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The first time Dainsleif ever saw Kaeya was three months after he was born. He had been called to the royal chambers by the King himself, he hadn’t told him the reason but he made it clear that it was an important matter. Was there a threat he had to take care of? Or maybe a conspiracy that attempted to take the King’s power?
Each step he took was firm, very unlike how he was feeling at that moment. He couldn’t falter, he was a knight, the Twilight Sword, he is not supposed to be nervous. And yet there he was, standing in front of the golden doors unable to lift his arm and do something as simple as knocking on the door.
“You may enter, Dainsleif.” The mentioned was surprised, but entered nonetheless. “You are aware that you can just knock, right?” The Queen was sitting on her bed while the King was standing and rocking something in his arms.
“Yes, I was about to do that.” The Queen's face showed that she didn't believe him but said nothing about it.
“Come, Kaeya has been waiting for you.” She motioned him towards the King, or more specifically, the bundle he was carrying.
If Dainsleif wasn't nervous before he was definitely nervous now. He was the youngest in his family and no one in his immediate social circle had any small children. In other words, he had no idea how to carry a baby correctly.
Still, he was handed the small child with no kind of guidance. He was too nervous to even notice how the child seemed to try and get closer to him, ignoring the very tight and warm blankets that kept him in place. The King finally noticed his nervousness and directed the knight's arms into a more comfortable position. “You don’t have to be so stiff all the time.” Then he guided the knight on how to cradle the baby, it only took a few seconds for him to grow used to it.
And it was then that his brain finally decided to focus on the baby in his arms. That would later prove to be the worst mistake of his life. The baby, Kaeya, was already looking at him with his big mismatched eyes, one golden one periwinkle, and was babbling about something only he could understand.
“Hi”, he found himself whispering to the child, as if to not disturb him even when he was already awake. The only response he got were little giggles that made his soul feel lighter. One of his hands reached for the child’s navy blue hair and began stroking it gently.
He never thought something so trivial would make him feel such inner peace.
Although he may have gotten a bit too peaceful. “I think he likes you.” So much so that he almost jumped when he heard the King’s voice.
“I don't think he can actually see me.” The child's eyes seemed unfocused, plus he had heard that baby's eyes are not fully developed even months after they are born.
“No he can't, but he can still feel your warmth. He likes your presence.” The King's hand gently graced the child's face. That made the giggling stop and now the child was looking around to try and find who was responsible for the sudden warmth on his face.
“Which is a good thing, since you will be responsible for his safety.” That took the knight by surprise.
His focus was changed towards the King. “What?”
“It only makes sense for my most strong and loyal knight,” he directed Dainsleif's gaze towards the baby, “to protect the future King of Khaenri’ah.”
Is this what the Captain of the Knights is supposed to be doing? Maybe not, but it was not Dainsleif's place to question the King. It's not like he was bothered with the new job he was just given.
The baby's giggles fully convinced him to accept the offer.
♘✦♘✦♘
Almost three years had passed since that day, now it was Kaeya's third birthday and the little prince couldn't be more excited. The room was covered in presents from floor to ceiling, most of them being from Khaenri’ahns while a few others were sent from other nations of Teyvat.
But they were not the reason why the prince was so excited. “Are they here yet?” The prince kept jumping up and down with excitement. Today was one of the only days where he was guaranteed to see his parents. “Not yet, my prince.” The child nodded but was still running up to the door to check every so often.
The presents started filling the room as the day went along, but the child refused to open them until his parents got there. No matter how much he wanted to rip them all open, the prince was not going to do that without his parent's presence.
An hour turned into two and that turned to four until it was already the prince's sleeping time. His excitement was long gone, replaced with deep sadness that locked his eyes at the door and made him perk his ears at any noise hoping they were footsteps. Had they forgotten?
The knight could only distract the child for so long before he noticed how absent his parents really were.
“Dain?” The mentioned placed his attention back on the child, his eyes were puffy and the baby fat he still had only made his pout more obvious. Oh, how he would do anything for his prince to always be happy.
“Yes, my prince?” He was ready to fulfill anything the prince would ask from him. From a cuddle to buying an entire store, if that was what his prince wished for he'd do it in a heartbeat.
“Do they hate me?” That… was not what he expected. “Did I do something wrong?” Tears welled up in the child's eyes, soon he started sobbing.
“What? No. You did nothing wrong my prince.” Not like what he said made any impact on the prince's emotional state. Out of everything Dainsleif was willing to do, the prince wanted the only thing he couldn't.
