#wisteriawrites

Around a year has passed since you first arrived in Teyvat. From simply that, you've noticed how people have guarded you with such vigilance. Security is always a must when you go out, returning with a single scratch causes chaos, and these people really care for you.

They know so much. About baking your favorite cake - which you happened to have a debate with your friend about before you got suddenly transported. There's also the time they noticed how much wood you collected when you were still in-game using characters as if they've been watching how much time you used up to decorate the teapot.

However, you're sure they have to be tired or bored after being so loyal, for so long.

"Say," You stir around your tea lightly, "What's the point of staying by my side for so long? Morax and Barbatos - well, Zhongli and Venti now - you have already retired, have you not?"

You watch Zhongli frowns and Venti holds back his laughter.

"I can slightly understand why Ei insists on staying by my side. Even so, what's the purpose of all of this? Really, you all are just troubling yourself."

Ei purses her lips in response to your questions. Your words sink deeper into her mind, taking their time to fully soak in.

"How about this," The three of them turn their gaze back to face you, all waiting expectantly for you to retract your last statements, "You all go on a break.

Unlike the two panicking archons next to him, when Venti hears of a break, he feels not the slightest bit of panic. While yes, he'll definitely be disappointed - he won't be by your side after all! Who will he share all of his favorite apples with? Plus, you've always loved coming to the tavern with him! A moment without you feels like boredom.

He nods in respect to you, allowing you to catch it from the corner of your eye whilst both Ei and Zhongli are in denial. You give him a thumbs-up, smiling assuringly in his direction.

Venti turns away quickly, cheeks flushing up. it's a shame he won't be able to see that euphoric smile of yours for a while. The more he looks at it, the more he'll miss it dearly.

With that, he follows the trail of the wind, disappearing from your sight. You shout goodbye to him, and it might have been your imagination, but you're pretty sure the wind became much more gentle.

"That bard..." Zhongli and Baal are practically seething. How could he just escape like that and accept it so easily? Zhongli shakes his head, sighing to regain his composure in front of you. Baal, however, seems to be clutching her polearm... a little too tight.

"I suppose since he's already left, that means he agrees to your suggestion." Zhongli stares off in the direction of Mondstadt, "I... do not doubt your grace's ability to defend yourself, but it's impossible not to worry."

Zhongli's eyes furrow, visibly concerned.

You take a small sip of the recently brewed tea, "I can see that from how both of you are so insistent on staying by my side, but you both don't need to worry. I'm just saying to take a break from being by me, you can visit me once in a while."

Before relief can be dropped onto Zhongli and Baal, you continue.

"No taking up jobs to guard me."

It feels like an invisible blade strikes them.

"No more than 24-hour visits."

A huge rock is suddenly thrown onto their backs.

"And you have to wait for another 2 days before visiting me again."

Woah, when did they become so lifeless? They've practically grown wrinkles already! Jeez.

Zhongli bears it, gritting his teeth, "...Yes, your grace. I will see you... as soon as possible. However, I will be forced to disobey your orders if you are in any sort of danger."

You nod, "That's fine with me. As long as you have a valid reason."

With that, the geo archon turns his back to you and leaves silently. You hear a few boulders being smashed after he leaves, and you wonder if he had run into any trouble. Well, he's the geo archon, he's more capable than anyone you know. You're sure he's fine.

And now, to convince the last one.

Ei quietly bites her lip, not willing to look you in the eye. Just from her shaking fist, you could tell she was against this. "Ei, are you upset with me?"

Her head jerks up, opening her mouth to disagree. Her polearm fades from her grasp, both of Ei's hands interlocking in front of her as she tries to piece together her sentence.

"Your grace, not being here with you, not being able to protect you when you're in danger is... risky." Ei can't even begin to imagine how much despair will eat her from the inside out if you ever get hurt, "I will be there for you, forever."

You lean on the table next to you, already finished with your cup of tea, the bittersweet taste left on your tongue. "You've already been there for me, for so long already. As grateful as I can, taking a break is necessary."

Sighing, already missing the presence of both the geo and anemo archon, "You wouldn't want me to worry about you being overworked, would you? I'll allow Raiden Shogun, that puppet of yours to accompany me if you really are so anxious."

You laugh to yourself, already imagining the complaints from both of them when they see that you let "Ei" stay by you.

"You can start by going to see Venti and telling him about my rules for visiting. If you want to know where I'll be staying, I'm going off to Sneznhaya for a week. The next week, I'll be in Mondstadt."

You wave lightly to her, watching her pout. Switching from denial to acceptance, she bows to you and heads off to Mondstadt.

Ei

The electro archon throws herself into her work, trying to distract herself from thinking about you. Unluckily for her, she's surrounded by everything, and everything reminds her of you.

