Keqing thought she knew everything about Liyue. Its entire landscape she had fully engrained in her brain and utilised to its fullest. She studied architecture, flora, business, and everything possible to become one of the Seven Stars of Liyue. Diseases and sicknesses were nothing new to her, as she'd been treated for many different kinds.
However… How did she end up with this?
It started nearly a year ago, when that Harbinger awakened Osial from underneath Guyun Stone Forest. The Fatui had attacked in droves and droves, and she had no clue how they would have fought them off, even with the Adepti's help. The Adepti had made it perfectly clear that they were there only to fight Osial, and that it would be up to them to fight off the oncoming Fatui.
Then the Traveller had arrived, with his little pet fairy. At the time, the other members of the Liyue Qixing were glad to see him, although she herself was skeptical as to how one person could simply save them all.
She changed her mind soon enough.
With the platform swarming with Fatui, both of them had fought back to back, covering each other and taking out droves and droves of Fatui until none remained. The Adepti had still failed to destroy Osial, but they had lent the Traveller their power to destroy the Jade Chamber. Human bodies were never meant to share the power of Adepti, as she had learned firsthand. But when she saw Aether glow gold, with a sword shining brighter than some of the stars in the sky…
It was straight out of a fairy tale.
It was from that moment on, that she fell hopelessly in love with him. During the aftermath, when the Qixing had agreed to offer him one wish, she took to it personally and tried to talk with him. She tried to make the offer sound tempting, given that he could attain almost any material item at his command. But when she went to talk to him, she noticed that he sort of stiffened when she approached him, and his answer was guarded.
"Can you… put up some missing person posters?" he had asked.
Keqing couldn't lie to herself that her heart sank at hearing those words, but she still had his wish carried out to the fullest, to try and make him happy. When Aether had walked away, however, it was then she began to feel the seeds start to form, taking breath from her lungs.
Hanahaki wasn't very common, and Keqing, never seeing it before, assumed she had fallen slightly sick with a cold. She pushed it off, as she tended to do with minor illnesses, as her Vision would protect her from the most minor of cases.
After a month, her condition had worsened. She developed a cough, and couldn't sprint for longer than a minute without gasping for air. She decided to hold off on seeing a doctor, and instead sent a Commission to the Adventurer's Guild, asking them to gather some herbs and flowers to make some tea.
To her delight, the person that accepted the Commission was none other than Aether himself. It took the Traveller under twenty minutes to gather the herbs, which was astounding, even by her standards. When they met at Yujing Terrace, Aether handed the herbs to her with a smile and well-wishes. Their hands brushed each other briefly, and suddenly Keqing's mind cleared and breathing became easier. But when the Traveller had turned around and started to walk away, her heart became heavier and it once again became harder to breathe.
She brewed the tea with the herbs that the Traveller had prepared for her and drank some of it down. Although it didn't have much taste to it, she was grateful to it as it seemed to clear her airways and heal her. She sighed contently, thinking of the Traveller, and got back to work.
Two days later, the disease came back with full force, and she was forced to commission the Adventurer's Guild again. Aether once again picked up the commission, and completed it in even less time than before. When they met in Yuking Terrace, however, Aether had a request for her.
"Erm, Lady Yuheng?" Aether had asked quietly. Keqing turned to him questioningly.
"Yes, Traveller?" she remembered asking. Aether seemed to blush slightly, and looked to the side.
"Can… Can I try some of the tea you're making? If it's not too much trouble, of course," Aether had added hurriedly at the end.
Keqing nodded, and Aether followed her to the office. When he tried some of the tea, he'd pronounced it quite good, and Keqing remembered feeling very happy about it, seeing as it was her own recipe.
The next day was the day that she knew Aether departed for Inazuma on the Crux Fleet. She had walked down to the docks to see them off, but they had left ahead of schedule, eager to get a move on. It was on this day that Keqing realised that her illness wasn't a simple cold.
When she had gone back to her office in disappointment, a light cough had escaped her lips. Then, another. She felt something at the back of her throat and coughed more violently, until she felt something silky smooth on her tongue. When she spat it out onto her palm, her head spun with disbelief.
How… had this gotten into her mouth?
She would have passed it off for a tea leaf she had accidentally swallowed coming back up had it not been for the silky texture and the sweet flavor to it.
Keqing knew she didn't eat flowers, and tea leaves never had this type of smooth texture or sweet flavor. But there was no mistaking what she had spat out onto her hand.
