Chapter Text
The air was thick which, Lumine wondered, was either because of her anxiety or rather, she preferred, just the ordinary yet suffocating atmosphere of the place. As if the snow itself would choke her.
Wild rose bushes outline the garden. It was wild not because some lousy gardener doesn’t prefer to lose his hand to tame such thorns but because of the purpose of the message it conveyed:
Dangerous yet simply beautiful. So purposely misleading, like everything present in that palace.
They weren’t red, rather maroon.
Her carriage entered those tall black gates. All where she was going was the Zapolyarny Palace, home of her majesty, the Tsaritsa yet she felt like it was no different than prison.
‘How odd’ considering that, that carriage wasn't even hers, just hired. Apparently that's a commodity that can be bought.
Walking through grand entrances. Lumine felt her heart falling to her stomach more times than the amount of fingers she had, as she made her way through the palace's every clings and clangs. She is usually very unfazed but there goes ‘usually’ for her.
First thing on her list. Greeting her majesty, the Tsaritsa. Secondly, figure out just why has she sent for her. The god of love, with no love left to give. Where has she known someone like her before?
She could imagine a beautiful lady in her middle ages with pale hair, like a full moon in spring tide, felt as pure as snow yet as filthy as it has always been, always been a disguise, adorned with tacky snezhnayan accessories, except, it would actually look good on her.
Never having met the Tsaritsa yet thinking of her like a nice old friend of her mother she knew since birth seemed rather odd, either because of the enchanting authority she holds or just that Lumine was slightly losing her mind.
Either way it's not like she was stupid. She will just figure it out along the way.
Without noticing her walking up spirals and through grand hallways she reached where she was supposed to be. Fished out of her thoughts by her escort she never bothered to notice, stood stunned in front of those grand marble doors carved with kaleidoscopic patterns she wished just stood closed. She would have spent an eternity without finding the courage to push those intricate handles if she could. Alas, guards have a job themselves.
Doors stood unsealed. The dome-esque romanov visage present had one job, that was to guide the eye to the slightly elevated deck in the far away edge of the room and it did it well. It displayed intricacy and a sense of superiority among the one on the other end of the room. This was the feeling Lumine despised, it had her in a chokehold realising how inferior she was here. Yet, knowing lumine, she wasn't the one to pay such feelings any head. Envy, hatred, love, these feelings hold no place in her heart anymore. Her majesty wants a stepping stone, Lumine would be hers. If it meant getting answers, answers to questions no one holds, ignorant or wise.
Drooping tall slightly see through curtains, starting from the height of the ceiling, slightly brushing the ground. The moon light entering from the other end of the room made that thin flimsy barrier look ethereal.
There stood, behind those translucent curtains, a frail silhouette.
‘Guess it's time to put on an act.’
“Her majesty, Tsaritsa, if I may. It's my pleasure to finally meet you.”
“So, indulge me, what honour did I commit to earn your recognition” Beating around the bush was something she never preferred. Her golden eyes glowed pale under the filtered moonlight.
“You flatter me, young lady. Of course you have my attention, The whole of Teyvat knows your name. ”
“Your love for your brother...” She continued, pacing gracefully around her elevated portion. “touches my heart.”
She would have been angry, if she could in the least.
‘God of love, my ass’
“The way you voice yourself, your highness, makes me wonder whether you know him personally.” She never wondered that. Her speculations spewed as if she knew everything. Pressing a few buttons should be harmless, right?
Winds blew across the room, what should have caused shivers, sent a sense of peace down lumine’s spine. How many bones would be broken if she jumped from there was something Lumine would rather wonder.
“My, you don’t mince your words up. So I should return the honour ” Tsaritsa paused, slightly looking up at the window, as if asking the heavens one last time before speaking again, she continued.
Smile on her face, rather malicious but nonetheless, a smile
“Yes I do know him…” Her phrasing instantly lost any form of pretentiousness.
“But that's not what you wanted to know, is it?” The Tsaritsa tilted her head ever so slightly. Her eyes shone ever so brightly.
“Why didn’t you embraced him there?”
“Where? Your majesty”
“Near the defiled statue. When you first met him” Another lazy gaze wasted out the window.
‘So she knows, eh?’
‘Who blabbered’
‘Guess a bit of twisting won't hurt’
“I was scared, Your Majesty.” She never told anyone this. Mostly because no one asked. It wasn’t true but it wasn't fully false either.
“Not because I was scared he would leave me again. That's something that can be talked about like a decent human being. But…”
“Because, I lost a part of my trust in him. If I ran to him then would he have, god forbid, twisted his sword in me.”
Lumine still remembered his eyes. Filled to the brim with hatred, lack of human touch for who knows how long.
Now she knew what was so interesting outside the window.
“I grew wary of him, Your Majesty.”
‘This is gonna be fun’
“Does my love for him still makes your heart…melt?” Lumine said, with a sense of eagerness in her eyes.
The Tsaritsa’s smile twichted.
God she missed the feeling of getting on peoples nerves.
“I still love him, Your Majesty, It's not like that. But…” Lumine continued
“If you’re asking me to fulfil your wishes, for the hopes of me meeting my brother then…”
Lumine paced around, half her back faced her majesty, a smirk on her face. If she does manage to get hanged for disrespecting the Tsaritsa, she might as well do it in style.
