bubblefina

[bubblefina]

King of Hearts Chapter 27

Masterlist

Summary: Reader and Tom meet during their years at Hogwarts, but as the years pass a rivalry grows between the two of them, which leads from soft beginnings to tragic endings.

What the characters look like!

" “Kill me!” he yells in an agonizing way. His eyes look as though he’s pleading for you to finish the job. It terrified you to see him like this."

Pairings: Tom x f!reader

•̩̩͙˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙˚⁺‧.˚ •̩̩͙ ✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙˚⁺‧.˚ •̩̩͙ ✩•̩̩͙˚⁺‧.

Chapter 27- Unfortune

“You’re doing well, keep going, and you will be better than before.” Dumbledore’s eyes looked intently as the small cup levitated in the air. 

You try to keep your breath steady, afraid that any sudden movement would cause it to fall down and break. Moving your finger back and forth, the cup mimicked the movement. Such a small achievement after months of practice.

The cup is set back down onto the desk. Dumbledore scribbles something on a piece of paper, staying silent.

“Well, how was that?” you ask.

“Very good, it’s better than how you did the previous week. No straining of your hand, the object didn’t shake, very steady.”

“How long do you think it’ll take for me to fully get the hang of this? Wandless, no spell magic.”

“That is hard to say, it took you months to do this, I can’t say how long it’ll be before you’re able to do much more.”

“You could have just said that you believe in me and I could do it.”

Dumbledore sighs, rubbing his eyebrows, “I believe in you, you will be able to do it in no time.”

You laugh, packing up your books. Today’s practice is over, and it will be the last one until you return from winter break. After saying bye to Dumbledore, you open the grand doors, the chill of the hallways welcome you.

Exhaling, you could see your breath in the cold. 2 weeks at home, 2 weeks with your family, 2 weeks with your mother… and whoever she invites.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid-” turning a corner, you bump into someone. 

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” mumbling an apology, you rub your nose, trying to ease the pain.

“All good, I’ve never had a problem running into you.” 

Familiar golden hair, bright blue eyes, the warmest smile that a person could ever see. A black and yellow scarf wrapped around his neck, he tilts his head to tease you slightly.

“Archer! It’s been so long!” 

“You could say that again, I haven’t seen your face as much.”

“Ahaha, yeah. I’ve just been a little busy with things here and there.”

“Well, it is a big castle too.”

“Nonsense! I’ve missed you, it really is a shame that I haven’t seen much of you.”

Both of you began to walk down the hallway, enjoying the company. 

“I suppose that we could hang out after winter break is over.” Archer places his hands in his pockets, his fingers digging into his thigh as he replayed what he had just said over and over again in his head.

You raise your eyebrows in surprise, “you’d want that? Really?” 

“Y-yeah, of course! We could go to the Three Broomsticks and grab a Butterbeer, and talk about all the things that happened this year.”

A shy grin spread across your face. Was he asking you out? 5 years into knowing each other, could this finally be the time that you’re getting a boyfriend?

“Sounds good.” 

Both of you stop outside the Ravenclaw dormitories, he says goodbye, leaving you to enter into the common room. Walking up to the dormitories, only Melissa remained out of your group of four.

“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you would have left by now.” You ask, removing your heavy coat and other accessories.

“Not yet, I’m still packing. My brothers want me to bring them something, so I spent some time in Hogsmeade shopping.”

You sit down next to her on the bed, “what did you get for them?”

“A couple of Sneakoscopes, they can tell you if someone is lying or being untrustworthy.” She brings one out of a small bag, handing it to you.

“How does it tell you if someone is lying?” 

“It lights up, spins, lets out loud noises. It’ll be annoying for sure, but luckily I'm at Hogwarts for most of the year anyway.”

 “Interesting things, your brothers are bound to enjoy them.” 

Melissa takes the sneakoscope back, putting it inside the bag. She zips up her suitcase and stands up.

“The train is about to set off soon, are you ready?” She asks.

“Yeah, I already packed, so now I just need to head to the train.” 

“Let’s go together, we can complain about the snow while we walk.”

“Haha, deal.”

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

The snow covered castles of Hogwarts slowly faded away as the Hogwarts express made its way to London’s King Cross station. Melissa went with her family, leaving you alone at the station.

As the clock continued to tick, hours passed, still no one came to pick you up. Your dad would usually be on time, so this was unusual. The sheer cold became too much, so scrounging whatever money you had, you paid for a taxi to take you home. 

The ride felt cold and almost eerily still. There was something uneasy about going home, something you just couldn’t explain. The feeling was even stronger when you were in front of your home. No Christmas decorations, it looked lifeless. The neighborhood looked as if there was a gray filter on it, what could be going on?

Turning the door knob, you enter your home.

“Hello? Is anyone home?” you set down your bags, walking around. Checking multiple rooms until you enter the nursery, where your brother is holding Dahlia and Nathan sitting down near her feet.

“Mom?” you whisper. The room is so cold that your warm breath spread through the air.

Nathan took notice of you immediately, his eyes welling up with tears. He runs up to you, hugging you so tightly, spilling into sobs.

“What's wrong, why is everything so cold?” you wrap your arms around your younger brother, he seems so frail.

Your mother didn’t answer, she just kept mumbling about something. You wipe Nathan's tears and ask him, hoping he could provide some insight.

“H-he’s gone…” he cries out.

Your brows furrowed in confusion, “who’s gone?”

“Dad! He’s gone!” he begins to cry again, hiding his face in your coat.

“Gone? Gone where?” You ask again, heart thumping against your rib cage.

“Death…” that was one word that you could make out from your mother's senseless rambles.

It felt as your body went numb. It couldn’t be, she had to have been talking about something else? Your dad is probably just at the store or something, nonsense, complete nonsense.

Swallowing your anxiety, you wipe Nathan's tears again. Heading towards the living room, you start a fire, hoping it’ll warm the house. After a few hours, you manage to get everyone down to the living room, giving them blankets and making them food.

“Can you tell me again…where is dad?” you ask, palms forming sweat as you look at your mother's lifeless state.

“He was drafted…in the war…” she whispers, her voice so dry.

“When?” 

“In October” Nathan replies, his hand on his mothers.

“Well…where is he now?” The heavy feeling seems to be crushing your shoulders. You want to hear what you want to hear, afraid to listen to the truth.

“He’s dead.”

Those two words from your mother felt like she just professed the end of the world. Is this why he stopped sending letters? The lack of communication was odd, but you didn’t think anything of it. Your father…he was gone. It was hard to keep it together, so you joined your family in silence.

Later that night, when you were alone in your room, you hid under your blankets, tears gushing out of your eyes. The walls were thin, so any loud sob could be heard by others. How, how could he be gone? You saw him at the train station when he dropped you off for your 5th year, he couldn’t have been drafted the next month.

Fingers digging into the sheets, you put down on your fingers, wanting to stop the tears from flowing, which were now staining your pillow. According to Nathan, he died two weeks ago, his funeral is later this week. How are people strong enough to put the ones they love in a coffin? Who has that kind of mental strength, certainly not you? If you had known the last time you hugged him would be the last time, perhaps you would have hugged him for a little longer.

The next few days until the funeral were spent inside your room. Every so often you went down to keep the fire going, but not much else. The day of the funeral, it was raining. The Davis family also attended, along with some others.

Your heart felt hollow looking at your father's grave. It’s hard to believe that he’s really gone. No more pep talks, no more asking about your family history…nothing. 

A shaky hand on the tombstone, you begin to cry once again. Wet footsteps approach from behind. The free flowing rain now echoing over an umbrella.

You turn around, a tall figure stood behind you.

“I'm sorry for your loss.”

Jarrod Davis. He seemed to have sneaked away from his family to try an attempt at consoling you. There wasn’t any concern on his face, it was smug as always. 

“Yeah…thanks…” you whisper, turning your head back to the tombstone.

“Well, you can’t stay here forever, come along now, we must join the others.” 

You staying silent seemed to annoy him. He kept urging you to get up, not getting the hint that this was a funeral for your father, and that grief isn’t easy. 

“Would you get off my back, why are you so adamant about me coming anyway?” you snap back, annoyed at his constant pestering.

“ I don’t want my future wife to be sprawled on the floor over a tombstone.”

You slowly blinked, confused. Did you just hear him correctly? 

“Wife? What are you on about?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard? Your mother is planning on marrying us”.

Shuffling your feet on wet puddles, you stand up. You didn’t know if it was his words or the cold of the rain that made a chill go up your spine.

“You’re joking, that’s not funny.” 

“You think so? Go ask, I’m sure that she’ll confirm whatever I say.”

You brush past him, chest heaving, as you walk through the cold rain to the building where the guests were. Your mother was talking to Davis', tears staining her cheeks, hands crumpling a tissue. Would it be wise to create a scene here?

“Mom…” you say, walking up to her, close enough to whisper, “I need to talk to you tonight.”

She looked directly in your eyes, she knew exactly what you were referring to. This hurt, the look in her eyes of certainty. She would have you married to someone you barely even knew, and for what?

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

Later that night, when your family returned to your home, all hell broke loose.

“What do you mean I’m getting married?!” you exclaim, it felt like a vein was about to pop out of your throat.

“You insolent girl, I’m doing this for your own good!” she retorts, her nails digging into the wooden desk she leaned against.

“What good?! You’re just doing this because they’re rich! If you want money, I can get a job in the wizarding world-”

“Nonsense! I don’t want you going there again. Your father was a fool to send you there. Feed these ideas of magic in your head.”

“Calling a man a fool on his funeral, only you would have the nerve to do something like that.”

She looked at you with scorn after that comment. If looks could kill, you would have disintegrated into pieces. 

“Jarrod is a nice boy, he will make an excellent husband, stop being so difficult.”

“I’m 16! I can’t get married, I have thing’s I want to do-!”

A sharp noise echoes throughout the room, stinging pain spreads across your cheek as you stumble backwards, hitting the bookshelf. Your hand goes to your cheek, holding it as you stare at your mother.

“Mom!” Nathan yells out, he attempts to get in between you and her, but he’s just pushed away.

“Stay out of this! This girl will learn her place in proper society, even if it means I beat some sense into her.”

You remain silent for the rest of the time she talks, barely listening to what she says. All you could think of was what was going to happen to you, to your siblings. Your mother seemed to be one foot in the grave herself with the way she’s acting.

After she went to bed, you crawled your way to your room, under the sheets once again. It was hard to tell which emotion you felt more at the moment. Anger? Sadness? Even emptiness may have been a good answer.

Tears didn’t even drop, maybe everything dried up from the constant crying throughout the week.

Closing your eyes shut, you hoped that when you woke up, you’d be back in your dorm room at Hogwarts. However, not too long later, you hear the door creak open. With the flash of lightning, it illuminated your little brother's face.

“Nathan?” you whisper, getting up from your lying position.

“You need to leave.” He says.

“What?” you’re puzzled, this was completely out of the blue, especially for him.

“Mom’s going to sell you off to the Davis’, so you have to leave, now.” 

“Nathan, I can’t just leave, it’s not that easy. Where am I even supposed to go at this time of night?”

“Back to Hogwarts, where she can’t find you.”

He looked so hurt, you never saw him look like this. You pat the area next to you, he walks over and sits down. He’s grown so much over the past few years, it’s hard to recognize him sometimes.

“Nathan, it’s complicated, I know, but I’ll figure something out.”

“No, you can't. I heard her talking to them, and by the end of the year, they’re planning on making it official.”

A sense of dread now passes over you, it’s as if a dementor is trying to suck the life out of you. Remaining silent, you close your eyes for a minute, trying to think of a solution.

“If I leave, I need to take you and Dahlia with me. There’s no way you’re going to stay here with her.”

“Don’t worry about that. I talked to auntie Merin, she said she’d be happy to take us in.”

“That’s all the way in the countryside.”

He smiles, but you could see the pain behind the smile, “It beats living here.”

“Nathan…” the tears that felt as though they dried up now sprung forth as you embraced him.

“I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself to keep our family stable, that’s not fair on you. Dad would have never wanted this.” 

“I miss him…you know” you whisper, holding him tighter.

“Me too, it felt like the light was drained from this place when he left…mom became unbearable.”

“You sure you don’t want to come with me? The wizarding world is a wonderful place. You and Dahlia would love it there.”

“No, that place isn’t for us. It’s for you.”

“Don’t say that…”

“It’s true, you’re a wizard. We’ll just get in your way.”

Letting go of the hug, you look at him. Did he really feel this way?

“But when you graduate, you can come visit anytime you want! You won’t need anyone's protection, and…maybe the war will be over by then.”

“Are you sure living in the countryside is for you?”

“It’ll be safer for us.”

After more discussion, you pack your things once more, earlier than you ever expected. This time, more things were added, seeing as how you had no intention of coming back to this place. Nathan helped you with the process, both of you enjoying the company of each other. It seemed a little melancholic, but it needed to be done.

You put on a coat over your clothes, ready to head out. 

“Do you know how to send me letters via owl?” you ask him.

“Of course, I saw dad do it many times. I’ll write to you a lot.”

“And I’ll reply to each one.”

You head to Dahlia’s room, where she’s sleeping peacefully, kissing her on the head. Before exiting the house, you hug Nathan one last time, telling him to stay safe and tell if he needs anything.

“I’ll miss you.” he says, trying to hold back tears.

“I’ll miss you too, but I’ll visit, okay? This isn’t the last time, I promise.”

He nods, opening the door for you. You bring out your wand, holding it out in front of you. Not too long later, a rather tall bus appears in front of you at lightning speed. The doors open, a man greeting you and taking your luggage. 

One foot inside the bus, you look behind you and see Nathan hugging the door. You wished the circumstances were different, you want them to come with you, but it just can’t happen right now.

You wave goodbye, and he returns it. Entering the bus, the door closes behind you, now moving extremely fast. The man asks for 11 sickles to get to Hogsmeade, which you give. Sitting down one of the beds, you look down at your hands, the feeling now setting in that you just left your family, your father is dead, and your mother has finally lost it. You begin to sob again, holding your face in your hands as the cries escape. 

Things seemed so peaceful when the term started, why couldn’t they just stay that way?

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

The knight bus came to a sudden stop, the destination was reached. After getting your luggage, you walk yourself to the castle. It was raining here too, not even bothering to use a spell to protect yourself, you walk to Hogwarts in pain and cold.

As you got closer and closer to the castle, the feeling of dread got larger, as if it was clouding your sense of being. Your vision became shaky as you walked on the floors of Hogwarts, wet footsteps following behind you. The great hall was just up ahead, you hold your cold wet fingers out to open the door, hoping there was someone there.

The door creaks as it opens. Christmas decorations lined the room, festive energy in the air. Your vision tries to focus itself on someone you could know, and there are two right in the middle of the room. 

Dumbledore, who seemed to be talking with Tom. The creaking of the door alerts them as they see you holding onto the door for dear life, clothes soaking wet from the rain, head hung low. 

“Y/n.” Dumbledore says, recognizing you immediately.

Tom also raises his brow, getting up from his seat. Your vision becomes blurry once more as your legs give out on you. Collapsing on the floor, you’re tired from everything that has happened. Your eyes close, welcoming the darkness.

Dumbledore and Tom are taken aback, both rushing towards you. Dumbledore holds you, trying to wake you up, but it doesn’t work. He yells to one of the other professors to get Crafince

You’re taken to the hospital wing, where Crafince immediately tries to figure out what’s wrong. She dries you up, making sure that you don't stay in your wet clothes. Dumbledore and Tom are across the room as Crafince works, wondering what could have happened to make you collapse on the floor.

After some time, Crafince makes her way over to them and gives her analysis.

“Cold skin, her eyes are swollen and there's a red mark on her cheek. It’s safe to say that she did not have fun at home.”

“You’re saying someone in her family did this?” Tom asks, his brows crinkling inward, looking rather annoyed.

“Possibly, she might have collapsed due to a combination of walking in the rain and stress. Give her some time and she’ll wake up, but for right now she needs rest, lots of it.” Crafince nods and leaves to attend to another.

“She always did talk about her mother being overbearing…” Dumbledore whispered, he looked over at Tom, who seems to have his gaze glued to you.

“Is there something on your mind?” Dumbledore asks. 

Tom doesn’t answer, his eyes seem to look almost piercing as he stares at your sleeping form. It seems all too familiar to him, you being unconscious while he and Dumbledore watch from afar.

“Déjà vu…” he whispers.

“Pardon?” Dumbledore turns his head towards him, confused as to what he said.

“Nothing, I’ll be leaving now.” 

Tom turns and leaves the hospital wing, his expression still confused. Dumbledore tries not to question him, more worried about your condition and what could have caused it. On the other hand, he’s glad that you made it back to Hogwarts without any serious injuries. He’d have to ask you what happened when you woke up.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

Hours upon hours later, you wake up. Throat dry, you erupt into a coughing fit, looking around to see where you were. The all too familiar walls of the hospital wing. Everything hit you like a ton of bricks, the events from the past week, last night, it screwed with your head.

“Ugh…” you latch onto your head, bringing it down to your knees.

“Someone’s awake.” Crafince walks up to your bed, a pitcher, and glass in hand. She pours a glass full of water and hands it to you.

You happily drink it, hoping it would soothe your throat.

“Looks like I made it…” you trail off, eyes wandering around the room.

“Yes you did, and you caused quite the scare for Dumbledore. Even Tom Riddle looked conflicted, and Merlin knows both of you aren’t peas in a pod.”

“He was worried?” your thumb traces the rim of the cup, listening to Crafince rant.

“Well he certainly didn’t look pleased when he saw you lying unconscious. Left right after I told both him and Dumbledore what happened.”

“Ah…” piecing the puzzle together wasn’t hard. He was the one who stayed by your side constantly when you were recovering from the Vampire attack when both of you traveled back in time.

“Enough of that, Dumbledore will come later on to ask you what happened. Right now you just need to take it easy.” 

Sure enough, Dumbledore came a little later. He was relieved that you managed to wake up. After making sure you were okay, he immediately got to asking what happened while you were away.

Explaining every detail you could remember, you recall the events since leaving Hogwarts for winter break. Your dad dying, you almost being married to that cretin Jarrod, having to leave your family. 

“I see… I am very sorry for what you’ve gone through.” Dumbledore offers his condolences, feeling true pity for you.

“I won’t be going outside the wizarding world anytime soon,” your nose scrunches as you feel the stinging sensation in your eyes, “It was really hard to leave my family…”

You brush your hand against your eyes, not wanting to cry anymore, or cry in front of someone for that matter. It’s just too much to go through the same emotions you’ve been repeating for the past week, but it couldn’t be helped.

“I’m sure it was, you’re very brave for leaving.”

“I don’t understand how something could crumble so quickly. Going home during breaks…even though there were bumpy roads, I looked forward to it. Seeing my family, my home…all that seems to be gone now.”

“Things may seem as though they will never return to normal, but I assure you, one day you will be reunited with your family. The world has been thrown into chaos, but we cannot lose hope, because if we do…that will be the beginning of the end.”

Dumbledore's words of comfort do work slightly, but they just couldn’t erase the heavy feeling over your heart. Seeing as how you were getting tired, he left you to rest, leaving the hospital wing. You turn onto your side, facing towards the window as you contemplate once more. Everything seemed still at the moment, as if even time had stopped. Closing your eyes, you hoped that you would drift into a lovely dream where you didn’t have to worry about anything.

Not too long after, you fell asleep. The hospital wing was empty, only you remained in the room, for now. When dusk broke, someone else entered the hospital wing, Crafince nagging behind them.

“You should know better to mess with potions without a professor present!” she exclaims, her voice bouncing off the walls, making you wake up.

You push yourself up, rubbing your eyes to see who it was she was yelling at. After focusing, you noticed the familiar hair of black and simple clothing.

“What happened?” you ask, still half asleep.

Both of them take notice of you, Crafince being the first to speak up.

“Riddle right here made a mess in a potions classroom and injured his arm,” She says, rubbing ointment on his arm, “sit here, I need to get gauze.”

She leaves the room, the giant doors shutting behind her. Silence filled the room, you didn’t know if you should strike up a conversation. Both of you aren’t on the best terms, but things were looking up before they went down again…

“I didn’t know you could mess up on potions.” you say, hoping that it wouldn’t offend him.

You could hear a scoff covered laugh, “this potion was different.”

“Different enough for you not to consult a professor?” 

He turned to look at you. You half expected a gaze of vexation, but that wasn’t it. He for once looked relaxed. He wasn’t smiling, nor was he frowning, he just looked like a normal person.

“I suppose that was a mistake on my part, a mistake of which I am paying the consequences for.” He stares down at his arm that is covered in ointment. 

“How bad is the pain?” 

“Do you want a scale?”

“Out of ten.”

Tom closes his eyes and lets out a huff of a laugh, he seems to find the notion of you wanting a scaled rating of his pain amusing.

“A four, nothing too serious. I just think Crafince doesn’t enjoy patching people up during winter break.” 

“Or maybe she thought that someone as responsible as you couldn’t do something so reckless. What made you want to experiment with such a dangerous potion anyway?” you hang your feet over the bed, wanting to face him.

“Curiosity, just something I wanted to try.”

“Never thought I’d see the day that Tom Riddle would mess up at potions.” you gave him a crooked smile, mainly due to your drowsy state.

He locked eyes with you, face still stoic, “don’t get used to it.”

Madam Crafince returns, cutting the conversation short.

“What are you doing, get your feet back onto the bed!” She waves her hand towards you, then turns back to Tom, “The ointment won’t heal you completely, so stay here for a few hours, so I can check on you to see if you’re recovering correctly.”

“Spending the night in the hospital wing? Forget it-” Tom attempts to get up, however madam Crafince has other plans when she pushes Tom back down.

“Young man, I will only say this once. Stay here until the wound has shown signs of improvement.”

Tom stayed silent, not wanting to argue with someone who won't change her mind. He scoots back onto the bed and lays down while Crafince continues to patch him up.

“Another thing, I better not see the both of you fighting in here. Any show of shooting magic at each other and the both of you can patch your injuries in the courtyard.” Crafince gives both of you a stern look as she leaves.

Silence fills the air once more, to the point where you think you could hear the snow falling outside. You stare at the ceiling, unable to sleep, thinking of what you were going to do once the term starts again.

Tom closes his eyes, but his curiosity just could not let him rest until he asks you what happened.

“So, why did you come back here?” He asks.

You raise your brows at the question, not expecting him to ask.

“My dad died in the war.” 

Tom didn’t say anything, but he did open his eyes at the confession. He looks towards you, seeing how you’re struggling to keep talking.

“My mom tried to marry me off to a rich snob, I had to leave my family…”

No tears fell during this round of reminiscence, but your heart still stung talking about it. Tom stayed silent for some time before saying something.

“I find the notion that someone would agree to marry you a little ridiculous”

“Seriously, you’re making jokes now?” You roll your eyes, the somber feeling leaving you as you turn your attention to your fellow injured student who had horrible timing with jokes.

“Take it as me trying to lighten the mood. I don’t even have to look at you to know that you were about to cry.”

“Terrible timing, you have terrible timing.”

Tom closed his eyes once more, “Maybe I do.”

“And you didn’t know that I was about to cry, my voice didn’t even shake when I was talking.”

“I think I’ve known you long enough to tell when you’re trying to act like the hero. Pretending it’s not bothering you even though it is.”

You bit the inside of your cheek. He isn’t wrong, he’s one of the people who’s seen you at your worst and at your best. Despite the usual bad blood between the both of you, it’s hard to deny that he probably does know you better than you think he does. 

Pulling the blanket over you, you lay down once more. The room felt cold, reaching over for your wand, you cast Incendio at the barren fireplace. The flames let out light crackles, its warmth spreading throughout the room. You close your eyes, hoping to get some rest, Tom does the same.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

The next morning when you wake up, Tom is already gone. It’s not like you expected him to stay, his injury wasn’t that serious, or that’s what you thought. Crafince would be around for the morning check up in a little, if she thinks that you’ve recovered enough to leave the hospital wing then this will hopefully be your last time laying in this bed.

In the meantime you space out, thinking about your siblings and what they may be doing. Would your aunt be taking care of them properly? No owls came yet, so you can only imagine that things are going well.

The door creaks open, Crafince approaching you. She immediately gets to work, giving a thorough check-up.

“Well, it seems as though you’ve recovered well. You’re free to go, but take it easy, and don’t go outside just yet, it’s still too cold.”

You leave and go back to your dorm room. It’s fairly empty since your friends are still on winter break. Your suitcases and any luggage you managed to bring are neatly set beside your bed, waiting to be opened. A new fresh pair of clothes wouldn’t hurt, it beats wearing whatever hospital gown you have on right now. 

Strolling down the hallways, you thought of ways you could pass time before the classes resume. What could Hogwarts have to offer during winter break anyway? Turning a corner, you run into someone. 

“Tch, you have a knack for running into people. Perhaps you should look before you walk.”

