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There were no lights when Lumine voiced her worries for the first time.
“Be careful,” she had muttered to their silent room.
“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” Amber kept Lumine close, hiding her face in the back of her neck and her fears in the dark of the night.
“I am always careful, I always return to you” Lumine intertwined their fingers together over her heart, trying to make light of a situation that was too heavy to confront with a smile.
“It doesn’t matter I always fear when you are away from our home.” She wrapped her arms around her chest and brought her even closer. “I…”
“I know.”
What else could she say?
“Lumine.”
What else could she say to ease her worries?
“I’m not going anywhere, I will not.” Lumine turned in her arms and touched the line of her jaw with the back of her fingers, bringing her closer for a kiss. “I swear,” she mumbled just over her lips, cupping her cheek with reverence.
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
If Lumine just knew then…
The wind in Mondstadt carries the voice of war. Living in every knight’s words, in every merchant’s worried questions, in the travelers that stop coming and going through the city of freedom that risks losing it all.
Lumine walks through what once were open bustling streets and her heart is a fist in her chest when she sees that yet another business has closed and their owners moved away from the city, hoping to find shelter in the villages away from the capital. In the once rich and noisy entrance of the city, only Flora remains, too stubborn to ever be separated from her flowers and the business she’s poured her life into. Paimon had gone over her some days ago, pleading for the florist to think about her safety first.
What use could war have for flowers? She had asked.
Flore smiled and her answer had filled Lumine with an ominous feeling.
“We will need something to fight for soon enough.”
Flora would be right in more ways than she could’ve imagined first.
Lumine keeps on, she stills her mind, bottling down her own sadness and distress. She marches through the streets with a sword by her hip and Paimon by her shoulder, repeating in her mind over and over again the message Eula had trusted her with. The border had been breached, Mondstadt’s streets would soon see violence again if the Knights couldn’t pinpoint the enemy and encircle them before they cut through the land of the wind like a sharp blade.
A gust sweeps the streets and Lumine reaches for the handle of her sword when it knocks over some boards with a loud crack. She is jumpy, anxious. Her fingers twitch over the pommel before she forces her hand to form a fist and then open alongside her breathing.
They are not here.
If she has it her way, they will never be here.
“Lumine?” Paimon calls, she’s skittish and keeps closer to Lumine these days, but never falters to be with her at every turn destiny throws at them. Lumine shakes her head and tries to smile in reassurance. It’s hard since she doesn’t believe it herself.
“Let’s go find Master Jean, she will know what to do for sure,” Lumine keeps walking, passing through the Adventurer’s guild building, devoided of any adventures but Katherine. Lumine waves to her and she receives a small smile in return. They are trying to keep morale up, even as no news have come from the other nations of Tevyat.
Lumine looks at the inactive teleport waypoint that slumbers static next to the Alchemy building Albedo and Sucrose used to perform their experiments in. The Traveler has no way now to travel as she used to, reaching nations within seconds and archons within a day.
Only their wind carried pleas can hope to reach them now.
Lumine passes it by, biting her lower lip.
Maybe they are alone amongst the other nations, but they are free as the wind, and the city would never give up on that freedom for safety.
Not while the Knights of Favonius are still there, serving to protect their nation and identity.
She sidesteps knights that hurry in and out the quarters carrying all sorts of boxes and viands. They nod at her and salute her as she goes directly to the Grand Master’s office with no hesitance. Behind are the days when Lisa would coax Jean out of her office for a walk through the city and a lazy afternoon drinking tea by the Library. When Rosaria patrolled every night the streets casually beating up whoever dared to threaten the city. When Venti, playing his role as a bard, would sing and drink and laugh at Angel’s Share, always happy to share some of his light with anybody who needed it.
Today Barbatos cannot help them, as any of the archons in Tevyat, and Lumine’s heart aches.
The Abyss —Aether— had been thorough to keep the divine powers at bay.
“Master Jean, excuse me, I bring news from our scouts near Dawn Winery,” Lumine says as she opens the door, the image of Jean pouring over maps alone in a room that once had harbored flowers and delicate trails alongside treaties and books and now only offers naked walls and drawn over maps welcomes her. Jean lifts her head and blinks, managing to smile at her as she straightens up and breathes in deep.
