Changeling Witch

(S2) Decisions and Regrets

The others stared at Luz in shock.

"The what?!" Gus exclaimed incredulously.

"Surprise!" Luz said, doing jazz hands. "My name's not Mirabel, it's Luz! And I'm the Golden Guard—y'know, the Emperor's right-hand woman, daughter, protege, influence advisor, whatever you wanna call it. I've been looking for new recruits, and you guys fit the bill! Lucky you!"

Willow took a step back, letting out a nervous laugh. "You—you can't be serious. You're not the one that Hunter told us about... right?"

"That's me!" Luz nodded to Viola, who fluttered into the air and transformed into a staff.

She swept the staff over her clothing, reverting it back to her standard uniform, mask and all... well, with one key thing missing.

Luz adjusted her mask. "Yeah, this would usually be a lot cooler with the cloak, but I don't have it at the moment. Long story."

A group of Coven scouts emerged onto the field, closing in on the others.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Luz held up her hand. "Last time I checked, I didn't give you permission to come here."

Steve folded his arms. "Darius sent us to pick up your recruits."

"Oh!" She brightened. "Okay, good! Then there won't be any delay in branding you with coven sigils and taking you back to the castle! No contact allowed with the outside world until you're higher up in the ranks, but you'll adjust!"

Skara instantly burst into tears.

...............

"Guys, trust me, I am so sorry about this whole cell thing," Luz said quickly, leaning everyone's staffs against the wall of the jail. "But did you really have to punch Steve, Skara?"

"I get it," Steve grunted from the corner, giving her a thumbs-up. "Emotions are running high. Ice pack for Steve."

Luz frowned, leaning against the cell bars. "I don't get it. You guys are joining the best coven there is. You get to keep your magic, you get free room and board—hey, you can even play Flyer Derby on your day off!" She paused. "Okay, this year's off day has already passed, but there's only fifty-two weeks until the next one."

"We don't care!" Skara snapped. "None of us want this!"

"I mean, I can always bribe or blackmail Bels into giving you more days off," Luz said with a shrug. "That's how I got my extra one... though, wait, the Isles does know what he looks like now, so I guess I don't have that anymore." She tried for an encouraging smile. "Trust me! I'm your friend now, right?"

Gus glowered at her. "Friends don't stab friends in the back, Mirabel."

"Uh, yeah, they do. The Coven Heads do it all the time." Luz waited for a response, then sighed. "Look, I get that you guys probably had other life plans, but this is for the best. Skara, Raine is amazing, don't get me wrong, but all the Bard Coven does is concerts and charity events and that kinda stuff—your strategic skills would be wasted there. And Gus!" She gestured at him. "You've got so much talent in you! You can't throw it all away just to restrict yourself to illusions, not to mention that Adrian is a total snot! And Viney—I'm really impressed with the fact that you've dedicated yourself to two tracks, but you can't join two covens, okay? You physically can't. That's not how the seals work."

"Maybe I don't want to join a coven," Viney growled. "Ever thought about that?"

Luz brushed that off. "Psssh, of course you do, you don't want to be a criminal. Captain, heyyyyyy!" she said, noticing that Willow was just staring into space. "You're with me on this, right? Do you actually want to spend the rest of your life answering to Terra of all people?"