A/N: The first chapter in my Genshin Impact Femslash AU. Enjoy!
Tags: NSFW, canon divergent, high fantasy genshin impact, witches are immortal and humans don't have magic, bodyguard beidou, sorceress ningguang
“You can’t be serious,” the woman barked. “Are you saying that I can’t take care of myself, Keqing? This is ridiculous.” She stood sharply from her seat at the table she shared with the other woman, her long white hair swaying with the movement. She strode to the large windowsill across the room, overlooking a well decorated veranda outside her office chambers, and crossed her arms.
“How long have I lived in this world, practiced my craft and studied, only to be shackled down to some mortal at the first sign of danger? And to that point, why pick a mortal? Surely finding another witch of suitable skill would be more beneficial to our cause. Their lives are like a speck of dust in the wind, gone in a blink compared to us.”
“Because, dear Ningguang, this ‘first sign of danger’ that you seem to keep downplaying was the attack on Yun Jin, one of our own talented witches. You understand her skillset well, as I recall. She wasn’t just attacked ━ they did not intend for her to walk away from that incident alive.”
Keqing glanced up from her tea to observe Ningguang’s still silhouette against the warm light radiating in from outside, and furrowed her brow slightly. “Please, Ningguang. Just give this a chance. If you don’t like the guard I’ve chosen we can easily find you a replacement, but you need to get used to having someone watch your back who isn’t as susceptible to magically based attacks.” A rational request, one that Keqing internally begged the Tianquan to agree to. She had kept many of the details of the attack from reaching the public’s ears in order to quell any panic, but she knew that Ningguang would’ve gotten a full report courtesy of Baiwen and knew the direness of the situation at hand. Patiently, she waited for her superior’s response.
From her spot by the window, Ningguang could feel the gentle breeze from the open window on her skin, feel the slight tug of the elemental magic in the air, calling to her. Her affinity for elemental magic was why she was here, floating hundreds of feet above the ground in the Jade Chamber, guiding the people of Liyue with her wisdom. And yet for all of her skill, all of her prowess over the elements and over the governance of Liyue, she was being asked to rely on someone else. Being asked to put her trust in someone who’s life was but a speck of sand under her feet, whisked away by the soft spring breeze. She was being asked this by her Yuheng, her colleague and most trusted friend. If Keqing trusted this individual enough to do this job, then they must be a skilled and seasoned fighter indeed to get the younger witch’s recommendation.
Ningguang curled her fingers in the space in front of her, feeling the magic in the air stir as it ran to greet her. The soft breeze coming in through the window curled around her like a cat to its owner, gently moving her hair and the hem of her dress in greeting. A small smile quirked on her lips, but disappeared as she turned around to face her colleague. Keqing was watching her in silence, occasionally sipping at her tea, the ever patient Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing. The purple haired witch was always the most rational of their order, the most logical. If she had begun assigning guards to the other witches of the Qixing, then it was a serious matter… Ningguang knew that her only option was to accept this, and released the breath she was holding.
“Fine. Whoever you’ve deigned skilled enough to protect me will reside here, in the Jade Chamber, at all times. They will accompany me on my missions and become my Second for matters when I cannot be present. They will follow my orders exactly, or I will ask for someone else, is that clear Keqing?” As she spoke, she returned to her seat beside her friend and finished her cup of tea, keeping her features neutral.
With a nod of the head Keqing rose from her seat, holding her hands in front of her. “Thank you Ningguang. I know how difficult this must be for you, and I appreciate that you listened to me on the matter. I’ll arrange the guard’s arrival and living quarters assignment with Baixiao, once we have completed everything she will update you.” One of the small, genuine smiles that few ever saw graced the young witch’s face as she addressed her superior, one between friends in a small world that was getting even smaller.
“We’ll be in touch, my Lady.” With a small bow, Keqing took her leave and left Ningguang alone in her council chamber to ponder the road ahead. With a light sigh, she hummed to herself and brought out her pipe from a fold in her robes, lighting it with a spark of her fingers and took a deep drag.