“Isn’t it too early in the morning for you to act like a dick?”

Tom’s lips slanted, not amused by you snapping back at him.

“And who else have I run into?” You ask, crossing your arms.

“That golden retriever hufflepuff boy of yours, I care not to remember his name.”

“Archer? But that was before winter break even started. Wait, were you watching us?”

“I just happened to be passing by, you’re not interesting enough for me to keep an eye on.”

You inhale sharply, reminding yourself that it would be useless trying to argue with him right now. 

“Whatever.” You brush past him.

Tom takes a deep breath before turning around, “Wait.”

You stop walking, looking at him, wondering what he wants. He looks like he’s seriously struggling with what he wanted to say.

“I need your help with something…” he says.

You raise your brows, taken aback by his sudden need for assistance after saying all of that to you. 

“With what?”

“Just follow me, I can’t talk about it here.”

Tom begins to walk away, expecting you to follow him. You stand still for a moment, shocked that he would expect for you to listen to him. After contemplating for a few moments, you decide to go, it’s not like there’s anything better to do.

He leads you down to the Slytherin dungeons. A place you aren’t a complete stranger too, but it’s not exactly the go-to place to hang out either. What could he possibly want anyway?

He opens a door that was shrouded in darkness, it cracks open, revealing a room with a ton of books and a small table. Potion supplies seemed to be scattered around the room, one vial was still dripping with something.

“So, why are we here?” you ask as he closes the door behind the both of you.

“I need help cleaning this up.”

You scoff, “you need me to help you clean up? Get real, I’m out of here.”

He grabs you by your wrist, restricting your movement.

“It takes two people to clean the mess that… I made.”

You think for a moment, piecing things together, “Wait, is there where you got hurt?” looking around the room once more, you noticed that things looked like they were left in a hurry, “What were you making?”

“I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that I need you to help me clean it up.”

He lets you go, but you walk backwards, back against the wall.

“Look, I don’t want to get involved with whatever experiment you were doing here, I’m not going to be an accomplice.”

“And I suppose you dragging me to the astronomy tower when we were younger and getting me into trouble doesn’t cross your mind? You owe me.”

“Really? I went into the forbidden forest as a punishment, I don’t owe you anything.”

He blocks the door, by the look in his eyes he really does seem desperate for your help.

“First…tell me what the hell happened here.” you say.

“I can’t go into detail, but let’s just say it was a potion to protect something, and it backfired.”

“Backfired is an understatement, Crafince said it looked like your arm was burned pretty badly.”

“That’s beside the point, I need to get rid of it.”

“How am I supposed to help with that?”

Tom takes out his wand, pointing it at the door, “Colloportus”

The door locks, unable to be opened by manual means. You didn’t really get why he had to go to such measures, and not like he’d tell you anyway.

He takes out two vials from a box on the floor, one was colored green while the other seemed to be a foggy gray.

He held up the foggy gray potion, “I was working on this, but forgot a crucial step, and that’s how I got burned.”

“I’m guessing the crucial step has something to do with the green stuff?” 

He nods, opening the corks of both the vials. He pours the green into the other vial, mixing it slowly. The potion turns green fully, glowing inside the poorly lit room.

“Now it won’t hurt me, physically at least,” he stares at you while holding the vial, “I need you to stand watch while I drink it.”

Your eyes almost pop out of your head at the idea. Immediately, you rush over to him, attempting to get the vial out of his hand.

“Are you crazy?! That thing burned your arm and now you want to ingest it?” you try to reach for the potion, but he holds it above his head.

“I told you, It’s safe now. I was just being an idiot last night.” He pushes you back slightly.

“Okay, you’re still crazy. Why do I need to be here to witness it?” 

“To make sure that I don’t do anything reckless.”

Your brows furrow at his reasoning. He’s a smart person, yet he’s doing something so incredibly stupid that you just can't wrap your mind around it.

“What am I supposed to do then, watch?” you ask, hesitant to hear his answer.

“Yes, but if things start getting out of your control, you have to subdue me.”

Usually a part of you would rejoice in the thought of knocking him out cold, but under these circumstances it just felt…wrong. He starts bringing the potion to his lips, but before he could drink it, you stop him again.

“Wait! What’s it going to do to you?”

“If made correctly, it’ll induce fear and pain, amongst other things.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? What’s the point? I don't understand.”

Tom swirls the potion once more, “You don’t need to, just stand by, and if things get out of control…you know what to do.”

Tom tilts his head back, drinking the potion in one full swing. His eyes dart open, his face contorting as he forces himself to drink the potion completely. After the last drop rolls down his throat, he drops the potion vial, it shatters on contact with the floor. He coughs repeatedly, backing up until his back hits the bookshelf behind him. The books topple over, falling down, Tom slides down with them. 

You shuffle over closer to him, but he holds his arm out, telling you to stay away. He begins to pant, his nails digging into the floorboards. Groans leave his mouth, it sounds as if he’s being tortured. It’s hard to watch and hear, and despite the fact that things aren’t out of control at the moment, it’s hard to not step in and help. 

He lets out an agonizing groan, holding his head in his hands. You turn your head back and forth, contemplating on what you should do. Yes he’s an asshole and makes your life a living hell sometimes, but Merlin you just can’t stand and watch this happen!

You rush over to him, despite his protests. Kneeling down, you hold his face in your hands, his eyes closed shut, sweat forming on his brows as he thrashes around.

“ill…me…” he whispers in between disgruntled groans.

“What?” you ask, trying to keep him steady.

“Kill me!” he yells in an agonizing way. His eyes look as though he’s pleading for you to finish the job. It terrified you to see him like this.

Tom Riddle, someone who’s usually so composed and well put together, is asking for you to kill him. 

“I’m not going to kill you-!” you begin to fight against his hands who try to push you away, but you won’t have any of it.

“Do it…do it now!” he yells once more, the pain in his eyes now turning into anger.

You hold your wand in your hand, pointing the tip at him, “Incarcerous!” 

Ropes shootout and bind him, rendering him unable to move. He continues to groan and cry as he lies on the floor. You stand up, holding your hand to your mouth as you recall the scene that just happened. It was one of the most frightening things you had witnessed, and that might partially have to do with the fact that it was Tom that was going through all this pain.

Some time later, he passes out, still bound by rope. You sit in an old wooden chair, watching over him as his breath grows easy. Relieved that it was over, you still couldn’t wrap your mind around what made him do what he did. 

After what felt like ages, Tom started to wake up. The pain that once consumed him was no longer there, he felt slightly relieved. You notice him shuffling on the ground, immediately releasing him of the rope.

“Are you okay?” you ask, kneeling down to his level.

“Mnn… I’m fine…” he says, attempting to stabilize himself.

After he felt like he could sit without falling down, he looked over at you. You still look worried about him, and it’s very apparent on your face.

“Stop looking at me like that.” He says.

“Why? Do you not appreciate that I’m worried about you? What state of mind do you need to be in to do something like that?!” you yell.

He’s taken aback by your sudden shift in tone, not expecting you to raise your voice so suddenly.

“I just needed to test something out, stop mulling over it.”

“You were writhing in pain and crying, what’s so important that you needed to subject yourself to that much pain?”

“If I had known that you were going to be so annoying about this, I would have done it myself.”

That hurt, a little more than it should have. You didn’t know why it hurt, almost anything that came out of his mouth was an insult, you should be used to it by now. Standing up, you grab your wand and begin to walk out of the room. The cold air of the Slytherin dungeons welcome you as you pace yourself across the cold, barren hallway.

You hear a thump behind you, turning around you see Tom slumped against the wall trying to catch up with you.

“Wait-” he says, hand on the wall trying to walk.

“What are you doing, you can’t walk.” You stand still, arms crossed as you watch him attempting to get closer to you.

“Doesn’t help that you’re so far away now.”

“The only person you have to blame for that is yourself.” you begin to walk away again, but once more you hear a thud and stop.

Tom is on his knees, head hung low, and he tries to catch his breath. You take a moment to consider, in a second you walk up to him, kneeling down to his level.

“And now you owe me,” throwing his arm around your shoulder, you balance him against you as you begin to walk, “Where is your dorm room?”

“Just…keep going until you see the big black doors.” he’s sluggish in his movement, which makes it that much harder to walk with him.

The both of you arrive at the doors of the common room. Tom utters the password, which makes you roll your eyes. Only the Slytherins would have “pure blood” as their password.

The Slytherin common rooms are elegant. Cold emerald green covered the room, the room felt rather hollow despite the vast amount of furnishings that were placed in the room. Luckily, there was nobody there, or else you’d be in for one hell of an earful about entering another house's common room.  

You miraculously walk Tom all the way to his dorm room, practically throwing him onto his bed. He groans in pain as you take a deep breath, glad to be rid of the excess weight that was on your side.

“Good riddance.” you mumble, heading towards the door.

Before you could get away, Tom waves his wand, locking the door with a spell. You shake the door handle but to no avail. Frustrated, you stare at him while he scoots himself to sit down.

Rolling your eyes, you take out your wand, about to use a spell to open the door, but he disarms you instead.

“What- what the hell is wrong with you? Just go to sleep already!” you exclaim, clearly frustrated by his antics.

“I need to know, before you go, that you won’t tell anyone about what happened today.”

“What? Do you think I'm going to go running to Dumbledore or Dippet and tell them that the star student of Slytherin, the masterful prefect, is actually a psycho that drinks dangerous potions that make him writhe in agony??” 

“Yes.”

“Ugh!” you just want to get away from him already, but knowing him he’s going to do everything in his power to make sure that you don’t.

“I won't tell, now let me go.”

“I need your word.”

“You have my word. Now let me leave.”

Tom waves his wand and unlocks the door, you leave as soon as the door clicks open. Rushing down the stairs, you think of how relieved you’re going to be out of the Slytherin dungeons once and for all.

While making your way down the stairs, your heart stops when you see the main door open. Stopping in your tracks, you watch like a deer in headlights as someone walks in. You’re somewhat relieved when you see it’s just Slughorn, but that doesn’t make it any better. 

Slughorn takes notice of you and is just as surprised to see you as you are to see him.

“Ms. L/n, what are you doing here?” he asks.

“I…um… I was just…helping someone.” there isn’t enough time to come up with a decent lie. Stupid Tom, if he didn’t play that damn game of keeping you locked in his room, you could have avoided this.

“Helping someone, who?” 

Dammit Slughorn, why can’t you just ignore what’s happening?

“You see…”

“She was helping me, professor.” 

Looking to the top of the stairs, you see Tom staring down, intervening in the conversation.

“Oh, Tom! Well what were the both of you doing?”

“Just some school work, it’s not that big of a deal.” you let out somewhat of an awkward laugh, the unpleasant tension feeling like it's pressing down on your chest. 

“Well I suppose that’s fine but…why does it have to be here, in the dorm rooms?”

Your nails are digging into your palms, the longer this goes on the more awkward it’s going to get.

“That’s a little private, professor-” Tom begins his excuse but is quickly cut off.

“It was just a school matter, Professor Slughorn! I apologize for intruding in the Slytherin common room space, it won’t happen again!” you power walk past Slughorn, opening the door and slamming it shut behind you, leaving a bewildered Slughorn and an indifferent Tom behind you.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

Over the next few days, you do your best to avoid Tom as much as possible. The new term would be starting soon, so more people filling the halls of Hogwarts would help. You sit next to one of the windows in the hallways, watching the snow fall, thinking of how you’re going to make it through the next semester. The wounds from your fathers' death are still fresh.

You play with the bracelet that he always told to keep with you, this now being one of the last mementos that you have of him. He never got to tell you why it was so important in the first place, perhaps it was a family heirloom? 

The feelings of loneliness and sadness came in waves. One moment you think that you’re fine, and the next you’re here…staring out and contemplating life. An owl did come from Archer a few days ago. It said that Aunt Merin was very kind to them and that they were adjusting well to life in the countryside. It made you smile knowing that your siblings were safe, but it stung your heart knowing that your family was now separated. He didn’t write about what happened with your mother, but knowing her, she probably sought refuge with the Davis family, if they’d even accept her.

When winter break finally did end, you reunited with your friends. Telling them of what a “wonderful” break you had. Immediately showered with their hugs, you felt a little better, knowing that you had such incredible people around you.

“So you went inside the Slytherin common rooms?” Azalea asks, kicking her feet back and forth on her bed.

“Azzy! Is that what you’re really focusing on?” Naomi butts in, a little astonished at Azalea’s attempt to change the topic back to your adventures in the dungeons.

“No, it’s fine, I need to get my mind off of it anyway,” you give a small smile before continuing, “Yeah, I went there, Slughorn caught me trying to leave, it was so…awkward.”

“I bet it’ll be even more awkward when you see him in potions again tomorrow.” Melissa laughs, her teasing just makes you groan even more at the thought.

“Don’t remind me, not only is Slughorn the professor, but that damn Tom is in my class too!” throwing a pillow over your face, you groan as loud as you can.

“I don’t think it’ll be too bad, just try your best to ignore them.” Naomi says.

“Yeah, just make a polyjuice potion and you can do whatever you want.” Azzy gives her two cents, although it may not be the best of advice.

“Disgusting, they always taste so gross. It’s better to just do what you need to do, y/n. Potions is only twice a week.” Melissa gives you a smile, trying to make you feel better.

Spending the rest of the night talking, the four of you fall asleep mid-conversation, still in your day clothes. It makes for a rude awakening in the morning when your body feels stiff from sleeping in weird positions. It can’t be helped, classes still need to be attended.

Getting transfiguration over and done with, you head over to potions, which you’re dreading. You hope whoever is watching over you to please not let Lela and her gang be there. It’s too early in the new semester for a fight to break

out, and you did not have the energy to indulge her in whatever she has to say. 

Luckily for you, they weren’t there. The class was getting full quickly, and you took a seat in the back of the class, avoiding any unneeded attention from the two people you desperately did not want to interact with. Luckily today was just a review day. Multiple things were revised, none of which you took special interest in. You almost fell asleep at one point, but tried to stay awake, fighting the slumber.

When class was over, you were the first out the door, making your way down the hallway as quickly as you could. You’re suddenly pulled to a stop when you feel someone's hand on your wrist, keeping you from moving. You turn back to see who it was, and to a pleasant surprise, it’s Archer.

“Hey…sorry for grabbing you like that. I just needed to talk.”

He lets go of your wrist, looking as sweet as ever. Tom was right about one thing, he truly did give off golden retriever energy. 

“It’s no problem, what is it?”

“Well firstly… I heard about what happened to you over winter break. I’m really sorry.”

You close your eyes to think of how he could have possibly found out, coming to only one possible conclusion, “Did Azalea tell you?”

“Yeah, she said something about it during herbology.”

“Well…thanks for reaching out, it means a lot.”

“Of course. And listen, if you don’t feel up to hanging out anymore, we could put it off until you’re feeling better.” 

“No, no! I could really use that to hang out actually, a distraction would be really nice.”

He smiles, showing his teeth slightly. Who knew that a person showing the smallest bit of happiness could warm your heart so much?

“Great, we could do it this weekend? Since it won’t be too busy.”

“I’d like that, sounds like a date.”

Your smile is suddenly wiped off your face when you realize what you just said. A date? Does he consider it a date? Wait, do you even consider it a date, it just slid right out of your mouth like butter on a pan. 

“I mean, it’s not a date, it’s-” you try to fix your supposed mistake, but to no avail.

“A date? Hmm… I like the sound of that, actually. It’s a date then.”

He actually agreed to it, well that went better than expected.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

Since the next class was starting soon, both of you went your separate ways. You wished that the conversation didn’t have to end so soon, but it couldn’t be helped.

The same process repeated in your next class, just staring off into space while the professor lectured. By the end of the class, your notes were just a mess of words that didn’t even belong together. You’d have to ask someone for their notes another time. Something about the first day back just felt so tiring for some reason.

It also didn’t help that you still couldn’t get your mind off of well…the different things that occurred since winter break started. Stopping by one of the bridges, you peer off into the distance watching as different areas of the ground get covered in fresh snow.

“Oh dad…if only I knew.” you play with your bracelet again. In the span of a week, you managed to lose both of your parents. You wondered if your mom even cared that you ran away, you wished that the relationship between the both of you was better. Perhaps after you were done with Hogwarts you could have worked on that, but that’s not exactly possible anymore.

The chill sweeps inward, brushing against you. Wrapping your robe around yourself tightly, you walk away.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

The weekend came quickly, which was a relief. The weather remained the same, which caused for an extra thick jacket while you were waiting for Archer so the both of you could head to the three broomsticks. 

Archer came in the most surprising way possible, on a flying broomstick. 

“Hey, I didn’t know they were starting quidditch this early.” you say, taking in what you were seeing.

“They aren’t, I managed to sneak one of the brooms, so we could go flying to Hogsmeade.”

“You what?! You know broomsticks are only permitted on the quidditch pitch.”

“I know, which is why you should hop on quickly, before any of the professors notice that I’m flying a little too close to the castle.”

He lowers himself so that it’ll be easier to get on, you grab onto his shoulders as you position yourself, sitting down as comfortably as you can.

“Remember the last time we flew together?” He asks.

“Yeah.”

“Well let’s say I’ve gotten a little faster since then, hold on.”

You take his words to heart, almost digging into his skin as he launches off. You couldn’t help but let out a scream at how fast he was going. The cold weather just made you want to squeeze your eyes shut even more, afraid that a snowflake was going to penetrate your eye if you weren't careful. Even when you played quidditch you weren’t this fast, where did he get this need for speed?

Getting the courage to finally open your eyes, you look down, taking in the sights of Hogsmeade. The Three Broomsticks wasn’t too far, and he seemed to be slowing down quite a bit compared to his initial speed. Getting closer to ground level, he allowed you to step off first before he did.

“We made it, sorry if it scared you.” he smiles, the cold coloring the apples of his cheeks a slight pink.

“Well, I lived,” you begin to laugh, walking into the pub, “But how were you able to fly that fast?”

“It’s a new broom, I got it for Christmas and decided to take it for a test drive.”

“This was your test drive? With me on it?”

“Well I figured I’d might as well have company when I take it for a ride, and who better than a fellow quidditch player.”

Both of you take a seat, the waiter handing you menu’s.

“And what if the broom malfunctioned, then both of us would be face down in the snow, and I don’t think Crafince wants to see me any time soon.” you browse the menu, smiling to yourself.

“It’s a new broom, an expensive one at that, there would be no malfunctioning, and if there was… I could make it up with a free Butterbeer.”

You put down your menu, staring at him with a raised brow, “Free? It only costs two sickles, not five galleons.” 

“Worth a shot.” 

The both of you get some food and continue to talk. Most of the conversations just revolved around reminiscing about the past. You don’t think about previous years at Hogwarts too much, but talking about all the fun things does bring back memories.

“Remember when you launched a book at me during first year?” He asks, smiling as he bites down onto his food.

“I hoped you’d have forgotten about that, not one of my best moments…”

Archer laughs, the noise was almost magic itself,“ What, I like remembering things from when we were younger. Like how I taught you how to ride a broom.”

“True, I have you to thank for being able to do so well in quidditch.”

Archer rests his head on his hand, swirling the drink in his cup with the other, “It’s crazy how we’re in our 5th year. Two more years and we’ll be out of Hogwarts.”

“Don’t go having a midlife crisis on me now, we’re way too young to be thinking about that.”

“I am not having a crisis, I’m just simply stating that time goes by so quickly. I mean one minute I’m being pummeled in the face by a book and the next I'm on a date with the same person who launched it at me.”

Your face heats up slightly, the tone of his voice is so suave, the words sliding off of his tongue with ease. You clear your throat, attempting to come up with something to say. 

“Well…life has unexpected turns and twists. I’m not complaining about this turn of events.”

“Ahaha, I wasn’t expecting you to get flustered about me saying that.”

You bite the inside of your cheeks. It’s not easy to hide your emotions these days, curses for not having better control.

“I’m not flustered- I’m just…” you couldn’t even think of a proper response. Hoping that he’d just gloss over this, you stop talking, looking down at your Butterbeer.

“Don’t worry, I think it’s cute, and we'll…getting you flustered was my goal.” He takes a sip of his drink, still maintaining eye contact with you.

The back and forth between the both of you went on for a while, before you knew it, it had gotten dark outside. Hitching a ride back to Hogwarts on Archer's broom, he drops you off at one of the arched cloister bridges before flying back to the quidditch pitch to return his broom.

It was dark now, the chill of winter began to creep up on you. Closing your jacket around yourself, you began to walk. The bridge seemed especially creepy at night, but the torches provided some comfort. While walking, you heard something move against the stone walls, turning around you were greeted with a friendly face.

“Orion!” you gleamed, happy to see your snake companion. She had developed a habit of running off, which caused you to worry since she was still a relatively small snake compared to others of her species.

Reaching out your hand, you try to get her to climb on, but she ignores you, slithering away to the shadow shrouded area of the bridge. You watch as she goes, a little hurt, but that feeling fades when you hear footsteps approach from the shadows.

Little by little, the figure is unveiled. Shined black boots, green accents on the dark robe, a green tie to match. You seemed to find him in the most riveting and oddest spots in the castle. 

Tom held Orion, she wrapped herself around his arm. Your brows furrow, confused as to why she would ignore you and go for him instead.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, his eyes not breaking contact with yours, even when Orion begins to slither around his shoulder.

“I was taking a walk.” 

Since Tom is a prefect, if he knew that Archer stole a broom from the quidditch equipment, it would spell trouble.

“This late? People are having dinner, shouldn’t you go eat too?”

“Yeah, I just needed some fresh air before I ate. The Great Hall can be stuffy sometimes.” You tried to remain stoic, but it seemed that your eyes gave you away.

Tom began to walk closer to you until he was in front of you. He places his index finger under your chin and lifts your head so that you look up at him.

“It’s not nice to lie.” he says, his expression remaining neutral.

“I’m not, I just didn’t feel well.” 

He pulls his hand away, now analyzing you, “In that case, go eat dinner. The hall will close soon, and besides…this area grows especially cold this time of year.”

It was odd, was he showing genuine kindness? Could it be that he wants to maintain a good relationship, so you don’t tell anyone about that incident in the potions closet?

Before you could reply, Orion hissed and slithered off. You attempted to rush after her, but Tom held onto your wrist, restraining you.

“No need, she will be back.” He says, attempting to provide reassurance.

“But-!”

“It’s nothing, it’s just something that snakes do. She’ll be back.”

You look at him for a moment, then nod your head. He did seem like a snake charmer at one point, so maybe he does know a thing or two about her behavior.

Tom’s hands felt warm against your wrist, which was cold due to not bringing any gloves with you on your adventure to Hogsmeade. He lets go of his grip eventually, your hand cascading down back to your side.

“You should go now, while there’s still food out.” He says.

You nod and brush beside him, walking down the bridge again. Thunder roared from a distance, a storm was brewing. You look at him one last time as you walk, he seems to be staring off into the distance, but for a second he turns his head and both of you look at each other. You continue to walk, and before you know it, you can’t see him anymore. 

The drizzle of rain can be heard from the roof of the bridge, along with the raindrops that bounce against the sides of the bridge. The warmth of the castle welcomed you as you entered through the doors.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

AN:

Hellooo! I want to say, thank you ALL for your kind words regarding the hiatus of this story, as well as your support! Things have gotten busy for me in life, so I haven't been able to dedicate as much time into my creative habits as I would like. I have never forgotten once about this story, or any other story I have in my drafts for the matter. Little by little I write, and I admit at times I did lose motivation and have writers block, but I do mean it when your comments and messages have helped me jump that hurdle and put something out. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, which I have made my longest by far (10k words!), and I am sorry for the wait :)). Thank you for your vigorous amount of support once again!

Taglist <3

@omotan​ 

@kuratitsu

#harry potter #tom riddle #tom riddle x reader #voldemort #tom riddle imagine #horcrux #death eaters #ravenclaw #fantasy #fanfiction #tom riddle x you #harry potter fanfiction

[bubblefina]

HAII !! HOW have u been ?!!?!?!!!?? ❤️❤️

HELLOOOO THEREEEEEEEE

i've been good! college has kept me in a bind and i cannot break free 🤭🤧

I've been writing here and there but majority of my writing has consisted of notes and lab reports 🥲

but anywayzzzzz, i hope to come out with something soon!!! hope all of you are doing well too, i miss interacting and publishing stuff 😭

#staysimpingforfictionalcharacters

[bubblefina]

hot take hot take hot take?

whenever i hear scara’s idle voice lines i always think of jess from gilmore girls

“ You think I've got a sharp tongue? I just tell it like it is. If someone can't handle it, maybe that's their problem. “

it’s been running around in my head for days and i just WANTED TO GET IT OUT THERE

ty for listening 

#genshin impact #gilmore girls

[bubblefina]

Je T’aime 2

Summary: Ever since y/n, princess of Khaenriah, was a child, there have been oddities surrounding her rule. She is sent letters every year on her birthday, laced with encrypted messages from her deceased mother. These letters lead her down a dark path, but with the help of her loyal guard, Dainsleif, she will uncover the truth and bring justice to Khaenriah once more.

