A couple of knights head to Dragonspine when they heard word of a sudden surge of hilichurls in the area. Noelle gets to come with them due to no small part of pleading, with the promise that Huffman would keep an eye on her.
AN: No beta we die like hilichurl
"Master Jean, may I come in?"
"Oh, Noelle. Please," Jean nodded. She put aside her paperwork and gave Noelle her full attention. "Yes? What do you need from me?"
Noelle nodded. "Thank you, Master Jean. I came here to ask permission to come with the other knights to Dragonspine on their-"
"Denied." Jean immediately said.
Noelle's eyes widened. "B-But Master Jean-"
"No means no, Noelle," Jean sighed. "I know you want to come with them, Noelle. But there is a reason I can't let you go with them. Not after the last time you went to Dragonspine."
"But I've learned since then! All my tasks for this morning are finished, and I have nothing to do till evening."
Jean adamantly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Noelle. But I cannot permit you to go to Dragonspine," Jean told her. "Please. I wouldn't say no if there was a reason."
Though Noelle looked like she wanted to say more, she knew that it wouldn't change anything on Jean's mind.
She knew that Jean was being cautious after what had happened after her first venture into Dragonspine. But that was such a long time ago. Noelle knew that Jean knew she had improved by leaps and bounds not just in strength, but in character as well. Yet she still couldn't be permitted. She didn't understand why.
Noelle bowed. Albeit sad, she couldn't let it show to the Acting Grandmaster. "...Understood," she said.
Jean nodded. "Thank you."
Just then, a knock on the door rang through the office. "Master Jean? May I come in?'
"You may."
The door opened to reveal a knight of Favonius, Huffman, clad in armor with a piece of paper in his hand.
"Good morning, Master Jean," Huffman saluted. "Oh, Noelle, you're here too."
Noelle bowed. "Good morning, Mister Huffman."
"A good morning to you too, Huffman," Jean greeted. "What brings you to my office?"
Huffman walked closer to her and gently laid the piece of paper in his hands on her desk. "We are about to head off soon. I wish to have your signature for clearance."
Jean nodded. She took a stamp as well as a quill with ink. "Clearance granted," Jean told him. "Please be safe out there."
"We will." he gave another salute and began walking out the office.
The moment Huffman reached Noelle, the maid gave Huffman a pleading look. "Please, come back safe, Mister Huffman."
Huffman softly smiled. He ruffled her head. "And what are you doing here? DId you get in trouble?"
Noelle shook her head. "Not at all," she said. "I was asking for permission to accompany you to Dragonspine. But I got denied." She pouted.
Huffman chuckled.
Everyone but Noelle knew the reason why the acting grandmaster had been so lenient with Noelle, yet so strict regarding expeditions. But Huffman knew that Noelle had grown. Maybe more experience could help her grow even more?
Back at her desk, looking at the two in front of her, she could see the gears in Huffman's mind turning.
She sighed, yet she couldn't hold the smile on her face. Huffman had been watching over Noelle since Master Varka had brought her in. It was only natural for Huffman to hold a familial bond with her.
Then again, that was essentially everyone in his squad. He always treated those close to him as family.
Huffman turned back to Jean. A resolute glint was in his eyes. "Master Jean? Sorry to bother you, but can I make a small request?'
Jean had a feeling she knew what this was going to be. Meanwhile, Noelle was looking at Huffman in confusion.
"Go on, I will hear you out."
Huffman looked back to Noelle, then back to Jean. Noelle's eyes widened.
'Could it be?'
"I wish to bring Noelle to Dragonspine on our expedition."
"Thank you for allowing me to come with you, Mister Huffman."
"You're welcome," he said. "Now, I want you to be on your best behavior. That means no running off on your own, no going off to see something shiny that caught your eye, or anything like that."
Noelle pouted. "I'm not a child."
"Did I stutter?"
"Now, now, come on Huffman," Belinda wrapped an arm around Noelle protectively. "Don't be so hard on the poor girl. You haven't even given her a coat yet." she wrapped a brown, fur coat around the maid.
