Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Bean sat up in bed upon hearing the noise. Song? She hoped it wasn’t her mom. She looked around her room for any clues as to what the voice was. There was nothing. This was the kind of moment where she wished that Elfo and Luci still lived with her. Then, she could ask them if they heard it and if they did it. Bean took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Once she was calm, she lay back down and went back to sleep.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

She only heard it that second time for the night. The rest of the night was quiet.

The next morning she woke up and felt different. It was like that was all a dream. She definitely did hear that… whatever it was. It was like she was hungover but in a different way. Her head felt thick. It was weird to her. She went about getting dressed and then heading out. Maybe Luci would know something about the voice. So, she was off to Luci’s Inferno.

When she got there, it was closed. She huffed and headed back to the castle. She had guessed it was too early to be open. As she walked through the streets, she tried to figure out where to go next. She figured she would ask her dad if he knew anything about the voice. Noise?

She found her dad in a room drinking scotch and staring into the fire intently. He was very upset after Ursula left.

“Hey, dad,” Bean said gently, not wanting to startle him.

“Hey, Beanie,” he said while still staring into the fire. She went and sat in the chair next to him by the fire. He didn’t even look at her.

“Dad, have you ever heard a voice or like singing around here?” She asked.

“What do ya mean?” He asked. His mind was somewhere else. He did try to listen to her but he was too upset. Bean fiddled with her hands.

“Like, ah-ah-ah-ah,” she sang the tune. That’s when her dad’s head quickly looked at her.

“Ignore it,” he replied with enough anger for her to pick up on.

“Why?” She was taken aback by his sudden anger.

“Just do as I say, Beanie,” he said.

Instead of pushing it, she just got up and left. Who else could she ask? Luci was unavailable at the moment and her dad was no help.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

There it was again. Bean decided to follow it. She started to head out of the castle. She made it to the front gate and stopped. She waited to hear it again.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

She followed where it was coming from. She made it out of town and stopped by the fields. She stood in a vast open field. She turned around slowly could see some farms, rolling hills, Dreamland, and The Enchanted Forest.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

She spun to the source. It was The Enchanted Forest. Sure she had been there before but this was different. She was following a voice into the unknown or at least what was unknown to her. She walked to the edge of the forest. Bean silently wished that she was drunk and that this was all because of drinking. But she was sober. She started to debate on whether or not to go in. What would happen if she did? What would happen if she didn’t?

Ah-ah-ah-ah

“Okay, listen,” she started, “I’m gonna need you to show yourself. I can’t go in there without knowing who you are. I know there’s really nothing stopping me but I’d like to know that I’m not insane,” she huffed out a sigh, “okay so I am insane. I’m talking to myself because of a voice that may or may not be in my head.”

She stared into the forest as if it would respond. It wouldn’t. She was just met with trees, bushes, and various animals. She waited for a few minutes. She was hoping to hear the voice again, as if to convince her to go into the forest. Unfortunately, there was nothing. It was silent. Except for the sounds of nature. She looked down to the ground, a little disappointed. So, she headed back to the castle.

Once she got back to the castle, Luci and Elfo were waiting for her in the courtyard.

“Hey, Bean!” Elfo greeted. She smiled at the both of them and kept walking. She was on a mission. Luci scurried up to catch up with her. Elfo caught up to them and spoke, “Where were you? Luci said you were probably off getting drunk and I know you’re better than that.”

“Yeah, so tell us what were you doing?” Luci asked.

“I’ll tell you when we’re in my room,” she replied.

The rest of the walk was quiet. Once they arrived at her room, she shut the door and locked it. She led them over to the couches. Luci and Elfo sat across from Bean. She fiddled with her thumbs a bit.

“What I’m about to tell you, you can’t tell anyone. Either of you,” she said.

“You can count on me, Bean,” Elfo replied.

“Not on me,” Luci said. Bean gave him a stern look.

“Please, keep this between us,” she told them.

Luci rolled his eye, “You’re no fun but alright, lips are sealed.”

