Your arms extended into the air, towards the child, and in just the right moment, you grabbed it underneath its armpits and stopped its chaotic descent into the ground. Seemingly unaware of the possible outcome of crashing into a stone plate, the little girl squealed with joy.
"Again! Again!" she demanded, but you shook your head as you put her down.
"Sorry, little one," you told her while kneeling down to talk to her. "This was the last round. Now return your glider to Amber, please."
"Awwww..." She pouted, but you remained steady in your decision. With a stern glance, she understood, took off her child-sized wind glider and took off up the stairs to where Amber was already waiting. You followed her up in a normal pace.
"Phew!" Amber put the glider away into a box with all the others and began to gather the rest of the equipment. "Now that was a lot of work."
"It was. Unbelievable how heavy some of these children were!" you exclaimed while helping her clean up the station. "You might think they would be light since they're so small, but you really can't judge a book by its cover. My muscles are going to ache tomorrow for sure!"
"I hope the work wasn't too hard for you?" Amber asked, seeming a bit unsure if she had asked too much of you.
"No way," you reassured her. "It was fun. And the children enjoyed their first gliding experiences. Besides, I'm glad I could help you out."
"Good. Still, I owe you for this one. Let me buy you a drink sometime!"
You agreed, and soon you had cleaned up everything and put away all the equipment back into the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. Having done your job for today, Amber and you both decided to finally have a look around all the booths for the Harvest Festival.
There were a lot of games for children (you didn't care, the both you still had fun participating), small workshops for decorations - especially the traditional Mondstadt paper flowers - people showing their skills in crafting, carving and forging and there were booths that sold items and clothes. But most importantly there was a lot of food and wine. The reason for this small festival was the harvest, after all.
Amber urged you to try all of her favorite traditional dishes until you were so stuffed, you thought your dress was going to burst open. But they were delicious! You enjoyed yourself a lot.
From time to time, you caught yourself looking for a certain someone, but you never spotted his blue hair anywhere in the crowd. With an unwanted blush on your face you tried to shake off the strange desire to see him again. You didn't know why you felt this way, and it was slightly unnerving. But Amber always managed to distract you from your thoughts by pulling you towards the next fun activity, meal or drink.
For two hours, you enjoyed yourself at the festival until all the booths started finally closing. The sun had started lowering itself and the children were returned home, but many adults continued the festival in bars.
You and Amber would continue the festival at Dawn Winery. Since there were a lot of nobility and important people present, this part of the festival was quite posh in contrast to the celebrations in the city. One of the merchants was kind enough to give the two of you a ride on his cart.
The party was already in full swing when you arrived. Many of the Knights of Favonius and even important people from other nations were there, all in expensive and beautiful suits and dresses. You walked through the masses on the porch, Amber following close behind you. Both of you were not really comfortable with the clothes you wore for working most of the day. Between the people, Adeline locked eyes with you. With her finger pointing up to your room and a thumbs up, she gestured you that she had already prepared something to wear for both of you. You sent her a flying kiss back and led your friend upstairs where you finally quickly washed yourselves and changed into something more proper.
"Thank you for lending me one of your dresses!" Amber stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself wearing a long, red dress.
"Of course," you said. "My father packed nothing but fancy dresses, I don't even know what to do with all of them."
"Do I look pretty?" she asked with a light blush on her face. It took you a second to realize why she was asking that question, there was probably someone that she wanted to think she looked beautiful. Still, you decided not to pry.
"You look stunning and very cute," you reassured her, then took another look in the mirror at yourself to check if you were satisfied and grabbed Amber's hand to lead her downstairs again. A lot of people you knew where there, having fun already.
Except for Diluc, who looked like he wanted to vanish. A swarm of girls surrounded him while he desperately tried to hide his annoyance behind polite words. You saw through it even though you just saw the scene from afar, and you couldn't help but laugh a bit at his misfortune. Too bad he was handsome and rich.
Jean and her little sister Barbara were there as well. The Acting Grandmaster enjoyed a glass of wine (you almost couldn't believe she was celebrating instead of working for once), while her sister was surrounded by fans, just like Diluc.
Some other people you knew where Mona Megistus, a hydromancer with a notorious lack of money (probably enjoying the free drinks on this party) and the librarian of the Knights, Lisa, who was dancing with a man you didn't know.
