Elements of Love II Albedo x Sucrose

Reconciliations

"Basically, the Feiyun Commerce Guild doesn't have any other transport methods available at a moments notice." Adeline explained, showing Sucrose and Albedo the letter, marked by the same brown-gold wax seal with the Geo symbol stamped on it.

"You can read the letter yourself." Adeline handed them the letter with a wave of her hand. "Here."

Albedo opened it carefully and read:

Dear Mr. Albedo,

The Feiyun Commerce Guild  is incredibly shocked and embarrassed that your carriage was disabled, and that you had to reach the Dawn Winery by foot. We sincerely apologize for any distress or dismay this may have caused you and your assistant. 

A representative will be dispatched to retrieve the carriage driver, Ping, as soon as possible. We expect he, she, or they will arrive in 3 or 4 days.

As for other transport methods available, there are no other transport methods available. Because of the recent attack on Liyue by the Fatui and the ancient god Osial, which I am sure you have heard rumors of, the Feiyun Commerce Guild is rather overburdened by the amount of work needed to restore Liyue to its former glory.

The walk to Liyue is only 3-6 days, depending on how fast one moves. 

Deepest apologies,

Baowen, of the Feiyun Commerce Guild

"I suppose we have to walk to Liyue." Albedo said, smiling slightly at Sucrose after a profound silence. 

Sucrose did feel bad for the Feiyun Commerce Guild, but it was also quite deplorable that they would have to walk to Liyue. However, she supposed merchants did it all the time, so she and Albedo should have no problem.

"Then we should leave as early as possible, so we can still reach Liyue relatively on time." Sucrose said thoughtfully, biting her lip. 

She was trying to avoid thinking about Albedo's touch on her face, waist and hands last night, but the way he was looking at her wasn't helping. Albedo lifted one hand, and then brought it back down to his side.

"I- I'll go inform Adeline of our changed plans." Sucrose said, turning around to hide her blush that was quickly threatening to overtake her face. "Mr. Albedo, maybe you should, um, gather our bags?"

"Ah-alright." Albedo looked at her one more time, and left the room as well.

Sucrose ducked out of the room and explained everything to Adeline, who immediately began preparing some food for Albedo and Sucrose to take with them, all the while chatting endlessly about Liyue and the Feiyun Commerce Guild and Osial and the Dawn Winery's hospitality and the recklessness of the carriage driver, until it was all too much for Sucrose.

"Excuse me," she said politely, backing out of the room. 

---

"Wangshu Inn isn't far from here, if we hurry." Albedo said, consulting a map of Mondstadt and Liyue. He rolled it up and tucked it in a bag, striding forward.

Sucrose hurried to keep up with his long strides, fumbling for something to break the awkward silence. Anything, to push her mind away from thinking about last night, thinking about Albedo's hands on her waist, legs, lips.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Albedo asked, his voice wavering slightly. Sucrose turned to look at him, a grateful smile on her face.

"I imagine I slept about as well as you did last night." Sucrose replied, carefully avoiding the question. In reality, it had been a long time before she had fallen asleep, as she had been constantly thinking of Albedo, unable to draw her mind away. 

Eventually, her hand had wandered between her legs, until Sucrose had finally achieved release in the late hours of the night. She had fallen asleep with Albedo's hands and lips and eyes in her mind.

Albedo and Sucrose continued on, stopping briefly to check the map every now and then. They passed a large lake, filled with Calla Lilies and fish.

"Should we, ah, stop for lunch?" Sucrose asked, breaking the comfortable silence they had. She bit her lip and fixed her glasses, which had been sliding down her nose.

"A-alright." Albedo dropped his bag on a rock, and Sucrose did the same. 

This was quite awkward. Sucrose wondered if there was any research done on social and emotional behaviors. Perhaps she should look into that once they reached Liyue.

They ate lunch and continued onwards, passing underneath a hanging and seeing a beautiful waterfall. Albedo made a sigh of longing, one Sucrose knew meant he wanted to paint it, but Sucrose assured him they would be back with enough time to paint.

"Ah, Mr. Albedo, there's a rest stop up ahead. I estimate that we should reach it just in time to rest, and then continue on tomorrow." Sucrose said, consulting the map once again.

"Alright." Albedo said, evidently tired from travelling. "I've heard that there's a wonderful being called the Oceanid, who has the power to create water illusions." 

"Um, it sounds potentially dangerous, Mr. Albedo." Sucrose worried, biting her thumbnail. "Perhaps you shouldn't."

"The drawings I've seen of the water illusions were all just a cluster of squirrels, ducks, and frogs." Albedo said, waving a hand. "Besides, how dangerous could such small animals be?"

"We shouldn't, uh, deviate from the path too much if we still want to arrive in Liyue in time to meet with the Feiyun Commerce Guild." Sucrose said, attempting to deter Albedo from visiting this scary-sounding Oceanid.

"Ah-alright." Albedo said, slumping slightly. Sucrose hated seeing him disappointed, but she held a responsibility to keep him on track. 

"We could buy some tea, and, well, I suppose you could sketch a few of the landscapes while we rest for the night." Sucrose offered. Albedo smiled, and Sucrose took that as a yes. 

---

"Thank you for the tea," Sucrose said, smiling at the vendor. She and Albedo sat down at a table, facing the Wangshu Inn, their next destination. 

Albedo quickly pulled out his sketchbook, his hair falling into his face in determination. Sucrose resisted the urge to reach across the table to brush it out of his face, instead taking a sip of her tea. 

"M-maybe we should talk about what happened last night," Albedo began, his voice hesitant. A flutter of nerves and anxiousness rushed through Sucrose, making her take another sip of the warm tea.

"Ah- alright, Mr. Albedo." Sucrose stuttered, biting her lip. She was sure that Albedo could see the flush on her cheeks, what with the fireflies flickering on and off around them, giving faint specks of life.

"Well I think maybe we could-" Albedo began, looking just as nervous as Sucrose felt. His hand had stopped moving across the sketchbook, making the silence seem much wider.

"You're right, it's nothing, I just-" Sucrose mumbled, sure he was about to say that it had been a mistake. Albedo studied Sucrose carefully, seeming to withdraw a little.

"Right, right." He waved a hand vaguely. "Nothing, it was." Albedo paused, looking back down at his sketchpad. "Just nothing is all."

Of course. Sucrose had expected this, yet she still felt pained. She took another sip of her tea, casting her eyes around for something other than Albedo to look at.

The waterfall really was quite beautiful, lit up by the fireflies. 

The world had opened up when she was traveling with Albedo, but why did she feel so hollow inside?