“Okay, so since last night, I have been hearing a noise,” Bean told them.

“A voice? Is it a good one?” Elfo asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

“Do you know what it is at all?” Luci asked. He was intrigued and he thought he might know something about it.

“No, not really,” she said. Her hand rubbed her other arm. “What if it is bad? What if it’s my mom?”

“I really doubt it’s Dagmar,” Luci said. Her hand went back onto her lap.

“What if it’s a genie!” Elfo exclaimed.

“Do you even know what a genie is?” Luci questioned.

“No, but it still could be one!” Elfo responded.

“Guys,” Bean said, “maybe I should check out the library? It might have something on a strange voice coming from the forest.”

“Do you even know what a library is?” Luci said.

Bean shot him a look, “Yes, I do.”

Bean got up and headed to the library. Luci and Elfo followed her in tow. When she got to the library, she asked them to help her find a book about spirits in The Enchanted Forest. They found one book with anything pertaining to that.

“Here, I found something,” Elfo said, handing the book to Bean. She happily took it and set it on the table.

“It says: ‘The spirits in The Enchanted Forest are elusive ones. They tend to hide away from people, except for a select few. If they call out to you, you are chosen. There are also a select few families that have bloodlines connected to the spirits,” She took a breath before continuing, “Huh, there’s a list of family names here but one’s crossed out. I can barely make it out. I guess they didn’t want the family name here.”

“That’s strange,” Luci said as he scurried up to Bean and looked over the page with her, “I can’t make it out either.”

“Maye you could ask your dad?” Elfo said.

“No, I already told him about the voice and he told me to ignore it,” Bean replied, “he also got upset about it, too.”

“I wonder what it could be, maybe you should ask him again,” Luci suggested.

“Why? He was already upset-” Elfo started.

“That’s the point,” Luci interrupted.

“I might ask him about the book,” Bean told them, “he might not get upset about that.”

They sat in silence for a bit. Bean started to wonder what to do next.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Chapter Text

Bean had been woken up by the voice again. She couldn’t get back to sleep. So, she decided to roam the grounds of the castle. She hated the stupid voice. Song? It kept her up every night for the past two weeks. Her dad was no help and no way she would track down Dagmar and ask her. That was a death wish. She did her research already and it only led to one page in a very thick book. She huffed out a sigh and leaned against a pillar under the gazebo. How was she going to do this?

“Princess?” A gruff male voice got her attention. She looked up and saw Pendergast.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

He chuckled, “I could ask you the same question.”

“Good point,” she replied. He stepped so that he was now standing in front of her by a foot or two.

“Want to take a walk together?” He offered.

“Alright,” she smiled.

They walked around the grounds. Not with any particular route planned, just aimlessly walking. She enjoyed his company and he enjoyed hers.

“So, what are you doing up?” She asked.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he shrugged and then looked at her, “what about you?”

“I guess you could say the same,” she said.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Bean’s head shot in the direction of the voice. They stopped walking. Pendergast looked in the same direction. His knight mode was starting to kick in. Even though he didn’t hear anything.

“What is it, Princess?” He asked.

“Do you not hear that?” She retorted. He raised a brow at her. Maybe her hearing was better than he thought.

“Hear what?” He asked as he scanned their surroundings.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

“Dammit, why am I the only one hearing that stupid voice?” She sounded frustrated. He was concerned. He didn’t think she was crazy just yet.

“What does it sound like?” He asked her. She then sang the tune. His eye widened slightly, “How long have you been hearing this?”

“I don’t know, three weeks?” She told him then looked him in the eye, “Wait, wait, wait, you don’t think that I’m crazy?”

“No,” he replied, “I think you’re hearing the forest spirits.”

“How do you know that?” She said.

“I, uh, read a lot?” He scratched the back of his neck.

“I only found one page of them in the library! How do you know more than what’s there?” She started to question him. Not in anger but in pure curiosity.

“My family was very spiritual,” he said. She nodded. Then, she thought of an idea.

