A heart in need | Scaramouche x Reader

Helpless

A/N: I apologise. The Scaramouche update had my life held by the neck with an iron grip.

A/N 2: A/N 1 was written before Scara was Wanderer, fuck me. Every few months my scaramouche brainrot returns. I wrote this chapter 5 months ago and i straight up didnt remember where i wanted to go with this story, so i had to revamp it.

Whatever peaceful sleep you could have had that night was interrupted by some shuffling of feet walking around in the grass.
"Milord..?" You began. The Balladeer was nowhere to be found, and even before you could rub the sleep from your eyes, a soothing smell made your head spin. A hangover was never this.. peculiar. Your head once again touched the blanket as you fell back asleep.

It was a bright morning when you awoke for the second time. You weren't were you woke up. Wooden walls surrounded you, creating a small room. In the middle, you were laying upon a rather comfortable bed. A shrine maiden had stood pressed up against the wall. She ran out as soon as she had seen you stirring awake. Her footsteps faded away. By now, you had collected yourself enough to get up from the bed. The door creaked open, heavy as it was, it wasn't locked.

Sunlight hit your face as you looked up at a large tree. Stone fox statues gracefully sat next to it. A familiar figure strutted towards you, with a rather smug smile on her face.
"Lady." You greeted stiffly.
"What is the meaning of this?" Scaramouche's absence wasn't something you took lightly.

Yae Miko nodded back in a greeting. Her arms were loosely folded across her chest.
"I've brought you here because your Harbinger has something we need." As she spoke, the kitsune lady came closer and closer, right up until where you could see a twinkle in her eyes. Her hand was placed against your chin, as Yae Miko's fingers pinched your cheek, holding you effectively. She wasn't rough, by any means. Yet, something told you that if you were to pull away, she would not hesitate to become just that.

"You can't fight him, so you resort to foul backhanded tricks?" You began. The lady in front of you began to laugh. Her animalistic ears twitched in amusement.
"You're absolutely right."

"Why do you need it in the first place? You were the one that gave it away."

"Why, the reason is me." A figure stepped away from the shadows. A rather dull, unimportant looking man entered your view as his voice rung out again. It had a stuck up tone to it. Flamboyant was the closest description you could think of.

"I am merely but a messenger for the Fatui." He continued. He was tall enough to look down on you.
"We have lost contact with the Balladeer, and would like to reclaim what is rightfully ours."

"And, in exchange, the Fatui will be leaving Inazuma alone." Yae added onto his explanation. More Fatui soldiers emerged from the shadows. You hadn't noticed them until a foot kicked the back of your legs. Your knees buckled immediately, and pairs of hands grabbed onto your arms, holding you down tightly. While Lady Yae didn't seem pleased with the rough handling, she did not attempt to help you.

"You will be the one to keep that little brat in check." There was no way in hell you would cooperate.
As if this man read your mind, he chuckled.
"But of course, you needn't do a thing. I can already imagine his face if he realises the kinds of things that could, and will happen to you. That, or, he wouldn't care at all. After all, you are nothing but a temporary companion, aren't you?" With a clap of his hands, a sharp pain ran from your neck, down to your body.
"You.. you will not get away with this." Strangely enough, despite the heavy amount of mental and physical stress you felt, you were quite calm.

"Oh, but I already did."
Those were the last words you heard from the man as your body gave out once again. Your vision faded to black.

•••

Fuck, your body ached everywhere. Pain shot up from your stomach as you woke up. You remembered waking up a while ago. Unable to move or see anything. Pain came in waves as you heard foreign noises. The same voice of that wretched man mumbling saying so much crap.

The room was dark, and you propped yourself up against a wall you felt. You could just barely make out a "bed" you were laying on. Straw on the ground. Walls surrounded you, except for the bars that showed you a small view into a similar, empty cell in front of yours, with a hall seperating them. Your hand moved to the source of the pain. Soft bandages had been wrapped all around your stomach, wet to the touch. And it hurt like a bitch, too. You winced.

A little pile in the corner of your cell, of what you had supposed was straw, or leaves of some kind, shrieked at your movement. When you focused on it, you could just make out small hands and feet from underneath a bunch of rags and long, tangled hair.

"Hey." You rasped. Your throat was dry, and apparently it felt like you hadn't used your voice in a while.
"What's going on? Do you know where we are?" You asked, not unfriendly. From the size of the pile, you were sure it was a kid. They didn't answer you, but the uncomfortable flinches and squirms when you talked to them showed you they were listening.
"Can you understand me?" You tried again, to no avail. Only silence answered your question.

The pain in your stomach flared up again. With a groan, you layed back down on the bed. Memories of what happened came flooding back. Memories of the night you had shared with Scaramouche, only to end up here. You weren't sure how much time passed, but footsteps called you back to Teyvat. They stopped right in front of your room.

"I know you are awake." That grating, obnoxious voice was back. You opened up your eyes. The hall had been lit up, and a silhouette blocked some of the light. Two more Fatui soldiers stood behind him.
He nodded, and the soldiers unlocked the door. It rattled loudly, as the child began to tremble quietly. The soldiers didn't even acknowledge it. They strutted towards you. You were hauled up from the ground, and practically dragged out by them. You couldn't help but writhe from the pain. It had spread out from your stomach towards your chest, too.

The harsh grip from the agent on your right softened. When you glanced up, you could tell through the mask that they had a rather sympathetic face. With their eyebrows turned down, they didn't quite look like they wanted to do this, either.

Nevertheless, you hadn't the strength to resist them. All you could do was hang like a bag as your eyes set on the hall. It revealed a lot more cells. You couldn't tell if they were empty or not. The man stepped in your view, and leaned down towards you. As you were readjusting to the harsh lights, you could see that the man was not the same as when you first had met him.
"Who are you?" You pushed out the words, to which he laughed. He wore a pointy mask reminding you of a crow's beak. At first, you had thought it was Ayato Kamisato, thanks to the blue hair. You disregarded your theory immediately. Ayato's haircut was more blue than.. whatever this was.

"Do you not recognise me?" Gloved fingers touched your cheek.
"Well, no matter. I am the Doctor. A fellow Harbinger of your little Balladeer." He turned around, not expecting an answer. You were escorted towards the end of the hall. When the door opened, you were met with even more halls. You tried your best to remember where you were going, but shit, it felt like an hour passed of only going left, right, and straight. It was hard to concentrate when every step made it feel like your midriff was being stabbed.

Finally, a change that caught your eye. A door. It seemed like the right one, too. To your relief, the Doctor opened it, only to reveal the outside. It was impossible to know how many days had passed since you last saw the Balladeer. As your eyes got accustomed to the dark environment, the sounds of water sloshing around caught your attention before the sight of the ocean. A prepared boat stood in the middle of the dock, with Fatui agents scuttling around and about, preparing it.

"Come along now. I can't wait for you to see Sumeru." The Doctor laughed.