shipwrecked || furina & neuvillette

🫧 17 🫧

Furina's hands are bound behind her back. Two of Dottore's guards hold her arms as they walk. She's blindfolded - she has no clue where they are, how long they've been walking for, or what time of day it is.
"Could you not afford an easier form of transportation?" Furina can't help but remark after a while of walking. She refuses to let herself think of Neuvillette - whether he's woken up and read her note. Whether he knows that she's gone.
She hears Dottore chuckle - he's in front of her. It reassures her to know that he's not directly beside her, that he's not one of the ones who is holding her. Her wrists began to ache ages ago, and she's given up trying to get them to loosen the bonds. By now, Furina can barely feel her fingertips, but that isn't her biggest concern.
He mutters something that Furina doesn't listen to because she knows that if he is in front of her - in front of those leading her - then he must know exactly where they're going. Which means that he is familiar with the area.

Paying attention to the texture of the ground beneath her feet, she is convinced that they're still walking on sand. She can feel the way it has crept into her shoes and socks. If she wiggles her toes, she is ninety nine percent sure that there is sand everywhere. There is sunlight on her cheeks - she feels warm.
In her first few decades of acting as the Archon, she would sometimes allow herself to escape to the sandy shores of Fontaine - back when she could enjoy dipping her toes into the water. She hasn't felt sand in so long that it feels foreign and uncomfortable to her.

She wonders why he would give their location away like this - surely he knows that she will be meticulously paying attention to every move he makes, every detail around her. Surely he knows that she isn't silly, that she knows her location is important. She doesn't know why it bothers her so much that he has made it so clear. If the sandy feeling never goes away - it means that they're still in the desert. Which is close to Fontaine - far too close. She'd be happier if she felt like the sand was getting lighter, like walking was easier. If anything, it feels like walking is getting more difficult with every step she takes.
"Did you receive an education during your time as Archon?" Dottore asks her. Furina is taken aback by the question - she did not expect him to talk to her unprompted about such an irrelevant question.
"I have read every single book in the Palais Mermonia multiple times." Furina speaks into the darkness. "Why is my education important to you?" She can't help but ask. The blindfold is beginning to be suffocating, it's slipped down her face slightly. She has to concentrate on breathing - on not having a panic attack. If she thinks a little too hard about the events of the past few hours, she knows that she'll never be sane again.
"Oh, it isn't." He speaks coldly. "I'm just a little curious as to what you occupied your time with."
"Well most of it was spent trying to find some way to stop the flooding of Fontaine. I didn't have much time for anything else," Furina would roll her eyes if she could. "Not all of us want to use our intelligence to destroy Teyvat." The words come out sharper than she meant them too - and judging by the fact that she hears his footsteps falter, he's unimpressed with her response.
"I do not wish to destroy Teyvat," he snarls. "Why would I bother with you if I wanted the destruction of us all? Why would I bother with anything at all? It would all be meaningless."
Furina stands her ground, even though she feels powerless, even though she can't even see him.
"I think that you and I mean entirely different things," she says indifferently. "Yes, you might not be seeking to obliterate Teyvat, but you will wither and kill every single person who gets in your way until there is nothing left. Even children." Furina hisses.
"You think I care about your opinion?" He chuckles. "You think that I care about what you have to say about it all?" She can feel his breath on her cheeks as he chuckles. "You were the one who flooded Fontaine because you couldn't find an antidote in time." The words sting. "All of your reading, all of your acting, none of it mattered in the end, did it? Because people still died. You were the reason that people didn't make it. Not Focalors, not your precious Chief Justice. You. You were the one who sat there, weeping on your throne as your beloved friends saved your people."
Furina feels her fists clench behind her, feels every word piercing her chest.
"You were the one that failed to stop the prophecy, Furina. You mustn't forget that."
She spits at his face - well, she can't see him, but she knows he was likely close enough to feel it.