"EDA!" Luz screamed.
Before her, Eda's owl-beast form slowly turned into a monotone gray as she turned into a stone statue.
A statue.
A lifeless statue.
Eda the Owl Lady, forever locked as a large beastly figure. No one would remember her for her.
"EDA!" Luz shouted again, falling to her knees. She saw King pressed against the back of the cage, his yellow eyes wide with horror. "NO!"
"I love you, Luz," Eda's voice was muffled by the rising stone. "I'm sorry. Luz?"
"EDA!"
"Luz?"
"EDA!"
"Luz?"
Luz shot up in bed and immediately drew her legs up to her chest, hiding her face in her knees.
"Luz? Come on, Luz. Open your eyes."
"No... Eda," the teenager whimpered, "Eda... don't go... I love you..."
The bed dipped and a gentle hand caressed the back of Luz's neck.
"I love you, too. Come on, Luz. Open your eyes," A voice coached softly. "Look up."
Luz reluctantly did as she was told and pulled her face away from her legs. She immediately recognized the figure sitting in front of her.
"Hey, kiddo."
The human had her arms around Eda's neck before the witch could say anything. Luz buried her face in Eda's shoulder, her tears staining the Owl Lady's shirt. Eda said nothing, but let Luz cry and held her tightly as sob after sob shook the human's body.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Eda asked quietly, rubbing slow circles on Luz's back.
"It..." Luz choked out, "It was so real, Eda...We were b-back, back on the-the tower a-and, and I wasn't there in time."
"Shh..." Eda soothed as a fresh round of cries racked Luz's shoulders. "It's okay, Luz."
"K-King was, was in the cage, too," Luz squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she remembered King cowering in the corner. "He was scared, Eda. He looked so scared, and I couldn't, I couldn't do anything. L-Lilith was there, too."
Eda paused momentarily, then returned to rubbing circles. "Was she?"
Luz nodded into the older witch's shoulder. "S-She was with Kikimora. She pulled the lever. She killed you, Eda."
"Oh, Luz..."
Unknown to Eda and Luz, King and Lilith were standing in the hallway outside the door. They heard every word of Luz's confession, and Lilith felt her ears burn with embarrassment and shame. Luz was right.
It was her fault Eda had been in that cage.
It was her fault Eda had the curse in the first place.
It was her fault and her fault alone.
King paced the floor nervously. He was itching to run into the bedroom and curl up in Luz's lap, to give her something to hold onto. He wanted to prove that he was still there, but Eda had said to let her handle it, and this was one of the occasions he decided to listen.
"Luz has been having a lot of bad dreams," King told Lilith hesitantly. "Eda says it'll pass, but..." He sighed, "They don't really seem to be getting better."
Lilith hung her head, "I truly thought I was doing the right thing."
"I know that," King nodded, "So does Eda, and Luz. But... it was still Eda in the cage. It was still Eda who was gonna get petrified. She's scared."
The former head of the Emperor's Coven nodded slowly, then leaned against the wall and slid down. "What do we do now?"
King shrugged, "We wait. Eda knows what she's doing. She'll help Luz."
Sure enough, in Eda's arms, Luz's crying had relaxed to sniffles and shaky breaths.
"Are you ready to try sleeping again?" Eda asked softly.
Luz's arms tightened, "No. Eda, don't go."
"I'm not going anywhere, kiddo." The Owl Lady declared, gently forcing Luz to lay down. She kept a hand on the human's shoulder as Luz hugged her pillow, fresh tears escaping and staining the dark fabric of the pillowcase. "Nothing is ever going to take me away from you. I won't let it."
Luz whimpered, "Promise?"
"I promise." Eda gently squeezed Luz's shoulder.
"Stay until I fall asleep? I don't want to be alone."
The Owl Lady nodded, flicking away the orb of light hovering above her hand. "Of course, Luz. I'm right here."
Luz's eyes slowly dropped shut as exhaustion took over, pulling the human into a much-needed rest. Eda didn't dare move until she was 100% positive that her human was asleep. Only then did she slowly get to her feet and pad silently to the door.
"Is she okay?" King asked the second Eda entered the hallway.
The witch smiled sadly at the small demon. "Not entirely, but she will be eventually. She's sleeping now."
King nodded, then raised his head. "Hey, uhm, Eda? Do you think Luz wants company in her sleep cocoon?"
Eda sighed, "You know what, King? I think that's exactly what she needs right now."
The King of Demons' tail lashed happily as he disappeared around the door into Luz's room. Eda and Lilith could hear him scramble onto the bed and eagerly curl up beside her.
"Edalyn..." Lilith broke the silence. "I'm sorry."
Eda raised an eyebrow. "It's not me you should apologize to. I've made my peace with your decision."
"I've tried to talk to your human, but whenever I try, she ignores me."
"Can you blame her? You refer to her as "my human", but Luz is her own person. She belongs to no one but herself."
Lilith nodded, "Right. Of course. Let me rephrase: I've tried to talk to her, but she ignores me."
"You have two choices, Lilith," Eda leaned against the wall. "You either keep trying or you back off for a little while and you give her the space she needs to process what happened at Belos's castle."
"If I give her time, do you think I will be able to talk to her?"
"Eventually, I think Luz might come to space where she's up for it, but it's up to her."
Lilith considered the options, then made her decision. "Very well, sister. I know what I shall do."
"Good," Eda yawned, "Tell me in the morning. Night, Lily."
"Goodnight, Edalyn."
Lilith stayed in the hallway well after Eda had disappeared into her bedroom. She was going to give Luz space to process, then attempt a conversation to reach common ground. It was what Eda indirectly recommended, and Eda knew the human the best. Lilith stepped toward the door and briefly poked her head into Luz's bedroom. The girl was curled around King, whose head rested on her side, his eyes watching the door with a fixed gaze.
"Goodnight."
King nodded his response, but stayed silent and otherwise still.
Lilith retreated back to her bedroom and lay awake in reflection.
She was responsible for the human's nightmares and she would be the one who fixed it.
AN:
Once again, this one-shot was inspired by a fanart (link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJUT-Dmp2YO/?igshid=rw3277kpopg8).
