Work Text:
The library was eerily quiet today, although it was honestly like this more often than not. Libraries weren’t exactly the first place that came to mind when one wanted to hang out anywhere. No, most people would rather spend their time elsewhere.
“Good morning, Miss Lumine!”
A smile tugged at the woman’s lips as she recognized the young boy that came strolling through the library doors. He wore a green cap upon his dark hair which was, as usual, hanging in twin braids on either side of his face. She was used to seeing him in his school uniform, but ever since summer had begun, he’d stuck to wearing his variety of green, casual clothes. “Don’t tell me you’re going to study your summer away?” she teases the boy.
To her relief, he shook his head. “Don’t worry, Miss Lumine. I promised some of the boys I’d hang with them at the skate park tomorrow.”
“That’s good to hear, Venti,” she says. “You’re still young and growing-- you shouldn’t spend your life locked up in a library reading all the time.”
He giggled at her words before turning his attention to the rows upon rows of bookshelves, searching for something to read. It didn’t take long for him to find one, tugging the selected book from the shelf as he plopped down on a couch in the mostly deserted library. Seldom did many come in, let alone stay more than a few minutes after finding whatever it was they desired.
But to Venti, that was the best thing he could ask for.
From his seat, he had a clear view of the front desk behind which Miss Lumine sat. She’d occasionally rise and walk to the back for a few moments before returning, sometimes leaving her desk altogether to walk around the library, lending a hand to anyone here in need. It was easy for him to watch her, his focus on the book completely shattered today just as it was any other day she was here. Whenever she wasn’t working and he came in, he’d simply rent a quick book and leave, hoping to try again the next time.
It wasn’t something he’d intended to happen-- it didn’t ever wholly feel like a choice. All Venti knew was that he was in love. Just seeing her face helped brighten his day and every time she said his name, it sent a chill down his spine that threatened to turn his cheeks redder than the cover of the book in his hands now. He knew the reaction anyone would have if he tried to tell them.
“She’s nearly thirty and you’re barely seventeen, Venti! Are you insane?”
But as he laid his hand over his heart, felt it pounding in his chest, he could only sigh. Why did it have to be like this? Why on Teyvat did his heart have to beat so fast like this for someone he couldn’t be with? Even if he came back in ten years, would she ever be able to see him as anything more than the little boy who’d always spend too much time in the library?
A wild part of his mind wanted to spill his heart, confess his feelings and hope that it would be enough for him to move on. Maybe that’s all he would need to let go of this hopeless love and find someone else… but if it wasn’t what then?
“You’re glaring awfully hard at that book, aren’t you, Venti? Did it make you mad?” A sweet voice filled his head as a gentle hand patted his shoulder.
Tilting his head back, he gazed into the soft honey eyes of the woman he adored. “I’m alright. It’s just a little hard to focus today.”
“Oh,” she says, caught off guard. “Do you… need someone to talk to about it? I know we aren’t exactly close in any regard, but I’ll always be here to lend you an ear.”
Her smile was genuine, warm and inviting as she spoke. Venti wanted nothing more to spill his guts, to lay bare the feelings in his heart. A part of him wanted her to accept, to embrace him as an equal, but he knew that would never happen.
All he could see was the look of disgust she’d attempt to mask behind a nervous chuckle as she backed away. After all, what sensible person would want to be around someone who has clearly gone insane?
“I appreciate it, but I think I should be going for today,” Venti decides quickly as he snaps the book shut.
“Would you like to check that book out before you go?” she asks.
He froze as he stood, glancing at the book he hadn’t even bothered to read the title of before he shoved it into her hands. “N-No thanks. Not today. Goodbye, Miss Lumine.”
As she watched him walk away, a frown tugged her lips. The way he’d parted had almost sounded as though he didn’t intend to return. “Did he… notice?” Clutching the book to her chest, she swallowed thickly as she returned to her work desk, slumping in her chair.
Disgust ate away at her from within as she buried her face in her arms, tears threatening to spill. She lifted a hand to her heart, feeling it beat loudly as she thought about Venti once more.
