Chapter Text
Barbara's reprimands were more or less as Amber had expected, and any amount of explanation she might provide, she realized, would never be able to resolve the situation without at least some criticism.
It wasn't like Amber didn't feel bad. She felt horrible. For not keeping watch as she should have, for not being more diligent, for being adverse to killing the Hilichurls… Even though Lumine's wound was minor, and everyone was able to get out and to safety, Amber felt like she had messed up… After all, what kind of knight allows their charge to get injured like that? Especially given that this was her first time escorting a would-be knight, how could anyone trust her with a new recruit in the future? Never-mind just the citizenry of Mondstadt.
She bit her lip; desperate to focus on Barbara's words and to keep the tears at bay. Lumine had been taken to a sick room for treatment, and fortunately, the healing magic possessed by the nuns of the church would ensure she would be healed up in a day or two. Amber knew it was fine, but still felt desperate to apologize.
"...your quick thinking helped keep this from being worse than it is, so I have to thank you." Barbara sighed, "But please be careful in the future, especially with travellers to Mondstadt."
Amber nodded as Barbara finished her short lecture, she felt bad that most of it wasn't retained, but figured it was reciting what she had been telling herself anyway. With a short nod, Barbara returned to the sick bay, leaving Amber to stand alone in the Cathedral. She sat in one of the pews and put her head in her hands… minor injury… not as bad as it could have been… She did everything she could to focus on the positive aspects of what happened, but couldn't help but feel like she had just gotten lucky.
"The Crimson Knight is in an uncharacteristically glum mood today it seems." A familiar voice snapped Amber out of her thoughts. Cavalry Captain Kaeya. She looked up at him, immediately noting the severe burns up his arms, currently covered in ointment.
"You aren't looking so well yourself." Amber returned with slightly more bite than she intended.
"What can I say? The Spark Knight is a bit of a handful after all." Kaeya gave an awkward but confident smile and proceeded to sit down next to Amber.
"Well, let's hear what's going on with you. What in the world has stolen your ever present grin?" Kaeya always sounded so confident when he spoke, it honestly made Amber a bit uncomfortable at times, but today at least, she felt like he was approaching her from a place of genuine care. At least that's how it seemed right now.
"It's…" Amber sighed. "It's about Lumine."
"Ahhh the young traveller you're enamoured with, I figured as much."
"Enamoured..? What are you..?" Something about Kaeya's choice of words ticked Amber off but she decided not to jump at his teasing today.
"I messed up today and she got pretty hurt."
"Oh believe me, I heard."
"Eeuggh…" Amber realized Barbara's voice probably carried just fine through the Cathedral, and now at least some portion of Mondstadt would be well aware of what happened.
"Don't worry about it." Kaeya sounded calm and looked serious to match. "Truly Amber. Don't worry about it. Everyone survived. That is the mark of a successful mission." Kaeya put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake, wincing very slightly from the pain in his arms.
"You're a perfectionist no doubt, but you need to learn when to accept things as good enough. Especially when the mission is a touch more challenging than your average scouting."
Kaeya finished with a gentle smile, and for a moment, Amber felt like she could almost see what Kaeya had hidden behind his usual calm demeanour.
"I…" Amber tried to say something but caught up on her own words. Kaeya stood back up and gave Amber a quiet thumbs-up.
"I'll go talk to Jean. I'm sure you want to hang out here for a while anyway."
Amber looked away from Kaeya and stared hard at the floor. How could he go from cool advice guy to annoying guy so quickly?
"Oh and Amber."
"Hmm?"
"If you need to talk about anything at all... well, you know where I'll be."