“You know, I was thinking about going after this voice thing,” she told him.

“Well, it is calling to you,” he said.

“Exactly! So, I need to go into the Enchanted Forest-”

“You’re not going alone,” he told her.

“I won’t be alone, I’ll have Elfo and Luci,” she replied.

“You should have someone capable with you.”

“I am capable!”

“What if you’re outnumbered? You and I both know that the elf can’t fight.”

“Okay, you have a point,” she pursed her lips, “my dad wouldn’t like this.”

“When has that ever stopped you?”

“Stop pointing out things.” She crossed her arms. “Still, you can’t just leave like I can.”

“I can present this as a mission to your father,” he suggested.

“He wouldn’t like that,” she said, “I already talked to him about this and he was upset about it.”

“I’ll present it as something else when in reality we’re going after the spirit to see what it wants,” he replied.

“That’s a good plan,” she said, impressed.

“It is kind of my job,” he said, “so, may I accompany you on this journey?”

“Uh, yeah,” she smiled.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Her head shot in the direction of the voice again. It was going to be a long night.

The next morning, Pendergast requested an audience with Zog. Which was approved very quickly. Before he knew it, he was in the throne room with the royal family and others.

“Your highnesses,” Pendergast bowed.

“So, why did you want to see me?” Zog asked. Pendergast stood straight up. He shared a glance with Bean, who was now in her regular clothes.

“I am here to present you with a mission,” he replied. Zog nodded for him to continue. Pendergast cleared his throat and continued, “There have been reports of people going missing in The Enchanted Forest. I was thinking I could investigate for at least a week to make sure it’s not a threat to the royal family.”

“Isn’t that the constable’s job?” Zog asked.

“Yeah but they’re busy keeping an eye out for Dagmar,” Pendergast responded.

“Alright,” Zog let out a sigh, “do you need any knights?”

“No, the less the better on this,” he replied.

“Mission granted,” Zog responded, “Now, if you don’t mind me, I am going back to my chambers.”

“Dad?” Bean whispered, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Beanie,” he patted her head as he walked past her.

Pendergast and Bean watched as everyone else left the room, one by one. Once they were all gone, Bean got up and walked over to Pendergast.

“I can’t believe you, of all people, lied to my dad like that,” Bean said, “I’m impressed.”

“Yeah, it was a little difficult, but this voice you hear is important,” he told her. She blushed a little. At least someone thought the voice was important.

“So, when do we leave?” She asked, suppressing the blush.

“I will leave an hour before sunset. After sunset, meet me at the edge of town,” he said.

“Can I bring Elfo and Luci?” She asked. She was going to bring them anyway but she wanted to be nice. He did lie to her father, the king, afterall.

“You’re going to bring them irregardless of my answer but sure,” he replied.

“Alright,” she started to sound nervous, “see you after sundown at the edge of town.”

“See you then, Princess,” He bowed.

“Dude, you don’t have to be so formal, you can just call me Bean,” she said, “also, you don’t have to bow.”

“Okay, Bean,” he said, “see you soon. And remember to bring a horse.”

He then walked out of the throne room. Hearing her name come from him made her heart skip a beat. They had known each other since she was thirteen. He was three years older than her. She had a small crush on him at first but got over it. However, it had slightly developed again recently and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to like him like that again. Maybe this journey would help her solve more than one mystery.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

Sunset arrived and Bean was on horseback making her way to the edge of town. Luci was on her shoulder and Elfo was on his own horse. The clopping against the stone pathways echoed in Bean’s ears. She couldn’t stop thinking about what was ahead of her. She was excited and nervous. What if she found her answers? What if she didn’t? She was hoping for the former.

She arrived at the edge of town. She met up with Pendergast who was in casual clothes.

“Prin- Bean,” he greeted causing her heart to skip another beat. She figured if that was going to keep happening, it was going to get annoying.

“Nice catch,” she said, trying to be cool. She then spoke again, “Why aren’t you in armor?”

