Chapter Twelve

As Jean predicted, the ship hugged the coastline all the way to the mouth of the Liyue river leading to Stone Gate. Jean pushed herself hard to keep up with the ship, but it wasn't easy. The terrain between Falcon Coast and Liyue was utterly unforgiving. Many times, Jean had found herself spread-eagled over a cliff face below Cape Oath, unsure if her stamina would hold out till she reached the next ledge. Twice she'd lost her grip and fallen into the water, but both times she had managed to find a sliver of a beach to rest on for a few tense minutes.

But it got even worse when she reached Dragonspine.

oOo

The knight dashed across the windswept shore, arms pumping in a futile effort to achieve more speed. She couldn't feel her fingers, and ice clung to her lashes and cheeks. Her clothes were stiffening in the cold, some of the leather unable to cope with the dropping temperature and harsh conditions. But she couldn't stop to reevaluate. Without heat, she was living on borrowed time.

Eyes flinty with determination, she threw everything she had into the race against death, every hope pinned on the faint spark of light barely visible through the driving snow. The air was below freezing and stripped of any hint of moisture, stinging her dry mouth as she dragged in lungful after lungful.

She could feel the Vision on her belt faltering, its turquoise gleam flickering dangerously close to extinction. But her goal was so near… I have to make it!

With a final burst of desperation, she threw herself into the ring of meager heat afforded by the lonely torch. She collapsed against the thin poles of wood supporting the life-giving flame, gasping for air, her body shuddering with cold and the aftereffects of her flight.

It took a few minutes for the Acting Grand Master to sit up, swallowing hard and basking in the sensation of warmth. Carefully she checked her fingers and wiggled her toes in her boots, making sure she hadn't gotten frostbite. Once her examination was completed to her satisfaction, the bedraggled blonde tugged a meal out of her inventory. She sat with her back against the torch, licking Goulash from her spoon and gazing out from her tiny haven, protected from the howling winds that raged just beyond the torch's pool of heat and safety. A stray hilichurl wandered along the shore behind her, just as oblivious to the exhausted knight as she was to its presence. She was absorbed in her scrutiny, searching the sea.

There!

For just a second, the outline of the Fatui ship was discernable through the raging blizzard. She sighed with relief. "Good, they haven't gotten too far ahead. I can take a few minutes to rest and eat." Her voice sounded stifled, the snow dampening her words. Another violent shiver rippling through her shoulders, Jean returned to her meal, her mind drifting in the temporary respite.

Some people would question the wisdom of allowing the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius to gallivant off after a mere pair of citizens while a whole city awaited her guidance behind her. But Jean's core beliefs were unshakably founded in two things. Firstly, her duty to Mondstadt as a Gunnhilder. She had sworn to uphold her family legacy and serve the people of Mondstadt, protecting them unflinchingly. To abandon her city for the sake of two lives seemed ludicrous at first glance. But aside from the utter devotion that fueled nearly every decision, there was another part of Jean. A softer, more vulnerable side.

The part of her heart that belonged with the Ragnvinder brothers, her playmates from childhood.

Friends in life will come and go. If you don't interact on a daily basis, most friendships will gradually cool. Very rarely do you find the kind of soulmates who will always remain near to your heart, who care for you no matter the barriers of time or distance or social status. And with the tragedy of Crepus Ragnvinder's death standing between them, Jean and Kaeya barely talked to Diluc these days. The old proverb was true; "A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle."

And yet… despite the cataclysmic shattering of the bond between Kaeya and Diluc years ago, Jean knew in her heart, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that all three of them still cared deeply about each other and would do anything to keep each other safe. Not one of them was truly related to each other by blood, but the three young knights had always been a family. And a true knight never leaves a brother behind.

She refused to abandon them to a dubious fate.

And besides, what kind of defender would I be if I wasn't responsible for every citizen in my care? It's just part of the job.

Finishing her meal, she packed the bowl away and flexed her mailed fingers above the steady torch, reveling in the feeble heat. With a tiny sigh, she turned to scan the shoreline for the next dim light of a torch. Spotting it at last, she steeled herself. Her eyes went back to where she'd last seen the Fatui ship. "Hold on, you two. We'll make it through this." She took a deep breath and plunged back into the howling winds.

oOo

Two days later, Jean watched as the Fatui ship slowed. To her great relief, she saw the sails being lowered and the anchor dropped. She sat down with a groan, tugging off one boot and massaging her heel.

They'd made it to Liyue without the ship drawing within swimming distance of shore. Jean had caught a few glimpses of the brothers, enough to reassure her that they were both alive and not in imminent danger, from what she could tell. But she hadn't found a way to reach them just yet. All she could do was follow along the shoreline and hope they didn't stray too far into the ocean.

The knight started a fire on the other side of a huge boulder. Yaoguang Shoal offered little in the way of cover from view, but the few enormous sea stacks did provide shelter from the elements. As the firelight played merrily over the rocks behind her, Jean leaned back and sighed. The usually pristine Acting Grand Master was a mess, her white pants smeared with sand and dirt, her jacket sporting rips, her hair sticking to her forehead in wet clumps. Wearily she tugged off her jacket and laid it by the fire. A moment later her boots joined it. If I'd known how far we would be traveling, I would've packed an extra outfit so I could change and give this one a more thorough cleaning. She examined her gauntlets, turning her hands over and sighing over the dirt caught in every crevice of the armor. I'll have to oil these again tonight. The sea air will rust it in a heartbeat if I'm not careful. She made a token effort to scrub her formerly cream leggings, but gave it up after a few halfhearted swipes at the front of her muddied pants did absolutely nothing. It would have to wait until she got home or bought a fresh change of clothes somewhere.

Once all her gear was more or less tended to, she drew her Skyward Blade and checked the edges. It gleamed in the firelight, perfect and beautifully clean. She smiled faintly at the sword, then tucked it away again before leaning past the rocks to check the Fatui ship again.

Yup, still there. She produced a brush from her pocket dimension and tugged her hair free from its ponytail. Before she started brushing it out, she laid her Teyvat map out on a flat rock in front of her. The tall knight studied the Liyue shoreline as she wrestled her hair into submission. I'll have to cross the river soon if they continue down the coast. There's a bridge, but it's pretty far inland and it'll cost me a lot of time to travel upriver to cross it. It would be faster to cross nearer the shore, but… do I have the stamina to pull it off? She paused, rolling up her sleeve to eye her slim arm skeptically. She was fairly athletic, but she didn't usually swim for sport. Maybe I can do a few trial runs before making a full attempt. Mechanically she resumed brushing her hair, considering the map and planning the next few days.

Despite her woebegone state, when she retired for the night, her iron belief that she would save the brothers was unshaken. She fell asleep to the gentle sound of waves lapping gently at the sand.

Author's Note: You can't tell me that snow-white pants are going to remain pristine through swimming, fighting, mountain climbing, spelunking, and everything else that there is to do in Genshin. Sorry, Ayato mains, but I just can't see white clothes staying clean through all that!