Does Art 'n Stuff

”Are you sure you don’t want to be a travel agent, Annalise? You really sell the picture,” Kael laughed.

”No way! I want to be the second-best ceramicist in all of Teyvat!”

”Second-best?”

”Because you're the best, obviously!”

”I suppose I walked into that one,” Kael hummed, touched by the sentiment.

”Have you told the Grand Master you’ll be traveling to Liyue?”

”I have.”

”And?”

”He’s worried about me getting there safely and insisted on going with me, but Jean was quick to nip that in the bud; citing his clerical duties,” Kael explained with a helpless smile.

”Let me guess: he then tried to argue that she makes a better Grand Master anyway?”

”I do believe that was thrown out, yes.” Stretching back in her chair slightly, the woman remarked, “Having him come with me would be wonderful, of course. But I also know he’s needed here above all else. Not just for paperwork, mind you, but for Mondstadt’s wellbeing as a whole.”

”True, but, you’re just as important to him, Miss Kael. Make no mistake of that,” Annalise said seriously, and sent a leveled gaze her way. “The Grand Master is a very easygoing person by default; but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you.”

”I think his personalized tankard would disagree,” Kael retorted, punctuating it with a snort. “Even so… I’m flattered by the idea. He… makes me very happy, as well.”

”Do you love him, Miss Kael?”

The surprise inquiry had the woman choking on the tea she had decided to sip in that moment, and Annalise, looking mortified, immediately assisted by leaping to her side and giving her a few hard pats on the back.

”Sorry, sorry!” she yelped, continuing with her aid. “I wasn’t trying to send you into a shock, I swear!”

”It’s… fine…” Kael managed, bringing a fist to her chest to clear the tea remnants. “But, is it really proper to ask such a thing of your mentor?”

”I don’t know! I mean… it seems like you do and I was curious? And, most people wanna shout it from the rooftops when they love someone! At least… that’s how the books make it out to be.”

She had forgotten just how young her apprentice was, as she studied the girl with solemn eyes. She almost wanted to lay it all on the table in that very moment, but ultimately, she held herself back.

“And you’re right. But, books aren’t usually real life; there are discrepancies when it comes to things like love. What I feel for Varka… I don’t know if I can label it as that just yet. I… I haven’t exactly had an experience where I know what that feels like.”

”You haven’t?” Annalise asked, genuinely surprised. “But you’re so… I don’t know, worldly.”

”Worldly, huh?” Kael repeated, staring at nothing in particular. “I suppose that’s fair. In any case, should I admit to such a thing in the future it would be to Varka first and foremost. Now, let’s put a pin in this topic and continue with our tea, shall we?”

”Sure. And, sorry again, Miss Kael.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The morning she was to depart to Liyue Harbor with the order, Kael arrived early to the depot where the wagons were located. She’d already arranged everything in the weeks prior, but this would be the first time she’d be meeting the coachman assigned to her shipment.

“Are ya Kael?” a rather gruff-looking man, one who looked to be doing maintenance on a wheel, asked when she approached the stables. “I’m Gregory. I’ll be the one driving yer goods to Liyue.”

”I am Kael, yes,” she responded with a polite curtsy. “It won’t just be my goods—has your boss mentioned I’ll be coming with? It was written in the agreement.”

Gregory blinked, all at once looking annoyed. “Ah, no. I wasn’t aware of anything like that.”

Well, there went any hope of a pleasant companion for the journey. ”Sorry to drop the ball on you, then. I don’t take up much room, I promise,” she said apologetically, following it up with a smile that was borderline schmoozing. “Will you be bringing the wagon over to my place to load the items? It’s the one by the smithy with the kiln in the back.”

”Was plannin’ on it,” Gregory answered bluntly, and stopped his current task to instead fetch the hitches for the horses. “We should probably head out by noon if we wanna get to Wangshu Inn by nightfall. It’s the midway point between Mondstadt and Liyue Harbor.”

”You’re saying the journey will take more than a day?”

”Yes, ma’am. Sometimes it can even take weeks if the weather is poor.”

Kael let out a little puff of frustration, quiet enough so that the man didn’t pick up on it. She was hoping to be back within two days at the most, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen. She would just have to have Annalise monitor things until she returned.

