Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was an early summer morning on the outskirts of The Magic Gardens, the sun just peaking over the treeline.

From his shed Train yet out a yawn as he woke up.

It took him a few moments to register how warm it was in the shed already and let out a tired groan.

"Well good morning Train. Hope you slept well during the heat."

Train looked over hearing the voice of his caretaker Mr. McHenry, the gardener stepping out if the adjacent cottage.

"What's this sleep you speak of?" He yawned stretching his wheels.

Mr. McHenry gave a chuckle walking over.

"The heatwave shouldn't last much longer. Now come on, Annabell should be here soon and I want to go over a few things before I leave."

Train with effort made his way out of his shed just as a burst of purple magical energy appeared nearby.

"Sorry I'm late, Zebedee was showing me some cool magic tricks and I lost track of time." Annabell appologized.

Annabell was rather unusual in appearance as she was what was known as a Springed Wizard.

Annabell herself was rather short, being roughly half as tall as Mr. McHenry.

She had purple skin with long blond hair and green eyes, the bottom part of her body consisting of a silver coloured spring.

She brushed down her light blue shirt before bouncing over.

"You're quite alright Annabell. I haven't even started my checks on Train yet so you got here just in time." Mr. McHenry assured.

Train gave Annabell a polite nod.

Annabell watched in awe as Mr. McHenry worked on Train.

She was keeping her distance but could still see everything he was doing.

What amazed her the most was the fact he worked silently, occasionally giving a small tap if he needed Train to lower himself down or to let him know he was working on a new area.

Train himself was relatively calm and relaxed during the whole thing, at least from what she could tell.

Once she was sure they were finished did she speak up.

"That was amazing." She said taking the tool box and placing it by the cottage.

"How did you do that anyway?"

"Years of trust Annabell. I know Train trusts me to keep him in good condition and in return I trust him to tell me when I do my checks and work on him if anything is wrong that I can't see." Mr. McHenry explained.

Annabell looked over at Train who was warming himself up.

He gave her a nod of confirmation.

"Do you think I could learn to do that?" She asked.

"I guess so…we need to learn to trust each other anyway." Train replied, though he was ok with having Annabell around he was still wary of her.

Mostly because the only Wizard he'd met other than Zebedee was Zeebad and he still had nightmares about that encounter at the Ice Palace.

Mr. McHenry gave a nod.

"Train's right. Once you two learn to trust another you'll soon be able to start working with him."

Annabell sighed.

"It feels more like I need to trust myself before I can let him trust me."

Mr. McHenry gave her an assuring pat on the shoulder.

"Zebedee trusts you and that's enough for me."

Annabell gave a small smile.

"Now you remember what to do while I'm gone?" Mr. McHenry asked.

Annabell nodded.

"Firstly make sure Train has enough water for the day, if something seems wrong and I can't identify it get help from Zebedee or Mr. Rusty. After that I need to go to the orchard and garden and check on the fruit and veg. I need to make sure to water the plants in the evenings and make sure Train is safely uncoupled before he returns to his shed and give him enough water for the evening." She recited.

Mr. McHenry gave a nod and smile.

"You'll do fine Annabell. Remember to keep the door locked when you're not in the house. Any food that goes off in the house can just be thrown on the compost pile but make sure no wildlife can get to it."

Annabell nodded.

"You can count on me."

Chapter Text

Annabell let out a tiered groan coming out of the cottage.

The hot weather had certainly not put her in the best of moods.

It had only been about six days but the heat was making it feel like six weeks.

Judging by the fact Train wasn't in his shed told her he'd had a rough night too.

Looking around she noticed the hosepipe had been pulled out and sighed.

"Really?" She asked going to put it away.

She frowned when it moved away from her.

It quickly resulted in the hose moving itself each time Annabell went to grab it.

Of course she was getting more annoyed each time before practically lunging to grab it.

"Gotcha!"

Her victory was short lived when she got a face full of water from it turning itself on.

Annabell coughed and sputtered dropping the hose.

"What the heck!"

From the roof she heard a chuckle.

Glancing up she spotted her mentor Zebedee looking down with a playful smirk.

"Good morning Annabell. I trust that cooled you down." He greeted jumping down.

"Suddenly I see why you get called a trickster." Annabell said dryly, using her magic to dry herself off.

"Nothing wrong in a harmless bit of mischief every now and again." He smiled before going over to Train who had been watching the whole thing and judging by his laughing was probably in on Zebedee's trick.

Annabell only turned the hose off and returned it to its proper place.

"I hope you didn't mind me coming to check on you." Zebedee said.

