Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Well Princess, this will be your room. What do you think?” 

You look up from your dad's arm to the room that was now yours. It was bigger than your old room, so that was always exciting. And it was high up, having a circle window overlooking the courtyard outside.

“Are you locking me up in the tower?” You gasped, looking at your father with big eyes. Your mother tickles your stomach and gives a wicked laugh. “Is that not where little princesses are supposed to be kept?” She asked as you laughed.

You wiggle out of your father's arms and run away from them, laughing as you jump up on your bed. “Oh no! My wicked mother has locked me up in the highest tower! If only a prince would come and save me!” You said, making a dramatic pose on the bed.

Your father adjusts his glasses and does a heroic pose “Don’t worry Princess! I will defeat the wicked queen with a true love kiss” He said, grabbing your mother and swinging her down to give her a kiss.

She laughs, kisses him again, and then does a dramatic gasp. “My king! Your love has made me see the errors of my ways! I should never have locked up the princess, will you ever forgive me?”

“Only if you give me some more kisses,” He says with a smirk as they kiss again.

“HEY!” You said with a pout, crossing your arms “I’m the one who is supposed to be saved by a prince!” You wanted kisses too!

Your dad laughs as he picks you up. “I’m sorry Princess, you are just a bit too young to date a prince,” He said, poking your nose “Maybe when you are older”

You gave him a pout and an “HMPF!” Crossing your arms in clear protest. “Well, maybe I don’t want a prince anymore!” You said, turning away from him “Maybe I want the dragon to keep me!” 

“A dragon is keeping you in the tower? Since when?” Your mother asks, walking over and hugging you too. “Since now!” You said, duh!

They both laugh and kiss your cheeks, making you giggle and flap your hands happily.

“So are we really living in a castle now papa?” You asked as you looked at your dad excited. “Yes we are sweetie, my princess deserves nothing less!” He says proudly, giving you a big grin.

“But do be careful my little princess,” Your mother says, wiggling her fingers in that evil witch way she loves to do “They say the castle is haunted! Mischievous little ghost coming out at night and pulling all sorts of wicket pranks!”

“COOL!” You said, bouncing excitedly “I wanna catch some ghost!” You said seriously, looking up at your father. He looks pale and nervous “M-Maybe later when we are all moved in,” He said and puts you down “Now, all your furniture is in place, but your toys are still in the boxes. So how about you move them to where you want them to go?” 

You nod and run off to unpack your toys, books, and dresses.

“If you are so scared of ghosts why did we buy a haunted castle?” You hear your mother ask, to which your dad responds “Because it was cheap and you love spooky stuff.” 

𓋼𓍊 ｡⋆☆° ꕥ °☆⋆｡𓍊𓋼

Your parents were both well off in their careers. Your dad writes fantasy novels and your mother is a costume and dress designer. It really did give you the perfect fairytale childhood as they both feed into your creativity while still keeping you grounded.

It was how they afforded this big castle-like building. It was like a giant square. The whole building surrounding the courtyard which your tower window has a perfect view over.

And in the middle of the courtyard was a garden. It had all sorts of flowers and was obviously well-kept despite the castle having been abandoned for a while because of the supposed hauntings.

And in the middle of the garden was a small hedge maze. It was not really that complicated, and you could already memorize it from having a top-down view from your room.

And in the middle of the maze was a raised platform with a stone arch on it.

This truly felt like a magical place.

And tonight, you were going ghost hunting!

A normal 6-year-old would probably have cried if they were told their home was haunted, but not you! You had your mother's fearless heart and curious spirit. You didn’t run from ghosts, you chased them!

And so you put on one of the simple princess dresses your mother had made you. One that was designed to allow you to run and climb around without ruining it. You grabbed your trusted wolf plushie, whose name was, of course, Wolfy! 

You only had two hands, and one was carrying Wolfy as he didn’t walk so well himself yet, so you were looking between your trusty magical sword, made to slay even the most horrible monsters, or your magical lantern made to keep you safe from even the most wicked spirits.

