Chapter Text
Lumine has to admit—the Tsaritsa’s palace was as magnificent and daunting as she imagined.
And absolutely eerie , she thinks.
The long silver halls were bare of any people—the only company she had was the light shiver of her body and the soft clicks of her boots on the polished marble floors. Guards, servants, or dignitaries were nowhere in sight, and Lumine had no idea whether to be wary of the fact or to be grateful for the direction this personal reconnaissance mission was heading.
The traveler wasn’t exactly prepared for this. After all, she didn’t think that she would be able to visit Snezhnaya so early in her travels, especially after she and Paimon unanimously agreed that it would be left for last. But they were presented with the opportunity to go and she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
So she wrapped up any ongoing commissions, packed the absolute necessities, and got on the nearest boat with Snezhnaya as its destination.
This also had nothing to do with a certain ginger-headed harbinger who seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth for the past few weeks and completely missed their weekly bouts. Not that she was concerned.
Lumine continues her walk around the palace, not feeling the need to take too much precaution when the place was as bare and empty as Paimon’s endless void of a stomach.
Funnily enough, that was the reason she was here in the enemy’s silver gilded halls in the first place. In her pursuit of food, Paimon led them straight into the lion’s den before Lumine lost her in this god-forsaken palace disguised as an icy maze. The traveler only decided to stay to look for Paimon.
Exploring in an attempt to get what little information she could was an added bonus.
The hall seemed to be a never-ending corridor of domed high ceilings and symmetrical columns until it opened to an archway on her right side, leading to a wide courtyard. The hall itself was already cold, but with this new entrance, the biting winter chill seems to have permeated deeper through the thickest coat and fur hat Lumine could buy in short notice. Regardless of the cold, the courtyard was beautiful, like a winter wonderland straight out of a painting, with trees and hedges blanketed in powder white snow.
Right in the middle was a solitary fountain. She thinks that having a fountain that was meant to spout water in a place made of literal ice was a bit useless and absolutely pointless. There was a wide selection of things to add to a courtyard in place of it, like statues, or more hedges—those would have been covered in more snow anyway. Still, it was still beautiful in the same grand way the palace was. Elegant, grand, and polished, maybe a little unnecessary in some parts, but all the more beautiful.
She takes a few steps and stands right in front of it, close enough that she was able to see more of the detailed carvings up-close.
Underneath all that snow, she could see masterfully made miniature statues laden with gold and other equally valuable and luxurious materials that would have set Lumine and Paimon for life. Taking a few pieces of the fountain back to Liyue to sell would have made them so rich that she’d never have to do a commission ever again . Not to say that she hated doing commissions, but it did get in the way of her original purpose. Thankfully, running errands and solving issues for three nations (and counting, it seemed) paid quite lucratively at times. The pay helped get her and Paimon a few luxuries that travelers could seldom afford.
They could be really inconvenient though, with the endless tasks and how far they’d usually be spread, but she made do. She needed the mora to pay for necessities while looking for her brother, after all. And for Paimon’s stupidly endless stomach.
“What are you…!”
Lumine whirls around, surprised that anyone was even able to sneak up on her. The snow should have been enough to warn her; a crunch of noise, a snap of a twig buried underneath the cold. She was deep in thought but not enough for her senses to calm down.
Her senses would have—should have—kicked in, told her to get herself ready for a fight, but there was nothing .
When her hair settles, and her vision clears from the snow, she sees blue first. Blue eyes that were framed by ginger hair that were like a lick of flame melting through the snow. His ginger hair makes way to the red mask on the side of his head and to the crimson scarf wrapped around his neck. If it weren’t for the bold pops of color, he would have blended in with the snow with his pristine white coat layered with tufts of black fur and lined with silver links and clasps.
The lack of noise was understandable—Childe might be a battle-hungry megalomaniac, but he was a good fighter. He knew what he was doing on any battlefield, as much as she hated admitting that to his face and inflating his ego. But the fact that he didn’t even register to her as a threatening presence…
What does that mean? Am I starting to feel safe around —No. she’s not even going to entertain the thought and everything else that will inevitably follow it. Not right now.
“I’m surprised you’re here,” She says carefully. Honestly, it was to be expected that a Harbinger would be in the Tsaritsa’s palace—still, she didn’t think he’d be the one she’d bump into, if she even bumped into anyone at all —but the silence has been going on for too long, and the harbinger doesn’t seem intent to break it with the way he was frozen in place.