"I'm hard on her because I have to be," Huffman gave them a stern look. "Noelle tends to move on her own without telling anybody about it. And Master Jean explicitly told me to prevent just that."
Noelle nodded. "Understood, Mister Huffman," Noelle gave him a salute. As of this moment, Huffman was her captain. "I won't let you down, and I won't do anything that will get you in trouble, sir!"
Huffman sighed. "It's not about getting me in trouble, Noelle. It's about-"
Belinda was already leading Noelle to their camp. "Come, Noelle. I'll show you to camp. You don't have to listen to this nagging for too long."
"Hey! Hey! You two! I wasn't finished talking!"
But they were already halfway out of sight, and although he knew they could still hear him, Belinda's hands were on Noelle's ears as Belinda blew a raspberry at him.
He sighed once more.
"You keep sighing like that, you'll lose a lot of seconds of your life."
Huffman turned to his side to see a knight with dark, blond hair. "Riese. Come to join us?"
The knight shook his head. "I'm afraid not. As much as I would like to help out, unless aster Jeans allows me to, I am not to abdicate my patrol."
"Well, I could hope."
Riese chuckled. "Besides, you already got all the help you can get, can't you?"
"What are you talking about?" Huffman raised an eyebrow.
"You know exactly who I'm talking about."
He did, though he didn't want to acknowledge it. Noelle being here would help them immensely, and it would probably cut down the time they spent in Dragonspine by a lot. But…
"We can't always rely on her. She's still a kid."
"She is. But she won't be a kid forever," he told him. "She's growing up, and we can all appreciate what you've done for her. But you and I both know that she has something engraved in her mind that we can't simply erase or overwrite," Riese hummed. "If we could, she would've become a knight a long time ago."
Huffman's eyes narrowed. "So, what are you trying to say?"
"Look, I don't mean any harm, but all I'm saying is, if you keep coddling Noelle, she's going to want to break free. It may not be today, may not be tomorrow, but it'll happen eventually if you continue like this." Riese put a hand on Huffman's shoulders.
"Are you saying Master Jean's way is flawed?"
"Do you think it's doing Noelle any good if no one tells her why Master Jean doesn't want to make her a knight?" he asked. "I won't be disobeying Master Jean's orders. Not now, not ever. But just because I follow it, doesn't mean I like it. And I dislike this rule most of all. We should be allowed to tell Noelle what's wrong. She's chasing after all the wrong things to please Master Jean."
Everyone knew why Noelle hadn't been made a knight. But Master Jean had explicitly told them to keep quiet about it. At the time, no one knew why, and they had agreed out of loyalty.
But that order was something that the knights collectively thought was cruel.
"I… I apologize, Riese. I almost let my temper get the better of me." he bowed.
"Look, man. Do not worry about it," he smiled. "I know, out of all the knights, you're most protective of Noelle. That's why I came here to tell you about this. Because you're like her big brother."
And it wasn't just Riese. It was something left unsaid but just about everyone but Noelle knew about it. You mess with Noelle, she'll smile and leave the matter be. But if it reaches Huffman, you're screwed.
Riese patted Huffman on the shoulders as he began walking back. "Well, I have to go back to my patrol," he told Huffman. "You all take care up there."
Huffman smiled back. "We will. You take care too."
As he watched the knight go back down the mountain, his words kept circulating in his head. He made many points, some valid, others he was still contemplating. But he could think about that later. Right now, he had a squad to brief.
…And several layers of clothing to put on. It was freezing.
"This is the last time I will be repeating myself, so please listen up."
Huffman stood atop a crate as he briefed his team. All of whom were listening attentively. Huffman might've often been the butt of the jokes, and Huffman didn't mind, but when he was serious, he expected seriousness in return.
And insubordination didn't come without consequences.
"Marked on the map are several hilichurl camps we have to get to and eradicate. I've already set your squads. No one deviates from their teammates or their route," he told them. "Everyone watches each other's back, and everyone gets home safe. Understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" was the collective answer.
"Good," he nodded. "And no leaving everything to Noelle, I will know about it." he glowered.
A few of the knights there were lucky that Huffman couldn't hear the quiet gulp they did.