Pairings: Dainsleif x f!reader

✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧

The sounds of swords clashing against each other echoed throughout the training grounds. This time of day was around when the trainee knights would practice with one another. Without the supervision of their superiors, the juvenile chevaliers would fight until their swords would break.

Amongst them was a not so fresh recruit, Kaeya Alberich. A very suave young man who’s swordsmanship seemed to trouble the others. He was just that good.

After knocking down another knight, a wooden sword to his neck, he stood tall, offering his hand to the defeated opponent.

“Good work, Luon.” Kaeya smiles, pulling him up.

“Easy for you to say, you’ve beaten over half of us.” Luon brushes off his training sweats which have remnants of dust. 

“In time friend, you’ll beat me one day.” Kaeya along with some others begin to laugh.

“Laughing already? What part of training do you find amusing?” Dainsleif appears from behind the group of trainees.

“Always such a stick in the mud, showing up at the worst of times too. We had just finished sparring.” 

Dainsleif observes Kaeya, his eyes narrowing, “You may have beaten him, but your form is no better than that of a child. You’re all about the offensive, and never think about what the opponent could do next.”

“The opponent can’t do anything if he’s on the floor and at the mercy of my hand.”

“Your ego will not prove useful in a battle, remember that.”

“I assure you, my ego will be the least of your problems if we are in battle.”

Before Dainsleif could retort, the sound of heels clicking on the stone pathways echoed through the training grounds.

“My my if it isn’t her highness.” Kaeya brushes past Dainsleif and walks over to greet the princess.

“Sir Kaeya,” y/n responds, holding out her hand which he takes and places a delicate kiss, “It’s good to see you.”

“Basking myself in your radiant presence gives me all the confidence I need to win any battle. Isn’t that right, Dainsleif?” Kaeya cranes his head back to glance at Dainsleif, who has his arms crossed in a huff stance.

“Oh, Dain. I didn’t know you were here.” y/n giggles, retracting her hand.

“I advise you to refrain from being so friendly with the princess.” Dain says, almost like a threat.

“Enough with that. I’m glad I found you anyways Dain, I want to remind you that you have to escort me to Lady Rhinedottir’s tea party tomorrow.” 

“How could I forget about that? I’ll see to it that you’re escorted, your highness.” Dainsleif bows quickly, before sending a look towards the other trainees, telling them to get back to work.

Many winters have passed since the both of them were tied together, a bond between a princess and her knight. Dainsleif was 17, while y/n 16 going on 17 in a few months. Getting used to each other took a while, but now the both of them were practically inseparable. Albeit a few quarrels happened here and there, but that was nothing new. 

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Rhinedottir’s events always had something to look forward to. During the last picnic, one of her creations, she called it a rifthound, got loose and caused a ruckus among the hoard of young ladies that now regret coming to visit. It wouldn’t be surprising if the crowd was smaller this time around, the fear of being attacked was pretty high.

Y/n knew this when she was sent an invitation the week prior. It might have been easy for others to say no, but Rhinedottir was one of her closest friends, and it would be hard to not attend.

The fear mongering might have gotten to the other ladies, for when y/n arrived at the gathering, only a handful of ladies were seated at a small table under the shade of a tree.

“Your highness.” all of them greeted, doing a small curtsey.

“It's wonderful to see you ladies again.” y/n took her seat and began to indulge in the untamed gossip of the upper class.  

One of the ladies, Myra, looked rather tense as the gossip began to sped up. y/n took notice of this, her look of uncomfort.

“Is everything alright, Myra?” she asks.

The lady lets out a heavy breath, setting down her cup of tea.

“The maids at my manor were gossiping about something rather…untasteful.”

“Well do share, all of us have been spilling our guts about the things we’ve been hearing.” Rhinedottir giggles.

“Late last night, I was doing some sketches after my curfew hours in the garden. Two maids were walking outside and I heard them talking about the king.”

Y/n didn’t think much of it, gossip surrounding her father was normal. It's not easy being a monarch, even one mistake will be criticized by thousands. 

“They started talking about how the royal council wants the king to remarry to duke Carwyn’s eldest daughter.”

This was new, and unexpected. The table fell silent as everyone waited for Myra to continue.

“Apparently they think that your highness is unfit for the throne, and by marrying again, a chance for a son may be possible.”

Now everyone's eyes were on her. What was an afternoon of laughter and nonsense turned serious very quickly.

“F-forgive me your highness. I’m only repeating what I heard.” Myra became flush with embarrassment.

“No, no. I’m glad you told me, I had no idea that the council was planning this. Thank you, Myra.” 

The party went on, but y/n was left with a nasty taste in her mouth. She didn’t partake much in conversations after that, nor did she excuse herself to leave, she didn’t want to do anything.

When the sun began to set, the ladies were all escorted back to their carriages. Y/n was saying her farewell to Rhinedottir, who too looked pained.

“Don’t let the words get to you too much, people love you as their princess y’know?”

“Thank you, Rhine. I just need to clear my head.”

“I’m always here if you need to talk. Have a safe trip back.”

Y/n walked out of the gates until she saw Dainsleif standing by the carriages. He visibly sighed when he saw her, and her complex expression.

“I heard what they said.” 

She didn’t look into his eyes, all she did was stare at the floor.

“They’re planning on getting rid of me…their own princess.”

“We still don’t know if it's gossip or actually true. You mustn't take it to heart.” 

“C’mon Dain, they never approved of my parents marriage, who’s to say that they didn’t approve of me either, since the beginning.”

“Y/n-”

“They probably think I'm some filthy half-blood who was lucky to be born into this position, and now they’re trying to take it away from me. What the hell!”

Dainsleif grips onto her shoulders, standing her up straight and looking directly into her eyes.

“If it is the slightest bit true, acting like this will not help your position. They will think you immature and unfit for the throne, and at worst they will have you exiled as you pose a threat.”

Her hands wind into fists, her nails digging into the skins of her palms. It was so infuriating that the people who she thought she could trust the most were possibly backstabbers. Suddenly her eyes grew wide as she gasped, covering her mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Dainsleif asks in panic.

“My mother…what if they were the reason she died?” her eyes stung slightly, tears could threaten to fall any second.

“That's…that's a reach of speculation.”

“I know it's hard to believe, but hearing that they’re planning on taking the throne away from me…it's not entirely impossible.”

“We cannot keep discussing this here, let’s get you home.” Dainsleif guides her to the carriage, sitting down before closing the door.

The ride home was filled with silence, perhaps y/n had exhausted herself with her small breakdown outside, even she couldn’t tell. 

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A few days have passed since the tea party. Y/n was on edge for most of the time, her head spinning with theories that may or may not be true. Her mothers death was never investigated, they just accepted it as it was…a tragedy.

Her mothers personal letters were not of much help either. The past few were just details of how she and Nasir met. She was a commoner, while he was engaged to a princess of another nation. Of course that arrangement didn’t work out, or else y/n wouldn’t be alive.

The nation grieved for the loss of their queen, but how many of those that grieved actually meant it? How many nobles that comforted the king who held his lone baby girl in his arms, actually had ulterior motives?

“I wish to see my father.” y/n says, looking in the mirror as the maids finish with her dress.

“He is in a council meeting, your highness.” One of the maids says.

“That is perfect.”

She steps off the small pedestal and immediately exits the dressing room. The clack of her heels echo across the hall, if her anger were actually physical, she was sure she could melt the floor with every step she took. Was what she was about to do impulsive? Yes, very much so.

“W-we greet her royal highness-” one of the guards of the council room took notice of her, bowing.

“Is my father in there with the other council members?” she asks in haste.

They nod, stepping away, opening the door so she may enter.

With the sound of the door opening, the council stops whatever they were doing and watches as y/n enters.

“Dearest? What’s wrong?” Nasir asks, concerned with the anger radiating off of his daughter.

“There are many things wrong father, number one is your council.”

The council members stare at each other in confusion. Y/n also looks at them, locking eyes with duke Celwyn.

“Duke Celwyn, how is your daughter these days?” she asks.

“She is well, your highness. Why do you-”

“Is she looking to marry, perhaps to someone of a high status, higher than others?”

Before the duke could answer, another person barged into the room.

“Your highness!” Dainsleif, who was told about the princess's abrupt entrance to the council, rushed as fast as he could. He knew what she was going to do.

“What is this, these children are interrupting our meeting. Guards, escort them out.” Viscount Norbin ushers the guards who are standing outside closer with his hand.

“With all due respect Viscount, you have no right to kick me out. I have a bone to pick with you, all of you actually.”

“Your highness, reconsider what you are about to do.” Dainsleif whispers through gritted teeth.

“Father, are you aware that the council is planning on having you remarry to Duke Celwyns eldest daughter, in hopes of having a son to ascend the throne instead of me.”

The room grows quiet, no one says a thing, not even Duke Celwyn.

“Your silence is rather ghastly actually, no one here is going to deny this?”

“Your highness, “ Duke Celwyn says, “I assure you, I have no intention of marrying off my daughter to the king.”

“Why has it taken you this long to speak up, Duke?”

“Because, “ he swallows what seems to be his integrity before speaking again, “you are usually so soft spoken, I was taken aback by this sudden shift of tone.”

“News that threatens my succession to the throne, I think I have a right to have a shift of tone. If this is true, it will not look good for you, all of you.”

“Your highness, gossip like this will truly ruin my character. I suggest you keep whatever you hear to yourself, watch your tongue.” Celwyn slams his hands on the table, standing up with a slight bit of force.

Dainsleif stands in front of y/n, hand on his sword.

“I suggest you sit back down, Duke. Any threat towards her highness, I take seriously.”

“Father, I have a request. I wish to combine my birthday ball with my crowning ceremony.”

“Outrageous! You are far too young to become the crown princess!” one of the council members exclaims.

“And why is that? Since my father has no intention of remarrying, that means there will be no other heir to the throne other than me. Might as well officialize my right to the throne as soon as possible, no?”

“Your father and his father before him had their crowning ceremony when they were 18, it's only fitting that you would do the same.” a council member says.

“Father?” She stares at Nasir from across the room, waiting for his answer.

“I don’t see the harm in having her be crowned at 17, it is only a 1 year difference afterall.”

Y/n gave her father a smile, it felt like the pressure had been lifted off of her shoulders. After bidding her father a good day, she exited the room with Dainsleif.

After walking into another corridor, both of them were finally alone. Dainsleif grabs her wrist to stop her from walking.

“What were you thinking?” He asks.

“I’m making sure my position is official, after I’m crowned they will not be able to take it from me, no matter how hard they plan and scheme.”

“Do you realize what you just did, you just put a target on your back. If they can scheme a remarriage behind his majesty's back, they can surely plan an assassination behind yours.”

“Nonsense Dainsleif, they wouldn’t have the guts to kill a princess.”

Dainsleif stops and looks into her eyes, “You say that yet you hypothesize that they killed your mother.”

“It was just a silly thought at the moment, it’s not possible.”

Dainsleif sighs, knowing that she is too stubborn to realize the can of worms she just potentially opened.

“Very well, but do me a favor. Do not go out alone, call for me and I will escort you. Until the day you are crowned, you might be in potential danger.”

“Ahaha, you already follow me around everywhere. Look how fast you came rushing into the council room, I know you’ll be there.”

She winds her hand out of Dainsleifs grip, going on her way down the corridor. He could not understand how naive she could be.

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Combining a birthday ball with a crowning ceremony proved difficult when it came time for preparations. Both were major events that needed their own time to shine, so being pushed together into just one day meant that preparations had to be accelerated.

“The first half will be your birthday celebration, you will wear a gown designed by madam Darnley. The birthday dinner will be set during the afternoon.”

Y/n and the royal event planner were taking a walk in the royal gardens. Dainsleif of course followed 5 steps behind. 

“There will be a brief pause where you will go get changed for your crowning ceremony. It is a dress that your great great grandmother wore when she was crowned.”

“I’m going to wear a dress that old?” she questions, the fashion styles back then aren’t exactly most suitably to wear.

“The dress will be altered to fit your measurements along with some more alterations that will suit it to the current taste of modern fashion.”

“Very well then, who will be attending the ceremony?”

“The royal families of all 8 kingdoms will be attending, as well as nobles.”

“So many eyes…”

“No worries, your highness, you will have plenty of time to practice what you need to do.”

The planner left, leaving the two behind. 

“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle your responsibilities?” Dainsleif asks.

“What responsibilities, I just need to be graceful and look pretty.”

“You’re joking right?”

“Of course I am, I know that there will be more expected of me once I become crowned. I’m sure I’ll be able to manage, after all this will be my kingdom one day.”

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It was the day before the ceremony, the royal guests arrived in their carriages, all fraternizing with each other. Both Nasir and y/n extended their welcome as they came. Not all of the royal families had children, but for the small handful that did, y/n took full advantage.

“Your grace, it's wonderful to see you again!” y/n extender her hand to the man standing in front of her, which he took and laid a gentle kiss.

“I did miss seeing your face dear princess, how have you been?” 

Ayato, one of the most influential Dukes of Inazuma . Both of them met a few years back when both him and his sister came for a visit for the king's birthday. 

“I’ve been well, it’s wonderful to see you again. Did Ayaka come with you?” 

“Not this time unfortunately, she’s ill in bed, but she sends her congratulations. Hopefully the both of you will have some time together when she is well.”

Ayato extends his arm slightly, to which y/n wraps her own around. They begin to walk into the palace, followed by the other nobles. 

Dinner that night went as well as it could. Y/n excused herself not too long into the dinner. She was halfway down the corridor before she heard Ayato calling out to her.

“Are you alright, your highness?”

“Your grace,” she looked surprised, ‘I’m fine, I just needed some air. I was planning on taking a walk in the royal rose gardens.”

Y/n contemplated for a second before asking, “would you like to join me?”

“Well I suppose my dinner could wait, a lady should not be walking this late alone.”

He walked up to her, arms entangled once more. When they began to walk, y/n thought back to what Dainsleif said to her. She wasn’t venturing off alone, she was with Ayato, it would be safe.

After walking for a bit, both sat down on a bench that was surrounded by bushes.

“We’re not too far from the palace.” she says, turning her neck to glance at the tall building across the garden.

“Well we’re far away for no one to see us.” Ayato chuckles

“I suppose so…”

The air was silent around them.

“May I ask you something, your highness?”

“Of course, what would you like to know?”

“Why is it that you chose to get crowned so early? Usually the crowning ceremony is when the person is of age.”

Her lip quivered slightly. It’s not like she can flat out say that the royal council was threatening to take away her right to the throne. What excuse could she come up with now?

“Well, I just wanted to change the rules slightly. The quicker the better I say.”

“Surely you know there will be backlash, correct? When the nobles of Inazuma heard about it, many of them thought you weren’t right in the head.”

“Is that so…” she looked down at her lap, nails digging into the wooden bench.

Perhaps she really did rush things when she didn’t need to. Her impulsive behavior, what could it have caused? If the nobles of Inazuma frowned upon her behavior, what could her own people of Khaenriah think?

Ayato's hand gently laid upon hers.

“No matter your highness, I think what you’re doing is brave. Going against the rules and having it your own way, not everyone has the ability to do that. Fear of backlash and whatnot.”

“Do you support my decision, your grace?”

Ayato smiled, but he remained silent.

“Your grace?” she asks once more.

Ayato’s bright blue eyes turned disky, almost gray. His smile fainted, his face looked like it was lifeless.

The warmth that was radiating from his hand turned cold, it made her heart skip a beat.

“Ayato, are you alright?” she asks, grasping his face within her hands. His skin was cold.

“Wha-” she looked around her, there was a gray smoke enveloping the floor. Immediately she stood up, Ayato's body collapsing on the ground right after.

From the smoke that came from a dark area of the garden emerged a tall figure, shrouded in black and blue. A mask that covered their entire face, with blades wrapped around their arms.

“What are you?” she asks, her voice ever so quiet.

“Threats against the abyss must be terminated.” 

The voice coming from the figure sounded deep and frightening. The blades around the tall figure began to glow a bright blue. The figure swung his arm, shooting projectiles towards her.

She let out a scream, ducking for cover. As soon as she made contact with the ground, she began to cough. Soon enough, she covered her mouth. This gray smoke could very well be the reason why Ayato fell to the floor.

Still covering her mouth, she began to sprint as fast as she could, but it was dark. It's as if that thing took all the light from the area when it came. No matter, if she kept running she’d run somewhere, more preferably the palace, more preferably to someone who could help.

“You cannot resist, your efforts to run are in vain.” the figure could be heard from so far away.

She kept running and running, but she could not see what was in front of her. Her foot snagged on the root of a tree, causing her to plummet to the ground once more. Her breathing became heavier, she could not calm down. She got on her knees and crawled until she felt something solid, the tree.

She sat down with her back to it, hand still clamped over her mouth. Her breathing was so loud, that creature could surely hear it if it wanted to. She wanted to cry, her foot was in pain, and no matter how many times she rubbed over it, the pain would not go away. 

The area grew quiet, too quiet. Did the figure go away? Could it not find her? Even with all of these thoughts trying to reassure her, she would still not move, not if there was still darkness surrounding her.

After a few moments of solace, a cold wind brushed against her skin. When she turned her neck to look she was face to face with the figure.

Its blade began to glow once again. She had nowhere to run now that her foot was injured.

“Please don’t hurt me, I didn’t do anything!” she pleaded, now a crying mess.

“Your lineage is stained by bloodshed, neither you nor your kin is innocent of any crimes.”

As the figure was about to strike her, she closed her eyes, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. However nothing seemed to pain her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that the figure itself was struggling. A bright blue aura around its neck, suffocating it. Suddenly it was hoisted into the air and slammed onto the ground.

Blinking away her tears, she saw the figure of her savior. It was Dainsleif.

The unknown figure began to cough, cursing at Dain for interrupting his plans.

“The abyss will prevail, you shall not get in my way again.”

A portal opened in front of the figure, swallowing him. Leaving both Dain and her alone.

She was still in shock, looking at the same spot that the figure disappeared.

“Y/n, are you alright, did he hurt you?” Dain rushed over, she could see him, she could see everything now. 

He kneeled down to her, caressing her face. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed silently onto his shoulder. He noticed that her ankle was red, understanding that she was in more pain than he realized. He put his arm underneath her legs, carrying her while she still had her arms around him.

“A-Ayato, he collapsed near the bench.” she said, her words sounding broken.

“I will attend to him after you, we need to get you back to your room.”

“I’m sorry for not listening to you, Dain… there really are people trying to get me, right?”

Her nails slightly dug into his shoulder, but he didn’t wince.

“It's okay, you’re safe.”

#genshin impact #genshin #fanfiction #genshin fanfiction #dainsleif #dainsleif x reader #dainsleif fanfiction #dainsleif imagine #khaenriah #royalty au #the abyss

[bubblefina]

I MISS YOU

I MISS YOU TOO

Finals are almost over so hopefully i can go back to writing as much as possible before I gotta take summer classes-

I GOT DRAFTS THO

[bubblefina]

hi

[bubblefina]

Je T'aime 1

Summary: Ever since y/n, princess of Khaenriah, was a child, there have been oddities surrounding her rule. She is sent letters every year on her birthday, laced with encrypted messages from her deceased mother. These letters lead her down a dark path, but with the help of her loyal guard, Dainsleif, she will uncover the truth and bring justice to Khaenriah once more.

Pairings: Dainsleif x f!reader

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Darkness covered the lands of Khaenriah. Not even one patch of grass was spared a brief moment of sun. It seemed as if the entire country went into a brink of panic. Today was the birth of their princess. The queen had started her labor early that morning.

The royal castle was bustling as her majesty was confined to her chambers in a heap of sweat. Multiple maids surrounding her as she groaned in what seemed like the most agonizing pain a person could go through. She gripped onto the bedsheets, panting as the doctor ordered for more bowls of water. 

Her husband, the king, had heard of her condition and rushed through the jarring rain on his trusted steed to return to his wife. He had left for about 2 days to the border, warning the bordering country of their oversteps onto his land.

The doctor who’s hands had been wiping up towels covered with blood began to sweat. He has coached many women through birth before, but nothing like this. It was normal to bleed, but to this extent was highly dangerous.

“There is too much blood, is his majesty here?” the doctor asked one of the maids. She shook her head no, the empty bowl of water being clutched closely to her chest as she watched the scene unravel before her. 

“Curses… I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep her in a stable position.” The doctor stepped back to look through his storage of tools, hoping to find a herb or concoction that may slow down the hemorrhaging. 

“She was perfectly fine hours ago, how could her condition have dropped so quickly?” one of the maids asked, placing another bowl near the edge of the bed.

“We have been monitoring her this entire time, she has barely had anything to eat since her labor began.” Another maid said.

“What did she eat beforehand?” a loud voice echoed through the room. It was the king, sliding off his wet jacket onto a nearby chair before rushing over to his wife.

“Your majesty.” the maids bowed.

“She had nothing but a light broth because she did not feel like eating. It was made here in the palace kitchen, closely monitored by multiple kitchen staff.” A maid spoke up.

“We may risk losing the child if we cannot stop the bleeding, your majesty.” The doctor says. 

“Please…” the queen whispered, “if it comes down to me or my child, do not pick me. This baby is the heir to this nation, please do not let it go.” the queen took all of her strength to utter what seemed like her last words and requests.

The king stared at her with a shocked expression. He could not believe that was her decision.

“Nonsense Mariam, you cannot make this decision on your own, my love. Choosing this baby’s life over your own…” his hand wrapped around hers, squeezing it. She could barely squeeze back, but gave him a small smile.

“My dear, this child is your future, our future. The country is depending on an heir to continue the lineage.”

Both of the lovers shared a look, tears clouding their eyes. The tender moment didn’t even last more than a few seconds before the queen began to cough up curdles of dark blood, her tears now staining her cheeks even harder than before.

“What’s happening?” the king asked the doctor.

“Her condition is deteriorating, your majesty. We need to operate in order to save the baby, but I am not sure if her majesty will make it.”

The queen grabbed onto her husband one last time, giving a nod of approval. The king decided to honor his wife’s last wish. The doctor brought out his tools and began to operate, trying not to listen to the groans of the queen, who desperately held onto her husband in an attempt to lessen the pain.

“I love you,” the king whispered into the queen's ear, “and my love will only be for you. This child will carry out both of our duties.” 

As the king continued to whisper sweet words, the tense air was suddenly cut by the crying of a baby. The doctor cradled the newborn, ushering one of the maids to bring in a clean towel.

“Congratulations, it is a girl.” The doctor wrapped the wallowing baby in a cloth and placed it on her mother's bosom. The queen grasped onto her child, whispering sweet nothing's into her ear with whatever strength she had left. 

“My love…your fingers.” the king grasped his wife's hand. The tips of her fingers had turned a deep black, as if they were about to crumble into ash.

“Your majesty-” The doctor began.

The king's eyes began to shake, as if he had seen this condition before. As if he knew exactly what was happening after but a single glance at his wife's current condition. 

“This is poison…” the king gulped as he let go of his wife's hand, “my wife…your queen has been poisoned!”

“It could be something else! We do not know for sure.” The doctor argued, but the king would not listen.

“Who would dare defy the royal family, who had the nerve-!”

The king's grievance was stopped when the queen caressed his face with her palm. His majesty broke down into tears once more as he embraced his wife for what felt like the last time. The baby in her arms was taken by him, caressing the small bundle as he watched his wife pass. The room fell silent, allowing the king to grieve as he bid farewell.

“You did well.” the king kissed his wife’s head before stepping away to coddle the baby in his arms. 

“Your majesty, the child-” the doctor said.

“We discussed baby names beforehand. It was something she looked forward to…if the baby had been a girl, then we would name it y/n.” The king got to look at his daughter's rounded face, his finger caressing her tiny hand as he smiled with sadness.

“Princess y/n. Long may she reign.”

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King Nasir of Khaenriah never forgot the day his wife died. Forever holding it in his heart that she was poisoned, but keeping it to himself. He needed to remain strong, which was unfortunate. Not being able to properly mourn the loss of his loved one, and then attempting to care for his new princess. He lived his life day by day, but never smiled as brightly as he did with his queen. 

The king's paranoia grew, always feeling that an assassin was amongst his trusted advisors. He made people who showed their loyalty to him for years going through rigid tests to make sure that they were not traitorous. They, of course, were not allowed anywhere near his precious daughter. This decision was made easier by sending her to a separate castle that no one knew about. 

Contact with y/n was limited, even for her own father. He only visited a few times a month, and at that point it was basically the maids that had raised her. By the time she had grown enough to communicate, the maids would tell her stories of her mother and father. Going on and on about how their love story was one of true love, nothing like it was ever seen within the 9 nations of Teyvat. Both of them were quite notorious.

