AN AMBER MAPLE LEAF

VII

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"as you already know, i am from mondstat and lets just say that my family was quite well known... you also already know that i started living with my mother here, leaving my father and brothers behind... but what comes after is a shock no child should endure."

after opening up about my past rin decided to open up about theirs to make it fair, no matter how many times i told them that it's not necessary and that i understand that some things are better left unsaid, they still insisted. before continuing they took a shaky breath and rubbed their arms as if they were cold.

"one night a bunch of treasure hoarders raided our house, they killed my mother when she tried to protect me. to make sure they'd have no witnesses they wanted to silence me as well. i ran as fast as i could but how could a mere child outrun a bunch of adults used to running? in the heat of the moment my will to live and fight back brought me my vision... i managed to get rid of them all, but what good was it for me to live when i lost everyone and everything... that's when the fatui came to the picture... they saved me and gave me a reason to live... to serve the tsaritsa... and that's how i arrived at my current predicament...."

and with that their story came to an end. it crushed my soul to see them in a state like this. they weren't wrong when they said that it was something that a child didn't deserve to live through. not to mention they didn't even get to be the hero of their own story.

"i'm not sure if i'm grateful for how i ended... younger me would be so disappointed with who i've become... a villain... a killing monster..."

they lowered their head to look beneath them. my heart ached at the sight. i wanted to help them, i wanted to make them feel better, but i knew that i couldn't say much since i could sense that it wasn't the whole story just yet. with my mind failing to register my body movement i found myself hugging the broken creature in a protective hug. i could feel my body heating up and my heart pounding like it wanted to jump out of my rib cage, but it wasn't the time to focus on that.

"you know... villains are just people... who's stories haven't been told... that's why i think the younger you would understand after all..."

i could hear a quiet almost unbearable sniffle before they hugged me back letting me hold them.

"thank you. thank you for everything..."

'oh only if you knEw...'

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───