Sorry I haven’t written much recently, I’ve been writing other things.
No matter how many times Albedo visited Ella’s apartment, he was always surprised at the sheer amount of stuff she managed to shove into her small studio apartment, to make it more lived in.
The walls were covered in pictures of her brothers, of her friends, or of places she had visited. There were souvenirs on shelves or hanging on the walls, and really, Ella managed to make the small space look very lived in, without making it look too crowded.
Her apartment was cozy and welcoming. And always smelled like freshly baked pastries when she was home for longer than a few days. Albedo had to admit, if only to himself, his focus was abysmal when he was at Ella’s apartment. She was always singing, or dancing, or chatting about what she had seen that day...he never got any work done when he was at her place.
But he still came. Several times a week, like clockwork. He would leave work, and invite himself into her apartment and sit on her ridiculously comfy couch, and pretend to read a book, while actually watching her dance around her kitchen. And he knew that he could just watch her work in the kitchen and she would only tease him a little, but, well, by this point his pretend reading was a habit.
Today Ella was making an apple pie, and her home smelled amazing already. “Bedo~” Ella turned from the counter, a bright smile on her face, “You’ve been staring at that page for the last 15 minutes!”
Albedo glanced at the flour smudge on Ella’s cheek, and a small smile crossed his lips, “I was distracted,” He replied easily, “You have flour on your cheek.” She wiped her cheek with her sleeve, only spreading the flour even more, and pulling a laugh from Albedo. “Nevermind.”
Ella stuck her tongue out at him, and then moved her project to the island, so she was facing Albedo, “What are you distracted by?” She asked.
He was silent for a moment, watching her spread flour on the counter, “I was thinking about nicknames.” Albedo finally replied, “You call me Bedo, after all, and I just call you Ella.”
“Well, that is my name, Bedo.” She pointed out teasingly, “I mean, some people call me El, which is easy enough of a nickname.”
“It’s also the same nickname your brothers use.” Albedo pointed out.
“That’s not my fault,” She countered with a wide grin that belied her words.
He shot her a disbelieving look, “I’m pretty sure Elijah told me that your collective nickname was, in fact, your idea.”
“He has a big mouth,”
“In any case, I was thinking of giving you your own nickname, from me to you.” Albedo said, watching her to see what her response would be.
“Oh, well...that’s very sweet,” She replied, a bright smile crossing her face.
“Hm…” He watched her for a moment, a mischievous grin crossing his lips, “I was thinking Mouse.”
Ella froze and stared at him, “Mouse?”
“Mouse.” His grin grew, though he hid it behind his book, “After all, you run here and there, and you’re always snacking on something-”
Ella let out an indignant noise and flung a handful of flour at him, “I am not mouse like!”
“Well,” Albedo replied as he brushed flour out of his hair, “Maybe, you’re certainly not as quiet as a mouse,” He teased.
“You-” Ella stilled and narrowed her eyes at him, “You’re teasing me.” She realized.
“I can’t help that you’re adorable when you get all indignant like that,” He replied as he lowered his book.
“You...you jerk! I’m not giving you any pie.”
“Klee will give me some, so I’m not too concerned.” He countered, standing to brush the rest of the flour that was on him to the floor, “But, as far as nicknames go, I was thinking...Songbird.”
Ella, who had been prepared to fling another handful of flour at Albedo, tilted her head and allowed the flour to drop back into the back, “Why Songbird?”
“Because when you’re happy you’re singing,” Albedo countered, “Your home is always filled with music when you’re happy, and it’s silent when you’re not.” He paused, “I prefer it when you sing.”
Ella flushed red, “Oh, well...I suppose that’s a good nickname.” She mumbled.
“Glad you approve,” He walked over to her and kissed her cheek, before he grabbed a handful of flour and dropped it on her head, pulling a startled shout from her, “There, now we match.”
A Genshin Impact AU verse - Starring OCs and canon characters. Please do not hesitate to leave a review on what you read~
Mondstadt was beautiful once. At least, that was what the old women said when they were telling their stories to anyone who would listen. Ella wasn’t so sure she believed them, though. Their stories sounded like the fairy tales her grandmother used to spin for her, to help her sleep.
