Chapter Text
Ajax was annoyed- in his opinion, reasonably so! He was trapped in his room, had been for the past few days, because he was “too reckless” and a “danger to himself and the crown's reputation.” So what?! First of all, he highly doubted any of the common folk held him in high regard after, well, him in general, and second of all!!! If they were worried about the reputation of the crown then they should definitely pay more attention to Zandik.
Apparently, the final straw that broke the camel's (see; Pierro) back was getting his most recent guard soooo wound up he quit, or whatever. Was it his fault these people couldn’t handle him? Nope! Maybe the royal guard needed to focus on strengthening the mind instead of the muscle, jeez…
He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a scowl. Pierro, his aunt's current husband, had told him he needed to stay in his room until they figured something out.
He would’ve argued that he wasn’t his father and couldn’t demand anything from him but he didn’t want to be locked away in a tower by the evil stepfather like the stories said, so with a huff and a string of complaints, he went up to his room.
The main problem with this - well, his main problem - was how BORED he was. There had always been a restless urge in him, one that called for him to fight, ever since he was a child, there was a calling for it, and it spread into an itch a few years back, but he couldn’t soothe that desire because, that’s right! He was trapped in his room and couldn’t access the training fields! Yay! Ugh. This was awful. All he could do was read (who willingly reads??), contemplate on why he couldn’t remember much from when he was fourteen (who willingly wants to give themself a crisis???) or mess around with his hydro magic (that’s what Zandik called it, anyways)
There was nothing stopping him from creating pretty, watery pictures in the air… he had always wondered what this hydro was meant to be if not water, but, whatever. He wasn’t willing to debate his cousins little science projects.
He sat up, deciding on that. After all- he was one of not so many who had this natural power running through his veins, so he might as well practice-!
With a deep breath, relaxing himself, he began to concentrate, watching as tiny droplets of the water-like substance began to form, watching it move, watching it fly through the air, watching it-
BANG!
Ajax jumped, blinking rapidly as the droplets fell on him, soaking his clothes. It had only been a few- he hated magical water.
Scowling, he grumbled under his breath, looking up from his clothes to see a very familiar figure standing in the doorway… that door had definitely been closed a moment ago.
He narrowed his eyes to analyse the person. Platinum blonde hair with the occasional reddish/orange streak, blue eyes so light they were grey and a splash of freckles so faint against pale skin only a trained eye could spot them. His sister.
‘Rosalyne!’ He exclaimed, wide smile on his face as he stood up and made his way over to him. ‘It’s been a while… enjoying Mondstadt?’
She looked him up and down, moving to close his door with a smile. ‘Mondstadt is great, it’s a lot warmer than Snezhnaya, but I still have yet to get a tan… I’ve heard Natlan and Sumeru are better places, as they’re a lot hotter. But- besides that? Absolutely amazing, and it is always nice to be closer to Rostam.’
‘I’d give you a hug, but I don’t know whether those stains on your clothes are a result of sweat or some sort of water fight with the townsfolk.’
He rolled his eyes, willing his clothes to dry faster. ‘Neither- our aunt's wonderful husband exiled me to my room.’
In response to that he received a laugh, and he wished he could explode her with his mind (lovingly, of course.)
‘Ah, so it was of your own doing?’ She smiled slyly, moving to go sit on his bed, grabbing his wrist and dragging him to do the same.
‘What are you doing back? Thought you were going to stay in Mondstadt forever… I got excited at the idea.’ He smiled at her the same way. Hopefully she wasn’t moving back… he had gotten used to the (mostly) peace and quiet of the palace.
Rosalyne tutted before speaking. ‘I’m glad to hear that you missed me. I’m here to visit- I’m allowed to do that, aren’t I? Rostam wished to see Snezhnaya and Auntie wished to meet my fiance… oh! I did tell you that we were engaged now, right?’
Ajax stared at her, mouth open wide as if she had just told him she had killed a man, but even then he wouldn’t be that surprised. ‘No. You just so happened to omit that detail from your letters.’ He paused for a moment, eyes shining. ‘Wait- does that mean I can finally fight with him?’
‘No. Also, don’t keep your mouth open for so long, it’s improper, and you might catch a fly, and I’m sure I did… oh! Speaking of engagements-!’
Rosalyne perked up, eyes bright. ‘I stopped by Zandiks lab before coming to speak with you- were you aware that he’s betrothed?’
Ajax's face fell immediately (without the open mouth this time). ‘What?’ It took a few moments to properly process the information, and then he yelled. ‘W-.. What? Before me!? He never leaves that lab, how-’
Rosalyne silenced him with a hand, and he crossed his arms with a frown, shoulders slumped. ‘Well, if you didn’t reject every suitor that came your way, you would’ve been married many moons ago! But no, each and everyone is simply “not right for you,” and “can’t handle you.” I don’t think there was anything wrong with that blue-haired peacock, but you did.’
‘Peacock? W- Kaeya?’ He blinked, eyebrows furrowing in exasperation. ‘I think he has something going on with this alchemist, or his guard-’
‘That’s none of my concern. Anyways! Zandiks lover is a legal advisor from Liyue, by the name of Yanfei. I haven’t met him, but I believe we will later. Our dearest cousin told me he was “entranced by his Xiezhi lineage” then “enraptured by his knowledge”, but I’m putting my bets on the fact it’s due to the fact no one else willingly interacts with him… and the others ears and tail. His Yanfei looks adorable- he showed me a photo.’
Ajax didn’t know what to say. How irritating... First his nerd of a cousin gets in a relationship before him, but they're ENGAGED before he even found a partner!!!! The gods, if there even were any at this point, were probably looking down at him and laughing.
