Chapter 9: Body Guard
*Somewhere, deep in the forest
A lone figure in black robes was standing in front of a wide window, that spanned most of the wooden wall's surface. She was watching the downpour through the panes. The dimly lit room, along with the pitter-patter of the rain, created a serene atmosphere, ideal for clearing one's mind.
Unfortunately for the figure, her train of thought was derailed by the sound of footsteps against red carpet getting increasingly louder. She had a feeling she knew who her visitor was.
"What is it, captain?" she asked, without even turning away from the view of the rainy forest.
"Uh, ma'am," the captain responded, slightly taken aback. "I'm baffled. Why did you order a retreat?" he continued.
After a short sigh, the cloaked individual responded with: "Can you not put two and two together, captain?"
"But, ma'am, we're trained to fight from a distance! We could've wiped them out, or at least apprehended them, before they could land a slash! Not to mention, we had a considerable numerical advantage!" The captain was completely unaware that, at this point, his superior was gritting her teeth. "You let a huge opportunity go to waste," he spat.
She turned to face the captain head on. The latter's confidence faded instantly.
"Do you question my authority, captain?"
"I-I...N-no, ma'am!"
In a swift motion, the mysterious person raised her arms. Her hands, now visible without the black sleeves obscuring them, began to glow a dark purple. The captain started shaking.
"Hmm, you're not being very convincing... Just now, you were implying that your troops were competent enough to terminate not just one, but two humans. Am I wrong?" As she said that, the wooden floor beneath the captain's feet began to creak.
"I-I'm sorry for doubting your command, ma'am. P-please, have mercy!"
"Listen to me and listen carefully. The responsibility of keeping this entire operation - as well as all its members - alive, falls on my shoulders. It's my duty, and I plan on fulfilling it the best way I can. Do you realize what would happen if I found out that an entire troop was wiped out because of the arrogance of a captain who didn't know his limits?"
"F-forgive me..."
"..."
After what appeared to be deliberation, the dark purple glow vanished from her hands, and the creaking stopped.
"I'll spare you, but learn this: one's pride leads to arrogance, and arrogance leads to one's fall. There'd better not be a 'next time'. You can imagine that I won't be so lenient..."
"R-right. Th-thank you, ma'am," the captain uttered, as he let out the breath that had been stuck on his throat.
"Don't bother me any longer."
"Yes, ma'am."
The captain exited the room, leaving his higher-up alone. She returned her gaze to the window, but the rain had stopped, much to her disappointment.
…
The way back was quite the adventure.
Since we only had one horse available, we couldn't really travel at top speed. Additionally, since our golem companion was so eager to reach its destination, we couldn't even sit down to take a breather. It wasn't that big of a deal, though; the landscape was still pleasant to look at, and it gave Rana and I the opportunity to get to know each other.
"I may have an idea," she announced with hesitation. I turned my head to the right and looked up at her.
"What is it?"
"We could take turns asking each other questions. That should help us get to know each other better... It could also make this trip a little less boring, too. What do you think?"
"I don't see how that could hurt. Since it's your idea, how about you go ahead and ask first?"
"Alright... Let's start with an icebreaker," she began. "What's your favorite color?"
"My favorite color, huh? I suppose it'd have to be blue. I like its calming aura. What about you? What's your favorite color?" I responded.
"Well, I love pink and green a lot, but yellow is actually my favorite," she replied with a small smile on her face. "Not many people like it, but I think it's such a happy color... Oh! By the way, you don't have to ask me the same question I ask, you know?"
"Yeah, I know, but I believe it's better for conversations this way. Also, I believe it's my turn again, since you just asked me a question."
"Wait, what? Oh... Yeah, you're right, hahaha..." she responded sheepishly. To be honest, I kind of shot myself in the foot with that, since I didn't have a question planned. I brainstormed a few ideas for what to ask her, until I finally remembered something about her that I had learned.
"So, what was the inspiration behind the name 'Cornelia'?" Her response weirded me out a bit.
"Oh, that? It's from an old videogame I played when I was little. It was called 'Final Fantasy'. I never got too far in it, but the first town in that game was called 'Cornelia'. Have you ever played it?"
"Uh, I haven't heard of it."
"Oh, well, that's fi-wait, you haven't heard of it at all?" she asked me, slightly bewildered.
"I can't say I have."
Her expression grew slightly more surprised, but she brushed it off. 'Am I missing something here?'
"Oh, I guess you're not really into videogames, then?"
"Guess not."
"Well, that's okay. To be honest, I'm not too into them, either. Back home, I'd mostly spend time outside. Videogames were just something I'd play when there was nothing better to do. Oh, I just realized I stole your turn! I'm sorry, please continue."
I didn't really want to ask any serious questions at that moment, since she'd been asking more light-hearted ones. Questions regarding her experiences with this world could wait. I looked around us and spotted a few packs of animals in the distant meadows, which got the gears in my head turning.
"Hey, what's your favorite animal?"
"Huh? Oh. My favorite animal is the frog!" she pointed to her hat as she said that. "Some people think they're icky – and, at times, they can be, but I think they're kinda cute... I like the way they playfully hop around. Cats are pretty cute, too. Oh, and dogs as well..." she trailed off.
Seeing her talk about subjects she liked, whether those are colors, 'videogames', or animals, was kind of heartwarming, in a way. That said, I had a feeling that she was feeling uncomfortable, or that she was holding back her actual thoughts. It made sense; we had only just met, after all. There was, however, something about the things she said that struck me as odd.
"Uh, sorry for stealing your turn," I began saying, "but I really have to ask: What's a frog?"