It was a nice story to think about, though. That once upon a time Mondstadt had been covered in green, and the people were free to come and go as they pleased. And their beloved God, Barbatos, would walk the streets with his people, playing music and telling tales of his own.
At 19 years old, Ella had long since grown out of fairy tales. And the stories that she used to listen to with such delight, now only made her feel old and weary. She leaned back, bumping her head against the old stone behind her, her gaze locked on the pearly walls that separated Sector 13 from the rest of Mondstadt and released a sigh as the clear ringing of bells echoed through the streets.
A new day had begun in Mondstadt. Any minute now the men and women who worked the streets at night would leave their places of business and retire to their homes, and the merchants who were allowed would start opening their shops. And, like clockwork, within half an hour of the shops opening, the Knights would emerge from their lofty tower to make sure everyone was following the Grandmaster’s edicts.
“Ella!” She was pulled from her musings as a young boy ran over to her. “The Boss has a job for you.” He said, shoving a ball of paper into her hand, before he ran off, likely to deliver other messages from his boss.
She unballed the paper, already knowing what was on it. And she was right, pressed in the center of the paper was the anemo symbol in crisp black ink. She was being summoned.
Ella sighed once again, and shoved the paper into her pocket, before she pushed herself to her feet and started the long trek to Farrier’s shop, which was on the opposite side of the slums from where she liked to watch the sky. She was able to dodge the Knights with the ease of someone with a lot of practice. Though avoiding the Hawkers in their alley was a lot harder.
All of the people in Sector 13 were all a single bad day away from starving to death, Ella included. In fact, the only person who didn’t have to worry about food or the Knights was Farrier. It was an open secret that her Boss was the de facto leader of Sector 13. He was the wealthiest. The meanest. And the largest employer.
In fact, Ella had been his employee since the day that she received her Hydro vision when she was still a teenager. And oh, she hated him. From the top of his smug little head to the bottom of his designer shoes. And yet…
Ella stopped as she came to the largest building in the slums, taking a moment to steel herself for what she was about to see, and then she pushed open the doors.
Farrier’s shop was much more than just a shop. In fact, you couldn’t buy anything from Farrier at all. You could borrow Mora from him, if you felt like owing the impossible interest. And no one in the lowest sector could afford his interest. It didn’t stop the desperate and hungry from going to him for aid, of course.
Farrier got richer, while everyone else got poorer.
“Ah, Ella! I see my boy found you!” Farrier was a short man, built rather like a teapot. He reminded Ella of a rather large fly with his large eyes, and his constantly twitching fingers. He seemed fond of her though, which meant that Ella wasn’t like to starve.
“Yeah. Poor kid needs a raise, Boss.” Ella pointed out.
Farrier laughed, “Nonsense! The boy is here working off his parent’s debts. I don’t pay him in anything other than food.” He laughed even harder for a long while, before he sobered, “Ella, you’re my favorite person here in these slums, my girl!” He boomed, “You’re so competent, and you even have a vision, which makes you valuable!”
“You’ve mentioned that before,” Ella pointed out casually, “You said you had a job for me?”
“I do, I do.”He leaned back in his chair, “You know the old abandoned sector?”
“I do. It’s growing by the year, if no one does anything the 13th sector will all be just like that part.” She replied, folding her arms over her chest, “But I don’t have the ability to fix that boss.”
“No, no. That’s not really all that important in the grand scheme of things.” He said, “No. I need you to go into the Abandoned sector, to the old library, and bring back as many books as you can.”
“Uh. Okay?”
“They’re valuable, lass!”
“They’re also illegal, Farrier,” Ella pointed out, “Going into the Abandoned sector is very, very illegal. For everyone who isn’t a knight.”
“True, true. The grandmaster is kind of a jerk,” Farrier pointed out, as if he was unable to see the irony in his statement, “but, I still need you to do it.”
“Fine! Fine. I’ll do it.” Ella sighed and folded her arms, “I’ll need my goggles and my mask though.”
Farrier beamed, and it made Ella’s skin crawl, “Of course, of course! Your mask and goggles are where they have always been. Also, I recently purchased protective gloves from Sector 1, so you don’t have to worry about getting burnt if you have to touch anything.”