With that, Kaeya turned and made his way out of the Cathedral; once again leaving Amber to her thoughts, admittedly both more clear and more muddled now that Kaeya had left. She had no idea how he could be so direct and yet feel like he was being so… cryptic at the same time. It annoyed her to no end every time they talked but… she had to admit it was nice to know that she had someone to talk to that wasn't going to turn around and tell everyone in Mondstadt; that in itself was a rarity among rarities in a small place like this. Amber sighed audibly once more as she leaned back in the pew, and stared off at the vaulted ceilings. Today again, had been an absolute flurry of activity, and though Amber was used to doing a lot of different things each day, she was feeling particularly worn down. She closed her eyes for a moment, and let herself sink back in her seat, breathing as evenly as she could.
"Lumine…" Amber had only whispered her name, but the thought continued in her head. Who exactly was this mystery girl that had fallen from another world… and why did Amber feel as though she was unable to leave the girl alone..?
"Amber."
Amber awoke with a start to a familiar voice. Lumine. Currently smiling down at her, and now clad in un-bloodied clothing.
"I'm all healed up now." Lumine gave a grin and an awkward flex of her arm, to emphasize the point.
"Glad to hear it." Amber smiled and lifted herself out of her seat. She wondered briefly how long she had been sleeping… she'd have to be sure to get as much rest as possible this evening.
"Well, mostly healed anyway. They told me to take it easy for a day or two to be sure." Lumine had started the slow trek out of the Cathedral, Amber following in tow.
"Heh. Well that's not too surprising. Even healing magic has its limits if someone isn't being careful." Amber teased and Lumine shrugged in a rather exaggerated manner.
"Couldn't be helped. World to save. Girls to impress." Lumine cast a grin over her shoulder, directly at Amber.
"Pfffft" Amber laughed gently, she had caught on to Lumine's shtick now and felt like it was a good sign she actually was perfectly fine. "Alright, alright, yeah I'm impressed." Amber caught up to walk side by side with Lumine, and the two of them exited the building, giggling all the while.
-
“Do you think Noelle actually found a bed in Paimon-size?” Paimon asked aloud. She had reappeared some time after leaving the Cathedral, apparently, as Amber found out, she's squeamish around medical procedures. The trio had kept up a light chatter as they moved at a relatively leisurely pace through the now darkened streets of Mondstadt; with topics ranging from the best dish available at The Good Hunter to why the lake around Mondstadt sounded like a drink.
“You'd be surprised at the kinds of things Noelle is capable of.” Amber laughed, “I'd be more surprised if she hadn't.” Paimon looked impressed at Amber's declaration, but Lumine was the one who spoke up instead.
“Does Noelle handle all of the upkeep around the building?” Lumine sounded very earnest, and Amber thought for a moment.
“Aside from the Library, which is handled solely by Lisa... yeah, Noelle kind of does everything from laundry to cleaning to other small chores.” Saying it out loud kind of made her feel bad... she felt like she should be trying to help out as much as she can too, especially given the very short numbers of Knights available at any given time.
“I'll have to try and help out when I can then.” Lumine sounded resolved, and Paimon nodded along with her.
“Eh?” Amber started, “You really don't have to worry, you two have already helped out plenty, especially being dragged into serious Knight work.” She tried her best to reassure them, but internally she did hope just a little that this meant that Lumine and Paimon were intending to stay for a while.
“No way!” Paimon half-yelled, “It's the least we can do if it means we have a warm bed every day!” Lumine was now the one nodding.
“Alright, but don't push yourselves, you are guests of Mondstadt after all.” At this point, it sort of felt like Amber was just saying things to keep up customs. Truly she was thrilled that the duo wanted to help out, and was hopeful that Noelle's absurd burden might be lessened, even a little.
Before the trio knew it, they found themselves back inside the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, and in front of Lumine's door.
“Woah... it has a name plaque now...” Paimon had been floating slightly ahead, and remarked on the change.
“Well it is your room after all!” Amber laughed, but she could tell that Paimon was feeling truly touched.
“Lumine and Paimon... Guests of The Knights...” Lumine was inspecting it closely, also seemingly taken aback at the gesture. The duo hung in front of the door for a moment before Paimon spoke up again.
“Do you really think Noelle found a bed for Paimon..?” Amber just shrugged.
