My Dear Friend | Chilumi

The Harbingers

The eleventh harbinger approached the icy palace, cold air burning his face and snow-filled wind hugging his body in a chilling embrace. He had been called back to the motherland for a meeting with the others about the Inazuman vagrant and Childe's devasting inability to bring him back with the gnosis. He entered the palace and joined the others in the grand meeting hall, where they had already arrived and were only waiting for him.

"The little kid comes back empty-handed. What a shame." Arlecchino said as soon as he entered the room.

"At least I've been doing something worthwhile to try and bring him back." He spat back to the white-haired woman.

He was absolutely furious to have been backstabbed by Scaramouche, to have played his cards wrong. That's what he gets for trying to play the game like the other harbingers. He should have just stuck to his talents and brought him back like he was supposed to. Of course, He was the only one to blame in this situation. Now, he needed to be sure the others wouldn't find out.

"Now, now children. We have a bigger problem. Since we could not bring the Balladeer back, we have had to at least double our efforts to gather intel about his plans. He is using the gnosis to become a god himself, maybe even replace the Electro archeon he calls mother." Pantalone said, a hint of disgust could be heard in the last word he spoke before he continued.
"He abandoned us and betrayed her Majesty. He will be punished accordingly when we catch him."

"I'll go back to find him and kill him. " Childe announced. He had to make up for his secret fuck up. He also personally hated the man for his betrayal of the tsaritsa, and the way he treated the traveler.

"I want the puppet back alive. I have a few ideas I would like to test out." The doctor expressed.

"The goal is indeed to bring back the Balladeer alive, but if he must perish to bring back the gnosis, then so be it." Pulcinella spoke out as a last attempt to stop the feuding.

"Perfect, so I can kill him." Childe reiterated.

"You will do no such thing." The first harbinger barked in a low, menacing tone.

"You're not going to keep me here, you never do. You need someone to do the dirty work and it's never going to be one of you. " Childe said back in a frustrated voice.

"Well, this time someone else will do your job. You have failed her Majesty, Tartaglia. We know of your little story with the Traveler. You've become a liability, and her Majesty sees it as treason that you entertain such a relationship with our enemy." The jester continued.

Childe stayed silent. The fact that the person that he held in such high esteem, the Tsarista, thought of him as a traitor was shocking.

"You will be sent to Fontaine and you'll be debriefed in two days time for your mission. You are also forbidden to get in contact with the girl. Understood?"

"This is absolutely ridiculous. I am the most loyal to the Tsarista. I would do anything for her and this is how my loyalty is repaid? By sending me to stupid Fontaine for a stupid mission that won't mean anything in the end? Absolutely ridiculous." Childe argued.

"Back down, or next time the soldiers I send will be after your head." The jester replied. Childe understood what he was insinuating, and his blood boiled.

Childe shut down and listened to the rest of the meeting in a silent rage. He couldn't believe that he was being put in a corner like a misbehaving dog. He was also furious that the one who ordered the hit Lumine was the untouchable first harbinger. That his capabilities were put in doubt over his personal relationships and because of one failed mission out of a thousand that have succeeded. He cursed under his breath as the meeting went on. He wouldn't allow the others to take his right to see her, be with her. He wouldn't go to Fontaine without a fight.

They all regrouped at the end around the table to voice their oaths of loyalty and the meeting was dismissed. Childe wanted to go talk to Pierro, but Pulcinella held him back and pulled him to the side.

"I know what you are planning to do, Childe. It's not worth it. She's not worth it. I understand this is hard to accept, but if you want your family to be kept safe, and even the girl to be out of harm's way, you must obey."

"It's absolutely humiliating to be in this position, Pulcinella, and you know I won't let anything happen to my family. I'll protect them."

"Childe, the sheer force of the other harbingers seems to be out of the grasp of your mind. If you disobey, not only will you be killed, but they will kill your entire family, and they will kill the traveler, and you alone are not strong enough to stop that. The court is unstable in light of Signora's death and Scaramouche's desertion. They don't trust you, Childe. They don't approve of your methods and they certainly do not approve of your personal relationship with the one who tends to stop our plans. Please, just stay in line until things die down. Do it for the ones you love." Pulcinella said in a desperate voice. He treated Childe like his nephew and always seemed to want the best for him.

"Fine" Childe said between his teeth. He would submit to the orders and accept his new role, even if it meant that he couldn't speak with her ever again. He needed her and his family safe. He was so tired of being a puppet for the other harbingers when he only desired to work for the Tsarista, to be under her direct orders. But now even she doubted him.

He would stay in Snezhnaya until he could be deported to Fontaine and agreed that he would never speak to the traveler again. It was the only way to keep her safe. He had to make her believe that he didn't care anymore. To keep her safe is to cut contact. It felt like a stab to the heart, knowing how it was going to make her feel, but imagining her dead was even worse. He knew he would be watched now that Pulcinella warned him, and needed to be on his guard even more than usual.

He stepped out of the palace into the frost-filled winds and looked back briefly to the place that started to seem like a prison. A long black-haired maiden watched him from the stairs and hummed an eerie song while Childe continued to the nearest bar for shots of fire-water to drown out his sorrows. He felt the inside of his coat, making sure her last letter was still present and safe and hummed to himself the same eerie melody that echoed through the cold.