Work Text:
1. Flame above the Clouds
Birds sing above grapevines and brick colored rooves, the sound of their voices flowing freely against the morning air filled with stray pieces of dandelions and dust. Today, the winery wakes from its slumber under the eyes of a young lady in fine clothes woven from the finest cottons from the land. She stands beside her mother, her small fingers holding onto her arm as they quietly trudged along kegs and crates stained with patches of dirt. A peek of sunlight waves from afar, and the birds rejoice. Today, they celebrate freedom once again.
“Good morning,” the young lady’s mother greets one of the people waiting near the front doors. “I hope we are not too early?”
“Not at all, madame,” the head maid smiles. “Master Crepus is already waiting inside.”
The young lady cranes her head to the side. As they were being escorted inside – past the tall doors made from glimmering wood – she spots a lone bird resting on top of one of the wine kegs. Quietly, it looks up, flapping its wings gently as the sun beams hit the top of its head. The last thing she sees before stepping inside the manor was the bird finally taking its flight into the morning.
Then, fire touches the sky.
The young lady meets a boy around her age. She smiles and politely greets him when he introduces himself as he stands beside his father. Diluc Ragnvindr, she was told. It’s nice to meet you, Master Diluc, the young lady replies, to which the boy laughs at and tells her to just call him by his name. We’re friends now, he says.
A friend, and perhaps a companion as well. The young lady cracks a smile. Alright, she nods. After a pause, she adds, You may call me by my name as well.
Jean?
Her name rolled off his tongue as though it has always been taking shelter underneath. Suddenly, the name she bears does not feel too much of a burden. Suddenly, the sky is just as free as the flames that are burning red.
Just Jean.
Diluc smiles.
2. A Young Girl’s Dream
Jean tells him about the books she have read during her free time. When she is out and not occupied with her private lessons and sword fight trainings, the young boy from Dawn Winery pays her secret visits. They are always during the mornings, during the earliest signs of life, and during the time when gold would seep into their skin, when gold passes by the sheer curtains inside the quiet library where she stays most of the time.
“I want to be just like her,” she tells him after finishing the story of Vennessa, the hero of Mondstadt. “She is brave and kind, and she is the person I want to be when I grow up to become a knight.”
“You’re going to be just like her,” Diluc says, propping his elbows against the cold floor as he continues to lay on his stomach. “Perhaps, even better.”
“I doubt that.”
“I don’t.”
“How can you say?”
“Because you’re you,” Diluc looks up to meet her gaze. From across the room, the curtains rustle against the light breeze of the morning air. “You’re Jean, and everything you do will always turn out great no matter what.”
“You put too much trust in me.”
Diluc smiles and leaves it at that. When the day finally ends, Jean finds herself waiting for the next sunrise where they will meet again.
3. A Question
“Do you like my brother?”
Jean drops a small piece of grape into her basket, startled by the sudden question Kaeya has given out.
“What?”
“Do you like my brother?” Kaeya repeats.
Jean lowers her gaze onto the dirt stained pavement and stares at one of the leaking wine kegs instead. Kaeya, for the most part, had always been mischievous and blunt, but Jean never expected to be a victim of his words when they have always been aimed to tease Diluc and Diluc only.
“What makes you ask that?”
Kaeya shrugs. “Nothing,” he says, walking towards one of the grapevines to check and see if there are insects on the leaves. “The thought just came to mind.”
Jean shrugs it off. The next day, when she meets Diluc again, she is reminded of his brother’s question from their previous meeting.
4. Sealed with a Kiss
It happened just as quick as the flowing winds. They are young and dumb and high on the feeling of victory. Tonight, Jean celebrates the youngest knight to become Cavalry Captain. Tomorrow, she will start her training as a knight and be able to serve her city with pride.
I’m proud of you, she tells Diluc with a smile. They are sitting outside the manor, their knees bumping against each other occassionally as they listen to the sounds of crickets lurking between dark corners. “I’m sure you’ll be a great captain.”
Diluc tells her his gratitude along with words of encouragement for what is to come for her once tomorrow arrives. Tonight, there are no birds singing above brick colored rooves, but the wind continues to whisper and stay. Jean shifts on the bench and adjusts her ponytail.
“Are you nervous?” She asks
“Not really.”
“Oh.”
“What about you? Are you nervous?”
“Just a bit.”
Jean drops her hands onto her lap and lets her fingers graze the corner of Diluc’s thumb. She turns to him only to see him already staring at her. His eyes are dark under the moonlit night, their usual vigor drowned underneath the need to let go of the fire he’s been harboring within well lit corners of a library. They are secrets he had wished to keep in fear of rejection, but when the person he yearns for the most is only a whisper away, how should he be able to let his words hide underneath his tongue?
“Jean...”
“Hm?”
He leans in, and the night rejoices for the fire has finally been ignited. Jean accepts his lips with a promise. This is a secret between the two of them. This is their promise. Tonight, lips meet to seal whispered words. Tonight, they make a promise as young lovers whose hearts will yearn, and yearn, and yearn...
They wait for the sun to arise.
5. Tragedy in the Morning
A tragedy. That’s what they call it.
Jean arrives to an empty house the next morning. The winery is empty, and so is she. Later that afternoon, she finds Kaeya holding two visions in both of his hands.
“What happened, Kaeya?”
“Father is dead. He’s gone.”
Jean swallows thickly. Where is he, she wants to ask, but that would be too selfish of her. She takes the pyro vision in Kaeya’s hand and examines it.
“This is Diluc’s vision...”
“I know.”
“What happened?”
“He left.”
Jean stares at him. Diluc left?
Nothing follows the next morning, nor the next ones to come. Days turned into months, and questions left unanswered into dust. The Dawn Winery grows old with cob webs and dirt, and Jean’s library now stands without the presence of a fiery heart. The walls yearn for old flames to rekindle, but Jean is still left wondering.
A tragedy, that’s what they call it. Jean remembers the promise they sealed with their own lips; of the stories they produced and the singing birds during early mornings. They are all left with nothing but dust as well.
Jean now searches for him in every sunrise.
6. From an Old Friend
Years pass in the form of whistling winds. Birds sing above grapevines and brick colored rooves, the sound of their voices flowing freely against the morning air filled with stray pieces of dandelions and dust. Today, the winery wakes from its slumber under the eyes of a woman in fine clothes woven from the finest cottons from the land.
She stands atop fertile soil with her sword by her side. Adelinde greets her as she approaches the front doors. It is quieter now, more solemn than the place she remembers from her childhood. Kaeya follows quickly behind her, uncharacteristically quiet.
The doors open with a creak. They are older now, and much, much wiser. Still, fire touches the sky with the same vigor as before.
The woman greets her old friend with formality, shoulders squared and tensed, and the young girl in her sighs.
“Grand Master Jean,” the old friend greets. Her name now seems misplaced against his tongue.
“Master Diluc,” the woman nods.
The birds stop their singing from outside.