Chapter Text
Ragnvindr.
“Moreover, transportation of goods for the Adventurers’ Guild from the city to Dragonspine will be completed by tomorrow. It would’ve been complete by the end of the week if we didn’t start taking the path in Springvale.” The Cavalry Captain informed the king.
As legit as it sounded, the king still managed to notice a slight abnormality in his statement.
"Springvale? I don't recall having a road there leading to Dragonspine. When did you find this route?" Diluc pointed out. They were currently reporting their activities the past few days just so the king could keep track if his knights really are doing their assigned jobs. It’s not an official meeting, since it was just the Cavalry Captain, the Alchemist, and the Reconnaissance Captain present inside the king’s study room.
The king sat at the end of the table, scouring through the documents that Albedo gave him. As he did, he listened to what his knights had to say.
"Oh, Lady Gunnhildr showed us this route not too long ago." The Alchemist stated. The mention of her name alone was enough to make one of Diluc's eyes twitch. Everyone felt that his mood changed but thankfully, Kaeya butted in to explain.
"It's a tight path in the forest and a little steep for the horses but it's nothing they can't handle. It saves a lot of travel time–" At this point, Diluc wasn’t even skimming through the documents anymore.
"It didn't occur to you that she might be leading you to an ambush?" The tone of the king's voice suggests that the three captains are going to have to choose their words wisely until the meeting ends. Or else, they're never going to hear the end of it.
Their beloved King Ragnvindr's sermons were something that they hate to hear. Mostly because it hurts their pride so much. These kinds of sermons were the ones they think they did a good job but their king somehow still finds mistakes in what they did. The worst part is that he's right most of the time.
In his early days of reign, the hardest pill to swallow was listening to a twenty-one year old king. Knights who have been serving the kingdom for decades found it hard. Kaeya, who has been calling his brother an eyesore, found it hard to address him 'your majesty'. Even now, Kaeya is still suppressing the urge to stick his tongue out whenever his brother is scolding the knights so hard that veins are popping out.
“I was skeptical of her majesty’s suggestion, so I thoroughly surveyed the area for any traps or ambushes.” Eula spoke up in an attempt to soothe the king's mind, "There are no signs of hostile activity in the surrounding area so we decided to take–"
"And you think a single inspection is enough to ensure that it's safe?" The tone in his voice didn’t change in the slightest.
"I'd understand if you scout the area once and travel right after but you started regularly taking that path, correct?" To their dismay, he only seemed to be uttering his words more firmly.
"Y-Yes, your majesty–"
"If I remember correctly, you said that it's a tight path in the forest which means it can easily be used to set up an ambush. If you use that path at any time, how are you sure that there won't be a dozen enemies jumping out in every bush, hm?" His red eyes met theirs, one by one, expecting them to counter his stand. Unfortunately, they couldn’t come up with a convincing answer.
"Taking a longer path isn't going to kill any of you. Continue to use open and clear paths especially when you're delivering cargo."
"In the meantime, never ever take orders or suggestions from Lady Gunnhildr. Anyone caught doing so will be reported to me and be punished accordingly."
"All due respect, your majesty," Diluc's glare is immediately directed to Kaeya who smugly said, "But it's hard to ignore her orders when it genuinely helps."
Tsk. Diluc usually never minds his brother's teasing tone during meetings but this is somehow getting into his nerves more than ever.
"It's impressive, actually. She worked as an assassin but has natural-born leadership skills." The Cavalry Captain spun a pen between his fingers before pointing it to the king. "You, of all people, should recognize that."
Diluc couldn't suppress rolling his eyes at his comment.
“Keep your guard around her at all times. Never assume that her intentions are pure. Anything can happen especially when the Lawrence Clan is still active.” He said in which the three of them silently complied.
No one saw how Eula’s eyes narrowed.
___
Gunnhildr.
Jean had nothing else better to do but exit to the backyard. The extremely spacious backyard that doesn't even look like a backyard. It looked like a training ground. Sure there were fancy pillars and gazebos here and there, but there were far more battle equipment laying around. Weapons, training dummies, armor, etc. It’s unusual to say the least. Shouldn’t these be found in the knight’s headquarters or on actual training grounds?
Dusk is approaching, but the sun isn’t completely out of view so it creates a gorgeous pattern in the sky. With the limited lighting, she was able to see a single person plowing through training dummies.
