Blessing in Disguise

Blessed

Diluc was just about to leave the winery to give the tavern a visit when he heard a breathless Aether and Paimon, in a full sprint (only, Paimon is floating instead of sprinting) until Diluc turned around. Aether stopped and bent over, putting his palms on his knees to catch his breath. 

"Aether," He acknowledged, as he took a few steps to close the distance a little. "I'm surprised you are here at this hour. Are you perhaps in need of my assistance?" 

"Yes, but it isn't me who needs it..." Aether choked a little as he stood up straight, rummaging through his (to Diluc, seemingly nonexistent) inventory for his serenitea pot. Diluc watched in enormous confusion as Aether popped the thing to existence out of thin air, but a certain universal force stopped him from questioning it and he instantly paid it no mind. 

Diluc watched Aether work his serenitea-pot-magic to summon an asleep and severely injured girl from it. Diluc's eyes widened a little at the sight. He immediately opened up the mansion's double doors again to call for his maids, while aether put his arms out for the girl to land on, struggling a little to keep the wounds unbothered.

Paimon gasped in her ever-squeaky manner. "Y/n's wounds opened up again! Be more careful, Aether!" Paimon floated in circles around the unconscious girl with a worried look on her face. 

A bunch of maids scrambled out of the mansion with some basic medical equipment and took y/n from his grip. Aether and Paimon watched the maids took her away to a guest room and relaxed a little. Diluc's attention landed back on the worried-looking (and very tired) traveller. He heaved out a sigh as he tilted his head towards the doors and stuck his chin out a little, making a gesture to let them inside. Aether didn't hesitate to do so, plopping his bottom down on a cushiony chair nearest to him. He let out an exasperated sigh, and a look of relief washed over his face. 

Diluc sat on a chair opposite him after requesting Elzer to bring three cups of apple juice for them, to which Paimon squealed an elated thank you. She had been ignored far too many times on occasions including food servings.

"so," Diluc crossed one leg over the other and did the same with his arms. His change of stance prompted Aether to straighten his back. Diluc pointed a hand at the guest room the girl was being treated in, his stern gaze not leaving the traveller's.

"Do explain what happened."

~~~

"Shit..."

Y/n mumbled to herself, as she massaged her temple with one hand and started to lift her upper body up from the comfortable mattress with the other, eyes adjusting to the blinding light that penetrated her eyelids the moment the curtains were drawn. 

Perhaps she had gotten up too quickly, for her heavy head had responded with a piercing throb once it was upright. She winced at the pain and laid back down, only to feel her senses in her lower half creeping back on. She winced a second time from the wounds she had received before she fell asleep. The pain woke her entirely, if not the gasp she heard from the maid that had drawn the damned curtains. 

Wait... maid?

Y/n stood her upper body up again and stiffened at the unfamiliar view. She made haste to rub the crust off her eyes to inspect her surroundings properly. Now she was wide awake, taking in the room, which she had guessed had been cleaned thoroughly and probably was a guest room from the looks of it. It had little to no trinkets and the twin-sized bed she was sitting on was in the center of the room, one end pushed to a wall and next to a nightstand with some food on a flower-patterned vintage tray. 

Normally she would squeal at the sight of such heavenly-looking food (especially since she had been deprived of all things consumable for archons know how long), but right now, she thought, she was in a dangerous situation and there was no time for ogling. Y/n turned her attention to the maid, who had started unwrapping the bandages on her thigh, which looked to have sealed but opened again from movement. 

"I'm so sorry, miss y/n! I didn't think you'd try to get up..." The maid kept mumbling apologies with wide eyes, frantically wiping your wounds with alcohol-soaked cloth and wrapping them up with new bandages. 

Why is there a maid tending to me? From her clothes, I can tell I'm in Mondstadt... and how does she know my name?

Y/n winced as the maid finished tightly tying up a bandage. When the pain subsided, she continued the analyzation. After a moment of thinking, Y/n concluded that Aether had told whoever was taking care of her her identity and situation. If Aether entrusted her to this place and was not present, she must be in a safe place, far away from Liyue Harbor. 

Ah, Liyue Harbor.

Y/n clenched her eyes shut in mental and emotional distress as she recollected her memories from the last time she was awake. 

She had run away from a bunch of Fatui agents that had busted into her house looking for her. Y/n turned to go to one of the aunties' house, only to find out that all the Fatui agents in Liyue had a picture of her and were told to watch out for her. She didn't know why that was, but she decided that she had to leave because she was never going to put any of her friends in danger by going to their residence. She left the harbor to go to a nearby village when she had run into hilichurls along the way and had gotten attacked by them. She was saved and bandaged by Aether, who y/n was already close friends with before that encounter. Y/n explained her situation, so he decided to take her into his serenitea pot to rest. She had fallen asleep from exhaustion... and now she was... here.

Y/n glanced over at the maid. She was done with the bandages. 

"Good morning. I didn't, erm, catch your name?" Y/n said, immediately regretting her decision to ramble out an attempt at being friendly to her in guilt of all the minutes she had ignored the maid's presence. 

Of course I didn't catch her name! I slept like a rock the whole trip here--

"Good morning to you, too, miss! I'm Giselle. I am honored to have you in my care for the rest of your recovery." Giselle smiled a bright smile, one too luminous that y/n swore you'd have to cover your eyes to not go blind. It was now that y/n noticed the maid's stunning appearance; she had a roundish face and dirty blonde hair that was pulled into a bun with some stray wavy strands that adorned her forehead. She had creamy-looking skin that was the clearest y/n had seen on a face since an eternity, with some freckles that dotted her cheeks and nose. Giselle's deep, sea-blue eyes were laid on y/n expectantly, waiting for a response other than the senseless noises y/n were emitting from her gaping mouth. 

She's totally Ryu's type, y/n thought. Then she snapped back to reality from her wandering thoughts. Great, I'm gaping and making this more awkward than it has to be yet again! Ummm, what to say...

She struggled for words until Giselle covered her mouth and laughed in a way that drew all the awkwardness away. She let her dainty hands down and beamed at y/n.

"It's okay, quite a lot of people have reacted to me that way as well. I'll do all the conversing for you, so don't you worry, miss!" She spoke as she walked over to the other side of the bed, near the nightstand with the forgotten food. She sat on a stool and picked up a spoon and made a gesture to ask if y/n wanted her to feed her. Y/n politely declined, setting the tray on her lap and eating the delicious food while chatting with the delightful maid. Somewhere along the conversation, y/n had told Giselle that she could drop the honorifics. They became great friends instantly, and y/n was really grateful for the hospitality and Giselle's friendliness.

~~~

"Young master, Mr. Li would like a rescheduling of the meeting..." Elzer went on about the details as Diluc turned his attention away from the two conversing girls on the other side of the door. When Elzer was done, Diluc motioned for him to head to his office to talk on the matter further. 

A small grin was on his face as Diluc walked away from the guest room. I'm glad they're getting along well.