Well, you didn’t know if the ghosts were truly evil, so you would not slay them just yet! So you grabbed your lantern and made your way out of your room. The sun had gone down and the moon was high in the sky. Your parents were sleeping and there was no one else in the house.

You started exploring the big castle, but after a couple of hours you had to admit, you were kind of disappointed.

This was like toddler-level haunting! Not scary at all!

Yes, there have been some shadows moving. The wind suddenly blew through the halls sounding like evil whispers, and doors slammed open with seemingly no explanations. But that was not scary or exciting at all!

As you kept traveling through the castle, almost yawning at how boring this was, you suddenly heard something outside. You turned to have your flashlight sweep past the windows leading out to the courtyard and for one moment a pair of cat-like green eyes reflected back the light at you.

The eyes looked shocked, and they quickly moved further into the garden. 

Finally! Something to chase!

You rushed to the garden door. It was the middle of the summer, and so the door had been left open to try and get some fresh air into the castle. You run across the courtyard to the first patch of grass in the garden as you see a dark figure quickly making its way into the hedge maze.

You did not hesitate running in after it! You were gonna catch this ghost no matter what! And so you made it to the middle just in time to see the shadow running through the stone arc on the platform and just disappear.

You blink confusedly as you walk up the steps to the arc, running around it confused trying to figure out where the ghost had disappeared to.

That's when you notice a faint shimmer inside the arch. Like there is a small fog there. You reach out a hand to touch it and see your fingers disappear when they enter the fog.

And so with no hesitation, you walked through the mist. You are gonna catch this ghost!

It only takes you a few steps before you are on the other side of the arc, and you have to blink a couple of times for your eyes to adjust to the scene in front of you. It looks like you are still in the garden, and yet not.

You are still standing in the middle of a hedge maze in front of a big stone arc. But the hedges look different, and there is a certain magical glow all around you.

Looking up at the sky was… Amazing! It was clearly still night, but the stars looked so different! So colorful! And the hedges around the garden all had small lights in them. It was really pretty!

But now was not the time to get distracted! Now was the time to catch yourself a ghost! So you quickly go back to looking for the shadow from before.

And there it was! Standing by one of the hedge openings with its back to you. Rookie mistake!

And so you very quickly made your way down the steps of the platform and rushed at it, tackling them from behind.

“GOTCHA!” You yelled victories as you successfully tackled the ghost to the ground.

But you were shocked to see it was just a boy. Looking to be around your age, maybe a little older. He had turned when you had jumped on him and so he was pinned onto his back, with you sitting on his stomach.

His green eyes were even wider as he was staring at you in shock, his black hair ruffled from the fall.

He was kinda cute.

Then you got pulled off him by another boy. This one was blonde and he looked just as shocked as the first boy as he looked at you. He was somehow strong enough to hold you in one hand, suspended in the air, even though he could not have been much older than you.

“HEY!” You say in protest as you start to wiggle. “I caught him fair and square!” You pouted at the blonde boy. 

He blinked back at you and then started laughing hard as he dropped you. “She is right brother! You got caught!” He was finding that rather hilarious, as he started rolling on the ground with laughter.

The black-haired boy sat up with a huff, looking rather displeased. “I didn’t know she could follow me through the door!” He said sharply and looked at you with a frown.

You sat up, turning off your lantern because it was bright enough here without its light. “Too bad! I caught you! So, I won!” You said proudly, giving them a toothy grin.

The black-haired boy's eyebrows shot up so far up they almost touched his hairline “Won?!” He said in a tone that showed he was offended by that!

The blonde boy stopped his laughter enough to ask you a question “What do you win?” He asked with a grin.

You had not thought that far!

But you quickly knew what you wanted! “You have to play with me all night now!”

The black-haired boy gasped and jumped up “Absolutely not!” He looked both angry and nervous, looking over his shoulder.

The blonde boy got up too “Now now brother, she did win fair and square!” He pointed out. 

“No! I didn’t know all the rules!” He said in frustration. You assumed he was the younger brother from their sizes. He looked at you with a glare “Rematch!”

You grinned and jumped up “You’re on!”

Looks like you found some new friends!

Chapter Text

Well to know all the rules of the game, you first had to decide on the rules.