“Then why are they punishing me?” The crying intensified and made everything he said after that incomprehensible. Dainsleif did the only thing he could think of, something his brother used to do for him, he gave the prince a hug.
Two little arms hugged him back and refused to let him go. Not like Dainsleif was thinking of doing that. “They probably just got a little too busy. You know how occupied their schedules can be.”
It took him three more hours to lull Kaeya to a restful sleep. And even after achieving it he kept rocking back and forth while humming a lullaby. It wasn't for Kaeya anymore, it was for himself. To keep himself grounded, to not make any rushed decisions.
What he had told Kaeya was true. The royals had been too busy that day, but it still enraged Dainsleif all the same as if they weren't. How could they continue with their day without sending something as simple as a note to Kaeya to explain? How could they go on with their lives after making their sweet baby go to sleep with dry tears on his cheeks?
He may not know the answers to those questions, but there is something he does know. He'd never even think about doing that.
A week later the King and Queen came to the prince's room. They stayed with him for a couple of hours, they apologized and explained how their work had unexpectedly accumulated. But Kaeya didn't care about that, he was glad to be with his parents.
They left just as the prince’s time to sleep got close, but not before they gave Kaeya his birthday gift, a peacock stuffed animal. The prince didn’t know what a peacock was, only having heard of them in some books Dainsleif had read him at night, but he was still holding onto the toy as if his life depended on it.
After that, the prince refused to go anywhere without his peacock companion. Even having a chair reserved for the peacock whenever he had to be at the dinner table. Maybe Dainsleif should have done something about the unhealthy attachment his prince had to the toy, but he didn’t.
After all, don’t all children have toys to make them feel less lonely?
♘✦♘✦♘
Kaeya had just turned five when Dainsleif was sent out on a mission. It was expected to take him a couple of days, but it still meant that he’d be leaving Khaenri’ah and, by addition, Kaeya. At least there was someone he could trust with keeping Kaeya safe while he was away.
“But Vedrfolnir is just here temporarily, right? Right, Dain?” The child looked desperately at him, his eyes getting more teary-eyed as the seconds went by. His brother was just standing on the side confused. He really had no idea why Kaeya was acting as if Vedrfolnir was a menace.
“Of course. I’ll just be away for a few days and then everything goes back to normal.” The child nodded but stayed with him until it was time for Dain to leave. ‘It’s just a couple of days’, is what Dainsleif kept repeating to himself. If only he knew how wrong he was.
The mission went wrong. They had underestimated their target and let their guards down. And although Dainsleif had managed to end the target it didn’t mean he had been spared. His right arm was torn apart, leaving Dainsleif to defend himself with his non-dominant arm.
When he finally arrived at Khaenri'ah it had been a week from the day when he was supposed to return. He was immediately rushed to get medical help and fell unconscious soon after.
The next time he woke up there was a very familiar child laying on his left side asleep. Dainsleif tried moving his right arm but was stopped. “I don't think that's a good idea.” His brother’s hand kept him from moving his bandaged arm.
His head moved towards the child. “Is he-”
“Kaeya is okay. He was just worried.” A hand made his way to Dainsleif's hair, making him gaze up. “Reminds me of someone.” He was met with his brother’s affectionate gaze. “The rest of your team already told us what happened and, before you ask, they are mostly okay. You’re the one that ended up in the worst conditions.” His brother was always good at knowing what he was going to ask. Was it his ability to know the future or was Dainsleif too readable?
A slight shake on his left side made them both stare at the prince who had just woken up. The only good thing from being here was seeing how the stars in those big mismatched eyes lighted up the moment Kaeya saw him. “Dain!” The hug may have made the pain in his arm worse, but it definitely eased the one in his soul.
“Did you listen to everything Vedrfolnir told you?” They both nodded, although the prince did it more vigorously than his brother. “Then, would you be willing to continue doing that a little longer while I recover?” You’d think he had told him he couldn’t have any ice cream for dessert. “What? You don’t like him?” He knew his brother would never harm someone as innocent as the prince.
“I do.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I don’t want him, I want to be with you.” Dainsleif is not going to admit that he looked smugly at his brother. He is a very mature and grown adult.
“I know, but I can’t play with you right now. I have to rest.” Although he definitely would cut his rest short if his prince asked him to.
The prince went back to using Dainsleif’s left side to lay down. “Can I stay here too?” Oh, how he wanted to say yes. Thankfully, his brother was there to answer for him.
