A True Witch (Part 1)

Witch and Witch Hunter Reborn

Luz jolted up, gasping for air. She was confused as she looked around. Her memory was a bit fuzzy which just added to her concern. She was in a small room made of yellow brick, laying on a makeshift bedroll, under a tattered blanket. As she took in her surroundings, she noticed she was alone. However, there was stuff set up around the room. Her bag was laying open a few feet away, there was a fire, a cooking setup, and even a broken teacup that had hot water in it, a small trail of steam coming from it.

She heard footsteps coming from the other side of the room door and laid back down, trying to look like she was still asleep. The door opened, the footsteps came through, closed and locked the door, walked to the fire, paused, then moved over to Luz. She tensed up as she tried to remember what Hunter had taught her about self defense in situations like these, apparently he had experience attacking people that tried to attack him in his sleep, and got ready to attack whoever it was. The footsteps stopped and Luz could almost sense as the person knelt down and reached for their neck. Just before the attacker could touch her, she grabbed the person's arm in two places that would give her the best grip, flipped them over, and pinned them to the ground. She stayed on top of them for a few seconds, taking deep breaths as she stared at the shocked face looking back at her. Slowly, the gears in her head started to turn and she realized who it was.

The faded brown hair, the scar on his nose, the sharp features. All of it was familiar. Their ears were round and the curse was gone which was new, not to mention the much improved sense of style, but it was him.

"Philip." Luz gasped in relief.

She dropped her grip and got off him, moving back to her sleep setup and kneeling on it. Philip got up, hesitated for a second, then pulled Luz into a hug and started crying. He was holding her tight, as if the moment he let go she'd disappear.

"My Little Light. Oh I'm so glad you're okay. You're...you're awake. You're moving and strong and I-I...it is so amazing for you to be better." Philip softly cried.

"Better?" Luz chuckled, "What do you..."

Luz trailed off as she remembered all that happened before she woke up. Tarak returning, burning Amity, leaving Philip, the interrogation, Philip in her head, talking to Hunter, fighting Hunter, killing him, him attacking her, him stabbing her, leaving, Philip coming with her as she ran, and teleporting away to somewhere before...

"I died. Didn't I?" Luz asked in a hushed tone.

Philip released her from the hug and nodded slightly, looking at the ground. He looked back up, gave a small smile, and cupped Luz's cheek in his hand.

"But you're okay now. I brought you back." Philip said, more tears welling up in his eyes.

"How? How am I alive? How are you human again? Where even are we?" Luz asked.

Philip dropped his hand from Luz's face and stood up. He extended a hand to help her up, and they found she couldn't walk. Apparently Philip had prepared for this and grabbed a pair of crutches he had made. They tried again, found Luz just needed one for support, and Philip walked Luz to the door.

"I think it'd be easier if I just showed you." Philip said as he unlocked the door.

As Luz emerged from the room, she instantly recognized where she was. There was gold everywhere, simple yet elegant designs, tattered and burned banners of the coven heads and the emperor everywhere, shattered stained glass windows, paintings of the emperor's successes, and every hall was marked with the symbol of the emperor's coven.

Luz was in the castle.

"Man, this place looks different." Luz awkwardly chuckled.

"I was shocked too, but it makes sense. Looters and the Collector would be likely to target this place."