“I’m so disgusting…”
“The Mondstadt Civil War has only grown in intensity in the past week. The eastern front in particular has seen--”
A hand appeared in her vision, twisting the knob on the radio as the broadcasted voice grew dim. “Hey! I was listening to that!” Upset at the interruption, Lumine was quick to turn the volume back up before twisting to glare at her brother.
“You’ll only make yourself sad if you sit around waiting to hear his name on the radio--”
“I’m listening for the sake of them not calling his name!” she spit out. The pair froze as the broadcast shifted over to announcing a list of names. Today was, thankfully, short, ending within a few minutes.
Her tensed shoulders eased quickly, his name still not called out. “You really should give up on him,” her brother suggests softly, leaning over to deafen the radio once more. “Besides, you’re already engaged to another.”
Lumine stands swiftly, abandoning her soft lounge as she crosses the room to gaze out the large windows that adorned the walls. “To another I do not love, you mean,” she spits. “I don’t intend to wither away in the arms of some other man who cares not for me.”
She can hear her brother sigh heavily behind her as he leans against the sofa. “Lumine… please don’t be so unreasonable--”
“You’re only saying that because you get to wed the girl you love!” she chokes out, turning on her brother. “Aether, I don’t get to have a happy wedding day like you will! You and Sucrose grew up together and fell in love and father approved of your engagement-- but for me? Everyone will only ever see Venti as the baker’s son, see him as a poor man with hardly a penny to his name despite all his hard work!”
Aether remained silent after her outburst. After all, what could he say to her? Every word she’d spoken was the undeniable truth of their situation. He was beyond happy with his own engagement to Sucrose, but for Lumine’s engagement to Albedo? She was devastated. They were decent enough friends, so it wasn’t that there was any bad blood between the two to begin with, but with her lover now drafted to fight on the front lines of a war that doesn’t seem to be anywhere near its end…
“I’m sorry, Lumine,” he says at last. “I just… I don’t know what I can do to help you.”
Dragging the heel of her palm down her face, Lumine wiped her tears away as she turned to her brother. “I want to see him again. Please. At least once before the wedding.”
Everything within Aether screamed at him to refuse, to tell his sister she shouldn’t take such an unnecessary risk, but the words that crossed his lips were not at all what he’d intended them to be. “Of course. It’s the least I can do for my little sister.”
That night, as he leads his sister, disguised in a maid’s uniform, to the back gate where a group of servants awaits with a carriage for her, he begins to wonder whether this was the right thing to do. The ride was long and cramped, the space Lumine was allowed barely enough to curl up in, let alone stretch out. She wasn’t used to such harsh conditions, having grown up with a servant by her side to assist her with even the simplest of tasks.
But this pain would be worth it.
The servants at her side guided her closer to the eastern front, slipping within the soldier’s encampment mostly unnoticed. Rows of tents were propped up, several fires going all around as the men seemed to be enjoying a late dinner with the dark night above them.
“Do we know where he is?”
One of the servants flashed Lumine a quick nod before motioning her to keep close as they walked. “We managed to get some help from inside,” one of them whispered to her.
“They’re apparently close friends with Venti,” another adds softly.
Her heart skips a beat at the mere mention of his name, hands wringing together nervously as they finally stop before a tent. The male servant ducked in first and it was several moments before he reappeared.
“You have five minutes, Miss,” he informs her, ushering her forwards.
Lumine ducks inside without hesitation, lunging into the arms of her beloved without warning.
“Lumine? You really…” He was beyond shocked, speechless as the woman he adored more than anything clung to him.
She buried her face in his chest, sobbing as her arms wrapped around his torso. “Venti, I can’t do this!” she says. “Let’s run away-- together!”
Startled by her sudden declaration, he holds her at arm’s length. “What are you talking about? Is it about the war? It’ll be over soon, I promise--”
“It’s not just the war,” she argues, shaking her head. “I’m to be wed next month, Venti.”
His legs nearly gave out beneath him at her words. He knew he should have expected it. Someone of her status would no doubt have her life dictated for her by her father, but even so, he’d clung to a desperate hope that he could work hard enough to save enough money to convince her father to choose otherwise. “L-Lumine…”
“Let’s run away together,” she repeats, tightening her grip on his arms. “Please. We don’t have to stay. All we need is each other!”
