Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It has been a number of days since you have arrived in Fontaine and it felt like a completely different world, the clothes, the food, the social scene, it felt like so much. The Court of Fontaine felt so overwhelming, an environment you had to navigate but could not figure your way around whatsoever, so for your first few days you opted to stay at your brother’s home, a very beautiful townhouse in the Court of Fontaine. You told him you can help pay for your own expenses but he insisted on taking care of you since he had more than enough mora to spare. Due to his number of years working in Fontaine’s court, so after all this time he had more mora than he knew what to do with.

The first of these expenses he paid for was a trip to one of Fontiane’s many high end boutiques, so you could have more of a wardrobe rather than your few sets of clothes you had gotten for travel before you had left Liyue Harbor in the chaos. The boutique itself felt like something out of a story book. You saw gowns of scarlet and lace being made on mannequins in the shop. There was a fitting room with drawn up curtains and a mirror framed in gold that a young lady would see herself in, wearing a beautiful dress. There was a waiting area with plush seats and tea and sweets being served to the customers who arrived early to their appointments or if they were running a bit behind. The whole shop carried an elegance to it, just like the rest of Fontaine. 

The woman who welcomed you to the shop seemed to already know who your brother was, calling him by the title of lord, well now that you thought about it almost all of Fontaine knew your brother, he is the one who keeps track of the decisions or orders that the Iudex makes during court and also keeps the court's schedule, keeping the wheel that was Fontaine’s court moving. He was known as a member of the government of Fontaine, working in the court closely with the Chief Justice and often seen with the Hydro Archon. This also made you think about Fontaine's view on things, while your brother seems very serious in his work as it involves finding the truth itself, his domain, you heard others use words like plot twist, boring, and climax, to refer to trials. You did not know what to make of this, watching trials like you used to watch the members of the Yun-Han Opera Troupe perform at the Heyu Tea House in Liyue Harbor. It made part of you feel so uncomfortable, to hear someone talk about another’s life like that.

“Do take care of my sister.” Your brother spoke to the seamstress as you stood up from your seat in the waiting area and he remained. He then glanced at you with a smile. “Let me know if you need anything, (Name). Price is no issue, after all everything, you deserve something nice.”

“Mhm.” You could only nod as the seamstress led you back into one of the many dressing rooms and had you stand in front of the mirror. She told her assistant who was waiting there for you to start taking your measurements while she looked through potential fabrics. You could only stand there in silence when you were measured by the assistant and the seamstress came back to hold different fabrics up to your skin to see how they would look on you. 

“Is that too tight, my lady?” You heard the Yaksha, Menogias ask you as he held tight on a bit of access fabric for the dress he was sewing for you, per your husband’s request. You shook your head no and the Yaksha hummed before you heard the sound of him cutting through the extra fabric. “This color is very nice on you, my lady.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I know my lord prefers you in his own colors but I think this shade is quite lovely on you.”  Menogias said, a small smile coming across his face as he took a needle from the nearby table with his sewing equipment and began to stitch up the back of the dress. Your husband would always have you dressed in golds and whites when you sat by his side in meetings, in front of the Adepti and even in front of the people of Liyue. “Along with that, the pale blues match the glaze lilies-“

“Well agreed, Menogias.” A voice cut off the Yaksha. You both glanced around to look over your shoulders to see your husband standing there, carrying a small bundle of glaze lilies with him. He walked into the room, coming to walk around you, looking at the dress that was being made for you. A small smile came across his face as he took one of the glaze lilies out of the string that tied the flowers together. He gestured to you to lean forward towards him with his fingers, which you did so carefully enough that you would not ruin Menogias’ stitches in the dress. The Lord of Geo reached over and tucked your hair behind your ear and the flower as well. You kept your head lowered for a longer moment before you heard your husband chuckle and felt his hand reach down, running across your cheek and bringing up your face to meet his own. His golden eyes before your own, only inches away. He leaned forward, his lips giving the gentlest kiss on his own, almost a forget about the dragon that he really is. His lips parted from your own and you felt his thumb come up to run against your lower lip. “…so beautiful.”

“Are you alright, Mademoiselle?” You heard the seamstress ask as she brought up another shade of fabric right up to your face. You snapped yourself out of your thoughts and you nodded. 

“I am alright, I just caught myself in my thoughts.” The seamstress nodded to your answer before she set that sample of fabric aside. They continued to work and talk while you stood there, listening in silence. Then you heard the door to the shop open, followed by a few words exchanged, probably another customer. You did not pay much attention to it until you heard footsteps walking to the other fitting area next to you.

You glance over at the woman who stands at the mirror next to you. She was a beautiful blond woman, fair skin, and blue eyes. She was dressed in blacks, yellows, and a bit of blue in her jewelry that matches her eyes. You glanced back at the waiting area and you saw two men dressed in suits, were those her escorts or guards? You had to remind yourself that staring was rude, so you looked back at the mirror and the women who were working on your dresses in the making. 

“Judging by the look of you, you’re not from Fontaine.” The blond woman next to you said, almost the moment you looked away. You shot her a confused glance at her sudden comment. She also looked at you, with a smile, a genuine smile. “Those earrings you’re wearing, cor lapis, right? That’s found in Liyue if I remember correctly.”

“Y-yes, that is correct.” You responded, shocked by her observation. You did wear earrings made of cor lapis and gold, a gift from your husband for your one thousand nine hundred ninety marriage anniversary. Now that you remembered that you still had them, perhaps you should sell them, they were the last physical reminder of your marriage since you gave Lumine your wedding ring and she did not return it by the time you left Liyue. “I recently moved here to Fontaine from Liyue, I am staying with my brother at the moment.”

“Your brother?” At her question you gestured to the waiting area where you brother sat, alongside her attendants. Your brother looked a bit awkward sitting next to the serious looking men. The woman looked back at you with a tad bit of shock, but remained calm. She spoke to you in somewhat of a whisper, just quiet enough for your brother not to hear. “Your brother is the clerk to the Iudex?”

“I… I suppose. I have been a bit isolated from my family for a while.” You answered with a sigh, thinking back to your isolation from your family thanks to your husband. You shook away those thoughts and looked back at the woman beside you. “That aside, I have not introduced myself. My name is (Name), it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise Mademoiselle (Name), you can call me Navia, I am the renowned president of Spina di Rosula.” The woman now known as Navia responded to your introduction. You tilted your head in confusion at the mention of the Spina di Rosula which Navia picked up on. “You don’t know of the Spina di Rosula”

“No, I am afraid I do not, my apologies.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, my dear. You have nothing to apologize for.” She said at your apology. She seemed like a kind woman, more kind than you were used to these days. “From mediating disputes and providing protection, to solving conundrums, you name it, Spina di Rosula does it.”

“Oh wow, that is quite the feat.” You responded, and she nodded at your statement.

“You know since you are new to Fontaine, I could show you around if you’d like.” Navia offered, but sadly your brother had taken time off for a few days to show you around the city, but you had yet to visit the Opera Epiclese and in total honestly you were not sure if you wanted to with the nation's view of the court as a form of entertainment. “I know the best tea shop.”

“Oh I am afraid my brother has already shown me around the city but I would be more than happy to see a few more sights.” You responded and a bit of a sad expression came across her face. 

“Mademoiselle.” You heard the seamstress call out to you, politely interrupting your conversation. “We have all your measurements, we’ll be having those orders ready in the next few days.”

“Oh thank you.” You said as you stepped away from the mirror. You looked over at Navia with a smile. “It was lovely to meet you, Navia. I do hope we can meet up together in the future.”

“Oh most definitely, I will have either of my attendances, Melus or Silver, reach out on my behalf.” Navia gestured to the two men sitting alongside with your brother in the waiting area. “I hope we can become good friends, Mademoiselle (Name).”

“Yes, I do as well.” 

—————————

A few days later after your visit at the boutique your dresses had arrived. They were all so beautiful, lace, silk, velvet, blues, purples, golds, and the list went on. Your older siblings had always been ones to spoil you, even if you insisted against it. Speaking of your brother, he had just left for work. With his absence, you were left alone for the day beside the house staff that consisted of a maid, a butler, a cook, and the gardener, but they were tending to their own duties. So you were left to own devices, so you opted to try on the dresses that were made for you. You tried on each dress, excited to see what each one looked like on you. Some were nicer like a lilac gown made of silk and tulle with specs of gold sewn into the fabric. Others were less formal, like a white and gold tea dress with puff sleeves and a shorter skirt with a built-in petticoat. None of the outfits were exactly casual, but not many in Fontaine dressed casual.

As you were trying on another dress you heard a knock on the door followed by the maid’s voice, a worry seeping into her voice. “My lady, can I come in? I am afraid it is urgent.”

“Oh yes, of course.” With your quick reply the door opened to reveal the house’s maid, carrying a tan folder along with a worried expression, 

“I believe Monsieur Vepar left this.” She spoke, handing the file to you. “It is for today’s trial I am afraid. The other staff, including myself, have a lot of other things to tend to, so if it would not be too much for you could you deliver it?”

“Of course, the Opera House, correct?” The maid nodded and you grabbed your bag, that was also a gift, and tucked the file inside. “Alright, I will take care of that- Oh and if it is not too much, if someone named Melus or Silver comes by, let them know I am out.”

“Of course my lady, let me get your coat.” 

You set out into the city, heading towards the aquabus station. Like always you hear the gossip of the Court of Fontaine, who was being tried today, past trials, upcoming trials, trials, trials, trials. Honestly the more you walked through the city and heard this talk of the people of Fontaine, the more sick you felt. It felt horrible that they treated trials like entertainment, you knew your brother treated them with much seriousness and had the same view of Fontaine’s trails as the Iudex which is why they worked so closely. Apparently even the Archon watched trials, living for the thrill of the court. Your brother was not a fan of her despite him basically working for her. You asked him one time when you first arrived what he thought of her, and given him being the god of truth, he had to tell you the full truth…

You sat in the drawing room of your brother’s home, having afternoon tea with him that also served as lunch for the two of you. There were an assortment of snacks and food before you, sandwiches, macarons, meringues, and so on. Your brother had just poured the tea for the two of you and just as he was going to take a sip of his tea you got the courage to ask…

“Vepar, what do you think of the current Hydro Archon?”

The moment you asked that question, he slammed down his tea cup into the saucer. There was a clear agitated look on his face as he came up to rub his temples, clearly he did not like the current Archon.

“Do not get me started on her, she is self absorbed, impatient, and she is beyond childish. She adores the spotlight, but the moment something starts to go south, most likely because of her own actions, she will try to save face but then in private she throws a fit. Honestly I do not know how Monsieur Neuvillette deals with her, honestly if I was left alone to deal with her I would jump off of the roof of the Palais Mermonia. Then there is when…”

He went on and on about the Hydro Archon, clearly having much distaste for her. Despite all that at the end of his rant, he sighed and gazed off, his eyes almost glazing over as he spoke his thoughts.

“Despite all of that, I do think she cares for the people of Fontaine, but I do think she has a long way to go before she can be called a proper leader.”

You hummed in thought as you stepped off the aquabus at the Marcotte Station, thinking back on what Vepar said on Hydro Archon. You walked along the road, leading to the Opera Epiclese. There were other people walking along the road with you, only they were going to watch the trial for entertainment most likely. You could hear the gossip and talk of the people about the trial which you tried to drown out. Soon enough you found yourself in front of the massive building known as the Opera Epiclese and you stood before the fountain that lays in front of the building.

You found yourself staring at it for a long moment, watching the water flow through. You remember your brother telling you about this fountain, the Fountain of Lucine. He told you that it said that all water ultimately gathers at the fountain, which you found quite interesting based on your connection to the water. You stared at the water passing through the fountain and when you closed your eyes, you could almost recall the feeling of the water hitting your body as you played in the salt water sea at your home. You listened to the sound of water and for a moment you could have sworn you heard the sound of laughter for a brief moment.

“Are you alright, Mademoiselle?” It was a deep voice, slow and calm. You opened your eyes and looked beside you was a tall man, dressed in robes of harsh blues of all shades, golds, and whites. He had paler skin that went with his white hair along with blue streaks, but you were not quite sure of that. His violet eyes were fixed on your own. “Mademoiselle?”

“O-oh, yes I am fine, I was just caught in my own head for a moment.” You responded to his question but his eyes remained fixated on you. 

“Are you alright? If you are lightheaded I would be able to help you find your seat.” 

“Seat?” You ran that through your head, then you realized he probably thought you were here to watch the trial like most others here. You shook your head no to his question and gave a light laugh. As you spoke you took out the file for your brother from your bag. “Oh no, I am not here to watch any trial. I am actually here to drop off files for the trial that my brother, Monsieur Vepar, left at home by accident.”

“Ah you are Monsieur Vepar’s sister, I never knew he had one.” The man spoke with a hum in his deep voice. “I can take that off your hands if you would like.”

“I apologize Monsieur, but I do not know who you are. I would rather make sure this ends up in Vepar’s hands myself.”

“I suppose that is understandable, but please allow me to escort you.” 

You nodded to his request and the two of you made your way into the opera house. As you walked, not a word was exchanged, besides you could not focus with all the stares and whispers you received from people as you walked by, all of their eyes fixed on you and the man beside you. They only faded once you entered the so-called backstage of the opera house and the man guided through the halls of the opera until you reached another hallway that must lead to the stage and there you spotted your brother, pacing back and forth, worrying. The man beside you cleared his throat, catching your brother’s attention. Your brother turned to the two of you and a look of relief came across his face once he saw the file in your hand. He rushed up to you and took the file before he hugged you, a bit too tightly.

“Oh thank you, ma très chère sœur. When I found that it was not in my bag I almost passed out, I have not forgotten a file in a number of years.” He let go of you and held the file tightly to his chest as if he was hugging it like he did with you. He glanced at the man beside you and gave him a nod with a smile. “Thank you for helping her find her way, Monsieur Neuvillette.”

“Neuvillette? As in-“

“Ah yes, I suppose I should introduce the two of you.” Your brother said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. “Monsieur Neuvillette, this is my youngest sister Madame (Name).”

“It is a pleasure to meet you.” The man now known as Neuvillette said to you, giving a bow of the head to you. His purple eyes remained fixated on you, as if to keep eye contact with you.

“(Name), this is Monsieur Neuvillette, the Chief Justice, the Iudex of Fontaine.” Your brother introduced, gesturing to the man before you. He looked towards the judge with a smile on his face after he nearly had a panic attack after losing the files, and he gestures towards the stage. “Now shall we?” 

“Yes.” Neuvillette looks back at you and gives you another small bow. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle (Name). I do hope we may meet again.”

—————————

After you delivered the files you returned back to the townhouse in the Court of Fontaine. Upon entry the maid took your jacket and as she was going to hang it up, she leaned over to you and whispered a slight giggle in her voice. “There is someone here to see you, they are waiting in the drawing room.”

“Oh, thank you.” You watched as she took your coat to the closet and you peeled off your gloves as you walked into the drawing room. As you tucked your gloves into your pocket there was a slight giggle from whoever waited for you to look up. When you did so you spotted Navia sitting on the couch, Melus and Silver standing at her side.

“Melus stopped by earlier and your maid said you would be back soon. So I decided to come and wait for you myself.” Navia smiled as she stood up and dusted off her dress and walked over to you, coming to link her arm with your own. “May I suggest you get your coat?”

“Hm, what for?”

“I made us reservations at the best pâtisserie in the Court of Fontaine! My treat of course.”

—————————

Vepar, the god truth and mist, the reader’s second eldest brother

Chapter Text

Navia had truly meant what she said when she made reservations at the best pâtisserie in Fontaine. The moment you entered it was clear that this was a high end business, people of high end of the social scene were spotted here. The hostess led the two of you to a table that was by large windows that looked over the waters of Fontaine. You noticed how Melus and Silver did not stay too far from Navia at all, staying a few feet from the table, as if they were guarding her at all times.

In a few minutes, tea was brought to your table, followed by cakes and pastries of all sorts. After the waitress poured the cups of tea for the two of you she left and told you to let her know if you need any help at all. You picked up the fine porcelain tea cup, looking down at the hot liquid that lays within, it had a different scent than the teas of Liyue you were used to. It had a sweet and smoothing scent that made you feel relaxed. 

“Lavender tea, it is their specialty.” Navia said, raising the cup to her lips, just inches away from her lips. “I am rather partial to a strong black tea, but add a bit of honey to lavender tea and it truly brings out the sweetness and floral notes wonderfully.”

“That sounds wonderful.” You brought the cup to your lips alongside Navia. The tea had a distinct flavor, floral and sweet with hints of rosemary and mint. You used to have tea in the evenings with your husband when you lived back in Liyue. He preferred teas that had a malty and robust taste, so sweet teas were a bit uncommon in your old home unless you got to pick out tea at the market. You hummed as you set the tea cup back down on the table. “That is quite good. It is not what I am used to, my husband had quite the different taste in teas compared to myself.”

“Your husband? So you are married?” Navia questioned, setting her own tea cup down as well.

“Oh, well yes, but not really.” You stumbled over your words, trying to find the right words to say to describe your situation without giving yourself away. You sighed and stopped before you leaned back into your chair a bit more. “We went our separate ways I suppose, he loved me but I do not reciprocate his feelings. I was married but not in love, so the first chance I got I left to come here, to Fontaine, which led me to staying with my brother at the moment.”

“I see, that is quite unfortunate. I do hope things are improving for you now.” Navia spoke in reply to your explanation and to which you nodded at her statement of things improving for you now, truly things were looking up for you now with your move to Fontaine. “Wonderful- oh and speaking of your brother, what is he like? Not many of the people of Fontaine really know him since keeps to himself quite a bit.”

“Let me think…” What was your brother like? He really has not changed since you saw him last two thousand years ago. He was honest, but he was bound to do so as truth was his domain. He was a strong minded individual, but he was never a leader, he always answered to a higher power. He was kind, but he also wore his heart on his sleeve and he could be easily hurt, like you had been in the past. “He has the best intentions, he is kind but does not always know how to voice his own opinions or even say no to someone. He is also honest, sometimes too much for his own good, like he cannot help to speak the whole truth…”

—————————

After the trial the Iudex and his clerk returned to the back halls of the opera house. Your brother walked a few steps behind Neuvillette, he was looking down at his notes from the trial while the judge was watching where he was walking. The only sound in the halls was the sound of Neuvillette’s cane, the shuffling of paper from the clerk, and the distant chatter of people from the courtroom. 

“Your sister, is she visiting Fontaine?” The god of truth whipped his head up as he heard Monsieur Neuvillette ask his question.

“Oh no, she will actually be staying with me for the foreseeable future.” Vepar answered as he shuffled through his paper, tucking them back into their file and hugging it close to his chest so as to not lose them again. He sighed and looked back up at Neuvillette who was still walking in front of him. “She would be staying with our eldest brother but it is safer for her to stay with me at the moment since he has a target on his back- oh dear I should not have said that. Please forget I said that, Monsieur Neuvillette.”

“I-“

“Monsieur Neuvillette!” A high pitched, sweet sounding voice cut off the Iudex before he could respond again. Running down  another hall that intercepted where they walked was a small melusine, Liath, running up to the two men. She stopped before the two and reached up, trying to hand the judge a piece of paper. This let the clerk silently sigh in relief that there was something to distract the Chief Justice from his slip up with his words. “There was a reported murder in the Court of Fontaine, a report of the ongoing investigation still needs to be drawn up.”

“Thank you Liath, I will look into the report as soon as possible when it is ready.” As the Chief Justice spoke, the clerk took out his pocket watch to check, it was getting quite late since that trial took longer than anticipated, it also gave him an excuse to leave after his slip up.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, I am afraid I must be headed home now, I shall see you tomorrow.” Vepar spoke, cutting into the conversation for a brief moment. “Do have a good evening and say hello to Lady Furina for me.”

“I will, and do let your sister know that if she needs anything she only needs to let me know.” Vepar nodde to Neuvillette’s request before making his way out of the opera house with haste. Both Neuvillette and Liath watched him leave, Neuvillette’s eyes remained fixed on where the clerk was last seen, suck in his thoughts. Liath looked up to Neuvillette, his face unreadable.

“Monsieur Neuvillette?”

“Apologies, I was thinking.” The Chief Justice cleared his throat before looking back down at the melusine. “Say, do you know anything about the clerk’s family?”

“Um…” the melusine thought for a second, thinking back onto all the interactions she had had with the court’s clerk, along with the talk of the people about him, but truly nothing came to mind. “I don’t, honestly I didn’t know he had one, until you mentioned it. I don’t think really anyone in Fontaine knows about his personal life, let alone his family.”

“Hm…” Neuvillette hummed as she told him that. “That is most peculiar.”

—————————

When you return home Vepar is already there, which came as a surprise. Navia bide you farewell at the door, and you made plans to meet again. You slipped inside and the maid took your coat once more like she did earlier today. You slipped off your lace gloves and also handed them off to the maid before you maid your way to the drawing room and there you saw your brother, sitting on the arm chair, reading over the Steambird. As you came into the living room to sit down on the sofa next to your brother, he looked up at you with a smile.

“I hear from the staff that Miss Navia came by earlier today.” He stated, setting the newspaper aside so he could look up at you with his full attention. 

“Oh yes, we met when we went to the boutique for the dresses.” You replied to his statement, you glanced over at the newspaper he set down, reports over another trial, once again reporting it as if it was a new play. You forced yourself to look up at Vepar and smiled. “She took me out to tea.”

“She is a very kind young lady, but (Name) you have to remember we are not mortal.” When your brother spoke those words you felt your heart squeeze and ache. You had spent two thousand years with others who had similar life spans to you, it was hard for you to recall the last time you had befriended a mortal, unless Lumine and Childe counted. “The life we were born in can be a lonely one if we are not as fortunate as Osial and Besiht.”

“I know that…”

“(Name), I just do not want you to get too attached that your heart breaks when she disappears.”

“Vepar, I know… I know better than anyone what being lonely feels like.” 

After your words the two of you sat in silence, your hands stayed folded on your lap and without thinking your eyes went to the finger your wedding band was once on, but now it was gone, in Lumine’s possession. You tried to remind yourself that you were free here in Fontaine, but you could not shake the creeping feeling that came up your spine. 

“(Name)…” your brother looked up at you, his eyes almost in pain. He bit his lip, chewing on it as he thought. “What happened during those two thousand years?”

“It started about two thousand and five hundred years ago after my twin, our sister, disappeared. I was foolish enough to make a contract with Rex Lapis, well not even a formal contract with him, more a request. Then he took advantage of my offer and he asked for my hand in marriage, and… I refused.” You took a shaky breath, as you were trying to hold back your tears as you recalled what happened before your brother. “So he sealed me away underground…”

“For how long?”

“…five hundred years…” you could hear your brother suck in a breath after he heard that, as if he was going to start crying himself which you would not be surprised by. “Five hundred years alone was my punishment. There was no water, let alone moisture, it was horrible to the point where it hurt to breathe. He had also made chains that were infused with some of his power as the Geo Archon, so every time I tried to move I felt surges of pain like my very bones were shifting and grinding away. But that was not the worst, it was the silence, no sound, no light, it was maddening.”

“I feel sick…”

Your brother stood from his chair and made his way to the wall, bracing himself against the wall with his right forearm and his left hand came to form a fist to cover his mouth as if that would prevent him from being sick. The two of you fell silent again, not a word spoken, not a sound except his heavy breathing and the silent crying that came from you.

“Osial was the first of us to realize something was wrong, because the night went dark. When he realized Morax was the one who did something to you, he tried to drown Liyue Harbor as a threat in an attempt to get you back home, but you know how that went.” You heard your brother speak and you watched him speak, but he did not get up from his place against the wall. “After that we were all afraid to do anything against him, I came here to Fontaine to work with the former Hydro Archon and now air has to bear so many secrets that are heartbreaking to keep. The others did something similar to myself, those who are alive anyway. None of that, none of what we have been through can even compare what happened to you or even Osial.”

“I-I am sorry-“

“Do not dare apologize, this is not your fault, you are the victim in this.” He finally pushed himself up from the wall and came around to come and sit back down in his chair across from you. “Now tell me, what did he do to you?”

—————————

“Would it kill you to give me a minute of my own privacy!?” You screamed at your husband in your home in Liyue Harbor. It has been a few weeks since your husband, Morax, the Geo Archon, got the wonderful idea of living in the harbor as to keep a watch over his people, this also meant you were dragged along as well. You thought you would receive a bit more freedom upon your settlement in the harbor, but this idea was quickly crushed. Most of your time was spent inside your shared home, locked up like a pretty bird in a cage. The times he did let you roam the city freely was when he was at your side, nothing else would do.

“My love-“ he tried to reach out to run his hand against your cheek but you quickly slapped it away.

“Do not touch me!” You shouted, stepping back away from him. “I never asked to be your wife, you forced me into this position all I actually want is to be with my family not you, I hate you!”

In that moment you felt a burning sensation from your wedding band that spread up from your hand up to your arm. It felt like burning, like magma that was burning through your flesh. You fell to your knees in pain, you screamed out in pain. Tears quickly fell down your face and those felt like they were boiling liquid falling down your face. You screamed out, begging for it to stop, it was too much for you to take. When it did stop you were on the brink of unconsciousness, tears falling down your face-

You woke up screaming, sweat dripping down your body. The light of the morning came through your window, you were safe, in Fontaine not in Liyue. You curled up your legs up to your chest, cradling your body, hugging your body close. You felt tears fall down your face and heard your unsteady breathing and rapidly beating heart. You heard the rushing of footsteps from the hall, coming to your door. The footsteps were followed by knocking.

“(Name), are you alright? What happened? Can I come in?” You could process the sound of your brother’s voice, he sounded worried which was obvious since he rushed here so quickly.

“Nightmare… yes…” You only managed to spit those two words out and after you spoke those two words the door opened to reveal your brother, he was getting ready for work, only missing his gloves and pin for his cravat. He sat next to you on your bed and you immediately rested your head on his shoulder.

“I am guessing it is about Morax?” You nodded at his question and he wrapped his arm around your shoulder. He let you sit with him for a long time, letting you catch your breath. You closed your eyes and just tried to breathe. “I will have the staff bring our breakfast up here, so you do not have to go downstairs yet. Besides, your balcony has the best view of the Court of Fontaine.”

Your brother stood up from your bed and walked up your windows and drew open the curtains and opened each of the windows, the one beside your bed, the ones at the other end of the room, and lastly the double doors that led out to your balcony, across from you bed.

“Vepar, won’t you be late for work?” You asked as you stepped out of bed and slipped on your slipper and threw on your robe over your nightgown.

“It will be alright, I do not have any trials I need to attend today, only meetings with Monsieur Neuvillette and Lady Furina.” He said before making his way to the door. He glanced back at you with a smile. “Besides, as my sister you are more important.”

Soon enough breakfast was brought upstairs and laid out on the table on your balcony, for both you and your brother. Vepar and yourself sat out on the balcony, looking over the city, the scent of fresh air and wind hitting you was so refreshing. You two talked, focusing on the good times like when you were children, but thought it was more like when you were a child since he was quite a bit older than yourself. You were quite younger than most of your siblings, while Vepar was closer in age to that of Osial, which in the terms of immortality you two were hundreds of years apart in age. As you talked the Court of Fontaine flared to life, people coming to go about their daily lives. Shops opened and Restaurants accepted patrons in for breakfast. While you two talked a knock came from your bedroom door followed by the voice of the butler.

“Monsieur, Mademoiselle, there is someone here to speak to the clerk. May they come in or would you rather meet them in the drawing room?” At the butler’s question, Vepar looked at you since it was your room.

“They can come in, we are only having breakfast.” You answered which was followed by a hum from the butler and the door opened and with the butler you saw a little melusine. Your brother smiled and set down his tea cup and looked at the melusine who stood in the doorway.

“Ah, Miss Sedene, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit to my abode?” Your brother asked the melusine who apparently named Sedene. 

“I was sent by the Chief Justice since you have not shown up yet to the Palais Mermonia.” Sedene explained, her eyes looking between the two of you. You could have sworn her eyes landed on your face for a moment and the tear stains that stuck to it. “I expected for something to be wrong, not you just having breakfast.”

“Oh well, my sister here had a nightmare so I thought I would have stayed with her to make sure she is alright before I left.” He explained as he stood up from his chair, grabbing his coat from where he hung in on the back of his chair. “But I suppose I should be off, I have kept Monsieur Neuvillette waiting long enough.” Your brother gave you a glance as he put his jacket on. “If you need anything, come by the Palais Mermonia, Sedene here will be happy to show you to my office.”

“Alright, have a good day.”

“You as well, little sister.”

You watched your brother leave your room and you saw his figure reappear on the street, walking alongside the melusine. You hummed as you took a sip of your tea, lavender tea like you and Navia had. Speaking of Navia…

“Enjoying your breakfast, Mademoiselle (Name)?” You looked down from your balcony to see where the voice was coming from and on the street you spotted the familiar face of Miss Navia. 

“Yes, and it is good to see you again.” You said back with a giggle in your voice. Your brother told you not to get attached, but this was a friend you did not want to lose. “Now do come up here instead of yelling at me in the street.”

Navia was let in by your butler and rushed upstairs to your room and took your brother’s seat. She leaned forehead and closed her eyes with a hum. “Lavender tea, seems like you found your favorite.”

“Perhaps.” You said as you leaned back in your chair, looking over the sigh before the two of you. You sighed and brought the tea cup to your lips, taking another brief sip before setting it back down. “Honestly I wish there was something for me to do at the moment, besides staying here, reading and drinking tea. Something to take my mind off of my husband, I need to get my mind off of him.”

“Hm… perhaps I can help with that. I was going to see if you would like to join me on some errands, but…” Navia replied, a liveliness and excitement coming into her voice. She took your hands into her own and squeezed them as she looked into your eyes. “Would you like to join the Spina di Rosula?”

Chapter Text

After your visit you spend the day pondering her offer to join the Spina di Rosula. Truly it was an appalling offer, but would it damage your brother’s reputation in Fontaine? You did not know much about the Spina di Rosula besides what they stand for which you agreed with, along with your blossoming friendship with Navia. While you could ask the staff about the history of the Spina di Rosula you preferred to keep your offer to join under wraps especially since you had no idea of their reputation in Fontaine and you did not want the staff to have a bad view for your brother. You sat alone in your room after you got dressed, you sat at your vanity, brushing your hair. You looked into the mirror before you, seeing the person looking back through the glass. You did not know what to make of it, she looked like you, but for some reason she did not feel like you. 

Have you really lived this long without having an idea of who you are?

You sighed and stood up from the vanity, pushing in the chair behind you. You made your way through the door and down the stairs. You saw the drawing room to your left, the dining room to your right and the stairs in front of you. The dining room also connected to the kitchen and through that the interior garden that your brother kept, growing flowers and plants was a hobby of his. The drawing room also led to your brother’s home office, you were allowed to go in there since it had a small library that he thought you may be interested in. The maid was dusting off the old piano in the drawing room when you came down the stairs, she glanced over at you with a smile and a curtsy.

“Good afternoon, my lady.” Was it reall afternoon already, given the time you had breakfast with your brother and when Navia stopped by you must have woken up rather late which you suppose did make sense since you went to bed rather late like you always have in the past two thousand years, a compromise between you and your husband, so he could see you while he was awake but you could stay up late enough to preside over your domain as the goddess of the moon. That feels like a lifetime ago, honestly you did not feel like much of a goddess anymore, rather a young girl who just left everything she had ever known. The maid’s vice snapped you out of your thoughts. “Your brother told me there is a box of some things you might want to have and look through on his desk in his study.”

“Oh thank you, I think I might do that now actually.” You replied which the maid nodded to before going back to her chores. You stepped into your brother’s office, closing the already open door behind you. You saw on his desk that there was indeed a box, so you took off its lid and the contents of it almost made you cry. You quickly closed the lid of the box and you opened the door to the office and looked at the maid, who looked back at you as you walked through the office door. “Could you please set that in my room, I will look through it when I get back.

“Get back? Where are you going my lady?” She asked, stopping her dusting to watch you take your coat from the closet by the front door. You slipped it on and looked back at her, trying to keep the tears from coming down your face.

“I need to tell my brother something.” 

—————————

In the Palais Meronia in the mid afternoon, sat three figures at a table, afternoon tea set before them. Your brother was reading over a few pages of a report that Neuvillette gave him on an upcoming murder trial. With him sat the Iudex, Neuvillette himself, along with the Hydro Archon, Furina. As your brother took a sip of his tea the voice of the judge rang out to him. 

