Just great...
What is the Administrator of the Fortress doing around here?
Y/n glanced around at the inmates staring in interest.
Hah....
"Your Grace.... I don't take it that you are one to eardrop on personal conversations."
Wriothesley smiled back.
"And i didn't think that you had such an unsophisticated taste in beverages."
He cleared his throat.
"I was actually on my daily check of the Fortress. Anyway....how's the injury? Better...?"
You softly touched the affected area.
"Much better, no need for you to worry."
"Good. At least i won't have to carry you back to your room this time."
Whisperings can be heard as inmates gossip.
This one is sure to cause a stir.
"I warn you, Your Grace, not to indicate words that can be misunderstood."
You glared at him cautiously.
He scoffed off your words.
"I mean what i say."
With that, he left the cafeteria.
"Oh yeah," Wriothesley turned around and pointed to Tartaglia," don't do something idiotic today, at least not until you can actually put up a fight in the ring."
He glanced over to you.
"What a guy."
Tartaglia grumbled.
"His constant lecturing reminds me of a certain flying pest."
"Who?"
A flying pest that can lecture a Harbinger?
Tartaglia, look at you.
"Oh yeah, you might not know. So, like while I was travelling across Liyue, I met like this girl, she's called Lumine, by the way. She's pretty nice and solves the locals' trouble and stuff like that. Got blondish hair with a cure little flower on top. A white dress..."
Seems like you know her well.
"And what about this flying pest...?"
"Ahh, that's her companion as she calls it Paimon. Looks like an annoying child and won't stop yapping into your ears."
"I'll keep a lookout for these friends of yours if I ever come across them."
You shrugged.
"Anyway, don't forget to meet me this evening."
You warned Tartaglia.
He simply nodded.
.............................................................
The entire morning, anywhere you went inside the Fortress, you can hear the constant whispering of inmates.
The inmate whose close to the Duke's abilities.
It didn't help that this morning. He decided to converse with you in the cafeteria while everyone was there.
What to do now...
I got an entire day to do absolutely nothing.
You didn't really feel like doing tedious labour like the others.
While walking nonchalantly around, a loud voice called out for you.
You whipped your head around to see a group of men and women standing with their arms crossed in front of their chests.
They motioned for you to come closer, so you did.
"What do you want?"
A woman stood forward.
"Listen, you're a newbie here, and by that, you're gonna have to pay respects to us."
A man continued.
"Yeah, and we don't like the way you were looking and touching our duke."
What's this? The Duke's Fan Club?
"Uh huh, so what are you going do if I touch the Duke, eh? Are you going to pull my hair out? How scary."
Y/N pretends to shiver in fear.
The woman fists up.
"You..."
Before you knew it, she jumped towards you, grabbing your hair in defiance.
You didn't actually expect her to do it.
The others also joined in and fought you, punching left and right to your sides.
Y/N groaned in pain.
What an arrogant bunch.
Once again activating your vision, you flung the woman over your shoulder and threw her across the room.
Her body is limbing against the hard metal floor.
Focusing solely on her, you shot a bullet of flames at her clothes, setting it alight.
Fear and desperation were evident on her face.
While the others' attention was on the woman, you took this as an opportunity to overpower them.
A man on either side of your arms, you threw them down, stacking their bodies like a twisted game of Jenga.
The rest of the group doubled down, seeing the relentless rage from you.
That's what I thought.
"Help! Help! This woman has gone mental!"
A man cried out.
Soon, the rest of the group shouted for help.
"Anyone out there? She's going to murder us!"
"Call the authorities! She's a danger to everyone around her!"
Bothersome bastards.
Continuing your rampage, you were soon stopped by a strong force, pulling your arms backwards.
"Let me go!"
"Stop it! I will not allow such a fight to disturb public order around here!"
Y/N whirled her head around in anger.
"Don't you dare stop me!"
She didn't care that she was shouting back at the Duke. All it matters is to give this bunch a taste of their own medicine.
Wriothesley stared at the group hard.
"Get out now!"
They scrambled out of the door.
"Y/N, calm down. They're gone."
You were able to cool down after a few minutes of silence.
"So...tell me what happened."
"It's a ridiculous matter. There's no need for you to know."
Wriothesley crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"My Fortress. My rules. And that means anything that happens inside here is my concern."
Hah.....whatever.
"They warned me not to touch or look at you."
He blinked twice.
"That's all...?"
"What else? Didn't you know you have a crazy obsessed fan club here?"
He rubbed his chin.
"I didn't."
"Do they forbade anyone to look at you? Like, are you a sacred god here?"
Wriothesley let out a soft chuckle.
"I don't think so."
"They act like it is."
"Hmmmm.......I think they're more concerned because you're a woman."
It was now your turn to blink.
"What? Are they anti-feminists? That just makes me want to punch their faces harder."
"Think harder.... what usually happens when a man and woman show tension together in a ring?"
