More angst. And more. And even more.
And keep in mind the Royal AU is a modern AU mixed in with the laws of Genshin physics and lore. Except, yah know, what I changed.
The palace fell. It fell in pieces. Everyone survived because they were away or protected. People almost died, and the people are worried for their symbol of hope. The palace was a symbol of hope. They lost everything. Because they were thought they designed destiny to others.
Fire raged from the palace as its flames teared it down into ashes. The clouds looked like the aftermath of a Natlan Volcano. It rained ashes for days.
Xiao arrived the day after it happened. He was scared. Aether was being treated for extreme damage. He was protecting his own family from all the falling rocks. The hard cement fell on his head and was reported physical and mental damage.
"Mommy's hurt. And Apollo is barely hanging on to his life. He got hurt the most, and I couldnt protect him. Because Im too weak to protect him."-Aria
The tears in her eyes made everything worse. Everyone involved had been examined in different rooms, especially if they were unconscious.
"Where's Mommy? I need to see your mother."-Xiao
"Mommy's scary now. He keeps screaming and shaking his head. He sounds hurt. It kept making Grandpa mad, so he ordered him into something called con..confine... confinement. Mommy cried even more, but calmed down when I gave him a pretty necklace."-Aria
Aria first showed where her brother was, happy to chat with him as his frail body wanted more air. He was a small boy, only two. Xiao ruffled his son's hair as he looked at the heart monitor. He really was hanging on to his life. Every ten seconds, a beep came from the monitor.
Then Aether's temporary room came, screaming and crying while covering his ears. It was just as Aria said. He looked hurt. No, traumatized. He already seen too much. He's scared.
The raven approached the crying blond with pain killers in his hand. Aether didn't recognize him at all. Everything to him looked blurry. And every sound hurt his ears.
"Swallow these with water. They should help you with your headache."-Xiao
Suddenly, some pills were shoved in his mouth. He swallowed them, and his headache faded away almost in a instant. Though, some pain in his head still lingered.
"Now, tell me what happened while I was gone."-Xiao
"It was the middle of the night, and Aria came to me. She wanted help to calm Apollo down and I agreed. He was scared about the cracks on the walls. I told him that the palace was just old and I'll get someone to patch it in the morning. The ceiling started falling. I tried to protect everyone. But Apollo ran to get my locket that I dropped on my way to his bed. He was crushed with a medium sized rock. The last thing I saw was Aria screaming and crying for me and Apollo while the palace fell apart."-Aether
Aether started crying and screaming again. The raven now knew why he is screaming. In his mind, the palace falling is happening again. He's reliving the moment over and over again. He's hallucinating.
Xiao somehow calmed him down. He treated his lover like a crying child, laying him on his lap and stroking his hair. The blond just sobbed and let out all his tears. Soon Aria came and gave her mother the locket. She joined in on the hug. It was one of those tranquil moments that never seemed to last very long.
616 words
