Paradoxon [Kaeya x Reader]

7. Aftermath: Bursting Open

There was pain throughout your whole body slowly but surely taking your mind out of a deep slumber. The more awake you grew the more you felt all the wounds that had been inflicted on you. Groaning, you finally opened your eyes. The first thing you saw, the familiar wooden ceiling, told you that you must be in your room at the winery. What happened? How did you get here? The last thing you remembered was falling asleep in the Knight's Headquarters after taking some medicine.

To your right there was a person. You sat up to face her, but Adeline pushed you down on the bed again.

"You're awake?" she asked a question with an obvious answer. "You should still rest! I'll get Master Diluc!"

She left your room in a hurry, leaving you to push yourself up from the mattress again and examine yourself. There were bandages all over your arms and legs, and your left side was covered too. Apparently there was a deep cut there as you could faintly make out some blood seeping through the white fabric. At the moment, without the adrenaline from the fight and the medicine having worn off, you felt the full scale of your injuries, making you wince at every movement.

The door opened and Diluc entered the room. He sat down on the chair that Adeline had been before.

"Master Diluc," you said weakly.

"You look... really bad," he greeted you.

"How charming," you laughed at his remark, but stopped immediately as it caused you left side immense pain. "But yes, I don't feel too good as well. What happened?"

"That's what I would like to know too," he replied to your question with one of his own. "Keaya told me that you suddenly left Angel's share in a panic, so they followed you and saw the fight. Who were those people? What do they want from you?"

Diluc really didn't beat around the bushes. You pulled your knees to your body and contemplated how much you wanted to tell him.

"That was someone from my hometown," you finally started your explanation. "He is the reason I'm here. We had a ... fight, so I ran away. I don't know what he still wants from me, however..."

That was all, you didn't want to say any more, which Diluc thankfully accepted without any more questions. He probably felt the barrier you put up around this topic. "We will find out," he told you. "Kaeya had them be arrested, at least those men that were staying at the inn in the city. The Knights will find out what they want. If they're not being as inefficient as always."

"They were arrested?" You were taken aback as you thought they had run away. "Rich was arrested?"

"Yes, there is no need for you to worry anymore."

Relief washed over you in a huge wave. And a deep thankfulness to Keaya, who had made sure they were arrested, and to Amber and Eula for helping during the fight. Also to Diluc, who was caring for you and telling you all of this now. You turned and smiled at him. "... Thank the gods."

❅

The blond-haired man was sitting in an uncomfortable chair, his hands shackled in front of him and fixed to the wooden table. Opposite of him, Kaeya sat, leaning back and playing with one of his knives again.

"You just waltz into our city and attack our people, and now you claim there is no reason for it? Not even my grandmother would believe something like that," he said with a sharp gaze in Rich's direction.

"I did not attack your people," the prisoner spat back "She's not a Mondstadt citizen, she's from my hometown!"

The Cavalry Captain continued playing with the blade, closer to where Rich's hands were.