And then, finally, you spotted the man you had been looking for all day. Kaeya was standing at a bar table in the back of the room, obviously with a glass of wine in hand. Next to him, also drinking, were two women you had seen before but didn't know.
To your surprise, Amber took the lead and walked straight up to their table. You followed her.
"I want to introduce you to a good friend," she started and walked next to one of the women, the blue haired one in an elegant black dress. "This is Eula, the Spindrift Knight." The she gestured to the other one, a nun who didn't seem to have changed into other clothes at all. "This is Rosaria, one of our nuns. And I think you know Cavalry Captain Kaeya already."
"I do," you stated with a small nod towards Kaeya. You could barely look at him without risking a massive amount of blood rushing to your face. He was wearing a white suit and looked unbelievably attractive in it. So you kept your sight on his face, which turned out just as bad. Just like the first time you had seen him, from the roof of this very building, his eye captivated you in a strange way while a flutter in your stomach increased this hold on you. You were unable to move, just staring at him, for what felt like an eternity to you and was probably just a second in reality.
You tore your gaze from Kaeya and looked at the two women, then introduced yourself to them. A situation of small talk arose, you got to know them a little bit, until Rosaria had finished her wine and decided to get another glass.
Amber started telling Eula about her day, and somehow you didn't fit into the conversation. You had no choice but face Kaeya and start talking to him.
He didn't waste a second. "I'm glad you finally made it to the Winery."
"I promised Amber I'd help her today," you explained your absence from the estate you were living in. "Have you been here the whole day?"
"I have been here since morning," he confirmed. "There was some important stuff to do. A meeting of the Knights and some other important people. It was exhausting. The whole day was annoying, until the moment you arrived here."
"Huh?" Your brain took a second to process what he had said, but the blood rushed to your cheeks without hesitation.
He just smirked (again, his smirk did so many things to you), so you decided to ignore his remark (and your heart beating like a drum). Instead, you focused on the other things he had said, "Why was the meeting here at the Winery?"
"You shouldn't ask so many questions, little Miss Nosy."
"I was just wondering," you defended yourself, you felt like it was a fair question. "Was Diluc part of it too?"
"He was," Kaeya answered, a tiny bit more serious.
"Even though he's not a Knight anymore?" you asked further. Amber had filled you in on some details of the young men's lives.
"Nonetheless has a lot of influence and is included in certain things. Now hush before someone overhears us."
Kaeya was still talking in a serious voice, you realized that the meeting had probably been some important but boring political discussion that commoners were not supposed to know about.
"It's secret, huh?" you asked him.
"It is," he answered, confirming your theory. "And it is a boring topic as well. We should talk about something more exciting. For example, how the two of us could spend this night."
"What?" Blushing furiously at the thought of what he might be implying, you took a step back. Kaeya's reaction was a laugh.
"Lighten up, little Miss! Here, have a glass of wine first." He waved over a waiter who was walking through the crowd with glasses of red wine. He came closer, relieved for the distraction you took one of the glasses and thanked him. After you took a sip you faced Kaeya again.
"I know how I will spend the night," you told him with a demeanor as innocent as possible. "I will have fun with my friends and celebrate."
"Well, I do hope I am one of your friends," he said with a wink.
"I'll have to think about that." You took another sip of the wine. It tasted great, but you noticed how strong it was. You'd have to be careful not to drink too much of it.
With a soft chuckle Kaeya finally decided to change the topic, "Tell me about your day."
The following conversation was a lot more comfortable. Strangely, even though you were sometimes nervous around and often intimidated by him, spending time with him was somehow fun and talking to him came easy to you. So easy, in fact, that you were so engaged in conversation, you didn't even realize that Amber and Eula had left the table.
"I'm glad you enjoyed the festival," Kaeya said after you had gushed enough about your day. "Enjoy it some more."
He took his wine glass and held it up. You touched glasses with him.
"Cheers," you said, smiling at him. "You enjoy it as well!"
Suddenly a certain glimmer appeared in his eye.
"How could I not," he stated, "...having someone as charming as you for company." Somehow, he still took you by surprise with his antics. He took a step closer to you. "By the way, you look lovely today. Really. I don't know how any man could resist..." Kaeya came even closer, put his hand under your chin and pushed your face up, until the proximity was almost too much for you to handle, "... asking you for a dance."