~*~
Ningguang couldn’t believe her eyes as she stared at the tall, muscular woman standing before her, a small rucksack hanging loose at her side. She had wild, thick brown hair that went in every direction except for a small portion that was kept out of her face by a simple golden hairpin. Her clothing was plain enough, although the Tianquan couldn’t help but question how successful this bodyguard must be if she wore just enough clothing to show she wasn’t homeless. For every steely look she gave this guard, a confident and swaggering face looked right back.
“So, Miss… Beidou, is it.” The white haired witch mused, staring at the piece of paper Baixiao had handed her moments before. According to Keqing’s report, this woman had sailed all over Teyvat for about a decade as part of a pirate crew, and had fought with the strength of a skilled general for as long as anyone had heard of her. Ningguang eye’d the woman’s form, not hiding her stare as she took in every inch, examining the scarred and muscled arms below her rolled up shirt sleeves.
“Yes, Lady Tianquan. Captain Beidou of the Crux Fleet, at your service. I am sad to say that I was not briefed on how beautiful my charge would be, or else I would have taken the time to become more presentable.” Beidou smirked as she spoke, her voice warm and mature with a hint of playfulness. “I am aware of the situation at hand, my Lady, and I am prepared to offer my full protection of you in any scenario. I am fully at your disposal.” Such charming words from the mouth of a brute , Ningguang thought, at least she had some semblance of etiquette . As she skimmed the report further, her eyebrows raised slightly at one sentence in particular.
“It says here, Captain Beidou, that you are not fully mortal? What is your lineage?” Her amber eyes danced like fire as she gazed at Beidou, her interest piqued. A small breeze flicked around her skirts, wafting by her new guard and gently pushing her hair around. Beidou peered curiously at Ningguang, cocking her head to the side and replied. “My mother’s mother is a witch, and my father had some distant witch relation- enough so that he was able to share a few more years with my long lived mother. I don’t have access to the magical gifts, but I have found that I heal faster, and my physical prowess exceeds that of my peers.” An excellent choice for the bodyguard of a witch then, Ningguang noted to herself, so Keqing has some sense of a master plan after all…
“I believe that we may end up being a fine pair after all, Captain. I will allow you a few days to settle in and get your bearings of my Jade Chamber, but be ready for my call when my next trip is set to depart. Dismissed.” With a turn of the heel and a side smile at Ningguang, Beidou departed the chamber with her belongings and set off to settle into her rooms for the night.
~*~
Ningguang is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
That was the only thing on Beidou’s mind as she flopped her body onto the soft bed given to her by Baixiao, Ningguang’s personal assistant. From the moment she had entered the council chamber, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the tall witch, her long white hair falling in soft tresses and her forehead adorned with gold and red ornaments. The woman’s deep red dress hugged every curve of her, and it had taken all of Beidou’s willpower to not begin sweating there and then, to swoon completely over the ethereal woman who was now her charge. She rubbed her eyes roughly with her palms, leaving them over her closed lids for a moment as she tried to clear that image of the witch out of her head. Ningguang had been opposed to having a guard, that much was clear, but for what reason Beidou wasn’t sure. Many civilians in Liyue Harbor had heard about the attack on the witch Yun Jin, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise to her when she had seen Ganyu, the secretary of the Qixing, knocking at her door a few days later to request her presence at Yuehai Pavilion for an initial screening. The captain was well known in the harbor as a strongwoman-for-hire, but to be the bodyguard of the Tianquan herself… It was an honor Beidou wasn’t sure she deserved. With a rough exhale she forced herself to sit up to begin unpacking her things into the modest arrangements provided to her. The chambers had a small foyer where she could leave her weapons and receive any summons or guests, and a modest bedroom off to the left with a low, wide window that looked over the Luhua pool and Guili plains to the north. To the right of the foyer was her washroom, a room nearly the size of her bedroom with black tile floors and simple mosaics on the walls depicting one of the many mountain views of Liyue. Considering what she was used to aboard a ship, Beidou was very content as she placed her clothing and few personal belongings in a dresser next to the bed, mentally replaying the events of her day over and over. She tried desperately to displace the image of Ningguang’s soft lips and the graceful curve of her hips out of her head as she worked, but failed miserably. Beidou’s thoughts drifted between ways that she would have loved to slowly and carefully undress her, to the tingling feeling she felt in her gut when the breeze blew in around her new charge.
