Demeter - Ranboo

~six~

The castle was beautiful. Navy blue banners hung from the walls, the royal family's insignia embroidered into the fabric with silver thread. When we got there, there were only around fifty people filtering into the ballroom, so it was easy to find my friends among them. There was live music just starting, there was food and drinks at a table along the wall, and there was the Queen, standing off to the side with her assistant, an older woman with curly blonde hair, smile lines around her brown eyes. She looked kind.

Elliot, the boy who fancied Willow, and a few other kids waved us over, their faces painted with pure joy. Elliot was nothing special, just a tall gangly kid with a goofy grin, but if he made Willow happy, then I didn't care. As if by instinct, I found myself scanning the growing crowd for the tall boy I wasn't supposed to be alone with. He shouldn't be hard to find. Eventually, I saw him standing on the other side of the Queen, his mismatched eyes scanning the crowd too.

"Stop staring at him. You're going to scare the boy," Willow said, elbowing me in the side. I rolled my eyes and tried to turn back to the conversation my friends were having. Andrew and Toby were here, stocky boys, the both of them. They were both only a year younger than I was, but they stood a little less than a head taller than me. Andrew had been caught stealing alcohol from the tavern a few months ago, and Toby had been his accomplice. They weren't brothers, but with all the trouble they got into together, you wouldn't think twice if someone told you they were.

"How have you been, Mel?" Andrew asked me. I hated the way my name sounded on his tongue. Barely anyone in town called me by my full name; I would be surprised if they all even knew my full name.

"Pretty good. How about yourself?" I replied politely. Even though I didn't like him, I would still be nice. It was the least I could do.

"Me and Toby were just talking about our adventure last night," he said, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at me triumphantly, as if I cared at all about their adventure.

"Oh?" But my gaze was already drifting to the tall boy by the Queen.

"Yeah. We found a couple of ducks by the stream. They tried to get away, but we..." I stopped paying attention when Ranboo's eyes caught mine. He quickly turned to the Queen, whispered something to her, and began to weave his way through the mass of people between us. I didn't understand why couldn't have just teleported; he was half Enderman after all.

"Good evening, Melanie, Melanie's friends," he said as he approached our group of kids. He grinned down at me before returning his attention to the group. They stared in awe at him, marveling at all that he was. He looked away bashfully, or maybe that was his Enderman side wishing to avoid the eye contact. I couldn't tell.

"Who're you," Toby asked, although it sounded more like an accusation than a question. Did he know who he was talking to? Ranboo had been at the Queen's right hand the entire time she's been here, so we had to infer that he was somewhat important to her. And anyone important to the Queen was like a crown jewel to us.

"My name's Ranboo. And yours..?" Ranboo answered. I could feel him tense up beside me. But what did it matter? He was my friend, not my lover. I didn't usually care when my other friends were uncomfortable, or at least I couldn't physically feel it.

"Toby. And I'm gonna marry Mel one day," Toby sneered, gauging Ranboo's reaction. His eyebrows furrowed, but other than that, he didn't react at all. I, however, made my disgust known. The thought of marrying any of my guy friends nearly made me gag. They were all gross and impolite.

"In your dreams," I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest just as the small orchestra struck up a waltzing tune. The first dance of the night. I watched as Willow paired up with Elliot and two girls matched with Toby and Andrew, and the younger kids formed a circle in the corner and started to spin, laughing loudly. I was never graceful enough to dance, so I stood beside Ranboo and watched the couples spin and step in time with the music.

"You don't dance, do you?" He asked, his gaze remaining on the dancefloor. We were standing near the drink table, but the only beverages were alcoholic. I looked up at him. He looked regal in his white dress shirt and gold accents. There was a greenish-blue gem at his neck, with ruffles protruding from the bottom of it. He looked like he could be a prince.

"Not very well," I chuckled, returning my eyes to the growing circle of young children spinning before us. "I'd like to learn though." I could sense him glance down at me and then back to the dance floor.

"I'm sure I could get Queen Callista to teach you. She's great at it," he said. My heart stuttered when he mentioned the Queen. He brought her up so casually, like she wasn't the single most important person in the entire kingdom.

"I don't think the Queen would want to mingle with someone like me," I answered, my cheeks heating up. Even though the thought of being a student under the Queen excited me, I knew that it would never happen.

"Oh, she would love you. I should introduce you to her sometime," he assured me. His timid hand rested lightly on my shoulder, and I could almost feel his heart racing through his touch. The poor boy was nervous.

"What's she like, the Queen?" I asked as the final notes of the waltz rang out through the entire castle. Slowly, my friends came back to us, laughing lightly and blushing heavily. As the other kids approached us, Ranboo's hand fell back to his side. That was alright, though, because he was just my friend. Friends aren't always touching. I wasn't disappointed.

"She's very kind and gentle, even though she doesn't act like it. She's incredibly well-read and wise, and her humor is great. She's... loved," he sighed. It sounded like he wanted to say more, but the brash arrival of Andrew and Toby cut off his thoughts.

"Did you really just stand there this entire time?" Andrew said, his voice making my ears hurt. Sometimes, actually no, most times, he was just way too loud. It wasn't like he didn't know how loud he was. No, he reveled in the attention he got from being over the top. It was annoying, to say the least.

"So what if she did, hm?" Ranboo said suddenly, his sass surprising me. He had crossed his arms in front of him, slightly stepping towards the significantly smaller boy.

"Woah there, freakshow," Toby cut in, trying to step in between Andrew and Ranboo, but ultimately failing. The girls kept him from getting involved.

"I'm sorry?" Ranboo had turned to Toby, something dangerous flickering in his eyes. Was Willow right about halflings being dangerous? Was I getting in over my head? What if something horrendous happened?

"You heard me! You're a freak! At least you've been hanging around fatty here. It's okay if you kill her. We can live without her slowing us down," Toby shouted, pointing accusing fingers at both me and Ranboo. Instinctively my arms hugged my stomach in an effort to hide the obvious curve. My face was burning with the humiliation of a dozen pairs of eyes boring into my soul. Was there nothing else to look at?

I had always been insecure about my weight and appearance, and I had finally hoped that people had stopped noticing the extra mass on my legs and stomach. I thought that maybe I had grown out of it; stretched out. That's what Mom said would happen. That's what she said happened to her. Why didn't it happen to me? Why not me?

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It's not angst unless I say it's angst alright

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I'll see all of you gems in the next chapter!