Demeter - Ranboo

~nine~

"Good evening, My Queen," I said, curtsying before her. The painting in the foyer didn't do her justice. She was so tall, and her lean form was graceful and slender. Her emerald eyes were piercing through my soul as I stood in front of her.

"Good evening. What's your name, miss?" She asked me. She sounded like she had done this a hundred times before; warm and practiced hospitality. She didn't strike me as the warrior everyone said she was. Ranboo was acting nervous though, and I couldn't pinpoint why.

"Melanie, Your Highness," I said, sounding about as nervous as Ranboo looked. I had never spoken to a member of the royal family before, and I didn't want to mess it up, especially since Queen Callista was close with Ranboo.

"Callista, I was just talking to her, nothing more," Ranboo said. He sounded almost defensive, and his fingers were curled around the bottom of his shirt. He didn't address her as Queen, which is what she was. The Queen hummed in response, mulling over his response.

"Well, Melanie, I hope you had a good time here, but your mother must be wondering why you're out so late. Ranboo will still be here in the morning," the Queen said, and I took that as my cue to leave. I caught Ranboo's eye before I left, and he gave me a small wave before speaking to the Queen.

I sprinted the entire way back home. It had to have been past midnight, and I was in the castle. Alone. Nothing good had ever happened to a girl alone at night; we had stories to prove it. During the trek back home, I let my thoughts wander a little bit. He had said alliums were his favorite. I could understand why, too. They had such a pretty purple hue, and the globes of color always popped against the green grass. I had done plenty of research on the meanings of different flowers, but I don't think I had found a page on alliums. I'd have to check when I got home.

Speaking of home, I was there. There was still a candle in the windowsill, a bad sign for me. That meant my father was still awake, waiting on me. I tried to open the door as quietly as possible, but the rusty hinges had always squeaked. Dad looked up from the book he was reading by the hearth, and a split second of anger flashed across his face.

"What kept you so late?" He asked, accusation clear in his tone. He was standing now, slowly closing the book and setting it on the end table.

"I got introduced to the Queen." My voice was shaking. Why? I hadn't technically broken any of the rules. There was no enforced curfew, and I wasn't alone with Ranboo. The Queen was there. Technoblade was there. Phil was there. There were people there.

"By the halfling?" He was bordering on anger.

"His name is Ranboo."

He exploded. "I don't care what its name is. It's dangerous, and I will not have a scary bedtime story made of my eldest daughter!" That's right. He had known the little girl who went missing on the beach's parents before they left. He had helped patch up their roof after a harsh hailstorm.

"He wouldn't hurt me," I said softly, not daring to look at my father's enraged face. I had always been too soft. If I could only stand up for myself, I'd be unstoppable. My acts of rebellion were always small and insignificant.

"Go to bed. My opinion will not change." Good, I thought to myself, before climbing the stairs to the attic that I called my room. Maybe this would be my big teenage rebellion.

"You'll be happy to know that we beat up both Toby and Andrew after we left," Willow yawned, sitting cross-legged on her bed, running a brush through her hair. Two pieces of parchment sat on her bed, one full of writing, the other blank.

"You did?" I said, pulling off the formal dress and slipping into my nightgown. My hair fell out of the bun with a single tug, pins clattering to the floor.

"Mhm. If we didn't, your friend would have," she chuckled. "Don't even give me that 'he wouldn't do that' stuff. We could see it in his eyes." She snuffed out her candle, plunging the room into darkness.

I tried to sleep, but my thoughts were still focused on Ranboo. I had hung onto every word he said. He was different, and interesting, and not just because of how he looked. He sounded wise beyond his years, but his humor was perfectly in tune with my own. He made me feel safe, which was irrational because I hadn't even known him for a week. But it was one of those things when you know it's right. And then I realized. I would do anything for that boy.

I had to talk myself out of that thought process, or at least try to. I had just met him, and he didn't know anything about me. He knew where I worked, how old I was, and my favorite flower. And what did I know about him? I knew that he was a halfling, I knew his favorite flower, how old he was, and his position in the Queen's court. I shouldn't be sacrificing anything for someone I barely knew. That was only common sense. My friends wouldn't take risks for me, even though I would for them. Was I just clingy? Would he get annoyed with me? I didn't want to be strangers again.

The morning came with bright sunshine beaming through the window, and the soft caws of crows high in the clouds. We had been seeing a lot more crows recently, and all of the superstitious elderly women were citing the Queen's coronation as a bad omen. But nothing had gone wrong yet, and there was no threat looming over us.

"Mom and Dad had to go to the town center this morning, so it's just us for a while," Willow told me and Finch in the kitchen. Finch was munching on an apple, and Willow was making herself a bowl of oatmeal.

"Did they say when they'd be back?" Finch asked. He didn't talk much, but when he did, he always had a bunch of questions. Mom said that's how young kids learn, but I didn't remember asking about the inner workings of a windmill and why the sky was blue.

"Before sunset, is all they said," she sighed. The vase on the windowsill had a wilting bouquet of poppies and cornflowers. I would have to pick some more. "Do you have to be in the tavern today?" She asked me.

"Only this evening." I grabbed a loaf of bread and an apple from the table, putting them in my leather bag. "I'm going to go pick some flowers. I'll be back by noon," I said, and left the house. 

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You guys are too precious sometimes I literally can't handle it-

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, be sure to drink a glass of water, take your meds, eat something today, and get some sleep tonight!!!! I'll see you all in the next chapter :D