Chapter Text
The Alcor, Sea of Clouds
28 days ago
Lisa couldn't tell if the static charged in the air was from her own fettered woes, or the beginning of a storm. Even on a boat as large as the Alcor, sturdy and unperturbed by the waves around it, Lisa struggled to get her bearings.
Twenty-eight days. That’s what Captain Beidou had promised. She could get Lisa to Sumeru in twenty-eight days. Truthfully, that was longer than Lisa was expecting to stay in the city. All she needed was enough time to visit a few old friends, tie up some loose ends, and then she would return home to the people she loved.
The fact that Captain Beidou had agreed to such an admittedly frivolous request was something Lisa herself was still trying to make sense of. A favor of a favor, the Captain had explained before being pulled away to some other task. Lisa, of course, knew it was Jean who had made the request: Jean’s way of protecting her when she, herself, could not make the journey. Lisa would've preferred to travel in something small, inconspicuous and forgettable, but she allowed it for Jean’s peace-of-mind, which she knew would be rare in the coming months.
In all fairness, Jean wanted to come. Lisa wanted Jean to come, too. The Knights were capable and the city was peaceful, yes, but Mondstadt was no well-oiled machine. Peace was a small and fragile thing. Lisa could not even begin to imagine what could happen if both of them were gone from the city for too long.
(Lisa wondered if it was for the best that Jean wasn’t here. Even if she wished nothing more than to lay beside her and be emboldened by her strength, her warmth, her confidence, Lisa didn’t know who or what was waiting for her in a city she hadn’t seen in more than ten years.)
“Are you planning on standing there all day?” Captain Beidou’s voice cut through her thoughts. The clip of her stiff-soled boots followed close behind, and Beidou rested her body on the guard railing, watching the ocean. Lisa's knuckles were white from gripping the side of the boat. She straightened up.
“Good morning, Captain.” Lisa nodded, trying to see whatever it was the Captain was seeing. Liyue harbor had long since dipped beneath the curve of the horizon, and there was nothing but open sea around for miles. “I was simply admiring the view.” Lisa glanced aside. Captain Beidou was watching her.
“I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced,” the Captain spoke with a smile. She stuck out her hand for a lazy handshake, but Lisa wasn’t fooled. There was a sharpness to her eye that Lisa recognized. It reminded her of a certain Tianquan.
“Lisa Minci,” Lisa took her hand, and shook it with a firm grip. “Librarian of the Knights of Favonius.”
“Captain Beidou, Commander of the Crux Fleet,” she returned the greeting. She looked back towards the ocean. “Is this your first time on open water?”
“No, not first. But it’s been a while.”
Beidou nodded. “I’m curious what business a librarian of the Knights of the Favonius would have in Sumeru. Surely you're not just sightseeing.”
“So forward, Captain. I’m shocked. At least offer a lady a glass of wine first,” Lisa smiled, turning to watch the Captain in full view now. From anybody else, including her Jean, she would expect to see a flush of pink rising from their cheeks, but the Captain was straight-faced. A pity.
“That can be arranged,” Beidou responded, standing up and flexing her knuckles high above her head. It seemed to her that she and Jean were cut from the same stock: broad, well-toned women who wore their battles on their skin in faint white scars. Lisa liked her already. “Care to join me in my quarters?”
Lisa followed behind the sure-footed captain with the grace of a newborn deer. Captain Beidou's quarters were not exactly what she expected: well-polished, neat, and fairly minimal. There was a bed, a desk, and a few chairs. The less stuff you owned, the less you'd have to secure in a storm, Lisa supposed.
Lisa sat down in the closest chair, grateful for the chance to settle her stomach. From the cabinet, Captain Beidou produced an unopened bottle of wine and two large drinking cups. She also grabbed a thin, folded wooden box.
"Do you play chess, Miss Minci?"
"I do. Just Lisa is fine."
"Okay. Lisa." She poured the wine, matching each pour to the steady dip of the ship. Each glass was only filled halfway, but Lisa was nonetheless impressed. She stuck the cork loosely into the top of the bottle, and unfolded the chess board. "So tell me: just why was I asked to bring you to Sumeru?"
There was no pointing in avoiding it: they were stuck with each other for twenty-eight days. So, Lisa started from the beginning.