Y/N cries silently as she watches her family get slaughtered, her mother having hid her in one of the cabinets. She was told not to look but she did anyway and for once in her short existence did she wish she had listened. Men dressed head to toe in riot gear with weapons out of a sci-fi film barged through the door. Her mother was quick to hide her in a hidden cabinet in the kitchen, giving her a kiss before she closed the door. Y/N heard the men storm through the house, her mother screaming before several gun shots are heard through the house. She peaks out of the cupboard, her mother slumped across the table looking lifeless. Her father comes in next, panic and worry setting in as Y/N listens to the scuffle. More gun shots and a heavy thud are heard. Y/N holds her breath as she listens to her house being ransacked, trying her best not to burst into sobs.
After a few hours of a silent house Y/N pushes the door open and crawls out. She hops down onto the counter before sliding off to land on the floor. She eases over to her parents who were lying lifeless in the kitchen. Y/N gently pushes on them, Rigor Morris having already set in. She sinks to her knees and cries, mourning the loss of the only two people she had in the world. She was only seven and already lost her family. She tries to call people like her mother had taught her in case something like this happened but she couldn't remember WHO she was supposed to call. She was never very good with names.... After a while she wipes away her tears and gets to her feet. She goes out to the shed and grabs a shovel. She may be small but she was a Slender being. She had strength.
She digs two holes and drags her parents out of the house and places them in their graves. She runs into the woods and gets wildflowers before running back. She also runs into the house and gets two of her stuffed animals. She places one by her mother and the other by her father. They weren't religious but she believed there was some kind of afterlife out there. She didn't know what but hopefully they'd make it there safe and know she loves them with her flowers and stuffed animals. She pushes the dirt into the hole, sighing softly as she sits at the end of the two graves. She gets to her feet and finds two heavy rocks, putting each at her parents head for their tombstone. She then runs inside and grabs her sharpies so she could mark them.
Once her parents are laid to rest she goes back into the house, avoiding the kitchen and running up to her room. She gets her plushies before going to her parent's room, crying herself to sleep. She dreams happy dreams of her parents but when she wakes up reality comes crashing down like a tidal wave. She was all alone. Her parents were no longer here. She stays in the bed for several days until hunger starts to set in, finally entering the kitchen to get food. She's able to survive several weeks on the food in the house, using the water well on the property for drinking. She's not sure how much time passes but soon the electricity goes out. Worry sets in because the first snow would be hitting soon and she didn't know much about the basics of camping. Her parents didn't really see the need to teach her that so soon. She piles all the blankets she can find on her parent's bed and buries beneath the mound of fabric. It keeps her mostly warm.
She bundles up in her clothes when the food runs out, teleporting throughout the forest to hunt down something to eat. She hides in some bushes when she spots a field mouse, looking much like a cat as she gets ready to run after the creature. A snapping branch startles the mouse and Y/N is too hungry to care what it was. This was her first meal in days and she wasn't going to let it get away! She teleports after the mouse and tries to grab it, screaming and snarling when something suddenly grabs her. She twists and bites at the thing holding her, pausing when she hears a soft ringing of bells. She calms down and looks up at what was holding her, tilting her head to the side. He almost looked like her.....
Splendor was out for his morning stroke when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He thinks it's a small animal and hurries after it, wondering if it was a baby fox or something. He's surprised when instead of an animal he encounters a faceless being who looks similar to his brother. She was all bundled up and it looked like she was stalking prey. He notices the mouse in front of the bushes, his eyes widening. No! He couldn't let her eat that! He hurries forward and snaps on a branch, scaring the mouse away as he teleports after Y/N. He finally manages to grab her, grunting when her first instinct is to attack. He does the only thing he knows how to do and gently sways his tendrils, the soft ringing of the bells calming her down.
"Hi there," He coos, shifting her into his arms with a smile. "You hungry?"
She stays silent but nods her head, her eyes beginning to tear up. Maybe this creature would kill her? He looked a lot like her but for all she knew he could be with those men! Her parents sacrificed their lives for her and here she was throwing it away! Still, the sound of a warm meal and maybe even a warm place to stay sounded nice. Splendor senses her unease and begins to hum a soft tune as he walks her through the forest. He can feel her small body trembling from the cold and hurries as fast as he can back home. Once inside Splendor helps Y/N out of her winter snow suit, surprised to find her dirty underneath it all. How long had she been alone?
"How about a warm bath before we eat? Don't want any germs on the food," He tells her. "Please don't worry. I have no intention of harming you. Just want to help."
"A bath does sound nice," She whimpers softly, Splendor smiling his gentle smile and scooping her into his arms.
He takes her to the bathroom and runs a bubble bath, helping her out of the rest of her dirty clothes. He leaves her in the water and hurries away to grab some fabric from Trender. He was nowhere near as good as his brother but he could still create something simple. He makes a (f/c) nightgown for her and even some undergarments to go with it. When he returns to the bathroom he sees Y/N covered in bubbles and giggling.
