Summary: The Fatui were reflections of their revered Cryo Archon, the Tsaritsa. Deceitful, devious, treacherous, willing to do anything to get what they wanted; any member of the Fatui were treated with caution for good reason by all nations.
That all changes when Grand Master Jean and the Knights of Favonius greet a new group of Fatui diplomats into Mondstadt. Specifically, when she greets a newcomer whose bright smile seems so out of place amongst the frigid gazes of his colleagues.
But ice can hide all manner of things, some things that should never see the light of day.
The sun was shining brightly in Mondstadt, the city of freedom. The skies were clear of any signs of trouble, no attempts of any attacks on the city by Hilichurls, no signs of Stormterror stirring up any trouble.
Everything was just perfect.
A day like this was one that Jean dreamed of having those rare instances where she could forget the trouble that came with being the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. A day like this would've been the perfect time to take a leisurely walk around the city, stopping by the Good Hunter to enjoy their daily special, and spend the rest of the day relaxing in her home with her pet tortoise as she prepared herself to return back to her never-ending duty.
A duty that she performed whole heartedly for the good of Mondstadt.
If only this day was that ideal dream but reality had a different plan. There she stood at the end of the bridge that led into the city with her knights as they waited for the one aspect that came with being the Grand Master that she despised the most.
Greeting this year's Fatui Diplomat delegation who wanted nothing more to sink their claws into her beloved home.
The Fatui were the faithful servants of their beloved Cryo Archon, the Tsaritsa. They were her eyes and ears to the other nations and they would do anything in their power to please her, no matter how nefarious. They would come bearing smiles and good intentions but every nation knew that the mask that each Fatui wore did little to hide their true intentions.
"It is not the Fatui to be this late, usually they try to arrive early to try and catch us off guard." Kaeya, the witty Calvary Captain, observed as it became apparent that the Fatui had not yet arrived at the time that they usually had done so previously.
"Maybe they're dealing with some sort of Hilichurl trouble that has them held up." Jean offered as she silently agreed with the captain' astute observation.
"No way, I cleared out all of the camps that were close enough to the main roads. There's no way that could happen." Outrider Knight, Amber hotly argued.
"Oh, and are you sure about that? Maybe one camp was able to evade your radar? Oh, how would the Fatui react when the so-called famed Outrider Knight fails to eliminate one simple Hilichurl camp." Kaeya cheekily replied.
It would seem that it got the right reaction as Amber's cheeks turned red for a moment before she leveled a glare at the blue haired knight. "You take that back right now!" She yelled as she flailed her arms at Kaeya to make him apologize to which he laughed at.
Jean couldn't help but smile at the banter that her knights were having. Even when it became difficult, she could trust that her knights would have their ways to put a smile on each other's faces.
Lisa laughed next to her as the scene playing out before them was reminiscent of two siblings having an argument between themselves. Anytime to be away from the library was a victory for the sorceress as it was more time away from the insurmountable workload that seemed to never end.
However, all goods things must come to an end as Jean could see someone approaching the bridge, and judging by the dark clothing that they all wore...
"Knights of Favonius, stand ready!" She slipped into her Grand Master persona. The authority behind her command immediately whipped everyone into action as they rushed to their positions. The playful feud between Amber and Kaeya forgotten as they rushed to stand alongside their Grand Master. Within seconds the Grand Master and the Knights of Favonius were in their positions as their guests were making their way down the bridge.
Standing at the head of the knights, Jean was able to see a delegation of ten Fatui diplomats, all of which seemed to be in perfect shape. Which meant that they had not encountered any trouble in their trip.
That meant that introductions would not start off badly, which was always a good thing. Some delegations had members swapped out with others so one could never truly build some sort of relationship and expect that to result in a bond to work with.
Even with the trademark masks that all Fatui wore, she could make out that Mikhail and Lyudmila were leading the delegation. Those two had been the leaders of the Mondstadt Fatui branch for some time now, publicly of course since each Fatui branch answered was actually led by a Harbinger, the Fatui's top echelons that answered personally to the Tsaritsa's call.
Some Harbingers worked in the public eye while others preferred to work in the shadows. Unfortunately, the Mondstadt branch of Fatui's Harbringer preferred the latter as she had never personally met the Harbinger for this branch.
