Chapter Text
It would soon be around a year since the Ragnvindr clan took in a boy from the heaviest rain in years.
Usually, no one would really care that much about a kid, an outlander’s child, found in the rain almost dead. But the reason why this boy was the hot topic for months and his name was still regularly heard from Mondstadt’s folks’ lips was not because of the child himself.
Of course not. Kaeya was a regular boy if one looked past his odd eye and the eye patch. Maybe his skin was darker than most people from the land, but hey, after all, Mondstadt was the nation of freedom. Almost no one cared. No, the reason was the family that had taken Kaeya in.
The Ragnvindr were the noblest clan found in Mondstadt. They had been recognized since only Barbatos knew, from their fiery red hair and matching eyes. The clan had enough wealth to last for generations, even if no one had an income. The clan was known to love the nation and was even favored by their beloved Anemo Archon Barbatos. Many great leaders, warriors, and protectors of Mondstadt were part of this clan.
Still, as the clan was old, it was, of course, deemed mysterious. Wealthy and powerful. It was no wonder that, while beloved by most people, it was a hot topic among gossipers. It was no miracle that the boy was even seen as more of a mysterious figure. But they were awfully right in their deeming, as they deemed the little boy, Kaeya, even more of a mystery.
There was not a single person walking on the land of Mondstadt without knowing even the basics of the world-famous clan. And Kaeya Alberich’s father was no exception to this rule. In fact, he was very aware of that fact. One gossiper once suggested a rather absurd idea as to why the boy was left at that specific spot. What if the child’s biological father had planned it all along to leave the boy at the Ragnvindrs? Such an idea was met with laughter, and while the kid might’ve been left intentionally, there was no way that such a cute, innocent kid was left there just because of their position and wealth. No way. Right?
There was only one person in Mondstadt who knew what was actually true. And that truth just happened to be jokingly said from one random gossiper’s mouth. That person happened to be the found boy himself.
Kaeya Ragnvindr-Alberich was no ordinary boy, and he knew that himself. The boy with starry eyes, the other one being hidden from the world. After all, it would raise unwanted chaos and attention if someone knew the truth behind the eyepatch. A missing or injured eye only raised pity and the feeling of wanting to take care of the boy. His true golden iris with black sclera would raise even more suspicion. Kaeya was bound to be in the center of gossip on the day of his adoption to the clan. It would do him and his home country no good to raise suspicion.
Kaeya himself knew very well his purpose in this world. He was meant to be an asset, a way to bring gods down, starting with Barbatos. Kaeya was the child of the stars, the first Khaenri’ahn to be able to truly resist the curse in centuries. Or so he was told, but in all honesty, Kaeya couldn’t bring himself to believe that. He was not that special.
His job was a simple one, at least at first. Be a spy and collect information. Don’t worry about contacting them. They would always be the ones to contact him. And that was just what he had done.
The first day in Mondstadt, March
7 years old.
The first night after being left on duty was not a happy one. Kaeya could still remember it as if it were happening right there and right then. The feeling of starvation was trying to consume him as a whole.
"We don’t have enough food for you. Soon, you will be living a life of luxury as a spy. Don’t be selfish and take food away from those who need to survive longer without enough of it. And it will help you invade the family. The people of Teyvat are weak; they are bound to pity you if you look bad enough. Hmm… You just gave me an idea."
was the reply given to Kaeya by his father after trying to beg for more food.
The last weeks of Kaeya’s old life had been the worst of his life. He was given just enough food to keep his heart going. No matter how much or how many times he begged, it changed nothing. His father’s cold, cruel face still appeared in Kaeya’s nightmares. The idea he accidentally gave his father was to beat the shit out of him.
"It will make them think you’ve been abused. They will want to take you in. This is the only way; after all, you’re just too much of a brat to be wanted."
The nightmares kept waking Kaeya up and were to torture him possibly endlessly. But there was no actual abuse. Like his father said, it was just a way to make the Ragnvindrs believe that.
The first day was still terrifically present through Kaeya’s flashbacks. The rain was dripping slightly from the sky. Not enough to wet Kaeya, but looking back at it, the present Kaeya knew something he previously didn’t. The rain would keep getting worse and worse. He couldn’t even watch a little heavier rain without feeling some bad feeling that Kaeya couldn’t name.