She was barely able to understand what they were saying, mainly because she had not had the chance to experience love herself. What else could you expect from a 5-year-old who only cared about her snacks and toys.

It wasn’t long before an invitation to the main palace arrived at y/n’s residence. Her little villa packed with maids read aloud the letter, stating that she was invited back into the palace to live with her father. The maids of course would accompany her, the villa would once again be an empty residence. 

A welcoming ball would announce her return.

Multiple nights passed until it was the day of the event. The maids made y/n look as if she were raised at the royal court her entire life, instead of being whisked away when she was a mere baby and raised in a far off residence.

However, it wasn’t as if all the nobles were going to be accepting of her. Not all of them were accepting of Nasir’s marriage to Mariam. She wasn’t of noble birth, her commoner background brought a lot of backlash when he announced their engagement. Despite the hateful protests, both of them were wed for many years until her unexpected passing. 

“The royal carriage is outside waiting for you, your highness. Shall I escort you?” one of the maids asked. Her name was Farah. She had been the one y/n had tailed behind every time she was bored. Both of them became close, but they both referred to each other by their first name, so hearing her call y/n by her official title was weird.

Y/n however did not make a comment on it, but grasped her hand as both of them walked past the thick garden to the royal carriage, which was surrounded by two guards. 

One of them was blonde, slightly blue gray eyes. He had a friendly smile on his face that looked even bigger once he saw the small princess. He stepped off of his horse and immediately bowed. 

“Your royal highness,” the man kept his head level to her as he balanced himself on his knee, “My name is Kyza. I am captain of the royal guards. Your father has asked me to escort you to your ball tonight.”

Y/n hid behind Farah’s leg, afraid to show herself to this person she had never seen before.

“Aha, the quiet shy one isn’t she. Would you mind riding with her in the carriage, so she doesn’t feel as alone?” Kyza asks Farah, who nodded her head. 

Both of them aboard the carriage, the coach whipping at the horses to start the journey. Y/n had never been able to see anything beside the gardens at her villa. The closer they got to the palace, the more lights decorated the trails leading up to the castle. It looked as if the scenery were right out of a fairy tale. Off of a small hill, even the villages were lit up with multiple different colors, as if to welcome home their princess.

“Are you enjoying the view, princess?” Kyza asks, looking at y/n. He noticed how the lights reflected in her eyes, as if they sparked her interest.

“Are the lights for me?” she asks in return.

“Haha, you guessed correctly. The notice of your return has been spreading around for days. The people are excited to have their princess return home.”

Y/n continues to stare at the lights until the carriage stops at the front of the royal palace. The guards stationed outside the palace assumed their position, saluting with their hands as they stood side by side. Y/n stepped out of the carriage with the help of Farah, who helped clean up her dress. 

Since Farah couldn’t come with her, Kyza was the one who escorted y/n inside the castle. Walking down the bright corridor, which was layered with chandeliers. Both of them stopped at a large door which was decorated with gold detailing around the borders, the Khaenriah symbol in the middle. There were some voices behind the door, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Kyza knocks on the door twice. Then multiple stomps of what sounded like feet banging on the ground were heard. The voices went quiet, the door opened. Without even one step, trumpets began to play, alerting all the nobles to look at the top of the staircase.

Looking down at the nobles below, y/n managed to lock eyes with the king, whose face lit up at the sight of his daughter wearing a beautiful gown. She truly looked like royalty. Kyza guided her down the stairs until she was at the last step, where her father stood and reached out his hand.

Y/n took her father's hand, and was led to the floor where both of them walked to the small stage where two thrones were placed. He invites her to sit next to him. Once seated, he roared to the attention of the nobles, announcing her presence. 

“Next to me stands princess y/n. Your future queen. Returned to the palace as she had left as a baby, long may she reign.”

✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧

Adjusting to palace life felt harder than it needed to be. It was easy living in the villa, since all y/n was allowed to do was play with her toys and read the occasional children's book. However, her father instantly assigned her tutors for multiple subjects a few days after her return. 

The tutor for this hour was for reading and writing. Children's books just weren’t enough anymore. A princess should be able to read and write and accelerate her literary skills as she grows older. Books about different planets, the 9 nations of Teyvat, different dialects of the 9 nations. It was a lot for a child's brain to handle, but the tutor seemed to think otherwise. 

“Can I take a break?” Y/n asks the tutor.

“Not now, princess, we aren’t done with this chapter.”

“But I'm tired…”

“Ah, princess. Will you be content if I fetch you a glass of juice?”

Y/n nodded as the tutor went out the door to the kitchen to grab a glass. She was familiar with the workings of the palace, so it wasn’t exactly necessary to call a maid for such a simple task. 

Albeit, she certainly took her time getting a small cup of juice. Y/n began to walk around the room, her fingers occasionally running over the spines of different books. Did she read them? No, her boredom was at the forefront of her mind. 

The palace gardens outside looked marvelous. It’s like she could see every single rose even though she was so high up on a balcony. The tutor looked as if she wasn’t going to come back, could she have been cornered by someone and held in a conversation? The lesson will supposedly end soon anyway, it wouldn't hurt to take a stroll in the garden.

Y/n opened the doors and slid out in between them. Her small stature was unnoticed as she made her way down multiple stairs and out into the palace gardens. There she frolicked amongst the flowers, picking up multiple fallen ones as she walked along. 

She sat amongst a flower bed full of Inteyvats. They looked beautiful as they were in bloom, the bluish hue looked so delicate as she caressed them in her hand. She continued to admire them, and was completely taken aback when she heard a voice behind her.

“Excuse me miss?” 

Y/n turned around and looked into the eyes of a boy. He stood similar in size to her, wearing a dark blue cloak around his shoulders. He had blonde hair that wisped over his bright blue eyes. They looked like jewels, staring straight at her. 

“Yes?” y/n replied, holding a few inteyvats in her hands as she stood up to meet his gaze.

“What are you doing in the royal gardens?” the boy asks.

“I’m just picking out some flowers,” she twirls the stems in between her fingers, looking down at them before looking into his eyes once more, “who are you?”

“I’m the son of a knight, my father was talking to the king and I went off on my own.” the boy replied. 

Y/n never paid attention to the knights that much, nor did she expect one of them to have a son her age. He seemed rather fixated on her for some reason, as if he was here for another reason.

“Do you want one?” she extended out a flower towards him, to which he grabbed it by its petal and put it into his palm. 

“Are you the princess?” he asks.

Y/n turns her head as if she were confused, before she tries to answer.

“It’s just, you look like royalty. Wearing that nice dress…” The boy kept looking at the flower in his hands before he continued talking, “that and his majesty is asking for his daughter.”

“He’s looking for me?” y/n looked towards the palace, up to her room that she wan in not too long ago. Could the tutor have come back after she left?

The boy nodded. A small feeling of guilt crept up inside y/n, playing hooky with her lessons just because she didn’t want to wait for her tutor. Now her father is wondering about her whereabouts. 

“I should go back then…” She stared down at the flowers in her hands, a slight frown upon her lips. Would her father be upset at her?

“We can go together, it won’t be as scary if you’re afraid of your fathers' reaction.”

The boy extended his hand to her, and she took it. Flowers resting in her other hand, both of them began to walk, as he escorted her towards the front of the palace. He had told her that his father made it clear that he should escort a noble lady if she was so willing, to make sure that she wouldn’t be alone when she made it to her destination. He did exactly that.

When the both of them arrived at the front of the palace, one of the palace maids took notice and told the king. Once Nasir took sight of both his daughter and the boy, he sighed in relief. He came to hug y/n immediately, having been worried that something or someone hurt her and took her away.

“I’m okay, dad. I left the tutoring session early…” y/n trailed off, afraid to look her in her father's eye, thinking he would be disappointed. 

“My sweet girl, you must inform someone before you disappear like that. The palace went into a frenzy looking for you.” 

After another hug exchange, the boy who escorted y/n spoke up. 

“It’s a surprise no one looked in the gardens, your majesty.”

Nasir took notice of the boy, and laughed. It wasn’t a mocking laugh, more of a hearty laugh. The king rubbed the boy's head, getting up and calling over someone. Kyza, the captain of the royal guard, walked over, his eyes widening as he looked at the boy.

“Dainsleif!” the captain exclaimed, “what on earth are you doing here? I left you under the care of the maids.” 

Y/n glanced at the boy, who is now known as Dainsleif formally. 

“I didn’t want to be cared for by them, father.” Dainsleif replied. 

Captain Kyza was the boy's father? Well, it would have made sense looking at both of them side by side. Kyza’s hair wasn’t as blonde as Dain’s, his looked more faded, perhaps after so many battles it lost its youthfulness. 

“You… I’ll deal with you later. Was it you that found the princess?” Kyza asks.

“Yes, I found her in the royal gardens, sitting next to an area crowded full of Inteyvats.”

“Your boy is good, Kyza. He managed to find her before any of your appointed guards did.” Nasir chuckled.

“Please forgive me, your majesty, we were trying to cover the well known places first.”

The king nodded his head, showing that it wasn’t a big deal, at least not now. Knowing that his daughter was safe. 

“However, I must give my gratitude to you, Dainsleif. You have eternal thanks.” Nasir bows his head towards Dainsleif, which earned a few gasps from the castle staff. 

“Thank you, your majesty.” Dain nods his head back.

“On the other hand, I am glad that you’re the one that found the princess.” Kyza says, staring at the king. It seemed as if they both wanted to say something.

“That’s right, It’s good that the both of you have become acquainted with one another.” Nasir says in response.

“Why?” y/n asks, still confused as to why the two grown men were taking glances at each other. 

“Me and captain Kyza have discussed getting a personal guard for you. Someone who will escort you wherever you would like to go, be there for you, protect you. Both of us have decided that Dainsleif would be the perfect match.”

“Your highness, Dain. This will not happen immediately, both of you are far too young. We’ll wait until both of you are at an age where communication with each other will be easier. Dainsleif will be training in the art of weaponry, fighting, amongst many other things. We hope that the both of you will be a good match for each other.“ 

There was a stiff silence as the four of you stood there, waiting for the next person to talk.

“I don’t want to.” Dainsleif speaks up.

“Dain, do not speak like that-” Kyza tried to cut in, but it was no use.

“Father! I do not wish to be a part of this.” Dainsleif cried out. It was a shock to y/n. She surely wasn’t expecting an outburst like this. He sounded as if he had been sentenced to death.

“Dainsleif, watch your tongue.” Kyza tried to shush his son, but Dain wasn’t having any of it. 

“Why don’t I get to say anything! I don’t want to guard her!”

Dainsleif slips out of his father's grasp and runs towards another section of the palace. The boy who escorted her from the royal garden…disliked the idea of being her personal guard to this extent. It was hard for her mind to wrap around what had just happened. All that was left to hear were Kyza’s apologies to the king, and the king, who was trying to tell Kyza that it was alright.

If Dainsleif truly was going to be a part of the royal guard, and her personal guard in the future, y/n truly wondered how both of their relationships will play out when they reunite.

✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧•

Y/n never skipped a tutoring lesson again. She studied as hard as she could as the years passed. The subjects get slightly harder every year. Willing to learn almost anything to have an upper hand. 

Taking interest in literature from multiple different regions of Teyvat. She started learning different languages and dialects, albeit it was only a little, a little is better than nothing. 

Etiquette lessons started soon after y/n turned seven years old. By being able to behave and act properly at high class events, she would be looked at as a true member of the royal family. Etiquette would also be useful whenever she went into town as well. Being able to talk to both nobles and commoners would be very beneficial towards her future ruling as queen.

Another few years had passed. It was a special occasion this time around. It was y/n’s tenth birthday. A royal ceremony was to be held at sundown for the nobles and royals, but the town was decorated with Khaenriah’s colors across every plaza, multiple flags flooding every corner of the streets. Their royal princess was growing up so quickly, the people were joyous for her. 

Y/n had a wonderful day strolling through the streets, going through different stalls, multiple people wishing her a happy birthday.

She stopped by a stall that had a fortune-teller. A glowing orb was placed in front of the woman, who held out her hand and asked if the princess wanted to know what her future would hold. One of the guards insisted that she shouldn’t indulge in whatever the woman was saying, but wanting to have some fun on her birthday, y/n appeased the woman and sat down in front of her.

“Thank you for participating, your highness,” the woman reached out her hand, “I need you to give me your palm.”

The guards were hesitant to let y/n give the woman her palm, but the girl insisted. She placed her palm on the table facing up, and the woman placed her own hand on top of hers. The woman closed her eyes, focusing. The orb in front of her began to glow.

The woman opened her eyes and waved her other hand above the orb. The colors changed, a pale yellow fog engulfed the orb, it looked pleasing to look at. It was warm, as if it was giving a hug.

“How will this tell my fortune, miss?” y/n asks the woman.

“The colors represent different things, your highness. Yellow represents happiness, good days to come. Red is passion, love, but it can also mean war. Black is death, misfortune.”

“Are those the only colors there are?”

“Of course not, but those are the main colors that people witness when having their fortune told. The color may change within a few seconds, so maybe we’ll see what life has in store for you.”

The color yellow remained for some time, which was reassuring. It slightly started to appear pinkish, then divulged into red. Y/n was perplexed, for the woman did say it could be love or war. Surely not war, the kingdom is peaceful. 

It stayed red for some time before it turned darker. Y/n’s eyebrows furrowed together, watching the deep red turn into black. A few gasps from the guards were heard, and the woman herself looked shocked. 

She waved her hand over the orb once more, and everything disappeared. 

“Forgive me, your highness. Sometimes these things aren’t very accurate.”

The woman looked at the princess and saw her worried look.

“Your mother, your highness, was a good friend of mine.”

Y/n’s ears perked up when she heard what the woman said. People around the palace still spoke of the late queen once in a while, and if you could, you’d ask questions about her. Her passing truly did leave many people in heartache.

“We didn’t keep in contact much after she became engaged to your father, but we still met once in a while.” The woman reached into her clock and grabbed an envelope, trying to hand it to the princess.

The guards tensed up, ready to point their spears at the woman, but y/n raised her hand, telling them it was okay, but the guards insisted. The woman retracted the letter and gave a smile. Y/n waved goodbye to the woman, walking to the next stall. Perhaps if they were alone, she would be able to ask about her mother more, but not this time.

Hours were spent in the village plaza, talking to the common folk, hearing many birthday wishes left and right. It wasn’t until sundown that she made her return back to her room. The party in her honor was going to be held in an hour or so, but y/n just wanted a second to herself to relax. She told the maids to give her some space, so she could give herself some solitude and breathe. 

Laying down on her bed, she stared at the intricate designs on her ceiling. Basking in the silence, she closed her eyes for a few moments. Flapping was heard at her window a few seconds later. She sat up from her bed and saw a crow at her window, an envelope between its beak. It squawked, releasing the envelope onto the nearby table before flying away.

Y/n looked in astonishment, slowly walking towards the envelope and opened it. It was a letter.

Dearest y/n,

I’m hoping that Ruksana will be able to give you this by your tenth birthday. I have heard some news that bears a heavy burden on my heart. It pains me to know that I will not be able to tell you this in person, but through a letter that may be over a decade old.

This is your mother, writing to you. I’m currently one month pregnant with you, it is rather a joyous occasion. On the other hand, I have been told rather dark news, I won’t indulge you in it right now as you are still young.

I desperately want to see you, how you’ve grown, the friends you’ve made, how you and your father are coping together in my absence. My sweet girl, the most you’ve probably heard about me is through stories, but I want you to know that your mother loves you. Even after I am gone, I will continue to love you, even if I haven’t met you.

I know that you will have many questions for me, and I will answer them as time goes on, but not now. You are far too young to know this information. I’m writing a letter for each of your birthdays, as many as I can. Until then, make sure to have fun. Being a princess is very tedious, so let loose once in a while. I love you my flower, be safe.

It was hard to process what she had just read. Y/n stared at the paper for who knows how long, trying to re-read each and every sentence. Would it be foolish to believe the contents of the letter? But the letters gave her a small amount of warmth. After only hearing stories about her mother, she was able to actually hear her words herself. It felt…heartwarming.

A knock at the door interrupted her daydream. The maids asked to come inside, had she truly spent this long staring at the letter? Putting the letter back in the envelope, she tucked it into a drawer where she would look at it later that night. 

The maids dressed Y/n in her finest. A dark blue gown that had a black gradient towards the bottom. Gold embroidery trailing down and along the sleeves. The star of Khaenriah directly in the middle, shining brightly. 

She was finally ready to head down and enter the party. The music of course turned to a different tune at her entrance, multiple nobles greeting her as she walked towards her father. As she stood next to him, she eyed the people in the room. She saw a few diplomats from Liyue and Sumeru, she had noticed them a few other times before, but never really talked to them. It would be hard to strike a conversation.

She kept scanning the area until she landed upon someone. He looked familiar. The golden blonde hair that shaded his jewel blue eyes. He was taller, carrying a sword at his hips. He was wearing a blue and black uniform, with gold embroidery. Y/n’s heart sped up when she realized they were practically wearing the same color scheme. 

“Father, is that Dainsleif?” she asks.

“Haha, yes it is. He’s almost ready to join his father’s ranks, the youngest knight in the royal guard.”

Y/n continued to look at Dainsleif across the room. At first, it was out of curiosity, but when she recalled his outburst all those years ago, she became slightly peeved. He didn’t have a choice in the matter of joining the knights, but it still annoyed her to see him. Was this just childhood annoyance clouding her head?

“Let’s go say hello to Captain Kyza and Dainsleif.” Nasir said, starting to walk away from where he and y/n were standing before.

Y/n’s eyes blew wide, she tried to protest against her father, but he had already begun to walk. She quickly followed behind him, taking a deep breath when both of them stopped in front of Kyza and Dainsleif.

“Kyza, good to see you.” The king embraced his friend, and Kyza did the same.

“ Wonderful to see you too, and to you as well your highness,” Kyza bowed to which y/n sheepishly smiled at, “I wish you the dearest of birthdays.”

“Thank you, captain.” she replies. She tried not to look at Dainsleif at all, but once she heard a scoff laugh come from him, she turned her eyes and raised a brow.

“Pardon me, your highness. I wish you a happy birthday, too.” Dainsleif smiles, bowing the same as his father.

“Aha, thank you but… Have I seen you before?” y/n asks.

It was just a simple tease on her end, just to mess with his mind, but Dainsleif just smiled back.

“I am Dainsleif, your highness. Captain Kyza’s son.” 

Nasir gave y/n a look before signaling Kyza to go somewhere else.

“We’ll give the both of you time to…talk. Don’t get rowdy, you two.” Nasir says, walking away with Kyza.

“I see your father finally tamed you, or was it the other knights?” y/n asks, a plain smile upon her face as she stares at Dainsleif.

“Have to be tame if I’m going to be a knight, after all. Plus, being your personal guard, I will need lots of patience“.

“Ha, you’re still going through with that? Last time, you made a big fit out of it.”

“Forgive me, princess, I was out of line with the comments I made. I hope we can start anew.”

There was mischief in his eyes, y/n knew he wasn’t being the sincerest. Perhaps he really was told to watch his tongue in front of the royal family. No matter, the less he says the better.

“I’ll leave you be for the night, enjoy the party.” y/n says, turning as she begins to walk away, leaving Dainsleif alone within the crowd.

✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧✧.·:*¨༺♚ ༻¨*:·.✧

It had been around 6 months since the birthday party. Tonight’s event was going to be the knighting ceremony. New members of the royal guard would be knighted by the king, except for one. The plan was to have y/n knight Dainsleif personally, tying the string between guard and princess.

In her room, after the maids had left. Y/n pulled out the letter from her mother and read it once more, clutching the paper to her heart. There were only a few paragraphs, but 10 years of not hearing anything from her mother, only to get a letter on her birthday. It meant so much to the girl. 

It was near winter time now, the air was cold. Winter garments were worn, as the ceremony was to be held outside. It’s said that knights who are knighted in winter are known to show more virtue than others, but that may just be a superstition.

Y/n stood next to her father as, one by one, every knight was tapped on their shoulders with the king's blade. The snow fell slowly on each of them as they walked toward the pavilion. The last person to walk up was Dainsleif himself. Nasir knighted Dainsleif officially, but y/n had to do her own part in announcing him as her personal guard.

A special sword was given to her. It was a skinny blade, gold detailing on the handle, along with sapphires embezzled into the blade and the handle. It was assigned to be y/n’s personal brand, and it was to be used to assign Dainsleif as her personal knight. 

Dainsleif remained bowed on one knee, y/n approached him, sword in hand.

“With this sword, I shall decree that sir Dainsleif will act as my personal guard. He will pledge loyalty, devotion, and service to me. My safety will take top priority, he will be at my side, and he will remain at my side with nothing but good intentions,” Y/n tapped the blade along his shoulders, “and most importantly, he will do anything for my safety.”

“I pledge my loyalty to you, your highness. You will be protected in my care, I promise it.” Dainsleif says.

He gets up from his position, the crowd clapping. Dain bows once more before stepping away. He wouldn’t join the rest of his ranks, who were standing in a line outside the pavilion. He immediately stood next to his father, who was next to the king. Y/n did the same and stood next to Nasir.

As Nasir began to give a speech to the newly appointed knights, y/n tucked the sword into the satchel she had around her waist. Soon people were able to walk about and talk to each other. The ceremony had commenced.

Y/n stayed under the pavilion for a while longer, not wanting to look to her right side, where Dainsleif also stood. Nasir and Kyza both left to talk to the nobles who were watching the ceremony. 

“I’m going to go talk to some nobles…” y/n trailed off, as if she wanted to say more, but nothing came to mind. She lifted her dress slightly as she walked down the stairs of the pavilion. She walked in solace towards a group, and when they noticed her, they roped her into a conversation.

“Welcome princess! We are so delighted to see you.” One of them exclaimed.

“It is a pleasure to meet you too, sir.” She did not know the name of the man, but still wanted to be polite.

“Goodness, just call me lord Tao. I’m an ambassador from Liyue. Came on behalf of King Zhongli to watch the knighting ceremony.”

“Aha, thank you for coming, Lord Tao. I hope that the ceremony was in good taste.”

“It was marvelous. Best of luck to the new knights.”

“Your highness,” another man began to speak, “allow me to introduce myself. My name is Raphael. I am a diplomat from Celestia.”

One of the more powerful countries in Teyvat. Celestia is the largest, with the best army, the best scholars, the best anything. One thing that could not be understood is why Celestia would send a diplomat to watch a knighting ceremony.

“It’s nice to meet you sir, I wasn’t expecting so many diplomats to watch the ceremony, but I’m happy that you’re here nonetheless.” y/n gulped slightly, all of these people varied greatly in age from her. She was afraid that she may seem too much like a child in front of diplomats, or say something wrong.

“Aha, the king instructed me to come. Give his good graces to the new knights,” Raphael gave a smile, “You should visit Celestia one day, princess. It truly is a sight to be seen. One of the most beautiful kingdoms in Teyvat.”

“I’ve never been outside Khaenriah.”

“My, you must go then. When you think about it, write me a letter. I would love to escort you myself. The guards of Celestia will do the most to keep you safe, your highness-”

“It is not the responsibility of the guards of Celestia to ensure her highnesses safety.”

Dainsleif appeared from behind, cutting Raphael off.

“Ah, you’re the personal guard.” Raphael says.

“Lord Raphael, I think you are speaking to the princess too casually. She has duties to fulfill in Khaenriah, do not cloud her mind with some vacation topic in another nation.” Dainsleif narrows his brows at Raphael.

“Forgive me, your highness. I didn't mean to overstep.”

“No, no! You didn’t do such a thing, Dainsleif is just-”

“It is my duty to escort the princess, to ensure her safety. The knights of Khaenriah will do their duty, not those of Celestia.”

Raphael's smile faded, a straight line formed upon his lips. He bowed and began to walk away. Y/n stared in shock at what just happened. The rest of the group bowed as well and took their leave.

“You-why would you do that?” y/n asked, turning towards Dainsleif with panic in her eyes.

“He had no right to put those ideas into your head, you’re too young to be talking to diplomats who are more experienced than you.”

“I was trying to be nice to them! And they were nice to me, why did you have to be so rude about it.”

“Your highness, if I may. Kindness will only take you so far. Take this as a piece of advice, they should not be talking to you about traveling to a different country, especially when you’re this young.”

“Ugh, with a guard like you, it will be impossible to make friends.”

“With a guard like me, there won’t be an assassination attempt on your head.”

Y/n didn’t have any words left. She simply took a deep breath and walked away. It’s as if every encounter with him will end in nothing but worse feelings. 

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin fanfiction #dainsleif #dainsleif x reader #dainsleif fanfiction #royalty au #khaenriah #abyss

[bubblefina]

Dad Scaramouche? just some post reuniting stuff

No Puppet Strings Attached Scaramouche specifically 

I’ve been thinking about this before I even finished writing the final part of the story-

Didn’t feel like I could include it at the very end cause it just didn’t fit, but how could I not include it at all! 

