This isn't real

Snezhnaya

Next day

"Please awake, Zhongli." A woman with white hair tied back gently shook the sleeping male.

"What is it, Shenhe? Is there a problem?" Zhongli sat up in his bed as he sleepily looked at the woman. He rubbed his eyes before drawing his full attention to her.

"You don't remember? This is your day of departure." Shenhe helped Zhongli out and patiently waited for him to get dressed. "You don't seem very excited."

"Would you be if you had to leave your friends and family behind to marry someone you never met?" Zhongli sighed as he sat in his chair facing his vanity and began to brush his hair.

"You're right. That does not seem fun. Unfortunately, I cannot go with you. I would but I have other matters to attend to here." -Sh

"It's quite alright, Shenhe. I'd rather you stay here." Zhongli gave her a small smile and resumed getting ready. His mind wandered to his mothers' words. Get married, produce an heir and come back to rule Liyue. It was not so much the eternal outcome, but rather how he was going to convince the other party to welcome him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he applied his usual red eyeliner, hand shaking. Thoughts of doubt filled his head as he gave the small red compartment to Shenhe to put it back in his teapot.

Z: What will they think of me? Am I that weird? What if the prince hates me? What if-?

"Zhongli, you're overthinking again." Shenhe had just finished tying his hair and was walking away with his teapot.

"Sorry." Zhongli felt his head start to spin. Gripping the table to stop him from falling, he closed his eyes to try and steady himself. Shenhe noticed this and swiftly walked over to him.

"Here. I know you're not supposed to eat these but just this once." She handed him half of a pill. He quietly accepted the medication and swallowed it. The two of them got up and walked out of the Jade Chamber. The rest of the harbor was silent as they neared the dock. When they got there, he was greeted by his family, adeptal council, icing and his favorite children.

"See you soon, Mister Zhongli." Xiangling, Chongyun and Xingqiu all ran up to him and hugged the man. He hugged back and a tear slipped through his serene exterior.

"I wish you well, Mister Zhongli." A girl with amethyst hair and a girl with pink hair smiled at him.

"Thank you Keqing and Yanfei." He continued down to the boat that was prepared for him and was immediately attacked with his children.

"Bye dad. We'll see you soon." Ganyu and Hu Tao, his two daughters, hugged him as he kissed both of their foreheads. Xiao joined in the hugging as much as he tried to resist it, ultimately led by the youngest, Qiqi. When they released him, his family dragged him into another tighter hug. He would feel the air being knocked out of his lungs.

"Zhongli! We need to leave now!" The captain called from the ship. Reluctantly, they let him go. The prince carefully stepped into the boat. The minute he stepped on the ship, a wave of homesickness overcame him. He spun around to face the crowd that had come to watch him leave. He could see his mother sobbing uncontrollably into her wife as they watched the boat leave. It broke his heart to see them like this but it wasn't like he had a choice. In this world of forced unions and duty before yourself, no one had a choice. Zhongli turned around the minute his nation was nothing but a speck and went below to the deck. Noelle was the last person at the dock, staring out to sea as she imagined Zhongli on the boat he left. Before leaving, Noelle whispered her final words to him.