Cold Blooded

The Northland Bank

The Northland Bank looked similar to most other buildings in Liyue Harbor, except for the guard positioned outside of it. A man with light hair and a red coat was looking over a letter. A small smile showed under his mask and even the slightest hints of a blush. Chongyun envied whatever made him so happy.

Chongyun stepped past the man and opened the door. The inside was ornate and huge. Gold criss crossed over the walls and decorated the floors and roof. Vases with floors stood to the sides and rows upon rows of drawers lined the walls. Across from the entrance was a woman with her dark hair tied in a braid.

Chongyun walked closer to her, nerves beginning to rise. He set hand down on the small counter in front of her. She raised her head. She studied him slowly, and a small smile stretched across her face.

"Hello and welcome to the Northland Bank," She said. "How may I help you?"

"I-" A bit of doubt began to creep in, but Chongyun squashed it down. "I would like to see Mr. Childe."

"Right this way." The woman stepped out from behind the counter and beckoned for Chongyun to follow her. She started up a set of stairs and he dutifully followed. They came to a short hallway with a door on either side. She gestured to the door that he should enter.

"Th- Thank you," . Chongyun muttered. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. He stepped into an office as ornate as the downstairs. The back wall was crowded with shelves and before it stood a desk. A few scattered reports of mining and trading agreements covered it. On the corner of one such report was a small doodle of a stick figure holding a sword above a slain monster.

Chongyun chuckled at the crude drawing, it was messy and sloppy like Xingqiu's handwriting. Oh man, Xingqiu.

Guilt bloomed in Chongyun's chest. He should have told him. No, it's too late for that.

Almost as if on cue, there was a laugh heard from the hallway. A moment later, Mr. Childe walked in. His laugh was quickly cut off and a look similar to disappointment crossed his face. He walked over to his desk and sat down. He folded his hands and looked up at the young exorcist.

"What's up, Yun?" Mr. Childe looked up at Chongyun with a smile. "Do you need help with anything?"

"I- Yes." Chongyun began to twist his fingers. "I want to go meet your friend. I don't care if I have to travel all the way to Celestia. I want this, please." He was trying to look strong, but a few tears had begun to prick at his eyes.

"Whoa, Yun Yun," Childe stood up and walked over to him. "What happened? I only talked to you a week ago. Are you- Are you sure?"

"Yes, I-" Hot tears began to run down his cheeks. Childe gave him an encouraging smile and Chongyun continued. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident, and I- I never should have done that. I-"

"Whoa, calm down," Childe grabbed both of Chongyun's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Just tell me what happened."

"I- Well, Xiangling was having me and Xingqiu try out a new recipe," Chongyun wiped away a few tears with his sleeve. "I didn't realize that there were chili's inside of those rice balls and then I- I..."

A new bout of guilt, anger, and tears began to rise. "I kissed him. I shouldn't have done that to him. He's my best friend and I took advantage of him. When I pulled back he couldn't even speak to me."

"Wait, who?" Confusion and concern were written across Childe's face.

"Xingqiu."

"The book worm?"

Chongyun nodded slowly as tears silently slid down his face. Clearly the effects of the chilis had not worn off yet, because then Chongyun gave Mr. Childe a hug.

Unsure exactly what to do, Childe awkwardly hugged him back and gave him a soft pat. "It'll be okay," Childe said with a small sigh. "If you really want to, and you are absolutely sure, there is a boat leaving for Snezhnaya within the hour. If you hurry you can make it."

Childe let go and Chongyun took a step back. Mr. Childe grabbed a few pieces of paper and a pen. "Write your goodbye and I'll make sure they get to all your loved ones."

Chongyun looked up, his eyes a bit puffy and red. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't call me 'sir.'" He turned away from Chongyun and muttered under his breath, "I don't deserve it."

"Did you say something, s- um, Mr. Childe?" Chongyun looked up at him, all of the innocence of the world in his eyes.

"No, nothing," Childe said with a smile. "Just let me know when you finish those letters."

Chongyun's eyes drifted back down to the papers in front of him. How much time did he have? Who should he write to? Aunty Shenhe, of course. Xiangling and Xingqiu both deserved an explanation. Hu Tao should also get one. Maybe he should just write one big letter to everyone... Yeah, that's what he would do.

Chongyun started his letter making sure to say sorry for everything he had done and thank them for everything they had done. He signed it, looked over it once more, and then handed it to Mr. Childe.

Childe took the letters and handed a small scroll to Chongyun. "Hand this to the captain of a ship with grey sails."

"Thank you, Mr. Childe," Chongyun took the scroll, then looked up at him. "Thank you so much."

And with that Chongyun raced out the door and off to the harbor. Once he arrived at the dock, he took a look around, Two grey sails swayed lazily over a bustling ship deck. Chongyun observed a man giving orders to others on the ship. Hoping that this man was the captain, he handed him the scroll. The man looked him up and down skeptically, then nodded. He turned back to the crew without a second glance.

Within the next few minutes, the ship was on its way. The wind pushed the ship out to sea, and Liyue harbor, the only home Chongyun had ever known, began to fade in the distance. He only hoped that this wouldn't be the last time he saw it.

~~~

Childe watched Chongyun through his office window as he disappeared behind a building. He looked at the letter that the boy had so carefully penned. He set the paper down on his desk and dragged his hand over his face. He let out a strangled groan and kicked the side of his desk.

That young exorcist reminded him too much of the innocence of his siblings. Of Teucer and Anthon. He remembered once he had stumbled home in Snezhnaya, he was covered in blood, only some of it his own. He had cleaned himself up, but when he entered the dining room he saw Teucer, still in his pajamas. The little boy had noticed the bandages and asked if he had gotten hurt fighting the bad guys.

Teucer saw him as the hero of every story, he didn't know of all the things he had done. Standing in an office gilded and ornate, having just sent a boy off to death or worse, he had never felt more like the villain.

"Ekaterina!" Childe sat down and yelled down the hall. He pulled out a smile and tried to look at ease. She showed up a moment later, a grim smile on her lips.

"I need you to take this," Childe said, tapping Chongyun's letter. "And edit it. I need you to make it look like our little exorcist friend kicked his own bucket. Just copy his handwriting and use whatever you can from the original, then send it to all those people at the top."

"Yes, sir."

She left and Childe's smile slid off. He looked off out the window and saw the ship with grey sails leaving the harbor. He thought of Chongyun and Teucer. Childe laughed. A pained, crazy laugh. He really was the villain, wasn't he?

author's note:

So I'm too impatient to wait a week to publish each chapter, and I will be posting on Tuesdays and Fridays. This chapter is to make up for Tuesday, thank you again for reading!

chapter art by @eli_zhong