"And Noelle!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Don't do everything by yourself. Is that clear?"
"B-But I can-"
"Is that clear?"
"S-Sir, yes sir!"
Huffman nodded. Noelle received several pats on the back for her futile yet courageous attempt of explaining herself to the Mom of Favonius.
…Don't let Huffman know they said that.
"Good, now, without further ado," Huffman stepped down from the crate and raised his sheathe up in the air. "Strike swift, Favonius."
-x-
"So it says here that we're to keep heading north and we'll come across a hilichurl camp." Otto and his squad carefully traversed the cold of Dragonspine. With the others behind him keeping watch for any ambush.
His team consisted of Joyce, Noelle, and Belinda. Noelle and Belinda were off to their side, while Joyce was at the center, directly behind Otto. Quite the formation.
"Why did the hilichurls suddenly increase in numbers anyway," Belinda sighed. "It's been forever since we've been to Dragonspine. Even under my layers of clothing… it's still-" she sneezed. "It's still freezing."
"Don't remind me," Joyce told her. "I'm trying to keep my mind off of the cold. Hopefully, the fighting will be enough to warm my body up."
Otto nodded, eyes never leaving the road. "It's good to think warm thoughts. Mind over matter."
"Agreed," Noelle remarked. "The hilichurls have been scaring merchants if what I have been reading recently is true. Our trip would surely help them out."
"Huh, you read newspapers?" Belinda looked at Noelle with a raised eyebrow.
"...I go to the bathroom like anyone else," Noelle said as if she was explaining the color of the sky.
"Right…" Belinda sweatdropped.
"That's enough talking for now," Otto told them. He neatly folded the map and put a hand on the handle of his sword. An action mimicked by the other three.
Belinda brandished her rapier. "Belinda, at the ready."
"Roger that." Bruce drew his long sword.
Vision glowing gold, Noelle instinctively put a shield up around them, claymore firmly in her two hands. "I will protect you."
Otto nodded towards them. In front of them was one of the three camps they had to get to. But that didn't mean they could spare any expense in eliminating any of them.
"We have Noelle with us, but don't let your guard down," he told them. "One mistake."
"Is enough to bring down a kingdom." They completed his sentence.
Sure enough, everyone there knew that with Noelle with them, it would be an easier task. Maybe that was why they were given three camps to get to.
That was a thought for later. For now, they could only hope that this fighting would do well to warm their bodies up against the sheer cold of Dragonspine.
It turns out, that Noelle did make things easier. So much easier.
What would've taken a couple of hours was reduced to one. However, Noelle didn't do all the work. True to Huffman's orders, Otto went to great lengths to ensure that all of his team contributed the right amounts to every task.
Much to Noelle's dismay. However, as most people there had watched Noelle grow up and become the person she is now, they knew how she operated.
A silent Noelle was a plotting Noelle. If she was quiet, it meant she had something to do in mind that most wouldn't agree with, or would go against someone's direct orders.
All her attempts at being the vanguard were put to a stop by Otto every time. Noelle pouted but obeyed nonetheless.
Otto would have to charge Huffman a few drinks for this. Sometimes, Noelle was the sweetest person you could come by, and other times, she was so stubborn it was like talking to a rock.
But, no matter how Noelle felt about the situation, she couldn't deny that all of them were safe. They had accomplished their tasks and were now back at camp. Thankfully, everyone returned safe and sound as Huffman began to roll call.
"Good work, everybody," Huffman smiled. "I'm happy to see all of you are safe and sound. Though a few of you may have scratches, bruises, and cuts, we'll all go home as many as we got here. Master Jean will be proud."
He was met with cheers, claps, and exclamations of joy.
Huffman sighed in relief. He didn't know how most would take to the cold that Dragonspine provided. He was more than happy to see all of them had come back in one piece. But he couldn't just let his joy show on his face. He had an image to keep after all.
Too bad pretty much knew just how much of a softy he was.
"Now, I would like everyone to help with packing up our tents- let me finish!" he received groans all around him. "After everyone has a hot bowl of soup. Then we'll clean up the tents."