That red hair was way too recognizable.
She watched as he swung his claymore in a way it didn’t even look like a claymore. She continued watching as her legs brought her closer to the area where he was training. All she ever thought of at that moment is that she really shouldn’t be underestimating this man. Her impression of him during her time inside the palace was that he was this typical, spoiled, snarky ruler even though she knows that he’s more than just that. But she never really saw beyond. She thought she would’ve seen more of his fighting ability during their short expedition, but they were separated in groups at that time so that was another missed opportunity.
Now that she managed to sneak past her guards, she’s able to witness this sight.
The sounds of the heavy blows of his weapon and wooden pieces crashing onto the ground grew louder as she placed herself at a suitable distance for a clearer yet safe view. At the corner of his vision, he saw her movement and stopped at once. He was still gripping the handle tight when they met eyes.
There was this unreadable tension in the air as their stare stretched on for a few seconds. It could be that he’s confused as to why she’s here and how she doesn’t have her guards with her . He was about to utter a string of sentences about that but he figured that he could just scold Lawrence and Swan after this. Other than that, he totally wasn’t admiring her in such gorgeous warm lighting.
“Apologies, your majesty. Did I interrupt you?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
He scowled and proceeded to pry his eyes off of her. “Don’t call me that. We literally have the same title.” He said, to which Jean responded with a scoff and an eye roll.
“Don’t remind me.”
“Why are you here?” He asked as he started cleaning up the broken dummies on the floor.
“Wanted to be familiar with the place. I didn’t know there were training grounds in the palace itself.” She clasped her hands behind her and looked around the area.
“This place was used for outdoor parties before I reigned. I turned it into a training ground for myself.” He explained in between breaths in which Jean blinked in surprise.
She shouldn't be. She already knows that Diluc Ragnvindr isn't just someone who reigns a kingdom on a throne. He's a king who goes out to settle matters for himself. She heard many different things from all the people working in the palace and they had high respect for him.
“Not too fond of festivities, huh?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m not fond of it. Private formal parties that are a little too boring, yes, I hate them, but Mondstadt festivals get a pass.” At first glance, he seemed like someone who doesn’t like being bothered while he’s training. She’s surprised that she’s even able to get more than ten words out of him.
“Speaking of festivals, there’s an awful lot of resources coming into the city,” She kept the conversation going, “Kaeya mentioned decorations too.”
“Windblume Festival.” Ah, yes. The festival that Klee mentioned the other day.
“Everyone looks forward to it every year. We need to make sure that there won’t be a dull moment.” The king added.
“What do people do in the festival?”
“Play games, sing songs, give each other flowers, write letters,” He paused and made a slightly scrunched face. “Drink,” She doesn’t need any more elaboration that he does not like alcohol because of how he uttered that word.
He set down the last of the training dummies and heaved a sigh. “And basically just have fun and be free.”
“Mm,” Was all she could say. She’s tempted to ask him if she could at least go with Klee to fulfill her promise. Even for an hour. Though she hasn’t said anything yet, she could already predict what he’s going to say. But hey, it’s worth asking.
“Remember what Klee told me?” She asked him. He initially had his back turned away from her, but his head slightly turned as he thought of what to say. It took him a while to answer, so she assumed that he’s trying to remember what’s so important about what Klee told her.
“The letter…? No wait, the festival.” He turned around so he was fully facing her.
“Mhm.”
“What? Are you asking me to let you come with her to the festival?”
“Just an hour.”
“What do you get from this?” That question genuinely offended Jean.
She scoffed. “Nothing. I just want to keep my promise to her. Do you really think that I’m the type of person to take advantage of a child?” The king’s eyes narrowed.
“Do you think that I’m the type of person who would trust an enemy assassin with a child?” He turned the tables. It only made Jean’s blood boil to no end. She wanted to come up with an answer, but unfortunately, he has a point. If she were in his shoes, she wouldn’t trust her either.
Well, she tried. She could only imagine the sadness in Klee’s eyes and it’s already making her guilty now.
“But,” The king sighed defeatedly as if he was the one who lost the argument. “I hate breaking her heart. Just one hour, okay? I’ll have Kaeya escort you both around the city. Maybe a few more guards, but we’ll see.” He said as he walked towards a weapon rack.
