Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anadil laid her head in Hester's lap one day in their room and sighed.

"Finally some time alone," Anadil grumped and picked up her textbook and started to read.

The peace and quiet lasted all of fifteen minutes before Hester slammed her book down.

Anadil looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Hester, what has you being so dramatic?"

Hester gave her girlfriend a glare, though not nearly as venomous as her normal ones (her girlfriend got a few special privileges, including the ability to actually touch her).

"I'm sick and tired of everyone staring at us! Being the most popular couple at school is terrible."

Anadil nodded in agreement.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked cautiously.

Hester's dark eyes flashed dangerously.

"We make ourselves unpopular," she said.

"That's not going to be enough," a voice said.

Hester and Anadil jumped, Anadil receding from Hester's lap with a small blush.

Dot stepped into the room and both girls eyed her.

She was probably the only person they let see them being affectionate (though the pair were getting worse and worse about being affectionate in public), but the surprise had spooked them anyways.

"Everyone thinks you're cute, even if you attack them that won't change anything. They'll say you're doing it for each other."

"Then what do we do?" Anadil asked.

Dot smirked.

"You find another couple and make them more popular so that everyone forgets about you two for a while."

"Dot, we're not helping you and Kiko get more popular," Hester said flatly.

"I wasn't talking about us."

Hester and Anadil exchanged a glance before looking back at Dot.

"Who?"

Dot smirked.

~

"Why do we have to help them?!" Hester asked with a glare.

"Because people like the gay couples and they like the awkward getting together stage where they can ship them! This is the only couple left!" Dot snapped.

"So the question is: do you hate them more than you hate being the most popular couple in school?"

Hester and Anadil looked at each other.

Dot stared at the two as they silently raised eyebrows and asked each other questions without using a single word.

"Fine. We're in," Hester said.

Anadil nodded in agreement, moving closer to her girlfriend with a sigh.

Hester gave her a suffering look and put an arm around her shoulder.

"The things we do for some peace and quiet," Anadil said.

Hester nodded and Dot rolled her eyes.

"How are we supposed to get those two idiots together?" Hester asked.

Dot grinned.

"I've got a whole plan laid out! Kiko's been really excited about this-"

"Of course she is," Anadil muttered into Hester's ear, making her snort.

Dot glared at them.

"Fine. We can leave you two be. Have fun being the most popular couple in the school."

Hester snatches onto Dot's wrist as she made her way out the door.

"No."

Dot smirked and sat down beside her friends.

Hester and Anadil made eye contact and both rolled their eyes in sync.

This was going to be annoying and very, very trying.

~

That's why Hester, Anadil, Dot, and Kiko were sitting around and watching the new couple eating lunch together "like a bunch of creeps," as Hester had said.

There were three girls sitting together.

Millicent kept glancing at her friends with a small smile.

Beatrix and Reena were in the middle of a discussion that they couldn't hear from here, but the two were clearly happily talking about it.

Reena started to laugh about something Beatrix said.

The blond princess suddenly froze, staring at her friend with wide eyes for a moment.

Reena shook her head and playfully shoved Beatrix's shoulder.

Beatrix turned bright red, but Reena didn't seem to notice.

"See what we mean?" Dot asked excitedly.

Hester rolled her eyes.

"She's really in denial," Anadil said.

"Says the girl that took months to realize she liked someone and then took literal weeks to actually get her to go out with her," Dot muttered.

Anadil blushed.

Hester our her hand on Anadil's.

"Well she figured it out eventually," she said in defense of her girlfriend.

Anadil nodded, smirking smugly.

She always made that proud expression whenever she thought about having won Hester (though her girlfriend wouldn't say she had been 'won').

"Reena doesn't even seem to even notice Beatrix's obvious blushing. Is she stupid?"

"Says the girl that didn't notice Anadil was flirting with her for weeks," Kiko whispered to her girlfriend, making her giggle.

Hester frowned and glared at her.

"Anadil wasn't that obvious," she muttered.

Everyone looked at her, even Anadil, with raised eyebrows.

Hester rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't have been that clueless," Hester said, folding her arms.

"Hester, even I have to admit that I was hopeless at keeping it a secret," Anadil said.

Hester let out a huff and turned back to the girls.

Reena was to Millicent and currently not looking at Beatrix.

The girl looked about as sulky as Hester.

"And I thought she was the Ani of their relationship," Dot said, laughing at her friends.

