Chapter Text
He arrives at Liyue just as the sun rises over the harbor. It is a breathtaking sight that he has to pause to take in. At this moment Diluc can pretend he is just on an innocent trip to Liyue and nothing more. Oh, how he wishes that was reality.
He makes his way down the path and joins the early-morning crowds; he has a slight idea about where he would like to head next but is still determining how he would execute it. He has to go to Sumeru or Inazuma but his sources have been pointing him to Inazuma. Rumor has been that a mass amount of delusions have been shipping out of the port there and it's just too good of a lead for him to pass up on.
Before he makes a final decision he needs to find out if there is any way he could get to Inazuma. Traveling to the island has always been very hard and strict. Once when he was younger his father had to go on a business trip to the nation and it took around two months to receive clearance to enter the islands he couldn’t imagine he would be able to find anything in the next week.
He walks down to the docks and can’t help but inhale the ocean air. A part of him has always felt at peace when he was faced with the ocean. He walks through the busy docks glancing at the different stalls and boats trying to find a plan.
It seems the world is finally on his side because a group of sailors walk by him excitedly talking about their future trip to Inazuma. He stumbles over his feet in his attempt to turn around and follow the sailors which gains him a few weird looks.
He lets the group get a good bit ahead of him before he starts to trail after them. He can just barely hear them but he can make out that they’re leaving at nightfall for the island. Not much time for him to get things in order but it's doable.
How funny the world will be nothing but cruel and then throw something like this right into his lap. He finally sees the sailors get on the boat and walks away. The harbor is way too busy at the moment to even try to sneak up on the ship so he’ll wrap his affairs up and return closer to night. He looks over his shoulder one last time and his eyes meet a woman's on the boat.
As he breaks eye contact and starts walking away he can’t help but feel her eyes linger on his back.
~
He makes his way back to the harbor when the sun starts setting while there are still people milling around it, mostly vendors closing up their stalls and people loading last-minute cargo on the ships.
He still keeps to the shadows while walking, anyones attention on him could cause his only plan to fall apart. He finally gets to where the ship is docked and sees the ramp is still down.
He sneaks up the ramp when he's sure no one is looking and hides behind the nearest box. Enough people are wandering around on the part of the ship he is hiding on so he has to be careful. If he's caught now this whole plan will be all in vain.
He waits until the nearest person turns their back on him, runs to the nearest wall of the boat that will hide him, and peaks out. There are not many places to hide that would be easy to access. The only place he thinks he could get to without being seen is a pile of cargo that is sat directly in the back corner of the boat. If he got there and hid it would leave him time to find a better spot.
He watches two male sailors set what seems like the last boxes in the pile, once they turn their backs on him Diluc makes the run to the spot. He crouches in the tight space between the wall of boxes and takes a deep breath. It might be an uncomfortable spot but it works for now until he gets the opportunity to sneak below deck.
He ends up staying in the spot for hours after the boat sets sail; he even feels himself start to drift off a couple of times but he always gets woken up by the rough rocking of the boat. It's good, he needs to stay up, falling asleep here could risk him getting caught.
Once the sky is pitch black and only the stars can be seen Diluc emerges from the pile of cargo. It is weird to stand on a once busy ship that is now silent. He keeps low as he walks to make sure he doesn’t catch anyone's attention who might have been awake.
He sees the staircase that leads to the sleeping quarters and he slowly makes his way there. Once he confirms that no one has noticed him he takes careful steps to ensure no noise is made. He reaches the bottom of the staircase, looks at all the halls and doors, and feels overwhelmed. He knew it was a big ship but this area is huge. He was about to make his way down the right hall to find a cargo room to hide out in when he suddenly felt something sharp press against his throat.
“If you're sneaking on someone's ship I would recommend being more aware of your surroundings.” The voice is obviously feminine but at the same time, it's deep and raspy. This person is making sure Diluc knows she is a threat to him
He swallowed nervously trying to figure out what to do to get out of this situation but the woman pressed the blade harder into his throat. He feels her lean into him and whispers into his ear “What kind of business brings a noble Ragnvindr on my ship?”
The way she spits out his surname makes his body stiffen. This can go downhill quickly. His father told him once that pirates would capture the wealthy to fetch a sum and he has a feeling he stands no match against this woman and her crew right now.