“The Gardes believe that this case is connected to that of the missing women.” Vepar hummed at Neuvillette’s comment. He shuffled through the papers and the photos that were found with it, the victim’s wife was missing from the scene and had not returned. “The suspect is also unknown.”

“I see, well then I will see if I can look into it as well.” Vepar said as he parted the cup from his lips from a moment to speak before bringing the tea cup up to his lips once again. 

“Monsieur Vepar, I have been meaning to ask you more about your sister.” At Neuvillette’s statement, Vepar almost choked on his tea, while Furina looked towards the Chief Justice, her curiosity peaked. “You said she cannot stay with your elder brother because it is too dangerous for her to, why is that?”

“Um…”

“Oh do tell Monsieur Vepar.” Furina spoke, crossing her legs and resting her elbow on her knee and her chin onto her hand. The god could feel the sweat forming on his face. He cannot lie and has never kept anything when they have asked, only when they asked. Out of these three he had been here the longest, but he was still beneath them in the hierarchy of Fontaine. He felt his sweaty palms ruin the papers he was holding as he felt the curse of his domain fall on him, he cannot lie.

“Monsieur?” At the Iudex’s voice, he cracked.l.

“I am afraid that is something I should not reveal.” Vepar set his tea cup down with a thud. “My sister has a hard life, she has been separated from her family for a countless number of years and she needs to recover and find her place again in the world that was taken from her once before.”

“Taken from her? I am not sure I understand what you mean.” Furina questioned as she sat back in her chair. Neuvillette’s eyes were also fixated on the clerk, wishing to hear his explanation as well.

“I… I cannot tell you the truth as it is, but perhaps I can phrase it in a different way, a story perhaps.” Vepar hums as he thinks about the right way to tell this story. He thought back to what you had told him the day prior, all the details that made him feel sick to his stomach. “In the ancient days of Liyue there was a rabbit who lived with her sister, a fox. One day the rabbit met a dragon, the dragon seemed kind to her but she did not know how his gaze fell on her. One day the fox grew bored of Liyue and left, leaving the rabbit behind. The rabbit grew helpless, scared, without the fox she was small compared to everything else in the land and so she made a deal with the dragon not knowing what he wanted out of their contract. The dragon wished to have the rabbit at his side but she did not wish to stay and in return he… he did… horrible things to her. The rabbit only recently escaped the dragon but the beast is still out there, probably angry beyond his mind.”

“So is your sister the fox or the rabbit in that story?” Neuvillette questioned, more or less to himself rather than a question directed to the clerk. “And who is the dragon?”

“That is something I cannot tell you, Monsieur Neuvillette.” Vepar took his tea cup up and swirled it around in his hand. “In my honest opinion, it would be in your best interest that you do not look into this case, she has been through so much and now she needs her rest.”

Before another question could be asked by either the Chief Justice or the Hydro Archon there was a knock on the door. The three stopped their discussion and Neuvillette called out in response.

“It is unlocked, come in.” 

The door opened not a moment later, revealing the melusine, Sedene, and the familiar figure of yourself, your hands folded in front of you and your eyes dotting around the unfamiliar environment. The eyes of the Hydro Archon and Neuvillette fell on you as Sedene escorted you in the room.

“Mademoiselle (Name) is here to see you Monsieur Vepar.” Sedene spoke, gesturing to you who stood a few steps behind her. “I tried to tell her you were in a meeting with Monsieur Neuvillette and Lady Furina, but she said it was urgent and could not wait.”

“I see, well thank you, you are excused.” Vepar said as he stood up from his chair. The Melusine left the room, closing the door behind her, leaving behind you four. Vepar walked over to you and took your hand, guiding you over to the table. “Lady Furina, this is my younger sister, (Name). She is the one we were just talking about.”

“You were talking about me-“

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Her voice sounded haughty, stuck-up, proud, what have you. “Monsieur Vepar rarely talks about his family.”

“Oh, you as well I suppose.” Before Furina could respond to you saying, suppose , you turned to Vepar, grabbing him by his sleeve, your voice serious. “I need to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Mm…” You glanced over at the Hydro Archon and Iudex who sat at the table, who were looking at you and for a moment your eyes locked with the purple of Neuvillette’s, locked on you. You looked back at Vepar, trying to take your mind on the others in the room. “Can we talk outside?”

“Very well.” The geo of you made your way to the door and Vepar shot a glance back at the two at the table. “Give us just a moment.”

You two slipped out into the main entrance hall of the Palais Mermonia and Vepar led you to sit down in one of the sofas with him sitting alongside you. You took a long breath, as he looked at you before asking softly…

“Why do you have so many siblings' belongings?” In that box on your brother’s desk you found items that belonged to many of your other siblings, your family that you had not seen in thousands of years, long before the Archon War. You looked up at your brother and he had his head hung low. “…please don’t tell me that they…”

There was a long silence and stillness before your brother nodded to your question. “They are gone… that is all I could find after the dust cleared.”

“W-who is left?”

“Four, not counting yourself.” At his words you finally succumbed to your tears. Your cries echoed through the halls, your sobs hitting the walls, ringing throughout the Palais Mermonia. Your brother hung your head low at the sight and sound of your tears and cries. “…I am sorry, I thought you knew.”

“What?” You look at him through your tears. “You thought I knew? I was lucky if I was even let outside and you thought he would tell me that my siblings are now corpses?”

“(Name)-“

“No.” You cut him off and stood up from the seat. “During all those years I would close my eyes and hope for the best, but I never actually knew if my siblings were still around. You never bothered to try to reach out and tell me, but no. You were too afraid of him to do anything.”

“You should know why I was afraid.” He called out to you as you began to make your way out of the Palais Mermonia. “Yes I was a coward but I did not have a choice.”

“You had a choice, you have no idea what having no choice feels like.” He fell silent at your words. You glanced back at your brother and he had his head hung low. “I was afraid of him but in the end I still stood my ground when I found out he still drew breath, and I am the one who is bound by contract to him. I will be honest, I feel like I knew deep down that they were dead, but something about the confirmation of it hurts even with the preparation.”

“….” He truly has no words now, even sorry would not be enough at this point. You turn back at him, if only for a moment.

“I have been offered to join the Spina di Rosula.” You told him and he looked up at you with a bit of a shocked expression. “I think it may be a good use of the talents I learned in Liyue. I want to be able to start a new life, away from him and this is a way I can ensure that.”

“Father always said you were like Mother.” You watched your brother spoke those words. He stood up and walked over to you, he reached a hand up to wipe off the tears that stained your cheeks. “That strong look in your eyes, the rush of determination you get when you get knocked down. Morax may have knocked the wind out of your sails once, but do not dare let him do it again. I may not be able to change my mistakes of the past, but I promise to support you every step of the way.”

“…” You looked up at him, and he was smiling down at you. You could spot the tears forming in the corner of his eyes. You wrapped your arms around him again and gave him a tight squeeze. “Thank you.”

—————————

It was late in the evening in Fontaine now, you and your brother had returned home. With your decision to join the Spina di Rosula made, you and your brother had an invitation sent to Navia, along with Melus and Silver since they seemed to accompany her quite a bit, to join you and your brother for dinner at his home. The table had been set in the garden, or rather greenhouse, since it was a particularly beautiful evening, the skies clear to reveal the beautiful sunset of oranges, yellows, pinks, and even purples. 

As you were finishing getting dressed in your room for dinner you, but you had not opened the box Vepar left for you since you arrived back home, it was hard to look back at those belongings and remembering many of your family were really gone. You heard a knock at the door downstairs, which was answered by the maid. You rushed downstairs as quickly as you could and there in the door you spotted the familiar face of Navia, accompanied by Melus and Silver.

“Thank you for inviting us, (Name).” Navia spoke as the maid closed the door behind Melus who was the last to enter. 

“Thank you for your invitation as well.” You replied as you took her arm and led her through the house, making your way to the greenhouse that hides in the back. “I just hope this leads to a friendship between us.”

“That makes two.” She said as you entered the garden where dinner was to be served. The moment she saw the garden her eyes went wide in surprise. The green house was like a mini paradise, flowers from every region, cecilias, windwheel asters, silk flowers, rainbow roses, qixgxins, Kalpalata Lotus, Sumeru roses, and of course glaze lilies, your favorite flower even with your history with them. “This is beautiful.”

“Thank you, gardening is one of my hobbies. Though my work often keeps me busy so I do have some help.” You heard your brother’s voice call out, he was tending to a bed of cecilias not too far from the dining table. He stood up, bushing off a bit of dirt that landed on his pants. He walked over to where you all stood by the door. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle Navia.”

“Ah the mysterious clerk of the court, I have been wanting to meet you as well for quite awhile.” She gestured over to Melus who stood next to her. “Melus told me you once told me you knew my father fairly well before I was born, is that true?”

“Yes that is true, Mr. Callas and I knew each other very well, after you were born he did grow quite busy so our visits had grown rare, so the best we could do was letters. He actually enjoyed writing about you quite a bit, he was very proud of you.” He crossed his arms and smiled at the memory he was recalling. This comment made Navia smile, along with Melus and Silver. Vepar kept a smile on his face, but something about it felt sad, painful, and mournful. “I wish I could have done more to prevent what happened but there was no law that would allow for any loopholes around the court. I firmly believe that he is innocent due to the fact that I knew him, and I knew him well. I will say, and I know this may not mean much, but if you ever need help with anything, you have a friend in the law.”

“Thank you, you are very kind Monsieur Vepar.” Navia spoke, also with that look of sorrow in her eyes. “Father sometimes talked about you when I asked about your letters. He told me that you were a reliable ally, but after his death I could not make myself face you.”

“Well no point in stressing over the past that we cannot change.” Vepar gestured to the table. “Besides, we have something to celebrate now. Consider it my thank you for my thank you for giving my dearest sister her place in Fontaine.”

“Yes, thank you Navia.” You also added alongside your brother. “Now we have a place set for you all.”

You all sat at the table and dinner was served, dishes made of sweet and savory ingredients, along with spicy and sour flavors. Your brother had dishes made from both Fontaine for your guests and many dishes of Liyue that were made for more of your tastes. You all laughed and talked, and you noticed in the past days that your brother avoids referring to himself as a god. It must have been a common known fact that your brother was not mortal since he has held the seat of clerk since the end of the Archon War. So with that fact, you never referred to yourself as such either, besides you were used to keeping that a secret by now.

“What is that dish called?” Navia asked as she used her fork to point to one of the many dishes in front of you all. You finished chewing and swallowed the bite of food you took right before she asked her question. 

“Those are Jade Parcels.” You spoke as you reached out to retrieve a few more from the communal plate onto your own. “Ham wrapped in vegetables, but it can be a tad spicy if you cannot handle spice.”

“Oh, that sounds quite good, let me try- huh?” As Navia was reaching for one of the jade parcels there was the sound of pitter patter on the glass roof of the greenhouse. You all looked up to see that it was indeed raining. “It was clear just a moment ago.”

“It must be the Hydro Dragon.” Your brother joked as he reached out for his glass of wine on the table, he swirled it around before taking a sip. Vepar looked up at the glass ceiling and chuckled before looking back down at his wine glass and taking a sip.

“Hydro Dragon?” You questioned, looking over at everyone else at the table and Melus was the first one to answer.

“There was once said to be a Hydro Dragon that lived in Fontaine and when he weeps it is said to rain in Fontaine.” He explained to you, it was a story that was not familiar to you and somehow familiar to you at the same time. “When the Demoiselle was a child and it was raining out she used to scream at the top of her lungs, Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, don’t cry.”

“Melus!” She turned red as Melus said that, her hands coming to cover her face.

“It is quite common for the children of Fontaine to do, it is nothing to be embarrassed of, Demoiselle.” Melus spoke with laughter in his tone at Navia’s embarrassment.

“Melus-“

“Actually that is quite similar to an old story from Liyue, that is where (Name) and myself are from.” Vepar added before he took another sip of his wine. He set his glass down on the table and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “There was once a young goddess, beautiful and kind, all of her family adored her. Her song was said to bring the moon its light, and her rage and sorrow was said to bring the most vicious of rain drizzles.”

For a moment you almost forgot that he was your brother and not just some high ranking government official. In that matter of course he would find a way to embarrass you, including bringing up your most “vicious of rain drizzles,” a quote coined by your father when you were a little girl and you would throw fits and cry, which little rain storms would follow. You bit the inside of your cheek as your brother told this story.

“Oh really? What was her name?” Navia asked as you huffed and picked up your wine to take a sip. 

“Hm… No mortal-“ Vepar began going through a coughing fit, he quickly picked up his napkin and brought it to his lips as he coughed. You knew when this happened, it was when he told a lie whether he knew so or not. You quickly picked up on what he was trying to say.

“What he was trying to say is that no mortal knows.” You reached over to help your brother stand, guiding his coughing form back into the house. “Just a moment, I am going to get Vepar some cough medicine.”

You guided him back inside, leading him back into his office. You brought him over to sit down in his desk chair and let him sit down and have a chance to breathe. He pulled his hand away with the napkin to reveal the red stain of his blood. He looked up to you in shock, his eyes wide. 

“Who knows?”

“…Childe… Lumine… Paimon… Ninggaung…” You recalled everyone you told in Liyue in your quest to fulfill your contract with the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger. “Four people, those are all the people outside the Adepti and our family who know.”

“So only four people know-“ 

Your heart sank and he started coughing again…

“Oh dear Celestia…” you brought your hand to your mouth in shock and a bit of horror. “Someone else knows.”

Chapter Text

You walked through the streets of Fontaine, looking at the address Navia had given you. She had asked you to do more field work for the Spina di Rosula, and by field work she meant meeting people who had potential commissions for the Spina. She had sent Silver with you, just for a bit of extra protection, not that you needed it but Navia did not know of your true capabilities. 

“A missing child case?” You asked, as if you were repeating what Navia told you. She hand handed you a file with all the information you managed to gather on the case. The file had the child’s name, age, gender, appearance, and so on. Celine, eight years old, female, brown hair, freckles, fair skinned. The file also said how long she had been missing and where she was last seen, a week ago at the aquabus station in the Court of Fontaine. 

“Yes, her mother reached out to us, apparently with the recent murder that is also a missing person’s case has been keeping many of the Gardes busy, it even has been Monsieur Neuvillette’s highest priority as well.” Navia explained as you read over the file, and it was true this case is very low on the Gardes priority list. “They wrote it off for now as a simple runaway, but she is far too young and her stuffed rabbit was found at the aquabus station which her mother said she never goes anywhere without.”

“Hm… that is strange….” You hummed as you thought, along with the file Navia gave you a note with an address, you held it up so Navia could see. “And this is where you are sending me to meet this contact?”

“Yes, she is quite familiar with finding missing or kidnapped children.” Navia hummed, her tone changing to something more serious and worried. “I have never met her myself, but she seems to know of you. When I had Melus reach out to her organization she specifically requested to meet with you, which is quite strange given you are not a well known member of the Spina di Rosula, perhaps she knew of you from Liyue.”

“Perhaps…”

You stood before another building in the Court of Fontaine, seemingly not too different from the others. You glanced down at the address to make sure you were at the right place before you reached up and knocked on the door. A few moments passed and you hear the chatter from inside and the shuffling of feet before a young man opened the door. He was in his late teens to early twenties, he had blonde hair, violet eyes, and seemed to have a teardrop shaped mark on his right cheek.

“Oh hello, can I help you, Mademoiselle?” He asked, he spoke with a rather charming smile which was sure to make any girl his age swoon.

“Yes, my colleague, Silver, and I are from the Spina di Rosula. I believe we have a meeting with someone here, unless we received the wrong address.” You said as you handed the young man the slip of paper with the building’s address. He read it over before humming and looked back up to you, handing you the slip of paper back.

“No, you’re in the right place.” He stepped aside as for you to step inside the building. He gestured with his hand to let you step inside. “Please come in, father is waiting for you.”

You stepped inside and it was a rather nice building, but you quickly noticed all the children around. Was this place an orphanage? The young man led you to the staircase that spiraled up and led to all the upper floors of the building. You spotted a few pairs of the children’s eyes looking at you and Silver, but once you waved they giggled and tucked themselves away where they tried to hide from you and not get caught. The young man led you all the way up to the top floor where at the end of the stairs there was only one singular door. The young man stepped up to the door and knocked.

“Father, the guest you were expecting is here.” You quickly noted how he only said guest and not guests as there were two of you, Silver and yourself. You quickly pieced together that his father only wanted to speak to you, which made you feel a twinge of anxiety spike up your spine.

“Thank you Lyney, she can come in.” The voice you heard was female, not a voice you would tie to the name father in the slightest. The man opened the door for you and gestured for you to step inside, but when Silver tried to follow behind you, the young man known as Lyney, raised his hand up to stop in. You glanced back at him and gave Silver a silent nod as if to let him know that you will be alright. You stepped inside and the door closed behind you with a thud, Lyney, you guessed, had shut it. Across the room from you, at a desk, sat a woman, monochromatic hair, eyes that felt like they had x-symbols for the pupils. She smiled at you and gestured with a come here motion for you to take a seat across from her. The room felt so silent as you walked towards her and sat down, her eyes fixed on you. When you finally settled, she crossed her legs and set her hand, folded, on her lap. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, (Name).”

“It appears I am at a disadvantage, you seem to know me but I do not know you.”

“You may call me Arlecchino, and I would like us to be friends.” She said looking at you with that same unsettlingly kind smile and she spoke as if the two of you had known each other for years. Then when she spoke again your heart sank. “After all you and my colleague, Childe, worked so well together in Liyue.”

She was the other person who knew, she was a Harbinger.

“What do you want?” You questioned, your eyes narrowing on her but she only smiled back at you.

“Truly I wish to help you and to become friends, so many of our interests align. Besides that you have been lonely and I would love to join you just for tea sometime. You like lavender tea, correct?” So she has also been watching you, but for how long? When Navia took you out, so at least a couple of weeks. “I do wish you to help you find that girl, and I will do it with or without the Spina di Rosula’s help. I merely planted that information for Miss Navia to find and come to me for help so I would get the chance to meet you. Besides I believe the poor girl’s mother would rather trust the Spina to find her daughter rather than the Fatui, she would probably accuse us of the kidnapping instead of the bastards who actually did it.”

“You know who did it?”

“Ma très chère déesse, of course I do.” She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a file similar to the one Navia gave you, just a different contents within. He laid it out before you and opened it to reveal photos of nobles that must have been taken without them knowing, along with letters that must have been stolen from the messenger along the way. Your eyes glanced over the letter and your eyes widened its shock, this was…. “A human trafficking ring, run by a number of nobles here in Fontaine, operated right under the Iudex’s nose.”

“….” You bit the inside of your cheek as you looked over the information, this was something that the Knave must have been looking into for a long time now. You did not know enough about it to stop it on your own, this must have been why Navia took the bait of the planted information. “What do you want in return?”

“Only your corporation and your friendship, after all friends help friends.” You felt her hand come over to touch the flesh that connected your under jaw to your neck, pushing your face up to meet her own. “So what will it be?”

—————————

“Vepar I will be fine, I am only going out to dinner with a business partner for the Spina di Rosula.” You said as you took a set of earring off your vanity and put them on, they were rubies to match the red velvet dress you were wearing tonight. It was short and flexible but formal enough to not draw attention with a bit of a deep cut, exactly what you would need for tonight. Vepar stood in the doorway, resting against the doorframe. “I will be back later tonight.”

“Yes but I at least hoped you would join me for dinner tonight as Neuvillette and Lady Furina are joining as well.” He spoke as you fixed the last bit of your appearance. You turned to look at him as he spoke. “But alas, I guess you have your own work now. Seems like you have finally found your place in Fontaine with your work in the Spina di Rosula.”

“I believe I have, but-“ you were cut off by a knock echoing from the front door of the house, signaling your brother’s guests have arrived. You slipped on your flats at the sound of the door being opened by the maid or the butler. “I must make my leave now, do enjoy your dinner.”

“You as well, (Name).” 

The two of you made your way downstairs, your brother to greet his guests and you to leave. You spotted the familiar faces of Neuvillette and Furina being led to the drawing room by the maid. The footsteps of you and your brother caught their attention, and Miss Furina gasped when she saw your outfit.

“Miss (Name), it is lovely to see you dressed up for the occasion.” She said, examining the dress you wore as if to see if it lived up to her expectations.

“Occasion?” You muttered, asking it mostly to yourself. It clicked fairly quickly for you that Furina thought you would be joining the three of them for dinner. “Oh no, I am afraid I am going out tonight with a friend. I actually should be on my way to meet her now.”

“I see, well that is a pity. I most hoped to have the chance tonight to get to know you, Lady (Name).” The deep voice of Neuvillette chimed in, you looked at him and while his face looked as emotionless as always, his brow was furrowed ever so slightly signaling to you that he was disappointed with your absence from tonight’s affairs. “Nevertheless, I do hope you enjoy your plans tonight.”

“Thank you Monsieur Neuvillette. Goodbye.” You made your way to the door and just as the maid helped you get on your jacket and the butler opened the door for you to leave, you glanced back at the disappointed Neuvillette. You sighed before mustering the courage to speak again. “I would be glad to speak with you at a later date, Monsieur Neuvillette. Over tea perhaps.”

“Thank you, that sounds quite lovely.” He replied, the smallest of smiles coming over his face. When you were about to say something else about the time to have it he merely raised his hand and waved you off. “No need to worry about hosting or scheduling, you may leave all of that to myself.”

“Oh, thank you, Monsieur.” You thanked him and slipped on your gloves, ready to step out into the night. You spared Neuvillette a smile and your eyes locked with the Iudex’s, his violet eyes looking into your own. You remember your mother telling you that the eyes are the doorway to the soul and shows a person’s true feelings, but his eyes gave you a chill, one you knew well but you could not imagine on anyone else besides him . So you chalked it up to your imagination playing tricks on you with your recent paranoia in the last few weeks. “Goodbye.”

You made your way onto the streets of Fontaine and outside of the house you noticed members of the Gardes keeping watch, they must have come along with Lady Furina and Iudex Neuvillette. You gave them a smile which was not returned as they seemed quite focused on their work, which admittedly was just standing there. You made your way out of their sight as soon as possible. You walked the streets of Fontaine, being careful to make sure no eyes were on you. The Knave had given you an address to meet her by, more specifically in the alleyway beside the building. The building was on the South side of the Court of Fontaine and the Knave told you that it was close to the noble’s house where the business is being run. You were nearing the location as night came to cover you, giving you a place to hide in the darkness.

“Not going to sing tonight?” You heard a familiar voice call out from beside you. You looked over your left shoulder to see the figure of the Knave standing against a building, she must have been waiting for you. “I have heard the story of your song so I suppose you are not singing to give us the cover of a moonless night, how kind of you.”

“I am just doing my job, Arlecchino.” You made yourself smile at her and for some reason you felt like you would not have to make yourself smile and rather it would come naturally sooner than later. “Like you said, friends help friends.” 

The rest of the evening went by in a burl, the Knave truly wasted no time getting straight to the point of why you were here, to rescue those who are kept within. The idea of being captive made you go back to all those terrible days beneath the surface of Liyue. When you stumbled upon the room where the hostages were kept is when you could first process something again, and it was the unconscious bodies of those people, adults, children, men, women, it seems like they did not care about who their victims exactly were. The Knave looked over them all and sighed.

“There are quite a large number of victims, I will have some of my people retrieve them all and take them to the base of the House of the Hearth so they may have somewhere safe to wake up and recover.” The Knave looked around the room as well, her eyes landing on you for a moment before her eyes going to lock on someone else. She gestured out to a young girl who was resting against the wall of the room. “I believe that is the one you are looking for, Celine if I am correct. I suggest you take her back to her mother, she must be worried sick. I will walk you to the door.”

The Knave picked up the little girl in her arms and she began escorting you to the main entrance of the estate, but once you reached the main hall of the estate is when you really remembered what happened when you first came in…

Blood…

Blood…

There was blood everywhere…

There was a head on the carpet…

An arm on the wooden floor…

And everything else was shredded to bits…

The Knave walked you past it all the gore, the sleeping girl in her arms. Once at the door she handed the girl off to you and when she did, a smile came across her face.

“Our friendship is now bound in blood, so I suggest you keep this to yourself.” She set a hand on her arm, giving it a light squeeze. “Remember friends help friends.”

Chapter Text

You sat on a stone bench in the greenhouse of your brother’s home, your legs drawn up and laid at your side, and a book open before you. It was some matter of a detective novel from your brother’s office, it seems like he made a point of thoroughly reading and analyzing the material from the text with your brother’s handwriting in blue ink. He pointed out flaws in the things the detective missed that seemed so obvious to your brother, stated how the signs of a struggle would have been limited since the victim was apparently killed by a gun, and then flaws of the murderer…

Murderer…

Is that what you were now?

It has been only a few days since you met the Fatui Harbinger known as the Knave, and you assisted her in such a horrific act. Though she might have been the one to commit the crime, you were her accomplice. If you were to be found out you would most likely be put on trial before the court, before Fontaine, before Neuvillette, before your own brother. You chewed your lip at that thought, what would your brother think if he found out what you had just done? You could only imagine the emotions that would plague him. You also have made the decision not to tell Navia either, it was best if she was kept in the dark of what really happened, at least that is what the Knave told you. If she found out she would be beside herself and it would cause significant damage to the Spinda di Rosula, so you merely reported back with the story of the little girl getting lost and a family took her in and your contact helped you find this family since they were close friends. It was a lie, but it was best that way.

You sighed and closed the book, setting it down beside you on the bench. You could hear the front door opening and closing followed by a few words exchanged which signaled your brother must be home from the Opera Epiclese. You would have gotten up to go and greet him but today you did not feel like it. You heard footsteps coming down the hallway, leading down to the garden where you could be found. Soon appearing in the open doorway to the greenhouse appeared your brother, his jacket and vest had already been handed off to the maid or butler so he was left in his dress shirt and tie. He still wore his gloves and within his gloved hands was an envelope that he tapped his leather covered fingers against, you quickly noticed how it was already opened. 

“Monsieur Neuvillette asked for me to give this to you.” Vepar handed you the envelope or rather dropped it onto your lap as he sat down on the bench next to you. You shot him a glare that silently scolded him for opening it. “Don’t give me that look, he said I could open it if I so wished, it is just an invitation for tea.”

“Oh, I see.” You looked down at the envelope but you did not open it. You set it beside you, your mind was too occupied to worry about something like tea. Your brother quickly clocked your bothered expression.

“Something is on your mind.” It was not a question, it was a statement. Though while it was a statement he still spoke in a kind and thoughtful manner, something others would replace with a tone that would make you feel almost guilty for not stating your thoughts. “Are you okay?

“Yes… I am fine…”

“You are lying.” He spoke with a chuckle and looked off in the direction of the roof, parts of the sky hidden by the leaves of the bigger plants like the palm trees from Sumeru and the sakura trees from Inazuma he had brought here by various mechents specifically for his garden. You should have known better than to lie to the god of truth, even if he is your brother. “If you do not wish to talk about whatever is on your mind you may just tell me that.”

“…Vepar….” He looked down at you as you spoke his name, your voice heavy as if you were holding the weight of Teyvat on your shoulders. “What would you do if I did something horrible or helped with something horrific that I could never take back?”

“Well…As the clerk of the court I would have to turn you over to the Iudex and he would preside over your trial. Then I would have to record your trial like I do with all other trials.” You felt him set a hand on your own and he looked at you with a smile on his face, heartwarming to say the least. “But as your brother who has lost so much, family and friends, I would take that secret to the grave. If that did not work, I would do my best to prove you innocent… see if I could manipulate the truth in our favor, not lying but bending the truth.”

“Thank you, Vepar.” You sighed and he stood up, brushing the nonexistent dirt off his pants. He looked down at you with a smile and sighed as well.

“I know you would not ask that question without reason, but I will ask that you do not tell me what you did at this time, since I still am the clerk of the court.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and walked up to the open door way he came out of. He glanced back at you with an almost unreadable expression. “If you need to get something off your chest that you cannot tell me, I suggest writing to Stolas in Sumeru. He is the god of constellations and foresight, perhaps he could provide you some guidance.”

“I see…” You twirled the envelope from Neuvillette in your hands as you thought. Stolas was another one of your brothers, the middle child out of the eleven of you, the sixth born. He was the wisest out of you all but also could be witty and almost haughty at times, and he had a mind that was able to process more than the bounds of the present but able to see the hidden secrets of the past and break through the vale that is the future. You remember him warning you that something terrible would befall you if you choose to venture into the rocky cliffs that is now known as Liyue, you just wished your younger self would have listened to him instead of thinking it was another joke from him. “I will think about that.”

“If you decide you wish to write to him you only need to let me know and I will have it sent to his abode.” He hummed and closed his eyes in thought, trying to recall something. “Front last he wrote it was about you and your impending arrival here in Fontaine… hm… I believe him writing that he had just settled down in another settlement in Sumeru, Port Ormos. He said something about missing the ocean after living in the desert for so long, but he did say the view of the skies above are better in the desert since there is no light pollution, needless to say I doubt he would be a fan of being a resident of the Court of Fontaine.”

“I can understand that, there is something just so peaceful about hearing the ocean waves as you drift off.” 

“Yes, that is true.” Vepar responded and then the sound of the grandfather clock that was kept in the living room chimed, marking the start of a new hour. It must have been getting late now, only to confirm that guess you just had your brother retrieved his pocket watch from his back pocket and clicked it open, humming at the number the hands pointed to. “It is getting late, I will be eating dinner in my office tonight since Lady Furina has refused to read over the reports of the trials that were given to her and instead demanded that she have a report of another recent murder, which I need to draft from the evidence gathered, apparently the body was completely shredded and all that was left was the arm and the head. Honestly, I will never understand why she seems so fixated on a trial one minute and then forgets about it the minute it is over, looking to the next one for her entertainment.”

“Neither can I….” You find your words drifting off as you try to form a response, but your mind is too occupied thinking about your brother’s words. This murder, it was the same one from the night with the Knave, but you could not say anything. After all in her words, friends help friends, and now your friendship was bound by that man’s blood that was spilled that night. You do not even know if you would write to Stolas about this unless you wish for her to find out by the people she has watching you. “…I will be retiring to my room for the night, I think I lost my appetite.”

Your brother nodded without speaking another word, you could hear the clicking of his shoes as he made his way down the hall which was followed by the sound of a door clicking shut as he entered and closed the door to his office. So now you were left alone here in the garden, alone with your thoughts and the invitation from the Iudex…

It was a moonless night that night.

—————————

The sun shone brightly when you made your way to the Palais Mermonia on the day Neuvillette invited you for tea. To match the weather you wore a white sundress with light blue flowers with a hair piece to match, made of artificial light blue flowers and a white ribbon. The streets were rather crowded today, which you were not surprised with since the weather was rather nice today. Call it you having your practices but you felt bad showing up the Palais Mermonia empty handed, if you were in Liyue and if you were to be invited to the Jade Chamber by Lady Ninggaung you would not show up empty handed, you would bring a gift. So you decided to make a stop at Cafe Lutece along the way, it was a bit out of the way but it was where you first encountered your brother when you arrived in Fontaine and he told you how divine the pastries were there and would often have the maid or the butler go to pick some up for your tea times when he did not need to go to the Opera Epiclese or the Palais Mermonia for work. 

Luckily it seems you came right at the best time as there was only a small melusine talking to the cashier. From what you overheard from their conversation she had just bought a large assortment of pastries, profiteroles, madeleines, macarons, and so on. The man behind the counter set each in the box with the utmost care as if they were for Lady Furina or Iudex Neuvillette. Once he finished packing up the box he closed it and tied it off with a blue ribbon and handed it off to the little melusine. She took it in both her mitten-like hands and turned herself around and walked with a clear skip in her step. You walked up to the counter, ready to place your order when you heard…

“Ow!” You heard the voice of the little melusine behind you. You immediately spun around to see that the melusine had fallen and scraped her knees up, also squishing the box of pastries she had bought. She looked down at the box with worry and she sighed when she looked at the box. “He told me that these were her favorite-“

“Are you alright?” You asked, rushing over to her side. She looked up to you and she nodded but winced when she tried to move her right leg specifically. You sighed and looked at her with that same eye your brother gave you when you told such a clear lie. “My brother says it is unbecoming of a lady to lie.”