”And the return trip?” she inquired. “How will we go about that?”

”When we return depends on whatever I’m picking up. Doesn’t usually take more than a day to load the replacement shipment. You’ll have to find a place to stay in the city until we depart,” was Gregory’s answer.

”I see,” Kael said, and, after watching him continue with his routine for a bit, finally made to leave. “I’ll head home and start bringing everything out front, then.”

”See ya in a bit, ma’am.” And that was that.

Upon returning to her residence, she found Varka leaning against her front door with his eyes closed and his arms crossed. Like a puppy that had memorized its owner’s gait, he immediately perked up at the click of her heels against the cobblestones.

”What are you doing here?” she asked in exasperation; managing to overcome the influx of butterflies at the endearing display. The last thing she wanted was another lecture from Jean about distracting him (though she very much understood the woman’s frustration). “I told you I would find you before I left so you could see me off.”

“I’m aware you’re not leaving yet. Just, what kind of partner would I be if I didn’t help you get all that heavy stoneware out of your studio? A terrible one, that’s what.”

”Varka…”

”Look, I promise I’ll get back to work as soon as you’re situated and on your way,” he implored as he came up to her, cupping her hands in his own and bringing them to his lips. “I’m not gonna see you for days once you depart; I just wanna spend as much time with you as I can, while I can.”

Kael, sighing, looked off to the side - trying to hide the blush that decided to make itself known on her cheeks. “Very well. Pretty much everything is wrapped up and placed in crates in the back, so you can go ahead and start setting them out here. The wagon will be by in a bit to start loading them.”

“As you wish, my dear,” Varka dutifully replied, and, with a quick kiss to her forehead, released her so he could get started.

By the time both the woman and knight had retrieved the entire order and placed it along the front of her house, Gregory had arrived with the wagon. Obviously he hadn’t expected the Grand Master to be involved with the impending job, if the way his eyebrows climbed to the top of his head said anything.

”Everything’s ready to load,” Kael told him as he climbed down from the coach seat. Annalise decided to make her appearance just as the driver meandered over to where the crates lay, and she bounded over to Kael and Varka with an inferno in her eye.

”Ah! You got it all ready, already!” she huffed at her former superior, who just smirked at her. “Here I was all ready to put my muscles to work!”

”You can still help by putting the pieces in the actual wagon,” Kael snorted, but made a point to place a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “As it turns out, I misjudged just how long I’m going to be away from Mondstadt. So I’ll need you to keep an eye on things around here and continue with orders as necessary. You can stay at my house if it makes things easier on your part.” As she said this, she handed the girl the keys to her home and studio.

“Oh, wow…” Annalise breathed, and took the keys from her like they were a priceless treasure. “Y-you can count on me, Miss Kael!”

”I know I can,” the woman told her sincerely, then turned to start helping the men with loading the commission.

When they were just about done with it all, Varka approached her suddenly, holding something behind his back. Just as Kael was about to inquire what he was up to, he pulled out her sword, and held it out to her.

”You should take this with you for the journey. I can’t be by your side, I know, but it will ease my nerves just a little if you have some kind of protection.”

”Did you take this down from my wall?” she tutted, but gingerly took the weapon from him. “Everything will be fine, Varka. I’m sure Gregory has had his run-ins with trouble before; he seems to have been doing this kind of thing for a while, anyway.”

Varka scoffed at that, looking away briefly with a conflicted expression. “Just… humor me, alright?” he requested, his tone vulnerable. “I know you won’t let me, but, if I had my way I’d at least send one the knights with you to escort you and make sure you stay safe.”

”I’m not royalty, Varka,” Kael laughed, then reached up and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. “But, fine. I’ll bring my sword. Should we have some bumps in the road, you can rest easy knowing I had an excellent trainer to teach me the ropes on wielding a sword.”

”Well…” the Grand Master snickered, looking bashful at the praise.

”Everything’s loaded, ma’am,” Gregory suddenly announced from the back of the carriage, interrupting their little diversion. 

“Wonderful, let me just grab my bag and we’ll be off,” Kael called back, then went to place her sword in one of the compartments on the side of the vehicle. She hurriedly went inside and retrieved the luggage she had packed the night before, then found a proper spot for it on the wagon once she’d returned.