“Fab.” She replied as she turned and walked into the storage room on the other side of the room. Hanging on a hook next to the door was a blue bag labeled Ella, and inside were the protective equipment that she would need to stay healthy in the abandoned sector. She dug through the bag for a moment, and then stuck her head into the main room, “Farrier! The sewer key is missing!”
“Oh, yes. I had to have all of the keys destroyed. The Knights found that entrance. You’re going to be going in through the old church in the south of the slums.” Ella walked out of the storage room, and caught the key that he threw at her, “This will unlock the church, make sure you lock it back behind you.”
“Obviously,” She said, slinging the bag over her shoulder, “Is there anything else I should know?”
Farrier remained silent, a wide grin on his face, “Well. There is one thing.”
Ella waited, “Well?” She asked, after he didn’t say anything for a whole minute, “What is it?”
“Ah, right. The original team I sent to get the books...they never returned.”
“What.”
“I’m sure they just weren’t wearing their protective gear well!”
“What?”
“If you can find their supplies I’ll pay you a hefty bonus.”
“...fine.”
“Splendid! I’ll see you when you get back!” Farrier’s creepy smile was back, and Ella turned to leave so she wouldn’t have to see it anymore. “Oh! Watch out for Knights! Rumor has it that they’re poking around the abandoned zone!”
“You couldn’t-” Ella spun to yell at him, only to be, not so graciously, pushed out the door and had the door slam in her face. “-have mentioned that first?” She sighed and spun away from the building. Farrier was a dick, she wasn’t sure why she was surprised at how he had treated her.
She walked away from the Farrier House, and ducked into a small alley to pull out the map of Sector 13, “Hm...southside church. Abandoned…” She trailed her finger over the map, squinting at the small letters, “Oh, there it is. The Church of Barbatos.” It was actually quite a distance away from where she was currently. So she let out a sigh, shoved the map back in her bag, and started the long trek towards the old church.
While all of the Slums were bad, the southside was the worst. Merchants never traveled out this far, due to the proximity of the abandoned sector. The knights never patrolled so far into the slums either, meaning the crime rate was almost 100%.
The only power in the Southside Slums was Farrier.
And if that wasn’t a damning statement for this part of the slums, Ella wasn’t sure what was.
The only plus to coming to the Southside, was that her bag clearly labeled her as one of Farrier’s, which meant that the people who looked like they were going to risk trying to mug a vision user, decided to take their violence elsewhere.
However, the deeper into Southside she traversed, the fewer people she encountered. Until she was only a few streets away from the church, and Ella realized that she hadn’t seen a single person in several minutes.
Although, as she turned a corner and saw elemental corruption clinging to the street and walls, she understood a little better. Ella paused long enough to pull her mask on, as well as her goggles, and she pulled her hat down so that it covered her ears, before she continued.
Elemental corruption was strange. In some ways it was harmless, for example you could walk through a cloud of elemental energy and not be harmed at all, even if it did feel strange against your skin. If you tried to use your vision while in a cloud of elemental energy, your elemental power would be increased, but there was always the chance of it backfiring on you, especially with the more volatile elements, like anemo, pyro, and electro.
In other ways, the elemental energy was so dangerous. If someone were to walk through a cloud of elemental energy while not wearing protective gear they would suffer from lung infections, eye infections, and eardrum ruptures. And that was just the short term. Long term, the effects could be much worse.
If a lot of pyro elemental energy got into your lungs, it could, and would, cause a pyro swirl reaction inside your lungs. And, well, there are less painful ways to die.
Once Ella was sure that she was properly protected, she stepped through the clouds of elemental energy, grimacing at the feel of it prickling against her skin. It would be an electro day.
Fortunately, the church wasn’t far away by that point, and she was able to jog the few remaining streets to reach the old, and yet well kept, building. She used her key to unlock the front door, and carefully shut and locked the door behind her.
The church had long been surrendered to the elements, none of the old pews remained, some had been turned to ash, while others sprouted into brand new trees. Walls were crumbling and the roof was almost completely gone. And yet, at the front of the church, was a statue of Barbatos, seemingly untouched by the elements.