“You still have a schedule to fulfill.” He almost gave in after seeing the prince’s sad face. “But don’t worry, I can still bring you here during your free times.” The prince still wasn’t satisfied, but knew that was the best deal he’d get.
“Can I sleep here?”
Both adults looked at each other. Would it be that bad if they let him have that small comfort. “You can fall asleep here, but I’d still have to take you to your room.”
“Does that mean Dain can read me a story?” The moment they both nodded the child went running to his room and back into the medical room, now with a book in his hands.
It was a little difficult to turn the pages when he could only use one hand. Luckily for him, his audience was very patient. He was halfway through the story when the prince started falling in the land of dreams.
“Why did he choose that book?” He looked confusedly at his brother. “What do you mean? This is his favorite book.” Now they were both confused.
That’s how they discovered that Kaeya would always ask for a different book anytime Dainsleif wasn’t the one reading. And, knowing Kaeya, it was probably his way of not feeling as if he was replacing Dainsleif. That was Dain’s book. Just like Dain was the only one allowed to sleep with Kaeya, apart from the prince’s parents, and he was also the only one who could hold the peacock plushie without being attacked by the prince’s fury.
There was no doubt in his mind now. He could never leave Kaeya again. Not when he felt cold when his brother finally carried the sleeping prince to his room. Yes, he decided to never leave the prince’s side ever again.
Unfortunately, Dain was a knight, and knights have to follow orders from their superiors. Which meant that only three years later he had to leave again. Only that this time he wouldn’t get to see his prince’s starry eyes shining as his homecoming present.
✧♟︎✧♟︎✧
Dainsleif had left just a few days ago and every single one of those days had been hell for Kaeya. His father had placed another knight as his temporary guard, but he barely knew him because the knight mostly spent his time outside his room. He had tried to get to know the knight better but they just refused to answer any of his questions or attempts at making conversation.
And the sudden confinement his father had instructed for him didn’t make things better. The only company he had was Amica, his peacock stuffed animal. Its baby blue color was beginning to fade into a grey blue, proof of how much time had passed since he was first gifted his friend. Five years don't feel like much to him, but it definitely affected his little friend.
Just then something changed. His room felt colder, he attempted to tell this to the knight but again received no answer. Not a single sign of life from the other side of the door. Not even his winter pajamas made the cold less bothersome, and the blankets barely helped. Apparently that’s how he was going to sleep that night if he didn’t want to end up freezed to death.
When he woke up the next day the room had only gotten colder, and it proceeded to get even colder as the days went on. When it got to the point where there was fog coming out from his nose and mouth every time he breathed someone finally decided to knock on the door.
“Kaeya, are you awake?” To his surprise it was his father.
“Papa!” He went running to his dad who hugged him tightly in his arms. It was after separating from the hug that Kaeya noticed how sad his father looked. “Papa?”
His father smiled at him though it didn’t reach his eyes. He then sat on Kaeya’s bed letting the prince sit on his lap. “It’s just going to be you and me today.” Kaeya was too excited about that to even notice how tightly his father was suddenly hugging him.
And the day passed just like his father said it would. It was just Kaeya and him. By the end of the day Kaeya had officially granted that day the title of being his favorite one. Although he had to admit that he was exhausted.
“Are you tired little star?” Only a faint sound came out of him as an answer, he really was exhausted. “Oh my poor baby, you can go to sleep now.”
Even after that approval Kaeya didn’t want to sleep. “No. I don’t want you to go.”
His father hugged him tightly, placed him on the bed, and stood up walking towards the door. “I’m going to go get something. Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you.” He walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a blue cup of water.
“What is that?”
His father sat on the bed and pushed the cup towards him. “Water with medicine. It will make you feel better.”
That confused him. Yes, he was exhausted and cold, but not sick. “But I don’t need medicine.”
His father looked on the verge of tears when he answered him. “It will help you grow strong and healthy.”
And so, Kaeya obeyed. He grabbed the cup and started drinking, noting the bitter taste it had but blaming it on the medicine. After he had finished he gave the cup back to his dad, who placed it on a nearby table.
“Good, now let’s go to sleep.” That made Kaeya so happy that he completely ignored the sudden dizziness he felt. “I’ll be here when you wake up.” Kaeya’s eyes started closing on their own and his mind barely registered when his father caressed his hair. Much less did he notice the sudden tightness in his chest or how his father had started crying.
It was a good day.
