Changeling Witch

(S2) Mission Improbable

Luz stuck out her tongue in concentration as she sewed, finishing up the final stitch. Viola landed on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging chirp.

"You got that right!" Luz held it up proudly. "Good as new!"

Good as new may have been an understatement. She'd managed to sew the patch on, but the stitches were uneven, she'd switched up methods multiple times, and there were some parts that she'd just resorted to taping on.

She sucked in a breath through her teeth. "It's... it's not that bad."

A brisk knocking came at her door. Viola instantly fluttered under her bed.

"Coming, Papa, you don't need to be so impatient," Luz said, getting up and opening the door. "I already apologized for teasing you about the Coven Day Pa—"

A guard pressed a letter into her hands, then left. She cracked it open, furrowing her brow.

"'My duties are keeping me busy,'" she read aloud, imitating her father's accent. "'I entrust you to lead the Coven Heads today. Consider this a test. P.S—I know what you're thinking, and no, this is not because I am on a date. I have no time for that.'"

Viola poked her head out from under the bed, giving Luz a little tweet.

Luz laughed. "Yeah, I can handle this."

After getting into her full Golden-Guard regalia (with the exception of the mask—she'd decided to take that human kid's advice about wearing it less frequently so people would recognize her), she headed down to the throne room, where seven out of nine of the Heads were filing out.

"Great! You're all here!" She clapped her hands. "Okay, gang, let's get—"

They all brushed past her as if she wasn't even there, Raine being the only one who actually acknowledged her. Before they could say anything, Terra just led them away.

Letting out a growl, Luz threw open the doors to the throne room, where the two remaining Coven Heads were looking over some papers.

"DARI!" she shouted.

Darius let out a massive sigh, turning around. "And good morning to you, too, little princess."

Eberwolf rushed over and gave Luz a hug around her legs, tail wagging furiously.

"Oh! Hi! Eber! Good to see you!" she said, giving them a scratch on the chin.

"For Titan's sake, Eberwolf, don't encourage her," Darius hissed. Eber scampered back over to him and stuck out their tongue.

Luz put a hand on her hip. "Dari! Hi. Care to explain why I just saw everyone leaving? We're having a recruitment meeting today, after all."

"We decided to reschedule the meeting, so..." He waved a hand. "Go play arts and crafts, or whatever it is you do." He noticed Luz's cloak and smirked. "Oh, looks like you've already started."

The Abomination goo on his head snaked over and snatched her cloak off of her shoulders, causing her to let out an indignant squeak.

Darius laughed as he held it up. "Oh, this is impressively bad—wait." He squinted. "Is this the old Golden Guard sigil?"

"Brilliant observation, Dari," Luz said sarcastically. "Maybe you should change your tune? I mean, I don't think this is any way to treat the Emperor's—"

"Daughter?" he finished, raising an eyebrow. "I know who you are. I have to say, I expected some sort of family resemblance between you and the Emperor, but now that the whole of the Isles has seen his face..."