“Your brother must be a wise man.”

“He certainly is, after all he is the Iudex’s clerk.” You could see the melusine’s mouth form a clear o-shape and you turned to the man who stood behind the counter, watching all this go down. “Monsieur, could you get me a cloth and some water?”

“Oh course, right away, Mademoiselle.” You saw him rush into the kitchen proper and you looked over to the melusine and you, very carefully, picked her up and brought her over to one of the nearby tables and sat her on top of it. Right at that moment, the shopkeep ran out from the back with the water and cloth you requested. “Here you go, please let me know if there is anything you possibly need.”

“Thank you, Monsieur.” You turned to the melusine and uncorked the bottle of water and poured it on the cloth and set it across both of her knees, making sure the water was covering both of the wounds. You looked up at her and where she sat on the table and smiled at her. “May I inquire about your name?”

“It is Siora, Mademoiselle.”

“That’s a lovely name, you may call me (Name).” You hummed with a smile as you started counting down in your head just like your father did when he did this when you got injured, only he spoke aloud when he did it. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. You pulled off the cloth. “There we go, that has to feel better.”

The cut has disappeared out of thin air, well not exactly thin air for it was a trick your father did when you were younger. When you were young it felt like a magic trick, but now it was a clever way to hide your identity, healing with water, but Fontainians certainly seem to love a magic trick. Siora looked down at her healed knees with a look of shock while you looked over at the shopkeeper.

“What did Mademoiselle Siora order?” You asked and the shopkeep went to look at his collection of receipts. “Actually, never mind telling me if it is a mouthful, charge another one of her orders along with my own order. So that would be two dozen macarons along with whatever Siora’s order was.”

“Mademoiselle (Name), there is no need for that-“ Siora spoke but you merely waved her off.

“Nonsense, it is the least I could do.”

Once your orders were prepared you passed Siora order to her, set her on her way, and picked up her ruined box of pastries to dispose of yourself, which took a bit of time which would mean you would be late to tea but then again no good deed goes unpunished. Then you picked up your order off the counter, all boxed up and pretty. Which then you started to make your way to the Palais Mermonia. Suddenly along the way the rain started to come down, drizzling at first but it quickly turned into a downpour. If you walked a little faster you would have saved yourself from being drenched, but instead you arrived at the Palais Mermonia soaked to the bone.

You entered the main hall, almost feeling a fool of yourself, but at least your gift stayed intact. You could only walk up to the desk where the melusine known as Sedene worked. She heard your footsteps and looked up from her book and you sighed at being caught like this.

“Good afternoon, Lady (Name). It seems you were caught in the storm outside.”

“I apologize for my appearance, but I was invited for tea by the Iudex.” You spoke, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. “I…I should probably leave, I am quite unpresentable at the-“

“I was starting to think something happened to you.” An all too familiar voice called out to you. You spun around to see Monsieur Neuvillette, standing in the doorway of his office, cane in hand. You noticed how red his cheeks looked, as if he was crying, but beyond that he never showed it. “Please do come in, Mademoiselle (Name).”

“Monsieur Neuvillette, I am afraid I am not properly presentable at the moment-“

“Nonsense, I will have a staff member fetch a towel for you if you so require it.” He spoke, looking you over with the smallest of smiles forming on his face. “But I will say you seem to have dried off already.”

“Huh?” You reach up to touch your hair and plain and simple, it has dried as if you were never out in the rain in the first place. You reached down to touch your dress and that was dried as well. How was this possible? You did not dry yourself for that would draw suspicion and certainly Sedene was unable to do such things. Could Neuvillette have done this? You made a mental note to ask your brother about Neuvillette when you returned home after tea. “Well I suppose I have. Oh I also brought macarons, it is a custom in Liyue not to show up empty handed when you are invited, I am unaware if that is expected here or not.”

“It is a lovely gesture, thank you, Mademoiselle (Name).” He gestured for you to step inside his office with the hand that was not holding onto his cane. “Please do come inside.”

You nodded and stepped past Neuvillette, coming inside the room where you once came to see your brother when he was having tea with the Lady Furina and Iudex Neuvillette. Then now you are here, having tea with the Chief Justice. He pulled out the chair for you as you came to approach the table. As you sat down you saw the table was set with a large assortment of pastries, profiteroles, madeleines, macarons, and so on, exactly like the ones you had bought as replacements for Siora. 

“Your brother told me you are rather fond of lavender tea, is that true?” Neuvillette came to sit across from you, setting his cane against his chair. He smiled and took it upon himself to pick up the porcelain teapot and poured your cups, for yourself first and then him. 

“My brother cannot lie, so yes that is so.” You spoke as you picked up the teacup and looked down at the cup before you, looking at your reflection within.

“Cannot lie? While it is true I know my clerk not to be dishonest I do believe that to be a bit of an exaggeration.” Neuvillette commented as he himself brought his lips up to his lips but not drinking quite yet. 

“Then perhaps you do not know him as well as you thought, after all blood is thicker than water.” You laughed softly before bringing your lips and taking a sip, a little sweeter than you would have liked, but quite good nonetheless.

“Speaking of your family, your brother told Lady Furina and myself a rather interesting story a while ago, he said it was to be referring to you.” Neuvillette did not take a sip of his tea, but instead set it down. His eyes fixed on you, not moving, and you felt as if his violet eyes were staring into you, watching for anything. “It went something like, in  the ancient days of Liyue there was a rabbit who lived with her sister, a fox. One day the rabbit met a dragon, the dragon seemed kind to her but she did not know how his gaze fell on her. One day the fox grew bored of Liyue and left, leaving the rabbit behind. The rabbit grew helpless, scared, without the fox she was small compared to everything else in the land and so she made a deal with the dragon not knowing what he wanted out of their contract. The dragon wished to have the rabbit at his side but she did not wish to stay and in return he did horrible things to her. The rabbit only recently escaped the dragon but the beast is still out there, probably angry beyond his mind.”

“….” You did not reply, but instead you sat there in silence as his eyes were fixed on you. You could feel your breathing grow heavy as he spoke and you felt like you could be sick if you had anything in your stomach at the current moment.

“Mademoiselle, if I may ask, for your own sake and protection, who is the dragon in that story?”

“Why would you not ask about the fox or the rabbit?”

“Because the fox does not truly matter to this story.” Neuvillette looked over again before his eyes came to land on your own once again, his violet eyes locked with your own. “Then the rabbit is you.”

Chapter Text

In the city known as Liyue harbor sat a man that would be all too familiar to you, the dark hair, the gentlemanly attire, and those golden eyes. He sat at the Heyu Tea House, in the upstairs of the city, listening to the story teller speak. It was a rare story, only told every once and awhile, the story about the god of constellations and foresight and how he carved out a place in the stars for people who have proved themselves by obtaining visions. He hummed as he listened, picking up his tea cup and taking a sip as he closed his eyes. This was one of his wife’s favorite stories to hear, any story she liked if it was not about him or the Adepti. Now there was no one sitting next to him, sharing tea and listening to the tales told. 

“…And so the god of constellations dragged his spear through the sky, carving a place in the sky so that every night the young girl would look up and see a sign of her place in Teyvat.”

There was a round of applause that pulled the man that was once known as Rex Lapis out of his thoughts. He set his now empty tea cup down, and he looked down at tea leaves that were left at the bottom, it was said in the story that the god of constellations and foresight read tea leaves as a form of divination when the answers were not given to him directly. Zhongli hummed and slightly wondered what these leaves could mean. Perhaps his wife would know, she once told him that her older brother was a practitioner of the arts of divination, he made a mental note to ask her when he gets home-

“Ah….” That is right, she is not here anymore. She had outwitted him, forcing him to make a second contract with him that would keep her safe from the consequences if she broke the first of their contracts, the contract of their marriage.

“Sir if I may, just a moment of your time.” Zhongli watched as a young man from another table where only one sat at. The man had hair of purples and blacks that matched the robes he wore, he had naturally tanned skin, and his eyes were the darkest of purples that if you looked within you must have seen the reflection of lights made to look like stars. The young man addressed the storyteller with a tone of false curiosity as if he already knew the answer and was trying to see what the storyteller would say. “You mentioned in that story that the god of constellations could be found residing on the highest peaks of Liyue.”

“Yes that is true, it is believed that he is a close adviser of Rex Lapis-“

“That is not true, in fact according to Sumeru’s history, he despised the Lord of Geo and his Adepti, he had a special distaste for the Yaksha.” A shocked gasp came from many people in the crowd at the clear disrespect for the deceased god of contracts. Even the storyteller was shocked by this statement, but Zhongli was not. He had never met the god of foresight so he did not know their opinion of him but he had never had a friend of such wisdom since Guizhong. “He was an advisor though, but not to the Lord of Geo. He was an advisor to the Overlord of the Vortex, Osial, who was the wise god’s elder brother.”

“What? Isn’t Osial the monster that attacked the harbor?”

“That’s preposterous!”

“Who does he think he is, such disrespect for history.”

The young man stood tall, a smirk on his face as he heard all the whispers of the patrons of the tea house. Zhongli looked over the man, while to the young man this was just another part of history, but to the god of commerce this was a new revelation about his dearest wife’s family. The crowd turned to the storyteller to revoke the young man’s claims but the man had no ground to stand on anymore and had to excuse himself in his embarrassment. The Lord of Geo would have made a move to approach the young man as he stood up to leave, so the two could discuss what the young man said as Zhongli leaves. But as he stood up from his seat, two very familiar ladies entered the tea house, approaching the young man who had corrected the storyteller. The young man looked at the traveler and her floating companion and gestured for them to sit at the table with him.

“You must be Lumine and Paimon from the Adventurer's Guild.” The two nodded to his statement and a smile came across his face. “Wonderful, it is lovely to meet you and thank you for your assistance on this matter. My name is Stolas, I am an astronomer and diviner, I do fortune telling sometimes as well.”

“Ya no problem, Katheryne told us you came all the way from Sumeru for this.” Paimon opted to float while Lumine sat down across from the astronomer. 

“Yes that is true, you see-“

“Ah, Miss Lumine, it is a pleasure to see you here.” The god of contracts spoke as he finally made his presence known to the traveler and her companions. Lumine shot him a glare for a brief moment but caught herself as to not make a scene in front of the person who would be paying her. 

“Mr. Zhongli, we haven’t met since the Rite of Parting.” She spoke through gritted teeth as she addressed the former archon. She had honestly hoped never to see him again after she found out he was the Lord of Geo, the one who had forced her first friend in Liyue through many millennia of pain. “What brings you here?”

“The tea and the stories, my wife-“

“Excuse me sir, but we were discussing business.” The man now known as Stolas cut in, glaring up at Zhongli, the astronomer’s face scrunched up like he just saw something that seemed revolting to him. The astronomer looked back at Lumine, the look of disgust disappearing into a smile as quickly as it appeared. “As I was saying, I heard a rumor that you were off to Inazuma next and it would happen that I need a letter delivered, but I cannot have it sent due to the Sakoku Decree. This letter is very important to me, it is for my little sister who lives on Narukami Island.”

“Your sister lives in Inazuma? But didn’t you say you were from Sumeru?” Paimon questioned which drew a chuckle from the astronomer.

“Well I am actually not from Sumeru, I live there, Port Ormos to be specific, but I was born here in Liyue along with the rest of my siblings.” He smiled and shook his head, his eyes going to gaze out at the sea, at the Guyun Stone Forest to be specified. “I have a very widespread family. One of my brothers lives off in Fontaine, one of my sisters lives in Inazuma, and recently my eldest brother and littlest sister left Liyue. I have been residing in Sumeru for quite awhile, it is the best place to see the stars.”

“Oh Paimon thinks she understands, your family likes to see the world.”

“You could call it that, but the truth is…” Zhongli could have sworn he saw the diviner’s eyes glance up at him before looking back to Paimon. “…Liyue never felt like home, not since our parents...”

“…oh did they…”

“Oh no, they’re alive… I think.” Stolas interrupted Lumine, with a smile at first, but that quickly faded. “They disappeared a long time ago, no one knows what happened to them. I have tried to get answers from the stars, but even they seem to not have the answer I am looking for…. Anyway….” The diviner reached into his bag and set out a pouch for Lumine and Paimon to take. “That’s the payment, the amount recommended by Katheryne back in Sumeru plus some. If that’s not enough you can-“

“No, no, this is more than enough.” Lumine said as she looked in the pouch, easily over a million mora inside.

“Oh that is wonderful then.” Stolas handed off the letter as well to Lumine and he picked up his glass of tea and took a sip with a closed eye smile before he set down his glass, his eyes still shut. “Anyway you should get over to the Adventurer's Guild, I believe you should go speak to Katheryne and there should be someone from the Crux fleet looking for you.”

“Huh what are you on about-“

“Do you really want to doubt the foresights of the best diviner in all of Teyvat?” Stolas chuckled at the shocked expression of Lumine and Paimon. “Now off with you, I myself will be leaving soon enough back to Port Ormos. Also if you ever find yourself in the Port during your travels, do come and say hello and if you perhaps ever find yourself in need of a little foresight into the future, come and see me, free of charge.”

Lumine and Paimon bid farewell to Stolas with a smile, but did not bother speaking to Zhongli. An exasperated sigh came from the astrologer and he looked up at Zhongli, the look of annoyance in his eyes. “You wished to speak to me, yes?”

“That would be correct, Stolas correct?” The diviner nodded to confirm Zhongli’s question and gestured for him to sit across from him, where Lumine once sat. “It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is-“

“Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.” Stolas cut him off, clearly not caring to be friendly anymore. “I also know what you are going to ask and what you were originally going to ask before you found out I was a diviner.”

“Which would be?”

“You were originally going to ask about why I knew so much about the god of constellations and foreign along with praising my boldness to correct the storyteller,  which you also have a habit of doing.” Stolas sighs and looks down at his cup of tea. “This was the part of my trip I was dreading, meeting you.”

“Meeting me? You know who I am?”

“Oh yes, you were also going to ask about the well-being and whereabouts of your wife once you found out I was a diviner.” He stood up from his chair, bringing his bag along with them. He walked over to Zhongli’s side of the table, the astrologer’s boots harshing clicking against the wooden floor of the tea house. He leaned in, one hand on the table and one coming to rest on Zhongli’s shoulder. He looked the god of contracts up and down through his glasses before scoffing. “If you think I will answer that question you must be desperate or truly delusional.”

“I promise I am neither.”

“Are you also going to promise you’re not Rex Lapis? Tell another lie, go ahead.” The god of contract’s expression turned into something of slight anger at the diviner's whispered words. “Let me answer your first question with another question about why I know so much about the god of constellations, why wouldn’t I know about my own life?”

“Then you would be...”

“Your wife’s brother, technically your brother in law but I would prefer to have no relations to you and if you dare to even utter my sister’s name again, I would happily plunge my spear into your precious little Liyue Harbor, something my elder brother should have done.” With a smirk on Stolas’ face after he spoke, the god of constellations watched as Zhongli’s pupils turned to slits and right when the former geo archon was about to grab the hand of the other god that was on his shoulder, Stolas stepped back and whispered. “You really are a dragon, having no means to control yourself once she is out of your grasp, oh how I pity your retainers who have to deal with you now, but I doubt they will, they probably will just stay in their abodes where they are safe from you, a luxury my dearest little sister did not have.”

“How dare you-“

“Ah, ah, ah, careful now, don’t want to cause a scene.” Stolas cut him off as he spun around on his heel and began making his way out of the tea house. He glanced over his shoulder at Zhongli, still sitting at the table, burning with rage. “Now I best be back to Sumeru, the future waits for no one, not even the gods.... Oh and you might wait a bit of medical attention for that hand of yours.”

The former Geo Archon blinked and the other god was gone like he was never there, bastard. Zhongli went to look down at his hand that was holding his empty cup of tea and where the tea cup once was, instead was shards of ceramic, some had even torn through his glove and into the flesh of his hand with how tightly he squeezed it.

—————————

“Let me ask again, as the Iudex of Fontaine, Mademoiselle (Name). ” The Iudex’s eyes were locked onto your own. The room felt so tense as you and Monsieur Neuvillette sat across from each other. “Who is the dragon in that story? This could be considered an abuse case if I know what happened, so-“

“I do not care, Monsieur Neuvillette.” You cut him off, you broke eye contact with him, looking down at your hands that were folded in your lap. “I am not answering your question because I do not care about pursuing charges on someone who would not be affected by a court meant for mortal entertainment. That is another thing, I do not want to be on stage in that court, for all to see like some opera. My life is not someone else’s entertainment.”

“Yet you have still not solved this issue, choosing to ignore it when I am giving you a stable way out-“

“There is nothing stable with him!” You cut him off again, this time raising your voice which shocked the Chief Justice before you. Did he really want to take the Geo Archon, Rex Lapis, to court if he really found out who the villain in your story was? No, there was no way. Sure Vepar has confirmed that Neuvillette is no mortal, he is no god either, you did not know what he was but if you had to guess just some long living or immortal race that could be found rarely in Teyvat, for example a kitsune (which he was clearly not), or an adeptus (which he again was not). You sighed and buried your face in your hands. “I understand you wish to help, but please do not get involved, it is for the best.”

“…I apologize, I will drop the question then, for now anyway.” After he spoke there was a pungent silence between the two of you, Neuvillette looking at you unable to find the right words to say and you looking down at your tea. “Your brother told me you are fond of singing and that you have quite the beautiful voice.”

“…I guess…”

“You guess?”

“I… I rarely sing for an audience, I am not fond of all the applause like Lady Furina seems to be.” You answered with a light laugh that is returned by Neuvillette as well. “But my brother says I deserve it every once in a while.”

“You did say he never lies so perhaps he is right.”

“I do not know about that.”

The conversation between the two of you definitely started to lighten up and the mention of the story and the dragon felt so far off now. You told Neuvillette about your other sibling and stories of your youth, without revealing your exact ages and identities of course. You told him about the time Vepar had been thrown into the ocean by some of your other brothers, and accidentally fell onto a den of hydro slimes. They were easy to deal with, yes but  Vepar hit his head rather badly and your brothers did not hear the end of it from your father along with your eldest brother, Osial. By then end of your stories, Neuvillette had a smile on his face and chuckled at your stories, and at some point you could almost swear he was wheezed at a story from when you were only a few months old and your older sister forgot you outside and by the time your parents found you a whole colony of bunnies had cuddled up onto you as to protect you from the weather and when they tried to bring you home the bunnies followed and still would not leave even after you were home safely.

“So is that why your brother referred to you as a rabbit in the story?” He asked as he set his tea cup down after he took a sip.

“Unfortunately no… it is actually another reason I am called the rabbit of the family by my elder siblings.”

“Then may I ask the real reason?” His voice sounded so kind, so sincere, so… gentle, something you have been deprived of for two thousand years. He would not dare to hurt you, so what would be the real harm in the end.

“Close your eyes.” You said as you set your own tea cup down.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Just do it.”

So at your words he finally closed his words, actually closed his eyes not taking peaks that your brothers and sisters would do if you would ask them to do such a thing. Neuvillette could not see or hear anything, the seeing bit made sense as his eyes were closed but the fact that he could not hear anything made him concerned. He was about to call your name but he could feel something rub against his gloved hand. Even if you had told him to keep his eyes shut, he could not help but let his curiosity get the best of him. He opened his eyes and before him on the table, right next to his tea cup and barely bigger than it as well, was a small rabbit or well the name of bunny would be better suited. He looked down at the bunny for the longest moment, his face unmoving in shock before a small smile came across it.

“So this is what you were referring to.” He reached out to touch you, his entire hand could engulf your body, just like his when you were last like this with him . You instinctively flinched away and he recoiled his hand as well. “Did I startle you? I apologize.”

He looked at you with the kindest eyes, with the gentlest gaze, he was sorry and he truly meant that. He went to pull his hand onto his lap but while it was still in your reach you nuzzled yourself against his fingertips and the smile returned to his face. He brushed his fingers against your fur, being all so careful. He held his hand out for you to step onto if you so wished and so you did and hoped you would not be crushed. He carefully wrapped both his hands around your body and brought your eyes to level with his own.

“There is so much more than meets the eye with you.” He smiled at you, a low chuckle coming from his throat. “You are no ordinary lady are you, Mademoiselle (Na-“

“Monsieur Neuvillette.” A sing-song voice came from the hallway, outside the office door, Furina. If almost on cue you panicked, not wanting anyone else to see you like this, and you shifted back, right when being in the hands of the Chief Justice, alone in his office, having tea, and in his-

The door swung open.

There was a loud shriek from the Hydro Archon as she saw the state you and the Chief Justice were in. You sat there on Neuvillette in shock and horror as you stared back at the Hydro Archon. She was wide eyed and a hand came up to your lips but an open mouth smile was on her face.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, Mademoiselle (Name), I see you two have grown over eager for each other, but please do not stop on the account of little ole me.” You could feel your face grow flushed at the archon’s words and you wasted no time pushing yourself off of Neuvillette and bushing out the wrinkles in your skirt. You turned to the Chief Justice who looked as flushed as yourself. You gave him a small polite bow.

“Thank you Monsieur Neuvillette, this afternoon was lovely but now….” You glanced at Furina, who stood behind you in the doorway. “…I must go.”

You walked to the doorway and stopped in the doorway, right next to Lady Furina, her facing Neuvillette and you facing away from the Chief Justice. You put on a confident face and spoke to her in a tone that would silently signal her the, for lack of a better word, desperation behind your words. “Please do not speak of this to anyone, Lady Furina.”

“Very well, but I do ask you to tell me the details of what happened here, over tea perhaps, Mademoiselle (Name).” Furina replied, but you did not see Neuvillette’s eyes narrowing at her at her teasing tone she used.

“Thank you, Lady Furina.” You made your way out of the office and closed the door behind you. You walked with confidence in your steps for now, you would curl up later and cry of embarrassment later. You made your way out of the Palais Mermonia, stepping out into the street of the Court of Fontaine, it was bright out again. You took a large breath of fresh air, closing your eyes as to try to calm your senses. 

“Mademoiselle (Name)! There you are.” You heard a voice call out to you, you smiled when you heard it, Melus. You opened your eyes to see your fellow Spina di Rosula member approaching you. “Your brother said I may find you here, tea with the Iudex he told me.”

“That is true, what may I do for you, Monsieur?”

“The Demoiselle requests your presence.”

“Oh really, a job I presume?”

“Indeed, a very important one at that.” He confirmed with a nod, but not a smile, it must be a serious topic then. “A job to track down the murderer of a noble.”

It was as if the Knave stood next to you, whispering in your ear…

Friends help friends…

And now you need her help.

—————————

Stolas, the god of constellations and foresight

Chapter Text

When night fell over the Court of Fontaine you excused yourself from your brother’s estate under the guise that you were going through a walk in to get some late night air. Vepar paid no mind to this excuse and just continued to work on his report that he was to give Monsieur Neuvillette in the morning before another trial. You snuck through the city hiding yourself from the night watches in the shadows and back alleyways. Soon you came to stand in front of the building you knew to be the base of operations of the House of the Hearth here in Fontaine. You knocked upon the door and a few moments later, the same young man as before opened it, Lyney.

“Mademoiselle (Name), back so soon?”

“Yes, I need to-“

“She is already expecting you.” Lyney stepped aside so that you could enter the house. Arlecchino must have had some agent or spy of hers keeping an eye on you. “Please do come in.”

You stepped inside and Lyney took your jacket before he began leading you up that same spiral staircase. The house was quiet this time of night, all the younger children had been put to sleep now, leaving the older children and the adults awake. The Knave’s office door was open this time and you saw her not at her desk this time, but sitting in a rather large armchair next to a roaring fire, and in her arms was a young girl, fast asleep that held onto her father so tightly. The Knave smiled at you upon your entry and waved you and Lyney over. She handed the little girl off to the magician and whispered to him, just barely audible as to not wake her up.

“She had a nightmare, Lynette should be awake so just let her know in case it happens again.” With her tone you could hardly tell that she was a Fatui Harbinger, she actually seemed like these children’s parents which you suppose that is who she was to these orphans. Lyney nodded and left the room, carrying the sleeping girl with him. The Knave sighed, a small and fond smile on her face. “That one has had a great pain to deal with until I found her, neglected by her birth parents who were deep in debt to the Northland Bank and the money they did have went to all her older siblings.”

“I could not imagine what that must have been like, I had… a very fortunate childhood.” You thought back to your own parents, they were loving parents, but still retained a sternness about them if need be, and with raising eleven children that need did be. “…but I cannot say the same about the rest of my life.”

“A childhood forms who we become in our later years, an unshakable foundation if formed correctly, otherwise we all but fall apart under pressure. It seems your mother and father gave you a strong ground to stand on in order to not break beneath your husband… I wonder if they knew what was going to happen to you… hm…” You did not speak after she said those words, pondering what weight they carried. Stolas did warn you not to go inland, but he could read the future, or at least vague depictions of it. Did your parents truly know what was to happen to you? No they would not have known and not try to stop it. “Now the matter at hand, the little incident Miss Navia has become aware of. She does not know the details of your involvement with it, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then there is no need to worry, you may leave everything to me then with this. Besides there is rather bothersome business here in Fontaine, a gentleman’s club that the unfortunate noble frequented. That club owes quite a sum to the Northland bank and Pantalone is getting quite agitated with them since they have not yet paid their debts.” She smiled and stood up to stand alongside you, staring into the fire that roared in the hearth. “All you need to do is go to Navia and tell her that in your investigation you heard them talking about the victim of this accident when you were passing by and you think they were behind in, and everything else will fall into place.”

“We are framing them for this, but is that not illegal?”

“Well I suppose it is, but we both have his blood on our hands. All we have to do is not get caught.” She spoke with such confidence that it shocked you. She really intended to go through with it. “I mean I certainly will not tell as long as you do not. So?”

“…” You bit your lip as you thought about it, framing someone was most certainly illegal along with the murder itself and if you got caught you had no idea what would happen, Fontaine’s court was foreign to you. Then what would happen to your brother if you got caught, what retribution would he face? You hung your head in shame as you spoke your answer. “I will stay quiet.”

“Good girl.”

—————————

It was still quite late when you returned home, or perhaps early in the morning, Vepar and the staff were fast asleep. You made your way back up to your room, your balcony door was still open from earlier today, when the maid opened it as to wake you up with the scent of fresh air. You sat on your neatly made bed and slipped off your shoes, they fell to the ground with a soft thump. You sighed and leaned back onto your bed, embracing the comfort that came with it, not even bothering to get changed into a proper nightgown or pull the covers over your body…

You sat in the audience of a theater, what you assumed to be the Opera Epiclese despite only having been in the back hallways of the court. It looked a bit distorted, floating chairs, and the back of the theater disappearing into nothingness, but you assumed that was just the dream. Upon the stage stood a woman, she looked exactly like Furina but something felt off to you about her. Instead of Furina’s flashy and eye-catching outfit this woman wore a simple dress that had a few accents to it and walked in her bare feet. She did not face you but instead looked up to a balcony above the stage where an empty chair stood, you assumed this is where the Iudex, Neuvillette, sat during a trial, a spot to see and observe all. You glanced behind you, the theater was empty besides you and her. You stood up from your seat and began walking around the stairs on the side of the stage as you approached. As soon stepped foot onto the stage her head immediately turned as to look at you.

“Deam Lunae, goddess of the moon, a pleasure we meet at last.” She spoke with much more of a calm tone than Furina ever dared to speak in. She waved you over to come stand next to her and you did so. She looked you up and down with her heterochromic eyes and a smile on her face. “You are more beautiful than I imagined.”

“Excuse me, but have we not met before, Furina?” You met it as a statement but you could not help but speak of it as a question as this obviously was not Furina but she looked too similar for her not to be the Hydro Archon. She laughed at your question, it was soft and polite unlike the loud and obnoxious laughter of the Furina that you have come to know. 

“I suppose you could say we have and we have not. I suppose you could call me Focalors” She spoke with such a voice that your older sisters used to speak to you with, kind albeit a bit teasing. Out of nowhere the sound of music rang through the opera house, nearly making you jump when it started you. She giggled at your reaction before extending her hand to you. “Care for a dance while we speak?”

“Um… I do not see why not.” You placed your gloved hand in her own and in one fluid motion she spun and came to place her other hand on your waist. She guided you, both of your motions becoming fluid with one another as she guided you to dance around the stage with her. 

“So you wish to put another on the stage that is the court Fontaine so adores?” She questioned, her motions never faltering once while yours stiffened up when you heard them spoken.

“I… It was not my idea.” You answered with a stutter and a sigh. “I had no choice, I could put the Spina di Rosula in jeopardy along with my brother’s position within the court.”

“The fact that your reason is not to risk your own safety but to protect others proves how selfless you are.” She said as she spun you around so that your back was facing her chest but her hands still held your own, one on your waist and the other facing up and outwards. You could feel her breath on your ear as she spoke and a chill went down your spine at her words. “But who will take advantage of that kindness again?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean, you know what happened with the Lord of Geo.” Your body tensed up completely as she said that, you could not move an inch. You did not want to hear that bastard’s name, let alone be told that what happened to you was going to happen again. “Who is to say another dragon will not come down and eat you whole?”

“Please… please stop.”

“You cannot trust everyone you know. Perhaps you should view the world just as cynically as your brothers do, that is what kept them alive for this long.” You could feel her dissipate as if she was water vapor after she spoke those words, leaving you alone once more, but you heard her say one last thing of note. “Run away petit lapin.”

The world fell dark and what embraced your body felt like water. You would feel perfectly comfortable in this and you did at first but then you realized…

You could not breathe…

Your mind started to panic, at the fact that you could not breathe. Everything felt heavy, is this what drowning felt like? You do not want to drown, you do not want to die like this, the element your own falls under…

Please no…

No…

No…

“No!”

The light of day hit your eyes when you opened your eyes and sat up in bed, terrified. You woke up in a cold sweat, another nightmare. Your fingers ran up to intertwine with your hair and you heavily gasped for air. How could that have been a nightmare, it felt so real, too real. Then as if on cue when he heard your scream, your brother came rushing in, he was getting ready for work again, just like the last time you had a nightmare, only this time it was about another archon.

“ma très chère sœur, are you alright?” Your brother asked as he came to sit down on the bed by you, just like he did last time when you dreamt of your husband. You shook your head no, you were not fine, to you that nightmare was horrifying. To die by drowning, it would be like your whole entire world was turning against you. “Another nightmare?”

“Yes…” you hugged your knees to your chest and Vepar sighed, he looked truly distressed at your pain. He has always had a big heart, and always worn that heart on his sleeve. So when you thought about Foraclors having told you in the dream about your brothers being cynical of the world, but that felt like that did not fit Vepar in the slightest. Did she know something that you did not? Or perhaps she did not know Vepar as well as she thought.

“I have to attend a few trials today, they are rather frivolous ones.” He spoke with a small laugh at the end of his words, and he gazed out your balcony door, it was closed. “I still cannot miss them, but if you need me just come there and let one of the staff know you are there to speak to me and I will be glad to talk to you between trials if need be.”

“…I will, I will be fine.” You looked at him, putting on your best brave face. “You need not worry about me, I can hold my own. Besides I have work for the Spina I need to do anyway today.”

“If you say so.” He pushed himself up to stand, making his way to the door, but one he did, Vepar glanced back at you. “Please if you need anything let me know, ma très chère sœur.”

“I will.” You replied and he gave you a smile and nod in return before he closed the door behind him and made his way down the hall. You immediately sprang to your feet and went to the balcony door, you could have sworn you closed it. Under the crack of the door there was an envelope, an envelope with the Fatui seal on it. You ripped it open and inside was a letter along with some other papers. You walked over to your door and locked it, not risking anyone accidentally coming inside. You then proceeded to sit down on your bed and took out the letter and set the papers aside, and you read the contents of said letter…

My dearest friend,

My apologies but I have been summoned to Snezhnaya on urgent business. Do not fret. I have everything ready for you, all you need to do is hand this report over to Mademoiselle Navia, I had taken the liberty of forging your handwriting personally so you need not worry about that being a loose end with the evidence. I would suggest giving the papers to Navia around late afternoon as to her you would have had a whole day to conduct the investigation. From there she will most likely present the case to the Iudex.