Of course, before their hopes were elevated, he dashed them back to the ground. "Soup that we will make ourselves."
Everyone sighed, but they'd expected this.
The soup did wonders for their body temperatures as well as their appetites. The exploration and combat made their bodies more fatigued than they thought.
Thanks to Noelle, the meal turned out to be more nutritious and filling. Since she foraged for herbs as well as frozen meat when no one was looking. Which meant she was already looking for them the moment she stepped into Dragonspine as Otto had kept a close eye on her since being assigned to his team.
Nevertheless, after the meal, they were now cleaning up the tents and packing them up. They were preparing to go back down the mountain.
"Can't we stay here? We don't get to go to Dragonspine often! Look at all of this snow!"
Or they would've, if not for a certain person who voiced out their complaints and wanted to stay.
"No, Belinda. We have to go back and report to Master Jean." Huffman sighed.
"But I wanna stay here a little more!"
"What are you? A kid?!"
"Now now," Bruce tapped Huffman on the shoulders. "It wouldn't hurt to stay for even a little bit? We finished earlier than we expected to." a few other knights agreed with him.
"No, we can't do that," Huffman sighed. "We need to get-"
He couldn't finish what he was saying as he had been interrupted rather rudely. Everyone stood still, shocked at the turn of events.
Surprised at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Even Bruce, who was right next to Huffman, couldn't say anything.
Why was everyone so shocked? That's because Huffman had been hit square in the face.
With a snowball.
That had been thrown by Belinda, who was whistling innocently and looking away.
How were they supposed to react to that?
Noelle didn't have a good feeling about this. She went to take a step forth-
"It was Belinda!" Noelle couldn't discern who it was, but it was definitely female.
"Ow!" And they had thrown a snowball at Belinda.
Belinda grit her teeth. "Oh, you're in for it." She threw another snowball in the general direction of the voice.
"Oy! What the hell was that for?!" Noelle sweatdropped as the person who was hit with a stray snowball.
"Oh, so that's how it's going to be huh."
"Get ready for this."
"Y'all better duck!"
Noelle gazed as every knight in the vicinity started picking up their own snowballs and throwing them at each other, target be damned.
Should she? The urge to make her own snowball was strong. But who could she throw it to?
"Watch out!"
"Ow! Hertha! I know that was you!"
The coordinator blew a raspberry at Bruce. Hertha immediately dodged as Bruce had thrown her a snowball of his own.
Beside him, Huffman sighed.
Noelle's eyes widened as she saw Huffman begin crouching, pooling snow in his palm into a ball, he sighed once again.
"If that's how it's going to be…"
As fast as a bullet, even if he was visionless, his throw caused a small isolated shockwave around his area as he poured his strength into the throw right up until the snowball left his fingertips.
"Oh, nice of you to join us, Huffman- Ah!"
Faster than she could react, Belinda got hit square in the face with the snowball of fury.
She went down with a sound in an instant.
All of them stopped and stared at Huffman. He held a scary glint in his eye as he stared coldly into Belinda's fallen form.
"Go on, then," he declared. "Let's play"
Noelle couldn't believe her eyes.
The battlefield was tough. Bodies littered the ground, everyone was out for themselves. Screams, exclaims, and groans could be heard all around. The projectiles were too fast. Those that could avoid them could only stare in despair as their comrades fell.
Today, Noelle learned something.
This was war, there is no kindness. On the battlefield, it was everyone for themselves. There were no teams, and the ones that did team-up would inevitably be out for each other eventually.
Noelle thought of all of this with her back up against a boulder as she snuck a few peaks onto the battlefield in front of her every so often. It was a rather cold boulder, seeing as the snow had covered most of the surface of it.
This snowball fight was getting dangerous.
"Ugh."
A faint, female voice drew nearer to her. She tensed up, but she found it was unneeded.
"Miss Hertha?"
"N-Noelle? Is that you?" the coordinator dropped down to the ground. Before she could fall, Noelle caught her in her arms.
She looked so fragile.
"Miss Hertha!" she held onto her hand. "Please, stay awake. Whatever you do, don't sleep!"