With her words in the air, Childe seems to have gathered his thoughts because he was able to utter a single sentence, one that stung a little bit more than Lumine would have liked. “You shouldn’t be here.”
She brushes off the smidgen of hurt, categorizing that feeling to be reflected on later, and cooly replies, “A hello would have been polite.”
He’s in disbelief as he walks closer. She was wearing white winter wear with light blue fur, that she almost blended in with the courtyard. Childe honestly thought he was hallucinating when he saw a glimpse of her golden hair when he passed by the hall, but with each step he takes toward her, he can see that she was as real as she could possibly be, not simply a figment of his dreams or imagination.
Lumine being here made him feel warm and a whole other range of emotions he couldn’t quite name yet aside from the excitement, fear, and worry he could pick out. But that didn't change that her being here in the Tsaritsa’s palace after an assembly with all eleven harbingers present in one area was the worst possible place and time she could be in.
“I don’t care about what’s polite or not right now. Why are you here?” He says, but Lumine was clueless about the panic and desperation seeping into his voice.
She feels a little indignant when she hisses “It’s none of your business,” with the hurt just growing a smidgen.
Was he not glad to see his favorite sparring partner (his words, not hers), here in Snezhnaya? Was seeing her here on his home turf so bad for him to be this hostile? He was the one who always badgered her with invites to his nation, saying things about snow and bloodshed and perfect backdrops.
“You don’t…!” Her response made Childe grab her arms and he felt lightheaded all of a sudden. Did she not understand? Did she not have an ounce of self-preservation for her to be here not moments after all nine harbingers were dismissed from Signora’s funeral?
He’s never been overcome with such fear and concern for another person like this. Not for anyone other than his family. Not even for himself.
What could he even say to get the same amount of urgency in her?
“You…!” Words dry up in his mouth. “What are you doing here?! It’s dangerous!”
Only then does Lumine hear it. His eyes were blown wide and if he were a cat, the traveler would guess that his hackles would be raised in agitation. Childe never cowered in the face of danger. In fact, he reveled in it, caused it, and bathed in it like a man starving for water. The fear, the panic, the concern . His voice was dripping with it.
She’s never seen Tartaglia like this.
He sees that she’s taken aback. Her mouth was slightly parted and the shock she felt was dancing around in her clear eyes, swimming around the golden honey hues that seemed to be his new favorite color ever since he fought her back in the golden house.
He hates that he thinks she still looks beautiful. This isn’t a thought he should have around one of the Fatui’s primary enemies.
The two of them freeze as the crunch of snow sounds from a nearby distance. The courtyard seems to grow a little colder with each step, the air seeming to stand still, waiting with bated breath.
Lumine sees every emotion, every ounce of humanity on the harbinger's face she previously saw be wiped clean into a slate of indifference and neutrality, almost as if the past few minutes didn’t even happen.
Between the two of them, Childe moves first, slipping naturally right in front of her with his left arm raised. To act as a deterrent to prevent her from making a move, or to act as a barrier to protect her from the intruder, she wasn’t quite sure. She’s not sure she wants to know.
“Oh? Tartaglia, who is that girl? A friend?” A sickly saccharine voice asks. Lumine can’t see beyond Childe’s stupid broad shoulders, but it doesn’t take a genius to guess it was one of the Harbingers from the way the hair on her arms rises.
She’s tempted to take a peek. She thinks better of it.
“She’s just an ordinary traveler who got lost in the palace halls.” Childe grits out. He knows that she is anything but. “She’ll be leaving now.”
“An ordinary traveler?” A man of slick dark hair and tall stature steps around her human shield and right into her field of vision. “I seem to recall a few reports from Signora and other Fatuus that mention someone with strikingly similar characteristics.”
While he was speaking the man bends forward, bypassing Childe’s raised arm, and grabs a hold of her chin with his fingers. Lumine knows to stop herself but she wants to slice his hand right off his arm.
Before she could make her move, Childe’ clutches the intruder’s hand, his voice making her pause with the iciness coating his every word.
“…I’m not sure you heard me. She’s just a traveler that got lost. That’s all there is to it.”
When Childe grabs the man’s hands, he didn’t even flinch. Lumine could see the force behind it—he seemed to be gripping the stranger’s arm so hard that his own hand was trembling. Imperceptible to others, but glaringly obvious to her who’s spent numerous months.
“I suppose you’re right. Coincidences do exist, after all.” Slowly, the mystery man takes a step closer. Lumine stands incredibly still when he uses his free hand to run his fingers through her hair.
