#sorry i just really enjoy the agony of this gremlin king

[w0lp3rtinger]

Sonic Prime offering up different Shadows is good. Great, even. However, the possibility of Sonic Prime showing that Shadow is the ONLY Shadow, that all other experiments to create the Ultimate Lifeform failed, but Maria got to live out her life like a normal person as best or as long as she could... now that's sublime.

[gwenbrightly]

Okay, so, I'm trying something new, here. Haven't written for The Owl House before, so hopefully I got the characterization right 😅

Agony of a Witch had some really great aftermath fic potential and I couldn't help myself. Credit goes to @knowledgequeenabc for helping me with parts of this and screaming at me while I wrote. You are, in fact, an actual queen 💙

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“Eda has to come back. She always does.” King insisted from his perch on Luz’s lap. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell him, yet, but it was obvious he knew something had happened. Luz shook her head mutely.

“She’s stronger than the Emperor’s Coven, than her sister,” King continued, “the only thing that could’ve stopped her is…” he trailed off, eyes widening.

“Oh no, Luz… the curse?”

“Y-yeah... I-I was trying to… but… Lilith…” she answered, unable to give a coherent explanation. King snuggled up against her.

“I should’ve been there.” He said fiercely. They sat there for a moment in silence. Luz stroked King’s fur, trying to find the courage to speak.

“I… I don’t think there’s anything you could’ve done. This was planned. Lilith would’ve used you against her like she did with me. I mean, she is the one who cursed Eda to begin with and-”

“She what?!” King practically shrieked. Luz wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him sound like this before. Maybe she shouldn’t have told him…

“Oh, Luz, I oughtta go up there right now and end her! It’s time the Demon King showed people what he’s capable of!”

“No. Please don’t… it’s too late…” Luz’s response was so quiet she was surprised that King even heard it.

“Okay, okay. So maybe jumping into action without thinking things through isn’t a good idea this time. But there’s gotta be something we can do, right?”

She wanted so badly to believe him. But what could they possibly do against the Emperor and Lilith now? Luz might be okay with magic, but that wasn’t nearly enough.

“I don’t know, King. I really don’t.” she said dejectedly. King deflated at her lack of enthusiasm.

“I wish…” he thought for a moment, “Hey, wait. I saw Eda with a box or something the other day. She wouldn’t tell me what it was but she acted like it was important. Maybe if we can find it, it’ll help us somehow.”

“Okay.” Luz agreed, wondering what Eda could have been trying to hide. Was it a magical artifact? Some dirt on Lilith they could use as blackmail? Was it just a red herring? There were so many possibilities. She wouldn’t rest until they’d found… whatever it was. Which, surprisingly, didn’t take very long. Either that, or time passed faster when one was grieving. Whatever the reason, Luz and King quickly found a box labeled “So, I’m gone.” in one corner of Eda’s room, buried in a pile of clutter.

“So, this is it, huh? Whatever is in here… just don’t take it too hard if it’s nothing, okay?” Luz told King. Her hands hovered over the lid.

“We won’t know unless we open it.” He prompted, giving her a sad smile. They were in this together.

“Okay. Imma open this thing now.” Luz declared before she could lose her courage. She lifted the lid and they both peered inside.

“A mirror?”

King picked it up.

“Not just any mirror. It’s a Memirrory. You can record yourself on them. She left a message.”

“Oh.” Luz was impressed. Under any other circumstances she would’ve been screaming over this concept. King fiddled with the Memirrory, trying to get it to play. It made a staticy noise. He smacked it lightly and they heard Eda’s voice say, “Is this thing on?” as an image of her talking began to play.

“If you’re seeing this, I’m gone. Like the label says. Crazy how that works, huh? You can never be sure what’ll take you out. Or when. Maybe I’m just in vacation and you’re some weirdo who managed to sneak past Hootie and mess around with my stuff.” Eda glared at them through screen, “But maybe the curse finally did me in. I mean it’s about time, if it did. Nasty thing.

Anyway, I want you to know that it’ll be okay. Probably. Well, maybe. I accepted a long time ago that I probably wouldn’t be around forever. I just hope I didn’t hurt anyone too badly when it finally happened.” She paused and took a breath before continuing,

“Luz, if you’re seeing this, don’t blame yourself for whatever happened. I know you did your best to help me. You’re a great kid, even if you do tend to take things too personally. And you’re a great witch, too; you’re gonna do great things. Probably even greater than me if you let yourself. I’m proud of you, kid. Having you around made me remember how much more to life there is than sitting around conning people and waiting for a curse to take you down. It was nice while it lasted.”

Luz felt her eyes well up with tears all over again.

“If we got to talk before I… went away… I probably told you to watch out for King – he’ll never admit it, but he can’t handle being left alone. Drives the little gremlin crazy.” Eda smiled fondly.

“Speaking of King. We’ve been through a lot, you and I. Most of it wasn’t completely legal, but you know? That’s okay. A safe, law abiding life would’ve been so boring. And we both deserved better than that.

I, uh, know I don’t say it very often but… thank you. For sticking by me when no one else would. You didn’t have to do that, but you did. And I know I didn’t make it easy for you, either. Sorry about that.”

“Eda… no…” King whispered, looking more devastated than Luz had ever seen him before.

“Well… I’m out of things to say, and this darn mirror is running low on memory, so I’d better wrap this up. Keep your heads up, don’t you dare get drug into that coven nonsense, and if you ever find out who cursed me… feel free to break every bone in their body. More than once, even. I won’t hold you back from violence. I…” Eda’s voice softened now.

“Gah, I’m bad at this touchy-feely stuff but… I love you guys. There. I said it. Wasn’t as bad as I thought. Anyway. I guess this is goodbye. Go out there and live your lives. It’s gonna be okay.”

The mirror flickered back to normal. Luz couldn’t stop herself from crying more. Was there no end to the pain of losing her mentor?

“There, there booboo buddy,” King said, awkwardly patting her shoulder, “I have zero idea what comes next, but I do know Eda was right. She deserves better. We will find a way to get her back. I swear on whatever honor a demon like me has. This. Isn’t. Over.”

Luz scrubbed furiously at her eyes.

“No. It’s not. We can’t give up on her.” She decided with a sniffle, trying to sound brave, “If the Good Witch Azura can remain optimistic in the face of defeat, so can we.”