System Enter: Arcadia || A Genshin Impact Fanfiction

Five, Part One

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-It had been a few weeks after the miracle bread had visited the two females.

Alatus hadn't noticed the change when he came back from his usual training slash job, apart from the fact that Alcyone looked positively vibrant the particular morning when he had arrived from his job.

The poorly bandaged Alatus raised a brow at this, clearly confused.

"What got you so happy today?" Alatus had to ask as he leaned against the wall and sat down on his butt, wordlessly giving out the small bag that contained a few of Alatus's earnings.

Alcyone turned around to look at Alatus with a certain glint in her eyes. Even Arcadia looked similar to that her mother.

'Is this the part where I say 'like mother, like daughter?' Alatus sweatdropped, feeling the bag leave his hands. Arcadia clumsily took it and gave it to her mother with a gummy smile.

Alatus couldn't get any more confused.

Alcyone poked Arcadia on her cheek, "Baby, can you show big brother what you learned?" the mother asked, she held Arcadia by her armpits and showed her to Alatus.

Arcadia vigorously nodded. She held out her hands to Alatus and said her first words to Alatus, "Lala!"

Alatus inevitably froze. The hands at his side had stilled as his cyan eyes only dilated at the words spoken by his little sister. He stupidly pointed at himself and repeated, "Lala?"

"Lala!" Arcadia showed Alatus her infamous gummy smile.

Alcyone felt her cheeks flush when she saw how Alatus's smile was as he gushed over his sister's cutesy.

The sight of Alatus and Arcadia

Alatus was only a little lad when Alcyone found him. She had only recently been appointed as Morpheus's one and only lady. Needless to say, Alcyone thought it was quite the heavy shoes she had worn (which is not) but never mind that.

She remembered it to be a rare calm snowy day, as it is always snowing in Dragonspine albeit a little mild than before.

Alcyone had approached the entrance with a band of servants after her tail when Morpheus and she were informed of a child that was being sold by these treasure hoarders. The entrance had no doors to the cave's opening apart from a rackety, stone-cold, iron gate that separated the outside world from the warm yet empty cave that is owned by the God of Dreams himself.

A hunched figure stepped down from the wagon as it approached the Lady of Dreams, holding a rusted lantern in its old, brittle fingers. The hunched figure looked up at Alcyone's face and it showed an old man with a noticeable wart on the side of his nose. The old man grinned, showing Alcyone a smile with a few missing teeth.

"Would ye like to buy one off me fresh good goods, milady?" The old man said as he offered her the same brittle hand. "'Is quite a few pieces of jewelry for sale, milady, made it myself."

Alcyone could feel her maidservants shudder in disgust with the simple sight of an old man which she ignored. She had encountered the worst types of men after all, what little could the old man do?

Alcyone looked at the back of the wagon and spotted quite a plethora of different kinds of jewelry. All of them, each different kind of carvery and intricacy, possibly from different parts of Teyvat. Alcyone could remember her scrunching her nose in disgust as she proceeded to touch a broach that looked very familiar, the bright sheen of the dark blue sapphire catching the light of the warm lamp.

There had been quite the stories she heard from Morpheus. One of his stories included a Liyue'an wanderer and thief whose famous for stealing jewelry in the middle of a post-war battlefield, whether it be an engagement ring off a soldier or a simple broach that belonged to a particular God just like this.

The said God lost his broach in the middle of fighting off Morax's minions.

Alcyone remembered it very well since she placed it on his cape as good luck before leaving off the battlefield and never saw it again after that.

Until now that is.

The unmistakable sound of chains caught Alcyone's attention and rid herself of her thoughts. Her pink eyes stared at the cold, almost gray, feet rubbing together for warmth as the chains sounded like it was mocking her.

A small breath of air escaped the hooded figure that Alcyone had just noticed.

Her eyes had momentarily widened at the sight of a boy, no older than three or four, sitting on the edge of the seat of the wagon, shivering in the cold with no proper clothing and clattering against his chains as he did so.

The boy looked up to Alcyone and he stared at the graciously beautiful woman with no light in his dark cyan eyes. His nose was red, an angry crease on his forehead, dark bags hang from his eyes with pale, violet lips.

Alcyone thinned her lips at the sight and looked back to the jewels.

"How much for the boy?" Alcyone spoke for the first time.

The shackles rattled. The little boy looked in her direction in surprise, flashing her the most desperate-looking gold eyes, which were rimmed red.

Alcyone held back a grimace.

The old man blinked in confusion, "I beg yer pardon, milady?"

"The boy, how much?"

The old man raised a gray brow and chuckled as he went to the back of the shivering boy and grabbed the back of his hood, "Forgive me, milady, but unfortunately, the boy's not 'fer sale."

The maids murmured to themselves, confused about their lady's intentions. What is she planning to do with the boy? They had asked themselves as they witnessed Alcyone's frustrated expression.

"My lady," The violet-haired lady-in-waiting, Aubergine, looked at Alcyone with a blank expression. She slightly tilted her head to the side as Alcyone felt an intense yet familiar stare burning at the side of her head.

She immediately felt relief rushing down her bones.

The pink-eyed lady turned and gave the old man a tight-lipped smile, "Very well, I'll take the whole lot." not without noticing the way the boy's shoulders sagged down.

Alcyone looked at the boy who looked back at her with the same hopeful eyes. She felt the side of her lip turn up and gave the boy a subtle wink.

The lady tutted her servants and soldiers to grab the gold. Alcyone discreetly went behind the boy's back and tried to take her with him.

The boy's cyan eyes widened in surprise before they shifted into worry as he vigorously shook his head.

"Don't!" He mouthed.

"What're ye doin', milady?" The older man's gravelly voice was just by her ear as Alcyone flinched and looked at the man behind her.

She stilled her breath, looking at the man who had the most hollow eyes she has ever seen and wore a crooked smile with razor-sharp teeth.

The 'old man' grabbed Alcyone by the arm, "Stealing's no good for you m'lady."

Alcyon paled as she saw the man morph into a dark, horrific demon.

His tongue ran on his lips before forming into a toothy grin, "Dinner is served."

Lmao im very sorry for not updating in awhile i dont have any excuses but anywho, hopefully this'll quench ur thirst. Votes and comments are very much appreciated!