Demeter - Ranboo

~twenty-nine~

Nearly immediately Ophelia showed up at the door of the inn, her hair drenched from the rain. Ranboo had grabbed his hooded cloak and the cat, Enderchest. He held the cat under the fabric of his cloak. Luckily, Ophie had an extra cloak that I could wear, since I didn't own one. It hadn't rained like this in all my sixteen years of living. Her cloak was massive on me, but that was okay. It was comfy.

"Once we get halfway there, I can teleport us the rest of the way," Ranboo said. "Usually I could get us all the way, but I haven't been sleeping very well recently." He chuckled a little, but I could see the exhaustion in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, kid. You're doing great," Ophelia said. There was a certain fondness in her voice, like she had already done this all before. Her demeanor was odd; she wasn't quite motherly, but still protective and caring. Maybe more like an older sister.

"Wait okay, how does teleportation work? Like, what are your limits?" I asked. I was genuinely curious since I had no way of understanding everything that went into magic like that. I was only human, after all.

"I have to know exactly where I'm going, and I can't be tired. If I were to try to teleport back to Techno's kingdom right now, I probably wouldn't even make it halfway before collapsing. Teleportation is really taxing," he said with a light laugh that made my heart happy. I had always been eager to learn, but only about things that interested me. Math and numbers had never really stuck with me.

"I don't think Anatolios has any limitations," Ophie piped up, looking back over her shoulder to look at us, the rain still pounding hard against the ground. The wind had picked up as well, and I could see on Ranboo's face that his hood wasn't doing much for him.

"There are distances that they can't teleport," he said, pulling his cloak tighter around him. "How long have you known them?" He asked her, his head cocked to the side like a confused puppy.

"A couple of decades by now, I think. How do you know Anatolios?" She said. She was walking backward now, a thoroughly dumbfounded expression on her face. Ranboo and I shared a look between each other before he spoke.

"They're a member of the Council that I go to for advice, and they walked Melanie home for a few days that I couldn't," he explained. The top of the castle's towers were just barely visible over the tops of the trees now, and we could hear the soft bustle and chatter of the village growing louder. "How do you know them?"

"I'll explain once I'm not actively rusting and you're not getting assaulted from the sky." She smiled as Ranboo grabbed my hand and put his other hand on her shoulder. He closed his eyes, and the purple particles around him seemed to thicken, strange syllables, Endspeak, came from his throat, the air around us shifted, and we were standing in the throne room of the castle.

Sitting on the throne was a very confused Queen Callista and her Technoblade. He sat where the former queen had sat, and Callista sat in her father's seat, one of her legs draped over the arm of the chair. She and Technoblade must've been talking or something.

"Fancy seeing you here," Callista said with a smile. Her heavy silver crown sat forgotten on the third throne on the dais; the one she used to sit in. Next to it laid two circlets; one gold, and the other silver. I recognized the silver one as the one Ranboo had worn, which meant the gold circlet must've been Technoblade's.

"Sorry, it was raining," Ranboo said. He still had his hand in mine, and I liked the contact. His other hand gently set Enderchest down before passing through his rain-soaked hair.

Callista nodded. "How's your shoulder, Melanie?" She asked me.

"A little stiff still, but other than that it's fine," I said, shrugging a bit. I didn't feel like I was in the presence of royalty; it was weird. Callista and Technoblade were more like Ranboo's parents to me than some sort of authority I should be afraid of. The former king was very kind, don't get me wrong, but everyone was scared of him. There was no doubt in my mind that the majority of the kingdom did fear Callista, but she wasn't overly intimidating.

"And you're still giving her the potions?" She was talking to Ophie now. Callista had sat upright, and she still sat like a man. She was wearing pants though, so she was still being polite.

"Yes, ma'am," Ophie said. Both Callista and Technoblade nodded. "I'm going to take them back to Ranboo's room, if that's alright with you two," she said and led Ranboo and I out of the throne room and through a series of hallways that did nothing but get me confused about where I was.

"Are you gonna tell us how you know Anatolios?" Ranboo asked as he sat down on his bed. I stood next to him, and Ophie was leaning against the doorframe. She sighed, and moved to the chair in front of his desk, pulled it out, and sat down.

"Do you want the whole story or-"

"Yes." Both Ranboo and I interrupted her at the same time. He pulled me down to sit next to him. She sighed again, a smile and a light blush crossing her face.

"It all started when I first made the move to Helia. It was nerve-wracking, honestly. I didn't know anyone here," she chuckled a bit as she looked at her hands. "As an initiation into this kingdom's branch of the Guild, I was told to walk around the perimeter of the village and through the forest. I went at sunset since that was when I got there."

"The Guild is all the iron golems, right?" Ranboo asked, and Ophie nodded. That was what I assumed, but I was glad he asked.

"They were the first person that actually spoke to me. I met them in the woods and they gave me the lay of the land. Over time I saw them more and more on the outskirts of town, in the trees, in the shadows, everywhere." She was smiling as she spoke. "We're very...close now," she finished. Something in the air shifted, and behind Ophie stood Anatolios themself.

"You were speaking of me?" They asked, their voice smoother than silk. They rested one of their hands on Ophie's shoulder, and their head nearly reached the ceiling.

"They wanted to know how I knew you," she said, gesturing to me and Ranboo sitting on the bed. They looked down at her with an amused smile on their face. One thing I noticed was that Ophie looked directly into their eyes, something I had always been taught not to do. Maybe she could because she wasn't human?

"Ah. What did you tell the children?" They asked.

"She told us that you two met in the woods here and then became friends," Ranboo told them. Anatolios smiled, and Ophie's face grew redder.

"Hmm. Friends. I suppose that's one way to describe us."

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mmm yes updates yes I do those

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the bit of characterization kdsfjkhd

make sure you drink water, eat food, take meds, get sleep, and stay on top of your schoolwork!!! i know school sucks but it's very important in the long run

I love you all, and I'll see you dudes in the next chapter :D