The bell rang when you opened the door of the Mondstadt boutique. A man with round glasses slightly bigger than his face overlooked you over a hanger filled with different types of dresses. "In a minute Darling!" He shouted at you. You peeked at the dresses that hanged near the entrance. they were all very pretty but too embellished for the occasion. "Ah, here I am! Welcome Darling. I'm Thomas, the designer and owner of the best boutique in Mondstadt. Now, tell me about yourself beautiful; What kind of dress are you looking for? going to a ball? Running through the fields? Going to your debut as the next teyvat idol?" You looked at him with a poker face. "That's... oddly specific..., but no. I'm looking for a dress for a, um... I'm going to see my possible husband for the first time." Thomas shook his head from shock of the information you had just disclosed to him. "Oh honey do you need help? Do I need to call the knights of favonius?" He grabbed you by the shoulders. You laughed and put your hands on top of his who were still at your shoulders. "No, I'm good hahaha! I'm well aware of what I agreed to. But do you by any chance have anything that's simple and sexy? But not boobs, ass and thighs out; like, modest sexy? I just don't feel comfortable showing myself like that to someone I don't even know yet." Thomas gave a thoughtful sigh and squinted his eyes as he looked around the boutique. "Let me see... Do you have any color you had in mind?" "Black or dark red." he grabbed your wrist and took you to the racks that had all the darker dresses. You began looking through the rack. Too much glitter, too opened, too transparent, too low, too short... "Wait..." you picked out a dress. It was a black, slightly glittery dress. It had and off the shoulder neckline. It wasn't transparent but it was tight to your figure, making you look modest but sexy. In addition. it had a slit on the leg that wasn't too big, just perfect. "I want to try this one on!" Thomas took the dress from you and inspected it making sure that it had no loose strings. "Alright, you can try it on in that room over there" He pointed to a room with a curtain as a door. "And don't forget to come out too look at you my love!"
"Oh. My. god. Sweetheart, I think this man is going to be more than your husband when he sees you in this dress! You look stunning! Modest, but still so hot!" Thomas was jumping from excitement, pleased to see that his dress was such a good fit for you. You were happy about the dress too. It was just what you had in mind. The way it fitted you felt like it was meant for you and nobody else. "I'll take it!" Thomas went to check the tag so you could pay him. "that'll be ten thousand mora!" You looked stunned. "Oh... I only have enough for nine thousand..." "Then nine thousand it is. Don't worry about it sweetheart. I know how hard an arranged marriage must be for you so I'll help you with the price. Just don't tell anybody about this alright?" he winked with a smile. "Oh, Thomas! Thank you!" your face lit up. "Are you sure?" you double asked him. "Oh yes honey! You see, I too went through the whole arranged marriage thing. My parents wanted me to marry this girl that would give loads of mora to my family but I wasn't interested in her. Her brother however... my, what a juicy man." He chuckled as he remembered the man he used to like. "But that was long ago, I stopped talking to my family after that and I made a name for myself designing dresses! And I have plenty of men who want to be with me now but I kinda like the single life a bit too much you know?" he smiled scrunching his nose. "You're amazing Thomas. And I'm glad you found your happy place, my name is (y/n). If you ever need someone to talk to."
He put his hand on his chest. "The (y/n) Nachtnebel? Oh my! you're a clan daughter! no wonder hahaha. Well, I hope you enjoy your dress and I hope that man you're marrying treats you like the gem you are alright? If not you know I can call the knights of favonius in a heartbeat!" You both chuckled and waved good bye. You left with your new dress in a bag with the boutique's name on it. The dress made you excited to meet Diluc. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.