She carefully made her way to the front of the church, stepping over the missing pieces of floor, or trying to avoid the more worn looking pieces at least, and she stopped in front of the statue. Ella stood there for a short moment, sending a silent prayer to the missing god for her own safety, before she lightly touched the base of the statue.
She took a deep breath, and stepped around the statue, hopping over a broken piece of floor, and opened the door that would lead to the abandoned sector.
As soon as she stepped over the threshold, Ella felt several different elements brush against her exposed skin. She turned to look over the abandoned sector and her breath caught.
It was beautiful, but tragic. There were elemental reactions happening all over the place, houses were covered in ice, even as the land around the building burned. Electricity arced through the air, until it got caught up in an anemo reaction, sending the lightning in every direction.
People had once lived here, long ago. Ella couldn’t help but wonder if they escaped the elemental energy, or if they died without knowing what was happening.
She shook her head, putting those thoughts to the side, and started scanning the buildings. Libraries were normally large buildings, so logically, she was looking for a large building. And, if she was lucky, it might even still be standing.
Eventually, as she turned her gaze towards the west, she caught a hint of a large building that seemed to be covered in trees. Possibly the library, and trees were a heck of a lot safer than the fire tornados that were everywhere else. Decision made, Ella hopped down from the ledge that she had used for shelter, summoned her polearm and began to walk.
Elemental reactions were a thing here, yes. Fortunately for her she had her own element.
One hour later, Ella was irritatedly taking shelter under what used to be a cafe. A massive cryo and electro reaction forced her to seek shelter if she didn’t want to turn into a crisp. However, the time did allow her to take note of the fact that the building she was heading towards was, in fact, a library. And that there seemed to be a remarkable lack of elemental energy around it. Or the area around the building was a hot spot of dendro or geo elemental energy.
Annoyingly, she was only a short distance away from the building too.
It took 2 hours for the cryo-electro storm to pass, and Ella hurried in the direction of the library before another storm could start. All things considered, the storm she had to live through was better than most of the alternatives.
Amazingly, the library was still in one piece. Sure, she had to climb in through a broken window, due to the door being blocked by a massive tree, but other than that, it actually felt kind of safe.
She looked around the room, taking in the walls of books, and, for a moment, felt totally overwhelmed. How was she supposed to know which of these books would be worth the most to Farrier? She rubbed the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath to try and settle herself, and she grabbed a book off one of the shelves.
It was a book on the various nations of Teyvat, before the walls were erected. Valuable? Maybe. She tossed the book onto one of the remaining tables. And pulled another one off the shelf. A cookbook. Less valuable.
For over an hour, Ella skimmed through the books, looking for ones that might be valuable for her boss. And she was about to leave when a thin book, hand written rather than printed like the others, fell from inside a children’s novel.
“What’s this?” Ella asked the empty room, as she picked up the book and flipped to the first page.
I spoke to Morax today, he agrees with me. The situation is getting worse, not better and our actions don’t seem to have any effect on the creatures that the Abyss pulled from somewhere. They seem almost...immune to our elements.
Ella turned a couple of pages, making a note of the date at the top of each page. It appeared that this was a journal, or a diary of some sort.
The creatures got into Mondstadt today. I…
They killed everyone.
I’ve had enough. I’m going to go to the other archons and demand that something be done.
Ella stared at the last line she read. The things that she was reading, it implied that this book belonged to Barbatos, and that he was keeping a journal before the walls were built. But, who was this Abyss? And what were these creatures?
She flipped towards the last entry.
It’s done. The walls have been built. The creatures can no longer get to my people.
I created a cage for my people, in the hopes to keep them safe.
I am tired. Building the walls took a lot out of me, more than it should have.
I’m going to sleep. Maybe someone, someday, in the future will find this account, and if they do, I hope it helps.
May the wind guide your path.
Barbatos
Ella closed the book gently, and slipped it under her sweater. This was valuable. Valuable enough that she was not going to give it to Farrier, that’s for sure.
She turned to the pile of books she had sorted out earlier, ready to make her choice for what books to bring to Farrier, only to hear voices coming from the other side of the library.