"Bubbles are fun aren't they?" He asks, panicking when he startled her. "Sorry, sorry. Guess they should put a bell on me."
She stares at him for a moment before she bursts into laughter, Splendor smiling with delight at this. After her bath Splendor helps her rinse off any remaining dirt and bubbles before he helps her out of the bath. He gets her dried off and into the clean clothes before sitting her down so he could braid her hair. Now that it was clean he had a few knots to get out but nothing too outrageous. Once that's done he takes her back downstairs and makes a grilled cheese with tomato soup.
"I'm Splendor by the way," He tells her as he cooks.
"I'm Y/N," She tells him with a smile. "It's nice to meet you mister Splendy."
"Splendy is fine darling," he chuckles, sitting down with the food once it's ready.
She's gentle as she picks up her food and begins to eat it, Splendor delighted by her wonderful table manners. Once she finishes eating he cleans the dishes and takes her to his room. He tucks her into his bed and lays beside her, telling her a story until she falls asleep.
~~~~
"Splendor! We're home!" Trender calls.
"Where are ya cotton candy?! I got a surprise!" Offender shouts up stairs.
Splendor and Y/N are startled awake, Splendor panicking at the sound of his brothers' voices. Shoot!
"You need to hide okay? It's a game of hide and seek. My brothers aren't bad but they wouldn't be happy knowing I brought some random child into our home. Can you do that?" Splendor asks Y/N.
She nods and slips out of the bed before hiding in the wardrobe, Splendor nearly leaping out of his skin when Offender barges in.
"OFFENDER!" He cries in surprised annoyance.
"Oooh, someone's jumpy. We're you doing the dirty?" Offender teases with a snicker.
"I was n-not!" He cries with flushed cheeks.
"Mhmmm, sure. Anyway, come on. I got something!" He chirps before leaving.
Splendor sighs softly, getting out of bed and going to the wardrobe. "Please stay in here okay?"
"Okay," She agrees, her mouth tearing free to grin at him.
He smiles and pats her head before he teleports downstairs into the kitchen.
"There ya are! Did ya get lost?" Offender teases, grunting when Slender kicks him. "Ow! Hey!"
"Just putting some stuff away," Splendor laughs nervously.
"Check it out. Got you your favorite cupcakes!" Offender grins, showing the container of cupcakes.
"Thank you brother!" Splendor gasps with excitement. Y/N was sure to love these!
He's anxious all through dinner and it isn't hard for Slender to notice, becoming suspicious of his younger brother. What was he hiding? After dinner Splendor runs off with two cupcakes declaring he was big enough to eat two. Slender gives him a few minutes before teleporting into his room, pausing when he only sees Splendor with the two cupcakes.
"Slender! I told you not to do that!" Splendor whines at his brother.
"Sorry. You seemed distracted," Slender mumbles softly.
"Just thinking about a child I met today," Splendor shrugs.
"I see. My apologies for the disturbance," Slender says before teleporting away.
Splendor sighs in relief and pulls down the pillows at the head of his bed, Y/N giggling and flopping out onto the bed.
"You're good at this game," Splendor tells her with a chuckle.
"I like hide and seek!" She smiles.
"Here," Splendor says, offering her a cupcake.
"Thank you!" She gasps with excitement.
He smiles and digs into his cupcake while she eats hers, Y/N humming with happiness. Once they finish Splendor gets her cleaned up of frosting and crumbling cake before they settle in bed. Splendor puts on cartoons for Y/N and she falls asleep to them, happily cuddling with Splendor. Weeks pass and Splendor is able to keep Y/N hidden from his brothers but the little girl was growing restless. She hadn't been outside in weeks and she was sick of being holed up in Splendor's room. When he leaves for the day she leaves the room, deciding to explore the mansion on her own. She stumbles across Trender's room, a gasp of excitement leaving her as she admires the different outfits. She giggles and tries on the clothes and shoes, all of them way too big for her but they made her feel like a princess.
She gasps when she sees a jewelry box, climbing onto Trender's desk chair and climbing on his vanity table. She opens the jewelry box, excited to see all the glittery jewelry. She picks up one of the necklaces and puts it on, giggling at the way it sparkles in the light. She hums in delight as she tries on the different pieces of jewelry, admiring the way they all sparkle in the light. She looks around the vanity table and finds another box, curiously opening it up. She gasps at all the make up inside, grabbing things and working to put it on. She was gonna be pretty for when Splendor got back!
"Of all the hair brained, stupid designs, poor taste in clothing was he thinking?!" Trender snaps, slamming open his bedroom door.