And since you were all kids and that sounded a bit boring you decided to just play tag instead.

So you were running around the maze with your two new friends playing tag, no one really gaining the upper hand as you were all energized kids that seemed to be able to run around for hours without stopping.

What could stop you however was a magical wall.

You were chasing the blonde boy around the outskirts of the magical garden when you suddenly hit an invisible wall.

The blonde boy just kept running, having no trouble exiting the garden, but when you tried again there seemed to be some kind of magical field stopping you.

“Are you okay?” The dark-haired one asked, seeing your confused face as you pressed your hands against the air around the exit to the garden, not able to get past it.

“I can’t get out,” You said in dismay, looking at the blonde boy who had noticed you being stuck too, and was deciding to tease you about it.

The dark-haired one looked intrigued at your hand. “Oh! Yeah, it’s the same for us, but on the other side of the door,” He said, gesturing toward the arc in the middle of the garden.

You whined and looked at the blonde boy still teasing you. “That's cheating then!” You said in protest, but he just kept teasing you.

The dark-haired boy frowned a bit and held out a hand to you. “Tag me.”

You looked at him confused but did as he requested. And then the boy was off, chasing the blonde boy who was suddenly looking terrified as he ran off.

That made you feel a little better.

𓋼𓍊 ｡⋆☆° ꕥ °☆⋆｡𓍊𓋼

It seemed you were confined to the garden on the boys' side, and they were confined to your garden on your side.

Meaning the only place you could play together was inside the garden.

“We just bring our toys here!” The blonde one said, “That way we can still play everything!” He had a big bright smile on him, but the dark-haired one looked a bit nervous. “But we are not supposed to be here!” He said, looking over his shoulder. “If we come here more often than we already are, Father might catch us.”

“But she can’t leave the garden.” The blonde one pointed out, gesturing to you. “Are you really gonna leave a fair maiden like her here alone?” 

“Fair maiden?” You said, jumping up and standing proudly. “I am a princess!” Not just some maiden!

“Really?” The dark-haired boy asked surprised, looking at you.

You hesitate, kicking a rock. “Well… No.” You admit, hugging your plushy. “But I like to play as one!” You gave them a big toothy grin. “What about you? Do you like playing princes?” 

The blonde one was about to answer when the dark-haired one grabbed him. “One moment please!” He said with a cheeky smirk as he dragged his brother away.

Since they didn’t go too far you decided to eavesdrop anyway, only missing the start of their whispered conversation on the other side of the hedge.

“If she doesn't know we shouldn’t tell her.” You hear the younger brother's voice say. “Why do you wish to keep it a secret brother?” The older one asked back.

“I don’t want her to look at us like the other kids! Really think about it, would it not be nice to have one friend who didn’t know? Who didn’t treat us differently because of it?”

The older one hummed thoughtfully at that. “You are right brother!” You heard them start to move, so you went back to the spot you had been at before, looking at them innocently as they returned.

“Keeping secrets?” You asked, hugging your plushy and frowning slightly at them.

The dark-haired one thought about that. “Well, yes!” He gave you a toothy grin. “But that's because we all are secret friends okay? You can’t tell anyone about us, and we won’t tell anyone about you.” He said, putting a finger to his lips. “So it is OUR secret!” 

You gasped. That sounded really exciting! “Like spies!” You said, getting up. “We need code names then!” 

The boys looked at you confused, so you explained how codenames worked, and they both agreed that was a good idea, so you sat together to try and think of code names for each other.

“You can’t pick your own name!” You said confidently, looking at the boys “That would be against the rules!”

The blonde pointed a finger at you. “Alright then! I’ll pick your name,” He said proudly as he started thinking about it. “... How about Lady Lily of the Valley?” 

You tilted your head a bit confused. “Like the flower?” 

The blonde one nodded proudly. “My brother here started reading up on flowers recently, and while I don’t remember any of the useless information I do remember it was pretty.” He grinned proudly “So Lily for short!”

You giggle and look at the dark-haired brother. Hmmm. “How about you be Lord of the Ravens then?” Because of his dark hair. “Raven for short!” 

