Chapter Text
“Just admit it, you suck!” You hold the training wooden sword in the air triumphantly, dramatically pretending a crowd was cheering for you as if in a gladiator ring. You look back at the boy on the floor, his sword on the floor next to him and breathing heavily. He brushes his indigo hair away from his face with his hand and glares at you.
“Well, it’s not fair. You’re years older than me.” You raise an eyebrow and skip towards him, using the sword to trip him as he tries getting back to his feet. He lets out a small oof and sighs.
“Uh-huh. Just wait until I get a vision. I’m gonna be better than my uncle and the whole army!” You watch his usually calm and collected face burn up with frustration and decide to show mercy. You offer your hand and help him up, grunting from his weight. You sigh and dust your hands until he suddenly shoves you, making you step back and trip over your sparring sword, landing on your rear.
“And just wait until I become king! You will serve me!” He defiantly points down at you and cackles. “All hail King Kaeya!” You are about to lunge back at him and let him have it until you hear footsteps. You turn and see your uncle, the head of the knights of Khaenri'ah, and quickly stand and dust yourself off.
“What have we here? Are you both fighting again?” You squint at the boy, you never liked him, something always irked you, and the fact that you would always be beneath him added to that hate.
“We were sparring, uncle. I was just showing the lovely young prince how to defend himself.” You place your hand over your chest all royal-like and your uncle sighs and turns his back towards you. You turn to Kaeya and stick your tongue out for a brief moment. “He needs all the help he can get.”
“Y/N, need I remind you. Being the head of the guard does not solely rely on strength alone. There must be mutual respect between the ones served and the serving.” You furrow your brows, trying to process the big words he just spewed out. He quickly turns on his heel to look back at you two. “You understand as well, young prince?” You look at Kaeya and catch him also sticking his tongue at you, now being caught by your uncle. You snicker.
“Yes sir,” he mutters, biting the inside of his cheek.
“Well, I best be off. Behave you two.” He leaves the hallway. You look back at Kaeya and push his shoulder.
“Last one to the garden is a loser!” You get a head start and smirk knowing he will never be able to catch up, turning to him while running just to give a goofy face.
______________
“Hello, uncle.” You peek from behind him, looking up to his face, which remains stoic and in focus. It was only midday but he stood alone in the courtyard in front of the place. The edges of the stone pathways are bordered by varying species of plants and flowers. You crouch to one of the bushes and begin picking at the leaves.
“Y/N, can you not see I am actively on duty.” You snicker at the word but quickly cover your mouth, hoping he didn’t hear, but his heavy sigh tells you you were too late. He comes closer, looming over you as you dissect the stem of a tulip. “I know you are strong, too headstrong.” You feel his hand on your hair. “I am sure you have thought about the day I may not be with you, and you will be my successor, though I wish that that responsibility is kept away from you as long as possible.”
“What are you talking about uncle? I know you will never lose!” You hug his leg tightly. He chuckles and pretends you are too heavy, acting like he is unable to move.
“That is true. We never truly lose. Even if we are defeated, it is the cause that is served.” You raise an eyebrow but remain silent. He grabs the holster of his long sword from his back and rests the tip on the ground with a thud. “I fear something bad is coming, but it is my responsibility that those most important are safe. And that means you, and the royal family.” He holds the side of your face with his hand and you lean in. You heard the grown-ups chattering about this. In the kitchen, among the maids and gardeners. “Oh, no! An attack is approaching, here Y/N, show me what you got!”
You jump to your feet and extend your arms to retrieve his sword being handed to you. The weight almost makes you collapse but you hold on with shaking knees, it was a lot different than even the big kid sparring swords.
But you remember your training. Sure you were tiny, lacked experience, and had little strength, but you were also quick with your reflexes and had a strong center of gravity and balance. You clasp the handle with both hands and while stepping forward to walk are able to pivot the weight to have the sword swerve in front of you, then shift your weight to your other foot, continuing the movement so that the sword made a full 360, slowly raising your hands now above your head as you continue twirling it, constantly shifting and swaying your weight like a blade of grass against the wind. With slight wrist angles, you were able to change its direction, the blade slicing closer to you before the final transition, the sword now slashing to the ground in front of you. You catch your breath, letting the weight fully sink into the stone, and finally releasing the handle, it clanking on the floor.
“A whole battalion was defeated!” Your uncle mocks the sound of a crowd cheering and whooping and then laughs with pride. He comes over and scoops you up. “There we go, that’s my Y/N. You’ll do great things, I can feel it in my bones!” You giggle and hug him before he places you back on the floor. “I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”
__________
You wipe crumbs off your face and head over to the throne room. You grabbed a light snack, including a lot more snacks for on the go that were crammed into your pockets. Kaeya was probably attending his dumb prince responsibilities, meaning he was just sitting on a big chair and watching how his parents were handling civil issues. You skip on over, delicately opening the heavy wooden door and slipping inside, careful as to make sure it didn’t slam behind you. As expected, the king and queen were distracted by a discussion with a small group of villagers which gave room for you to poke at Kaeya. You slip behind his chair, where he sat with his legs crossed with his head resting on his palm. You nudge his elbow off the armrest, almost making his head hit the wood.
“Hey, Kaeya,” you whisper, taking a bite out of a tart.
“Y/N!” He whispers back, not like it mattered, the group was in a world of their own. “Go away, I’m busy.”
“Uh-huh, I can see that.” You sit on the floor beside him and before he speaks you shove the rest of the tart in his mouth. “Want some? I just got it.” He groans but takes the treat anyways, nibbling on it as you both watch the discussion. “So, what are they talking about?”
