The Hooded Figure

Chapter 1-Mariana

Quick Note: There is going to be some gore and very strong language(No slurs) in future chapters. This book's gonna be a slow burn type of book, but this warning will be at the beginning of any chapters that will involve this kind of content in the future. This takes place in Minecraft, so you'll hear references to the game, like Iron Golems, Villagers, Monsters, and stuff like that.

It was just an average day in the village for me. The adults got to work, but I got to play. It was boring because I'm the only kid, but the other villagers care about me, and sometimes they'd be able to ignore their daily duties to give me some company. 

The villagers didn't even know if I'm a villager or something else. I look nothing like a villager, but none of them know what mob I am. I don't remember anything other than this village. It's the closest thing to a home I have. 

At least when all the villagers are busy the iron golems keep me safe. I've learned that iron golems can actually speak, it's just so strange to others that it's impossible to hear. I know, it sounds weird, but it's true! My favorite iron golem in the village is Sage! She's really nice, and likes to give me flowers. I made her a flower crown once, and I haven't seen her without it since.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by one of the farmers, Jade.

"Hun, if you stay out here any longer the monsters will start spawning!" She scolded me.

"I wanna see them though! I don't even know what my enemies look like!" I insisted.

Jade sighed and told me she was gonna get an iron golem. She came with my second favorite, William.

"Here, they'll keep you safe." Jade said before walking off. It's probably concerning for a 7 year old to be left alone like this, but I don't mind.

"Hey Mariana. How are you?" William suddenly spoke up after a few minutes.

"I'm doing great William! I finally get to see what monsters look like!" I said enthusiastically. It's so exciting to finally see them. I spotted a strange person, that somewhat looked like the villagers, but also different. They were on a horse, and I knew monsters couldn't do that. They were in a cloak, and it was super dark, so I couldn't tell what they looked like.

"Mariana, get behind me. I don't know what that thing is." William said with a concerned tone. I snuck behind him, and the person pulled out TNT and flint and steel. Sage suddenly ran over to try to protect the village, but the figure was going too fast. 

Suddenly we were practically surrounded by TNT, and Sage tried to kill the figure, but they built up, something that villagers and iron golems can't do, and killed her. This angered the other iron golems, but nothing could be done, and soon enough they were all dead. I had just witnessed murder. But when the figure spotted me and realized that I wasn't a villager or iron golem, they said that they recognized what I am.

I was too mad to listen. I knew that Jade had a bow and plenty of arrows stocked away from a long time ago. I practiced with them in secret, since she never checked if they were there. I had hidden it in my inventory. I didn't keep much in there, because the villagers didn't have inventories, so they'd just be confused. I shot the figure and ran away, I didn't know what else to do. I shot their foot so that they couldn't chase me.

Then I heard explosions, and knew that my only home was gone. But I knew I didn't have time to mourn. There were monsters everywhere. I never wanted to hurt them, they're living creatures too, but when they hit me I knew it was hopeless. 

I spotted another figure on horseback, and got scared. I shot their horse in a wild panic, but only made it near due to the distance. The figure made the horse halt, and the figure got off. I kept my bow loaded, just in case. They approached, but were cautious about it. Then again, I am holding a bow that is pointed directly towards them. 

They took off their hood, and I was confused. They looked nothing like anything I had seen before. They had purple hair and there was a sunflower tucked behind their ear. They were in a red crop top with sleeves that went a little past their elbow. They had fingerless gloves that went a few inches above their wrist. They were wearing shorts, and fishnet stockings underneath. They had black platform boots, and looked surprisingly friendly without the cloak. 

In shock, I didn't realize that I had put my bow in my inventory. I quickly pulled it back out and aimed it at them. They had their hands up to show that they had nothing to harm me with.

"I promise, I mean no harm. If you saw another cloaked player blowing things up, I've been trying to stop them, I'm not on their side." They said. "If you want to know, my name is Elijah, and I use he/him pronouns."

Elijah seemed friendly, but I wasn't ready to trust them yet.

"Prove it to me" I said, trying to make myself appear taller and scarier, to try and intimidate them. Then again, I'm a 7 year old, I can't be too threatening, even though nobody knows what type of mob I am.

"I'll empty my inventory if you'd like. If you see something you don't want me carrying around, you can take it." He told me. It seemed fair, so I nodded and he cleared out his inventory. He showed me proof that his inventory was completely empty. There was nothing he could use to harm me.

"I don't see why I should take anything." I told him. he quickly put all of his items in his inventory. It was mainly just food.

"Y'know I can tell you're pretty young. If you need help getting home, me and my horse Nora could get you back." He said, looking back at me with a concerned tone.

"... The reason I didn't trust you is because that person you mentioned blew up a nearby village, which is the closest thing to a home I had. Yeah, the villagers were kinda neglectful, but they did their best. But they never knew what kind of mob I am. Now they're all dead, and I'm alone." Midway through my explanation I burst into tears. It finally hit me that it was all real, and all my old friends were dead. There was nothing left. It wasn't just a night terror, and I won't just wake up in my bed at the village. It wasn't just my imagination. I watched all the iron golems die.

"Oh honey! Would you like to travel with me? I could help you figure out what mob you are, and I'll help you get revenge." Elijah offered in a sweet tone. I didn't have anywhere else to go, and I felt emotionally lost, so without thinking I ran into his arms. He wrapped me up in a hug, and I just cried it out. 

By the time my sobbing had been reduced to sniffles, it was already sunrise. Time goes by very quickly when you're crying. I've cried through the night before. I'm pretty sure I'm different mentally. The villagers once talked about how some people's brains work differently, and that was called a mental disorder. They described mental disorders called schizophrenia, depression, and something called psychosis, but they never mentioned what it is.

"You alright deary?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah... Maybe we could travel together Elijah." I suggested. I was pretty tired, I had to fight off monsters for half the night, and the other half was spent crying, and crying always makes me sleepy.

"Okay, we'll ride Nora. You can sleep, the saddle's worn, so it's very comfy now. I'll wake you up if it's necessary." He told me, helping me up onto Nora. Maybe I can trust him...

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A/N: WOO 1323 WORDS LONG!!!!!!! THIS IS PROBABLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE EVER MADE IN ONE DAY!!!!!