Codename: Tsaritsa | A Sequel to "Codename: Childe"

2

He cried heavily.

"No, Ajax..."

"Shut it! Because you know it's true! You would've been happier if you never came to the Fatui!"

You let him ramble on about his regrets, as you stroke his hair.

"Shhh...Ajax...I don't regret a thing."

"But I do!"

"Shhh..."

...

Maybe he was right.

Maybe Ajax was right.

You stared at the ceiling as you listened to his calm breathing beside you.

You looked to your side, his ginger hair covering his eyes, fast asleep.

Man, he can sure fall asleep fast and soundly.

You give a soft laugh.

It was sleepless nights like these where thinking of him was painful for you in Liyue...the nights where you grasp the bedsheets thinking it would be his shirt to pull him closer.

But now these sleepless nights are special because if you turn your head to the side you"re able to see your treasure in all his beauty.

And you can sleep as soundly as him knowing that he was safe, that he's still smiling that dumb little smile of his.

But not tonight.

Tonight you were kept awake by all sorts of thoughts.

You were warned.

Told over and over again that it was dangerous.

The Fatui, you mean.

The Fatui is dangerous.

You looked again at Ajax.

If he ever finds out that you've gone, you'd never hear the end of it.

But some part of this excites you, as you formulate a plan in your head.

Slowly prying his arms off you, you crawled out of the bed and, having learnt off by heart 3 years ago the locations of all the squeaky floorboards, managed to successfully avoid them.

Pulling on a night shawl, you walk to the main door of Ajax's quarters, across the marble tile floor that made slapping noises along with your footsteps.

As you place your hand on the front door, you turn your head back towards where you came from.

The darkness of the quiet quarters made your head dizzy.

To you, it felt a bit surreal.

Wouldn't this be cheating Ajax...?

He's doing all this to protect you after all.

But you didn't come back to be his pretty little princess locked up in the tower.

Like Rapunzel, before having any second thoughts, you run out the door and into the corridor.

...

Scaramouche's quarters must be around here somewhere...

You asked a few guards and agents, who questioned why you would be searching for him at this ungodly hour.

What he had said earlier kept swirling around your head.

"In the Tsaritsa's eyes, you can become something special. I can make you something special..."

You reach the front door, of his quarters, and knocked quietly at his door.

Wait a minute... you said to yourself quietly. Guy's asleep...

You sigh.

Does this have to wait for tomorrow...?

To your utter surprise, the door opened, revealing Scaramouche in a white shirt and wide-legged shorts.

"Heya. Knew you'd come."

"Oh, uh, hi."

"Come in."

He gave you a toothy grin, and, looking left and right down the corridors, and then back at you expectantly, beckoned you in.

Barefoot, and clad in nothing but a shawl and nightgown, your hair a mess, you slowly enter in.

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CHAPTER 2 END

Author's Note: hi everyone. sorry for this late chapter. i've been dealing with something awful and traumatic for the past few days that had unexpectedly occurred, and need some time to recover, so chapters might be late. i'm really sorry, i didn't plan for this to happen. but i seriously need to take time to myself...that doesn't mean i'll completely drop this book though...i'll try my hardest to update on time!

i hope you all can understand <3