Lumine was glaring down at the table. She was dumbfounded on what she was doing. She had a feather quill pen in her hand. She just glared at the paper.
Albedo chuckled softly. Her expression was cute. He couldn't help but smile.
"Albedo is this all right?" She asked, hoping she did well.
Albedo grabbed the paper from the table, looks at it. Her handwriting needs some work. It was like a little kid wrote a bunch of scribbles everywhere.
"Not bad on your first-time," Lumine gasped happily. Albedo didn't want to hurt her feelings with her handwriting. "But we can work on your words and the scrambles on the paper."
Lumine nodded. "Oh," she remembered something. She always wanted to do this the longest time. Albedo lowered his arm down, wondering what Lumine was thinking. "Can I read books here?!"
"Of course." Albedo said. "Are you interested in reading?"
"I always wanted to read books. The only thing I was able to read was picture books. They don't have any words or sentences to read. But I like looking at them when Aztec isn't home." Lumine recalled from her old master mansion. Albedo felt sorry for her. "When I read them, I was wishing that I could live a happier life."
The prince perked up. He was interested in what her wish was. "What would that be?"
Lumine placed her finger on her lip, thinking on the top of her head. "I guess a normal life, like how commoners are in town. They are full of energy and happy. I wish I was there." Her voice sadden.
Albedo watched the girl. It must be painful for her. He could grant her that wish. "I could let you live as a commoner if that's your wish. We can give you a home, a job in the castle, and such we can offer."
Lumine couldn't take that offer. "Thanks, but I don't think I can survive all by myself. Besides, I don't like being alone. I get scared." She started to shake slightly from the nightmares she has been getting every night.
"I see." Albedo noticed she was shaking. Was she sick from last night? He started to get worried. "Are you feeling well?"
She turned to the prince. "No. Just chill." She lied.
He can tell that she was lying from her voice. He decided to go along with it. Albedo needs to know what's bothering Lumine. Her appearance was breathtaking. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.
He remembered what Noelle and Lisa told him. Her back was covered in scars from the whipping. Not just her scars on the back, she's blind from her left eye. Maybe he could recover her left eye with alchemy. He never tried using alchemy to help someone to recover. It won't hurt to try it out.
"If you have anything that troubles you, don't be afraid to ask. We'll always be here." Albedo gives Lumine an assured smile.
"I will." She smiled. Lumine wanted to know about Albedo. He was like a friend to her. Her curiosity came over her. "What do you do in your free time?"
"I sketch and do alchemy."
"I want to see your sketches!"
Albedo picked up a pencil in his hand, summoned a clipboard from his hand and started sketching. "They are in my chambers, but I can do a quick sketch." Lumine was amazed to see a clipboard magically appear in his hand. Was it magic? She waits for him to finish. She watched him move the pencil as she tilted her head. "All done." Albedo showed his sketch to Lumine.
Lumine gasped happily. It was a sketch of Lumine surrounded by a field of cecilias. "That looks amazing, Albedo! Your drawing is beautiful! Is this sketch from last night?"
The prince nodded. "I wanted to sketch this. You were beautiful standing with the cecilias last night. It gives good fortune."
She blushed innocently. "I didn't think I would be an inspiration. And you said alchemy too. What's that?"
"Alchemy is a creation, transformation, and combination. I haven't done anything alchemy lately. I'm too busy with my work as the prince."
"It must be a lot of pressure on you. You barely have time off."
"It's fine. I'm used to it. I am the next heir to the throne since my father is bedridden."
"Oh. I'm sorry about that. I hope he will recover." Lumine didn't know the king was sick.
"At his age, it will be hard. Even the best doctors can't recover him. Plus alchemy isn't going to do anything either. It aches me to see him in that state."
Lumine noticed that Albedo didn't mention the queen, his mother. "What about your mom?"
Albedo didn't look at Lumine. He glared at the floor with a disapproving look. "She disappeared when Klee was born. There was no trace of her. We searched every place in and out of Mondstadt, but found nothing. A few months later, we found her, but it wasn't a pleasant sight. She murdered herself from the guilty she did. I don't know what caused her to do such a thing. After that, I promised my father that we will never mention anything about our mother to Klee. She hasn't seen what she looks like. I won't let her fall into despair." He clenched his hand into a fist.
That was a lot to take in for Lumine. She didn't know what to feel. It was a mixture of guilt and agony. She stood up from her chair, walked over to Albedo, and hugged him. Albedo widened his eyes when Lumine randomly did that.
Lumine quickly backed off. "I'm sorry. I thought you were upset. So, I thought hugging would calm you down, if it helps." She twiddled her fingers.
The prince smiled. "No. I'm fine now. Thank you."
Lumine gives an innocent smile. "I'm glad that you are okay."
"You remind me of an old friend of mine." Albedo commented.
"Who would that be?" Lumine tilted her head sideway.
"Sucrose, she and I have known each other since Alchemy Academy. We graduated from Alchemy Academy together. I wonder how she is doing now." Albedo replied.
"Have you always wanted to see her again?"
He nodded. "I haven't seen her in 4 years. She probably has her own lab or is wandering around the world. Discovering new species and such. That makes me jealous. I have to sit here and do nothing. Being a prince is hard work."
"I want to travel around the world too. There are so many places I want to see, but I don't know if I can."
"I can take you anywhere you want to go, Lumine. Anything you want to go, I can grant you that wish, my lady." Albedo grabbed her hand and gave a light kiss on the knuckles.
Lumine blushed lightly. Albedo is acting like a gentleman. Her first expression of seeing a handsome prince being a gentleman. Her stomach turned into butterflies.
"You don't have to do all of that for me, Albedo. It's just a silly wish." Lumine flustered.
"Maybe that silly wish will come true. When the time is right, I promise you will show you the world."
Albedo and Lumine stared at each other's eyes. Their eyes reflected one another. Lumine couldn't stop staring at the prince. Noelle was right about him. He's too handsome the closer he is. No wonder the other females are attractive to him, but is there someone he is fond of. She doesn't need to worry about that. He's just a friend to her.
"Oh! Am I interrupting something that I shouldn't interfere with?!" A seductive voice from behind.
The two of them snapped into reality to the source of the voice. Lisa was smiling mischievously at them as she chuckled.
"Have you ever heard of knocking, Lisa?" Albedo was a little disappointed as released Lumine's hand.
Lisa cupped her cheek with a shocked look. "Oh! I did, but you never responded. So, I came inside and saw the two of you having fun. I will come back later. Have fun." Lisa waved as she left the room.
Lumine tilted her head. "What does she mean to have fun?"
Albedo blinked then cleared his throat. Lumine doesn't know that term yet. He needs to make an excuse. "Don't worry about it. Lisa just wants you to enjoy yourself here. That's all."
Lumine blinked in confusion. She couldn't tell if Albedo was making an excuse or protecting her. "Okay."
"Let's continue your lesson."
Lumine nodded. "Right."
Albedo continued to teach Lumine the basics. She enjoyed the lessons she was giving. It is something new for her. She never thought Albedo would be a good teacher.
A few hours later, Lumine finished her lessons with Albedo. She's glad to know a bit more about him. Her next stop is the library. Albedo did tell her that Lisa is the librarian. She can be a bit extreme when it comes to relationships and the way she talks. However, Lumine doesn't know anything about relationships.
Lumine arrived at the library. She stood in front of the entrance and took a deep breath. She was wondering how many books there are or how big the library is.
She placed her hand on the door handle and opened it. She walked in and gasped. The library was larger than a normal library. There were so many books she could read.
"Oh my! It seems that cutie is here!" Lumine turned to the voice. Lisa was walking towards her. "What brings you here?"
"I want to read the books. Albedo told me there were a lot of books here in the library. I didn't know the library in the castle was this big." Lumine's eyes started to shimmer.
Lisa smiled. She didn't think Lumine would be a fan of books. "Are there any particular books you are looking for?"
"Hmmm…. Not really. I haven't thought of that. I just want to look around and find books that are interesting."
"Alright. Enjoy yourself as you did with the prince, little cutie." Lisa teased.
"Yeah. Being with Albedo was fun. He is a good friend." Lumine couldn't understand what the librarian was saying.
Lisa sighed in disappointment. She was hoping Lumine would blush like a tomato. Oh well, some things are left unnoticed. "Feel free to ask me anything if you need any specific book, sweetie. I have something I have to take care of. Goodbye." The librarian headed out towards the door.
Lumine waved back at Lisa as she left the library. She disappeared from Lumine's sight. She started the books on the walls and searched for anything that interested her.
She picked up books one by one, reading them. She was enjoying reading the books. Most of them were about myths, legends, and heroes. She read a book on a prince saving a princess from a tall tower. It kind of reminded her when Albedo saved her from Aztec.
She continued on reading every book she grabbed. There was one book that was different. The front had a white cover with a strange symbol in the center. She placed her hand on the cover to touch it.
For some reason, it feels familiar. She doesn't know what or where the feeling came from. She was about to open the book until a voice spoke.
"Oh, are you curious what this book is?" The voice whispered in her ear.
Lumine shivered. She turned beside to find the suspect.
He has dark blue hair that borders on black, with short twin braids that fade into aqua at the tips. He had a slim body with fair skin and his eyes were aqua green. He looks like a bard of some sort.
"What?" Lumine asked.
"The book. Do you want to know the secrets of it?"
Lumine doesn't know she's getting in too. She just nods as an answer. "What's the secret?"
"Are you sure? The secrets will be revealed once you hear it." The bard warned.
Lumine flinched when the bard gave that warning voice. She doesn't know if she can trust him. She glared at the book and put it back on the shelf. It could be a scary thing if she knows its secret.
"I don't think I need to know the secret. My heart is telling me that it should not know what's behind the secret." Lumine mumbled as she placed her hand on her chest.
The bard smiled. "That's good. The Kingdom of Mondstadt would be in danger."
Lumine blinked as she was puzzled. "In danger of what?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you don't know anything about the Abyssal Kingdom."
"Abyssal Kingdom?"
"Oh! I thought the prince told you that."
Lumine shook her head. "Albedo told me that he would take care of me. That I don't need to worry about anything." She smiled.
The bard glared at Lumine. She thinks everything would be okay. He can't break her happiness that Albedo saved her. He would have to watch from the side to see everything that will happen to her.
He shrugged. "Well, I'm happy for you, Lumine."
Lumine smiled. "Thank you… umm." She doesn't know what his name is. She doesn't want to be rude to not call him anything but his name.
"Venti is my name. It's nice to meet you," Venti goes to the window and turns to Lumine, smiling. "It's time for me to go. I have things to take care of. Goodbye." He waved.
She waved goodbye to him as Venti disappeared. Lumine stared at the white book one more time. She leaves the shelf and continues to the other shelves.
Lumine was done reading for the day in the library. There were still a thousand books she could still read, but it was time for lunch. She was famished, but she didn't know where she was supposed to go.
Suddenly, there were voices behind a door she walked past. There was a little girl and a maid behind the door. It sounds like they were arguing about something.
"Klee doesn't want to go! I want to play!" Klee shouted.
"Calm down, Princess Klee. You have your lessons to go." The maid tried to calm down Klee.
Klee shook her head. "No!"
Lumine popped her head at the door. She saw Klee unhappy. The young princess wanted to play with someone. She can't go outside of the castle. Lumine walked inside the room.
Klee sees Lumine walking in the room. She smiled as runs up to her and went behind her.
"Lumine! You can help me!" Klee said.
Lumine was dumbfounded. "Save you from what?"
"Lessons! I don't like lessons!" Klee grabbed Lumine's hand and ran out of the room.
The maid gasped. "Princess Klee, what are you doing?! Come back!"
Klee and Lumine were running the halls. Lumine was getting exhausted from running. They run into another room to hide from the maid. The maid ran past the room they were hiding, calling out for Klee.
Lumine was out of breath. She never thought running would be tiring. Maybe some exercise won't hurt for a bit.
Klee started to giggle. "We are all clear." She glanced at Lumine. "Lumine, can you play with me?"
Lumine was puzzled. She doesn't know why Klee wants to hang out with her. "You want to play with me?"
The young princess nodded. "Yes. Oh, my name is Klee. Albedo Onii-chan told me about you yesterday."
"Albedo Onii-chan?" Lumine was more dumbfounded as she lifted her eyebrow.
"Yes! Albedo Onii-chan is my biggest brother. Klee loves Albedo Onii-chan. He's always there for Klee. He doesn't have time to play with me, because of work." She said, saddened by her voice.
Lumine noticed that Klee feels sad. She just wants someone to play with her. Lumine doesn't have anything to do. Maybe she could play with Klee. It's not bad to have fun once in a while.
Her stomach started to growl. Lumine blushed in embarrassment. Klee gives a cheeky smile as she has an idea.
"Lumine, you want to go and cook?"
"What's cooking? I haven't cooked before."
Klee tilted her head. "Really? I guess we can go in the kitchen and teach you."
"You're going to teach me?" Lumine wasn't too sure if Klee can cook or not. She can't judge a book without a cover.
Klee nodded as she opened the door. "Let's go. I'll show you the way." She led the way to the kitchen.
Lumine trailed behind her. This will be a new experience for her.
They arrived at the kitchen. The chefs were cleaning, cutting and cooking food. The steam coming out of the kitchen. Lumine has never seen this many people cooking food. She can't tell if they are slave or not, but the way they were dressed. They look professional and well managed.
"This is the kitchen. The people here are cooking food for the people in the castle. It is almost lunchtime." Klee walked around the kitchen as Lumine was behind looking around.
"I thought you said we're going to cook together." Lumine reminded Klee.
"Klee didn't forget. Come over here." Klee runs out of the kitchen.
"Wait up, Klee." Lumine quickly tries to catch up to Klee. She finally catches up to the young princess. She was out of breath. She was catching her breath as she lost sight of Klee. Lumine looks around to find Klee. "Klee, where are you?"
Klee popped her head out from the counter as she smiled. "I'm here! Are you ready?"
"Umm, should we have someone here to watch us?" Lumine was considering what would happen.
"Don't worry. I have someone who can help us."
Lumine tilted her head. "Who would that be?"
Footsteps were coming closer. It stopped at the entrance and stared at the other kitchen. Klee turned her head at the door.
"Barbara! You're here!"
Lumine turned to the entrance of the door and saw Barbara walking in. Barbara looked at Lumine and smiled.
"My name is Barbara. My big sister told me about you."
"Big sister?" Lumine asked.
"Jean is my big sister here. I'm sure you have met her."
Lumine nodded. "You're here to teach us?"
Barbara placed her hand on her chest. "Yes. Klee told me about it. She wanted me to teach you how to cook."
Lumine nervously tucked a stain of hair behind her ear, hoping she will do okay for the first time cooking.
"I don't know if I can do it. I have never done it before."
"Don't worry. I'm here if you need me. We'll do the basics for now. Let's get started."
Albedo was leaving his office for his afternoon lunch. Before he goes to the dining room, he needs to get Klee from her lessons. He started to think about Lumine who is probably in the library reading all of the books. She is probably enjoying herself there.
He wanted to see her smile again. Her smile makes him warm inside. The first woman that made him smile since his mother left. Of course, Klee smiles all the time, but Lumine is different. Albedo can feel his heart beating so fast when Lumine appears in his mind.
He arrived at Klee's lesson room. It was quite on the other side. It was odd. There's no voices or anything. He knocked on the door, wondering what was going on.
No response. He knocked on the door again. Still no response. He frowns. Albedo opens the door and sees that no one was there.
'Did they finish with her lessons?' Albedo started to observe the room. Everything was still in the same order. Nothing has been touched. He sighs as he knows what happened. "Klee skipped her lessons again. As long as she doesn't destroy or touch anything, we should be fine."
Albedo closed the door as he left. He went to find Klee. Finding her will be difficult. She's known for hiding in the castle.
On the other side, Lumine had finished her cooking. She was happy how it turned out. It was a dish of Northern Apple Stew and strawberry shortcake.
Barbara's eyes shimmer as she claps her hands. "Amazing, Lumine. That looks delicious. It's making me hungry as well."
Lumine shook her head. "I'm fine with that. I'm just glad that I was able to make something delicious. I can learn new recipes too."
Klee glared at the food for some time now. Her mouth was becoming watery. "I want to try Lumine's food."
"Of course!" Lumine grabbed the plate of Northern Apple Stew and placed it in front of Klee. "Enjoy."
"Thank you, Lumine." Klee grabbed the fork and dinner knife. She had the fork holding the meat while she cut a piece of meat, put it in her mouth to chew and swallow. She put a smile on her face. "The meat is squishy and juicy to chew."
Lumine hesitated when Klee mentioned squishy. "D-Did I do something wrong?"
Barbara chuckled. "Don't worry. I think Klee means the meat is soft."
Lumine sighed in relief. She was happy that her cooking wasn't bad. That made her feel all happy inside. She didn't think her food would be delicious.
"Is there anything you want to drink, Klee?"
"Hmm… milk." The young princess took another bite of a slice of apple.
Barbara already got a glass of milk for Klee. Klee grabbed the glass of milk and drank it.
Lumine's stomach started to growl. She was getting hungry, although she used to not eat back then. She's no longer there anymore. Lumine grabbed a plate and looked at Barbara. "Do you want to eat?"
"Of course, after all, we can't waste the food you cooked. I don't mind learning more about you, Lumine." Barbara sat down on the stool as she grabbed the plate.
Lumine nodded. "Yes."
Albedo searched everywhere for Klee and still no sign of her anywhere. He went to the maid that was those to take Klee to her lessons.
The maid couldn't find Klee anywhere. "Where did Princess Klee go?"
"Where is Klee?" The prince called from behind.
The maid flinched when she heard Albedo's voice. She slowly turned around to him as sweats were dripping down from her cheeks. "Your highness, umm… she ran and took the young girl with golden yellow hair to play with her. I have been looking for them, but I can't find them."
"I see. Thank you. I shall find them. Go ahead and rest." Albedo said as he walked past the maid.
The maid bowed. "Yes, your highness."
"Klee will make special bombs!" Klee already had made a set of bombs on the side of the table.
Lumine was puzzled why Klee is making bombs. "Is it okay to make bombs in here?"
Klee was too focused making her bombs. "Yep! I can always get away from Jean Onee-chan if the bombs explode randomly."
Barbara tried to stop Klee. "We shouldn't be doing this here. It's dangerous. We will get yelled at by Jean Onee-chan."
"We will be okay. I promise." Klee was confident that the bombs won't explode.
Lumine has a bad feeling. Her mind is screaming at her to leave, but she shouldn't leave Klee and Barbara.
Klee grabbed the last piece to make her to finish her bombs. "For the final one, I'll add that here and-"
Albedo was walking in the hallway, still looking for Klee. He can't find her anything. She could be hiding in a private room where no one can find her.
Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard. A large portion of smoke came out of the door and windows. That alerted everyone in the castle to defend against an unknown attack.
Albedo heard the explosion and ran towards it. He was afraid of Klee getting hurt, but not just her… Lumine as well. She is with Klee.
Jean was standing at the entrance where the explosion was. She sees Albedo running towards her.
"Your highness, do you know what happened?" She asked.
"I'm afraid not." Albedo frowned. "Have you seen Klee and Lumine anywhere?"
Jean shook her head. "I haven't seen them all day," then it clicked her head. "Wait. You mean they-"
Albedo nodded. "They probably got caught from the explosion."
Jean crossed her arms on her chest. "Or it could be the little princess making her bombs again. She caused enough trouble."
"Probably. Klee is known for hiding when she is making her bombs." Albedo faced towards the door. "Shall we check?"
Jean nodded. She walked towards the door, reached to the doorknob as she was about to open it.
