stranger [C. TARTAGLIA]

28

childe didn't know how long he was running to get to you. he was out of breath, the cold snezhnayan air freezing the tips of his fingers. he didn't care if the thick amount of snow slowed him down, he still continued.

you were there when he arrived, his eyes widening at the sight. there were droplets of blood that covered the pale snow, shards of ice stuck on top of it.

"[Y/N]..." he calls out, still out of breath.

you weren't facing him, but he could see you sitting beside scaramouche who appeared to have passed out on the ground.

your hair blew with the chilling wind, snow beginning to fall from above. "are you alright?" childe noticed you weren't moving from your position.

you didn't reply, not moving from your current position.

childe walks towards you, snow crunching beneath his feet as he did so. he felt something was off, yet he was scared to find out what it was.

"[Y/N]?" when he was close, he could now see that his fellow harbinger was laying on his own pool of blood. what caused this was a shard of ice that had been pierced through his chest.

he knew you've done it, but why weren't you moving when it was finally over?

"please, answer me." he said, but again there was no response.

this time, he placed his hand on your shoulder. "is something wrong-" he spun you around and to his surprise, he was met with the one he feared the most.

he was staring at your blackened eyes, dull that matched your emotionless facade. his eyes widened, hand immediately pulling away from you.

"[Y/N]!" before he could back away, you had suddenly sent ice towards him. childe was lucky enough to dodge on time. if he didn't, he would've most likely ended up like scaramouche right now.

"snap out of it!" he shouts, backing away.

you remained unfazed, preparing to attack the man once more. childe clicked his tongue, not knowing what to do in the situation.

the thing he feared the very most happened. you had lost control again, but this time he was the one being targeted. as he stared at you, he remembers the words that came out of the tsaritsa's mouth

"you are to eliminate [Y/N] if she were to lose control of her powers."

he couldn't do it, he didn't have the will to. when he first received the said mission, he looked forward to seeing you lose control. it meant that he would finally get to fight with someone strong, someone as powerful as a god.

this desire of his vanished as soon as he fell for you.

he no longer wanted to see it happen, never in a million years. he stayed by your side not because of his mission to kill you, but because of a new mission he created for himself.

"i'll save you [Y/N]." he readied his bow, "don't worry. it'll be over soon."

"hey childe?" he remembers your soft voice calling out to him the night before you left.

you were laying your head on his chest, while his fingers stroked your [H/C] hair. the dim room made you both sleepy, yet chose to stay up to keep each other company.

"yes?"

"i don't know whether i'm human anymore, or if i ever was one to begin with..." you started. "but lately i started to feel these... new emotions."

"hm? and what are these, new emotions?" he asked.

"it's weird because i only feel them when i'm with you." you chuckled. "it's the same feeling i had when i was young, when i used to call the tsaritsa my mother."