Y/N and Trender both freeze and stare at one another. Trender is at a complete loss for words as he stares at the small being that resembled him and his brothers. Did Offender somehow have a child he didn't know about? He goes to say something but the child disappears suddenly. Well, at least she tries to. She winds up landing a few feet in front of his vanity table, her small body freezing as she 'looks' up at Trender. Trender adjusts his glasses, kneeling down and extending a hand.
"Let me help? I'll make you the most stunning creature on this planet," He tells her. "Come on. It's okay. I'm Trender."
"I'm Y/N," She says, accepting his hand.
Trender chuckles and picks her up, setting her back down on his vanity. He helps take off all the jewelry and clothes, humming when he sees the dress she was in. He knew only one other person that could sew like that.
"You must know Splendor?" Trender asks as he works at his sewing machine.
"Mhmm! Splendy wanted me to play hide and seek but I got bored!" Y/N explains as she watches Trender.
"I see. Sorry to blow your cover," Trender says, helping Y/N stand up so she could change into the new outfit he had made.
She gasps as she admires herself in the mirror, giggling when Trender wipes the makeup from her face. He does a more natural look for her and pairs more proper jewelry with her outfit, stepping back with a satisfied hum as he looks her over.
"One more thing," Trender says, going to his closet and pulling down a simple blue box.
Y/N lifts up on her tip toes fo try and see what was in the box when it opens up, Trender chuckling as he walks over with the box. He sits Y/N down before opening the box, the little girl freezing at what's inside.
"I can't wear that," She says with a shake of her head. "I'm not a princess."
"That's right, you're no princess," Trender says, gently placing the tiara on Y/N's head. "You're a queen. The most stunning queen I have ever seen. Your wishes are my command, your majesty."
Y/N stares at Trender before she stands up and turns to the mirror. She admires her reflection in the mirror, turning around and throwing her arms around Trender's neck.
"Thank you!" She cries in delight.
"Of course darling," He chuckles. "You know what this calls for?"
"What?!" Y/N asks, excitement in her voice.
"A ball! Stay here and let me prepare okay? I'll get you in twenty minutes!" Trender hums, hurrying from the room when Y/N agrees.
Trender gets the ballroom lit up and cleaned up, pulling out Slender's record player. He puts on some gentle melody before hurrying upstairs, leading Y/N to the ballroom. She gasps when she sees it, running around the large room.
"Your majesty, may I have this dance?" Trender asks, bowing and offering Y/N his hand.
She happily accepts it and Trender leads her in a gentle dance, twirling her around with him.
"Brother! I haven't seen you dance in a long time!" Offender calls as he enters the ball room, pausing when Trender twirls Y/N into view. "She yours?"
"Apparently our youngest brother found her," Trender explains. "Y/N, this is Offender."
"I have teeth like you!" Y/N gasps, opening her mouth wide to show Offender her shark like teeth.
"Look at those champers! You could take a shark out with these!" Offender says with a grin.
"You think so? I'm a shark!" Y/N giggles with a happy grin.
"Can I dance with the little lady?" Offender asks.
"'Kay!" Y/N giggles, accepting Offender's hand.
Offender chuckles in delight as he dances with Y/N, twirling her around with a smile. Trender chuckles and they pass Y/N back and forth, the three of them happily dancing to the music as the record player plays. Y/N laughs as she spins around and around the ball room, giggling when she stumbles and falls down.
"Brothers! Have you.....Y/N?!" Splendor cries in a panic.
"Splendy! Splendy look at me!" Y/N smiles, twirling so he can see her full outfit. "Trendy said I'm a queen! Hey! I'm a shark queen! Rawr!"
"So scary!" Offender gasps with a laugh.
"Beautiful but dangerous!" Trender chirps.
Splendor smiles at this, relaxing as his brothers respond positively towards Y/N. She has the biggest smile on her face as she grabs Splendor's hand and pulls him to dance as well. Offender cuts off the record player before grabbing his violin.
"Ready?" He asks everyone with a grin.
"Ready!" Y/N gasps, clapping her hands when Offender starts to play.
Trender and Splendor watch their brother play as Y/N claps and twirls for them, Offender picking up an easy beat for them all to follow. They laugh and cheer as they all dance together, Offender grinning as he lets loose on the violin. Y/N is beyond happy, feeling like she's on top of the world since she lost her parents.
"Sure is lively. What's the occasion?" Slender questions, his brothers freezing in place.
"Hey! Why'd you stop?" Y/N whines, turning to look at the cause of distraction.
She backs away in a panic when she sees Slender, her eyes filling with tears. She hurries and hides behind Splendor, hugging his legs as she cries.
"Hey, it's okay. He's not gonna hurt you," Splendor says, lifting Y/N into his arms. "It's okay."
"It's probably the suit. Slender looks like an evil business man," Offender snickers. "Try not to look so uptight brother."
"Not helping," Trender huffs. "Y/N, what's so scary?"
