VERSAILLES // Ranboo X Reader

25

A tug of the chain jerked you back and Brigand's axe just hit the ground where you had been standing. You stumbled into Ranboo, catching your footing.

"You, and them." Brigand hissed, reaching down to pick up the egg where it had fallen, completely unaffected by the burning sensation that had made you drop it. "You don't belong here. Humans don't belong here."

"What are you talking about?" Arlow asked, smoothly stepping between you and Brigand, sword in hand. "There are hundreds of villages-"

"Oh, I'm not talking about them." Brigand said. "I'm talking about people like the King. Those humans that build castles and strip the earth of it's elements and kill hundreds of monsters like it's nothing. It shouldn't be possible for someone to fell a tree with their bare hands, but here we are. It's not natural." A wry sort of smile made it's way to Brigand's face - nothing like the soft grins you were used to.

Arlow pursed their lips. "What does that have to do with the dragon?"

Brigand looked down at the egg in his off hand and smiled. "The dragon was part of the world before that fool you call a king killed it. Look at this place-" He gestured to the barren land around you. "Without the dragon the natural order of things is off."

Brigand turned around, stepping closer to the obelisk that he had been pacing around before. "I'll put this egg on top of this obelisk, a new dragon will hatch, and with Etienne all old and gray, there'll be no one else to kill it." He said. "The first step in righting the world again."

Arlow glanced at you, and you found yourself just as lost as they looked. Where was the Brigand that you knew? The one who had taken care cooking your meals and gently ruffled Ranboo's hair?

"Brigand, this isn't you." You said. "You don't have to do this-"

"You know, it was pretty easy to pull of." He interrupted you. "I was worried about how I was going to find the stronghold for a second, but when I got word that the king was going to send out an expedition, well..." He trailed off. "It was simple, really. Tell them what they want to hear and they'll send a group of dumbasses to guide you right where you needed to go."

Ranboo's fingers wound their way into the cuff of your sleeve and a flare of rage surged within you. "You framed him." You said. 

Brigand grinned. "That's the funny thing about Endermen. They do this little thing when you just..." He switched tongues then, speaking in a language you didn't understand. Ranboo slacked beside you, his fingers losing their grip on your clothes and you turned to see his eyes glazed over.

No.

It all made too much sense all at once - that Ranboo had been wandering near the mountains when he'd blacked out, that he had been struggling towards Brigands horse, where the egg must have been, that night he was sleepwalking. Of course a vindicator with a vengeance and penchant for the old world would know how to control an Enderman. Of course, Ranboo would be the perfect person to frame. He wouldn't be able to say a word in his favor because he wouldn't have remembered anything.

Those pillagers that had called him a traitor to their kind couldn't have been more wrong. If he pulled this off, he would be a hero of his people. Bringing the dragon back when Etienne was this old would bring about the fall of civilization - which was just what he wanted. Complete chaos, as it had been before, and free reign for vindicators and pillagers alike. 

"What did you do to him?" Arlow said, pinning Brigand with a glare. 

Brigand just turned back to the obelisk saying something else over his shoulder in that same strange language. He set the egg down carefully, with the same sort of gentle touch you had known to come from him, before turning back around and drawing his axe again, a hardened look on his face. 

"No hard feelings, but you're not going home." He said, swinging forward at Arlow. They blocked it just in time, their jaw setting into something firm.

You moved to draw your bow only to have one of your hands be pulled away. Ranboo's eyes were blank as he lunged at you, long limbs reaching for you. You made to step backwards, only to have the chain catch. You couldn't stop him as he grabbed you by the arm, twisting it behind you back uncomfortably.  

You hissed in pain, your other arm flying behind you to pull one of the arrows from your quiver and gripping it like a knife. You were about to stab wildly behind you with it when you hesitated - it was Ranboo. In his weird controlled state or not, it was still him. 

The clang of metal drew your attention to the fight going on a few feet away. Brigand's face was set into an ugly snarl as he swung at Arlow, getting more and more annoyed each time his attacks were dodged or deflected. When they fought, you were used to seeing Arlow taunt and wheedle, but they were silent now, concentrated on Brigand entirely. 

You could see their indecision in the way they only deflected - it was Brigand. 

Ranboo leaned his weight against your twisted arm, forcing you to your knees. You tightened your grip around the arrow you were holding, looking up at his empty eyes and felt your heart break a little more when you thought about what you were about to do. 

You hoped he would forgive you when he woke up. 

Taking a breath, you leveraged your weight forward, causing Ranboo to falter a second. You flipped the arrow in your hand and swung your arm backwards before jerking it back forward, driving the point into his thigh. 

Ranboo screamed out, and you felt the grip he had on you falter as he stiffened, slumping to the ground.