~Brief Recap~
On August 27 when Lily was ten years old, she ran away from her castle home in the Spade Kingdom. After traveling for many weeks, she found herself within the border of the Clover Kingdom in the Forsaken Realm. She knew that was her location because of the giant demon skull landmark. There, she met Asta and introduced herself to him as Lily Grinberryall. While making small talk with him, she found out that he was also born without magic just like her. At the end of the conversation, Asta kindly offered for her to come live with him and his foster family which she accepted. Yuno, one of Asta's foster brothers, turned out to be her actual twin brother who had been kidnapped the night following the morning of their birth.
~Main Story~
Lily was adjusting well to her new life in Hage Village. As timed passed, her foster family grew a little larger. On August 9, almost three years after she moved in with Asta, her twin Yuno, and the others, she got a new foster sibling: a three-year-old girl named Arlu. About a year and a month later on September 12, two-year-old Horo became her little foster brother. Even though Lily and Yuno were the only ones related by blood, everybody who lived at the church acted like a tightly knit family. But some of the kids were closer than others. Lily, for example, engaged with all of her foster family members but she was rarely seen without Asta and Yuno or one of the two. And thus, the three of them became locally known as the Hage Trio. A lot had changed over these past four years. Lily had evolved spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Puberty had given her an impressive glow up, transforming her body into a decently curvaceous figure. She even surpassed Asta in height by two inches. Frequent training with Asta helped shape her physique. Lily had the kind of body type that appeared lean and healthy but hid how well-toned her muscles actually were... that is, until she flexed them. Personality-wise, she was almost an entirely different girl from the one she was when she just started living in Hage. She still carried deep emotional scars from her past and they still affected her, but only when triggered under certain circumstances. But for the most part, Lily was more extroverted, had more self-confidence and was much less timid and shy. Her posture was relaxed and upright like it should be. Her formal royal habits were practically gone now. And she had also developed a more prominent sense of humor. Even becoming sarcastic and a bit sassy at times, but not in a bad way and she didn't overdo it. Her true self was finally beginning to shine. Everyone at the church was a huge help to Lily along the road of emotional and mental recovery. Her healing progress was mostly due to Asta and Yuno, Asta being the biggest factor in her improvement. For some reason, he had a knack for catching her during her emotional or mental breakdowns. She tried to distance herself whenever she was about to have one, but Asta being the oblivious guy he was, always found her when she was breaking down emotionally and/or mentally. He was so comforting and sweet, always encouraging her not to give up. It's no surprise Lily's feelings for Asta just continued to grow. Anyways, the 4th of October rolled around and it had been eerily quiet around the church since noon. Lily, Asta, and Yuno were looking for Father, Sister Lily, and the other kids together. None of the three had seen them anywhere since lunch time. It was almost time for dinner now so it was quite odd. What's also weird is that it was their birthday today, but no one had wished any of them a happy birthday yet.
"This is really strange. No one in the village has seen any of them after lunch either." Lily said out loud as she cupped her chin in one hand. She had just left the downtown area of Hage with Asta and Yuno.
"Do you think they're hiding somewhere? Today is our birthday after all. Maybe they're planning a surprise party for us!" Asta brought up the possibility as the three of them walked back to the church together.
"Perhaps, but normally everyone wishes us a happy birthday, spending most of the day together as a family. Then we all celebrate with a pot potato feast that Father and Sister Lily prepared for us at dinner time. No one even mentioned our birthday at all today." Lily pointed out.
"Hmm, that is true... Welp, I'm out of ideas!" Asta said as he brought his hands up behind his head, his walking style changing to a more carefree one.
"Well that's a first. Asta's giving up for the first time. I never thought I'd see that day." Lily said in a joking manner.
"Hey, I'm still helping you guys look for them! So you can't say I've given up, Lil." Asta responded in a loud voice.
"Alright, alright. Whatever you say Asta. Your magic is never giving up, I know. You don't need to tell me twice." Lily chuckled. Yuno had been so quiet, she would've forgotten he was there if he wasn't within her line of sight.
