Chapter 1: Prologue: Eula
Chapter Text
It had been years since this desolate solitude had consumed Eula. She could not remember how it felt to laugh, or experience joy. The bitter cold had chilled her to her heart, leaving an almost entire husk of a person. She felt like a husk of a person. Longing to feel warmth again, Eula would sit on a snowy cliff overlooking the small village of Mondstadt. The villagers were happy. They would throw festivals, cook grand feasts together and play together. They were warm.
The mountain was a cold place. All Eula knew was the cold. However, she liked it this way, she had grown accustomed to the chilly feeling she felt at all times of the day. There was nothing she could do about it at this point, she had been trying for years before realising there was no remedy. Her first memory, she recalled, was waking up to the snow and frost in the middle of the forest, and feeling the overwhelming cold taking over her body. Watching the villagers made her jealous. She wanted to experience the warmth they shared, waiting eagerly for food by the hearth. The villagers and Eula were similar, in a way, but they would never share the same joy.
Even so, there was one girl. A girl of pure warmth. A girl of fire. Eula enjoyed watching her the most. She was ambitious, hard-working and beautiful. So beautiful. She was the only thing in Eula's life that lit a feeling within her heart. The first time Eula had spotted the fire-y girl, she had audibly gasped, and slightly slipped from her usual perch on the mountain. The physical affect the girl had on Eula was not to be joked about, as it was the only escape she had from the icy tranquillity of her usual life. She hoped to one day converse with the girl, but Eula feared to scare the girl away. Her pale complexion and sharp teeth would only shock the girl, and Eula would immediately be sent to death. This was one of the reasons Eula believed she fled to the forests, she believed she had escaped death and living in solitude was her eternal punishment. Still, Eula hoped.
Chapter 2: Prologue: Amber
Chapter Text
Michaelismarkt; the villagers' favourite time of the year! It was a huge celebration of wine tasting, and the local bard was notorious for the amount of alcohol he could consume each year. Amber was not particularly fond of the festival, yet still relished in the good atmosphere and happy folk enjoying their time in the village. Amber was known for helping out around the village, be it helping with farming food or even slaughtering livestock. As much help as Amber gave, and as much as she enjoyed it, she did wish for an escape from the repetition of village life. Yet, as usual, she worked hard every day leading up to Wurstmarkt, hoping for it to be the best festival yet.
The village, although small, was constantly bursting with life. Everyone was cheerful, and spread a sort of glow that could only be found in Mondstadt. The tents, set up for the festival, were spilling with villagers happily chatting about the festivities to come. Amber was busy setting up smaller schubkärchler, her long brown hair was tied back with a burning red ribbon and she was dressed in her favourite scarlet and brown dirndl. The villagers all had many opinions of Amber, but none were negative. They thought she was admirable. Never seen without a bright smile on her face, Amber confidently helped anyone she could with anything they needed, igniting a passion in each villager's heart to care for one another.
As the day carried on, Amber continued to put the most effort into preparations for the upcoming festival, proudly decorating tents and setting up tables. However, something in her heart ached. She had felt this way for a while, yet had persistently ignored it; if she followed through with her desire, who would motivate the village the same way she did? She yearned for exploration, yearned for adventure, yearned for something new. She knew she couldn't live in the village her whole life, she would die of boredom, but she had no idea how to remove herself from the dreary village life. It wasn't as if Amber hated the village, she did love it there, but she could not endure the same thing every single day for another year of her life. At night, she would pray for freedom; for an escape. One day her chance would come - it had to.
Chapter Text
A loud thud against the window fractured the tranquil of the night. Then, a second thud against the street floor, accompanied by quiet screeches, muted by the howling wind. The commotion had startled Amber awake, so she lay there, clutching her orange blanket, plucking up the courage to look outside. So many possibilities were flying through her mind, phasing in and out as how many dangerous situations she could find herself in if she ventured outside, if she succumbed to her curiosity.
