If you've been following me for awhile, then you know that this update is way faster than usual for me. Let's all of us enjoy this while it lasts.

I do not own Genshin Impact.

After retracing their steps from Diluc's escape attempt back to the little cave where the Khaenri'ahn had left his things, it took the rest of the day for them to get out of the stony hills that surrounded Liyue Harbor. Wary of whatever difficulty that might be caused by passersby, the man kept the two of them off the main road. Instead, he took them along the winding game trails that criss crossed through the tall grass and across small streams. The route took them miles out of the way, but also guaranteed that they never saw another soul. He made Diluc walk the entire way.

From the back of his tall horse, the Khaenri'ahn set a grueling pace, tugging his captive along by the rope that bound his wrists. Diluc did his best to keep up but struggled nonetheless. The inexpensive silk slippers that he wore, though perfect for his job at the Wanmin Restaurant and for wandering the paved streets of Liyue Harbor, were hardly appropriate for the rough terrain. He lost the one on his right foot within an hour of his recapture, leaving it behind in the muddy bottom of a stream. Though he tried to tell his captor, the man didn't stop. Whether it was because he didn't hear him due to the gag that had been tightly retied around his head or because he didn't care, Diluc couldn't tell. His other shoe didn't fare much better. By midafternoon, the seams around his heel and toes had begun to split. By evening, he had worn holes through the soles. But no matter how he stumbled and limped and bled, the Khaenri'ahn never slowed his pace and never looked back at him.

By dusk, Diluc could barely stand. His legs shook with every step, the knees of his once pristine uniform torn and muddy from the times he had tripped. He knew that if he looked over his shoulder, that he would see a trail of blood left by the ravaged undersides of his feet. When the Khaenri'ahn finally drew his horse to a halt under a small stand of trees, it took all of Diluc's strength to refrain from collapsing in the damp grass.

"That's as far as we go today, Your Highness," said the man as he dismounted his horse. He sneered at Diluc as he sauntered over to him. "Did you enjoy the exercise? I know how much you love to run."

Diluc shot him the best glare that he could manage, which earned him a derisive snort.

"Still defiant, I see." The Khaenri'ahn clucked his tongue. "Such bad manners. I thought one such as yourself would have been more gracious, little prince." He shrugged. "Well, I guess it falls to me, then."

The Khaenri'ahn spun on his heel and walked back to his horse, unfastening the rope from the saddle. He gave it a firm tug, causing Diluc to stumble forward.

"Growing up, I was taught that when you hurt someone else, you should apologize," explained the man as he pulled Diluc over to a nearby tree. He tossed the end of the rope over a low branch and tightened it until Diluc's arms were raised slightly over his head. Then he leaned in close, grabbing Diluc's jaw to force him to look into his cold blue eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was low and dangerous. "You owe me an apology, Your Highness. And you will stand here on timeout until you give it to me."

Then the man turned away and began to set up camp, humming softly to himself as he unloaded everything else from the horse and built a small fire, ignoring his captive entirely. Diluc realized the punishment being inflicted on him almost instantly. The tension of the rope was not enough to support his weight, nor was it loose enough to allow him to kneel. Rather, when his trembling legs began to give way, all of his weight ended up being supported by his wrists, which were chafed, bruised, and throbbing from the friction of the rain-soaked rope. The position forced him to choose between one set of injured limbs and another. Worse yet, Diluc knew that if he collapsed, his punishment would likely be extended.

Diluc watched the man sullenly as the evening wore on, the sky darkening as the sun sank behind the distant mountains. The Khaenri'ahn pulled a sausage from a saddlebag and speared it on the end of a small knife, whistling as he roasted it over the fire. Its scent made Diluc's stomach growl.

"Oh?" The Khaenri'ahn looked up at him with a smug smirk. "Are you hungry, Your Highness?"

Diluc wished he could have remained silent, but his stomach gurgled loudly instead.

The man smiled and waved the sausage at him. "These are pretty delicious. The last ones I have from Mondstadt. But you still owe me something, princeling."

