Purrsonal Catastrophe

20

Dainsleif sat on the ground half-naked with his arms above his head and bound to the wall. Anti-magic shackles burned his skin. Did he even have magic to begin with? His memory was still a blurry image. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. He tried his best to sort through them all but his mind kept wandering back to one central theme: Kaeya. 

"Mortal," Fischl stood outside the bars with Oz on her shoulder. "How did you stop the orb?" She placed her hands on her hips. 

"Fischl?" Dainsleif opened his eyes. "What-?" 

"How did you stop the orb? How did you save the town?" 

"Why are you here?" Dainsleif glanced around. The guards were gone as well. 

"I am loyal to the prince, not to you, answer my questions. Where are the twins? How did you stop the orb?" Fischl crossed her arms. "Please don't make me use force," she slammed her hand down on the wall beside the bars and shots of electricity ran through Dainsleif. He winced but didn't give in to the urge to scream. 

"You are loyal to yourself," Dainsleif replied. "This facade is for Kae-" Fischl slammed on the button again. 

"Don't speak so causally of the prince." 

"Why are you here? Truly?" Dainsleif asked. 

"I needed to get the prince out of the human-infested place," Fischl folded her hands behind her back. "I needed you to come in order to do that. He can mourn you, you are no longer necessary now that the prince is king."

"You're working with them, aren't you?" Dainsleif grabbed the chains and used them to help him stand. He got to his feet and walked toward the bars as far as he could. He stared down at Fischl, awaiting the answer. 

"To a point, yes," Fischl nodded. "I am loyal to the future king. I have done what I have done for him," she grabbed her eyepatch and threw it onto the ground to reveal a hollow socket and a charred patch of skin. "Humans stole my magic from me, my animal self, I will do whatever I must to protect future King Kaeya." Fischl held the button longer this time, the intensity caused Dainsleif to stumble, falling onto his knees. 

"Dain!" Kaeya entered the dungeon hall and Fischl took a step back. "Fischl? How did you get here before me?" Zhongli followed behind Kaeya and entered the scene as well. 

"You..." Dainsleif noticed the cat before Zhongli. "It's good to see you again," Dainsleif smiled. 

"Dain, what did they do to you?" Kaeya grabbed the keys from the wall and opened the cell to undo Dainsleif's bonds. He helped him to his feet. "Are you hurt?" 

"Step away from him, Your Majesty," Fischl held a bow and arrow in her hands summoned from shadows. 

"Fischl?" Kaeya turned to face her and stood in front of Dainsleif. 

"He has done nothing but put your life at risk." 

"You may not understand this, no one seems to, but I don't care what Dainsleif is, I love him and the only thing that he has done to me is protect me in the best way he knows how. He is wearing a mask, remember? He can't betray me even if he wishes to." 

"Do you think that mask can truly hold him back from whatever he would do?" Fischl snapped. 

"I have said this before and I will say it as many times as I need to," Kaeya took a few steps forward until the arrow was pointed directly at his heart. "If Dain should ever become a threat I will take care of him myself." 

Fischl closed her eyes for a moment and sighed, lowering the weapon before opening them again. "As you wish," she muttered, leaving the dungeon. 

"Morax," Kaeya walked over to Zhongli and grabbed his hand in both of his. "Will you stay here and join my council?" 

"I have no business he-" Zhongli began but Childe placed his paw on his mouth to silence him. 

"Allow me," Childe spoke. "I will join your council." 

"I should be able to formally remove your ban, however, do you truly wish to stay here?" Kaeya asked. 

Zhongli removed Childe's paw. "We shall leave within a week while you get things settled in your new position. However, we are not staying." 

"But-" Childe began. 

"We are not staying," Zhongli repeated firmly. 

"I shall have to find council members I trust," Kaeya sighed.

"I have a few individuals I can introduce you to," Zhongli assured. 

"Thank you," Kaeya smiled. 

...

It took quite some time before things were actually settled with Kaeya as king. He often didn't wish to do any work at all, leaving most of it to Dainsleif. There were skeptics at first but the people who had been protected by Dainsleif that day with the Ruin Guard shushed the rumors before they could get worse. In time, everyone trusted Dainsleif without remembering his origins in the first place.

"Your Majesty," Dainsleif held out a file. "These are the reports from Diluc. Ningguang and Albedo request your presence in the garden." 

"Dain," Kaeya looked out at the city from his spot in the window. "Do you regret coming here?" 

"I was not from the human world to begin with, technically, so there shouldn't be a reason for me to regret being here." 

"Will you answer the question properly?" 

Dainsleif stepped forward and grabbed Kaeya's hand. He turned his head to look up at Dainsleif. "I will never regret having met you. Even if it has been something of a catastrophe." 

"Haha," Kaeya laughed, grabbing Dainsleif's hand and nuzzling his face into it, purring lightly. "Then I must be your purrsonal catastrophe." 

"There is still much to be done, Master Kaeya," Dainsleif said. "We haven't found any clues about Dottore's whereabouts or any of the people he was working with." 

"In time, Dain, in time," Kaeya grabbed Dainsleif's shirt and pulled him down. "For now, let us enjoy the moment, hm?" he grinned, kissing him. "I love you, Dain." 

"And I, you."