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Author's POV:
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"Rosaria, where is my daughter?" Mrs. Regenfall spoke in a serious tone, seated like a lady on her office desk.
"She's in her room, your grace" The sister bows.
"What has she been up to? There's so much work to do before winter comes!" Your mother frowns, losing her patience day by day you don't step out from your room.
"Your grace, I believe she's feeling... emotional right now"
"emotional? What? Too much work to do?"
"It's probably over a man"
Mrs. Regenfall chuckles at Rosaria's claim. "Over a man? Don't make me laugh, she's going to marry Raphael"
"Not her choice"
"Pardon?" Mrs. Regenfall narrowed her eyes toward her daughter's lady-in-waiting. Rosaria pretended as if she said nothing.
"Hm. Get her out of bed, slacking off won't be allowed in this family" The Noblewoman ordered.
Rosaria proceeded to bow once more before exiting the office.
•------•°•✿•°•------•
"My lady, it's about time you come out of your room" You heard Rosaria's muffled voice behind the door, knocking. You dare not to speak, hoping to fool her thinking you're napping.
"My lady, do you want me to tell your parents about the wine I've been delivering in your room?"
You took a few seconds to think about it before eventually sighing in defeat. "Fine.." As soon as you unlocked the door for Rosaria, you quickly jumped back to bed.
The woman was in complete shock, seeing how incredibly messy your room is. Empty bottles were everywhere, as well as the cardboard boxes of wine - which was now empty - that Rosaria delivered for you the entire week.
"How dare you threaten me" You spoke in a weak voice. You looked extremely sick with mostly visible red sore eyes and a red nose, as if you were crying all week. Which you were.
"Alexander's worried about you, my lady. Everyone is" She spoke, picking up the bottles you carelessly dropped on the floor.
"Good for them" You commented, sniffing a bit.
"Too much wine isn't good for you, and that's coming straight from me. Why not distract yourself by working?" She advised.
"Don't feel like it.."
"Winter is in a few days, aren't you going to help out?"
You stare at the ceiling, thinking, wondering, whether you should help or not.
Then it hit you, somehow your depressed state made you want to do a dangerous and risky task.
"Actually, I have to talk to Conrad" You finally spoke in a normal tone.
•------•°•✿•°•------•
'Tis time to go visit an old pal of yours that caused you so much trouble in the past.
Dragonspine.
Your eldest brother has been researching on a new type of herb mixture that requires a lot of materials from Dragonspine. It was troubling him due to the fact he's powerless in that mountain. He tried sending researchers there too, but some ended up cowering, while some returned with nothing in hand.
So you decided to take up the challenge. These materials might just be a legend, but if dragons exist in this world, then anything imaginary exists too.
Your journey will be troublesome with one of the reasons being that you are unable to light a fire. This is probably how you die, but you felt excited anyway.
Not to mention you're still feeling a little lightheaded from the wine you consumed. You might just end up dropping on the snow and freeze to death.
"fun" You roll your eyes. You were holding a map from one of Conrad's researchers, it seems they searched everywhere, but there are some parts that weren't marked yet, and that happens to be in one of the deadliest spots in Dragonspine.
As you walk on the path to your designated location, the cold was finally starting to get to you. There wasn't any sign of fire either. Since the Citizens of Mondstadt are busy preparing for the winter, Dragonspine is the last place they should be venturing. So it seems the fires in the mountain slowly died down.
"Hah, a little cold won't stop me" You snickered, pushing yourself further.
The closer you reach the area, the more clouds formed in the sky, preparing for a blizzard. "Everyday, the gods test me" You sigh.
"that's strange, it's past the usual time Lady (Y/N) enters the tavern. She always come by every sunday" Charles tapped his chin.
"Must be harvesting" Diluc replies, acting as if nothing happened a week ago.
"Heck, she didn't come at all this week. Why would our best customer suddenly stop coming over to the Tavern?"
"It's only been a week, she'll come back"
"I'm beginning to think this has something to do with last week when you dismissed me early" Charles narrowed his eyes at his boss. Guilty of responding to Charles' accusations, Diluc stayed silent for a while.
Another person entered the Tavern which caught both men's attention. Sadly, it wasn't the woman they were talking about.
"get back to work" The red head commands.