Bracing herself, she slowly leaned towards her window, hiding behind her curtains. She peered out, scanning the ground for any sign of a wounded animal. Trees lining the road and houses were blowing south, spare leaves venturing into the mountains - perhaps the animal had been too weak to ride the wind, she thought.
Then she saw it. A silvery figure, favoured by the moon's light, was attempting to regain it's footing in the middle of the idle road. Surprisingly, Amber did not notice anyone else who had been startled in the night; only she had noticed the poor animal. She would be alone if she aided it.
Did she dare?
It could be dangerous, it could attack her and cause her to develop a deadly disease. Perhaps one so rare it would be new, causing her to turn into... No. She shook her head and held her face in her hands. This would be exciting, she could care for the animal and perhaps even keep it as her own if it was too injured to ever venture back into the wilderness. Yes, she would go outside and save it. It's what she did, it's who she was. Amber, the village's pride and joy.
She leaped out of bed, enthused by her new motivation to better a wild animal, to teach it to be kind and by her side. Slipping on a pair of orange sandals, she tiptoed out of her door and into the street. Wind still blowing leaves and small objects towards the mountains, Amber struggled slightly to fight against it. Scanning the area for the creature once more, she noticed the silverly figure crawling into an alley to shelter from the weather.
The creature was obviously hurt. It did not have the energy to attack, even if it was dangerous. Amber, however, was already carefully creeping closer towards it, disregarding the potential threat. Perhaps it was a a small wolf, she thought, and it had found it's way here after an attack on the mountains. If so, she was incredibly excited. Nothing alike this happened in the village, this would be the first wolf she'd ever seen, and she was confident in her abilities to nurse it back to health. It was actually quite hard to navigate herself toward the creature, as the only source of light she had was the moon. It's gleam cut directly down the alleyway, fortunately, which allowed Amber direct view of the cowering creature.
As she edged closer, and the creature attempted to back further into the shadows, Amber's soft smile began to fade. Her eyes recognised the creature's body. Not as a wolf, not even as an animal. But this was a woman. A woman dressed in tattered white cloth stained with something brown-ish red, along with icy blue hair and the fairest, snow-white skin. She was stunning. Amber was at a loss for words for a few stolen moments, and could only gawk at the beauty before her. The woman stared at Amber in horror, mouth slightly agape and stained red.
Focusing back to reality, Amber slowly reached her hand out for the other's, but the woman pulled away and backed further into the corner. Offering a comforting smile yet again, Amber crouched down and attempted to reach for her hand a second time. The woman's horrified expression slightly softened, and she examined Amber's hand. She looked back up to Amber, eyes watery and distant, then stretched her arm out for Amber to help her stand.
"Are you okay? My name is Amber, what is yours?" Amber asked softly, supporting her as she stood. The woman's hand was ice hold, and sent a chill down Amber's spine. She could not show this, however, for the risk of scaring the poor woman. She didn't want to put her through any more than she already had been.
The woman met her gaze, then hung her head. She did not speak at first, not until ensuring she was fully capable of standing alone and turning away from Amber, "Thank you."
The sound that left the woman's flushed lips was beautiful, stunning even. Smooth, drifting out of her mouth like snowfall. Wrapping Amber in a cold blanket of ice, chilling her, yet offering her a strangely comforting feeling that warmed her cheeks, like an icy December evening by the fire.
Amber pressed on, "Are you lost? Do you need a place to stay? I can offer you shelter and food and medicine. I can treat any wounds you might have. Are you sure you are okay? I would just hate to leave you out here alone, and you are already badly injured, it seems. Oh, please let me help. I truly do not think I could live with myself if I left you like this-"
"I am okay."
"Are you completely certain? Please, let me help you. I'm exceptionally skilled in caring and nursing for others, trust me, won't you? Oh, do come with me!"
The woman turned back towards Amber, head hung low and a hand holding onto her other upper arm. She took a deep breath, then nodded. Amber couldn't put her finger on what may have caused her to be so.. callous, perhaps? She didn't know the full story, and Amber had never been one to judge, but the appearance of this woman was so mysteriously sudden she couldn't help herself from it. Nevertheless, Amber offered her support and enthusiasm to attempt to offer comfort.