If it had been a question of pride alone, Diluc would have stood there until the mountains returned to the sea. Unfortunately, the exhaustion of the journey had taken a toll on his body. His back and shoulders ached, and he could feel his heartbeat in his feet. And the pain that radiated up his legs was beginning to make him dizzy. Or maybe it was hunger and dehydration.

"Well?" asked the Khaenri'ahn, his eyebrows rising. "Do you have something you'd like to say to me?"

Diluc resisted for a moment more before relenting. His shoulders drooped, as best as they could, and he heaved an exhausted sigh as he nodded.

The Khaenri'ahn smirked and stood, leaving his food beside the fire to cook. Moving back over to his captive, he once again took his chin in his hand, pulling the gag out of his mouth with the other.

"And what do you have to say, Your Highness?"

"'m sorry…" Diluc mumbled, the words tasting like ash in his mouth.

"What was that?" The grip on his chin tightened. "I can't hear you."

"I'm sorry," Diluc repeated, this time more forcefully and with a hateful glare. "There, I said it, okay?"

The Khaenri'ahn clicked his tongue. "And what are you sorry for?"

Diluc clenched his jaw. The temptation to spit in his captor's face was overwhelming. "I'm sorry for hitting you and...for running."

"Good boy."

With a short tug of the end of the rope, the man released the knot, catching Diluc as he fell.

"There, there, little prince," he whispered, wrapping an arm around his captive's waist to support his weight. "I've got you."

Diluc felt his ears burn, but resisted the urge to bite out a retort as he was half carried over to the fire. Instead, he did his best to walk on his own, painfully aware of every little twig and pebble that he stepped on. When the man unceremoniously dropped him by the fire, he couldn't stop the faint yelp that escaped his lips as he legs crumbled out from under him, leaving him to land hard on his side. He struggled up onto his elbow, glaring through a curtain of tangled hair, as his captor walked back over to his seat and pulled another sausage from the saddle bag.

"Here," he said, tossing the sausage over to Diluc so it fell just short, rolling for a foot through the dirt before it was within reach.

Diluc wrinkled his nose and reached out to pull it over.

The man gasped mockingly. "What's that look for? Don't tell me my fine cuisine is not up to His Highness's standards?"

"I really hate you," grumbled Diluc through gritted teeth as he forced himself to sit up.

The man shrugged. "I don't really care what you think of me."

Diluc angrily picked up a nearby stick and speared the sausage on it with some difficulty, brushing dirt off of it and then holding it over the fire. "You're an ass."

"I've been called worse."

Diluc purposefully avoided looking at the man, knowing that if he did, he would have to see that insufferable smirk. Instead, he focused on cooking the first meal he'd had in a day, his stomach grumbling as the scent of the sausage wafted out of the fire. The two of them ate in silence, both alert to signs of any danger. When Diluc finished, he eased himself toward a large rock that sat on the edge of the glow of the fire, leaning against it with a tired huff.

"You look exhausted, Your Highness," said the man, leaning back on an elbow as he took a swig of something from a skin. "You should really get some rest."

Diluc shot him a glare, but chose not to say anything. Instead, he leaned forward, grimacing as he tried to pull his left foot close enough to remove the destroyed slipper. He heard the Khaenri'ahn hum.

"Want some help with that, Your Highness?"

"You've done quite enough," Diluc replied through gritted teeth.

"Oh, please." The man smiled and stood, picking up the saddlebag that had been beside him. "I'm always happy to be of service to royalty."

"Would you stop doing that?" asked Diluc, shifting away slightly as the man walked over and crouched beside him.

"Doing what?" The mocking tone in the man's voice made Diluc want to punch him.

"The whole fake flattery, royalty, 'Your Highness' thing," Diluc explained, watching as the man pulled some rolls of bandages and a jar of some kind of salve out of his bag. He winced as the man grabbed his left ankle and began to pull the slipper away from the irritated flesh. "I hated it before...everything happened. I definitely don't want to hear it now."

The Khaenri'ahn hummed and tossed the blood-soaked slipper into the fire behind him. "And what would you like to be called?"

