❛𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒇?❜ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅.

❛𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇❟❜ 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅.

❝i...i can't believe it. vana...it's...it's you.❞

❝yeah...yeah, it's me, douxie.❞

❝where have you been all this time?❞

❝it's a long story.❞

❝there is a beautiful thing inside of you that is thousands of years old. too old to be captured in poems. too old to be loved by everyone, but loved so very deeply by a chosen few.❞ 𑁋 old souls, nikita gill

in which the former apprentice of morgana le fay reunites with her brother just in time to save the world from ending once more

⚞✺⚟

VANAATRIX CASPERAN AND TROUBLE seemed to be intertwined by fate, an invisible string tied around her hand and guiding her into all sorts of situations. Which gave her two problems: first, it didn't help that she and her older brother Hisirdoux had to steal to survive, otherwise she and the knights of Camelot would have gotten along splendidly. Second, they were both blessed with the gift of magic, which made them even more of a target considering the outlaw of anything and everything magical within Camelot. Every day was spent scraping by for food and hiding away in the shadows to keep from being caught and executed. It wasn't the life they wanted to have, but as long as they were together they could make it work.

After an accidental slip-up on Douxie's end led to a chance encounter with the wizard Merlin, their life took a turn for the better. Placed under the tutelage of Morgana le Fay, Vana learned how to control and use her magic in ways beyond simple tricks and spells, and in turn discovered a fondness for the healing side of magic, often using her spare time to create potions and scribble down ideas for new ones on page after page. Of course, she was never really seen without Douxie by her side, the two always finding an adventure wherever they went. For a while, it seemed as if trouble had released its hold on the girl, that the string had finally loosened, until the day she realized it had never come undone.

When Camelot was attacked by some of Gunmar's forces, Vana hadn't hesitated to throw herself into the fray, the law forgotten in her mind as she used her magic to protect a child from the  creatures. Her act of bravery was one that should have been viewed with gratitude, but to the people of Camelot it meant something else entirely. Magic was banned from their kingdom, but to see Morgana's apprentice perform such abilities in close proximity to one of their children? It was more than enough of a reason for the knights to lock the girl in irons and drag her before the king, secretly pleased that they finally had an excuse to rid Camelot of her presence.

In the span of a few hours, Vana's entire world was flipped as she witnessed the king and kingdom she swore to protect turn on her, and when everything was said and done, she was spared from execution. However, her final sentence was just as cruel: exile to the Wild Wood, a so-called merciful act by Arthur's hand. With barely a moment to say goodbye to Douxie, Vana was stripped of her title as apprentice and banished from Camelot with the threat of instant death if she were to be seen in the kingdom after that day.

Having lost both her home and her brother, the young sorceress was forced to survive on her own, and in doing so turned her pain into power. Instead of seeing the bad in her situation, Vana used her exile to learn all she could about the creatures of the woods, gaining their trust as a friend and an ally, something not even Morgana, in all of her longing for justice, had been able to accomplish. 

Slowly, as time passed and the world changed, the stories of the girl's deeds fell through the cracks of history, gathering dust in a hidden corner, her name lost and forgotten among the more famous tales and figures of Camelot.

Lost and forgotten to all but one.

900 years into the future, Vana has made a life for herself in the small town of Arcadia, the days of magic and knights and trolls now only fairy tales to amuse the minds of children. Although retaining a few of her old habits, she tries to limit herself in her use of magic, keeping it hidden as best she can from the public to maintain the appearance of an ordinary human. She is no longer the child who taunted the knights of Camelot with tricks and cunning or marveled at the wonders of her craft, but a strong yet broken girl created from nine centuries of hardship and pain. Her heart has forgotten the feeling of home, and Douxie...Douxie is nothing more than a distant memory, nearly faded like the past she now tries to forget. Vana has learned to accept she may never see him again, and she's ready to move on and let him go.

However, the past 𑁋 and trouble 𑁋 are not yet done with the girl, something she realizes when she runs into her brother living in Arcadia. And whether by fate or coincidence, it isn't long after their meeting that Merlin returns, setting off a chain of events that force Vana to relive the  memories she left behind in Camelot. With her future and the future of her allies at stake, the girl must try to keep the events of her own past intact while helping her brother make sure history plays out the way it's supposed to. But it's not as easy as it sounds; any action, big or small, always comes with consequences, and the Casperan siblings are about to find that out the hard way.

