuzzy. “What are you doing in here?”

Amity winced as Edric suddenly planted a helmet square on her head and then summoned a pillow to his hands. “Well, after the commotion we heard we thought we’d check to make sure Mittens was wearing her mittens and had considered the fun of pillows!”

Emira then wrapped an arm around her baby sister’s neck as she added, “Have you two ever made a fort together? They’re a blast!”

Amity’s eye twitched at the treatment. It was just like after the library incident. Or the seven minutes incident. Except for weeks now. Even worse was that they had stopped doing these sorts of things for Amity when it was purely convenient for them. They always came up with an excuse to check on her at least a half a dozen times, each, a day, which included in class. She looked at Luz and mouthed, ‘kill me’.

The human’s face drained of color for a second before she scratched the back of her head and let out a nervous laugh. “Uh, well, we haven’t so that does sound pretty good.”

Amity let out a long groan as she smacked her face before squirming out of Emira’s grasp. She then went to the bookshelf where her familiar sat and picked him up. At least they were acting normal, even if she’d had to reform him for some reason after whatever laid her up. She then looked back at her siblings and said, “I’m going to go get something to drink.”

Edric frowned for a second as he made a circle in the air and summoned a cup for himself. He knew better than to tell Mittens that she didn’t have to go. She’d already sicked her abominations on him once today. He then took a sip of the juice as he turned to Luz. “So, how are you tod-”

Emira cut him off as she stomped over to the idiot and pointed at her. “Are you crazy? I would get one or two, but this many?”

Edric paused for a second as his eyes darted to the pieces of paper that were still making their way to the ground and made it his goal to get all of them before they made it there. It left the two girls to talk as Luz crossed her arms. “I trust Amity and she asked me to use them more around her if she wasn’t allowed to. I’m not bothering her!”

“We’re just trying to protect her!” Emira crossed her arms as she huffed. The older Blight girl had been on edge since Amity almost died, not that Luz would know. It was part of why Edric was staying out of her way though. He knew she’d calm down once she processed it all. He did wish Luz didn’t have to suffer her anger though.

Luz narrowed her eyes at them. This wasn’t the first time she’d heard about them bothering Amity after all of this but it was the first time she saw it. Her best friend kept trying to figure out what had them all worked up and Luz had been trying to as well. She did have one idea though. “You two only ever do something if there’s something in it for you. Are you doing all of this because you know you’ll have to start being responsible again if something happens to her?”

Edric gasped and began choking as one of the pieces of paper flew straight into his throat. Emira’s face only darkened as she whispered, “She’s our baby sister.”

“That’s never stopped you before.”

The two glared at each other and were silent as they both figured out what to do. Luz had her staff still but not her cards so she could give Emira a pretty good bruise while Emira was trying to figure out what she could get away without her little sister losing it. They then both got pushed back as Edric managed to breathe again. “Hey, I know we’ve all been wound up from all of this, and Amity has not been helpful, but we’re all just trying to help her, right?”

He then looked over at Luz with a sigh. “I know we haven’t been the best of siblings to her in the past, but there’s a limit, even for us. And I think that limit changed after we had to face the idea of actually losing her. We’re… We’re still figuring out what that means for us.”

He then turned to Emira and squeezed his twin’s shoulder. “And you need to back down too. You even snapped at dad when he was finally going to let Amity go back to school. Remember, she doesn’t need three parents being overprotective of her right now.”

Emira’s cheeks turned slightly red as she glanced away before she smirked at her twin. “Says Mr. Pillows?”

Edric held his hands up as he stepped back. “Hey, I’m not saying I’m not to blame.” He then sighed as he scratched the back of his head. “Doesn’t help that dad’s lessons feel like they’re kicking back in.”

Luz’s eyes widened before she squealed and turned to Edric. “Ooh, I smell a backstory!”

Edric let out a long laugh as there was a brief shadow at the door and then a hand let down a small abomination on the bookcase near the door. The Blight son just sighed as he took a step back. “I guess we’ve got a little more time so,” he said as he made a circle, “I guess I can make a few jokes at dad’s expense.”

Emira’s eyes widened as she looked at her twin. Him bringing up his lessons was weird in and of itself. The fact that he would actually speak of them was a whole different story.

Then she heard the awful, stuffy voice he gave their father and sighed in relief. The figure of Alador was in rags and was permanently looking to the sky with a nose that was as long and wide as a longsword. “Now, Edric, do you know why I’ve called you here?”

Ed slipped his hands into his pockets as he looked up and hummed. “We’re going to play Catch?”

Alador scoffed at the mere notion as he turned to his son. “And you always act so surprised when I try to make you understand how low you are.”

