Work Text:
It was early fall and Tulip and the Rest of the cheerleaders at Neverland Academy were heading to a cheerleading competition in Camelot Heights, which Tulip was not excited for..
Finally after what seemed like hours the bus finally stopped at Camelot Heights.
Tulip and the other cheerleaders all got off the bus one by one where They were greeted by the Merlin and two distracted looking boys, around twelve years old.
The blonde one of which, who gave his shorter friend a friendly shove, was the one to catch Tulip's eye. Not that he noticed her in favor of laughing with his friend.
“Visola! Lovely to see you and your cheerers again.” Merlin greeted.
“Lovely to see you too, Merlin, “ Visola grinned. “ Anyway I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind giving us a tour of Camelot Heights , Since The Cheer competition isn’t until tomorrow ?”
“It would be my pleasure. If you don't mind my son and his friend tagging along?”
“Not at all!” The Mermaid assured the wizard.
“Don't worry, Dragonet and Artie will be on their best behavior.”
About two hours into the tour, was when Tulip decided to make conversation with one of the Camelot boys.
“The Architecture sure is swell here isn’t it ?”
Artie—or at least, who Tulip thought was Artie, she wasn't quite sure—gave her a blank look. Scrunching up his nose in confusion as he looked at the buildings around them before whispering to his friend. “Are buildings supposed to swell?”
The smaller boy—a brunette—choked, hiding his head in his hands. “Artie, that is not what she meant.”
“I mean, it’s incredible how well built these castles are! And those tapestries hanging on the walls are so pretty!”
“Oh. Yeah, super swell.” Artie still looked a bit confused, but didn't ask any further questions. “Thank… you?”
“No problem. Name’s Tulip Rossi by the way! My mom is Tiger Lily—she’s the headmistress and Tourney Coach at Neverland Academy—and my Dad is Lampwick—He’s a Trophy husband.”
The blonde gave her an odd look at that last comment. “Uh… I'm Artie Pendragon.”
Making Tulip finally realize why the name seemed so familiar.
And his friend? His friend just cackled at the expressions on both of their faces.
“You’re related to King Arthur?! That’s so cool!” Tulip exclaimed. “What’s it like being related to a legend like that?”
Artie looked uncomfortable.“Uh…I don't know. He's my dad.”
Tulip Having realized that she made the young boy uncomfortable toned down her excitement.
“Oh… I'm sorry I didn't mean to overwhelm you. Sometimes I get carried away.”
“It's fine.” Artie shrugged. “We need to catch up to the group.”
“Ok then ..” Tulip pulled out her smartphone and quickly picked up the pace. Only to find out there was no service here.
“Are you freaking kidding me ?! What do you mean there’s no service here you dumb thing!”
Artie fiddled with the small pink thing that Tulip called a phone, peering at every angle with curiosity. Paying no mind to the fact that Dragonet was leaning over his shoulder to get a look at what he was doing.
Tulip Gave them both a baffled look.
“Wow guys, you’re really fascinated with my phone, aren’t you?”
She thought for a moment.
“Hey do you guys wanna see the clothing sketches saved here?”
Artie eagerly nodded. “I love sketches!”
“Great !” She opened up her phone and tapped on the gallery app to show a bunch of clothing designs, all Pink and Green. “There’s more designs in my sketchbook but I left that at home. Your thoughts?”
“Cooooooooool.”
“Hey Artie, you should get her to design your armor—”
“I LOVE TO! Though I never worked with metal before, only fabrics..”
“That's fine.” Artie assured her. “These look great.”
“Thanks Artie. You’re really sweet.” Tulip Smiled at the young boy.
And that my friends, was the start of a beautiful friendship… which later grew into something more. But that's a story for another time...