As beautiful as light
As cold as ice
Blossoming flowers
Flaring flames
Do a normal boy and girl have what it takes?

My uncle dropped me off at someone's house. Why? Because I was going to a summer camp where people learn to balance checkbooks and pay taxes. Outside with me was a girl around my age who went to my school. She wasn't too excited about summer camp either. At that moment, her mom came outside the house and walked towards her daughter. "Oh, my baby." The mother said. "Now don't worry, summer camp is only gonna be for three months, you'll be so busy balancing checkbooks and learning to appreciate public radio, the time will fly by." "But I don't like any of that stuff." Her daughter explains. "I like editing anime clips to music and reading fantasy books with convoluted backstories." "Mija, you're fantasy world is holding you back, do you have any friends?" She asked. "Not imagined or drawn or reptilian?" The daughter sighed. "Summer camp is a chance to make some friends, like this boy over here." She points at me, but I hide behind my journal. "But you have to try, can you do that?" "Yes, Mom." Her daughter replied as she placed her book in the trash. Her mom gets a notification from her job. "Oh, I gotta go to work." She said kissing her daughter multiple times. "Your bus is coming soon, text me when you get there." She leaves me and her daughter alone as she drives to work. The girl looks at me and smiled. "Hey, aren't you the boy in my English class who won the essay contest?" She asked. "Huh, oh yeah, hi." I replied shyly. "Aren't you the girl who let snakes loose in the school?" "We haven't formally met, I'm Luz Noceda." She introduced. "And yes, that was me." "I'm Peter, Peter Yenkins." I replied in a shy tone. "What was that book you were reading?" "The Good Witch Azura." Luz said. "No way, that's my favorite book series!" I exclaimed. "Have you been to summer camp before?" Luz asked. "Yeah, but it's not like this one." I replied. "The camp I went to was basically many camps at once, but this one isn't like that." "Wait, my mom is gone, I can grab my book." Luz runs over to the trash to grab her book, but it was nowhere to be found. "Where is it?" Suddenly, I spot an owl with a sack of items, including Luz's book. "Tiny trash thief!" Luz shouts. "I'll help you." I replied. The owl ran to a nearby shack. Luz and I followed the owl through a door.

"Stop adorably hopping away you..." Luz yelled. "Huh." We weren't in the shack anymore, but how? "I thought my uncle had a lot of weird stuff, but this?" I wondered. "This is impressive." "Finally, you're back." A woman said to someone. Luz and I hid behind a crate. I pushed away a curtain to see the owl on a stick and was screwed on, lifeless. "Now let's see what we got here, garbage, garbage, garbage." She gasped as she pulled some weird sunglasses. "Now this, this will make me rich, and this, well this'll make good kindling." "Luz, that woman is about to burn your book." I said. "Excuse me, sorry, that's mine, thank you!" Luz panics as she grabbed her book and quickly ran back to the door, but it disappears before she arrived. "You're not going anywhere!" She grunted. I followed Luz to the other side of the woman's tent, which led to a cliff. "Luz, look out!" I exclaimed as I saved her before she could plummet to her death. Across the cliff, we saw various magical creatures, what is this place? "What is this place?" Luz wondered as a fairy flew up to us. "Oh, hello, little fairy, are you gonna tell us that this is all a fantastical dream?" "GIVE ME YOUR SKIN!" The fairy shrieked as I slapped it like a fly on the wall. "Where are we, did we die?" I wondered. "Are we in the bad place?" The woman finds us and grabs us by the shoulders. "You wish." She replied. "We're so sorry, my friend just wanted her book, if you're gonna eat our skin, just make it quick, just do it now!" I cried. "Eat you?" She asked. "Why would I eat, potential customers." Luz and I were no longer scared. "Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes, a bar of green human candy, or how about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?" Luz and I laughed. "That's not all it can do." Luz said. "Here, let me see it." I found two AA batteries on the table and handed them to Luz as she repaired the old TV. Many creatures were amazed by the TV as it played. "What did you say your names were?" She asked. "I'm Luz, Luz Noceda." Luz replied. "And I'm Peter Yenkins." I added. "Well, Luz and Peter, that was pretty clever, for humans." She says. "That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say." I commented. "Oh, dear child, I'm not like you." She replied as she took off her scarf, revealing her true self. "I'm Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles." "A witch?" Luz asked. I could tell that she was fangirling. "I am a respected, feared..." Eda continued. "Busted!" A guard exclaimed as he held a wanted poster with Eda's face. "Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors." "Whoa, witch criminal." I whispered. "You are hereby ordered to come with me to the conformatorium!" The guard ordered. "Would you guys quit following me around?" Eda asked. "I haven't done squat." "And you're both coming too!" The guard exclaimed as he grabbed us by our shirts. "For fraternizing with a criminal!" "That's not cool!" Luz shouted. "Agreed!" I added. "Alright, you win, just lemme grab my stuff." Eda said as she hit the guard with her staff and packed up her stuff. "Follow me, humans." Luz and I ran after Eda. "This is crazy, if I die here, my mom's gonna kill me!" Luz shouted. "And so will my uncle." I added. "I won't let them hurt you, humans like you are much more valuable alive than dead." Eda explains. "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" I asked as Eda grabbed me and Luz to fly away on her staff.