"Oh, those flowers, their grace would look good in that shade."

"My, the scenery, it's just as breathtaking as their grace."

"The hairclip... I wonder if their grace still has the other piece."

She can't help but miss you. She dreams of you, being by you, basking in your presence, ensuring you're always safe. Your words of gratefulness shove her onto her knees and she can't help but adore how you could be so... so... enchanting.

Ei misses you so much.

She had sent over her puppet and wondered if her son Scaramouche would be there for you. Though, it doesn't stop the back of her head from generating scenarios of you being in trouble without her.

Once she can visit you, she's practically been revived, upbeat as ever. Her usual unexpressive self around others switches, you could see that sincere grin from ear to ear on her face when she's with you.

You could practically read her thoughts and emotions, delivering her a box of desserts from outside of Inazuma and a note to comfort her.

Ei will insist that Yae travels over to ensure that you're okay and guard you. However, Yae spends that time gossiping with you, exaggerating jokingly about how much of a miserable state Ei is in currently.

Venti

He's been quite leisurely enjoying his holiday. Venti had nothing else to do now since he's put his trust in the people of Mondstadt to handle their own issues.

He spends his day exploring the woods, enjoying life, and spending his time at the tavern.

Venti knows that you know what you're doing, he won't be wasting his time off working overtime. He'll visit you the least out of the three, but you coincidentally see him more since you visit the tavern quite a bit as well - admittedly, he's drunk 99.9% of the time you happen to stop by.

Diluc mentioned to you when you drop by about Venti being more relaxed. "His tab is piling up and at a remarkable speed too."

You laugh, "I would pay it for him, but you wouldn't let me."

"I'm not letting you pay so much for someone who isn't even awake right now."

Dvalin also had a small chat with you! Saying about how Venti went through all 5 stages of grief in a day. No matter how laidback he seemed to be, when Venti's drunk, his emotions get amplified.

Denial was a rollercoaster, anger and bargaining were just a bunch of complaining, depression was just pouting angrily in the corner, and acceptance was Venti falling asleep.

"...How did he become an archon again?"

Zhongli

Zhongli does worry about you, but he uses his break as an opportunity to prepare something special for you. A gift perhaps? Celebrations? Who knows? He just wants it to be for you.

He found a bit of a loophole since you didn't mention anything about letters too. You didn't really notice or mind since it was thrown into the mountain of letters that other acolytes had sent to you when they wanted to check up on you. It would take a while before you finally reached his letter.

He'll leave Childe in your care, aware of his abilities when it comes to fighting. Perhaps the traveler will happen to be around as well. He's sure that the shield he left on you will protect you as well.

He spends most of his time with Hu Tao when he's in Liyue. He can't just make Mora appear again like he used to after all.

While Zhongli absolutely loathes with his whole soul how he can't be there for you and serve you, he feels a bit more fulfilled once he visits you. Oh boy, life without Zhongli handling things was chaotic though and he noticed that during his visits.

Things are a mess without our dear Geo archon around. Usually, orders are given by him from you. He covers up mistakes and his presence alone is reassuring enough for the maids and butlers to carry out their job without worries.

Without him, maids and butlers have to speak with you directly and receive orders from you. Some have been so astounded and entranced by you, so much so that they miss your orders or hear them wrongly.

Others have been so scared about making a mistake in your food or your orders that they can't even stand up. The maids and butlers have described Zhongli as an efficient leader, whilst they've described your company as powerful and captivating - so much so that they can't focus.

In other words, things are VERY messy. You'll allow him to return by your side soon.

(Riku is probably fine, he's slowly taking control of the situation at his own desired pace [Riku is my OC])

Tag list -> Taglist -> @under-a-starry-night, @yourfaveisblack, @bardisipatos, @callmemeelah, @kithewanderingme, @pale-value, @bamboowritess/@bamboowritess, @uchihaeirin, @karmawonders, @lunavixia, @anfre109, @ly-archives, @zuyoo, @pimacolada-lulu, @bimboing, @gallantys, @swaggyb0ke, @borbsbirbs, @shizunxie, @tiffthescales, @genshin-impacts-me, @keithsaccount, @mkaella, @mentallyunpresent, @alicehasdrowned, @franc-1-s, @no-regrets-just-confusion, @christmaspickl, @lunalily19

Special tags -> @is-very-sad, @chocoenvy, @raidengaile/@ly-archives/@simplygaile, @saigomo, @gunterdon, @emilemovhi, @lovelyy-moraxx, @demon-bane, @i-put-the-yan-in-polyandry, @xiaophilia/@ayayaxia, @thewindstale, @creation-magician, @my-white-canvas/@pale-value, @yuzuricebun, @ventivity, @sweetstrawberrybabe, @euthym1as, @lotterymology, @mx-kamisato, @matsutake-san