Even facing the worst odds her nation had seen in centuries, the acting Grand Master could muster grace and dignity to receive the Traveler and whatever news she brought with her.
“Lumine, Paimon, I’m glad to see you, please let us hear it,” she says, gesturing for Lumine to come closer and use the map on the desk in the center of the room to fill her in with the exact details and locations the Knights had defended. Lumine looks at the map and her mind provides images of each place as if she were there. She is the Traveler for a reason and she knows Mondstadt now maybe better than some of the people that had been born and raised there.
After all, she had explored every corner with Amber just for the pleasure of her company, for the thrill of an adventure next to the woman she loves.
She clenches her left fist but keeps those thoughts at bay. Lumine will return to Amber soon.
Soon.
“Eula has found small pockets of Abyss forces here,” Lumine briefs Jean with the exact same words Eula used, pointing at the region in between Dawn Winery and Dragonspine, a zone plagued with small cliffs and caves, rifts where the Abyss seemed to proliferate effortlessly.
When she’s finished, Jean grabs her chin as she processes the information.
Lumine waits.
The afternoon light filters through the curtains and the acting Grand Master’s armor shines dully, reflecting on its master’s mind.
“I have no options, Lumine, I will need you there supporting Eula’s team,” she sighs after long seconds weighing her options.
“But, Jean, you promised!” Paimon chirps in from her shoulder and Lumine looks at her startled, she had forgotten how protective of her she could be. Jean smiles at the small yet brave explorer and the Grand Master’s persona makes way to the friend Jean is to them.
“I know, Paimon, but we are running out of options. I will keep the promise I made you two long ago and I will ask Amber to be stationed with you to support Eula’s position,” both relief and guilt wash over Lumine in equal parts. Her fingers go numb and her breathing hitches. She knows Amber will accept it, she will follow Lumine wherever she goes.
You can’t just fight a whole army without my support!
Lumine knows.
And she hates to think Amber would be in harm’s way.
But that is not her decision, it had been a promise they had made long ago.
Amber is strong, strong enough to take care of herself, strong enough to protect Lumine when they face enemies on their own.
So strong that she can laugh and smile even when facing terrible odds and surrounded by enemies that threatened their home.
“Please do make haste, there is no time to waste if we want to secure the city’s safety.”
In a way, Amber is stronger than Lumine is, she knows. The Traveler nods and thanks the Grand Master quietly.
They have their orders, it is on them to carry them now.
Amber likes to hold her hand while they traverse the open spaces in Mondstadt, Lumines loves that about her.
Lumine loves her.
They are by the inactive teleport waypoint near Dawn Winery and will arrive by the next morning at Eula’s position. Lumine knows they could push it and make it during the night, but she is hesitant to tempt the night and the Abyss terrors roaming wild. Instead, she stops and pulls Amber with her.
“Let’s make camp for the night.”
She also wants a night for her and Amber alone before another hectic time starts.
“Will you let me cook dinner?” Amber jokes, raising an eyebrow and putting her hands in her hips.
“Absolutely not! Go make a fire, Pyro goddess” Lumine waves her off huffing. Amber laughs as she looks around for firewood and the best spot to build a bonfire as they have done hundreds of times before. For a second, in the quietness of the wilderness, Lumine can pretend they are not going into danger, that they are not the line of defense of the people of Mondstadt and this is just another of their escapades for a couple of days to be together before duty calls for them to be apart.
Lumine can pretend she is not scared and fearful of what might come.
She sets her backpack on the grass and looks at the teleport waypoint, if only she could reach out to her allies and friends throughout Tevyat…
If only.
Shenhe’s strength, Yae Miko’s cunning, Keqing’s lighting speed, Ganyu’s perfect aim, Kokomi’s clear and quick mind, Sara’s unwavering loyalty.
They must all be fighting their own battles.
The wind sweeps through the land once more and Lumine wishes her words could be carried by it to them. If only her friends would be there.
If only.
