Laughing Tears

Ghosts

Summary: Kaeya breaks Khaenri'ah's curse and prevents it from happening again.

AN: One thing to note before continuing, a lot of things are purposely vague to maintain an element of mystery, so you tell me how Kaeya breaks the curse in the comments!

5.

The house vibrated violently with a crash just half past midnight, startling Jean up from bed. Swiftly sweeping up her vision up from the bedside table, Jean stumbled to her feet and leapt for the door leading to the hallway.

Just had her fingertips grazed the handle, it opened by another force, only to reveal her lover on the other side, skin more ashen than she's ever seen. Jean was quite startled by his return. Kaeya was supposed to be in Dragonspine, and he was not due back home for another week.

"Kaeya," she breathed. "What're you-" Before Jean could finish her question, Kaeya's mouth crushed onto hers.

This particular kiss was nothing like the usual ones Jean has become accustomed to. Instead of being soft, sweet and electrifying, the movement was aggressive and violent. Kaeya filled this kiss to the brim with despair, panic and desperation.

Before Jean had time to react to his sudden attack of a kiss, Kaeya broke away from her just as abruptly as it came, and Kaeya released her completely, his single eye shining in resignation.

Everything with Kaeya's sudden appearance caught Jean off guard, and it frightened her.

"What's wrong?" Jean asked her lover, hand cupping his cheeks in worry.

Kaeya's voice was hoarse when he spoke. "They're coming."

It took a little bit to register what he meant. But when Jean finally understood her eyes widened in horror, and she reached for his eye patch, practically ripping it off. Only to find that his beautiful golden eye, the eye that marked his bound blood to Khaenri'ah, was stark black.

"No," she whispered, all her energy sapped out of her instantly. Kaeya's pained expression confirmed her suspicions, and Jean felt her knees give out underneath her. He caught her in his arms and kissed her once more.

"I love you," Kaeya said after breaking off their kiss. "You know what to do, and goodbye."

He was gone in an instant, and Jean despaired.

**********

As Grandmaster of the Knights of Favonius, she had been preparing Mondstadt for this moment from the very moment her right hand man first informed her of his relationship with the Abyss.

As a Gunnhildr, she knows exactly what she must do to save her city.

As Jean, her heart was shattering, knowing what was going to come.

When the knights were gathered into a formation at city gates, ready to face the battle ahead of them, Amber was the first to notice Kaeya's absence. "Where's Kaeya?" She asked, and a single tear rolled down Jean's face.

"Elsewhere," she replied.

The Spark Knight, their newly appointed fourteen year old Calvary Captain frowned and tilted her head, deep concern sketched over her youthful face. "Will he be alright?"

Jean could not tell them the truth, nor could she tell a white lie. "I don't know if anyone will be alright after this," she said instead. Then, she turned away from her officers and faced the entire Ordo. "Many of you here today will not be here tomorrow."

"Many of your families will be destroyed today with your absence. That is the unfortunate brutality of war. But we will win, and we will succeed and your sacrifices will never be in vain. For although the Abyss Order is powerful, the Knights of Favonius will defeat them! Every one of us has a duty to this country, to this land and to its people. And for Mondstadt we will fight! And we will not fall!"