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Lumine was on edge.
Her flying companion noticed the tension in her stance but hasn’t brought it up yet. It’s been nearly two weeks since her last meeting with Dainsleif, of meeting Eide and Caribert but she still hasn’t been the same. She threw herself into preparations to enter the Nation of Hydro and Justice, and bid her farewells to all the people she met in Sumeru. This only proved to be a temporary distraction. Every moment of peace, of them eating or when they’re sleeping, the memory replays in the back of her eyelids.
Aether did have the tendency to bite off more than he can chew, but that was fine by her because they were together. They’ve faced more harrowing circumstances and even more fearsome foes in previous worlds.
Everything seems more daunting, a little more difficult, without her twin.
Meeting the twin magicians Lyney and Lynette left her with conflicting feelings. Though initially only wanting to ask if the quiet Lynette was alright, seeing the lady stand next to her lively and chattier brother makes it easy for the traveler to pause and watch for a while. The subtle concern in Lynette’s expression eases as Lyney explains the prophecy in a more somber manner. It’s easy to accept their offer of going into the Court proper, and she suspects she’s growing a soft spot for the twins after their intervention in Furina’s attempt to have them arrested. Paimon might actually egg Lumine to duel the Hydro Archon, and if it does come to that, Lumine can’t say she’ll be too worried against the seemingly combat incompetent Furina.
After a long ride on the Aquabus (Paimon had to convince her to not jump off and start exploring when she noticed Lumine’s impatient foot tapping and frequent gauging of the bridge’s height and the probability of injuries) with an introduction to a chipper reporter named Charlotte, then brought to the twins’ dwelling and introduced to another young man named Freminet, Lumine was ready to find a good place to eat before they brainstorm how to get an audience with the Hydro Archon. That may prove a problem, given what transpired during their first meeting–but the Raiden Shogun had tried to kill her once and now they’re amicable, so this would probably be a walk in the park.
Hopefully. She was supposed to be the optimist.
But of course she’s tasked with delivering the materials of the Magic Pocket to the blacksmith. A harmless favor, and she’ll need to know the blacksmith’s location for repairs and other needs, anyways. Unlike the blacksmiths from the previous nations, a woman was manning the shop. Behind her was a large contraption that was doing all the hammering of metal, which piques Lumine’s attention. The Nation of Hydro was stunning to take in. The technology all around them reminded the traveler of previous worlds and galaxies, though there was a different sort of charm to it. She’s been nodding off as Paimon does her thing by making small talk as they and Estelle discuss the Magic Pocket and the current affairs in the nation.
The heavy footfalls of several people, different from the casual stroll of the citizens, catches her attention. Purposeful strides, clearly they had a goal in mind. From the corner of her golden eye, Lumine confirms that the group of men were moving right towards them. Her fingers twitch to ensheath her sword yet she tries to be calm and convince herself that this was nothing and they weren’t looking for a fight.
Wishful thinking on her part. It never works that way. As it turns out, the goons were here to collect on Estelle’s growing debt.
Lumine weighs her options. She would be perfectly within her rights to walk away and wipe her hands clean off this mess, however, any trouble with Estelle would certainly affect the production of Magic Pockets and add a problem for Lyney and Lynette. They certainly did her and Paimon a solid after the whole incident with Furina, though.
She reaches for her sword. Then a familiar voice is challenging the would-be debt collectors.
Orange hair that sticks out like a sore thumb, and there’s the distinct red mask he’s always pinned to his head. The grip of her sword digs into her palm. This was real. He was really here.
“Traveler and Paimon!” And suddenly the scent of the sea and rust, memories of laughter and betrayal all come rushing back. He’s here. Paimon is speaking and he is too, already taking long strides towards them. Same pale strand in his orange hair, same blue eyes the color of the ocean. He’s here .
Childe, Tartaglia, Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, has abandoned accosting the men in favor of getting closer to them. The frown was now replaced with a bright grin and pleasantries. Behind him, the men were starting to become indignant at the impromptu reunion.