Venti wanted to accept. More than anything he wanted to grab her hand and turn and run, to flee this battlefield. More than anything, he wanted to escape his fate to die in a trench, to watch as the woman he loves marries another man she does not love.
“Okay,” he finds himself saying. “Let’s go.”
Tears well up in her eyes as she smiles, their fingers intertwined as he takes her hand. He should absolutely not be doing this, everything within him screamed at him to stop before he endangered her life, but he found himself too scared to die alone on the battlefield rather than risk it all here and now.
And so that’s exactly what they did.
Hands linked together, they ran as far and as fast as their legs could take them, escaping the encampment with ease as they ducked into the forest beyond. Everything seemed fine, like they could make it out in one piece. Perhaps they could find a quiet corner to settle down in. Even if it was rough to begin with, they could make do. They could always make do.
But as they slowed to a walk through the forest, giddy with their grand plan, his foot landed upon a trap.
The last thing he saw before the explosion was the fear and regret within her golden eyes…
“You ought to keep a close watch when you walk home tonight, Venti.”
The man peered over the top of the newspaper in his hands, chuckling as he picked up and finished the last of his wine. “You shouldn’t worry for no reason, Diluc. You really believe all the stuff about a serial killer on the loose in the city?”
Huffing, Diluc reaches out to fold the newspaper in half, shoving the front page in Venti’s face. “Right, like the thirteen disappearances already aren’t a big enough red flag for you to worry?”
“Why would I worry when this serial killer obviously has a type.”
“For short, scrawny, pale men,” Diluc points out.
Setting the paper down, Venti shrugs. “I am none of those things--”
“You’re barely taller than the bar when you’re standing on your feet, Venti,” Diluc sighs. “Not to mention you're thin as a twig. Anyone could snap you in half without a sweat, and don’t even try arguing that you aren’t pale. You’re white as a damn ghost.”
Groaning, Venti rolls his eyes as he props his arms on the bar. “Come on-- you don’t seriously think I’m a prime target for a serial killer…”
Diluc picks up his empty glass, setting it behind the counter as he frowns. “Better safe than sorry.”
“Aw, are you worried about me?”
“I’m worried I won’t get my money back for your tab if you run off and die,” Diluc fires back. “You should get going before it gets any darker.”
“What?” Venti sputters. “Are you cutting me off so soon?”
Turning a sharp eye on his customer, Diluc nods. “Yes, I’m cutting you off. No more drinks tonight. Not from my bar, at least, and you know I’m the only one who’ll take your tab.”
Venti let out an incoherent string of noises of disbelief as he let the reality sink in. “You’re so mean , Diluc!”
“Then you should hurry up and get a job and work to pay me back so you can drink yourself silly every night before getting killed by a rampant serial killer,” Diluc says, shaking his head as he walks away to tend to other customers asking for drinks.
As he let the resignation settle deep within his gut, Venti stood from the bar as he glanced forlornly at the wine bottles that lined the wall on the other side. He didn’t have to be told by anyone that he drank too much-- but there was something about the dandelion wine that was sold here that drew Venti to it regardless. Sighing, he shrugged on his coat as he left for the night, waving a goodbye to some of the other regulars who would no doubt stay well past midnight.
There was a chill carried in on the breeze as Venti huddled into his coat, pausing on the sidewalk as he glanced up at the dark sky. A star could be seen here and there, barely visible beyond the lamps that lined the cobbled streets. As he rubbed his hands together, Venti set off for his apartment, his pace quick in his eagerness to get out of the cold.
He was only a few blocks away from his place when he saw someone across the street. They had their back to him, leaning out over the edge of the bridge upon which they stood that crossed a small river. Venti’s pace slowed as he watched the figure, curious as to why they weren’t equally in a hurry to get out of the cold. Then, as he saw them plant their hands on the railing and lift a foot, that’s when it dawned on him. Without hesitation, he ran across the quiet street, feet pounding against the stones before he reached the other person.
“Stop!” Venti cried, wrapping his arms around the person’s legs where they stood above him, pulling back as hard as he could in an effort to keep them from going over into the icy waters below. They tumbled back, the strange person falling atop him as his back hit the street beneath them. Pain arched up his spine, drawing a groan from his lips as he opened his eyes.