Hester rolled her eyes again and looked back at the two Evers.

"Wasn't that girl obsessed with boys first year?" Hester asked finally.

"I guess the School for Girls actually did something to change her," Anadil said.

The couple shared a mean spirited laugh while Dot and Kiko rolled their eyes.

~

Beatrix stared at her friend, not even noticing that Chaddick had walked up.

"Hey, Bee. I was wondering if you wanted to go out on Saturday."

Beatrix jumped and looked at him.

"Umm, what do you mean?" Beatrix asked.

"On like a date," Chaddick clarified with a confident smile.

Beatrix saw Reena looking at her and they exchanged a glance.

"Sorry, we're having a girl's night on Saturday," Reena said, grabbing onto Beatrix's hand and giving Chaddick a smile.

A smile that reminded that Reena had a crush on Chaddick in their first year.

Was Reena just trying to stop her and Chaddick from going out so that she could go with him?

She glanced at Reena again and saw her smiling at her.

Her heart skipped a beat.

No, Reena would never do something like that.

She was far too nice.

"How about some other time?" Chaddick asked, giving Beatrix his best smile.

"Yeah, maybe," she said, not knowing why she was feeling so... hesitant.

She didn't know why she felt so against the idea of going out with him.

Whenever she thought about going out with him, she just found herself thinking of Reena whenever she imagined it.

"I'll hold you to that," Chaddick said with a grin before striding off.

Reena rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend.

"Couldn't he see you were just being kind?" Reena asked.

Beatrix shrugged, feeling oddly awkward alongside her best friend for the first time ever.

"I guess not."

Reena laughed, her voice sounding like tinkling bells.

Beatrix found herself staring at her for a moment.

~

"She's in way over her head," Hester said, trying not to laugh.

"You know what, this is actually going to be pretty fun," Anadil said with a smirk.

"Watching Evergirls suffer? Who wouldn't have fun?" Hester asked, the two girls snickering.

Kiko shifted uncomfortably and looked at her girlfriend for protection.

Dot put ah arm around her waist and Kiko rested her head on the witch's shoulder with a content sigh.

Hester gagged, conveniently ignoring that Anadil was leaned against her side and was idly playing with her red-streaked hair.

"So what's the plan?" Anadil asked.

"Same one I had for you," Dot said.

Hester perked up.

She'd been wondering what all Anadil had done to 'woo her' as Kiko had put it.

It was a good question and she was, honestly, excited to see it first hand.

~

And that's how the three witches of Malice Room 66 found themselves mogrified into cockroaches that were situated on Kiko's shoulders.

"Dotty, are you just going to stay as cockroaches?" Kiko whispered, stroking one of them affectionately.

"Stop touching my girlfriend," Hester growled.

Kiko let out a yelp as Anadil bit her.

"Sorry! Wrong one!" she said quietly and scooped Dot's form into her hand instead, holding her gently.

"Not for too long. You brought the clothes, right?" Dot asked worriedly.

Kiko nodded, face turning bright red.

"They're in my bathroom."

Dot's cockroach form let out a sigh of relief.

"Good."

"Yeah I already had to witness that horror once," Hester grouched, remembering the time they'd turned into doves to help Tedros and Agatha.

Dot nodded in agreement.

Kiko opened her bedroom and slammed the door closed behind her.

"Where's your roommates?" Dot asked.

"Well Agatha was one of them and then Millicent moved into Beatrix and Reena's room. She's been complaining t me that she's such a third wheel now."

"I think we know a thing or two about third wheels," Hester muttered to Anadil.

The albino cockroach snickered and Dot rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. You know you'd miss me."

Hester let out a quiet laugh, though she internally acknowledged the truth in her sentence.

“So are we going there now?” Anadil asked.

Dot grinned.

“Of course.”

~

Anadil followed her girlfriend in the snakeskin cloak they’d enchanted.

Hester grouched that they should have used it to get in, but Dot pointed out that Kiko had been the one to get the cloak and enchant it and hidden it in her room so they couldn’t. Hester had just muttered under her breath before going to awkwardly unmogrify and change clothes.

“Ani, it’s going to be nice not to be so popular,” Hester whispered to her girlfriend.

“We can finally be within three feet of each other and not have Nevers and Evers squealing and watching us,” Anadil responded.

Hester grinned, grabbing her girlfriend’s hand and squeezing it.

