Daiyu's life was changing too fast.
It was the second day in the palace. Daiyu woke up to see herself cuddled by Itto, Noelle wrapped around her waist, and Gorou holding her feet at the edge of the bed. Groaning, she shimmied her way out of their grasp and stretched. Wiping the crust out of her eyes, she walked to the window to stare out at the garden. Golden leaves cascaded downwards, landing in the pond in the midst of the place. A large clock stood in the center as well, showing the time was almost eight. It was peaceful for a morning in a place she was unfamiliar with.
She went behind the screen to put on her maid uniform. Not knowing what her duty was made it hard to figure out what the heck she was supposed to do. Fixing her hair, she opened her bag to reveal the last treasure that was given to her by her brothers; a jade hairpin. Fastening her hair upwards, she placed the pin in the middle. Before she could put on her makeup, she felt something nudge her leg. It was Ushi, the cute bull pet of Prince Itto and her bath mate from the other day.
"Hello Ushi..." Daiyu picked up the small bull, who mooed happily in her arms. "How on Teyvat did you get in my room? My door wasn't open."
Perhaps the familiarity between her and the farm animals in her village made her feel homesick. Every morning she would gather eggs to make breakfast, give apples to the little critters, and made friends with the hogs. Her parents used her to tame the wild creatures before cooking them up for dinner. It was so saddening for her since she really wanted a pet. Now, with Ushi in her arms, she walked down the hallways trying to find the kitchen to feed her new friend.
"Hey! Look at what she has in her arms!"
The other maids took notice of her coming to the kitchen and gasped at Daiyu for holding one of the sacred animals. The young maid pointed at her, screeching loudly and accusing her of stealing the poor bull. Some of the maids got mad at her, some of them were trying to calm the situation, and others were just giving her mean glares.
"What are you lazy ones doing? Don't you know we have to set up for breakfast?"
In this palace, the head maid and the one who worked closest to the royal family was Mingxia. She came from the city and was trained as a hard-working maid from a young age. When she was invited to serve the royal family, some say she was promoted because of her dedication to her craft and an unwavering attitude. Others say that the only reason she loves working for them is because she gets to help serve the Emperor.
However, when she heard some newcomer had gotten favor with the eldest prince, Mingxia thought it was just a baseless rumor. Seeing Daiyu holding Ushi made her think otherwise. On the outside, she was a graceful woman with a kind heart and sparkling personality.
The inside was a different story.
Mingxia approached Daiyu with a shaky smile. "Oh you must be the newcomer I've heard so much about. Daiyu wasn't it?"
Daiyu bowed. "Yes, I just arrived yesterday. Please treat me well."
"Oh I'm certain that we won't find any trouble with you. I'm the head maid of the house Mingxia. You will follow my orders and the orders of the royal family while you are here. I expect there to be no trouble at all." She placed a hand on the now trembling form of Daiyu. "After all, should you fail at your tasks, we have no choice but to kick you out."
Daiyu gulped, nodding her head rapidly.
"Now, let me take the prince's pet off your hands and assign you to one of our groups." Mingxia went to take Ushi, but the bull huffed and turned away from her. "Huh? Ushi come here. You know me, I wouldn't hurt you."
Ushi buried himself deeper into Daiyu's arms, mooing contently. Daiyu looked up to see Mingxia's face scrunched up with the most unappealing smile.
"So that's how things are. I will make sure to remember this insolence Daiyu."
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"Alright, that's all the groceries for the feast. Guess we can spend some time doing what you guys want."
No sooner did those words come out my mouth did the royal family give each other glares. You would've thought I asked them to decide what clothes I should wear with how cold those stares were. Some servants were summoned to take the groceries to the kitchen. Now we had a whole day left to do what they wanted.
"I do believe that Emperor's get first pick of our daytime activities."Zhongli stared at the rest of the family. "Shouldn't I?"
"No fair pops! I wanted to have some fun before we do your boring old man stuff!" Itto pouted, stomping his feet.
"I'm sure we can come to some form of agreement. This is family time after all." Noelle tried to diffuse the situation.
"We're wasting time trying to find things to do. Why not let Daiyu decide on who should go first." Ningguang suggested, turning towards me. "Well Daiyu, whose activity shall we do first?"