This is where I cannot help you, you will be called to court. You will most likely be called to testify against the accused, the case will most likely be presented by a proper lawyer on behalf of the Spina di Rosula since you do not have any experience in the courtroom, especially the courtroom of Fontaine. I have observed you, and you will get nervous if not terrified under these circumstances, all of Fontaine’s eyes will be on you, this includes the Hydro Archon and the Chief Justice. Here is a bit of advice, you will be on a stage and you must be first and foremost an actress. Good actors hone their craft to mesmerize the whole crowd. Besides you already have already caught the eye of the Chief Justice, use that to your advantage and you will have everyone fooled, fail and you will be the one named guilty.

Affectionately, 

Arlecchino

P.S. If you need to reach me, write a letter and slip it under the door of the address you have found me before.

Wonderful, now you were alone, but at least you still had contact with the harbinger if need be. You reached over to grab the papers beside you on the bed that she mentioned in her letter. She did indeed mimic your handwriting, and it was truly identical. It had your whole case put together in your handwriting, how everything was laid out. The motivation, the weapon, the evidence, and so on. In reality, none of it was real, if Arlecchino said you were an actress then these were your props in a world of make believe. The only thing is that you would have to convince all of Fontaine that this make believe, this story, this lie, was real…

This included your brother, the god of truth and the Clerk of the court of Fontaine…

Lady Furina, the god of hydro, the Archon of Fontaine…

And Neuvillette, the Chief Justice, the Iudex of Fontaine.

You sighed and set the papers down on your bed along with the Knave’s letter. You pushed yourself to stand up once again, and you made your way to the balcony doors and turned the handles and you pushed them open. The wind blew in your face as you stepped out onto the balcony, overlooking almost all of the Court of Fontaine. You walked over and braced yourself against the railing, thinking over how to pull this miracle off. Acting should not be hard, after all you had been doing it for two thousand years, biting your tongue in front of your husband and forcing a smile in front of the people of Liyue. You have had to be acting almost every waking moment and even when you were asleep you had to let your husband hold you or you would deal with the consequences. You had to walk, talk, act, eat, sleep, the exact way he wanted you to, it was like reading off a script. Reading off a script should not be hard anyway, not to you. In her letter Arlecchino told you that you must be first and foremost an actress. Along with that good actors hone their craft to mesmerize the whole crowd. You have been smiling to the masses of Liyue for the last few thousand years, and they believe that you cared for them just like your husband did, or seemed to. So you could do that with Fontaine, besides like the Knave said, you have the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, wrapped around your finger…

You sucked in a breath at that thought…

Neuvillette was the Iudex, the Chief Justice, his role was to be impartial and make his judgment based on the evidence provided. She only told you that to bring you some sort of comfort in this situation. You just had to pray that this forged evidence that your friend provided to you would be enough to tip the scales in your favor.

Chapter Text

Dinner was set out on the table before the abode of Cloud Retainer, all the Adepti were gathered around, talking and chatting, laughing like old friends. They were indeed all old friends, well almost. Like every party, every dinner, every meeting you were there, just not at the table. Your husband sat at the table, talking to Mountain Shaper while he poured glasses of wine for the table, but you sat at his feet. No not figuratively, literally, you sat on the ground, your side pressed against his seat for support. His fingers would occasionally brush through your hair as if you were his pet, but beyond that he did not spare you any mind. 

“May I be excused?” You spoke, just loud enough so that your husband could hear you. You had been sitting here for what felt to be hours, you had not eaten like the rest present did, and you could feel the dirt below you seep into your dress. Even with your question he did not look down at you, instead he only brushed his fingers through your hair once again as if that would be enough of an answer for you. You tried to stand up or at least adjust how you sat but your husband’s fingers quickly intertwined with your hair and pushed your head back down against his thigh. Finally he looked down at you, his golden eyes feeling as if they were burning into your very being.

“Are you not hungry, my love? You have not asked for anything this whole dinner.” He spoke to you and the rest of the table fell silent at his words. You felt yourself heat up in embarrassment at his words and you did not answer the silence thickening. He raised an eyebrow, expecting an answer. “Well?”

“…yes.” He smiled and reached out and grabbed his glass off of the table and he brought it down and pushed it against your closed lips.

“Drink.” He spoke, no he was not asking, he was commanding you to. You opened your lips and your tongue was met with wine, strong wine. You thought he was just wanting you to take a sip but no, he tilted it up more and more making you drink the whole glass. He pulled it away when it was empty and set it back down on the table. 

His hand then came down and brushed the drops of wine left off your lips and the bit that ended up falling down your chin because of him wishing you to finish it all. He then reached up to the table and he did not retrieve any of the cooked meals that were brought by the Adepti, instead he retrieved a small bowl of fruit, all cut up and untouched it seemed. He brought a cut up sunsettia piece from the bowl to your lips, signaling you to eat. So you took a bite, carefully thought as to not get too close to his fingers and bite them, after all you learned the hard way not to bite the hand that feeds. He then proceeded to feed you the fruits and berries one by one, as he resumed his conversations with the other Adepti present. Then once again the only attention he gave you was bringing his hand down to feed you. You wished for a place at the table at least once, but this is how it always was since you married him due to your contract and how it will remain. He would and will never say it, but he honestly does not have to, he may address and call you by the title of wife but really you were on the same level as a pet to him, both figuratively and literally. Pets can never hope for a place at the table, only the scraps that their masters feed them.

—————————

You had sent the maid to deliver a message to Navia that you needed to meet with her as soon as possible as you believed you solved the case. That is what you told the maid to say, what you really discovered was an elaborate lie to keep yourself from being on the defendant’s stand. You paced back and forth in the drawing room, the gloves you wore being the only thing keeping you from biting or picking at your nails in your terrified and nervous state. To you at least the minutes felt like hours as they ticked by ever so slowly, well it might have been hours, you were so nervous to actually pay attention to the time. Then finally you heard the door open as the maid returned, along with the sound of other pairs of feet. You saw the maid turning the corner along with the familiar faces of Navia, Melus, and Silver.

“Mademoiselle Navia, thank you for coming here.” You spoke the moment you saw her. She smiled at you and looked off the sunglasses she was wearing when he arrived and tucked them away somewhere on her person.

“It was no problem.” She spoke with a certain happiness in her voice, as she was greeting a friend which in this scenario she was, she did not know the truth. “Now you wanted to speak to me?”

“Oh yes…” You rushed over to the coffee table where you set the report down on, as you waited for her arrival. You reached out and presented her with the papers, praying she did not see through the forgery of your handwriting that the Knave performed. “I conducted the investigation and I believe I have discovered the culprit of the murder case, an owner of a gentleman’s club here in the Court of Fontaine.”

“I see, thank you.” She took the papers from your hands and she began to read them over, page for page, word for word. You could feel your heartbeat accelerate and your palms go sweaty as you watched her eyes dot from word to word. If you felt this under pressure when simply presenting the evidence how would it feel when you had to present it to the court, to your brother, to the Hydro Archon, to the Chief Justice? Navia hummed before she lowered the arm that held the papers down to her side, as to look at you. “This is quite the find, their motive, the weapon, and even how they did it. I honestly don’t see how they could possibly defend themselves, this is quite the discovery, Mademoiselle (Name).”

“I do what I can, Mademoiselle Navia.”

“Hm… I wonder…” Navia hummed in thought before looking over her shoulder at Melus. “What time is it, Melus.”

“A quarter till five, Demoiselle.”

“Perfect.” She grabbed your hand and pulled you along towards the door. “Come along, we have a trial to get to.”

Did she really intend on presenting this evidence to Neuvillette himself in the Opera Epiclese?

The answer was yes.

You all set out into the city, heading towards the aquabus station. Like the first day you went to the Opera House to drop off papers for your brother, you hear the gossip of the Court of Fontaine, who was being tried today, past trials, upcoming trials, and the list went on as it always did. When you first came here the more you walked through the city and heard this talk of the people of Fontaine, the more sick you felt. It felt horrible that they treated trials like entertainment, and you were going to be the next star of the show, the Opera Epiclese’s next leading lady.

Soon enough you arrived before the Opera Epiclese, the massive building before you like a giant. Navia walked into the building without even knowing of your building panic. You had to push yourself to move your legs that felt like led so you could walk into the Opera House. Once in the main foyer you could hear the sounds coming from the courtroom, and from what you could guess the last trial of the day was drawing to a close. You and Navia waited in the main hall, and you were getting more nervous by the second. It took a few minutes before the doors opened and the audience piled out and that is when you and Navia slipped in. 

The theater or courtroom, whichever you would like to call it, was the same as in your dream, the only thing of note that was different was the mechanical scale that stood in the upstage center. The blue glow it gave was familiar to you, like you had seen it before, but you could not quite place it. 

“Mademoiselles?” You heard a deep and familiar voice call out to you. You found your eyes trailing up from the machine and to the figure who sat on the balcony above it. Sitting in a grand velvet chair was Monsieur Neuvillette, the Chief Justice, and Iudex of Fontaine. He looked down at you two, more specifically at you, his violet eyes narrowing at you. Besides him was your brother, sifting through the trial records and soon he also looked at the two of you at hearing the Chief Justice call out to you. Neuvillette stood up from his chair and you could hear the echoing of his cane hitting the floor as he stepped forward to the rail edge. “Is there something I can assist you with?”

“Indeed there is.” Navia stepped forward, holding the file up in her hand. “I had Mademoiselle (Name) conduct an investigation on the recent murder and she believes she has uncovered the murderer.”

Navia’s eyes locked onto yours and she waited for you to nod in approval of her statement. You nodded in agreement and looked back at Navia, seeing the excitement reflected in her eyes. “Yes, this file contains the findings I was able to find on this case.”

“I would like to press charges based on the evidence that has been gathered-“

“Your request has been denied.”Neuvillette interrupted Navia and everyone else in the left in the barren courtroom was in shock at the Chief Justice’s refusal to allow Navia to press changes, did he know? No he could not have known, not in the short duration of time.

“On what grounds?” Navia snapped back, demanding an answer out of Monsieur Neuvillette. The Iudex’s eyes snapped to you and you could feel a chill go down your spine.

“On the grounds that Mademoiselle (Name) has already withheld information on a potential case from the court.” Everyone’s eyes fell onto you at those words, your brother with confusion, Navia in shock along with Melus and Silver, and then Neuvillette gazed down at you, an unreadable expression on his face. You were about to speak to question him but he spoke first before you could even open your mouth. “So until further notice I have to suspend your charges, you are dismissed.”

“…Navia wait outside please.” You glanced back at her, a pleading look in your eyes and she could only nod before walking off, Melus and Silver following behind her. Now it was just three left in the massive courtroom. You looked up at Neuvillette who gazed down at you. “What information did I withhold from the court?”

“The identity of the dragon in your story.”

“I just withheld that information from you, not from the court.”

“Mademoiselle (Name), I asked you as the Iudex, I am the court.” Neuvillette spoke back to you, his eyes never leaving your angered face once. “It is my job to make sure the citizens of Fontaine are safe, and you are still in a vulnerable position so it is my duty as the Chief Justice to see that you are protected.”

“You are upset because I refused to tell you the identity of my husband?” Neuvillette’s lips thinned when you said that, his brow furrowed, and there was the squelching sound of his leather gloves as he gripped his cane tighter than before.

“So this a domestic abuse case?” He spoke with a rhetorical question, a hand coming up to his face, his thumb on his chin and index finger on his lip, his mind deep in thought. He was not paying attention to you, he looked to your brother who was standing a few paces beside him. “Monsieur Vepar, contact the Bureau of Civil Affairs in Liyue and ask for your sister’s marriage record.”

“…I…” your eyes shot up to your brother and he looked more panicked than you in this situation, he cannot lie. “…I am afraid that is not possible, Monsieur Neuvillette.”

“Monsieur Vepar, I understand you wish to share your sister’s stance on this issue but-“

“That is not the issue, Monsieur Neuvillette.” Your brother cut the Chief Justice off and your eyes went wide when you realized what was happening. Your brother was starting to slip.

“Then what is? The only way that their marriage would not be registered is if it was older than the Bureau of Civil Affairs itself…” Neuvillette’s words trailed off as his eyes glanced down at you and then back at Vepar who was struggling to keep the truth from the Chief Justice, his boss. “How long has she been married?”

“Vepar…”

“Two thousand years.” He had finally cracked. You immediately looked away, closing your eyes and placing your head in your hands. You could hear the Chief Justice sigh at that, as if almost in relief, like he was holding his breath waiting for Vepar’s honest answer.

“Who was her spouse?” You could hear a long, pungent moment of silence between you all. The seconds passed like hours in the silence and if you could have seen your brother’s face up close and not at a distance you would have seen that he was not trying to hold this in, his face was unemotionless, unreadable, but he was not making an attempt of holding it in anymore. “Monsieur Vepar, who was your sister’s husband?”

“…Deus Auri, God of Commerce, the Prime Adepti, whatever you would like to call him.” You could hear your brother’s voice and you could feel the feeling of betrayal burning up inside you as he spoke. “He is more commonly known as Rex Lapis or Morax, the Geo Archon.”

“…I see, then we will-“

“Do nothing, it does not matter.” You interrupted the Chief Justice as you turned away from the stage, about to walk away from the courtroom. “I have already made my final contract with him, I am free and I will not face him in this opera that you call a court. This may be entertainment to the people of Fontaine, but I want no part of it, especially when my brother betrayed me.”

You walked out of the courtroom and the Opera Epiclese as a whole, ignoring your brother calling out your name as you left him behind. It was raining out now, the sun completely hidden from view. You thought of what you were told at that celebration dinner that was thrown for you that night when you joined the Spina di Rosula. You looked up at the sky, the rain pouring down your face with your own tears. A weak and sorrowful smile came across your face as you opened your eyes up at the sky.

“Seems like we share the same emotions, Hydro Dragon.”

No one responded, but you saw something cover your vision, an umbrella. You lowered your eyes from what was above to who was standing before you, Navia. She was holding the umbrella over your body and she gave you a weak smile, as if knowing it does not meet much. “Are you alright?”

“…No… but I will recover…” You sighed and forced a smile as you reached up to wipe off both the rain water and your tears from your face “…I always do.”

—————————

On the Chief Justice’s balcony in the Opera Epiclese, the god of truth stands there, looking where you last stood. A hand came to rest on his shoulder, but he did not look at the Iudex.

“You did the right thing in telling me.” The Chief Justice’s voice was unemotional, like it always was. Vepar’s hand came up to brush the hair out of his face, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

Vepar turned away from the door, looking Neuvillette dead in the eye. “She told me everything he did to her and I knew if he were to come and take her again I would be unable to stop him, I could only try to get her away.”

“I will do my best to protect her-“

“No you will not.” Vepar cut him off and gave the Iudex a gaze so sharp that he wished he could have given the God of Contacts himself. “She is my family’s responsibility, we will look out for each other from now on. I only told you that if he is to try anything against Fontaine that you can probably protect this nation. So I ask you to step aside when it comes to matters about my family. Please do not make me regret telling you.”

“I will consider your request.” Neuvillette bowed and stepped back, a strange yet conflicted look crossing his face. As he turned away, he took a deep breath and released it as a small sigh.

Neuvillette walks down the stairs of the balcony, walking down the back hallways of the Opera Epiclese. His cane clicked sharply as he walked down the long hallways of the backstage. He passed by a melusine who was carrying a stack of papers, he spared her a glance but did not speak.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, are you alright?” The melusine asked him as he walked passed. He looked down at them with a confused glance.

“Yes, why would I not be?”

“You’re crying.” At her words Neuvillette reached a gloved hand up to his cheek and when he pulled it away there were indeed tears on his glove. “Did something happen?”

“Yes, something did happen, but not to me…” Neuvillette sighed and looked away from the melusine, almost as if he was embarrassed to show his crying face to her. “…oh that poor girl.”

Chapter Text

Art of the reader and Forcalors from the chapter Dancing in a dream, I thought about giving Forcalors eyes but I figured keeping the shadows matching with the reader adds to the creepy vibe of that scene. I honestly wish when I was writing the chapter that the reader would of looked up in the last moment and see the sword that would kill Forcalors and it comes down on the reader and that’s how she woke up but I did the drowning scene instead because she can breathe underwater already so what would be scarier than something that you should be safe in not being safe?

Then the bottom to pieces are of the reader’s last living sibling who lives in Inazuma, you might be able to figure out who it is if you have my other stories in this series 

Chapter Text

Vepar returned home in the evening like he always does. The maid opens the door for him and takes his coat and gloves, hanging the coat in the closet by the door and takes the gloves to be washed for the next day. The home was horribly silent like it was when he lived all alone here for hundreds of years and that was his own doing. The butler stood in the doorway of the dining room, seemingly waiting to talk to the master of the house. 

“Good evening, my lord.” The butler spoke, taking a small bow before Vepar, a sign of respect.

“Good evening.” Vepar’s eyes remained glued onto a court case report that he would be presenting to the Chief Justice in the morning. He sighed and his arms fell to his sides and glanced up at the ceiling above them as if looking what was above the barrier. “I am guessing she is still refusing to speak to me?”

“I am afraid so, my lord.” The butler replied, matching the master’s sad and tired tone of voice. “Mademoiselle Navia stopped by earlier and the two of them went out on a walk, but she still appears to be quite shaken up from what happened.”

“I see…” Vepar’s voice trailed off and his eyes flickered shut as he was absorbed into his own thoughts. You have refused to talk to him since the incident at the Opera Epiclese, and he could understand why, he had betrayed your trust by telling the Chief Justice. When he returned home that rainy evening you had locked yourself up in your room, the only people you would be willing to talk to were the staff, Navia, Melus, and Silver. When Lady Furina came by later in the week to take you out to tea, by suggestion of Neuvillette actually, as to get you your spirits back up, you merely refused to even come out to even see her. 

“My lord, may I suggest something?” The butler spoke up, catching the god out of his spiraling thoughts. Vepar looked up and he hummed and nodded at the butler, signaling him to speak. “As your sister refuses to speak to you, perhaps you should send word to one of your siblings, they might be able to get through to her. Your sister, one of your brothers, or even your sister in law may be able to help, by just talking to her.”

“That may work…” Vepar thought for a second on his butler’s words of wisdom to him. “No, Inazuma is under lockdown thanks to the Sakoku Decree, I have not even been able to get a letter through even with my status. Then Stolas has been busy himself, he said something sinister was stirring in Sumeru and he cannot afford to leave again after his brief visit to Liyue, I wish he could be here, he is the wisest of us all, he would know what to do.”

“Perhaps, then maybe it would be best to send her to him.” The butler’s comment caught Vepar off guard, a clear look of surprise and shock on his face. “Ask Master Stolas to look after her, perhaps.”

“…I….” That was not a horrible idea, Stolas was more clear headed than his older brothers, Vepar and Osial. He was responsible and strategic, he was in a similar position like Vepar was with the Hydro Archon, keyword was. After the death of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata Vepar remembers Stolas losing his calm composure for the very first time since they found out what happened to you. Stolas isolated himself away in the desert of Sumeru in his grief for at least two hundred years, and only started again talking to Vepar and Eos, their sister who currently resided in Inazuma, about one hundred and fifty years ago. But he still retained his wisdom, being the most calm and collected sibling by far, but was it really wise to send you around from place to place like you were some object? No, that is wrong, that would be no better than how Rex Lapis treated you, like some precious stone that needs to be protected and preserved, no you were worth much more than that. Not to mention you came here of your own free will, and he would never send you away if you wished to be here. Vepar looked down at his documents, his attention looking away from his butler. “That is enough, you are dismissed.”

“My lord-“

“I said you were dismissed.” Vepar snapped back, shooting a glare up at his staff member and the butler immediately stopped talking and hung his head low in shame. Vepar sighed and set the report down on the dining room table carelessly and turned on his head to the door he just came in from, walking past the maid who overheard all of this. “I am going on a walk, I need some fresh air.”

Before the maid could even fetch his coat, the door was opened and closed, and Vepar was already making his way down the dark streets of the Court of Fontaine. 

It was a cold night tonight, the colder months of the year must be approaching soon if not already here. Vepar slightly regretted not bringing his coat along, but he did not wish to turn back now. He just wanted to get out of the city now, he needed to clear his mind which was cluttered like a child’s messy room. When he was young he used to fade away into the evening mist and reform in the ocean’s depths, a way to cut out the world and meditate on his thoughts. He cannot remember the last time he had time to do that, time to himself. His work in the court, his work for the archon, his work for Fontaine, all of his work kept him so incredibly busy. He missed the days when he was a child and spent his days playing with his brothers and sisters under their parents’ watchful eye in what was now Yaoguang Shoal in modern Liyue. Then there was the time after he left the nest, flew away from his parents’ embrace, but still resided in his homeland of Liyue. He went up north, farther than you and your twin sister dared to go, he made what was now Yilong Wharf in Chenyu Vale. 

Fontaine was lovely, but the Chenyu Vale would always be his home…

Vepar found himself walking along the path that ran along with Clementine Line, the aquabus line. He looked over the waters of Fontaine before them as mist began to form around the god, the god of truth and mist. He stepped up onto the ledge and no one saw him as he jumped, but his body never met the water, disappearing into the mist…

—————————

You sat on your balcony, the moon illuminated by your song. The pale white light from the moon illuminated your form, giving you an almost angelic look, but you were no angel, that would be an insult to you or a tease if it was from your family. You had not spoken a word to your brother since the incident, not even giving Lady Furina, the Hydro Archon, your attention. It was a quiet night tonight, you could even hear the distant crash of waves from the fresh water sea of Fontaine, hitting the shore. It was the first clear night in a long time, the last few days since your incident with Neuvillette it has been non stop pouring rain, only letting up now.

“Hello Mademoiselle (Name).” A voice from across the table spoke to you and you nearly screamed if it was not for them reaching over to cover your mouth. You looked over to see Lyney, from the House of the Hearth, sitting across from you. How did he get up here? Did he sneak up here by climbing the brick or something else? He laughed at your reaction and removed his hand. “You are surprised how I got up here, well a magician never reveals his secrets… I heard about what happened with Monsieur Neuvillette and your brother.”

“…Oh, I see…”

“I didn’t come here as a Fatui member, I came as an older brother.” Lyney spoke without his usual cheery and flamboyant voice, but in a somber tone, one that you had heard before from Vepar, Osial, your own brothers, and Childe, another Fatui member. “I have a sister, Lynette, and before father came and saved us we… she almost went through something similar to what happened to you.”

“…I… I am sorry.” You could not find the exact words, you recognized the name Lynette from your last meeting with the Knave.

“Don’t be, you actually went through it.” He took off his top hat and set his hat down on the table. He drummed his fingers against the table, deep in thought. “I know from some eyes my father placed on you that you have not been talking to your brother after what happened and may I offer some advice, I can see Monsieur Vepar’s point of view of the situation but also your own as your friend.”

“Friend?” You questioned, the last Fatui to say that they were your friend was none other than his father, Arlecchino, and neither of you were exactly friends. “Like your father?” 

“No, like an actual friend, I did tell you I am coming to you as just Lyney.” He spoke with a shake of the head and a smile. He looked at you and his look reminded you of the same way your elder siblings would look at you when you were little and they were… still alive. “Your brother, he worries for you that is why he told Monsieur Neuvillette. He cannot defend you and Fontaine both from the Geo Archon, he told the Chief Justice so he could defend Fontaine and Vepar could defend you. He gave up on his defense of Fontaine, of his duties, so he could protect you, protect his family. Or at least that is what I would do if I was in his situation.”

“I… I think I understand, but I do not think I am ready to accept that as the truth just yet.” Your answer merely made him sigh and nod. You thought back onto what he had said,your brother just wants to protect you, if you were to ask him he cannot lie about it, he cannot lie about anything, that is his gift and his curse. “Thank you Lyney, but could you answer one thing for me?”

“Of course, Mademoiselle (Name).”

“How did you find out what happened at the Opera Epiclese with Monsieur Neuvillette and Vepar?” At your question Lyney gave an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his head.

“I was underneath the stage.”

“You were what?”

“Well you see, my sister, Lynette, and I have the Opera Epiclese booked for an upcoming performance in a few months and I was underneath the stage helping set up a trick for that performance.” Lyney began to explain as he grabbed the brim of his hat from the table and began to balance it on his finger, spinning it around on his finger like a mini magic trick before your eyes, but in reality it was just the product of skill and practice. “Once the trials started I could not just crawl out of the floor and onto the stage like a creature from a horror story. So I just stayed there until the trials were over and I heard you and Mademoiselle Navia come in afterwards. Then I heard everything that was said, even what Monsieur Neuvillette and Monsieur Vepar said after you left.”

“What… what did they say?”

“Well Monsieur Vepar basically confirmed everything I thought, he was doing this to protect you. Then Monsieur Neuvillette… hm…” Lyney hummed in thought and set down the hat he was spinning onto his lap. By the look on his face, the answer may not be one you like. “When Monsieur Vepar asked him to step aside and leave your family matters to your family, he only said he would consider your request but nothing more. I have no idea what to make of it, I have no idea if he will actually step aside or not.”

“I see…” You responded as you thought, to let your fate fall in the hands of someone else who you did not know their capabilities or really who they were. Your siblings were a different story, you knew them, you trusted them, and you knew that they just wanted to protect you, not control you. “I will speak with Monsieur Neuvillette in the morning after I speak to my brother, thank you Monsieur Lyney.”

“No problem at all, Mademoiselle (Name).” He stood up from his chair, flipping his hat back onto his head as he did. “If you need anything from a real friend, you know where to find me.”

“I will keep that in mind- oh one more thing, Monsieur Lyney.” You stood up from your chair and walked back into your room and the magician’s eyes followed. You ran up to your vanity and scrambled through your jewelry, a special piece you had tucked away in the back. You intended it to give it as a gift to someone, but when you bought it you had no one else to give it to as your husband was the only person you really spoke to at the time of your purchase. You pulled out the box from the vanity and ran over to Lyney who waited on the balcony. You handed it to him with a smile. “I meant to give this to someone as a gift, but when I bought it I had no one to give it to, give it to your sister, Lynette.”

You walked the streets of Liyue, going from booth to booth, seeing for the first time how much the people of the city celebrated this occasion. Everything felt so alive to the time you would normally spend with the adepti around this time of year which was always so depressing and lonely. 

You stopped at the booth of a small jewelry business, you were surely not short of pocket change with who your husband was. You were looking through different necklaces and chatting with the shop owner when you heard a high pitched voice call out from behind you.

 “Excuse me ma’am?”

 “Hm?” You turned to see a small floating girl behind you and a blond woman who wore clothes that you did not quite recognize. “May I help you two?”

 “Oh yes, we were wondering where the Rite of Descension was taking place, neither of us are from here and it’s our first time witnessing it.” The floating companion explains and you smile and nod.

 “It’s my first time attending the Rite as well.” You laughed a bit nervously as you answered, which made them look disappointed. “Don’t worry though, I have resided in Liyue Harbor for quite some time, I can show you where it will take place and perhaps show you around the harbor.”

 “Oh no, you don’t have to do all that, ma’am-“

 “No, no, it’s not a problem whatsoever, I actually quite enjoy helping people, especially when it comes to helping the people of Liyue and travelers who wish to know more. Just let me finish up here.” You smile and turn back to the shopkeeper and make an exchange for a necklace and the mora you carry. You tuck the necklace in your bag before turning back to the traveler and her companion down the street.

“Mademoiselle (Name), this is far too nice of a gift, you should keep it.” Lyney tried to hand you back the expensive necklace in its box back to you, but you just pushed the box back to him. It was a necklace made with noctilucous jade and diamonds, you did buy it with your husband’s mora, but at the time you did he had the mora to spare on you given that he could create it with the snap of his fingers, so you had all the mora in the world but not a soul to spend it on.

“No, I insist, you do not wish to refuse a goddess do you?” You spoke in a teasing manner, you were not one to hold your position as a being of the divine above people, no that would be just pure cruel. Lyney laughed as he finally closed the box and he tucked away on his person. “Tell Lynette that if she ever needs anything that she has me in her corner, and she may come and see me anytime.”

“You are very kind, Mademoiselle (Name).” Lyney spoke as he hoisted himself over the balcony railing, his feet landing on the other side of the edge, just inches from falling at least fifteen to twenty feet onto the pavement below. “You know you would make a good mother.”

“While that is very kind of you, Monsieur Lyney. I consider it a blessing that I have not bore any children, the world I have lived in has not been kind to me and I would not wish to bring life to see that world my husband created for me.” Your words carried a thick and heavy message in them, you have lived a long life and the topic of children was one that has come up many a time. If your husband had his way you surely would have had many children by this point but you were lucky enough to have a few Adepti in your corner, who somewhat defended you enough , and were able to talk your husband out of it. And by a few Adepti, you mean three out of the many that exist, Streetward Rambler otherwise known as Madam Ping, Mountain Shaper, and Menogias, only two of which live on today. Madam Ping was the one who defended you the most, the one having the gaul to stand up to your husband and speak up on your behalf when he would not listen to you, especially a number of centuries ago when she still had the face of a youthful beauty, before she chose her current form, but she did not mind helping you out still either. Mountain Shaper was more gentle in his approach as if afraid of your husband’s disapproval, suggesting in different ways that you were not ready, he was much more kind to you in private when your husband was not around and you were alone and perhaps in the company of the other two, especially before Menogias’ passing. On the day Menogias passed you do not think you have cried more besides the day when you were sealed in that prison-like cave for five hundred years. You shook all those thoughts away, you need to forget about those things now, you had your whole life ahead of you now. You looked at Lyney who was ready to make his grand escape from your balcony and smiled. “Perhaps one day I will wish for children, with the right person, someone who will not turn to dust in the next hundred years, someone who can stay by me throughout my exceptionally long life, and who will be gentle with me, kind, and loving. Things I have been deprived of, then I may wish for children. Until then I am content where I am.”

“I am sure you are, Mademoiselle (Name).” You watched as he gripped the railing with one hand and lifted up his top hat with the other and took a bow, leaning back and sweeping low. “Until we meet again, I bid you adieu.”

In one clean motion he pushed himself off of the edge, letting go of the bar but not his hat. He swung the empty hand to grab the other end of his top hat’s brim and in one clean motion flipped it infront of his body in midair, and just like that he disappeared. You rushed to the railing and looked down, he was gone, you guess a magician never reveals his secrets. You must have been standing there in shock for a long minute because you heard a deep voice from the road call out to you…

“Mademoiselle (Name), are you alright?” You turned your head from where you were staring at to see a familiar man walking down the road, who must have just turned the corner by your house so he just missed seeing the magician. Standing there in the street with his cane was none other than the Chief Justice himself, Monsieur Neuvillette. He was not wearing his usual robes that he normally dons when you see him as when you see him is when he is at work as the Iudex of Fontaine. Now he wore quite a simple outfit, black slacks, white dress shirt, dress shoes, and his tie, the only real difference again being the lack of his formal robes of the Chief Justice, he looked more casual or as casual as he could with keeping up appearances and what not. He looked up at you on the balcony with a gaze you could not quite place. “I thought I heard you talking to someone, but it seems there is no one else here.”

“Ah, I was just talking to my maid, I have a meeting with Mademoiselle Navia in the morning, I am still a member of the Spina di Rosula after all.” You answered and the Chief Justice merely hummed, his look seemed to become distant as you spoke those words. It was not exactly a lie, Navia did plan on checking on you in the morning to make sure you were okay since you have been shaken up by the events at the Opera Epiclese, the lie was that you were not speaking to your maid, you were speaking to the magician, Lyney. “Actually Monsieur Neuvillette, I did wish to talk to you, would you perhaps have time in the afternoon to speak?”

“Ah, yes I believe I do have time to spare after a few trials in the morning.” His demeanor shifted completely as you mentioned you wish to speak to him, his eyes going from distant to looking right back to you with his full attention. “I was perhaps considering going on a walk after tomorrow’s trials, there are some lovely paths along the Fontianian sea just southeast of the Opera Epiclese, perhaps you would like to join me. I could send one of the Ga-“

“Monsieur Neuvillette, I would prefer our meeting to remain more formal. What I need to discuss with you is brief.” You spoke and his face fell back to unreadable immediately after he heard your words, your rejection. “I would discuss it with you now, but it is late and I need to think of what I intend to say. I will meet you at the Opera Epiclese so that we may talk then, good night Monsieur Neuvillette.”

