Chapter Text
Lumine had lost count of the time she spent hiding inside one of Mingyun Village’s abandoned caves. The moonlight that passed through a tiny crevice on the ceiling was the only thing that helped her see in the total darkness; the dim view of her ripped skirt, bloody scraped knees, and blisters all over her legs. Even though she was curling up deep at the dead end, the machinery clicking and heavy stepping sound of a dozen Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters outside still echoed loudly throughout the long, cold tunnel.
Her throat was dry and sore, and her empty stomach had been grumbling incessantly. Never in life had she imagined being in a position where thirst and hunger were about to make her weep, but everything felt like a stabbing pain on her bones. She had also sprained her right ankle and lost her sword—among these two, she wasn’t sure which one was the worst. The more she realized the faults on her side, the stronger her headache and anger became.
How did all this begin?
“I was asked by a group of merchants to escort them to Mondstadt. We’ll head out tomorrow morning.” She recalled what Dainsleif had told her three nights ago in their shared inn room in Liyue Harbor.
The type of commission was nothing new for him. After the cataclysm ended about two and a half years ago and the world economy started to recover, many merchants and their workers must travel outside but were too afraid to do it. The fear was expected since there were more dangers that the local military force might overlook, so he offered his protection at an affordable price. He finished the job successfully the first few times, and soon enough, word of mouth established him as the best freelancer anyone could hire.
Without questioning more, Lumine and Dainsleif bid each other a good night and went to sleep in their respective beds. The following morning, she sent him off with a smile, just like always. They seldom took the same mission, but none of them ever lazed around when the other worked because there wasn’t such a thing as having enough mora in their pockets. If he was swamped with the merchants, then she opted to frequent the Adventurer’s Guild. That day, however, she had already gotten another plan.
Dainsleif’s birthday was in less than two weeks. Last year, she only gave him a premade winter coat that she purchased from a famous seamstress in Inazuma. Then her birthday came up, and he surprised her with a homemade breakfast next to a bed of cecilias, her favorite flowers that only bloomed on Mondstadt’s Starsnatch Cliff. As if that wasn’t sweet and thoughtful enough, he also dried the white flower, adhered it on a thin wooden board, and covered it with wax so it would last.
“I made this bookmark because you love reading. I’m sorry if it doesn’t look too good. I don’t possess delicate fingers,” he sheepishly explained as if he abruptly went blind because even a baby could tell that the craftwork was neat.
Afterward, she learned three things about their relationship. One, he had always been kind, but she never thought that he could be the most romantic person she had ever known, and she had personally met thousands of people. Two, as far as she was concerned, he only ever smiled that widely to her—it was uncanny that she could tell which one of his smiles was forced and which was purely to humor his clients. Three, she was an idiot for wasting half of her saving for a gift that was cheap when compared to everything he did.
She couldn’t copy the having-a-meal-together idea for his next birthday, so she promised herself to deliver a unique memento that nobody else would ever think about, not even the wealthy traders who favored his skills and often gave him free expensive goods. The thought was always there in the back of her mind. A month ago, she found the answer when he was invited to the wedding of one of the merchants’ daughters in Mondstadt and brought her as his partner.
Everybody wore a suit, and he was the only gentleman who didn’t have a lapel pin. She overheard that it was a custom in Mondstadt where people would display their family or organization crest. It was acceptable to pick any shape that they desired, especially for the youngsters. As an outsider, Dainsleif didn’t need to worry about how he should dress up beyond looking polite, but Lumine thought it would be nice to get him a decent lapel pin. She was sure that it wouldn’t be their last time attending a formal event.
“I think you should add a stone. These are the available options that we have now,” advised the lady who owned the biggest jewelry shop in Mondstadt as she grabbed a tray that displayed around fifteen polished stone cuts. Lumine didn’t know much about fine gems, but none of them seemed memorable enough.
“Blue,” Lumine noted the missing color. “I know it’s cliché, but his eyes are bluish-green like the ocean. His hair is blonde like mine, and he tends to wear black clothes. He’s really tall and has a nice build too.”
“Oh! He must be a good-looking lad,” the jeweler teased, causing Lumine to blush. Yes. Dainsleif is extremely good-looking. He’s the most handsome man with whom I’ve had the pleasure to partner up with, she thought to herself because there was no way she would admit it aloud, not when she was alone or in front of a stranger.
“Deep blue must look good on him!” Lumine gushed.
“Based on your description, I must agree.” The jeweler nodded. “Have you heard about a rare deep blue mineral called noctilucous jade? They glow in the dark, so they should look exquisite on anyone, especially blue-eyed people. Unfortunately, nobody sells them as of late. I’m not sure if you’re willing to—”
“Show me the location. I’ll find it,” Lumine decided.
