Between Duty and Love

Chapter 10 - The ring

 Time passes quickly when you most want it to last just a little longer.

 In the past three days, Xiao had almost fully recovered.

 Even so, he has yet to set foot outside the teapot.

 He didn't say a word. He didn't eat, he didn't drink, he didn't sleep.

 He just stared into the void.

 Much like Venti depended on Xiao, he too came to depend on Venti.

 Intentionally or not, his goal had been achieved somewhere along the way.

 Xiao's POV

 Will you be able to return?

 Will I ever see you again?

I'm sorry I called you a stupid old archon. I'm sorry I took away your wine.

 Please, I'll do anything.

 Just return to me. I beg you.

 I don't care even if the world is destroyed. I just want you back.

It wasn't too long ago that you arrived in my world. You broke into it like a hurricane.

 You arrived and then you stuck inside it.

 You came and destroyed the walls that I had put up around me without a hitch.

 I had always hated crowds. In this case, I was the complete opposite of you.

 But even so, as long as you were there, it was still okay.

 As long as you were there, I felt as if I could do anything.

 Ever since I lost my friends, I shut people out completely.

 I didn't want to lose any more people who were dear to me, so I shut the door on my heart.

 And you... You came and blew it wide open.

 You thought me to let people in, even those who I knew would die in just tens of years.

 Jean, the knights, the people of Mondstadt...

 Even now, I'm still afraid to loos those whom I hold dear.

 But if you're there, I feel like I would be okay.

 You can't just leave after breaking down all my walls. You can't leave me behind like this.

 Please, Venti... Don't make me lose you too.

 I feel like I would break if even you left me behind. If once again, I was the one remaining.

 I don't think I can take something like that again.

 Knock. Knock.

 Two soft knocks sounded and I looked up.

 Madam Ping stood at the door with a tired face. It appears that a few more disasters had swept through Teyvat while I was in here.

 "The last 24 hours just went in." She said.

 The last 24 hours. The last day.

 "I know."

 I had been counting. Every hour, every minute, every second.

 There was no way I wouldn't know.

 Venti probably knows it too, only for him, it would be another hundred years.

 After that one conversation, the Venti in the ring had stopped responding.

 I wonder what happened to him.

 Was he tired? Too exhausted to speak any longer?

 What was this ring even for?

 "Oh? So he ended up giving it to you? Congratulations." Madam Ping smiled at the sight of the ring.

 Congratulations? What for?

 "Hmm. Actually, you might not even know what these mean, so you?" She pointed to the patterns.

 "They mean something?" Would that reveal what it is for?

 "It's an ancient scripture used by the adepti in the past. It was too difficult to learn so we changed it by the time you learned it." 

 "So what does this mean?"

 She took my hand into hers and traced the patterns as she turned my hand.

 "If you read along the green lines, it says: I'll love you till the end of time.

 If you read along the blue ones... I'll protect you till the day I die."

 I felt pain shoot through my heart.

 These two lines were the ones Venti always used to reassure me.

 I never really liked the second one, but it always gave me a sense of safety.

 "It took him quite a while to learn these two lines. He would always run here every time you were not with him. He struggled with it a lot. This wasn't the first ring he made, you know. he threw away at least ten of them before he was satisfied. It had to be perfect, he always said."

 But why? What for? Wha t is the special occasion.

 "I didn't like to see him struggle so much, but seeing his determination, I just let him do what he wants. He only managed to finish it a few months ago. He had been working on it for quite a while. I'm happy for you, Xiao. You'll finally have a family of your own." She smiled.

 A family?

 Something seemed to click.

 This ring... It couldn't possibly be...

 "An engagement ring?"

 "Excuse me?"

 "This is an engagement ring?"

 "Yes, it is. Xiao, is something wrong?"

 She didn't understand what had happened.

 "Venti... he never..."

 He never had the chance to ask. He left before he could.

 "Stupid... Stupid old archon..."

 I felt tears roll down my cheeks.

 He wanted to...

 He actually wanted to ask me to marry him.

 Madame Ping said that you finished it a few months ago.

 Who did you hesitate?

 Were you afraid that I would say no? Or was it something else?

 But now, I'm afraid.

 Afraid that I'll never get the chance to say yes to you.