She truly had felt some strange feeling stirring inside her when the soft wind had tugged at her clothes, at her hair, in the chamber earlier. The breeze had almost seemed to brush up against her core, to call for some magic long gone from her ancestry. The strongwoman had tried many times to summon magic over the years but failed, much to the disappointment of her mother and grandmother, and she grimaced while remembering her youth. They had trained her ragged as a child, hoping that some wicked event may trigger her magic to manifest and allow her to overpower her elders, but nothing had ever worked. Some of those scars would never see the light of day. Even so… She wasn’t sure how or why, but she knew that the tingling warmth dancing under her skin when Ningguang brushed her magic against her body, was her own magic.
Too tired to think about it more, she loosely braided her wild hair and removed the day’s clothes, tossing them into a corner. Thoughts of a woman in red filled her head as she pulled the light blanket over her body, turning on her side to face the window and closed her eyes.
~*~
A breathy moan filled the room as the woman placed another kiss along the waist of her lover, her callused hands firmly holding the other’s lithe hips. She had been kissing all over the other woman’s body for so long she had lost track of the time, just wanting to see how many moans and pleas she could glean out of her before she finally took to properly pleasuring her.
“You wretch-” Her lover rasped out, her long pale fingers tangling themselves in her hair at the back of her head. “Just get on with it.” Her hips bucked slightly as the darker haired woman traced a line down the front of her abdomen, and over down the inside of her soft thigh.
“If I gave you everything any time you asked, it wouldn’t be any fair now would it, Ningguang…” Beidou mused quietly, speaking into her lady’s thighs as she pushed them apart and lowered her face between them. A slow and sensuous lick down her lover’s soft lips set her insides on fire as she tasted her.
“P-please, Beidou-” Ningguang gasped out as she tried to hold in a moan, fingers clenching in the other woman’s hair as she began to slowly lick and kiss in ways that had her head spinning. Beidou laughed lightly as she continued tasting Ningguang, thumbs slowly rubbing circles onto her thighs. No matter how much she tasted her lover she couldn’t get enough, whether it was her body or her lips. She brought her head up only for a moment to meet Ningguang’s eyes, low lidded with pleasure and face flushed, and then placed a kiss to the side of her thigh. “You’re so beautiful.” She murmured, adjusting her position so that she could angle a finger to her lover’s entrance. With a slight nod from Ningguang, she slowly curled her finger inside, watching her lover’s reaction. The white haired woman’s body was slightly beaded in sweat, her breathing heavy and hair strewn all over her large bed, eyes pleading as she reached down with her other hand to begin to touch herself alongside Beidou. Her hips bucked as pleasure racked through her body, and she began panting as she could feel her climax coming soon, too soon. Beidou traced her eyes over Ningguang again and again and let out a moan, watching her body writhe and move in time with her touch. The witch’s moans grew louder and she clawed at the sheets as she tried to ground herself, to slow the onset of pleasure by even a little bit and make it last just a little longer. Beidou could feel her own climax coming, the heat of Ningguang’s pleasure and the satisfaction it brought her pooling in her stomach when-
With a jolt, the bodyguard woke up panting, a hand going to her forehead starting to bead with sweat. The nape of her neck and back were slightly sweaty, dampening the sheets as she sat up and took a second to adjust, throwing off the blanket. Outside the window it was only early morning, the faintest sunlight beginning to creep over the horizon. She let out a groan and rolled herself off of the bed to get up, padding to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. There was no way in hell she’d go back to sleep after a dream like that, she thought as the cold water dripped down her arms and onto the tile. The chill shocked her awake, but those swirling thoughts of Ningguang still lingered in the back of her mind. After a few minutes to reorganize her thoughts and shove them deep down, Beidou returned to her bedroom and began tugging on her pants and a loose shirt, the sun continuing its ascent outside her window. Within moments she was out the door and on her way to the nearest training room to try and beat some of those thoughts out of herself, her face still a little flushed. She hoped that no servants were yet awake to see her in such a flustered state and hurried her steps.