Above him was a woman, wide, golden eyes peering down at him in shock. “Why did you…”
She was beautiful, beyond gorgeous with soft, golden blonde hair framing her face as she stared down at him. A smile found his lips, blessing his good fortune. “I couldn’t just stand by and watch someone jump to their death, now could I?”
“Ah…” She seemed almost caught off guard by the admission. When he shifted beneath her, she glanced down at their position, cheeks flushing as she moved off of him. Sitting up, Venti rubs his lower back, silently cursing the pain that lingered. Then, a hand appeared in his vision, offered by the woman as he accepted, allowing her to help him to his feet. “Thank you,” she whispers.
Venti squeezed her hand softly before letting it go. “Think nothing of it. Just… next time you ever want to do something like that, why don’t you let me buy you a drink instead? Maybe talking about it will help.”
His heart soared as a smile found her lips and she nodded stiffly. “Th-Thanks, uh…”
“My name is Venti,” he says.
“I’m Lumine.”
Lumine . The name stirred something within him, almost a sense of deja vu. “Have we… met before?” he asks.
A small laugh escapes her lips as she shakes her head. “No, I’m afraid not. Why do you ask?”
He hums in thought, wondering what it could be if they truly had never met before. “Nevermind, might have just been my imagination.”
“Well is your imagination going to make good on that drink you promised me?” she teases, a sparkle in her eyes.
Venti fights the urge to grimace, knowing he couldn’t go back to Diluc’s bar after having been cut off and told to go home. “Is there any place you’d like to go?”
Tapping her chin in thought, Lumine nods, taking his hand as she leads the way down the sidewalk. Several blocks later, she stops at a small bar, opening the door without hesitation. “Good evening, Diona!”
The bartender perked up at the sound of her name, leaning with her arms on the wooden countertop as she grinned at the pair approaching her. “You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you, Miss Lumine? You have men falling at your feet every time you set foot in here and you dare to bring in some stranger… you’d best be careful doing that.”
“Oh, very funny,” Lumine says with a smile, taking a seat as she pats the one next to her, waiting for Venti to join her. “I’ll have the usual, Diona.”
“Do you carry dandelion wine here?” Venti inquires.
Diona scoffs, puffing her chest out with pride. “Only the worst! You’ll get what you deserve!”
He watches, speechless, as she turns and hops off of the stool she was apparently standing on, her head barely reaching the counter. “Is she old enough to… And what was that she said?”
“Don’t worry, she’s much older than she looks. You and I both know some of us are shorter than others,” Lumine says with a grin.
“Hey! I’m not short, I’m just fun sized!”
She pats his arm sympathetically. “Sure thing, tough guy. And about what she said, she’s actually got a thing against drunks and alcohol. She started bartending and mixing drinks in an attempt to make them drink the most awful stuff so they’d quit being drunks, but it turns out all the drinks she mixes are super spectacularly amazing.”
“Huh.” Venti wasn’t sure what to say to that, but he didn’t figure he needed to as Diona returned with both drinks in hand.
“If you pass out drunk, don’t ever expect to come back in here,” Diona warns with a harsh glare before moving off to tend to other customers.
Lumine stifles a laugh as she takes a sip of her drink. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“Well if it’s anything along the lines of ‘What the fuck’ then you’d be right,” Venti huffs, taking a drink of his own. The taste was delicious, almost as good as what Diluc served and it was good enough for him.
“Well, I’ll certainly drink to that,” Lumine says, lifting her glass.
Venti lifts his as well, letting the glass softly clink together before they resume their drinking. The night felt as though it passed in a blur, glass after glass of wine passing his lips as his mind grew fuzzy and every little thing seemed to make him burst into laughter. It didn’t take too long for Diona to cut them off, ushering them away from the bar as Lumine slung his arm over her shoulders, the two giggling their way out the doors.
The cool night air helped sober him up as they walked, swaying slightly as they walked down the street.
“I’m glad you didn’t go through with it tonight,” Venti says. “Killing yourself, I mean.”
Lumine hums in agreement as they turn down another street. “I feel the same way. If I had gone through with it, if I’d just given up all hope, then I wouldn’t have found the one I’ve been searching for this entire time.”
