Two Faced // Tartaglia (R18)

The Eternal Winter

Over the years, the Tsaritsa continued to observe The Warmonger of whom she had granted a vision in the midst of an invasion by her own men. She had given the responsibility towards the newly appointed Harbinger, Tartaglia who had been the youngest among all. Despite being one of the Harbingers, it was evident that his ideals and methods were too different than the rest, thus he would always be ostracised whenever the others were scheming and plotting their moves. At first glance it was saddening that he didn't manage to work closely with the other Harbingers, but deep down Ajax could've cared less. They weren't his family, nor anything significant towards his daily life. He remained loyal to the Tsaritsa, only she would see him for his worth just like Master Skirk.

Alas, the Cryo Archon was informed that other than the arrival of the Warmonger; a powerful traveler from another world has been thwarting the Fatui's plan in Liyue. In her mind, who would've known that the both of them would get involved in the upcoming war and might change the course of winning after all. The Tsaritsa is wise due to her one thousand years worth of experiences, she let the conflict play out like a game of chess and she needed the pieces to coincide with one another.

One of the Fatui agents in Liyue approached the Eleventh Harbinger during the Lantern Rite Festival and he informed him about the new will of the Tsaritsa.

"Escort Astreanova, the Antares Warmonger to Snezhnaya. She shall face the greatest tragedy of all, but bringing her back would definitely be one of the crucial piece in the next war, so does the traveler after she's done with Inazuma. Tartaglia, this is your ultimate task. To lead the Warmonger on and delude her so she will never leave the country before the war ends." The Fatui agent spoke, reciting the letter from the Tsaritsa.

Tartaglia could've sworn he wanted to go on a rampage; a killing spree the moment he heard of the letter from the Queen. His expression darkened, he turned speechless for a minute and that garnered a bit of attention from the other Fatui agents especially Ekaterina.

"Astreanova.... isn't that Master Childe's..." Ekaterina wondered to herself.

"Hahahaha." He broke the silence with a confident laugh. The rest of the Fatui agents looked at each other with a concerned look on their faces.

"Why, what a huge coincidence we have here. I am going back to Snezhnaya with the Warmonger at midnight. The Tsaritsa must've known of my plans, especially when she's-" Tartaglia's brief confidence faded when his Delusion Alter whispered in his head,

Tartaglia, you have always been deluding her since day 1 anyway.

His eyes widened, flashbacks of being with her through thick or thin entered his mind.

No, I'm not. Fuck.

Fuck.

Why must I have to be the one to do this?

"Master Childe, is something the matter?" The Fatui messenger spoke and it immediately brought him to his senses.

Tartaglia sighed and crossed his arms.

"Nevermind that. Point is I'm going to carry on with the task. For our homeland and the Queen."

He remembered sitting alone afterwards in a secluded area at the abandoned ruins, watching the lanterns from afar. The view was breathtaking, he wished he could've at least be present with the Warmonger herself and Lumine. A smile crept upon his face, knowing that the two must've enjoyed the festival while he chose to isolate himself due to the nature of his work and past sins.

It took every ounce of his strength to get back on his feet and walked to Liyue Harbour, and that's when he saw Astreanova from afar, by her lonesome walking towards the designated cruise. With a heavy heart and contemplation for 20 minutes, he then entered the ship and tapped her shoulder, flashed her a smile as he spoke,