In-Teyvat

Chapter one

"It's a deal."

Lumine stepped away from the slightly opened door after hearing those words. She held her hands in front of her mouth so they couldn't hear her gasp. She couldn't believe what she just overheard her twin brother tell the prince of the Abyss, sir Dainsleif.

"I will tell my sister about the arranged marriage tonight. It's the reason I threw this party together after all." Aether announced proudly.

Through the narrow opening of the door she saw sir Dainsleif take a bow before her blonde brother. "I'll treasure your sister forever, I promise you my friend."

Lumine felt sick. Get out... She had to get out of here quick! With tears in her eyes she started to run through the long hallway. Her whole world just got turned upside down.

Lumine and Aether were still young when their parents, the king and queen of Mondstadt, passed away. When the twins turned 16 Aether was crowned as a king by the advisers of their parents, deeming him more worthy. The twins were inseperable, they had no secrets for each other. At least that was what Lumine thought until just a moment ago. Sir Dainsleif was from the Abyss. Mondstadt and the Abyss have always been enemies. Every nation in Teyvas always had a god that protected them, except for the Abyss. They wanted to prove that humans we're stronger than the gods and started a terrible war out of pure arrogance and pride. After losing the war the Abyss closed their borders for hundreds of years, only to have opened them not long ago at the command of sir Dainsleif. Lumine never knew that Aether was friends with him, let alone had contact with anyone from that godless place. Aether had to be up to something, no way he would just sell off his sister to the enemy like this...

Lumine came to a halt at the main hall. She quietly walked past the crowd of people, trying to hide having to catch her breath from running behind the tables covered with food and drinks. She wanted to hide somewhere... The blonde princess looked around the room.
Maybe she could join Ayaka, a noble from Inazuma and a close friend of her. No, Aether would probably check my friends first. Her golden eyes caught the sight of the open door to the garden. Of course! The gardens were a perfect place to hide until the party is over. It was freezing outside, so only a fool would go for a walk in this weather.

The princess hurried herself through the door, as quiet as she could so no one would see her. She closed the door behind her while tiptoeing towards the edge of the balcony. It wasn't high at all, ground floor level to be exact. But the balcony was surrounded by white roses and in-teyvats. The flowers almost  seemed to glow in the moonlight. She closed her eyes and took a deep sniff of the cold but fresh winter air.
How nostalgic the garden was for her. She always used to play here with her mother and Aether when they were still little. Their parents planted the in-teyvats together shortly after the twins were born, hoping that the flowers would thrive and grow healthy and beautiful just like the siblings did.

With tears in her eyes Lumine walked through the flowery maze. Stupid Aether... She thought while clenching her fists in frustration. What else has he been doing and planning behind her back. What more did he lie about? It didn't matter now. She had to focus on stopping the enhancement before the party has ended. Perhaps she could run away? The blonde princess shook her head. No, that'd be too dangerous. Besides, there was no way the knights wouldn't find her whereabouts. Also, where could she run to without anyone telling her brother?
She could also ask one of her friends to fake an engagement with her until Dainsleif has found another to marry... No. Almost all of her friends were her brother's friends too. The one he didn't know too well, Thoma, was a terrible liar. Aether would see right through them right away. Lumine looked around the garden. There had to be another way...

Suddenly her eyes fell upon a tall lean figure standing on the balcony. His ocean blue eyes were staring right at her. The princess recognized him straight away with his red hair and dark gray suit. It was Tartaglia, a noble from Sneznaya. He was known as a cruel prince. A skilled warrior on the battlefield. His country was one of the strongest and most dangerous in Teyvat. This is it! Lumine thought to herself while slowly walking towards the prince.

"What is a pretty princess like you doing outside in a weather like this?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

In his hands he was holding an in-teyvat. Carefully twisting it around in the moonlight. His gaze never left hers. Lumine couldn't help but feel flustered about his greeting. Although the rumours surrounding the Sneznayan prince were bad, he had one of the most handsome faces she had ever seen. She cleared her throat.

"I need you to marry me."

The ginger haired prince stared at her. His expression showed surprise. He never expected the usually shy and gentle princess of Mondstadt to get straight to the point like that, especially without a greeting or anything!

Lumine's cheeks were bright red, but she did her best to maintain eye contact to be taken as serious as possible. He must think I am crazy. Had she made a big mistake by acting so quick and irrational? Before Tartaglia could open his mouth to answer she bowed in front of him.

"Please!" She begged him. "You only have to pretend we are a couple for a few months, I'll give you anything you want in return!"

Tartaglia raised one eye brow and softly lifted Lumine's head back up with his fingers on her chin. He was scanning her face with his eyes. "This is a very sudden request, we don't even know each other apart from name..."

They both went silent for a bit, only for the short period of quiet to be disturbed by the door behind them being opened. Lumine's eyes widened as she saw her twin brother stepping outside. He had a confused look on his face. "Lumine, there you are! I was looking everywhere for you."

His eyes dwarted off to Tartaglia. The foreign prince swiftly removed his fingers from Lumine's chin and awkwardly cleared his throat before taking a polite bow. "Good evening, Aether." The ginger man greeted him.

Aether nodded it off and reached out his hand to Lumine. "Let's go inside, I have something to discuss with you."

His voice was kind, but Lumine didn't trust any of it. She wanted to open her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Tartaglia firmly grabbing her hand first. He smirked and pulled the princess closer against him. "We actually have an announcement make to you, my dear brother in law."

Aether grew pale as Tartaglia spoke, but Lumine could see that he was fighting to keep his kind composition. His eye twitched a little as a confused 'eh?' escaped from his lips. Lumine and Tartaglia quickly shared a look before both facing her brother.

"That's right Aether. I wanted to tell you about us earlier, but me and Tartaglia are officially engaged!"