She was honestly the most excited to be able to touch her girlfriend in public without people saying how she’d gone soft (she always showed them just how soft she’d gone by having her demon tear them to pieces... and maybe while everyone was distracted by trying to save the poor sucker’s life she got a little bit of time to make out with Ani in the corner without being interrupted).

“This is their room,” Kiko whispered.

“Are they all here right now?” Dot asked in the same quiet tone.

“No, Reena and Millicent are in a study group right now.”

“Perfect. We can talk to Beatrix tonight and have this over with by tomorrow,” Hester said, making her way toward the room.

“Hes, you do know this is going to take more than one night, right? It took weeks with Ani,” Dot said.

Hester growled.

“Whatever,” she said, shoving Kiko toward the door impatiently.

“Let’s get this started before I change my mind.”

~

Beatrix heard a knock on the door and looked up, frowning.

“Who is it?” she called, looking up.

“It’s me!” Kiko’s excited voice called.

She raised an eyebrow, wondering why her fellow princess might be here.

“Come in,” she said.

Kiko flung the door open, looking like she’d just been pushed, and gave her a broad grin.

“Kiko, are you alright?” Beatrix asked.

She never came here when Reena and Millicent were out without something bad happening.

Kiko gave her her best smile, but it slipped slightly.

“Yep! Just here to give some... advice.”

Kiko glanced at the door she’d kept open for an oddly long amount of time and shut it.

Beatrix frowned.

“Advice? What on?”

Suddenly, a very irate witch appeared from literally nowhere.

Beatrix’s finger lit up instantly and she pointed it at Hester.

“What’s she doing here?!” she snapped.

“We’re here to make sure you don’t ruin something beautiful!” Dot said, ripping the snakeskin cloak off of her after having fumbled with it for a moment.

Beatrix kept her finger up, still aflame.

“Beatrix, if I was going to hurt you I wouldn’t have revealed myself would I?” Hester snapped.

Beatrix considered for a Monet before lowering her finger.

“What are you going to help me with?” she asked, eyeing them distrustfully.

“With Reena!”

Chapter Text

"About about Reena?" Beatrix asked, her face turning a bit red.

Hester rolled her eyes.

"Don't pretend you don't know what we're talking about," she snapped.

Beatrix just stared at her.

"What?"

Hester growled, about to snap.

Anadil put a hand on her arm.

"We're here to help you get your girl!" Kiko said, clapping her hands.

Beatrix turned an even darker shade of red.

"I don't know what you mean."

Hester's demon twitched on her neck.

"You like Reena. What a surprise! It's not like you've been staring at her all day or anything!" she snapped.

Beatrix eyes widened, her mouth falling open.

~

It took about fifteen minutes of understanding Kiko and raging Hester (calmed only by a few looks from her girlfriend) to get her to admit how she help.

"Even Ani didn't take that long," Dot harrumphed.

Beatrix was still staring at the door, looking as if she was in shock.

"What do I do?"

She didn't look to Dot or Kiko.

She looked to Hester and Anadil.

The tattooed witch stared back at her with wide eyes.

"What do you mean? As soon as I realized what I wanted I got her some flowers and asked her to go to the No Ball with me. If you don't want to tell her right away, talk to Ani."

The blond took only a moment to consider.

She turned and looked at the albino witch.

Anadil shifted and glanced at her girlfriend.

"Ummm... well, there's a few things you could do."

She kept looking at Hester as if she was wondering if this was going to upset her.

Beatrix looked as pleasing as Anadil remembered herself being.

"Well, the first thing I did was... well, that wouldn't apply to you."

Beatrix and Hester both looked at her.

Anadil blushed a bit.

"Well the first thing I did was brush my hair and take a shower..."

Beatrix nodded and Hester just smiled slightly, barely detectable to anyone but Anadil (And a very excited Dot on the other side of the room).

"But I guess the first step was," Anadil raked her brain for the step, "'flaunt your strengths'."

Beatrix didn't seem to notice that Hester was there and making this awkward (that or she didn't care).

"What did you do?"

Anadil paused, looking at her girlfriend again as if wondering whether she should speak.

Hester looked intrigued, so she went on.

"Umm... Dot said that Hester liked it when I laughed, so I did that as much as possible."

Hester stared at Dot and the other witch shifted in her seat.

"I never said that," Hester grumbled with a light blush in her cheeks.