A pure white, glimmering flower petal, stained with blood. Her blood.
The odd thing? Keqing couldn't even recognize it. She was extremely well-versed in all of Liyue's flora, given that she and the others of the Liyue Qixing had to always vigilantly look out for invasive species threatening local flora. She kept it on her desk, meaning to ask the others about it, but she ultimately ran out of time under the insane workload she had. By the time she had some time to herself, the petal had wilted, as they often do when detached from the flower itself.
She didn't cough up another petal two days before her previous birthday, three months later. At this point, coughs were becoming near daily, many times with a sickly sweet taste at the back of her throat. She put the petal aside to ask the Traveller if he had any knowledge about what type of flower it might be.
She sent a letter to him, inviting him on a night-time stroll around Liyue Harbor. She was glad to hear that he'd accepted, so she kept the flower petal safe. She'd originally planned to keep the petal in her office until the night came around, but on the night before she met with Aether, she noticed the flower petal missing. She nearly tore up her office in a panic, fearing that the other Qixing members may have gotten ahold of it and were discussing what it was. After a couple more minutes of rational thought, she realised there was a much simpler reason.
The janitor had simply cleaned everyone's offices.
Keqing couldn't deny that she was slightly disappointed, but she let it go. When meeting with Aether in Yujing Terrace, the two of them had spent a night together, shopping. She got to know the Traveller more, learning about what he liked to do and about his travels in Mondstadt. She had bought him new gauntlets and boots for adventuring. She had also offered to get him new clothes, but Aether had adamantly refused her offer. His clothes, he told her, were quite special to him. They didn't need any care and would remain pristine. In return, Aether had offered a necklace that he had made himself. As the centerpiece, a beautiful Vajrada Amethyst Gemstone that she was told he had come across in his travels.
But all too soon, the sun fell and the moon rose, high in the sky, and Aether announced that he had to sleep. He would have a large voyage ahead of him the following day, and that he needed to rest. Aether had wished her a happy birthday, and disappeared in a flash of golden light.
Keqing wasn't even able to tell him how much she appreciated his company that fateful night, and the unsaid confession weighed on her chest.
Keqing didn't see him again for another seven solid months. She sat in her office, working, and going about her normal schedule, never being able to get Aether off her mind. How he was doing, and if he missed her or not.
"That's stupid," she chided herself. "I'm just one person he's met on… his travels..." she muttered to herself, eyes stinging. The itch came back to her throat, and she coughed up multiple flower petals this time, all stained red with her blood. She choked, and stumbled. She nearly ran back to the office, slamming the door shut behind her. She tossed the petals into the garbage bin and rinsed the sickly sweetness out of her mouth. A bit of water went down the wrong way, and she choked.
A searing pain erupted in her chest, and she choked more violently, two more bloodstained petals coming up, the metallic taste of blood and sweetness forever present in her mouth.
"Keqing?" A worried voice came from outside her door. "Are you okay?"
"Call a doctor," Keqing choked out. "Now!"
Then the world faded to black.
"Aether…" Keqing whispered, reaching for his face. Aether grabbed her hand and held it, looking at her.
"Keqing… I'm here. Don't worry," he said, his eyes soft. "You'll be fine."
"I miss you so much," Keqing admitted.
"As do I, Keq-" he was cut off by a strike of lightning, and Keqing could swear she could hear a voice over the lightning.
"You will not get him back!" Another flash of lightning struck Aether, and he flew backward, skin smoking slightly.
"Aether!" Keqing yelled out. She ran forward, but Aether disappeared as she came close.
"Aether…" she whimpered. Overhead, clouds rumbled, and a blinding strike of Electro blinded her.
A flash of Electro shocked her skin lightly, and Keqing woke with a start.
"Wh- what?" Keqing asked, looking around. "Where am I?"
"You're in the infirmary, Miss Keqing," A deep masculine voice spoke from beside her. Keqing turned her head, and Zhongli was sitting there, holding a book in his hands.
"Mr- Mr. Zhongli," Keqing stuttered. "What happened?"
Zhongli looked at her somberly. "How long?"
Keqing creased her brow. "What do you mean?"
Zhongli reached into the crook of his book, and pulled out the two white petals she coughed out. Keqing paled at the sight of them, and Zhongli turned to her.
"How long?" He repeated.
Keqing sighed. "The first, about ten months ago. Not another until seven months ago."
