AmericaxReaderxMagic Trio - The Past

A/N:
For those who are confused, this is related to ‘AmericaxReaderxMagic Trio – Revenge’, the link to which is in the description. This is filling in some of the time between the Reader meeting the Magic Trio and the Magic Trio leaving, which in turn leaves the reader with Alfred. It’s just a little journey into the past, but it has a little epilogue for the first story at the end, so you need to read it first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reader is 7, Magic Trio are all 9 with several months difference between them. The Reader met the Trio four months ago

You took your usual place in the lowest branches of the tree, not directly above where they practiced and so relatively safe, but still watching them from above. They were practicing a spell from the new book Arthur had found in the attic of his father’s mansion, but you hadn't seen the book, so you didn't know what it would do.

You also didn't know that there was a reason they had chosen this specific spell, and that reason was you. Though all three boys were good magicians together, they were also trying to be the best and impress you. The spell they’d chosen summoned the most fantastical creatures, which they already knew you could see, and each creature they summoned would probably follow the pattern and be their individual colour.

They caught your attention as they started reading from the book. You watched intently, waiting for something to happen, but when the three boys stopped speaking, everything was the same. Arthur, Lukas and Vladimir looked as confused as you were, but their confusion became surprise when the leaves on the tree became a wave of red, green and blue butterflies which lifted you out of the tree and placed you between the three boys. By the time you were standing steady, the butterflies had taken places on the jackets of Arthur (the green ones), Lukas (the blue ones) and Vladimir (the red ones), making their jackets glow. You giggled at the shocked expressions on their faces.

<><><><><>Later that year<><><><><>

“Happy Birthday (y/n)!” You smiled at your three friends as the sun finally set. You sat beneath the tree, as usual, with Arthur, Lukas and Vladimir around you. Each of them was holding out a gift, wrapped in their own appropriate colour. Hesitantly, you took Vladimir’s gift first, pulling the ribbon off and opening the box in one quick movement. Inside was a red crystal bat, which you then realised was pure ruby.

“Vlad! It’s amazing! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, (y/n)“.

The next gift you took was Arthur’s. The green ribbon was set aside quickly and you opened the box, revealing another jewel creature. You gently set the box aside and lifted out the green creature, soon realising that it was an emerald rabbit with wings. Before you could say anything to Arthur, another box was placed next to your knee. You showed your large smile to Arthur and he took that as your ‘Thank You’.

When he returned your smile you placed the emerald bunny in its cushion box, just as you had returned the ruby bat to its box where it was safe before you had opened Arthur’s gift, and turned your attention to the box with the blue ribbon. This was a smaller and more rectangular box than the first two, but the ribbon came off just as easily. You removed the top of the box to find an ornate hairclip. There was a simple cross in the centre which matched Lukas’s, but from each tip, two flowers sprouted and curved towards the centre of the cross, leaving it an oval shape overall.

“Lukas, this is amazing, thank you so much” you told him.

“As is the Emerald bunny, and the ruby bat, you guys are the best”

“We’re not quite finished (y/n)” the three of them said in unison. On cue, the small fire you and your friends sat around started changing colours. These colour changes were accompanied by fireworks in the distance and you realised the day couldn’t have ended in a better way.

As usual, your little moment of happiness was ruined by your mother shouting for you.

Arthur, Lukas and Vladimir looked to each other, then back to you. You nodded quickly to them and they ran off, leaving you with the small fire as it reverted back to normal and the three gifts around you, but the fireworks were still going off in the distance.

“What are you doing up here (y/n)?” your mother demanded.

“I was just getting the gifts that Arthur, Lukas and Vladimir left me and watching the fireworks they set up for me” You answered, quickly closing the cushioned boxes to hide the contents from her. Knowing her, she would take them and sell them, claiming that you shouldn’t have them because they weren’t from Alfred.

“Well than, the fireworks have stopped, so you can come in now” she replied. You rolled your eyes at the disgusted tone to her voice, but got to your feet anyway, grabbing the boxes and ribbons before turning and heading back to the house. The fire died the moment you walked away, leaving your mother confused.

<><>Timeskip<><>

Reader is now 9, the Magic Trio are 11. Alfred and Matthew are 9 also, though closer to ten than the Reader

“I need to go and see them Mother. They had something important to tell me! You interrupted it yesterday, so they were going to tell me today!” you exclaimed as your mother stood in front of the door.

“No (y/n). You are not going to see those boys again” she stated, towering over you.

“Why?! They did nothing wrong” They’re my friends!”

“Because those three are freaks, they won’t be here much longer. You’ll give the town the wrong impression if you spend any more time with them and the mayor won’t let you marry Alfred”

“Then I definitely want to go out and meet them”

“You’ll ruin your future!”

“I don’t care! I never wanted to marry Alfred anyway! You’ve always wanted that for me and I know it’s only because you want the money the mayor is offering you. No-one else my age wants to marry Alfred because he’s too loud and annoying; you saw the chance to get more money and took it! You’ve never realised that I want nothing to do with him, besides all the hints I’ve been giving you since you set up this awful marriage!”

