The Knights of Favonius were known all throughout Teyvat as the protectors of Mondstadt. When it came to dealings with the other nations, it was the Knights that represented the City of Freedom. They dealt with any problem, no matter how big or small. If something threatened the land, they would be the ones called to action.

Amongst the Knights, it was no secret that Cavalry Captain Kaeya was well deserving of his title. Though he caused his fair share of hassles, nobody could deny that he was a formidable knight capable of holding his own in a fight. While he wouldn't be considered the strongest fighter in Mondstadt, his strategy and scheming made up for that. Unless you found yourself a part of said scheme. Then you might find it more a source of contention rather than see it for it's ingeniousness.

But the Knights would be free from whatever plans Kaeya had in store for them today, for rather than be a charming captain, today he was a babysitter.

It had been a few years since young Klee had been brought to the Knights of Favonius by her parents after they left on some great adventure. Though she was still a child, she was granted a vision by the Anemo Archon, and had the honor of being one of the Knights of Favonius. The Spark Knight wasn't well known in Mondstadt though, as she was often in solitary confinement for her… explosive sense of fun.

Most of the Knights found Klee's talents to be dangerous, but Kaeya saw the opportunities that could be had. It wasn't every day that one found someone of great power who also happened to have a malleable mind. Kaeya wasn't heartless, and wouldn't let Klee do something that could get her hurt, but that didn't mean he wouldn't softly encourage her to do things that could hurt the threats of Mondstadt. It was a thin line to balance on, and Kaeya had all but mastered the art.

Today however, things were a bit different. After escaping solitary confinement once again, Klee found herself in a bit more trouble than usual. She hadn't meant to damage one of the Dawn Winery's cargo wagon, but when it just so happened to end up in the crossfire of a group of hillichurls and Klee's many explosives, the wagon was all but blown to bits. Diluc had been less than enthusiastic at the damage of good.

Due to the unfortunate loss, Jean had tasked Kaeya with looking after Klee for the rest of the day. They didn't want to risk having her escape again so soon, and since Kaeya may or may not have had a hand in what went down, this was his punishment. It wasn't an ideal situation for him, but there were no regrets. Klee not only got rid of a group of particularly aggressive hillichurls, but an Abyss Mage as well. In Kaeya's eyes, the wagon was a necessary sacrifice.

But as he sat in the solitary confinement room with Klee, watching over her as she dooded on a piece of paper while laying on the floor, Kaeya started to feel a little bit of regret. It wasn't that he felt slighted at being given babysitting duty, after all he was partially responsible for over half her escape attempts, but rather that it meant he couldn't be out on the town gathering necessary information for the Knights.

He was also bored out of his mind.

Shifting in his seat, Kaeya lounged back to try and get comfortable. Leaning his head to the side, his long blue ponytail fell off the side of his shoulder and swung next to the chair. Propping his head up with his arm so his neck wouldn't get sore, Kaeya tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. "So Klee, what are you drawing today?"

As soon as she heard her name, Klee's head shot up from her drawing. Scrabbling up into a sitting position, the young girl proudly held up the paper so Kaeya could see it. For such a little one, she could draw quite well. Standing in a field of cecilia flowers were three people, two tall and one significantly shorter. The little girl in the red and white dress was no doubt Klee herself. She had even drawn a little Dodoco on her head.

In the drawing, Klee was in the middle of the other two figures, holding each of their hands with her own. Kaeya could tell that one was a man, and one was a woman, but their features weren't very distinguishable. It wasn't that she hadn't drawn them well enough, but more that there were too few details. From context Kaeya could surmise that it was Alice, Klee's mother, and her father. However, he'd seen the last drawing Klee had done of her parents, and in this one, they looked different. In fact, with each drawing Klee did of them, details always changed, with some disappearing all together.

"I drew Mom and Dad, and Klee! We're up on Starsnatch Cliff with all the pretty flowers." Klee giggled as she pointed at the fluffy creature on her drawing self's head. "And Dodoco is there with us too."

Kaeya chuckled and clapped his hands daintily. "My my, it's a masterpiece, Klee. You'll have to keep it and give it to them when they finally return."

Klee's eyes lit up at the praise, and giggled as she squirmed in place. "You really think so? Oh thank you Kaeya!"

Though the smile stayed on her face, the light in her eyes faded as she lowered the drawing. Flipping it around so she could look at it, Klee said, "I miss them… I'm happy to be a Knight of Favonius, and everyone that takes care of me here is the best, but I wish Mom and Dad would come home soon. Maybe after they see how much I've grown up, they'll even take me on their next adventure."