"You could have not soaked me with a hose pipe." Annabell replied using her magic to make a stool for her to stand on.

Train looked amused as Annabell started her morning checks on him.

"She's not a morning person is she?" He asked.

"You didn't sleep well, I take it?" Zebedee asked.

"I hate hot weather at night. But yeah, hardly slept last night." Annabell replied with a yawn.

"Once your fire powers develop more you'll be able to control your core temperature so heatwaves will be more manageable." Zebedee assured handing her a filled watering can.

Annabell nodded, making sure Train took a long drink.

"Everything looks good Train. So I'll let you head off while I stay around the Orchard." She said, closing his hatch up.

"Why don't you come into the village with us Annabell? I'm sure the orchard will be fine without you for a few hours." Zebedee asked.

"And maybe put something short sleeved on." Train added.

"Train's right, maybe something short sleeved will be better for you at the moment." Zebedee nodded.

"You're wearing a jumper." Annabell pointed out.

"I can control my core temperature." Zebedee shrugged.

"What do you mean by core temperature?" Train asked, watching Annabell place the stool down by the cottage door.

"It's something wizards have that helps us control our body temperature, sort of like your furnace. The main difference is we can control ours with magic." Zebedee explained.

Train gave a nod.

"You ready over there?" He asked, looking over at Annabell.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Annabell mumbled heading over.

Train nodded backing up to his carriage.

"Ok, let's go." He said opening his doors up.

"Anything to avoid teleporting." Annabell commented jumping in.

"You coming?" Annabell asked.

Zebedee shook his head.

"I'll meet you both at the village." He replied before dissapearing.

Train soon set off at a steady pace through the woodlands until he came a short distance away from the nearby village.

"Try to take it easy today ok Train." Annabell said as they passed the village windmill.

Train gave a nod before letting out a whistle to let the villagers know he was nearby.

Chapter Text

Annabell smiled seeing Zebedee talking with most of the villagers once they arrived.

"Morning all." She greeted bouncing over.

"Morning Annabell, morning Train."

Train gave a nod from his spot under the nearby tree.

"So with the weather getting even hotter I believe a trip to the river is in order." Zebedee said.

There were murmurs of approval at the idea.

"Sounds like a brilliant idea." Florence smiled.

Even Train gave a pleased nod at the idea.

"Nice cool water, plenty of shade. Let's get going."

Annabell looked unsure at the idea.

She'd been to the lake before and the water was a bit too deep for her liking, especially since she couldn't exactly swim.

"Let's hope there's still water left." Dougal muttered climbing aboard.

"You ok there Anna?" Dylan asked noticed she seemed off.

"Hm? Oh er yeah, just didn't get much sleep because of the heat." She replied.

"You don't have to go in the water if you're not comfortable. Just be aware if Zeb's about, he might find a way of soaking you." Dylan warned.

Annabell groaned.

"Don't. He finally got me with one of his tricks this morning." She muttered earning a laugh from Dougal.

"Told you he would get you eventually."

Annabell only rolled her eyes.

"Let's just get going."

The ride was mostly quiet, Annabell taking note of how the scenery was changing.

Soon enough Train pulled up at the water's edge, Annabell only really looking up hearing a loud splash.

Of course Dougal had taken a running leap into the water and was happily swimming in the more deeper part of the water.

"Be careful Dougal." Florence warned, walking over towards him.

Everyone soon made their way towards the river to enjoy the cool water.

Annabell however settled down under a nearby tree to watch the others.

"Nice to see my ledge is still here from last year." Brian smiled soon settling down on a small ledge just inside the lake.

It was only small but it made sure he could enjoy the water without risk of being swept away.

Even Train found a spot deep enough for himself to settle down in without getting stuck.

He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

Dylan took a seat by Annabell who was practising some magic with limited success.

"You look burnt out."

Annabell looked over hearing Dylan's concerned voice.

"Burnt out? Sorry that's not a phrase I'm familiar with."

"It pretty much means you've been pushing yourself too much and your body can't keep up, so you stop feeling like yourself." Dylan explained.

Annabell nodded.

"Yeah, it certainly feels that way."

"Doubt this hot weather's helped despite the fact you're, you know, a Fire Wizard." Dylan added leaning back.

Annabell let out a huff.

"You have no idea."

From his spot Zebedee looked over glad that Annabell had started to come out of her shell and actually talk to the villagers more.

By then even he'd used his magic to change into something more suitable and lighter for the weather.

He couldn't help but notice Dougal slowly swimming over to Dylan and Annabell and had to hide his amused smirk knowing what was about to happen.

