No letters found their way to her doorstep for the next two days, despite Lyra's growing anxiety. The silence in the city had turned uncomfortable, as if a blanket had been thrown over it. No city she had ever been in had been quiet. Liyue was always bustling with trade and merchants calling out their wares. But that was many a year ago, and she wasn't sure it was the same now.
The people trapped in sleep seemed peaceful, like corpses before their funeral. Only the slight movement of their chests indicated they were even awake. Relatives waited for them to wake up, and Lyra watched those people from her window, wondering which were the nations they all hailed from.
The blame fell upon the Knights' shoulders, for they had failed to protect a city under their jurisdiction. Lyra had spent the last two days hiding in a corner of the library, watching Jean grow more anxious and frustrated as each day passed with no lead, no suspect.
And Jean had been so nice to her. Lyra almost wanted to turn herself in.
Lyra took her place behind the bookshelf, her footsteps silent on the floor as she listened. Pulling out a book from the shelf, she peered through the hole to see Jean, Kaeya and Lisa around a table in the library, almost as if they were having a round table conference. Lyra made sure the letters from the Abyss Order, which were tucked in her pocket, were hidden from view.
"Have there been no other witnesses?" asked Lisa, her hand on a book that had been lying on the table.
"Except for the deaf man? No." Kaeya glanced at the bookshelf Lyra was hiding behind. Lyra was quite sure she was well hidden from their view, but nonetheless, took a few steps back into the shadows, her heart pounding in her chest.
"I see," said Jean. She traced patterns on the table with her finger, and Lyra wondered if that was a nervous habit.
"Don't worry, we'll find them. And then we'll figure out how to wake everyone up."
"I've sent my teacher from Sumeru a letter," said Lisa. Lyra ran the name through her head. Sumeru was another one of the seven nations, but she had never been there before. "Perhaps she has some answers."
Silence prevailed for a second, until it was broken by Jean. "Whoever it was probably has a Vision, but what element? There are none that can force a person into a prison of sleep."
Lyra found a fleeting amusement at her words. She had no Vision, and she could do far more than entrap people in the depths of sleep. She wondered what would happen if she went into a murdering spree, where people fell dead with no obvious cause, but then had to stop herself from going down that train of thought.
"I've asked my teacher that too," said Lisa, just as the sound of the door opening resounded. Lyra held her breath as a sudden silence fell over the library.
"Klee. What are you doing here?" Jean asked, looking down at a little girl with elf ears. Her voice held a hint of surprise. Lyra studied the girl; she was dressed in red, blonde hair under a cap. She was a mere child, far too young to have anything to do with the Knights of Favonius. A backpack with a little doll hung on her back.
"Ms. Jean, I want to go to the lake!"
"Are you going to blow up the fish?"
Lyra wondered if this was how people fished nowadays.
"What if someone gets hurt?"
"I'll make sure there's no one around." Klee looked up at Jean with big eyes, and this child could have asked for anything in the world and Lyra would've given it to her.
Jean, an exasperated smile on her face, stood up. "Come with me." She walked out and Klee followed her, a slight skip in her step. Lyra heard the door fall shut.
"Lyra, come on out," said Kaeya, as Lyra dropped the book she had been holding again. She cursed softly under her breath before stepping into view.
"Cutie was eavesdropping again, wasn't she?" asked Lisa with a smile on her face, a smile that reminded Lyra of light reflecting off the sharp end of glass.
Lyra shook her head vigorously. "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and didn't want to interrupt."
Lisa's smile softened, as Lyra hurriedly said her farewells and walked out. Passing Jean and Klee in the corridor, her mouth quirked up in amusement as she realized Jean was too busy lecturing Klee to even notice her. It was nearly nightfall as she headed down the city.
Passing the closed shops and the gates, she walked down to the bridge, looking down at the water. The water reflected the setting sun's light, a mix of orange and red, and Lyra continued walked down the bridge, scaring away all the pigeons. But this time, there was no one on the bridge to give her a dirty look for it. She walked past plains until a giant oak tree caught her attention, a glowing statue in front of it.
Her feet took her to the statue as she looked up. So this was Barbatos. The city was in a lot of trouble right now—courtesy of Lyra—and she was worried he would get involved. She knew a few good-natured gods who would have by now.
A woman walked up to her. Her gaze was not directed on Lyra, but rather at the tree.
"Is there something important about this tree?" Lyra asked, feeling the beginnings of curiosity.
"Have you heard the story of Venessa?"
Lyra nodded.
"They say this is where she ascended to Celestia from."
Lyra looked back at the oak tree with renewed understanding, and stood under its shade and branches for a while. With nightfall under way, she headed back to the city, wondering how Amber was doing.