"You can open your eyes now, humans." Eda said as Luz and I opened our eyes and we were flying. Luz started to scream. "Flying staff, crazy monsters, you're a witch!" Luz shouted. "At least she's not gonna eat us." I added. "But seriously, what is this place?" "This is the Boiling Isles, every myth you humans have is caused by a little bit of our world leaking into yours." Eda explains as a griffin flew by us and spit out spiders. "I knew it!" Luz cheered. "Yep, griffins, vampires, giraffes." Eda replied. "Giraffes?" I asked. "Oh yeah, we banished those guys." Eda explained as we landed in the woods and her hand came off. "Bunch of freaks." Luz and I screamed at the sight of Eda's detached hand. "Oops, that happens sometimes." "Well, I've had enough adventure today, this is clearly not the PG fantasy world I've always dreamed about." Luz said. "So can you help us get back home?" I asked. "Only if you two help me first." Eda snorted. "Now come along, humans."

Eda walked us over to the beautiful house in the woods, which was most likely hers. "Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?" I asked. "Nope, my house has a state-of-the-art defense system." "Hoot, Hoot, password please." The owl door said politely, but Eda poked him in the eyes. "We got no time for this, Hooty." Eda ordered. "Let us in." "Alright, alright, geez, never wanna have any fun, ow, hoot!" Hooty complained as he opened his mouth to let us into the house. "Welcome to the Owl House!" Eda exclaimed as she lit up some candles by snapping her fingers. "Where I hide away from the pressures of modern life, also the cops, also ex boyfriends." "This place is beautiful, do you live here all alone?" Luz asked. Suddenly, stomping grew louder in the house. "Actually, I have a roommate." Eda replied. "Who dares intrude upon I, the King of Demons?" A mysterious voice asked. Apparently it was coming from this cute little dog like creature in a towel. Luz and I gazed at him for how adorable he was. Luz ran up to him and cuddled him. "Eda, he's so cute, who's a widdle guy, who's a widdle guy, is it you, is it you?" Luz asked. "No, I don't know who your little guy is, Eda, who are these monsters?" He asked. "Oh, this is Luz and Peter, the humans, they're gonna help us with our little situation." Eda replied. "Oh, hooray!" King cheered. "I don't like the sound of this situation." I said. "Just let me explain." Eda explains, using her magic to give Luz and I a visual of their story. "King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen and he became this." "You mean this little bundle of joy?" Luz asked. "The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath, and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through, humans like you." Eda continued. "If you help us retrieve his crown, we'll send you both back to your realm, so, what do you say, plus, who could say no to this cute face?" "No! Please don't encourage her!" King begged. "I mean, we're kinda your only way home." Eda added. "So, we don't really have a choice, do we?" I asked. "Nope, now we got no time to lose." Eda replied. "Soon, Mr Ducky, we shall drink the fear of those who mocked us!" King exclaimed. "Where are we going?" Luz asked. "Somewhere super fun!" Eda replied.

Eda took us to this place where the crown was. "The Conformatorium, a place for those considered unsuitable for society." Luz picked up a wanted poster of Eda and King. "Whoa, these guys really have the hots for you." Luz commented. "Yep, but we were never caught because we were too slippery." Eda replied. "Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease, I'm a squirmy little fella." King added. "You, Peter, and I will sneak up to the top of the tower, where they're holding my crown." "And I'm gonna make sure the warden is distracted." Eda continued. "Will we need a disguise?" Luz gasped, pulling up her cat hood. "I've been waiting to use this, meow, meow." "I guess I could wear this fake mustache and change my name to David." I said. "I'm a cosplayer." "Who's David?" Luz asked. "One of the counselors from my old summer camp I was telling you about." I replied. "You both look hideous." King complimented. "You'll fit right in." Eda added as she cast a spell to get Luz, King, and I to the tower.

Luz and I climbed into a window and King began to laugh. "Ha, ha, cats don't do that!" King laughed. "Do you want this crown back, or not?" I asked. As we looked around, I noticed we were in the room with the prisoners in cells. "Hey, Mustache, Cat Lady, how'd you get out of your cells?" A prisoner asked. "Oh, I'm not a cat, he doesn't have a mustache, and we're not criminals." Luz replied. "Not yet, you're not." King added. "Neither are we, the stupid warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in." She explains. "Like, I write fanfics of food falling in love, I like food, I like love, just let me write about it!" "I'm here, because I like eating my own eyes." Another prisoner explains. "We are agents of free expression, they will never silence us!" A third prisoner shouted. "Yeah, she's really big into conspiracy theories." The first girl added. "The world is a simulation, we are but playthings for a higher being!" She continued. "These aren't crimes, none of you actually did anything wrong, you're all just a bunch of weirdos, like us." I said. Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door. "It's Warden Wrath, hide!" The prisoner panicked as Luz, King, and I hid inside an open cell. "I can hear you." Warden Wrath comments. Luz, King, and I were paralyzed by fear. "Just what are you fools whispering about? Oh, The Owl Lady, I'll get my hands on her soon enough." "Fight against the oppressor, we will resist, we will conquer!" The conspiracy theorist exclaimed. "We will never be afraid of you, you old creep!" Warden Wrath opened the cell she was in. "Let this be a warning to all of you, there's no place in society for you if you can't fit in." After Warden Wrath left, we opened the cell and got out. "Don't worry, we'll get you guys out." I said as Luz and I tried pushing a lever, but failed. "No!" Luz cried. "My weak, nerd arms!" "Just get out of here while you still can, kids, enjoy freedom for us." The prisoner sighed as we left them.

As Luz and I were walking down the hall, we were caught up by Eda. "Hey, I just checked, the warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature." Eda explains. "He won't be coming around here anytime soon." Luz and I continued walking to the contraband, where the warden was holding King's crown. "My crown, it's close, I can sense it's power!" King cheered. "Aww, he gets so cute when he's thirsty for power." Eda said. "It's not fair that they're in here." I sighed. "They just want to be themselves." "Why does everyone think that being a weirdo is so bad?" Luz asked as King opened the door. "C'mon, before he hurts himself." Eda sighed as we followed him inside.

We saw King trying to pass through a giant energy field. Not gonna lie, no matter how many times he kept trying to pass, it got cuter every time. "We have two humans, remember?" Eda reminds him. "Oh, yeah." King said. Luz and I walked through to find the crown. "Wait a second, is that a...?" Luz asked. "You gotta be kidding me." I groaned.

When we got back outside, we returned with a crown, but not just any crown, a fast food crown. "My crown!" King cheered. "Yes, yes, I can feel my powers returning, you there, nightmare critter, I shall call you Francois, and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness!" "That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?" Luz asked. "Uh, no." Eda replied. "Luz and Peter, look at us, King and I don't have much in this world, we only have each other, so, if that dumb crown is important to him, it's important to me, and besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?" Luz and I smiled. "Well, we owe you one, now let's get outta here before the warden finds us and loses his head." Eda said, but little did she know that Warden Wrath was right behind her. "Too late." He replied, cutting off Eda's head. Me and Luz screamed. "Ow, oh I hate it when that happens." Eda groaned. We screamed again. I almost threw up. "Eda, are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah, this just happens when you get older." Eda explains. "Does it?!" Luz panicked. "Not to us." I replied. "I hope." "Finally, I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady, my guards would never catch you, but I knew if I took your pet's toy, you'd come running." Warden Wrath said, smashing King's crown. "What do you want with me?" Eda asked. "I've never actually broken any of your stupid laws, in front of you!" "I want you, to go out with me." Warden Wrath explains. We were confused. The same dude who chopped Eda's head off, wants to date her. "You've always eluded our capture, you've always been the one that got away, I found that alluring." "I hate everything you're saying right now." Luz said. "Me too." I added. "You two stay out of this!" He snapped, attacking Luz and I in the process. "So, how about it, Owl Lady, the most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath, we'd be the strongest power couple ever, I mean, it's not like you can say no right now." "All right, Warden, you win, I'd just like to say something first." Eda sighed. "Come closer, no, just a little bit closer, yeah, that's good." Warden Wrath did what she said until she blows a raspberry in his face, causing him to drop me and Luz. "Impudent wench." Warden Wrath grunted. "Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth?" "Get over it, you had your guards stalk me and then you cut off my head." Eda argued. "I am NOT going out with you!" "If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to..." Warden Wrath said until Luz and I knocked him out with Eda's staff. "Eda doesn't need no man." I said. "Nice." Eda complimented as her detached body took care of the guards. "Okay, we're going now!" Luz exclaimed as she took Eda's head and I grabbed King from the guard. "Expecto flying? Magicusescapicus." "Did you try Wingardium Leviosa?" I asked. We didn't have a lot of time. Warden Wrath was about to wake up. "Gun it, magic stick!" Eda shouted as her staff took off. "Owl Lady, I won't let you get away again!" He shouted as he began chasing us through the Conformatorium.

