Far Apart || Kaeluc/ Genshin Impact fanfic

4. 𝕱𝖔𝖚𝖗

"The Abyss is stirring. Something is going to happen. Something bad. I do not know the details of Dainsleif's sudden appearance in Mond after years of silence from Khaenri'ah, but... I do not know why he comes now. I..."

It frustrated Kaeya. The feeling of confusion and... not knowing. Kaeya hated not knowing. Hated being kept in the dark. 'I don't know' tasted foul on his lips.

Kaeya sat on a sofa in Diluc's office, his back straight and tense, his eyes, rarely, serious.

"Who is that man, anyway?" Diluc asked, frowning from his chair.

"An... old acquaintance of mine." Kaeya avoided Diluc's piercing gaze, "fine. A former friend and my only one from Khaenri'ah. But... ah, things happened, and we're not friends now."

"Things."

"..."

"Kaeya."

"Indeed, things, I—" only when around Diluc had Kaeya lost his composure like this. Let alone stutter. The Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius never stuttered. He was always confident, bold. He looked up at Diluc through his bangs and debated telling him or not. Well, there was nothing he could loose, anyway. Diluc knew of Khaenri'ah.

"Dainsleif was my only friend at that time. I don't really remember much of my past before Mond, but there are a few people I remember: Dain, my parents, and the famed King of Khaenri'ah." Kaeya said.

"Dain." Diluc frowned at the nickname.

"Yes, Dain. I used to call him that." Kaeya wondered what Diluc thought of that, did he think it childish to go by such silly nicknames?

"He called you Kae."

"Yes, Diluc, now shut up." Kaeya felt his face redden slightly. Yes, he was losing his composure. Kaeya hated himself for doing so.

"A-anyway..."

"I do not remember much of my father— I don't remember the shade of his hair, or how tall he was, I barely remember his cold voice and dark skin. But I remember his eyes— they were an unnaturally pale blue, and those pale eyes were always glaring at me."

"But my mother... was, you could say, listless. A pale beauty, but a tad strange. They say when I was delivered, my father took me from her arms and handed me to the nurse. In pity, the nurse gave my mother a pillow to hug instead of me. She hugged it. She didn't seem to notice the change."

"I became a disappointment, I knew it even as a child. I had the beauty of my mother, the swiftness of my father, but I was not strong like my father wished. My father had wanted a warrior. I was scrawny at the time, I could barely wield a sword. My swift tongue was more of an annoyance to him. In his eyes, I was simply... worthless," Kaeya laughed to himself softly, "I did not dare meet my father's piercing gaze, and when I turned, and I saw my mother, dribbling wine on herself, her eyes lifeless and blank."

"Then there was Dain. He was two years older than I, and he was the son of the King's adviser and messenger. The King never met anyone, they say none have seen his true face but his messenger, Dain's father. And this was why my father wanted me to be friends with him. To learn more of the King and use the info to our advantage."

"So I met Dain, and we became friends. Our friendship was a genuine one— at least I thought so. He said he liked me, he told me not to listen to my father, but I didn't dare to."

"Then, we received news. Dain's father died," Kaeya laughed when Diluc raised his head in horror, "shocking, right? Sometimes things happen in the most unexpected moments. Dain's father wasn't sick, he just... died. All of a sudden."