He looked surprised at you and then gave a cheeky smirk. “Oh, I like that!” He said, looking at his brother. “Hmmm.” 

The blonde one stood proudly. “It should be something about thunder! After all, I am the go-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Raven hit him over the head, giving him an annoyed look. “You want thunder? Sure. How about Sir Fartsalot?” He said with a snicker.

You giggled at that too. Well, that was one kind of thunder! But the boy did look rather horrified and the two boys started wrestling like kids do sometimes.

You just sat on the step and watched for now. You could tell these two were gonna bring you a lot of fun!

𓋼𓍊 ｡⋆☆° ꕥ °☆⋆｡𓍊𓋼

It was decided that while the blonde's name was still Sir Fartsalot, the short version would be Lancelot, which you promised him was the name of a great warrior.

It also turned out you were right about them being brothers and Lancelot being the oldest. He was older than Raven by 1 year, and Raven was older than you by 1 year, meaning while you were six, the brothers were seven and eight.

You were so proud of yourself for understanding math!

You were also hugging Wolfy tight as you gave a big yawn, rubbing your eyes slightly. You were getting rather sleepy now.

Raven noticed that and he and Lancelot quickly escorted you back to your side of the magical garden.

You walked with them until you excited your garden, and you saw that they were stopped there at the edge in the same way you had in their garden.

“Can we play again tomorrow?” You asked, looking at the boys with big eyes. Lancelot flashed you a dashing smile. “Sure! We’ll be there!” He said seriously.

“But only at night” Raven clarified, turning to point at the arch in the middle of your garden. “The door is only open at night, and we can’t stay here during the day.” He looked back at you. “So as soon as the sun is down we can play again.”

You grinned and quickly gave them a big hug. “Thanks!” You jumped back and waved to them. “Oh!” You turned and pointed to the big tower. “By the way, that's my room!” You said seriously and grinned at them.

They both nodded and waved as you went back inside your house and back to bed.

Chapter Text

While you and your new friends had agreed to keep your friendship a secret you still decided to tell your mom about the magical garden, but she just gave your head a soft pet and told you that your fathers' stories were getting to you and it was just a dream.

You felt a little bummed out about that, but even as a 6-year-old you had to admit it all had felt just a bit too magical, and so you got into your night dress after dinner and laid in bed, wondering if any of it had been real.

But then you heard something hit against the giant round window facing the garden. You sat up startled and grabbed Wolfy, rushing to the window still in your nightgown and a giant smile came across your face.

Raven and Lancelot were both waving from the garden, smiling up at you. You quickly put on some shoes and ran out of your room, not even bothering to change your dress as you rushed downstairs and out into the garden.

You tackled and hugged both the boys, them being more prepared and not falling over this time. “You are real!” You laughed happily, hugging them tight.

“Of course we are real!” Lancelot, looking at you confused and Raven gave your head a small pat. You grinned up at them happily. It was real!

And so every night after you have been tucked into bed you would sneak out again and go play with Raven and Lancelot for a big part of the night.

What you would play would change from night to night. Sometimes it would be active things like tag, hopscotch, or racing. On other nights you would play something more chill, like charades, word-games, or you would play pretend.

You were showing off one of your prettier dresses to them when you decided to play ‘Save the Princess.’

“Well, I’m the princess!” You said, standing proudly in your dress “And this is my trusted Wolf! Wolfy!” You said, holding up your plushy. 

“What kind of a name is Wolfy?” Raven asked, furrowing his brow. “The best!” You answer proudly. “Personally I would have gone with Fenrir,” He answered back but shrugged.

“Well if you are a princess,” Lancelot said, standing proudly, “Then I am the prince!” 

“Hey, that's not fair!” Raven proclaimed as he jumped up and glared at his brother “What am I supposed to be then?” 

Lancelot shrugged and looked back. “The villain?” He said with a grin “It kind of suits you.” Raven looked at his brother wide-eyed, and you noticed his eyes tearing up slightly, so you quickly came up with a better idea.

“You can be the dragon! You know, guarding the castle and all that!” You said, walking over to Raven. “The dragon not only has to be strong, but smart too!” 