Here’s some of my brainrot about it-

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

- yknow after hundreds of years being a cold hearted harbinger, I think he’d walk the line of being somewhat of an ass to his kids, but eventually warming up to them

- The way I imagine it, you and scara have two twin daughters. They look so similar to him...actually they look more similar to the raiden shogun if I’m being honest

- through a really long discourse, the twins ended up being named Makoto and Ei  🤩

- he really REALLY hates the names

- but how can he say no to his cute little wife that he’s been in love with for so long?

- Both you and scara still live in Sumeru, occasionally venturing out to neighboring countries for the festivals and such

- favorite by far has to be lantern right. the twins love seeing the lanterns go in the sky :(( so cute

- when they turned 5, both of you made the decision to visit Inazuma. It’s been way too long since the both of you went back (well for you at least *cough delusion factory cough*)

- head to liyue to catch a ride on Beidou’s boat

- Uncle Kazuha is there too!! How much joy you felt to know that he was your descendent, and that the blood line continued with him

- Kazuha loves the twins too, keeping them entertained while parents get some much needed alone time

- playing tunes on a leaf, he’s never had an audience that asked for an encore like this

- the amount of people that had to do a double take when the four of you stepped off the boat

- “why do these little girls look so much like the shogun?” blah blah blah

- continued until you got to the tenshukaku, where even Kujou Sara was in shock to see it

- after centuries apart, mother and son finally reunite (he’s not the most happy about it)

- Raiden Ei is pretty awkward too, ngl both of them barely spoke, it was just you carrying on the conversation

- when it was finally time to introduce your kids, Raiden’s expression immedietly softened when she heard the names

- she didn’t speak much, but it was written all over her face that she was so happy

- even happier when both of them ran to her and hugged her legs, calling her different variations of grandmother

- she kneels down and pats their heads  😩 😩 offers them dangos!!

- scara was about to pull out a heavy NO, but you managed to keep him quiet 

- Raiden Ei and the girls bond really well, and as much as Scara hates it...he wants his girls to be happy. To have the life that he always dreamed of having, and he was willing to give up whatever to make it happen

- While the girls were occupied with activities at the Tenshukaku, both you and scara venture to tatarasuna

- walking around, remembering all of the happy times before everything fell apart. it felt bittersweet to be back here. it was around night time when the both of you were about to return, but Scaramouche had another thing in mind

- he guided you a little far away from what used to be the village, you recognized the path

- just in the middle of the wooded area, there stood a single bloom blossom amongst a patch of grass

- he confesses that he planted it years ago when he visited inazuma for the first time since he joined the fatui. it seems as though it culviated itself and kept itself alive all this time. Still glowing alone, through all of the darkness.

- everyone else may be gone, but the both of you started a new chapter with each other. Both Makoto and Ei would carry it on, tatarasuna will never truly die

- If only Niwa, Katsuragi, Miyo and the others could see the both of you now, how you started a family. They’re watching up from above somewhere, and that’s all that matters.

#scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #dad!scaramouche #gutted me writing that last bit cause i miss niWA!!

[bubblefina]

No Puppet Strings Attached 7 [finale]

Summary: When Katsuragi brings a puppet back to Tatarasuna, saying that he found him wandering the shores, the village and blade smiths took him in as their own. Something about the puppet struck a young girl's heart. Despite him not having a heart of his own, the puppet felt something that would seem to be impossible for someone like him to feel.

Pairings: Scaramouche x f!reader

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

How much time has passed? She didn’t know. Confined into one place for such a long time, it became hard to tell when the sun rose and set.

A decade could have passed, and she could have thought it was just one long week. 

Time is different now. Not having stepped outside since her capture. Dottore said it had been almost 2 centuries since that day, but she refused to believe it. 

150 years spent confined in the laboratory and the cell she called her bedroom. Would it be appropriate for her to start drawing lines on the walls, to count how much time she spent there?

It was no use, she did not know when the day began and ended. Not even he would tell her, for unknown reasons. 

For all she knew, he could be lying about how long she had been there. Her mind wasn’t strong enough to fight him anymore. She gave into whatever sick games he played with her.

Every few years or so, he’d bring in a new test subject. They ranged from young to old, but no matter the age, all looked terrified. They should be.

Dottore, sickest man she ever met. He’d taunt her with his words. Telling her stories of how Tatarasuna was but an abandoned wasteland, no one dared stepped foot in the vicinity, they were afraid to bear the wrath of Orobashi. 

Tales of those being plagued with Tataragami were seen as a legend. He wanted to hurt her, but he couldn’t. No tears fell, no anger flooded her veins, she was empty.

To him, she became less and less useful by the day. No matter how hard he poked a syringe into her skin, she didn’t flinch, if he shined a light into her eyes, she didn’t try to close them. No amount of crude experiments would phase her.

He didn’t like that. He didn’t like that she became so compliant with his orders. Truly, he wished for the time where she would fight against him, not wanting to lay on the laboratory table. He missed the chase, it was exciting to him. A hunter trying to catch his prey, it flooded his body with more dopamine he could imagine.

It was years of acting like this until one fateful day. She laid on the table as always, as he inserted a needle into one of her veins. A material began to move its way down the IV bag, she of course didn’t know what it was.

“You would not believe who I found bowing to the Tsaritsa yesterday.” Dottore said, clicking some of his test tubes.

Y/n just hummed a response.

“It's been some time since I’ve seen him last, but it seems that he’s joined the ranks as a Harbinger. The 6th.”

Still no response from her, Dottore smiled to himself.

“Do you remember him? Your lover from afar, Kabukimono.”

Her eyes widened for a moment, and her heart pounded. No denying it now, the heart monitor he had set up for her showed it.

“Ahaha, so you do?” He walks close to her, setting down a few vials of potions and whatnot.

“You’re lying, you always are.” She replied, her voice dry from not talking for so long.

“Oh little dove, when have I ever lied to you, I could recognize him easily. Short Indigo hair, same colored eyes with red in the corners. He dresses a bit differently now, attitude shifted as well.”

“You’re not going to get a reaction out of me.” 

“Hmm, tell you what. I’ll bring him in tomorrow. He’s meeting with Pierro as we speak, getting to know the other members. So I'll have to show him around the laboratory and my dearest test subjects.”

“Do what you like, I don’t care.”

“As you wish, little dove.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

When tomorrow had arrived, Dottore escorted y/n to a room she had never been to before. There were multiple prison-like cells in the room. Many other subjects were already behind bars, tied up.

He did the same to her. Putting her all the way back in the shadows, handcuffing her wrists with the chained cuffs that laid on the floor. He also gagged her, for what he called “safety measures.”

It felt like hours before anything happened. The other “prisoners” kept quiet, but they weren't gagged like her, which she found weird. She almost fell asleep until she heard loud footsteps and voices coming down the stone stairs.

“This is a room which I use only for special occasions, as you will see it is occupied to the brim. Only for you, Balladeer.”

That was Dottore, and he was obviously talking to someone. Someone that was supposedly Kabukimono. 

“Tch, I have no need to see your lowly test subjects.”

There was a familiar tone in that voice. The manner of speaking itself was…so rude. She couldn’t believe it at first, but when they finally emerged from the stairs, her heart dropped.

It was him, he was here. After so many years he was right across the room. Y/n was at the very end, blood rushing throughout her body. She hadn’t felt this much emotion in so long.

The chains that bound her began to shake as she tried to release herself from her confines. Dottore heard them loud and clear, smiling even harder.

After a painfully long walk down the prison hall, both of them finally made it to her cell. She could see him perfectly clear. He looked as beautiful as the day she last saw him…but there was something different about him. He looked…angry. He could only see the outline of her body, her face hidden by the shadows of the cell. 

Even though she was gagged, she tried to talk, but it only came out as mumbles. He stared down in more disgust, which broke her heart. The Kabukimono she knew always looked at her with love, even if it wasn’t her, the people he interacted with he was always kind to.

Just who was this man?

It seemed as though Dottore read her mind.

“Do remind me, what is your name, Balladeer?”

“Scaramouche, just call me Scaramouche.” he says, turning his back and leaving.

Much to her heartbreak, y/n continued to shake the chains around her, crying even harder. Dottores plan had worked, he finally cracked her once more.

“Well then, Scaramouche, shall we explore another area? I’d hate to leave you here surrounded by these people.”

“I wouldn’t call them people, they’re filthy insects to me.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

The next few days were Dottores favorite to witness. Countless hours of y/n begging him to see the man known as “Scaramouche”.

“Oh little dove, don’t you see. Kabukimono doesn’t exist anymore. You don’t think you’re the only one who’s been through so much torment the past century, right?”

“What are you talking about?” 

“The poor puppet has been through hell and back too. Being betrayed by so many people, I doubt he’d want to see you again.”

“He’ll understand if he sees me. I’ll tell him what really happened, what you did to me and Niwa-”

Dottore slapped her in the face before she could continue. 

“I brought him here as a little treat for you, since you’ve been with me the longest. Don’t think you have a right to ask for what you want all of a sudden.”

She stood there in silence, hand to her cheek that was burning. Dottore sighed, removing her hand and placing it with his own.

“Look what you made me do, I told you before not to get me angry,” He noticed little pearls of tears forming at the edge of her eyes, “Don’t cry now, everything will be alright.”

She stared into his eyes with a dull feeling, or at least that's what he thought. She may have been compliant in that moment, but deep in her heart, she had a new found motivation to escape, and reunite with her love.

And she was going to do anything to make it out.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

For nights on end she’d lay on the cold bed in her room. She couldn’t sleep, instead she would have her hands clasped to her chest, praying to whatever archon she could to give her the strength to leave.

As a Inazuma native, she should have called for the Raiden Shogun, for her almighty to strike down this fortress and rescue her after being kept prisoner for so long. But she didn’t.

The almighty shogun did not offer assistance to Tatarasuna when it was in need, so why bother trying to ask for help now.

During the night, it was colder than usual. Chilling to the bone. It didn’t help that the tattered robes that Dottore had provided were so thin. Perhaps it was winter outside, and that's why everything felt so cold.

It was almost unbearable, making her limbs shake as she held herself to keep warm. Falling asleep wasn’t an option, how could someone possibly rest if there was a possibility that they couldn’t wake up.

No, that wouldn’t happen. She will not die in this prison, she will make it out, and she will regain control of her life.

In the midst of her thoughts, she saw something sparkle from across the room. It was odd, nothing that could emit that kind of light would ever find its way into her room.

She crawled over towards it and picked it up. It was sitting on a bed of dust, which she wiped off. A silver border with a bright blue gem in the middle. A white snowflake was printed on top.

She had heard of this before, a vision. Bestowed on those who were considered worthy by Celestia. Had the gods finally acknowledged her? Had they taken pity on what she suffered through. 

A dry smile appeared on her face. This was just the sign that she needed, she will make it out of here, and now she has the power to do so.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Y/n was sitting in her bath, today was the day that she would make her attempt at escaping. She observed the room around her. The pipes on the walls were full of water that ran through the faucet and into the bath.

After dressing in her robes again, she turned the faucet of the bath on again. Letting it overflow and spill onto the floor a substantial amount. Turning the faucet all the way until it became stuck and the water continued to rush.

Some of the water began to spill out of the doorway, which caught the eye of Dottore. Who could possibly ignore the sound of water dripping?

Bursting the door open, he walked in and asked what she was doing. She faked concern, running up to him, holding her robe close to her.

“The faucet, I tried turning it off but it wouldn’t budge. The water is getting everywhere-”

Dottore dismissed her, walking towards the bath. He began to attempt closing the faucet, clearly ignoring the girl. She patted the cryo vision that was hidden under her robes.

It was now or never.

Slow but swift movements through the now flooding room. Her heart beat increased the closer she got to him. If she succeeded, she would be a free woman, but if she failed she would succumb to the worst punishment known to man. Put under constant surveillance, once again her mind would break.

Her fists tightened, glowing a bright blue. Concentrating her hardest, she focused on the water. Dottores' legs were submerged up to his knees. Little by little small crystals of ice started to grow. It wasn’t fast enough, he would fix the faucet quicker than she could grow the ice.

She grit her teeth and focused harder. Cryo infused with the water began to accelerate. Maybe it was the archons protecting her, but he did not seem to notice the cold growing on his lower half.

Large chunks of ice had already swallowed his legs by the time he had noticed. He slowly craned his neck to look at y/n. She stared back at him with the same intensity.

“What. Are. You. Doing?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m doing what I've wanted to do for so long.” She began to walk closer, slowly.

Only his lower half was rendered immobile, but his arms were still free. Once she was in arms length, he tried to reach for her, but she was quick to dodge it. She grabbed a sharp knife from the belt he had around his waist and ran towards the pipes on the walls, they were still running with water.

Using all of her strength, she punctured the pipe with the knife multiple times, creating a big enough hole, ducking when the water began to rush out. It hit Dottore directly, and wouldn’t stop.

Concentrating once more, she held her hands out in front of her. Cryo shooting out, freezing Dottore entirely. She turned to the pipe and froze it as well.

Even if he was frozen, she knew that his eyes were following her as she ran out of the room. The laboratory began to flood, so she had to make a quick escape.

Running through the lab, she grabbed a cloak that hung on the wall. Fastening it around her, putting the hood on. She ran up the stairs, going through every door she found. It felt like she was going in circles, but her adrenaline kept her going. 

After her aching feet found one last door, it was locked. The lock itself looked old, it wouldn’t be hard to bust it down with something heavy. She did exactly that, hitting it with a stone multiple times before it cracked open.

Swinging the door open, she was welcomed with a snow storm. It wasn’t the ideal weather that she wanted, but it was the first time she had been outside in centuries. Placing a foot onto the cold snow, she flinched, but it had to be done.

Holding the cloak close to her, she began to run. She didn’t know which way was which, but she wanted to be as far away as possible. The snow was heavy enough to cover her tracks, and she didn’t know if she should be thankful for that.

If she dared cry right now, her tears would freeze to her face, but she didn’t care. She was free, she could see the sky, she could feel the wind. Her feet were touching something other than cold tile and concrete. 

She kept running, and she didn’t stop. Not until there was a large enough distance in between her and the laboratory.

Her legs felt heavy after a while, causing her to slow down. She knelt on the ground, craning her head up to the sky.

“Almighty…shogun, please give me strength.” She whispered.

Forcing herself to crawl on her knees until she reached a place she could call shelter. However her eyes felt heavy. She hadn’t moved this much in so long, everything felt heavy and numb.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

It felt hard to open her eyes. She didn’t remember when she closed them, but it felt like it had been hours.

That couldn’t be possible, she wouldn’t be alive if she fell asleep in the snow. Opening her eyes, she sat up and observed her surroundings. A rag that was on her forehead fell onto her lap.

She was in a room, a fire burning in one corner. She was still dressed in the same robes she escaped in. A warm blanket was placed on her, fluffy pillows to her back.

Did Dottore find her again? No, impossible. He would have her killed or locked up. She found her way to her feet and attempted to walk to the door, but her vision became dizzy, causing her to fall to her knees.

Alerted by the noise, someone opened the door. It was a woman that she didn’t recognize. She had short ginger hair, bright blue eyes. She looked concerned as she bent down to place her hand on y/n’s forehead.

“Honey, she’s awake!” she exclaimed.

A man now walked into the room, who y/n put together to be the woman's husband. 

“Where-” y/n spoke, but she could barely put together the words.

“It’s alright sweety,” the woman helped her back onto her feet, “you have a fever so I’m not expecting you to be completely right in the head.”

After sitting back down on the bed, the woman pulled a chair and sat across from her.

“Me and my husband found you passed out in the snow while we were hunting snow foxes. We didn’t expect anyone to be in that area during such a wild storm, so we took you in.”

“How long…how long have I been out?” y/n began to cough, her throat felt so dry.

The woman poured out a glass of water from the pitcher on the small dresser next to her, handing it to y/n.

“We found you around a week ago. You’ve been in and out of sleep. We did our best to make sure you were drinking enough water since you couldn’t eat.”

“A week?” her heart sped up, “I’ve been out for a week?”

“Your fever has gotten better since we found you. Before it was hot to the touch, but now it looks like you’re doing better.”

“Thank you for taking care of me…” her bottom lip began to quiver. 

She didn’t think that she’d experience freedom after so long. Dying in that snow storm felt more likely, but here she is. She’s talking with people who aren’t other test subjects, or Dottore. She’s in a warm room with people who cared for her even though they didn’t know her.

A few tears fell down into the cup of water.

“Are you alright?” the woman asked.

Y/n laughed, wiping her face, “I am. I’m better than okay, thank you.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

After the fever subsided a few days later, y/n finally got to take a bath that she enjoyed. One with soap and shampoo, she was finally able to wipe off the dirt and grime that she carried with her all those years. Best of all, the bath was warm, which made her feel safe.

After stepping out, she stared at herself in the mirror. This was not the girl that she knew back in Inazuma. She was more thin, scars covered different parts of her body, not to mention the bruises. Her hair was more brittle than it had been, and most of all she looked tired. Eye bags settling on the bottoms of her eyes.

Despite all of this, she still smiled. She had control over her fate now, no longer bound to Dottore.

According to Liliana, the woman with the ginger hair, their home was in the north of Snezhnaya, just about a day or two travel wise from the capital. Y/n wanted to leave as soon as possible, she wanted to know what came of her home, and to see if there was anything left. 

That was her plan, but it changed once Liliana told her that the Fatui would be holding a parade to welcome the newest harbinger in the capital square. It striked her interest, she could finally see Kabuki- no…he went by Scaramouche now.

This time she won't be shrouded by darkness, he could see her face, he could see that it was her and he could come back to Inazuma with her. 

After the blizzard subsided, Liliana and her husband accompanied her to the capital. The people of Snezhnaya were kind and hospitable, especially on the days of an event such as this.

The Fatui were the pride and joy of the nation, so welcoming a new harbinger was something to rejoice about. There were taverns full of people that were drinking, the streets flooded with multiple balloons and streamers. Even though the snowfall was light, it was still enough to make y/n shiver.

She was taking a big risk walking about in the open. Hoping that the cloak would hide enough of her face, she ventured onward. 

When the parade started, she tried to get into the front as much as possible. Multiple parade floats started to move by, each showcasing a mural of a Fatui Harbinger, along with the harbinger themselves sitting down on a grand chair.

6th, the one she was looking for was the 6th. With each passing parade float, she craned her neck to see him. Eventually she did, there he was, sitting on his chair. His face rested on his hand as he looked uninterested in whatever the crowd was cheering for.

“Kabukimono!” She yelled, but her shouts were drowned out by the voices of the other people in the crowd. Yet, she kept trying, trying to get his attention.

If he could just look her way, if he could look her in the face…

His parade went by, but she was still determined to get his attention. Squeezing through the crowd of people, she pushed her way and tried to keep up with the float, simultaneously shouting his name, but he still didn’t hear her. 

Eventually the crowd became too much, and they stopped walking. Staring at the back of the float before it was no longer there, she slowly began to head back to the tavern where Liliana and her husband were. 

“You look sad dear, what's wrong?” she asks, noticing how y/n was just staring at the food in front of her.

“It’s not much. I came here to see the float, and I did. Now I just need to travel back to my home.”

“You’re thinking of leaving already” Liliana now looked sad too, she had grown used to having y/n around.

“I’ve been here too long, It’s about time that I return to my home, I haven’t seen it in a long time.”

“It will be a far travel from Snezhnaya to Inazuma,” she rustled through some things in her bag and placed a small pouch in y/n’s hand, “I know it’s not much, but it will last you a good time until you settle in some place comfortable.”

Opening the bag, she was greeted with the golden shine of multiple mora coins. 

“I- thank you, I wasn’t expecting this…” 

“It’s not worry dear, it wouldn’t be right to have you go out without any money. I wouldn’t want you to get lost in the snow and get another fever again.”

After talking for a few more hours, y/n said her goodbyes to Liliana and her husband. The parade festivities were still on going when she was walking out of the capital. People laughing and dancing, it reminds her of her village.

‘Returning to my home’ was that just an excuse? She didn’t have a home to return to. Dottore wasn’t lying when he said that Tatarasuna had been wiped clean. Niwa was dead, Katsuragi was dead, everyone that she knew was dead.

The island is still plagued with the residue of the tatragami, so even if she were to return, it would be a dangerous place to stay. 

Home…is there a place that she could even consider going. For a moment, she thought that if Kabuki- no…Scaramouche. For a moment she thought that if Scaramouche had noticed her, she would be able to call him her home, since he is the last remaining person of the village along with her.

Reality has different plans, it’s just simply not meant to be, at least not anymore. She spent centuries locked with Dottore, and as much as it pains her to let go of Scaramouche, she had to. She needs to move on, to get the life she always deserved.

And that’s exactly what she did. She traveled down south to Sumeru and found shelter in Vimara village. The locals there accepted her very quickly, and before she knew it, she had found a new place to call home. 

Her immortality was put into question multiple times, seeing as how she wasn’t aging at all, but she brushed it aside. Joking that she may have been blessed by Celestia at some point, to be able to live this long. 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Hundreds of more years passed, and y/n was still as chipper as ever. Helping around the village in any way she could, taking care of the children whenever their parents were busy.

“Oh dear…” One of the elders fumbled about, rummaging through boxes.

“What’s wrong, Jehiet?” y/n asks, noticing her frustration.

“It seems that I have run out of potatoes and spices for our dinner tonight. The sun is setting soon.”

“Oh, well I’m sure I can go to the city and get some groceries for you.”

“Dear child! I couldn’t possibly let you go out this late, especially alone at that.”

“C’mon Jehiet, what’s the worst that can happen? I’ll be back before you know it, promise.”

After a few more times going back and forth, y/n was able to start adventuring to the city. The walk wasn’t too far, but it required a lot of navigating through the forest and greenlands, but as long as you follow the path you shouldn’t get lost.

Walking at night was peaceful. Watching the animals start to slumber, and the crickets play their song. From a distance, y/n could already see the lights of Sumeru city. It truly was beautiful at night.

Going to Lambads tavern was the best bet. It was already too late to do any cooking, so bringing back food for Jehiet was the best bet, along with the ingredients that she needed.

The tavern wasn’t as packed as it would be during the day, there were just a few people left. One of the tables was full, 4 people including a flying little white fairy thing.

“Hey y/n, what can I get for you?” Lambda asks.

“Can I sneak some of your lambda fish rolls, along with 3 jars of spice?” 

“Of course, how many fish rolls do you need?”

“Only 3 for tonight.”

“That will be 2,880 mora.”

After packing the containers of fish rolls into one bag, and the jars of spices into another, she took one more glance at the table full of people. One of them had blonde hair, she looked like she was in a tense discussion with the other two. The floating white fairy took notice of the staring, but y/n was quick to divert her attention and walk away. She only needed to buy some potatoes from the vendor and then she could go back home.

While walking in the city, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. It’s as if someone were watching her, someone with malicious intent. She bought the potatoes in a hurry and left as soon as possible.

Going to the city was never this nerve wrecking, so why tonight of all days. Could it be him…? No, that would be impossible, Sumeru is supposed to be a safe space. Despite her saying that, she was still weary of her surroundings as she returned home to Vimara village.

 . ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Her feelings of anxiety seemed to be true when the city had been run rampant over the course of the next few weeks. The Akademiya tried to control things, but word had still gotten out.

Dottore of the fatui harbingers worked together with the sages of the Akademiya to build a fake god to replace Lesser Lord Kusanali. Hearing his name made y/n drop everything in her hands, which caused quite the ruckus. She excused herself to catch her breath.

She ran to a nearby river to compose herself, unaware that she had begun to cry during her escape. Looking at her reflection, her nose began to scrunch as she wallowed. Her anxiety proved right, someone really was watching her, it was Dottore.

His plans had been stopped in time before anything could fully go into the works. Putting a person inside the body of a self created god…almost like a puppet. How cruel of a fate would that be.

It had been weeks since she stepped foot into the city, she wanted to make sure that all traces of him were gone before she could go out again. Could he truly still hurt her even after all these years? Since he was a harbinger, he probably could.

One day, lost in thought while she was cleaning, one of the elders of the village interrupted her, telling her that there was someone here to see her.

Y/n’s heart sped up, but she shook out the thoughts that were clouding her head.

“Who is it?” she asks.

“They didn’t say, but it's a group of 3. The one asking for you seems rather…desperate to meet with you.”

Y/n took a deep breath, making sure that she had her cryo vision on her waist before she followed the elder to the place where he had left the 3 visitors.

The closer she got, the clearer she could see who it was. It was him…

She stopped walking before she could meet him face to face. Tears began to crowd her eyes.

“Is that her?” there was the floating white fairy, along with the blonde haired traveler.

“Y/n, why did you stop walking?” the elder asks.

