Chapter Text
The loud chuffing of a steam engine can be heard as a steam train came out of the darkness with its whistle sounding a lot like a siren’s song, signaling to everyone in the area that it was nearing the station. The sounds of the train were louder to the ear than usual as it was already the middle of the night and the enveloping silence did not help in lessening the noise it brought.
When it came to a halt, a loud “All Aboard!” can be heard from the train conductor who stepped out through one of the train’s doors. And with that, passengers, with their suitcases in hand, started to slowly board the train.
Among the passengers heading for Fontaine was Mondstadt resident Lady Barbara Page, daughter of Count Seamus Page, wearing a simple blue prairie dress designed with a white lace collar, a white satin bonnet which was intentionally used to cover her blonde hair and most of her facial features including her blue eyes, and some white leather laced heeled ankle boots.
She held unto her luggage with both hands as she started to look for her train carriage. When she finally arrived at the right sleeping carriage corridor, she let down her suitcase on the ground for a little while to reach for her pockets. ‘Oh, bless dresses with pockets’, she thought as she took out her train ticket to look for her sleeping carriage number.
Once she’s had a good look at it, she put back her ticket in her pocket, lifted up her suitcase with both of her hands, and started looking around. When she finally found the correct sleeping carriage, she opened the door and sat on the bottom bunk bed.
She was surprised to see that no one else was in the room just yet. It was a shared sleeping carriage after all. She didn’t bring a lot of money with her and had to settle for the cheaper option. Her carriage mate was either non-existent or just late. Whichever it was, she considered it lucky as she can at least have a few moments of privacy.
Feeling tired, she unfurled the ribbon of her bonnet, took it off, and placed it on top of the bed before grabbing her leather suitcase, containing her clothes and money, and stuffed the headwear inside. After doing so, she put her luggage on the bottom wooden shelf meant to hold the passengers' luggage in the corner of the room. She then moved to open the window shade of the closed room and looked at the moonlit landscape of Mondstadt outside. She was going to miss this view.
10 hours earlier…
A day after turning eighteen, she overhears her mother and father talking in the parlor room of their mansion. It was an unusual sight as her parents have been divorced for so many years now when both she and her older sister were still young children. Seeing them talk in a private room like this together made her somewhat giddy. ‘Maybe my wish is finally coming true! Is the family getting back together? I can’t wait to be able to live with my older sister again.’ She thought, as she quietly stayed at the spot where she was listening in.
She was too lost in her thoughts of their family becoming together again that the only word she’s ever understood clearly from her parents’ conversation was “marriage”. ‘Does that mean they’re getting remarried?! Ohhh this must be a dream! It’s too good to be true.’
She decided to stop her daydreaming and instead focus on their conversation. It made her feel bad that she was eavesdropping like this, but quickly ends this train of thought with ‘I’ll just have to act surprised later on’.
“Receiving a marriage proposal like this from a family of high ranking could be our best bet at protecting Barbara.” Her mother, Marchioness Frederica Gunnhildr, started. “Getting her married to a man we consider would already be best for her seems to be the right decision. Our daughter will be protected if she marries into a powerful family like them.” At this point, Barbara was confused and was slowly starting to realize that what her parents were talking about wasn’t about their remarriage, but marriage... for her? And what was that about protecting her?
She was still confused about the whole ‘protecting’ thing, like who was after them? She guessed it could be connected to her elder sister, Jean Gunnhildr, who has recently become a royal knight to protect the royal family. Perhaps some people were after her? She was one of the strongest knights of Mondstadt who was protecting the royal family after all. If anyone dared to harm the royal family, they’ll have to go through her first. Barbara figured that if anyone would want to harm the royal family, they’d have to first be after Jean’s weakness, her whole family.
“I’m guessing you’re right. She’s already turned eighteen after all. She’s bound to receive marriage proposals in a few more months or even weeks, but we can’t wait that long. With only our power, I don’t think we’ll be able to protect both of our daughters.” Her father, Count Seamus Page, was the one talking this time. “The other family also seemed like they were rushing for the head of the house to be wed. I figure they’re having a problem of their own. If we could bargain with them into protecting Barbara with their lives, then maybe we can set them up for an arranged marriage?”
‘Wait, an arranged marriage?!’ Barbara didn’t know what to do. Talks about her getting married weren’t exactly a surprise to her as she knew that eventually, all noble children get to be married off to another family whether they liked it or not, but she didn’t expect it to be this soon! Moreover, an arranged marriage instead of just receiving a normal marriage proposal where she could at least choose who to accept and reject?!
She still had so much stuff she wanted to do, like entering the best medical school in all of Teyvat, located in Fontaine, and becoming a doctor so she could help those in need of medical care, but she hasn’t told her parents about it yet. Only her older sister, Jean, knows… Reasons for this were because the med school she wanted to attend was far from Mondstadt, she didn’t want to be too far from her family, and her being a doctor would mean that she would be too busy to attend to her future husband and future kids, and it’s not even sure that she’ll have time to have both.
