Demeter - Ranboo

~five~

We were all too tired to go to the center of town that night. Instead, I curled up on my bed with my book of Endspeak while Willow sorted through our dresses. She had always had the better fashion sense. I was studying the symbols in the book, trying desperately to commit them to memory. The book also featured a crude diagram of Endermen's anatomy; painting them as horrific monsters from a different world. But I knew that they weren't scary unless you pushed their boundaries. I should ask Ranboo if he could help me learn Endspeak. I could write and read the language just fine, but speaking it and understanding it is a whole other issue.

"Can I wear one of your nicer yellow dresses?" Willow asked me. I looked up from the pages to see her holding up one of my dresses to her slender form. I nodded before returning my attention to the book.

"You should wear the one with the lace," I chimed in, turning the page. I watched her nod out of the corner of my eye and put the other dresses away. With a huff, she flopped onto her own bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Did you know that halflings are more aggressive than the monster they come from?" Willow asked.

"Who told you that?"

"Elliot."

"Elliot says a lot of things."

"Whatever, Mel." She snuffed out her candle, plunging her side of the room into darkness. I stayed awake, trying to absorb as much knowledge about the Enderman race before I fell asleep. But Willow's words stuck in my head. Ranboo wasn't aggressive, was he? I mean, I had only known him for a couple of days, but he seemed like he could do about as much damage as a chocolate eclair. Not a lot. But I saw how the townspeople looked at him at Queen Callista's speech. They were scared of him and their eyes seemed to be full of disgust. I didn't see him like that. He was... different, sure, but I wanted to get to know him better before I passed any judgment on him.

It was the morning of the coronation, and Willow was freaking out while trying to find me something to wear. In truth, she had taken the dress I was going to wear for herself, but I didn't mind. It looked better on her anyway. She was pulling every slightly formal dress out of our shared closet and laying them all down on her bed. Red dresses, green dresses, pink dresses, and everything in between.

"I'd think you'd look good in pink," she said, picking up a lacy pale pink dress. Was she crazy? She knew I didn't like pink. She must've sensed my disgust because she put the dress down without another thought.

"Do we have any blue dresses?" I asked, beginning to dig through the closet myself. I heard her hum in response; she was busy trying to find a dress for me that was already out of the closet. I did find a few blue dresses, and all but one of them was a work dress.

The one that stood out was made of fine silk, or a material close to that. It was beautiful, with its slim-cut skirt, structured bodice, and lacy sleeves. Willow must've heard me stop rummaging around, because she walked over to where I stood, holding the dress out in front of me. I heard her gasp in wonder.

"Where did that come from?" She whispered, taking the fabric of the skirt into her hands, rubbing it between her fingers. Without waiting for an answer, she said, "You have to wear that."

"Are you sure? I don't wear blue that often," I said softly. But she was already gathering up the other dresses on the bed to put them away. She was nodding emphatically, the morning sunlight bouncing off of her high cheekbones. I sighed, setting the dress on my own bed, ready to put on for the evening.

"What are we going to do about your hair?" Willow asked. She was already rebraiding her own hair, her fingers moving with purpose.

"Let me worry about my hair. Let's go get something to eat," I suggested. She said she'd be down in a minute, and with that, I went to the dining room where a few bowls of oatmeal had been set out for us. There was an air of excitement in the atmosphere, no doubt because of the coronation. I was excited for a slightly different reason. For some reason I couldn't explain, I was almost nervous to see Ranboo again. I had no reason to be so jittery; I had only known him for a few days, and we had only spoken twice.

After breakfast, I had to go down to the tavern to work for a few hours before I could get ready for the coronation. The entire village was excited. People's faces were lit up in a way I hadn't seen since before the war started. The elderly's eyes began to sparkle again, and the children's laughter seemed less forced. It was like a massive weight had been lifted from our souls.

The pub was full. That hadn't happened, well, ever. The atmosphere was light and cheery, with people chatting and listening to the volunteer singer on the once empty stage. She looked like she was a bit younger than I was, maybe around fifteen or sixteen. There was something odd in her near-white blonde hair, coal black eyes, and crystal clear voice. Even the iron golems had stopped in for a quick drink.

The iron golems looked human enough, with their pale skin and tall stature. There was a group of three sitting at the far end of the bar, and they looked like they hadn't been served yet. That's what I was there for.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" I asked them. There were two men and one woman, who looked much younger than the others. I was used to seeing the iron folk out and about, so I could recognize the men. But I had never seen a female golem before. She had long, shiny orange hair that had all sorts of flowers and leaves sticking out of it. That was customary, for the iron folk, since they usually have vines growing out of them anyway. There was a leatherbound book in front of her; she had been showing the contents to the other golems.

"We would like two pints of ale and a glass of water, please," she said politely. I nodded, and as I turned, I heard her start talking again, telling the other golems about some sort of story she was writing. It sounded nice. I brought the iron folk their drinks and in return, the woman paid in emeralds. Only one emerald, since the value of one of the green gems was more than what the drinks cost in gold.

The rest of the workday passed in a blur; I don't remember much of it. But once I got home that afternoon, it was like the day had finally begun. The owner of the tavern had fed me lunch, which was very kind of him, considering that he rarely acknowledged me outside of payday.

Willow helped me get into the blue dress, and I helped her tie the corset of her own yellow dress. We looked at ourselves in the mirror on the vanity, and twin smiles crept onto our faces. We looked good, and no one was gonna tell us otherwise. I had to admit, blue looked really good on me. Willow watched as I tied my hair up in a bun on top of my head, pulling a few pieces down to frame my face.

Supper was loud, but that's okay. We were all so excited, especially Finch. He was nearly bouncing in his seat, a chatterbox until he brought his fork to his mouth. Mom and Dad told us they would only go to chaperone us and make sure we didn't accidentally break something valuable. We nodded in understanding, put our dishes away, and put our shoes on.

It was time for the Queen's coronation.

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Imagine thinking this will somehow devolve into angst- pffffffft-

Me? Providing angst? Nahhhhhhhhhhhhh

Right so anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it took a little bit longer, just trying to get back into the groove of writing regularly!

Remember to drink a glass of water, eat something with nutritious value, and get some sleep! I love you each, and I'll see you in the next chapter!!