Open the Gates//A DSMP Novel

Chapter 2

3rd person POV:

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A boy sat straight and stiff over a pristine desk. 'Hand-carved wood, the finest for his majesty,' they would say but he'd only scoff and turn the other way. It's not like he needed it, everything he got was perfect. As the first king, he deserved only the finest, but that was only what they said. 

As the first king out of a long line of queens, he was expected to be perfect, and that he was. Almost 10 hours of his day were devoted to working which left about 4 hours for any extra activities before bed. 

In the 4 hours of free time, he often read up on topics that no one else was interested in. His favorites, witchcraft and different languages. Sure, he was already well versed in Ender, English, and Hoglin, but it meant nothing to him. The language he was working on right now was the tongue of the olden gods.  which served to be the most difficult task he had ever faced. Not only were there barely any books written on the topic, but the sheer memory of them began to deplete as well. 

He had always noticed that the memory of others was depleting along with trade and agriculture but he's never been worried until now. In the brief intervals where he had no work, he would use that time to research fallen gods. Three gods stood out to him making him wonder, where did they go?

A knock at the door startled him a bit, but he was used to it. The walls were made of ground, cemented endstone that had stood steady for thousands of years. The nuns would often tell stories about the castle and how it came to be. He wrote a note to himself to have dinner with them sometime soon and he told whoever was outside to tell him their message. 

"Dinner, sir!" the voice called as he tucked the note away. He stood up and walked to the door, finally going stepping into the hallway after 10 hours of straight work in his study. 

The halls were lined with former rulers. He noticed how full it was beginning to be. Where would the next rulers be hung if there was no space? He remembered walking behind his mother as they walked to dinner. They never had time to stop though because 'dinner would get cold,' but that never happened. The chefs always managed to keep the food warm.

Two guards held the door open for him as he walked through. He adjusted his tie a bit and sat it in his seat on the far side of the long table. Once he had sat down and made sure he covered his chest with a napkin, he served himself. The silence always got to him since no one ever sat at the table with him.

The room was large, too large for just one person to eat by themselves. Long, dark purple curtains that were laced in gold were hung from the tops of the 6 large windows that overlooked the kingdom. The dining table had a long table runner with the same pattern. On it sat a few candles and a paper and pen, just in case he had anything on his mind while eating. 

"What are the happenings today?" he asked as he took a bite. The food was always delicious, but there was always too much. As much as he wanted to eat everything, his body would not allow it. An advisor stepped forward with a small scroll.

"Well, the stocks are down 6 points again but, we have seen some flocks of rare birds return to the city," they said as they looked down the not-so-long list. There was never anything interesting anymore.

"What about the people?"

"They request more money be funded towards the temple." He managed to finish the plate and grab some more.

"Ah... start a campaign for the birds... how much funding did we put into the temple?"

"About 10,000 gold, your majesty."

"Huh, how low are we on money?"

"We still have about 240,000 still left in the account for this year."

"The year is still young so... offer 1,000 gold or less. Nothing too expensive."

Once he was finished, he summoned a server to let them know he was finished and to bring out dessert. A deafening rumble interrupted him so he told the guards to stay on alert but only continued his conversation. 

Whenever a portal opened to come to the End, a rumble would let everyone know to stay alert and ready for any intruder. It rarely happened anymore since anyone who came through was to be seized under the Portal's United decree. Under that law, someone without a permit or Traveler's Untied Passport was to be arrested and told to show the place of origin. As the Nether and the Overworld did not have these laws, it was quite common for people to come in and not know what they were doing. 

When dessert had ended, he returned to his study to begin his reading once more. While reading one of his favorite books, he was interrupted by two guards who hoisted in a boy no older than he was. The boy looked at him with sad eyes. 

"King Ranboo, this was the intruder who trespassed upon our lands. He requests an audience," the guard said as the boy was dropped. Ranboo set his pen down and rested his hands.

"P-please... I just need a place to stay..." the boy cried, his face had smeared mud and dirt slathered upon it. He looked to be some kind of half-human from the Overworld. "I was kicked out of there... into here. I d-don't know if you can... understand..." The man just had to help, if he didn't something would happen to the boy. He thought of the pros and cons before deciding.

"He'll be staying. Make him a room and run a bath. Leave him with me and go have the cooks bring in any leftovers," Ranboo said as the guards bowed and left the room. He knew the boy couldn't understand Enderman, so he told him orders in English, "Take some tissues and go sit." He went back to writing as the boy just sobbed as he sat in a nearby armchair. "Don't sob, you're safe again."

English wasn't a language that was used among Enderman. Sure, scholars had to be well versed to teach, but it didn't mean they taught it specifically. Ranboo had learned Hoglin and English just in case anyone from the outside came through, which they did often. It was helpful enough although he was never perfect. You could tell that he had a bit of an accent from it.

When people came through a portal, they would be brought to him and he would usually send away for the sentence the decree's usual sentencing time, but this boy looked to be in some sort of danger, a danger he hadn't seen before. Sometimes people would come in, begging for deals or a place to stay but they only want to look at how the government keeps its shape and he never tolerated it. 

A maid peeked their head in and said, "The room and bath are ready, sir." He set down his pen once more and helped the boy, not making quite making eye contact. All endermen couldn't stand eye contact except with people of the same species. But for him, it just made him a tad bit nervous and uncomfy, not something he'd be willing to hurt someone over. 

Ranboo guided the boy to the room in which we were told to stay and told him to get in the bath and either bathe himself or wait for a maid to do it. The boy did as he was told, tears still streaming down his face. 

"Don't be upset, I'm here to help," Ranboo said as he guided the boy into the bathroom. The boy got into the tub and the sobbing slowed just a bit, only small hiccups remained. "Come out when you're ready, no rush."

"Thank you," the boy replied through small hiccups.

"I am supposed to care for people, this is the least I can do."

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Pretty long, no?

I like this. It's only getting started.

[Word count: 1400]

-AvarageKnot