In the cold mountains of Dragonspine resides a certain alchemist best known by the people of Mondstadt as Albedo. Most think of him as distant and independent, only focusing on his studies when he isn't exploring the vast landscape, but there is muc...
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The snow only fell harder. Every flake seemed to grow bigger and bigger, their fluffy exteriors sticking to others to form large clumps. Occasionally, one of these clusters of snowflakes would slap her in the face, leaving behind a fat water droplet to roll down her facial features. She would sigh and wipe it away without a bother.
Galen failed to warm her enough in its court, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the little seelie who rested in its home port. The faint tingling could still be heard through a strained ear. At the very least, it would still provide her the necessary companionship she needed at that moment.
She felt so lonely without Albedo's calming presence beside her. Just a glance at his face would send tingles down her spine, her heart swelling with emotion the longer she looked. The image of his face in her mind strung to think of with her heart contracting, knowing Albedo was so far away from her.
His warmth could not be felt, his scent was not hovering in the air, his touch was not on her skin. She wanted him back, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up and find her way back to camp. The snow was whipping around outside; the wind howling and blowing large flurries directly onto her clothes.
Melanie shivered, her teeth chattering painfully behind her blue lips. Despite her trick of tucking her limbs into her shirt, the cold still found its way in, chilling her to the bones. Her own fingers felt ice-cold whenever she accidentally brushed them against her skin. She tried to keep them balled into fists, but occasionally she'd lose feeling if they were clenched too tight.
"G-Gosh, it's c-colder than Snezhnaya, or w-what I assume it t-to feel like..." she said between her chattering teeth. "It c-can't get much worse, c-can it?"
As if in response to her question, the wind picked up its whipping pace, sending the flakes in every direction imaginable. Every snowflake that made contact with her face hit her hard enough to feel like a small pebble being thrown at her. She buried her face in her knees, essentially becoming a ball.
"I s-shouldn't have r-run..." she sobbed, the sudden burst of tears soaking into her thin shirt. Regret pulsed through her, and she let it. She didn't try to reassure herself that following the wind was some sort of prophetic sign, nor that accusing herself of being bad for Albedo was accurate. Albedo was smart enough to get himself out of a situation he didn't want to be in.
There was something between the alchemist and the Treasure Hoarder that worked so well together. One was well-dignified, held a high position in an honorable career, and was one of the kindest people she'd ever meet in her life. As for herself? She was brought up on the wrong side, required stealing to live, and was overly complicated.
She felt like they were polar opposites, but then she remembered the things they were able to bond over, the things they expressed their love for. Melanie could be sweet at heart, but her shy exterior was hard to crack. She could paint if given the time, and she was a sucker for fish dishes.
A sigh escaped her lips. Her body ached with the cold. The only part of her considerably warm was her shoulder, swollen and black. It burned up, the difference in temperature confusing her senses. A weariness fell over her, unbearable to fight against.
Melanie groaned quietly, closing her eyes to focus on her thoughts. She felt colder by the minute, her tremors increasing their occurrence. Each one felt painful as it racked through her body. Who knew shivers could hurt so badly? Her mind drifted to warmer places in hopes of relieving some of the icy chills.
The first place that came to mind was the meadows of Windrise. On the chillest of days, she'd run through the thick grass to find a stray rock large enough for her to lie on. The rock would always be steaming from the sun's direct contact, making it the perfect place to curl up for a nap. JJ would always call her a snake for it, but she guessed he was jealous of his inability to withstand it.
Slowly, she slipped off of the seelie court, laying on her side in the snow. The snow burned her skin with its cold intensity, but she couldn't bring herself to sit up. Every shred of energy was being put into shivering and chattering to stay alive. It felt impossible to consider it an effort of warming herself, but there was nothing more she could do.
Her mind drifted off to the beaches of Falcon Coast. The warm sand between her toes, the cool water lapping at her legs. Even if the beaches were swamped with hilichurls and their camps, she couldn't resist visiting whenever the Treasure Hoarders were nearby. She'd call for a vacation, and they had no choice but to listen.
Then there was Cape Oath, one of her favorite places to visit on her travels. Melanie loved to stand on the very edge and stare out at the distant Musk Reef with a fluffy dandelion in her hands. In a single breath, she'd blow the seedlings when a gust of wind blew past her, sending them out into the water. She often imagined one of them landing on the distant island, planting a new field of glowing weeds.
The visions in her mind failed to warm her any more than Galen did beside her. She'd already lost feeling in her fingers and toes. Frostbite and hypothermia frightened her, though she was sure she had at least one of them.
Melanie opened her eyes to shift the weight off of her shoulder, now laying on her back. Tears crept into her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. Pain burned throughout her body, but she didn't scream out. Emotions flooded her mind, but she focused on the good. Everything she tried, failed.
She sobbed. She screamed a piercing cry. And the worst of all, she thought of what would happen if she died in the cavern alone, scared, and cold. Her eyes closed as if she were sleeping.
"I'm m-miserable..." she murmured through the tears pushing through her eyelids.
Her mind felt fuzzy, sleep calling to her to a form of hibernation. It tempted her with its relief from the cold and with the prospects of hope. Melanie reached out to it, meeting the calling halfway, drifting away from the world of snow.
But faintly in the distance, she couldn't help but hear an echoing voice...
"Melanie?!"
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Thank you all for over 200 reads!! This is so exciting, I can't even fathom that I've reached this point! Fun fact, we're at 38k words :O What do you think of the story so far? Please leave a comment!!
Question of the chapter: Are you sad about Galen?
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