Both soon jumped up when Dougal decided to shake himself off by them.

Needless to say they were not amused as Dougal ran back to the relative safety of Florence's side.

Annabell shook her head and begrudgingly used her magic to change into a shoulder length shirt.

Dylan only flicked the water off of his fur.

"Very mature dude."

He soon looked at Annabell confused.

"Hey Anna, if you don't mind me asking what're those marks on your arms?" Dylan asked.

"Oh these? Had them all my life. From what I've been able to find out each marking belongs to a specific family. It's kind of hard to explain but a kid will have the markings of whatever side if the family has the strongest magic.. unfortunately I've never been able to find out where my markings come from." Annabell replied, turning her arms around to reveal the full zigzag pattern.

She didn't notice the suspicious look Dougal was now giving her.

"I know I've seen that somewhere before." He said quietly.

It took him a few moments before he realised.

He looked over towards Zebedee and saw the devastation on his face.

That told him he was right.

"Zebedee..can I have a quick word with you in private?" He asked, walking over.

Zebedee nodded and the two quickly excused themselves from the others.

"If what she said is true.. should we tell her? From what I've seen from her she's nothing like him but this isn't something we'll be able to keep secret." Dougal asked voicing his concern.

Zebedee gave an audible sigh.

"Just... just keep her away from the roundabout for now. I need to figure out what I'm supposed to do."

Dougal looked at the wizard concerned.

"You really had no idea..did you?" 

Zebedee shook his head.

"This is the first time she's worn a short sleeved shirt around me before."

He should have realised there was a reason nobody wanted anything to do with her in their homeland. Why he hadn't been able to find anything about her family.

All this time, he'd been looking after a direct descendant of the one who had caused him to lose his family.

"Are you ok?" Dougal asked noticed the shift in the air.

"No...I need some time to process this." Zebedee replied before vanishing in a blast of magic.

Chapter Text

"Everything ok over there?" Florence asked seeing Dougal return by himself.

He paused not knowing how to honestly answer that question.

"I don't know, I'll tell you in private later on." He finally replied.

Luckily Annabell was now seeing how deep the water was while using Train to keep herself balanced.

Florence gave Dougal an unsure look.

"He recognised the markings and so did I." He said quietly.

His tone indicated that wasn't a good thing.

"We need to keep this quiet though..and keep her away from the roundabout, Zebedee's orders."

Florence only nodded.

Of course Zebedee's absence was soon noticed by the others, Dougal giving them the same response.

Ermintrude shook her head.

"You're being a little over dramatic aren't you dear?"

Dougal only remained quiet.

"Where'd Zebedee go? Was he called back to our realm again?" Annabell asked.

Dougal nodded.

"I'm afraid so. He's been going back and forth like a yo-yo lately." He lied.

Annabell sighed.

"Yeah, you can blame me for that one I'm afraid. Anyway if he comes back could you let him know I'm going back to the Orchard to finish my tasks?" She asked.

"Already? Honestly Annabell you should stay a while, it's far too hot to be working out in." Ermintrude said.

Annabell looked unsure.

"Well..I guess a bit longer wouldn't hurt."

Meanwhile Zebedee had arrived outside the Grand Hall where he was originally summoned to be told about Annabell.

He took a deep breath.

"Marigold..I'm glad you're not here to see what I'm about to do." He mumbled.

From inside the hall most of the elders and councillors were busy working.

Until the front doors were blasted off their hinges with a blast of fire magic. 

"ASH!!!"

"I think he knows." One of the councillors muttered to another.

Zebedee looked around the room seething, a burning aura surrounding him.

"What seems to be the problem Fire Master?" Ash questioned.

"You know damm well what the problem is. You knew where she came from! You know what he has done to my partner, my brother..my FAMILY and you still sent her to live with me!" Zebedee snapped, tearing up at the memory.

Ash took a deep breath trying to remain calm.

"Ok, so maybe I did know about where she came from." He said but stopped when he was literally forced up against one of the walls by his throat.

He could feel the heat clawing at his throat the longer Zebedee kept his grip on him.

"N-now Zebedee, no need for violence." He stuttered.

If anything that only made Zebedee grip harder.

None of the other wizards dared to approach knowing an angry Fire Wizard was one thing…but to approach one with a fury like this..

They decided to choose life.

It felt like an eternity before Zebedee loosened his grip letting Ash fall to the floor.

"I warned you there would be consequences if I found you were hiding information from me.. consider this your last warning before I do something I might regret." He warned. 

Ash only nodded.

"You could understand why this was kept from you." He finally said.

