Mortal Chains (Albedo x Aether)

Ch. 10 Is it Her?

(Aether POV first time it hasn't rotated :D)

I returned to Mondstadt, my mood thoroughly ruined. The bruise on my side would heal, but not the hurt I felt when seeing Sucrose stand beside Albedo. It was childish, the jealousy, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to be the one chatting with Albedo. I wanted to be the one squeezing our intertwined fingers to comfort Albedo when an experiment went wrong.

Regretfully, I shoved the thoughts away. I had work to do, days earlier I was asked to meet with Kaeya near the graveyard. Barbatos knows what he wants to meet there for.

With a bit more enthusiasm in my step, I made my way towards the graveyard. People passed me with quiet greetings, some simply watched me with prying eyes. My bruise was already healing, but it was still visible. I was just steps away from the small graveyard, the wall of stonebrick just barely blocking my vision of it.

I braced my hand lightly against the corners of a stone-brick wall while passing it. The wind sounded eerie, like ghosts whispering through the trees, through the bushes. Asking to be brought back to the cruel world they know as home.

Kaeya was standing still, his back to me. I made my presence known with a small hello and he whipped around to greet me.

"Ah, Traveler. I'm sure you're wondering why I asked to meet here."

He paused as if expecting me to respond with an answer. As if I'd already deduced the reason for our meeting. A tilt of my head and he continued to talk.

"There's talk around Liyue and Mondstadt about a dangerous bandit."

I raised an eyebrow, surprised to know Kaeya kept an eye on Liyue rumors as well as Mondstadt's.

"What about them?" I asked quietly, too curious to let this go to waste.

Kaeya watched me with sharp blue eyes. An odd contrast to his slightly darker skin. "She's taking visions." He said with a quiet voice. My first thought was Baal, but I had already dealt with her a while ago. (I've decided not to include that in this fanfic lol)

"Who is she?"

"We don't know her name, but we've been given details of the way she looks. Unsurprisingly, she resembles you." Kaeya explained, then crossed his arms and sighed.

My expression must've given away the sudden panic I felt. Quickly, I replaced the expression with a mask. My eyes narrowed and my lips straightened.

"What does she look like?" I wanted to make certain Kaeya's assumption was correct.

"Bleach blond hair, amber eyes, often seen wearing white and light blue." He explained. I wasn't convinced it was her, the description was similar to Lumine but not detailed enough.

"That could be anyone." I argued, matching Kaeya's stance. Crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

"Not just anyone has the ability to steal visions. Keep an eye out, Traveler." Kaeya gave me a curt nod before he turned his back to me and continued to look at the graveyard. I wondered why he stayed, maybe a loved one was buried here. Maybe it was a warning for what could happen to me if I wasn't cautious.

I let out a noisy sigh before I began my walk back to my house. If it was Lumine, what reason would she have to stealing visions? I hadn't heard word of anyone well-known being stripped of their vision. Maybe she'll work up to that though. All I could do is hope it wasn't Lumine, but false hope wouldn't last long.

(Authors note: I'm fucking lazy, I know, I get it. This is the shortest chapter yet. I also promised a shorter amount of time to recieve a chapter. Unfortunately my mental state didn't help and neither did my writers block. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I went through a bit more effort to make the writing better. Not sure if it worked though, let me know.)