Burning. Fire. Heat. Smoke suddenly began to rise from the spot on her hand where the ring had rested on her finger, the once soothing warmth transforming into a blinding sensation of pure heat. Evangeline yelped, jumping to his feet before collapsing from the sheer pain of standing. The ring, sprung from his finger sometime during the onset of the burn, had fallen to the ground, now burning a circular hole into the earth. It burrowed deeper and deeper until all that remained visible was the growing column of smoke, so tall that it nearly reached the tops of nearby trees. Not a breeze in sight, the air felt overwhelmingly sultry as the temperature climbed a good ten degrees. Beads of sweat pouring down her face, Evangeline fought the urge to lose consciousness. It was a hard-pressed battle to win, yet she persisted. As the spots of black faded from her vision, the smoke appeared to take on the form of something almost… human like? It couldn’t be. She had to be hallucinating, there was no possibility of a sentient cloud of smoke.

As if determined to prove Evangeline wrong, the gaseous form solidified into a very strange looking woman. She could’ve been a tiefling if one were to squint, but there was some otherworldly air to her that set her in a world of her own. The woman nodded curtly at Evangeline, striding over to her and extending a hand.

“Hello, child.” Her voice boomed, channeling the forces of the fading flames into a resounding, powerful tone. Red hair flowed nearly down to her shoulders, wild and untamed, with crimson-pink ears pointing through the curls. Evangeline couldn’t help but notice how scarred the woman’s face was, — mirroring that of her own — and how the indentations and disturbed tissue seemed to add to her beauty. I wish my scars were beautiful, Evangeline thought.

Shakily extending a hand, Evangeline stepped within arm’s reach. “Who… are you?” she asked, feeling the heat transfer to her skin when the pair touched.

The woman smiled gently at Evangeline, kneeling to better match her height. “My name is Idalia. I’ve had my eyes on you for a while now, Evangeline.” Idalia placed her other hand on top of Evangeline’s, squeezing gently in attempted reassurance.

Evangeline’s eyes widened at the use of her name, her tremor expanding to the entirety of her arms. Determined to not show her fear, she steadied herself and looked confidently into Idalia’s eyes. “You know my name. Clearly you know who I am, things about me, my family — families — I’d guess. What do you want from me?”

“The question is what do you want from me, dear,” Idalia replied, a sweet dulcetness seeping into her voice. “You’ve gone through so much for such a young child, and I wanted to lend a helping hand. What is it you desire?”

Pulling her hands away, Evangeline stepped back and crossed her arms, a small scoff escaping her lips. Nobody ever asked her what she wanted, and if they did, it was never with good intentions. “Nothing, if it’s coming from you.” She turned away from Idalia, taking two steps in the opposite direction before something stopped her in her place.

Panic. Feet planted firmly on the floor, try as she might, Evangeline could not take a step. Something — someone, rather, — was keeping her still, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that someone was Idalia. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest, the anxiety threatening to bubble over any second. She couldn’t let her see that, though. Weakness was not accepted. Ever. Evangeline took a deep breath, feeling her lungs expand and contract. “I take it that was the wrong answer,” she called over her shoulder. “Release me, and I promise I’ll hear you out. I’d like to at least see your face when you threaten me next time.”

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Evangeline felt the pressure around her legs fade and her freedom return. She turned to face Idalia, as promised, mustering up the angriest, most threatening face she could manage. “What do you want from me?”

Shrill laughter filled the air, the sound more fear-inducing than even the holding spell. “You really are just a child, aren’t you? Pity. I had thought you smarter than that. Someone should have taught you how to recognize nobility when you see them, girl. To treat them with some respect.”

Now it was Evangeline’s turn to laugh. A cheery, mocking giggle matched the leering smirk on her face, the fear dissipating as soon as the woman opened her mouth. “And I thought you were smarter than to think mere words would inflict fear upon me. Nothing you nor anybody else says to me is going to cause me any pain. Not anymore. I’m not afraid of you, Idalia.”

There was such venom imbued into her name that Idalia couldn’t help but take a step back, overwhelmed with the sheer viciousness of such a small girl. It took only a few seconds for her to regain her composure, after which she rationed a more direct approach was necessary to get through to the child. “I see. How about I just get straight to it then? You are a poor, lost little soul, wandering from forest to forest in desperate search of enough nourishment and shelter to make it another week. You have no worldly possessions, no place to call home, no family to love you. You have nothing. You are nothing. And I am offering to change that. To give you a family, people who will show you care and affection for the first time in your entire life. No more will you collapse from exhaustion after days of walking, nor will you be kicked out by foster families who offered false promises of their undying adoration. I can grant you true happiness, if only you allow it.” Idalia laughed, eyes narrowed to glare harshly at Evangeline. “Now, fearful one, do you want a family or not? I’m not in the habit of making offers twice.”

