Chapter Text
Glossy eyes blinked, evicting tears from their place underneath weary eyelids. The owner of the eyes stirred awake and groaned. He adjusted himself in his bed, cursing underneath his breath as pain bit at his limbs and back. The man let out a yawn and stretched, ignoring the soreness he felt and pushing through. He smacked his lips to clear the morning taste in his mouth. He placed a hand on his forehead and tightened his eyes closed for a few moments before opening them again, eyes now adjusted to the rays of sunlight peeking through the cracks of the curtains drawn across the windows. Although his waking was not loud or disturbing, it alerted a few maids and a butler outside his door, and they burst through. Two of the three maids and the butler hurried to the man’s side, while the eldest maid stayed standing in the doorway, her face calm but her hands betraying her as they gripped each other and shook.
“Master Kaeya!”
“Sir Kaeya!”
“You’re awake!”
The three servants at his side crowded around him, touching his arms and cheek. “Hey!” he yelped in surprise, batting them away. The two maids took a step back, but the butler kept close to Kaeya. “Sir Kaeya, are you alright? Do you know what happened?” He asked after taking a deep breath, but his voice obviously still shaky. One of the two maids that had stepped back was about to pipe up but was promptly shushed by the one in the doorway.
“Not now, Hillie,” she cooed from her spot. Kaeya sat in silence and confusion for a moment, sneaking a glance over to the eldest maid as if to ask for assistance. He gripped his forehead and groaned, “I think I remember? It’s all kind of a blur, I think I remember feeling weird and maybe took a wrong step or something because I remember falling, but maybe that was just a dream, but-”
“Master Kaeya,” he was interrupted by the butler, who was intent on keeping him from spiraling. The man rubbed his forehead before reverting his attention back to the butler. “According to one of your friends at the tavern, Rosaria I think her name was, you were experiencing pains and cramps not unlike growing pains one would experience in adolescence. You said it would be fine to keep going through the night because you had been feeling sore for a little while, perhaps a week? But when you stood up later in the night, you fainted!” The butler spoke with clarity, but his voice peaked on his last sentence, gasping as if he just saw it happen in front of him. He shook his head to recuperate himself and continued, “Your friends, they thought you may have just passed out because you were drunk, but you actually didn’t drink all that much nor any strong drinks, like your favorite, Death After Noon, and you’re quite well known around Mondstadt- around the drunkards of the city, anyway- for your high alcohol tolerance. The other patrons at the tavern thought you should go see Deaconess Barbara for healing, but Rosaria and your other friend, Venti, both took you to us here,” The butler nodded to the bed Kaeya now laid in. “-which is where you spent the last two days asleep.”
The last comment the butler added alarmed Kaeya, making him grab him by the collar of his shirt and bringing him down face to face. “Two days!? What about work- what about the knights?!”
“We already talked it out with them, Acting Grand Master Jean understood completely and honestly, we had to stop her from busting in here and making sure you were okay. You can let go of Elzer now,” said the maid in the doorway, everyone’s eyes going to her. Kaeya let out a sigh of relief and released the butler. “Apologies, I should have been more professional-”
“No!”
“Don’t be like that, Sir Kaeya!”
The two younger maids pitched in together. Kaeya blinked and his gaze softened at the two. The eldest let out a chuckle and she approached the shorter ones, placing her hands on their shoulders. “Moco, Hillie, you two should leave us alone for a little while, okay?” She gestured to the butler. “You too, Elzer. I need to talk to Kaeya for a little bit.” Moco and Hillie whined, but Elzer practically dragged them away anyway and closed the door, leaving just the eldest maid and Kaeya.
“Adeline,” The knight murmured quietly as the maid sat on the edge of his bed. “Oh, Master Kaeya, don’t you remember this room?” she beamed. “Adeline, you don’t have to call me ‘Master Kaeya’ anymore, c’mon we talked about this-” His eyes then widened a little when she showed him a photo placed neatly in a golden-laced picture frame. He took the picture into his hands and he examined it closely. Inside it held the memory of four people; a man with red hair in a short ponytail with a young boy, perhaps around the age of eight, with vibrant scarlet hair on the man’s shoulders. There was another boy, maybe a year younger than the other, with blue hair and an eyepatch who looked very similar to Kaeya holding the man’s hand, and there was a maid in the background who was also very similar to Adeline.
“This… This is still here? Unharmed?” He asked in a mumble, his gaze now locking with the maid’s. Adeline simply shrugged and gently took it back. “Your room wasn’t actually in range of the flames, like Master Diluc’s was, so pretty much everything wasn’t really hurt.” He sucked in a breath and his visible eye darted around the room. “This is my old room? I hardly noticed, have I really been gone that long?” He asked with a hint of urgency in his voice. She chuckled and placed the frame back on the nightstand where it had been standing. “Four, maybe five years now, Kaeya…” She whispered.
There was a moment of shared silence between the two of them before Adeline asked, “Kaeya, could you tell me what happened? Why are you feeling these pains? I don’t think it has to do with your job as a knight, considering the Grand Master took all the cavalry from Mondstadt on his grand expedition a year ago, so you can’t really hurt yourself riding a horse.” Kaeya hesitated for a second, gripping his blanket tightly. “If… If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Of course I would, Kaeya.”
“You’d be really upset-”
“Which is why I should know.”
“Addy, I told Diluc about it five years ago and he tried to kill me.” Kaeya’s tone felt more emotional and a little more aggressive now, causing him to breathe heavily as the pain started to rise again. All was quiet once again, but then Adeline embraced Kaeya in a hug. “I’m sorry, I… I understand. Thank you for letting me know.” She drew back and tucked a stray strand of hair behind the man’s ear as a mother might have done.
“Addy, where’s Diluc?”
The maid took a deep breath and answered, “He’s been working at the tavern full time while you’ve been here. Hasn’t wanted to disturb you. Do you want me to bring him to you?”
“...Yes please.”
“Of course, Master Kaeya.”
“I said-”
“I know what you said,” she giggled lightly, making Kaeya laugh too.