“Bonne nuit, ma chérie. Que vos rêves soient agréables.” You did not hear everything he said, nor did you understand it all. You understood the honorifics of Fontaine thanks to your brother but the language itself remained a mystery still to you. You shut your balcony doors behind you, locking them as well. 

You got changed and dressed for bed, slipping into your nightgown. When you emerged from your bathroom back into your bedroom you saw that the night sky was no longer illuminated by the moon’s glow, instead a heavy thunderstorm had set in and the only light in the sky was the strike of lightning, followed by the crack of thunder. You laid down in bed, pulling the covers over your body, your head turned to look out the window beside your bed, watching the rain that hit the thin glass, creating a pitter patter sound.

“Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, don’t cry.”

—————————

The consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had to make his way to Yilong Wharf in Chenyu Vale for work, by order of the director. A family who lived in the port city had recently lost a loved one who lived in Liyue Harbor, thus why Whangsheng’s services were requested. The inn he was staying at was simple but lovely, similar to the one he and his wife stayed in for their two thousandth and twentieth wedding anniversary in Qingce Village. Those days seemed so far away now, how long has it been since he had last seen her, weeks? Perhaps a bit over a month or nearing two months? Either way these days have been getting terribly lonely for him, he felt as if there was an itch in the back of his mind telling him that she should be here and if felt horribly wrong not to. Some nights he would not sleep, having her side of the bed being empty made it feel so cold. The time with the Rite of Descension was bearable because he expected to have her back by the end of it, but yet you were not here.

The former Geo Archon sighed, it was getting late but he could not sleep yet again so he thought a walk may soothe his troubled mind. He slipped out of his room in the inn and then onto the port city streets as whole. The cold air brushed past him, it was noticeably colder in Northern Liyue than compared to Southern Liyue, but the colder months would be approaching soon enough as the nights grew longer and the days shorter. Normally this would be his favorite time of year due to how often his wife’s voice would sing in the dead of night, illuminating the sky, but now it felt horribly silent and sorrowful.

“Hm?” The funeral parlor consultant hummed in curiosity as he saw a seemingly young man, he was a shorter man with brown hair, dressed in pastel blues and whites, more Fontainian style of clothing, but that was not uncommon in Yilong Wharf due to its proximity to the nation of hydro. The young man was walking near the docks and he stared down at the water, a melancholy look in his eyes. Zhongli approached the young man and the closer he got the more Liyuenese he looked, he must only live in Fontaine but is from Liyue. “Are you alright? You seem troubled by something.”

“…” The young man did not respond, only looking deep into the water. Zhongli wondered if he heard him or not, perhaps he was sleep walking but the young man did speak up after a few moments of standing there in silence, though his eyes remained fixed on the surface of the water. “Yes I am, I was just wondering if the people here still offer jade ornaments into the waters.”

“I am afraid not, that tradition was lost long ago, now tea is much preferred here.” Zhongli watched as the young man’s face dropped back to sorrow once more, as if he may cry. “I am surprised one from Fontaine would be familiar with such traditions as the offering that were made to the god of mist, he has not been in Liyue since the Archon War or so history says.”

“I am actually not from Fontaine, I was born in Liyue along with the rest of my family. I lived in the Chenyu Vale for a number of years before I moved away.” The young man still looks down at the water and Zhongli can just hear the shake in his voice like this young man will break down crying at any second, “I just live in Fontiane for… work for lack of a better word along with a few other reasons.” 

“May I ask what the other reasons may be?” Zhongli came to rest a hand on the man’s lower back which made him flinch at first but allowed the former Geo Archon to lead him to a nearby bench instead of being so dangerously close to the water in such an emotional state.

“Well my family, they all moved away from Liyue a long time ago. So with no one else here what was the reason to stay… especially when my sister was…” the young man’s voice trailed off as he finally succumbed to his tears. Zhongli felt his heart wrench at the sight before him as if it was him crying the day Guizhong was killed before him. “…If only I was more observant, stayed with her she would not have had to endure all that she did, I could have protected her… and I failed.”

“I am sorry for what happened, you seem like a wonderful brother.” This comment only made the young man choke up another quiet sob. “…If I may, what happened?”

“She… she was so horribly hurt and abused by the monster that called himself her husband, after what she had been through I just…” the man entangled his fingers in hair, holding his head as he tried to get a hold of himself. “…I cannot get those images out of my mind, they were unforgivable.”

“My condolences, if I may offer my own advice from my many years of my own marriage.” Zhongli rubbed the young man’s back, trying to give the seemingly mortal man beside him comfort. “My own wife has been stubborn since the day we were wed, even before, but I adore her so much that my heart aches when we are apart. My (Name), is the most-“

“…what did you just say?” The man cuts Zhongli off as he speaks in an almost horrified, quiet, voice. The young man glances up at Zhongli wide eyed, his eyes full of fear but Zhongli was only confused.

“I adore her so much- sir, are you alright.” The young man stands up and turns around, his eyes never breaking away from Zhongli for a moment. The former Geo Archon reaches a hand out the man but it is only slapped away so hard that it is bound to leave a red mark.

“Do not touch me!” The man snapped at Zhongli as he backed up slowly, creeping towards the water. “You do get to talk about your marriage like everything was perfect because it was anything but perfect!”

“Sir I am afraid I do not understand-“

“You know exactly what you did to my sister, Morax.” Zhongli’s own eyes went wide at the use of that name. His mind slowly snapped together the pieces based on his last meeting with his wife’s siblings about a week prior…

“Well I am actually not from Sumeru, I live there, Port Ormos to be specific, but I was born here in Liyue along with the rest of my siblings .” He smiled and shook his head, his eyes going to gaze out at the sea, at the Guyun Stone Forest to be specified. “I have a very widespread family. One of my brothers lives off in Fontaine , one of my sisters lives in Inazuma, and recently my eldest brother and littlest sister left Liyue. I have been residing in Sumeru for quite awhile, it is the best place to see the stars.”

“Oh Paimon thinks she understands, your family likes to see the world.”

“You could call it that, but the truth is…” Zhongli could have sworn he saw the diviner’s eyes glance up at him before looking back to Paimon. “…Liyue never felt like home, not since our parents...”

“…oh did they…”

“Oh no, they’re alive… I think.” Stolas interrupted Lumine, with a smile at first, but that quickly faded. “They disappeared a long time ago, no one knows what happened to them. I have tried to get answers from the stars, but even they seem to not have the answer I am looking for.”

“I will make sure you never see her again, I promise that on my life.” The other god was only inches away from the water now, about to fall back into it. He made direct eye contact with the god of contracts and in his eyes Zhongli could see them full of tears, but now ones of sheer anger as they poured down his face. “A warning to you, once the mist clears, all is revealed and then there is nowhere to run from the truth of what you did. Or perhaps you are content with your crimes, seeing them as a form of love despite their dehumanizing, possessive, malicious behavior, and in that case I hope you are dragged beneath the depths and spend the rest of eternity going through all the pain you put her through.”

With those words the former Geo Archon went blind with rage. Before the water based god could hit the water, Zhongli was able to grab him by the collar and slam him against the dock beneath them. Vepar could see the one calm and composed man turn into a monster in a mere moment, is this what you had to deal with for two thousand years? His eyes did not even look human anymore, perhaps dragon was the right term to refer to him as.

“You should learn to know your place. I have protected my wife for two thousand years, kept her safe from-“

“Then why did she leave?”

In that moment he did not even see the absolute anger in the eyes of the god of truth turn to absolute fear as the dragon god raised his hand up and struck the weaker god. 

There was a scream followed by silence…

A strike like that would have killed a mortal, but for Vepar it broke his jaw, but that would heal in a day for the divine, and the right side of his face was almost entirely blood mixed with the pure geo fragments from the strike. He was about to strike the god of truth again but as he raised his hand-

“Stop this at once!”

The familiar voice made Zhongli’s head turn and snap out of his feral state, once he saw the familiar sight of the orange and black crane, Mountain Shaper. As soon as he turned his head he felt the presence of the other god disperse, and mist formed around them and quickly drifted to the water where it disappeared once more. There was a heavy sigh from the bird Adeptus as he shook his head. 

“You have lost yourself in your wife’s absence, my lord.” The crane sounded almost like a disappointed parent. “Imagine what would have happened if you killed him, does one know what destruction would have been? Does one not remember Havria and what happened to her? The disaster that ensued? That was also your bride’s brother, imagine what she would have done if her brother was killed. She would never return to Liyue.”

“Do not lecture me about my own wife.”

“One is lecturing you about the safety of Liyue!” The crane sighs and turns away from the Prime Adepti. “What if there was a mortal around to witness what one has done here? One was lucky that one noticed the divine presence of another god, one thought it was one’s lady.”

“What would have happened if it was her?”

“…” The crane pauses and hangs his head low, almost in shame. “One would have told her to leave, to hide in the depths of the ocean.”

“Why?”

“So she would be away from you.”

Chapter Text

You woke in the morning by yourself, not because of any nightmare or the maid waking you up. Everything felt eerily quiet in the house, normally you could hear the sound of the staff’s footsteps or the smell of the scent of breakfast being made in the kitchen. You slipped out of bed, your mind still felt groggy as it does when you just woke up, you slipped on your slippers and grabbed your robe from where it hung on the back of your vanity chair, and slipped that on as well. 

Just as you went to open the door there was a scream that tore through the air of the house…

You quick look slammed opened the door and rushed down the hall from where it came from, Vepar’s room. His door was wide open when you stood in the doorway, the sight before you nearly made you scream as well. Your brother laid down in his bed on his back, his face distorted in pain. A doctor who was most likely called by the staff was at his bedside, his hands covered in your brother’s blood as he removed rock and other shards from his cuts on his face. Actually cuts are the wrong word, gashes would be better suited for this context, the right side of his face was so incredibly bloodied that the skin seemed to be stained red. His jaw had also seemed to be injured due to a bruise that hid underneath the blood, just visible, but it seemed to have healed already, or at least is not as bad as its original state. His eyes were shut, his head thrown back, and teeth gritted and he groaned in pain. His tears only mixed with the blood in his wounds making it sting that much more, if he took to a more divine form he may not be affected by any of this, the cons of taking a more mortal form with human anatomy.

“Vepar…”

You could hardly choke out his name as you saw his state before you. The maid and butler stood at his bedside, helping the doctor. The maid heard your voice and turned to you in the doorway, she looked at the doctor and he nodded, dismissing her. She rushed to where you stood. She set her hand on your shoulder and guided you back to your room. She guided your shaking form to sit down on your bed, and she came to sit down next to you. She kept her hand on your shoulder, letting you breathe and calm down from the shock of what you just saw.

“W-what happened?” Your eyes remained locked on the floor as you tried to process the sight you just saw. How the hell did your brother end up like this? He was a god, did another god do this?

“We do not know what happened to Monsieur Vepar.” She answered, it took her a moment to reply as if she was figuring out what to say. “He went on a walk last night and when he came back he was like this, he looked like his life flashed before his eyes.”

“…I…give me a second.” You stood up from your bed before the maid could stop you and you were making your way into your brother’s room once again. You looked at the butler and the doctor. “Can you leave for a moment?”

“Mademoiselle (Name), I need you to-“

“Listen… to her.” Your brother spoke up, his voice was so incredibly weak, his words just sounded painful to speak. With much hesitation the butler led the doctor, who was definitely fussing about you stepping in and stopping your work. The door clicked shut and you looked at the bowl of water, slightly red from the blood. You raised your finger up, commanding the water to flow out of the bowl and into the air. You guided the water through the air and onto your brother’s wound, cleaning and healing it like when you encountered the melusine, Siora. It took a while longer than a scrape on the knees, a few minutes, but your brother gritted his teeth through the pain. He looked at you while the water rested on his face, a smile coming across his face. “Thank you, I am surprised you remembered that.”

“You would not be surprised at how many times I had to use it.” You replied and he immediately sighed, leaning back into his bed as you healed him. You looked over his wounds as the blood cleared up, they were claw marks, actually claw marks. “Vepar, what in Teyvat happened?”

“…I… I had a bit of an encounter with someone.”

“Who was it?”

“…I went to Chenyu Vale, I needed to get away from Fontaine. So I decided to go back home for a walk.” He did not make eye contact with you when he spoke, instead looking off at the closed bedroom door. “I… pissed off the wrong person.”

“…Vepar, no… you didn’t…” He did not respond, but that look in his eyes, the look of shame said everything you needed to know. You ran your hand through your hair and sighed, sitting on the bed beside him. He actually confronted him and got away with only this, he was lucky. “His claws hurt, it can burn for days but ice can help, trust me I know.”

“…ya it does….” He agrees as you pull the water away from his face, leading it back into the bowl. There were still noticeable slashes on his face but they were not as bad as they were before. You were unable to heal every wound completely, this became painfully obvious to you during an incident when you tried to run off as a rabbit and of course you were hunted down by an Adeptus, who is now dead in this modern day, and you were heavily injured. So not only were you bound to the small form of a rabbit but you had no way of healing your wounds. 

“I can’t heal everything, so time is the best medicine here.” You stood up from his bed wrapping your robe tighter around you. You began walking over to the door and looked over to him, who was still injured. “I was going to meet with Neuvillette today… I will just go early and tell him you will not be there today.”

“…I have never missed work, ever.” There was a thick sadness in his voice, but honestly he had no other choice. His jaw was still heavily damaged and the doctor would still need to put in stitches for his cuts.

“Well then maybe it is a sign you need to rest.” 

—————————

You had to get your own gloves and coat as the maid and butler were helping the doctor tend to your brother. Right as you opened the door another was about to knock, Melus. He stumbled forward and you stumbled back, but luckily you caught your balance and landed on your feet. Behind him stood Navia and Silver, that is right, Navia was going to see you today.

“Mademoiselle (Name), there you are-“ Navia greeted you with a joyous smile and her usual energetic tone, but when she saw your own expression her own smile faltered into a more somber expression. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”

“Yes… I am sorry I was just on my way to speak to Monsieur Neuvillette.” Melus stepped aside to let you step out and you did so and closed the door behind you as you did. “Something urgent happened last night and I do need to inform him as soon as possible.”

“I see, well then allow us to accompany you. I am sure we will be of some assistance.” Navia’s suggestion was truly something she intended to be kind, but honestly you did not want anyone else to be dragged into this, especially Navia, she did not need to be dragged into this horrible mess of your multiple century long affair. 

“There is no need, Mademoiselle Navia. This is a very personal and messy affair and I would rather you not get dragged into all of this.” You admitted to her which made her nod, but you could definitely tell she was disappointed in the fact that your meeting with her had to be canceled this morning. “But perhaps I will be able to meet you after.”

“Please don’t worry about me, if it is really that important, focus on your own affairs and putting them in order.” She stepped back as you walked down the stairs that led up to the front door and onto the street so you were on level with her. “If you need or want to talk I will be heading out to Poisson this evening, but I will be around the city until then if you wish to find me.”

“Thank you Navia, do take care.”

“I will.”

—————————

The trial was running behind schedule, twenty minutes late and the clerk had not even shown up yet or made his reason of absence known to even the Chief Justice. Whispers spread through the audience of the Opera Epiclese, gossip about his absence, the people looking for reasons or any explanations they can come up with. In all his recorded trials Vepar has very been late or let alone absent, was very strange if not troublesome and worrisome. The Hydro Archon was growing irritated and bored, drumming her fingers against the arm of her chair impatiently. The Chief Justice’s eyes dotted from the archon above him to the crowd of the audience below him. His gloved leather hands squeezed his cane more firmly, the minutes were passing like hours now and no sign of him. Then he felt a tug on the sleeve of his robes. He looked down to see the melusine, Aeife.

“Papa, Mademoiselle (Name) is here to see you, she said it was important.” At first Neuvillette found this odd, you were not supposed to be here until the afternoon and while you seemed adamant about keeping your meeting strictly business he would welcome your presence at any time. Then he realized that with Vepar’s absence from court this morning that it must be connected with your early arrival at the Opera Epiclese. Neuvillette stood up from his chair and slammed his cane down and a hush fell over the crowd.

“Due to the absence of the clerk we shall adjourn, all cases will be suspended until further notice.” The chatter of the court resumed after his words, but Neuvillette did not care now. He looked at Aeife and gave her a nod as he fixed his grip on his cane. “Take me to her, if you please.”

The blue melusine nodded and led the Chief Justice off the stage and down through the back hallways of the Opera Epiclese. He could feel his heart racing as they drew ever closer to where you were waiting. What exactly happened? Was Vepar alright? But more importantly were you alright? 

He was led to one of the many lounges backstage that convicts normally waited in before their trial. You sat on one of the plush sofas, your hands folded on your lap,  and your eyes glued to the ground. You wore a distressed expression as if you carried the weight of the world on your shoulders. His heart ached when he saw you like that, the sight of you like you were about to break down crying at any moment. He took a step towards you and our head immediately snapped up to look at him.

“Monsieur Neuvillette….” Your voice trailed off after you said his name. He walked towards you, at first he contemplated sitting across from you but perhaps being at your side would be better in this scenario.

“Mademoiselle (Name), what happened?” He sat down next to you, and you felt him set his hand on your back, beginning to rub comforting circles. He could see the tears building up in your eyes, and his earlier concerns were confirmed, something horrible did happen.

“Last night Vepar was…” You choked on a sob that formed in your throat and you buried your head in your hands. Without thinking like he should, Neuvillette immediately wrapped his arms around you, running his gloved fingers through your hair as you cried. While he saw Aeife out of the corner of his eye, seeing all this, he was not bothered by the melusine’s presence, nor did he pay much mind to her at the time being. “…h-he went to Chenyu Vale and w-was attacked by him .”

Neuvillette automatically knew who he was, and instinctively his grin grew tighter on you, his gentle grip becoming like iron, but you did not seem to notice. After you told him what happened you began to cry and cry, sobbing and weeping uncontrollably. He understood that you were terrified and horrified about what just happened the night prior. That explained the absence of the Chief Justice’s clerk. You cried and sniffed, almost as if to try to gasp for breath. Your hands held tightly onto the Iudex’s robe, they would be slightly wrinkled and stained with tears by the end of this encounter, but it was nothing he could not have cleaned.

“Shh, just try and breathe, ma très chère.” There was a squeak from Aeife in the corner when he heard the Chief Justice refer to you as such a name, but again Neuvillette did not pay much mind to her reaction. He still rocked your body slightly like you would comfort a child, and soon enough your breathing grew softer and calmer but still very slightly heavy, your body finally coming to relax a bit despite the slight shaking still. He did not loosen his tight grip of a hug as you calmed down. “Are you alright?”

“N-no… but that does not matter.”

“Yes it does.” He finally released his grasp he had around you as you looked at you in your tear filled eyes. His hands slid down from your upper back and shoulders, down to your hands, taking your smaller gloved hand in his larger gloved hands. “What exactly happened last night?”

“I-I do not know, I only found out this morning when I saw the aftermath, the toll on his body. Vepar told me that he angered him in a way, but I do not know the details.” Neuvillette could feel your form shaking, especially your hands that he held onto tightly. “He was attacked and his face got pretty badly damaged. I told him to put ice on it because that helps with the burning feeling-“

“The burning feeling?” 

“Y-yes, sometimes his… claws cut so deep that the pain is there for weeks and when you try to move what was injured it feels like it is on fire or burning.”

“Why do you know this?”

“….” There was a thick, heavy, and pungent moment of silence and the Chief Justice saw your eyes look away from him, as if to hang your head in shame which you had no reason to do, this was not your fault. He gave your hands another tight squeeze as he saw your eyes begin to haze over and he knew at the mention of his question of why, you had a horrific memory resurface, he had seen it enough times in abuse cases in the court of the nation of justice. He felt one of your hands slip away and he watched as you began to pull up the skirt of your long dress and his eyes widened and shared your sorrow and horror at the sight of numerous claw marks, old scars, littering your delicate flesh. “…there are a few more on my torso and back… sometimes if I fall or trip they hurt again…”

If he could, the Chief Justice would get down on his knees this minute and kiss each and every one of those horrid marks, those scars, a reminder of your past. But alas he could not, since he doubted you would allow him and he would not dare to do Cush an act in front of the melusine, even though she acted like she was not paying attention now he knew she was.

“I originally intended to meet with you today to ask you to step aside to leave our family affairs to my family, but now I do not know.” Your words hit him harder than anything else. After everything that has happened in the last few hours you still considered pushing away his help, look what happened to Vepar, one of the most powerful beings in Fontaine, only just weaker than the Hydro Archon and the Chief Justice, Neuvillette himself. “I overheard Vepar speaking to the butler last night before he left and what happened. The butler suggested that Vepar send me off to our other brother, Stolas, in Sumeru because I refused to speak to Vepar after what happened here at the Opera Epiclese the other day. Then someo- er… it hit me that he only told you that because he cannot defend both me and Fontaine from the Geo Archon, he only told you about what had happened so you could defend Fontaine and Vepar could defend me. He gave up on his defense of Fontaine, of his duties, so he could protect me, protect his family. But then he got hurt himself, and now I do not know what to do, Monsieur Neuvillette.”

“(Name)…”

His heart ached for you and he wanted to comfort you, but his own words were failing him at the moment. All he could do was reach forward and cup your face, his thumb brushing away your tears. You flinched away, and while he understood why he wished you did not. When you did push yourself away from him he caught a glimpse of the earring you wore, they were made of cor lapis and gold, a gift from your husband for your one thousand nine hundred ninety marriage anniversary, they were the same earring you wore when you met Navia, you never got rid of them. You noticed where his eyes fell and you groaned in annoyance.

“I cannot believe I did not get rid of these, they were an anniversary gift from that bastard. I meant to sell them weeks ago.” The Iudex watched as you reached up to grab and remove your earrings…

Your cor lapis earrings…

Just like your long gone wedding band…

“Would it kill you to give me a minute of my own privacy!?” You screamed at your husband in your home in Liyue Harbor. It has been a few weeks since your husband, Morax, the Geo Archon, got the wonderful idea of living in the harbor as to keep a watch over his people, this also meant you were dragged along as well. You thought you would receive a bit more freedom upon your settlement in the harbor, but this idea was quickly crushed. Most of your time was spent inside your shared home, locked up like a pretty bird in a cage. The times he did let you roam the city freely was when he was at your side, nothing else would do.

“My love-“ he tried to reach out to run his hand against your cheek but you quickly slapped it away.

“Do not touch me!” You shouted, stepping back away from him. “I never asked to be your wife, you forced me into this position all I actually want is to be with my family not you, I hate you!”

In that moment you felt a burning sensation from your wedding band that spread up from your hand up to your arm. It felt like burning, like magma that was burning through your flesh. You fell to your knees in pain, you screamed out in pain. Tears quickly fell down your face and those felt like they were boiling liquid falling down your face. You screamed out, begging for it to stop, it was too much for you to take. When it did stop you were on the brink of unconsciousness, tears falling down your face-

Neuvillette heard the blood curdling screaming as you doubled over in pain. On both sides of your head it felt like it did then, burning magma through your flesh. You gasped for breath thinking you would never breathe again. You could feel Neuvillette’s arms holding your writhing body tight and you could somewhat make out his yelling, 

“Medical staff… clear the opera house…”

but that is as much as you could hear as your ears felt like they were full of cotton, the only things you could process were your cries. Neuvillette could hear them as well, you begged for it to stop, how you did not want to go through this again . The only difference from now with the times with the wedding ring is that it did not stop. The pain only grew and grew until all you could process was the ringing in your head and your slowly fading vision… 

You felt grass tickling the side of your face when you woke up, but your eyes were still shut. You slowly opened your eyes and to which they had to adjust to the bright light of the sun. Once they adjusted you saw that you were laying in a field of grass. You quickly realized that this was a dream, none of this felt real, but you still felt so lucid. You looked down at your prone form, you were dressed in an all too familiar dress, it was a dress your husband had commissioned by Menogias, it was his favorite on you, perhaps because it was in his colors of golds, yellows, blacks and whites. You pushed yourself up to sit up and you soon began to recognize the location you were in a field, it was a field in Liyue, just a little north of Jueyun Karst and east of Mt. Aozang, a place still considered an abode of the Adepti. This was a place you actually knew extremely well as it was considered to be a part of the abode of…

“Hello, my love.”

…your heart plummeted to your stomach…

…you knew that voice…

…your husband.

You turned your head around to look behind you and he indeed stood there, dressed like the day you last saw him in that all too familiar suit to fit in with the people of Liyue Harbor. He stood there, hands folded behind his back, and facing away from you. He glanced back as well, looking down at you and you saw those disgusting golden eyes.

“I wish to speak to you.”

Chapter Text

“I wish to speak to you.”

As soon as he said those words you felt all your muscles in your body tense up. This could not be real, this is just a dream. Then there was the way his golden eyes narrowed at you, silently telling you he was actually here, controlling you now even in your dream. He walked towards you, like a hunter approaching a scared little fawn, knowing he was already won and was in no rush. He stood above you, looking down at your terrified form before he reached a hand down as if to help you off your feet. You took his hand, albeit with more hesitation than willingness. He pulled you up onto your feet but did not release your hand, instead he gripped it so incredibly tightly like a shackle, and his grip on you made you wince,  it like always he did not notice your pain. He began to walk with you at his side, like he always did on your strolls he dragged you along on.

“Do you know what day it is, dear?” He asked, his golden eyes looking over the landscape around the both of you two. What day was it? You knew the date and day of the week, but surely Zhongli knew that already.

“No and fairly I do not care.” You answered, almost verbally turning up your nose to him. You could hear him sigh, the same disappointed sigh he always gave just to you specifically. 

“…I see….” He responded, you knew that tone of voice all too well, he was mildly agitated with you. For most people it would be hard to pick up on but over the last two thousand years you have gotten more familiar with it, he often used it when you suggested food like seafood for dinner or when you dropped a teacup when he asked you to make a brew of tea. He led you through the grassy fields where you once resided but never called home. “I would have thought you would have remembered what today was, all of Liyue knows.”

“Well I am not in Liyue anymore.” You snapped back and you could feel his hand squeezed down even more on your own and you were afraid for a second that you could feel the bones in your hands creak and threaten to break in his grasp. Now you did not dare to look him in the eye, afraid they would be full of anger, which was not often, only when you crossed the line, breaking the contract. The last time you saw him, his eyes were hazed over in pure rage but he still restrained himself because of your threat to the harbor, honestly even if you tried to you have no clue if you or Osial could even make a dent in the harbor before he stepped in, or even just the Qixing and Adepti might have been able to take on your strength, which admittedly was not a lot. 

You two walked in silence for quite some time, he led you through a landscape that you once knew well, and not once did he release your hand. Soon you two came to stand atop of one of the cliff edges and in the distance you could see Dilhua Marsh and the Wangshu Inn, places you were mildly familiar with due to when you would pay visits to the Conqueror of Demons, Xiao, who resided there. You could see that in the distance that there were people by the water’s edge casting candle kit baskets into the water full of many a different flower, and as rare as they normally were glaze lilies were one of the most common, a flower commonly associated with you who were the Goddess of Rain and Moonlight along with being the wife of Rex Lapis, and then the late Goddess of Dust, Guizhong, though you two never actually met. Along the road there were beautiful and intricate lanterns lining the path along with more bundles of flowers and decorations of finery. You could hear the people’s happiness and laughter, but also feel their sense of sorrow as if something had been taken from them.

You felt your husband reach his other arm over your body as you watched, up your arm, and trailing over your shoulder onto your neck, and finally he tilted your head up to look him in his eyes. His golden eyes looked down at you and while you expected to find anger you found none, only sorrow and he leaned down and pressed his lips to your upper cheek, just below your eye.

“Happy anniversary, my love.” You felt sick at his words and wished to push him away, but you had no chance of it here, in a dream created by him but seems to be a projection of the real world at this present, you were just invisible in this. He pulled away and he gazed over the waters and the people of Liyue, not looking at you as he spoke. “You have been away for far too long and I am not the only one who misses ang longs for your presence again. The people of Liyue mourn your disappearance and the Adepti long to see you once again. It is time to come home now, my dear.”

“….” You sucked in a breath at hearing that, that is what he wished to talk about. He was nearing the end of his patience with you and your little outburst with him. He might have been able to deal with you running off for a time but now after his encounter with your three living brothers, Osial, Stolas, and Vepar, he will not be putting up with this for much longer. Even if that is how he felt, you could not go back to the life you lived for the last two thousand years, it was not a life where you were alive. You were not his wife, you were a glorified pet and another pretty gem to look at. “No.”

“No?” His voice questioned, but it was less of a question and more of a warning, seeing if you really wished to go down this path with him.

“That is what I said, I am never going back to you especially after everything you have done to me that I will never forgive you for.” You could feel his hand tightening around your own again as you speak and you swore you could even him gritting his teeth. “I finally am and feel safe for once in the last two thousand years. More importantly than that, I am actually loved but people who know me, my family who I was raised with, people who give me unconditional love me for me, not some obsession that you have because you do not have the heart to feel-“

You were cut off by your own scream as he shattered your hand that he was holding…

You would have been able to hear the bones snapping like twigs if it was not for your blood curdling screaming. He released your hand and you fell to the ground in pain and absolutely sobbing along with it. You looked down at your hand and it was a horrible sight to see, it was bent in every way if it should not be, your fingers bent back all the way, your palm practically folding in half, even a few of your nails were cracked and bleeding along with a few of the shards of bones that broke skin. 

“I have been extremely patient with you these last two thousand years. I have let you violate our contract with many of your mishaps and outbursts, but I will not allow this behavior any longer.” You could barely process his voice as he spoke to you, looking down at you who was crying and cradling your broken hand in your healthy one and curdled up in pain at his feet. “If our contract is not followed then it is broken, I will not allow you to break it any longer…”

He continued speaking but you could not hear it between your cries, the ringing in your ears, your pounding heart beat, and someone else calling your name as if deep in your mind. At first the voice was muffled but then it became clearer and clearer…

“…(Name)…”

“(Name)…”

“(Name).”

“Wake up!”

You woke up, sweat dripping down your body. The first thing you processed was the pain in your hand, like it was broken but seeing as it tightly holding onto someone else’s gloved hand that could not be the case. The second thing you processed was that you were not in the Opera Epiclese anymore nor were you back home in the Court of Fontaine. You laid in a large canopy bed with curtains that were tied up at each poster. It was in a large room with large windows on the left side of the room looking out to the night time view of the Court of Fontaine that was lit by many street lights but still darkened even farther by the light rain that came down. 

“Are you alright?” There was a deep voice coming from next to you, the same one who woke you up. You glanced over to see the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, sitting at your bedside in a chair that seemed to have been pulled up from the desk in the room. His eyes were full of worry and you could have sworn to see tears welling up on the corners of his eyes, but you could not tell as your vision was still quite blurred due to the throbbing pain in the back of your skull. You reached a hand up to your face to rub your eyes but you found that your own face had been recently stained with fresh tears. Along with your tears, your throat felt quite sore, and you pieced together that you must have been crying in your sleep. You could hear Neuvillette clearing his throat as he watched you awake and consume your environment around you. “You started to cry and scream in your sleep, are you alright?”

“…I….” You tried to speak after he asked his question, trying to convince him that you were alright but the words did not leave your mouth, you could not get one word out. Right then and there you started crying once again, small sobs escaping your lips. You tried to restrain yourself from making a scene before the Iudex of Fontaine but you could not stop yourself from pouring your heart out. You spoke but your speech was wavering and your words were broken up, barely able to get a word out before another sob came from your throat. “Him, i-it was him, Morax.”

You could feel Neuvillette squeeze down on your hand at hearing your husband’s name and you felt a wave of panic wash over you when he did so. You screamed and yanked your hand away from his own and you brought your hand, that still had twinges of pain, up to your heaving chest, cradling it in your other. Your eyes were wide with fear, like a rabbit who had just been cornered with no way out.

“What did he do to you?” You could barely hear his voice through the ringing in your ears. Though the question was not nestled directed at you rather the Chief Justice vocalizing his thoughts aloud. Neuvillette watched you breathe and the tears fall down your face as you quickly began to calm down. Your own eyes dotted around the room again, absorbing your new environment as he watched you.

“Where am I? What happened?” You questioned, your voice still trembling as you just had quite the scare from what your husband did to you.