"Asta may actually be right about the surprise party. It is our birthday, yes. But it's not just any birthday, it's our fifteenth birthday." Yuno finally spoke.
"You do have a point there. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to keep looking." Lily said as she arrived at the church grounds together with Asta and Yuno. About another half hour went by of circling around and winding through the church without yielding any results, not even a clue to their whereabouts.
"Argh! Where the hell is everyone?!" Asta yelled, kicking up dirt from the path leading up to the church entrance. He was getting quite frustrated.
"What? You gonna give up now?" Lily snickered, teasing Asta again. The three of them stopped near the double doors of the church.
"Never! There's no way in hell I'm gonna lose my only power! I'll keep searching even after I've passed on into afterlife if I have to!" Asta shouted back with unwavering determination before starting to rant further while throwing a stomping fit where he was standing, waving his fists back and forth like a lunatic.
"Oh good Lord. He's losing it." Lily chuckled. Yuno just sighed as Asta continued on his rant. Suddenly, the church doors burst open with everyone jumping out, startling Lily and Yuno a little but scaring the absolute crap out of Asta. Father and Nash launched celebratory sparks, using their fire magic. Sister Lily and Rekka used their water magic and sprayed a fine mist into the air to create a rainbow. Arlu and Horo worked together to bring out a large cake.
"Surprise!" Their foster family at the Hage Village Church all shouted together in unison.
"Happy birthday to the Hage Trio! I can't believe you guys are fifteen years old already." Father said, starting to tear up from joy and fatherly pride.
"Look Lily! We helped make this cake!" Arlu said, drawing Lily's attention to the cake she and Horo were carrying. It was a white frosted cake that had "Happy 15th Birthday Lily, Asta & Yuno!" written on it with blue frosting in neat adult's handwriting (probably Sister Lily's). Surrounding the lettering were messy stars, hearts, smiley faces, dots and blotches of frosting in different colors. The stars, hearts and smiley faces were probably drawn by Nash and Rekka. And the dots and blotches were most likely done by the two youngest kids Arlu and Horo.
"Do you like it?" Horo asked excitedly. He and Arlu both looked like they were starting to struggle with holding the cake up. So Lily knelt down and took it from their arms and smiled.
"I love it! You all did a great job. Thank you." Lily answered, smiling warmly at Horo then Arlu who both giggled. Yuno smiled at how happy she looked which also made him happy. Asta, on the other hand, was too perplexed to enjoy the moment.
"Hold on a minute. If you guys were in the church this entire time, then why didn't we see you when we searched it?" Asta asked no one in particular among the group that was in hiding earlier.
"Well obviously we didn't just stay in one place while you, Lily, and Yuno were searching for us. We would have been found eventually if we did. Geez, use your head for once." Nash answered Asta who responded with an irritated grunt/growl noise.
"As usual, we've prepared a pot potato birthday feast." Sister Lily calmly announced as the two youngest kids cheered.
"Now let's all go inside and have fun celebrating together!" Father said as he opened the doors and everyone headed inside the church. All the kids sat down at the table in the seats they always sat in. Lily set the cake down in the center of the table then took her designated spot between Asta and Yuno. Father and Sister Lily brought out the food. The lively buzz of conversation and laughter filled the dining area. After everybody had eaten their fill, it was time for cake. Father lit the candles with his fire magic as Sister Lily turned off the lights. Everyone sang the birthday song to Lily, Asta, and Yuno. Then the three of them blew out the candles together, each making a silent wish. Lily wished for Asta to finally recognize his feelings for her. Despite his ongoing failed attempts to propose to Sister Lily, it was obvious to everyone, even the little ones, that he liked her. Yuno wished for the rest of Lily's life to be filled with happiness which, in turn, would grant him happiness as her slightly older brother. Asta wished for Lily to always stay by his side no matter what. After the celebration, Lily, Asta, and Yuno took off and hung out together until it was time for bed. When the three of them returned to the church, all the kids were already fast asleep. They each brushed their teeth and took turns changing into their pajamas to give each other privacy. Lily was the second one in bed, settling into her futon which was situated between Asta's and Yuno's futons. She lay on her back and turned her head towards Yuno who appeared to have fallen asleep already. She heard sheets rustle as Asta climbed into his futon next to hers. Rolling her head back to neutral position, she closed her eyes.