"Yeah but you always stared at her," Dot pointed out.

Hester glared at her, her demon twitching slightly.

Dot shrugged and grabbed onto Kiko's hand to comfort her.

Beatrix was still looking at Anadil.

"But... I think she likes Chaddick."

Hester snorted.

Everyone looked at her.

"She looked jealous at lunch and she rushed to get him away. Sounds like she wasn't jealous of you."

Anadil raised an eyebrow and Hester rolled her shoulders a bit awkwardly.

"I know a thing or two about jealousy."

Anadil smirked and grabbed her girlfriend's hand, squeezing it slightly.

Beatrix blushed, looking excited.

"So I should just tell her?"

Hester laughed.

"If Ani had told me how she felt when I'd started acting jealous I would have run the other way."

Anadil looked hurt.

"Not because I didn't like you, Ani. I just wasn't... ready."

Anadil nodded and turned back to Beatrix with a small smile.

"That means you have to do what I did," Anadil said, giving her a small sympathetic look.

She might not be close with the princess, but she still remembered how it had felt trying to win Hester over and she could have some pity for her.

"Why are you helping me?" Beatrix suddenly asked quietly.

"Doesn't matter," Hester said instantly.

Beatrix narrowed her eyes.

"They don't like being the most popular couple at school. They think you two will be more popular," Dot said dismissively, ignoring the look Hester gave her at the words.

Beatrix was silent for a minute.

"I don't even care. If we're a couple at all I'll be happy."

Anadil smiled.

She remembered feeling that way.

"So what has Reena complimented you on?" Kiko asked.

Beatrix thought for a second and Anadil knew what was happening.

"Don't pretend not to remember the compliments she gave you."

Beatrix blushed.

"She said that she liked my shorter hair..."

"Did you cut it again?" Anadil asked.

Beatrix shifted.

"I was planning on it..."

Anadil nodded and looked at her girlfriend.

Hester pulled out a knife.

"Where did you even get that from?!" Kiko squeaked

"My pocket."

"Why do you have a knife in your pocket?!" Kiko asked incredulously.

"To cut things."

Anadil snickered.

Hester tossed the knife to Beatrix and the girl caught it with a raised eyebrow.

"You going to cut it or not?"

Beatrix frowned.

"But in the School for Girls they said you shouldn't change yourself for a guy."

"I think you of all people know Reena isn't a guy," Hester said levelly.

Beatrix blushed and glared at Hester as if to say 'shut up'.

Hester smirked a bit as Anadil laughed before rolling her eyes. She didn't stare at Ani when she laughed... well, she was now... ALRIGHT SHE DID BUT DOT COULD SHUT UP!

"It's not just guys. It's more of a general rule! Don't change for your crush!"

Anadil raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you shouldn't change that much... but you can at least try to get their attention. If I hadn't Hester would still be oblivious and I'd be depressed," Anadil said.

"I would have figured it out by now!"

Dot and Anadil stare at her for a moment before turning back to look at Beatrix.

Hester glared at them, rolling her eyes.

Beatrix was nodding, seeing the wisdom in her words.

"So what else did she say she liked?" Anadil asked, trying to sound kind for once.

Beatrix blushed.

"She once said my nail polish was nice... and she liked my hair curled."

"How do you remember this?" Hester asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I remembered," Anadil mumbled, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear.

Hester realized what she'd said and sighed, putting a hand on Anadil's.

"I did too."

Anadil smiled, her rats climbing into Hester's shoulder and nuzzling her affectionately.

"Such a wonder you're the most popular couple in school. It's not like you're cute at all," Beatrix snarked.

Hester growled.

"You going to cut your hair or not?" she snapped.

Beatrix paused and looked down at the knife.

She sighed and started to put the knife down, deciding against it.

"Did you guys hear?! Chaddick just asked Reena out!" Dot said excitedly.

"What?!" Beatrix said, hand tightening on the knife as if she were going to use it for something other than her hair.

Dot smirked at her.

"See?" Dot asked.

Beatrix stared at her while Hester and Anadil started to laugh.

"Someone looks jealous," Anadil whispered.

"Looks like she might just stab an Everboy herself," Hester responded just as quietly.

Beatrix imagined Chaddick with Reena and her heart sunk.

Maybe it wasn't too bad to try and get her attention... just a bit...

She took the knife and sliced off a bit of her hair, watching the blond chunks fall into her lap.