The last she saw of him was when he was in Inazuma, unknowingly befriending Yoimiya and the children, and before that, there was the adventure with Xinyan and Shiki Taishou. She meets his gaze and the lump in her throat disappears. There’s no anger in her anymore, instead, there’s a part of her that’s pleasantly surprised to see him again. Lumine swallows and focuses on her confusion at the sight of him instead. That was easier to understand,
“What are you doing in Fontaine? You didn’t want to stay in Snezhnaya?” Even Paimon can’t seem to hold a grudge against him, chatting with him as though nothing ever happened. Well, almost. It unnerved her when she thought about it once, but perhaps it was because they’ve kept in touch after Liyue, even if it wasn’t by her choice at first. He’d been forthcoming about his status and was still friendly after it all went down, which had unexpectedly chipped at her grudge at being a pawn. Paimon looks at her expectantly, which makes her lips quirk for a moment.
Gold eyes meet blue. “We sure seem to run into lots of friends today.”
He beams—and it reminds her of the sun, dazzling and radiant—at her words. They never were the type of friends to be direct about their emotions, possibly affected by their differing allegiances, and so they’ve just learned to pick up the unspoken words between them. I’m glad to see you again.
One of the men tried to interject, which only earned him a glare from Childe that would make a pyro whopperflower melt.
“Don’t interrupt. It’s not often I run into Lumine like this.” There was a sharp edge to his words, a warning. He had coupled it with a look over his shoulder. “Why don’t you wait for me over there for a while?”
Lumine smothers a chuckle with the back of her hand. His sharp eyes follow the motion, features softening as they look at each other. Of course Childe was confident in making them wait for him—the man’s used to following the beat of his own drum. His warning was as petulant as like, well, a child to her.
Perhaps he’s been starved of interaction. For all his affable charm, being a Harbinger would instill caution and fear within anyone he comes across in Fontaine.
“In a good mood, aren’t we, Lumine?” He leans down as though he’s about to whisper to them. “C’mon, share with the class. I’d like to hear it— since you never answer my letters anyway.”
She raises an eyebrow. What could he even write to them about? But it’s Paimon who interjects.
“You write to us?”
“Even if you did, we never stay in a place long enough to get an address.”
“Fair enough. I thought a blonde traveler with a flying companion would be memorable enough for someone to deliver it to you—“
Their conversation is interrupted by one of the men who seems ready to charge at them. Lumine’s eyes drift to Estelle, who is standing stiff and uncertain at how the scene in front of her is unfolding. Right, she was about to hand their asses to them—
“Hey, I just said not to interrupt. Oh, by the way, Lumine… The last time I took Tonia and Teucer ice fishing, Teucer said…”
—But Childe keeps on talking. She once told him he must really love the sound of his voice and his laughter rang in her ears like a bell, and he just smiled at her like she told him the funniest joke in the world. Her stomach twisted in knots as she took in his features filled with amusement, and found herself looking away.
It has been a while since she’s seen Teucer, maybe they should grab a bite somewhere and catch up.
“HEY!”
Their patience seems to have run out as they ready themselves for combat. She’s aware of her growing strength—returning to her former abilities, she once told Paimon—which is why she avoids physical confrontation. More for their sake than hers, as arrogant as that sounds.
Ever ready for a fight, the ginger turns to face the men. “You’re the ones who started it! This is an act of self-defense. You two will be my witnesses, okay?”
He looks at her over his shoulder, lopsided grin masking the excitement for a fight. She crosses her arms in front of her chest and cocks her head to the side.
“Have fun, Childe.” Lumine murmurs.
A nod to acknowledge her reply while Paimon remarks this won’t take long. There is a reason why he’s a Harbinger, and that’s not just because he can wipe the floor with just anyone. Lumien knows first hand how the man fights, giving his all in their sparring sessions even if it wasn’t quite as fierce as their battle for the Exuvia had been. Hydro envelops both of his hands before morphing into the water blades she’s come to associate him with before he throws himself at them. By the looks of his approach, Childe does not mean to kill—only to beat them and show off his prowess. Water has an association with healing and calm but Childe manages to turn it into a weapon that’s more than capable of taking lives. If she muses on it more, she could commend the man for his ability to mold hydro for his varying purposes. It takes skill and mastery to turn something fluid into something sharp and destructive.