“Hm, I’m glad to hear that. Whoever it is you were looking for, I hope they’re everything you ever wanted,” he says with a smile.
She slows to a stop, forcing him to pause alongside her. It was only then that he realized they weren’t walking down the street anymore and had instead ended up in a rather dark alleyway.
“Er, did you get lost or--”
“You’re the one I’ve been looking for, Venti .” As she shoved him against the alley wall, he noticed only then the dark insanity that swirled in her eyes. Through his drunken haze, he felt something prick his stomach, looking down in horror at the blood that seeped through his clothes around the knife now buried in his gut.
“Wh-Wha--”
Lumine shushed him gently, finger to his lips as she stroked his cheek, her hands damp and warm with his blood. “It’s okay. I found you again. I found you all over again. I’ll make you pay for what you did last time…”
His mind spun with confusion as his vision began to grow dark. “What are you…”
“You don’t remember? You don’t remember what you did the last time around?” Gently, she pulled the knife out only to drive it into him once more, sharper and harder as he choked in pain. “Let me help you remember, dear Venti…”
A frown tugged at Lumine’s lips as she watched the boy pull back on the bowstring, aimed at the practice dummies lined up in front of him. He paused for only a moment before letting the arrow fly loose, burying the tip in the belly of his inanimate victim. The boy turned to pluck another arrow from the barrel next to him, patiently laying it across his bow before pulling the string back as he aimed once more.
“Lumi? Whatcha doin’ watching Venti practice?”
She nearly shrieked at the sound of the familiar voice in her ear and she turned to glare at her twin brother. “That’s not funny, Aether!” she groans, shoving him back. Warily, she glanced back at Venti whose second arrow had found its home in the head of the target. He hadn’t noticed her yet.
“You’re just still upset that he’s better than you at everything,” Aether teases.
A hot flush rose to her cheeks as she shoved him again, this time putting space between them. “Weren’t you training with father? What happened to that?”
Aether brought a fist to his chest, swelled with pride. “Father says I’ve made him proud with all my hard work. I’ll become a captain of the guard in no time at all!”
Rolling her eyes, Lumine huffs. “Yeah right…”
“Look, you don’t have to be a guard to serve the family, Lumi--”
“What else am I supposed to do?” Lumine spits. “We both know how horribly I failed at being a servant, and my cooking skills are nonexistent, so I couldn’t even serve in the kitchens! What else am I supposed to be if not a guard then?”
Aether groaned as he leaned against the wall. “I… We all don’t want you to have to leave the castle-- you mean so much to us, Lumine, but…”
“But I’ll more than likely just be married off, won’t I?” she huffs, letting herself plop down on the ground as she bitterly watches Venti fire another flawless arrow. “And in the meantime, that selfish brat doesn’t have to worry about any of this nonsense…”
Her brother sits down beside her, leaning against her shoulder. “The unfortunate truth is just that he was born lucky in this life. He’s the son of His Majesty and next in line to the throne while we were born to a poor peasant couple who serve the royals.” Aether patted his sister’s shoulder. “Maybe in your next life you’ll get to be born as a princess, hm?”
“Wouldn’t a princess still be married off?” she huffs, hugging her knees to her chest. “At that point, I’d rather just be born without the capacity to care about love.”
“Oh, come on!” Aether scoffs. “You don’t have to take everything I say to try and cheer you up and twist it into something to get you down all over again…”
Climbing to her feet, Lumine grimaces at Venti’s arrow finds its target once more. “You… wouldn’t understand,” she decides, turning on her heel and walking away before he could stop her.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Venti turns, watching the girl’s retreating back as he sighs. “What an annoying little brat,” he huffs under his breath, drawing another arrow as he aims for his target. It was easy to imagine her as the target, the annoying way she’d stomp her feet when nothing would go her way, the ugly rags she’d wear around the castle halls as though she were actually adorned in a beautiful ball gown. Normally, he would admit that she is rather pretty, with sparkling golden eyes and soft blonde hair that shone in the sunlight, but everything else about her was ugly from the inside out.
The arrow he loosed from his bow found its home between her eyes, the practice dummy swaying in its spot from the impact.
