Chapter Text
Within the peaceful, warming confines of the Knights of Favonius' library, crowds of children ran around two-story room. Some greeted each other, some showed others the interesting books they picked from the shelves, many others were doing their homework. A public knowledge only to the people of Mondstadt, the library of the nation's force of authority became the school for the city's children to learn, courtesy of the Grandmaster and Acting Grandmaster of the Knights of Favonius.
Mary closed the file, contents made of teaching materials for her students. "A'right children, pack up your stuffs. School's over for the day.~" She shouted. Immediately the children roared out of happiness and made haste packing up their pencils and writing utensils. The woman smiled watching the scene unfold around her.
"Bye-bye Miss Mary!!" Their cheers accompanied the barrage of footsteps leaving the library. Mary was left to clean up the scattered books and misplaced chairs that made her student's mess. She minded it not. She loved teaching the children of the peaceful and laid-back city of her birth. Their innocent and pure love can bring immense joy, making Mary feel cherished and valued. She had only gotten married recently herself, and that to a man of utmost unselfishness.
Said blond man managed to snuck up behind her much to her oblivion...
"*Yah!!*" Mary yelped in surprise when her 'attacker' struck her by her shoulders, earning a small laugh from her husband.
"*Haha* You do realized that the knights are equipped with heavy duty boots right? Those are made specifically to produce loud footsteps during official parades." Erfolg stated after a while, taking in the annoyed yet cute glare his wife was giving. In a romantic sense it was his reward.
Any passersby looking at these newlyweds would see a woman of wisdom and her knight in shining armor...
To be absolutely fair, he was a Knight of Favonius equipped with a sword by his belt.
She stepped forth to rest her arms behind his neck, not giving a care about his armor between them, while he rubbed her arms through his gloves. His green eyes stared into her light blue ones. Erfolg took the chance to steal a peck on her cheek making her giggle. "You're such a smooch~" A kiss on the lips followed by his reply. "You like it when I smooch."
"That, I sure do" She exclaimed, interwining her hand with his as they walked out of the building and into the City of Freedom.
The land of the Anemo Archon, God of Freedom had remained a peaceful land to this day. The city of wine and songs itself remained as laid-back as ever courtesy of their belief in their God.
Having their respective works done for the day, the two decided to take a stroll around the outskirts of the city walls, taking in many elemets of nature belonging to the land of their birth. The gentle winds blew past them, every once in a while carrying seeds of dandelion in their breeze. The peaceful waves of the lake surrounding the city brought peace to their minds, and the warm weather made it all the more peaceful.
Such is the life of the people of Mondstadt, the nation of Anemo.
And so much so to the newlyweds.
Getting married during a crisis was not the finest of choices and timing, Mary and Erfolg included. The Stormterror Crisis came about out of nowhere, rendering the city in disarray. The winds picked up into tornadoes, monsters such as the Hilichurl species became more active in the wilderness, such issues rendered every single knights of the city full of missions and tasks. This disrupted the couple's honeymoon, much to their disappointment.
As if fate, an traveling outlander recently descended upon them and helped the knights greatly in solving the crisis...
"The Stormterror Crisis is over... We can finally enjoy our marriage, right?" Mary asked her beloved, her interwined hand playing with his own.
"We can."
The rays of sunlight slipping through thr curtains awoke Mary from her slumber, her eyes flickering open slowly as her soul returned from the Dreamworld. She reached out her hand lazily for the other side of the bed, seeking the warmth only her husband could provide. Yet fate decided to tease her by leaving that side of the bed devoid of life and warmth...
Fully awake and to her confusion, she looked around the bedroom for signs of the knight she loved. She found none. "Erfolg?" She called out before hearing a hum from the main space of the house.
Descending the small wooden stairs, Mary, now donning one of her husband's shirt over her nightgown, spotted him by the kitchen making breakfast at he stove, wearing a simple shirt and pants.
'Barbatos, I could get used to this treat. I'm so lucky..." She monologued to herself. A month into their marriage, and the thought of waking up everyday to the very face of the man she who stole her heart, but also to a husband that prepared breakfast for her was overwhelming. Her cheeks heated up light red. She caught herself a warrior brave on the battlefield and can cook.
Erfolg was stirring eggs and flour in a bowl when a gentle set of arms embraced him from behind, prompting a smile to escape his lips. "You're up early milady.~" He said, feeling her soft brown bangs ruffling against his nape. "Can't help it, dear. You left the bed cold,"
Erfolg took one of his wife's hands in his own and kissed it gently and lovingly, like a collector to his most precious gem.
She was his precious gem.
"We received a couple letters just now. Do me a favour and checked them out for both of us, please?"
A verbal reply Mary did not give, instead opting for a quick peck on his nape before disattaching herself from him to attend to the small task at hand. She walked to the average sized dinner table of their 'warm and dry' house of woods, planks and stone bricks while putting her long hair up into a low ponytail using the ribbon she brought.
She proceeded to check the contents of the letters. The first one was from the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
'A letter from Master Jean. She's sent out the invitation for a scholar from Sumeru to teach the children for a few days huh? Thanks Master Jean.'
She proceeded to red a few more letters, not many of them interested her. Just letters from their respective works despite working at the same workplace. Yet she couldn't say the same for the next letter.
She couldn't believe her reality the moment she laid eyes on the contents, so much so that she dropped the rest of the letters onto the carpet. The action earned an alerted look from Erfolg. "Mary?"
She re-red the letter many time to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Though out of pure shock, her reaction was also, in actuality, out of pure joy. "This l-letter... Dear!"
The contents of the letter red...
To my dear Mary,
It's been years, hasn't it? I pray the Gods you're doing well, and had grown u to be a woman of wisdom you've always dreamed of becoming.
Let us have a get-together, shalln't we? Come find me in the Court of Fontaine.
Yours dearly,
Amelia Grace
"It's my teacher from my childhood! She's reaching out to me, dear!"