There was silence, she couldn’t speak. Instead she clasped her hand over her mouth as the reality set in.

“It is you…” he said, slowly walking towards her.

Y/n now began to walk towards him too. It's as if there was a magnet pulling both of them together.

When they were finally in close proximity, all they could do was look at each other. She reached a hand out to move the hair out of his eyes. They were still the same, she then reached to graze over his cheek. He gently put his hand over hers.

“Kabukimono…?” she whispered.

Hearing her call him made him sigh with relief.

“Yes, yes! It’s me.” He pulled her in for a hug, and she returned the favor. Embracing each other after so many centuries, the timing felt so right.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be this…expressive.” The white fairy said.

“He just found the love of his life again, Paimon. It’s a good time to be expressive.” the traveler said. 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

That night, the village was rather joyous. A feast was spread out, which Paimon, the white fairy, took a great liking to. Y/n and Scaramouche sat next to each other and talked through the whole night.

“I hope you know that I didn’t leave you, on purpose that is.” she whispered, clenching the cup of zaytun peach juice in her hand.

“For a while I used to think that you did. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I learned that wasn’t the case.”

“What happened a few days ago?”

Scaramouche stared into the sky, his eyes following the twinkling of the stars. He took a deep breath before he looked down at his own reflection in his drink.

“The dendro archon allowed me to visit Irminsul, along with the traveler and Paimon. There I was able to witness everything that happened, what really happened. Not the version that Dottore told.”

He hesitated to make eye contact, but eventually he looked at her with pity.

“I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did. That I wasn’t able to help you when you needed it, that I couldn’t notice you in the crowd during the Fatui parade…”

“You saw all of that?”

Scaramouche nodded, “every single thing that Dottore did to you,” he began to clench his fist, “I will make him pay for laying his hands on you.”

“No,” she put his hand over his, “There is no need for that. You’re with me again, I don’t ever want you to go back.”

“Then I vow to keep you safe, and now I actually have the power to keep my word.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

She rests her head on his shoulder, enjoying the laughter that echoed through the village. Even though it wasn’t exactly the same, it felt like how it was in Tatarasuna. Both of them were finally home.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

After a gracious rejoice, Scaramouche took y/n back to Sumeru city to meet with the Dendro archon. With her blessing and the power of Irminsul, both of them would be able to live their lives normally. He would turn into a mortal, as would she.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asks him, both of their hands holding onto each other.

“I’ve lived too many years fighting for the wrong thing, I don’t want to be taken advantage of like that again. All I want is to be with you.”

“It’s kind of shocking to hear him say these things…don’t you think?” Paimon asks.

“Not at all, she knew him before he was taken in by the Fatui. She’s the only one who’s able to see him past his facade of a Fatui Harbinger.” Nahida, the Dendro archon, now approached the pair. 

Combining the power of the Dendro archon, and with the power of Irminsul, a green light began to grow between the pair. It circled around them until it broke apart into two, entering their hearts.

Both of them undoubtedly collapsed from the amount of energy and power that entered them. By the time they woke up, it had already been a few days. 

Scaramouche took her hand in his, smiling to himself.

“Your hands feel warm.” She whispers, making eye contact with him which immediately makes her erupt into a fit of giggles.

“A different feeling from when they were cold.” he replies.

She takes her hand and places it on his chest, feeling his heartbeat, growing faster the longer it stays. She didn’t have any words, all she could do was smile as he did the same.

After so many centuries apart, they were finally together again. Misfortune after misfortune, and they were still able to be reunited. It took a miracle to get this far, but they did it.

They were finally home.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Taglist~

@louise-rosita-leroux

@mysticparadisecrusade​

#genshin impact #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche imagine #scaramouche fanfiction #wanderer #wanderer x reader #wanderer fanfiction #fatui #harbinger

[bubblefina]

No Puppet Strings Attached 6

Summary: When Katsuragi brings a puppet back to Tatarasuna, saying that he found him wandering the shores, the village and blade smiths took him in as their own. Something about the puppet struck a young girl's heart. Despite him not having a heart of his own, the puppet felt something that would seem to be impossible for someone like him to feel.

Pairings: Scaramouche x f!reader

Warning! This chapter contains mature themes, view at your own risk.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Tatarasuna was in ruins. The blame of what happened fell onto Katsuragi’s shoulders, he did this so that Nagamasa wouldn’t have to take responsibility for what happened. In turn…he was executed by Nagamasa himself, by the very sword that was crafted for him.

A divide fell through the village, and many left to protect themselves from the remnants of the tatarigami. Others were still sick and passed it onto others. The cycle continued until there was no one left in the once peaceful village. All life had been eradicated, either through death or migration to other lands. 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Y/n felt cold. She felt cold, tired, and thirsty.

When she first opened her eyes, she didn’t recognize the place she was in. She laid on a cold table, the kimono she wore was stained with dry blood, Niwa’s blood.

Remembering what had happened, tears formed in her eyes. She looked around, there were test tubes, chambers filled with liquids and all sorts of contraptions filling the room.

She slid off of the cold table and walked around. Her bare feet stung on the cold floor, as if they had been dragged through thorns. The longer she walked, the more fear set in. The last thing she remembered was seeing his face, the face of the man that killed her brother.

Her breath hitched for a moment. How long had she been out?

It could have been hours? It could have been weeks. Niwa was dead…he’s dead. Her only brother…gone.

And what about Kabukimono? Where was he? Did the estranged man tell the boy that she did not truly love him? Where was he…

More importantly, where was she?

Tears began to slip out as she hugged herself. Having no one to console her but herself, she tried to provide as much warmth as she could, but nothing could stop the shaking.

She stood still for a few moments longer until she heard footsteps coming down what sounded like stairs.

“You’re awake and walking already?”

She knew that voice.

Her body spun to face the man.

“You… It’s you.” The fear washed away and was replaced with anger. Her breathing heavy and fists clenched.

Dottore said nothing, he just walked closer.

“I’ve been waiting far too long for you to wake up. Perhaps the anesthetic I gave you was too strong.”

His hand reached out to stroke her hair, but she slapped it away.

“Where am I? What did you do to me, where did you take me?”

She began to shake again, but this time she wasn’t sure if it was out of anger or fear.

“You’re angry?” he was so nonchalant, acting as if nothing happened.

“Angry? I’m furious! You killed my brother, you bastard! A-and you’ve taken me to a place that I don’t even… Where am I?!” y/n screeched, her voice bounced off of the walls, but there was no one around to hear it.

“Somewhere very far away from home, but it’s only been a week since the events you last remember.”

“Take me back, I don’t wish to be anywhere near you. Go to hell!” Y/n brushes past him, trying to head towards the way he came through.

“I can’t do that, little dove,” Dottore follows closely behind her, until he has her cornered, “You’re far too precious to let go. Besides, if I do let you go, it’s only a matter of time until you talk about what happened.”

“You think I’d let what happened be a secret? You’re a murderer, not only of my brother, but those poor people who you infected with the tatarigami!.”

“I don’t think you understand what position you’re in…you’re mine now. Your body, your mind, everything is to be used by me.”

Y/n felt disgusted. Her being soaked in her deceased brother's blood, and now the very man that killed him now had her cornered. She bit her lip, and Dottore began to move closer again.

She latched onto a glass beaker behind her, gripping on tightly, she smashed the glass onto the side of his head. Catching him off guard, she pushed him away and ran. 

She ran up the stairs, out of breath, her footsteps echoing throughout the walls. Along with her heavy breath, she was still crying.

She found herself in a whole other laboratory, this one bigger than the last. She looked around but was confused, there didn’t seem to be a door anywhere, just where was she? 

She heard footsteps on the stairs below her, Dottore was following her. And seeming, by the steadiness of his steps, he wasn’t in a rush. 

In a panic, she hid behind something, hoping that she could calm herself down before having to face him again. 

“I must say, you’re not at all what I expected. Heh…how disappointing, I guess we'll just have to fix that.”

Her hands clasped over her mouth only seemed to make things worse, she couldn’t breathe.

“Let’s play a game, shall we? If you manage to evade me, I’ll let you go…but if I catch you, well we’ll just have to see what happens.”

She hears his steps grow louder, he is close. She got onto her knees and crawled in another direction to hide underneath a table that was blocked by books.

Dottore began to hum a tune. She knew that tune, it was the one that Kabukimono and her sang whenever they wanted to let the other know that they were close by.

He was mocking her.

“Your heart must ache hearing that tune, correct?”

Y/n looked down at the ground, wanting to ignore his words.

“It reminds me of what songbirds sing. They remain together for life, you know…unless they are separated by force.”

Dottore stops right next to the table she crouched under. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she was sure he could hear it.

“Would you call yourself a songbird, separated from each other…locked in a cage, by me.”

Dottore knocks over the table, the tower of books coming down with it. He notices her shaking form. He gives a pitiful clock of his tongue before crouching down, level with her.

His hand wipes away the tears that were staining her cheek. The consolation only lasted a few seconds until he forcefully gripped her cheeks and brought her closer to him.

“Judging by your expression, you’re still confused, so allow me to say it one more time. You are mine, in body and soul. I will use you as I please, and I’ll warn you that not all will be pleasant. That’s just part of the fun now isn’t it…”

Dottore covered her eyes and brought her into another room. It looked like a bathroom. A single bathtub in a corner, with other trinkets in the room.

“I’d hate to leave you in these dirty robes. You’ve been soaking in your brother's remains for far too long. Wash up.”

Y/n remained still, she didn’t want to move, and she wasn’t sure if she could.

Dottore clicked his tongue once more. He turned her towards him and slid off the shoulders of her kimono.

“You’ll learn, under normal circumstances I wouldn’t let you off the hook like this, but unfortunately I’m in a hurry today.”

He reached for the silk obi that was tied around her waist, and the simple touch made her spring into action. She swung at the man, right in his face. She continued to attack him until he gripped her wrists and forced her back towards the bathtub. He dunked her into the water.

It was cold, how long had the water been out? She was struggling to breathe, but continued to resist him. She struggled until she couldn’t, inhaling the water and choking. 

Dottore kept her submerged for a few moments longer until he brought her up. She coughed and heaved out water every second, but Dottore didn’t care.

“Wash yourself, I’ll come to get you later.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Y/n remained in the cold water. It’s not like she was given a towel to dry herself with, nor spare clothes. He had taken the bloody kimono with him. It sounds disturbing, but she wanted to keep it. 

Who knows what Dottore had done with Niwa’s body, if it was given a proper burial, or did he just toss it into the ocean.

The last one seemed more reasonable.

She looked at the reflection of herself in the water. She looked like a mess. Her face is puffy from all the crying, cuts and scrapes all over her body. She still hadn’t eaten, and it felt like her body was shutting off.

Closing her eyes, little by little, she dozed off until her head hung on her shoulders. She just couldn’t keep herself awake long enough to fight.

Dottore walked back in not too much later and saw her sleeping in the bathtub. Despite her being asleep, y/n managed to feel a presence next to her, which allowed her eyes to flutter open. Seeing Dottore staring down at her exposed form made her flush, she covered herself with her arms.

“No need to worry about that, we’ll be bound to cross that line one day,” he set down a white gown on a chair nearby, “put this on, you have but 5 minutes to do so.”

“I don’t have a towel.” she replies somberly.

He smiles and ventures to a drawer and pulls out a towel, throwing it onto the white gown on the chair.

“Hurry, little dove, we have a lot to do.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Once she was dressed, she sat down in the same chair where the clothes were placed. These clothes felt foreign, they felt uncomfortable. It’s as if she was stripped of her identity.

While she was lost in thought, Dottore walked back in. He looked pleased that she was being so compliant, perhaps this wasn’t going to be as hard as he thought.

He guides her down to the laboratory. It wasn’t one of the two she had already been in. Just how many rooms did this place have?

He has her sit down on a similar cold table she woke up from. He rustles around, but she doesn’t pay any mind. Honestly, she didn’t listen to a word of what he had to say on the journey down to the lab.

She wonders about where Kabukimono could be. Is he still in Tatarasuna? Are Katsuragi and Miyo still taking care of him?

“Oh, and I regret to inform you, the man you called Katsuragi was executed by Mikoshi Nagamasa.”

His words snapped her out of her thoughts. She couldn’t believe it for a brief moment. Why would Nagamasa do such a thing?

“Now, don’t look at me like that. I know that’s what you’re thinking about, wondering if there’s a way for you to go home, but there is no home for you to return to.”

“No…you’re lying…”

“His wife on the hand succumbed to the remnants of the Tataragami…and the boy you were so involved with…he left. Didn’t say where he was going, not that it matters-”

“It matters to me!” she jumps off of the cold table, “I love him, I still do! It doesn’t matter if you keep me trapped here for the rest of my life, I will continue to love him until I die.”

“Well…that’s exactly what I’m going to test.”

Dottore brings out a syringe filled with a gold, bubbly liquid.

“What are you talking about…”

She backs away from him as he walks closer.

“This is a tube full of some archon residue. Not the kind that is commonly related with malevolence, rather this is their life force. Remnants of what kept archons immortal.”

He stares at the syringe for a few seconds before looking over, a smile spreading across his face. He couldn’t possibly be thinking of injecting that into her…right?

“Don’t bring that any closer, stay away from me.”

Y/n continued to try to evade him, but there were only so many places she could go until he eventually cornered her back to the cold table.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, if you comply, I promise it won’t be as painful.”

“Please…please don’t do this. I-i won’t tell anyone-PLEASE!” one final scream before Dottore gripped her neck, slamming her upper body down onto the table.

“Your disobedience is truly trifling. I understand that it’s difficult for humans to realize the position they’re in until it’s too late, so I’ll go easy on you. Would you like me to release you? Only if you obey what I say.”

He applies more pressure to her neck, making it impossible for her to breathe. She gripped onto his hand with hers, trying to find any possible form of release, but he was dead set on making her suffer until he got his answer. It wasn’t until her legs began to jerk due to the lack of oxygen that she violently screamed a ‘yes’.

Dottore let's go immediately. The hand that gripped onto his immediately went to her neck to console it, loudly coughing and heaving, trying to get as much air in as she could.

“Lie back, it’s time we start.”

She complies this time, afraid of what he may do if she doesn't.

Lying on her back, she stares at the bright light on the ceiling of the room. Dottore was gathering some more items needing for whatever he needed to.

“Little dove, lay down on your stomach for me.”

Stomach? Where could he be injecting that requires her to lay on her stomach? But again, out of fear, she did as she was told.

There was a zipper on the back of her dress, he slid it down, exposing the majority of her back.

“Y-you’re putting it in my back?” she asks.

“Your spine, to be exact. It’ll absorb much better this way,” he takes the safety pin off of the syringe, then wipes down a small area of her spine with an alcohol wipe.

“It will hurt, but you will get used to the pain after the first few times.”

She could feel the point of the needle on her back, and just that small touch made her wince. Her breathing became faster, and as she felt the needle be inserted, she began to whine. Her nails clawed at the table underneath her. God knows what would happen if she were to try to tell him to stop.

After a few seconds, Dottore pulled away the needle and wiped down the area once more. He placed a cloth bandage over it.

“All done, it wasn’t so bad.”

Wasn’t so bad, he wouldn’t be saying that if he was the one who was being injected. Of course, she didn’t say that out loud, she just remained face down on the table.

“Why…do you feel the need to do this to me?” she whispers.

“Why? For research, of course. I am first most a scholar, and I continue to advance whatever ideas I may have.”

“But, why immortality? Where did you get the archon residue…”

“Not even I can live forever, but that’s the very reason why I want to break the laws that were placed down on mortals. What better way than to test on a mortal, test what may be the key to immortality.”

“But I don’t want to be immortal.” y/n whimpers, lifting herself off of the table. 

“I don’t think you really have a choice in the matter, little dove. You will be with me throughout this journey. Every year, decade, century…and even millennia if we get there.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

This routine would continue. Once a week, she would be injected with the archon residue, before that she would have to take a bath. She despised it, especially since she didn’t feel anything different.

However, things started to look up. Once a week turned into once a month, and once a month turned into once every 6 months, then every year. Dottore was smart, there wasn’t much archon residue in the world, so he had to use the amount he had very carefully.

It was 4 years into injections when he stopped. He hadn’t injected her in what seemed to be over a year.

During a yearly physical, she brought it up.

“Do you not have any archon residue left?” she asks, watching him draw blood from the vein in her forearm.

“I have plenty, why do you ask.”

“You haven’t injected me in so long, what’s the hold up?”

Dottore laughs, placing the vial of blood in a test tube container.

“Haven’t you noticed, little dove?”

She raised a brow, confused as to what he meant. Dottore walks her towards a mirror and tells her to look closely. She couldn’t see anything different about her, she looked the same as she always does.

“I don’t see anything.”

She noticed Dottore grin from looking in the mirror.

“Precisely,” he places his chin onto her shoulders, “You’ve stopped aging.”

“What…” She whispers.

“Why do you think I do these yearly physicals, it’s to check your progress. I’ve noticed that in the past 2 years, there haven't been many physical changes. Within the past few months, you look the same as you did when you first began the injections.”

“So your plan worked?”

“I suppose, we will have to keep testing to see if it’s truly possible.”

“What do you mean? I’ve already stopped aging, is that not enough for you?”

“Do you really think stopping the aging process by a few years is enough? Certainly not, I don’t want just a few years, I want centuries, I want more.”

Y/n continues to look at herself in the mirror.

“So…this will continue for centuries?” 

“I’m so glad you’re quick to catch on. Now, how about we get you back to your chamber.”

She couldn’t move for a second, but eventually she followed him. Her ‘chamber’ is a cell with a bed and a nightstand. It isn’t much, but he insists that it’s much better than whatever the rest of his human experiments have. She doesn’t know how to feel about that, the fact that he has other people he abuses and toys with.

He swears that she’s his favorite out of all of them, after all she will be the key to his everlasting immortality. His favorite test subject.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Taglist(I’m horrible at these fyi)

@louise-rosita-leroux​

@swivy123

#scaramouche #genshin impact #genshin #genshin fanfic #scaramouche fanfic #dottore #scaramouche x reader #harbinger #fatui #wanderer #wanderer x reader #wanderer fanfic

[bubblefina]

No Puppet Strings Attached 5

Summary: When Katsuragi brings a puppet back to Tatarasuna, saying that he found him wandering the shores, the village and blade smiths took him in as their own. Something about the puppet struck a young girl's heart. Despite him not having a heart of his own, the puppet felt something that would seem to be impossible for someone like him to feel.

Pairings: Scaramouche x f!reader

Warning! this chapter contains mature themes, view at your own risk. 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

“What brings you here?” Niwa asks.

“Do mind my sudden intrusion. My name is Escher, a mechanic from Fontaine.” The man reaches his hand out for a handshake, to which Niwa shakes.

“Welcome, Escher. However, my question still stands, what brings you here? We don’t get many visitors from neighboring islands, let alone countries across the ocean.”

Escher laughs, “I’ve heard quite a lot about Tatarasuna. Your weapon craftsmanship is well known all over Teyvat, I just had to see it for myself.” 

“Is that so? Well, we hope that we’ve reached your expectations.”

“Nonsense. It is amazing. I’ve actually been in cahoots with the akame clan for some time. I was told about the raid on your village and how tough it is to get back on your feet.”

“I wasn’t aware that news spread that far, but yes. We’ve been having some trouble getting back into our normal rhythm.”

Escher puts a hand on Niwa’s shoulder, “That is exactly why I’m here. I’ve created a way for all of your blade smiths to get back on track, and to revolutionize the smelting process all together.”

Niwa looked intrigued by what the man said. For decades, the way that weapons and such were made was by the same techniques that had been passed on for generations. To revolutionize the process would be taking a big risk, especially right now.

“And how would we go about doing all of that?” Niwa asks the man.

“Let’s discuss this further in the village, I want the opinions of multiple people before we continue with our plans.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Escher met with Mikoshi Nagamasa, along with many of the other important people in the village. All sitting in a room together, discussing Escher’s plan of incorporating the raw crystal marrow into the smelting process. 

Crystal marrow grew in abundance throughout the narrow corners of Tatarasuna. The villagers paid no mind to it and simply left it alone, mainly because they had other ore that they worked with, and were more comfortable working with.

Escher made points that the crystal marrow could be beneficial towards the smelting process, and it would be made easier with the contraption he had brought with him that he worked together with the Akame clan.

Once people had learned that Escher was an acquaintance with one of the fellow Isshin art clans, they warmed up to him. Another fellow clan which was a part of the Isshin arts was a sort of distant family. It wasn’t long after until Escher brought out the blueprints and plans of how the future of smelting would proceed.

By using crystal marrow, the weapons crafted from it would be more tough and resilient. 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

The first weapon to be crafted using crystal marrow was a sword. One of the blade smiths, Botan, kept it as a treasure. When he first used it to demonstrate the strength of the blade, it was able to cut through multiple stalks of bamboo rather easily, which was not an easy thing to do.

After being able to witness the toughness of the blade itself, the process of incorporating crystal marrow into weaponry became a normal practice. The resilience of the blades, along with how much easier it was to make them, allowed for more sales and profit when they were sold.

The village slowly became busy again.

Y/n heard about the new additions for the weapons, and decided to go check them out herself. She wasn’t permitted to go into the furnace or smithy where they were being smelted, which she found bothersome because she was able to do it before.

She instead decided to seek out her brother to see why she couldn’t go into the smithy anymore. Niwa was in a conference room, so she knew exactly where to go.

Knocking on the door for just a second, she opened the door. It was only Niwa and Escher, both sitting down with some tea. Niwa looked surprised when he saw his sister at the door.

“Y/n! You can’t just walk into rooms like that.” Niwa says, trying to shoo her away.

“I have some questions for you, brother. Why won't they let me into the smithy?”

“It’s too dangerous, we’re working with new materials, and you can get hurt in there. Now please leave, me and Escher are discussing something.”

“Haha, nonsense. It’s not everyday you’re greeted with such a beautiful young woman. She’s welcome to stay if she’d like.” Escher extends his hand towards the seat across from him.

“See, I’m wanted.” She took the seat next to Niwa. Escher and him continued to talk like normal, but nothing in particular.

“You truly are an amazing blade smith, Niwa. I wonder if this talent runs in the family.” Escher gestured towards y/n who looked surprised that he would even ask.

“Me?” she asks.

Escher smiles, nodding his head. 

“No way. The only thing she’s good at is annoying people and prying in places she doesn’t belong in.” Niwa stares intensely at her, almost like a scorn.

“Fine, if whatever you want to talk about is that serious, then I’ll just leave you alone.” With a huff, y/n leaves the room.

She runs into Kabukimono on the way. He notices that she looks upset.

“What's wrong, my love?” he asks.

Once she notices him, her expression softens. It's as if his presence alone was enough to distract her from anything.

“Nothing much, just Niwa not wanting to talk to me.”

“I’m sure that's not true. He’s just busy trying to get everyone back on their feet.”

“Sure, but I hoped that he’d still make time for his sister,” She pouts at the boy, “you make time for me. Although, I feel like you have more fun creating a sword than a flower crown. Don’t you?”

“I have to admit that flower crowns aren’t my strong suit, but the ones you create truly are of high quality.”

“I forgot to ask. How’s the crystal marrow doing? Is it showing promising results? Niwa said that they’re selling better, but that was a while ago.”

Both of them began to walk together, wanting to get to a place where they could sit and talk. The boy had begun to take more frequent breaks to spend time with y/n. Ever since the village invasion, he had felt guilty that he wasn’t strong enough to stay out and protect her.

She protested against his statements, saying that he didn’t have to be strong, he just had to be with her and that would be enough. Despite her reassuring words, he still felt as though he wanted to grow in order to keep her safe. Whenever he sees the other village men doting on their wives, protecting their families from any danger, he wants that too.

“The village has been receiving more funds to keep the crystal marrow smelting going. I’d say the profits are much better than they were in the past few years.” he sits down on a flat rock, y/n sitting next to him.

His eyes looked dimmed, as if he were deep in thought. She took notice of this.

“What's on your mind?” she asks.

The boy sighs, “same thing as always.”

“Kabuki…you know that I love you the way you are, right? I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“I'm aware, but I feel as though since I’m not a real human, I cannot give you the life you need.”

She places her hand alongside the side of his face, “and what is it exactly that I need?”

“A normal life. I may outlive you one day, and I don’t know how I will be able to live with that. I cannot give you children either…”

“Dearest…is that what’s been going through your mind all this time?”

The boy doesn’t respond, but looks at her with sad eyes. He looks pained.

“Those things may be true, but they are not necessities. You may outlive me one day, but I’m sure that things will work in our favor. Maybe we will be rejoined in another way.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. And look, we’re together right now, I’m not going anywhere.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

It had been almost 7 months since the beginning of the crystal marrow smelting process. The village had never been this busy nor prosperous before. Small gatherings were held every month to celebrate the growth and recovery of the village.