“I wonder if it would be this simple to shut that spoiled brat up for good…”
The castle sat atop a cliff overlooking the sea, waves crashing against the rocks at the base. Standing not too far from the edge was Lumine as she hefted a wooden practice sword against a makeshift dummy. Her arms shook as she lifted the sword, barely able to lift it above her head before letting it crash against the dummy. Her chest was heaving with the effort, sweat rolling down her cheek as she prepared to lift the practice sword once more.
I will become a castle guard! I refuse to be married off!
Her resolve burned bright within her as she hefted the wooden blade once more, poised to strike. As she thrust it towards the makeshift dummy, the tip hit the tough wooden base, stopping the forward momentum. The weapon slipped from her hands dropping to the ground as she winced at the splinters now digging into her palms.
“You really think an enemy is going to stand still long enough for you to poke him with a sword?”
Lumine turned at the voice, glaring at Venti as he walked closer to her. His bow was nowhere to be seen, likely left back at the training grounds closer to the castle. “And what about you? You think the enemy will stand still long enough for you to aim properly?”
He scoffs, coming to a stop several feet away as he crosses his arms. “You’ve seen me practice late at night when no one else is watching,” he says nonchalantly as she flushed with embarrassment. “You know just how good I really am with a bow and arrow in my hands, Lumine.”
“You really are a piece of work,” she spits. Lumine stoops to grab the practice blade once more, hefting it with shaking arms against the boy. “Keep flapping your gums and I’ll knock you over the head with this!”
A smirk tugs at Venti’s lips as he watches her struggle to keep the blade from dipping to the ground. “So you say, but are you sure you can even manage to swing it before I disarm you?”
Gritting her teeth, Lumine lets the blade rest to one side before swinging it in a wide arc. In the same moment, Venti ran at her, his hands at her wrists as he easily wrenched the weapon from her grip long before it ever would have hit him. Instead, he easily swings it to sweep her off her feet, Lumine’s body slamming against the hard ground beneath her as her vision swims in and out of focus.
“Spoiled little brats like yourself should learn your place,” he sighs. Venti tosses the sword aside as he strolls past her, walking closer to the cliff’s edge as he gazes out over the rolling seas. “The ground upon which you lay is my birthright. Your parents are citizens of this land, so that makes them equally my birthright. You, who was born within these castle walls to people who belong to me, are my property, Lumine.” He inhaled deeply, breathing in the salty breeze as it ruffled his hair.
“You’re a monster,” Lumine grunts as she sits up. “I can’t believe I used to like you…”
Surprised to hear those words tumble from her lips, he turns to her, brows raised. “You liked me?”
A flush rises to her cheeks as she glances away. “Y-Yeah! I did! But that was before I realized just how awful you really are. You’re nothing more than a spoiled brat who holds his power above those below him like we’re nothing more than ants to be stepped on!”
“Hm, I supposed you’re not entirely too off base with that assessment,” he decides. “But what makes you so much different?”
“What?”
Venti laughs. “You prance about the castle as though you were the one in line for the throne and not myself. All I ever hear from you are endless complaints about how unfair your life is. You fail as a servant, as a guard, and no doubt you’d fail as a wife.” He chuckles softly to himself. “I would certainly bet my title that you’d even turn out to be barren.”
Red hot rage boiled beneath her skin as she forced herself to her feet. “You…” Lumine was at a loss for words as tears pricked her eyes. Time and time again she’d struggled to find her place in this life, but all those efforts were only ever flung back in her face as people mistook everything she did as something else. “You bastard!” Blindly, she leapt for him, hands outstretched in an attempt to shove him.
But as she grew closer, he swiftly stepped aside, smirking as he stuck his leg out to trip her. Lumine lost her footing, stumbling forwards as she neared the cliff’s edge. She did everything in her power to stop in time, to simply fall to the ground and keep her from tumbling over the end, but when she found herself already falling, it was too late.
This was exactly what Venti had intended to happen…
“Hm, if your goal was to simply cheat me out of an apple, you certainly wouldn’t have gone to such lengths.”