You were at a loss.
"More fighting."
"Huh...?"
You explained.
"More tension equals more fighting. Doesn't take a genius to work that out, does it?"
He sighed out of defeat.
"Hm. Alright, back to square one. What's a tension between a man and woman?"
"Hatred. Jealousy. Bitterness."
"Not quite the answer I was looking for..."
He stepped closer.
"What's love?"
"Something shared between a man and woman."
"Correct!"
He continued.
"What do people in love do when they want to have a deeper relationship?"
"They.....sleep together..."
Mental cringe.
"And...so...tension is what leads to these 'relationships'. Hmm?"
You connected the dots together.
Heat rose from the bottom of your neck to your face.
"How... impure are they?"
Wriothesley shrugged.
"You'll get used to it. I've heard worse things before."
He nonchalantly walked away.
"Don't we need a bed for that, though...?"
You called out.
"My table is big enough."
.............................................................
Stupid imaginations.
You couldn't get these dumb thoughts out of your brain for the entirety of the day.
Every little small thing would get you jumped.
I'm a fucking Harbinger.
You counted the time left on the clock until the evening.
Where the fuck is the guy...?
Y/N waited at the production zone, still no ginger head showed up.
Don't say this guy can't read the time or something?
Just when you were about to stomp out angrily and go look for him, a certain blondie caught your attention.
Rather it was the companion she had that caught your eye.
"Traveller, let's go grab our well fare meal for the day. I hope we don't get something suspicious."
"Wait up Paimon! It's not like you will die of hunger soon!"
Paimon....If that's the annoying kid Tartaglia was talking about then she must be Lumine. She must have known what Tartaglia was up to.
Before they could run off, you stopped them in their track.
"Can we help you...?"
You smiled warmly.
"You must be Lumine and Paimon."
They stared at each other than back at you.
"Yes that's us?"
"I heard a lot about you from a close colleague of mine, Tartaglia."
Paimon spoke up.
"Ahhhh.....The 11th Harbinger, Childe."
He sure acts like one.
"Anyway, i was wondering if you knew where he is....?"
They stared blankly at me.
Was i wrong?
Paimon again butted into the conversation.
"The Traveller said she had a dream last night of Childe being stuck in the abyss with a giant whale swimming over him."
"What a wild imagination you have."
"Paimon is not kidding. Whenever The Traveller have a dream, it is true!"
"I apologise, miss, but it's true... i had this sort of precognition dream more than once before."
Something snapped inside my head.
So inside of meeting me here to get the fuck out of this place, he got stuck in some sort of abyss hole with a massive whale swimming over his head?
How am i going to explain this to the Director...
You thanked them quickly then went back to your cell to reconsider your life decisions. To reconsider whether to just murder the guy or not.
By midnight, you were able to come to a conclusion.
Instead of busting someone else out, you are now stuck busting yourself out.
And instead of the 11th Harbinger you're carrying, it was a black bag stuffed with random objects, mimicking a body.
Alright then, time to say goodbye to this place.
Standing up, you activated your vision, burning through the bars. Child's play.
You made your way through the Fortress to the elevators.
Just when you were about to activate it, a voice echoed through the hallway.
"You there! Where are you going?!"
Ah shit, a guard.
Luckily, the doors locked before he could get a clear look at your face.
That was too risky.
Whoosh....
The doors to the elevators open wide. Even though it was dark, you could still make out the outlines of the buildings and the reflections in the water.
What a beautiful view after being stuck in the Fortress for such a long time.
"She just went up the elevator, i saw it!"
Voices rang out from underground, directly where the elevators are supposed to be.
Guards.
Without missing a beat, Y/N grabbed hard at the activator of the lifts, prying it open with her hands.
Once the machine came apart, you lit it on fire to further slow down the guards.
Just as predicted, the elevators came to a halt, trapping whoever was inside.
"What the?!"
A bit extreme, i suppose...
Nobody would be able to leave or enter the Fortress for a few days.
Readjusting your hood, you made a dash for it back to the harbours, where a ship would be ready to take you back to Snezhnaya.
.............................................................
*At the Harbours*
"My Lady! There you are. We have the ship up and running at your command."
A fatui soldier bowed.
He then looked back up at you, glancing between your face and the black bag you're holding.
"I suppose that's-"
"Yes, yes. The 11th Harbinger. He's just a little sleepy, that's all. I covered him up to make sure he doesn't catch a cold."
You quickly finished.
"I hope Sire is ok..."
"Yes, of course he is. He's just a little flimsy, no need to worry."
Your face read to not ask further questions.
"Now, get us back to Snezhnaya."
"Yes, my lady."
.......
Sitting down in your cabin, you threw the bag onto the floor.
Alright....let's go over the plan...
Step into the Director's office and simply tell him this ridiculous tale.
Surely this ain't the first time this guy had done something like this.
