Chapter Text
At what point does courage become stupidity?
There’s a blurred line between the two, a line crossed easily if you didn’t pay attention. Lumine had never been very methodical, she was the more impulsive and rash one. She lost count of the times she’d gone rushing blindly into danger, armed only with her sword and sheer will. Her brother would often call her dumb for doing so, but then he’d laugh and ruffle her hair in that brotherly way of his. He once asked her, in another world, after she threw herself into battle without thinking first;
Are you brave, or just stupid?
She thought about that question a lot. She lost sleep over it once. But now, she had the answer. It depended on when you asked it. She was a mix of the two, but right now, the stupid was definitely in control.
Because this was probably the stupidest thing Lumine was ever going to do.
It could only end badly, now that she thought of it. What if she got killed before she had the chance to speak? Would they even believe her story? What if she got taken to their headquarters, only to get killed there? What if, by some miracle, her plan worked, but some other terrible thing happened? There were too many ways it could go wrong, and only one way it could go right.
That slim chance of success was enough for her.
The two Fatui skirmishers, laughing at some joke, didn't notice Lumine peeking out from behind her cover. She'd been following them for a while now, actually. They were patrolling a small part of the Snezhnayan border. She deemed it the right moment to make her move.
Loudly as possible, she stepped out into the open. Their heads whipped around as if on cue. Before they could attack, she spoke.
"Wait," Began Lumine, fighting to keep her voice steady. "I'm not here to cause any trouble."
They picked up their weapons.
"Don't!" She shouted. She tossed her sword to the ground, watching regretfully as it clambered out of reach. She only had her elemental powers to defend herself now, and she wasn’t the best fighter without a sword in her hand. "Let me explain myself."
That made them stop. The two skirmishers exchanged a dumbfounded look, and lowered their weapons. It seemed like they didn't know what to make of the situation.
"Thanks," She puffed. "I'm here to hand myself in."
"What?" One of them said, voice heavily distorted by something.
"I'm here to hand myself in to the Fatui," Lumine repeated. “I’d like you to bring me to wherever your headquarters are, and take me as a prisoner.”
“...”
A long silence stretched after that, painfully so. She could feel their suspicion. Their skeptical eyes dissecting her, trying to see through to her true motives. Sorry, but they weren’t guessing those for a while.
The Anemoboxer spoke at last, now with confidence. “Alright. But make one wrong move, and you’re going to regret it,”
Lumine knew they wouldn’t let an opportunity like this down. Who wouldn’t want to be the one to ‘capture’ the Hero of Mondstadt, the famed Traveler? She held deathly still as they approached her. She could still feel the hesitation in their movements, the unease, as they tried to find some way to restrain her. The solution came when the Cryogunner just froze her wrists together in ice cuffs.
She gritted her teeth at the biting cold. Couldn’t they just carry regular handcuffs around or something? But then again, the Fatui didn’t necessarily take prisoners often. It was kill first, ask later.
The scenery blended together into a heap of white and gray as they marched her away. They weren’t saying a word, though she could feel their eyes on her. There was only the rustling of their suits and the cold. Archons, the cold. She couldn’t feel her hands, they were numb, and it was slowly creeping up to her elbows.
They stopped in front of a stone wall, one Lumine was too busy shivering to notice in the distance. Armed guards stood beside a massive door. She looked up, gawking at the watchtowers and various military devices positioned along it. Did they take her to Zapolyarny palace itself? She did not want that.
After a brief exchange with the guards, they were allowed entrance. Behind the wall was a huge, white palace that they were presumably headed to. Lumine couldn’t help but marvel at it. It was so tall, she couldn’t see the top because it was obscured by clouds, massive arches framed the doors, ornate pillars lined the front entrance, and red banners with the Fatui symbol hung on display. The building was beautiful, but the bleak atmosphere betrayed who exactly occupied it.
“Move it, shorty.” One of the skirmishers growled, ushering her forward.
There were more guards, not armed (?), standing by the front door, and they did a double take as she came closer. She couldn’t see their faces under their masks, but she could imagine a pair of priceless expressions. Her escorts had a lengthy exchange with them, the words outlander and imprison popping up a few times, before the guards muttered something to them, and let her in.
A long hallway stretched ahead. The air was still, and so silent their footsteps echoed like thunder. The floor was checkered tile, and there were no windows. Torches lined the walls. It felt strangely final, like she was walking into a lion’s den.
She might as well be. Her plan wasn’t the most thought out. It was simple and straightforward; get into the Fatui, get what she needs, and get out of there. There were so many variables, countless ways it could all go wrong, but Lumine wasn’t one to take down an opportunity when she saw one. The risk would all be worth it if she succeeded.
