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“I taught you better than this!”
Take deep breaths
“Come on now, faster!”
Focus on the target
“How can you expect to take down the wild witches like that? Do better!”
Strike steady and fast
Luzura tried to sweep the legs out from under Hunter, but he anticipated that and was able to dodge and easily pin her right after. She scowled at him while he just sneered. All she wanted to do was wipe that smug expression off her face.
“Alright Hunter, release her. She’s been humiliated enough.” Belos sighed as he leaned to the side of the chair he sat in whenever he watched them train, “Once again, you win.”
Hunter instantly got up and began to walk away, though he was able to get one last indignant look towards Luzura as he walked back to grab a towel and some water. Luzura growled and grabbed a fistful of dry, dusty dirt in her hand from the ground.
“Hey Goldie! Think you can help me up?” Luzura said, making her voice sound comically innocent and pitiful.
Hunter sighed and turned around, walking back to his sparring partner. Once he was close enough as he began to reach down to help her up, Luzura threw the dirt into his eyes, blinding him in a cloud of dust. While he couldn’t see, she grabbed her wooden training staff from where he had managed to toss it to earlier, tackled him, and pinned him down by sitting on his stomach as she pressed the staff into his neck. He tried to get up, but with her pressing all of her weight down on her neck, it was hard to get enough strength to push her up. Luzura listened to the sound of him gasping for air closely as she was just focused on ensuring he couldn’t get back up again.
“Luzura, enough. You win.”
Just those last two words from Belos, and she released all the pressure and got off of Hunter, sitting on the ground and holding her staff in her lap. Hunter sat up and gasped for air and rubbed his neck as he regained composure, still trying to blink out the dirt in his eyes. When he was composed again, he turned to Belos, furious.
“Uncle! How can that be a win? The fight was over. She wasn’t fighting fair in the slightest and used deceitful tactics! In no way can that be legitimate.” Hunter complained, voice slightly raspy.
“Nephew, like how it is your job as Golden Guard to be my hands, it will be Luzura’s job to be my mouth. She will be my prophet and spread the word of the Titan as I grow older and become unable to. She will be out and trying to convince the wild witches to convert from their ways. How can she do that if she can not defend herself at their level?” Belos said, speaking in an even but holier-than-thou tone, “And with her status, those poor souls and even those within covens might try to attack her because of her position. She needs to be able to take down anyone. And considering she can best you, my mightiest soldier, I think that’s a good sign and not something to complain about like a child.”
Hunter grumbled something to himself, got up, and actually got the towel and water he had originally wanted to cool off. It was a humid day and, since he and Luzura’s training area was so secluded from the rest of the castle for all three of their safety and privacy, there was no nearby ventilation of any kind to prevent spies or assassinations as much as possible. Hunter was thankful for the humidity though, because those conditions were better than they were at other times, like in the winter where they had to train in the cold and snow in their training gear and nothing more, or in the dead of summer when they were actually given more gear to wear. Belos wanted the both of them to be able to fight no matter what the conditions were, at times even using magic to make the conditions worse. While he appreciated how much Belos cared about them by ensuring they’d be prepared for whatever, that didn’t mean he didn’t also appreciate when it was just a normal day.
As Hunter sat down as he toweled the sweat and residual dirt off his face, he noticed Luzura was doing the same on her side. She looked incredibly pleased with herself, but not in a cocky way, more in a normal proud way. He realized just how often her competitiveness made him forget that she just wanted Belos’ approval, just like he did. They were both young and wanted favoritism from the same person. He couldn’t fault her for that.
But, at the same time, that didn’t change that she often did whatever it took to win. Lying, cheating, playing dirty, whatever it took for Belos to say that she was better. She was like a lapdog for him, a thought that Hunter found funny considering how often Lilith, before she turned traitor a few months ago that is, called him that.
Hunter’s amusement turned back into anger when he watched as Belos got up from his seat, walked over to Luzura, lifted her head, told her something, then patted her on her head before leaving. Sure she won, but she didn’t deserve all that. He had been the perfect soldier his whole life but a few months ago, she came around and got all the praise Hunter never did. It made his blood boil and any sympathy he had for her because of their similarities washed away again.