During one of these gatherings, both the boy and y/n were alone in the area surrounded by bloom blossoms. Wanting some alone time from the festivities, they secluded themselves to the very area that they first fell in love.

The boy gently places a blossom behind her ear, tracing her jawline with his finger tenderly.

“What’s this for?” she asks, toying with this blossom.

“I’ve always wanted to do that. You look beautiful, the blossom only enhances the beauty you already possess.”

“Oh, you!” she becomes flustered and turns away, but not for too long. The boy gently turns her head back to him. He places a kiss against the side of her mouth.

After a share of a few more intimate kisses, the two decided to walk back to the celebration area. Instead of being welcomed by joyous laughter, people were in panic.

Both of them rushed towards the crowded area where people were huddled together. At the center was a man, he was one of the blade smiths. He was huddled in his wife's arms, convulsing. There was a rash spread across his body.

“What happened?” the boy asks.

“We don’t know. One minute he was fine, but then he started scratching his arms and then fell to the floor and began to shake violently.” One of the villagers replied.

“Someone take him to the village healer!” Two other men came and escorted the blade smith and his wife to the healer who had been in his home.

The latest event had soiled the mood of the celebration, causing an end to the festivities.

The boy had gone with Katsuragi and Miyo. Before he left, he bid y/n goodbye with a kiss on the head. She stood there silently for a few minutes, soaking up what just happened. She had never seen someone act like that before.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice approaching from behind her.

“Horrid isn’t it?” 

It was Escher.

“Ah…yes it is. I’ve never seen anything like this before.” she clasped her hands together, feeling a chill run against her skin.

“There will be many things in this world that you will see, little dove.” 

The nickname caught her off guard, but she didn’t question it.

“I doubt it, not much happens in Tatarasuna.”

“I’m not talking about just Tatarasuna. You’re not planning on venturing out from this island?”

“I’ve lived here my whole life… I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

Escher looked at her for a few seconds before smiling.

“If that is what you wish, little dove.” He walks away from her, leaving her slightly confused at why he came up to her to talk about venturing out of Tatarasuna, of all things.

She ignored it once more and returned home.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

The blade smith's condition worsened through the coming weeks. He had started speaking about an unknown god that was coming for revenge. The village healer could not do much to ease his pain, other than giving him herbal treatments to make him lose consciousness.

It wasn’t until he slipped into pure insanity that he withered away into nothing. He died in his sleep, leaving his wife and family in pure despair.

Talks of him going insane spread through the village. Y/n was for some reason very scared by this, and she did not know why. Her worries became even more apparent when a few more people started to become sick as well, showing the same symptoms as the blade smith before he had died.

There was a reasonable pattern amongst them, all of them were blade smiths, and the few outliers were people who had close contact with the blade smiths.

No one seemed to catch onto this pattern, however, they were too concerned on how to treat these people before they succumbed to the same fate.

Niwa however had noticed the pattern of which people were affected. All of them were blade smiths, all of them worked in the same area, the Mikage Furnace.

Nothing like this had happened before, in the decades in which Tatarasuna had been crafting blades. It wasn’t until the involvement of crystal marrow.

He couldn’t act on these theories just yet, if he just flat out accuses Escher. And even if it were true, what motive would Escher have of poisoning the villagers, especially if he was in cahoots with the Akame clan.

He brushed off his suspicions for now, only wanting to protect his sister.

After the unknown disease began to spread, the villagers began to panic, worried if they were next. Niwa knew that there would be discord amongst the villagers if this continued, so he made a deal with the village healer and others to implement an information blackout. No news about the disease would go to the public until ways on how to cure it were discovered. Until then, people will just have to stay at home.

Unfortunately, staying at home wasn’t enough, people had begun to drop left and right. It was scary seeing a loved one perish so suddenly. 

Kabukimono decided it was enough seeing the people he loved die. He wanted to go to Narukami Island and seek an audience with the Raiden Shogun for assistance. He wanted to set off immediately.

“How long will you be gone?” y/n asks, the waves on the beach washing against her bare feet.

“I don’t know, but I will return as soon as I can. I promise.”

Both of their hands intertwine, clenching tightly. Neither one of them wanted to let go. It would take a day or two to get to Narukami Island, but the oceans are unpredictable.

“Be safe, please?” She says.

“I will, you stay safe too. When I come back with the Raiden Shogun, everything will be okay.”

A sweet kiss on the lips was exchanged. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, bringing him in closer. A small moment of passion for the days that they would miss each other. She hands the boy a bloom blossom before he leaves.

“Be here when I return.” the boy says, looking at her one last time.

“I will, I’ll wait for you. Goodbye!”

The boy gets on the sailboat, both of them waving to each other until neither of them could see each other anymore.

Y/n’s heart stung at the sight of him leaving. She felt as if a Piece of her went with him, and she prayed oh so diligently that he would return safely. 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Over the next few days, Niwa worked together with Escher to create a device that would clear the filth that had contaminated the Mikage furnace. They came to the conclusion that the crystal marrow had indeed been contaminating the residents of the village with something known as the “Tataragami”.

Crystal marrow was the remains of the god Orobashi that had been slain by the Raiden Shogun so long ago. It was the reason that the villagers had become so sick, but using the device that Escher created, the illnesses would deplete.

Niwa had told y/n about his plan on going to the Mikage Furnace and clearing the filth. She had her reservations about Niwa going in alone. The boy hadn’t returned with the Shogun's help yet, and she was worried sick. She couldn’t bear it if something had happened to Niwa too.

He reassured her that he would be fine. After the filth was cleared, the smiths would go back to their normal way of forging weapons, and things would remain that way.

She hugged her brother before he left, feeling an immense amount of dread upon her, as if something bad were to happen any moment. Niwa reassured her that everything would be fine, and left to meet with Escher and obtain the device.

Before Niwa could venture to the furnace, he confronted Escher about the usage of Crystal Marrow. In truth, Niwa had caught onto Eschers treacherous ways not too long ago. He knew that Escher was aware of how dangerous it was to use crystal marrow.

“I just want to know what you’re still doing here,“ Niwa says, walking away from Escher, “What's left? Don’t you have all your answers by now?”

Escher follows closely behind, a look of fake dread on his face. He puts his hand to his forehead, as if to console it.

“Honestly, I’m just waiting for the right moment.”

A moment of silence fell on the room. Something wasn’t right, it was too quiet. Niwa’s heart began to pound, but before he could act, he felt a shooting pain in his abdomen. 

His eyes opened wide, a grunt escaped from his lips as he fell to the floor. His hand shot to where the pain was, and when he looked down, everything was being soaked in blood. 

“Heh… you’re a little smarter than what I initially gave you credit for.” Escher’s face was painted with an evil grin.

Niwa could do nothing but stare and huff, trying not to think of the pain and blood.

“Did you really think you would be able to see through my plan?” Escher's voice had completely changed. From once a gentleman to now what sounded like a haughty wicked man. 

“Ugh… if you kill me…there’s no one that can go inside the furnace. So is that's it…you’re really going to destroy the place?” Niwa groans out, wincing every time he speaks.

“Oh, but you’re quite wrong-there is one other person. Hmm. Some may not see him as a person, but you told him yourself, ‘you’re not a puppet, you’re a human, you’re just missing a heart.’ “

Niwa’s heart shook. The Kabukimono…the boy who he had treated like family. The love of his sister's life…he couldn’t possibly.

After a few more exchanges of words, Escher had revealed himself to be involved with the Fatui, and was tasked with creating a minor inconvenience for Inazuma. 

Before Niwa could retort, the door was slammed open and someone came running inside.

“Niwa…? Niwa!” y/n rushed towards her brother, placing her hand on his bleeding abdomen.

“Y/n…you shouldn’t be here…” Niwa croaks.

“Nono, let her. The entire family is present, the more she knows the better.” Escher grins.

“You…you monster. What did you do to him?” Y/n glares daggers towards the man.

“Come now, y/n, we were just discussing how your boyfriend is the perfect person to go into the Mikage Furnace to cleanse it of its filth.” Escher continues to smile at the pair of siblings beneath him.

“Kabukimono…he’s not even here. If you’re so sure your contraption will work, then why don't you go into the furnace and leave us alone!”

“It’s simple really. He’s a puppet, meaning that he’s meant to be used. If not by you…by someone else.”

Tears cornered Y/n's eyes, this man was crueler than he put out to be.

“Don’t talk about him like that…he’s not just a puppet! He’s one of us, we all love him. I love him!” Y/n exclaims, her grip on her brother tightening.

“If you truly think that…then allow your brother to give into his hatred. I want to see what happens when a malevolent heart is placed into an unsuspecting puppet.”

Both Niwa and Y/n were shocked, he was planning on carving out Niwa’s heart?”

“Times ticking y/n, you have to choose. Your brother, your flesh, and blood, or your puppet boyfriend.”

“You…” y/n whimpers and lowers her head.

“If you give him my heart…tell him that both nagamasa and I…think of him as one of us…” Niwa’s final breaths were being used up, and y/n could feel him slipping away.

“Brother please…” Y/n begs.

“Not all of us…want to use him,” Niwa turns towards his crying sister, “Go y/n…it’s not safe here…get away from Tatarasuna…get away from Inazuma…”

Niwa’s body slowly relaxes as it slides onto the floor completely. Y/n begins to sob even louder as her own body covers her dead brothers. Her body shaking as she can't stop the tears from coming out, her cries audible.

“Mr. Niwa…tsk. Already dead, what a pity.” Escher groans out, and in a swift motion his appearance changes.

No longer dressed like a fontain native, he sports an entirely different outfit and hair that looks foreign.

“Jester, I completed the task you gave me. Creating a gap and infiltrating Inazuma’s inner workings… Heh, what fun it was.”

He stares down at the girl, “I’d like to introduce a puppet to you. If he proves useful, let’s make him our newest comrade. If not…let's turn him to dust.”

He watches for a few more seconds until he kneels down towards the girl. His gloved hand placed on the top of her head, stroking it for a few seconds before yanking her back by her hair.

“You will be troublesome if I decide to let you go…which is exactly why I won't.”

Her eyes begin to shake. Will she meet the same fate as her brother?

“Don’t look at me like that, I can’t kill the entire family in one sitting. Oh no, no, you’ll be coming with me. The most closed mouths are the ones you can keep an eye on.”

Y/n whimpers as he lets go of her hair and cups her cheeks.

“I’m sure you’ll prove useful to me, useful for many things.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

The man who was once Escher, now going by Dottore, knocked y/n out completely before he went back outside. He announced that both Niwa and his sister had abandoned the people of Tatarasuna, to fend for themselves. 

It wasn’t long until Kabukimono came back to the island empty-handed. He had learned of the disappearance of Y/n and Niwa. Both of them had left him…

Y/n said that she would wait for him, but why?

Dottore poured into the poor boy's head that Y/n never truly loved him, which is why it was so easy for her to leave along with her brother. After all, who could truly love a puppet that has no heart of his own?

And to tie everything together, after Kabukimono cleared the furnace of its filth, the boy opened the box to find a heart inside of it. Dottore stated that it was the heart of a subordinate that Niwa had carved out.

The boy was enraged, it was the first time he felt this emotion. He had been betrayed…not only by someone who he considered to be a close friend…but by the woman he loved.

This was his second betrayal.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Taglist: 

@swivy123

#genshin #genshin impact #scaramouche #wanderer #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche imagine #scaramouche fanfic #dottore #fatui #harbinger #genshin fanfic

[bubblefina]

No Puppet Strings Attached 4

Summary: When Katsuragi brings a puppet back to Tatarasuna, saying that he found him wandering the shores, the village and blade smiths took him in as their own. Something about the puppet struck a young girl's heart. Despite him not having a heart of his own, the puppet felt something that would seem to be impossible for someone like him to feel.

Pairings: Scaramouche x f!reader

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Often in this world, strangers tend to meet on different paths of their life. Unlikely that they will stay with each other, but they will remember each other. Through their eyes, they reminisce of what once was. That is the truth of this world, no one knows the meaning of love, but they can feel it.

Niwa had already told her about the boy being a puppet. She had known before they kissed, but it didn’t stop her from pursuing him any less. They of course went home after their kiss, but the next day there was no need to go out and think about what happened, they just went to each other.

Y/n always visits the smithy, but never with this big of a smile on her face. Not even her brother saw her smile this brightly, it's as if she was reborn.

“Y/n? What’s wrong?” Niwa asks.

“Nothing, I’m not here to see you silly. I’m here to see…you” she kisses Kabukimonos cheek, which makes the rest of the blade smiths jaws drop. They were flabbergasted at the sudden affection she had shown the boy, mainly because she didn’t show that kind of affection to anyone.

“I’ll bring over some of the tea you like during your break, so don’t get too full, okay?” 

“Of course, I’ll look forward to it.” 

Ignoring the questions that were thrown at them, y/n gave a quick peck on the boy's lips, which just makes the surrounding air that much more heavy.

“You…you!” Katsuragi stares and watches.

Y/n giggles and walks out of the smithy. The blade smiths stopped what they were doing and crowded around the boy.

“And what happened between the two of you?” Niwa asks.

“It’s as you’ve said Niwa, I’m just as human as everyone else.” a small wink was aimed towards Niwa, who immediately got the message.

“You sly dog,” Niwa wraps his arm around the boy, “So it’s official then? Both you and my sister are together.”

“When did this happen?!” the other blade smiths said in union.

“A few nights ago.” He replied.

“And you sound so nonchalant about it, too.” Katsuragi says.

“I guess the initial shock of it is gone, perhaps I lost myself in this feeling without even being aware of it.” The boy stops and stares at his reflection in the sword.

“And what feeling is that?” One of the blade smiths asks.

“It’s love.” Niwa answers for the boy, a soft smile on his face.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Have you ever felt as if the world had become brighter? The flowers bloomed more often, the sun felt warmer, the wind felt as if it swept through your soul. That’s what love felt like to both Y/n and Kabukimono.

They spent every other passing moment with each other, to the point where the boy was a frequent visitor for dinner. Niwa had gotten used to having him around at home, but one thing he could not accept was allowing y/n and the boy to be alone in her room. Perhaps it was just him being an older brother, but he forbade it unless the door was open.

It didn’t bother y/n too much, because she could just go somewhere else. It wasn’t that they wanted to do something perverted with each other, but just bask in some private time.

Their favorite place was a little green area surrounded by flowers and trees. They’d go there at least once a week and just lay down to admire their surroundings, and of course each other.

Y/n took the liberty of laying herself on the boy's lap, it turned into one of her favorite things. He’d take the time to pluck flowers from the ground and decorate her hair with them. Carefully tying the stems of the flowers around each lock of hair. 

“I feel bad for taking the flowers out every night, you put so much effort into placing them into my hair.” she says, sulking.

“No worries, if the flowers run out here, we’ll have the rest of the world's flowers to use.”

“Hm, now that you say it. A flower from each nation would be nice now wouldn’t it.”

“You would put the flowers to shame, they would already enhance the beauty you possess.”

“You…shush!” she begins to act flustered, which he found adorable.

During moments like this, he leans in closer to give a peck on her lips, just to see her flustered more. Her usual reaction is to hide her face behind her hands, refusing to remove them unless he stopped laughing, which he did, eventually.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Another one of their newly found interests was music. When Y/n was out harvesting things, she’d hum a tune, which eventually caught on with Kabukimono. So whenever she’d start humming the tune, he’d synchronize his whistling with the song she hummed.

She of course joined in, now whistling with him. They’d do it whenever to let the other person know that they were close by. The other villagers eventually caught on with them, eventually naming the tune “the ballad of lovers”.

“Did you hear both of them going at it again?” one of the villagers says.

“You mean that whistling the both of them do? Of course, it's quite catchy if you ask me.”

“It’s more of a mating call if you ask me.”

“Mating calls or not, the both of them…never a dull moment between either of them.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Not all days were happy. There were rumors of the nobushi now growing in numbers, the villagers began to worry if they’d invade the village. The anxious feelings spread throughout the village, to the point where the elders told the residents to not stray too far from the village itself.

This meant that neither y/n nor the boy could go to the special spot that they both loved so much. During the village meetings, when the elders spoke of the nobushi getting closer and closer, looking as if they were to plan an invasion, y/n gripped onto the boy's hand tightly.

During the last nobushi invasion, both her and Niwa’s parents were killed. She was still fairly young, shielded from the sight of seeing her slaughtered parents in their home, but Niwa had witnessed it all. He vowed that he’d protect his sister no matter what, and he intends to keep that promise. 

The boy caressed her hand that shook with anxiety with his thumb, reassuring her that everything will be alright. He might not have the strength or power of the other men, but he too would do his best to protect her to the best of his abilities.

The next few nights were calmer, no movement spotted from the nobushi, so the villagers moved on with their daily chores. It wasn’t until a foggy early morning that things seemed eerily quiet.

Normal activities were occurring, but a few select people stopped what they were doing, then the village became completely silent.

It stayed like that for a few moments until an arrow was shot out from the fog, hitting nothing but a wooden pole. 

“We’re under attack!” one of the men roared.

The villagers scattered, the women, children and elderly all ran to safe areas designated for the villagers who weren’t fit to fight. In the midst of the running, Niwa had grabbed hold of y/n, telling her to stay with the rest of the villagers who were running for safety.

She was reluctant to go, not wanting to lose another family member, but he promised her that he would come back. With a heavy heart, she fled. Niwa had also found the boy, who was handing out swords and other weapons to the men who were ready to fight.

“I need you to go with the group who’s staying at the safe house.” Niwa says to him.

“But why?”

“I need someone there with y/n, someone I can trust. If something happens to me, I need you to be there with her, can you do that for me?”

“Niwa…if she loses you, she will be crushed. I’m not even sure I can console her if that were to happen.”

“I’ll do my best to make it back, but I need someone there with her.”

With no hesitation, the boy left for the safe house. The rest of the men stayed behind and did their best to ward off the nobushi, who came in hefty numbers. Luckily the villagers knew their village the best, all the best ambush spots, where to set traps. The fighting went on for not too long before the nobushi knew that they were outmatched. 

The kairagi within the group managed to do great damage before they retreated. Not even they could last forever on their own. The group of bandits was smaller, so eventually they’d grow tired and weak. Before taking a chance to surrender, they dispersed as quickly as they came. 

A few men went back to the safe house and retrieved the group of people who remained out of the fight. They were just as disheartened to see what came of their village. There was damage all around.

“We barely managed to recover from the winter, now this?” One of the older men complained.

Most people rushed back to their homes to see if anything had been stolen or damaged. Others scurried around the village, trying to scavenge anything that was left of the food supply. By the time y/n had made her way out, she immediately ran to find her brother, embracing him when she finally spotted him.

Tears spilled out of her eyes, relief overwhelming her. Niwa held onto her tightly, tears threatening to leave his eyes all the same. He held them back, wanting to be strong for his family. 

“Are you hurt?” she asks.

“Not much, I was more on the defensive side. The frontmen are being taken care of right now, or are about to.”

The boy appears from the crowd, looking worried. Niwa ushers him over and embraces him for a hug as well.

“Thank you for looking after her,” Niwa whispers in his ear, “I’m glad you’re safe too.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

A few hours after the attack, y/n found herself at the spot where she and kabukimono spent most of their time. The flowers, the trees, the grass…everything had been burned to bits.

There wasn’t a sliver of life left within it. Y/n fell to her knees when she saw it. The boy put his hand on her shoulder to console her.

“No need to worry, they will regrow.” he says, swiping his thumb along her cheek.

“I know they will, but…it hurts looking at this. We made so many memories here, and now everything is so bleak.”

“The damage is horrible, and it will take a long time until the trees grow and flowers bloom once more.”

Noticing the now more gloomy look on her face, the boy tilts her chin upward and kisses her lips.

“But I’m sure the next time this area is filled with life again, it will be full of even better memories.”

Y/n nods her head, resting her face against the boy's shoulder. Both of them sat at the very top of the hill, looking down at the scorched field. They may have lost the flowers and serenity of their favorite place, but they still had each other.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Months had passed as the village continued to try to get back onto its feet. The nobushi had seemed to leave the village alone, as they were nowhere in sight. Most likely traveled to another beach and set up camp there.

The other villagers didn’t seem to care, as long as the nobushi didn’t bother them, they didn’t care where they went.

The weapon forgery was also hit hard. Since many of the blade smiths were injured during the raid, work was slow. Making and selling weapons was one of the village's main source of commerce, and without the manpower to continue such a task, many orders, and commissions fell behind.

The blade smiths who were able to work became fatigued from not getting any breaks. They themselves still had injuries, but were still required to go to the smithy and continue to work.

It went on like this for what seems like forever, but on one peculiar day. A man with white hair, dressed in red, visited the village. From the look on his face, anyone could tell he wasn’t an Inazuma native. 

He introduced himself as Escher, from Fontaine, and he has the perfect solution for the smithy’s smelting and weapon crafting problem. 

#Genshin #genshin impact #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche fanfic #scaramouche imagine #wanderer #wanderer x reader #fatui #harbinger

[bubblefina]

Hi! I found your Tom Riddle fic on Ao3 and just wanted to say that i absolutly adore it!!

I can see so much angst potentiol for the future and cant wait to get tortured with it

Hope your doing OK and continue to have motivation for the series ♥

(english isnt my first language so i hope this makes sence)

Hihi!!!! Thank you so much for enjoying the series <33 and yes I planned for a lot of angst for this series haha, but whats a romance story without some amount of angst anyways.

I’m doing well thank you, I hope you’re doing well good too :3 I’ve gotten some motivation to write again so I’m planning more and more drafts.

Your english is good, don't worry! <3

[bubblefina]

No Puppet Strings Attached 3

Summary: When Katsuragi brings a puppet back to Tatarasuna, saying that he found him wandering the shores, the village and blade smiths took him in as their own. Something about the puppet struck a young girl's heart. Despite him not having a heart of his own, the puppet felt something that would seem to be impossible for someone like him to feel.

Pairings: Scaramouche x f!reader

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Y/n was quieter the next morning, which was odd for someone like her. She didn’t try to make conversation while eating breakfast, nor did she nag at Niwa to pick up after himself before he left to go to the smithy. She was just…silent.

Not only that, but she decided not to go to the smithy either that day. Likewise, she stayed at home and did some chores that were piling up. Furthermore, she washed the clothes and cleaned the house. Everything was spick and span. Sitting at a table, she mindlessly sipped her cup of tea, trying to clear her mind. She stared down at the reflection of her within the tea, remembering her past encounters with the boy.

Her heart began to beat faster until she squealed. Clasping her hands over her face, she fell backwards, mumbling different versions of ‘how did that happen’ ‘why did I say that’ ‘why did he say that’.

It felt as if the room was suffocating her at this point. She dumped the rest of the tea into an empty basin and left. She wanted to avoid an area heavily populated with a lot of people, which would be hard because people were setting up for the sword dance.

It was weird having her walk past a group of people and not ask them what they were up to. Some people were making streamers, while others were sewing clothes special for the dance itself. 

She found herself in a little ledge area that was barred off by a wooden fence. The fence itself looked as if it needed some touch up, which wasn’t surprising considering the rough weather the past winter.

She looked off into the distance, the slight winder wind brushing against her cheeks. All she could think about was last night. It wasn’t a horrible thing to think about, but she wished that she could think about something else for once.

Lost in her thoughts, someone approached her from behind. A soft voice asked her why she was there. Y/n turned around and saw Miyo, she held a basket full of different kinds of food in her hand against her hip. 

“I just need to clear my head.” y/n turns around again to look off into the distance, Miyo walks up to her, putting the basket on the ground.

“Well, if it requires you to come all the way out here, where there is almost no one in sight, then it must be something serious.”

“There are some people who come out here, like Hikari. He makes rounds every once in a while.”

“Don’t change the subject, what’s wrong?”

Y/n bit her lip, wondering if she should tell Miyo about what happened. Since she didn’t have a mother growing up, Miyo may have been the only person who could have filled that role. 

“What does it mean when someone calls you beautiful?” 

Miyo looked taken aback, then her brows furrowed as she took in the question.

“Did someone call you beautiful?”

“T-that's not the question I'm asking. What does it mean.”

Miyo chuckles, “From what I know, it may mean that the person likes you. You can’t just call anyone beautiful, the word has a deeper level of appreciation than just any other compliment.”

Y/n’s face began to heat up once more. Did the boy like her? Did she like him? These types of feelings are not easy to process, especially for a person who never had them before.

Miyo had to return to her chores, leaving y/n alone in her thoughts once more. Perhaps she was putting too much thought into what had happened, it could have been a slip of the tongue. What was so special about the boy calling her beautiful anyway.

She leaned against the fence, wanting to soak in the air for a little longer until she had to go back. She had leaned too far for a moment, putting too much weight onto the already weak wooden frame. 

The wood began to crack, and much to her surprise, snapped in half. Before she could react to what was happening, she began to fall forward. Since there was nothing to hold onto to hold her back, her body passed the ledge, and she began to fall for a moment before she grappled onto vines growing from the bottom of the ledge. 

