a cold snezhnayan wine does not make everything okay, it seems.

if the tsaritsa wills it (pt 1. PROLOGUE)

A boy with 4 pointed stars as pupils stared up at the empty black void they Khaenri'ahns call the 'sky'. There was no stars, no moon, no sun. This godless land of sinners were cursed to death since the beginning of their civilization.

The woman next to him held his hand tightly, as if she could lose him any moment.

"...Mother," the boy softly said as he brought his gaze to the sky to his parent.

The woman put on a gentle smile for her child. "Yes, *******?"

"Will we," the boy paused, "ever get out of here?"

The mother hesitated with the look of desperation in her son's eyes, and settled with a lie.

"Of course we will. We will leave Khaenri'ah, and live in peace together. Wouldn't that be lovely, my little sunflower?" She choked back an upcoming sob as she told her son a complete white lie, bringing up a hand to stroke her child's hair.

The boy smiled.

"I trust you."

.                        .                           .

[Name] opened his four pointed star-pupiled eyes to notice he had fell asleep in his office again. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he rolled his neck, ridding of any discomforts. He made sure to set the load of paperwork spread across his desk messily to the side for now. Being the twelfth harbinger came with its price, of course.

The door slammed open.

"COVIELLO!"

To his misfortune, a certain Snezhnayan ginger with a shit-eating grin plastered on that stupid face of his was standing in the doorway.

[Name] blinked, "What the fuck are you doing in my office, Childe."

The redhead walked inside and shut the door behind him.

"Why, isn't it time for our daily spar, comrade?" He observed the twelfth harbinger's mess of hair and clothes. Humming, he pointed out like a bitch, "You slept here again. You know you have your own room right? With a bed?"

"Of course I know that, idiot. I just accidentally fell asleep here, alright?"

Childe laughed, "Just wanted to make sure. Anyways, you should probably clean yourself up before our match. I'll be waiting for you in the Zaporian Garden, catch you later!"

"Wha- Hey!" Childe left before [Name] could say anything more. The last time they fought in the field of the Zaporian Garden, [Name]'s pyro delusion ruined all of the surrounding plants and grass around them, Childe's electro delusion not making it any better. It earned them a hearty scolding from Capitano. Luckily, they managed to avoid a yell from the Tsaritsa. However, that was years ago, when Childe was only one of the newer harbingers. Of course [Name] got most of the blame.

[Name] sighs. 'I guess I'll have to avoid using my delusion. That white boy has a greater chance of winning now, dammit."

Standing up, he tried to flatten out the creases on his clothes and comb back his hair with his fingers. Luckily, his room was right next to his office so it should be a quick dash from the latter to the former without anyone seeing him.

A creak from the door, and rapid footsteps. [Name] settles his hand on the doorknob of his room, about to turn it before a tap on his shoulder stops him from doing so.

"Lord Coviello?"

'Oh.'

[Name] turns his head to his approacher. A Fatui informant.

He cleared his throat and turned around to face them. "What do you need me for?"

"I- the-," the subordinate cleared their throat nervously under the intense gaze of Coviello, daring not to mention his more messy complexion today. "the-, the Tsaritsa, sir. The Tsaritsa has a mission for you and all the other H-Harbingers. Her Royal Highness wants an in person meeting with all of the Harbingers together in concern of it in about 20 minutes."

"Hm." A new mission, most likely related to Her Majesty's quest to obtain all of the other Archons' gnosis'. "Alright. Thank you for this information. You are dismissed."

The Fatui informant bowed shakily in respect and quickly got out of [Name]'s line of sight. The lower in status Fatuis respected Coviello for never snapping and lashing out at any of them, however his presence itself is definitely frightening.

[Name] watched them leave, before walking into his room and locking the door in case anyone decides to barge in.

'So no spar with Tartaglia for today.'

-

The Tsaritsa has too much of a gentle soul. Too gentle that Her Majesty had to harden herself. She just wants peace among Teyvat, that is why she declared war against the other nations. Peace for Teyvat, but what about the forgotten land's people who are now the monsters that roam this world?

[Name] walked into the meeting room, pulling up his sleeve cuffs a bit. The harbingers who were there already were Dottore, La Signora, Capitano, Tartaglia, Scaramouche, and Pulcinella. 5 more to arrive.

"Good morning." [Name]'s greeting was curt with no ill intent, directed to all of the harbingers. He took a seat next to Scaramouche who sneered at him slightly.

"Morning, comrade! Seems that we weren't able to commence our daily fight today, hm?" Spoke up an enthusiastic voice in front of him from the large wooden table.

"Bring your little personal matters elsewhere, Tartaglia. This is a meeting table strictly for matters concerning the Tsaritsa's missions business wise." Pulcinella's calls out to the eleventh harbinger.

This provoked an awkward chuckle out of Childe. "Hah, you're right, you're right. Though a little fun won't hurt while Her Majesty isn't watching over us, right?" he joked cautiously.

Scaramouche was the next to talk, "You speak such things behind the Tsaritsa, it makes me wonder why Her Majesty and Pulcinella even took interest in you." The shorter man dressed in traditional Inazuman clothes huffed.

Childe narrowed his eyes at Scaramouche menacingly with a small smile. "Come now, don't be like that, friend​."

"Let's not fight here. Leave it somewhere else in some dark alley or something." [Name] sighed, fidgeting with his shirt collar.

Capitano snorted at his comment.

The sound of the room's door opening again was a sign that more harbingers, if not the Tsaritsa, had walked inside.

In this case, it was Pedrelino accompanied by a mildly disturbed Sandrone, and Pantalone. They said nothing as they took a seat.

Time passed and no one dared to make small talk, especially with some of the eccentric motives and personalities some harbingers have. Now that all of the harbingers were here, (the last two, Mezzetino and La Ruffiana, arrived later on) they were just waiting on the Tsaritsa Herself.

The door swung open for the umpteenth time that day, revealing a pale woman with snow-white flowing hair reaching her waist, tied in a loose braid. She was dressed in a light ice blue dress with a white transparent cape, each end hanging on to both of her wrists. The Tsaritsa. The Harbingers stood up instantly from their chairs as a sign of immense respect. The sight of 12 mortal beings knelt down in front of her made her pale salmon pink lips curl up into a small wry smile.

There is no space for love in her stone heart. Her twelve harbingers are just a stepping stone to rule over Teyvat, whether for peace or war.