Chapter Text
I
“LUMINE!” My brother’s yell echoed through my head until it started to fade out.
That god couldn’t have taken him far from me, I should be able to find him soon.
Right?
Please tell me I’m right.
The darkness is getting warmer.
I don’t know where to go.
The ground feels soft, like I could just sink into it forever.
How do I get out.
I need to find him.
He needs to be safe.
Where is he.
“AETHER!?” I shouted.
…
I couldn’t even hear my own voice.
Where the hell am I?
I can see a building over there!
Hopefully they can help me.
He’s fine. He needs to be fine.
As long as he’s fine, I’m fine…
I awoke to somebody saying something to me, they sounded a little muffled though. Their lantern shone brightly behind them showing their very dark silhouette. “Oh! Hello? Hello, can you hear me miss?” I felt a hand move some hair from my face. Still feeling a little groggy I sat up slowly. “Are you alright?” He spoke again.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“We’re just on the outskirts of the Khaenri’ahn Empire. I found you unconscious near the old church over there.” He replied.
“Khaenri’ah, huh? I think I’ve heard of it in an old book somewhere.” It’s cold here, very different than that weird void from before.
“Sorry if this is rude but could I please get your name?”
“Lumine.”
“Well then Lumine, my name is Osmen. I work for the Alberich family alongside my family in the palace.” Osmen held out his hand. “But you can call me Os.”
I shook his hand hesitantly. “Nice to meet you Os.”
….
It wasn’t that long of a walk to the city’s walls, it only took a while because Os was busy talking to every person he saw on the way here.
He seems trustworthy and he did check if I was okay when nobody else would… I guess this is my only choice. All I can do for now is wait and hope for the best.
The lighting in the city helped light up his features a little more. His eyes were a bright blue, bluer than the many skies of any of the planets I’ve traveled. His blonde hair was only half-tied-up, like a half ponytail on only one side of his head? Kinda stupid but I don’t even know what he was trying to go for.
He showed me some shops on the path to… wherever we’re going. He gave some apples he had in his bag to a little boy with weird yellow stars on his hands. Wait… are those tattoos? Birthmarks? What fucking planet am I on? Nevermind, not important. Just don’t lose sight of Os and you probably won’t die. I repeated that in my head so many times that the words “Don’t lose Os” felt like a mantra.
”Miss Lumine! Keep walking! We’re almost there, I promise.” He called out. All of a sudden, just like a fairytale, a mansion appeared from nowhere. Okay well maybe not “appeared out of nowhere” but I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn’t take the time to notice this huge building in front of me.
He rummaged through his pockets and sighed. “Okay. Miss Lumine, Just follow along with what I’m doing.” Os took my hand and lead me to a path on the side of the house. He stopped at one of the lower windows “Go on. Jump through.” He nudged. “What? Isn’t that breaking and entering— or whatever you guys call it here?” I whispered-yelled just in case this really was illegal so no passerby’s could hear me. “Not technically. Don’t worry, I forgot my key in my room so we had to take this route. So it’s not completely illegal— I do it all the time.” He explained. “Alright fine. Help me up then Os.”
“So~ This is where I work! Remember when I told you about the family I work for?” I nodded my head in response. “This is the Alberich Estate! Not many outsiders get to come in here so consider yourself lucky.” I couldn’t help but crack a small smile. Especially when his stupid side-half ponytail bounced around with each movement he made. Osmen is definitely a strange person but very kind nonetheless.
He talked about everything that he does for the Alberichs’— all the different kinds of foods he cooks for them, the errand runs he does for them, watching the younger kids, and being the head of the cleaning team for the estate. All I took from the entire conversation was that he’d make a great personal assistant. Hell, maybe even a malewife.
Surprisingly even though he basically gave me a tour of the whole place, we didn’t pass by anybody. Except for one of the little kids. He had blue hair and an eyepatch. An. eyepatch. This planet has some really cool kids don’t they. Tattoos and eyepatches would’ve gotten you chased with a broom or something where I’m from.
We reached the end of the hallway and were met with a sign that read:
Workers on the left
Nobles on the right
We went left and Osmen continued to lead me down the walkway. I saw him counting the doors with a little tapping motion. He stopped his air-tapping when he found his door. “Almostttt missed it” He opened the lock.
The doors open to a small room. “So um… this is it! I’ll set up the floor bed and I’ll get you something to drink.” He said putting his satchel down on one of the chairs. “Please don’t do anything stupid, Miss Lumine. I’ll be right back” The door shut.
It’s a quaint room, a little dusty— but that just might be from the dirt I brought with me on my dress. His dresser had many little knickknacks and photos of some landscapes. The only photo that wasn’t of a mountain was the one by his bed. It had his whole family in there, all brunettes. The only ones that stood out were him and one other person. They both had blonde hair but the other one had a mask on half their face. A beautiful one too.
“The people of Khaenri’ah are some odd people aren’t they.” I muttered to myself. Something shiny on the window sill caught my eye. It’s a little sketchbook with a shiny pen sitting in the middle. Drawings of little creatures with weird masks and others with fluffy robes and long staffs. Interesting. A loud pop sound caught my attention.
“Woah.”
I look up to be greeted with a beautiful blue and gold firework. The lights from fireworks lit up the sky so brightly it felt like it was daytime again. I could see kids running around and having fun.
I miss him. I miss home.
The town looks so beautiful. The festival reminds me a lot of the one we went to for our 15th birthday. I can’t help but feel guilty for not having Aether here with me. Tears form in the corners of my eyes. My throat feels tight. I wanted to cry, I really did but if I cry then I feel like I’ve given up.
I will never give up on finding you Ae.
That’s a promise I’ll keep even if it kills me.