“After what happened the medical staff examined your condition and found nothing seriously wrong and had hypothesized that you had some sort of mild head injury from falling before you fell unconscious , but that is not the case is it?” He asked you and you could only nod as you followed his gaze that went to fall on the nightstand which had a few of your belongings on it, mostly jewelry which included those earrings made from pure cor lapis. “Based on your reaction, these are the cause of your sudden incident, would that be correct?”

“…yes…” you could only speak that one word as you stared at those cursed gems before you. You watched as the Iudex reached into the pocket of his robes, which he had yet to remove even with the late hour it has become while you were asleep as he must have been sitting at your side since then, and he pulled out a handkerchief. He picked up the set of earrings with the handkerchiefs before he folded them up within before tucking them away once again.

“I will have these disposed of and I will also write a letter and have it delivered to Monsieur Vepar tonight as to inform him of the current circumstances of your condition and ask him to have this material disposed of in your household, which is cor lapis, correct?” You nodded at his question and he hummed in response. “As for where you are, you are in the Palais Mermonia. I thought it best to bring you here due to the current state of your own household and Monsieur Vepar’s current condition. You are welcome to stay as long as you like, the staff are ready to take care of your every need. Now I do have my own duties to tend to, if you need me I will be in my office and the door will be open to you.”

“Thank you, Neuvillette.” You addressed him just by his name, having no energy to remember titles or honorifics, and you watched as he stood up from his seat and began making his way to the door. Then right as he was reaching for the door handle you called out again. “I know this may not mean much but I am truly thankful, you are one of the only people outside of my family to have actually cared for me in many a millennium, that means quite a lot after everything I have been through.”

“Think nothing of it, ma très chère.” He spoke to you but did not look at you, it was clear to you in that moment that something was on his mind that he was caught up in thinking about while speaking to you. “I am merely doing what needs to be done and protecting you from those who have caused you distress.”

Then with that he opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind himself. You were left alone in the room, your only company being your thoughts and the pounding pain in the back of your head, not as bad as before of course. You sat up in bed and drew your knees up to your chest, hugging yourself. You rested the side of your head on your knees as you gazed out the window, the night was absent of your song tonight so the new moon took place. With the absence of your moonlight the stars and constellations that fell under the domain of Stolas, your brother who resided in Sumeru, took the role of the light in the night once the rain and clouds cleared. You gazed out the window, trying to connect all the stats above into their different shapes. You could make out a few, Leviathan Judiciary, Lapis Dei, Monocerus Caeli, Grus Serena, to name a few. When you were young Stolas would take you out to the empty fields of Liyue, far away from civilization and take you stargazing, and he could always point out more than you but you managed to get better at it over the centuries. He told you once that this was a natural talent for the two of you since you were children of the night, gods whose domains fell into the shadows that covered the world with the absence of the day and the bright sun it provided. Though stargazing was harder in this more modern era as the cities and civilizations lit themselves up with lanterns, fires, or artificial light. It was always the worst during Lantern Rite, the lanterns hiding away the stars before falling into the sea harming another one of your domains with the water and sea life that dwelled there. The Qixing did have the Millelith help clean up the lanterns, but that was mostly on the land they rarely put in as much effort into the sea or bodies of water in Liyue. You did enjoy the festivities of Lantern Rite as it was one of the only times you were allowed to roam the harbor by yourself for a long and extended period of time but you did not enjoy the pollution that came with it.

You hear the door creak open and you quickly spun your head around to see a little melusine standing there with an embarrassed expression as she just got caught by you. You recognized her as the same melusine that you met at Cafe Lutece, Siora. You smiled at her and waved her over, gesturing for her to come inside. She then stepped in and closed the door behind her before skittering up to your bedside, coming to sit on the edge of your bed, her little legs kicking over the edge. 

“It is lovely to see you again, Siora.” You greeted her and she nodded in agreement. “I suppose you live here?”

“Yes, I do.” She answered but her voice was still quite embarrassed. “I heard papa brought you here after an accident so I just wanted to see how you were myself.”

“That is very kind of you- wait papa? Are you referring to the Chief Justice?” You were quite surprised by this use of words but she only nodded, confirming your question. Neuvillette was the adoptive father of the melusine, which explains quite a bit now that you think about it, especially his protective nature. You let out a light laugh as you thought about it more and more. “That explains quite a lot now that I think about it, he would make quite a good father.”

“He is, he has looked after us melusine for quite a long time.”

“That is very sweet of him.” As you spoke you remembered that night with Lyney last night and what he said to you, you would make a good mother. You laughed again to yourself at your memory and little Siora tilted her head in confusion .

“Is something funny?”

“Oh no, I just remembered something a friend told me that I would be a good mother.” At your explanation, Siora grew more confused in her expression .

“You are not a mother already?”

“No, I have never had any children. The world I have lived in has not been kind to me and I would not wish to bring life to see that world, but maybe that I am here perhaps I will.” You hummed as you thought about what you would say next to this little melusine who was a child compared to the many years you have lived. “I will tell you something that I told someone else, “Perhaps one day I will wish for children, with the right person, someone who will not turn to dust in the next hundred years, someone who can stay by me throughout my exceptionally long life, and who will be gentle with me, kind, and loving. Things I have been deprived of, then I may wish for children. Until then I am content where I am.”

“Oh I see, so you want someone like papa? Or maybe papa is exactly what you are looking for.” You choke on your spit when she said that. Was she truly implying what you think she was? “Papa has taken a liking to you, especially after you helped me that day. Perhaps he wants you to be our mama.” Her eyes lit up after she said that and she looked at you. “Can you? Can you be my mama?”

“Oh well… Siora, you see it is a bit more complicated than that. We would have to get married in order for me to be your mother, and I just do not think I am ready for that responsibility yet.” At your explanation she grew a sorrowful expression and you felt your heart ache in pain at seeing that face. You sighed as you slid yourself over on the bed to sit on the edge next to herself and put on a tone that most would have heard and taken as not so serious.” If you see me as a motherly figure, then you are welcome to call me as such if you would like.”

“Really? Her expression grew happy once more and you nodded. She immediately reached over and hugged you, wrapping her little arms and mitten like hands around your waist. “Thank you so much, mama.”

You reached down and patted her head, running your fingers through her locks of hear as she nuzzled up against you. You felt a small warmth building in your chest as you held her, is this what your own mother felt like when she held you or one of your siblings? Because if so, this was nice.

Chapter Text

The first piece I did a number of months again but it is the first encounter between the reader and Zhongli which takes place in the Moon Will Sing, the first book in this series. The reason why I didn’t share it sooner is kinda silly, it’s because I gave her eyes in that drawing and classic MC characters normally do have eyes and I was just like maybe I shouldn’t post it but eh, I like the piece and I think the eyes add a nice touch to it.

Then the second image is my human design for Osial, I think I could have done better on the scale patters but I was mostly playing around with my new markers and was just trying a few things out with blending.

Lastly the third image is similar to the second but with Vepar and what he looks like with his kinda nasty scar from his encounter with Zhongli earlier in the story. I probably would have added a bit more detail to it and do some more creepy stuff with it, but when I was coloring it I was on a plane ride and a child and their mother was sitting right next to me and I was just like hmmmm no. Then my hand slipped and I messed up a few lines while inking so idk how to feel about it.

Chapter Text

The sun fell down on the streets of Inazuma City, the branches of the trees and buildings creating a few shadows here and there. The streets were fairly empty today but then again it was earlier in the morning and the people are just barely waking up and the gears of the city are just starting to turn. Among the few people walking in the streets of Inazuma City was a young woman, well just in appearance. She had black hair that faded into a lighter shade that reminded many of the rays of the sun. She wore a short pink dress with printed golden flowers that took inspiration from Inazuman fashion, it was in fact a dress designed by Chiori, it was a gift commissioned by the young woman’s closest friend for her birthday a few years prior along with another dress in purples and golds for her sister in case she ever sees her once more, but she doubted she ever would. 

“Miss Haruko!” She hears a voice call out from behind her, turning around and she sees a familiar face of the housekeeper of the Kamisato household, Thoma. He looked like he was running to catch up with her in the crowd but there was no crowd, he was just efficient with his work. It also took her a moment to respond to that name, Haruko, a false name that she had been given when she came to Inazuma for safety, her first gift from her first friend in a long time. How long was that? Over thousands of years now. How long has her friend been gone? Half the time it does not feel like she was actually gone, like it was just a bad dream. It has in fact been five hundred years since that day when everything collapsed once again like it did two thousand years ago. She cannot focus too much on that now, it was such a long time ago. 

She snapped her mind away from her thoughts and looked at Thoma with a smile as he came to stand before her. “Mr. Thoma, it is lovely to see you again. What may I do to help you this fine morning?”

“Master Ayato wanted me to deliver this to you.” He handed her a slip paper that was folded up to hide his contents. She hummed as she took the slip of paper from the housekeeper and opened it. Her eyes narrowed as she read the contents before she sighed and closed it up again, tucking it away in her pocket. “Miss Haruko? Are you alright?”

“Oh yes, it just seems your lord wishes to speak to me on a matter of urgent business.” She hums, a serious expression on her face as she thinks. As far as anyone knows, there are only a select few who know of her true identity outside of her family and only a handful of them are still alive. As to the masses she is just another writer of the Yae Publishing House, maybe more successful than most but still. She laughed and shook her head, dismissing her former look of distress. “He probably just wishes to meet me on some matter regarding my work with the publishing house, nothing to worry about. I have a few more errands to run this morning so I will be able to stop by this afternoon afterwards.”

“Oh well if Master Ayato said it is urgent is there anything I can do to help free up your schedule?”

“Oh no, I was just on my way to the publishing house, I just have paperwork due to yet another one of my novels being banned from being sold in Liyue.” She sighed and shook her head. “I swear the Qixing are going to be the death of me.”

“Oh funny you should mention your work, right before I left to find you I spotted Miss Ayaka reading one of your works, well I should say rereading.” Those words for. The housekeeper made her smile, knowing someone is willing to read her work after she heard the news about her negative reputation in Liyue. It seems like they wish to have their ideal story about their history, not of the truth of their beloved archon. “She wanted me to ask you, where did you get your inspiration for your stories.”

“Well, it was a long time ago with my sister…”

—————————

It was early morning in the Court of Fontaine, the light of the early morning sun breaking through the windows of the Palais Mermonia as the Chief Justice walked down the hallway. There was the sharp clicking sound from his cane every time he took a step as he walked. He was already dressed for the day and seemingly on his way down to his office, but that was not the case as he turned to a door which was slightly ajar. He pushed the door open, just enough to peer his head inside. There he saw your sleeping form on the bed, your chest rising and falling with each breath, and your hair around your head like a halo, you looked so peaceful. He did not know what to expect but he supposes even gods and goddesses need their rest. What the Chief Justice did not expect was the little melusine curled up next to you with your arm around her as she snuggled close to you. The Iudex felt a small smile creep onto his face at the  adorable sight before him. With what he heard you say a few days prior to the magician, Lyney, and what he saw before him now made his heart flutter. 

He did not even realize how long he was staring for until he heard a yawn coming from you as you awoke. He watched as you slowly sat up, careful of the melusine sleeping beside you. You rubbed your eyes after you sat up and you opened your eyes to see Neuvillette in the doorway. You nearly screamed when you saw him there but kept yourself from making a scene due to the sleeping melusine beside you, so you just went wide eyed and stared at him for a long moment like a cat staring at a wall. You two stared at each other for a long time, not knowing what exactly to say to each other.

“She came into my room to check on me and she ended up falling asleep and I just did not have the heart to move her.” You were the first to speak, breaking the silence with the tone of a whisper. Neuvillette stepped into the room, stepping across the room to the side of the bed the melusine, Siora, was sleeping on. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to the two of you, closer to Siora. He was listening to you but his eyes were on the sleeping Siora, he reached over to brush the hair out of her relaxed face. 

“…hm… mama….” Your heart skipped a beat in embarrassment as she talked in her sleep. You did not look up at Neuvillette in your state of pure and utter embarrassment since he was the melusine’s adoptive father to quote what Siora told you.

“Oh um… Last night she told me that she saw me as a motherly figure and wished to address me as such and once again I did not have the heart to say no.” You explained with a little laugh that showed you were a bit nervous and embarrassed with your tone. “They almost remind me of a boy I once knew, he is a wushou dancer in Liyue Harbor, he is such a sweet young man. When I could go out by myself I would often find myself visiting with him, the last time I saw him was about a week and a half before I left Liyue Harbor and he told me I reminded him of his mother who unfortunately passed a number of years prior. When I tried to sleep when I returned back to where I lived, I found myself unable to do so as I was dwelling on those words he told me on how he viewed me, I did not know how to feel and I still do not know now.”

“I am able to sympathize to a degree, though I do not wish to dwell on those memories.” He responded, his gaze shifting up from Siora to the windows on the wall beside your bed that showed the sunrise of the Court of Fontaine. His face was still quite unreadable and even emotionless to an extent, but something told you that there was a bit more than what was on the surface, like the ocean’s surface that hides an entire world beneath its surface. 

“I can understand that, not wishing to dwell on certain memories.” You also followed his eyes to the glass covered world outside the windows. You had two thousand years of horrible and disgusting memories tied to your very existence that you could never get out of your mind, sticking to you like a leech. You sighed and slipped out of bed, and Neuvillette’s head spinned around to watch you do so. “I should get up, the day could pass me by before I know it and I need to check up on Vepar and then I was also hoping to speak to Miss Navia, which means I have to head off to Poisson.”

“You are leaving?” He questioned as you began to retrace the rest of your belongings from the bedside table, your necklace, bracelets, hair ribbons, and your purse that held the rest of your belongings.

“Yes, I am afraid I must leave, but I do thank you for your hospitality in letting me stay here while I recovered from my… incident.” You hesitated on your words as you grabbed your flats from the floor beside your bed and you slipped them on your feet. “But I really should be off, I have many a thing to do today as I believe you do as well.”

“Yes… you would be correct.” He said as he was pondering his words and his thoughts. Neuvillette looked down at Siora and then back up at you. “I wish I could walk you to the door, but I should stay with her until she awakes, Siora tends to receive terrible nightmares so it is best if one stays by her.” 

“I understand that, actually I also get those quite often as well.” You made your way to the door, pausing as you were about to push it open, your hand on the door as you thought on what advice you were going to give, either way you were going to sound like a mother, you suppose there was no escaping that. “Breathing exercises help, my father helped me practice them when I was her age.”

“You must be mistaken, Siora is over four hundreds years old-“

“Oh…. Only four hundred years? Hm… nevermind then, I was older.”

—————————

Haruko , the author and columnist from the Yae Publishing House sat in her office at the publishing house. She had many stacks of paperwork and written reviews and letters all negative views of her latest works and even past works of her own.

Your stories are a disgusting disgrace to ancient Liyue’s history!

This is a horrible retelling of our nation’s most beloved story. The goddess would never say those things to her husband, he treats her with…

Your mischaracterization of the goddess of the moon makes all who know this beloved story despise you!

I cannot believe you are from Liyue, your family probably never wishes to talk to you again after what you have done!

Everyone-

Hates-

You-

She slammed the last letter down into the pile beside her desk along with all the others that have been discarded. She sighed and removed her glasses and pinched her nose and then reached up to rub her temples as she set her spectacles down her desk. Before she could even take a breath and relax, someone came and knocked on her door.

“Come in.” She said mostly in a groan as she slid her glasses back on and recomposed herself as she sat back up. The door opened and in stepped one of the workers of the publishing house. 

“Ma’am, somebody is here to see you.” The young lady said, she looked a little nervous but then again she was the newest hire and tended to be quite jittery. “He's the head of the Kamisato Clan.”

“Oh, what time is it?”

“Four o’clock, ma’am.”

“Oh I suppose the day passed me by, these letters of… intriguing feedback have been quite… informative.” She struggled to find flattering words to use to describe these letters that have been given to her, needless to say they were tasteless and she wished she could address them as such but she still had a reputation in other nations to uphold. “Anyway you can send him in.”

The young lady nodded and walked off without a word and closed the door behind her. The writer was left alone in silence, giving her a moment to compose herself to meet with the head of the Kamisato Clan, the Yashiro Commissioner. She looked over her desk, letters, manuscripts, ink, pens, brushes, and a framed photo or rather a painting. It was over two thousand years old and had to be restored many times now. It  was a painting of a beautiful woman, a painting of you. She smiles as she looks over the painting, it has really been two thousand years. The sound of the door opening caused her attention to snap from her desk to the door. 

“Miss Haruko, it is a pleasure to see you again.” Before her stood the Yashiro Commissioner, Kamisato Ayato. They have worked together before, mostly on festivals especially the ones revolving around literature or history given her writing career and her adept knowledge on history which she witnessed with her own eyes. 

“It is lovely to see you again, Lord Kamisato. Please come and sit.” She responded, gesturing to the spot across from her. He came and did so, coming to sit across from her, his eyes quickly glancing over the papers on the desk, his eyes narrowing at the disgusting letters that came from Liyue. His gaze did not linger too long before they came up to look at the author. “What may I do to help you?”

“Actually nothing, I am afraid these are not formal matters.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, sliding it across the desk towards her. “A traveler my sister has been meeting with recently was asked to deliver this to you and since I have many connections, Ayaka asked if I could give my help.”

She flipped it over, looking it over, it was indeed addressed to her, or rather addressed to an Eos. She sighed and looked up to the Yashiro Commissioner, tapping the envelope in her palm. “Thank you, especially for keeping this a secret.”

“But of course, after all it is not everyday that one meets a goddess.” He said as he gave the lady before her a smile. “Besides you have done so many things for Inazuma, especially my clan, it is the least I could do.”

“The least you can do...” She spoke her thoughts aloud as she spinned the envelope around and she looked up at him once more. “It has been many a year since I have formally worked with your clan, besides my advice on matters you ask me about. I think the last time any formal matters have been discussed between us, I think before you and your sister were born… hm… come to think of it, I have never met your sister.”

“Yes, I do not believe you have, she is actually quite the fan of your works.” He then gestured to all the distasteful letters on her desk. “Unlike these interesting figures.”

“The many people of Liyue, people who are descended from the same nation as I, it would be funny if I was in the mood to laugh.” She spoke as she tucked the letter on her lap, her hands resting atop the envelope. The author hummed and looked over her desk once again before pushing the stacks of hateful letters aside. “Your sister, Lady Ayaka, I would very much like to meet her if that is possible.”

“I figured you might, especially after I found out Thoma told you about her this morning.” He spoke with a light laugh. “Speaking of your business with Thoma this morning you told him about the inspiration behind your books, your sister, I am guessing she is the one from those myths from Liyue, correct?”

“…correct, those stories are lies… lies I despise and wish to not dwell on right now.” Eos spoke with a sigh as she rested her head on her gloved hand. “For now I am working and focusing my energy on my columns and reviews for the publishing house.”

“Your reviews have the power to destroy or raise up any business or person.” A smile came across his face and a chuckle from his smiling lips. “I do hope you never wield that sword of a pen against me, but I doubt you will.” 

“I never would, Lord Ayato.” Before she could say anything else a knock on the door came once again. She sighed and glanced towards the door. “Come in.”

The young lady from earlier came in once again, this time her wavering hands carried a few papers. “M-Miss Haruko, t-these have come from L-Lady Yae for you.”

“Ah, it seems like your work calls to you.” The Yashiro Commissioner stood up from where he sat. He smiled and looked down at Eos. “I will have someone be in contact with you about your meeting with Ayaka. Have a lovely evening, Miss Haruko.”

The two watched the head of the Kamisato Clan stand and exit from the room, but not closing the door behind him. The young lady approached the author’s desk and set the papers down onto her desk. While she was doing so, Eos took the sealed envelope and peeled it open, and set the discarded envelope aside. She took the folded piece of paper and opened it and her eyes flicked through the words. She must have turned as pale as the pure white snow because the young lady almost squeaked when she looked at her to say something.

“M-Miss Haruko, a-are you alright?”

There was a long moment of silence before Eos stood up, holding her letter firmly in her grasp. She did not look at the young lady nor the papers on her desk, her gaze seeming staring at nothing but her expression was one of pure shock, wide eyed, pale faced, and lips slightly agape.

“Clear my schedule for the rest of the day.” She said as she began to make her way to the door and the young lady beside her squeaked as she watched the author and quickly began to run after her through the halls of the publishing house.

“W-wait, M-Miss Haruko.” The girl called out as she followed after, trying not to trip on her clothes in her state of pain. “W-Where are you going, M-Ma’am?”

“Do not worry about that.” She answered as she reached the front doors. The writer glanced back at the young lady following her, stopping in her tracks. “I need to talk to Miko… on personal matters.”

—————————

It was afternoon now in the Court of Fontaine, the sun hanging high in the sky now. With the cancellation of the trials in the Opera Epiclese until further notice it gave the Chief Justice a bit more time to tend to other matters. He walked the streets of the Court of Fontaine, catching the eye of every citizen on the street. He could hear the whispers spread as he walked past the crowds that watched his every move, his every step. 

He soon approached a familiar house that was not far from the Palais Mermonia. He knocked upon the door which was followed by the distant sound of talking from within. As he waited for the door to open he glanced at the flowers boxes by the windows at the front of the house, rainbow roses, windwheel asters, and most prominently glaze lilies. He remembered that there were indeed many glaze lilies planted in the back garden in the greenhouse which his clerk took great pride in, but the Chief Justice had made note that in the last few weeks the amount of these Liyuese flowers have only increased with the arrival of the clerk’s sister, she must be fond of them. The Iudex turned his head as the door opened to reveal the maid, and farther within, descending the staircase was Vepar, starch white bandages wrapped around the right side of his face that also hid his eye from view. 

“Monsieur Neuvillette, I am afraid now is not a good time for your visit, the master of the house is not in good enough health to entertain guests-“

“It is alright, he may come in.” Vepar cut the maid off and to which she promptly stepped aside to allow the Chief Justice to step inside which he did so and the door was closed by the maid behind him. Vepar gave Neuvillette his best smile as he gestured to the drawing room for the two of them to sit, but the smile clearly was painful for the clerk. “I apologize for my absence yesterday and today, I trust my sister told you the explanation.”

“Yes, she did, but you have no need to apologize for another’s actions that caused you this anguish.” The Iudex sat down on the plush sofa that sat opposite to the armchair that Vepar sat down in. “But I actually came to discuss other matters with you.”

“Ah, I figured as much seeing as you are such a busy man, Monsieur Neuvillette.” Vepar replied as he relaxed into his chair, careful not to press his face against the back of his chair. “Now how can I help you?”

“Monsieur Vepar… I would like to court your sister.”

“What?”

—————————

Art of Eos (Haruko), the goddess of the sun and rainbows, the twin sister of the reader

Chapter Text

The first image is the full design for Stolas, I had a talk with my girlfriend about him and we thought that if he was in game he would be an electro polearm user with either the short male body type like Venti and Lyney or the tall male body type like Thoma or Zhongli, we couldn’t decide. I personally think the taller body type would suit his wise and confident side but she thinks that the shorter body type would suit his more cunning and mischievous side which I could understand, so for the art I tried to find a middle ground with the body types, not too tall but not too short. I also included a lot of feather or bird like features, that is because his name source, Stolas, was a demon who appeared like an owl and was apparently very wise and studied astronomy and the stars, though I kinda see a lot of similarities between Stolas and Athena in their respective mythologies but that is just me.

The second image is of the reader’s original wedding dress with her wedding with Zhongli. I based the design off of glaze lilies that are also in her hair along with adding the patterns that Zhongli has on his arms in his archon form. I wish I added more jewelry with the design though. Along with the colors I know traditional Chinese wedding dresses are red not white, but in at least ancient China white was the color of mourning and then in Western culture white is a color often associated with divinity and purity so take that as you will.

Chapter Text

The aquabus did not lead directly to Poisson so you had to tag along with a few other members of the Spina di Rosula who were also headed to Poisson. You did not talk much to the other passengers, you instead opted to look out over the waters of Fontaine. You could have swam here but that would have wet your clothes and honestly you did not wish for the people’s attention like that.

Upon arrival at Poisson you began to look for Navia. It was an entirely new environment to you but welcome nonetheless. Upon your search for her you met many of the locals and other members of the Spina di Rosula, they were all very kind people, very welcoming to you, but none of them knew where Navia was. You sighed and sat down on the ground, taking a moment to rest your feet. 

“Mademoiselle (Name), it is lovely to see you again.” You heard an older male voice speak from above you. You turned your gaze up to see the familiar face of Melus, standing right next to where he sat. “I heard that you were looking for the Demoiselle, is that correct?”

“Oh hello Melus.” You responded with a smile as you stood up from the dirt covered ground, brushing off your skirt as you did so. “I am, I would have spoken to her yesterday when she was in the Court of Fontaine but something had came up that delayed me, so my apologies.”

“It is quite alright, Mademoiselle (Name).” He spoke with a smile and his usual deep and cheerful tone. “The Demoiselle actually set out to the graveyard outside of town, perhaps you should go meet her there, I believe she may find your presence rather comforting.”

“The graveyard?” You questioned, more so to yourself than to anyone else. That night at dinner your brother mentioned Navia’s father, your brother was good friends with him but then apparently something happened to him involving the court. Your brother said something about thinking he was not guilty and finding loopholes, but not guilty of what? “Ah, I suppose her father has died.”

“Yes, her father died a few years ago but so did her mother as well when the Demoiselle was born.” Melus’ tone changed from his cheerfulness to that of one with a tinge of sorrow. “You are actually the first female figure in her life in a long time, so she has been rather trusting of you since she met you.”

“I see, I think I can understand to an extent, my own parents disappeared a number of years ago.” You could not make yourself meet Melus’ gaze as you spoke, a slight pain building in your chest at the thought of this memory. “I was technically what was viewed as an adult, but that did not mean I was ready to go out into the world. So my eldest brother and sister in law took care of us, it was an extremely hard time for my entire family. So I think at least I can understand what she is currently going through.”

“Then I suppose this is a reason why she enjoys your presence.” You could feel him set a hand on your shoulder and give him a soft squeeze. You looked up to meet his gaze and a small smile can across his face, a smile of pure kindness, a rare sight for you. “Why don’t you head up to the cemetery to meet her, your company would be a great comfort to the Demoiselle.”

“Thank you, I will, Melus.”

—————————

There was chatter all through the crowded streets of Port Ormos, the merchants selling their goods, the chatter of the citizens of the city mixed in with that of the Akademiya students who have come for a reprieve from their excruciating work and assignments from their schooling. The sounds were distant to the one who watched it all from above the streets. An owl perched itself on one of the branches of one of the two trees that framed the city, a strange sight to see in the middle of the day. His eyes scan over the crowds of people as they go about their day, none of them were anything special but the bird knew where each of them were going…

That man over there, the scholar from the Akademiya, he is on his way to pick up an order of books from the docks for his current research project.

The lady with the pink shawl is a traveler from Fontaine and is on her honeymoon with her newly wed spouse and they are about to leave to go to Sumeru city to go to the Zubayr Theater to see a performance by the dancer, Nilou.

That group over there are forest rangers who took a day off to visit their mother to celebrate her birthday.

That man over there with the guards on either side is the Grand Sage of the Akademiya…

The Grand Sage of the Akademiya…

The owl sighed, yes sighed, at the sight of the Grand Sage, he supposed it was time for this little encounter that has been written in the stars. In a swift movement the owl leaped from the branch and flapped its wings and began to swore into the air. His wing guided him over the port city, and even into it, flying between buildings and over stalls, and eventually into an open window of a tower that was built among the many buildings alongside the streets. 

It was a beautiful tower, windows made up of stained glass with colors of purples, pinks, teals, and reds, the floors were made up with oak floorboards that were stained a dark brown. The room that the owl landed in was the top floor of the tower, an observatory, walls lined with books of all sorts, tables with maps and notes along with models of the stars and some of the maps had stars and constellations that actually moved if you looked close enough. But one thing the tower lacked was a telescope, instead the tower’s ceiling was made up of glass, panes able to be pushed aside to be able to view the sky clearly that one could reach on ledges and ladders that were built around the room, above the bookshelves that lined the room. Along with that there was a balcony on the ground level of the observatory, that gave one a perfect view of Port Ormos and the sea that laid past that. 

There was also no owl anymore, instead there stood a man, one that would be familiar to you and Lumine both, Stolas, the God of Constellations and Foresight, or to mortals and the traveler and Paimon he is rather known as Stolas, a well known astronomer and diviner, who has lived a suspiciously long number of years to the mortals of this world. Stolas adjusted his glasses and made his way down the many floors of his home, his shoes clicking with every step he took. He grabbed his cloak, which represented the feathers of a bird in a way, and threw it over his shoulders and fastened it as he pushed open the front doors of his home. 

The god in disguise now walked the streets of Port Ormos with much haste. A handful of people spared him glances as he walked past but not for long as he looked as much as a local as everyone else, he just carried a mysterious aura around him that none of them could quite place. He made his way to the docks, more specifically an isolated section of them where there were no strolling civilians, but there were a few masked figures that everyone in Teyvat knew, Fatui. As the astronomer walked onto the dock, making his way to a boat a hand gripped him on the shoulder and shoved him back, but only because the diviner knew this was going to happen and allowed it to take place. It was a rather tall male Fatui agent that did so, and Stolas could tell that the man was indeed glaring down at the god.

“These docks are closed today to civilians.” He spoke with much aggression in his tone, almost as if he was looking for a fight with the rather seemingly weak man before him, because to most Stolas looked just like any other civilian, no vision and not a weapon in sight, but it was not like he needed those things to win fight, all they would do is make him look more mortal. “Unless you have a permission, you cannot be here tod-“

“I do.” The astronomer cut the man off as he reached into his own pocket to produce a slip of paper that Stolas had received a number of weeks ago now. “I am just retrieving some books for my personal collection that was sent from one of my dearest pupils, she is actually a most talented astrologist herself along with being a hydromancer and visionary. Along with that, I also am retrieving some alchemy equipment that was sent as a gift from one of my friends, who is also well versed in the field of magic, more specifically alchemy. I know which boat they were shipped on, the second one on the left end of the dock, the one from Dornman Port in Mondstadt, so if you would please step aside I would be able to retrieve them.”

“So you are some sort of professor at the Akademiya?”

“No, I am not, I am an astronomer and diviner. I have only taken a few pupils, those who have really shown me they are capable of understanding the complexity of the stars and the secrets they hold.” Stolas explains to the agent, perhaps explaining a little bit too much information. “Actually I do not think I would ever be interested in teaching at such an institution, for I doubt the students would be able to keep up with my teaching methods or even how I perceive the world around us.”

“But you would be welcome if you chose to do so.” As if on cue, Stolas hears a voice from behind him. The astronomer turned to be able to face the Fatus and the new addition to the conversation. Stolas put on his best surprised expression at the sight of the Grand Sage, Azar. “Pardon my intrusion, but I have read about your research on astronomy and the art of divination and I have to say your understanding of such a topic is something truly extraordinary, especially for your seemingly young age, Stolas. If you were to become a professor at the Akademiya you would probably become the pinnacle of our institution.”

“My goodness! I would have never expected such high praise from the Grand Sage himself.” Stolas forced a smile at the praise, of course he understood the art of divination better than any mortal, because he was no mortal. “But I am afraid like I said I have no interest in your institution. My work is separate from the Akademiya and I would like it to remain as such, especially because I am prone to travels to the other nations, just not to long ago I was in Liyue on a trip and if I may say the view of the stars from the Guyun Stone Forest is absolutely magnificent.”

“I understand, if you would ever wish to change your mind the Akademiya’s doors are always open to you.” The Grand Sage spoke with such reverence to the esteemed astronomer that one would assume that he was a kind person but Stolas knew better to judge a book by its cover, and knew even more to not let one’s guard down around him. Stolas spared a glance to the Fatus agent and then back at the Grand Sage, a smirk forming on the diviner’s face.

“Now I have my own business to attend to, but I will admit I did have alterar motives in coming to the docks besides my own personal shipments. As you know I am an astronomer and a diviner, one who can read fate’s strings from the stars, so I know what is going on here.” Stolas stepped back, his eyes darting to the ship that Fatui agent stood next to, and he knew what resided within, but more importantly who resided within. “You and the Akademiya may have your own ties to the Fatui and dealings with the second of their harbingers, but I bear a warning for you, Azar. Not all will end like you hope.”

