The next time girl woke up, she felt slightly better. Her whole body felt numb from pain, but not as much as before. Ajax was right – sleeping should heal her wounds faster.
Her sleepy eyes adjusted to her surroundings slower than her nose. Charlotte smelled a delicious, savory smell coming from somewhere, making her mouth water. She couldn't remember when was the last time she ate a proper meal. Cooked meat leftovers and a carrot already counted as an entire feast when she was with treasure hoarders. Her usual meal per day would consist a single fruit or vegetable, sometimes even neither as she was forced to starve.
Once she heard steps approaching, she lifted her head and was met with ocean-blue eyes. Young man was surprised, yet smiled with charming smile.
"Oh, you're awake? Very well! I made you something to eat." he said, making girl even hungrier than she already was.
Girl nodded to him, sparkling with impatience to finally have something in her mouth again. She tried her best not to let her hunger show, wanting to look well-mannered and not act like an ever-hungry savage.
Ajax was eyeing her laying figure.
"Will you be able to sit up?" he asked, visible concern in his empty eyes. Charlotte have already noticed that his eyes no longer held light in them, but emotions would still flash here and there in those emotionless-looking blue orbs.
"I will try..." she said with confidence, not even realizing what challenge she actually accepted. Gathering all strength she had left, Charlotte lifted her body on her arms, gritting her teeth as pain struck her entire body.
"May I lend you a hand?" asked boy, but it was already too late. Girl managed to sit down, even if not fully, leaning her back to the head-end of the bed. It felt like she had tight ropes around her waist in this position, but she got used to discomfort in a minute.
Harbinger only nodded without saying a word and walked out of room. Charlotte's stomach growled as the smell of delicious meal intensified.
Her friend soon came back with a tray in his hands.
"Here you go. Enjoy and regain your energy." He said, lowering the tray on her lap. Girl was almost drooling as she saw the delicacy in front of herself: boar meat, cured in rich tomato sauce with rice on the side. Tray also had a cup on it. Judging from the smell, girl decided it should be tea, made from wolfhooks: berries, found in Mondstad area Wolvendom, able to stop bleeding and take all pain away.
"T-Thank you... It looks so delicious..." she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. It looked too good to be true for her.
"Well, what are you waiting for then? C'mon, dig in!" encouraged her friend, sitting back at his desk covered in piles of papers. Girl nodded, picking up the spoon and starting eating. Not only the dish smelt good, but it tasted divine.
Harbinger, who was working on a few papers now, took a glance at his friend, chuckling after seeing how much she enjoyed every single bite she took in her mouth. He couldn't imagine what she went through if she was this hungry.
Suddenly, dark smoke started gathering on the floor, making Charlotte freeze to place. She only heard Ajax groan before the smoke even more intensified, soon enough, revealing a dark figure. Girl was too shocked to even scream as the smoke disappeared, revealing (as she guessed) a man in black uniform with red details, a giant, curved knife hanging on his belt.
"Master Childe, I got what you asked for." Said the stranger, facing away from her. Girl only now noticed that he was holding something in his hands that looked like a big paper package.
"Uh-huh, thanks, Sergei." Harbinger stood up from his seat, taking the package from the mysterious man hands.
"There's something else I have for you..." mysterious figure spoke again, before unbuttoning his jacket and pulling out a bunch of papers. He handed them to Childe, just like he did with package. "This is the list of new recruits who'll be joining Fatui in 3 months. Her Majesty assigned you to welcome them."
"I see..." Dark figure was covering most of her view, but she could see her friend reading the front paper. "Was she included, like I asked?"
"Yes, Master Childe. Your orders were received and completed."
"Understood. Dismissed." Harbinger said coldly.
Mysterious figure vanished in the cloud of black smoke, just like he first appeared. Girl was looking at the place he stood with her eyes slightly widened in shock.
"W-What was that?" she asked with her voice shaky.
"Ah, no one too important. Sergei, one of my agents."
"Your... agents?" girl was curious, not understand a single thing he just said.