But now that talks of an arranged marriage are being discussed, her being a housewife meant that she wouldn’t be able to do all the things she wanted. Most especially if her future husband starts asking her for an heir. If it was an arranged marriage, there’s no more stopping it, will there? She stayed there for a few more minutes, hoping to hear that they’d at least consider her feelings and talk to her about it first before completely agreeing to the proposal.
“After hearing about those that are after our eldest’s life, I just couldn’t help but be scared for our whole family. I wouldn’t care too much about my own life, but I just want to keep both Jean and Barbara safe.” She heard her mother say.
She understood that they just wanted to protect her from potential harm, but what she didn’t understand was how they doubted her own strength and just decided on their own that she must get married to an absolute stranger, not even talking to her first at that. ‘I haven’t even had the time to tell any of you about my future plans, yet… Would they even reconsider it, if I were to tell them?’ She thought, now feeling confused whether she should butt in on their conversation and make them hear her out, or just keep listening and accept the life that will be ahead of her.
Her father replied, “That indeed sounds like the best decision. Let’s talk to Barbara about it tomorrow morning. We must first meet with the other family to finalize things.” Her mother then followed, “Yes, let us go. This is what Jean requested from us as well.”
Then finally, that was the trigger. Jean requested for the arranged marriage? Despite her knowing all of Barbara’s plans?
The younger sister has recently been open with her older sister when Jean said that she has always wanted the both of them to be closer, on the day of her eighteenth birthday. That was just yesterday! She told her all her goals to her just yesterday!
'How could she forget? Or did she listen, but just immediately threw them away right after hearing them? How could she? She knew how much I wanted to be a… I told her… I told her everything that I wanted to be…’
But, hearing how the very same older sister, who should have stood up for her younger sis, personally requested an arranged marriage from their parents for her just hurt so much. It hurt her so much.
Where did all the trust she put into her go? And just like that, their newly formed sisterly bond was suddenly gone like dandelion seeds in the wind.
She silently leaves the parlor and runs upstairs to her room. She went underneath the sheets of her bed and cried on her pillow the whole afternoon.
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After hours of crying, she has decided to run away. She didn’t want to stay to have her whole life controlled by the people most precious to her. She’ll protect herself on her own, while also working to achieve her goals in life.
When it was already nighttime and everyone in the house was fast asleep, she took her suitcase and tiptoed her way to the front door.
Just as she was about to leave though, she sees something from the corner of her eye.
It was her elder sister Jean, standing 12 feet away from her in the dark, who Barbara suspected came to her house earlier in the day. She must have heard her going down the staircase, despite already being so silent with her escape. She is a royal knight after all. she has keen senses.
Barbara was too emotional from everything that had happened and couldn’t even look at her sister without her heart aching. She felt betrayed and couldn’t arrange her thoughts properly. She needed some time to think, and away from everyone else.
And although their parents haven’t told her about the arranged marriage yet, she assumed that her older sister already knows that she knew. Seeing how the younger sister was all dressed up, holding a suitcase, and was at the door.
The sisters looked eye to eye for a moment and just before Jean could open her mouth to say something, Barbara rushed and ran outside the front door.
Jean quickly ran after her, but when she was finally out, her younger sister was nowhere in sight. She was left there, standing just outside the door, without a single clue as to where Barbara could have gone off to.
end of flashback
Recalling her moment with her sister somewhat made Barbara feel a little guilty. Jean really just wanted to protect her, but she didn’t even let her speak. Barbara admitted to herself that she was just too mad to even talk to her that time.
And the truth was, she just hid behind a bush until Jean went back inside. Thank Celestia she didn’t notice her. Afterward, she just ran down the dirt road like crazy until she finally reached the station. Luckily, the moon shone bright tonight, and was able to clearly light her path.
That whole escape brought her a lot of adrenaline rush that she had to take a rest for a few minutes on a bench before buying her train ticket. She didn’t want to seem like a suspicious person who looked like she was running from the authorities with how her hair looked so messy and how she was all sweaty.
Anyways, forgetting about how ridiculous her escape plan turned out to be…
Just yesterday, she had the best day of her life. She has finally reached the age of eighteen, finally recognized as an adult meaning she could finally do everything that she wanted, and finally became closer to her sister. Everything was going great! Well, everything was supposed to keep going great…
This day has easily become the second worst day of her life, the day of her parents’ divorce and being separated from her sister being the first. Suddenly getting into an arranged marriage with a stranger… Oh how she dreaded that thought. Going to live a life she’s not sure she’ll even enjoy. And then having her older sister betray her trust by being the one who requested such a marriage? She wasn’t sure how to exactly feel.
As she pondered about her current situation some more, she did not notice that the door to the sleeping carriage has been opened.
A boy came in who looked the same age as her, had dark blue hair with braids, the tips colored cyan, on the sides of his face, and was wearing an olive-colored short cloak over a white ruffled dress shirt with a green neckline gem and a brown vest, topped by a long black satin bowtie, some matching olive-colored checkered knee pants, a black top hat, black socks that reached just below his knees, secured by some leg clips, and dark brown button-up boots with a low heel and a pointed toe.