𑁋CAST OF CHARACTERS

𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐚 as 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐱 "𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚" 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧

𑁋 former apprentice of morgana le fay, guardian of the wild wood

❝𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐱𝐢𝐞. 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝—𝐨𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭, 𝐢 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞!❞

𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐱 "𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐱𝐢𝐞" 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧 as 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟

𑁋 apprentice of merlin ambrosius, protector of arcadia

❝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭! 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨—𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝.❞

𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡...

𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐧 as 𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧

𑁋 close friend of vana casperan, employee of hex tech

❝𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤.❞

𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐭 as 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐤

𑁋 andrew's grumpy toad friend who may or may not be his familiar

❝𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞❞

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐚 as 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨'𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚

𑁋 baker extraordinaire, owner and manager of the magical treats café

*𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠* ❝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚, 𝐠𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭.❞

𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧 as 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧

𑁋 knight of camelot, protector of the king

❝𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡. 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.❞

𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 as 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐲-𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧

𑁋 younger sister of andrew henderson, little witch in training

❝𝐢'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬!❞

AND THE REST OF THE TALES OF ARCADIA CAST AS THEMSELVES

PLAYLIST

I. HEY BROTHER, avicii 

II. THE LAMENT OF EUSTACE SCRUBB, the oh hellos 

III. CIRCLES, greta svabo bech 

IV. TO BUILD A HOME, the cinematic orchestra

V. WITHOUT YOU, ursine vulpine

VI. BETWEEN THE WARS, allman brown

VII. GHOSTS THAT WE KNEW, mumford and sons

VIII. LITTLE BOY IN THE GRASS, aurora

IX. DEFYING GRAVITY, wicked

X.  NO CHOIR, florence + the machine

XI. IMPOSSIBLE, james arthur

XII. YEUL'S THEME, joelle

XIII. COLD IS THE NIGHT, the oh hellos

XIV. I HAVE MADE MISTAKES, the oh hellos

XV. DEAR WORMWOOD, the oh hellos

XVI. SECOND CHILD, RESTLESS CHILD, the oh hellos

XVII. RUNAWAY, aurora

XVIII. C'MON, p!atd, fun

XIX. HALF THE WORLD AWAY, aurora

XX. BLEEDING OUT, imagine dragons

XXI. EVELYN, EVELYN, evelyn, evelyn

XXII. EVERYTHING I WANTED, billie eilish

XXIII. YOU WERE GOOD TO ME, jeremy zucker/chelsea cutler

XXIV. NATURAL, imagine dragons

XXV. NATURE BOY (ACOUSTIC), aurora

XXVI. ENEMY, tommee profitt

XXVII. MESSAGE MAN, twenty one pilots

XXVIII. HEROES FALL, hidden citizens

XXIX. PINS AND NEEDLES, mutemath

XXX. EVERYBODY KNOWS, sigrid

XXXI. ALL IS SOFT INSIDE, aurora

XXXII. THE NEXT RIGHT THING, frozen 2

XXXIII. I DON'T WANT YOU BACK, aj mitchell

XXXIV. LOSE SOMEBODY, kygo, onerepublic 

XXXV. CARRY YOU HOME, tiësto

XXXVI. WAY DOWN WE GO, kaleo

XXXVII. SOLDIER, POET, KING, the oh hellos

XXXIX. THE WOLVES, cyrus reynolds, keeley bumfield

XL. HOLD ON, chord overstreet

XLI. PROTECTOR, city wolf

XLII. LOST IT ALL, jill andrews

XLIII. CHILDREN OF THE SUN, thomas bergersen and merethe soltvedt

XLIII. I HAVE TIME, we bare bears

a/n:

if there's one thing that i gravitate towards in fictional characters, it's those that give off a kind older sibling vibe, and seeing as douxie definitely gives me that feeling, i decided to write a fic to express my love for the soft wizard boy. 

(also the summary took me like four times to finally get right, when usually it takes me one or two times but anyway𑁋)

speaking of this story, vana is the definition of a chaotic mess. she's has a good heart but she's also got a knack for getting in trouble, which is why douxie and archie basically act as her impulse control and voice of reason. vana and douxie's relationship is pretty much a mix of douxie going "no, vana, you can't do that, that's illegal",  the two of them doing stupid stuff together because they share one brain cell, and being overall very protective of one other, equal parts soft but intimidating (i just really love sibling relationships, okay?)

anyway, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

(dedications go to darthmaul , stxrlessnights , feelingstormy , and hisirdouxes for their support of this fic)

❛𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅?❜

❛𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.❜