"Psst. Hey, Lil. You asleep yet?" Asta whispered to Lily as she opened her eyes and turned her head to face him.
"No, I literally just got in a couple minutes ago. I'm not like Yuno over there." Lily whispered, pointing to Yuno who was rolled on his side facing away from her. His breathing was slow and peaceful like he was sleeping, but he was actually still awake with his eyes open and everything.
"You know Lil, aside from having the same hair color and skin tone, you two aren't really that much alike even though you're actual twins. But now that you've been reunited again, it kinda worries me..." Asta whispered as Lily chuckled quietly then sighed as she knew where he was going with this.
"Asta, I've literally been telling you this for years now: I can relate to you more than I can to Yuno. You don't have to worry about me abandoning you for him. I mean we're siblings for crying out loud! Besides, birds of a feather flock together. And as far as I know, you and I are the only people who can't use magic at all." Lily said quietly. Yuno almost lost his composure right there. He had to hold his breath in order to prevent himself from releasing a small sharp exhaled snort.
'Asta was actually worried about me and Lily getting together?' Yuno thought to himself. Though Yuno did think Lily was stunningly beautiful and had a wonderful personality, he'd never fantasize about dating her. An incestuous relationship with his twin sister just didn't appeal to him.
"Well anyways, we won't be magic-less for long! We're finally fifteen years old. Five months from now, we're gonna get our grimoires and be able to use magic just like everybody else! Then we can start working towards our goals for real!" Asta said excitedly, yet quietly.
"Yeah..." Lily said as she smiled, trying to hide her anxiety. She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach as an old memory tried to resurface, one of the thousands she had buried in order to move on with her life. Her strong will kept it at bay and she was able to fall into a peaceful slumber. Shortly after she dozed off, she could hear Asta begin to snore. She smiled and shifted contently in her sleep. Lily had gotten used to his snores over the years. Rather than a nuisance, Asta's snoring was like a soothing background noise to her. What used to keep her awake at night, now brought her comfort by letting her know that Asta was by her side. His snores faded away as she fully entered the dream world.
~In the Dream~
It was a bright summer day and Lily was wandering around the church grounds looking for Asta. She hadn't seen him for the past couple hours which she thought was a little strange. He always told her his exact location or possible locations if he wasn't gonna be by her side for a while. This time, it was a bit different. He notified her that he was going to go somewhere, but he didn't specify where or even give her a vague idea. So Lily went to go find her twin brother to ask him if he knew anything on Asta's whereabouts. She found Yuno on the side of the church building helping Sister Lily with the laundry.
"Hey Yuno, can I talk to you for a sec?" She asked Yuno, approaching him. He looked at Sister Lily for permission who nodded her head for him to go see what Lily needed.
"Sure Lily. What is it you needed to talk to me about?" Yuno asked as Lily folded her hands together behind her back.
"Have you seen Asta at all lately? He told me he was going somewhere a couple hours ago, but he didn't say where. I thought it seemed a bit weird of him because he always tells me where he's gonna be whenever we're separated. So I was hoping you had some insight on where he might've run off to." Lily told Yuno the situation.
"You don't know?" Yuno asked, raising an eyebrow like he found it odd too. He said it like he was asking out of surprise or confirmation, but Lily had a gut feeling that he knew something and was keeping it from her. It just seemed strange that he would ask her that right after she just said she had no clue where Asta was because he didn't tell her his location. Yuno wasn't stupid like that so it didn't make any sense if he actually knew nothing.
