VERSAILLES // Ranboo X Reader

1

You could hear the rattle of bones nearby.

You knocked another arrow in your bow, crouching slightly so that your weight was evenly distributed as you walked, rolling your feet to the outside edge to stay as quiet as possible. You were hoping that the skeleton wasn't too far from the edge of the village - the light from the windows was the only source of sight you had, and you would rather not have to plunge into the darkness, dodging arrows in search of the thing.

You peered around the edge of a house and caught the stark white of bones before an arrow whizzed by your head and you ducked back, readying your bow. You took a breath before you swung around the corner again, loosing an arrow. It hit the mark - lodging between the skeletons open ribs. You dodged as it shot at you again, sending another arrow through its eye socket. The thing shuddered once before it dropped to the ground, bones clattering to a halt.

You approached the corpse to pick up your arrows and sort through the skeleton's own quiver, taking a few of the arrows you deemed acceptable. Other than that, you left the corpse there - the sun would burn it when it rose. 

Which - as you looked to the sky to see a slight orange tint along the horizon - should be soon. 

You continued on your path around the edge of the village - the same path that you took almost every night, worn down by your own footsteps and those of the villagers of Templeswift during the day, when they bustled about on their own business. It was a symbiotic relationship - you guarded their homes during the night, and in return they dropped off fresh loaves of bread on your doorstep and gave you the first pick of the pumpkins in autumn. Their kindness and gratitude combined with the monthly wage you got from the palace as one of the king's guard made living here comfortable. 

A groan caught your attention - a stray zombie, wandering towards the village. You knocked an arrow and took aim, nailing the zombie between the eyes. The thing staggered back and then burst into flame - the sun must be high enough now that the undead things would start burning. You tucked the second arrow you had pulled back in your quiver - zombies weren't particularly tough foes, but they could be catastrophic if they got to one of the village-folk.

You completed another lap around the village, making sure nothing else had wandered too close. By the time you were where you had started, the farmers were just beginning to make their way to the fields. They tipped their hats to you as you passed them on the way back to your house, and you waved in return, as you did every day. It was a simple routine, but it was nice to know that your nightly efforts were appreciated. 

Walking through the village proper, you waved to the baker and the toolsmith as they made their way to their shops, and nodded to the blacksmith through the window of the forge as he fired up his furnaces. Templeswift slowly was waking up around you, and you were fighting back a yawn, thinking around your bed. 

"Good morrow, Y/N!"

You turned at the call to see one of the farmer's sons coming towards you. "Good morrow." You returned, slinging your bow over your shoulder as the boy approached. "What can I do for you?"

"Did you happen to slay any skeletons last night?" He asked. "My father sent me to collect bonemeal, and I was wondering where the corpses were."

"There's one on the far side of the village that might still be there." You said. "You'd best hurry though, before the sun chars the bones too badly."

The boy smiled, nodding respectfully. "Thank you." He said, heading off. "And good luck with the royal summons!" 

You blinked, confused, as you watched the boy scurry off towards the far side of the village. Royal summons? What on earth was he talking about? You hadn't received any royal summons-

Unless you had, and it had come while you were out fighting off undead hordes.

You set off towards your house again, not so focused on the gentle rhythm of town waking up again and more focused of getting to your house to see what that boy had meant. You still took a second to smile and wave as you passed the bakers wife on their porch though - she was pregnant, and the baby would probably be born soon.

You approached your house, jogging up the steps and onto your porch - you would have to water the daisies today, they were looking wilted. You headed straight to the door, and sure enough, nailed to the front was a scroll, the wax seal bright blue and bearing the royal crest. Everyone knew what it meant when one of these appeared at your door - a royal summons. 

You plucked the nail from the door and broke the seal, unfurling the scroll and scanning over the sloping script. You would have to leave fairly soon if you wanted to make it to the palace by the deadline they had given you, and they hadn't said exactly why they were asking for you. It wasn't a general summons either - you had seen those before, when they called for all the king's guard - they asked for you by name. 

You rolled the scroll back up and headed into the house - the beef that you had set to smoke overnight would be done, and you could easily pack that to bring with you for the ride to the palace. For now though, your sighed, tossing the scroll aside and taking your bow and quiver off before tumbling into bed, smiling as you hit the pillow. Fighting off the undead wasn't an easy job after all and required a lot of energy.