If she had looked at me with a confused look before, now she looked completely baffled. I assumed that she was analyzing me, trying to look for any hints that would suggest that I was messing with her. The fact that she couldn't find any, only served to make her confusion grow.
"Uh, before I answer, let me ask you this: Do you remember where you came from?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, where were you before you ended up in this world?"
"I..."
"..."
'Where did I come from? And why am I wondering about this only now?'
"I... It didn't really cross my mind before; I was too busy with trying to survive, but...I don't...know..."
Rana dismounted the horse and started walking next to me. She had a worried look on her face.
"Did you lose your memories?" she asked.
"I don't know. It doesn't feel like I'm forgetting anything, if that's what you're asking. It's just that some of the things you brought up don't sound familiar at all..." She took a moment to ponder my answer. After some awkward silence, she turned to me and asked:
"Did you come from Earth? Or, rather, does the name 'Earth' sound familiar to you?"
"The only thing that comes to mind when I think of 'Earth' is the ground..."
"Huh... Well, I may not remember how I ended up here, but I do remember where I came from..."
After another awkward pause, Rana sped up a little, in order to stand in front of me.
"Well, maybe that's not that bad," she started off with a small smile. "If you really did lose your memories, then you'll probably regain them eventually! And if not, then...we'll just make the most our time here!" Her grin grew a little. "I can even tell you a few things about Earth! That is, if you want me to, hehe..." We continued walking.
"I'd like that."
"Awesome! You know, I think we'll make a pretty good team. Don't you think so, too?"
I had to admit, her enthusiasm, while a little sudden, was almost contagious.
"Yeah, I think you're right." She seemed pleased with my answer. We continued chatting, while snacking on the last pieces of bread we had left.
"I have to say, one of the most shocking differences between this world and mine, are the spiders," she announced.
"In what way do you mean?"
"Well, on Earth, the smallest spiders aren't even bigger than the nail of my pinky finger. Here, the smallest ones are the size of dogs!"
Our following conversations revolved around similar topics, such as the apparent lack of waves in this world's oceans compared to Earth. In due time, we reached Cornelia right as the sun was about to set. To be honest, I had almost forgotten that the town could've been in trouble without anyone defending it, but it was hard to tell how much damage a single night might have done.
The iron golem, once it passed the town's imaginary borders, stopped marching and began walking around the buildings aimlessly.
Even though activity was low at this time of day, a lone villager spotted us. It took a while for them to actually register who we were, but once they did, they started shouting at the top of their lungs, announcing to every nearby citizen that we had returned, as if it were some miracle. In little time, the entirety of Cornelia's population (around 20 people or so) gathered around us.
"Talos!"
The villager children excitedly rushed toward the iron golem and hugged it. In response, it revealed a poppy in its hand, which it handed to the child that was closest to it. Everyone seemed fairly happy to have their stalwart guardian back.
"Miss Rana!"
That voice snapped me out of my thoughts, for it belonged to Johnathan. Soon enough, all three members of the Council appeared before us. Johnathan was grinning widely, Emily had a neutral look on their face, while Sebastian seemed somewhat irritated.
"We are so happy you've returned safely! It's good to have you back!" Most of the other townsfolk nodded in agreement.
"Thanks!"
"Oh! Steve, I'd like to thank you once again for coming through to assist us in our time of need."
"It's not a big deal."
"Oh, but it is! I'd never be so cheap as to have you help us so much without giving you anything in return. Here, maybe this'll do for now."
Johnathan handed me four emeralds, and I thanked them.
"So, how have you guys been while we were gone?" Rana asked.
"Why, we've been fine, surprisingly enough! Almost no monsters bothered us at all!"
"Hmm, I wonder why..." Sebastian muttered through their teeth, before resuming in a clearer, yet almost accusatory tone.
"Miss Rana, would you mind telling us where our dear Josef is? Did you not bring it along with Talos?"
I assumed Josef was the name the golem that didn't make it. Once the librarian finished their question, I saw Rana tense up. At first, she appeared very troubled, until eventually, she steeled her nerves, and calmly gave a straight answer.
"Josef died. There was nothing I could have done."
The two glared at each other, but none of them said anything. I didn't know the full story between the two, so I didn't think it was right to step it. After a short moment, Johnathan spoke up, putting the prior dispute aside.
"It's okay, miss Rana. What matters most is that you're now safe! It's getting late, and you must be exhausted. Why don't the two of you go to your rooms and get a good night's sleep?" the mayor continued, shutting down the dispute.
"Ah, sleep sounds pretty good," Rana responded with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Excellent!"
Catherine led us to the inn. As it would turn out, our rooms were on the same floor, across each other.
"Rest well, oh brave adventurers!" were their parting words.
As I was about to open the door to my room, however...
"Hey, Steve?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you...for saving me..."
"...You're welcome, Rana."
"Don't worry, I'll pay you back!"
I chuckled lightly at that.
"You don't have to, but thanks anyway."
"..."
"..."
"Tomorrow is gonna be a fun day! I can just feel it! Goodnight!"
"Goodnight."
I entered my room and lied down on my bed. 'Yeah...'
'Tomorrow is gonna be a fun day!'
...
A/N: Hello, reader!
I'm writing this note to contextualize something. At the time of writing this chapter and the previous one, back in September of 2021, frogs weren't in Minecraft yet. In fact, they got announced around a week or so after Chapter 10 was published, which kind of screwed me over XD.
Basically, the idea is that anything that doesn't exist in Minecraft, Steve doesn't know about it, outside of a few, very specific exceptions. I wanted to utilize this concept so that he could bond with Rana in a natural way, but Mojang had different plans.
Anyway, to put a stop to my rambling, for the context of this story, frogs don't exist in Minecraft. They have never existed, and they never will. Don't ask what happened to them.