‘Oh- I almost forgot. I have a third reason for my visit.’ Rosalyne stated, pursing her lips. He raised an eyebrow, narrowing his eyes at her. ‘...Go on.’
‘Well, you know how you have either fired or made… all your guards quit?’
He let out a small grumble, cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment. ‘It’s not my fault they’re incompetent.’
She glared at him and continued. ‘Well, so I could get Pierro to owe me something, I used some of my connections and secured you one that shall hopefully be competent enough to last you a few more months longer than your usual ones… they’re from Khaenri’ah.’
‘Khaenri’ah? What- that old cursed kingdom?’
‘It hasn’t been cursed for at least a decade… I thought you would have at least known, you really need to be more informed- that Kaeya was the prince of it, after all. But, well, yes, they are from “that old cursed kingdom.” I haven’t met the knight so I cannot warn you about anything, but they will be your new guard. A well-trained, capable knight to keep you in line, or that’s what Pierro asked for.’
Ajax's ears burned with either anger or embarrassment (he wasn’t entirely sure). ‘What, so- I’m just supposed to accept this? I don’t even get a say? I’m, ugh, I’m a grown man, Rosalyne. I don’t need a guard to watch my every move!’
‘...Also, how did you get one so quickly? My last one quit like, a week ago.
‘Oh, I’ve been planning this since your second quit. I wanted to be able to find one good enough.’ She began to look at her nails, avoiding Ajax's eyes. ‘And, well, auntie seems to disagree… your nickname around the castle is Childe… maybe you act too much like one?’
There was a brief moment of silence, giving the ginger a chance to stew in anger before Rosalyne began to speak again. ‘Well, it was nice to speak to you again, but I just recalled that I left Rostam with Zandik and I don’t believe that was a good idea for either of them, so I must go. I shall see you at meal time!’
Before he could react, she stood up and quickly excited, not even closing the door.
Ajax grabbed one of his pillows, screaming into it before setting it back into place, head in his hands instead. She was right about the name, in a way… too immature, too childish. Rosalyne had never had a guard… Well, she had left for Mondstadt before they could even discuss it. She was somehow more dramatic than him- but she did have a lover there, so, at least she had an explanation.
A competent guard meant no more sneaking out, no more trips to the market with no one watching, no more being able to feel normal. Well, he did have his secret passageways- the castle had a ridiculous amount of escape routes that he knew of, but so did his aunt, so they’d also be closely watched.
He contemplated grabbing his pillow and screaming again, before he heard the clink! of metal, probably armour, and decided he didn’t want to embarrass himself. His new knight was here, and he somewhat wanted to make a good impression on this “well-trained, capable” one.
Ajax took his head out of his hands, straightening up as he took in the sight.
Tall- very tall, probably a head or so taller. A large build as well. He swallowed. Wow. Long, black hair, protruding from the back of his helmet and falling past his shoulders. His armour was dark- dark greys and blacks with the occasional glinting gold.
A knight in shining black armour. He had never armour of that colour, only the typical shiny lightish grey… He had also never seen a knight who covered their entire head before- for some reason people liked to show off their face, keeping that metal covering open.
The knight looked around the room before landing his sights on Ajax, walking towards him.
Oh wow, yeah. This guy was tall . He swallowed, willing his face to not turn pink as he mustered up a confident smile, standing up and meeting him about halfway. ‘Hey! Sooo, I’m assuming you’re my new guard?’
The other stopped before replying, practically towering above the ginger. ‘If you’re Prince Ajax, then the answer to that question is a yes.’
His voice- gods, his voice. He definitely had something to think about later.
Not trusting his voice to sound normal, he nodded. He received a hum in response before that absolutely delicious voice began to speak again. ‘Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, your highness. I would have come to greet you sooner, but Lady Rosalyne came by your chambers before I could. I’ll introduce myself… I am Capitano.’
Ajax had to resist a snort- Rosalyne was anything other than a “lady." He’d need to hold back any of his comments towards her for at least a week in thanks for securing this catch. What a gentleman. ‘Yeah, same here- say, are you always going to wear your helmet like that?’
‘...When I am on duty, yes. This is the proper way, after all,’ came Capitanos response, and Ajax cursed in his head. Damn, he’d never get a chance to see what’s under, huh?
He tutted (a habit stolen from his sister), smirking. ‘What a shame. I’d love to see what’s underneath.’
Okay, maybe a bit too forward… but the knight chuckled, and his worry about first impressions melted away. ‘Maybe someday, little fox.’
It took a moment for that pet name or whatever it was equivalent to to register into his brain, and when it did, he flushed a fearsome red. This one was bold, and he liked it. Maybe he’d finally be able to rope a guards into sparring with him…
'Little fox' ...another thing to think about later, then.
Under Capitanos' gaze, he became more aware of the wet clothes currently sticking to his body. The guard seemed to be staring at him- seemed, because he couldn't exactly see where the others' eyes were.
'I must report to the captain of the guards.' The sudden voice startled Ajax. 'I'm required to, and I also must find out where I'm lodging, so I best be off.'
Ajax perked up slightly. 'Oh, you're going to see Pulcinella?' He liked him- after all, he was the reason Ajax was allowed to use the training fields and fight in general. 'He's not exactly the captain, but he's in charge of where you all stay. Send him my regards.'
The knight gave a brief nod before walking away, closing the door as he did so. Ajax smiled, going to lie on his bed again.
He still wasn't the biggest fan of having a guard, but... this (hopefully) wouldn't be too bad. He wondered when he'd next see him.
Hopefully soon, well- probably soon. There was a reason he had guards after all.
As he relaxed on his bed, he made a note in his mind to change out of his wet clothes before dinner... next time, he'd make sure there were no interruptions when he was messing with hydro or whatever… wet clothes were a pain.