Hester frowned and leaned over, whispering in her girlfriend's ear.

"Don't cut your hair like that," she said.

Anadil turned.

"You trying to tell me what to do? Why do you care?"

Hester sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Yours... looks nice."

Anadil smirked at the words, enjoying how Hester blushed and looked away.

"Okay," she said.

Hester glanced at her and rolled her eyes at the smugness on Anadil's face.

"Stop being cute and help me!" Beatrix said with a glare.

"Like we're fairy godmothers, Ani."

"You've said that before," Dot mused.

"And you've been stupid before but you're doing it again," Hester snapped.

Kiko glared at her.

"Stop insulting my girlfriend!" she snapped.

Hester raised an eyebrow.

"I'll think about it," she said and turned back to Beatrix.

Dot looked at Kiko with hearts in her eyes.

"Use that nail polish," Kiko said, blushing at the look on Dot's face.

Beatrix looked down at her nails.

"I have been..."

"Should have known," Hester muttered to Anadil.

Anadil snickered.

"Evers and their nail polish," she responded.

Hester nodded.

Beatrix rolled her eyes.

"Anadil, didn't you change your hair?" she asked, glaring.

Anadil fell silent, face a bit red.

Hester glanced at her and remembered how her hair used to constantly be tangled and have rats hiding in it.

Actually... she hadn't seen a rat in her hair since she'd started taking showers.

So she was doing that on purpose...

How many things like this did she not know?!

"But at least she never stooped to nail polish," Hester said, always there to defend her girlfriend.

Anadil snickered and Hester made a point of not looking at Anadil while she did so.

Beatrix rolled her eyes.

"What's step two?" she asked.

Dot looked her over and raised an eyebrow.

"You're not ready quite yet."

"Yeah! When was the last time you even went to the Groom Room?" Kiko asked.

Beatrix didn't answer.

Hester and Anadil started laughing.

"You're going to the Groom Room," Kiko said decisively, grabbing onto Beatrix's hand and pulled her out of the bedroom.

Anadil's eyes widened in fear and she sunk back against Hester's side like she was a rat afraid of a cage.

Hester's own eyes had fear laced in them as well, but she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend protectively.

If one were to just see their faces, they'd assume they were in a life-threatening situation.

"Hester, don't let them take me."

"I won't."

Dot, Kiko, and Beatrix gave them identically done looks.

"Yeah we weren't planning on it," Kiko said.

Both of them let out sighs and slumped on the bed.

Beatrix stared at the two and laughed.

“And they say they aren’t cute?”

Hester’s demon leapt from her neck and Anadil just barely caught it before it could attack the Evergirl.

Beatrix laughed as the demon laid down in Anadil’s lap.

“Traitor,” Hester mumbled.

Beatrix was dragged out of the room by Kiko, the latter talking about how much work they had to do.

Beatrix let out an indignant huff.

“What?! I’m not that bad! I look good!”

Hester snorted.

“Conceited much?”

“What do you expect from a princess?” Anadil returned.

Hester gave her a smirk.

“Fair point.”

“Kiko, they’re being too cute and it’s awkward let me come with you!”

Hester and Anadil both blushed, glaring at their friend.

Dot scampered out of the door and the two fell silent.

~

“I don’t look bad!” Beatrix growled.

“She sounds like Anadil did,” Dot whispered.

Kiko giggled.

Beatrix mumbled unintelligibly.

~

“We’re not cute,” Hester grouched.

Anadil looked up at her, her head in Hester’s lap.

“Of course not,” she agreed.

Anadil chose to ignore the fact that Hester was currently running a hand through her hair as well.

Both might deny it, but this right here was part of why all their fellow students thought they were cute.

~

Beatrix let out shrieks of pain as Kiko aggressively brushed her hair.

Kiko wasn’t trying to hurt her, but she was distracted by a certain witch under the snakeskin cloak whispering in her ear.

Beatrix hasn’t really cared this much about her appearance since first year.

She thought she’d grown out of that and it was making her nervous.

But she realized this time she wasn’t doing it for some boy...

Not that it was bad to do it for a boy but... this time she was doing it for Reena. Not because Reena had tons of money or a ridiculously fabulous castle.

But because she really, truly cared for her.

She wanted to be with Reena not because of all that, but because of who she was.

She finally understood the other princesses and especially Agatha.

Reena was worth some effort.