ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪᴠɪɴᴇ

ᴀᴄᴛ 1 - ꜰᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴᴇ ᴀʀᴄ 2

Chapter 16

Y/N's eyes widen as they realize who they just bumped into. They lower their head, both in apology and to hide themself.

"Shit shit shit shit what have I done..."

They look down at their feet as they apologize, while Furina looks at them with a disgruntled frown.

"My sincerest apologies, Lady Furina." They look at her unchanging expression and dip down into a deep bow. Making their words sound as respectful as possible, they glance up slightly, speaking with a quiet voice. "I wasn't looking where I was going. I do hope you forgive me."

She looks at them, and then looks away dismissively.

"I shall accept your apology, though I do hope you will make sure not to allow this again, especially since you bumped into your Archon. Now, do let me glance at your face so I know who has the honor of speaking to me."

Y/N's whole body tenses up and they look up at Furina's unreadable expression before they start speaking rapidly, trying to dig themself out of this already too deep hole. They stutter out a hasty response before turning around.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Lady Furina. I really need to go, this won't happen again!"

They start briskly walking off, very aware of all the eyes on them. Once again, they need to get out of here. Furina stares at them, both in surprise and fear. Did they see through her act? Will this cause Fontaine, no, not just Fontaine, Celestia to see that she's fake? She gnaws on her thumbnail nervously before barking out an order:

"I order you to stop right there! Someone, stop this criminal!"

She looks around frantically at the civilians, the bystanders to her downfall. Furina points at Y/N and almost immediately, the Gardemeks close around them, making their attempt at escape futile. It almost feels as if they're in a cutscene at this point. The meka make quick work of handcuffing and presenting them to Furina, shoving Y/N to their knees in front of the archon. Y/N makes sure to keep their head lowered, fearful of what might happen should anyone see their face. Around them, the people watch as if this is a performance, gossiping about Y/N and Furina in hushed tones.

"That's what's expected of Lady Furina! She's the best, and no one escapes her justice."

"Oh! This is going to be the best opera ever!"

"Lady Furina is so cool, I'm so happy she's our archon!"

Almost cinematically, she walks through the sea of people surrounding Y/N with a small pep in her step. She listens closely to the crowd's whispers and smiles dazzlingly, reassured by their confidence in her.

"Now! Let's see who dares to try to avoid me!"

She lifts their head up with her fingers, her gloves brushing against their chin. A chill runs through Y/N and they shudder. This reminds them too much of their time in Inazuma. How long has it been since then? They can't... They can't remember.

Why can't I remember? Where... Where was I before Teyvat? I remember wanting to get out of here and get back... where..? Home! I was home, yes, but... wait. Where is home again?

Their frantic thoughts get put on hold as they are jolted back into reality by Furina's shocked gasp. She steps back, breathing hard, and puts a trembling hand over her mouth. She points at them with her other hand, as everyone around the two gasp and start gossiping to each other.

"You- You look just like Them..." Regaining her composure, she gets over her shock and starts interrogating Y/N. "How? How did you achieve this? Are you just trying to mock Them?"