“Only one way to find out, isn't there?” Lumine gave a slight nod of her head at the notion, and pushed open the door, revealing the partially illuminated room... and a size-ably smaller bed directly beside the main one. Paimon immediately flitted over, inspecting the bed on all sides, lifting the blankets and pillows that adorned it.
“Amber was right... Noelle can do anything...” Lumine laughed a bit, entering the room herself, but Paimon's eyes were simple sparkling, Amber almost felt bad for a moment... had nobody ever showed her this form of kindness..?
“Now at least I wont have you kicking me in the head in the middle of the night.” Lumine cut into the thought, a lighthearted tone in her voice.
“Hey! Paimon doesn't kick anyone!!” Paimon looked indignant floating directly into Lumine's face. “Maybe if someone didn't have such a big head!” Lumine shrugged,
“I can't control my head size, but I think someone can control their kicking legs, just saying.” Paimon puffed up her cheeks, seemingly unsure what to say back, and Lumine laughed again. Amber had been watching with a gentle comfort, but decided now was a good a time as ever to take her leave.
“Alright you two, that's enough fighting, it's well past bedtime for everyone...” She trailed off, directing her next sentence at Lumie specifically, “Especially you Lumine, you be careful with that wound.”
“Aye aye...” Lumine responded in a way that said she'd been told that more than enough times for one day, and Amber didn't press further.
“I'll catch ya in the morning.” Amber nodded, moving out of the doorway so Lumine could close it.
“You know where I'll be.” Lumine half joked, before smiling and closing the door for the evening.
Amber was exhausted.
Now that she had returned Lumine safely to her room, she stumbled over to her own door and turned the latch. She paused before she pushed it open, remembering for a moment what Kaeya had said earlier.
"Enamoured…" Amber said under her breath. Was it some sort of code word? Kaeya was often up to tricks like that, saying one thing that caught you off guard so you would come back to talk later in a safe location. It was a spy trick that even Amber knew but this both did and didn't feel the same as usual.
Frustrated, Amber released the latch, door still closed, and resolved to spend her evening questioning Kaeya at the Angel's Share. She might regret the late night venture in the morning, but figured she wouldn't be able to sleep with this on her mind anyway. Quietly, she exited the building and wandered into the unusually cold streets of Mondstadt; The Angel's Share, only a short trek away on the other side of the city. She walked down the many flights of stairs and landings that made up The City of Mondstadt and as she did, she pondered. Lumine had been here for two days, and in those two days had caused a splash larger than Mondstadt had seen since the Fatui had made the Goth Hotel their home. Only, Lumine was notable for a much better and kinder reason than the Fatui had been. In those two days, Kaeya had seen her… once. Presumably. Though Amber couldn't be sure he didn't have some way of following her prior to this… but that was a possibility too large to fathom. So in the one time… in one day… that Kaeya had seen her… what could he possibly have noticed that he would drag Amber out to speak in private?
It simply didn't make much sense.
Fortunately, Amber was about to get her answer, as she came upon the Angel's Share and entered the building. Kaeya was seated at the table to the right of the door, and maybe more oddly, Diluc was currently situated behind the counter with his back to the door. Amber raised an eyebrow and looked back over to Kaeya, who gently waved.
"Okay. I'll bite. Why'd you call me out here?" Amber made an effort to get straight to the point. She was still beyond exhausted and would rather be done with the conversation sooner as opposed to later.
"Now now," Kaeya started in his usual jovial tone, " I just wanted to chat, was all. Away from some of the more prying ears of Mondstadt."
Amber looked over to Diluc once again and realized something. The brothers were well known publicly for their mutual distaste of each other, but right now, Diluc was the only thing stopping their conversation from reaching the ears of the public. Once again, Amber was faced with an odd feeling; seeing the two of them wordlessly working in tandem like this… it was a feeling she yearned for. Like some sort of secret knowledge that you and another person shared without so much as a glance. Jean and Lisa shared much the same feeling, only theirs felt a bit more warm and intimate; whereas this one still felt as cold and prickly as it seemed to be publicly.