"Yes. Harbingers are the elite of the Fatui. We have our own... let's say, servants. They help out with business if really needed, paper work mostly." Looking up from the documents Fatui Agent just gave him and seeing that the girl was staring at him with visible confusion, he sighed. "Seems like I have a lot of explanation to do, don't I?"
Confused girl could only nod, not even sure if she's going to understand the explanation he'll give her.
Young Harbinger sat down at his desk again, placing the package on the floor next to his chair and documents on one of the paper piles. Quickly scribbling something on the document he was recently working on and putting it away, he picked up the package again, placing it on his desk. Girl watched him unpack it, the food in her plate was left completely forgotten.
From this distance, she couldn't tell what was inside the package. But it soon became clear as he pulled out a black and purple outfit, showing it for her.
"This is for you."
"I... w-what?" Girl was even more confused.
Boy sighed, folding the outfit and placing it back in package. He sat down on his chair, sighing once again before turning to face Charlotte, his eyes cold.
"Listen... I saved you... But the cost of your life will be hard to pay. If you don't want to end up being killed, you... you'll have to become one of us. One of the Fatui." He was staring at her with cold, lifeless eyes, like a predator stares at his pray.
Girl felt her heart skip a few beats. She'll have to join the Fatui? The stories everyone is telling about them seem to be true. They really are merciless organisation when it comes to debts, dealing with them and war businesses. Why would she ever join them?
On other hand... Is there anything she's got to lose? Her entire family is dead. She barely survived herself. Thinking logically, if the word about her surviving Harbinger's ambush got out, both, her and Ajax would be in great danger. This seems to leave her no other choice.
"A-Alright... Got it..."
Orange-haired man was surprised that she technically agreed to join this easily. This only made his job here easier, then.
"Good. You'll join together with new recruits in 3 months. With right medicine and treatment, your wounds should heal within 1 month. Other 2 months we'll spend training."
"Training?"
"Yes, training." Boy stayed silent for a moment. "You seem to be a great warrior in spirit. I want to see how far you can go with that..." He chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe one day you'll become a Harbinger, just like me."
Information was a bit too much for girl to take in. She'll be training? With 11th Harbinger himself? Become one of the Harbingers herself?
She winced in pain and held her head as the pain intensified the more she was thinking about all of this Fatui business. Seeing her now fragile body, boy was quick to stop her from overthinking.
"It's only in future. We must let you fully heal first. Now, finish your dinner and go back to sleep."
Girl only nodded, picking up the spoon again. All of sudden, she didn't have any appetite left. Forcing herself to finish it, she emptied the entire plate and cup with tea. Wolfhooks tea seemed to start working immediately, supressing the pain to the minimum.
Noticing that she's done with her meal, Ajax came to collect dishes, taking them to kitchen. Girl heard running water noises and plates clinging together, indicating that he washed them. Once he returned, his face was blank once again.
"Feeling better?" he asked, no tone in his voice.
"Yes... Thank you..." girl nodded.
"Good. Back to sleep now."
"Ain't I... occupying your bed?" Charlotte only now realized she was laying in the bed that had enough place only for 1 person.
"You are. I'll sleep on the sofa in the living room. Don't think much about it. Now, time for you to go back to sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow."
Girl nodded again, before slowly shifting to laying position again, dragging the blanket over herself. Her friend shut down the lights, walking out of room and closing the door behind. She heard him murmur something, but the blanket over her head blocked the sound. It was just a simple 'goodnight', she assumed.
No matter how exhausted she felt, she couldn't fall asleep. Everything was happening just too fast. What made her most concerned wasn't this entire Fatui business she found herself tangled in, but her childhood friend.
How a sweet and shy boy like him could become one of the most dangerous warriors in Teyvat? She knew very well how much he wanted to be like his father, an adventurer, but wasn't this taken too far?
Other thing she couldn't stop thinking about was his eyes. Once beautiful, full of life and happiness blue orbs didn't hold any light in them anymore. They were dull, almost emotionless, deeper shade of blue than the deepest ocean.
It's been almost 12 years from the last timethey've seen each other. Just what exactly happened during this period of time?Did they miss a lot in each other's life? Definitely.