He proceeded to simply wipe the glass cup while listening to Charles greeting another customer.
"Oh hey, Rosaria. You seem a little unsettled" Charles raised a brow in suspicion while pouring some wine to a cup for her.
"I'll have three cups for today" The sister spoke so coldly, as usual. Although it seems her mind gathered too many thoughts, hence the troubled expression she's shown on her face.
Both men behind the counters were curious as to what was going on with her, but if it was a personal matter, they won't dare to ask her about it.
Charles served the wine in silence, giving the sister her own personal space.
Another person entered the Tavern once again. Alas, to no avail, it was just a random adventurer. But he too had a troubled expression.
The man sat beside Rosaria, massaging his temples. "Good day sir, want anything on the menu?" Charles greeted with a smile, trying to cheer up the gloomy atmosphere.
"errr.. just wolfhook juice would be fine" He spoke with an irish accent (cuz why not).
"Trevor, is there any news about her? Maybe some cancelled plans?" Rosaria faced the adventurer beside her, who was said to be named as Trevor.
"No, sister. It's been 2 hours since she left, we guessed it's a sign she's officially doing the mission alone" The said man spoke in a more serious tone.
"There's no stopping Lady (Y/N) now, but how is she supposed to survive in there alone. Especially with the temperature decreasing" She ranted, struggling to hold her wine steadily.
Just a mention of (Y/N)'s name easily caught Diluc's attention, therefore including himself in the conversation.
"What's the matter with (Y/N)?" The redhead asks, almost too eager to hear an answer.
"She's taken a seriously dangerous mission in Dragonspine. She ordered none of us to help her" Rosaria frowned. "She's a strong lady, I can only hope she can find a source of heat to stay conscious" Trevor stated.
Rosaria and Trevor explained the mission furthermore to Diluc. Apparently, Trevor was one of the surviving researchers to participate in Conrad Regenfall's mission. The remaining participants were ordered to rest due to (Y/N)'s constant begging towards Conrad to find the rare materials herself, thinking it might be easier for an experienced adventurer to do it alone.
It wasn't (Y/N)'s selfish intentions to go solo for the mission just to steal all the glory of finding the materials that is said to be only a legend, but for the reason being that having other people to go along will simply slow her down and cause more injuries.
"So she's out there in the cold, for merely 2 hours?" Diluc questions. The two clan members nod, as much as they were already stressing about this situation, Diluc was much more in panic.
"Give it some time Master Diluc, these are rare materials we're talking about. You can't expect her to easily come back that fast with the materials in hand" Charles reassured his panicking boss.
"Yes... I must agree with you"
•------•°•✿•°•------•
"Boars! I found boars!" You exclaimed which might've caused an avalanche.
You got a little sidetracked from the mission due to your stomach roaring in starvation. Progress was a lot slower because you decided to wear boots with higher heels which gradually sinks within the snow.
The boars you found after 40 minutes of searching, ran away after it heard your yell.
"bold move, but I'm an archer!" You targeted the ones who were still visible in your view. Just as your grandfather taught you, you released steady breathing and focused your aim towards the boar.
And just like that, another score.
"Two chilled meat? I'll take it" You smiled proudly and stored the meat in your bag, now searching for some source of heat.
Due to the alarming weather you were in, it was difficult to look for fire. Heck, you can barely see at all.
As you proceed to move forward while hugging yourself for warmth, there was no hope for any fire. But should you give up? No. Not until your stomach is full.
"There once was a ship that put to sea.." To keep yourself awake from all the coldness, you begin to sing a song. It was a song that tone-deaf bard always sang when he's drunk, and now it was always stuck in your head. It was pretty catchy though.
"The name of the ship was the Billy of tea.." Your nose became runny and your entire body started quivering.
"The.. the winds blew up.. h-her bow dipped down..."
As the storm grew bigger, your vision became blurry. You had no idea where you were at this point, not even trees were visible. Your boots slowly sink into the snow, and the aching of your feet made you fall on your knees, unable to go any further.
"Tell Alexander and grandpa I love them.." You stated dramatically as if you died epically sacrificing yourself.
"Alexander?" You hear a faint voice, not sure which direction you heard it from due to the loud blizzard.
"Oh.. d-don't forget Leonie.. my precious little sister... eh" You stuck your tongue out after stating your final words, now closing your eyes.