“Come on now! I am starving!” Paimon spurs her and Lumine gets dinner started as Amber sparks their fire to life with a flick of her fingers. Soon they are seated and covered by the ruins that still withstand time, the night over them with a mantle of stars and secrets no one can completely unravel.
Amber eats her full in the time Lumine takes to finish half of her skewer.
“You are the best cook in the whole Mondstadt… and never tell Sara I said so,” she says, grabbing another chicken-mushroom skewer.
“I will keep the secret with me,” Lumine smiles, watching her devour the skewer.
“I will not unless you invite me some Sticky Honey Roast!” Paimon is still eating her dish. Lumine has had the precaution to make it extra big for her.
“Paimon!” Amber grabs her chest, mocking an offense so poorly she is laughing through it.
“Quiet you two or we will be in trouble.” Lumine looks around, but they are alone and their companions keep laughing quietly and nudging her, showering her both in compliments and jokes.
Lumine wishes it could last forever.
But time marches on and soon even the night creatures remain silent and out of sight as they prepare for a short rest.
Paimon sleeps soundly, she always does after a hearty meal. Lumine looks at her, tucked in a small sleeping bag Lisa had made just for her. Amber sits by her side and accepts Lumine’s embrace, they lay down in silence looking at the night above them.
In the silence of their embrace, both can hear their worries and the unspoken fears they share.
“Wouldn’t you like to go back in time?” Amber asks, snuggling herself into Lumine’s embrace deeper.
“Yes.” That’s such an easy answer. It consumed Lumine’s waking thoughts the first months she spent in Tevyat so lost in a world that wasn’t hers.
“I wonder… I wonder when we will return, what we will find… How we would have met if we were to change time to keep your brother from joining the Abyss order.” Lumine moves to face Amber, her eyebrows raised.
“What do you mean?”
“If we could go back in time and stop your brother we might change how things played out in our present, no? Maybe it would be you the one leading the Abyss order!” Amber pokes her side and Lumine catches her hand before she can do it again. She places a kiss on her forehead and tightens her embrace until Amber goes ooof.
“I could have had a cool nickname… but it would have meant we wouldn’t have met,” Lumine says, loosening the rib-crushing hug. There is an old, dark premonition in there. She believes it was a stroke of luck she ended up finding Amber first.
Lumine does believe she could’ve been in Aether’s place if destiny would have played differently.
“I believe we were destined to meet each other, in one way or another.” Amber rearranges herself in her arms and Lumine knows she is getting ready for their rest, no more games this night.
She moves so Amber can use her shoulder as a pillow.
“Would you love me if I was part of the Abyss order?” Her voice is barely audible, a murmur that fills Amber’s ears and caresses her temple as she says it, almost a plea.
“If you were to offer me delicious food…”
“Amber!”
“I’m joking, of course!” Her smile disappears and her mouth draws a timid line instead, “I truly think that we were meant to meet. For that, I will always be grateful.” Lumine looks at her and Amber for once doesn’t meet her eyes.
She’s never said something like it before.
Lumine feels in her heart that she is right.
“I am too.” She kisses her temple once more and holds her close, finding in her warmth and her presence peace.
“And, Lumine… I would have loved you still, despite my better sense.” Amber hugs her and her heart is racing against her chest. Lumine sighs and closes her eyes, trying to keep that feeling in her memory for the rest of her life.
“I would have too.”
They spend the night in silence, sleepless, speechless.
This will be a moment they will burn in their memories for the time they have left.
A moment they will treasure and will not share with anybody else.
When the morning comes their path is clear. The Knights and Eula wait for them.
“Amber, let’s go!” Eula secures her claymore in her back, the sun cuts her silhouette and she looks so strong and decided Lumine believes —or wants to believe— no one would try to antagonize them.
In that single moment, she is the strength of Mondstadt.
“Be safe, okay?” Lumine says, tucking Amber’s wild hair behind her left ear with care. Amber kisses her but doesn’t answer.
Her hands feel cold when Amber lets go to follow the night patrol commanded by Eula.
Lumine unknowingly waves her goodbye for the last time, Amber answers with a warm smile.
And the world would break before dawn arrived.