“I'm gravely sorry. If my brother asks me to wait for him, to complete my journey with his promise of him returning to me, even if it's false hope. I shall trust him, Your Majesty. Afterall…”
“Love is built on trust, isn’t it?”
The Tsaritsa’s lips once again found their place, curled up, into a smile. Impressed, Lumine thought what Tsaritsa felt.
Sometimes bluffing came easy to her. Maybe she could make a living out of it.
She knew just being a morally good person wasn’t gonna catch the Tsaritsa’s attention. It would just make her look naive. It was just her way of appearing cunning yet trustworthy in front of Tsaritsa. A hint of questioning her authority did just the trick. After all, her journey does need directions. And of course she would never mind meeting with her brother, especially since it was being served to her on a silver platter, she won’t let this offer go just for her pride masked behind ‘love’. But if the pride is just a bluff, then what was behind her mask? Afterall, it had been a time since she met someone who unhesitatly admits they know her brother.
“haHA, you please me.” Tsaritsa burst out laughing.
‘Huh, weird.’
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Guess I didn't need to worry. So, any specific destination you might have planned to embark on?”
“Not yet, Your Majesty.”
Tsaritsa smiled, but this time, it appeared genuine.
“Then I have a concern just for you.”
______________________________________________________________________________
“SHE WHAT?”
“Paimon, do you wish to bleed my ears out. More like, do you lack them?”
Paimon huffed under her breath as she flew towards her travelling companion, hovering near her head.
“I’ll explain this once more.”
“The Tsaritsa asked me to go serve under Tartaglia for the time being. “Maybe I might find something I’d wanted.” brrrrr, her stare back then still gives me chills” lumine said comically holding her sides like she was cold while mimiking Tsaritsa's words.
Perhaps because it actually was.
“Paimon, Isn’t it really cold here?” Lumine looked out the tavern room’s window. It opened into the city. She could imagine how lively the place could have been if it was not deprived of love. No child’s laughter, no talks of bargain on the street, no ladies rumouring around while carrying out their days worth of work, it felt empty. The weird sense of suffocation, seemed like, followed Lumine all the way here. Yet the coldness made everything more depressing.
“It is, now that you’ve mentioned it.”
‘sigh’
“I’ll tell you everything as we walk.” Lumine picked up her overcoat and made her way outside. She held open the doors to let her flying companion pass through.
______________________________________________________________________________
“P-pardon?” Lumine blurted out.
“Go serve under Tartaglia, You know him right? Handsome face, pale eyes, shame he's a ginger.” Said Tsaritsa smiling widely
‘H-heeeeh? Is it really the women she was playing mind games with right now?’
“You can’t p-possibly mean Childe, Your majesty. His name serves his very personality at least, that I can say”
‘If THE CHILD IN QUESTION IS A CHAOS MACHINE’
”Why, I do mean him. Is there something wrong? hmm? ”
The Tsaritsa personally mocking Lumine, truly an honour.
‘Your face tells, you know very well WHAT’S WRONG’
"It as you who I wanted to seek help with, Your Majesty. I don't have it in me to be affiliated with the Fatui. I just can't convince myself."
"Now I am wondering whether I should find your words hurtful or not. You don't have to become a Fatui, Childe is a big boy, he has always handles his work alone. But I must say, I suppose this is the least you can put forward from your end." Her eyes turn into a smile.
Those eyes masked a whole lives worth of ordeal behind it.
But this is not all that I am offering, am I?
Is this one of the reasons I can't bring myself to trust you?
“Now, now, don’t make a fuss about it. I’ll ask my subordinate to provide you with the details. You may take your leaves now, toodles”
‘Too- what?’
____________________________________________________________________________
“And then I was, very respectfully, kicked out”
“Now that you put it like this, I wished I was there.” Said Paimon, chewing on her new found bread piece. They were almost near their tavern, returning from their walk.
“Yeah, I would have made sure you listened all the way.” Lumine said sarcastically.
“So, you know, when do you…?” Paimon stopped, not knowing what to say next.
“So, apparently he is staying in the Zapolyarny Palace itself, weird, don’t you think? For my time being there, I might need to live there.”
“Wait, so, where is Paimon staying?”
“You…” Lumine’s face went black. She looked at Paimon, Paimon looked at her.
“Do you want to be smuggled inside?”
“Are you sure you didn’t leave your brain at the Tsaritsa’s doorsteps?”
“I'm taking that as a yes.”
“Hey, NOO-O, wait” Paimon somehow pounced off of Lumine’s palm just to avoid being shoved inside a bag.
“Come on, its not like Snezhnaya has a law which forbids flying objects to do their thing during certain fuck shit time of month.”
“That doesn’t mean I like being shoved into bags, or act as a felon. Do you even have Tsaritsa’s permission?”
“She wouldn’t know.”
“She did about your brother.”
Lumine fell silent. Not because it was a sensitive topic, not anymore I guess.
“So, you really want to be here?”
“If that means not adding to the possibility that you’ll lose your head then yes.”
“Fine, I guess.”
She never liked quarreling with Paimon. If Paimon wished to help Lumine in her way, then Lumine should find it respectable, that's just how Lumine was.
sigh
‘Who knew finding one’s brother required babysitting a full grown adult.’