“Well, um, are you sure?” The jeweler gave Lumine a restless look, and Lumine couldn’t really brood over it. She was a petite girl with a baby face, long hair, and flowy short skirt. Her feminine appearance screamed everything but a daredevil fighter. The best thing she could do was show her determination. It might have gone smoother had she brought her weapon with her, so she should keep that in mind the next time she came to the shop.
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Lumine shot a glare at the jeweler. “As long as I fetch the stone, you don’t need to worry about my process of getting there.”
“Hmm… All right, but I’m not responsible if something bad happens to you,” the jeweler warned Lumine before pulling out a paper and quill from the desk behind her. Placing them on the counter, she drew a map of Mingyun Village, a ghost mining town located on the eastern side of Liyue, and scribbled some additional notes. It could be accessed through Dragonspine or the Dawn Winery, but the rocky terrains would be too risky even for the most agile adventurer. The safest route would always be the main roads.
Since Dainsleif and her were staying in Mondstadt, Lumine had to come up with a reason to visit Liyue. She considered many possibilities, from faking a mission that Dainsleif would definitely be suspicious about to simply asking them to move despite having only been there two months before. Luck must be in her favor when Dainsleif suddenly voiced his wish to go back to Liyue Harbor. The delicious fresh seafood was a huge factor, but he was aware of the city being Teyvat’s key trading center, where he would receive more demands than other places.
Lumine had heard that Mingyun Village lost all of its inhabitants about five centuries ago because there were no more minerals to extract. No accident forced the change—humans just needed plenty of materials to survive. So, the business was moved to the Chasm on the west border of Liyue, where the great mines would remain for millennia to come. If Lumine were to find any living beings other than some animals, they would be scavengers who wanted to loot some remnants.
It took her a few steps into the town to encounter a Ruin Guard. Since it wasn’t her first time facing the automaton, she climbed onto a tall boulder and jumped down to stab its blazing golden eye, immobilizing it in an instant. Just when she thought she must hurry and be more alert, the uproar awakened three more Ruin Guards and one Ruin Hunter sleeping nearby. With a steel sword that could easily shatter if it got stomped by them, she wouldn’t dare to get close, let alone try to be a heroine.
She managed to flee and hid behind a steep scarp every once in a while to block their missiles. She couldn’t be heading the right way, so she must find somewhere safe to open the jeweler’s map kept in her pocket. Her heart only stopped when she continued her retreat and stumbled upon a shallow pond with no less than ten Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters, all rising simultaneously. Only then did she register that Mingyun Village might have been shifted into a graveyard of these machineries.
Dain! She couldn’t help but inwardly call for him as she turned around and left the area. Making Dainsleif happy on his birthday was a noble goal, but it wouldn’t happen if she died. She attempted to pass through the first group of Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunter chasing after her so she could get out of the town, but she lost her footing, fell on her stomach, and dropped her sword. Before any of them could hurt her, she got up and ran as fast as she could into the first cave she found.
So here she was; trapped with no way out. She arrived early in the morning, and now the sky had turned as dark as it could get. Presumably, more than twelve hours had passed. Dainsleif wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning, and she didn’t leave any message in their room or to the innkeepers. Unless the news about her disappearance was spread throughout the seven nations and the jeweler from Mondstadt was smart enough to notice, nobody would know her whereabouts.
“Lumine!”
Lumine snapped her head to the right, staring at the cave wall. The voice was husky and almost inaudible, but she could tell that it was Dainsleif’s. Was she hallucinating? The only way she could hear anything was if the person yelled, and Dainsleif wouldn’t be stupid enough to do it and attract the monsters out there. He was more adept in combat than her, but he wasn’t a divinity who would survive against a hundred projectiles that could destroy a mountain either.
“Dain?” Still, Lumine answered, hoping that her suffering would be over at last.
When there was no further response, she thought the confusion was resulted from dehydration and her desperation to be rescued soon, but then came clamor that sounded like a troop of sword-wielders charging through a battlefield in the middle of a storm. In a matter of minutes, everything went quiet like none of the noises ever took place. Lumine could only hold her breath when somebody with fixed footsteps entered the cave and marched toward her.
“Lumine.” Unlike before, he sounded calm. She began sobbing when the savior finally showed himself, appearing more enchanting than usual as his right arm glowed bluer than the moonlight between them. It was embarrassing. She didn’t want to show her weakness, but after almost losing her sanity and believed that she had to endure twelve more agonizing hours, of course she had to be overemotional.
“Dain,” she spoke his name, letting him kneel beside her and touch the spot above her left knee, careful enough not to disturb her wound.
“Why are you crying?” he asked.
“Because… I thought it would take at least another day for anyone to find me. You said that you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning,” she explained. Also, because I miss you so much, her heart squealed, but she couldn’t bring herself to convey it.
“I just had a feeling that something had happened to you. It rarely occurred, so I trusted my instinct and went back earlier.” He glanced up at her, and it just made her sniff harder. “It was unusual for you to take commissions until past dinner time, so I traced your elemental energy.”