Luzura got up, grabbed her water and towel, and walked out of the training area to go back to her room. She noticed Hunter was following her, looking very angry as he did so, but paid no mind to him. She realized she probably should have paid a little mind when he suddenly pinned her to the wall by her wrists, glaring at her. She knew he wouldn’t do anything, Belos would have his head for that, but it still made her adrenaline start pumping again. She tried to assure herself mentally that she was safe and Hunter was all bark and no bite, but that was easier said than done.
He was not only several inches taller than her, but he just had more muscle than her in general. She was taken in by Belos after being found with no memory and completely abandoned a few months ago, so she didn’t have nearly as much time as Hunter had to gain substantial muscle mass. Sure she was strong, but she often had to use her cunning and smaller size to take him down since there was no way she could ever overpower him with strength alone. And since they were currently both in training gear, she couldn’t stomp on his foot or kick him in the crotch and get any results thanks to the padding they both had for basic protection during sparring.
Belos put them through a lot against each other, but never without at least a little protection.
All of that put together meant she could basically do nothing even if he did try anything. All Luzura could do was just try to relax and see what Hunter’s plan was with whatever he was going to go on about.
“You know you’ll never be good as I am, right?” He said, voice filled with equal parts snark and aggression.
“What’s got you all riled up?” Luzura said with a smirk, trying to hide her anxieties just like Belos always told her to do when backed up into a wall, literally or metaphorically.
“No matter what Belos tells you, I will always be better.”
“Is that what this is about? I’ll have you know all Belos told me was that he was proud of how much I’ve been progressing. Sure you’re a child soldier but I was found as a complete blank slate and am able to take you down. I’d say that’s progression from how I started. I was like a snorse learning to walk when it came to fighting.”
“You know, Belos is probably lying to you about that whole story.”
“What?”
That actually managed to shake Luzura a little. The first thing she remembers from her whole life is being found by Belos not long ago, lying bloody and battered just outside the castle grounds. He took her in. He fed her, clothed her, and gave her a new life in replacement of the one she forgot. He told her that she was to become his prophet, and eventually his successor. Just the suggestion that any of that could be a lie was terrifying.
“Yeah, it might be. You know the whole Owl Lady incident? Well she had a human pet who looks a lot like you that went missing the day Belos released her and Lilith from their petrification. But who wasn't seen leaving? The human. And who showed up just a week or two later? You.”
“You’re insane to think something like that. Belos wouldn’t do that.” Luzura said with a forced chuckle.
“It is true though. Switch the eyes and ears and lose the scars and you look exactly like that human.”
Luzura looked at him, terrified, which actually made Hunter’s snark falter. He almost never saw her scared, and every time he did felt like a shot to the heart. A part of him always thought of her as the scarred and bloody blank slate, the trusting, innocent girl Belos brought in one day. She was terrified of him after their first sparring match and he had to comfort her. When she first saw how angry Belos got, he stitched up the gash Belos put through her eyebrow afterwards and explained how to deal with his anger.
Hunter sighed and let go of Luzura, which helped her ease up significantly, though he was still standing very close to her. He didn’t want her to leave just yet.
“Look Luzura, I do care about you. Even if I’ve only known you a few months. I don’t want you to get in my position not just out of jealousy, well it is mostly jealousy, but also because I don’t want you to go through what I do.” Hunter admitted.
“I don’t want your position. I want to prove to you, Belos, and everyone else that I can have my own. I want to be better than your position. I don’t want to lose anything that Belos has given me, including his favor. So I don’t want your pity, Golden Guard.”
She lightly pushed him away and began to continue walking down the hall. Though, just before she turned the corner, she did look back at him.
“Thank you for your concern, though.” She said genuinely.
Luzura rounded the corner and went straight for her room. She took off her training gear so she was just in her tank top and shorts, cleaned up any scrapes and scratches she got during training, then just laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about what Hunter said.
There was no way, right? Belos wouldn’t lie to her. Not with how much he cared about her. Whenever she wasn’t training or on missions or doing public events, he made sure she was safe. If she wasn’t working, she was being protected. And there was no way she was anything like that dumb human pet of the Owl Lady’s. Hunter was just messing with her like always. Sure he was nice when she was hurt, but only because he saw her like a wounded animal. Whenever she was fine, he hated her. So he had to be lying. Right?
