#also please imagine twilight tackling warriors into mud puddles

[attllhak]

Warriors Swan Lake AU: Soldiers - Twilight

@tortilla-of-courage

And here we’re at the second half of this fic, featuring Twilight and his backstory. Also featuring a more reliable narrator when it comes to Warriors’ characterization for this AU. So here’s a look at how Twilight ended up as a captain in the royal guard.

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Twilight was probably the only person to ever have a royal relative and refuse to accept any sort of noble title.

His Aunt Malon had married the king a few years before Twilight was born. He grew up in the tiny village he was born in, but his aunt and uncle visited often. 

They never wore their crowns or finery when they visited, and Twilight had even been the one to direct his uncle on how to do the farm work properly on more than one occasion. He had no idea it was the king he was bossing around every other summer until he was already almost an adult.

He’d wanted to see more of the world before settling down, and headed to the capitol to start off, hoping maybe he could spend a few nights with his aunt and uncle to help him plan out what to do and where to go first.

He’d been a bit confused when people reacted with disbelief when he gave his relatives names, and had been a bit put out when doors slammed in his face because they thought he was lying. He didn’t understand why that might have been until he ended up arrested because someone called for the guard.

That had pissed him off, and he fought for a bit but didn’t manage to make much headway, and he ended up in a cell in the castle dungeons.

Part of him was now wondering just what kind of reputation his aunt and uncle had in Castle Town that it landed him in jail just for being related to them.

Well, up until his cousin showed up.

Warriors was a few months older than Twilight, and he’d come with his parents whenever they visited. Twilight mostly remembered him being a scraggly sort of kid, who spent a lot of his early years complaining and whining about not being treated ‘special’, at which point Twilight would proceed to try and tackle him into the nearest body of water or mud. Warriors of course grew out of this phase, and soon he was tackling Twilight back. Or, he was until Twilight hit a growth spurt and put on muscle by taking on more chores. He was a lot harder to tackle then, not that Warriors ever stopped trying.

When Twilight thought of his cousin, mostly he imagined him in basic, simple clothes and covered in mud, smile wide while they shoved more dirt on each other’s faces, hair a mess. Warriors always left the ranch with more bruises than he arrived with, and they spent a notable amount of time wrestling and pushing each other into water or mud.

All of Twilight’s memories had Warriors in the same spot as anyone else from his tiny village. So he was unprepared when his cousin showed up to visit him.

Fine, expensive clothing with elaborate embroidery (though he’d learn later it was actually on the simple side for royalty), a long royal blue scarf that flared and billowed like a cape when he moved, several pieces of expensive jewelry which included but wasn’t limited to several earrings he wore at once. And a crown.

Warriors was wearing a literal crown.

“Wow, when they said someone claiming to be related to us had been arrested, I didn’t expect the person in question to be telling the truth,” Warriors quipped, smirking.

“Warriors?!” Twilight blanched, climbing to his feet and moving up to press against the bars, as though that would help him process what he was seeing. “What are you wearing?!”

Warriors laughed, loud and sudden, and a guard stepped up.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Warriors waved, now doubled over and trying to catch his breath desperately.

“YOUR MAJESTY?!” Twilight echoed, his shock clear on his face.

The guard whispered something to Warriors, who waved him off again.

“Yeah, but he’s always bothering me, so it’s fine. You can let him out and return his things to him, he’s telling the truth,” Warriors said, gasping a bit while he still caught his breath from laughing.

“Warriors, what is going on?” Twilight asked once his cousin assured the guard Twilight wasn’t lying and sent him to get the keys and all the things Twilight had brought with him.

“Do you seriously not know?” Warriors asked back, seeming genuinely confused.

“All I know is that I showed up here thinking I could stay a day or two with your family while I planned out a trip to see more of the country and ended up arrested trying to find you, and now here you are,” he reached through the bars to wave at his cousin. “You’re probably wearing things that cost more than my house, and the soldiers are calling you ‘Your Majesty’, and you have a crown,” he pointed quite firmly at the accessory in question. “What is going on?”

Warriors blinked at him, like he couldn’t understand how Twilight was so stupid he hadn’t figured out what was going on.

“Twilight,” he said slowly, like Twilight was being particularly dumb. “Do you not know who my parents are?”

Twilight frowned. “Is that important?”

Warriors covered his mouth and nose with his hands, taking in a deep breath, looking equal parts stressed and amused, probably fighting back laughter.

“Twi,” Warriors wheezed out, expression mostly hidden. “My dad is the King,”

Twilight took a moment to let that sink in.

“WHAT!?”

Twilight’s uncle thought it was hilarious when Warriors swept into the throne room with his arm through Twilight’s, explaining what was going on to his parents without care that they were dealing with some minister of something.

It must have been quite a sight, the crown prince sweeping into the room arm-in-arm with a peasant who clearly hadn’t had a bath or decent rest in a few days while loudly announcing his cousin had arrived.

Twilight felt very out of place.

Time, who was dressed almost but not quite as finely as his son, had burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter immediately once it sank in, doubled over in his throne. He was wearing blue, faint hints of embroidery across the pale vest over his tunic. He had a long royal blue coat lined with silver, though it was cut short enough he could ride a horse unencumbered. He had riding boots, more practical than the fancy boots Warriors had, but still obviously expensive. And he had a crown. Beyond the finery though, he still looked like Uncle Time, the man Twilight bossed around in the summers. He still had the long scar over his right eye, and the blue and red markings from the Old Magic he used when he was young.

Somehow Twilight had a hard time picturing his uncle as the king, despite seeing him in court attire.

