𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 - 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢

7

The past few weeks, Lumine had been feeling stressed. Fighting and helping around more than she should have had left her feeling overworked and exhausted. But every time she took a break, she thought of her brother, which made her feel depressed and hopeless, which led her to work constantly. She would do anything to keep her mind off of Aether.

After asking for the eighth commission in a row, Katheryne was slightly nervous. The Traveler had been acting strange and she had been working herself too hard. The receptionist could see the strain on the girl, and the Adventurer's Guild was out of commissions anyway. She told the weary adventurer to take a break, perhaps see Barbara at the Church of Favonius or Baizhu at Bubu Pharmacy. Lumine insisted she felt fine, but Katheryne pushed her to leave and rest.

Obviously, the last thing Lumine wanted was to rest. To rest was to think, which the Traveler had had enough of. But maybe someone as calm as Barbara could help with the matter at hand; at least she could be trusted more than the Fatui (she was still kicking herself over telling Childe). But there was also Jean, who would no doubt be interested in the information. As an added benefit, she wouldn't tattle to the Tsaritsa. But giving Jean the task to help Lumine personally would be too much for the Acting Grand Master. The poor woman already had enough on her plate.

Going to the wisest archon she knew was the best idea she had. Even though Lumine only knew two of the seven archons, she could assume Venti would take one of two courses of action: one would be to get as drunk as Diluc's patience would allow or two which would be to tell her she couldn't tell her anything of importance. No, he wouldn't be of any help.

Setting down a steaming cup of tea, Zhongli sat at a table in the funeral parlor. His golden eyes glowed, his mouth curved into a frown. "You... told Tartaglia of this secret?"

Lumine felt ashamed once again. How had she managed to disappoint both Zhongli and herself? "Yes, I wasn't quite thinking properly."

Sighing, the former Rex Lapis told Lumine: "This may cause a few problems. But best you keep mind of what you say next time, Traveler. I, unfortunately, am limited to a... meager amount of advice I can give you. I am most sorry."

Lumine turned to go. The problem she thought would occur with Venti applied to Zhongli as well. Too bad he was the God of Contracts. Plus, she could think of quite a few "problems" her slip-up might have created.

"Ah, and Traveler? You were correct. Childe is a harbinger whose loyalty is sworn to the Tsaritsa. Any information he deems important is told directly to her. Stay on your guard."

Great.

Now she had basically told the Cryo archon a major piece of supposed-to-be confidential information. Sure, the threat of her brother may be shared among the people of Teyvat, but why would the Tsaritsa care? As long as she had her Gnoses and the title of the Cryo archon, she would pay no mind to the suffering of humankind. At least, that's the impression Lumine had of the woman from her henchmen.

As Lumine walked into the streets of Liyue, she let her guard down. She was an easy target, stuck in her thoughts. Which was the perfect time to strike.

• • •

Fatui Cicin Mages surrounded the girl, Skirmishers and other Fatui members closing in around her. Paimon shrieked as the Fatui raised their weapons at the duo.

Lumine did as they told her to do: go with them. Don't make a scene, after all, the Fatui could get in trouble for kidnapping Liyue and Mondstadt's hero.

No, this was not a kidnapping. Only a minor, not-so-voluntary interrogation featuring the one and only hero of Teyvat and a certain eleventh harbinger. Too bad it had to be Childe, anyway. The task was assigned to him since he was the one to present the information. And no, Childe did not enjoy discomforting Lumine. He grimaced when he had to bring her to some previously Geo slime-infested cave in The Middle of Nowhere, Liyue. Only there was he to question her.

The sack that was thrown over Lumine's head was finally lifted, and the once her eyes had adjusted, she could see a beautiful cave. Beautiful to her, at least. Even though she found herself tied up and in unfavorable circumstances, the glint of geo crystalflies and noctilucous jade made a soft glow, lighting the cracks and crevices of the rocky cave. Lumine could almost forget that the Fatuus was standing right before her--and that her life was a mess, too.

Childe saw Lumine's eyes glitter in the faint glow of the cavern and couldn't help being mesmerized--not by the cave (too dull, nothing to kill) but by her face. No. He had to get back to business. Another part of being a harbinger Childe hated, but he had to snap the Traveler back into reality. He needed answers.

"And so what if I didn't cooperate?" The tied up traveler spat, a spiteful look on her face.

Childe laughed, he couldn't help himself. Did this person even know of the power of the Tsaritsa? "You have no idea of the power our archon carries."

Lumine raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"You can take it that way."

Childe continued to ask her questions he thought might be helpful related to her brother: when did you see him last, what powers does he have, etc. During the interrogation, Lumine answered the questions mostly with I don't know while trying to scheme a way out of it. Maybe with a bit of concentrated elemental energy, she could break through her ropes? Her sword was confiscated but she had no vision to take away. She formed a Geo dagger and cut through her ropes, continuing to answer Childe's questions as evasively as she could. 

As soon as her ropes fell away from her, she ran out of the cave, quickly aiming her concentration on the opening of the cave until it fell in. She ran without looking back and payed little attention to her surroundings until her legs felt like they would burn up. She scrambled over rocks and took questionable jumps but her adrenaline kept her going.

Finally, Lumine collapsed under a tree at Yaoguang Shoal and caught her breath for several moments—until an arrow pierced her side. Holding his bow was the eleventh harbinger, ready to fight once again.