♘✦♘✦♘
The nation was tinted with red. The streets filled with unfortunate people that didn’t get to escape on time. Screams filled the air as the destruction continued without mercy towards the innocent.
Dain wanted to help, but he had a mission to fulfill. He had to reach the palace. He had to protect his prince.
Unfortunately for him, when he finally reached the prince’s chamber he was met with a horrifying discovery. The prince was laying on his bed unmoving, if he didn’t know any better he would think he was just sleeping, but his unnaturally pale skin and blue lips proved otherwise.
“Kaeya!” There was no answer. “Kaeya, you have to wake up.” But no matter how much he shaked the child there was still no answer. He looked around trying to find an explanation as to what had happened. His gaze met a blue cup and upon further examination he concluded that whatever was in the cup had been poisoned.
But who would do that to the prince?
He returned his gaze towards the prince, his prince, the one he had accompanied for so many years. His vision was suddenly blurry with what he later found out were tears. The prince’s body was cold, too cold, but for some reason Dainsleif still thought he could warm him up if he held him tight.
It was while he held the prince’s body that he noticed that the braid he usually wore had been cut. It was done so carefully that anyone would think that was how his hair looked, but Dain knew better, he knew how much the prince loved having his hair braided especially after the Queen's death a couple of years ago. There was no way that had suddenly changed. Right after that he realized there was no sign of the prince’s peacock companion.
Someone had taken that from him. Probably the same person that had poisoned the cup. Someone who knew Kaeya…
Of course, how could he have been so blind? If the King had the nerve to betray his brother, what was stopping him from betraying Dainsleif?
But why did it have to be at Kaeya’s expense?
For a moment he considered taking Kaeya away from the destruction to a field of flowers where he could rest for eternity. However, there was no place like that in Teyvat. So now he’d have to leave his prince here, in a home that had betrayed him.
Would the prince be happier in the place he knew in his very short life? Even if his life was taken here? Dainsleif could only hope he would be.
He left a final kiss on Kaeya’s cold forehead before leaving the palace.
♘✦♘✦♘
500 years.
That was the amount of time that had passed since he saw Kaeya. Dainsleif was certain that the prince was dead when he found him. But if that was the case, who was the man that was talking with the Traveler?
He was older than the Kaeya he knew, but his face had barely changed. And, although his right eye was covered with an eyepatch, the stars in his eyes gave away his origins.
Then, he heard Paimon’s squeaky voice. “Hey! Using your job to settle personal grievances isn’t very knightly, Captain!”
Captain? Kaeya had become Captain of the Knights. Just like him.
A sudden warmth enveloped his heart. Dain felt… proud.
Was this the feeling his brother had experienced when Dainsleif became a knight? But Kaeya was never supposed to become a knight, he was the next in line to become the next King of the Eclipse Dynasty. And yet, Kaeya looks so happy.
Dainsleif decides to stay hidden, it wouldn’t help any of them if he made an appearance. He heard Kaeya talking about his past adventures in Sumeru, his adoptive family, and finally his Khaneri’ahn roots.
“These days, my surname, Alberich, is probably the only link to Khaenri’ah that I have left.” Alberich?
That didn’t make any sense, Kaeya wasn’t an Alberich. Had the King made a deal with the Abyss? To bring Kaeya back? But why would he do that if he was the one who had killed him? Now Dain needed answers.
“Tell me… what do you know about the significance of that name, “Alberich”?” It took a lot of effort to put on an angry facade when he was seeing the very miracle he had prayed for so many times.
“Ah, you’ve decided to join us? I was wondering how long you planned on listening in.” So he had noticed Dainsleif was there the entire time. “I believe I’ve seen you before in Mondstadt… Dainsleif, if I’m not mistaken?” He definitely deserved the title of Captain considering that Dainsleif had never noticed him whenever he was in Mondstadt.
“So you remember me.” But they didn’t have to know that. “Then we are already acquainted, Kaeya Alberich… descendant of the Abyss Order’s founder.” The three are left in complete shock after giving them that information. “I take it you weren’t aware of this until now, Kaeya, or you wouldn’t have been so forthcoming with your surname.”
The rest of their very short conversation just confirmed his suspicions, Kaeya had no idea who he was. He was able to recognize him as a pure-blood Khaneri’ahn but had no idea he had been the Twilight Sword. Much less that he was Kaeya’s guard.
What did King Irmin do?
Maybe Dainsleif should make another visit to Mondstadt and accept Kaeya’s offer for a drink.