"I- I-" You were blushing furiously, unable to gather a rational thought in your head.
Suddenly Kaeya burst out into laughter he had apparently been holding in for some time. He let go of you and you took another step back for good measure.
"I'm really sorry, little miss, but your reactions are just too funny!"
A realization hit you, and sudden anger flared up inside you. "You're making fun of me!"
"You are just too cute!"
You didn't give Kaeya any time for explanations, you turned and started walking away.
"Wait, please." A hand on your shoulder stopped you from proceeding. "I apologize for my behavior, I will stop now." Kaeya actually sounded sincere, but you were way too riled up to care.
"However, my invitation still stands. And I mean it. Would you like to dance with me?" He extended his hand to you.
"I need some fresh air," you told him in response and finally managed to get away. You stormed outside and walked around the building, all the way to the back, to avoid any people that would go get a breather as well.
The sun had set and the crowd had moved inside. The autumn air was fresh, almost freezing as soon as the sun was gone. But it was exactly what you needed at the moment, it gave you clarity of mind and calmed your body down.
Just what was happening? Why were you suddenly reacting this extreme to his antics? Why did his teasing bother you so much, made you a blushing mess?
No, screw this, you knew exactly why. You knew what was happening to you. And that was the biggest problem of all.
Falling in love makes people vulnerable. You did not want to be vulnerable anymore. You did not want to be hurt anymore. You did not want to be a victim anymore. Under no circumstances.
You had decided to not fall in love again, if you broke that promise now, it would be betrayal to yourself. That couldn't happen. Maybe, from now on, you should just go out of Kaeya's way. If you didn't see him anymore, your feelings would calm down, you would regain control again.
You stayed outside a little more until your skin was covered in goosebumps. Finally you decided to go inside and find Amber again. You'd just spend the evening with her instead, which had been your original plan anyway.
When you turned around the corner, though, you found her immediately. Away from the crowd, all alone outside of the winery, Amber was with Eula. They were dancing to the music still faintly hearable through the walls.
You stood still, at the corner, and watched the scene silently, watched them as they were moving together, in synch, arms around each other and both smiling. It was meaningful. There was something in the way they looked at each other.
Watching them shot a sudden, painful slash of jealousy through your heart. What they had, in this moment, was the exact kind of happiness that you craved for. You wanted it too.
All your resolutions were thrown away. Impulsively, you decided to go inside again, find Kaeya and take him up on his offer to dance. No risk, no reward, after all.
You turned around, to not disturb your friend and her dance partner, and walked around the building to get back inside.
When you entered the estate again, the atmosphere had changed. While before more people were standing, talking and drinking, most of them were now dancing. Perfect. You looked around, just like you had done the whole day and after a while of walking through the crowd, you spotted Kaeya on the other side of the hall, drinking with Rosaria again. Filled with determination you walked towards him, when suddenly you heard your name being called.
You turned to face Diluc, squeezing himself out of a swarm of girls. He grabbed your hand and pulled you close to him.
"You will have to excuse me for a second," he spoke to the crowd, "... but I have not yet found the time to share a dance with my fiancée."
Ignoring the gasps, Diluc went to the dance floor with you in tow. Once he had passed a few dancing couples, he turned to you, lifted his left hand with yours in it, put his right hand on your back and pulled you close to him. Instinctively you followed his movements, just like you had learned.
"I'm sorry if this was a bit sudden," he apologized to you quietly.
"It's okay," you answered just as quiet. For a whole Diluc and you danced in silence. You had to gather your thoughts.
True. You were marrying Diluc. There was no space - no possibility - for anything else. But this was alright. He was the man your father had chosen. He would not hurt you, and even if he did - as long as no feelings on your part were involved, you'd be alright. You could go through anything. This was exactly what you had wanted. With a small smile you looked Diluc in the eyes. It was alright.
❅
Not too far from this scene, a noble carriage approached Mondstadt. Inside was a young man, blonde and objectively quite beautiful, and his subordinates. He was reading a letter over and over again.
The he said your name, like he was scolding a little child, "If you had just told me that your family still has this much wealth, things might've turned out differently."
You, mere miles away from the carriage, were still dancing, not knowing that the one physical thing you were running away from was coming closer.