Moonlight shone through the crimson curtains. Cool air pressed against your face. You heard the owls sing outside.
The covers were blood red instead of soft pink. You had enough of waking up inside Diluc’s bedroom.
Especially when you hadn’t started there.
In fact, you had enough of his lack of respect for how you felt.
It was time to break free of him. Take control of your own life again. And now was as good a time as any.
He was out fighting crime. So long as you avoided his routes, you’d be fine.
Ironic how a fucking hero could be so careless about the welfare of his lover.
You slid your legs out of the bed, staring at the wooden walls. Hoping this would be the last time you’d ever see this dreaded place.
Then you stood up, putting all the energy your empty belly could manage into your legs.
You slipped out of the door on your tiptoes. Then looked around to see if the coast was clear.
No maids were in sight, so you continued.
You’d finally made it to the door. After looking around the dark lounge and sliding on your slippers, you cracked open the wooden doors.
This was suspiciously easy. Were the maids always asleep around this time?
Or was there something else at play?
You slipped outside, into the chilly night, in your silk robe. Then strolled across the stone patio just outside of his door.
No one was out here. You were already free!
Since no one was watching, you may as well run. So you ran.
You sprinted towards the forest, using all the energy you had.
The cool, wet grass brushed your feet. The night air whipped against your face. You’d almost forgotten just how relaxing nature could be.
After half a minute, though, you had to stop. Catch your breath. You hadn’t ran in a while, so your endurance was fucked.
You bent over, the world wobbling around you. Blood rushed to your head.
“Halt! Knights of Favonious!”
You stood upright. Then looked around you.
About eight knights circled you, holding swords.
“We’re here to take you home,” one said.
You just stared, looking around for an opening. No, they were far away enough that whenever you ran, you would get caught.
Diluc must have fed them lies. A comprehensive diet of them.
Who would they believe: a wealthy, powerful businessman or his homebound lover?
Still, you hadn’t come all this way for nothing.
You walked towards one of them at first. Obedient. Docile. Like the girl Diluc wanted you to be.
He resheathed his weapon.
When he tried to take your hands, you darted.
You were running off pure adrenaline, and it wouldn’t last forever.
These were your last few minutes of freedom. A sharp pang in your back.
Your last taste of nature. Warm blood in your mouth.
Your last chance…to be outside. Your knees crashing against the ground.
The last thing you felt were cold, filthy hands picking you up from your back.
The lights glimmered across the floor of the Favonius Cathedral. An orchestra played a light, happy tune. The crowd of people filled their plates with meats and sides from the draped white banquet tables.
And there you were, sitting besides him as in your black and crimson wedding dress. Beautiful as ever, despite your frown. Partially because of your scarred, pregnant body.
But you made sure to reassure him that you were unhappy because of how crowded the wedding was, not because of the marriage itself.
“Diluc, I love you, but I wish there weren’t so many people here.”
“We’ll leave right after the proposal.”
He agreed, but the publicity was a necessary evil.
If the wedding was open to the public - the same people who’d badger him about whether he’d married - then they would all learn about it at the same time.
Otherwise, it would be days, maybe even weeks of the same repetitive questions.
“I heard you’d tied the knot, is that true?”
“Who’s your wife? I heard you had one now.”
Just imagining it gave him a headache.
Diluc looked at his schedule: five minutes until your proposal.
Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer for this nightmare to end.
“Come, love. Let’s go backstage.”
You nodded. Your eyes were devoid of light, but you listened. Obeyed. And most importantly, didn’t speak back to him.
All you had to do was be there for him.
Diluc walked into the curtains that led to the back of the church, and you followed close behind.
Other than the white tufted chairs and white vanity his men had brought, the room was an emptier version of the one outside.
You walked into the mirror, adjusting your ponytail. Diluc pulled a crown of roses he’d made for you from his pocket. Then he wrapped it around your head.
He nodded. Then he leaned in for a kiss.
Like he always did when the sinking feeling - the guilt - came seeping back.
“Aren’t you glad that this will all be over soon?” he asked.
“Certainly. I can’t wait until it’s just the two of us again.”
These days, you only told him what he wanted to hear. The other things you said meant being ignored, locked away, or having your portions cut.
The nights you ran off, he’d burn your skin until you begged him to stop.
Eventually, you learned to comply.
He touched your stomach. You jerked away from him.
That baby was his gift to you for your obedience. He knew you were getting bored with home life, so he gave it to you as a challenge. An 18-year long project to keep you entertained.
Even though you cried the night he refused to pull out.
He knew you would crack eventually. Learn to accept them. Just as you had for him.
The orchestra began to play the opening notes of the wedding song. It sounded like an isolated garden: full of treasures and hidden gems, but closed off from the world.
When the notes began to rise - when hope began to permeate the air of the place - Diluc held your hand as he took you to the front of the church.
All of Mondstadt was here, and now they all knew that you were his.
Soon, even the law would agree.
“Diluc, do you take this woman as your wife?”
“Do you take Diluc as your husband?”
You paused. The practice sessions flashed back in his mind.
The no’s you gave. The swift burnings that followed backstage.
The times you ignored him, rolled your eyes or walked away. Locking you naked inside his snow-cold cellar.
Then, finally, your acceptance.
It was a shame, really, the things he had to do to mold you into the girl he wanted. Especially when it was so effortless for you to start out that way.
“Do you take Diluc as your husband?”
Then you both began to plead your vows. Diluc meant them within an inch of his life.
You, on the other hand, were just fulfilling your role.
Even though he spoiled you, occasionally let you outside and gave you all the emotional support you could ever need, you’d never truly love him.
This was fine with him. So long as you were a pretty woman to sleep beside, the emptiness inside him subsided.
To him, that was the only thing that truly mattered.
