Maidenless No Longer (Elden Ring)

Chapter 20: Rya & Millicent

A/N: With this chapter we've officially made it to Act 3 of this fic, and Altus Plateau! Woohoo! Its the return of both Rya and Millicent~

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The Grand Lift of Dectus had not seen use in QUITE some time. The main entryway into Altus Plateau had long been abandoned due to the disappearance of its key, the Dectus Medallion. Of course, those who needed to travel between Liurnia of the Lakes and the Plateau had their ways. Rya was one of them, after all.

That said... she'd had faith for some strange reason. One way or another, she knew the Tarnished she'd met in Liurnia would come this way. And so, after returning to Volcano Manor and making contact with Lady Tanith, Rya had gone out again, as a scout should... and had come right here. While it was true that she'd given her hero the secret path, the backway into the Plateau... somehow, she'd just known he wouldn't use it.

A man like him? Taking the easy way out? No, he would most definitely find the Medallion, wherever it had ended up, and enter the Altus Plateau the proper way, via the Grand Lift. He was a special sort, her hero, and so Rya had put herself at the exit of the Grand Lift... and waited. Truly, she did not have to wait long. Oh sure, she had to leave once or twice to carry out missions for Lady Tanith, she couldn't possibly let her duties lapse.

But every moment she was not working on behalf of the Volcano Manor, she was waiting outside of the Grand Lift. Until finally, to her great and abundant joy, she heard it. The slowly cranking of ancient gears. The shaking in the ground as the Grand Lift of Dectus moved for the first time in who knew how long. There was a brief moment of worry, that the old contraption might give out while her Tarnished was on it.

Or what if it wasn't him? What if it wasn't her hero, come at last? Rya frets for all of a moment, before the platform reaches the top of the Grand Lift... and he steps off, wearing the armor of a Crucible Knight once more, though not the helm. His eyes immediately alight upon her and he begins to stride over with a smile on his face.

Rya instantly finds herself getting a little flustered, the tips of her ears turning red with embarrassment as he walks up to her. A-Ah, he'd immediately known she was there. To be frank, she'd worried she might blend into the background. But no... the Tarnished had been looking for her, just as she'd been looking for him, hadn't he? That was... a-ah, she had to get control of herself!

Swallowing thickly, Rya clears her throat.

"I've b-been waiting for you, dear Tarnished."

She smiles at him, matching his smile with one of her own.

"I knew you had the stuff of champions."

Near-vibrating with excitement, Rya straightens up as best as her human form's hunched back will allow. Which is... not much, but she does her best all the same, for the sake of this very official moment.

"I hereby invite you to the Volcano Manor. Take my hand and have audience with my mistress."

She holds out her hand expectantly, and as the Tarnished steps forward, she can't help but be excited for this. After talking him up to Lady Tanith, she really can't wait for her Lady to truly see him, to know him as she knows him. She-

Rya blinks, when the Tarnished curls her fingers back on themselves, into her palm, and gives her a quick shake of his head. Her stomach drops out and her heart stops, only for the Tarnished to rapidly shake his head and point off into the distance, before holding up a finger as if... as if to tell her to wait.

"A-Ah. You... you have something you have to do first?"

He smiles and nods.

"B-But you DO want to accept the invitation and c-come with me to meet my Mistress?"