"Jean said I'd find you here."
Noelle, startled, wiped the drool from her mouth.
"Honorary—Lumine!"
There stood the traveler, leaning nonchalantly on the wooden chair.
"May I sit?"
"Of course!"
Noelle reached forward and snatched her pack off the chair as Lumine helped herself to a chair.
"You were looking for me?"
Lumine smiled.
"Yes. I was hoping you would help me out with something tomorrow."
Noelle looked down, her face coloring. There was a huge damp spot on the book she had been perusing. She snapped it shut too quickly, wincing inwardly.
"Of course! Leave it to me. All of it. Whatever it is." Noelle looked to Lumine. "Ah, what exactly is it?"
The golden-haired woman rested her arms on the table.
"I need help retrieving something very valuable. But we can get into the details later."
Noelle felt her hands scrunch her skirt below the table.
"Will there be any sort of training involved?" she asked, trying to keep the excitement from her voice. Lumine nodded.
"Sort of. At least, if anyone asks, you can say that we're training."
Noelle narrowed her eyes.
"Will that not be what we are set out to do?"
"It would be better if we talked about it tomorrow when we're outside the city limits."
"But what if something happens?"
"I promise there will be no danger."
"Okay," Noelle relented. Lumine was looking away now, twisting her hair around her index finger listlessly. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes!" said the traveler, smacking the table suddenly. "So, tell me. What brings you to the library? Does Lisa have you stacking and sorting?"
"No. I am afraid Ms. Lisa has banned me from any such things." Noelle bit her lip. "I may have taken the liberty of reorganizing the entire library overnight last year."
"Mhm," nodded Lumine.
"In my defense," Noelle hurried, "I thought it might be easier to find things if everything was alphabetized!"
Lumine laughed, light as air.
"I'm sure Lisa appreciated your thoughtfulness." She leaned forward, selecting the top book from one of Noelle's many piles. "What are all these?"
"Nothing!" Noelle jostled the table as she sprang to her feet, snatching the book away from Lumine. The traveler held her hands up in surrender.
"Whoa, I'm sorry. Are these your diaries or something?"
"No!" Noelle's face went hot, perpetually embarrassed by her reactions to Lumine's curiosity. "Not at all. Nothing of the sort. Not even close!" She threw her arms around the piles and began to drag them back towards her.
But Lumine was faster. She snatched another off the top pile, and two more from the corner of the desk.
"'Heart of Clear Springs?' 'Shortcuts to Love'? 'A Knight's Reward?" Lumine turned red at the last novel as she turned the cover, which featured a scantily clad maid clutching the hips of a bare-chested knight, to Noelle. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't interrupt—"
"No!" Noelle exclaimed, deflating. "I'm grateful for your company! This is all just… Research! Yes. Research. For the exam!"
"The Knights of Favonius has a section on…?" Lumine trailed off, her mouth opening in confusion.
"No!" Noelle wailed.
"Shhh!" hissed a voice from another table. Noelle stood hastily, knocking the table again with her legs.
"Maybe we can find someplace else to chat?" she asked, trying to hide her desperation. Without waiting for a response, she gathered as many books as she could carry, and, wobbling, set off to the book return cart.
"Thank you for your help returning my books," Noelle said as the evening air kissed her face. The day had been hot, but a passing rainstorm had blown through, leaving the night cool and pleasant.
"You're very welcome. It seems I have much to learn about Noelle." Lumine was teasing her, her hands clasped behind her back, legs swinging out as she led the way.
"Well, it's just." Noelle's bottom lip worried between her teeth as she followed Lumine through the streets, the bridge into the city now in sight. "You insisted I needed time alone outside of work and training. So, I asked the head maid if I might have the night to myself before the library closed to do some… Light reading." Noelle smiled to herself. Her words tasted so foreign.
"Before I arrived in Mondstadt," she continued, "I spent most of my time under trees, reading about the world. About all the things I could only hope would happen to me. Far off places, knights in shining armor—"
"Shirtless men in tights pants sweeping desperate, wanton maidens out of the clutches of evil?" Lumine cut in. Now on the bridge, the traveler hoisted herself onto the railing, swinging her legs towards the moat. The sun was setting over the mountains, picturesque and lovely. Noelle leaned against the grey stone, resting her head on her knuckle.
How unladylike, she scolded internally.
But how nice the evening breeze feels, a smaller, gentler voice whispered. Her skin underneath her gloves began to itch, and she rolled the fabric down her arms, savoring the feeling of freedom.
"I suppose it sounds silly," Noelle finally responded.
"It doesn't," Lumine replied, her heels clicking on the stone as she swung her legs back and forth. "Maybe if I carried a book with me on my journeys, I would feel less lonesome." She sighed.
"Lonesome? Even with Paimon?"
"Paimon is as Paimon does. She is a handful. And always hungry!" Lumine scrunched her nose playfully. "Maybe I should take a page from your book—metaphorically speaking—and hide out in the library every once in a while."
"The cross breeze in the library is lovely! It really is comfortable! And besides, I cannot imagine you would get much reading done with Paimon," Noelle responded, wondering if she was too harsh in tone. But Lumine smiled, shaking her head.
