A Star-Filled World

| Chapter 5 || Pretentious Prince || Tubbo |

The endermen talked for ages. At some point, I'm sure I heard a couple of them leave, however, I didn't bother checking. I didn't want to risk taking my head out of its place buried in my knees to only piss off Ranboo more. Although it would be funny to watch that pretentious prince whine over me calling him various petty insults.

A sudden wave of nausea struck me again, ripping my mind away from my thoughts and back to what my body was feeling. I clutched my stomach tighter as I struggled not to lean forward and vomit. It was painfully difficult to keep this grip thanks to my constant shaking. The cold was almost painful. My body ached when it made contact with the icy stone that made up the dreary dungeon.

Someone started messing with the lock on my cell, and I finally spared a glance up at the endermen watching over me. My gaze fell on the cell door just as it was being opened. The enderman that opened it was tense, ready to pull out their weapon if needed. I shrunk back into the limited comforting warmth that my fluffy jacket brought me.

"Get up," The prince demanded, their tone cold and unforgiving. I did so without thinking, abandoning any warmth I still had while doing so and an intense fear soon replaced it. After standing there for a moment, my eyes locked on the ground, and unsure what to do, the prince spoke again, "Come on, we're leaving."

I took a hesitant step forward. The guards tensed but made no move for their weapons. As I exited the cell, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and attempted to bury my face into my jacket. As I turned to face the direction of the dungeon's exit I couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the prince's face. They were giving me a look almost akin to sympathy. I doubt that was what it was though.

We continued forward, and soon we were greeted by the well-lit corridors outside of the dungeon. This change in scenery did nothing to quell my fears, and soon I began to worry as to where I was being taken. I hope they aren't going to kill me. I don't know why the prince would be here just for my execution, although this place may just be weird like that.

I jumped when a sudden weight was tossed onto my shoulders. I glanced down only to find the cloak that the prince was just wearing. Just as I was about to turn around and give it back the prince spoke.

"You looked cold," He said simply. I fastened the translucent cloak and held it closer to myself. Despite being as thin as it was, it was surprisingly heavy and warm.

"Why do you care?" I hissed, speaking before I could consider the ramifications of my words.

"Just because you're human doesn't mean you deserve to suffer," Ranboo scoffed, his words had once again become cold, which only served to make that statement even more aggravating to hear.

"I'm not a human," I muttered under my breath, not expecting the prince to hear.

"Then what are you? Ranboo asked, There was a hint of curiosity in his voice, although he sounded more annoyed than anything.

"A goat hybrid," I mumbled while silently cursing myself for saying anything to the prince at all.

"I know," The prince sighed, "Is it seriously that important to specify." I nodded.

"That's stupid, I'm not doing that," Ranboo scoffed. Not wanting to dig the hole I was in any deeper I didn't argue back.

As we continued, I did my best to try and memorize the halls that we walked down. It was difficult, with all of them looking so similar, but I think I managed to get a basic understanding of where I was in the palace. It probably won't do me much good, but who knows, it might come in handy eventually.

I nearly stumbled into the guard in front of me as the group came to a sudden halt.

"Give me my cloak," Ranboo demanded as a very tired-looking guard began opening a nearby door. I glanced back at the prince before finally giving in to their demands. The cold of the palace seeped away any warmth I had managed to gain almost as soon as it was back on his shoulders again.

Hesitantly, I looked away from the prince and over at the door that had just been opened. Inside there was a bedroom with decorations similar to the ones in the hallways.

"Go on, that's your room," The prince said, sounding slightly more sympathetic than the last time they spoke.

"Seriously?" I looked back at him, baffled. No way someone like him would let me stay in a room that nice.

"Did you like your cell more?" I shook my head before hesitantly walking forward.

"⌿⌰⟒⏃⌇⟒ ⌇⏁⍜⌿ ⏁⍜⎍☊⊑⟟⋏☌ ⋔⟒," Someone spoke from behind me, their voice was soft, almost fearful. I ignored it, I couldn't care less about some enderman being upset.

"⍙⊑⏃⏁, ⟟⌇ ⏁⊑⟒ ⊑⟟☌⊑ ⏃⋏⎅ ⋔⟟☌⊑⏁⊬ ⌿⍀⟟⋏☊⟒ ⌇☊⏃⍀⟒⎅ ⍜⎎ ⏃ ⌰⟟⏁⏁⌰⟒ ⊑⎍☌," Another voice spoke, they almost sounded like they were mocking the other.

"⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⟟⌇ ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⌰⏃⌇⏁ ⍙⏃⍀⋏⟟⋏☌," A hint of anger showed itself in the once scared voice and I began to grow curious about what the conversation was about.

"⍜⊑, ⍙⊑⏃⏁ ⏃⍀⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⎅⍜, ⌿⎍⋏☊⊑ ⋔⟒ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⎎⏃☊⟒?" The mocking voice was quick to match this anger. Surely checking up on what the endermen are doing won't cause me any harm.

I looked back out into the hallway just in time to see the prince decking the guard that had opened the door. My jaw dropped as I watched the scene unfold. The guard stumbled backwards for a moment before pulling out their sword and lunging toward the prince. They froze when their sword was mere inches away from Ranboo's throat when the other guards drew their swords onto them.

The prince's expression, which had been filled with terror, fell back to its usual cocky smirk as he lightly nudged the sword away from his neck. "⟟ ☌⏃⎐⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ⏃ ⍙⏃⍀⋏⟟⋏☌, ⎅⟟⎅⋏'⏁ ⟟?" They let out a low chuckle and glanced over at a different guard, "⟒⌇☊⍜⍀⏁ ⏁⊑⟒⋔ ⏃⍙⏃⊬ ⎎⍀⍜⋔ ⊑⟒⍀⟒, ⟟ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⎅⎍⏁⟟⟒⌇ ⟟ ⋏⟒⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ⏃⏁⏁⟒⋏⎅ ⏁⍜." They glared at me, "⋔⏃☍⟒ ⌇⎍⍀⟒ ⏁⊑⟒ ⊑⎍⋔⏃⋏ ⎅⍜⟒⌇⋏'⏁ ⌰⟒⏃⎐⟒ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ ⍀⍜⍜⋔."

With that, the door to my room was finally closed and I was left alone to think about what just happened. Why did that stupid prince punch the guard in the face? What did they do to deserve that? I shook the thought from my head. It's just more proof that Ranboo is a pretentious prick.

Looking around the room I stood in, I was pleasantly surprised. It was just as cold as any other part of the palace, but it had a decent-looking bed, a beautiful dresser, and a door that led to a small bathroom. But the thing that caught the most of my attention was the wall at the back of the room that had a tall curtain hanging on it.

I walked over to it and parted the curtain slightly. My jaw dropped when I saw what was outside. I didn't have a chance to admire the stars when I was outside before but standing here now, I was overwhelmed by their beauty. They were far different from the stars I was used to, they shifted and moved, and managed to shine brighter than the brightest star on the darkest night.

It took me a moment to realise I couldn't see any ground. And when I did, I moved closer to the window and looked down, thinking maybe then I'd see some part of the floating island the palace was built on, but I didn't. Instead, I found myself staring directly into the void below. It didn't have any stars or color. It was devoid of anything that would make it less terrifying.

I stepped away from the window and closed the curtain again. The small room suddenly felt much colder. I glanced back at the bed. The blankets looked warm. After a moment of hesitation, I crawled onto the bed and curled up in the blankets. A sense of shame fell over me when I remembered I had been doing this in my own bed, back in my own house only a few hours ago. A tear fell down my cheek that I was quick to wipe away. I should've just woken Tommy up.

1378 Words