She tentatively sat down across from Kaeya and once again breached the issue, this time a little bit more directly than before.
"When you say… 'enamoured' what exactly does that mean?" Somehow, when Amber said it out loud, it felt rather embarrassing, and an ill timed scoff from Diluc didn't make it feel better. Kaeya leaned back in his chair a bit and shrugged.
"I mean it as I say it." Kaeya paused and Amber ruffled her brows a bit. "If Jean were to reassign you, say, tomorrow… and instead have myself, or any other knight take charge of looking out for the traveller… how would you feel Amber?" Kaeya leaned back in as he finished his sentence, making a point to keep eye contact; Amber felt like she'd walked into a brick wall that she had seen coming.
"I'd feel… terrible." She started, "like I couldn't be trusted to watch out for someone… like I'm being punished for failure." Amber felt the weight of her last words as she said them. It was all true, though, she almost couldn't bear the thought of being dismissed from her duty to watch out for Lumine. Especially after today… especially after she said what she did and the resolution she had reached to help her find her brother.
“I see...” Kaeya paused for a moment, deep in thought. Amber figured this was her sign that she had been right, and that there was some ulterior motive for calling her out here...
“Amber, to be level with you for a moment.” Kaeya spoke up once more, “Nobody in the Knights of Favonius thinks you're doing a bad job, so don't get too worried about what I just asked.” Amber nodded slowly, still unsure where he was going with this. “When you brought the Traveller to Mondstadt, admittedly, my first concern was the Traveller herself... she is... strange, to put it simply.” Kaeya paused once more, taking a sip of his drink.
“Lisa, however, came to me about you.”
“About me?” Amber felt overwhelmingly confused. Kaeya calling out to her to maybe get more information on Lumine, that made sense, that was easy to work with... but this...
“About a much different matter too... something I had completely missed, and would miss again given the same scenario.” Kaeya scratched his head for a moment, almost sheepish.
“When it comes to matters of the heart, Lisa has me beat, I'm afraid.”
“Matters of the heart... Kaeya, I'm not following.” Amber felt like she had to speak up, Kaeya could be long winded at times, but this was definitely weird.
“Lisa's worried about you, Amber. These last two days are the longest amount of time you've spent inside Mondstadt City in... well, months.”
Ah. so that's what this was about.
“Its embarrassing for me to say, but until she mentioned something, I hadn't noticed a thing. That's a failing on my part, and I hope you'll accept my apology for not looking out for you a little better.”
“Hey hey! Hold up, who said anything about people needing to look out for me!” Amber was feeling a little aggravated now, “I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, you just said yourself that the Knights don't think I'm doing anything wrong!”
Kaeya held up his hand for a moment, attempting to quell Amber's feelings.
“I stand by what I said Amber, you do a fantastic job at what you do. But throwing yourself into work... that's what we have to watch out for.”
Amber bit her lip and sat back, she failed to see how she did her work was anybodies business but her own... that was a lie even to herself, she knew exactly why everyone was looking out for her, and would likely do the same thing given a reverse scenario. The Knights of Favonius was a small collective now after all, so it was imperative that they looked out for each other... Even though she knew all of this, she still felt upset at being called out.
“Then why call me out here with such an odd phrase, why not just talk to me directly from the start?”
Kaeya frowned.
“I was being very honest about not wanting prying ears to hear us chat. There was also something else I wanted to confirm... But more importantly, it was so I could tell you this.” Kaeya leaned in close as he finished, motioning for Amber to lean in as well.
“Acting Grandmaster Jean has decided that Lumine is the key to solving our Stormterror issues... and she will very likely be acting on that sooner rather than later.” Kaeya leaned away again, trying to signal that the serious conversation started and stopped right there. Amber was taken aback. Lumine was a traveller, a complete newcomer to Mondstadt, regardless of her abilities or affinities, asking something like that of someone who wasn't of Mondstadt did not sit well at all. Amber started to protest, but Kaeya put a finger to his lips, in a 'shh' motion.