Raven looked at you surprised and sighed, giving a nod. “... I guess.”

Lancelot grinned. “Great! I’ll count to 100 and you go hide!” He said, running over to the arc and placing his head in his arms as he leaned against it and started counting.

And so you both moved to a place in the maze for Raven to act as the dragon protecting the castle with the princess. He still looked a little sad as you waited for Lancelot to finish counting so he could come find you.

“Raven, are you okay?” You asked, giving his arm a soft stroke. You wanted everyone to have fun.

Raven got a little red in the face by you stroking his arm and stammered slightly. “I-I’m fine!” He said, moving away from you. “I just…. I don’t like being the villain.” He said while looking down. “Everyone always expects me to be, but that's not who I wanna be!”

You looked at him and blinked a bit confused. “Well, you are not the villain!” You said simply, sliding closer to him with a grin. He looked at you with a frown “But I’m the dragon? Guarding the castle you are trapped in.”

“Well…” You grinned and whispered your plan into his ear. Raven's eyes get big as he looks at you, and then grins. “Oh, I like how you think!”

And so you and Raven waited for Lancelot's arrival. It took a while and Raven even joked about Lancelot not being able to count to a hundred. But in the end, he did find you.

“Princess Lily! I am here to save you!” Lancelot said, trying to get past Raven, but the dragon moved quickly to get in the prince's way. “I am the dragon who guards the princess, and I will never let you pass!” Raven said with a grin as the boys started fighting.

They both had wooden swords they had brought along for tonight and you got to watch them play fight with Wolfy, though they were very good at it! It looked so real!

Lancelot did end up disarming Raven and called himself victorious. He knocked down Raven as he went to get you. You thought it was quite rude, but Raven was grinning because he knew what was about to happen.

“My princess!” Lancelot said as he picked you up bridal style. “I have saved you! Do I get a reward?” 

You grinned at him… And then play stabbed him with the hidden wooden dagger you have been hiding. “Whoever said I wanted to be saved!” 

Lancelot gasped in shock, dropping you and stepping back, looking at the toy sword that was between his chest and arm, and he looked up at you shocked. “P-Princess?” 

You rushed to Raven’s side and helped him up, hugging him and sticking your tongue out at Lancelot. “The dragon was guarding me! Not keeping me trapped!” You grinned up at Raven. “He is my hero!”

Raven grinned back proudly at you and you both gave Lancelot a bow.

Lancelot gasped in realization. “You tricked me!” He yelled, red in the face.

You hid a bit behind Raven, surprised and a bit scared by Lancelot’s sudden rage. Raven held up his hand. “Now brother, we won fair and square,” He said, giving his older brother a grin, but his eyes also moved down to you and back to his brother in a clear indication.

Lancelot looked at you and seemed to notice your shaking form and paused. He took a deep breath… And then laughed. “Man! You got me good!”

You sighed with relief. Seemed Lancelot had a bit of a temper. You need to keep that in mind.

𓋼𓍊 ｡⋆☆° ꕥ °☆⋆｡𓍊𓋼

Even though you were visiting the boys every night, it did not make them feel any less magical than before, and sometimes you still wondered if it was a dream.

Lancelot was strong, way stronger than your father or anyone else you meet so far! He could lift one of the tables in your garden with one hand, making you clap excitedly.

Raven was even more amazing! He had magic! Real magic! And you quickly found out he was the one that had been ‘haunting’ your home. Pulling small pranks on anyone who had been trying to move in recently.

“Mother did always say I was quite mischievous,” He said with a shrug and gave you a grin. “But it’s so funny seeing people run off like that… But not you.” He looked at you with a bit of wonder in his eyes. “You never ran away” 

“Father says I have Mom's fearless heart!” You said proudly, banging your own chest proudly. Lancelot nodded at that and said, “That is a very important quality of a warrior!”

You smiled brightly at them both. Even if all of this was a dream, it was still the most fun you ever had!

Chapter Text

And so the night trips became an almost nightly thing you were doing. Your parents did start to notice but agreed that as long as you were inside the courtyard it was fine and just let you nap more during the day.