"I suppose you're right. Paimon prefers books with lots of pictures and always stops me if I read ahead." Lumine leaned back further, her arms bracing her from behind. "Paimon's trying a new recipe tonight at Good Hunter as a 'favor' to Sara, but I'm allergic to some of the ingredients and decided I would see what you were up to." Honey eyes met Noelle's. "I'm glad you've taken my advice. You seem happier today, more… Well. At ease."
Noelle broke eye contact, looking down at her ungloved hands left wrinkly from their cage. She picked at her thumb nail, unsure if she believed that 'at ease' was the proper turn of phrase.
"Why did you say 'favor' like that?" she asked.
"Well, truth be told, I think after three years, Paimon might need some space from me and all the adventures I've dragged her on."
"Oh? Is something the matter?"
Damn ladylike, Noelle thought suddenly. She hoisted herself onto the bridge next to Lumine, turning around to face the disappearing sun. Lumine pulled her legs onto the railing, hugging them to her chest and shrinking a bit.
"No. Yes? I'm not sure. Maybe." She sighed, pushing her hair from her eyes.
"I am more than happy to listen," Noelle pressed. She could sense the eagerness in her own voice, but despite herself, could not reel it back. It was nice to talk, and she had found herself thinking about the tenor of Lumine's voice since their first outing. It slipped around her, gentle as silk. And as long as they weren't talking about her choice of novels, she could listen to Lumine talk for ages.
"I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever find Aether," Lumine said after a moment, snapping Noelle out of her daze. "I've been thinking about him so much lately. I've tried everything, everywhere that I can get to. And he's nowhere to be found! Not Mondstadt, not Liyue, not Inazuma. He just… Disappeared. But maybe I'm the one who disappeared? Or if he doesn't want to be found, if he's hiding from me on purpose…" Lumine's body heaved.
"If 'if's' and 'buts' were candies and nuts, we'd all have a happy New Year." The words tumbled from Noelle's mouth before she could stop them, a knee-jerk reaction cemented into place by her mother's scolding tone. She looked at Lumine, whose eyes had hardened.
"What, what I mean is," Noelle stammered, "you have tried so hard for so long to find him. And it's through no fault of your own that he's remained elusive. You keep trying your best to find him." She shifted on the stone. "Maybe you should… Take a break? A real break. A vacation, even. I mean, this was the advice imparted to me recently, and I have already noticed… Improvements. In my own mood."
Lumine looked pensive for a moment.
"You're not just saying that for my sake?"
"No." Noelle sat up a bit straighter. "I am not too proud as to hide that perhaps I was taking my duties a little too seriously. After all, I am not the only maid on staff. But I am the only maid attempting the trials for the fifth time, so it could be said that I am owed some time off."
"I'm proud of you, Noelle," Lumine said. Noelle beamed.
"Thank you. And I know you will find your brother when the time is right."
"Mhm." Lumine nodded solemnly, then turned to Noelle. "Tell me more about your romance novels?"
Noelle flushed.
"They really are just to pass the time! And not all of them are romance!"
"Just all the ones on the table today?"
Noelle looked off, indignant.
"Not every person is lucky enough to have a god showering them with attention."
Lumine laughed.
"That's true!" The traveler paused for a moment, then whipped her head to Noelle. "Meaning…?"
Noelle pursued her lips, stomach twisting.
"Meaning… You and Venti?"
Lumine's mouth twisted into a funny smile.
"What?"
Noelle shifted uneasily, gripping her hands on the stone.
It appears I have made a miscalculation.
"Well, there was talk about the castle. And I am not one to listen to gossip! But as they say, the walls have ears…"
"I am not, nor will I ever be, involved with that useless, tone-deaf bard," Lumine scoffed. "If anything, I'm surprised people haven't noticed how often he and the deaconess have been sneaking off together!"
"Deaconess Barbara?"
Lumine smirked.
"Sometimes the walls' ears are employed by other, larger walls."
Noelle twisted her skirt in her hands.
"I hope you haven't got any ideas about me," she said quietly.
"Never," Lumine replied too quickly. "Of course not! I would imagine it's hard to go about your day without hearing the gossip around town in some capacity. And besides—" Lumine's fingertips brushed Noelle's knuckles. "I would very much like to be your friend, and friends share things."
Noelle took Lumine's hand, squeezing it gently before letting go.
"Thank you. But I would hope we are already friends."
Lumine smiled, twisting back around. She stretched, arms high in the air, going onto her tiptoes. Noelle turned, too, taking in the lean muscles in Lumine's arms. They reminded her of the men on the covers of her romance novels.
"I've already arranged for you to be off the castle grounds tomorrow. Apparently you have almost a two hundred vacation days saved?"
Noelle nodded, sheepish.
"Well, if we work festivals and holidays, they give you that day and an extra as vacation…"
"Well," Lumine said, "we'll just have to start making use of them. I'll meet you tomorrow by the waypoint at 3:00 sharp."
And with that, Lumine set off down the path, her confident stride leaving Noelle trembling with excitement.
Thanks for reading!
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