“Why are we searching this place again?” A deep male voice asked.
“The grandmaster believes that some of the roaches from the slums might try to get here to earn some easy money,” A second voice, a female, replied, “Like the three we caught last week.”
The man snickered, “You really think we’re going to find someone else?”
Ella didn’t wait around to hear the woman’s response, she just grabbed her bag and ducked through a cracked door, ducking down behind the wall. That explained what happened to Farrier’s original expedition; she wondered if they were still alive.
The voices were closer now, “I have to wonder why the grandmaster doesn’t just let us purge the Slums. They make Mondstadt look bad,” The man said, his voice now distressingly close.
“We get some good people from the slums. Desperate people will do anything, after all.” The woman sounded further away, though she suddenly stopped moving, “There’s someone here.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Someone’s been going through the books.” She said sharply, “Spread out and find them. We’ll bring them before the grandmaster.”
Ella shifted further away from the door as the two knights began scouring the room for her. Her eyes darted around the room, looking either for an exit or a better hiding place, but the room she was in seemed to be one of the only rooms in the entire library that was largely undamaged.
The footsteps got louder, and she silently moved away from the door, though she froze when in her haste, she stepped on a loose tile. The door to the room she was hiding in flew open, and the knights peered into the room, their faces hidden from the protective gear they were wearing.
“Looks like you were right, we found a little rat.” The man said, and Ella could just hear the sneer in his voice. For a moment, she toyed with summoning her weapon again and just forcing them to let her leave, but the choice was taken away from her when the two adults both attacked her at the same time, ripping her mask and goggles off, replacing them with a much more industrial face protector, and then her arms were bound behind her back, and the male tossed her over his shoulder, like she was a sack of potatoes.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Ella was pretty sure that she was about to be executed, she would have taken a moment to marvel at how Sector 1 looked. All of the buildings were clean, there was no trash on the ground, and the people were all well dressed and clean.
At least, the part of Sector 1 she was able to see was like that. The Knights had been careful to bring her to the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius through alleys and hidden passageways.
She supposed she wasn’t too surprised when one of the passageways led right outside the clearly labeled Grandmaster’s office. And she wasn’t too shocked when the Knights forced her right in and pulled the mask off of her face.
Ella only had a moment to look up at the Grandmaster, an older man with salt and pepper hair and a stern face, and almost a foot taller than she was, before she was pushed to the ground. She tried to struggle to her knees, but a pair of rough hands kept her on the ground, “We found her in the old library, sir.” The woman said in a clear voice.
“Hm, I heard.” The Grandmaster’s voice was as rough as his countenance, “Pull her up, I want to see her face.” Ella let out a slightly pained grunt as she was forced to her knees, “Hm. One of Farrier’s I assume.” The man said, “I am Grandmaster Ferdinand, I lead both the Knights of Favonius as well as the Church of Favonius. Who are you?”
“My name is Ella Hesse.”
“Hesse. Oh yes, the Hydro user who was forbidden from joining the Knights and the Church. Seems like I was right in my judgement of you,”
“Yeah, imagine that. Someone with no options took the only one left. Go figure.” She spat out angrily, only to let out a cry of pain when the grandmaster’s boot slammed into her cheek, knocking her back to the floor.
The grandmaster watched her impassively, and then turned his back on her, “Get her to her feet and unbind her. I do not kill vision users.”
Ella was forcefully dragged to her feet, and her wrists unbound, though the bindings had been so tight that her wrists were bleeding and bruised. “But you kill other people?” She asked scathingly.
“I do what’s best for Mondstadt.”
“Best for Mondstadt? The elemental corruption is spreading, people are starving, and you’re up here in your ivory tower acting like you’re some kind of god!?”
The grandmaster turned and, with surprising swiftness for someone of his build, slammed the flat of his greatsword against Ella’s chest, knocking the wind out of her. She hit the ground hard, coughing and gasping for air.
The Grandmaster loomed over her, “I am the Ruler of Mondstadt. Barbatos abandoned us, and I will lead us to a brighter future.”