You did start school, but your parents agreed that if you wanted to be nocturnal then they would enroll you in a flexible private school that would allow stuff like that. You might be just a little spoiled.

And so you slept doing the morning hours, getting up around lunch to eat with your parents before attending evening school either in a building or with a private tutor. And then after dinner, you would tug your parents in since they both knew you were gonna spend the night playing in the garden, but you still wanted some kind of good night ritual.

They were a bit nervous about the coming winter. You were in Denmark and the snow could get quite bad, but you promised them you would be careful and go back inside if it was too cold. Luckily it was never a problem as Raven and Lancelot helped keep the garden clear of too much snow and their side didn’t get snow.

Raven liked the snow and ice, throwing snowballs and making snowmen and angels came easy to him. Lancelot however did not enjoy it much and didn’t come over to your site a lot when it was snowing.

Time continued like that, and it became a routine without becoming boring, and soon you were 12 years old.

You were walking through the arc in one of the warmer seasons when you were greeted by a black panther on the other side, growling at you in a low voice. Green eyes fixated on you.

And you without hesitating ran straight to it and hugged it. “Kitty!” you said excitedly, petting its surprised face and ears. Such a cute kitty!

The panther turned into Raven who was giving you an annoyed face. “Do you have no fear?!” He asked with a slight glare. You just grinned up at him and gave him a “Nope!”

Lancelot came out of hiding with a slightly annoyed expression as well. “At least he didn’t STAB you!” He said annoyed as he rubbed his side. Raven chuckled and you flicked his ear.

“Still, if you are as fearless as a warrior you should learn to fight like one!” Lancelot said, getting into a fighting stance and giving you a cheeky grin. You look at him with big eyes and blink a little confused. “What if I don’t wanna fight?” You asked while tilting your head. You were also still petting Raven’s hair.

Raven blushed slightly and wiggled out of your grip to get up. “Yeah brother, not everyone wishes you to be a brute like you!” He said with a grin, holding out a hand for you to grab. “Perhaps you would rather do some more creative activities, like painting, weaving, or playing an instrument?”

You gasped and looked at him with big eyes. “Like the Violin?!” You have seen and heard people play the violin and were very fascinated by it!

Raven grinned down at you, he had gotten so tall! “As long as it is not Fossegrim who is teaching you, then yes! You can learn the violin!” 

Lancelot walked over with a frown on his face, he too had gotten taller, and stronger somehow. “Brother, she still needs to learn how to protect herself!” He said seriously, putting a fist to his chest in a very warrior-like way as he turned to you. 

“As the oldest here I feel it’s my duty to teach you how to defend yourself!” He gives you a small bow and then grins at you. “Don’t you wanna learn to throw people who bully you over your shoulder?”

You thought about your school and nodded to Lancelot. That would be very useful to know!

“I bet I can teach her to play the Violin better than you can teach her to fight,” Raven said with a smirk. Lancelot looked back and raised an eyebrow “Because she is a girl? Sif is-” 

Raven quickly shook his head “No, because you are a terrible teacher!” To which Lancelot gasped in horror “Am not!” “Am too!”

You clapped your hand to stop the boys from fighting. It happened a lot and you learned how to deal with it. “How about you both teach me and I decide who I learned more from, hmm?”

The three of you always competed about something, but a lot of the time it was just the brothers with you as a judge. Either way, you were excited to learn!

So you started training with the boys, Raven having to remind Lancelot to be gentle, that you needed to learn basics and work your way up.

Raven also got you a violin in your size and started teaching you how to play. You practiced on his side as there were no sleeping parents near the garden there, unlike your parents who would probably not be as accepting of your nightly visit to the garden if it involves you playing the violin and it sounding like a dying cat.

And yes it sounded bad in the start, but Raven was patient with you as you were learning. Lancelot was a bit more impatient, wanting to push you more and more and Raven had to remind him again and again that you were not as strong as the brothers.

You overheard them one time while resting talking about you not being of Asgard, and they didn’t even know what you were.