Their leader is the last man standing, surveying his men with wide eyes. Lumine can pinpoint the exact moment he pieces together that the man in front of them is not just any ordinary Fatui lackey by the look of horror in his features. She watches as Childe approaches with the water blades gleaming dangerously in the light.
Then it all disappears in a burst of Hydro that splashes her and Paimon, who lets out an indignant shriek.
For a few moments the air is still. His confusion is evident as he looks at his hands and Lumine turns to Paimon, about to ask if a vision has ever malfunctioned while its user was healthy and still in the possession of the vision.
“Now’s my chance!”
Not a chance , Lumine thinks and is swiftly proven right when Childe recovers quick enough to sucker punch the man in the jaw. His body falls to the ground with a loud thud.
“Huh, that was weird.” Childe chuckles but Lumine swears there’s a nervousness to the sound. Her feet bring her to his side and her hand twitches by her side, hesitant on whether she should touch him. He turns his face to her, his lips pursed in a tight line as he looks at her as though she can explain what just happened. This wasn’t like him, though she doesn’t want to dwell on the thought that they’ve spent enough time together for her to have an idea of who he is as a person.
Lumine murmurs, “Are you alright?”
“It seems something’s wrong with my Hydro vision. I… lost control of my powers when I needed them?”
From the corner of her eye, the few goons he’s beat up have started fleeing the scene. Except for the one guy he sucker punched but she’d give him a few minutes. Hits to the head were harder to just shake off and harder to recover from. Her gaze follows as some of his subordinates realize and drag the unconscious man with them.
Forcing a chuckle, he says, “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. If I wanna stay sharp, I shouldn’t be relying too much on my Vision anyway. Besides, I always have my Delusion in case I need it.”
Something sharp throbs in her chest. She remembers him in Liyue, running himself ragged so that Teucer wouldn’t know how dangerous his beloved Mr. Cyclops was. His body was weakened both by his injuries from their battle and the use of his Delusion and yet he still pushed himself. Even as he lay injured by the boxes, he looked up at her calmly as she mentioned she could easily end him there. She remembers the challenge in his eyes then, daring her to make good on her threat.
Even when the betrayal was fresh, Lumine didn’t want him to die.
“Don’t use your Delusion too much.” She murmurs, golden eyes sweeping over his features. It came out like an admonishment even if she hadn’t meant for it to be that way.
His eyes widen before he cracks a smile. There’s something in his gaze that Lumine doesn’t like—like he’s just had an epiphany. It makes her insides twist and Lumine chooses to look at the floor. His gaze is still on her, even if she doesn’t look back.
“I’ll… keep that in mind.” There’s a lift in his tone that makes her antsy, as though he’s privy to something she isn’t. Childe does not promise her— If you make a promise, you keep it— and they both know why. This is the best he can offer and she has no choice but to accept it.
Paimon is unusually quiet by her side. There is something heavy in the air, it makes her chest tighten for some reason she can’t understand. It threatens to drown her in its weight.
An invitation to have dinner and just talk in on the tip of her tongue before Childe clears his throat. He’s looking at something behind her by the time she raises her face.
“Seems the time really flies when I’m talking with you…” There’s that weird queasy feeling in her gut again. “I just remembered I have somewhere else I need to be, so I should get going.”
He was just like her. Never staying in one place for too long, whether by choice or by their duties. Still, she can’t help but deflate a bit at how swift the whole encounter was. There’s many things between them that are yet to be said, but perhaps that could be discussed some other time. She can’t quite pin down why but there’s a certainty in her that she and Childe will cross paths again for the foreseeable future. Perhaps even sooner than she thinks, but she’s taken out of her thoughts by him speaking.
“Oh, before I forget–” Something gleams in the sunlight. Her hands move by inflict to catch the object. It’s sharp edges dig into the palm of her hand. It’s his hydro vision. “I want you to have this.”