It was a relief however that she would not have to learn the quirks of a new pair of leaders this year, a minor relief at that but a big help nonetheless.
As her eyes scanned each and every diplomat, making a mental note of who was new, her eyes fell on the last member of the delegation.
And certainly, the most unique Fatui diplomat that she's ever met.
The most prominent feature that she first saw was the fact that this diplomat had forgone the typical eye mask that Fatui wore in an attempt of intimidation and superiority. Instead of trying to display an intimidating aura like the rest of his colleagues his bright blue eyes joyously looked around the outskirts of Mondstadt, his eyes eagerly devouring any interesting sights that he could see. His smile having the same radiance as a child who walked into a candy shop to eat as much of the sweet delicacies as they could.
Beside her Kaeya made a sound of intrigue as his eyes fell upon the strange diplomat, also trying to piece together why such an anomaly would be tasked alongside a delegation full of backstabbing diplomats. Was it a new tactic employed by the Harbingers in an attempt to lower their guard, a distraction?
Or something else?
The next prominent feature that had Jean questioning if this was the same Fatui that she had played games of cat and mouse with before was the unnaturally pale skin that he had. She herself had pale skin, but not to the degree that it seemed to shine in the sunlight like his. It was like if he had spent his entire life never outside.
Seeing the bright Fatui diplomat strummed something in Jean's brain. Something that her grandmother had told her when she was very young. It was something that her grandmother wanted her to remember but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was.
"Greetings Grand Master, it is good to see you in good health." Mikhail formally greeted as the Fatui delegation came to a stop before the assembled Knights, each side sizing the other up.
It seems the time of reminiscence would have to wait, now was the time for action.
"Mondstadt welcomes you, envoys of Snezhnaya with open arms." Jean brought up a hand for a cordial handshake. Both sides knew that they were at odds with each other, secretly fighting a war in the shadows. However, the public did not need to know that so the image of peace between them was necessary to prevent panic.
Mikhail took her hand and the two shook hands as they had done so for so many times.
And so begun a new match of this never-ending game of cat and mouse between them.
"Ah before I forget," Mikhail motioned for the diplomat that had garnered the curiosity of every knight. The curious pale teen snapped out of his awe-struck gaze and joined the two, embarrassed at suddenly being the center of attention. "We will be joined by a new member this year, so forgive him if he...acts strangely in your city."
She flashed the teen with a warm smile before greeting him. "As Acting Grand Master, allow me to welcome you to Mondstadt."
His cheeks became red as he found himself stumbling over a response. "O-Oh u-uh hi there?" He called out with uncertainty. His eyes were darting from anywhere but her, obviously he had no experience in talking with other people.
What a strange quality to have for being a diplomat.
"S-Sorry I-I'm not used to this." He fumbled with his hands before ultimately shooting an arm forward. His body was shaking as he struck his hand out for a handshake. "N-Name's Z-Zephyr, a p-pleasure to meet you!"
Jean stared at the outstretched hand with hidden shock, her knights also mirroring her hidden shock as they stared at the scene before them.
Why?
Because Fatui never shook hands with anyone at all, only for business ventures that they would benefit from, not for friendly greetings at all. It went against their code of diplomacy. Against what their Tsaritsa had taught them.
Superiority was the only thing that mattered. Anything else was irrelevant.
Tearing her eyes from the shaking diplomat, the Grand Master focused her eyes on Mikhail to gauge his reaction from Boreas's actions. The Fatui diplomat's face held no anger in it, only slight embarrassment evident by the slight reddening of his cheeks. Unusual for Mikhail as she has seen his temper when his subordinates had done far less than what Zephyr was doing.
"You would have reprimanded him, regardless of who was a witness. Why now?" She thought for a second before refocusing on the shaking teen. She placed her question in the back of her mind and made a mental note to ask Kaeya for his opinion on a later date.
"You're doing quite fine for your first time as a diplomat Zephyr." She gently said as she took his hand for a handshake, taking a mental note at how cold his hands were. Did he possess a Cryo Vision?
"Thank you so much!" He practically yelled as he begun to enthusiastically shake her hand, any shyness that he was exhibiting now gone. "Oh my gosh Mondstadt is so pretty, it's so much different than Snezhnaya, not to say that's a bad thing but still! The flowers here are so vibrant, the sun here is so bright and pretty andthereraresomanyanimals..." He begun to ramble on how pretty the nation was and Jean couldn't help but enjoy how he was enjoying himself, a breath of fresh air compared to how the rest of his colleague acted.