“To be more stealth like and it’s too clunky for this,” he replied.

“I guess that makes sense,” she shrugged.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she responded. They started to stare at each other for just a moment too long which Elfo and Luci both picked up on. Luci was the first to comment.

“What are you two losers staring at?” Luci said. They both quickly looked away.

“We should go,” Pendergast said, “Which way, Prin- Bean?”

“I don’t-” She started.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

“This way,” she said. She led them to the edge of the Enchanted Forest. She led them into the forest.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

“It’s coming from that direction,” she pointed north.

“Lead the way, Bean,” Pendergast said. She nodded and led them north.

Chapter Text

A young Zog had been having a restless night because he was hearing a voice, or something, for the past week. It had been bugging him, especially tonight. He eventually gave in and decided to follow it. So, here he was in the courtyard, waiting for this voice to sing to him again. He started to grow impatient. Here he was, out in the open, in the middle of the night, waiting for a voice that only he could hear. He started to head back into the castle but stopped in his tracks when it sang to him.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

There it was, the voice he had been hearing for the past week. He made sure he had his sword and got on his horse. He was then off in the direction that he heard it. He had managed to get to the edge of town. He didn’t know where to go after that and looked in every direction, waiting for the voice to sing to him again.

Ah-ah-ah-ah

He followed it into the forest. He kept following it North until he reached a clearing that he had never seen before. It felt different to him even though he wasn’t very spiritual. There was definitely something going on here. He had to be ready for anything that could come his way. Then, he got off the horse and walked carefully to the middle of the clearing. He drew his sword, ready to fight anything if it wasn’t friendly.

“You won’t be needing that,” a smooth female voice said.

“Alright,” Zog said, turning to keep his every angle covered, “then show yourself and I’ll put it away.”

“Fair enough,” she said. A blonde woman stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight. She was as tall as Zog and wore a white top, a yellow skirt and a pink shawl. She was beautiful but in an otherworldly way. A slew of sparkling something, it looked like snow but it didn’t behave like snow, followed her and dissipated when she stood still. When Zog fully looked at her, he sheathed his sword.

“Are you the voice that I’ve been hearing?” He asked.

“In a way, yes,” she said, “I am the spirit of all that is good in the world, you can call me Meiya. I sense that your family has a close connection with the forest.”

“I’m Zog. How can you sense that?” He asked.

“Well, your ancestors were born of the forest,” she replied.

“Then, why am I in a castle?” He asked, genuinely intrigued. He was never told much about his family by his family. They had always kept their history a secret from him.

“That is a long and complicated story,” she replied, recalling it in her mind as if it were yesterday.

“I got time,” Zog said.

“Alright,” Meiya said. She moved her arms and the ground formed into seats for them to sit on. She gestured, “Please, sit. This is going to take a while.”

“Okay,” he said as they sat down.

“It was long ago when your family first came to the forest. In your time, about three hundred years ago. They were nice and very peaceful. In the tribe of forest people, your family became the Elemental Masters and some even became Spiritual Leaders,” she said.

Zog scoffed, “My family’s not that spiritual.”

“But they are, or were. A hundred years passed and the most horrible thing happened, according to the forest people. One of your ancestors, plotted to destroy the village and me. I know he was doing this anger. He was angry at himself for what he could not do. I forgave him but the village did not and banished him and your family,” she told him.

“So, why are you calling me here?” He asked.

“Because, I fear that a great threat is on the way. I can sense that it will put the tides of good and evil against each other,” she replied.

“Do you know what it is exactly?” He said.

“No, I do not. I cannot even tell when or how soon it will be, but be ready,” she told him.

“So you brought me here for nothing?” Zog’s face flattened in unamusement.

“Not for nothing,” she defended, “I want to show you the way of the elements.”

“The way of the elements?” He said.

“Yes. I will show you how to move earth, water, fire, and air with your body,” she said, “that is, if you’ll let me teach you.”

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

And so, began his training in the elements. Meiya hoped that she had called out for the right one.