---
"Father, I'm home!" the door creaked behind you. Your father was cooking dinner when you arrived. The sweet aroma was all over the house, you could tell he was making a sweet madame dish. "Oh, this smells wonderful! Is it done already?" "Almost! Almost! Hey, is that the dress you're wearing tomorrow?" Gregor tried peeking at the bag from the boutique. "Ah! You can't see it until tomorrow. It's a surprise! But trust me it looks so good! I bought it at Norman's boutique, he told me not to tell anyone but he actually lowered the price of the dress so I could have it! Isn't that so nice?" You blushed remembering how you looked like wearing the new dress. Your father agreed and accepted he would have to wait to see you with it. You went upstairs and took the dress out of the bag. It made your eyes twinkle just like they did when you first saw it at the boutique. You carefully put it in a hanger with a bag on top of it so It wouldn't catch dust or a weird smell. You laid on your bed facing the ceiling, wondering and getting anxious for tomorrow. You couldn't believe it still, it was so surreal. your entire life will change after tomorrow, and you were still so young, you thought. But sometimes, life has other plans for us instead of the one we wanted for ourselves. A knock at your bedroom door was heard. It was your best friend, Christina! "Oh my god, Chris what are you doing here? I thought you were in Liyue!" You hugged her. "Yeah, I WAS. hehehe!' She said sarcastically. "Well how are you? how was the trip? Did you see Yun Jin and Xinyan's show?" Christina sat down next to you in the bed. "Girl! I saw both of them, AND I also got to talk to them and I told them about how I want to pursue music as well and, oh my GOSH, they gave me some contacts and tips so I can reach my goal AHH! Isn't that amazing?" Chris dangled her feet in excitement. "That's so cool Chris! I can't wait to visit you on a big stage and be like, excuse me, I'm her best friend hahaha!" You both laughed and fiddled your fingers together. "And what about you (y/n)? What have you been doing these days?"
You blushed and looked towards the window in your room. "Well um, I'm kinda... sorta... getting married." Christina's looked at you with a poker face only to drop her jaw. "Girl, I was gone for two weeks you can't possibly find the love of your life in two weeks!" She grabbed your arms. You chuckled at her worriedness. "Trust me, I know. But It's an arranged marriage. I'm doing it because it's the only way I can receive my mother's mora, and father and I really REALLY need the mora." Christina pouted in sadness, caressing your cheeks. "Oh, (y/n)... I'm sorry you have to go through this. At least you'll always have me alright?" "I know" you melted into the hand that was on your cheek. "Well, spill it. Who is your future husband?" Christina got even closer to you, it felt like a sleepover when the segment of who do you like came up. "He's also from a clan, it's one of the requirements to gain access to my mother's mora. He's Diluc Ragnvindr." Christina quickly fell back on your bed, squealing and giggling. "YOU'RE KIDDING RIGHT?" You raised your brow. "No, why? what's wrong? why are you doing that?" You sat Christina upright. "(y/n), do you not know who Diluc is? Diluc, the one who occasionally works at the Angel's Share, red hair, tall and full of muscles?" You're face was wrinkled in confusion. "Chris, I've never gone to the Angel's Share, I don't really drink like you do." Christina squinted her eyes. "Well, (y/n), your future husband is literally one of the most attractive men in Mondstadt, and dare I say, I've heard he's good in be-" "CHRIS. Enough." You blushed as Christina laughed at your face that looked like a tomato. You brushed you hair with your hands. "Well, I'll let you know how tomorrow goes." "Tomorrow is the wedding????" Her eyes widened. "No, tomorrow I'm meeting him. He can still decide not to marry me, but according to my father it's not probable that he'll refuse."
After Christina kept hyping you up for tomorrow and talking to you about her two weeks in Liyue, she left and was insisting you to visit her the day after tomorrow so you could tell her all about Diluc. It was already quite late, around 10pm and you were still awake. You got out of your bed and went to the kitchen to get some water since your throat was a bit dry. "Huh?" you heard something outside. You slowly walked towards the window and peeked. It was a man in a dark cloak walking away from your house. He was already at a long distance when you saw him so you couldn't tell if he actually came from your house or any neighboring houses. I was still quite odd to you, but you ignored it and went back to bed. finally being able to go to sleep and rest for tomorrow, which was only a couple hours away.