The woman said her farewells to Annalise, who hugged her so tight she thought she might stop breathing. She then turned to Varka, pulling him aside so they could have a private moment to themselves.

”I’ll miss you,” she uttered to him as he wrapped her up in his arms, “Try not to worry too much, alright? I like your blonde hair; I’d hate to see it go grey on my behalf.”

This had him roaring in laughter, and only when he settled did he lean down to press his forehead to hers.

”I’m going to miss you. So much,” he breathed, then dipped his head to kiss her soundly on the lips. Kael immediately became lost in the sensation; her fingers sliding up into his hair and twisting like vines around the jagged locks.

It was suddenly becoming very hard to leave. 

Somehow, she found the willpower to do so, as she released him with a final kiss and made her way to the front of the wagon. Once she had climbed into the seat and was situated, Gregory snapped at the reins and the carriage squeaked to life as it began to move along the cobblestones towards the city’s front gate.

She wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt a twinge of something as she turned to look at the city as they drove away. It was only exacerbated further by the sight of Varka, standing there in the middle of the archway, who watched after her until she was so far out that his silhouette had become a mere dot on the horizon. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The first few hours of the journey were uneventful, though the mountains that made up Liyue’s landscape as they entered the region were straight out of an ink wash painting and left Kael in awe. She’d only read about and seen kamera pictures of the majesty of Liyue in books previously; but they paled in comparison to the real thing.

Though she was content to continue observing her surroundings, she figured she might as well try to be friendly with her travel companion and took it upon herself to start up a conversation in the hopes it would speed up the journey.

”Do you travel to Liyue much?” she asked, looking Gregory’s way. “My apprentice seems to be rather fond of the nation. She gave me a bunch of recommendations for when we arrive.”

”It’s the number one trade partner with Mondstadt, so we do go back and forth with the wagons quite a bit,” the man answered like it were obvious.

”Oh.” His shortness was apparent, being he was on the job and likely not in the mood for small talk, so Kael decided instead to look out into the distance. She spotted a treehouse-like structure that she was informed was Wangshu Inn, which meant they were coming up on the halfway mark of their trip.

”Sorry if it comes off a bit rude, but, I could’ve made the journey myself,” Gregory suddenly spoke up. “I promise yer goods would’ve made it safe and sound without yer supervision.”

”I’m sure they would have, I don’t doubt your capabilities,” Kael replied, side-eyeing the man. “This is just the biggest order I’ve ever completed, so I’m a bit antsy about the whole ordeal and want to make sure everything goes perfectly from start to finish.”

”Yer the local ceramicist, yeah? Trying to break into other markets?”

”You could say that.”

Gregory made a sound that resembled a grunt, before urging the horses just a bit faster. “I suppose I can understand yer insistence, then.” After a brief period of silence, he prodded, “And the Grand Master? Didn’t look like he was too pleased with the idea of ya traveling this way.”

”He’s just being protective, just as he is with anyone from Mondstadt,” Kael explained with a gentle smile. “He really wanted me to bring one of the knights with us as well, but I think that would’ve been overkill.”

”Sounds like he cares about ya a lot, ma’am.”

Kael didn’t comment on that, instead turning her line of sight back towards the stone pillars forming the land around them and letting the breeze sweep through her hair. That’s when Gregory suddenly froze at her side, and brought the horses to an abrupt halt.

”Gregory?” she spoke, feeling her heartbeat pick up in tempo.

”Quiet for a moment, I hear something,” he muttered, and climbed down from the coach seat. Kael watched as he looked around cautiously, only for the man to suddenly let out a cry of pain as an arrow came flying out of nowhere and pierced his bicep. The horses, picking up on their master’s distress, also began to whinny in a panic as they stomped about.

”Gregory!” Kael screamed, and whilst climbing down nearly fell from the wagon as it slid back and forth from their movements. Not missing a beat, she went to the side of the carriage and pulled out her sword, only to come face-to-face with three men—bandits—just as she whipped back around.

”Weeeellll, what have we here?” the one who appeared to be leading the charge asked as he took a step towards her. “Looks like some pretty pricey stuff you got back there. Mind if we take a closer look, miss?”