"You have some nerve to keep that from me of all Wizards. Now tell me what else you know." Zebedee practically growled.

Ash provided a small folder.

"While we know..he is related to her, we haven't been able to find information on her parents so we can only assume they're no longer living." He explained as Zebedee snatched the folder from him before taking a look himself.

"Or more likely don't want to be found." Zebedee commented.

"That is a possibility." Ash commented.

"It certainly answers a few questions about her time in the orphanage." Zebedee mumbled before looking at Ash.

"Find them." He ordered.

"What? Don't you think we've tried?" Ash questioned finding his voice.

"Then try harder. You have a week." Zebedee warned before disappearing.

….

It was a few hours later when Annabell and Train returned to the Orchard leaving a still troubled Dougal to break the news.

"Right. We can't let her near the roundabout for… reasons." He spoke up.

"And why is that?" Ermintrude asked.

"Just take a look at her markings and tell me you haven't seen them on a certain other wizard before." Dougal replied.

It hardly took long for Ermintrude and Brian to realise who he was talking about.

Dylan unsurprisingly was fast asleep.

"Do you think she knows?" Brian asked.

There was another pause.

"I don't know, and frankly I'm not going to ask. What I do know is Zebedee said not to let her by the roundabout. That shouldn't be too hard." Dougal replied.

"Should we tell Florence and the children about this?" Ermintrude asked.

Dougal shook his head.

"Best not to. Not until we know we can trust her."

Chapter Text

Annabell sighed leaning back against the cottage.

"Well today was interesting huh?" She asked looking at Train who gave a nod in response.

"Was it me or after Zebedee left was Dougal acting weird around me?" She asked.

Train gave a shrug settling down in the shade.

"Yeah probably my imagination in this heat." Annabell nodded soon going back to practising some magic she'd been shown.

Train kept his eyes on her, curious about what she was doing.

"Nothing exciting, just some basic magic Zebedee's been teaching me. I try not to practise when you're around because I can't imagine me practising with literal fire will make you comfortable or feel safe." She explained noticing him watching her.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Train said much to her shock and surprise.

For the next few days Annabell mainly stayed by the orchard until Mr. McHenry returned.

"Stay still Train. I can't wash you when you move." Annabell chuckled.

"You know I hate this. I don't need you to make me look nice. It's going to rain next week and I'll just get muddy again." Train protested.

"You look like you've had a dust bath." Annabell pointed out.

He only rolled his eyes but let her finish washing him off.

"There. Now you'll look nice for when Mr. McHenry comes back later." Annabell smiled.

"So. What's your plan for the rest of the day then?" Train asked.

"Honestly don't know. Some of the villagers have been acting weird around me and there hasn't been any sign of Zebedee so I'm lost on what to do." Annabell replied.

"You'll figure something out." Train assured before Annabell went to finish her jobs.

Within a few hours Mr. McHenry returned.

"Well now, someone did a brilliant job while I was away. I knew I could count on you Annabell." He praised.

"Glad I could be of help." Annabell smiled, Train giving a nod in agreement before giving her a playful nudge.

"Ok ok I get it. Should probably head back to find Zebedee anyway. Glad I could be of help whilst you were gone." She added before soon returning to Zebedee's home.

"Zebedee, I'm back." She called.

She was surprised not to get a response.

"Typical, first time I can pull off long range teleportation by myself and he's somewhere else."

She sighed soon going to rest in her room, it was nice to be back somewhere familiar.

Laying down she allowed her magic to freely flow.

It was gradually getting stronger which was a good sign.

It was a while before she finally went back into the main area to see if she could figure out where Zebedee was.

True she'd never been shown how to make a viewing window but it couldn't hurt to try.

"Okay focus. He has to be in the village somewhere."

Closing her eyes she focused on the village below and could soon start hearing voices.

"Don't you think you're being a bit cold towards her?"

"Hardly. I'm not letting her get close until we know she can be trusted."

Annabell frowned at the statement, immediately recognising Dylan and Dougal's voices.

"Of course she can be trusted. Why are you guys acting so weird around her?" Dylan asked.

Before she could hear anymore the voices disappeared as Annabell's magic slipped.

Why wouldn't she be trusted?

Had she done something wrong while Zebedee was gone?

Is that why he disappeared? Because of her?

She jumped, seeing a flash of magic as Zebedee returned.

He looked shocked to see her.

"What are you doing here?"

Annabell looked shocked at his tone.

"Mr. McHenry came back from holiday so I came here to relax for a bit…um I'm going to go take a rest, long range teleportation took it out of me." She replied and retreated to her room before anything else could be mentioned.