Hertha slowly shook her head. "I… I don't think I can do that, been hit way too many times you see," she chuckled but it quickly turned into a series of coughs. "I don't have… much left in me."
Noelle's eyes widened. "Please, don't push yourself any further. I can call for help."
"Don't, Noelle. It would be a waste," Hertha told her. "I just… need to lay down. I'll be all right."
"Miss Hertha! Please!"
"Noelle," Hertha coughed. "I ain't got much left in me… but if you would can you… listen to me?"
"O-Of course!"
Hertha gave her a weak smile. "G-Get one on Bruce for me, will you? Give him my… regards… eugh."
Hertha closed her eyes and let her tongue fall out of her mouth. Which was a mistake she rectified not a second later as the cold was harsh on her tongue. Regardless, she made an almost perfect act of someone who had fallen in battle.
Of course, she was only acting. But the effect was prominent in Noelle. For a minute, Noelle drowned out all the noise. It was only her, and her fallen comrade that lay in her arms, immobile.
Then all of a sudden, everyone felt pressure against them. It was hard to stand, it was difficult to move their arms, it was as if a giant meteorite had been set atop all of them and it was pressing against them all.
Noelle gently laid down Hertha onto the snow with a blanket to keep her warm. She breathed out, the warm air she exhaled becoming visible.
She went behind the boulder and showed herself to all of her enemies. Her presence was a behemoth no one could deny.
One fact was clear to everyone there. They had to eliminate her first.
A brave knight threw a snowball at her at speeds no one could comprehend. Aiming for her vulnerable face-
"I don't think so."
Faster than anyone could see, Noelle's hand caught the snowball aiming for her face. She grasped it.
She crushed it. Snow fell to the ground.
A whimper came from the knight as Noelle smiled at him. It was a smile without malice, and it made it all the more scarier.
"Oh my, it seems you've dropped your snowball," in the blink of an eye, she had a snowball in hand. "That simply won't do. Here, have it back."
"H-Hey can we talk about this for a sec-"
PEW PEW
Before the knight could finish his sentence, he was struck down by two projectiles to the face as he splatted onto the ground.
Wait, two?
"Impressive," the knights collectively turned towards Otto. "Right before she threw the snowball, she split it in two and threw both of them successively. A double-tap in snowball form"
The knights sweatdropped. Was now really the time to be impressed?
Another snowball went for Noelle.
"Oh, you dropped yours as well." It was just as quickly sent back to the sender with twice the velocity.
Collectively, all of them relentlessly threw snowballs at the maid. Surely she couldn't dodge them all? Right?
"...What manner of monstrosity is she?" A knight couldn't help but murmur.
She could. She definitely could. And she did.
Every snowball that went her way was sent back with more strength than any of them combined. Noelle had a reputation for being strong within Mondstadt in general, but no one knew just how strong she really was.
Until now. And they regretted every wondering.
Her snowballs felt like pebbles. The fact that they crumbled upon impact didn't help. It was as if every snowball she threw had an area of effect upon impact.
"Oh my, everyone seems to be dropping their snowballs. That just won't do."
The maid- no, the final boss stood in front of them all. She glowed gold. Her hair was flying behind her.
It was hard to breathe, it was hard to move, and yet the Maid remained immune to all of it. Or rather, she was oblivious to it.
She was still smiling, But they could see a glint in her eye. A suspiciously familiar glint that said whatever came after would be something Noelle would enjoy at the moment, but apologize profusely for right after.
An audible gulp came from Bruce. "I think we flipped her switch."
The moment those words left Bruce's mouth, the knight's eyes all widened.
"Oh no."
Noelle had always been stubborn. But that stubbornness stemmed from an overzealous streak that Noelle held. It was mostly about her chores and tasks, so no one commented much about it.
But to see her switch flipped in what was essentially a free-for-all snowball fight, against all of them?
Bruce dreaded to see what would happen next.
"No," Huffman told them. He stood strong even amidst the pressure. "Not all hope is lost! One coordinated attack is all we need."
All the knights turned their heads to Huffman. Listening to his words, they instinctively stood straight. They became bolder.
