Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown

Epilogue

"How many bobby pins did you put in here?"

Lilith pulled out what she assumed was the fiftieth bobby pin out of her head. How in Titan's name they even fit in there, she would never know. A part of her is even certain she didn't want to know.

"Too many," Emira groaned.

She went on and added seven more pieces to the pile, letting loose the last sections of her hair. Edric was enthralled, counting each individual pin. Lilith eyed the cluster of pins, before grabbing onto a comb and running it through Emira's head.

"Ah, just like the old days. Huh, Lily?" Eda reminisced.

"Me picking bobby pins from my daughter's hair is not the same as me picking up bugs from yours," Lilith snapped.

She was met with a callous laugh, followed by a bubbly snort. Lilith could only roll her eyes at the notion.

Camila was sat across from her, blow drying Luz's hair after an incident involving... apple blood, of all things. The child was a known safety hazard, especially around liquids.

Her sister Edalyn was right beside the pair, seemingly fascinated that this was the proper use of the contraption rather than the torture device she had been initialling using it as.

Camila chuckled, finally setting the "hair dryer" (Lilith thinks the name is too on the nose, but what did humans care).

"You think that's bad? Luz tried to cut her hair with a sword she bought at a convention."

While Lilith was much more concerned as to why people were selling swords somewhere as mundane as a covention, Luz seemed to have different priorities.

Her expression morphed into that of horror and betrayal. Eyes widened, she looked up in her mother's direction.

"MAMA!"

"Pft- Seriously?"

Edalyn cackled loudly, slapping Luz's back in amusement. She almost looked wounded at the action, pink flushing to her cheeks.

"I don't know why you're laughing," Lilith commented, saving the girl from her misery.

If she couldn't pull her out of the mess, surely she could drag Edalyn down with her.

"I think I remember a certain somebody getting half their hair stuck in the blender and me having to fish it out."

There was nothing but despicable delight to see Edalyn's face squint to silence. A sullen defeat faced by none other than the Owl Lady. The glare she sends her only fuels her ego and makes her grin grow wider.

A distant wheezing caught her attention, coming from none other than Raine Whispers. Another witch who had lost to the empress that morning.

"Oh don't you laugh either, Whispers. You had Edalyn cut your mullet with a butcher's knife while lying on a cutting board."

Whether it was the mention of the mullet (a decision she knew they regretted) or the process of using kitchen utensils to get rid of said regrettable decision, the bard flared up into a hue of embarrassment.

Lilith nearly forgot how delightful it was to tease the two. Titan, she'd missed this.

"W-well," Raine stuttered in retort, eyeing Eda for support. "Weren't you the one who snuck in 2 bottles of apple blood in yours?"

It was now Lilith's turn to be offended. Gasping, she held her chin up high, hands lost in the midsts of weaving emerald strands together.

"I gave you one of those bottles!"