“If I had not already seen her back I would have thought her to be a Huldra,” Raven said in a slightly nervous tone, “with her beauty and antics. But she might just be mortal, and those are fragile!” 

“I think she is stronger than you think brother.” Lancelot retorted “She has a warrior's courage and willpower! I am sure she is something great.” 

You pretended you had not heard their praises, but were blushing slightly as you got back to training with new vigor.

𓋼𓍊 ｡⋆☆° ꕥ °☆⋆｡𓍊𓋼

You don’t become good at anything overnight, but you don't need to master your craft to judge who was the best teacher. Still, you gave it a year before you made your decision.

Or as would be more accurate, before you gave up on making a decision.

“You are both great teachers!” You told them shortly after your 13th birthday, meaning you were all officially teenagers now. “I really can’t pick a winner! It’s like comparing apples and oranges! It’s down to preference and I like you both!” 

“That's not fair!” Lancelot said, kicking a rock and pouting “I wanted to win the prize!” 

Raven rolled his eyes and shook his head “You were never going to win, and even if you did you are asking for something ridiculous and out of line.”

That did get you a little curious. “What did you decide the prize was?” You asked, looking between the two boys. They both blushed and turned away from you and each other, crossing their arms. That made you cross your arms too and glare at them. “Tell me”

Lancelot kicked another rock. “We decided the winner would get to kiss you!” He said with a pout. “And that is over the line!” Raven said, glaring at his brother “A competition should not decide something like that! It should be up to her!”

“She was the judge!” Lancelot said, facing his brother with a growl, “so it was up to her!” But Raven turned back to his brother with a growl too. “But she didn’t know what the so-called ‘prize’ was” 

You thought about that and shrugged. “Well! Since it’s a draw you both can give me a kiss,” You said with a cheeky grin, “But on the cheeks!” You said, pointing to them for emphasis.

The brothers looked at each other before grinning and kissing a cheek each at the same time, making you blush and giggle.

Chapter Text

That became a rather regular thing, kissing cheeks. Mostly them kissing yours, but sometimes you kissed theirs. You loved the two brothers very much, but one night you would find out just how much.

You had truly turned partly nocturnal at this point. Your father jokes about you having turned into a vampire. You answered back by biting his arm which made your mother laugh.

The brothers had gotten busier in their lives, but they tried their best to always meet up with you, but sometimes only one of them could make it.

When Lancelot and you were alone you kept training, playing, and doing other stuff that lets you get your pulse up. When you and Raven were alone you worked on music, reading, or stargazing.

You had to admit you preferred your time with Raven, while you loved Lancelot to bits he could be a bit tiring, always dragging you around the garden and being a bit pushy. You never felt Raven was trying to push you into anything you didn’t want to, and you really appreciated that.

So when you went through the portal one night after you had turned 18 you groaned audibly when you saw Lancelot standing alone with a bouquet of pink roses.

“Please Lady Lily! One date!” He said, giving you a bright smile “I planned it all out! We will have dinner at the tavern I sneak out to a lot, then we can go stroll by the rivers and end the night at-”

“Lancelot,” You said, giving him a patient, but tired, smile “I can’t leave the garden, remember?”

Lancelot's face fell and he facepalm. “Right! Well, I can go to the kitchen and grab a picnic basket! We can eat on a carpet and then-” He kept going, thinking about saving his date.

“Lancelot I’m really sorry, but I am not interested in dating you!” You rubbed your forehead. He was really not your type. “And I honestly don’t think you wanna date me!” You said back, looking at him with a patient smile.

“That's not true! You are a very lovely lady! Anyone would be honored to date you and-”

“Lancelot, tell me honestly, why do you wanna date me?” You asked as you looked at him the same way a kindergarten teacher might look at their students.

He looks at you with a slight frown, lowering the flowers in his hands. “.... Is this one of those trick questions?” You shake your head and motion for him to keep going.

“Well, you are very pretty…. And we have known each other for so long…. And I… Why don’t you wanna date me?! I’m a great guy!” He asked in an annoyed voice and threw the flowers to the ground, pouting.