”Don’t come any closer!” Kael barked, holding her sword in the way Varka had taught her. She might be dressed in skirts and a blouse but damn if she wouldn’t still give it her all to protect she and Annalise’s hard work.

”Ha! What’re you gonna do, poke me with that?” the bandit leader taunted, and rushed at her. She dove out of the way and swiped at his leg, barely grazing it but still catching him off guard. “You little bitch!” he growled at her as he turned and lunged at her again, but Kael rolled out of the way just in time.

Meanwhile, Gregory was hunched over on the ground with his hand clasped around the arrow in his arm, obviously in no shape to assist. Now Kael really was wishing she had taken Varka up on his offer. 

Letting out a cry of fear and frustration, she went after the scrawniest of the trio, the one with the bow, and actually managed to stab at his shoulder. He fell to the ground without much fanfare, but not without shouting at the leader to assist.

”Don’t worry, I’m done trying to be friendly,” said individual told his underling, and smoothly sidestepped Kael just as she swung at him. Before she could return to form, he had grabbed the wrist which held her sword, and squeezed it in such a way that the weapon went clanging to the ground. “Should’ve just let us carry on with our business, lady. Instead you had to do things the hard way,” he muttered darkly to her.

A split second later, she felt a pain like no other radiating from her lower body. She forced out a gasp that bordered on a wail, and managed to look down to see a dagger sticking out of her waist; a dark stain pooling around it and quickly growing bigger.

Her assailant then threw her to the ground, but not without yanking his dagger from her flesh and leaving her wound freely flowing with blood. Her vision was quickly becoming blurry, and she watched with tears in her eyes as the bandits climbed into the wagon and began digging through its contents.

”No, please…” she begged, reaching out with the hand that wasn’t clutching her side, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. She attempted to drag herself towards them, but it was no use; the amount of blood she was losing was quickly taking its toll on her.

It was only when a roar like that of a beast pierced the air that the thieves finally stopped with their pilfering and glanced around in confusion.

Like a missile being fired, a mass of teal and white struck down into the fray from somewhere above. Once he’d gotten to his feet, claymore effortlessly slung over his shoulders, Kael realized with a whole new wave of tears that Varka was there with her.

Varka… you came for me…?

Likely hoping to spare their find, the bandits hopped down from the wagon and charged at the Grand Master, only for the man to leap up into the air and slam his claymore into the ground; the resulting shockwave instantly knocking them to their backs. 

“Takes some real pieces of shit to harm a respected lady who’s just trying to make a living,” Varka seethed with an audible fury as he sidled up to where they lay writhing. “I oughta kill you all and be done with it.”

”M-mercy! Please, good knight!” one of them begged, but it seemed to just piss Varka off more.

“Mercy? Like the same kind of mercy you extended to them?” he snapped, gesturing towards Kael and Gregory. “I won’t kill you only ‘cause I don’t wanna deal with the paperwork involved; but you’re gonna wish you were dead after rotting away in Mondstadt’s prison under my watch.” Not missing a beat, he struck them both in the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking them out cold in an instant. He then turned and did the same to the archer Kael had previously taken down.

Once he was certain they were indisposed, he quickly sheathed his claymore and rushed to Kael’s side; carefully lifting her from the ground and cradling her to his chest. Despite how gentle he was being, Kael still groaned in pain and clutched at her wound.

”Var…ka…”

”I know, sweetheart. I know. Gods, I’m so sorry Kael. I’m so sorry,” he shakily croaked as he brushed a strand of hair from her face, unable to mask just how badly her condition was affecting him. “I’m gonna get you help, okay? I’ll get you back to Mondstadt in no time. Just stay awake, Kael.”

”C-commiss…” she couldn’t even finish the word—her mouth had simply slurred what remained.

But Varka seemingly understood as he shook his head. “There are other knights on the way, they’ll make sure it gets to Liyue Harbor. Don’t worry about that right now, just focus on my voice; keep talking to me.” As he said this, he tore at the hole in her blouse with a whispered “forgive me” and firmly pressed something to her side, but she could barely feel the sensation.

”You… you taught… me. I… took down… them… Did you see?” Kael gurgled, not quite picking up on his words and becoming more enthralled by the dark blotches that crept into her vision. “But, I could…n’t… couldn’t… could…”