---
"How's my princess looking?" Asked your father peeking at your door. You were sitting down in your vanity, brushing your hair and braiding some chunks of it. "Well, the makeup's done, I'm just finishing my hair and then comes the dress." You smiled and so followed your father. he walked to you and hugged you from behind, bending himself over you. "I love you my princess. You look stunning, after all you are your mother's daughter." His eyes looked like crystals as he hugged you tight for a moment. "We're still on time, we have to leave a 4:30pm since the carriage ride takes approximately 30 minutes."
Your father left you to finish. You had painted your nails a dark red with a simple sparkle top coat. Your hair was loose with small braids throughout your hair for added texture. And finally, the dress. You hadn't seen yourself this dolled up in a while, so you were quite happy. You remembered how much you liked getting pretty, something you hardly did after your mother's death. "Father! I'm coming down!" You gracefully walked down the stairs in your house, your fathers eyes twinkled as he saw you, he smiled and when you got to the bottom of the stairs he offered his hand to walk you outside. "Absolutely beautiful, (y/n)." he kissed the side of your head. Your father checked that everything was ready and that he had all the essentials for the visit, after that, he walked outside the house as he held your arm. The carriage was already waiting outside. It was a black carriage with intricate yellowish gold designs carved all around. Your father helped you step into it, and then he followed behind you. "Yiah!" You heard the coachman shout when the carriage began to move. You began to fidget and twist your purity ring that your friend told you to wear. You've never done anything so maybe that'll interest him or maybe it won't. I don't really know many rich clan members to decipher if they even pay attention to those things. Christina's words came to mind whenever you looked at the ring. Every time your father's pocket watch ticked your anxiety grew. Your knee went up and down and your eyes seemed like they had a mind of there own looking around sporadically. "I can see the Dawn Winery, look- Gregor stopped as he noticed your nervousness. -hey, you'll be okay. I'm going to be there with you okay, princess?" He put his hand on your knee, stopping it from bouncing. you gulped and nodded your head.
---
"Thank you so much, Alexander. I'll make sure that my accountant gives you the augmentation for covering for my usual coachman." Gregor tipped his hat as he said goodbye to Alexander, who was one of the housemaids. Your father grabbed you by your arm like a gentleman, and met with two young girls that wore maid outfits. "Welcome to the Dawn Winery, you must be Gregor Nachtnebel" they shook hands. "And you have to be (y/n) Nachtnebel!" "You are such a beautiful young lady! It's a pleasure to have you here." You shook hands with both maids and thanked them for the shower of compliments they had given you. "Master Diluc will be here shortly, he's very excited to meet you-" One of the maids subtlety kicked the other one, as if to quiet her down. You blushed at this almost unnoticeable event.
Suddenly, the entrance doors began cracking open. Your heart began pounding hard, blood turning cold. You felt a heavy weight being dropped onto your body, even your legs began to go numb.
"Good Evening."
oh. my. god. You're heart sank.
Standing at the middle of the doors was a tall man dressed in a black and gold suit making his bright red long hair stand out. It was tied into a low pony tail that was very obviously loose, yet he made it seem as if it was the best loose pony tail to ever exist. His scorching red eyes made you feel warm even though you were both relatively far away still. The closer he got, the warmer you felt. "Welcome again, Mr. Nachtnebel." He shook your father's hand. Quickly, he looked at you. "Welcome, Miss Nachtnebel. You are looking quite beautiful this evening." He reached his hand to you for a handshake but you stayed frozen in place. You were a red mess. "Oh- why, thank you Master Diluc-" He interrupted. "Please, call me Diluc. No such need for formalities." "To us as well please, call us Gregor and (y/n)." you're father took charge. "Very well. Please, Come inside." You're father entered first and you followed behind, but before you could continue, Diluc offered his hand. "May I?" His eyes made your cheeks burn and with a shaky yet happy tone, you accepted.