eternal flame | tartaglia x reader

Chapter Fifteen

Needless to say, you don't have much of an appetite after you hear those words. To be frank, you're dumbstruck for a moment, because it was so obvious all along. Ajax climbing the ranks so quickly, never being able to return home, his "big promotion" he told you about on his eighteenth birthday. You knew that the name Childe sounded familiar ever since you overheard Ajax's friend address him, but hearing it again, you've finally put the pieces together. He's no ordinary Fatui agent, but a harbinger. He's Tartaglia, the eleventh harbinger, the "Childe" of them. He's her majesty's vanguard.

It's not common to refer to the elite members of the Fatui by their aliases within Snezhnaya. In the few public appearances they make, it's all but a crime not to bow down with a "Lord Pierro," or such. If one were to address him as "The Jester," they may be made to face capital punishment.

In any case, you've always honed a bit of resentment toward the Fatui (they were the ones who took Ajax away from you) and when it was announced publicly that a new harbinger was named, "Young Lord Tartaglia, The Childe," you didn't pay the utmost attention. It was around the time that you began your plans to move to Liyue with Maksim after all, you had bigger things to worry about in your mind.

But, maybe you should have paid more attention. If you had figured it out sooner, maybe you could have gotten him out, maybe you could have done something- maybe Rex Lapis wouldn't be dead.

You shake your head to clear the thoughts, you need to find out more. Ajax wouldn't do this without reason- it's possible that he's not even responsible and that it's just a stupid rumour. You take a deep breath in and close your eyes for a moment- now isn't the time to panic. You've been through worse, and you're more mature now. You can handle this.

You keep your head held high as you begin the walk towards the Harbour- but you take all of three steps before realising that something's off. The Jade Chamber is missing?

To your luck, the Alcor is docked in Liyue Harbour today. The crewmates wave you on when they see you approach the boat, greeting you with cheerful smiles.

Juza calls out first, "Glad you're alright! Haven't heard from you since the Osial attack."

"Thanks, Juza. Is Beidou around?" you call back.

"Should be in the Captain's quarters!" he replies.

You make your way down there promptly, hoping to get a full honest recount of what's happened over the past few weeks that you've locked yourself away from the world. Beidou is just as relieved as the rest of the crew to see you, standing up from her desk of important-looking paperwork to grab you in a quick hug when you enter her quarters.

"'Was gonna swing by the inn to make sure that you were alright but it's been so busy here," she says once she releases you.

"I'm fine, I promise," you assure her. "I was actually so far removed that I have no idea what happened. Where's the jade chamber? What is Osial?"

You take a seat as Beidou explains the recent events. An evil god known named Osial, who was sealed centuries ago by Rex Lapis himself, was released upon the harbour near the Golden House. The Qixing and Adepti had to work together and sacrifice the Jade Chamber to subdue him again. It's equally as shocking as it is heartbreaking. You love Liyue and it's truly become your home over the past few years, and that's why it's so difficult to ask this next question.

"Have the Qixing determined a culprit?"

Beidou pauses for a moment before shaking her head in reply.

However, it's obvious that she's holding back a bit. You know that Beidou is close to the Tianquan, and therefore close to the investigation. Whether it's because of your foreign heritage or civilian status, she's not going to give out information without a bit of a prompt.

You swallow thickly before saying, "Many people seem to think that the young Fatui member who lives here in the harbour is responsible."

The words taste like acid in your mouth.

Beidou only shrugs in reply. "The Qixing hasn't determined the official person who is responsible yet, but he seems like a likely suspect. However, even if he did do it, he's technically a diplomat, so there isn't much we could do anyway," she confesses.

"I see," you reply, pretending that every word doesn't feel like a blow to your gut.
How could the sweet boy you grew up with do this? He was your first love, the closest friend you'll ever have. Maybe it really was time for you to let go of the soft spoken Ajax with big dreams and glowing eyes. Over and over, you've been shown that the Ajax you've been holding onto so tightly all these years is gone.

All that's left is a hollow shell of him. A violent, cruel ghost of a boy who is not coming back.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Beidou asks. Shit, you must be visibly upset right now.

"Sorry," you say, feeling another stab of guilt when you realise that you're not even mourning the loss that Liyue has suffered, but your own childish hopes, "It's just a lot to take in."

"The sun's gonna set soon, head back to the inn and get some rest, okay?" she suggests, eyebrow creased in a frown.

You agree, you need some time to think, "Okay, I'll see you later Beidou."

The sun is almost past the horizon by the time you make it back to your room. Though you thought that you needed time to think, you haven't been able to do anything but try and process the grief that you're feeling. Grief is seeping into the pores of your skin all the way to your bones, it's weighing your entire body down. It's a relief when you finally see the door to your room at the inn again, you're ready to get some rest. However, as you take a few steps closer, you see a figure in the hallway in front of your door.

As you approach, the figure becomes clearer and you can see that it's someone sitting on the floor, knees pressed to their chest and they're almost curled into a ball.

"Ajax?" you ask when you see the head of auburn hair. Burnt auburn, not vibrant.

When he lifts his head up and meets your eyes, there's a vulnerability there that you haven't seen since before he was fourteen, before he ran off into the woods, before he had a vision.

"I'm sorry. I had nowhere else," he rasps, before collapsing at your feet in a heap of sobs.

"Shit," you whisper through your teeth, bending down to place a gentle hand on Ajax's back. "Come on 'Jax, let's go inside."

You unlock the door to your room and help him inside, it's best not to continue this in the hallway, especially when half of Liyue wants his head right now.

Ajax's entire body is shaking, there's bags under his eyes and he looks so small.

"I can't keep doing this," Ajax confesses once he's seated in a chair in your room. He's resting his elbows on his knees, face towards the ground so that his hair forms a curtain around him.

You kneel in front of him, pushing a handful of his hair to the side to look him in the eyes.

"I can help, but you need to talk to me. I need the whole story."

Ajax nods with a certain amount of defeat.

"Okay," he starts. "When I was fourteen, I didn't only go missing for three days. For me, I was gone for three months."

Your heart drops to your stomach.