Luzura reached under her bed, pulled out the hidden scroll she had stolen a few weeks ago, and opened up the news app. She searched “Owl Lady+Human” into the search bar and began scrolling through the few results. There wasn’t much, but the final result did stick out to her.
“Human girl now working with Eda the Owl Lady. Employee or Pet? Everything you need to know.”
There was a picture with the article of the human. One that did look a lot like Luzura, but there were lots of differences too. The human dressed way more casually. Her hair was straight. She didn’t have a missing tooth. She didn’t have any bags under her eyes. She didn’t have any scars.
Her ears were too round.
Her eyes looked different.
She looked happy.
She looked perfect.
Luzura instantly turned off the scroll and shoved it back under the bed. Her panic was just becoming greater and greater. She went to the mirror and looked at herself. She looked at her full body, analyzing every nick, cut, and imperfection. Like how her legs were curved slightly to one side, or how her wrists were always swollen, or how she had two pale lines running down the front of her neck, or how one spot on the side of her head dipped inwards slightly.
There was no way she could be that human girl. That girl looked like she had lived a full life. She had lived a full life. But not Luzura, she had lived a few months, nothing more. There was no way she could ever be like that girl in the picture.
Full of anxiety and determination, Luzura put on her uniform, grabbed her extendable staff and tucked it in the back of her belt, put her emergency knife in the hidden place in her boot, and put on her cape, mask, and gloves. She left her room and walked quickly towards the throne room. She knew nobody would be in there except Belos at this time so she didn’t even bother to knock as she pushed open the doors. She walked in, heard the doors shut behind her, went up to the throne, and knelt in front of a now very curious Belos.
“I want to prove myself. To you, to Hunter, to everyone. I want to prove to you that I am worthy of the title of your prophet. Give me a hard mission. One to do alone. I want to prove myself. I have to prove myself. Please.”
Belos thought about her request, slipped off his mask, and smiled down at her.
“Stand up, Luzura.” He said politely, knowing even still she would treat it like a command, “Come closer.”
Luzura did as she was told and stood up and walked closer. Up the steps to the throne, then next to it where she sat down.
“What’s making you want this, my little lamb?” He asked.
“I…I read something about the human pet of Eda the Owl Lady’s. I know they’ve been missing and presumed dead since you generously freed the Owl Lady and her sister.” Luzura said cautiously, not wanting to anger Belos in any way.
“And what does that have to do with this determination for a mission?”
“Well, I know there are still people who don’t think I’m worthy of your generosity. So, I want to prove myself. And I know that the Owl Lady, while the Titan asked for you to spare her, is still a threat. I want to arrest her and Lilith and bring them in. That way I can prove that everyone is wrong about me. About my worth. About who I’m supposed to be.”
Belos just smiled at her and stood up, gesturing for her to do the same. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and began to lead her away from the throne. He guided her to a wall that, when he pressed it, opened up into a hidden staircase. He led her down into her lab and over to a table, upon which lay a suitcase-like thing with a large broken eye and a small key with a similar eye, though its eye was glass and completely shattered.
“This is the portal door and key I was able to retrieve when the Owl Lady was captured. They are quite valuable to her, though she is unaware that the key is broken and thus the door is useless. Take the key and wear it openly around your neck. She is vulnerable right now, quite shaken after the ceremony, and would do anything to get this back. If she sees you have it, she will come out of whatever hole she’s hidden away in and will give you the perfect chance to strike.”
“And what about Lilith?”
“She too will be overcome with emotion when she sees you’ve killed her sister.”
“W-what?” Luzura stammered, taken aback by the implication, “You want me to…kill the Owl Lady?”
“Yes, and Lilith too. The Titan told me to spare them publicly so that the liars who infiltrated the ceremony won’t get a martyr. But because of her seclusion, nobody will ever know that you killed Lilith and Eda. Once they’re dead, I will have Hunter collect the two kids who spread those lies and have them become recruits so they may see the error of their ways. The Titan has commanded that the plans for the Day of Unity are advancing and that everyone must be given a sigil before the day arrives. Those two will be the first.”
Luzura’s thoughts were racing. Sure she’d fought people before, many times even, but that was always just training or something that ended in arrest. She’d never actually killed anyone. Was that what Hunter meant about not wanting her to go through what he had? He didn’t want her to kill anyone?