The vision is light in her hand yet the significance of the action isn’t lost on her. Childe is still talking but the words enter one ear and exit the other. Her time in Inazuma showed her how Vision users were affected by the loss of their vision, even temporarily, but some seemed to do fine without them before reuniting with the vision. A sign of trust , she realizes. Her companion hovers closely to peer at the object.
“You’re seriously just giving it away!?”
Louder, Paimon, I don’t need my hearing anyway.
“I’m just worried that it could become uncontrollable again. I’d be pretty upset if it got in the way of my duel,” Because of course any opportunity to test his strength, even a duel to the death, is fine with him. “So I think I’ll be better off without it for now. Besides, I just need you to hold onto it for a short while. I’ll come retrieve it when I have the time later.”
His eyes are on her as she inspects the Hydro vision before securing it in her satchel.
“Paimon knows what you’re up to! You just want an excuse to come talk to us again, don’t you?”
Lumine knows Childe doesn’t need an excuse, and he knows it too. The vision under her possession seems to carry some weight, as though it’s a promise to see each other again.
“Whatever gave you that idea?” He teases.
“Something a ginger said about catching up with us,” Lumine smiles. “See you around.”
“I’ll be in touch.” That certainly sounds like a promise to her. He turns his back and they both watch as he walks away until he was out of sight.
Later, Paimon recounts everything Childe said about Skirk and the Abyss, the restlessness he felt, and the convoluted rules of Fontaine. Loves the sound of his voice that he monopolizes the conversation, though she always appreciated him not minding her silence and occasional spacing out.
She can think about all this later—Lumine and Paimon have a performance to watch in the Opera.
Adrenaline running through her veins gave her the burst of speed to avoid the Melusine in charge of guarding the entrance to the Opera. Paimon had yelled a quick apology but she had already thrown open the doors. Murmurs and the rustling of people craning their necks to look at the newcomer had washed through the room as the pair walked the central aisle. A quick glance at the defendant’s balcony showed it was no longer Childe, but the man they suspected was truly behind the serial disappearances case,
A small voice in the back of her head was asking where Childe was when she heard the Chief Justice wryly remark, “Just how often do you intend to flout the rules of this court.”
It’s safe to say she doesn’t want to stay any longer than she needs to in this court. The thought becomes much more distasteful the more information they get about previous cases–Lumine remembers Paimon’s exaggerations and dramatic antics and thinks it was a tad too much but the captivated audience ate it all up. To her, it seemed Fontaine believed in ‘guilty until proven innocent’ given the two cases she’s been involved with.
The evidence Paimon and her procured evidently bolstered Navia’s confidence, and not even the accused Marcel’s not-so-subtle attempts to guilt trip and manipulate her made her waver. All the pieces that were once waved off as oddities now fall into place as the president of Spina di Rosula weaves the true narrative that has long eluded the citizens of Fontaine. A glance at the defendant threatens a smile on her face, which she exerts a great deal of effort to fight. Her newfound partner is brilliant, her reasoning sound, and the conviction she displays commands everyone to hang unto every word.
Also, Lumine would probably side with the person who had a solid line of reasoning and a calm demeanor over the man who’s currently losing his mind after his identity was revealed. All sympathy for the man was out the window, and if she could, she’d deal with him personally. Maybe they’ll even get the proof that the death penalty is real in Fontaine–given he’s taken plenty of lives, it’s only fair that his own would be forfeit.
Her nails dig into the palm of her hand. Grounding her, keeping her focused. What was going on with her? That’s another thing she’ll have to talk about with Paimon. Her patience’s been wearing thin the past few months.
Paimon lays a gentle hand on her shoulder when the Chief Justice orders the guards to keep the suspect composed. Marcel isn’t even listening to them anymore, tears down his cheeks and a pitiful repetition of his lover’s name before Neuvillette addresses the audience once more. Lumine closes her eyes and listens as the facts of the case are repeated for all to hear (and later gossip about). The Water from the Primordial Sea, Sinthe, all the lives destroyed by the drug and its maker’s insane quest, well, she certainly wasn’t expecting this when they came from Sumeru.
