VERSAILLES // Ranboo X Reader

4

The room the castle provided you was simple, but more rich than your house - you certainly didn't have a bowl of rose water to wash your face on your night stand. You made yourself as comfortable as you could for the night, resting after a day of riding.

You were roused by a knock on the door some hours later, and you stumbled out of bed to find of the king's Endermen (Deirdre or Tarquin, it was impossible to tell when you couldn't see the scar) waiting for you outside. 

"Good morning." They greeted. A higher voice - Deirdre then.

"Good morning." You returned. 

Deirdre smiled, inclining her head. "Breakfast is being served in the dining hall, and then my brother and I will be escorting you down to the dungeons to meet the final member of your party."

"Oh, thank you." You said. You were meeting the thief today then. 

Deirdre nodded, stepping away from the door. "I'll leave you to get changed."

You nodded, closing the door and turning around to strip out of your nightshirt, pulling the garment over your head. You weren't quite sure what to expect of this thief - the king hadn't been very descriptive yesterday, but if they had managed to get into the royal treasury, they would surely be formidable. Once changed, you slung your bow and quiver over your shoulders - you weren't quite sure if you would need them, but if you were going down to the dungeons, better safe than sorry.

Breakfast was simple but hearty - freshly baked bread and various assorted fruits from the palace orchards. It was a little formal for your tastes - you weren't quite sure how to eat around the king, and Brigand wasn't very talkative, but the king didn't seem to mind when Arlow put their feet up on the table and leaned back in their chair, laughing loud and bright.

After that, the three of you were joined by the twins again, this time each of them holding a torch as they led the way down a flight of stairs. 

"It's a little creepy, isn't it?" Arlow asked, their voice echoing off the walls as they idly twirled their sword in their hand. 

"It is a dungeon." Tarquin said, turning back to look at them with a grin. "I don't think it's supposed to be very homey."

Arlow snorted as you passed a stream of rancid water leaking from the stone walls. "Surely you don't keep your political prisoners down here?"

Brigands eyes went wide as he clenched his jaw, and you had to stifle your laugh - it was obvious that either Arlow had never been in the presence of royalty before, or didn't care about status at all. In the front of the pack, Deirdre and Tarquin traded a look, but said nothing.

As the walk continued, the hall around you got darker and darker until the only source of light were the torches placed at intervals along the wall and the ones the twins carried - you were deep underground now. You passed cell blocks - most of them empty, but some of them holding various creatures (pillagers and evokers and even a few humans) - all of their eyes flashing in the torch light as you passed. 

The twins stopped at a cell near the end of the block and stepped aside so that you could peer into the shadowy depths and see who was inside. 

"You didn't say he was an Enderman." Brigand said.

He wasn't like any Endermen you had seen before - probably because he wasn't fully an Enderman. He was tall like an Enderman, but that was where the similarity ended. He was split down the middle - half of his skin the same inky black as the twins, the other half a radiant white. His hair fell in soft waves, obscuring his eyes, and he kept his head tilted down, his sharp jawline on display. He seemed timid, but that might have just been the situation - anyone behind bars would likely hang their head.

"He's not." You said. "He's a halfling."

His eyes darted up to meet yours as the words left your mouth and your own widened in surprise. His eyes didn't match either - one blood red and the other emerald green - split in two. A halfling, yes, but a perfect halfling. Halflings were rare enough on their own - crossbreeding was uncommon and rarely worked well, but to be in such perfect halves was unheard of. 

Next to you, Arlow leaned forward, peering curiously at him. "What's your name?"

When he spoke, his voice was raspy. "Ranboo."

Arlow frowned upon hearing his voice, and you found yourself copying the gesture - he was just a kid. 

"How did you get caught up in all this, son?" Brigand asked. "How old are you?"

Ranboo's eyes disappeared behind his hair again. "I didn't do it, I swear-"

Deirdre sighed. "We've already tried talking to him - he still says he has no memory of even being in the vaults where we found him." She said, looking back at his hunched figure. "I would offer for you to try your hand at interrogating him, but you're not going to get anywhere and it's cold down here."

With that, the twins stepped away from the cell and Ranboo was obscured in darkness again. You turned as well, tossing one last glance over your shoulder as the twins began the trek back to the palace proper, Arlow and Brigand in tow.

As you walked, you couldn't help but think back to how scared he had looked - how small, even though you could tell he was at least six feet tall. He was probably around your age, or not that much older at least - how had he found himself into the palace treasury and managed to steal the egg? He was a halfling though, there was no telling what crazy combined abilities he had. 

Still, he was just a kid. He didn't deserve to be locked up in a dungeon like this.