Luz giggled at the jokes as Emira sat on Amity’s bed. She didn’t know why she was so worried. Edric was too dumb to actually have had any of those weird lessons he used to tell her about stick. He was barely passing math class because of how bad at memorization and getting things to stick. She could just lean back and enjoy the show.

Edric put one of his arms against his forehead as he leaned back. His other hand clutched his chest like he’d been wounded and his tone was properly tragic to go with it. “Oh, you wound me, father. If only I could be a worm so you could crush me under your boo-”

“Take this seriously young man!”

Alador suddenly snapped into a very, very accurate representation of their father, even to the point where Emira jumped slightly at the harsh tone. Edric, for his part, snapped to attention and brought a salute to his brow, even as he kept a smile on his face. “Aye aye, sir!”

Luz leaned towards Emira and nudged her in the side before whispering, “I think we’re getting to the good part.”

Emira stayed quiet as she stared at her brother. He wasn’t nearly as bold with his actions but there was one thing that was spot on. His eyes. Those same, tired, dead eyes that he had whenever he came out of their father’s study after being trapped there for a weekend. How their father shook his head was all too right as well. “You are a male of the Blight family. What does that mean.”

Edric brought his arm down as he said, “That I am to serve with distinction and initiative to help the heir to the family name, no matter how bold the task or whatever danger it may present to me.” He then froze Alador for a second and turned to his audience. “May as well have just put a noose around my neck if you ask me.” He then winked at them before getting back to his staging.

Alador nodded before gesturing to a study that wasn’t there. “You have full access to any and all books here with which to do that, but instead you waste your time finding new ways to slip out of the house and play in the forest. You’ve even been distracting your sister with your antics which is the opposite of your role.”

Edric glanced away with enough pain on his face that even Luz bought that it was real. He then grinned at his dad as he said, “But sir, what if she ever needs a top spy to break her out of prison? Or a man who knows nature so well he can make a bat into his pe-”

Smack!

Alador grabbed his wrist the moment after he’d done it, but it was too late as Edric stumbled back from the smack. Emira and Luz were both silent as the younger Blight male took his time putting himself together. Meanwhile, Alador looked away before he smoothed his hair back. “Odalia, how do you deal with it?” The older man then straightened himself and looked back at his son. “Edric, I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to. You… You know I-

Edric raised a hand as he stayed facing the wall. “Dad, it’s okay. I’m sixteen now. I should know better by now. The fact that it took you this long to snap is an accomplishment.”

Six

Teen. “Uh, Emira, this isn’t sounding like a backstory anymore…”

Alador squeezed his hands into fists before whispering, “There’s no Amity for you like there is for Emira. You’re going to need to be there for her. For both of them. And I don’t ask that much of you. In fact, if you want to keep skipping classes, why not come here? Work on one of the specialties you’ve already started. It’d give you the freedom you want but you wouldn’t keep doing nothing.”

And then Edric raised his head with puppy dog eyes and watering eyes. “But father, how else am I supposed to watch her? That sweetheart of mine as she studies so furiously in class. My heart simply can’t handle being away from her.”

Alador blinked a few times before asking the same question on Emira’s mind. “You’ve found a girl you like?”

“Indeed.” Edric swooned and leaned against the wall as he looked to the sky. “Her name is Doors. She’s always there. Sitting in on every class. But she opens up for such brief windows of time and is letting everyone put their hands all over her. Is such a love not a tragedy?”

Alador let out a shout of exasperation before turning away and growling, “You’re impossible,” as he disappeared.

Edric straightened himself out as he stepped away from the wall before looking to his audience and bowing to them. “Thank you, thank you.”

Luz managed to giggle at it but Emira was simply stunned. She had so many questions. Questions she shouldn’t have. It was Edric after all. Edric kept nothing from her. This… This couldn’t be true. He’d just said that this was as recent as two years ago for effect. He liked putting on performances after all. That had to be it. It had to be.

And when Edric stood back up, he was promptly greeted by a pillow to the face. Everyone turned to see Amity at the door, with her helmet still on, and already in the process of picking another pillow up. “You know, while I was downstairs, I thought about just how fun pillows could be. You’ll join us, won’t you?”

Emira ducked as Amity threw a pillow at her before she made a circle in the air. A few seconds later, two Emiras threw pillows at Amity from behind and knocked the wind out of their sister as she was bowled over. Luz joined in soon after, but one person was oddly absent for the starting salvos.

Edric sighed a little from under his pillow face mask. He’d expected it to be effective at getting Emira to want to take her mind off of her problems and just want to have fun, but Amity couldn’t have timed her return better. Luz had even looked concerned for him which was the other hope he’d had. After all, if the two were going to try and figure out what they needed to be with Amity now, he suspected Luz would be a part of it. He spent another moment, smiling about his handiwork, before finally pulling the pillow from his face and saying, “Oh you’re going to pay for that,” as he joined in on the fun with everyone else.