“How did you-“

“Know?” Stolas cut the Fatui agent off, finishing his sentence with a laugh. “Like I said, I am a diviner, I know the future. I have a mind that is able to process more than the bounds of the present but able to see the hidden secrets of the past and break through the vale that is the future. I will not meddle in your affairs but you would be wise not to meddle in mine, for what lies in my mind if far more than you all can process. It is uncharted waters, unfathomable and untold horrors that would drive any poor soul mad, even your so-called doctor if he was not insane already.” The god watched as the two formed expressions that showed what they were hearing shocked them and was perhaps a bit startling. Stolas merely smiled as if he had been through this a thousand times before. “Now I do have my own shipments to retrieve here, along with a thank you letter to send to my dearest pupil and friend.”

Without another word he turned on his heel, walking off down the docks, with not a care in all of Teyvat as the Grand Sage was led on the boat by the Fatui agent to attend his meeting with a certain outcast. Stolas knew what was to be discussed, creating the divine was a challenging feat and before he wondered if it was possible, but at the moment he did not care. 

“Hm…” The god hummed in thought as he boarded the boat that held his gifts that had been shipped to him. He spoke to himself, for there was not a soul in sight. “I wonder if they would like something for their little tea parties as a gift, or perhaps they would like something more personal.”

—————————

You approached the graveyard that lay outside of Poisson, and there between the green grass and the gray gravestones you spotted Navia sitting down next to one. You stood there for a long moment, just watching her. Mortals lose people all the time, but for you when you found out you lost your siblings it felt like the world was crashing around you, perhaps this was something both mortals and immortals had in common, the pain of loss. 

“Navia….” You called to the young blond woman and she looked back at you, a smile coming across her face at the sight of you. You walked forward, coming up to sit down next to the president of the Spina di Rosula. “I thought I would come to see you, as a friend.”

“It is nice to see you, Mademoiselle (Name).” She spoke with a smile, but something felt so off about it, like it was forced. She glanced back at the gravestone and reached out her hand, tracing the letters that lay on it. It was her father’s gravestone, Callas Caspar. “I thought I would visit my father today.”

“…your father….” You recalled your earlier thoughts on Vepar’s connection and friendship with the former president of the Spina di Rosula and his deceased wife. “My brother, at that dinner we had at the greenhouse, he mentioned he knew your father and he has died. If I may ask, what happened? You do not have to answer if it hurts too much.”

“No, it is fine, you deserve to know since you are a part of the Spina di Rosula, but more importantly you are my friend.” You watched her take a breath and while she seemed calm and collected, you could hear the tremble in it. “Three years ago, he was accused of murdering his own friend, but he chose to defend his honor instead of standing trial. He died in the Duelist’s Ring.”

“…but Vepar mentioned he thought your father to be innocent, my brother does not lie, but yet Fontaine thinks him guilty?”

“Yes, in fact they call him Callas the Unfaithful in the streets, a horrid name to bear even in one’s death. But despite all of this, I do not believe my father was a murderer, much like Monsieur Vepar. I still hold the belief that subjecting him to trial and a meticulous investigation would inevitably unearth some hidden discrepancy, casting doubt upon the accusations and ultimately proving his innocence.” She explained and in her voice you could hear some sort of strong emotion that you could not quite place, sorrow, or perhaps a silent rage. “However, to everyone's surprise, he not only requested the duel but reportedly, even after sustaining severe injuries that would typically signify defeat, he adamantly refused to concede, resolved to meet his end in the arena. Now he has lost his honor in that duel that he tried to defend in, he is painted as a villain in Fontaine’s history.” 

“I…I understand actually…”

“You do?”

“Yes, I truly do, to an extent I think.” You answered with a far off gaze, staring off into the distant waters of the sea of Fontaine. “Vepar and I have other siblings, there are eleven of us actually, I have a twin sister, along with a brother in Sumeru, and lastly another brother… a brother who….” You tried to think of a way to explain it in a way that would not reveal everything about your story to Navia. You trusted her and she trusted you, made herself vulnerable to you but yet you had not done the same, at least not in full truth. “…before I tell you this, I have to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell a soul what I tell you today for my life could depend on it.”

“You have my word, I will not tell a soul.”

“That day when we went to report what I discovered about that murder to the Chief Justice. When I asked you to leave the courtroom, Vepar revealed something to him in order to protect Fontaine and Vepar could focus on protecting me.” You could hear your own breath tremble and your heart pounding in your ears as you spoke. You took her own dainty hands in your own and gave them a soft and comforting squeeze. “Navia, I should have told you this a long time ago and I regret not doing it then when you first called me your friend and gave me your trust.”

“(Name), what do you mean? What is going on?”

“When I first met you, Vepar warned me not to get too close for I will only be burned in the end and this is not your fault but mine.” She had a confused expression while you spoke and struggled to find the words. “Navia… I… I am no mortal, in fact I have been alive for a little over four thousand years.”

“So… you are a… you’re a god?”

“A goddess, but I am indeed one of the divine.” She now had an expression of pure shock on her face, but not one that would tell you she was horrified or disgusted, just extremely surprised. “I am so sorry I did not tell you sooner, I truly should have but I was afraid he was going to find me.”

“He? Who is he?”

“My… my husband, he hurt me saying it was love. I was wed to him for thousands of years, I could not say no to him if I did it was seen as a violation of our marriage and I was punished accordingly in his eyes.” You explained and Navia’s eyes went wide with pity and horror. “My eldest brother, when he found out what happened he tried to save me, but he was defeated by that monster that called me his wife and locked away for thousands of years, and for his actions to save me he was painted as a villain, a repulsive monster. That is not who he was, to me he was kind, to me he was gentle, a guardian who always protected not only myself but our entire family and when he was imprisoned so many of my kin fell as well, and now there are only five of us left.”

“Your brother, your eldest brother, what happened to him?”

“He was imprisoned for many a century, so when the opportunity appeared I made a deal with a very questionable person to finally free him.” You still held her soft hands in your own but this time she was the one to squeeze softly onto yours. “When he was freed he took me away from there, but not without a price. My husband is undoubtedly looking for me, ready to drag me home and when he does I can only imagine the fate that awaits me, I will probably never see the light of day again, sealed thousands of feet below the surface of Teyvat.”

“That will never happen! I will not allow it!” She snapped back, her hands now gripped your hands even tighter than before, harshly squeezing. “You are a member of the Spina di Rosula but more importantly you are my friend, goddess or not! I would rather die than let that happen to you.”

“…Navia, please don’t-“

“I swear I will always be by your side, no matter what.” As she spoke you felt droplets of rain falling on the back of your neck, along with your bare arms that were not covered by your sleeves. “I will be with you as your friend and-“

She was cut off by the crack of thunder.

The rain started pouring down and the two of you became soaked in the mud as you sat there. You looked into her eyes and she looked into yours and after a few moments of silence only broken by the rain you both broke out into laughter. You sat there, laughing in the rain. She pulled you up onto your feet as your hands were still intertwined. 

“Come on, we don’t want to get soaked!”

“We already are!”

You two ran down the hill that the cemetery was atop of, running down to the town of Poisson that laid below. You were giggling and laughing all the way down.

…Why does this feel so familiar?

you sit in the field of glaze lilies, the flowers closing with the daylight. You could see your sister walking towards you through the field from the village. There were a few children following her but they stopped and fell back when they saw she was walking towards you, you sadly weren’t big with the children despite your love for them. Your sister came up to you and sat at your side. 

“Good morning, my dearest (Name).” She said, brushing aside your hair with a wide smile. “You are as beautiful as ever, like the stars above.”

“Like the stars, hm?” You replied, a teasing grin coming across your tired face. “That’s a minor offense to the goddess of moonlight.”

“Oh sush.” Your sister responded, shoving your shoulder playfully. You pushed her back and soon the two of you found yourself tumbling, rolling, down the hill like two little bunnies. The two of you landed on your back, complete laughing messes. You may be goddesses but you two are sisters before that. Soon the two of your laughs calm down and you breathe, looking up at the changing sky. “You know, I wonder what would happen if we were just normal… just sisters…”

Your joyous smile fades into one of melancholy at your sister’s comment. What would be better, being a forgotten goddess or a mortal with dreams to live out? You didn’t know, but you couldn’t decide, you didn’t have a choice. “I wish, but that couldn’t happen.”

“(Name), think about it, it could! We aren’t bound by any contract, we have no ties to Rex Lapis or the other gods and adepti.” Your sister said, sitting up. Then you realize she was serious about this. “We could just leave, go off somewhere else, see the whole world. All we would need to do is sing to keep day and night alight! We have been here for centur-“

“I won’t go.” You cut her off, giving her a firm no. You stood up, dusting off your dress and your sister sat there in shock. “It’s our job to watch over this village, formal or not. We have made our home here and we just can’t abandon our people… I need to go to sleep, goodbye sister.”

“Goodbye (Name).”

…That was the last time you saw your sister…

…Before everything fell and shattered like glass hitting the ground…

…Breaking into a thousand pieces.

—————————

You closed the door behind you as you returned home from the pouring rain, you were still soaked to the bone, your dress was caked in mud, and your makeup absolutely ruined, but you were happy. You have not felt this happy in a very long time, it felt so incredibly nice to have told Navia the truth, like the weight of the world has been taken off your shoulders. The maid was standing by the door and she looked absolutely shocked at your appearance and it seems like she would have scolded you for your appearance but her eyes were drifting from you to the drawing room. Your smile fell at her expression, you stepped forward and your feet felt so heavy with the water that soaked your socks and the thick atmosphere in the room. 

“What is going on-“

You turned the corner to look into the drawing room to see your brother sitting in his armchair, the right side of his face plastered with white bandages. There was tea set on the table, lavender tea by the scent, and your brother held a tea cup in his hands but by the looks of it the tea had gone untouched by him. Your eyes trailed from your brother, to the fine porcelain tea set on the table, and up to the person who sat on the couch. 

“Monsieur Neuvillette, what brings you here?” You asked, your voice even unsure of your own question. Your eyes darted over to your brother, who did not dare look at you. Vepar looked like he was about to cry, he was breaking at the seams. You felt your heart sink as you looked at him. “Vepar, what is going on?”

“(Name)… I…” Vepar could not find the words, you could hear him choking on the stiffness that had formed in his throat. He set his tea cup down on the coffee table and reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Monsieur Neuvillette, h-has… he…”

“I wish to marry you.” The Chief Justice answered your question on behalf of your brother who could barely get a word out. You felt like you were about to be sick, you were going to be sick.

“No….” You were only able to get that word out as a mumble as you stepped back. You could not process anything, the only thing you could hear was the ringing in your ears. You stumbled back into the dining room, collapsing and bracing yourself against the table, heavily breathing. The maid was the first to rush to your side as you sent into a panic. You could not process the feeling of her guiding you to sit, her gloved hands pressing gently into your shoulders, ruining them with the mud that had soaked into your clothes. You did not even see Neuvillette stand up and rush over to your side as your vision started to fade. Your body automatically flinched away from Neuvillette as he rushed to your side, pressed his gloved hand onto your cheek, staining it with the rainwater and your tears. You weakly pushed it away and tried to push yourself up, tumbling, trying to get up to your room, get away from all of this, this nightmare. 

You…

Can’t…

No…

Not…

Again…

You could not even process the pounding in your ears anymore…

Your body felt numb…

You could not feel your body falling down the three stairs you had made it up…

You could not feel your head slamming in the stairs as you did…

You could not feel the light trickling of your tears falling down your face…

Everything felt like static…

You could not even process Neuvillette calling your name, nor him pressing his hand to your unconscious face, nor the feeling of your body being picked up and carried…

Your brother watched as the Chief Justice picked you up, cradling your body as if it was the fragilest thing in the world, like you were glass that would shatter on the ground when you collided with it. He turned back to his still full teacup, looking down at the untouched liquid within…

“What have I done?”

Chapter Text

You awoke with a pounding headache and a sharp pain in the back of your skull. Your vision was blurry and you could feel a thick blanket pulled up onto your body. You could hear the sound of muffled talking from beside you and another voice from the end of your bed. You shifted around in your bed, you groaned and reached up to rub your forehead, trying to relieve the throbbing headache that pounded in your skull. 

“Ah, you are awake.” You heard a voice through your cotton filled head. You tried to push yourself up from your bed, only to have someone’s gloved hands pushing you back down to lay down your head. “No, do not strain yourself, you must rest, ma chérie. I have called for a nurse I trust to examine the potential damage to your head and neck.”

You could process the voice enough despite the buzz that filled your head, a wall in your head between hearing and seeing what was happening and processing everything. The voice was that of Neuvillette, so you could guess that the voice from the end of the bed was your brother, Vepar. You could hear their words but none of them made sense to you, you could hear their words clear enough you just could not process what they mean.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, she will be alright. She just needs some rest, she is a goddess so she will recover in only a few hours, if that.” Vepar’s voice was fuzzy but you could hear the worry in his voice as distant as it was.

“From what I understand her form that she has chosen is still that of a mortal, she may have the the powers of a goddess but she is still vulnerable to the wounds of a mortal.” Neuvillette remained calm as he spoke, but there was almost a bite of impatience hiding within. “If it comforts you, Sigewinne has been asked to keep this matter only between all who are present today. Besides as far as medical personnel, I would trust no one else with a matter as important as this.”

“…Monsieur Neuvillette, my sister only hit her head.”

“I rest my case.”

Before your brother could respond there was a knock on the door that was quickly followed by the voice of the maid tht attracted the attention of both of the men in the room.

“Monsieur Vepar, Monsieur Neuvillette, a Miss Sigewinne has arrived to see Mademoiselle (Name).” Her voice was a bit on edge, which was natural given what had just happened. “Shall I let her in?”

“Yes you may.” Your brother was the first one to respond and the door was pushed open to reveal the maid with a human-like melusine behind her. The small melusine had more human features, minus the antenna that produced from her forehead. She had pastel blue hair that matched well with the cute little nurse’s uniform she wore, actually this was probably the first melusine you have seen that is not a member of the Marechaussee Phantom. Your brother smiled down at the little melusine as he straightened his posture so as to get a better view of her and retain his appearance as a well known figure of the public eye of Fontaine. 

“Miss Sigewinne, it is lovely to see you again. Our reunion would be more joyous if it was not for the current circumstances we find ourselves in.” You brother mentioned that last sentence with his voice trailing off into his own thoughts which he quickly shook away after a brief moment. “Besides that, this is my sister who is your patient today. Monsieur Neuvillette believes it to be a serious situation but really she will be alright after a few hours of rest.”

“A small accident can still lead to serious injuries, but I am sure she will be alright.” The small melusine looked over her shoulder at the maid and spoke to the shaken up woman. “Would you please retrieve me a stool- oh and get a cup of peppermint tea.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” The maid turned off and walked down her hall, her footsteps trailing off down the stairs, the front entry, dining room, and into the kitchen. After a brief moment the footsteps began to approach once again and the maid returned, carrying a short stool that she set at the side of the bed, next to the Chief Justice, exactly what Sigewinne wanted. “The chef is steeping the water for the tea now.”

“Good it should help calm your nerves, you should take a break.” Sigewinne addressed the maid who turned red in her embarrassment at being called out for her nervous behavior. The maid did not say a word, only quickly turning on her heal and rushing downstairs. Sigewinne giggled at the maid’s reaction before looking back at you who laid on the bed. “I am going to check the area around the back of your head and neck for any external injuries.”

You could not nod to her statement given the sharp pain in the back of your neck, which Sigewinne quickly made not of. The melusine nurse turned to Neuvillette beside her as she stepped on the stepping stool. “Can you help her sit up and support her while I examine her?”

“Of course.” You could feel the left hand of the Chief Justice come up to support your upper back, coming to rest between your shoulders. His right hand came up to rest on your upper chest, right under your collarbone, as to not let you fall forward. He pushed your upper body up to sit up, your torso rested between his two hands, keeping your body balanced and keeping you from succumbing to your dizziness and ache in your head. Your chest felt heavy as you breathed due to his hand on your chest and back, unknowingly squeezing your torso, he unknowingly made the rising and falling of your chest that much more difficult. You could hear the voice of Neuvillette beside you speak to you with a calm yet somewhat stern tone. “Just relax, ma chérie.”

Your mind drifted off as you felt the small yet cold and gloved hands pulled your hair to the side and began examining your neck and the back of your skull for bruises, lacerations, or any other form of injuries. Your heavy breathing reminded you of how much more of a struggle it was to breathe rather than when you breathed beneath the waves, beneath the water’s surface. Then there was that night in the dream in the Opera Epiclese with the Hydro Archon, Forcalors, before you awoke it felt like you were underwater but you were drowning, you never had drowned before, it was impossible for you to do so. You were a goddess linked to the hydro element, unless the one who commanded the domain of hydro took your domain away, you should always be able to breathe the surface of the liquid film that separates the surface world from the world of the depths…

The water rushed past you as you sank from the surface of the waters of the Sea of Clouds. This was long before the Guili Assembly was even formed, or even before Liyue gained its name. You were still young, a teenager by the standard of a god or goddess. You curled yourself up tighter as you fell deeper and deeper into the depths. There was an angelfish that grazed your arm as you sank deeper, following deeper and deeper like a puppy who did not wish to leave their owner’s side…

You then heard a shriek from the surface, disturbing your personal time of peace.

You opened your eyes and sighed and you pushed yourself body up, kicking your legs and paddling your arms as you swam up to the surface. You broke through the surface, pulling your wet hair up and out of your face from where it landed in your face due to it flowing freely in the ocean water. There on the surface was a young lady who was cowering from a rather innocent looking sea otter. She was a lovely young woman despite her fear, she had a light dusty brown shade of hair, fair skin, and a blueish gray shade for her eyes. You giggled at her irrational scared reaction before you let out a whistle, drawing the otter’s attention. The otter turned to you, tilting its head like a little puppy before it began running off the sand, diving into the water to swim to your side. The otter nuzzled up to you with a little purr as you ran your water covered hand over the otter’s soaked fur. The woman looked at you with a heavily confused expression before it faded into a smile and burst out into laughter.

“Oh I feel like a fool now.” She laughed out as she spoke, her words breaking up between her laughter. “I was just so startled by that little one.”

“I will take a guess that you are rather unfamiliar with the creatures of the sea?” You asked with your own smile spreading across your face as you held the otter in your arms and began making your way onto the shore. She nodded to your question, her eyes looking over your soaked appearance.

“I am, I reside for more inland, this is actually one of the few times I have seen the ocean.” She spoke rather sheepishly, as if she was embarrassed. “I honestly cannot imagine everything that is out there, the unknown depths, it scares me quite a bit if I was to be honest.”

“It is not that terrifying, I have never actually left the shoreside or the depths once, I have only seen the mountains from this distance.” You gestured to the silhouettes in the distance, the mountains and cliff sides that looked over the land. “I suppose we are opposites in that sense.”

“I suppose so.” She replied, speaking with a smile as her eyes landed on your own. “My name is Guizhong, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise, you may call me (Name).” You spoke as you scratched the otter under the chin, drawing another heavy purr from them. Your gaze drifted back to the mountains in the distance, beginning to become silhouetted in the setting sun. “You know I have always wondered what the outside world is like, a few of my siblings come back home every now and then and tell me how amazing it is, is that true?”

“To an extent, yes.” She answered with a smile. “There will always be evil in the world but there will always be good to balance the scales.”

“I cannot wait to see it one day.” You spoke mostly to your own thoughts as you gazed off at the horizon that was becoming dyed with oranges, pinks, and reds. You felt Guizhong take your hand, the one that did not hold the sea creature tightly, within her own and your eyes looked to her own to see that they were filled with excitement and some sort of joy.

“I can show it to you one day, you can come see the world with me!” You giggled at her sudden proposition. “What is so amusing about my idea?”

“Well it is just that I do not know you and my whole life is here.” You answered which made her hum in thought.

“Well then, one day let’s become friends and then we can go see the world together.” She still spoke with such enthusiasm and joy, despite her not even knowing you, besides your name that is. “Does that sound like a good enough deal?”

“Maybe, I need to think-“

“(Name)!” You heard the voice of your elder brother, Amon, call out to you, echoing in the distance as he looked for you. “Mama is looking for you.”

“I am sorry, I have to go.” You spoke to her as you set the otter you saved her from on the ground. You skipped backwards, getting a start on running towards your home, which was most likely where you were being called from. You spared a glance back at Guizhong with a smile. “It was lovely meeting you.”

“You as well, (Name).”

You spared her one last glance, seeing her smiling face at you before you turned and ran off down the beach, through the sand, the path that would lead you back home. You ran down the sand, turning the rocky corner that began to lead the way to the submerged cavern that your parents built their palace, their abode in. As you turned the corner your shoulder bumped into that of your elder brother, Amon, the God of the Summer and Festivities, the third youngest, just a few decades older than you and your twin sister. Unlike most of your family he bore little resemblance to either one of your parents, having ruby red hair and red eyes, his tanned skin spotted with golden specs that resembled freckles.

“There you are, you were supposed to be back thirty minutes ago.” he looked down and smiled at you as he spun around to stand next to you as you walked inside. “So where were you? Do not worry I will not say a word to mama and baba.”

“I think I met a friend.”

—————————

You did not even know you fell asleep during Sigewinne’s analysis of you. You woke up once again in your room, your head feeling much better than it did before, it had healed quite a bit, exactly like Vepar told the Chief Justice it would. The darkness of early evening has seeped into your room, which was now empty. You were now able to sit up on your own and when you did so and slipped the covers aside, you saw that you were now dressed in a nightgown, you guessed that either Vepar, Neuvillette, or Sigewinne had asked the maid to change you out of you muddy and wet clothes as to prevent you from getting some form of a cold or chills. You looked to your bedside to see an assortment of small gifts, a box of macaroons, a small bouquet of flowers that mostly consisted of lumidouce bells and lavender, and a claret type of bottle filled with what was just water. You took the bottle and removed the lid, stiffing it, and you were taken back by the poignant scent, it was water from Qingce Village, a place where you once called home.

“The Chief Justice had those delivered here after he had to return to the Palais Mermonia due to his schedule.” The voice coming from the recamier, that sat at the edge of your bed, nearly made you scream and drop the glass bottle, but luckily you were able to retain your composure and keep your hold on the bottle. You turned your head and your eyes widened with shock and a touch of horror when you saw the Knave sitting there, her eyes fixed on you. “It took him hours to leave your side, even if you were just asleep.”

“Why are you here?”

“Why, to congratulate you on your courtship with Fontaine’s Chief Justice.” She spoke with a wide smile which reminded you more like that one mad cat from that one Mondstadt children's story about a girl who fell into a strange world built around madness. “To think you might one day be Madame Neuvillette, what a lovely thought.”

“…I….” You choked on your words and gripped the sheets of the bed you sat on. “I am not getting married to him.”

“Oh I know that, but Fontaine loves a show, so I think we should give them what they want even if it is just an illusion.” You watched as she stood from where she sat, moving to come and sit on the bed beside you. 

“What do you mean?” Your eyes never felt her body as she sat down beside you, her form feeling dangerously close to your own as you could feel her breath hitting against your skin.

“Pretend to form an attachment with the Chief Justice.” Her proposal caught you off guard, but she merely smiled. “With you on his arm all of Fontaine will believe the Iudex has finally found his wife, and you will get the protection from the one in Liyue who is searching for you until you are ready to call it all off and move on wherever you plan to go and of course the Fatui will offer you our assistance when that time comes for you to leave.”

“What do you get out of it?” You question and she reaches over to the box of macarons, she removes one of them, a purple one that was mostly likely flavored with lavender, and pushes it against your lips until they break apart letting her feed you it.

“Well we are friends, my dearest lady.” She grabbed your chin suddenly, once her hand was empty, making you gasp. She trailed up her thumb to your lips, brushing away the sweet cream that was left there from the pastry. “And friends help friends.”

You succumbed to silence as you had to look up at her, your thoughts thick and heavy both from the tension in the room and from the sweet you just swallowed. “It is an absurd plan.”

“But a quite brilliant one if you truly think about it.” She replied, her eyes fixed upon your own as if they were staring into your soul. “So what will it be?”

“Deal….” You hesitated for a moment after she released your chin, letting you turn your head away from her sharp and knife-like gaze. “But… how do I do it?

“You know how to act from your two thousand years of doing it in Liyue correct?” You nodded again to her question. “Then you do it again. I told you once before that good actors hone their craft to mesmerize the whole crowd. Besides you have already mesmerized the Chief Justice, use that to your advantage and you will have everyone fooled, even him. You know in order for this to work you have to act madly in love with him, can you do that?”

“I think-“

“I need a better response than that.”

“…yes, I can.”

“Good girl.”

—————————

You stood outside the Opera Epiclese, it was now midday and Arlecchino’s words echoed in your mind from the night prior, good actors hone their craft to mesmerize the whole crowd. Your crowd was Fontaine and the star guest was the Chief Justice, that thought made you feel terrified. Your eyes fixed on the doors of the Opera Epiclese when they opened and people began flooding out after the day’s trials. It took a few minutes for everyone to pile out and fill the plaza in front of the Opera Epiclese and the sound of laughter, chatter, and other idol gossip filled your ears. Everything felt so overwhelming between the sounds echoing around you, the roaring in your ears, and your heart beat pounding in your chest in your current state of stress. Then finally, as the last person walking through the doors came the Chief Justice. Neuvillette was talking to a little melusine, who you guessed was the one filling the role of court clerk in your brother’s current leave of absence.

You took a nervous breath before straightening yourself the best you could and walking over to where he was slowly walking and talking to the melusine. Once you were close enough you waved to him and spoke out to catch his attention. “Neuvillette!”

Your voice caught his attention and he turned to you and a smile quickly formed on his face at the sight of you approaching him. “Mademoiselle (Name), what a pleasure to see you again… but should you not be resting after the events of the last few days?”

“I am fine, feeling quite well, thank you.” You spoke, trying to suppress the terrified emotions that were building up in your throat. “…Actually I need to do something.”

“What would that be? I would be happy to offer my assistance if I could be of use- hmph!“

In that moment you grabbed his robes and pulled him down to your level and you kissed him. You could hear the gasps of shock spread throughout the crowd, like an audience gawking at a twist in an opera. For a moment you heard the click of a camera as you broke apart, his violet eyes locking onto your own eyes. This face bore an expression of shock and a shade of pink dusted onto his cheeks. 

“I accept your offer.” You spoke, keeping eye contact, trying to sell it to not only him but all of Fontaine. It took him a moment to regain his composure and he stood up straight and cleared his throat, bringing his gloved hand up to his lips.

“Are you sure, my dear?” He spoke, bringing your last chance to back away from this insane plan to your attention, but you pushed the feeling of hesitation down.

“I am sure as I am of anything else.” Which something only you know is not a lot. “I accept your offer of a courtship, ma chérie.”

Chapter Text

“Did you hear about that woman that the Chief Justice was seen with outside the Opera Epiclese?” A woman dawned in a frilly yellow dress with just a dramatic hat to match, and sat at an inside table of a cafe. She was gossiping with her friend over a pot of tea.

“How could I not? Everyone is talking about it.” Her friend, who wore a blue dress not too different of a style of dress, responded, her voice brimming with a giggle. “My sister was there and she thought the woman was some strange admirer, but apparently it was the first time she had witnessed the Iudex smile. She told me that he asked to court her prior to the incident at the Opera House.”

“I heard a rumor that she is the youngest sister of the Chief Justice’s clerk.” The woman dressed in blue gasped at her friend’s statement. 

“Monsieur Vepar has a sister?!” The friend dressed in blue had to suppress yelling that statement aloud, instead she opted for a yell-like whisper. She glanced around the cafe to make sure no nosy person was eavesdropping. “I honestly thought he might be a ghost, you know someone who might have worked at the opera house a long time ago, died and just continued to work. He barely speaks to anyone, outside of the Iudex and Lady Furina that is, and perhaps the melusine.”

“Yes, apparently she came here from Liyue and even has taken up with the Spina di Rosula.” The yellow dressed woman spoke as she picked up her teacup, a more of a stuck up tone taking root in her voice. “Honestly after what happened with Callas the Unfaithful, I am surprised that someone of such rank would dare to let their kin associate with such people, shameful if you ask me especially if she is courting and perhaps one day betrothed to the Iudex.”

“Perhaps that will be the newest scandal, honestly I cannot picture how this all plays out-“ She paused on her words and looked at one of the doors of tha cafe as they opened for a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform, carrying a box that looked to be for a cake. She pointed over to her nonchalantly, catching her friend’s attention to look over at the maid who was leaving the cafe and began walking down the road. They watched her through the glass of the windows of the cafe. “That’s the maid from the clerk’s household, I have seen her leaving his home every evening when I am on a walk.”

“Oh, what do you think she is up to? Perhaps getting her lady a sweet treat to share with her suitor?” 

“Perhaps, perhaps, but would it not make sense for Chief Justice to pamper and dote on her? He intends to court her after all.” 

“What is so wrong with a woman wishing to treat her lover?”

—————————

You sat at your vanity, freshening up for the day that lays ahead. Your return home was very unpunctual, having spent the rest of the day with the Iudex at the Palais Mermonia, and you would be lying if you said he was bad company. He sat and spoke with you for hours, while he looked over papers and reports for trials, but he did his best to give you his attention. You tried to return the gesture but you had probably every melusine in the Palais Mermonia coming to check in on the Iudex. They would come in and speak to Neuvillette for a few minutes or so before coming to speak to you, finding themselves in long conversations with you, coming up to sit next to you and eventually coming to snuggle up next to you. Eventually at one point you had about five or so of the adorable little girls wishing for your attention. 

You sighed at those memories from the day prior as you brushed your hair, pulling up back into a ponytail and tying it off with a ribbon. You felt horrible to live this lie, you were not in love with the Iudex but this is what needed to be done. You also had yet to tell Vepar about your relationship with the Chief Justice, and it was probably best to speak to him about it before he finds out from the Steambird. 

“My lady.” You heard your maid’s voice from behind your door followed along with a knock upon the wooden door, calling you from your thoughts. “May I come in?”

“Oh… yes.” You set your brush down on top of your vanity, and you looked towards the door as it opened to reveal the maid. You smiled at her and gestured to her to come closer, which she did, closing the door behind her. “What did you hear?”

“Ladies gossiping all over the Court of Fontaine.” She approached closer to where you sat by your vanity. “You are lucky your brother is still on leave and staying here, otherwise he would have found out and we both know how your brother gets about matters such as these, keeping secrets such as these.”

“I know, I know, I plan on telling him today.” You speak as you stand up, walking towards your bed where you have a lovely white and gold tea dress with puff sleeves and a shorter skirt with a built-in petticoat. “Monsieur Neuvillette wishes to take me on a stroll through the Court of Fontaine, then to lunch at Palais Mermonia, and then the the Opera Epiclese to watch an actual opera.”

“Seems like he was already preplaning this.”

“You think he did?” You asked as you looked over the dress. You glanced up at your maid as your hand traced over the stitching of your dress and she nodded. You sighed and went back to examining the dress, humming as you noticed details more closely. “Hm… I do not think this will fit, the waist is too small.”

“Ah, I suppose this was bound to happen at some point.” You watched as your maid walked to your already open closet and took out a box, the same box your dresses in from the boutique you met Navia at. She set it in the bed next to your dress, she reached inside and pulled out what looked like a piece of stiff fabric with ribbons to lace up, a corset. She watched your confused expression before laughing. “I suppose you have never worn one of these, my lady.”

“No, I have not.” You responded as you looked over it and slipped off your robe and set it on the back of your vanity chair so you were left in your undergarments , you were honestly quite unfamiliar with any form of tight fitting clothing as your husband preferred more looser fitting clothing that flowed behind you, even making it hard to walk without stepping on the fabric. “Is it painful?”

“Only if you wear it incorrectly.” She came up behind you, she placed the corset over the front of your torso, she brought the sides around to wrap around your waist before taking the ribbon and beginning to lace up the back of it. She left it loose as she laced it up, but when she reached the bottom you felt her give a slight tug as a foreshadowing of what was to come. You squeaked when she pulled the strings tight and it pulled tight, wrapping around your waist and pushing it in. The air left your lungs as you tried to adjust to the sudden squeeze. “It may take time for you to get used to, kinda like breaking it in like you would with shoes, but I am sure you will adjust to Fontainian fashion in time.”

“Sure...” You turned to examine yourself in your vanity mirror, making note of the lack of mobility in your waist and hips, bending down and perhaps sitting down may be a bit of a struggle. “…I just need time.”

