Faded Harmony

Lullaby

Lyra spent a rather sleepless night, which was probably evident on her face and yawns when Amber stopped by the next morning.

"You look terrible."

"You think?" Lyra asked, putting her head in her hands.

Amber looked out the window, where the city was beginning to wake up. Pigeons flew in the sky, perhaps to meet Timmie by the bridge. The sound of footsteps and laughter would have been a joyous occasion, but to Lyra who hadn't slept the night, it was a source of irritation. "I have a few hilichurl camps to clear out and I won't be around for a few days. What are you going to do?"

Lyra, who had spent a full night forming plans and theories in her head, knew there was only one thing she could do. She had to decipher the letter. There should be someone, somewhere that would tell her how to read it. The sunlight started streaming in, and Lyra raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Amber, noticing this, stood in front of the window, so her shadow fell on Lyra, as Lyra felt a surge of gratitude. "Is there a library here?"

Amber's eyes widened. "There's one in the Headquarters of the Knights of Favonius. Would you like me to take you?"

Lyra nodded, and she followed Amber out of the house, discreetly tucking the letter into her pocket. Amber took her up the stairs to the city's higher ground. Lyra took a moment to observe everyone in the city: the lively shopkeepers, the people walking around with smiles in their eyes, someone digging up something in the fountain, a blind girl on a bench. Knights were all over the place, stationed around the city.

Lyra looked away from everything that caught her interest to see that Amber had taken them straight to the Headquarters. Knights stood guard outside the building, one of them giving Amber a half-smile. Amber pushed open the wooden doors, and Lyra let out a soft whistle when she looked inside the white halls. There were two doors to her left and one to her right, and stairs in front of her. Someone walked up to them.

"A visitor?"

Lyra gave the person who had spoken a quick glance up and down. He was dressed extravagantly, half pirate and half gangster. A cape flew behind him, and an orb hung from his belt, similar to the one Amber had. But where Amber's was orange, his was blue. Lyra found herself wondering if it wasn't hot in that get-up. The eyepatch caught her interest, and she stared at it, wondering if there was something underneath or if it was just for show.

"This is Lyra," said Amber, indicating Lyra, who bowed her head politely. "She's a traveler."

"And what's a pretty traveler doing at the headquarters?"

"It's not my fault the library is in the headquarters," said Lyra, feeling rather defensive.

The pirate smiled at her, before turning to Amber, the same playfulness still in his eyes... well, eye. "Amber, Jean wanted to see you." He nodded a goodbye to the two of them, before he walked past them, leaving the sound of a door closing ringing through the white halls.

"Who was that?"

"Sir Kaeya," answered Amber. "He's the Captain of the Cavalry, although, I can't actually imagine him riding a horse." Amber gestured to a door. "The library is through that door. I need to meet Jean, so I'll see you another day."

Amber walked into a room on the other side of the hall, and Lyra watched her disappear behind the door before entering the library. Pushing open the door, she stared in wonder at the two floors of books that greeted her.

"A new face."

Lyra looked up at a woman dressed in purple, who looked like a witch. She wondered if everyone in Mondstadt dressed as extravagantly as possible.