Dark Secret

Chapter 3: Ambush

"Lumine! Watch out!"

Lumine quickly summoned her sword and spun around, doing a backflip, kicking her attacker in the chin, and knocking them to the ground, and then Lumine pointed her sword at the throat of the attacker.

"Ah! Alright, alright, I give up! Just take the mora and leave!" The Treasure Hoarder dropped his mora and tried running away, only to be stopped by a ginger-haired man, who grabbed him by the neck, choking him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Childe tightened his grip on the Treasure Hoarders' neck, making it even harder for him to breathe. "You better the fuck out of here, for if I ever see you even try to touch her ever again, I'm going to kill you. HEAR ME?!" The treasure hoarder tried to say yes, but only coughed out a bunch of air. Childe threw the man to the ground. "NOW GO!"

The treasure hoarder took off without another word. "Childe..?" Lumine asked worriedly. "I-I already dealt with the situation, so why did you jump in? Also, when in the world did you get here?!"

Childe growled slightly, as he watched the treasure hoarder run over the hill in fear. "I've been following you on your trip to Mondstadt for quite some time now. I'm surprised you didn't find out."

"Oh, I didn't even-" Lumine was interrupted by Child hugging her tightly.

"Don't ever scare the living shit out of me like that ever again. Ok?"

"S-sorry..." Lumine apologized and blushed slightly at Childe's sudden hug. "Why were you even following me in the first place anyway, Childe? I thought you were back in Liyue dealing with some business that had to be taken care of?"

"I already dealt with it. Also, you owe me two apologies. The second one being, this." he held out a bloodied, broken, flower hairpin. "This is yours?"

Lumine's eyes widened, as she took the hairpin in her hands. "This is... mine.... Aether gave it to me a long time ago... when we lost our father... I dropped it when I was escaping Scaramouche with Mona and Fishcl." she bit her lip. "It's no use now, it's broken and deranged. This was crafted by Aether himself, and the fact that this is broken... I don't even know how he made it by himself... oh well..."

Childe looked at the hairpin in Lumine's hands. "Scaramouche showed it to me at today's meeting. I got angry at him and snatched it away. Keep it safe, I almost got in a lot of trouble for that."

Lumine smiled gently, as she put the hairpin away. "Don't worry, I will." Lumine looked at the old hairpin again and bit her lip and whispered under her breath. "Where in the world are you? The time it takes... will it take me as long as this very hairpin's age?"

"Lumine?"

Lumine snapped back to the present. "Uhhhh, yeah! Do you mind joining us on our trip to Mondstadt?"

Paimon stared at her with a suspicious look, and Childe's eyes widened. "Didn't think you would allow me after following you for this long, but okay!" Childe grinned. "I always enjoy an adventure!"

"Y-yeah... let's get going! I have some ummm... commissions to do, and I ummm... need some help with them, that's all! Ha ha..."

"Yeah, let's go do those commissions!" Paimon said without hesitation. "After we get the mora, Paimon can eat!"

Childe laughed. "What a pig."

Paimon stared angrily at him. "PAIMON ISN'T A PIG!!!!"

***

Later that night

***

As Paimon snored away as loud as a pig could, Lumine sat at the edge of the cliff, overlooking Liyue Harbor, and bit her lip.

"Please don't eat me..." Paimon mumbled in her sleep, and continued to snore, as Lumine sat on the edge of the cliff.

How long until the sun will peak over the horizon once more? How long till we may see each other again, dear brother? Are you... still well?

"Couldn't sleep Ojou-chan?" a voice said from behind her.

Lumine slightly jumped. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

"Well, you don't like it when I call you 'comrade' so..."

"Because we aren't comrades. You already know that, Childe."

"So mean..." Childe sat down beside her. "Are you thinking about your brother again?"

He sat down next to me without asking... the nerve...

"How about forgetting him for a bit, and letting yourself have some fun?"

"...I can't do that." She paused. "The reason I'm traveling to Teyvat in the first place is to look for my brother. There has been a moment when I'm not thinking about him."

"Hmm..?" Childe lifted her chin. Lumine's eyes widened at his sudden course of action. "Does that mean... you were thinking about other things when fighting with me..?"

"That's right..? What of it?"

Childe paused, then released her chin, laughing. "How vexing! That means you beat me when you weren't even focused!" Childe paused, catching his breath. "Well, I understand how you feel. For me as well, family comes first..." He looked at the sky, filled with stars. "Let's see... if I were to tell you one thing right now... it would be, that if your brother is indeed in the land of Teyvat, then this starry sky that you're seeing right now, he, too, must be gazing up at it as well..." He gave a slight laugh. "Or something... that was a bit unlike me." His face lit up with an idea. "If you're that lonely of your brothers' place, I could-"

"That would be impossible for you, Childe."

"Harsh..." Childe turned away, scratching his neck. Did I put her in a bad mood?

"Your Teucer's big brother, aren't you?" the blonde paused. "I'll continue searching for my brother. I believe that one day, we'll be reunited... but until then... thank you, Childe. You've cheered me up, quite a bit."

"It was no problem... Comrade. But if you don't mind... just call me Ajax." I see... that's good. I'll have to keep on cheering you up then... for when an enemy confronts you again... I need you to be in perfect shape.

***

In the Morning

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(Continuing in Chapter 4! Stay tuned~!)