—————————

Your brother was having breakfast in the greenhouse this morning, he was oddly quiet to not just you but everyone in his household since the day where Neuvillette asked him for your hand. You must have thought he had some form of embarrassment for what happened, or perhaps shame. Come to think of it, you did not know Vepar’s response to the inquiry of the Chief Justice, you assumed he would have left it up to you, you doubted he would have said anything else. 

Vepar sat at the table, breakfast laid out for the two of you. He had a cup of tea cradled in his hands as he gazed out over his garden, well gazing with the one eye that was not hidden underneath the bandages he wore due to the injury inflicted by your husband’s claws. He was so fixated on whatever thoughts he was having that he did not notice the sound of your footsteps approaching from behind him. You came to sit across from him at the place that was set for you. You sat there in silence for a moment before following your brother’s gaze onto a bed of cecilias and windwheel asters, two types of flowers that were native to the nation of freedom, Mondstadt, flowers are quite difficult to grow anywhere outside of their native land. For example, windwheel asters cannot grow in places with no wind nor plagued by strong storms, it can only grow where the wind is gentle and nourishing. Then on the other hand there are the cecilias that also grew in your brother’s garden, a flower that only grows where the harsh wind blows.

Your eyes gazed off to the other flowerbeds looking over them all…

A bed of qingxins, a flower native to Liyue that can only be grown on the highest stone peaks…

Vines that hung from a trellis that grew kalpalata lotus, a flower native to Sumeru. It is said that these vines were the first thing that Lord Rukkhadevata ever created, making them the progenitors of every plant in Sumeru…

Dendrobiums were currently on shelves near the main door of the greenhouse, in the nursery till they were old enough to be planted. Those flowers were native to Inazuma and were said to bloom most enchantingly where much blood was spilled…

“Amon loved windwheel asters….” You hear Vepar’s voice speak as he looked over the bed of Mondstadt native flowers before him. You felt yourself tense up at the mention of your deceased brother’s name, Amon was the ninth born, just a few decades older than you and your twin sister. He was such a kind soul, always wearing a smile, laughter that could light up the room, the God of Summer and Festivals, makes the ending he got that much more disgusting and disturbing, but luckily you were not privy to that information. “He loved Mondstadt so much… those flowers were the only ones I retrieved myself.”

“You went to Mondstadt?” You questioned him at his statement and he nodded with a barely audible hum.

“I wanted to see if there was anything left behind from our brothers who lived there. I went to where they once lived, now called Stormterror’s Lair by the locals.” His eyes looked down at the almost empty teacup in his hand, his reflection looking back at him in the liquid. His voice was weak, almost broken sounding with the lack of tears or even emotion that were void from his words. “I did not find anything besides the stories that demonized one of them and hid the other from history… it was almost like Amon never existed… how could he not exist? He died trying to protect his kin, our family.”

Your eyes went wide at Vepar’s words, that was the end your brother faced. In an opera his story would be that of a tragic hero, a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. This person is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force to doom and destruction or at least to great suffering. That was the fate your brother faced.

“I am not letting that happen again… not to you, not to me, not to any of us….” He sucked in a breath and with stiff legs he stood up from the table, leaving his breakfast untouched. His visible eye was glazed over with sorrow and pain, as he recalled those painful memories you were spared from but were only replaced by different pain. “…I should catch up on work… I… I will see you later tonight.”

You could only watch as he walked into the house, his footsteps trailing off to his study, leaving you alone in the garden. You glanced around again, looking over the flora of all sorts before you. A living memorial of what has been lost, taken from you.

You pushed yourself up from the table, following behind where your brother just walked a few moments prior, only you made your way to the front door. The maid and butler were tending to their own chores, so you took your own coat from the closest and put it on yourself. You also had to dawn a pair of thicker gloves and a scarf as the weather was getting colder with the day. You opened the door for yourself, only glancing back to look at the closed doors of your brother’s study. Best to leave him alone right now. You stepped out and closed the door behind you. You sighed and breathed in the chilly air, closing your eyes and just feeling. After a few moments of calm, you spun around to walk down the stairs before your front door.

“Mademoiselle (Name), I have been asked to escort you to the Palais Mermonia.” You nearly screamed when you saw the member of the Gardes standing at the base of the stairs. You could not tell if she was waiting there or had just arrived, you would have to ask your maid when you returned. You must have been staring for a moment because the blonde woman before you tilted her head as she looked at you. “Mademoiselle (Name), are you alright?”

“Y-yes… yes I am, I was just startled that is all.” You stuttered and stammered on your words as you stepped down the stairs, having a hard time moving the middle of your torso as you did so due to your corset that your maid helped you put on this morning. “You are surprisingly early and nor did I know the Iudex would be sending an escort.”

“Well the Chief Justice asked me to retrieve you as soon as possible as he has something important he wishes to discuss with you.” She also had a pitying look come across her face as she continued. “…the Chief Justice also wished me to inform you that your walk through the Court of Fontaine has been canceled due to certain circumstances which is also why I am here to escort you.”

“…I see.” You sighed, honestly you have been deprived of a good amount of fresh air these last few days so to have a lack thereof was not ideal. “Very well… Do you have any idea what we will be doing instead?”

“Well the Iudex does have quite a bit of paperwork to tend to with the events between you and him of yesterday and the press that came from it.” You were able to quickly connect the dots, you were going to be sitting in his office while he worked. The member of the Gardes before you must have noticed your distress and quickly tried to resolve the situation. “But actually he had one of the staff members at the Palais Mermonia go to retrieve some novels he believes you may be interested in. I actually have read quite a few that were on that list and they were quite good.”

“Oh… wonderful.”

—————————

You sat in your home in Liyue Harbor, clutching the fabric of your skirt tightly as your gaze was tightly locked on the floorboard beneath you, instead of looking up at your husband who was standing before you. He was reading over the pages of a book you snuck after one of your rare outings into the city. You had to bribe the store owner to not tell your husband of your purchase since in Liyue the walls have ears. Still you find yourself in this position, he had found the book you had hidden beneath a loose floorboard in the corner of your bedroom. It honestly was not anything lewd in manner, perhaps a bit gory with the descriptions of the murders in it, but just not a story he would approve of you reading. The book was about a young lady from Fontaine who ran away from an arranged marriage to become a detective and she encounters the ghosts of victims along the way as she tries to solve the mysteries of their deaths. You had overheard a conversation about it from the window of your shared bedroom and found it fascinating and wished to read it, but your husband would have never allowed it since he did not and would not approve of it first.

“How did you get this?” His deep and stern voice cut through your terrified mind. It was that sort of tone where he was already irritated and would not be tolerating any more misconduct from you.

“I…I bought it…”

“With the mora I provided I assume?”

“…yes.”

You could hear him audibly sigh at your confirmation before you heard the sharp sound of the book slamming shut which was followed by the sharp clicking of his shoes against the wooden floorboards walking over to the other side of the room. “I suppose Director Hu may enjoy it with the paranormal aspects of it, so I will have it gifted to her instead of having it wasted.” 

“….” You did not dare to respond while your husband was upset and he did not give you permission to speak yet as he was lecturing you. So you only opted for trying to swallow the lump in your throat that had formed in your nervousness.

“But that still does not change the fact that you will not have learned your lesson.” Your eyes and head flicked up as said that. You could only watch as he picked up the rest of your books you had, that he even approved of which were about six or so, off of the table in the sitting area of your home. “I will be taking these to my office at the funeral parlor, you may read them when you are there.”

Your heart sank when he said that reading was one of the only things you had to relieve yourself of your unimaginable pain of this marriage. Between having nothing to read and barely leaving your shared house, your ways to pass the seemingly endless amount of time was reduced to housework and listening to the talk of the streets from your bedroom window, since none of your belongings from your former home you resided in with him were here yet. Then not to mention the time you would have the privilege of accompanying him to work would be lesser due to your actions of sneaking in a contraband item.

You knew he knew all of this…

He would never tell you but this was indeed your punishment…

You looked down once more, your eyes filling with tears as you were left with your own thoughts. You refused to process the sounds around you as he slipped on his coat, shoes, and gloves, which he put his rings over including his wedding band, as he got ready to set out for work.

“I will see you later this evening, my love.” He approached you, and leaned down to kiss your cheek but you flinched away and squeezed your eyes shut, refusing to look at him or speak a word. You heard him sigh once again as he stood up straight and adjusted the small stack of books he carried under his arm. “We will address this behavior when I return home.”

You did not dare to respond as he stepped away, walking to the door. He unlocked it with his key, opened it, stepped outside, and shut it behind him, making sure to lock it once again. You were once again alone…

You would have cried…

But you just had no more tears left…

—————————

You arrived at the Palais Mermonia, the member of the Garde that was sent to escort you protected you from the swarms of people who flocked around you like you were the latest star in an opera at the Opera Epiclese. The member of the Garde luckily left you when you reached the interior of the Palais Mermonia, but you were then escorted by a maid to your so called lover’s office. The doors of his office opened to you to reveal the Iudex of Fontaine sitting behind his desk, a stack of paperwork before him, a gift box beside him on the left, and a stack of books in the right. The moment the door opened his eyes shot up to look at you and a small smile quickly came across his face, a common sight for you when Neuvillette laid eyes on you.

“Ma chéri, it is lovely to see you.” He gestured with his free hand for you to come inside, which you did so, and like clockwork the doors closed behind you. You walked forward to him as he set down his paperwork and grabbed his cane that rested against his chair. Your eyes followed him as he picked up the gift box from his desk and approached you. He gestured to the couch nearest to his desk for you to sit. “I have something I would like to give you.”

He sat down alongside you on the plush sofa and set the box down onto your lap, a silent gesture for you to open it. You gently lifted off the lip of the box to reveal a beautiful necklace which was made up of countless perfect pearls, silver, and,,,

“Varunada Lazurites, a gem linked to the hydro element.” You heard Neuvillette tell you as you’d eyes traced the intricate design and details of the piece of jewelry before you. “I believed that is would be a much deserved reprieve from lack of your own elemental domain that you have experienced in the last few millennia. I also found it appropriate as it is a fitting betrothal gift here in Fontaine.”

Your mind stopped when you heard him say those words. This was all just and act and you had forgotten what you actually had agreed to, a courtship that’s goal in the end would be marriage, the Iudex asked you for your hand for lack of a better term that day when you returned home in the rain to find the Chief Justice speaking your your brother. You took a breath and quickly reassured your panicked mind that this was all just an act and would amount to nothing more in the end, it was the means to an end and nothing more. You put on your best smile and reaches out to wrap your arms around Neuvillette as if in pure and utter joy.

“Thank you so much, it is beautiful.” You could feel the Iudex tense up at the sudden and informal display of affection before he leaned into it and relaxed. He reached down and you could feel one of his arms wrap around and return the gesture while the other ran his gloved fingers through your hair.

“It is nothing, my dearest.” You could feel his breath on the top of your head as he leaned over you slightly before you could feel his lips press against the top of your head, a small sign of affection. After a moment, and when your body started to feel hot from the slightly prolonged hug and the fact that you still wore your scarf, coat and gloves, you pulled away. 

You reached up with your hands to remove your scarf and you looked at Neuvillette as you pulled your hair aside. “Would you mind helping me put it on?”

“Of course, it would be my honor.” You watched as he delicately and gingerly picked up the necklace. He brought it up around your neck, and while it was quite detailed and stunning it was a bit tight as the points of the necklace only came just a bit passed your collarbone, you you suppose a necklace like choker would be a better suited term for the piece of jewelry. You released your hair that you held aside as you felt the clasp secure around your neck. You spun around to too at Neuvillette and you watched as his eyes drifted up from your neck to your face, smiling fondly at you. “You look absolutely breathtaking.”

“…thank you.” Your quiet response was met with a hum from the Chief Justice before you watched him grab his cane from where it rested against the couch. He stood up and walked over to his desk, picking up the books that were set on it, the books you were told about by the member of the Gardes who escorted you here.

“One of my staff members picked these works out for you, she told me that she believed you could find them enjoyable.” He walked over to you, his cane hitting the floor every time he took a step. He outstretched his arm to you handing the six books to you. “I apologize for the cancellation in our first activity in our plans today, I understand that spending time with one while they are absorbed in work may not be the most pleasurable experience but lunch and the opera will go on as planned, you have my word.”

“It is alright, I am still excited to spend the day with you.” You responded as you kept your eyes locked on him. He nodded and smiled before turning back to his desk. So you looked down at the books that had been given to you and your stomach dropped…

“Dear, is something wrong? You look like you may be sick.” You heard the voice of the Iudex as he sat down in his office chair but you did not look up at him.

“Yes, I just feel a little tired that is all, not always used to being awake during the day.”

“You are more than welcome to rest your head in here, I will have the staff fetch extra blankets and a pillows if you so desire.”

“No, no, I will be fine, I think I will just rest my eyes.”

“Very well, I will be here if you need anything”

You only hummed as you set the books on the ground beside the sofa as you laid down on the plush surface. You closed your eyes and tried to ignore the very slight choking feeling from the necklace…

And tried to forget about the books that Neuvillette got you were the only ones you were allowed to read by your husband.

Chapter Text

The first image is my design for the reader’s mother in the story. I said in Rain and Dirt, another book in this series that she was the goddess of night and weather so I tried to add a lot of weather and night motifs in her outfit. Her shawl has clouds on it that take inspiration that I found from Chinese art work, but it also has the sun and a waterfall to reflect her husband, the god of sun and the ocean and or sea (I am to tired to check my notes). Then the bottom of her dress and her sleeves have mist, which I did to represent her second eldest child, Vepar the god of truth and mist. There was also something else with the bodice with the pattern on that, it represents something I just can’t remember and again I do not want to check my notes.

The second image is of Vepar with his nasty scar from Zhongli. I just really wanted to practice my scar work and my work on profile views.

Then on the third image, top left, is Stolas. I just got the inspiration from this one from that one scene where I showed him in Port Ormos. I just imagine him while he is doing his work that he sips tea and when his student studied under him he would do it while she worked on her personal studies, and now while his pupil is gone, I do imagine she comes and visits him sometimes to have tea with her old master. Also just a fun Stolas alternative outfit, I imagine he wears that while just doing his own personal studies, or shopping in Port Ormos. (Also just ignore that eye thing next to him, I swear it is not important yet)

The third image, top right, is Vepar. I got inspiration for this one on an upcoming flashback to about a few hundred years in Fontaine, like when the melusine were first brought to the Court of Fontaine by Neuvillette and when Vepar was much more closed off to the world in his mourning of the former Hydro Archon who he called his friend. Honestly I imagine while Fontaine did not like the melusine, Vepar was scared to get close as to keep them from getting burned from the grief that haunted him. He just needed a hug back in those days (and still does) but he never let anyone get close, and the people who were close, his siblings, were also morning the losses of their own friends (Stolas with Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and then Eos with Makoto and then having Ei cut herself off from the world). Also again I wanted to draw Vepar in alternate clothes, and fun fact he does wear glasses but his last pair broke about 50 years ago and he just has not bothered to replace them.

Third image, on the bottom, is Eos or otherwise know as Haruko, a name given to her by Makoto when she first became friends with the former electro archon, I will explain their story at some point but I cannot at the moment because it is a major part of her character that cannot be revealed just yet. Again with this one I just wanted to practice side profiles and her hair pieces are just so pretty and satisfying to draw.

Chapter Text

Despite living in Liyue Harbor, you have never enjoyed the noise…

You suppose that distaste for loud and chatter noise also applies here in Fontaine, but more specifically at the Opera Epiclese.

You cling to Neuvillette’s arm as you walked into the massive structure. So many people both inside and outside the Opera Epiclese, so many eyes fixed on you, the woman on the Chief Justice’s arm. You took a last glance outside before you entered those large doors, your eyes fixated on the surface of the water that was illuminated with colors of oranges, yellows, reds, pinks, and purples, as the sun set over the nation of Fontaine, the nation of justice. 

When you stepped inside the crowded foyer of the opera house, everyone’s eyes fixed on the two of you. At the sight of you on Neuvillette’s arm, whispers spread through the building like wildfire. You unconsciously hung your head low, looking down at your feet while you walked, and thankfully the pounding in your ears and your chest kept you from overhearing any of the whispered conversations about you. Despite your head hanging low you could still feel their stares, their eyes, burning into your flesh as it felt like they were trying to pick you apart, looking for one misstep, looking one slip up, looking for a chance to ruin you and drag you through the mud as if all for their entertainment.

You heard people call out for the man whose arm you were on, as if to try and get his attention to speak to him which would leave you out in this crowd of eyes even longer. You tugged on Neuvillette’s sleeve, catching his attention and he turned his head towards you and was just able to pick up on your whisper that left your lips. “May we please go find our seats?”

“We may if that is what you so wish for.” You clung even tighter to the Iudex's arm as he led you through the crowd of staring people once more. He led you up a flight of stairs and down a hallway where only a few more people, scattered here and there, talked. There was a door with a woman standing outside of it. You could not process what they were saying when Neuvillette spoke to her as your nerves still ran through your system like birds that had just been scared by a cat. You could see Neuvillette handing her two slips of paper, your tickets for the performance you could guess and then she opened the door for you two. 

Past the door was a velvet lined opera box, a smaller, more private balcony that was a bit more expensive than seats in the house as there were only a few of them that lined either side of the theater. There were two velvet arm chairs, not too different from the ones in the house of the theater. You also quickly made note of the stage, the curtains were drawn, which hid the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale and the seat of the Chief Justice, where Neuvillette would normally sit during a trial. You suppose since there is no trial that there would be no need to sit in such a position. Neuvillette let you sit first and you picked the seat on the right, it was slightly closer to the wall but in the end it did not matter which you picked. You leaned forward, your elbows coming to rest on your knees and your hand supported either side of your face.

“Vepar used to be an actor.” Your comment caught the Iudex off guard, but not so much so that he lost his composure. He merely turned his head toward you at your voice, his curiosity peaked. “He used to love the theater, but then again the styles of acting between ancient Liyue and modern Fontaine are noticeably different.”

“I was already aware of his love for the theater, but I was unaware that he took part in it himself.” Neuvillette responded to your statement, his eyes fixed on you while your own were fixed to the stage. “I am aware that you are fond of the musical arts, am I to assume your entire family enjoys such things.”

“To an extent you are, Vepar has always been fond of the theater, but our brother, Stolas, is more fond of the art of painting, then my twin sister, Eos, is more skilled with the literary arts.” You drummed your painted nails against your cheek as you thought in your head on the memories and spoke to the Iudex. You could feel his eyes watching you but his gaze felt softer than the people in the halls of the opera house, whose eyes felt like they would burn you alive. “Then I prefer the musical arts myself, I used to love to sing, more than anything else.”

“Used to? If I may, could I inquire what happened?” If you were wearing a smile, if you would have faded at those words, but you did not, if anything your face felt as if it was made of stone, completely untouched by any emotion, happy or sad.

“ He did.” Neuvillette’s face visibly darkened at those words you spoke. You sighed and pulled your head back to come and lean back against the back of your chair, the velvet tickling the back of your neck. “It felt like the music that I had once loved had become a chore, something to get done to make another happy. Sometimes with how he would look at me, it made me feel like I was nothing more than a songbird in a gilded cage…that is what I was, what I became. My wings were clipped so even if I tried to fly all that would happen is that I would eventually fall.”

“It is almost hard for me to believe that you endured that all for two thousand years.” You still did not turn to look at the Chief Justice when he spoke, in fact you turned your head to face away from the Iudex completely, your cheek pressing against the velvet of the chair. You could feel his gloved hand come to reach down your arm, trailing down to land on your own hand, his fingers enveloping it completely.

“I envy humans.” Your words caught the Chief Justice off guard but you could not see his expression, you could only feel the warmth on his hand over your own. “Humans get to live these amazing lives in such short periods of time, so many of them able to achieve all they ever wanted in just a few years but meanwhile I am still reaching out for whatever that may be… but most of all I am envious of the fact that the get to die such peaceful deaths compared to that of gods. When we die it triggers such terrible catastrophes, even if a weak god such as myself was to be killed my passing could haunt a nation of people for centuries to come. But I hear so many stories of mortals passing peacefully and I am jealous because for so long all I wanted was to close my eyes and just not wake up again-“

“That is enough.” The sternness of the voice of Neuvillette caught you off guard with how soft he had treated you. His hand squeezed tightly on your own when he used such a tone with you, similar to the one he would use in court. You flinched away from him, slipping your hand from his grasp and swiftly stood up as a panicked feeling washed over you at his response to your sorrowful statement.

“Please… please excuse me….” You grabbed your coat from where you haphazardly set it on the arm of your chair when you came into the box and sat down. You turned back to the door, throwing your coat over your shoulders in a bit of a rush, needing to get out of the cramped space that had felt to just get smaller. “I need some air… alone.”

You did not stop to look back into the box, you swiftly walked down the hall, ignoring the box keeper who called your name as you walked off. You walked past the now empty hallway, you could only process the pounding in your ears as you rushed past everything behind you. You walked past the people in the foyer as they scampered inside the theater to take their seats as the show was about to begin but you did not care, you needed to get outside. 

You pushed open one of the large front doors of the Opera Epiclese, the cold air hitting your face was a much needed reprieve from the cramped feeling of the opera house. You quickly stepped down the stairs of the Opera Epiclese, leaving the opera house and its people behind you. You walked past all the people who gave you strange looks, but you did not look back at them. You did not stop until you were much farther down the path that led to and from the Opera Epiclese, no one else was in sight and there you leaned against the stone railing that barred off the path from the wilderness. You fell to your knees and cried, you were not ready to act like this, even to pretend to be in a relationship you were not ready for this act, you cannot fool anyone. You slammed your hands over your ears in a weak attempt to drown out the pounding and ringing in them, but it did not help. You choked on your cries after that failed attempt and hugged your knees closer to your body, rocking yourself back and forth. 

“So this is what happens backstage, out of the audience’s gaze.” In your panic you failed to hear the footsteps that followed you or look back to see that an all too familiar face followed you, the Knave. You glanced up at her, your eyes full of the salt tears that almost stung. You also failed to notice in your tears that it started to rain, but this was not your doing, you knew that, guess the Hydro Dragon had something to cry about as well tonight. You were both becoming soaked in the rain, but that did not stop her eyes from piercing down at you. “I thought I told you that you needed to be in love with the Iudex of Fontaine, from that performance you could even convince a child that you are in love, but yet you somehow convinced him that you are in love with him, he must be enamored by you to believe your act.”

“Now is not the time for this, Arlecchino-“

“I think this is the perfect time, all of Fontaine has their eyes fixed on you. This is the opening act, how long do you think the audience will watch if the star is not even skilled?” You watched as she kneeled down before you and reached her right hand out. Her black nails scrape down your cheek, a little sharper and they would have broken your skin. Then her finger hooked beneath your chin, grabbing a bit harshly that she has done in the past. She brought your face up to close to her own, you could feel her breath from her lips hit your own shaking lips. “So be a good girl and put on your smile and go cling to the Chief Justice’s arm.”

“I… I do not wish to do this anymore…” You stuttered on your words as you made eye contact with her, forcing your timid gaze to match her own. “…I want to call off our deal.”

“You do? And I thought we were friends.” She leaned over, her hand still holding onto your chin so very tightly. She leaned over to whisper into your clear, her cool breath hitting your flesh, it did not even help that it felt colder due to the rain that poured onto the two of you. “It would be such a shame if someone just pointed your husband in the right direction and he found where you are hiding.”

“…please no…” 

“Then be a good girl and no one else gets hurt.” Her words make your ears perk up at her exact phasing, no one else gets hurt. She stood up from where she kneeled down before you and you did the same, albeit a bit more clumsy. 

“What did you do?” Your voice was stained from the sobs from when you cried. She merely kept her smile, staying as calm as ever.

“It was merely a nudge in the right direction for you.” You watched as she started walking down the path away from the Opera Epiclese. She glanced back at you, her red eyes burning into your very soul. “Besides, we needed to expose of them anyway.” 

“…no…”

“Best run back to the opera house, after all you don’t want people turning to you to blame.”

Without another thought or a glance back at her you ran, listening to her words. You ran back to the Opera Epiclese, holding your soaking dress as you ran as to keep yourself from tripping and falling onto the ground that was slick with rainwater. You ran past the few people who were running themselves, seeking cover from the rain, which included a few melusine who tried to talk to you, asking their mama what was wrong. You did not have time to react to anything, as much as you did not like any of this, you had to get to Neuvillette and tell him what had just happened and perhaps you could prevent what was about to take place. You pulled open the heavy front doors of the Opera Epiclese and ran inside, ignoring the few people who were still in the foyer. You ran up the stairs, down the hallway, running towards your box. The box keeper was not at the door, most likely talking to other workers at the Opera Epiclese. You pushed open the door of your box and there you saw a rather worried looking  Neuvillette talking to a member of the staff of the opera house, most likely because of you running off because when he saw you he breathed a sigh of relief that was just covered up by the performance on stage. 

“There you are, you were missing for quite awhile and I was beginning to grow concerned….” He then absorbed your panicked state and silently waved, dismissing the staff member. She left without a word leaving you with your panicked expression and soaked body and the Chief Justice. He stood up and approached you, whispering as he cupped your face in both of his hands. “What happened?”

“Neuvillette… someone is-“

You were cut off by a blood curdling scream from the stage.

You both looked toward the stage and the sight that was there made you go wide eyed. You raised your hand to your lips and screamed yourself in horror. 

Arlecchino kept her word…

There on the stage the curtain had been pulled aside during a scene change…

And there was a body…

A dead body…

A dead body hanging by a rope…

A dead body hanging by a rope and a knife in his chest.

You could feel the tears building up in your eyes, this man died, was murder, because you could not put a believable act. You had no idea what he did to anger the Knave as well, surely it was not deserved, but you know what you did. You made a deal with her, multiple deals with her, and now she is hanging them over your head, you were trapped.  She showed you something good, a path to your freedom but instead you remained even more trapped than before. You fell to your knees once more in your horror and grief for this person you do not even know. If you did not convince her more people would die…

From now on you cannot just convince Fontaine…

You would have to convince her…

The Knave…

Arlecchino…

The Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers…

That thought made you sick.

“The performance is over!” You heard Neuvillette shout, demanding silence from the panicked crowd. You felt sick to your stomach and could hardly process anything else besides your own breathing. “Gardes, secure the scene and detain all the cast and crew. Seal the exits, no one is allowed in or out at this time!”

You could hear the whispers and feel the panic of the crowd, even with the words of the Chief Justice. You were in a state of shock as you looked around, it felt as it the world was spinning around you, your vision could not even focus on anything, and your ears were ringing once again, you might actually be sick. You could barely process the feeling of Neuvillette’s gloved hands guiding you to stand up and walk forward and sit down in one of the velvet seats in the box. Despite him being the Chief Justice and most likely needed on the scene, he kneeled down before you where you sat. You felt his  gloved hands hold onto yours, giving you something to hold and focus on but you could not. Your body shook violently as a member of the Gardes entered your box. The Chief Justice looked at him and exchanged a few words with him that you could not quite process. Then you felt Neuvillette stand up and lean over to plant a kiss on the top of your head before turning to the Garde. 

“Bring her to the Palais Mermonia, I will be along shortly.” The Iudex glanced back at you and then to the Garde once more. “Inform Monsieur Vepar of this situation immediately.”

You then fel the hands of the Garde come to take Neuvillette’s hands and guide you to stand up in your shock…

You cannot remember anything else from the Opera Epiclese.

—————————

Vepar sat in his office, looking over stacks of papers that had added up since his absence in the Opera Epiclese and the Palais Mermonia. He sighed as he read over a paper about another upcoming trial and the witnesses listed in it and who would testify. His expression seemed to die as he read it over, everything around him felt dead, the only sign of life being the soft ticking of the grandfather clock that was kept in the drawing room.

Then there was a soft knocking against his door breaking the heavy and depressing silence…

“Monsieur Vepar, there is someone here to see you.” The voice of the household’s maid called out to him through the door and the god of truth groaned as he stood up from his office chair, his whole body still ached from the strain that it was put through from the injuries he endured from your husband. 

“I am quite busy and I am afraid I have no time or am in the position to entertain guests.” Vepar reached for the door handles and turned them, beginning to open them as he spoke to the maid, his head hung low as his body still received tinges of pain from the stitched up wounds on his face and bruising on his ribs and spine.

“Sir, I am afraid it is about your sister.” It was a different voice, a man’s voice. He looked up through the now open doors to see a member of the Gardes who wore a rather solemn expression. 

“What is going on, is she alright?”

“Monsieur Vepar, there has been a murder at the Opera Epiclese during a performance tonight.” The Garde even choked on his words and struggled to make eye contact with the clerk. “She was absent at the presumed time of the murder and has been taken in protective custody due to the current circumstances.”

“What?”

Chapter Text

The next thing you remember is waking up in the same room you were brought to last time at the Palais Mermonia. You had a small yet noticeable headache from crying at the Opera Epiclese. You sighed and leaned back into the pillows behind your head, needing something soft after everything that has happened. Then as always, your brief moment of calm was interrupted, this time by a knock on the door. 

“Come in.” Your voice sounded scratchy, drained from when you cried. The door opened and Neuvillette stepped inside, closing the door behind him. You pushed yourself to sit up in bed while he came to sit down on the bed beside you. There was an almost ashamed expression on his face and he did not meet your gaze. “Neuvillette, what is wrong?”

“Well my dear, many people who were at the scene have accused you of the incident.” At his words your eyes went wide but he reached out with his hand, taking yours within his own, giving it a squeeze to calm you down. “Do not worry, these claims have already proven to be false due to testimonies we were able to gather from citizens, members of the Garde, and staff of the Opera Epiclese who saw you outside at the approximate time of death.”

“So everything is alright?”

“Not necessarily, you must understand the delicate nature of these things with many people looking for someone to blame and the uncertainty of how one could commit such a crime in the Opera Epiclese...”

“Neuvillette, what are you getting at?”

“Until further notice you are being placed under the protection of the Palais Mermonia.” It felt as if your whole body froze in place at those words, it felt like you could not breathe, like you were suffocating. “It will most likely be until the true suspect can be named and the trial can take place, but due to your brother’s leave absence all of the other trials that need to take place after being postponed. So you may be staying here for quite some time.”

“…I….” You were at a loss for words at this moment, your free hand coming to take a handful of your hair as you thought. “I… I want to talk to Vepar.”

“Mademoiselle (Name), I-“

“I WANT TO TALK TO MY BROTHER!” You shouted back at the Iudex of Fontaine as you pulled your hand out of his grip to join the one tangled in your hair. Your sudden outburst left him silent, staring at you, emotionlessly. After a long and drawn out moment he sighed and stood up, brushing his gloved hands over his clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles in the fabric. 

“I believe he is being escorted here by a member of the Gardes at the current moment, I will have him sent to see you when he arrives.” You did not respond to his words, you just sat there, breathing heavily. He sat there for a moment, the room succumbed to silence beside your breaths of in and out. “I am only trying to protect you, my dear. To throw you out there after such an incident is to throw you into a crowd where all eyes will be fixed on you.”

“Just leave me alone… please…”

“Very well, I am here if you need any-“

“Just go.” You cut him off, turning away from his eyes along with closing your own in an attempt to drown everything else out. All you could do was hear his heavy breathing before you felt the weight on the bed shift as he stood up and his footsteps drifted towards the door. There was a moment of hesitation before you heard the door open and the footsteps drifted away and the door closed behind him…

You did not know what to do in this moment…

You just wanted to go back…

Back home…

Not Liyue…

Your family…

Your parents…

Your siblings…

Osial…

Vepar…

Leraje…

Decarabian…

Phenex…

Stolas…

Andrealphus…

Ayin…

Loray…

Eos…

So many of them were gone, murdered. You used to see families walking the streets of Liyue Harbor and wondered where your own was, you did not know that so many of them, most of them, would never be heard from again.

You cried for you did not know how long, it felt like an eternity. Then finally there was a knock at the door, and without you responding it opened. You looked up with your teary eyes to see Vepar standing there in the doorway. You could see his regretful expression on his face as he stood there and looked at you, unsure of what to say, so you spoke first…

“Vepar… I… I made a horrible mistake…” 

Chapter Text

The image is self explanatory, for the ending dress inspiration I looked at Chiori’s trailer with the wedding dress she was designing