Ajax stared at the ground blankly as his mother and sister fussed over him. His younger siblings were currently with his brother and father, leaving the women of the family to help him pack.
"You must take care of yourself, Ajax." His sister gripped onto his shoulder tightly, looking into his empty, broken eyes, "Who knows what kind of crap the Fatui do to new recruits..."
"What is your father thinking... even by normal standards, conscription into the Fatui are for those at least eighteen years old..." His mother shook her head sadly. She looked like she was going to cry, having to send one of her precious babies into an army camp that didn't exactly have the best reputation for keeping their soldiers alive... but her husband was the one who had done this... and they couldn't exactly turn back now.
That would just be a death sentence.
"Would the Tsaritsa really..." Xingqiu dragged his finger across his throat, miming getting his head sliced off, "... simply because a mere fourteen year old didn't want to join some army camp?"
"Before the Cataclysm... she was a much kinder soul. And yet, now, her heart has turned to coal." Venti admitted, thinking deeply as he resting his chin against his hand. In his uncertainty, his finger fidgeted, as if he were strumming an invisible lyre.
"What he's trying to say is; it's likely." Diluc deadpanned, "Can you like... not talk in rhymes or ballads for once and please get to the point?"
"Fine." Venti huffed, "She used to be a kind god; a true embodiment of the Goddess of Love. But the Cataclysm hardened her heart, and she's pretty much unrecognizable. She might be softer on children and won't punish them now... but there is no doubt she'd keep a record of this and may hold if over Childe's head when he's older... if she really needed him."
Aether and Paimon shuddered; they really weren't looking forward to going to Snezhnaya...
"Urg." Diluc groaned in disgust; mainly aimed towards the Fatui. Ever since falling into the Abyss, he could tell that Tartaglia's fate was now completely out of his hands, having spiraled completely out of control; whatever happened shouldn't really be held against him.
His sister narrowed her eyes, deep in thought, as if she had a pretty good idea of what Ajax might go through. She pressed her forehead against Ajax's, ignoring the way he flinched backwards from the sudden contact.
She murmured, "You're going to be far younger and smaller than everyone... they're going bully you. Please... I know you're in so much trouble with папа because of your so-called violent tendencies... which is still utter bullshit, you've just been trying to protect us..."
Everyone immediately glowered. Sure, the fact that the child was so violent was disturbing... but he had only been trying to protect his family...
Was that so hard to understand?
She sniffled, and stood up straight, tears welling up in her bright, sea blue eyes, rolling down her face in fat globs, "You can't let anyone take advantage of you, okay? A lot of people that are conscripted... the only language they understand is violence... If anyone does anything to you, just hit them. No one is allowed to hurt you. "
"Is it... really that bad?" Gorou tilted his head, his ears and tail flicking about uneasily. He's a general in the Watatsumi Army, and yet, his experiences hadn't been so... barbaric...
The only one with all the answers was Tartaglia... and yet, the Harbinger was remaining silent.
Ajax just stared up at his sister with his dead eyes, watching impassively as she cried. He hated that he had made her cry, she was sad because of him, it was his fault, all his fault-
YOU ARE READING
The Power of Revelation: The Truth Shall Set You Free
FanfictionFighting off hoards of enemies in the Spiral Abyss, Tartaglia is forced to confront his nightmares of old, and if he wasn't so acutely aware of what got him into the situation in the first place, he would think that Celestia was actively fucking wit...