There was a mischievous glint in the bard’s eyes as he looked down at the girl sprawled on the ground before him. She clutched a bruised apple close to her chest, her body shaking in fear. “I-I didn’t cheat you out of anything!” she snapped.
“Ah, right. I suppose stealing and cheating are quite different in the end, aren’t they?”
The girl’s body tensed at his words. “I didn’t steal it either!” she says. “I-I found the apple so it’s mine.”
“You found it in my bag, you mean,” the bard reminds the thief. “I’m not sure the Knights would be so lenient to hear about a thief pickpocketing from a poor little bard.”
“I’m not a thief!” she insists, clambering to her feet as her grip on the apple tightens.
The bard hums in thought. “You know, if you were hungry, you could have just asked someone to lend you a hand.”
A light pink flush rose to her cheeks as she looked away. “I-I’m not desperate enough to beg people for handouts,” she sighs. “Besides, who in Teyvat would just hand someone like me expensive medicine for my brother?”
Ah, she’s that orphan.
He’d heard all about her across the sprawling city of Mondstadt. The golden eyed girl with hair that shone like sunlight who would steal every and anything she could lay her hands on so long as she knew she could get away with it. Her reputation was larger than life which often led to people slinging harsh words her way for simply standing nearby. The children would even pass time throwing rocks her way, laughing and making fun of her as she shielded herself and fled from the attacks.
“You’ve led a difficult life thus far,” the bard admits. “In fact, I can tell this isn’t the first time you’ve ever been faced with hardships in a lifetime.”
“What are you talking about?” The girl scowls at his words, her shoulders relaxing as she places her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to tell me I was dealt a bad hand in my previous lives, too? You really are bad at making people feel better…”
The bard chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. “Ah, that’s my bad. Sometimes I’m just bad at reading the atmosphere. In any case, would you like to join me for lunch, Miss Lumine?”
The girl huffs, looking down at the apple clutched in her hands. “I can’t. I have to get back to my brother soon and make sure he gets some food down.”
“Then why don’t we order him a meal to go?” the bard suggests, gently grabbing her wrist to lead the way.
“W-Wait!” The apple tumbles out of her grip, landing on the cobbled streets beneath them, left behind in their wake. “What about--”
“It was bruised and quite old,” the bard points out. “You could have gotten sick if you’d eaten it.”
Lumine huffs. “You’re so unbelievable…”
The restaurant known as Good Hunter was one that had existed for decades now and the reputation it held as Mondstadt’s best place to eat was never matched, let alone surpassed. In all her life, Lumine had only ever nibbled on discarded scraps that were thrown out, but now, as she gawked down at a plate of steaming Sweet Madame, she felt her mouth begin to water as she swallowed thickly.
“It’s all on me!” the bard declares, eagerly enjoying his own meal already. “I also asked Miss Sarah to prepare another one of those for you brother when we’re ready to go.”
Tears welled up in Lumine’s eyes as she stiffly nodded, cutting into the chicken on her plate. The moment the food touched her tongue, an explosion of flavor erupted in her mouth. It was sweet and delicious beyond belief, the tears spilling over as she chewed gratefully. Her companion was silent where he sat across from her, a bittersweet smile gracing his lips as he watched her dine.
“Thank you,” she whispered under her breath. Her words were carried on the wind, gently caressing the bard’s ears as he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back his own tears.
“Anything for you, Lumine…”
Thunder rumbled in the distance, the sky dark and swirling with black clouds. If Paimon were here, no doubt she’d complain about missing lunch and how the weather would blow her away.
But Lumine was all alone where she stood.
Wind howled and whistled as it blew past her and the ground beneath her feet rumbled and quaked. All around her, she could feel the temperature spike to extreme highs before suddenly plummeting to freezing colds. The grass at her feet grew rapidly before decaying in the next instant, new life sprouting from the same spot only to follow in its wake.
The elements were thrown out of balance.
As Lumine extended a hand, the storm finally broke, a torrent of rain pouring from the black sky above. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes, listening to the wind as it blew past her.
...mine! Lumine!
She could hear his voice still, clinging to the winds with his lingering will.
You must stop! Before it’s too--
Then it was gone, snatched away from her by those same winds. Tears welled up in her eyes as she opened them, glaring into the distance. She opened her other palm, glancing down upon the Gnosis gathered in her hand. If she wanted to, she could stop all of this. She could silence the chaos that whirled around her.