“Do your best, Amber, I have a feeling the coming days will be tumultuous for everyone... I, like Lisa, may be worried about how much work you've been taking on, but I'll be relying on you a little bit in regards to our Traveller friend.” Kaeya once again reached for a sip of his drink, and Amber took the hint. She didn't quite understand all of what he meant by 'relying' on her, but she could understand well enough that he was unconvinced that Jean was making a good choice.
“I'll... do my best.” Amber nodded, whatever it may entail, she was resolved to help Lumine in any way she could.
“Thank you, Amber. That's relieving to hear.” Kaeya smiled, “You're the closest person to her at the moment, and if my guess is correct, that's going to be unlikely to change.”
Amber nodded once more. She took her duties seriously, but in this case, she took her duties as a friend even more so. If anything were to happen to Lumine, Amber resolved to be the first to know, and the first to intervene.
“If you two are done, I wouldn't mind closing up for the evening.” Diluc's monotone annoyance broke through the moment, and both Kaeya and Amber turned to him.
“My apologies!” Amber broke out, it had to be some unreasonable hour at this point, and she felt terrible that she had been involved in causing someone distress. Kaeya on the other hand, shook his head.
“So quick to interrupt a good time. We'll be leaving shortly.” Kaeya finished with a smile and Diluc rolled his eyes, turning back to something behind the counter.
“I-I'll be going.” Amber had already stood up, and made a small head nod toward Kaeya, who returned the gesture with a lift of his drink.
“I'll pass along that you are doing well to Lisa... but please try to visit her sometime, okay?”
“I... I will.” Amber smiled weakly at Kaeya, before finally exiting the building. She closed the front door after her, and stood for a moment, taking a deep breath of the cold evening air.
"Trying to play the older brother now are we?" Amber could hear Diluc faintly through the door. "Hah… careful... know… alone…" Kaeya's response was much harder to make out, his voice never really reached above a medium whisper after all, but Amber felt like she understood it perfectly well anyway.
"Alone huh…" She whispered aloud as she slowly made her way back to The Knights of Favonius building. She felt like she was being stupid. Of course she was lonely. Of course she would latch on to the first person who looked about her age and opened up to her. Amber kicked the stone steps as she walked. She hated things like this… thoughts like this; they threatened to have her dwell on them and leave her upset and depressed, and that does not make for a good Outrider.
And yet.
This time she couldn't find a way to push them aside. The feeling of loneliness that she had been staving off for years had finally gotten a foothold in her heart and had been growing relentlessly in the past months. Amber returned to the Knights of Favonius building, and paused in front of Lumine's room, staring at the plain wooden door. What was Lumine feeling right now? An unknown world, with unknown people. A new way of life, completely alien to the life she knew before. The only person she knew and could trust. Missing. Without a trace and without a lead. Amber almost laughed. There was some kind of cruel irony that Lumine had ended up in Mondstadt, the only place in Teyvat where everyone was missing something critical to them.
And yet.
Amber had gone out of her way to promise that she would do everything she could to help Lumine. In a city surrounded by loss, she had indeed made a promise that nobody ever should, unless they really and truly meant to move the stars and winds for another.
Kaeya had been right.
'Enamoured' was exactly what she was feeling, and what her heart was telling her. She didn't know if that meant something like love, or care, or if it was just some reckless selfishness to prove to herself that she could solve a problem for someone else that she couldn't for herself. But for the moment, Amber could at least identify the feeling, grasp it and hold it as tightly as she could. She stepped away from Lumine's door, once more making her way into her room. She did not pause this time, and found her way into bed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Her resolution was clear to her. Tomorrow and onward she would hold true to her promise, and somewhere along the way, she knew she would find her answers and maybe. Just maybe. Find a way to crush the loneliness that ate so fervently at her heart once and for all.