[discontinued] the wrong portal

the trash thief

A/N: I have no idea what I'm doing, I just got really bored and decided to start doing this, so enjoy I guess?

"Summer camp is a chance to make some friends, but you have to try! Can you do that?" Camila was currently trying to sugar-coat forcing Luz into the reality check reform camp, she knew her stubborn daughter hated the idea of summer camp and would do anything to avoid it but she didn't have a say in the matter, after all this would be good for her and may put an end to or at least lessen the level of bullying Luz went through on the daily at school, after all the camp gave her the biggest chance to do some bonding with other kids her age.

"Yes Mom." the young teen clutched her favourite book close to her chest like it was a lifeline that she needed to survive, Luz hated the idea of going to camp, she knew it wouldn't help as much as her Mom thought it would, but what she also knew was that she had no way out of it and that her recent actions had led her to this, she also knew that she had been stressing her Mom out with having to rush out of work early to pick Luz up from school after she smuggled worms into her dress at the school play or released snakes into the school for her presentation. to prove to her Mom that she was willing to change though, she walked over and shoved the book onto the pile of apple cores and wrappers in the bin with a disappointed look in her eyes.

Camila tensed at the sudden vibration from her phone, she checked it and her eyes widened. "Oh! I've got to get to work, the bus will be here soon." she rushed over to give her daughter a peck on the cheek, then rushed to her car, leaving the young girl to watch her leave. As soon as she turned the corner, Luz leapt at the opportunity to reclaim her beloved book from the bin, only to see that it was empty, she frantically glanced around to look for her stolen book only to see a small owl carrying the bin bag away, she rushed at it trying to get her book back only to see it fly into an old shack, she didn't hesitate to rush in after it in order to save her book.

After passing through the doorway of the old shack, she skidded to a stop, she rubbed her eyes and pinched herself quickly, once she had confirmed this was real her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, she had gone from being in a run down small shack in the forest to being in a dark, stone, massive hallway, after standing for what seemed like an eternity just standing there gawking at her surroundings, she slowly trudged across the hallway, wary of why she was here "right! I'm just here to get my book and then I'll get out and head to summer camp!" she turned a corner at the end of the hall and stopped dead in her tracks at the horrific sight happening just a few metres away from her.

The small brown owl that she had been chasing just a few minutes ago was in the clutches of a tall, thin masked figure with a big white cloak and glowing blue eyes in the eye sockets of the mask, the figure suddenly tightened his grip, and Luz heard a small snap from the owl, and a green glowing liquid flowed from it into the figures mask, he let out a satisfied sigh and looked down, noticing the small girl, Luz wanted to run and scream but all she could do was let out a terrified squeak and stare at the figure, eyes wide.

"Who in the name of the titan are you?" the masked figure asked, seemingly as confused as Luz was, he walked up to her, closing the distance in seconds as she watched, still frozen in place. The figure's breathing was irregular and seemed angry, he stared her up and down until his breathing hitched, once he noticed her ears. "those round ears, you're human aren't you?" Luz's expression changed from terror to confusion in an instant. "B-but so are you!" she managed to stutter out at the hulking figure.

The figure stopped for a second, and after a moment of hesitation he removed his golden mask to reveal an old looking man with bright blue eyes and small, pointed ears, the man gave a warm smile and looked into the girl's eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, my name is Belos, I am the emperor of this land, welcome to the Boiling Isles." the man said, avoiding Luz's question.

Luz looked into his eyes and gave a timid smile. "It's nice to meet you, but I really can't stay, I need to collect my book and go home before I miss the bus to camp." Luz hurriedly rushed over to the pile of trash left from the bin and scooped up her book, carefully stepping over the small corpse of the owl that Belos had just killed. She turned around to rush back past the emperor who still hadn't moved and sprinted down the hallway to where the doorway she had entered was, but was horrified to meet a dead end with an old machine that seemed to have run the portal before, she rushed toward it, frantically pressing buttons in hopes of reactivating it but to no avail, she stood there in shock before hearing footsteps behind her, she spun around to see the emperor directly in front of her, she stared into his eyes and he looked at the broken machine behind her. "Did you come from there?" She nodded frantically and he kneeled down to get at her eye level.

"That portal doesn't work, I have no idea how you made it work and how that vermin owl got in here but I would be glad to look after you and train you to work under me until you can find a way back." The girl seemed unsure of his words and whether or not to trust him, so he paused for a second, and lay a hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes. "Trust me, I will help you, I don't want to see another human life ruined by this place." The girl seemed puzzled, another human life? There were others like her? She quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind, and nodded slowly, trusting the man.

Idk if this is any good or if the writing is boring so any constructive criticism is welcome