“But then… how come you make such an expression when I approach her, Tartaglia?” She’s incredibly curious to see what kind of face Childe was making at this moment, but looking away from this man would be like admitting defeat. She wants to do nothing more than punch his stupid face and break the glasses sitting on his too-straight nose—her muscles were itching to move, but she knows better than to do that here on enemy ground.
“Childe must be feeling shy.” The traveler has no idea what nonsense was spouting out of her mouth but there was nothing she could do to stop it. “I’m a personal guest of his. We were supposed to meet by the palace entrance, but then my friend got lost and I started looking for them but…”
Her eyes quickly dart to Childe to help her string her little lie along, and thank the Archons, he was quick to catch on and improvise. She can thank the many embarrassing nights she’s watched Childe insert himself in one too many street plays (before pulling her in to join) back in Liyue for that.
“I suppose you’re right, Lyubimaya .” Childe lets go of the man’s arm and brush off the other touching Lumine’s hair all in one fluid motion. He brings his own arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to the warmth of his body.
Pushing aside the confusion with the foreign word, this felt a billion times more welcome compared to the intruder’s touch.
“I’ve kept sending my girlfriend invites to my family estate. I’m glad she finally accepted one of them.”
She wants to take back every nice thing she’s said about him before. What .
Girlfriend?!
Childe seems to feel her tense up because his grip on her shoulders tightens just the slightest. It didn’t hurt at all, in fact, the pressure felt quite nice—but the message was clear as day though. Just play along.
Oh, she’ll show him how well she can play along.
“Well, traveling has taken up so much of my time, it’s been difficult to clear my schedule.” Lumine puts up her sweetest smile and leans into his shoulder—she even went as far as putting up her hand against his chest. She feels a little victorious when he tenses up in turn. “He’s been pestering me about it so much that I’m glad this has finally been arranged. I really wanted to meet the rest of Childe’s family after meeting Teucer by chance in Liyue.”
“It’s a good thing Teucer helped me convince her, Pantalone.” At least now she knows the strange man’s name. “She’s a stubborn one.”
Suddenly, she feels a tick of irritation that wants to manifest itself by her blasting the harbinger beside her with a windblade. Instead, she channels it into an even sweeter smile, one that probably turns out to look more like a grimace.
“Only as stubborn as you, my…dear.”
The stranger—Pantalone, as she’s gathered—seems to assess the two of them with an incredibly scrutinizing eye, especially with Lumine’s reluctant and rather tame use of endearment. The traveler can feel his stare burn a hole through her hand on Childe’s chest, and she almost wants to take it off and jam it into her pocket after wiping it clean with any and all form of disinfectant. Touching Childe felt like a burn to her skin and she squashes the small part of herself that thinks the burn is pleasant.
“What an interesting coincidence this is.” He finally settles on, a slick and saccharine smile curling on his mouth. Lumine feels the back of her neck prickle in an unsettling feeling.
“Very. I’ve heard a lot about the Golden eyed traveler and her companion. I’ve often been mistaken for her, as flattering and embarrassing as it is.”
Just play along. Just play along.
“Yes, from what I’ve personally heard, I can’t help but agree myself.” Lumine can’t bring herself to look at Pantalone for too long, feeling that he’d see through their lie in a flash. Instead, she uses her nervousness to fiddle with Childe’s hair in an attempt to look like the sweet and doting girlfriend he’s made her out to be. “Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds, alone. I’m sure both of you are eager for rest, hm?”
Eager to rest? She’s more eager to swing her sword at both harbingers, that’s what.
Childe nods. “...Yes, thank you.”
Pantalone gives a short bow, one that Childe mirrors, and Lumine follows. He turns, his white coat fluttering with the movement before it settles, towards the archway Lumine came from.
The 9th harbinger is long gone, but the two remain completely silent and completely still. Childe’s arm is still wrapped around her shoulders, and Lumine’s hand is still on his chest—neither of them makes a move to break it. It almost feels like the lie and the silence will shatter into a million pieces if one of them moves so much as an inch.
At least, that’s what the two of them tell themselves as a way to justify the prolonged contact.
The traveler watches the palace entrance, almost as if Pantalone would come back out, call them out in their lie, and take her straight to the dungeons, or as if the archway would morph into a monster that would completely swallow her whole. She won’t lie, the second option was looking more and more attractive as the seconds ticked by, but a long weary exhale from Childe’s mouth moves her attention away from the hall’s entrance.
“We’re fucked aren’t we?”
Lumine couldn’t help but agree.