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the flower patch where glaze lilies were planted stood out at night as they were the only flowers that bloomed at that time of the day in teyvat. lumine had her eyes on the patch as the blue flowers swayed lightly with the breeze.
“enjoying the view, my love?” ajax, the crowned prince, her husband, entered the scenery, a smile on his face as he bent sideways, matching eye level with his wife.
lumine smiles as she meets her husband’s eyes, “i was, until you blocked the flowers.”
“that’s mean, ojou-chan.” he pouts jokingly before he offers to lock arms with lumine as they walk, “what are you doing out here? it’s cold tonight, you’re not even wearing a cloak.”
“i just wanted to see the flowers, specially the glazed lilies.” as they walk closer to the flower patch, lumine removes her arm from ajax’s, off to pick one flower.
“and why is that, my love?” ajax, knowing the reason why—with a faint smile—still asked as he wanted to hear it from lumine herself.
lumine kneels down as she picked a glaze lily, wanting to put it behind ajax’s ear. it was a habit of lumine to do so, and ajax likes it too.
it’s so pretty when it blooms at night.
she thought, getting back up on her feet.
you planted these yourself, ajax... but most of all;
lumine proceeds to turn around, wanting to see her husband’s face, the glaze lily in her hand as she tells him the reason why.
“it reminds me of your—”
“please let me go, lumine.” lumine froze as she was cut off when ajax spoke of something she never wanted to hear no matter how much time passed. as soon as she has fully turned around, ajax was nowhere to be found.
“your eyes...” lumine drops to her knees, losing her grip on the flower’s stem, tears flowing out of her eyes. she was slapped by reality once again.
ajax was no longer with her, the ajax she was talking to just now was a fragment of her memories with him aided by the starconch lumine would unconsciously put next to her ear, making her hear the echoes of ajax’s voice.
the crowned prince died in battle three years ago, refusing to let only his men fight in the battlefield, was shot by an arrow straight into his heart. a few weeks before he died, he planted the glaze lilies for his wife, lumine, who had once mentioned that the color of the said flower reminded her of his eyes.
lumine smiled bitterly, having a starconch with her made her feel relieved that she wouldn’t forget how her husband’s voice sounded like, how soft it was when ajax would talk to her, how calming it could sound. a voice only lumine could get a hold of from ajax.
and the glaze lilies, lumine watched ajax plant them and both of them watched the seeds grow into buds. unfortunately, ajax wasn’t there to watch them bloom for the first time.
everything in the castle area reminded lumine of ajax, which made her happy, not having to worry about forgetting him.
but these things also caused pain to her.
lumine would often be questioned by her ladies, why glaze lilies instead of starconches that resemble the prince’s eyes a lot more?
that is true, starconches did resemble ajax’s eyes more than glaze lilies, but lumine wanted something of high maintenance, like her husband who would be in shambles just at the sight of his wife. she wanted to personally take care of the thing that would remind her of the love of her life, like how she would take care of ajax, and flowers are of high maintenance, especially the glaze lilies that only bloom at night.
“these glaze lilies remind me of you every single day, do you think i can let you go just like that?” lumine sobbed, face buried in her hands that had a starconch on one of them, yet tears still managed to escape her own hands, she was a crying mess.
“you even planted windwheel asters beside the glaze lilies as a promise that not even death could part us... but look at where we are now.” lumine broke down, dropping the starconch as well, screaming her heart out, thinking no one would hear her from this area of the castle.
“it’s not as easy as you think, ajax... i miss you so much, and it gets worse every single day.”
glaze lilies remind me of your eyes, ajax.