“You’re not the ruler of Mondstadt,” Ella gasped out, crying out in pain once again as the Grandmaster pressed his boot on her chest, applying an uncomfortable amount of pressure. “Mondstadt belongs to Barbatos.” She managed to gasp out.
The pressure lifted suddenly, “Your loyalty to a god no one has seen in decades is commendable, if misguided.” The grandmaster walked across the room, giving Ella the time to get to her feet, though the way she was clutching her chest implied that she was hurt far worse than she let on. “Tell me, what did you learn in the library?”
“I learned the recipe for chicken and mushroom skewers,” Ella replied.
“That’s it. You learned nothing about Abyss?”
“Never heard of it.”
“You’re lying.” The Grandmaster turned and regarded her with ice like eyes, “No matter. The outcome of this is the same no matter what you said. Take her bag, and then deposit her outside the walls of Mondstadt.” He flashed a cruel smile, “If she’s so sure that Barbatos is ruler of these lands, then she doesn’t deserve the safety of my city.”
“Yes sir,” The two knights, who had remained silent until that moment, said in unison, before they grabbed Ella and propelled her out of the room.
They said nothing as they took her bag, and they said nothing as they split up, the woman going to take her bag to the archives and the man bringing her to the gate.
It was only after the gate had opened, and Ella was about to be shoved out that the man spoke, “There are other vision users outside of the walls,” He said, “People who were exiled for speaking out against the Grandmaster. If you’re lucky they’ll find you.” He said quietly, “If you’re not...well, just hope that you’re lucky. Godsspeed.” He then shoved her past the gate, and it slammed shut behind her. For the first time in her life, Ella was outside of the city walls.
The first half an hour outside of the wall was strange, but freeing. But after that, things started to get more difficult for her. Her footsteps became more unsteady, and she started struggling to breathe.
45 minutes after she was exiled from Mondstadt, Ella collapsed to her knees, coughing hard, with blood coming from her mouth. The Grandmaster had broken her ribs, intentionally probably. Just as her vision started going dark she felt a warm breeze against her skin.
“Hold on,” A boy with green eyes leaned over her, a smile on his cheerful face, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you somewhere safe.”
And then Ella blacked out.
On the other side of Mondstadt, on the border between Mondstadt and Liyue, Diluc, an exile from Mondstadt, and Fay, a visitor from Sumeru, were finishing up their patrol for the evening. They were having a nice conversation, after having a peaceful patrol.
Though, just as they were about to make the turn that would lead them back to their safehouse, the wind suddenly picked up, blowing dirt and debris into their faces, and when the wind stopped, a young woman lay several feet away.
“Oh!” Fay shot forward, dropping to her knees trying to determine what was wrong with her, while Diluc quickly made sure that whoever, or whatever, brought her there hadn’t lingered.
“How is she?” He asked, once he was sure they were safe.
“Badly injured,” Fay replied seriously, “We must get her inside immediately.” She looked down at the girl, who’s eyes cracked open for a split second, “It’s okay, you’re going to be alright, I promise.” The girl’s eyes fluttered shut again, and Fay turned her attention towards Diluc, “We need to get her inside,”
“Yeah, I got it.” He carefully scooped the girl into his arms and allowed Fay to lead the way into the base.
Aight. It took me several days to write this, and I think I caught any spelling errors. Please, let me know what you think! And sorry it took so long~
Confessions - Albedo and Ella
Albedo was both well known, and well regarded around the city he called home. He would even go so far as to say that he was well respected, at least by the men and women who worked under him, as well as the people of Mondstadt. He had, by all accounts, landed on his feet when it came to his life, and really, he had nothing to complain about.
Somehow, none of his accomplishments mattered when Kaeya, his friend and fellow Captain of the Knights of Favonius, was sitting in his seat, his feet on his desk, and had this grin on his face that kind of made Albedo wish he was still on an expedition on Dragonspine. “Kaeya,” He said neutrally, really just wanting this interaction over with already, “Don’t you have your own office? And a desk to put your feet on?” He asked, walking over and pushing Kaeya’s boots off of his desk.
“I do, actually.” Kaeya replied gleefully, “but I find this desk so much more interesting than my own.”
“That’s really not my problem, Kaeya. Can you get up, I have work I need to do.”
“Mm.” The much taller man hummed an agreement, though Albedo wasn’t sure if it was an agreement to getting up, or having work to do. He had a rather sinking suspicion that Kaeya had a point he wanted to make, and if Albedo knew anything about Kaeya at all, it was that he could be as stubborn as a mule sometimes.
So he sighed, pushed his bangs out of his face, and leaned against the wall. “Okay, Kaeya. You clearly have something you want to talk about, so out with it.”
Kaeya grinned, leaned down, and then straightened with a book in his hand. A familiar book. A book that Albedo hadn’t even realized that he had misplaced. “I found this in the library, and since I didn’t recognize it, I thought that I would take a little glimpse, to see who it belonged to.” Kaeya started, “Imagine my surprise when I opened it, and every page was filled with drawings of my dear friend Ella.”
Albedo felt his face burn, and he held his hand out, “She’s a good model,”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” He opened the book and flipped through it, “She’s a very vivacious young woman, after all. Always running here and there, and she’s always so very happy to help out her friends. However,” He flipped a page and turned the book so that Albedo could see it. “I don’t think she knew she was a model for most of these.”
The picture Kaeya was showing was one of Albedo’s favorites, one of the few in that book that he had bothered coloring. Albedo had been at the base camp near Dragonspine and Ella had come to make a delivery, but had stumbled over a Seelie on her way out of the camp. She spent a good half hour dancing with the nature spirit, and hadn’t noticed him watching.
The scene had been so...so Ella, that he felt that he needed to get it down on paper, to remember.
“I wasn’t planning on selling any of them, so why does it matter if she knew or not?” Albedo asked as he nervously tugged his gloves further up his arm. “I know you’re friends with Ella, and we both know that she wouldn’t mind the drawings.”
“True, she’d probably be thrilled, if she found out.” Kaeya closed the book with a snap, and set it on the table, “The reason I’m here, and not in my office dealing with the veritable mountain of paperwork I have waiting for me, is because of one reason.”
“And that reason is?” Albedo prompted.
Kaeya leaned forward and rested his elbows on Albedo’s desk, pinning the shorter man in place with a look, “You know Ella has a tattoo representing you, right? Right there, on her left wrist. She rubs it when she’s stressed, anxious, or worried.”
“I’m aware of her tattoo, yes.”
“Hm. Did you know that when you’re on an expedition, she asks after you?”
“I…” Albedo started to say something, but then trailed off, “No,” He finally said after a long moment.
“I didn’t think so. She was drunk the other day and mentioned you no less than 7 times in the span of half an hour. She’s almost always thinking about you. And, judging by the book, you do the same.”
“What’s your point, Kaeya?” There was no point in denying it, after all. The notebook was pretty damning evidence.
“If you don’t talk to her, today, then I’m going to do it for you.”
Albedo blanched at the notion. As much as he trusted Kaeya, he knew the taller man well enough to know that he didn’t want to know what he would say to the ever excitable, and ever cheerful Ella. “No. That won’t be necessary,” he said quickly, “I was going to see her later today anyway.”
Kaeya smiled brightly and finally, finally, stood from Albedo’s chair and saw himself out of the Alchemy offices. “Don’t forget, Albedo. I will know if you don’t~” The other man said in a sing-song voice, just before he walked out of the room.
Albedo pinched the bridge of his nose when the junior alchemists in the room turned to look at Albedo in various degrees of curiosity, “Get back to work, the Cavalry Captain won’t be bothering us again today.”
True to his word, later that evening, after all of his work had been finished for the day, and there was no risk of anything exploding over the night, Albedo finally left the offices of the Knights of Favonius and found Ella sitting on a bench just outside of the building.
“Ella? What are you doing here?” While he intended to go look for her, he didn’t expect to find her so easily...or close to his work.
Ella dragged her attention away from the stars, and favored Albedo with a bright smile, “Kaeya told me you had a surprise for me.” She explained brightly, “He swore that he was telling the truth, and Rosaria confirmed it.” She examined his face curiously, and her smile fell slightly, “They were lying, weren’t they?”
