Kill Me Slowly || Tartaglia/Childe

Chapter 10

Small droplets of rain taint the windows, creating the soft pitter-patter of the rain as they echo in the room, creating a calming ambiance as you work on the uniforms. Swiftly and efficiently, you pull on the needle and secure the string by tying a knot before cutting off the excess. Folding the uniform and putting it on the neat pile inside the basket, you smile to yourself. You could see the progress in your handiwork and with that, you recently started putting little flower imprints on them.

"I'm done—" As you turn your head around, you see Ganyu dozing off, her eyes trying their best to stay open. You giggle softly as she caves into sleep, her head tilted to one side. Well, who could blame the weather?

You head to your room and grab a blanket before returning to Ganyu. Slowly but gently, you adjusted her position so when she wakes up, she wouldn't strain her neck. After that, you place the blanket on her shoulders, covering the upper half of her body.

"Ah!" A sudden realization came into mind— you were supposed to feed Seelie! Though you had your doubts as it was possible that Seelie wouldn't be there waiting for you in the rain but you were still going to do so, after all, it didn't hurt to try.

With a handful of seeds in one hand and an umbrella on the other, you made your way down the hallways and out to the garden. There you see a silhouette under the Cuihua tree. Under the tree's shade, Xiao was petting the bird that was resting on his finger. "She'll come soon, Seelie. Patience is a virtue."

"H-Hi, sorry I'm late..." The bird whips its head to the source of the voice and when it registers that it belonged to you, it flies to your hand to peck on its food. "I've missed you, Seelie!"

"He's grown accustomed to you," Xiao spoke.

"Really? Maybe he just wants the seeds." You laugh, "Don't you, Seelie?" You turn to the bird, gently nudging its round belly. The bird, disturbed from your nudging, nips at your finger before flying away. Your eyes follow the bird as it lands on Xiao's shoulder. Soon, your met Xiao's gaze and you notice his hair was slightly damp and had small droplets of water. "Have you been waiting long?"

"I've arrived a minute before you did." A lie slips past his lips but you were keen on noticing. You frown, eyebrows furrowed. You take Xiao's hand and dump all of the seeds before telling him to wait for your return. You ran towards the camp, not caring whether the mud was staining the edges of your hanfu. You only had one goal in mind and that was to get Xiao a towel.

You remove your dirty shoes before entering through the sliding door, and you manage to get a towel from one of the cabinets. Hurrying back, you take long strides. With a sharp turn at the corner of the hallway, you met with a hard surface, throwing you on the ground.

"Ouch." You hiss in pain, one hand on the aching spot while the other held onto the towel. "Woah there, Princess." A familiar voice says. You look up to the owner of the voice and your eyes met with ocean blue ones. "General Tartaglia..."

His hands travel to your waist as he hoists you up and brings you back to your feet. "You seem to be in a hurry."

"A-Ah, I am!" You try to walk past him but he follows you, blocking your path. "Hold on, Princess."

"B-But I'm in a hurry—"

"This." One of his hands digs into his back pocket, retrieving a rolled-up paper that was held by a red ribbon and the emperor's seal as a stamp in the middle. "A letter from your father." He says as he places it in your hand.

"Please give this to Xiao!" You quickly hand him the towel. "Xiao?" Childe wonders. Before he could question you further, you were unable to contain your excitement and had already ran back to your room.