"My name...Diluc."

The man paused and looked up at him, his eyebrows slightly raised. The shock on his face was the first honest emotion that Diluc had seen.

"What?" asked Diluc.

The man quickly recovered, his regular aloof expression settling back over his features. He opened the jar and spread some of the salve on the sores on the bottom of Diluc's left foot. "I've never known royalty to be so informal."

"I mean-" Diluc sucked in a breath as the man worked the salve into an especially deep laceration on his arch. "-do I even count as royalty now?"

The Khaenri'ahn snorted and picked up Diluc's right foot, repeating the process with the salve. "If you didn't, I wouldn't be here."

Diluc was silent for a moment as he watched his captor apply the salve. As deep as the sores, blisters, and cuts to his left foot were, it was clear now that his right was much worse. After walking for miles through the rough terrain of the stony hills that surrounded Liyue Harbor, there was barely any skin left on the sole of that foot. It was raw, bloody, and throbbing. Every time the Khaenri'ahn pulled his hand away for more salve, the red stains on his fingertips had grown. Luckily, the salve contained some sort of numbing agent that helped with the pain, otherwise, Diluc was certain that he'd be doing much worse. He hated to think of breaking in front of the man that held him.

"Why are you doing this?" Diluc asked quietly as the man turned and picked up a roll of bandages.

"Didn't you listen? Your bounty is-"

"No, I mean…" Diluc gestured at his battered feet which were slowly and methodically being wrapped in gauze. "...why are you doing this? Why hurt me and then treat the injuries?"

"Well, I can't have you die of an infection before I collect my bounty, now can I?" asked the man without looking up.

Diluc frowned. "Then why-"

"Why make you walk all that way?" The Khaenri'ahn looked up at him with a smug smile. "Tell me, if you tried to run away again tonight, how far do you think you'd make it with your feet in this condition?"

"You…" Diluc began to pull away and felt the man's grip around his ankle tighten. He grimaced. "Did you plan all of this?"

"Well, I certainly didn't plan for you to give me a bloody nose," replied his captor as he put away his supplies, "but the rest really did go almost exactly as I'd hoped."

Diluc's mouth dropped open for a moment before he realized what he was doing and closed it with a sharp snap of his teeth.

The Khaenri'ahn chuckled and stood, picking up his bag and making his way back to the other side of the fire. "You should get some sleep, Diluc. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."

Diluc frowned and leaned back against the rock, staring blankly at the neatly wrapped bandages around his feet. Past the fire, he could see the Khaenri'ahn settling down to sleep, using his bag as a makeshift pillow. A sudden sense of familiarity washed over him. Diluc wasn't sure whether it was the way the firelight played in the man's oddly colored hair or how he yawned and stretched, but something was causing old, long suppressed memories to tug at his consciousness. He frowned.

"What's your name?"

The man looked at him through a half-lidded eye. "Hmm? Why?"

"You're dragging me to my likely death for your own profit," deadpanned Diluc. "I think I at least deserve to know your name."

The Khaenri'ahn chuckled softly. "My name is Kaeya."

Kaeya. Diluc mouthed the name. "I would say it's nice to officially meet you, but…"

Kaeya laughed and turned onto his back, threading his fingers together behind his head. "Fair enough."

Diluc sighed and tilted his head back against the rock, looking up at the sky. It was a clear night after all of the rain and storms of the day. He hadn't seen so many stars in years. Not since he'd moved into his little apartment in Liyue Harbor. For a moment, he wondered if the same stars were still visible over Mondstadt, or if the fires of the Fatui coup still blotted out the sky. He sighed. He had hoped to return one day, but not like this. Never like this. Unfortunately, he had no say in the matter. Kaeya had seen to that.

Kaeya.

Kaeya.

For some reason, Diluc couldn't shake the feeling that he had heard that name before.

That's it! What did you think? I would like to give a HUGE shoutout to the kind folks who have reviewed, faved, and followed. It really means a lot to me.

If you have an idea for a name for Kaeya's horse, I would love to hear it!