Choking back a sob, Evangeline closed the distance between her and Idalia. Gently reaching a hand out, she stood on her tiptoes to reach out and brush her fingertips over the ‘X’ shaped scar on Idalia’s nose. The woman recoiled instantly, surprised by the tenderness of her touch. Evangeline held her contact, refusing to let the woman pull away. “You’re like me, aren’t you?” Evangeline asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Someone broke you too. I’m sorry.”

Idalia’s eyes filled with tears, the emotion overpowering any remaining malice she harbored towards Evangeline. She reached out and touched Evangeline’s brand, the three horizontal black lines charred deep into her flesh. It was the mark of prisoners who had been sent to Carta, a place reserved for those who committed only the most heinous of crimes. One mark per conviction, placed prominently enough the whole of Noven would notice and avoid them at all costs. Three marks, like the brand Evangeline bore, was the worst of them all. Only the worst of the worst, the scourges of the continent, received three marks. Done with remarkable precision, the brands were designed to last a lifetime, no matter how long that may be. Evangeline’s brands, however, upon closer inspection by Idalia, appeared slightly crooked, like someone had attempted to recreate them. Realization dawned upon her at once, and she cupped her hands around the child’s face. “Who did this to you?”

Her fingertips felt like razor blades running along Evangeline’s brand, every touch sending a shiver of pain through her face. The wounds had never completely healed, likely the result of the depravity of their infliction’s methodology. The pain had faded since they were first carved into her nine years ago, but from time to time they flared up with renewed vigor. She tried to forget how tender they still were, pushing the pain to the back of her mind so she could think clearly. “My… parents,” Evangeline answered, the word feeling strange and bitter on her tongue. “They couldn’t comprehend how a pure, human family like themselves could have a monster for a child, so they made sure everyone else would know the devil I am.” She laughed, brushing off their cruelty for a mere fact of life.

“You’re not a devil,” Idalia immediately interjected. “Nor are you a monster.” She tucked a piece of hair behind Evangeline’s ear before lowering herself onto the ground, motioning for Evangeline to sit next to her. She held her in gentle silence as she cried, finally letting out all the emotions she’d kept bottled in for the entirety of her ten-year lifespan. It was decided: she would protect this child, give her the family she not only yearned for but deserved.

Evangeline sniffled, crying softly into Idalia’s shoulder after settling down in the dirt next to her. Maybe this strange woman wasn’t so bad, after all. “Neither are you, Idalia. You’re not a monster at all.” No response came, but she could see the tears falling across the woman's face, eyes filled with emotion. Once there were no more tears to shed, Evangeline sat up to face Idalia, a question forming on her lips: “Will you tell me what you wanted from me now?”

Sighing, Idalia nodded and shifted to look Evangeline in the eyes. “It is part of my job to fulfill the desires of others. It involves a sort of exchange between myself and the other party: I grant your wish, you agree to a set of terms I’ve laid forth. Such is the offer I wanted to extend to you, though I do admit the terms I’d propose have changed significantly since meeting you.” Taking another deep breath, she steadied herself for her final proposal. “So, with that information in hand, I’ll ask one more time: What is it you desire?”

Unsure quite what to make of this, Evangeline sat quietly, pondering whether there was anything she desired strongly enough to agree to a deal with Idalia. “Honestly? Nothing. Nothing other than a real family, though I gave up on that dream a long time ago.”

With a flick of her hand, Idalia conjured a piece of parchment and a pen. She smiled gently at Evangeline, holding the parchment out to her. “If a family is what you desire, I can provide it. The terms of our arrangement are written here– I think they’re quite reasonable. Take some time, read it over, let me know what you think.” Idalia waited for Evangeline to take the parchment before standing to leave, heading far enough away to remain in sight, but out of earshot.

Despite their less than amicable beginning, Idalia’s word was true: the terms of her proposed pact were quite reasonable. In exchange for Evangeline’s placement with a suitable family, she would help Idalia in her future endeavors. While the wording wasn’t necessarily too specific, Evangeline could tell it was written with pure intentions… she hoped. Either way, taking this deal seemed infinitely better than her current reality of hopelessly wandering the forests and scrounging up scraps that barely constitute a meal for a small child, let alone a growing preteen. She took one last glance at the small, looping handwriting before walking over to Idalia and gently tapping her on the shoulder.