“Do not fear anything, little lamb. Once you do this for me, you will have proven yourself that you are, in fact, worthy of becoming my prophet. And as my prophet you won’t even require a sigil for the Day of Unity to be connected to the Titan. And once I have declared your position officially, everyone else will fall in line. There are tales that one of the schools is supporting mixing magic, but I’m sure after your position is announced, and your face is revealed, they all will cease their rebellion immediately.”
“Why are you so sure that-that killing those two and claiming my role will do all that?” Luzura asked, still unsure if she could even kill someone in the first place.
“Trust me, Luzura, once the people see your face and know just how close you are to me, all the rebellion will stop. Now, time is of the essence. Find the Owl Lady, lure her with the key, then kill her and her sister. Once you’ve finished, return to me. I’ll still be down here.” Belos said, putting the key necklace around her neck.
Luzura just nodded and left the hidden lab. She went to the nearest balcony, pulled out her staff, extended it, and then began to fly away from the castle.
She was never told where the Owl Lady lived, but she had a feeling in her gut that pulled her towards the woods. She landed at the edge of a path, compressed her staff and put it away, and then began walking. The key felt like a weight dragging her down as she walked with it. She tried to focus on her breathing and not think about what she was supposed to do. As she got further into the woods, she began to worry that she wasn’t going the right way. That was until she noticed a clearing ahead in which was a large and obnoxious house.
The owl house.
The door was open and some strange tube that was connected to it was inside. All the lights were out, but thanks to the sunlight Luz could see the silhouettes of a tall and a short figure, as well as the tube.
Luzura took a deep breath and began to walk towards the house, but was stopped in her tracks when she heard the shattering of glass and a yellow-orange sweet smelling fog surrounded her before she quickly passed out.
When Luzura woke up, she realized she was both tied to a chair and blindfolded. She also couldn’t feel her cape, armor, gloves, mask, or staff on her, leaving her in just her uniform pants, short-sleeved undershirt, and boots. Thankfully, she could still feel her hidden knife. She could hear muffled voices talking on the other side of what was likely a wall or a door, though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, just that there were four distinct voices. One young, one shrill, and two older, one who sounded posh while the other sounded excited. The excited one began to yell at the posh one, then there was silence. The door to whatever room Luzura was in opened and someone entered.
“You awake, kid?” The excited voice asked, though now she sounded a lot more serious.
“You think you could explain what exactly is going on? I wasn’t planning on being kidnapped today.” Luzura said, voice dripping with sarcasm and disdain.
“Man Bel’s got you good. Look kid, I’m so glad that you’re okay. Or, relatively okay. I swear I’m going to kill that bastard for what he did to you. I can only imagine how you’re doing.”
“You mean Emperor Belos? He hasn’t done a thing to me. You’re the traitor here.”
“Kid, he carved your ears to be pointy. What kind of psychopath does that?! And don’t think I can’t see the scars littering your skin. You aren’t okay. With how swollen your wrists look, he must have shattered your hands then rushed when he fixed them. All for some sick ploy to manipulate you and force you into doing this whole Golden Guard act?”
“Don’t compare me to the Golden Guard. I am better than him in every way.” Luzura said, voice full of venom, “By how you’re talking, you must be the Owl Lady. Would you mind kindly unblindfolding me and taking off these restraints? I have a job to do.”
“Ah, so he brainwashed you, got it. In that case I definitely can not follow your request. I saw you had the portal key, or whatever is left of it. Let me guess, he wanted you to lure me out so he could arrest me and try to petrify me again?”
Luzura didn’t respond to that. This criminal, no matter how evil, deserved more than to know her death was coming. Besides, if she told her that, she might take advantage of having the upper hand and kill her first. Strangely though, it didn’t seem like the Owl Lady was that interested in threats or even leveraging her or anything. She sounded genuinely worried about her, which was strange.
Why did this basically stranger care so much about her?
“Whatever it is,” Eda continued, completely unaware that Luzura was in the process of undoing the ropes she was tied with, “I’m just so glad I finally nabbed you. I was so worried when I saw…when I saw how much blood was on Belos’ cloak when he released me, King, and Lilith. But you’re not dead. And I don’t even care that the portal is gone and my main source of income is Titan knows where and useless with the key being broken. You’re okay and that’s all that matters.”