All eyes were on me, making my nerves shoot up quickly. If I chose the wrong person, then I'd have a crowd of angry people coming for me. In all honesty, I wanted to go back to the pavilion and avoid them. This was too stressful for a family outing!
"Um...well..." I started to say before fumbling over my words. "I think we should go from youngest to oldest. That way, no matter what, we can finish off the night with what the Emperor wants to do."
They seemed to mull over my suggestion a bit before all nodding. Good, I successfully managed to save Liyue Harbor from another Geo based attack scene. I wish people knew how much I sacrificed to keep them all safe.
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Since we were going from youngest to oldest, that meant that Noelle went first, followed by Gorou, followed by Albedo, then Itto, Lady Ningguang, and then ending with the Emperor. Hopefully since it was still morning we could get through everyone's favorite activity and nobody would be unhappy.
Noelle took us all to a small kiosk that sold tea break pancakes. I recalled that these were her favorite snack food since it could function as a breakfast or a light snack for tea. Speaking of which, the kiosk also sold hot tea for us to drink. We sat down at a round table underneath the maple trees.
"This is my activity. I wanted to share a meal with you all." Noelle blushed, taking a piece of her pancake on her fork. "Say 'ah' Daiyu! I'll feed you my special cake recipe."
Not wanting to make her upset, I opened my mouth and accepted the treat. Her Lighter Than Air pancakes were simply divine! I love the chocolate sauce, the whipped topping, and she even put the strawberry on top of my portion. The others watched as Noelle fed me bite after bite, each one more tastier than the other. Eventually, when we had our fill, Noelle wiped my face of whipped topping.
"I'm so glad that I could feed you like this. It's not every day that the maid gets to be fed by the princess." She said, giggling slightly.
"I'm glad that you made something that I could enjoy. It was rather delicious." We held hands as we walked to Gorou's activity. "I never knew you could cook so well Noelle."
"As a dutiful knight and maiden, it's of upmost importance that I learn the skills required to run a successful household. Who knows if I'll gain a family one day?"
"Hey! Stop being lovey-dovey you two!" Itto protested, getting between us two. "I want to hold your hand Tiny!"
"Um...sure your highness." His hand gripped my own as he practically dragged me to the next area.
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Gorou wanted to do some mountain climbing.
I've never done such a thing before and I was excited to try it out. Once we got fitted into some gear, we scaled the mountainside that overlooked the city. My eyes could not dart downwards right now. We were so high up and it was making me lightheaded. I felt a hand over mine and looked up to see Gorou smiling down at me.
“Hey, if you need any help, you can hold onto my back.”
Wait what? I could’ve done that in the first place? Not hesitating, I latched on his back and held tightly. I could feel his tail wagging and decided to tease him a bit more. I petted the space between his ears, hearing him whimper. Was I hurting him? I stopped the petting temporarily.
”W-W-Why did y-y-you stop?” I heard him whisper, his ears flickering.
From below us, Itto was yelling something upwards. The mountain started to shake and we found ourselves free-falling. Gorou held onto me and flipped over so that he would shield my fall. Before we could hit the ground, hands made with Geo energy caught us. The Emperor stared down at us from his position on the hands, arms crossed.
”I’m disappointed at you Gorou. You know mountains are dangerous to climb in this region. An unexpected earthquake could occur.” He said venomously.
Gorou growled under his breath before turning towards me. “Daiyu, I apologize for putting you in danger.”
”It’s alright, I had fun. You did nothing wrong.” I patted his head. “We can do this again when there are no earthquakes.”
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Albedo just took us to the bookstore.
Not that I was mad or anything, but I was surprised that he just wanted to go purchase books. It was pleasant to go back to a bookstore though. We all had a book to read while Albedo went to find some for himself. Itto was laughing at some manga, Noelle read a book of knight training, Gorou read some documents, Ningguang took the time to do some work, and Zhongli enjoyed a history book. As for me, I held Albedo’s books as we walked around the store.
“You must be feeling bored out of your mind.” He spoke up after awhile. “Not many people appreciate my talents when it comes to my literary skills.”
”I don’t mind, I miss the serenity of a quiet bookstore. I had to walk for miles just to get books for my village.” Grunting, I shifted the books in my arms. “I only wish that the children could’ve had better reading materials as I left.”