You know what, this is tomorrow me's problem.
.............................................................
Once the ship made it back to the harbours of Snezhnaya safely, you were met face to face with someone you didn't expect to be there.
"Good morning to you, 12th Harbinger! What lovely weather we are having today."
It was snowing as usual but whatever.
"Morning to you too, Pantalone. Return home so soon?"
"Didn't take that long for the situation to resolve itself."
"That's great. I must leave now."
"Why the hurry?"
You can not under any circumstance let him see the black bag being carried inside.
Unluckily, He had caught a peek at the bag before the guards could take it back inside.
"Did Pierro ordered someone to be killed? I wonder who that could be."
You cleared your throat.
"Actually....That's Tartaglia..."
He stared back blankly.
"What...is he dead?"
"Not exactly...."
Before he could ask you for further information, you dashed past his body.
.............................................................
Alright....Alright....
You took a deep breath standing outside of the Director's office.
It has taken you half a day and hiding from Pantalone to come to the conclusion of just straight up telling the Director the whole truth.
Even if it meant you had failed your mission.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
Walking politely in, you bowed and took a seat mirroring his.
He looked down at you.
"That's quite early. Have you gotten the 11th Harbinger out of that Fortress?"
Deep breath. Now.
"Actually, I was trying to save him when-"
BANG!
The doors shook open.
"Mr Tartaglia is lying on his bed, unconscious!"
A fatui guard shouted.
Huh...?
"I am currently occupied. Call Dottore to check up on him."
"Yes Sire!"
"Now then, what were you saying?"
"Erm....Well yes! I've gotten him back here safe and sound. He must be a bit tired from our long and difficult travel to pass out."
You smiled lightly.
Pierro nodded approvingly.
"Good. You have succeeded in your first mission. I will grant you another when the time is right."
You nod back.
"Thank you Sire."
What the fuck?
This guy just magically appeared back now that i made it to the Director?
You stomped your feet towards a certain guy's bedchambers.
You were just going to check up on him. Nothing less, nothing more.
Slamming the door open, you were met with a clearly wide awake Tartaglia and Il Dottore.
"Hey Y/N, nice to see you here. How's it been?"
Ginger smiled innocently.
The doctor only gave a slight nod.
"Duck."
You commanded.
"What...?"
That was the last thing he said before a book came flying at his head, knocking him back to Wonderland.
For the next few weeks, Childe laid down in his bed with a big purple bruise implanted on his head.
.............................................................
*Timeskip*
Your life continued on like normal, serving missions out in different regions of Teyvat.
Although this was the choice you've made to become a Harbinger, you couldn't help but feel a little incomplete.
Soon, you were called back into the office of Pierro with another incoming mission.
"I need you to return to Fontaine and collect information on the slums. There has been a recent leak of the Primordial sea water in the area and I need a sample to test out the effects."
"On it."
That's how you were stuck wandering around the slums in the dark evening, collecting small droplets of water.
Focusing solely on the water samples, you became unaware of your surroundings.
Swiftly, a pair of arms twist yours behind your back, linking them together with a pair of handcuffs.
"Who-"
"I would be quiet if i were you."
The voice, Wriothesley.
He motions his head towards a group of his guards.
"Don't shout. You wouldn't want to be stuck down in the Fortress again, would you?"
"Why are you here?"
He glanced down at the tubes.
"Probably the same reason as you."
"Are you going to apprehend me now?"
"If that was my intention. Why would i tell you to quiet down?"
"You must have a motive."
"And you're lucky i didn't charge you with lighting the Fortress's elevator on fire."
Blink.
"You knew that was me?"
He shrugged.
"Anyone with more than a single braincell could."
"And....you're a police officer. You should be wrestling me down to prison right now."
"That's where you're wrong. I'm a prison Administrator. If i truly wanted you to go down to the Fortress, i would've sent you to Neuvillette. That way, you would be down there for longer."
Sounds of voices got louder and louder.
Wriothesley stepped closer.
He lowered down and whispered.
"Well? If you don't want to be caught, run away. Sooner or later, I'll catch you again."
"You seem to enjoy this."
"Who wouldn't love a good chase?"
And with that you two once again parted ways.
.............................................................
This secret little game of yours continued on.
You were the the hider, he was the seeker.
Every time you came back to Fontaine, you would leave small clues to give more tension to the chase.
A good prize must mean a good chase after all.
And him? He came close to apprehending you a few times...
Once more, you were back in the region.
This time was a close call as he was hot on your tail.
Slyly, you drop a small note for him.
Soon, Wriothesley reached the place, but you were already gone.
Noticing the slip of paper, he picked it up and read.
A smirk plastered on his face.
"Just you wait next time, Y/N. I will catch you."
The note read:
Close but not close enough, darling. If you're lucky, maybe next time. Though don't bet your luck on me slowing down for you.
-Signed Y/N.