And then his aunt reached over to smack at her husband and tell him to get himself together, and Twilight felt his entire brain shut down for a moment.

Aunt Malon was his mother’s sister, and he knew her even better than he knew her husband, since she would visit even when her husband couldn’t. He was used to seeing her in work clothes, practical wear for living on a ranch.

Her boots were the same, but that was about it.

She was dressed more simply than her husband or son, but even she was dressed like royalty. Her skirts were a bit longer than they usually were, though only by an inch, and a royal blue colour, a darker shade of blue embroidered a commoners pattern across it. She still had a tan shirt, but it seemed like more of a blouse now, slightly fancier, and a bit of brown leather around her waist, not unlike a sash, to hold the very embroidered bit of fabric with the crest of the kingdom that hung down the front of her skirts. A fancy pink-purple sash or shawl or whatever was wrapped around her arms, in the same shade as the skirts she wore at home. A very simple circlet sat on her brow.

When Twilight finally managed to comprehend his aunt and uncle sitting on thrones in royal finery, his uncle had mostly collected himself and Warriors was snickering into the back of his hand. The rest of the room was silent, and everyone was staring at him.

“So,” he said slowly into the silence. “When was I going to find out you two are literally the king and queen? Were you planning on ever telling me?”

Time snorted again, desperately trying his best to swallow more laughter. Malon glared at him gently. Warriors turned his face away while he puffed out his cheeks to keep his own laughter in check.

“Also, are you telling me that I spent almost every summer tackling the crown prince into mud puddles?” Twilight went on when no one else seemed to. “I found out I’ve technically been assaulting the crown prince when he showed up in the dungeons because I got arrested for claiming to be related to you because I didn’t know you were the king and queen. Seriously, I got ARRESTED over this! And him! I’ve been leaving bruises on the prince my whole life and no one bothered to tell me? How many of the things we did during the summers you visited home technically count as treason because you guys are royalty? Why didn’t you tell me you were royalty?! It could’ve saved a lot of headaches!”

“Yes, because that would’ve prevented you from assaulting the crown prince,” Warriors joked, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, you shut up,” Twilight scoffed, elbowing him. “You left just as many bruises on me!”

That cracked Time’s resolve again, and he burst into a new round of laughter.

Malon sighed heavily. “I had thought you’d figured it out on your own already. Most of the village has,”

“Clearly not,” Twilight scoffed, sounding a bit more offended than he felt.

“Clearly not,” Malon sighed. “I do apologize for the issues this has caused. You weren’t sitting in a cell long, I hope,”

“Only because he came to get me,” Twilight tossed his head at Warriors.

“A few members of my guard are horrible gossips,” Warriors admitted. “I overheard they’d picked him up and got curious,”

Time gathered himself and sat back, one hand on his face as he gasped for air.

“This is the best thing that’s happened all week,” he wheezed.

Malon reached over and whacked him.

Twilight did eventually get the full story, and the reason no one told him that the royal family was the one that visited every summer was because they were worried that he’d treat his cousin differently if he knew that was the prince, and everyone was hoping that giving Warriors a place to just be like every other kid would help keep him from getting spoiled and entitled. It worked, since despite his decadence Warriors was a pretty grounded person. He didn’t have a good grasp on what is and isn’t expensive, but he was respectful at least.

Twilight proved them all wrong by taking the first opportunity to tackle his cousin into the fountain in the courtyard, royal finery be damned.

He nearly got arrested again for that before Warriors retaliated and the guards decided to find it funny instead of worrying.

He was offered a title a few times to apologize for the misunderstanding and his brief prison stint, but he always turned it down. He didn’t want a title, he just wanted full clearance to be allowed to assault his cousin without being charged with treason.

He spent longer in the castle than he expected to, and then he learned he could see the kingdom a lot easier by just tagging along on some of the outings the royal family made to check on the people. But he still didn’t want a title.

Which is how Twilight marched up to his uncle and informed him he wanted to join the army for the express purpose of being part of the royal guard.

Time seemed amused by this, and Twilight was quickly fast tracked up the ranks to get a placement in the royal guard. Which he also quickly rose up the ranks of.

Only part of it was nepotism. Most of it was that he actually had a lot of skill with a sword, more than a lot of the other soldiers, and he took his job seriously. He ended up with the title of captain after only a few short years, and most of the people he interacted with had no idea he was related to the queen. This worked just fine for Twilight.

It did mean he didn’t get to tackle his cousin into water features and mud puddles as often, but that was something he could live with.

He ended up the head of Warriors’ guard specifically, which Warriors found immensely amusing for reasons Twilight didn’t fully understand.

Which was why he was there when their travelling group was attacked.

Warriors could hold his own wrestling with Twilight and the others in Ordon, but he was no fighter. He couldn’t protect himself in a real fight. That was what his guard was for.

A guard that had all fled the second they realized they were facing a sorceress. Which left only him.

Twilight stood firmly in front of his cousin, sword in hand, blinking water out of his eyes. No one was going to hurt his cousin, not if he had anything to say about it. The only person who should be responsible for Warriors being soaked and covered in mud was him.

The sorceress took a step closer and Twilight shifted, grip tightening on his sword, face twisting into a snarl, teeth bared.

The sorceress paused.

Twilight nearly startled at the appearance of someone at his side, spotting the blonde hair and a blue hat, a sword and shield drawn. Legend, one of the newer members of the prince’s guard.

Well, at least he wasn’t the only soldier brave enough to stay and protect the prince.

He was making a very angry report about all of them when they got back to the castle.