"Ahem." Coughed Mikhail as he stopped the boy in his tracks. "I believe you should hold your...talk until after we have settled in Zephyr."
Zephyr stopped his enthusiastic hand shaking after hearing his captain. His hand robotically stopped as he looked at who's hand he had been shaking. His face was frozen as he looked up at Jean with an expression of horror slowly growing. It only grew as he looked that he once again become the center of attention once more.
"AH!" He yelled as he quickly let go of Jean's hand and began to bow repeatedly. "F-Forgive me I went too far, please forgive me!" He profusely apologized as his bowing seemed to accelerate with each second.
Jean couldn't help but giggle at the sight. It wasn't every day that you met a Fatui showed emotion openly, though some did it as a way of tricking their opponents but she didn't sense any malicious intent in Zephyr's character. "Ah no its no trouble at all. I do hope that you'll continue to enjoy what Mondstadt has to offer you."
"Now if we are done with introductions, I believe that we should be on our way to our lodgings. It has been quite a long journey and I am quite tired." Mikhail placed a hand on Zephyr's shoulder to stop the new diplomat from embarrassing himself any further.
So, the time for pleasantries had to end now, time for politics then. "Follow us, we shall guide you to your lodgings now." She motioned for the delegation to follow.
As the Knights of Favonius led the Fatui into their city, Jean stole a backward glance to where Zephyr and Amber had hit it off fairly well and were having an animated conversation that involved their respective...companions. Amber with her pyro-infused Baron Bunny and Zephyr with a cryo-infused bear that seemed to be made out of snow.
As they walked down the streets of Mondstadt to the Fatui's lodging, she began to ponder why Boreas had seemed so familiar to her. She knew that she had never met him before but rather something about his character that his grandmother said to watch out for.
"Dear Jean, come here." She found herself brought back to a time when things were much simpler, to a time where all she worried about were her studies and impressing her parents. Trivial compared to the trials she faced now.
"Yes grandmother." They were in her family's garden, where they grew a field of dandelions that were native to Mondstadt. Ever since she could walk, she had been trained by her family to be a knight that would continue the legacy of the Gunnhildr name. That left no time for her to enjoy a childhood that most children would have.
This field of dandelions was her sole retreat from that duty.
"Sit over here Jean, I want to teach you something very valuable." The elder patted the ground to which the young Jean sat on as she waited to what her grandmother wanted to speak about.
"Your duties as being the successor of our clan will require you to deal with many different people. It will be difficult but I know that you will do us proud."
"Yes grandmother, I will make you all proud." She curtly responded.
Her grandmother flashed her a warm smile before looking away. "Dandelions have always been your favorite flower, haven't they?"
She blushed in response. "Yes grandmother."
"Well listen well my sweet child, dandelions are very much like people."
Young Jean tilted her head in confusion. "I'm a flower?"
That got a good laugh out of her grandmother. "No dear child, scoot a bit closer it'll be hard to see if you're all the way over there." Young Jean scooted a bit closer to her grandmother before she began to listen in to the surprise lesson.
Her grandmother plucked a dandelion off the ground and delicately held it to ensure that it did not scatter into the wind.
"You never know when the seeds of a dandelion might disperse into the wind, to be left to the fate of the Anemo God. It could appear as a strong dandelion for one second, then be gone the next" She let go off the dandelion and let it fly upward into the sky, the seeds soon dispersing and were scattered outward by a strong wind.
"People are like that as well; you may never know how someone is by their outwardly appearance. The brightest of smiles can have the dastardliest of things lurking within them. A trait that you'll soon come to learn when you become the head of our family."
Being sucked back into reality, Jean couldn't help but wonder of how Zephyr fit into all of this. How this seemingly young bright soul could have anything bad within him.
"What are you hiding?" She wondered for a split second before she focused her attention on leading the rest of the Fatui to their lodgings.
She'd leave the questioning to someone who was more capable than her in gathering information from Fatui. And knowing him...
He already was.
Hope you enjoyed this, this will be my attempt at both making a compelling character and world building Teyvat the way I think it would be, specifically Snezhnaya. Every chapter will have their focus on a specific character and bit by bit will I unfurl my character's story.
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