"Well no, I literally just told you I don't know because Asta didn't say where he was going. Why would I go to you and ask you if you've seen him recently if I knew where to go find him?" Lily brought up a valid and obvious point. Yuno briefly looked over her head behind her. Then he just chuckled which both puzzled and annoyed her.
"This is something you should bring up with Asta, not me." Yuno said with a bit of a playful smirk, completely brushing Lily off. Okay, now she was starting to get a bit pissed off at him.
"Wha-?! Yuno! That's exactly why I'm trying to find him: to ask him where he went and why he kept it a secret from me! Why are you being so unhelpful? We're siblings!" Lily said with a frustrated pout.
"Yes, we are brother and sister. But you don't need my help Lily." Yuno responded. Just as Lily was about to ask him why in a prying manner, a familiar voice called out her name from right behind her which startled her.
"Hey Lil! What are you and Yuno chatting about?" Asta asked Lily in a curious manner.
"GAH! Asta?! Where the hell have you been all this time?! I was starting to get really worried something terrible had happened to you! Don't scare me like that again!" Lily yelled at Asta who grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with one hand.
"Sorry I scared you Lil. But if I told you where I was gonna be, you'd figure out what I was up to and I wouldn't be able to surprise you." Asta said as Lily gave him a puzzled look.
"Remember when you told me that your favorite flower was the emperor aster? When I asked you why, you said you only knew about them from a book called 'Flowers of the 4 Major Powers & Nearby Areas' that huge flower field guide you loved to look at in your family's library. You read that emperor asters were only found in the Forsaken Realm of the Clover Kingdom. And you told me that you only saw pictures of the flower, but always wanted to see one in person. Then you laughed and said you'd marry the first guy to present you with a fresh picked one." Asta went into great detail on a conversation Lily had with him that she barely remembered herself.
"Well there's a flower field a little ways away from Hage Village where tons of emperor asters grow as well as many other wildflowers. I was over there searching for the perfect flower. It was hard to even find a good one since the season for them is nearing its end. But I didn't give up and I found one still in its prime." Asta said as he knelt down on one knee, still hiding something behind his back. But Lily already knew what it was.
"Over the past five years I've finally come to realize that Sister Lily is not the one I was destined to be with. It was you... It was you all along, Lil. And it took me a grand total of ten years, countless rejections by Sister Lily and the arrival of the actual love of my life to fully see that. So, Lily Grinberryall... will you please marry me?!" Asta practically shouted his proposal to Lily, using her full preferred name and last name which he had never done before. He revealed the emperor aster he had picked for her as he proposed. She covered her mouth, smiling from ear to ear as tears of joy flowed uncontrollably from her eyes. But just as she was about to say yes and accept the flower he was holding out to her, everything faded to white.
~End of the Dream~
Lily's eyes fluttered open as the sun just started to peak through the window onto her futon. She just lay there as she replayed Asta's confession/proposal from her dream in her head over and over.
"So it was just a dream..." Lily murmured to herself quietly with a disappointed look on her face. Then she heard a voice that both cheered her up and disheartened her at the same time.
"Good morning Lil. Wanna go do some early morning training before breakfast?" Asta asked Lily, grinning widely at her. He was already dressed and ready to go. She sat up, stretched, and yawned.
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" She said as she rose up out of her futon and got ready to leave with Asta to train until breakfast was ready. Her day went about normally and before she knew it, it was over. She had the very same dream that she had last night. And it ended at the same exact spot: right as she was about to give Asta an answer to his proposal. She continued to get this dream quite frequently, averaging three nights a week. It happened so often, it became known as "the dream" to her. No one else knew about it because it was too embarrassing and creepy to tell anyone. After all, it's not exactly normal to have the same exact detailed dream of a crush proposing multiple times a week. But there was something else Lily noticed about this strange occurrence. Prior to every time she experienced "the dream" phenomena, she was trying fall asleep while prevent a bad memory from resurfacing in her brain, a suppressed memory that gave her a sense of uneasiness. Anyways this went on for about five months, right up until the day of the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony.