No warnings for this chapter.
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Chapter 3: But Still You Show Willing
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Albedo stares out a slightly ajar window at the new city he found himself in. Mondstadt, his master has written in her final letter, the city-state and a region of Teyvat under the Anemo Archon's protection. Mondstadt, the city of freedom, free from Archon rule and overseen by the Knights of Favonius.
Or so the book that Miss Alice asked Albedo to read claims. Then again, her reading assignments focused less on Mondstadt's history and its customs and more on the many domains, ruins and 'must-see' places one should travel to in a fit of wonder-lust.
Miss Alice is not a subtle woman.
But Albedo is happy where he currently is. Mondstadt is not his home and Miss Alice is not his master, but even if she is gone, she has left him with a task, an order to fulfil. Miss Alice has certainly been helpful enough with providing him a lab to continue his research in exchange for some minor services to the Knights of Favonius. Now all Albedo has to do, all he must do, is find the truth and meaning of this world—
He's distracted by something poking at his legs.
Albedo passes and looks down to see Miss Alice's daughter, Klee, poke him in the thigh repeatedly and with increasing annoyance. She looks up when Albedo turns to face her and he notes she's without her red cap, her hair dishevelled as if she just got out of bed.
"Hello there. Is something the matter?"
The girl pouts harder and Albedo wonders if he's done something wrong. He's not interacted with children before, let alone be tasked with taking care of one. He does not know why Miss Alice thought it was a good idea to leave Klee in his care, but Albedo will do as told, nonetheless.
He wishes she is older so they can communicate better. He is no good at interpreting human non-verbal communication and doubted he'll ever become proficient.
"Same!" Klee finally says as she points between her hair and him.
"Oh, you mean our hair? Yes, we're both blonde."
Klee nods and then parts her hair. Each hand grabs a fistful at the bottom and she wiggles them in Albedo's direction with a pout.
It takes him a moment to recognise the gesture. "Oh, I see. Do you want me to tie your hair?"
Klee nods and climbs on Albedo's lap as he puts his implements away. She hands him two hair ties with a clover pin brooch and he gently gathers her hair and splits them up in pigtails, as Miss Alice always did.
"There we go," Albedo says as he loops the hair ties one last time and takes out a small mirror. "I hope it is not too tight—"
Klee squeals in delight as she grabs the mirror and looks around her pigtails. Albedo doesn't understand why she's so excited; he's not experienced with tying hair, and her pigtails are uneven.
But he has fulfilled Klee's task and can now go back to his—
Klee refuses to leave his lap.
"Me too!" she says and extends her hands at him. Specifically, at his hair.
Albedo puts her up on the table and leans awkwardly to it. Klee giggles and starts running her hands through his hair as he holds back a sigh. This will take even more time from his day.
… But he should be fine. He has already finished his daily tasks with the Knights of Favonius. And Miss Alice did task him with taking care of Klee when she's away.
Klee tugs a bit too fiercely in childish fierceness but mutters a 'sowwie' after Albedo flinches—more out of surprise from the sudden movement than pain. Her next movements are gentler and she makes several false starts at styling Albedo's hair, first by trying to bunch it up by a ponytail, then pigtails, then one big braid which she gives up halfway. Albedo can't see her, but she can hear and feel her become more flustered by the second.
He thinks of suggesting she simply tie back what she can and call it a day when Klee lets out a gasp of exclamation and gathers his side-hair and braids it.
"Hold this!" Klee says a few minutes later as she hands Albedo her half-finished braid, and he is briefly stuck with the horrifying thought that the little girl wants to braid every bunch of hair on his head, a needlessly time-consuming endeavour...
He is partially relieved when Klee grabs a fist full of hair from the other side of his head, Moreso when she asks for the one's Albedo has been holding after she finished the second braid, even as she pulled them both back and haphazardly tied them together.
"Tada!" she announces and hands him his mirror, the same way he had done.
Albedo hesitantly takes the mirror and inspects the damage.
His two braids are tied to the back of his head, though he can feel that the connection is loose and prone to fall apart. Both braids are terribly misaligned and partially held in place at spots by multiple clover hair-clips applied haphazardly around the braid.
It's... lacking in construction, but that is to be expected as Klee is barely older than a toddler. And he likes the design. He can keep it as is for the day and tomorrow replicate it himself.
Though he doesn't know how to braid hair and learning will also take time away from what he has scheduled...
But Albedo doesn't mind this small indulgence.
A small warm gust of wind blows through the window as he gives the beaming girl a smile of his own. "It looks wonderful. Thank you, Klee."
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Albedo is being shaken from side to side as he wakes up within a moving cart. There's a canvas overhead and to the sides, though stray beams of sunlight penetrate through the seams.
As the cart sways, Albedo connects with the side of the cart. He's been placed lying down along its length and he is wrapped up in the alchemical anti-contaminant cloth from the Dragonspine lab. He is rather warm, but he doesn't mind. There's something soft under his head, and he slowly turns to see a proper pillow has been placed under him, an unnecessary but welcome gesture.
There's also a small bundle close to him, wrapped up in the same cloth he is. Judging from their length, they must be his legs.
He hopes that the Fatui's attacks have not damaged his boots. He got a new pair just the other day, as Klee accidentally singed his last spare.
"Master Albedo!" comes a whispered voice, and he looks up to see Sucrose hovering over him. "You're awake!" Her expression brightens up for a split second before it returns to its usual state of worry. "How are you feeling?"
Albedo blinks as he considers his answer. He can't feel his legs, obviously. The rest of his body still feels heavier than it should be, as if he's been awoken in the middle of the night by another one of Klee's faulty bombs.
But he no longer feels that secondary overwhelming presence within him. His heart lays silent for now.
He tests his words and is pleasantly surprised he's no longer restrained to that unnerving phrase. "Tired." He looks down to see another person in the cart, sitting on the other edge by the back. "Hello Miss Noelle."
"Greetings," the maid says with a polite nod and smile. "The Acting Grandmaster assigned me as your escort, along with Sir Kaeya and Miss Sucrose—"
"I spy with my little eye..." comes the Harbinger's voice from the cart's driver seat. "Something beginning with T..."
"A trout!" Klee yells.
"Ah, you got it in one! You're an expert at this!"
Klee lets out a small giggle. "I like fishing."
Albedo knows he shouldn't, but he tries to unravel himself from the cloth. Why has Klee been left with the Harbinger—?!
"Don't move too much or you'll fall off," comes a second voice from the same direction as Klee's. Albedo recognises its owner as Diluc, and though that means Klee is not alone out there, he is not reassured by the other man's presence. "And don't forget he's the one that hurt your brother—"
"Come now, Mr Ragnvindr, can't a guy play a game of 'I spy' to stave off boredom? Surely you've had long travels too and played it with your brother—"
"Enough talk."
"Oh boy." Judging by the direction of Paimon's groan, the Traveller must be squished between them. He also hears a horse walking close by the cart, which by order of elimination should be Kaeya's.
Ok. He can trust Klee with them.
There's also a gentle melody he can't quite trace the origin of... until he looks up to see the canvas is strangely concave, as if someone is sitting on top of it.
"Well, we're also joined by a few more people..." Sucrose apologetically says. "The Harbinger said he wants to 'stick with us' until we resolve this and considering what happened to his men we can't really refuse... But Master Diluc wanted to join us after we explained the situation so we should be safe! Mr Venti also wanted to come along but there was a... disagreement over space and he ended up... well up there."
Ah, so it is Lord Barbatos who is perched on top of the cart.
Albedo chooses not to question this, and instead takes a deep breath and tries to enjoy the music. Klee should be safe with them, despite the Fatui's presence.
"I hope Albedo gets well soon," Klee says, and he opens his eyes to see her face poking through the canvas. "Albedo! You're awake!"
"He just woke up," Noelle says with a playful shush. "But he's feeling a bit tired."
"Oh!" Klee exclaims and promptly covers her mouth to muffle her voice. "Hi Albedo! How are you?"
"Hi Klee," Albedo replies with a tired smile of his own. "I'm feeling better."
Klee's face brightens up, and she attempts to come into the cart.
"Ah, no, you mustn't!" Sucrose quickly says as she gently holds her back. "Um, Mr Albedo is still, uh... infectious so you need to keep a distance for now, ok? Sorry..."
Klee's face falls and her cheeks redden. "But..."
"Listen to Sucrose," Albedo adds. "It's not safe for you now."
"But..." Klee looks between the two and Noelle, who seems primed to get up and make sure Klee stays out of harm's way if need be. "Ok..." she acquiesces, her cheeks even more flushed and to the point of tears. Before Albedo can reassure her though, Klee sniffs, rubs her eyes and gives him a bright smile. "Get well soon! I wanna go on a picnic again!"
This earns her an encouraging smile from Noelle and Sucrose. Klee looks like she's about to say something, but then her stomach growls.
Right, they haven't finished their breakfast. Has Klee been given something to eat besides milk? He should—
"Not to worry," Noelle says as she brings out a small basket. "I've prepared brunch!" She unfolds the cloth around it and the sweet smell of pancakes fills the cart. "My specialty!"
"I want a big portion!" Klee yells and Albedo is about to ask Noelle if she has something less likely to give his little sister a sugar rush, but he spies the maid already stealthily taking out some of the whipped cream before giving it to Klee. The girl takes her plate and gets back out, and he hears Kaeya remark on the sweet smell of her dish while Lord Barbatos—or Venti, apparently—asks for a bite. Klee refuses, but he only lets out a childish laugh and goes back to playing.
Yes, she'll be in good hands.
"Are you hungry too, Mr Albedo?" Sucrose asks after receiving her portion.
Albedo nods. "But I don't mean to bother you. I should be fine—"
But Sucrose has already put on thick gloves that reach up to her shoulders, the ones she uses for particularly volatile experiments. She approaches him carefully and helps get him up and loosens the cloth around him enough so that he can get his hands out and hold Noelle's plate. He has some difficulty operating his injured arm, still cleaved halfway up his forearm from the Harbringer's hydro blade, but he can manipulate it enough to support the plate. Sucrose flinches at his gesture while Noelle briefly glances at it with a puzzled look, but they don't bring it up.
Albedo takes a small bite and the wonderfully sweet pancakes practically melt in his mouth. Hopefully the energy boost will help clear his head.
They eat together as the cart slowly rocks. The canvas is high quality and has no tears, but Albedo still catches the peak of a wooden bridge surrounded by cliffs through an ill-fitting seam.
"Where are we going?"
"Oh, yes, we're heading to Liyue Harbour," Sucrose says as she quickly swallows what's left of her food. "We can get chalk in bulk there and the Traveller said they know someone who may know a bit more about your situation..."
Albedo doubts that, but nods either way.
"Um, speaking of..." Sucrose continues.
Ah. And the inevitable happens. "You have questions and you want answers."
Sucrose doesn't speak, only glances between him and Noelle.
The maid notices that and puts a hand up to her mouth. "Oh! If it's sensitive information, then I swear I will not overhear anything, like a good maid should!"
Albedo doesn't understand. "Surely you must be curious...?"
But true to her word, Noelle shuts her ears, covers her ears and starts humming.
Albedo thinks of calling out to the maid again, but Sucrose clears her throat in an uncharacteristically decisive tone.
And immediately begins stuttering. "Um... Mr Albedo... Uh, I've been meaning to ask... Well, not just me, we've all been curious—but not because—!"
"Do you want to know what I am?"
"Uh, no, I mean yes! I mean, that came as a surprise to... everyone, but it's not as if..."
Albedo listens, but she keeps letting out aborted sentences.
"W-What I mean to say is that... We would like to know so we can find out what's going on and help you..." her voice trails off. "Or at last I do," she mutters to herself and bites her lip. "When we went to Dragonspine and saw you face down with the Fatui, we, I..." she swallows to hold back a sniff, "and then your injuries..."
"They're not life-threatening," Albedo tries to reassure her. If anything, it's safer this way.
"B-But your arm is... And your legs!" Sucrose says, and the intensity of her voice surprises him. "You can't just... There must be a way to... get them back? Somehow? Uh, I mean, I couldn't help but notice the consistency and," she frowns and shivers. "Could they be... reattached?"
Albedo thinks about it. "Maybe. Probably."
Sucrose's expression shifts to one Albedo doesn't recognise. Horror at the prospect of being able to simply reattach a limb? Surprise? "That's great news!" Oh, so it's relief. "If you can tell me what you need, I'll be sure to—!"
"Is that the only question you have?"
Because as much as Sucrose is trying to avoid seeking answers because of her considerate nature, others won't. Especially after today's fiasco. Albedo is already pushing his luck and Mondstadt's hospitality, and his time has already run out.
He wants them to at least know his side of the story.