Luzura paused, knot of the rope in hand and almost untied. This woman was being just as kind and caring as Belos was. If not more so.
Why was she acting like they knew each other? Why did she love her more than Belos did? What was the secret nobody would tell her but everybody knew?
“W-why do you care so much about me?” Luzura stammered.
“Kid, you’re like a daughter to me. I realize that now. And I don’t have my magic anymore, but I’ll still find a way to fix whatever damage Belos has done to your brain.”
Eda moved closer to Luzura. She could sense the Owl Lady’s hands moving towards her face and tensed up. Eda seemed to pause, then a single finger lightly grazed against the slight indent in her skull, making Luzura flinch from the shot of pain. The Owl Lady seemed to be tensed up too, but she then undid the blindfold and let it fall into Luzura’s lap.
Luzura stared down as she blinked, getting used to the light of the room. Behind her back, she had managed to undo the knot and would be able to get out of the ropes at any moment she wanted. Slowly, she looked up and saw the Owl Lady’s face for the first time in person. As they made eye contact, she watched as Eda’s expression turned from worry to terror.
“Kid…” Eda said breathlessly, “I thought your eyes were brown.”
Luzura began to breathe faster and faster, panic returning. The Owl Lady just stared, completely frozen as she looked at her with her wide yellow and gray eyes. The eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. They were unnatural. Too familiar. Scared and caring and longing and confused and hopeful and so many other things all at once.
Too many other things all at once.
With a yell that sounded like the mix between a cry and a scream, Luzura dropped the ropes, grabbed the hidden knife out of her boot, and aimed straight for the Owl Lady’s face. It was like she wanted to gouge out those strange and terrifying eyes with her knife instead of actually killing her. However, Eda was able to reflexively move just enough that instead Luzura’s knife cut off half of one of Eda’s ears. Eda seethed from the pain and clutched her ear, holding back screams as she stared at her clearly terrified old student holding a knife now stained with her blood.
Luzura just stood frozen, the knife feeling like it weighed a ton in her hand. Her focus drifted to the blood from Eda’s ear seeping through her fingers. So much blood. Too much blood.
WHY WAS SHE STILL BLEEDING?!?
“What…” Eda said weakly, sounding in both physical and emotional pain, “What did he do to you Luz?”
That name.
Why did she call her that name?
It was all too much. Luzura dropped the knife and just ran. She kicked the door open, shocking Lilith and the other two house residents who stared at her in shock in disbelief.
“What’s going on? What happened to you?” Lilith asked, terrified, “Why…why are your eyes pink?”
Luzura’s breath hitched at the question. She spotted her armor, gloves, mask, and staff sitting on the ground by the door. She quickly grabbed her staff, extended it, shoved through the people in her way, and ran straight towards the large window at the end of the hall. Not thinking, just running. She smashed through the glass and, for a few seconds, felt weightless as her legs kept trying to run on the air as shards of glass rained down around her. Before she hit the ground, Luzura got her staff under herself and began to fly as fast as she could towards the castle.
She didn’t care that she was out of uniform.
She didn’t care that she had cuts in her skin from the glass.
She didn’t care that the sound of screams rang in her ears.
She just had to get to Belos as soon as possible.
Luzura landed on the roof of the castle, just barely not crashing as her legs slowly felt like they were becoming weaker and in more and more pain with every step. She went down the stairs, through the hall, and ignored everyone who she passed. They saw her, they saw the staff, they knew who it belonged to, they didn’t say a thing. Not even Kikimora so much at tried to get in the way of her. The only person who dared to stop her as she went towards the throne room was Hunter, who grabbed her arm as she rounded into that hallway and instantly noticed how cut up she was.
“Luzura, don’t go in there.” He said desperately, sounding like he was in the middle of his own panic attack, “Everything I told you about Belos is true. I saw the footage of the day of the attempted petrification. The security footage too. Ever since you came along I’ve been slightly questioning all of this, but if Belos is capable of everything he did to you, he’s not at all who I thought he was. I need you to come with me. We need to get out of here. We need to run.”