"Oh thank goodness. I am so happy, really. I cannot imagine how scared you might have been if I had left you in the cold. Do you mind if I ask what happened?"
The woman shook her head, but did not say a thing. She seemed incredibly distant, perhaps Amber had unintentionally hit a nerve and had upset her. Her clothes seemed incredibly thin, and they were torn. How she hadn't froze to death was incredible, perhaps she was a fallen angel, cast out from heaven as punishment for inhabiting a body so breathtaking.
Shut up, Amber scolded herself, this woman is in potential danger and you are lusting over her, stop it!
"I did not mean to pry. I will respect your privacy, of course. However, if you ever need to confide in me I am always happy to help, I shall not judge you. Come now, let us get you inside."
Amber reached her hand out once again, smiling cheerfully, "Come."
The woman trembled slightly before reaching out for Amber's hand a second time. The cold still shocked Amber, and she could not hide it this time. She gasped slightly, and the woman quickly took her hand back.
"Sorry." She whispered, faint like the whisper of winter.
"Oh, no! No, no, I am so sorry! I truly did not mean that, come now, come! Shelter and food is more important to you at this moment, forget that happened! A little shock, is all, I assure you. Take my hand and I will lead you home, okay?"
She nodded, but did not offer her hand again. Instead, she stepped a little closer to Amber, indicating she would simply follow behind. Amber offered her a smile, but the woman did not seem to want to meet her eyes. What a stupid mistake, Amber thought. It would be okay though, firstly, she would tend to wounds and offer a change of clothes, then build a trusting relationship. She hoped the woman did begin to trust her, she couldn't imagine what kind of trauma she had been through to find herself wounded in the middle of a foreign village.
Still, Amber made her way towards her home. The wind had died down significantly, making it much easier to navigate her way back than it was to make her way towards the woman. When they arrived, Amber turned to face the woman and smiled brightly yet again.
"Please use any of my appliances as you would your own. This is your home for the time being, okay? Do come in." Amber opened the door widely, allowing the woman to step inside first.
The woman took a singular step forward, then faced Amber. Her auburn eyes were gloomy in the night, yet, as she admired the woman before her, a flicker of passion still managed to burn in the dark. The woman's eyes were cold, distant, and almost empty. A sheer ice-blue frost glossed over them, laminating her with a wistful expression.
"I apologise again if I seem to be prying but.. Did I catch your name?"
The woman took Amber's hand, the same icy chill shooting through her bloodstream, "No." The woman took another deep breath, exactly as she had done a few minutes before. Then, slightly tugging on Amber's hand to move her closer, she leant into Amber's ear and whispered.
"Eula."
Notes:
sorry for how long it took me to update (almost a year whoops)
i hope you enjoy this chapter, it isn't the best but it has revitalised my love for writing :)
please pay attention to chapter titles!
Maplemay on Chapter 1 Thu 16 Jun 2022 07:08PM UTC
Comment Actions
uzuitengens on Chapter 1 Thu 16 Jun 2022 09:53PM UTC
Comment Actions
buttxrscotch on Chapter 1 Fri 17 Jun 2022 11:44AM UTC
Comment Actions
uzuitengens on Chapter 1 Sun 04 Jun 2023 10:08PM UTC
Comment Actions
aquasiox on Chapter 1 Wed 04 Jan 2023 02:17AM UTC
Comment Actions
uzuitengens on Chapter 1 Sun 04 Jun 2023 10:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
Slay slout (Guest) on Chapter 2 Wed 05 Oct 2022 03:55AM UTC
Comment Actions
aquasiox on Chapter 2 Wed 04 Jan 2023 02:20AM UTC
Comment Actions
Totally Not (Guest) on Chapter 3 Tue 04 Jul 2023 07:16PM UTC
Comment Actions
rrr_rika on Chapter 3 Tue 19 Sep 2023 12:26PM UTC
Comment Actions