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Lumine was grateful to be able to sleep in her teapot again. Before the investigation in the fortress of Meropide, she’d kept it in the city, mainly in either the quarters that the Spina de Rosula provided or with the House of the Hearth. But not tonight.
No, on the first night of freedom, she placed the teapot close to the waters facing the fortress where he disappeared, on the shores of the Court of Fontaine. Paimon had decided to retire early, leaving Lumine to linger. She sat beside the teapot in the tall grass as she watched the waves drown the sun and the stars fill the sky and sea. The night and the water brought a cool wind through her golden blonde hair.
Usually, since her adventures had started in Mondstadt, Lumine felt kinship with the wind, the promise of the Anemo Archon’s blessing, of her friend’s promise to watch over her as he’d watched over his nation all this time. But tonight, the wind offered no solace.
Instead, it reminded her of how utterly alone she was in this world.
She removed his vision from the pocket of her dress and turned it over and over in her hands. At least it was still glowing, that meant that he . . .
She gulped, but couldn’t seem to swallow down the sensation of something stuck in her throat. The way it pulsed, it felt like her own fighting heart. Guilt churned her stomach.
He was her friend, she’d said as much to everyone, practically declared it to the world. But she’d only admitted to that when he was gone without a trace. He’d trusted her, he’d thought of her as a friend. And when she’d treated him so coldly.
There had been a reason, though, that she’d done so, wasn’t there? He had tricked in Liyue and nearly drowned the harbor she’d come to love. But now she could see how he had loved it too.
They’d had some fun times together, in spite of everything. Hadn’t they?
Lumine could recall drinking with him and Zhongli and oh—who was going to tell Zhongli what had happened to his friend?
The corners of her golden eyes seared as she looked out to the water. She’d have to make a trip back to Liyue, she’d have to tell himself what had happened, for she could not bear to put it in a letter.
Of course, she’d rather return to Liyue Harbor with Childe, hopefully happy and unharmed, hand in hand as they met their old friend once more.
She couldn’t leave Fontaine until he was found. No one seemed to care, what had happened to him. Not even Arrlechino. Didn’t they know that he had friends, that he had a family, that Teucer was waiting for him to come home?
Salt and water burned her cheeks, and she wasn’t entirely sure when she’d fallen asleep. But she knew for certain when she opened her eyes to a dark ocean, to Childe sinking through the whale and the shadow of the whale over them both.
His eyes were closed, and she was trying to dive after him, as if this could change the past, as if it could possibly defy his fate.
Her fingertips brushed his, and his eyes opened.
The scene changed again, in a burst of light. In that flash, the water had turned into a beautiful sea of stars, luminous and swirling with the energy of Hydro all around them. They were standing upright, on a surface like water over glass. It reminded Lumine of the space of Irminsul, where she had helped Scaramouche rewrite his fate.
“Tell me where you are.” Lumine approached him. “Tell me where you went. Please, I have to find you.”
His expression was strangely blank, as if he were daydreaming—it was a very un-Childe-like expression. “I heard the call and I couldn’t stop it.”
Lumine reached out for him. “No! What am I going to tell Teucer? You promised you wouldn’t leave him—“
A shadow crossed his face, a little bit of light returned to his eyes. “Tell him I’m sorry. Tell him I didn’t want to go but I had to. Even if it is better this way.”
Lumine tilted her head as she took his hand. It felt so real, even as she knew what this had to be. “There are people who love you, no matter the darkness.”
He shook his head. “You don’t understand, you’ve always been made of light, a fallen star.”
Lumine hitched a breath, recalling secrets in the dark, spilled over Snezhnayan firewhiskey. “Ajax, please. I know you told me, how your parents turned away after what happened to you in the Abyss, but listen to me—Teucer and your siblings still love you. Zhongli is your friend and he cares about you. And I—I love you.”
He blinked, and it was as if a spell were broken. He shook his head, clarity rippling over him like a skipping stone on calm waters.
It was then that the dreamscape changed once more, the hydro energy going dark and surrounding them, pulling them away.
And yet, they reached for each other, holding as tightly as they could.
“I can’t—there’s no time—but I trust you!” He shouted over the vortex of water, the ever-oppressive silence. He managed to smile at her. “You can do it, you can find me again, comrade!”
And with that, he fell into the dark sea again, overshadowed by that damn whale.
And Lumine awoke outside, alone again as the wind went still and the water was silent. As if the entirety of Fontaine was holding its breath. And she along with it.
Still, she exhaled, and with it made a vow.
I will find you and save you, Ajax.