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The stars were her first companions, their gentle whispers promising her glory and gold the first thing she ever heard; their light the first to illuminate her world, to bring light were the darkness rested.
Their heat warmed her before any other thing, and their cold helped her to cool down on the hottest of nights.
The stars were the first thing she ever heard, not her cries or the ones of her brother when they were born, not the voice of her mother naming them, or the happy exclamations of her father.
She first opened her eyes to a night sky full of stars and nebulas, their colors the first ones she ever saw. For the stars, only for them did she opened her eyes, not for her parents or other visitors when she had just be born, not for her brother. The stars, only them.
Their heat and cold, the first thing she felt upon her, not the arms of her mother around her, nor her father’s embrace, or her brother playful hits. The first thing she ever felt was no other than the warm brought upon her by the stars to warm her over a cold winter night.
She was powerful, it’s what they told her once she grew up and was able to understand that her relationship with the stars was not a normal one; at least not amongst worlds walkers like them.
Yes, others could hear them, but if asked questions the stars remained silent, but not for her, never for her. She asked and they answered, millennia of knowledge all for her, and her alone.
Yes, her people used the stars as a guide, their light illuminating the darkness of the space between the worlds, but in the same way that they could lead a traveler to a world of life and peace they could also lead them to one that would be their death. But not her, never her, they guided her only to where she wanted, even after she began to travel with only her brother. They always told her about the world she was about to fall into, if she would find ruin or glory, pain or happiness.
Yes, her people were connected to the stars, a union that once destroyed brought the end of her people, but even once her people felt, billions of them reduced to hundreds, and the stars stopped talking and guiding the few survivors, they, once again, never abandoned her.
So she allowed them to guide her.
And behind her she left a world that felt to war, and now was nothing more than ruins and ash. And besides her only the presence of her brother, and alongside her billions of stars, talking and guiding only for her.
And then she falls, the Unknown Goddess seals her powers and steal her brother away, and she falls, falls, falls.
And when she wakes up for the first time in her life she’s alone, no stars whispering to her, and no brother to lean a shoulder to cry on.
And there’s a whole new world in front of her, and for the first time in centuries she doesn’t feel excitement at the prospect of exploring and discovering its secrets; no, this time there is only a dread that now she has to do it alone, no power, no brother, no stars, now she’s weak and scared and she doesn’t know what to do.
‘Keep going.’
She believes the stars are telling her that night when the sky has darkened, and she stands alone on that beach where she woke up.
The only company is the sound of the waves crashing against the sand, the rustle of the leaves on the threes when the wind passes by.
‘Find him, get your powers back, and reunite with your brother.’
There are many stars shinning above her head, and many more are reflected back in the water.
‘Find that Goddess again.’
54257, 54258, 54259, she counts them, one by one.
‘And show her your rage. And leave this world behind.’
She stops counting, the stars remain shining, there are millions above her, she can’t even hear one.
But she believes that she can understand what they want from her.
In a few hours the sun will shine above, the stars will hide for the day, and she will be even more alone than now. So for now, she stays unmoving, watching the stars that she can’t no longer hear.
Tomorrow her journey will begin again.
Silently she watches.
Alone.
She travels, and what she thought would be a lonely journey quickly proves to be wrong. It’s almost like and avalanche, it begins with Paimon and the quickly she has a friend in every place she has placed her presence in.
Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, and she now knows that wherever she goes next.
She thought the difficult part would be finding her brother, once again she was wrong. Finding him wasn’t the hard thing, the hard part would be to convince him to come to her once again, as things should be.
It’s hard, she’s not alone, and she never feels lonely, yet.
Yet she misses them.
Misses the brother that had promised her forever, misses the voice of the stars, they are always there, every night without a fail, but it’s not the same.
Some night when it’s only her and the silence of her oldest companions she fears that it will never be as it once was.
But she keeps on walking, she fights day after day, makes commissions, and requests, asks the people if there is anything she can help them with.
And day after day she does the same.
And every night, with no fail, she will sit under the stars, she will talk with them, as she has done for centuries, but now she knows to wait for no answer.
Tonight is almost the same as all the nights, she sits under the stars and tells them about her day, tells them about her commissions and other things she had to do.
A light and cool breeze passes her by, above her the leaves of Vennessa’s tree shake and rustle, fishes jump put of the water splashing once again into it.
Normally this place isn’t one where she would come out to talk to the stars, after all, the wind may take her words upon the ears of certain God. But tonight she knows that Venti will have no chance to snitch into her conversations, she made sure of that herself.
Tonight is almost the same as all of the other nights, she finishes telling the stars about what she did during the day, and usually after that she would just leave or stay during all the night silently watching the oh so distant stars.
But tonight is not just like the rest of them.
No.
Tonight she finishes talking to the stars, and then, she waits.
Waits for the way in which suddenly a lightly colder than the other breezes caresses her skin, and when she looks into the direction it came from there she sees him.
Walking leisurely towards her, the Cavalry captain of the Knights of Favonious looks as composed as ever in the tranquility of the night. Steps firm and full of his usual confidence, but also with that little spring that she has recently realized he has when it just the two of them.
Hair as ordered as ever and his clothes all pristine and clean, and as far as he is she can’t see his eye, but she knows that once he gets closer she will be able to see all of the emotions that he always conceals. Always except when he’s with her, because even with all of his games and tricks he has never managed to hide his true self from her.
And in the same way he had easily read through all of her barriers and stops that usually would kept all of her secrets safe from others.
No secrets between the, no lies or deceptions, just the truths that they had keep hidden from the rest of the world, finally free between them.
And tonight is no different, one more secret to confess between the fallen star and the hidden prince.
And if the bouquet of windwheel asters that he is carrying means what she thinks it does, then it seems that all of her worries can be lifted and be carried away by the wind.
He gets closer and closer, and when he is but a few steps away from her, she can only think about how his bouquet will look nice combined with the one she made for him, windwheel asters and calla lilies.
He stops in front of her and both greet each other with a smile.
Anticipation and a little bit of doubt heavy between them, tonight a new confession will be made between them, feelings that had long been buries will surface, and promises will be interchanged.
Above, the stars shine brightly, oh, how they miss talking with their little one, but at least she still talks with them even when she can’t hear them.
They listen, even if she now has doubts that they do, every night, all of them hang to her every single word, and no matter how mundane or simple is the thing that she tells them is, they treasure it in the same way that they do with the secrets of the universe.
And tonight what is unravelling below them will also be treasured for eternity.
Two souls that reunite tonight under their light confessing their love and devotion to each other. Tonight each of them walked towards here with doubts and fears, but once they walk away, their hands, destinies and hearts will be intertwined.
Love blooms tonight under their light, and the confession between the traveler and the prince is one that the stars will guard as long as they shine.