||𝘒𝘫æ𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘫𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘦||Dainsleif X Reader

XII: Non custos si fingar ille caenrium

"Non custos si fingar ille caenrium,
Non fulmineus ego lyrae Barbatos
Non si pegaseo ferar volatu
Non morphes niveae citaeque bigae
Adde huc plumipedas volatilesque
Ventorumque simul require cursum.
Quos iunctos amica mea mihi dicares,
Defessus tamen omnibus medullis
Et multis languoribus peresus
Essem te mihi amica quaeritando
Caelum dilabitur
Falsitas collabitur."

<<Wait. Kaeya, you thinking what i'm thinking?>> Sarah asked her brother.
<<Honestly i was about to ask you that.>>
The Alberich siblings looked at eachother, eyes widened.
<<Dad's handwriting?>>
<<Dad's handwriting.>>

The two examined the letter more throughly, then Sarah started thinking about something else.

*No, i think someone tried to copy Father's handwriting. This looks almost the same, but there are a couple details wrong.*

<<This is not Father's handwriting. It's a fake letter someone wrote in his stead.>> the girl stated.
<<Who could have been?>> The blue haired Captain asked, tilting his head in surprise.
<<Mother.>>
<<W-What?! Mother had gone mad, there's no way she could've wrote something like that.>>
<<Have you ever seen Father write in Latin, Kaeya? Because he never did. He only wrote in Khaenri'ahn runes. Mother, before meeting him, was an Haravatat student at the Akademiya, remember?>>
<<She studied languages... now that would explain the Latin.>>
<<There are a couple details that set a difference between this calligraphy and Father's: Mother's handwriting is more detailed and precise, Father was a mess whenever he had to write something. His letters were all a messy and quick handwriting, while, if you read mother's diaries from school, you would've noticed she was always precise and slow when writing, and never left a single ink mark on the papers she wrote.>>
<<You read her diaries? I thought Father had them burned a long time ago.>>
<<That was what i thought too, but i happened to find two written in Latin just in my room back home.>>
<<H-how is that even possible...>>
<<She hid them. She wanted me to have them. This is definetly an advice for us from her.
She always repeated how much she wanted me to learn Latin, while Father didn't. Now i understand why she was so eager for me to learn. Let me translate that.>>

"Even if i am not the protector of Khaenri'ah,
Nor the Inazuma or the Barbatos who holds a Lyre,
Even if i cannot fly like a Pegasus,
Nor for a white, fast, shapeless(?) Carriage,
Together with the winged gods and the power to fly in the air
I desire the speed of the wind
Friend, use it and entrust yourself to me.
I may be exhausted in my bones,
And infected by multiple diseases.
My friend, i'm searching for you
The skies will fall,
And lies will collapse."

<<What does she mean with: "not the protector of Khaenri'ah", wasn't she the queen?>> Paimon asked, confused.
<<Father did marry her, but she wasn't a pureblood Khaenri'ahn, so she had no power to rule, even as a pureblood king's wife. Khaenri'ah had an advanced technology, but oh, their rules were so archaic.>>
<<"Nor the Inazuma or the Barbatos who holds a Lyre"... she wasn't cursed, so she wasn't immortal, and she wasn't free, like the God of Freedom.>>
<<"Even if i cannot fly like a Pegasus"... what's a pegasus?>>
<<It's a mythologic creature from another world. It's like a horse, with lion paws and big, eagle-like wings. Do you know an Astrologist, by any chance? Maybe another clue's position could be related to the Constellation's position in the sky.>>
<<We do! Traveller, why don't we bring them to Mona?>> Paimon asked Aether.
<<Are you sure though, Sarah?>> the boy asked the light-blue haired girl.
<<We won't know unless we try.>> intervened Dainsleif.
<<Going on... "Nor for a white, shapeless, carriage"? What does that mean?>> Kaeya asked.
<<I am not so sure myself. But let's go on, we'll get back on it later.>> Sarah affirmed.
<<"Together with the winged gods and the power to fly in the air"
"Winged gods"... that must refer to the fact that they can levitate, i guess. As for "the power to fly in the air"... wind currents, maybe? You can ride them to fly.>> Paimon hypotized.
<<"I desire the speed of the wind"... looks like she wanted to hurry up. But why? Did she already know that Father was going to torture her?>> Kaeya asked again.
<<That could be plausible. Mom never fully trusted Father.>>
<<"Friend, use it and entrust yourself to me." Friend? So this wasn't for us? But then why mom would've asked me to learn latin? I cannot have been a coincidence, that would be too weird.>>
<<Not only that but, "Entrust yourself to me"? Paimon thinks she wants us to trust her intel, as it can be releatable for sure. Maybe you were right, Sarah, she DOES want us to find another clue>>
<<"Use it"... use what? The "speed of wind"? Use... the clue? What should we use?>>
<<Maybe she wants us to ride the wind, as in... Going back to Mondstadt!>>
<<"I may be exhausted in my bones"... so... she wrote this during her torture, so that answers to the
"I desire the speed of wind". She wanted to run away.>> Dain read and interpreted the next line.
<<"And infected by multiple diseases." She was sick?>> Sarah mumbled to herself.
<<Maybe the conditions in which Father put her sickened her health, not only her mind.>> Kaeya commented
<<"My friend, i'm searching for you" Who is this friend?>> Traveller asked.
<<My friend... well Father considered her a traitor because it was rumored that she spoke to one of the Archons.>>
<<And the only Archon mentioned here is Barbatos...>> Paimon added.
<<That reminds me... of all the creations of the Abyss, we encountered a "Defiled Statue". It was a corrupted Statue of Barbatos, hung on the ceiling>> Aether narrated his encounter with the Defiled Statue in Liyue.

Sarah's eyes widened all of a sudden.
<<W-What...?>>
She felt suddently weak in her legs, and collapsed to the floor on her knees.
<<Sarah!>> the others called her, but she felt like her ears were underwater, she couldn't hear them.
They started ringing, and Sarah got one of her many lost memories back.

<<Father, here Skuld. Reporting for duty.>>
<<Ah, my daughter. So, how is the creation of the Spiral Abyss going?>>
<<Everything is going flawlessly and the Abyssal Moon has been coordinated to the twelve floors' creation system. Anyone who dares enter will be trapped until they reach floor 12, or either die. It resets every two to two and a half weeks.>>
<<Where are you going to put the portal to Mondstadt?>>
<<We still don't know, Father.>>
<<I have a littke suggestion: steal the Statue of Barbatos from Cape Oath and put the portal in its place. We'll think of how to get rid of Barbatos' presence in atleast that part of Mondstadt for now. By the way, Cape Oath is the nearest cliff to Musk Reef, so it would only be practical to put the portal there.>>

<<Yes, Father.>>

<<It's my fault... i let him decide...>>
Sarah curled up on the floor, tears streaming from her eyes.
<<What are you saying, Sis?>> Kaeya kneeled beside her, embracing her in a hug.
<<The Defiled Statue... is partly my fault, too.>>