She’s tempted to stand by Navia’ side and offer her some comfort but decides against it. It couldn’t have been easy to hear all of this, especially her father’s involvement. If her own family did something like this–
Lumine stares at the carpet underneath her boots. She thought her brother was in danger, that he had been forced to do someone’s bidding just as Jacques had.
But she was wrong.
Her companion moves behind Lumine’s head and hides her face into her hair as the Chief Justice enters the blank slate into the Oratrice. The machine lights up with a vivid blue light that floods the room. She remembers the anxiety of first witnessing the Oratrice deliberating its verdict but there’s only calm now. They know the truth and they’ve brought it to light.
Marcel is declared guilty.
There’s a subtle change in the members of Spina di Rosula, as if a weight was taken off their shoulders. Navia even sighs before returning to her composed façade. She can hear others start to murmur about the Serial Disappearances Case.
Then his voice in a bored drawl rings in the courtroom and she remembers.
Childe is already out of his seat and making a show of his exit. His vision is still in her bag.
“Take a seat, Mr. Tartaglia. According to court protocol, since this trial was initiated due to a charge against you, a verdict must also be made regarding the initial charge before the trial can conclude.”
“Is this really necessary? Haven’t you already caught the real criminal? Isn’t it time for side characters like me to exit stage left?” He sounds absolutely bored out of his mind yet begrudgingly complies with the Chief Justice’s order.
She could laugh. Childe, a side character? He’d stand out in any room even if he wasn’t a Fatui Harbinger.
Her eyes are closed by the time the Oratrice is fired up again. Archons, this was hurting her vision. Ha , said the traveler who couldn’t yield a vision. Her companion would laugh if she told her. Lumine was patiently waiting for the 'not guilty' verdict to be read before she could tell Paimon about the joke and try to catch up with Childe.
But it didn’t come.
“...Guilty.”
“What?” Both Paimon and her were taken aback. She spots his face turn to her, their eyes meeting for a moment before Childe addresses the allegation.
“That’s not funny… Didn’t you just say I’m supposed to be innocent?”
Neuvillette’s face was unreadable as his gaze returned to the verdict. Childe has admitted he’s done horrible things, but she can tell he is honestly taken aback by the result. If this started 20 years ago, how would that even work if Childe was involved? Was the Oratrice still judging Marcel and for some reason, repeated the verdict when it came to him?
While she was still wrapping her mind about this, the Gardes were already descending upon the Harbinger. He leaps from the balcony and unto the stage, with the same grace and power as before he relinquished his vision into her care.
He doesn’t have his vision, Lumine thinks as he addresses Neuvillette. That won’t stop him from fighting his way out. Not when he still has his Delusion.
Electro crackles from his fingertips and the floor underneath him. Blades materialize in his grip before he charges at the horde of Gardemeks. The mechas enter in droves, determined to take him out. He's already destroyed several as a sort of warm up. She wonders if the audience appreciates the display of power or if they'd feign horror at the violence in their beloved Opera Epiclese. Unfortunately, Childe isn’t a quitter. His sudden halt from attacking is the calm before the storm.
No, he was going to use his Foul Legacy.
Her feet move on its own, closer to the stage–closer to him– and she finds herself reaching out to him before she makes up her mind to intervene. He’s going to kill himself using his Delusion, or the unsympathetic court of Fontaine may deem him too much of a threat to imprison and try to kill him now.
A bolt of blue flashes in front of her eyes, and the impact of its landing makes the entire floor shake. The combined power of Electro and Hydro even manages to hit her, making her take a step back as the cloud of smoke that formed dissipated. The Chief Justice is now on stage, evidently the one who had beaten her to the punch. On the floor near his feet is Childe, lying face down and not moving.
Her heart drops to her chest.
Then she takes another step closer and realizes by the rise and fall of his chest that he was alive. Unconscious, and undoubtedly with a bruised ego when he wakes up and a demand for a rematch to boot. Funny how he’s become predictable to her in that sense.
Who knows, maybe prison time would even help him mellow out?
Lumine takes a deep breath as the Gardes escort him out of the premises. It seems like Paimon and her have another place to visit soon.