But the anguish that consumed her would not be sated.
“Lumine!”
She turned then at the sound of her brother’s voice. Her beloved twin brother who had always been by her side. But not even he could fill the void left within her.
“He’s gone,” she says matter-of-factly. “They took him from me.”
Aether shields his face against the winds as he struggles to get near her. “I’m so sorry that happened, but you mustn’t let your rage destroy you! Please!”
That’s right. Her brother had no care for the people of Teyvat. Not like he had for his own people. “I would rather let myself be destroyed than to live on without him.”
“Lumine! Venti wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself--”
“What would you know?” she snaps, her rage boiling as the rain around them turns scalding hot to the touch. “You had every chance to stop it from happening and you just watched him die!”
Guilt tore Aether apart from within as the rain burned him from the outside. “I know… and I regret it with every breath that I take now that I did not save him,” he chokes. “I didn’t… I didn’t think anyone could ever be as important to you as I am. I never could have imagined that you’d value Venti just as much as you had valued me…
“I was a fool not to realize how much you love him, Lumi.”
Love…
A word she’d once believed she would reserve only for her twin brother, the dearest family she’d always had by her side. She had never needed anyone else’s company before that, always happy by her brother’s side. But when they’d been separated in Teyvat, when she’d begun her journey to find her brother again, when she’d made so many connections with the people of this land she… had come to realize that love was something she could extend to more than just her brother.
Lumine loved the cities she had visited and aided, even when they had acted coldly at first, they had simply been scared. And she loved the people she met along the way, from the smallest child causing trouble with bombs to even the oldest of Archons who would never fail to forget that Mora was a thing that existed-- that he himself had brought into being, no less.
She loved them all greatly.
And the troublesome bard with his lyre who would always have a new song about her to sing about and an apple to share with her…
“I really really love him,” Lumine sobs. “I… want to see him again…” As she fell to her knees, Gnosis clutched close to her chest, she let out a heartbreaking wail of pain. Aether watched wordlessly as she sobbed brokenly, the swirling storm slowly dying out.
“Lumi… if you’d like, I can help you to see him again,” he offered softly as he approached her.
“Wh-What?”
He kneeled before her, laying his hands over her own. “I think… if we give up our power-- our immortality-- you can see him again.”
Lumine shakes her head. “But you--”
“I owe you this much for letting the man you love just die in front of me,” Aether says quickly. “Besides, this is a small price to pay for my sister’s happiness.”
“But how will this work?”
He squeezes her hands gently. “We’ll rewrite the rules of the universe.”
“Can we do that?”
Aether chuckles weakly. “Well… I’m not too sure but… my gut is telling me it could work.”
“Your gut, huh?”
“Not confident?”
Lumine lets out a weak scoff. “Please, if anyone here isn’t confident, it’s definitely you, moron.”
He sighs. “Fair enough,” he concedes. “We’ll rewrite the rules to allow you and Venti to meet again in your next life. Simply put, you’ll be reincarnated and meet again in the future.”
“Will we…”
“I can try and write it so that you two will remember each other but… I guess we’ll have to see what I can manage with our power,” he says.
Lumine frowns. “You know… the way you’re talking makes it sound like you’re going to leave and never come back from this mission.”
“Ah…”
“So I’m right?”
Sighing, Aether shrugs. “It seems likely to me that I won’t have enough strength to come back to Teyvat when I do this--”
“Then forget it!” Lumine says. “I’m not going to lose both of you--”
“Then why don’t I reincarnate with you?”
“Huh?”
Aether helps his sister to her feet, meeting her wide eyed gaze of disbelief. “For so long we’ve only had each other to lean on for support, so when you’re reborn into your next life… let’s do it together.” He smiled warmly at his sister.
“You… really are a big idiot,” she admits, wiping her eyes. “Then we’ll go together and rewrite the rules together and be reborn together. Okay?”
There was a fresh, burning determination in her eyes as she spoke, her hands squeezing his as she held his gaze. “Okay,” he breathes. “Let’s go together.”
We will always be together… the three of us…