Did she hear that right? He agreed to letting her spend time with Klee? I mean yeah, it’s only an hour with possibly an unnecessary amount of guards but, it’s something. Somehow, she found it hard to believe that he agreed to something like this easily. Did he already think this through before she even asked?
“Only if,” He put his claymore back into the weapon rack, and took out two swords, “If you manage to take me down in a spar.” He turned one of the swords to hold it by the blade, and he offered it to her.
Of course, there’s a condition. Of-fucking-course. Everything is just so confusing with this guy.
She looked at the sword and to him back and forth; the distaste on her face is only becoming more prominent. She begrudgingly took the sword from him. “What the fuck is the point of this?”
He shrugged. “It’s not everyday I get to have someone to spar with.”
They walk away from each other to get a good distance as a starting point. Only a few feet.
“Plus, I need to have an excuse to put you in your place.”
“Excuse me?!” She can’t tell if he’s purposely getting on her nerves or he’s being a plain douchebag.
“You’re someone who stands by her word, no? How about we settle this now?”
“What do you have in your mind, Ragnvindr?”
“If you win, you spend time with Klee in the Windblume festival as much as you want .” Really? He’s awfully generous today. But then again, the opposite of this is going to be much worse, isn’t it?
“If you lose, you never get to break any rules anymore. You order no one, you follow everyone. No loopholes.” She called it.
“Yeah, because a simple spar will get me to follow everything you say. I’m not giving in to some stupid bet.” She began to stretch her muscles in preparation. No matter what the outcome is, win or lose, she will never give in to this bastard. She will do whatever she wants.
“Mm. Maybe you won’t.” The tension in the air got thicker as his eyes had a dark glint directed towards her. “But it will hurt your pride if I take you down a second time.”
To hell he will. He may have defeated her once that night, but she will get him this time. “I’ll hurt yours.”
If there’s anyone watching them right now, they would have a hard time knowing who’s winning or losing. Both are incredibly skilled in battle that it’s difficult to predict who will come out as the victor. There’s not a single flaw in their movement, and even though one manages to slip up, they would effortlessly regain their momentum. Blow after blow, parry after parry, the fight goes on for a few minutes.
Alas, they’re not fueled with endless energy. At one point, they managed to disarm each other and they’re left with close hand-to-hand combat. In this case, it is easy to say that the king easily outclasses her in terms of strength, but with her flexibility and swiftness, she is able to evade his attacks. She executes complicated yet elegant acrobatic moves that catch him off-guard multiple times. When she sees a vulnerable spot, she goes in for the attack.
Even if they’re both very similar when it comes to fighting, there’s a big difference between them when it comes to this specific brawl. One is fighting for her freedom.
The battle is in her favor. She managed to pick up one of the swords from the ground, and he is pinned down under her. She had the blade trained on his neck.
"Keeping me captive won't do you any good, Ragnvindr. Didn't you say you don't want to marry someone who's going to sit here and look pretty?" She uttered. She’s determined to win. But as she’s staring down at him, she realizes that there’s an opportunity to end him right then and there.
"Never mind. I could just finish you right now and I will never have to worry about--" She silenced herself when she noticed that he had his head slightly tilted up. He seemed to have his attention somewhere else and it ticked her off.
"You have a sword against your neck and you won't even bother looking at me?!" She pressed the blade closer to his skin to the point where it could draw blood if she did it any harder. He didn't even flinch.
Instead, he started to give an order. But not to Jean. "At ease, Outrider. We're just sparring."
Jean looked up to where he was looking and saw a girl dressed in red uniform pointing a bow and arrow towards their direction. Well, it pointed towards Jean's head in any case she really did dig the sword into the king's neck. However, after hearing the king's command, the Outrider lowered her aim reluctantly. But she still kept her grip tight in case the battle were to continue in Jean's favor.
At this point, that's what Jean thought. The spar ended. She has him pinned down and this is his way of saying it's enough. But just as she let her guard down, he took the opportunity to turn the tide against her.
At the blink of an eye, he was the one who was pinning her. It was way too fast for Jean to process what exactly happened. All she knows is that locks of his hair cascaded down to create a small curtain around them. All she could stare at this moment were his intense eyes looking down at hers.
"I'll take you up on that offer, Gunnhildr. The battle is yours, and I won't make you sit here and look pretty." He said with labored breaths.
"You look prettier on the battlefield anyway."