"We are Knights. We shall prove strong against any adversity. We are the shield that stands against terror," Huffman formed a snowball in his palm. An action mirrored by everyone by his side. "We shall not falter!"
"Aye!" The knights all prepared themselves.
Noelle simply smiled. But behind the smile, one could see excitement, and an eagerness. A dangerous look for someone like Noelle.
If they were wiser, they would have remembered that retreating was an option. But alas, the Knights of Favonius were not without pride.
"Aim!" Huffman took a breath, as did everyone with him. "This… This is to go further! For Mondstadt! Fire!"
At once, the barrage of snowballs converged on the maid. Noelle simply smiled before she was thrown snowball after snowball.
No one could see Noelle amidst the snow covering her form, but they wouldn't let up there. They relentlessly kept firing snowballs one after the other until the general surroundings of the maid were covered in snow from all that they'd thrown.
The knights panted and caught their breath. Some even sat down.
"Did we…" Bruce panted. "Did we get her?"
No one could answer him. They were all waiting for confirmation once the frost settled.
"I think… I think we're clear?" Joyce squinted. "I don't see her any-"
"That was rather harsh, don't you think?"
That one voice made everyone freeze in fear. The cold of Dragonspine proved nothing compared to that voice.
Noelle sounded annoyed.
That was not good. For any of them.
The snow settled. Slowly, Noelle's form was revealed. Once they saw her, the other knights instinctively took a step back.
"I-Impossible."
"This isn't real."
"Why is she just a maid again?"
"Alright. Bet."
There Noelle stood. Juggling about two dozen snowballs. She glowed ethereal gold. The vision on her hip was spinning just as excitedly as Noelle seemed to be.
How she was juggling snow? No one knew, but she was doing it.
"So many people dropped their snowballs. It only seems fair to make sure every single one gets back to their rightful owner." she smiled, revealing pearly whites.
This final boss was unexpected.
Each snowball seemed to have a golden glow to them that stemmed from Noelle as well. Winds began gathering around her.
"This… is to go even further beyond!"
Bruce closed his eyes, accepting his fate.
"There we go. Finally done." Jean stretched her arms out. She went out of her desk and performed stretches in the middle of her office.
Sitting on a chair for many hours a day didn't do her posture well. Thanks to Lisa who recommended her stretching exercises to perform during certain intervals every day.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Master… Jean? This is Huffman. We have… come back."
"Just a minute."
Once Jean had sat back down in her chair, she cleared her throat. "You may come in."
The door opened, and Huffman walked inside. But it wasn't what Jean was expecting to see.
"Oh, my- What happened to you? Is everyone alright? Did something go wrong?"
She knew it was a bad idea to simply send them to Dragonspine! She had too much faith in Huffman that-
"Rest assured, Master Jean, everyone came back home safe. Our mission was completed. And we didn't suffer any complications while performing the task." Huffman reassured her.
Although Huffman's reassurance did quell some of Jean's concern, it never left her. "I see. In that case, I offer my congratulations. You all did well," she nodded. "Though I have to ask, what happened to you?"
Huffman's clothes were disheveled, his hair was wet as well as some portions of his clothes, and he seemed to have a slight limp.
"Ah, that," Huffman seemed reluctant.
Jean narrowed her eyes.
"Tell me."
Huffman awkwardly chuckled, before he sighed.
"The battle was great. It was worth millions of mora, and it was one worthy of the heavens," Huffman stared at the ceiling. Seemingly lost in thought as he smiled. "Why, I consider myself honored to have witnessed and experienced such a thing firsthand."
Jean raised an eyebrow. "What?" She was so lost. "What battle?"
Huffman seemed lost in thought for a few more moments before he coughed and nodded his head.
What was he going to say? Did they meet someone while in Dragonspine? Did they go through some arduous tasks before they came home? What happened?
"Noelle won."
Jean resisted the urge to slam her head on her desk.
Noelle won? Noelle won what?!
AN: I have never seen or touched genuine snow before. But then again, does it really have to be genuine when I believe it's real even when it's not?
Thought of this chapter while I was in the bathroom. Turned out to be more than I expected. This was supposed to just be a short chapter dang it