Zhongli creased his brow. "You do know what this is, right?" he sounded almost… worried.
"I don't, actually," Keqing admitted. "I was hoping to ask you if you knew what type of flower it is."
It was Zhongli's turn to crease his brow. "I'm not familiar with this type of petal. It comes from a flower I simply cannot identify. If I had to identify it, I would say it looks like a Qingxin, but… heavily modified. A Qingxin that appears to grow in the shape of a rose. I really can't explain it.
But that is not what I meant to ask," Zhongli said, looking at her. "Do you know what sort of sickness this is?"
"Mr. Zhongli," Keqing winced. Even talking seemed to send fire coursing through her lungs. "While I recognize you as an absolute savant in everything Liyue, how can this be a sickness? It's physically impossible for a sickness to conjure up flower petals, and… and… make me cough them up, right?"
Zhongli leaned closer, and a fatherly look came over his face. "Who is it?"
Keqing creased her brow. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"There is indeed a disease that causes exactly what you described. If left untreated, it can get much, much worse."
"Oh, come on," Keqing said, shaking her head. "That's impossible."
"Have you ever heard of hanahaki, my dear Yuheng?" Zhongli asked again, quietly.
"I- I think I remember reading about it in a fantasy novel a while back," Keqing said. "But it can't be real, can it?"
Zhongli sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, it quite is. I am aware of the story you have read, and it follows the disease to the letter. It quite accurately describes what the disease is, while telling it in a fantastical way. And so, I restate my previous question… Who is it?"
Keqing flushed deep red, and fingered the necklace Aether had given her a while back. She only took it off when she slept, and put it on in the morning. It brought a sense of calmness, but also of slight sadness.
"The… the Traveller," Keqing whispered, looking to the side. She coughed, and another petal fluttered past her lips. She choked, and Zhongli thumped her on the back.
"This is worrying," Zhongli said finally. "You say it started ten months ago?"
"Y- yes," Keqing said, wiping her mouth.
"Then I don't understand…" Zhongli said. "Forgive me for being so blunt, but… hanahaki typically kills within two months. The flower sprouts inside the victim's lungs, and eventually blooms, asphyxiating them completely. How did you…?" He fixed his eyes on the Amethyst pendant she wore. "Ah. I've been terribly foolish. Of course, that would slow it down. But I'm afraid it won't stop. You are aware of the options, yes?"
"One is to have him love me back," Keqing whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "And the other…"
"-is to cut the flowers out by surgical means, and risk forgetting everything about him," Zhongli said, looking downcast. "I… didn't want this to happen, especially to you," Zhongli said, his voice tinged with guilt.
"What happened?" Keqing asked, looking at him. "Why do you say that? Do you know something?"
Zhongli sighed sadly. "I'm afraid the Traveller won't be back in a while. I don't know if he'll ever be back, actually."
If Keqing's heart had actually fallen out of her chest and hit the ground, she couldn't have been more surprised.
"Why… why?" she whimpered, tears falling.
"The Electro Archon," Zhongli whispered. "She has him, and has also fallen for him. She has him kept in her Plane of Euthymia, not allowed to leave. The fox brings them food, while she keeps him there. He is not very comfortable, but he does not know how to escape the eye of the Omnipresent God. Believe me, if he could leave, he would. But the Raiden Shogun has… always been quite clingy to anything. Her goal is eternity, and she believes that… Aether has the key to achieving it."
Keqing choked, and fire in her lungs turned to lava. She hacked something up into her palm, and her palm sank when she saw it.
A full bloom.
It was indeed shaped like a new rose, but its petals were pure sparkling white with tints of gold at the edge. Its beautiful look, however, was marred by little streaks of blood running along it.
Zhongli closed his eyes. "I'm afraid there is not much time left. I already know your answer as to how you want to cure the disease. I will attempt to pull some strings and distract the Raiden Shogun. Once he gets out, he will be able to get back to Liyue or Mondstadt. Try to seek him out. Comfort him. He'll need it. When you hear the roar of thunder and earth, look for him. She will not rest until she finds him, and neither can you. You must seek him out. Understood?"
For once, Keqing's lungs didn't hurt as much as they did before, and she looked at the flower in her palm. She took a deep breath.
"I'm coming for you, Traveller. And I'll fall faster than a thunderbolt."
Originally meant this to be for Keqing's birthday, but as you can see, I... was a bit late, haha. Sorry about that. Happy birthday to best girl!
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