Fairytale

Chapter 4: No fear

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.