The door suddenly opened. Lumine and Barbara came out of the room, coughing from the smoke. Klee was the last one to walk out of the room with a smile.
"Klee has success her bomb making!" Klee shouted. She notices Jean's presence and looks at Jean looking at her with an upset look. The princess looked down on the ground knowing what was coming.
Jean placed her hands on her hips, frowning. "Klee. You know the consequences." The general noticed her younger sister is here too. "Why did you stop Klee, Barbara?"
Barbara bowed down. "I'm sorry, Jean Onee-chan. I tried to stop her, but she didn't listen to me. She got carried away."
Lumine felt bad for Barbara for being scolded, but she isn't getting scolded. She didn't want Barbara to take all of the blame. She too bowed. "It's not her fault. I was also involved in this too. I didn't know what was going on. So, I went along."
"You haven't done anything wrong, Lumine." Jean said.
Lumine shook her head. "No. I too should be scolded too. I can't like Barbara to take all of the blame."
Albedo laughed softly. He wasn't surprised that Lumine would take the blame as well. "As long as no one is hurt, it should be fine. There's no need to punish them, Jean."
Jean sighed lightly. "You're too soft, Your highness. But Klee will be grounded for the time being."
"I'm sorry, Jean Onee-chan." Klee apologized.
"Well… I should head back to the church. They are probably wondering why I have wandered off too." Barbara said as she left. She stops and waves Lumine. "Goodbye, Lumine. We'll meet again."
Lumine waved back. "It was nice meeting you, Barbara."
Jean turned to the soldiers. "Clean up the mess. I'll take Klee to her room."
The soldier's salute. "Yes, General!" They started to clean up the mess that Klee made.
Jean took Klee to her room while Albedo and Lumine are alone.
"What did you and Klee do?" Albedo asked curiously.
"Well…" Lumine told Albedo the whole story of what happened.
Albedo has his hand on his chin. "I see. So, how did your cooking lessons go?"
Lumine laughed softly. "It was fun. I didn't know cooking was fun. Barbara teached me so much. There's still more on the table. It's a good thing I was able to cover before Klee made her explosions."
That made Albedo curious about how her food tasted. "You don't mind if I have a taste?"
Lumine nodded as she smiled. "Of course. Let me show you where it is." She was curious if Albedo would like the food. She led him to the food on the table.
Albedo sees the food on the plate all nice and neat. He was surprised to see Lumine was able to cook this food. He grabbed the fork and dinner knife, used the fork to hold the meat, cut the meat with the dinner knife, and ate the piece of meat.
Lumine waited for Albedo to say something to about her food. Klee and Barbara like her food. "Is it delicious?"
Albedo was surprised at how good it was. "It's delicious, Lumine. I have never eaten someone else's food besides the chef's food. It's like it was homemade."
Lumine blushed lightly as she smiled. "Thank you, Albedo. I'm happy that you like it. I want to do a lot of things that I haven't done. Oh, you're not mad at Klee for skipping her lessons."
"No." He said straightforwardly. "Klee rarely has anyone to play with. I don't have the time to play with her, but you made her day happy. As Klee is happy then I'm happy."
Lumine thought Albedo would be mad, but he is calm and collected. Not only that, he is a genius. He is willing to help Lumine with her writing. She feels close to Albedo.
"That's good to hear. I'm going back to the library. There's still more books I want to read."
"Shall I accompany you?" Albedo reached out his hand to Lumine.
"Sure." She grabbed his hand as she smiled. "It's nice to have someone to talk to. I can learn a lot more about what's in the books."
Albedo can see why Lumine is the light. Her smile gives happiness and warmth. It's making him feel relaxed and comfortable around her, like a bright star guiding the smaller stars a way out to the light. Who knows maybe Albedo might have Lumine as a maiden to be in the future. No woman can beat Lumine's light.
So, did I drown you guys fluff between Albedo and Lumine?
I feel like I need to bring an aristocrat who hate Lumine with a passion. She is to be his future queen, but it's not a contract. Maybe in the next chapter.
Be ready! :D