“Where do you live? I could send some good books and finance them for schooling. Nobody should go without a proper education.”
I stopped, stunned by his words. Did he just say that he would provide schooling and books to the children of my town? I had been pleading my case for years to local authorities and cities. Every time I asked for money, they would turn me away at the door. When it takes a ten mile walk to the nearest city, some of these children couldn’t get the learning they deserved.
“Are you positive about this? Don’t go and promise me something that you are going to lie about.”
Albedo stopped abruptly, causing me to slam into his back. I looked up to see him staring sadly at me. This was the first time I saw real emotion on his face. He took the books from my hands and placed his own on my shoulder.
”Why would I lie about that? If you ever need something, just ask. If you ever need me to assist you, just ask. If you need me to…”
I hugged him, not believing this opportunity given to me. For the first time being here, I didn’t feel so scared.
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Itto got to choose where we eat for lunch.
At first he wanted to do what he did what he did everyday and battle for his meals. This confused me since he was a prince and you think that he would have money to spend. However, he bargained and haggled for his food through various games. Zhongli refused to do that and we just went to a restaurant that served Inazuma food. Wanting to eat something different, I asked Itto for a suggestion on what to eat.
And so we had a big bowl of ramen for the family to share.
”Stand back fam, let Prince Itto show you how to eat ramen!” He took a pair of chopsticks in his hands and made snapping motions. “Everyone, take your chopsticks and small spoons and dig in like this.”
Cue him slurping up some noodles and getting broth all over his face. Noelle and Gorou laughed at this and politely ate their fill. Ningguang chuckled herself as she sampled some. Albedo stared at me as he took his noodle broth in his spoon to sip. Only Zhongli had the best manners of us all, consuming tea with his portion. I was thinking about how to get some of those noodles when Itto shoved some into my mouth.
”How does it taste Tiny? Savory? Too much salt? I wanna know how you like it.” He exclaimed, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
I caught my breath and swallowed hard. Different flavors from what I was used to danced in my mouth. Inazuma had flavors that just popped out from the Liyue ones. Sighing happily, I took more on my spoon and enjoyed the delight.
”Excellent choice in venue son.” Zhongli said, giving him a smile. “I wasn’t aware that we had this restaurant in the city.”
“Well they know me because of a challenge I did against a tricky fox lady. Nearly passed out, but I managed to beat her!” Itto grinned at me. “You wanna see me chug some of this broth in a minute?”
”Oh dear, don’t do something so reckless! This broth is still scalding hot!” I said, before watching him take his cup and chug it down. “Itto no!"
Needless to say, after the hospital patched his tongue, we were on our way to the next activity.
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Ningguang took us to an balcony overlooking the city.
It was very peaceful, with a nice breeze and a beautiful sunset. We were sitting at the overpass, taking in the scenery while I planned out the feast.
"So I was thinking we could make some Moon Pie, Northern Apple Stew....maybe Chicken Skewers for appetizer?" I muttered, passing the paper over to Ningguang. "What do you think, my lady?"
"I believe anything you cook will taste exceptionally. If you need help preparing a proper menu, I shall do my best to assist." She placed her hand on my own. "Do not worry, we are all here for you."
It warmed my heart how much this family cared for me. Besides my brothers, nobody really cared about my needs or wants. The other members of the royal family turned as my smile seemed to brighten at the sun's fleeting rays.
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To end our night, the Emperor treated us to dinner at his favorite spot.
The waiters poured some Osmanthus wine for us while placing some Liyue dishes in front of us. I was sat near the Emperor, who kept me close while pouring me more wine.
"You should stop drinking so much. You might have a terrible headache." Noelle fretted, trying to take my cup away, but to no avail.
"I'm fine! I can handle my liquor!" I held my cup out, red in the face. "No worries princess, you worry too much!"
"And you sound like you are drunk after one cup." Albedo sighed, shaking his head.
"I said I'm fine Bedo! I just need some more to drink...or maybe eat."
"Daiyu, please put down the cup and stop pouring the wine!" Gorou pleaded, his ears folded back.
"Hey Itto...wanna see how many drinks we can down?"
Itto grinned, taking the bottle and pouring another cup. "You're on Tiny! Let's see how high your tolerance is!"
All it took was three cups before I blacked out. I don't remember what happened next, but the next day held something sinister.