“Some of the villagers brought up an issue regarding the aqueducts on their farm, for some reason the lake nearby has gone dry without any reasonable explanation. It even seems like the area around it was also…dying.” You stop chewing, he looks serious and a bit concerned.
“Woowwwww. So princey princey you royal liege.” He doesn’t respond. No snarky comeback or anything. You stand and turn to flaunt a new item on your belt. It catches his attention and he is suddenly on the edge of his seat.
“Is that-?!”
“Mhmmmmm. A whole vision. Pyro if you will. Yeah, I went into the woods and found this person.” They were wearing a hooded cloak and the image you remember was both ominous and threatening. Everyone’s experience was different when receiving a vision, but there was more the person was trying to say, or warn. “Yup, just like my uncle, how do you like that?”
Suddenly rumbling came from outside, followed by an explosion that further quaked the ground. Screams and shouting could be heard along with heavy footsteps as if a stampede of beasts had come into the city. You look at Kaeya who is frozen in his seat, then at his parents who were already being evacuated by the other guards. The words of your uncle rang in your head. Your priority was ensuring the royal family was safe. You groan at the idea that it had to be Kaeya but snap back to reality as an enormous crash rang from the other room. You take his hand and run towards the safe room. His parents just left, so opening the door should put you right behind the group. You heave the wooden door, which miraculously felt lighter, and are prepared to sprint down the hall before realizing it was gone.
The walls were caved in, clouded sunlight shining on the broken pieces of marble and slivers of glass. A ginormous chunk of earth was before you, along with piles of rubble you didn’t want to investigate further. Kaeya clings onto you and you feel his body tremble.
“Come on, I know another way!” You grip his hand harder and are about to turn when you see a giant creature stepping over the rubble of the castle as if it were a creek, not hesitating while the two of you stared in horror. You start running, making sure Kaeya is close by, heading to the garden you were in only the morning today, the ground shaking every now and then causing him to stumble around. You pant and decide to carry him on your back, trudging forward. The ceilings were swept off by more ammunition and it truly felt like the world was ending. You watch paintings fall and pillars crumble but had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. There was no time, you have to keep moving.
You finally reach the garden, trying to find the stone that activated the opening to the bunker, but you hear a shout.
“Come at me you ugly thing!” You see your uncle taking on smaller versions of the deformed creatures, swinging his sword to create a fiery tornado around him. You gasp and scramble to find the stone, once you did a passageway opens and you shove Kaeya inside.
“Here, get in, you’ll be safe in here.” You hold Kaeya’s shoulders. You didn’t want to say goodbye.
“But, what about you?” You sigh and smile, tapping the metal of your vision.
“This is what I am supposed to do. You need to go and be king, alright?” He grabs your arms.
“No! Don’t leave me! Y/N!” You forcefully take his hands off. “Please! Stay!” Another shout comes from your uncle, who sounds weak. With one last look at Kaeya, you shove him into the staircase and pull the lever to close the hatch. You hear an odd clink sound but ignore it as you run to your uncle, who is on his knees and holding his ribs.
“Uncle! Uncle!” You sprint to him, trying not to focus on the chaos around you, refusing to look at the floor. You get to him and try looking at his injuries, only for him to pull away.
“Y/N. Where’s Kaeya?”
“He’s in the bunker! I just put him there!” He holds your hands.
“I need you to be with him, stay by his side. I’ll find the others.”
“No, no they’re- they’re…” you can’t finish the sentence as you remember the pile of rubble, the image growing clearer by the second. You know it wasn't just the building that was crushed. Your uncle brings your hands closer.
“Take the boy and run.” He looks at you and notices your vision. “A pyro? Hahah, that’s my Y/N, just like your uncle.” Your face is burning as you feel tears well in your eyes.
“I- wanted to show you.” You sniffle and he hugs you. You couldn’t tell what the dampness was that you felt seep into your shirt as you pressed close, but you didn’t want to know.
“Y/N!” You turn and spot Kaeya running towards you, tripping on the jagged stones.
“Take the boy, y/n.” He shakily stands, his hand remaining on his ribs as he leans his weight onto his sword. Heavy footsteps were approaching and you watch a giant monster coming towards you, taller than the village buildings.
“But, uncle, let me help!”
“Take the boy. Now!” His stern words shocked you but you turn and run to Kaeya, scooping him up and trying to head to the garden. You look back at your uncle, in a taunting pose and gesture to the creature to come closer. Another explosion erupted by you and you are blown to the ground.
You open your eyes and feel a tremendous weight on your spine. Fire is burning all around you and you see Kaeya on the floor in front of you. You call to him but his eyes won’t open. You start dragging yourself out from under a piece of wood that fell on you, only for your belt to get caught. You struggle and try to tug it, but there was no choice. You undo the buckle and wriggle from the weight, stumbling to Kaeya and carrying him. You look back at your vision about to be engulfed in flames. You scan the area and realized the fire spread much quicker than you predicted, if you waited for any longer you wouldn’t make it out. You look around, trying to find an opening but see none. You extend your hand to the flames, clutching to Kaeya with the other, hoping you could somehow maneuver them to make a clearing, but they were too strong, only slightly swaying. You hold onto Kaeya tighter and prepare to jump through the flames.
You sprint to the edge and at the last moment kick off the ground. The burning debris settled behind you and you feel a wash of relief. Until a clinking sound emerged. It was subtle and almost unnoticeable, but it was for sure the sound of snapped glass. You feel as if a tendon in your chest has snapped. Your vision. It couldn't be explained but you know it has been destroyed. You suddenly feel overwhelming fatigue and when your feet landed on the ground you collapse.