~*~
Beidou had only been at the Jade Chamber for a few days, but she still couldn’t shake the image of Ningguang out of her head even though she hadn’t physically seen her charge since their initial introduction. The Tianqian was supposedly preparing for an upcoming trip that Beidou would accompany her on, and the bodyguard supposed that such a prestigious witch would have a full schedule after all. She had to curse her creative mind for trying to fill in the gaps of what Ningguang must look like under that red dress she saw her in on that first day. In order to combat her ever creative daydreams and pass the time when she wasn’t being briefed on Ningguang’s schedule by Baiwen, Beidou took to training with some of the other human guards that had been brought in to protect the Qixing - the Millelith. They were mostly normal men and women that were strong enough fighters by mortal human standards, but Beidou quickly learned that her immortal heritage gave her just enough of a boost that it was obvious who would come out on top in their sparring matches. Still, she grew fond of the other guards so she tried to tone herself down in order to keep her partners on some semblance of a good side and not beat them up too badly.
It was during one of these sparring matches one day that she had a shiver go down her back as she raised her sword to block a slash by her opponent, his sword sliding off of hers and he jumped back a step in preparation for her retaliation with a grin on his face. She had been deep in her focus, slightly panting and adrenaline pumping as she went back and forth with the young guard, who had surprisingly kept her on her toes the entire match. She took a moment to wipe her forehead with the back of her arm, the back of her shirt damp from the exertion, and was about to lunge forward again when the chatter of the other guards in the room fell silent. The background noise of shuffling feet and the clatter of swords stopped entirely, and with a huff Beidou turned around, brows furrowed together in annoyance as she saw what the sudden silence was caused by.
Lady Ningguang had entered the training room, Baixiao and Baiwen flanking her on either side, and commanded the aura of an otherworldly being so strongly that everyone in the room was speechless. Some of the guards had even taken a knee, bowing their heads to their liege in a show of respect. Her silky hair had been pulled back in a half up, half down style that was different than before, a new hairpin keeping it out of her face. With piercing eyes, she surveyed the room and let the smallest smirk flick across her face as her gaze landed upon Beidou. The strongwoman gulped as she felt that gaze pin her like a cat pinned a mouse, stripping her of any semblance of thought. She stood completely frozen as Ningguang sashayed, sashayed over to her, hips gently swaying and her eyes positively feline with amusement.
“You put on a fine show, Captain, ” Ningguang drawled, her deep red dress making the softest sigh as she strode over. She fixed Beidou with a stare as if to say, you are mine , before she finished her approach and crossed her arms in front of her guard expectantly. Beidou was too stunned to speak and was desperately trying to hold in a shiver, staring directly at Ningguang’s gold earrings to keep her eyes from wandering elsewhere when she heard a guard off to the side of the room quietly cough out, “ Kneel, she wants you to-” before another guard elbowed him into silence. Her palms were clammy as she set her sword down on the ground quickly and dropped to one knee, although dropping a little too fast as she bit down a curse, knee aching. She kept her head bowed slightly, now taking in the ornate hem of Ningguang’s gown and the sheer shawl that was pooled at the ground around her. The Tianqian hummed quietly in approval and with a finely manicured hand she raised Beidou’s chin, meeting her eyes with a feline smile.
“I have need of you Captain. I hope you’re ready for your first assignment.”
Making some concept art pieces for each of the characters in my genshin impact AU to help get a better feel for everything.
VIHH is basically the owl house + throne of glass + genshin impact + other general fantasy elements, with the main couples featured right now being Beigguang and JeanLisa. The format is that every couple exists in their respective country inside the AU, and I will be posting short stories centered around each couple and their own adventures, with each one having their own overarching plot. The chapters will be shorter, but there should be more overall.