As she walked past Flora's flower shop, she had a feeling someone was following her, but a quick glance around told her it was her imagination at play. She quickened her pace, walking past Angel's Share, but the feeling didn't go away. If anything, she could hear a gentle pacing of footsteps behind her own, shadows flickering and disappearing as she turned.
"Is someone there?"
The temperature plummeted, and that was the only warning Lyra received, before she dived out of the way. Past the ice stood Kaeya, his hand outstretched. This must be the power a Vision gives its wielder, a power that had been granted by gods.
"Are you really allowed to attack civilians? Aren't you a knight? What happened to chivalry?" Lyra asked, picking herself up off the floor, her hands stinging.
"You are being attacked by Kaeya, not by Sir Kaeya of the Knights of Favonius," said Kaeya with a smile as cold as his ice. Lyra knew what he was implying. Right now, he was not bound by their code, which meant she was in genuine danger. She ran.
"You think I'd let you run?"
Another burst of ice passed Lyra, the ice spreading as it hit the ground, effectively blocking her path. She stopped and turned, wondering how sadistic this knight really was. Kaeya spun a sword in his hand, and by the looks of it, he meant business.
"Our witness had one more piece of information to give. 'She was small and despite the mask, it was easy to tell she wasn't from around her. Her skin was a bit too tan.'"
People who lose one of their senses have the rest heightened as compensation. Lyra remembered reading that in a book, but she couldn't actually believe it. But the fact someone picked out her skin color in the darkness of the night had her facing the facts. She cursed under her breath, and Kaeya whistled in amusement as he stepped forward.
'A cocky little pirate came throwing ice around,
His code of honor broken and lost,
Attacking a girl lost in the city,
May he sleep for a night and may-'
Chains wrapped around Lyra, catching her by surprise and cutting off her breath. Struggling against them, she looked down to see that Kaeya had already collapsed. A feeling of triumph surged through her.
She felt someone's arm wrap around her throat as triumph was replaced with fear. "What have you done to him?" growled a voice in her ear. A familiar voice that Lyra, despite hearing only once before, could place immediately. It was Diluc from the tavern.
"He's just asleep. Probably for the night."
The chains tightened and she bit her lip. "If you sing. I'll burn your vocal chords, are we clear?"
"Like crystal," Lyra muttered as the chains loosened. She considered making a run for it, but her courage shrunk back at the look on Diluc's face. She knew he wasn't bluffing when he said he'd burn her. The Vision at his side almost seemed to flare up as if in agreement with her thoughts.
"What now?" she asked, still trapped by his chains. Diluc, a wary eye on her, walked over to Kaeya and tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"I hand you over to the Knights of Favonius."
Footsteps echoed on the night street, as Jean came running up with a pair of Knights. One look at Lyra who was tied up, and another at Diluc who was carrying Kaeya, and she appeared to understand the situation completely. "Lock her up."
Lyra sighed, wondering if this would be any worse that then last millennia.
"Keep her gagged," supplied Diluc, as Lyra rolled her eyes. The chains disappeared, as the Knights approached her.
"Keep your dirty mitts off me," she said, shrugging them off. One of the Knights looked at his glove as if he was wondering if it really was dirty. "I'll come unwillingly, but you have my word that I won't hurt any of you."
"What does your word mean to us?" asked Diluc, as Jean tried in vain to wake up Kaeya.
"Not much to you, I daresay, but to me, everything."
"Would you wake up Kaeya?" asked Jean, abandoning her attempts and looking at Lyra, who stood between the two knights who decided to respect her wishes.
"Why would I? He attacked me out of nowhere. He'll wake up at first light anyway." She jerked her chin upward, as her hands were cuffed.
"And what's the guarantee she won't sing us to sleep?" asked Diluc, his eyes holding a flame. "Like she did the rest of the city."
Jean and Diluc began talking back and forth, and Lyra sighed as she sang under her breath, which went unheard by the two of them, but it didn't matter since only Kaeya had to hear her.
'The maniac throwing ice around,
He was asked to sleep for the night,
But they say he's important, their love shines through,
The spell breaks before first light.'
Diluc, who heard the last line, looked alarmed as he raised his hand, fire appearing in his palm. Lyra backed away, remembering his threat. Kaeya murmured in his sleep and Diluc dropped him, the fire disappearing. Lyra wondered why she had bothered to wake him up when it would've been so much easier to end him, and then a look at Diluc's Vision reminded her why.
"Ow," said Kaeya, looking up to see a knight tie a piece of cloth around her mouth. "So I was right."
She rolled her eyes, and would've stuck out her tongue too, but sadly, she couldn't. Diluc gave her a calculating look as Jean looked to Kaeya.
"We need to talk."
A bit of satisfaction went through Lyra as she heard that, but Kaeya's smile told her that nothing Jean said would deter him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~