“My elemental energy.” She feebly chuckled. “Of course. How could I be so dumb?”
He heaved a sigh before observing the cave. “Did you lose your sword?”
“Yes. I also twisted my right ankle. Everything just hurts.”
“All right. Let’s get you out of here,” he said, turning around to show his back. She knew what he meant, so she did her best to bear her soreness, stand up, and circle her arms around his shoulders. Steadily, he hoisted her up with his gloved hands on her bare thighs and walked them out of the cave.
She wasn’t too surprised when seeing all the Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters lying lifelessly around the cave, but she wondered if she had underestimated his raw power. She was too exhausted to make a commentary about the scene. Instead, she focused on resting the side of her head against his nape, enjoying the softness of his chin-length hair and the warmth of his jacket. Her tears had dissipated by the time they reached the main road, but her heartbeat only thumped faster. She was terrified if he could feel it, but would it so wrong if he did?
“Dain, thank you,” she said, tightening her embrace like she dreaded if she would fall once again and break the intimacy they shared.
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “But do you want to tell me the reason you’re in Mingyun Village? Who gave you a commission to a dangerous place like that?”
“No, it wasn’t a commission!” she blurted out before lowering her voice again. “I heard about a stone named noctilucous jade, and I, uh…”
“Yes?”
“The people in Liyue Harbor said that they cost so much. I thought I could get some and sell them, but I didn’t expect that Mingyun Village would be full of Ruin Hunters and Ruin Guards,” she told half a life. She would rather pretend to pass out than admit the truth that she had made so many mistakes in a day just to please him.
He huffed. “You’re silly.”
“Hehe, yeah… I really am…”
“But did you get the stone?”
“No…” She could feel her cheeks heating up. “D-Dain, let’s not talk about this anymore! I’m ashamed of my idiocy, and I swear I won’t be this reckless again!”
“If you say so.” Just like that, he put an end to the matter.
They had booked a room in Wangshu Inn, which wasn’t too far from Mingyun Village—this she wouldn’t dare to regard as another luck because things seemed to go down the hill every time optimism sprang to her mind. As soon as they got back to their room on the second floor, Dainsleif gently set her down onto the bed. The sharper lights showed that her injury wasn’t too severe. She wouldn’t need to be stitched, but it must be cleaned and covered so she wouldn’t get infections.
“Dain, I need to—”
“Stay. I’ll take care of you.”
“O-oh.” Her gaze dropped. “All right.”
First, Dainsleif went out and came back with a glass of water and a bowl of sliced fruits. Apples and berries never tasted so good in Lumine’s life, so she ate everything and didn’t realize that the man had sat cross-legged in front of her legs with a damp towel that he must have gotten from the bathroom. Like he was born to be a nurse, he knew when not to press her skin too hard and when to stroke the dry blood off them. It stung, but obviously, she had experienced worse.
She quietly watched him bring the dirty towel to the bathroom without feeling disgusted, thinking how she would have done the same thing if their roles had been switched. Sometime later, he got out and picked a bag where they had kept most of their medical supplies from the wardrobe. Once again, he situated himself on the floor in front of her. He applied a herbal ointment that burned her on where it was required and wrapped her knees with bandages. How could someone be flawless in so many ways?
“All done,” he announced before standing up and putting the bag back inside the wardrobe. He then took out her sleepwear and laid them on the spot beside her. “I’ll get more water for you. Go change your clothes. No need to rush.”
“Y-yes,” she stuttered a little, just because she was overwhelmed by his attentiveness. A moment after he was gone with her empty glass and bowl, she went to the bathroom to wash up. Usually, she would prepare everything she would need for the next day, but it was impossible for someone on the brink of collapsing.
She was already tucked under her blanket when Dainsleif returned. He placed her drink on the nightstand next to her bed and turned off the lantern beside it. His gaze lingered on her face for a while, making her hope that he would do more than standing. Right when he was about to leave, she seized his wrist and pulled him closer to her. She didn’t know where the bravery originated from, but she had his arms around his neck as she hugged him tightly, almost like she wanted to melt into him.
His body went rigid, and she understood why. Without counting him carrying her on his back from Mingyun Village, this was their first time being this intimate. Was it funny that they had spent many nights in the same room or tent, yet they had never done more than having their shoulders graze one another? Normal people would think that the other party didn’t feel a thing toward them, but it never crossed her mind. For years, being his best friend was always enough. She wasn’t sure how long it would last.
“You saved me again, Dain,” she whispered. “How could I ever thank you?”
“Don’t worry about it. I did what I had to do.” He awkwardly patted her upper back while his other hand supported his weight. “Lay down. You should rest.”
“Yes.” Reluctantly, she let him go. I really love you, Dain, the sacred words almost slipped out, but she held back and smiled. The only thing that came out of her mouth was another good night wish.