Demeter - Ranboo

~thirty~

"Ophie doesn't want you doing this, you know," Technoblade said. We were sitting in the garden, underneath the willow tree. He had a leather pouch sitting next to him in the grass.

"Well, why not? It only makes sense," I replied. There was a wooden training sword in between us; I had asked him to teach me to fight. I didn't want to be the weak link anymore.

"She said something about your shoulder, but I brought something to help with that," he said as he reached into his bag and took out a yellow apple that seemed to glow purple. "This is an enchanted golden apple. We only have a dozen left in the treasury."

"Oh, you shouldn't waste that on me-"

"It's not a waste." He cut me off. "You should put yourself first sometimes. You're worth it," he said. He tossed the apple to me, and I caught it. It was cool against my fingers.

"Technoblade, I've been so selfish recently, I don't think you understand," I chuckled nervously. "I left my family because I think I'm in love. You can't tell me that's not selfish." All these things I had done... They were inexcusable. What would I even tell my parents when I saw them out and about? How could I explain what I had done to Finch?

"You're in your own head. And please, just call me Techno." I couldn't help but notice how tired his eyes looked in the afternoon sunlight. Perhaps no member of the royal family was sleeping well.

"Are you alright? We can do this another day if you need to rest," I said, avoiding eye contact with him. He as a person didn't scare me, but every time I looked into his eyes my skin seemed to crawl. There were horrors behind his gentle smiles.

"No, no, I'm fine. Go ahead and eat that apple. Is there anything you'd like to hear while you eat?" He asked, gesturing to the fruit that still sat in my hands.

"What do you know about a certain Enderman named Anatolios?" I asked, bringing the apple to my lips. I watched as his face broke out into a near-childish smile.

"You're asking because you've seen them with Ophie, right?" I nodded. He laughed; a breathy sound. "Once she left to come here several years ago, she started writing letters to me, and she told me about Anatolios. It wasn't long before things got," he paused, "intense, I guess."

"Oh my God did they-"

He laughed again. "From what she wrote, yes. Yes they did." My shoulder already felt back to normal, and I had only eaten half of the apple.

"Techno!" I heard Ranboo called from the hallways that were open to the garden. "Have you seen Melanie?" He asked. Techno's body must've shielded me from his view.

"Perhaps," he smirked. Pretty soon my favorite boy was jogging into view. I would never get over how quickly his eyes lit up when he saw me sitting under the willow tree. He promptly plopped down next to me, and my hand instinctively found his. "God, you two remind me of Callista and myself." Technoblade had stood up, leaning against the tree.

"I'm nothing like you," Ranboo fired back lightheartedly. Techno grinned a bit at the comment.

"No. You're not. You're a lot like Callista though," he said. If the queen was anything like Ranboo, I knew that I would be okay. I loved Ranboo and everything about him, so if Callista was just a tiny bit like him, I would love her too. I had spoken to her before, sure, but I didn't know her. I was a peasant's daughter, and she was literal royalty.

"Well Melanie isn't like you either," Ranboo huffed jokingly. "Unless you also have voices in your head. Do you?" He turned to me, staring expectantly. My gaze flicked over to Techno, who had an expression of pure amusement on his face.

"No?" I nervously laughed.

"That's good. It's already pretty late, so we'll start tomorrow. I'm going to go find my queen." And then Techno was gone, the wooden training sword going with him.

"You know, that's funny." Ranboo wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. His embrace was warm, even though his skin was warm.

"What is?"

"I've already found my queen," he murmured against the top of my head, and in spite of myself, I felt my face grow warm. He could be so good with words, while I was stuck with an overabundance of flower definitions.

"You're stupid," I giggled softly as his hand rubbed my arm. The days had begun to get colder, signaling the arrival of an early winter. I had always preferred the springtime when everything was in bloom. It was when I felt the most like myself, which is silly to say about the weather. There was something refreshing about seeing the green come back to the trees in the forest.

Phil brought us a basket of food and told us that dinner was less formal that night, and then left us alone as the sun began to set. We ate fairly quickly, only talking about things that popped into our minds in the spur of the moment.

"What's your favorite time of day?" I asked between bites of still-warm rolls and steak. He pondered my question for a second before answering.

"Sunset," he said. "It's like the sun is congratulating you for making it through another day. Beautiful, really." He looked so calm in the warm lighting. Moments like this only made me fall harder and harder for him. "What about you?" And there he goes again, turning his attention back to me. He made me feel important and seen.

"Midnight." I was going to be honest with my explanation, no matter how cheesy and sappy it sounded. "It reminds me of you." I felt him relax against me.

"Look at those stars." He pointed at a collection of white lights in the sky. I didn't know which ones he was talking about, but I was happy to just sit and listen. "That's Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. Techno likes to talk about the constellations." He was just saying words and hoping they landed, but I didn't mind. I liked how his voice sounded when he got tired.

"Ranboo, I'm tired," I whined. He chuckled softly and slid down the tree trunk until he was lying on his back, his arms behind his head.

"Go ahead and sleep. I'll fight off the bad dreams." He said. I laid down next to him in the grass. I didn't know what I did to deserve this boy. He was everything to me. This was the boy I loved. A little bit messy, a little bit ruined. A beautiful disaster. Just like me.

Everything seemed to finally be falling into place. I still yearned for closure with my family, but for now, I had found home in the presence of royalty. I couldn't believe it had taken me this long to accept this love I had for him. It made me think that what my family had been force-feeding me my entire life was something just barely short of love. This was easy and warm and personal and relentless. I reveled in the chaos of it all. Everywhere I had been, I was told that I would never be pretty or smart enough for anyone, but here in this place, I was desired.

I could get used to this.

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kasdjfkldhf c o n t e n t

I hope you enjoyed this one!!! I think I'm gonna have to start wrapping this one up here pretty soon aha

Make sure you drink water, eat food, take your meds, and get some sleep tonight!!! You deserve it :DDDDD

I love you and I'll see you in the next chapter :>