VERSAILLES // Ranboo X Reader

23

Finding the tunnel again was the worst part. It took almost an entire day of digging through the side of the hill, trying to use the eyes to pinpoint exactly where you needed to go. It was heavy labor, but many hands made light work, and by the end of the day you had uncovered the tunnel that Etienne had used years ago to find the stronghold in the first place - completely untouched. 

From there, it was just a matter of getting everything ready. You were and retrieved your now clean and ready weapons from the weaponsmith, helped divvy out the food you had left and stocked up on anything else you thought could prove useful and didn't take up too much space to carry. 

You slept once more in the bed at the inn and when the sun rose again, you made the geared up to make the trek through town to where the exposed tunnel mouth lay in the side of the hill. 

Standing before it, it looked like a mouth, ready to swallow you whole. 

Beside you, Arlow lit a torch, holding the flame towards the tunnel and illuminating the first few feet. "It's probably infested with mobs."

"Nothing we can't cut through though." Brigand said, hefting his axe. The polished metal gleamed in the sunlight. He seemed ready - staring into the tunnel with such determination in his eyes that you had no doubts he could beat whatever was waiting for him. 

Beside him, Arlow seemed the same as they always were - completely at ease. You wished you felt the same; nerves roiled in your stomach as you looked down the mouth of the tunnel. there was no way of telling what was waiting for you down there. At least you weren't the only nervous one - Ranboo looked as apprehensive as you felt. 

You reached over to him, grabbing the hand that was closest to you and interlacing your fingers together. The chain dangled from your joined hands, catching the sunlight. 

"This is it boys." Arlow said. 

"This is it." You breathed. 

Brigand walked in first, stepping into the darkness of the tunnel with his axe poised and ready. Arlow followed in after him, torch in one hand and sword in the other. You watched your friends cross over the threshold of the entrance one by one, taking a steady breath as you stepped into the tunnel as well, Ranboo in tow. 

He squeezed your hand as the shadows enveloped you, leaving the sunlight behind. 

The tunnel wasn't big enough for you to walk side by side, so you had to let his hand go in favor of placing it on your bow, just in case something should come along. The weight of the cuff around your wrist was enough of a comfort though - he was still there, just a chain length away. 

Eventually, the tunnel became stone,  and then opened up entirely, dropping you in a large room. Arlow paused in the center of the room, holding the torch higher to illuminate more of the space. You could hear the drip of water coming from somewhere nearby, but other than that the place was dead silent. 

Just being in here made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. 

"There are torches along the walls." Brigand pointed out. Sure enough, unlit torches were staged around the room - the only evidence that anyone else had ever stepped into this room before. Arlow walked over to one of the torches, using the flame in their hand to light it. The went around the room and got the others as well, bringing the room significantly more light. 

Now, you could see the hallways leading away from this room.

Brigand turned slowly, taking in each of the options laid out before you. You could see the wheels turning in his head as he peered down each of the hallways, like he would be able to tell the way to the portal through intuition alone. 

"We could always split up." Arlow offered. 

Brigand shook his head. "It would take too long to find everyone and gather back. I was hoping there would be some kind of clue where the portal was, but it looks like we might be here for long than I thought." 

You frowned, looking again at the hallways in front of you - all exactly the same, only leading in different directions. An idea forming in the back of your mind, you reached into your bag, pulling out one of those eyes the twins had given you back at the start of the journey. Perhaps, if they could lead you to the stronghold, they could lead you through it as well. 

Tossing it into the air, the eyes floated towards the hallway closest to Arlow before dropping to the ground. 

Arlow picked it up, turning to look at you with a wide grin on their face. "You're a genius."

It was easy to find the portal after that - the eyes led you through the stronghold. Every now and again you would run into a stray zombie or skeleton, but they were easy to pick off. Soon enough, you were standing in front of the portal frame, looking down at the lava underneath it. 

"So this is it, huh?" Ranboo asked, reaching for your hand again. 

"Looks like it." You said, letting him take it.

"Before we do this." Arlow said, setting the torch aside. "I just want to let you all know that you've all been really lovely to get to know these past weeks. I'm glad to have journeyed with you."

"You're all very talented people." Brigand added, pulling out the eyes from his pouch. "It's been an honor." He tossed the eyes forward and they floated down to the portal, locking into place in the frame. 

You took out your four eyes as well, tossing them forward to join the others. Arlow did the same, and once all the eyes were in place a void of darkness opened up, and it was like you were looking at the night sky. 

You squeezed Ranboo's hand.