𝘡𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘤𝘩𝘪 /𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘓𝘪 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴

𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴

"Emperor." A woman's voice said, pulling the man from his thoughts. "Ajax is ready. We prepared him in uniform." She said. 

Zhongli nodded and Ajax entered the room. They escorted him in, and Zhongli was lost for thought. Ajax was wearing a top that revealed his chest. It covered his arm and a bit of his neck. It had a strap going across his chest which Zhongli guessed held the "shirt" together. He had an off white silk robe that covered his left arm. An ornament hang off the strap, a little red pendant that had a red trinket hanging off from a chain. He wore black pants that were tucked into the boots he had on. 

 "...is this practical?" Zhongli asked. The maids quirked their heads to the side. "His outfit," he coughed, putting his fist to his face.

"That's what I said." Ajax said, quietly. 

 "It is all that was really left, sir. The seamstress is on break, remember? She couldn't make him a plate of armor even if requested. She's recovering from a surgery." The maid said. 

Zhongli would have just hired another seamstress, however, he trusted the current seamstress the most, since she'd been making the uniforms since Zhongli was a prince. And even still, if he were to hire another seamstress, uniforms take awhile to make. It'd be at least a month, for measurements, fabrics, and armor to be ready. He sighed.

Ajax just subtly nodded, not really keen on using his voice. Zhongli nodded, and then grabbed a sword. He turned back to Ajax. "Kneel down." Ajax obeyed, and looked up at Zhongli with content. Zhongli brought the sword forward. 

"You, Ajax, of Snezhnaya, will be the official bodyguard of Emperor Zhongli. Through thick and thin, shall you serve his highness." He quoted, lightly tapping Ajax's shoulders with the sword. 

 "All hail his Highness!" The captain militia yelled. The other militia that lined each column yelled it back. Zhongli smiled slightly and looked down at Ajax. "From now on, you will be referred to as Tartaglia. Or Childe in short." He said. The ginger hair male nodded and then placed his hand over his heart. "Thank you, your highness."

Ajax ,or now known as 'Childe' smiled greatly as he accepted his newfound identity. The idea of a runaway free life, stray from any threats of harm or danger peaked his inrest. This fresh reset of life proved to be exactly what Childe had needed all of his life. Because in secret, all he really wanted was to protect somebody. 

"Your highness, if I may." Childe requested the privilege of words."Go on?" Zhongli fancied his desire to speak out of curiosity. 

"Thank you for this opportunity, I shall vow my life to protect you from here on out." He paused, his following words stuck in his throat ,being forcefully pushed out. "In Shneznaya, it is customary in the ruling of a ceremony of sorts to kiss the hand of the one who does the honors of dubbing." 

Zhongli's eyelids lifted ,this struck as a peculiar custom in his eyes,yet allowed the process as to respect his traditions. "Do as you must." Zhongli brought forth his hand, tightly coated in a dark glove. His wrist bent, his slender fingers extended, and his guard lowered. Childe leaned forward, placing one hand under the others ,lifting it up before him. With little time to examine the finger further, he slanted over and kissed the golden ring wrapping Zhongli's finger.

"I give my honest and full gratitude to your permission." Childe thanked Zhongli, still kneeling on the ground,asserting his utter respect. 

"How odd..his demeanor shows a lawful stance. This contradicts the many tales of his gashing assassinations I've heard so many times." Zhongli thought, bringing the unusual behavior to his attention. Childe stood up, facing Zhongli. He smiled.

Months flew by and the two started to slowly fall in love with one another. It wasn't until Zhongli played Liyuian checkers against Tartaglia did he realize he was in love with him. He began to admire the boy. His soft ginger hair. His blue eyes that looked endless. His slightly rough hands. His accent. The way he walks. The way he smiles. The way he smells. Zhongli loved it all. There wasn't a single flaw about him to Zhongli. He was sat in the garden with Childe, playing Liyuian checkers again. 

"I'd like to make a wager." Childe said.  

Zhongli looked up at him.

 "If I win, we take the day off and relax." 

"Hm. If I win, I want a kiss." Zhongli said. He watched the Ginger's face turn red. 

Zhongli giggled, cracking a smile at the flustered Childe. "What seems to be the matter? Scared are we?" Zhongli stalled, messing with his body guard intently. 

"M-me?! Scared?! Unheard of! Why ugh...I-Ive slayen high ranking officials in my time! What makes you think I'm scared I will loose to some silly game?" Childe yelped ,nervously defending his honorable pride. 

 "If that's the case, I'll gladly let you start." Zhongli teased him playfuly.

 Carefully, Childe took his first calculated move, sweat gathering on the corner of his eyebrow. Zhongli quickly countered the action seemingly without having to think. His level of skill was unbeatable, and peirced Childe with unrelenting fear. Even thought the thought of his guard being let down nerved Childe, on the other hand he came to the conclusion that a kiss from Zhongli wouldn't be so bad. Childe calmed himself down, keeping the mindset of prespective dug into his skull. He made his next move a predictable one purposefuly ,confusing Zhongli. 

Zhongli shrugged it off, not going to ask the knight as he moved his last ball into the slot on Childe's side. "It seems I won..per usual." He said. 

 Childe sat there, and sighed. "You'll always beat me, your highness." He said. Zhongli smiled. 

 "Now.."

 Childe looked up at Zhongli as he moved closer and pecked him on the lips. It wasn't a rough or seductive kiss, but rather a soft, and loving. Zhongli pulled away just as soon as he had kissed him. Childe touched his lips, as Zhongli smiled gently, and sat back down. "That was fun, wasn't it?" 

 "It's always fun to play with you, your highness.." Childe blushed.