If you're reading this then there's a high probability it's because you've seen this movie and liked it. However, if you just so happen to be here because you've got me on author alert and decided to read without actually having seen the movie I would highly suggest you give it a watch, it's super cute! This isn't a very long one-shot but I wanted to do something in this fandom and this is kind of like practice for when I go to write a longer fic for it.
Imps, by their very nature, were beings of chaos. They thrived on discord and practical jokes were their stock and trade– though very often the jokes were more impractical and bordering on outright cruel. So, it is no surprise that the breed as a whole came to be utterly disliked and in some extreme cases, hunted. As their tendencies won them further animosity across the kingdoms it is little wonder that they were eventually forced into the Dark Forest.
For the most part, goblins tolerated imps as well as they did any other creature, being generally inclined towards discord as well, they were the most capable of co-existing with them. Yet over time the race became more rare. Imps were not a common sight by the time The Bog King took the Forest throne but that did not mean they were gone.
One imp in particular stood out among its remaining peers. Boasting an all white coat and black eyes – an unusual trait in a species that tended towards brown fur and red eyes– its most striking difference was its love of love. Sure, he saw to it with as much mayhem as possible but for an imp, his intentions were all but well meaning, affectionate, and fun-loving. After learning of the power the Sugar Plum Fairy possessed he had made it his life's goal to get at it. His first run through had been short lived and did not end well. Apparently, the potion he had gotten into had been commissioned by the Bog King himself and he had not been pleased with it. Consequently, he had not been pleased with much of anything and after finding out about the shenanigans the imp had gotten up to... well, it was a wonder the imp had gotten away with his life.
Things had been gloomy in the years following. No more love potions, a ban on public displays of affection making it harder to arrange impromptu matchmaking the old fashioned way, and a bounty on his head for his last grand exploit... The Dark Forest had become quite boring for the imp. Sure, he could have amused himself much like the rest of his kin, causing havoc in other little ways and being more insidious rather than merely inconvenient; but he never quite had the heart for trouble of that sort.
He had been fully resigned to a life of boredom until one fateful evening when he overheard an elf talking to himself and creeping through the underbrush. All at once things looked up again and his nose for mischief promised that this adventure would be even more fun that his last caper.
He wasn't wrong.
Things hadn't turned out quite as expected. Somehow he had been officially pardoned, befriended and adopted all in one week.
Life for the imp was... different. Love was now back to being embraced by both kingdoms of the primrose and not only were his shenanigans leniently overlooked this time – the King being far too distracted by his new lady love to care – but he had somehow managed to make friends.
Actual, honest to goodness friends! Friendship had never been something he had particularly wanted in life. He hadn't thought that anything was missing in his solitary existence and it wasn't something he would particularly miss if it were suddenly gone. He was a mercurial creature and though it was nice to be accepted and included, it was not a necessity.
But the novelty of it! Now, that was something the imp could appreciate. It wasn't a conventional friendship, by any means. The lumbering elf and the lizard that had been dusted to fall for him were now all but family. An odd, unconventional trio, for sure, but the other elves seemed to take it in stride. After all, one of their own was now engaged to a princess and the other royal fairy was engaged to The Bog King. That a giant lizard and a white, quick footed imp were now common visitors to the village didn't really raise any eyebrows after the first initial introductions.
He even had a name now. He had never had one of those before, never needed one, but he found himself quite liking the new title. It had been the princess Marianne who suggested Vex, "As in short for vexation." It had almost been Irri, short for irritant and Tranquility, just for the irony. But Vex had stuck and despite it originally being intended as an insult he was in fact flattered to have it.
Vex now sat on the window seal of a small hut, the smell of mushrooms and peat moss traded for berries and blossoms. The domestic setting amused him in a whole new way and as he yawned and stretched in the sunlight he wondered for how long he would be content in such a domestic environment. Oddly, his imp's blood was behaving itself and aside from the occasional prank (which usually involved causing people to trip into compromising positions with one another) life was wholly uneventful in a most pleasant way.
Perhaps, if he were truly honest with himself, he would miss this. Having friends was oddly satisfying, in its own way. The food that was shared was much improved over what he usually scrounged up for himself and the absent-minded pats and scratches he received (as if he were some tame pet!) felt nice – even if at first he had been slightly insulted. The want to halt or avenge the liberties taken were wholly forgotten once Sunny had found the sweet spot right behind his ears. He'd be a house pet any day so long as he got frequent scratches behind his ears.
Yes, unexpected as it was, he didn't think he would be trading his surroundings anytime soon. And besides, with a royal wedding in the works –one that would unite two vastly different kingdoms– it wasn't as if he would be lacking in chaos for the foreseeable future.