TOH: Shadows Upon Blood - Not the Only One

(WARNING: Contains spoilers and heavy themes)

Luz was looking sadly at the Palisman Egg she carved, barely listening to what the teacher was saying. So far, it never hatched. She wondered if she ruined its life before it ever started. So far, she ruined everyone else's lives the moment she set foot in the Boiling Isles. At least, that's what she believed. Since she returned home a few months ago, Luz has felt nothing but guilt for their failure to return. And she ended up dragging everyone else into it. And she believed it was all her fault... Mr. Sandoval was finishing his story at the moment when Luz set her Palisman Egg aside.

"'Foes vanquished, he trod the shores of his fatherland, family by his side, finally at peace.' This epic ends with a homecoming of not just a man, but a hero."

Luz scoffed at the very idea.

"Hero? Everywhere he went, people ended up suffering."

"It does get bleak, but nobody said his mission would be easy. And when you take into account the ripple effects of his actions..."

"WHO CARES ABOUT THE RIPPLE EFFECTS?!"

The outburst in Luz's voice got the whole class's attention, especially Sue's. She'd never heard her this upset.

"He was just a pawn in someone else's game! And he was never smart enough to realize it! If his friends and family knew about his mission, they'd know that their lives would never</> be in danger if it weren't for him! They should hate his guts, and it would be better, if he LITERALLY NEVER EXISTED!"

The whole class was stunned silent, shaken that Luz, of all people, would say those things. After a moment, though, they simply dismissed it, believing it was more tame than what she'd pulled a year ago. As for Sue, her face showed a pang of sadness for her. Granted, she didn't think that Luz was her type, but she'd heard those words before. She said those same words herself...

After class was over, Luz turned right, having a dismal look on her face. Sue walked out, too, but she couldn't help looking at the poor girl who was in such disarray... She couldn't let her day go on knowing that look would be the last thing she'd ever see of her. And so, turned herself right, following Luz to talk to her. Someone had to by now...

At her locker, Luz looked at her papier mache statue of King, the last one she saw, the one she couldn't save... Luz put her book back in the locker underneath it before she closed it. And when she did, she noticed someone she never expected to see near her. Luz was caught off-guard as Sue spoke meekly to her.

"Hey, Luz... are you okay?"

Luz was too dumbfounded to answer. She never expected Sue Kingston, the most popular girl in school, to be checking up on her, of all people, especially when she was at the brunt of it. She was there at the tryouts when she had meat sausage all over her dress.

"Uh..."

Sue cut Luz off before she could respond with a melancholic look on the blonde's face.

"Right. Dumb question. Of course, you're not. Anyway, what you said during class... it's not about him at all, was it?"

Luz's eyes widened in surprise. How could Sue figure her out so quickly?! More importantly, how much did she know about what she'd gone through?! She was bound to hate her for it all! But her reaction told her differently.

"It's okay, Luz. I don't know what happened to make you like this, but... I know what that's like. To be used by someone who never cared about how other people felt, and to end up hurting everyone else around you. I was someone else's pawn, too."

Luz could not believe what she was hearing. How could she know what that felt like?

"Really?"

"Yeah. My dad never really gave me any choices in my life. He was... he always controlled me. And every day, Ben hated me for it. I wanted to... to disappear. Then, you brought those snakes into your book report during the SATs. It was crazy. My brother Kyle stepped in to save me, and..."

Luz's face fell flat, remembering that she made that tragedy happen herself. Sue cut herself off before she went on.

"Anyway, I wanted to return the favor. I decided I would protect Ben in his place. So, I did the one thing I never thought I could do... I stood up to my dad. And he would've killed me for it, but..."

Sue paused for a moment, remembering how Ben stepped in to defend her, firing a magic blast through his chest and knocking him out. She almost spilled the beans...! She couldn't do that to Ben, even if the notion would only excite her.

"I knocked him out. I just couldn't take it anymore. And I still wanted to die. But then... I met someone who helped me realize that I could have my life back. I owe her... everything for that."

Luz smiled softly at her before she responded.

"That's... really nice, Sue."

Sue gently placed her hands on Luz's shoulders.

"Luz, I know I haven't been the best person to you, but... I want to help you through this. I want you to know you can talk to me, anytime. Okay?"

Luz's face began to water from her words. She even started to sob on her shoulder as Luz hugged her tightly. Sue hugged her back as she spoke softly.

"It's okay, Luz. You'll be okay..."