The back of his father was distancing and making the threatening-looking man seem smaller. The mysterious feeling of relief when the man didn’t even look back at his son once more. The winery was close, and Kaeya knew what he was meant to do. Still, he just couldn’t. Kaeya didn’t know why his mind kept him from going closer and starting his mission.
The boy was taught the native language of Mondstadt, and Kaeya knew he could understand and speak it well enough to not need to worry this much about it. So it couldn’t be the language barrier, the boy thought logically. The family was a good one. They would surely treat him well. That is what his father told him, and Kaeya always trusted his father. Not trusting meant not respecting, and his father hated it when he thought that Kaeya didn’t respect him enough. So it couldn’t be that.
Surely it couldn’t be fear? Right? Alberiches didn’t feel fear, and Kaeya was surely an Alberich. He had to be. If he wasn't, nothing would matter anymore. His father always said that.
"If an Alberich betrays the clan, they are no longer an Alberich. And after that, they might as well die. And it is our, as true Alberiches, job to make sure that that happens."
Kaeya didn’t want to die as something other than an Alberich. He couldn’t betray his true family. They always wanted the best for him. Being a stupid little boy meant Kaeya needed someone smarter to take care of him and tell him what to do.
Kaeya knew he should have already gone to the winery. The rain felt like it was getting worse, and the inside would be a warm place. Kaeya quickly peered at the way his father had gone. It was empty, and his father was already far away. No one would have the need to contact him this soon, and the idea of someone making sure that he could get safely to the winery was laughable. Surely it didn’t matter if he took a little longer to start his mission? Ten minutes didn’t matter. And his body ached all over.
The clothes on him were his old ones, so they were too big for the starving boy. Nevertheless, as he was now almost soaking wet, they started pushing on his bruises. The eyepatch felt weird on his eye, and Kaeya’s hands were halfway to taking it off before he stopped himself. Someone could see it, and it would cause problems. Problems could cause him to get caught, and the little boy didn’t even want to think about what that would cause.
The tree close by had some fruits on it, and it would shelter him from the rain. With his heavy limbs, Kaeya walked to the tree and hoped that the fruits were edible. The hunger was just too great for him to ignore, and thus he felt like a dangerous food was better than no food at all.
The fruit was in a weird shape, with the bottom being much larger than the top. The tip was more greenish/ yellowish, while the rest of it was orange. It looked juicy, and if this would be the end of him, then so be it. Kaeya had been starving for probably weeks now, and the exotic fruit was too good-looking to be ignored.
At first, he took a little bite of it, barely having enough to taste it. While hungry, he still wasn’t stupid enough to take a big bite of it. The taste was good. It was indeed very juicy, and the sweet-tasting liquid poured into his mouth. After waiting for a little while, the blue-haired boy didn’t feel like he was dying, so he deemed it safe enough. The next few minutes were spent devouring every fruit the tree carried in a hurry. If one would see Kaeya, they would think the boy feared that someone would steal his food. And perhaps that was what the child spy feared.
After devouring the biggest dish Kaeya had had in weeks, he grew tired. The cold took over his limbs, and he realized that he was soaking wet. Kaeya’s blue hairs that he could reach were only knotted. The ones in the back had been matted for a long time. Kaeya couldn’t reach them, and his father didn’t care enough to help him out. And if his father didn’t want to help him out, none of the other people living in the same area would. Not that Kaeya would have welcomed help from a stranger. He didn’t even know their names. An Alberich could trust only another Alberich.
The rain had gotten worse, but not so bad that Kaeya would die from sleeping under it for a little while. A little nap. The whispers in his head told him that it would be no problem to just sleep the whole night. What could one day of delay do when he was supposed to be here for at least -... Hold up. Kaeya had no idea how long he was supposed to stay here. No longer than months. It must be that. On the scale of months, one day didn't matter.
He would rest now and start tomorrow. Maybe the freshest bruise on his cheek will stop hurting so much. It was still swelling. It was times like these when Kaeya wished for healing powers. Kaeya didn’t have much clothing on him, but his fur was big enough to be a makeshift blanket for one night. The tree’s frame was big enough to be comfortable to lean on. The land beneath Kaeya was even softer than normally, making a good nap place out of it in his mind. After all, where Kaeya was from, there were no materials for soft beds.
The boy was exhausted enough to fall asleep despite the rain and the feeling he only now, centimeters away from sleep, could admit to be fear.
