Me, Amber, Kaeya, and Lisa sat on a wooden table outside Angel's Share. Aether had gone missing, and had been gone for nearly 3 days.
"Goodness me, where has he run off to?" Kaeya whispered under his breath.
"I hope he's okay, it's not like him to disappear like that..." Amber held some missing posters in her hands and looked down anxiously.
"Oh? The cutie's run off, you say? Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back. You never know, maybe he's simply fallen asleep somewhere..." Lisa suggested, crossing her legs.
Kaeya noticed my silence and put a hand on my shoulder.
"I'm sure he's fine, Y/N. Don't lose hope, okay?" He smiled, and shortly afterwards I stood up.
"Thank you. I'm going to go for a walk, see you guys later..."
It was... partially true.
Yes, I was going for a walk.
No, I was not going to see them later. I wanted to be alone.
I took steady steps through the grass as I arrived at Stormbearer mountains.
It was cold, dark, and really quiet.
I stopped walking when my gaze met with a moon-lit crystal laying on the floor. It glimmered in the darkness and shone beautifully.
Just as I was about to continue walking, I heard voices behind me.
"Your highness... it's about Mondstadt-" A croaky, unnatural sounding voice squeaked.
"I don't care about Mondstadt." A familiar, but more stern, voice replied. I stopped in my tracks after hearing it.
"Your majesty, they've grown aware of your disappearance..."
"Make them forget about me, then. I am not going back to that place."
"But-"
My breathing started to get heavier. I knew who it was.
It was Aether.
But not the Aether I thought I had fallen in love with.
"Oh, and you dare to try and question me? I am not going back to Mondstadt!" Aether yelled, slicing the being, which had turned out to be an abyss mage, in half. Blood splattered on to the former traveler's face.
Tears tickled my eyes as I heard the brutal attack. It was just an abyss mage, but the aura and tone Aether had given off was somewhat terrifying.
Without a second thought, I ran from where I was stood and hid behind a large rock.
Half of my mind wanted Aether to find me, but the other half was more scared of being killed by him.
He heard my footsteps.
"Who's there?"
I held my palm over my mouth to prevent any breathing sounds. I brought my knees up to my chest and prayed not to be spotted.
"I advise you to run. If I find you, you're dead." Tears slowly started to leak down my face as his threat reached my ears. What had happened to him? Was I truly going to die?
I decided not to run away, and to stay put. If I ran, he would see me. Hiding from him gives me a chance to escape.
"I did tell you to run... if you're still there, think of your last words!" Aether announced, though it wasn't loudly. He probably knew where I was hiding.
Using his anemo powers, he knocked over a few rocks and they hit me in the back of the head, drawing blood. My first instinct was to groan in pain.
"Argh..!" I fell on to the cold grass, holding the mark where the rocks hit my head. I could feel the blood dripping down my hand.
"Found you." Aether mumbled. Though he did not expect to see me, struggling to hold in my tears.
"...Y/N? Wh..?" He dropped his sword and kneeled next to me.
"What are you doing here? Hh.. I-..." He was speechless.
"I-It hurts..." I sniffed, lifting my hand and wiping the blood on my leg. I had completely ignored the fact the man I loved was right next to me because of the agonizing pain that had quickly been shot into my head.
"Stop that..." Aether sighed in what sounded like annoyance, took off his cape, wrapped it in a little ball and put it on to the wound on my head.
However, his reaction just made me cry even more.
"Why are you still crying? Surely it's not that bad..." He put pressure on to my head.
"W-Where... have you been..? It's been so.. lonely!" I tried to ask between sobs.
Aether felt tears in his eyes, though he managed to not let them fall down his face.
"I had to leave, Y/N."
"And... you're coming back, right?" I slowly started to stop crying.
"...No. I'm not." He sighed and struggled to say anything else.
"Then just... kill me... please."
Aether grabbed his sword. He knew he had to, nobody could know who he was, or where he went.
He didn't want to do it.
He felt grief.
He just wanted to go home.
"Goodbye, Y/N."
A sharp pain went through my stomach, and the darkness took over.
---
To my surprise, I woke up in a soft mattress.
My eyes fluttered open and I made eye contact with Lisa, who was sat beside me.
"Darling, you've finally awoken! How are you feeling?" She smiled at me.
"I'm okay... what happened?" I asked her, pulling the duvet up.
"Last night, you didn't come back to Mondstadt. Barbara found you and healed up the wound on your stomach, before bringing you here.
I tried to recall the events that happened the night before. The only thing I could remember was Aether.
"Oh, and one thing! This envelope was beside you." Lisa handed me a white envelope with a red bow. I opened it and scanned the note inside.
Please meet me where we were last night. I hope you're okay.
---
Hours after I recovered, I headed to Stormbearer mountains, where I had been the night before.
I spotted Aether, leaning against a tree, and I walked towards him.
He noticed me and dragged me into a huge hug.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Y/N." Tears fell down his face. Aether didn't pull away from the hug, and neither did I.
"It's okay, I'm alright. I simply replied, hugging Aether back.
"I didn't want to do it... it's just... I was so scared that you would tell people where I was, and people would think I'm a monster, and-"
"I'm not, and I haven't. Don't worry."
Aether soon calmed down, and pressed his lips against my cheek.
"...thank you.."
[this is so trash sorry]