You walk over and give his arm a pat. “Yes Lancelot, you are a great guy, but you are only asking me out because I’m not interested in you,” You explain to him. He opens his mouth to protest and you put a finger to his mouth “Reeeeallly think about it” You beg him.

He frowns and looks down at you….. It takes a while, but you don’t try to rush him. He has to realize it himself or else he would never believe it.

He then sighs and hangs his head in defeat. “You are right. You are much more like a sister to me,” He admitted, stroking the back of his head “And I’m not used to not getting what I want.”

You gave him a soft nod. You luckily had not turned into a spoiled child, but Thor had been close. You helped a little with keeping him in check but also worried how one brother could get spoiled like Thor was getting while the other seemed to be neglected. You knew how, but you didn’t want to believe any parent could be like that.

“But it’s not just about the fact of you not wanting me! It’s also that I don’t wanna lose you!” He said seriously, looking at you with sad eyes. “I had a nightmare you married some dude on your side of the gate and I never got to see you again” He hung his head again “And that thought breaks my heart”

You laugh at that and give his arm a punch “I’m not gonna leave you, Lancelot! You are my brother and one of my best friends! Besides, I’m not interested in any boys on my side of the gate” You simply said and shrugged.

“... Wait, why did you say it like that?” Lancelot suddenly asks.

You look at him confused, thinking about how you said it and then suddenly blush a lot and nervously look away from him “Oh! No reason I-” 

Lancelot gasps, and quickly picks up the flowers again, before getting down on one knee and looking at you with big eyes. “Lady Lily! Would you do me the great honor of-”

You look at him like he has gone insane. He might have, and you consider punching him in the face to bring him back to his senses and-

“- of being my sister-in-law!” 

…. What?

Your whole head goes beet red as you blush stronger than ever before, even jumping back slightly in surprise. “WHAT?!”

Lancelot blinks innocently and tilts his head like a questioning puppy. “You are in love with my brother, are you not?” 

You stagger back “Lancelot what the- How did you- Could you not!” You blush and cover your face, so embarrassed. 

Lancelot jumps up and gives you a grin “Don’t worry Lady Lily! Leave it all to me!” He says running off. You gasp as you realize what he means and start to chase him. “LANCELOT DON’T YOU DARE!” 

But before you can catch up and grab him by his golden hair, possibly using it to smash his head into the ground, he makes his way out of the garden and you are stopped by the invisible wall, banging on it and yelling “LANCELOT GET BACK HERE!”

“LEAVE IT TO ME!” Lancelot says running off “COME BACK TOMORROW! AND WEAR SOMETHING NICE!” He yells giving you a wave.

“SIR FARTSALOT! THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU I’M SO GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!” You vowed with a scowl on your face.

And yet, you followed his instruction. 

You were feeling like a fucking idiot as you made your way to the garden the next night, wearing one of the dresses your mom had made you. It was elegant, deep forest green with a golden pattern that looked like swirling branches with flowers crawling around your body.

You had even done your makeup and hair!

You paused in front of the gate, taking a deep breath. 

If Lancelot was about to prank you on the other side you were not just gonna kick his ass, you might poke an eye out, forcing him to wear an eyepatch for the rest of his life!

But when you walk through the arc you are met with the most beautiful sight you have ever seen.

The garden has transformed, glowing with silver and golden lights all around, it was even more magical than the first time you came here.

And Raven was standing close wearing a stunning outfit of green and golden that somehow matched your dress perfectly.

He looked up at you surprised like he too had not even been sure you were really coming, and he blushed as he took in your dress.

“Hey,” You say, blushing a lot yourself and smiling warmly at him.

“Hey,” He says back, smiling too brightly at you “You look…. Hmm” He gives a joking smirk “Almost perfect”

You raise an eyebrow at him “Yeah? What am I missing?” You asked, giving him a twirl to examine you.

He summons a single stalk of Heliotrope, the many small purple flowers on the top almost glowing magically as he slides it into your hair, behind your ear, his fingers tracing your blushing cheek as his hand retreats.

“There…” The way he was looking at you made you weak in the knees. “You look… Perfect”

You smile at him, your own eyes melting with warmth “So do you.”