Looks like she had a carriage mate after all. “Good evening.” She greeted the boy out of courtesy and the boy did the same, “Good evening to you, too, my lady.” With both of them avoiding eye contact, the boy placed his suitcase on the upper wooden shelf and then climbed the ladder to the top bunk bed.
Sharing a sleeper really does force you to an awkward close intimacy with a stranger, but she couldn’t complain now and instead only had one choice: deal with it.
None of them used the washroom built inside the closed carriage. Thinking it was because the both of them were already tired, she turned off the candlelit lamps after checking to see the view of the place she has lived in for the last eighteen years one last time. When the train started to depart, she closed the window shades and tucked herself to sleep, finally feeling the fatigue from her comedic escape.
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“AH!” Barbara suddenly wakes up from a nightmare about all that has happened. She silently panted, trying to catch her breath from the fear the dream brought her. She dreamt about her parents finding her during her escape trip, worried to death for her safety from suddenly deciding to run away. She also dreamt about how they were also highly disappointed at her for embarrassing their whole family to the family she was supposed to get married into. She couldn’t help but sob at not knowing exactly what awaits her when she does decide to come back. Feelings of regret started to pour all over her.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have run away. I should have just accepted the arranged marriage… now, I might just get killed while I’m out here. My family never knowing when I’ll come back, or they'll spend years trying to look for me all over the world.. or worse, they don't kill me just yet and instead use me as a hostage against my sister. I don’t want that... I don’t wish to bring harm to any of them. I still want to be with my family... I still want to get closer to Jean like how real sisters are supposed to be.. I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have run away like that..’
“A nightmare? I just had one, too and now I can’t sleep.” came a voice from the top bunk bed. It was from the boy she greeted earlier. Her carriage mate, the stranger she was sharing the sleeper with.
‘How embarrassing.’ She thought as she scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment before replying back, “Oh my, did I wake you? I apologize for the noise. I’ll be sure to sleep now.”
“You sure? Are you able to sleep?” He says as he hung his head off his bed to look at her down below. She could see his aqua green eyes glowing from the moonlight through the cracks in the window shade. Barbara caught herself staring at him for too long that she immediately looked away to hide the blush forming on her face.
“Huh? Why did you look away?! Hmm… Oh I know!” The boy climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed and headed towards the wooden shelf that held both of their luggage. He opened his and took out a violin. “Now then, would you allow me to play you a song, my lady?"
"A song?" She asked.
"Why yes! I would have to apologize in advance though, I'm still a beginner at the violin.” ‘We’re the same!’ she thought. She has also been taking lessons for the violin but hasn’t been practicing for a long while.
The boy then pulled up the window shade revealing the moving moonlit landscape outside. “I would have played you Clair de Lune on the piano instead seeing how beautiful the moon is tonight, and since I’m better at playing that, but I don't really have one with me now, do I? Hehe." He scratched the back of his neck as he continued to laugh nervously.
The girl just nodded in return.
“Well then, I hope this will let you get a good night's sleep." She listened and watched him play for a while. Not new to the instrument herself, she recognized the piece he was playing to be Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel. He played it very well despite not having the piano as accompaniment and for a beginner, it was amazing how he was able to keep such a wonderful soft melody. She could really feel his sincerity through the way he played. The very same moonlight that shone down on his eyes a while ago was now brighter and acted like a spotlight on the musician in front of her as he continued to play.
‘He said he also had a nightmare, I wonder, how can I help him sleep? Maybe I can sing a song for him, too…’ But just as Barbara was thinking of a way to help him back, both her mind and body have already betrayed her. As the music continued to soothe her, she couldn’t stop her eyes from closing and slowly drifting off to sleep. She would just have to show him her gratitude… and her deepest apologies… when she wakes up in the morning.
End Notes: I added this here to show you the references I used for the story (including the end performance violin piece). I hope these will be of help to you all.
This is the picture I used as a reference in describing Barbara's blue prairie dress. And if it wasn't obvious, I apologize, but Barbara's hair has been down this entire time and will not be in pigtails in this story hehe. Anyways, this picture is from https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/51509989472940106/ Sadly, I couldn't find it on the original link.
Meanwhile, here is the picture I used as a reference in describing Venti's attire (the Elder Brother model), apart from the color as I used olive green. Far from the normal clothing one would wear during the Victorian era, but this story was just inspired and is set in a different world entirely and I just thought this would look cute on him hehe. Anyways, the picture is from https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32911611362.html
Now here is the sleeping carriage I based the last scene on. Both sleeping carriages are from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Railways_sleeping_cars
It even folds as a seat in the day omygooosh (amazing potential for fluffy scenes maybe..)
And lastly, the piece Venti played is Spiegel im Spiegel or 'Mirror in the Mirror' by Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt. It's clearly played with a piano accompaniment, but just imagine Venti playing it with only the violin. Here is the youtube link to the piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ6Mzvh3XCc