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Zog agreed to learn the way of the elements. He first learned how to control fire, since that was the one that came easiest to him. He hadn’t fully mastered fire but he was good enough to handle himself. Meiya worked with him as much as she could until they both felt that he had mastered fire to the best of his ability.

They were now working on earth with him. He would move his arms just how she showed him and nothing would happen for him. He was growing more frustrated with each attempt. He huffed out a sigh and his shoulders dropped.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” Zog said, disappointment evident in his voice.

“I think you just need more practice,” Meiya said as she set a hand on his shoulder, “Let’s try a different element.”

She led him over to a nearby stream where she began to teach him how to move the water. She started off with the basic task of pushing and pulling the water. Zog got the movements down perfectly but he couldn’t get the water to move. He did as she said and tried to feel the push and pull of the water. He let out a frustrated groan when nothing happened and sat down. Meiya could sense how upset he was and she had an idea why he wasn’t picking up the other elements but she didn’t want to believe it. He had to be the one she was looking for all this time.

“You know,” she said as she sat next to him, “the previous person to master all four elements had trouble doing it too.”

“There were others before me? Were they my family?” Zog asked.

“Yes there were others before you but no they were not your family,” Meiya said.

“So, why me?” He said.

“Well, I’m not entirely sure if it is you-”

“What?! You’re not sure if it is me?!”

“I know your family bloodline is next but you see, time is- well, it’s fuzzy for me,” she said.

“Explain,” he said.

“Well for the first one, I gave a part of myself to them so that they could move all four elements. As time went on, the part of me that lived inside the first one, moved on to someone with a similar spirit. I live outside of time, therefore, it is hard for me to keep track of everything,” she told him.

“So, what am I supposed to do? I’m not the guy you’re looking for,” Zog said,

“Well, there’s still a way you can help. When you have a child, they could be the one. You could bring them here when they are old enough and we could train them,” she said.

“If I have kids. What if it’s my brother Yog that has kids and his kids are the one?” He said.

“No, this I know is true. You will have a child and they will be the one because I know this time it is your bloodline,” she reassured him.

“Alright, I’ll hold you to it,” he said. There was a moment of silence between them.

“You’ve been in the forest for quite some time now, I think it’s best you return to your home,” she said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said as they both stood, “Thanks, Meiya. I’ll be back, hopefully with my kid.”

“See you soon, Zog,” she smiled.

Zog then found his horse and rode back to his home. When he got home, he was greeted by his mother who was shaken up. She pulled him into a hug and checked him over to make sure he was okay. His father gave him a stern look before they headed to the throne room. Once his parents were sat at their thrones, tension filled the room.

“Where have you been?” His father asked.

“I was in the Enchanted Forest and-” Zog started.

“You were where?!” His mother shouted, “Zog, please tell me you didn’t speak to anyone there.”

“I did speak to someone there. I spoke to Meiya and she told me about our family history. A lot more about our family history than any of you have ever told me!” Zog said.

“Did she tell you that our ancestors were planning on destroying her and the village back in the day?” Zog’s mother asked. He had never seen her this angry and it scared him.

“She did. Why would we plan to hurt her? She’s the good spirit and here to help,” Zog said.

“You don’t understand, she was threatening to kill our family,” Zog’s mother said.

“No, that can’t be. She would never-”

“She wanted to end our bloodline. I’m sorry, Zog,” she said, “but this is our history. Whatever she told you, it’s a lie. How did you find her?”

“She found me, she sang to me and I followed her voice,” Zog replied, defeat in his voice.

“Never follow her again. She’s nothing but trouble,” she said.

Zog felt tears prick at his eyes. He nodded to his mother and she dismissed him. He quickly made his way to his room. He didn’t want to believe his mother but she would know their history better. Zog shut the door to his room and he balled up his fists. He couldn’t cry about this. He decided to check the history books and everything that his mother said was true. He didn’t want to believe Meiya lied to him but everything said that she did. Zog made a promise to himself. He would never let his family near that spirit again.