We ended up unlocking the cells to free everyone. Eventually, Warden Wrath caught up to us and knocked us off of Eda's staff. "Luz, Peter, go back to the human world." Eda ordered, handing us a key. "What about you guys?" Luz asked. "We can't just leave you here." I added. "If you think this guy is bad, you should've seen her last boyfriend." King replied. "Not my boyfriend." Eda retorted. "Go, go!" She put us back on her staff to escape. From the distance, we saw Eda fighting against the warden, but we also saw the prisoners, standing on the sidelines. "Why are you guys just standing there?" I asked. "This is your chance to escape." "The warden'll catch us again, he always does." The eyeball eater sighed. "We belong here." The fanfic writer frowned. "Self doubt is a prison you can never escape from." The conspiracy theorist added. "So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things." Luz explains. "That may make you weird, but it also makes you awesome, don't you see." "Why are you two helping us?" Asked the fanfic writer. "Because, us weirdos have to stick together." I replied, hopping on the staff with Luz. "And nobody should be punished for who they are!" Everyone cheered as we began to charge towards the warden, who was still fighting Eda. "No more running away, Owl Lady, today I capture you once and for all!" Warden Wrath said. Luz and I flew by on the staff while the prisoners followed. "Who do you two think you are?" "Do not underestimate us, Warden Wrath, for we are Luz and Peter, the humans, warriors of peace." We replied with an Azura quote in our own words. "Now, eat this, sucka!" Luz still had some fireworks from school with her, so she threw those at his flaming mouth, causing him to run away before he could explode. "That was actually one of her better breakups." King commented. "Not a breakup." Eda corrected. "Anyway, let's bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me." We all boarded the staff and headed back to Eda's house.

Back at the Owl House, Luz and I got our stuff situated before Eda could send us back home. "Well, a deal's a deal, let's get you two home." Eda said, activating the portal home. "Before we go, I know it's not the same, but, a king shouldn't be without a crown." Luz said, grabbing a crown from her Azura figure, giving it to King. "This shall suffice." King smiled as I pulled him into my arms to cuddle him one last time. At first, he was against it, but now, he practically falls asleep in my arms. Eda returned the book to Luz. As we walked up to the portal, we began to have second thoughts. Sure, both of us originally wanted to go home, but, is it really worth it. I would go back to being the popular, yet, shy kid, and Luz is back to being the weirdo without any friends, well, almost no friends. Luz looked at her book, then at the portal, then at a mirror, where she smiled. "Okay, I know you got your head cut off, and we started some kind of prison riot, but, this was the most fun I've ever had." Luz said. "What are you saying?" I asked. "Peter, you and I don't fit in at home, Eda doesn't fit in here, if we stay, we can not fit in together." Luz continued. "I'm not going back to summer camp." "What's summer camp, what are we talking about here?" Eda asked. "I wanna stay and become a witch, like you and Azura." Luz explains. "What do you think, Peter?" "Spending time with you guys to become a witch?" I asked. "Sign me up!" "What, that's crazy, humans can't become witches." Eda retorted. "Maybe that's because they haven't tried." Luz replied. "If you teach me and Peter to become witches, we'll do anything you want." "Let them stay!" King begged. "They can make us snacks." "Well, I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards." Eda admits. "Alright, I'll teach you two how to become witches, but you both have to work for me before learning any spells, deal?" We didn't answer Eda's question. We just hugged her and King.

Later that night, Eda showed us to a spare bedroom in the house. As we were getting settled in, King walks in. "Your sleep cocoons look fluffy." He said. "Come in, buddy." I replied as he fell asleep. "Our door is always open."

Finally, after months of procrastinating, I finally completed the first chapter of Adventures in the Boiling Isles. -Mal.