"He's in all black. Bad men in black killed my parents," She hiccups softly.
"Told ya you should wear a splash of color. A red tie would have done nicely," Trender scolds his brother.
"Where did you find this? Who found her?" Slender demands.
"I did. The poor thing was living off the land!" Splendor is quick to defend. "She's one of us. I didn't think it would hurt."
"Did you not think they might be watching her? What if she has a tracker?!" Slender demands of his brothers.
They all fall silent as they look at one another and then to a crying Y/N. The three of them band together and 'glare' at their eldest brother.
"Then we'll protect her if they come back," Offender growls matter of factly.
Y/N sniffles softly as she rubs where her eyes would be. Splendor gently rubs her back as he holds her, assuring her everything was going to be okay.
"She's your problem and any consequences that happen are all on you," Slender snaps in annoyance.
"You're just mad she's scared of you," Splendor growls at his brother.
"Here," Trender says, disappearing a moment before reappearing with a white shirt and red tie. "Put these on."
"I will not. I like my black outfit," Slender growls.
"It's this or she stays afraid of you," Trender points out.
Slender growls softly but gives in and changes his clothes, Y/N still hesitant but relaxing a little more. He didn't look so scary with a splash of color.
"Now, you have explaining to do miss," Slender tells Y/N.
She responds by hiding herself in Splendor's chest, a sigh of frustration leaving Slender.
"Y/N, you said he looked like the bad man who killed your parents. Can you show us?" Splendor asks her gently.
"I don't wanna go back," She whimpers softly.
"Just so we can look? It's only proper we pay our respects," Trender assured her.
Y/N looks at all the brothers before she finally nods her head, leading the four brothers where her old home was. Slender pushes ahead and looks the area over while Splendor picks wildflowers with Y/N. Trender follows his brother, looking around at the dust covered house. He searches through the home and gathers a few things for Y/N, pausing when he comes across her parents' room. He looks at the bed piled high with blankets before he begins searching the room for anything related to the incident. In his search he manages to find a safe, getting it open.
"Brother! Come look," Trender calls out.
"What did you find?" Slender questions, coming over to Trender.
He looks through the contents, flipping through a file on him and his brothers. How had they lived so long without any of the brothers knowing?! Inside the file Slender finds a letter. He skims through the contents, the letter being more for him and his brothers than Y/N. He looks through the rest of the files, finding they were close to introducing themselves to the brothers. Turned out Y/N's parents knew where a lot of their kind was and had gathered research. Why they wanted him and his brothers to look after their daughter if something happened Slender didn't know but he intended to honor their wishes. He'd be finding more of his kind while he was at it.
"Is there really more out there like us?" Trender asks his brother.
"She's proof of that I suppose," Slender admits with a shrug. "Now we know where she came from."
The two leave the house after Trender gathers a few things for Y/N, the two heading to the small cemetery Y/N had made for her stents. Slender is surprised when he sees rose bushes surrounding the graves. Y/N was smiling despite being back at her home, Slender kneeling beside her as she plants wildflowers with Splendor.
"Y/N, did you know we existed?" Slender asks, earning the little girl's attention.
"I knew there were others but not how to find them," Y/N explains. "But I didn't think they'd want me."
"Why wouldn't we want you?!" Splendor questions in shock.
"Because it was my fault," Y/N explains.
"How sweetie?" Splendor pries.
"They hid me to protect me. Mom and dad didn't have teleportation but I didn't think to use it! They were just so scared and I knew I had to listen but I could have saved them!" Y/N tells them, shocking the brothers into silence. "It's all my fault."
"Y/N, darling no. It's not your fault," Slender scolds, gently lifting up her chin and wiping away the tears. "You did everything right. You listened and you stayed safe. They loved you and they protected you. They died protecting what they loved most."
"Wherever they are I know they're proudly looking after you still," Splendor tells her gently.
"Besides, you're no good at the teleportation stuff," Offender says rather bluntly.
"OFFENDER!" His brothers protest, freezing when Y/N starts to giggle at this.
"Down right terrible at it so don't beat yourself up. If you can't teleport yourself you couldn't have teleported three of you. Then YOU might have died. Losing your parents is hard but can you imagine how distraught they'd be if it was you?" Offender scolds gently. "They would do anything for you."
"You think so?" Y/N sniffles, wiping away her tears.
"I know so kiddo," Offender tells her. "Now come on. I'm starving. Slender, what's for dinner?"
"Should we cook him?" Slender growls, looking at Y/N.
"I want the leg!" She says, Splendor getting up and placing her on his shoulders.
"We better avoid the brain. Although I'm not sure there's one there," Trender snickers.
"I can hear you!" Offender calls back over his shoulder.
Y/N smiles as she holds onto Splendor's head while he carries her on his shoulders, looking back a moment at her old home before turning forward again. She was going to make her parents proud with the future they had given her.