Miraculously from Ninjago | Stranded in Etheria

63 - Witches' Duel

Still Adrien's POV

"Adrien?"

My face went pale.

"Father," I replied after a slight hesitation, trying my best not to let my voice crack.

I wiped away my tears, hoping he hadn't noticed I was crying. I was sure he was going to scold me, to tell me that I was over reacting, that I should have more control over my emotions...

But he didn't.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien," he whispered, pulling me into a hug.

My eyes went wide as I struggled to grasp the fact that my father, Gabriel Agreste, was hugging me.

"I should have noticed the symptoms sooner," he said. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard... listened to you more..."

"Are... are you okay?" I asked. I wasn't used to him being so... apologetic.

"I'm such an idiot," he said, pulling back. He kept his hands on my shoulders as he put a knee on the ground. "Anxiety and depression run in the family. If I hadn't been so blind, I would've realized you needed help."

I suddenly felt really overwhelmed, and the tears started pouring down for what felt like the millionth time today. Argh, I was so sick of feeling like this. Father wrapped his arms around me again, telling me it was going to be okay.

"Do you ever wonder why I'm hardly seen outside of the house?" he asked after a moment.

I shrugged.

"It's because I have social anxiety. And after your mother died, my depression worsened tenfold. I should've realized how much her death affected you as well."

"She was my mom," I said. "I was a mess for years. I'm still a mess. I'm still broken."

"You're not broken," he whispered. "You're hurting. I can't tell you how proud I am that you've never knowingly inflicted that pain on someone else. You obviously didn't inherit that trait from me; you get your kindness from your mother."

"I miss her," I sniffled.

"I do too," father muttered. "And I regret how hard I've been on you. Which is why you won't be working for me anymore; I want you to live your own life instead of follow in my footsteps."

"Really? You mean it?"

He smiled. "Yes. No more photo shoots, no more modelling. No more restrictions, either. You're an adult now, Adrien. It's time I started treating you like one."

"Thank you," I breathed.

"No, don't thank me. It's the least I can do for my own son."

—————-y/n's POV——————

"Ripple, fins up!"

"Whoa! Y/n's a superhero!" Luz yelled from the window. "That is so cool!"

I ignored her and rushed towards the fight. To be honest, I didn't know why we were fighting, all I knew was that Lilith was trying to take Eda away, and I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Ha! Take that, sucka!" Luz called as Lloyd threw a sphere of energy at Lilith.

"Luz! Get down," Amity ordered, pulling her below the window so she couldn't get hit by a spell gone astray.

"Does anybody else feel like this isn't a fair fight?" I wondered. I hadn't even landed a blow on Lilith yet, but Eda and Lloyd we're going all out. Our opponent was cowering in some kind of force field, and I felt a bit bad for her.

"Probably," Eda admitted with a shrug, but she didn't stop casting spells at the other witch.

"She hurt you," Lloyd said to me. "I'm not letting her get away with that."

"She pushed me into a bookcase! That's not a big deal," I said, tugging on his arm. "Please stop fighting!"

He got transfixed in my pleading expression, and eventually, he caved.

"Fine," he sighed. The sphere of power hovering at his palm disappeared.

"Give up, yet?" Eda asked Lilith. She had her pinned to the ground with some kind of spell.

"Never."

"You sure about that?" Eda pressed, getting a fire spell ready.

"Alright, alright! I yield," Lilith finally said as the flames got closer to her face. Eda grinned with satisfaction, then removed the magical chains keeping her opponent bound. She even helped Lilith up.

"Huh," I muttered. "I guess they don't hate each other as much as I thought they did."

"I don't want to see you around here anymore, Lilith," Eda said. "Leave my family alone."

"They're not your family," Lilith snarled, pointing at Luz and King in the window. "Your family is with the Emperor's Coven."

"Ugh, here we go," Eda groaned.

"I know you can do great things there, Edalyn! You shouldn't be wasting your life as a wild witch."

"I won't have a life if I join a coven. They'll take away my freedom and expect me to follow orders. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this! I'm not going," Eda said, turning around and crossing her arms.

"Fine," Lilith grumbled, but then she smiled suspiciously and turned to me and Lloyd. She approached us in a confident manner, but the closer she got, the more worried I became. Was she going to do something to us?

Lloyd pushed me behind him protectively. "What do you want, Lilith?"

"Oh, I don't want anything from you. I only want the best for you."

"I don't like where this is going," I whispered. The way she said it sounded very villainous.

"I've seen your magic. You both would do well in a coven!" she said. She tilted her head to look at me. "You would do well in the illusions coven. That transformation was quite the show."

I looked down at the outfit my miraculous had created. "This isn't an illusion."

She ignored me, and turned to Lloyd. "And you have a place at the Emperor's Coven! Power like that should be used for a bigger purpose."

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not interested," Lloyd said, backing away. "Now if you'll excuse us, my friend and I have a place to be."

Lilith looked disappointed. She summoned a small scroll and handed it to Lloyd. "If you change your mind, we'll be here."

The scroll suddenly burst into flames. Lloyd gasped and dropped the piece of paper.

"They won't be needing that," Eda insisted. "Now get lost."

Lilith huffed, but she turned around and started walking away. She mounted her staff and took to the air, like Harry Potter riding a broomstick.

"Thanks for the help, kids," Eda said. "I mean, you didn't actually do very much, but still. Oh, and keep practicing that shape-shifting magic; it's a rare gift."

"It's not really a gift, exactly," Lloyd said, a little embarrassed.

Eda's eyes widened. "It's a curse?"

"No, it's not a curse either," he muttered. "I'm... I'm part dragon. Today was the first time I was actually able to make that transformation."

"Well, keep working at it. And stop looking so ashamed! An ability like that should be celebrated," Eda said, putting her hands on his shoulders assuringly.

"Thanks," Lloyd smiled. "Now I think it's time for y/n and I to go home."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Thanks for everything, Eda."

We said goodbye, then waved to the others still hiding in the house. I took Lloyd's hand, and tapped my miraculous.