“It was nothing to do with the money. The only way you’ll get a good life in this town is to marry one of the mayor’s sons”

“Then let me marry Arthur!”

“He’s not your age!”

“Then let me marry Matthew, he’s Alfred’s twin. He’s nice and quiet and he understands personal space!”

“That’s enough (y/n)! Your marriage to Alfred has been arranged for years and I am not letting you ruin it by staying friends with the freaks. You will never see them again and that is final!” At that, you returned to your room, slamming the door so hard that it jammed. Then again, that was the point.

<><>A few months later<><>

<>POV Change thing<>

Arthur packed the last of his books into his bag, thankful for the spell he had discovered with Lukas and Vladimir that allowed him to pack all his belongings into the small bag. With one last check around the room he grabbed the notes and left the room, closing the door behind him for what he knew would be the last time. Leaving the letters on the dining room table for the rest of the family to find in the morning, Arthur took one last look around the grand room before heading to the front door.

“Are you leaving already?” Matthew whispered from his spot at the bottom of the grand staircase. Arthur approached his younger brother with a sigh.

“I am, but I need you to come with me for a bit Matthew, grab your shoes and coat...” Arthur trailed off when he noticed Matthew was already ready to go.

“I knew you would. You wouldn’t leave without trying to get a message or something to (y/n), and you wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it” Matthew explained when he noticed Arthur’s confusion. Arthur chuckled lightly at that and returned to his original path out of the house, this time with Matthew in tow.

Soon enough, the two brothers met up with Lukas and Vladimir beneath the tree that was now known as (y/n)’s tree, where greetings were quickly exchanged and plans about family members left behind were discussed. Once satisfied, Vladimir pulled a letter out of one of his pockets along with a small red object and some red ribbon. Lukas pulled a similar object and ribbon out of one of his pockets, this time blue. Arthur had by now done the same, but his object and ribbon were green.

“We need to fuse them together with the chain” Lukas stated, handing his small object to Matthew while he fished the small chain out of his bag. Examining the object that Lukas had handed him, Matthew saw it was a sapphire rose with a flat back, as if meant to be a pendant. When he noticed that Arthur’s and Vladimir’s objects were also roses and then saw the necklace chain that Lukas was holding, he understood what they were making.

As if by silent command, Matthew handed the rose back to Lukas, who arranged it on the piece of cloth that was now on the floor. When all three roses were in the right position and overlaying the ends of the chain, Arthur, Lukas and Vladimir said a quick spell which fused the four items together. Once the spell was finished, Lukas carefully picked the finished necklace up and wrapped the cloth around it. Vladimir took the three coloured ribbons and tied them around the package, keeping it flat just in case it hadn’t fused together just yet. The wrapped package was then handed to Matthew, followed by the letter that Vladimir had brought with him.

“Pass these on to (y/n) the first chance you get, preferably before the word reaches her in the morning that we left” Arthur told Matthew. It couldn’t really be called an order, but the urgency was audible in his voice. Matthew nodded and stood back, watching his older brother and his friends vanish before returning to his home. He couldn’t see you tonight, but he would be over first thing in the morning.

<><>Short Timeskip<><>

<>Back to you<>

“Alfred, so nice to see you” you heard your mother say as she opened the door.

“Can I see (y/n) please?” you heard a quiet voice ask in reply, which you hadn’t expected.

“Of course dear” you rolled your eyes at her sugar-coated tone, as if she was extremely happy with something. You heard footsteps approach your room and turned to look at the door, about to tell Alfred to just turn around and leave when you saw it was actually Matthew.

“Hello Matthew” you said. Matthew closed the door behind him and approached you. You just turned back to the window and waited to see your friends head towards the tree, at which point Matthew caught sight of the hairclip that was holding a few strands of hair out of your face.

“They won’t be there today” he whispered next to you. You turned to him with a glare that could kill.

“What do you mean?” you asked quietly, your voice wavering, contradicting your glare.

“They left town last night, they don’t plan on coming back” he answered just as quietly. Your glare died and tears welled in your eyes. You had to move away from your window and drop onto your bed, where the sobs broke free. An arm was around you after a few moments and you leaned into the owner, ending up crying on Matthew’s shoulder.

“I know, I didn’t want Arthur to leave either, but the three of them told me to give you something” Matthew continued, pulling the package and letter out of the satchel he’d brought with him. He handed them to you once you’d calmed down slightly, your sobs becoming small sniffles. He went back into his bag as you opened the letter, but you were too busy reading your friends’ words to notice.

(y/n)

We understand that you’ll be upset when you find out that we’re gone. We hope you’ll find out from Matthew rather than your mother or Alfred, because you’ll need a good shoulder to cry on.
Please understand that we didn’t really want to leave, but if we stay any longer not only are our lives in danger of meeting early ends, but those of our families too. And most importantly, yours. We don’t want you to come to any harm, so leaving was our only option, despite the emotional pain we know it would cause you. We will give Matthew something to pass to you which we can’t deliver ourselves without endangering you, but we hope that you’ll keep it as long as you live to remember us.