“No.” Luzura said, sounding like she wasn’t even present in her own body.
“Please, you have to trust me. We need to go. You know me!”
“I don’t even know who I am.”
Luzura was able to pull herself out of Hunter’s grip and, unlike what had happened at sparring just a few hours ago, managed to sweep his leg out from under him. She ran down the rest of the hallway and shoved through the doors. She went straight for where the hidden door was, opened it, and practically collapsed as she stumbled down the stairs and fell to her hands and knees on the floor of the lab.
Belos looked up from the book he was reading and saw Luzura on the ground. Breathless, bleeding, and panicking. He calmly walked over to her and helped her stand again, letting her support herself on the table. Luzura glanced at the book and saw it was flipped open to pages on something called a grimwalker. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the bright pink eyes the picture had.
The very same eyes her and Hunter shared.
“Who am I?” She asked as she looked back at Belos, voice cracking as she finally began to cry, “Belos, please, who am I?”
“You’re Luzura. You’re my prophet, or you should be soon. Did you do what I asked you?”
“Why did she know who I was? Why did she care about me? Why did she call me that?”
Belos sighed and slowly nodded, looking even more emotionless than usual.
“It seems you didn’t.”
Belos shut the book and stood in front of Luzura, looking at her with his eyebrows raised, as if he was asking her to ask more questions. The words she wanted to say felt caught in her throat. Her head was spinning. She could hardly believe that just a few hours ago she was just casually sparring with Hunter.
She realized it was a mistake for her to have not listened to Hunter and run while she still had the chance.
“You did something to me. Didn’t you?” Luzura managed to say, “I-is my name really Luz?”
Belos just continued to stare in silence. They both knew what she wanted to ask. Belos wanted to hear her say it.
“What did you…do to me?”
Belos sighed and shifted his stance. It was exactly the question he was waiting for her to ask. Though, he was curious on what her reaction would be if he actually told her the whole truth instead of cutting her off before she got the notion of an idea.
“I didn’t do anything to you. I just removed what was wrong with who you used to be.” He said with a shrug as he began to walk forward, one agonizingly slow step at a time, “Your hands went against what was right so I broke them. You ran from the truth so I broke your legs too. Your mouth spoke lies so I ripped out your throat. Your ears listened to the wrong people so I shaped them anew. Your mind was broken so I crushed it. And your eyes couldn’t see clearly so I made them unable to see anything.”
He paused as he watched Luzura, Luz, process everything he just told her. He was amused by her expression slowly becoming more and more horrified.
“But then I fixed you. And now you’re perfect. And since I was just fixing you instead of remaking you, I didn’t need nearly the amount of materials typically needed for a grimwalker.”
“You killed me?” Luz managed as Belos was just inches from her.
“But I don’t have to ever again. Not like that at least. Unlike Hunter, you’re irreplaceable. Besides, why would you ever want to leave?” Belos said, taking a few steps back. “You know nothing of the life you had. You’re practically a new person. Though as I learned with the other Golden Guards, even a crushed brain doesn’t lose its core. Thankfully for you, it means you’ll fight for what’s right and will be loyal. And since I have taught you what’s right and who to be loyal to, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Belos turned away from her and walked towards another table in the lab, seeming to be looking for something. As the pieces continued to click in Luz’s head, her legs became weaker and she had to practically sit on the table just to not collapse again.
“No…no this is wrong. This isn’t okay!” Luz yelled, “I’ll never follow any orders from you again!”
Belos seemed to grab something and began to walk back towards her. Luz shakily moved away slightly but because of the condition she was in and how terrified she was she could barely do anything but tremble in fear.
“Oh, did you know that while regular memory is stored in the front and middle of the brain, muscle memory is stored in the lower back part?”
Luz looked down slightly as Belos revealed he was holding a hammer. One stained a dark red at the end. She looked back up at him in realization. That little divot in her head suddenly made so much sense.
It wasn’t the first time she had figured it out.
And it wouldn’t be the first time he’d do what he was about to do next.
And she was helpless to stop him.
“That means, unlike the other grimwalkers, I have all the attempts with you I need without losing any progress with shaping you into exactly who I need you to be, little lamb.”
All Luz could do is close her bright pink eyes as Belos swung the hammer into her skull.