"I commend you on a strategic match, at least." You whisper angrily, taking your first step down the aisle. The pace is slow, painfully slow. A path to a known, unwanted fate, like walking the plank to a known abyss below. "How did you ever convince such a man to take my hand? He who has no need for a dowry, or a wife, at that?"
At the end of the aisle, Father kisses your forehead and takes your hands, then leans forward to whisper into your ear. The words send you into a second of such startling confusion that you cannot think, reply, or move, and you thank Barbatos that you have a veil to hide your expression:
"I did no such thing." Father says, "Remember, Master Diluc asked that he may have you."
ꨄ
A year after your break-up because of an incident at the Windblume Festival, you find yourself arranged to marry Diluc. Your parents want you to use his money to relieve their debts, but you can't even bring yourself to dine with him, let alone forgive him.
However, as time continues and you reconcile how you feel with your husband, Fatui intervention causes forces you to think smart and fast about how to bring Diluc back home and recover from your parent's ill intentions.
Xiao had never known freedom. He has always had someone behind him, controlling his every move. Even when under contract from Morax, he was not free. He struggled his way through decades alone and in pain, hating himself more every day he awoke to his accursed state. Too afraid to inform his Lord about his worsened state, he deals with dangers to Liyue alone until a blonde traveler appears in his life and refuses to leave. After bad things happen relating to his Karmic Debt, his Lord frees him, and he is left to a choice. Continue his path to destruction, or search for freedom with an ex-Archon and the blonde traveler.
Word Count: 67,658
AN: This is a polyam ship of Venti Xiao and Aether, so don't like, don't read Ig. While this is polyam, VenXiao is more love at first sight, whilst AeVen and Xiaother are more slowburn.
The first three chapters are simply for context, and completely skippable if you've played through Liyue's archon and Xiao's story quests. Also, I'm using Aether instead of Lumine because he's the traveler I picked.