Traitor's Castle

One of the worst pieces of news Kaeya has ever received comes while he cannot move. The rain torrents down outside, harsh and booming, the accompaniment to a melody of lighting. Darkness sings a fresh aria, a tale of two brothers, of fire and ice, and of death. Candlelight flickers and is barely visible as two sisters cling on to each other in a rare but quiet moment of desperation.

"Diluc is gone," Jean rasps in an almost whisper, and she can barely be heard above the sound of the outdoor's music. "He got into an argument with Inspector Eroch and he didn't have his vision."

If he could speak immediately, he would. If he could grip his bedsheets, do anything, he would. He is in so much physical and emotional pain that he can do neither, however, and so he simply stares at Jean, trying to think of the answer he should give.

A terrible and cynical thought comes to his mind. With it, an answer comes to his questions.

"I don't care," he wheezes out, purposefully, as if breathing his dying breath.

"Kaeya, he's your brother, how could you—?" Jean almost lunges forward.

Barbara stands and blocks her sister with her arm. "Enough. He needs to heal."

His friend of the longest time looks like she wants to say so much more, but instead resigns herself to her sister's orders. Barbara, on the other hand, looks like a doctor, and for a moment, her kindness touches him. But inside, he steels himself. He waits for them to leave the room, and when he's ready let's out one more phrase.

"He's no brother of mine, anymore," he says, as quiet as can be.

Whether it's more to remind himself of his new truth, or to let the man listening on the other side of the wall know, he isn't sure.

<><><>

If there is one word Kaeya has learned to hate, it is aftermath. He hates it with every step that is difficult, with every healing session that Barbara and the nuns oversee, and with every curious visitor he gets that passes on the gossip. Kaeya would send them all away, let only the nuns and maybe Jean see him, but he knows better.

There is a big fish he is trying to lure in.

Each visitor is a piece of bait, a second on the bobber, as he waits.

Eventually, he comes, flashing his gaudy blue ring in Kaeya's face.

"Sir Kaeya," says Eroch, the traitor who has taken credit for slaying Ursa the Drake, "how wonderful it is to hear that you're on the path to recovery."

Kaeya lays in bed, helpless, unable to move except in a limited range due to the burns. He notes this as his target moves close into his personal space, closer than is standard for the citizens of Mondstadt. Perhaps it is meant to intimidate him, but he wants to give off an air of sincereness, so he stays as still as possible.

"I've come to ask for your account of what happened on, well, that night. As an investigator for the Knights of Favonius, I'm sure you know the gravity of that job. After all, the Fatui are asking," he continues.

This is one more reason he is resentful of being in bed, but he refuses to say it. He doesn't know what it is, but he knows that the inspector has some connection to the menaces that dared hurt Mondstadt.

Kaeya nods, and it is painful and deliberate. "Of course, I would expect nothing less."

The Inspector asks him standard questions, to which Kaeya gives standard answers. He knows exactly what this is. A test of his ability to act normal, to keep his face and actions straight despite the pretend anger he's shown. Kaeya, of course, knows how to pass. And he also knows what this is. He's being recruited.