"Well..." Sucrose hesitantly starts, "you already know what the big one is..."
Albedo nods.
"But if there's anything you want to tell only me... or even something you don't want to tell me, that's fine! I... We're all just really worried, and we're not sure what's going on—"
"I'm a homunculus," Albedo cuts her off and hopes she'll excuse his rudeness. Master always advocated that a direct approach was best in solving most issues.
Sucrose's eyes widen. "... Homunculus? But..." she mutters to herself. "That's one of the few fields of alchemy that's still chiefly theoretical. Any attempts to create them, even by the best scholars of Sumeru, result in half-sentient creatures, more like Ruin Guards than..."
"Me."
"Ah sorry, I didn't realise I was talking out loud! I didn't mean to call you a Ruin Guard Mr Albedo—!"
"I take no offense. What you've said is true. My master practices a far more advanced form of Alchemy than anything that can be found in Teyvat." He sighs in recollection. "My own abilities pale compared to hers..."
Sucrose listens to him, transfixed. "She sounds amazing! What's her name?"
Albedo opens his mouth, but he can't say her name. Something stirs within him, not his heart or his intrinsic motivation to follow his master's orders, but something else, something that has become more and more prominent the more time he has spent in Mondstadt.
And all Albedo can do is stay silent, despite his decision to finally come clean while there's still time. Another strange, uncharacteristic contradiction.
"Um..." Sucrose's voice is even softer than before. "Did... something happen to her?"
'She's left,' Albedo wants to say. She's gone, and he's left with an increasingly impossible assignment.
"She has placed me in Miss Alice's care, who knows what I am," is all he can say but quickly realises how much his words can be misconstrued. "I do not mean that in an accusatory tone or imply she hid things from you. I have no intention to get her or Klee in trouble."
"No, no, I didn't get that impression! I'm just... processing all this..." Sucrose says and bites her lip.
"Yes?" Albedo encourages her.
"Oh, it's nothing!" Sucrose says and despite her distraught expression she still gives him a smile. "Thank you for entrusting me with this information, Mr Albedo."
Once again she tries to stop her line of questioning too early, even if she still has questions. This is not the Sucrose he knows, the one who will stay in her lab night and day, so consumed by her passion she would forget to eat. He's not sure what brought on that sudden change of character.
"Is that really all you are curious about?"
Because it can't be. Sucrose's specialty is bio-alchemy, and homunculi are considered its pinnacle. Even if she currently concerns herself with the botanical aspect of the field, she has still studied the subject and must know how a homunculus operates, their unbreakable bond to their masters, their lack of morality, their complete obedience—
"Of course not! But we can talk about these things once you get better!" Sucrose quickly says. "But, um... how much do you want me to tell the Knights?"
"I will not ask you to betray your oath. Feel free to tell them anything you want from our conversation."
"But," Sucrose softly says and bites her lip. "Um, then I just have one last question... What happened to you, Mr Albedo? Do you know?"
Right... This was unfortunately something Albedo did not have the full answers to.
"Corruption," he says with a frown. "I don't know what triggered it, but it does not come as a complete surprise… by that I mean that I thought I would have to do something on my end to start its spread," he quickly says before Sucrose gets the wrong idea. "I never expected it to come after me on its own. My plan was never to endanger Mondstadt."
He had in fact planned against that, but like so many things there wasn't enough time. He wanted to get to know the Traveller more, learn about them and whether they were trustworthy enough with the responsibility...
Sucrose nods. "I believe you! But uh, when you say corruption, do you mean the same thing that happened centuries ago?"
"Yes."
Her ears fall flat against her head. "But why?! If it's just out of the blue, that's really unfair!"
Except it's not out of the blue, but that's another question he cannot bring himself to answer. Not now. Probably never.
"So, I suppose the chalk makes sense now..." Sucrose says after a few moments. "But 225 kilos of it... And we'll have to consider all the different types that there are! Mr Albedo, you would know this better than I do, could you help me break down the amount we need...?"
She's trying to change the subject again, Albedo realises. She tried to do that before, every time Albedo took too long to answer or when she thought she overstepped some imaginary boundary.
Why? Sucrose is such a curious person, why would she try to limit herself like this?
"Um, Mr Albedo...?"
Like so many other things, it's probably something he does not have time to understand.
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I have probably deviated from the lore re:corruption etc, but whelp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Feedback is appreciated.