Chapter Text
Mondstadt was beautiful this time of year. It's green plains shone viridescent in the summer sun and the windmills painted wonderful shadows across the roads. Rhinedottir had to contain herself from succumbing to the urge to paint the landscape, leaving it to Albedo, who silently would sit in the tall grass and work away before timidly thanking his Master for her patience with him and continue their journey.
The closer they got to the city, the more Rhinedottir wanted to turn around and leave again. But the great Alchemist Madam Jord did not raise a quitter, quite the opposite, so Rhinedottir trecked on. Begrudgingly so. She wondered what kind of wedding Alice would have, Rhinedottir had ever only attended one wedding before back in Khaenri'ah. It had been her uncles wedding, and she hadn't stayed for the three nights of partying after the ceremony.
Alice struck her as someone who would want a private, personal wedding, something with only the most important of her family and friends. Quirky but sweet. She sighed.
The city gates came into view like the doorway to the endless Abyss. Albedo seemed to recognize his Masters hesitance as he looked up to her with a questioning frown. But she paid him no mind, shoulders squared like a soldier on the frontier Rhinedottir stared ahead with a vigor only spite could garner.
Garlands of ivy and cecilia blooms decorated the arch and lampposts. Mondstadt was getting ready to celebrate the oncoming spring.
Her reluctance followed Rhinedottir all the way to the Goth Grand Hotel, she spend her time with staring at the wall to contemplate, while Albedo had taken to looking out the window and people-watch. Perhaps under different conditions she would have had half the mind to comment on the familiarity of interior decor of the hotel room, how it resembled Alice's own home safe for the perpetual sense of deliberate disarray present I'm the latter. Perhaps she would have noticed the uneasy glances Albedo kept sending her way. Perhaps she would have noticed the passed time before Albedo finally spoke up to remind her of their prior engagement.
They sped up the ludicrously spaced and scattered stairs to the statue plaza. While huffing and puffing Rhinedottir didn't pay attention to whatever may have been in her immediate vicinity so when Albedo elegantly sidestepped the large woman rounding the corner Rhinedottir almost fell over herself trying to avoid collision.
The woman gasped increduled, a gloved hand came up to cover her dainty mouth. She had intensly long, midnight hair and on her head sat a huge, pointed hat. The conical crown sloped past her shoulders on the back and on the tip hung a star chime. It's familiar shape made Rhinedottir do a double take. Her gloves as well as the velvet dress and the hat were matched in royal blues and silver.
"Pardon me," Rhinedottir said.
The woman scoffed then, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture, her dark eyes gleamed from underneath the hats wide brim, although they lacked the shaped pupil Rhinedottir had expected to see.
"You shall be pardoned," she said, so full of herself Rhinedottir wondered how she hadn't yet popped like a balloon.
It was then that the cathedrals bells began to chime. The blue clad woman wordlessly passed Rhinedottir and made her way toward the entrance.
A little dumbfounded Rhinedottir just watched her slowly walk up the white granite stairs. Albedo tugged on her sleeve and brought her back to the present.
"Shouldn't we-" he looked up at her with big eyes.
Snatching her sleeve from the boys tentative grasp she started to follow along. In front of the cathedrals wide entrance gate she stopped again, a sense of wrong kept her from taking the last step, wholly removed from her overall reluctance. A sister that had been positioned there to greet the incoming guests was gazing between Rhinedottir and Albedo with a quiet helplessness and waxing awkwardness.
Rhinedottir just stood there for a moment, she had needed it, she convinced herself of that. Albedo was leaning forward to peak through the open door into the reception.
"Miss," the sister asked then. Her words fell on deaf ears but Rhinedottir did finally enter the cathedral.
It's insides were as resplendent as were the outsides. The stained glass windows refracted beautiful colors of blue, turquoise and green onto the pure, white marble flooring, painting a scene of fantasm and whimsy. There were flowers in every corner and at every column and bench. White, blue, red and green. At the altar the priestess was chatting animatedly with a man in a black suit adorned with a red clover bouquet. Aside from that seven more people where present; a small girl with blonde hair holding a basked of red flower petals, a boy with the most firey red hair Rhinedottir has ever seen clutching the hand of another boy, his face was pale from nerves. The other boy was shorter but appeared more confident in his existence, his tousled blue hair reminded her of someone although Rhinedottir couldn't quite put her finger on it. His skin was sun-touched, and he worse a bright smile as he patted the hand of the boy at his side.
Why there were three children at this wedding was beyond Rhinedottir, but she wouldn't question it further.
The last four people were the woman Rhinedottir had encountered earlier. She sat right in the front row, one leg over the other and reading a book. The other three she didn't recognize at all; one was a stocky lady dressed in orange and brown, one was a petite woman in grey and lastly another woman, this time tall and lanky with bright green boots.
Rhinedottir decided the go sit in the third row, she felt uncomfortable sitting in the front as she'd either end up with the women or the children and neither one was to her liking.
The blonde girl yapped suddenly; "Diluc, stop shaking your legs. You're making me all nervous." Her voice was less annoyed and more so laced within worry for the redhead.
"I can't help it," Diluc exclaimed and the other boy chuckled. "What are you so jittery for, Luc, it's just a wedding," he said.
The boy scoffed. "Not everyone is so unbothered, like you, Kaeya." Kaeya laughed at that and Diluc promptly snatched his hands from his and turned to the girl.
"Jean, I've decided that Kaeya won't be my brother anymore. Will you be my brother now?"
The girl - Jean - chuckled before sighing and taking Dilucs hands in hers. "I can try," she said. Kaeya on the other hand was tripping over himself trying to get the attention of the redhead back.
"Hey, wait, you don't mean that!" Kaeya swallowed loudly.
"Shh," Jean suddenly said, shushing Kaeya. "The ceremony starts soon, I need to go to the back now. Get along, you two."
With that she jumped off the bench and jogged off toward the entrance way. And then the music started. An organ arrangement; beautiful and lively. Jean appeared again, tossing the petals from her basket as she walked down the isle and right behind her Alice stepped through the door. She didn't wear what Rhinedottir had thought she would, but that was to be expected she supposed.
Instead of a white gown Alice wore a bright red satin dress of multiple layers, draped to mimic the folds of a flower bud. She wore her hair down for a change, the blonde strands fell over her shoulders and down her back, yet a maroon ribbon was woven into a braid circling the back of her head, adorned with many little white flowers. In her hand she held a bouquet of cecilias and vibrant walberries.
Albedo gaped at how elegant and happy Alice looked as she walked toward the altar, Rhinedottir couldn't look away. It hurt for no reason. Why wouldn't it stop hurting?!