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Had it really been all for nothing? Five hundred years of pretending to be the Hydro Archon that her mirror-self had wanted, all for nothing? They were never supposed to know that she wasn’t their beloved archon. Never supposed to figure out her lack of God-hood. Never supposed to know she was nothing but a fake and a fraud.
And now, because of her carelessness, Fontaine will be flooded and the prophecy will come true.
Furina sat on the defendant’s chair, the Oratice serving its judgement loud and clear. Five hundred years she had spent playing the role of Focalors, the Hydro Archon, Regina of All waters, Kindreds, Peoples and Laws, Goddess of Justice. What had it all been for? The prophecy was still happening and now there was no way to avoid it. It had been her keeping the seas at bay with her performance for the last five hundred years. It was her: Furina, nothing but Furina, trying to find solutions for a prophecy that was fated to happen. Furina had made her promise to her mirror-me five hundred years ago, she had played her role for five hundred years to protect the people of Fontaine. Yet, it wasn’t good enough, the Traveller practically saw right through the facade; announced to all of the courts that she was a fraud. Worst even, the people of Fontaine had believed them with almost no hesitation.
What has been the point for the past five hundred years?
Had Focalors known this is how it would end?
Had Focalors known that there was no stopping the prophecy?
Had Focalors known that you could not deceive the Heavenly Principals?
Had her mirror-me lied to her?
Was there any point to it all now?
Her tears felt heavy as they fell down her face, rolling over her cheeks and landing onto her lap but she made no move to stop them. There would be no point after all, soon she’ll be swallowed by the primordial sea water and become one with the water along with every other Fontanian. All the years of suffering and loneliness would be for naught. She did not care for swiping away bitter tears now. Instead, she sat on her throne of defeat and waited patiently for either her execution or the flood to take her away from Teyvat. A catharsis washing over her body as it prepared itself for death, Furina’s salty tears and her heavy chest the only things still moving.
Furina isn’t entirely sure what happened next, to her it felt like a quick blink. Maybe she was already dead, she wasn’t entirely certain. She does however know that Neuvillette was suddenly in front of her, his entire self was soaking and she could vaguely hear the rain pouring outside. His hands carefully held her gloved ones, and he was speaking to her. Slowly, she blinked again, trying to muster up the strength to listen to him.
“Lady Furina, it is alright now, Lady Furina” Neuvillette whispered, his voiced sombre with a grief yet to be known to Furina herself. He continued his gentle whispering as he held her hands, occasionally rubbing his thumb just below the knuckle of her right hand.
“It is alright now.”
The pair stayed in place for however much longer, Furina wasn’t entirely sure, with Neuvillette crouched beside the large chair that she had been sitting in, blinking owlishly at the Iudex. However, slowly she felt herself slowly coming back from the pit of nothingness that she had found herself falling into, suddenly taking a deep breath in and blinking again with much more intensity than what it felt like she had been doing before.
“...Neuvillette?” She questioned hesitantly; her voice sounded fragile even to her and tired. Very tired. She thinks she has been tired since she first took the stage as the world’s Faux Hydro Archon.
In turn Neuvillete smiled, a saddened smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and drops of water were slowly dripping off his slightly off-white hair and being absorbed into her clothes. And just like that the tears that had begun to roll sluggishly down her cheeks had now picked back up, flowing freely down her tear-stained face once again. Almost just as quickly as the tears started, she was prompted by the hydro dragon to lean forward, his hands moving to her shoulder blades as Furina began to lean forward; her head resting on his shoulder, the dampness of his hair brushing against her wet face briefly.
“It’s okay, now. I’m here”
Just five words and any left over dams broke in Furina’s mind and she was sobbing onto his shoulder, her hands gripping tightly to his navy coloured coat along with his hand rubbing small circles onto her upper back whilst the other loosely held around her stomach, similar to how a parent would hold their child to comfort them. “I’m tired.” She admitted through hiccoughs and muffled around the long coat she was resting her head upon.
She heard Neuvillette hum, in either agreement or acknowledgement she wasn’t sure, nor did she particularly care at the current time. His gentle yet firm hand remaining a steady constant on her back felt like enough of an understanding to her and, currently, that’s all she wanted. To be understood. For someone to recognise her hard work. Her pain and suffering and loneliness that she had endured for five hundred years.
She wanted someone to have an inkling of understanding of what she went through. To try and guess in their mind what it had been like to perform for a role for five centuries and never dropping the act.
Archons, she was so, so tired.
Yet, as Neuvillette held her like one would a child, consoling her through her own tears and grief over what had happened, some part of her whirlwind mind eased slightly. Silenced by the steady hand tracing circles between her shoulder blades and his constant soft reassurances.
“It’ll be alright.” He gently reassured.
Furina hoped that one day that would be true.