ミ 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 | 𝘒𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘩 彡

𝟏𝟓

September 2, XXXX

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After a long journey, the carriage finally entered Sumeru, its final destination. Sir Kaveh let out a long sigh. His trip felt so long yet so short all at once. His pale hand gently pushed the carriage curtains aside. The knight's ruby eyes glance out the window, greedily taking in the kingdom's sights as if it was his first time there.

Somehow the colored windows didn't seem as vibrant as he remembered, nor did they hold that same glow he always adored. The floral-like designs sprawled on the sides of the buildings did not capture his attention the way it once did. Even the sounds of the Grand Bazaar did not seem the same either. The buzz from the busy people seemed louder to the knight. In a way, it reminded him of a swarm of bees.

The knight's eyes widened slightly as the carriage drew to a stop in front of the castle. The sight of the blue and green stained glass windows brought a small smile to his face. It was an all-too familiar sight for him, and yet, Kaveh felt like a stranger in his homeland.

The marble halls of the castle amplified Kaveh's footsteps as he trudged to his room. The halls felt colder for some reason. It didn't make sense to the knight why coming home no longer felt like home.

"Sir Kaveh," greeted Alhaitham. The blonde knight stopped in his tracks.

"Prince Alhaitham," he said with a bow.

"There was a letter that came in for you yesterday."

The knight's mood changed from unease to surprise. "There was? Where is it?"

"In your room," the stoic prince told him. Judging by Kaveh's reaction, the letter held some importance to him. That thought didn't linger in Alhaitham's mind though. "It mentioned something about dancing with a certain princess," he added.

Kaveh's eyes widened. "You read my mail?" he asked.

Alhaitham stayed silent before speaking once again. "In all honesty, I saw the Mondstadt seal and believed it was for me from Diluc, but it's a letter for you from the princess."

The knight let out an annoyed sigh before speeding off to his room. It wasn't worth arguing with Alhaitham right now.

Once the knight was in his room, his eyes spotted an ivory envelope on his desk with a crimson wax seal. It displayed the Seal of Mondstadt. Kaveh gently picked it up in his hands and pulled the letter out of the already opened envelope.

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Sir Kaveh,

I hope this letter finds you well and that your travels were safe. At the time I am writing this letter, you would have most likely be at the outskirts of Mondstadt. I do not think I have thanked you enough this past week for your company, but I hope this letter will suffice.

I regret not saying this face to face, but I have grown fond of you, Kaveh. Your time in Mondstadt made me feel as though we have known each other for a while. It might be a bit silly to say this so soon, but I miss you and I cannot wait to see you again.

Do you happen to know if you will accompany Prince Alhaitham to Princess Ayaka's ball in a few months? I will be attending with Diluc. We will be staying for several weeks in Inazuma as Prince Ayato intends for her to be married soon.

If you do attend, please inform me. I would be thrilled to share a dance or two with you. I can guarantee it will be much better than dancing in the fields.

Sincerely,
Princess Y/N

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Once he was done reading it, Kaveh immediately reread the letter. Though it was short, he treasured it, just like his extended stay in Mondstadt. Once Kaveh recovered from his surprise, he left his room with Y/N's letter in hand. The knight navigated to Prince Alhaitham's study and knocked on the door. A gruff "come in" was heard before the door opened.

There sat Sumeru's prince quickly scribbling something onto a piece of paper. "Alhaitham..." Kaveh called. The prince's gaze was diverted from the paper.

"What is it?" Alhaitham asked. His sharp, emerald eyes locked onto Kaveh. In times like these, his stoic expression was often hard to read.

"Were you invited to Princess Ayaka's ball in Inazuma?" the knight asked. His grip around Y/N's letter tightened slightly, an action that did not go unnoticed by the prince.

Alhaitham nodded. "Yes, Ayato mentioned it. He has not sent out official invitations, but when we were in Monstadt, he informally invited me and Diluc."

The knight's expression seemed relieved. Assuming Alhaitham attends, he usually brings Kaveh with him. "Do you plan to attend?" he asked just to clarify.

"As of right now, yes," Alhaitham replied. "If I do attend, I'm not certain if I'll stay the entire two weeks. Should more important business arise, I would have to leave immediately."

"You always say that, but we end up staying the whole time," Kaveh remarked with a laugh.

Alhaitham's lips slightly curled upwards at his knight's comment. The prince knew it was true. Rather than replying with a snarky remark, he waved his hand to dismiss the knight. Kaveh let out a soft laugh as he left Alhaitham to his own devices.

After all, the knight had a letter to write.

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A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back! I'm so incredibly sorry for the lack of updates, but I'll try to update this summer! Hope you're all staying safe and healthy 💖

I also made a discord server a while back if you want to join and get notified when I update (it's also linked in my bio): https://discord.gg/jrBqxRd2Kf