“Not exactly,”
“Oh!” Ella’s bright smile returned, “I love surprises!”
He laughed, “That is not a surprising fact about you, Ella.” He motioned for her to get up, “Come on, let’s go for a walk.” He turned and began to walk away, without waiting for her response.
Ella scrambled to her feet, and hurried to his side, immediately hooking her arm with his, “Lead on!”
If Albedo were a more easily flustered man, the fact that Ella was so ready and willing to touch him would probably fluster him, and, in truth, did fluster him the first time she did it. Now though, he appreciated that she was such a hands-on person. And, truthfully, he liked having her close to him.
“We’re not going far,” He reassured, as he led her through the empty streets of Mondstadt and just outside of the city walls, to where the docks were located. It was private enough that no one would bother him while he spoke with her, at least.
“Ooh, I’ve never thought about coming out here to watch the stars!” Ella said excitedly, as she let go of his arm and sat on the edge of the dock, leaning back to look up at the sky.
Albedo stood a little behind her, watching her lean back and look up at the sky in almost childish wonder, and he felt his chest tighten. Archons above, she was stunning like this. A smile on her face, her head tilted back, filled with wonder at the world around her. Was it any surprise that he had fallen for her?
“Oh, right! You said you had a surprise for me?” Ella turned her attention away from the sky, and back on him, and she tapped the dock next to her, silently inviting him to join her.
He smoothly sat down next to her, and took a moment to try and collect the words he needed. It shouldn’t be so hard, really. Ella got a representation of him tattooed on her wrist, and she's easy to talk to. There’s no drama, and even if she wasn’t interested in him romantically, she wouldn’t allow it to stand between their friendship. It shouldn’t be so hard to find the words.
Although...he glanced at her for a moment. She was smiling at him, waiting patiently for him to say something, and he suddenly had an idea. “Alright,” Albedo turned so he was facing her, “You need to close your eyes though, and I’m going to touch your hair.”
“Oh, alright.” Ella immediately squeezed her eyes shut, pressing a hand over them, “Should I remove my hat?” She asked.
“No need, I got it. And no peeking.”
“I would never!”
He laughed slightly at her overly offended tone, even as he pulled the small flower from his pocket. He ran his fingers over the delicate petals, and then carefully tucked it into her hair, though he didn’t pull his hand away from her face, rather he brushed his fingers down her cheek, “You’re so beautiful.” He murmured softly.
Ella’s cheeks under his fingers blossomed a bright red, “Um...thank you.” She cracked open an eye and flushed even deeper when she saw how close he was, “Albedo?”
He ran his thumb across her lower lip, a smile crossing his face at her look of confusion, that she trusted him enough to let him so close was empowering and humbling at the same time. “I’m afraid I have a confession to make,” he murmured, “I fear that I have fallen for you, and I’m not sure what to do about it.”
Ella took a deep breath, and took his hand in her own, “You could ask me on a date,” She offered, her voice as light as air. Her breath caught as Albedo leaned in and bumped his forehead against her own. He was so close, that it was making it hard to think.
"If I were a better man, I would walk away for both our sakes." His voice was low and soft, as if passing on a secret meant only for the two of them. “You deserve better than someone like me.”
"Oh, Albedo." Her voice was warm and gentle, "you silly man. You don't get to decide what's best for me."
A look of surprise crossed his face, though it faded quickly. He should have known that she would never allow him to say something like that. But, still, he had to try. "I might hurt you," He breathed out, his gaze straying to her lips, and then back to her eyes, “My studies…”
She tightened her grip on his hand, interrupting him without saying a word, “Albedo is Albedo, whatever you might study. I trust you.”
His breath caught in his throat, “El…”
“It is a risk I’m willing to take, Albedo.” Ella interrupted, then she leaned up and brushed her lips against his own.
Albedo released a soft sigh as she pulled away, reaching out and pulled her back for a proper kiss, his hand on the back of her neck as he held her close. When he pulled away, he bumped his forehead against hers once again, “If you’re willing to risk it, then so am I.” he finally said, “Would you like to get dinner tomorrow, my treat?”
A bright smile crossed Ella’s face, “It would be my genuine honor.”