Her heart pounded, anxiety filling her veins. The drop-down wasn’t enough to kill her, but it was certain to leave an injury. 

Through her loud heaving breaths, she yelled for help. Useless, no one was around. Except for Hikari, and she didn’t know when he would come around for his rounds. 

The vines couldn’t hold her weight, they began to snap, and before long all of them broke, and she plunged towards the ground. Miraculously, a hefty tree branch managed to break her fall, before she fell onto the ground completely. The impact wasn’t as strong as it would have been, but it was still painful.

She felt an increasing pain in her ankle, as well as what felt like burning on her cheeks. Her kimono was tattered in many places, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

She could only lay there in defeat as slow sobs began to escape her throat.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

 The smithy was naturally chatty. It was only the middle of the day, the metal of the swords that were being battered could be heard from way outside. It was just a normal day for the blade smiths.

It was normal until a young man ran into the smithy, his hand on the door as he frantically looked around.

“Niwa!” he shouted, “It’s y/n, she hurt herself.”

Niwa put down the sword he was working on. His eyes slightly shook as he took in the words.

“What…what happened?” Niwa asks.

“She fell off the ledge near the outskirts of the village. It's the one with the fence that needed fixing.”

Niwas feet began to move on their own, and both him and the young man started to run back towards the village. Katsuragi followed, and the boy watched for a few seconds before he too ran after them.

They reached a house that belonged to the village medic. A few people were in the room already, but they cleared out once Niwa and the others rushed inside.

“Y/n?1” Niwa asks, fear in his voice as he sees his sister being wrapped in bandages. Her hair is a mess, eyes red from crying and scratches on her cheeks.

“Niwa?” she whispers.

Niwa hugs her, to which she returns with a wince.

“Careful there. There may be bruises underneath. She’s lucky that she isn’t unconscious.” the medic says, finishing up the wrappings on her ankle.

“What were you thinking? Why did you go there, of all places? You know the winter was bad this year, a lot of the outdoor furnishings and boundaries need repairing.” Niwa begins to scold his sister.

“I just…” she notices kabukimono standing near the entrance of the door, he looks worried too, “I needed some air. I leaned forward too much and the fence snapped.”

“Well, you won't be leaning on anything any time soon. Your ankle had some damage done to it.” The medic slightly squeezes her ankle, causing y/n to yelp.

“Is it serious?” Katsuragi asks.

“No, not life-threatening. I don’t know how she did it, but there aren’t any serious injuries. Just keep off of this foot for a week, and it’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry, I won't let her out of the house until she heals.” Niwa says.

“B-but the sword dance is in a week, I can’t miss that!” Y/n argues, but Niwa doesn’t listen. He simply picks her up in his arms and begins to walk back to their home.

“Niwa, I’m sure that in a week I’ll be fine. Please don’t make me miss the sword dance.”

“I can’t take any chances, you need to rest up and not put too much pressure on that ankle of yours. I’ll swing by every hour or so to check up on you.”

When they got back to their home, Niwa placed y/n on her futon. He brought a glass of water and a small bowl of snacks, so she wouldn’t have to get up to eat.

“I’ll be back, just rest up for now.” 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

“Is something wrong?” Katsuragi asks the boy.

They had continued practicing for the sword dance, but unfortunately all the boy could do was trip over his own feet. It's as if his mind was elsewhere. The boy mumbled an apology before sitting down to take a break.

“We’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t tell us what's going on. You were doing perfectly fine yesterday.” Katsuragi sits beside him.

The boy's voice is caught in his throat. He stares at Niwa for a split second before looking down again. Only the three of them were in the occupied space.

“Just concerned…” he trailed off.

“About what?” Niwa asks.

He bit his lip before continuing, “about y/n”

Katsuragi and Niwa glanced at each other.

“About her injury? Don’t worry, she’s fine, in fact she’s probably fast asleep in her room right now.” Niwa assures the boy, but it doesn’t seem to work.

“I don’t think it's that simple. I’ve never felt this way before. This squeezing feeling in my chest area, as if I saw her in her injured state, that's all I could think about.”

“Your heart? It felt as if it was being squeezed?” Katsuragi asks.

The boy's eyes shake for a second, he looks as if he is in despair.

“I don't…” he trails off once more, “I don’t have a heart.” 

The room remained silent. No one knew how to respond to his sudden confession of not owning a vital organ that every human needs to live.

“I am merely a puppet, there is nothing human about me.”

Now in deeper anguish, the boy sighed, afraid to look into the eyes of the two people who he considered to be the closest with.

“Nonsense,” Niwa stated, “You’re just as much of a human as anyone else.”

“Niwa, I don’t think you understand. I was created by the-”

“Listen to me,” Niwa places his hands on the boys’ shoulder, “I am well aware of what a puppet means, but that doesn’t mean that you are any different from the rest of us.” 

Katsuragi also joins in, hand on the boy's back to show support.

“You are a human, just a human that lacks a heart. The rest is as human as anyone else as far as I can see.” Niwa smiles, reassuring the boy.

“Then how can my chest feel like it was being closed when I saw y/n in the state she was in.” 

Both Katsuragi and Niwa laugh.

“You’re worried about her, because you obviously care a lot about her,” Katsuragi swings his arm around the back of the boy's neck, bringing him closer, “catching feelings for little ol y/n aren’t we?”

The boy becomes flustered, doing his hardest to get away from Katsuragi, but Katsuragi obviously being stronger doesn’t budge away from teasing the boy.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

The night of the sword dance was here. The village set up different decorations, especially around the small stage where the dance would be taking place. 

Small lanterns set up all over, which would be ignited when it got close to sunset.

Both Katsuragi and Kabukimono had dressed in brand-new kimonos special for the occasion. After the both of them were dressed, they waited until the sky turned dark, and then made their way over towards the stage.

There was a fairly big crowd, the entire village was there. The elderly, children, all of the above.

The boy tugged at his sleeves, slightly nervous. He looked around in the crowd.

There was the old man who he helped a few weeks ago to clean out his yard. A woman who needed help carrying baskets of food back to the village. A man who he helped carry wood to rebuild some areas around the village.

He continued to scan the crowd until his eyes landed on a special figure. It was y/n, very front of the crowd. She was sitting down on a cut down log, Niwa sitting beside her, so she wouldn’t have to get up for something.

Both of them locked eyes with each other. Y/n gives a smile, and slightly claps with her hands. The boy exhales, it feels as if the weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. Y/n shouts good luck before the start of the dance.

Both Katsuragi and the boy danced together with grace. Following each other's movements swiftly, handing off the crafted claymore to one another before it was thrown into the air. The boy had flipped forward and caught it in his hand, signaling the end of the dance.

The crowd began to clap and cheer. Heaving through exhaustion, both of them left the stage and went to talk to people amongst the crowd. Niwa had left y/n for a brief moment to talk to both of them, much to her displeasure. She, too, wanted to talk amongst the crowd, but she couldn’t.

After a few minutes, she noticed the boy walking away from the crowd. He looked as if he was walking towards the wooded area the both of them were at a week ago. Hoping that Niwa wouldn’t notice, she crept off of her seat and followed the boy to the wooded area.

Her ankle had gotten better over the past week, but she still couldn’t put too much pressure on it, or else it would start to ache. Her walking would look like limping, which it was.

After what felt like ages, she had finally caught up to him. He was standing in the same spot as last time, but he looked conflicted.

“Has this become your new favorite place?” she asks, limping towards him.

He looks shocked to see her, but immediately walks towards her and takes her hand, not wanting her to walk more than she needed to.

“You came all this way?” he asks.

“Well, it’s not like I had any other way to talk to you. You didn’t even come over to see me once when the dance was over.”

He looks down, “I apologize. It wasn’t my intention to be rude.”

She lifts his face up with a finger on his chin, “You weren’t being rude, I just wanted to let you know that you did amazing out there. Both you and Katsuragi did great.”

“Thank you… I wasn’t expecting to see you there, if I’m being honest.”

“Haha, yeah, me neither, but Niwa surprisingly was adamant of me going. Something about you being worried about me.”

If the boy truly did have a heart, at this moment it would have skipped a beat. He felt slightly flustered, but he brushed it off.

“I was. I couldn’t help but think that you were outside ‘thinking’ because of what I said the night before.”

She slowly began to sit down on the bloom blossoms, he followed her.

“Well you aren’t wrong, what you had said…what both of us said kept repeating in my mind over and over again, and I didn’t know what to take from it. It was the first time someone had called me that.” 

“It was the first time I had called someone that as well.”

Both of them shared a laugh. For once the coldness in the air didn’t matter, both of them felt as if a flame had ignited inside them both. As if their company had created a warmth that could withstand even the harshest of weathers.

“Did you mean it…what you said?” y/n asks.

“Of course. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so…captivating before. The sight has been ingrained in my mind, too.”

Y/n’s hand crawled towards him. Her fingers slightly interlaced with his, she leaned in slightly, and he began to follow. Both of their faces were inches away from each other. There was slight hesitation from both of them.

“Do you want to?” the boy asks.

“Yes” she whispers back.

Both of them inch closer until their lips touch. It was a weird contrast, his lips felt cold against hers, but she didn’t mind. He leaned in more, caressing the back of her neck with his hand. 

As if time itself had stopped at that moment, neither of them really paid attention to how long they had been attached to one another. It just felt too good to let go. During each passing moment, both of their bodies came closer and closer, until there was not even a crack to be seen in between them.

Y/n’s hand ventured and gripped onto his kimono, she needed something to compose herself with, or rather something that she could hold onto for support. 

The boy could feel her heart pounding through the pulse in her neck. He, too, wished he could share the same bodily reaction, but that wasn’t a problem. Whatever heavy feeling he had felt in his chest was now replaced with something elevated. It felt like something was fluttering, butterflies swarming around.

The feeling only intensified when he went back in for more. Her lips were hypnotic, so soft against his. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to feel like this again, so he wanted to savor every moment, every movement, every noise.

When they finally did let go, both stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment. Y/n smiled and leaned her head on his chest, the boy leaned his head on hers.

Whatever feeling this was inside of him, he didn’t want to let it go. It made him feel alive, for a puppet like him, it’s all he ever wanted to feel. He may not have his own heart, but the beat of hers against his own skin was enough to make him feel like a human.

Niwa was right, he’s just as much of a human as anyone else, even if he didn’t have a heart. 

#genshin #genshin impact #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #scaramouch fanfic #scaramouche imagine #wanderer #wanderer x reader #harbinger #fatui

[bubblefina]

re reading some of the chapters from my tom riddle fic, and I completely forgot about orion D: our little snake friend!

last time she was mentioned was in chapter 20  😭 😭 gotta include her in something now

[bubblefina]

No Puppet Strings Attached 2

Summary: When Katsuragi brings a puppet back to Tatarasuna, saying that he found him wandering the shores, the village and blade smiths took him in as their own. Something about the puppet struck a young girl's heart. Despite him not having a heart of his own, the puppet felt something that would seem to be impossible for someone like him to feel.

Pairings: Scaramouche x f!reader

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

The morning after, y/n woke up to Niwa rustling throughout the house. She rubbed open her eyes and looked around. Her heart pounded at the thought of what happened last night, she hurriedly left her room and towards the kitchen.

She frantically looked around, much to her brother's confusion.

“What’s the matter?” he asks

“Where’s…” she thought to herself for a moment, did last night really happen, “where is he?”

“Where’s who? No one was here when I woke up.” 

Turning away, y/n walked towards the room where they kept their spare futons. She opened a cupboard and saw that the futon she had lent to the boy was there. Now in confusion, she put the futon back and headed towards her brother once more.

“Was anyone here this morning?” she asks.

“No…but since you keep asking, I’m starting to wonder if there was.” Niwa holds out two dirty cups with tea leaves at the bottom.

Her eyes sparkled slightly, so it wasn’t just a dream. He really did sleep the night, and even put his futon away before anyone was awake. How sly. 

“That's from me, I felt like drinking tea last night.” She took the cups from him and sent them down in the water basin and began to wash them.

“Two cups worth?” Niwa now joins her in washing dishes from last night.

“Just because you don’t like the way I brew tea, that doesn’t mean everyone else has to hate it.”

“Oh? And just who is this everyone else?”

Busted? There has to be a stupid excuse to get her out of this situation. Nothing she could think of right now, so she simply washed the cups and went back to change into cleaner clothes.

The snow from last night melted when the sun rose, but left wet puddles almost everywhere. Many of the villagers were trying to salvage whatever they could, mainly some crops and materials that were knocked over from the wind.

Y/n wandered around until she got to Katsuragi’s house. She saw him and his wife, Miyo, cleaning up around their house. Miyo stopped cleaning when she saw y/n standing and staring.

“Is something wrong y/n dear?” she asks.

Y/n inhales the cold air, wondering if she should ask about the boy. Since kabukimono did live with Katsuragi and Miyo, he should have returned to them, right?

“How’s cleaning, do you need any help?” she asks.

“Aha, that’s fine, dear. We have enough help.” Miyo hangs up a sheet to dry, but y/n is persistent.

“There’s only two of you.” 

“Oh, well, Kabukimono is by the smithy. They’re making sure no snow got through the doors and everything is in order, but if you insist on helping-”

“Uh, I just remembered I have something to do. Thank you!”

Y/n rushes off, now knowing where she can find the boy. Miyo is left confused, watching as the girl runs off towards what looks like the smithy. After hanging the last sheet, a smile appears across her face. Miyo hums to herself as she walks over to Katsuragi to help him.

“Is something the matter?” Katsuragi asks.

Miyo sighs with content, “do you remember when we first fell in love?”

Katsuragi stammers, “I- uh, of course. Why?”

“The first blossom of love after a snowstorm is always the sweetest.” After picking up a few things off the floor and putting them in a basket, she walks off, pure bliss on her face.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

When she reached the smithy, y/n was out of breath. She had practically run there, both her throat and lungs felt cold. It wasn’t breathing in all of that cold air.

She stood near the entrance of the smithy, watching multiple blade smiths walk in and out. Of course, she was noticed by a few.

“What are you doing here y/n? Niwa isn’t here yet.” One of them asks.

“Nothing, I’m just making sure that everyone is okay.” A little white lie, she knew everyone would be fine. This wasn’t the first snowstorm they’ve experienced, she was more or so taking glances around to see if she could find the boy.

It was only a few moments later when she saw a quick flash of white in the crowd. There he has, carrying a basket of ores and talking to a taller man. He looked happy, and more importantly, safe.

Y/n exhaled, relieved at the thought that he didn’t go out trying to protect the village from the nobushi. She walked to him, waiting until he finished talking to the taller man. Once the boy noticed her standing, he excused himself from the conversation.

“Good to see you.” he says.

“Yes, I just wanted to make sure you got out all right. Didn’t see you this morning.”

“I didn’t want to frighten Niwa when he woke up, so I left before any of you awoke. By that time the snow had stopped, and I was able to get back home with ease.”

“Katsuragi may have been worried if he didn’t see you either. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I can’t possibly ask you to do anything else for me, but perhaps you can swing by in a few hours. We’ll be having lunch, and I would like to drink that tea you made last night.”

Y/n grinned and agreed. She bid him goodbye and walked away. On her way back to her shared home with Niwa, she noticed Miyo calling towards her, asking for help.

Miyo handed her a basket full of clothes and asked if she could hang them up on a clothing wire. In the midst of hanging the clothes, y/n asked who they belonged to.

“Why, I thought you’d be able to tell they belonged to kabukimono of course. He’s the only one bold enough to wear such clean colors.”

“Why would I be able to tell?”

“It’s just a hunch…don’t mind me, dear.” 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

After a few hours had passed, y/n prepared the bitter tea from last night. She placed it inside a jar with a lid and went off back to the smithy. Many of the blade smiths were already sitting on rounded boulders, eating whatever their wives had packed for them.

She spotted Kabukimono near the entrance sitting on one himself, he had noticed her first and called out to her. She looked his way and began walking over, but stopped when she saw Niwa and Katsuragi sitting next to him.

Niwa raised his brow, wondering why his younger sister would be here. She didn’t come that often when people were eating.

The kabukimono’s eyes followed hers to Niwa’s. He knew what was going on, so he put his food where he was sitting and took y/n to the side. To any other person, this may have looked like the both of them had something to hide, but truly the both of them made it into something it shouldn’t be.

“I’m sure you don’t want Niwa to see.” He sympathizes.

“He asked about the two cups of tea this morning, if he sees me bring you tea then he’ll definitely know. Don’t get me wrong, it’s just…he doesn’t like people staying over when he doesn’t know.”

He giggles, putting a finger to his lips, “then it’s our little secret.”

He takes the jar of tea from her fingers and begins to drink it in front of her. Only a few swigs until the jar was completely empty. He hands it back to her, and this time she’s the one filled with giggles.

“Is something wrong?” he asks.

“It’s the first time someone asked me to keep a secret about something like this. And it’s the first time I've seen someone drink this much tea at once.”

 “Anything to keep you out of trouble.” He thanks her for the tea and walks back to his original seat.

Back at his seat, both Niwa and Katsuragi ask what the two of them were talking about, but the boy brushed it off by saying that she relayed a message from Miyo. Katsuragi butts in, but then decides not to question his wife's motives and continues to eat.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Winter was closing, which meant that more of the villagers were allowed to go out more. The younger children and elders had to stay indoors where it was warm, so they wouldn’t get sick, but the early spring meant that it was more comfortable to step outdoors again.

To celebrate another winter passing, Katsuragi announced that the first day of spring would be celebrated with a sword dance. The forge had been working on a claymore, and it was close to being finished. It’s meant to be wielded by Mikoshi Nagamasa, but they decided to honor the weapon by including it in a dance before giving it to the rightful owner. 

Spring was still a few weeks away, but the sheer excitement of having an outdoor event again had the village riled with energy. Katsuragi said that he chose Kabukimono to dance alongside him. Apparently, the boy did not know how to dance, so some villagers volunteered to teach him.

It was hard to catch on, especially because there were specific movements that must be done correctly. It was hard enough doing them alone, but to do it with something as heavy as a claymore will add even more weight and pressure. 

Even when he fumbled with his movements, he still looked graceful. Some women in the village would gather around corners to watch him practice, they just found him that enticing.

Y/n would sometimes stop by the area where he practiced. Watching in the back near the other girls who were there. He’d be so focused that he didn’t notice that he was being watched by others. When allowed for a break, that's when he finally noticed the entourage watching him. 

The boy would especially notice y/n looking at him with a small smile. He managed to turn away quickly enough, so she couldn’t notice his embarrassed facial expression. He didn’t know why he felt this way, why he felt the need to hide what he was doing, or hide how he felt when he saw her looking at him.

“Hey, what are you girls doing here? Don’t you have something else to do?” one of the blade smiths came to shoo away the small crowd.

“That means you too, y/n.” grabbing her by her shoulders, the blade smith started to push her away from the practice area. She managed to sneak underneath his arm to shout something to the boy.

“Kabuki, good luck! I’ll be back to watch you later!”

In a fit of giggles, she was thrown over the blade smith's shoulder and carried out. He muttered something about her not knowing any manners as both of them walked away.

“She seems happy to see you, dancing.” Katsuragi says, offering the boy a small glass of water.

The boy smiles, “as do the others. I didn’t think I’d gather this much of an attraction.”

“Sword dances don’t happen too often, and it doesn't help that a lot of the girls think of you as eye candy.”

“Eye candy?”

“Yeah, to them, you might be the best looking guy they’ve ever seen. Next to me, of course.” 

Both of them begin to laugh as they enjoy their break. The boy wasn’t aware that he was thought of as attractive to the public, but it surely would explain the handful of chores he was asked to help with by people he had never talked to before, and then staring as he did said chores.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Spring was only a week away. The snow had already completely melted, and the weather was getting warmer already. The chill of winter could still be felt late at night, but no one was out long enough to feel it.

One late night, y/n had gone out at night again to gather some bright bloom blossoms. It was a flower that bloomed in a nearby wooded area, a winter specialty. During the night they’d appear luminescent, glowing on the forest floor, as if it were a pond of light. 

It was a small tradition for y/n and Niwa to gather bright bloom blossoms and place them in a vase to welcome spring. Since Niwa had already gone to sleep after a long day of work, y/n had ventured to the wooded area to gather them. 

After following a trail of scattered luminescent petals, she walked north until she found the “pond” of flowers, but that wasn’t the only thing she found.

Kabukimono had stood in the middle, swinging around a sword in movements she only knew as parts of the sword dance. One foot in front of the other, he swayed and followed the weight of the sword, letting it guide his movements.

She stood still for a moment, just watching him as he went about his practice. The faint glow of the bloom blossoms made him look more majestic than he ever did.

When he stopped, y/n clapped her hands. It shocked him, seeing as he gripped his sword tighter and took a fighting stance.

“Whoa, I’m not here to hurt you. Just enjoying the show.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“It’s no problem,” she walked closer to him, “you did amazing. I’m fairly impressed with how much you’ve learned.”

“I guess spending all of those hours practicing finally paid off.”

“They sure have.” y/n eyes the sword in his hand, he takes notice.

“Would you like to have a try?”

“Me? I’m not sure that I’d be any good.”

“Nonsense, I’m sure you’ll be perfectly fine.”

She takes the sword from his hands, it’s a bit heavy, which is to be expected.

“Niwa never lets me handle weapons, he thinks I may chop off someone head if I’m not paying attention.”

Hearing this, the boy takes a few steps back, much to y/n chagrin.

“H-hey, I wouldn’t actually do that, you know.”

The boy laughs, “I know you won’t, but for my safety and yours, I think it’s best if I distance myself a little.”

In the midst of her embarrassment, y/n holds the sword with two hands and lifts it up. She sways it side to side for a second, then tries to follow the boy's movement from earlier, allowing the sword's weight to guide her where it needs to go.

“This is pretty easy…” she trails off, feeling confident enough to sway the sword with one hand. For a few seconds, she managed to keep her stability, still remaining in control of the balance between her and the sword.

It wasn’t long before she had spun too fast, the weight of her and the sword shifted into disarray, she stumbled with a few yelps. Extending her free hand out as she began to stumble back, the boy ran to take it and adjust her position. He didn’t however expect her to grip onto his hand so tightly to the point of taking both of them down.

The sword was out of her hand, sliding a few feet away. 

She laid, her back on the bed of bright bloom blossoms, head slightly aching at the impact. She blinked her eyes open, met with a pair of indigo eyes staring direct back at her. 

The boy was towering over her, staring in concern to make sure she was okay. One of their hands still tangled together, presumably the one he had grabbed onto when she was about to fall down.

“Are you alright?” he asked frantically.

She took a few more seconds to stare at him, her heart speeds up. Maybe it was the bloom blossoms that illuminated him once more, but she couldn’t help but to keep staring at him.

A laugh escapes her lips, “I’m fine…”

It wasn’t only her that was staring. He may have looked at her continuously to make sure she was okay, but he couldn’t deny that her laying on the bed of bloom blossoms made her look more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.

He hadn’t seen much, but the sight before him surely had to be the best in all of Teyvat. 

Beautiful… a word that he had learned not too long ago. Katsuragi had used that word to describe his wife. When the boy asked what it meant, Katsuragi had a tough time describing what it could mean.

He had explained that it meant something along the lines of pleasing to look at, to the point where you couldn’t look away. As if you wanted to look at nothing else.

Both continued to stare at each other, not uttering another word. Even the chill breeze that swept through the woods couldn’t stop them, even if goosebumps crept upon their spines.

The two of them looked until they uttered the same word at the same time.

“Beautiful.”

Both looked taken aback at what the other said. The boy quickly got off of her, now sitting on his knees in front of her. His face hadn’t turned red or anything, but the look of embarrassment was spread across his face.

Y/n’s heart was pounding, she didn’t know what to say or do. Her legs shook as she climbed back onto her feet. Her hand over her mouth to not show him her quivering lips.

“T-thank you for allowing me to use the sword, I have to get back home.”

She rushed away from the woods, not even remembering to bring the bloom blossoms back with her. She shut the door behind her, heaving at running the long distance, combined with the interaction with the boy.

Her face began to turn hot, she turned to a clean water basin and splashed the cold water on her face, but it didn’t help.

It was all she could think about when she laid in her futon and tried to sleep. And it was all that he could think about when he laid in his.

“Beautiful.”

#genshin #genshin impact #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #wanderer #wanderer x reader #scaramouche imagine #scaramouche fanfiction #harbinger

[bubblefina]

Happy new year Fina !!💗🧚🏽‍♀️ Thank you for all the amazing work you put out for us in 2022, sending you lots of love x

Thank you so much! And happy new year to all of you as well. Writers block really hit me in the head, I have so many drafts of chapters and potential stories that are just collecting dust 😭😭 but little by little I'm getting my creativity back❤️❤️ Here's to a new year, lots of love and good memories