He's roughly shoved to the floor and he scrambles to get on his feet. The woman's shoe to his back stops him from getting up. Before he can figure out what is happening he feels her leg sneak under him and flips him over. This leaves Diluc very shocked, he’s heavy, and ever since he ran away he's had to eat less but he is more muscular than ever and this woman can toss him around like nothing.
Now that he is on his back and the woman has his claymore pointing at him he can finally get a good look at this woman. He immediately realizes she's the one that was watching him on the docks.
Fuck.
He's definitely been watched from the start this woman read him and predicted his every move. It explains his luck getting on the boat and making his way down here but what he wants to know is why let him even get this far, what's her goal?
The woman smirks at the expression on his face. She knows she won this game. “So boy it's rude to sneak on someone's ship uninvited mind telling me what a Ragnvindr is doing here?”
The heavy breath he lets out does nothing to soothe him, he's just praying his voice doesn’t come out too shaky. “I’m not here to cause any harm I-I just needed to get to Inazuma fast and-”
“Though being a stowaway was the way to go I knew nobles were stupid but this is on a different level.” Diluc starts to feel anger building up in him who does she think she is to speak ill of him; he goes to stand up and confront her when he feels his claymore press harder into his chest.
“I’m not one for unnecessary killing but give one reason and you'll have a hole in you!”
Diluc stares at the woman's cold hard gaze and meets it with his own. He feels the delusion in his pocket start to warm up but He can’t fight his way out of this one. If he did somehow escape her he was still stuck on a ship full of her men while in the middle of the ocean.
He turns his head away and the woman knows she is the clear winner. She throws his claymore to the side and pulls out a rope. He doesn’t even resist and she ties the rope only around his wrists, even taking it as a win that she leaves his ankles alone. She grabs the binding on him and yanks him up leading him up the stairs and to the deck. He ends up being pressed against the railing staring at the surprisingly calm ocean night.
“Now since we both agree on who's in charge you need to explain why you are here.”
He could give her the truth, tell her about the Fatui and their plans about delusions but he has a feeling that would not be taken well. If they’re her allies that would mean death but if they’re not well only fools make the Fatui their enemy. So he makes up a story.
“I- my father passed away recently and he always talked highly of Inazuma. I just wanted to visit so I could experience what he loved.”
Lies.
He can feel the woman's grip on him get tighter; she's definitely not buying it. “A member of the Ragnvindrs has enough riches that they would never need to be a stowaway you could easily buy yourself a ride to Inazuma.”
Some truth he decides. “Well that would be the case but my family is not aware of my location.” He feels the way her grip loosens slightly and knows this is the right path. He turns his head as far as he can so he can look her in the eyes. He puts every emotion he's felt over the last year into his words, his lies.
“I ran away! My father died a horrible brutal death and I did nothing but stand on the sidelines. After that my father was put to shame by the very city I pledged my life to. I was betrayed by the one I called brother. No one cares about me, I’m nothing but a stain on my clan. I had no choice but to sneak on your ship. I-I don’t deserve to be here not for what I caused but it’s the only thing my mind wanted!”
The lie slowly warped into too much truth, raw truth that left him covered in blood. Standing over his father's dead body wondering what all went wrong.
The woman finally lets go of him and Diluc feels his legs give out. “Now boy, why ya have to go and make me sad.” Her tone is gentle but still firm; she believes him but doesn’t trust him. He can work with that.
She helps him up off the floor, cuts the rope, and leads him back down the stairs. While he feels that she’ll cause no harm to him he is still unarmed and outnumbered he needs to get his claymore back. She leads him to a normal-looking room and closes the door behind them.
“I need you to stay in here you hear me I don’t ever want to see you wandering around my ship.” He goes to argue but she cuts him off “I knew you were here because I make sure my men are trained well but only a few knew you made it on the ship and I want none to know you are still here. It's only a three-day trip. I will bring you food and water but I can’t have people hearing you. They're strict on that Island. You have to have a permit to just dock there. They know every one of my men and if there is an unknown one you will just cause issues for me you understand.”
He shakes his head, he is not happy about her plan but he knows it's the only way, he should be grateful he is not a corpse floating in the ocean right now. “As we get closer I’ll tell you how you are getting off this boat unseen but for now how about you introduce yourself? It's the kind thing to do as a stowaway.”
He should lie, it's never smart to give out his full name but she already knows his family and a fake name will just get him a blade through his gut.
“Diluc Ragnvindr.”
“Captain Beidou, who knew I had the missing heir on my boat.” The smirk she gives him is nothing but trouble.