By the time he woke up from his thankfully dreamless sleep, it must have already been morning. Kaeya had seen the sun a handful of times before when traveling with his father. Without that experience, Kaeya would be like any other surviving child of Khaenri’ah. All those children would believe that the faint light shining through the clouds above was the Sun.
It wouldn’t be fair to blame them. While the adults had the chance of going outside the underground caves the people lived in, children had no such chance. Most of them were sick, born with the curse. Not all of them would survive, and with experience, the adults knew that going outside would make it worse. Only the children who were in the last days of their lives could go out. And even that they had to ask for themselves. Kaeya was the only exception to this rule. As an Alberich, he of course was.
Knowing better, Kaeya could realize that the rain had only stopped for a little while. There were coming from far away darker and darker clouds. Kaeya was already wet; everything hurt, and looking down, he realized he had thrown up during the night. Had he slept on his back, Kaeya would have died. But being a little child meant that Kaeya didn’t realize that, at least for the time being. Maybe it was better that way.
The little boy was confused as to why that had happened. Had the fruits actually been just slowly working poisons? Kaeya had been warned many times of the devious things on Teyvat, but he hadn't expected it to apply to food. Had he sealed his death? No, Kaeya couldn’t think that way. He had to get up, find an actual shelter, and figure out what to do. Oh, right. He had to go to the winery. Kaeya had already wasted so much time sleeping. But he was now covered in vomit. The Ragnvindrs surely wouldn’t take him in in such a condition.
While trying to work out a solution to the problem, Kaeya remembered the river nearby. If he managed to get there and wash himself, he could start his mission. Getting up from the ground was a rather easy thing to do. Especially when considering the circumstances.
The walk took a longer time than it should for a 7-year-old child, but Kaeya was extremely tired, starving, and had started sneezing. He knew that he was going to get sick from sleeping in the rain, but nothing could be done about that fact anymore. The fur was soaking wet, but Kaeya couldn’t risk losing it. It was important to him, of course, since his father gave it to him as a birthday gift. That man did not do birthday gifts; something about Kaeya already being a spoiled brat.
The water of the river was cold, but Kaeya couldn’t even feel it anymore. The rain had started once again, worsening by what the boy assumed to be a minute. With small, energy-saving movements, the boy managed to clean off the vomit, but some of the smell remained. The boy started to look over the land around the winery, looking for any place to shelter him. He wasn’t ready to go to the winery itself. The building stood firm and big looking despite the distance, which made it look smaller than it actually was.
It looked like he had no other choice. The rain kept getting worse while Kaeya tried to get to the winery. If he just knocked on the door, they would surely open it. And then? Kaeya didn’t know. The world grew increasingly fussy, and his head hurt so much. The sneezing turned into coughing.
The walk felt like it was getting longer and longer. Like it was increasing. It felt like time was so much faster than ever before, but at the same time, so much slower. The rain poured and poured. It was not a long trip for him anymore. The coughing made him stop again. Dark spots started to form, and the world was fuzzier than ever before. For the one last time, Kaeya tried to get up, only to fall back down and roll off the road. He was now in the mud, and his bruises hurt so much that he felt like dying. Kaeya couldn’t get up. He lacked the energy, his limbs were too heavy, and his soaking wet clothes and fur made it even harder.
Looking up to the sky, the boy only saw more and more water. So much. Kaeya would surely drown if it all landed on his face. With his last energy, he rolled to his side and tried to cover his face with his hands. Trying to get warmer, he curled up in a tight roll. But he knew it was all completely hopeless. He would die right there. All because he was a pathetic little brat who couldn’t just go and do his job when he was supposed to. Kaeya would not be in this situation if he hadn't taken that nap.
Kaeya caused himself this misery. A pathetic little Alberich. No, not an Alberich. An Alberich would never die this way. An Alberich was meant to be strong and smart. Kaeya Alberich was not an Alberich after all. Like his father said, if an Alberich turns out not to be a real Alberich, they might as well die on the spot. Kaeya would die right there on that spot.
With those thoughts in Kaeya’s mind, the boy finally passed out, completely ready to die.
And without a doubt, he would have if not for the horse carriage just on its way to the winery. If the man hadn’t seen the little boy, without a doubt, he would have passed away right there. Kaeya was very sick, but he was still very much alive.
One might argue later that it would have been better for Kaeya to have died on that spot.
The only reason no one did so years later, on the date of Mondstadt falling, was that there was no one left other than Kaeya to argue so. One can’t argue with himself about such an obvious fact.