Yours
Arthur, Vladimir and Lukas

By the time you had finished reading, you were crying again, so you dropped the letter and returned your head to Matthew’s shoulder. Matthew sighed as he noticed as such and tried to calm you down once again. Little did he know that your mother was watching from the doorway with a victorious smile on her face, seeing you finally warm up to ‘Alfred’ in your time of need. She had no clue that it was actually Matthew in the room when she closed the door, but not before she had been seen by Matthew in the reflection on the window.

“They gave me a package as well” Matthew reminded you once the door had closed. You sniffled again, taking your head away from Matthew’s shoulder to examine the package that still lay in your hand. Carefully pulling away the ribbons and setting them aside, gently unfolding the cloth to reveal the necklace. The three gem roses that were the signature colours of your friends, attached to a chain which you used to lift the piece. Matthew helped you fasten the clasp behind your neck, wiping away the last of your tears just as your mother walked in.

“Ah, (y/n), I see Alfred told you the news” your mother began. You ignored her, at which point you noticed a small smile appear on Matthew’s face.

“I see you’re taking to ignoring me again. Alfred, can I talk to you for a moment?” Matthew nodded his answer, moving his arm from where it was wrapped around you and getting to his feet. He gave you a small smile as he left the room, a smile that you recognised from Arthur, one that spelled trouble. The door closed on him and your mother, but you could hear the conversation easily.

“It’s good to see (y/n) being so affectionate at last, considering the rest of the time she keeps ignoring you” You heard your mother start.

“Well that’s not exactly true. You see, she is one of the few people that actually pays attention to me. Most people just ignore me and question my existence”

“What do you mean Alfred? It’s hard to miss you”

“Precisely the reason that my father is giving you such a large amount of money each year to keep the engagement going. But I am not my brother, Alfred, as you keep saying. I am Matthew, his twin. I believe that makes me an eligible candidate for your daughter’s hand, but you would only accept it if it wasn’t actually about the money that you care about, as you claim. Arthur and Francis suspected it was always about the money, it’s obvious that (y/n) wants nothing to do with Alfred, yet you are determined to push her towards him anyway. If you simply want her to have a good future, then you can accept me in place of my brother as the one to marry your daughter, I’m sure she will prefer that outcome”

“No, she is going to marry Alfred and that’s final” There was silence as Matthew considered your mother’s response.

“Fine, I won’t try to argue with you, you seem to have made up your mind. Just know that I saw your little smile when (y/n) was crying on my shoulder and you thought I was Alfred.  You care little for your daughter’s own feelings and more about my father’s money, which he will find out about tonight. After all, Arthur charged me with protecting (y/n) and ensuring her a happy ending and I will see to it that she gets the ending she deserves, whether you like it or not, that’s the least she deserves after having to live life with a mother like you” Matthew stopped and you heard footsteps heading towards the door.

“Oh, and for future reference, Alfred doesn’t like it when people are made miserable for selfish gains. He likes to pretend he’s a hero and upholds the same values as one, even if this misery was meant to help him he won’t approve of it. Pray he never finds out that you were the one that started the rumours about Arthur, Lukas and Vladimir making a pact with the devil” With that, you heard the front door shut. You moved away from your bedroom door and collapsed back onto your bed, this time suppressing laughter rather than sobbing.

<><>Back to Present<><>

You looked upon the necklace with fondness, getting lost in the memories it held. You had been snapped out of it by a knock on the door of your cabin. You let the necklace drop to its usual place around your neck, where it always lived and got up to answer the door. Arthur, Lukas and Vladimir were stood outside, each of them holding a box.

“Why aren’t you three ready yet? We have an annual visit to make, remember!” you questioned.

“We have something to give you first” they said in unison. You sighed and held out your hands, which they stacked their boxes. You smiled at them and sat back on your bed and set the gifts down, noting the three of them wander off to get ready for the night. Opening the box on the top of the pile, with a red ribbon wrapped around it, you found a ruby rose. This one was full size, stem and all, but no thorns. Opening the next box, you found a similar gift, this time an emerald lily. The third box revealed a sapphire carnation.

“Some things never change, do they?” you muttered to yourself, placing the flowers in the vase Matthew had given you. On either side of the vase sat an arrangement of gem animals.

“No (y/n), they don’t” Matthew answered as he stood in your open doorway. He was already dressed a partially turned werewolf, ready for the enchantment to be placed on him. You laughed at that, closing your cabin door behind you to join the others around the picnic table. It still sat at the centre of the cabins, only now there were seven, Matthew having helped to build his own cabin after he faked his death by werewolf while rescuing his brother. It was three years since that event and it was time to have some fun scaring the town.

Tonight, (y/n)’s ghost and her demons would return, this time with a werewolf by their side.

Yes, (y/n) got her happy ending. It was better than she could have ever expected.