But then all of a sudden, there was warmth.
"Pyro archon?" You open your eyes, only to see a young man standing in front of you with a torch in hand.
This man before you, holds a geo vision.
"Oh you're... that alchemist" You repeatedly snapped your fingers, trying to recall his name.
"Alberto?"
"It's Albedo" He corrects, slightly irritated.
You stood up, wiping off the snow that stuck on your clothes. You're certain everybody sees Albedo as a fine gentleman, but for some reason, he showed up to you with an unkept hair. Must've been the blizzard though.
"We haven't officially met, I'm (Y/N) Regenfall. A Pleasure to meet you" You stretched out your hand for him to shake, but he just stared at your gloved hand as if he didn't want any human interaction.
"Okay then.." You took back your hand and awkwardly smiled at the Chief Alchemist. "I'm really hungry, would you be so kind as to lead me to your camp?"
"sure thing" The man finally showed some kindess. He walked to the same direction he just came from, and making sure the torch was able to reach its warmth to you.
Following the man who held the only source of heat for you felt like forever. There was no hope of the Blizzard dying down, it was like you walked in circles. There was only flat snow on the ground and huge gushes of wind dashing everywhere.
"uhm.. are we there yet?" You asked a little louder for your voice to reach his ears.
Albedo stops in his tracks, then slowly turned to face you. His expression was different, it wasn't kind nor gentle.
"Are you cold?" He asks a pointless question.
"Oh me? Nah I'm doing absolutely fine- heck yeah I'm cold!" You frown, staring daggers straight to his bright teal orbs.
The man suddenly smirks, slowly holding the torch upside down.
"Hey what are you doing-"
The man before you kneels, stabbing the torch in the snow. The fire makes a sizzling noice before it dies with the final smoke flying with the storm.
"A-Albedo.." It was already hard for you to speak with a dried mouth. Now the Alchemist leaves you in the middle of nowhere with his final words as;
"humans don't belong here"
He was not the man everyone talked about, in fact he was the complete opposite. "My thunders will... follow you" You dropped on your knees once again, as the blizzard slowly consumes you.
*thud*
---------------To be continued---------------
-----cliffhanger-----
Just kidding.
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Diluc's POV:
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It has merely been 50 minutes since I heard about (Y/N)'s risky mission. For every second the clock ticks, negative thoughts surround my mind.
I didn't wanna sit here and do my work with the knowledge of my lady walking around a dangerous place alone, who's possibly dying at this very moment.
Even if I'm panicking too much and she's probably doing absolutely fine, I must see for myself.
I left the tavern early, and stopped by at my house to wear some proper winter clothing.
I was already in the mountain, holding a map that Trevor gave me. If I know (Y/N), she would definitely go around these little spaces where the markers do not touch.
With no time left to waste, I headed straight to this anonymous location.
Furthermore, a blizzard blocked the entrance to this sketchy place. The path I took had an absolutely fine weather and no sign of any storm. If there's something dangerous blocking the entrance, then that must mean it doesn't want me to find what goes beyond.
I enter the storm without a second thought, starting my own fire in my hand. She's not that dumb to not go anywhere else in a blizzard but straight forward, right?
It felt like hours searching for (Y/N), although it has only been less than 15 minutes.
My feet were already sore, but giving up was not an option. So I took out my claymore, and used my ultimate ability to summon a humongous phoenix. I watched it fly straight ahead of me to clear a bit of path.
As it did so, I found a person lying on the ground with some sort of bright purple orb shining from the distance.
I knew then and there that it was (Y/N). I ran as fast as I could to reach her.
She was as cold as a corpse, luckily she was still breathing. Had I not known of this situation, she would most likely be dead. Her ears were covered in frostnip and her lips dried out.
"Why is it that I always find you in the brink of death?" I frown, taking her in my arms and started moving the same direction as I was going to.
We were already far from where we came from, it was no use going back. At this moment, I knew I was doing a terrible job protecting her. I'm sick of seeing her at this state, and one day I might even be too late.
I tightly held her in my arms, heating my hands that directly touched her skin as to remove the coldness away.
"Stop approaching death like it's your friend. I won't let it take you"
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I would just like to point out that I had to reread my entire book just so I can remember the name of (Y/N)'s little sister
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