Aether.
They crossed into a large room, a grand one at that, with red carpet, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and various Fatui memorabilia plastered everywhere. Various doors lined the walls. She tried to take it all into memory, knowing the building’s layout would be more than useful when The Night came.
They took a sharp right, and suddenly, she was being led through a maze, rights, then lefts, through this door, down those stairs. Any hopes of remembering her way back were crushed. She realized just how huge the palace was, and gulped.
They led her down one final spiral staircase, one so long it took at least a minute to descend. There was nothing but darkness after that.
“Where are we going?” Lumine asked, slightly alarmed. Based on the echoes of her voice, they were in a long and narrow passage. She felt hands on her shoulders, steering her in the right direction. How exactly were they seeing in such low light?
“To your cell,” An indistinguishable voice replied.
Her cell?
She stiffened. They must’ve been headed towards the dungeons. All castles had them, after all. But the idea of getting thrown in a cell wasn’t the most appealing.
“Cell?” She repeated, in her strongest voice. “Aren’t there any more... comfortable alternatives?”
“Nope. This is where we were ordered to take you.”
She remained silent until they reached what she assumed was a cell block. The place looked like it hadn’t been used in centuries, which it probably wasn’t. Dust coated everything. The cobwebs lining the ceiling were so thick, it seemed like somebody had stuck a white blanket across it. The room reeked of mold and decay. She took her scarf and placed it over her nose.
“How long has it been since these cells were last used?” Lumine croaked. “And aren’t you going to clean them?”
“We’re not cleaning anything,” The Anemoboxer replied. They retrieved a ring of keys off the wall, using them to open the cell closest to the entrance. She frowned. This cell was the cleanest one she’d seen so far, but it was far from ideal.
A pair of hands shoved her. She let out a surprised yelp as she was sent staggering forwards, unable to catch herself due to her restraints. There was the sound of metal clashing against metal as the door shut behind her, followed by a telltale click.
The girl whipped around, fixing them with a glare that could melt steel. “Was that really necessary?”
The two snickered at her reaction, only aggravating her. She breathed heavily.
“Sorry, my hand slipped,” They burst into full-on laughter. Lumine, however, did not appreciate their mocking.
She got up and stomped up to the front of the cell, sticking her face through the bars. “When I get out of this place, you’d better sleep with one eye open. I don’t let things like that go easily.”
“We’ll see about that,” The Cryogunner laughed. The pair backed away from her, headed towards the exit.
She felt her heartbeat quicken, frustration forgotten. They couldn’t leave her like this, no, they couldn’t. Her hands were still frozen together and it didn’t look like they were going to melt soon. It was too cold in the room. She couldn’t use Geo or Electro to break them either, she found that elements were almost impossible to use if your hands were restrained.
“Wait! Don’t leave!” She shouted. The two skirmishers paused and turned around.
“What?”
“You can’t just leave these stupid ice cuffs on me!”
“Why not?” They snickered at that one. “They only last for a few days. You’ll manage.”
“Wh- days!?” She cried. Either they were messing with her, or she was positively screwed.
“Enjoy your stay, traveller!”
Her protest died in her throat. They were gone. She heard their laughter fade away as they left, quieter and quieter until there was nothing but her own ragged breaths. She scowled to herself. If it weren’t for her purpose here, they’d already be smeared across the walls.
“Fuck!” She groaned, letting herself sink to the floor. How long would they make her wait here? Days? Weeks? Months? Would they leave her to rot down here, in a dirty cell, alone? They wouldn’t forget about her. They couldn’t. She was the Hero of Mondstadt, the Savior of Liyue, the mysterious outlander searching the seven nations for her brother. They’d come for her eventually. How much time that would take was another question.
She wished Paimon was there. As annoying as the little elf was sometimes, she was always there to talk to, to lift her spirits whenever she felt hopeless. But it was a selfish thought. Lumine left Paimon in Mondstadt for a reason; to keep her safe.
She had to succeed. Too much was at stake. Her life, her goal, her only purpose. If she failed, she’d never see Aether again.
What was there to live for, if not Aether?
Yes, that was her everything. There’d be nothing else if she gave up now. Nothing but a missing half of a whole. Emptiness. That was exactly why she had to keep going, for her brother. To wait this out. Just like she thought earlier, they’d come eventually. She just had to wait. Wait to be retrieved, cuffs be damned. Then she’d tell them her story. Walk among their ranks. Retrieve the information. Escape. Find him. Simple, right?
And all she had to do was wait.