"I'm sure they miss you too Klee. They'll come back for you some day."

"I know they will," Klee giggled, her cheeriness coming back to her. Setting her drawing on the ground, Klee stood up and smoothed out her dress before running up to Kaeya. She clamped her hands around the chair's armrest, and looked up at Kaeya with curious eyes. "What about you? Where are your parents?"

He shouldn't have been too surprised at the question, seeing how the conversation had been going, but Kaeya still wasn't completely prepared for it. Surprise flashed across his one showing eye before being drowned out by faux happiness. With a smile on his face, he replied, "My father? Well he went out on an adventure, just like your parents."

"Really?" Excitement coursed through Klee, and she fidgeted in place to get out the energy. "That's so cool! You're just like me! Has your dad ever come back?"

Kaeya chuckled as he shook his head. "No, we got separated. If Master Crepus hadn't found me that night, I'm sure I would have perished in the storm. I haven't seen him since that day."

"Oh…" Klee whispered, dropping her eyes. The energy came rushing back though, and with a defiant pout on her face, she said, "He must have gotten lost. Why else would he want to leave you behind? You're one of the best people ever, so there's no way he would just leave you without trying! I bet he's still looking for you."

Kaeya knew that Klee meant no harm in her words, but as soon as they left her mouth, a frigid shard of ice wedged its way into Kaeya's heart. Though his face showed no change, bitter resentment darkened his mood as his father's last words to him echoed in his mind.

"This is your chance. You are our last hope."

With an affable smile still on his face, Kaeya simply laughed and said, "Maybe, but I'm not so sure about that. Who knows that kind of mess he's gotten himself into."

"You know what to do, what has to be done. For Khaenri'ah's sake you must not fail."

"Kaeya, are you okay?"

Klee waved her hands in front of Kaeya's face, and he blinked his eye. His thoughts took a tighter hold of him than he had intended. Laughing it off like it was nothing, Kaeya put his hand on Klee's, and pushed it down out of his face. "I'm fine, just thinking about something. Nothing that you need to worry about."

Klee puffed out her cheeks like she wanted to keep prying, but thankfully she dropped it. Kaeya patted Klee on the head, and that was all it took to return her to a jovial mood. With another giggle, she ran away from Kaeya towards the other side of the room. He tilted his head in curiosity as she rummaged through some papers on one of the shorter shelves. When she finally found what she was looking for, she practically skipped back over to Kaeya.

"I know your dad isn't around anymore, but you still have family!"

With a prideful grin, Klee held up the paper that she found. On it was another drawing, but this time, it wasn't of her parents. It was the Knights. Jean, Lisa, Amber, and Kaeya himself. They were all hanging out in the solitary confinement room with Klee, and each of them had a smile on their face.

"Me and the rest of the Knights. We're your family, so you'll never be lonely."

Lonely. Was he lonely? After all this time of shouldering the weight of his lies, Kaeya had never thought much about feelings of loneliness. He'd been too concerned with polishing his facade so any cracks that may have formed wouldn't be noticeable to the prying eye. Had he grown so comfortable with this cycle of outward deceit that he hadn't realized the cracks forming on the inside?

"You're staring off into nothing again," Klee complained, wrenching Kaeya from his thoughts again. He was barely prepared when Klee shoved the drawing into his hands and said, "I think you need this more than me. I want you to have it."

A genuine smile graced Kaeya's face, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips. He rolled it into a thin scroll as he said, "Thank you Klee. I'll be sure to hang it up as soon as I can."

"Good, you better!" Klee giggled as she patted the soft fur of Kaeya's coat. He had a feeling she was trying to pat his head like he had done to her, but she didn't want to reach up that high.

A thought crossed Kaeya's mind, and he motioned for Klee to come closer. When she did, he leaned over and whispered, "Say, it's no fun being in this room. Why don't we go out and have a little adventure. I know of a few monsters that need to be punished. I'll make sure that Jean doesn't find out."

"Really? Can I blow them up?" When Kaeya nodded, Klee was bursting with excitement as she bounced around the room.

Kaeya chuckled to himself as he stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothing. While he calmed down the joyous Klee so they could make a quiet escape, Kaeya felt just a little bit lighter than before. It would be some time before he noticed, but as he pocketed the drawing that Klee had given him, the shard of ice that gripped at his heart began to slowly melt away.